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Zibulzap's trading post walks through the swamp on reptile legs. Vali converts to a crustacean god, Tannhauser crafts a functioning swamp-gas dirigible out of pig bladders, and a mercenary named Victrix reappears with a job. Three paths out. One blimp. The party takes all three and hopes the bladders hold.
Website: https://www.narrativedeclaration.com
System: Pathfinder Second Edition
Creators and Guests
Host
Host
Guest
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What is Rotgrind - Narrative Declaration?
Five adventurers try to survive in this comedy filled Pathfinder Second Edition TTRPG campaign within the grim dark world of Tyne. Follow the show, get custom TTRPG content, and more at https://narrativedeclaration.com
Oh
Welcome everyone to another exciting episode of rock right oh, no
That's me
Robot
Everybody does
Got great news guys. I clapped so hard my hands hurt
Why would you do that
Stop stop doing that
You heard me clapping
First time chatter exclamation point question mark
Good good
Welcome enjoy your stay
Welcome to rock right
My hands hurt
All right
If you if you enjoy us help us by going on twitch.tv for says someone the bear to watch the show website never to the declaration dot com and the patreon to help support us
Thurston, what do you have for us today?
Oh
Well, I have a I have a yarn to tell you all about you keep it short today
Oh
I will I will you see
Previously on in the world of time the the rock grind show our uh
Destin band of chuckles
They they headed off into the swamp where they met an intelligent
Beautiful halfling by the name of pick turns squelch
But that's me by the way. My name is pick turns squelch foot and I want y'all to gather round because
We got we got a lot to go through today everybody
Um, there's there's much to tell in fact today today. We're gonna go through a lot
We're gonna go through the butter churner incident the uh, the summer festival the bad one
And we're gonna talk about my extended family
Uh, the next three hours. You're all gonna buckle up because uh
Hey, my pick turns squelch foot is gonna tell you all about it. Hey, Thurston
Yes, I've ever watched uh the
Uh, the sherlock holmes movie starring robert downey jr
Perhaps discombobulate
No
Wait
Don't stop him. It needs to be done
Yeah, I I imagine that tan hauser is sitting wrapped wanting to know more about
I
I'm not gonna lie. I really want to know what happened with the butter churner
Uh, thurston. Can I make a check to discombobulate pick turn?
Uh, yeah, give me a game. We'll make it a flat check a d20 please. Okay, you got it
Thurston's threatening us
He is
Look at him
It's not quite enough. It's not quite enough.
This is his world and we're living in it
Thank you for the bits for that very good
Okay, okay, okay
I filled his goddamn bar
Excellent. Welcome welcome
Oh god, it's the pick turn bar
Welcome to another exciting exciting episode of rock grind
Uh, previously, uh, our our group had rushed away from the city of outset after uh dispatching a prominent member of the local law enforcers known as the tyrant's guild
They have now headed into the nearby swamps of the solitude
Where they are both lying low from the law following their little assassination mission
And attempting to investigate more and learn more about the rot and the affliction that now has taken fairly strong hold in valley and is spreading throughout young oran
Uh during that they they traveled towards a trading post belonging to a uh insected by the name of zap
But before they reached uh this trading post they uh were beset by fog and then a group a herd
I don't know what's a what the what is a group of dank bears anyways a lot of a lot of bears attack them in the fog
A murder of dank bears
A murder a murder of dank bears
Good good. Um
And during that they encountered the ever
Loved hated whatever you want to do. Um
Halfling uh by the name of pick turn squilchfoot
Who had uh survived a caravan that had been going into the solitude being being ruined and pick turn had sort of uh
Attached himself to the pcs and join them for a bit afterwards our players made their way to
Zibulzap's uh trading post where they emit the the insected uh the trading post itself is a structure that is being sort of like pulled around by these these large uh reptilian creatures as
No structures can stay for long
Uh in the um in in the solitude
There was also um
You know the the players had the opportunity to learn a little bit about the the the the cultures of of the the solitudes
Particularly uh
Particularly uh
I believe it was vali who
Became enraptured by a strange
Symbol uh
That
Led to the uh
Led to the understanding of a local religion around a creature named
Crawdadamus
You mean my new god?
Praise his praise his carapace
I hate you
And hangs his pinches on the world
Let let let the sins boil
All right everyone this is now your chance to draw vali as a lobster
I want vali with a lobster suit
Give me where's it where's all the vali lobstrification
Come on
The ball lobster
I am
Horrified
Anywho
Um
We'd sort of uh left up there uh following the the players also meeting another npc
Uh
Because because you know the the constant shift of urndill taking over my gming abilities urndill had uh
Taken the role of one of the the new npcs who they briefly met who had a relationship a prior relationship with baldric
Uh, sir victrix
Uh, which we have some art for now bam look at that
I'm gonna quickly interject and clarify relationship as in they hated each other and
Well, yeah, it's that's paid as a relationship
And i'm just clarifying that before the chat leaps on it
Oh, okay. Well, mr. chat you know what to do
Um
Yeah, that was where we we left off the party is sort of reached the the fringes of civilization before getting ready to head off
Into the solitude in search of answers to the rot with him the mysterious
Uh primal worshipers the old powers known as the twang folk reside
Uh, they they seem to have uh, like have pick turn who has a variety of useful abilities including the the magical power to just
Summon a fucking cabin which might be useful
Um, there there there are a lot of a lot of uh things that have been prepped but
One thing at the end of last session that I asked the players to do was to uh, do a little bit of shopping
So i've saved us the the going through all of the shopping right now
And instead i'm going to uh start off by passing the ball over to i don't know let's pick on speaker
What is tan hauser purchased and uh to tell me about the purchase you've made at zaps trading post before you head off
Into the swamp well clearly as we meet towards where we shall eventually reconvene and head off into the deep swamp
Pan hauser has come prepared he's used to the hard desert terrain that doesn't mean that he's good at survival
He's just used to being in these kinds of situations so he has bought three weeks worth of rations
Uh, though he expects the journey should hopefully only take one week
Uh, he has bought a four person tent
He has also bought several polices
Polici, if you will
To protect his mortal soul through the plagues of the swamp
I have an anti-plague lesser, an antidote lesser
I have a compass, some caltrops, uh, a cot
So I don't have to sleep on the swampy floor
And most of all
Most of all
A fishing rod and tackle pockets
On-site procurement
Of tan hauser's favorite extracurricular activity
Fish
Thing
That's what I got
Thank you for all of that, really
Um, yeah, perfect
Uh, okay, uh, Vali, you'd made some purchases as well
Yes, indeed I did
Uh, I have the list here
Uh, I as well, uh, got prepared for the inevitable blight town bullshit
Uh, I got a lesser antidote and a lesser anti-plague
Uh, I also got a bunch of rations
Cause I have no earthly idea how long we're gonna be here
So I just bought 10
Because it rounds out to an even 4 GP
And I like when the numbers are even
Uh, and then I bought 30 pistol rounds
Anticipating that I will potentially need to be shooting some shit
Um, and, yeah, I already had a bedroll and all that stuff in my handy dandy backpack
Uh, but I likely purchased something to help get it off the ground so we don't have to, uh, sleep in the mud
And that's my list
Excellent, excellent
Um, I believe, uh, Baldrick, you'd made some purchases as well, correct?
Baldrick was well aware that by knocking the block off of a, uh, a Tyrant's Guild leadership member
That, uh, the law would be quite hot
So they're not going back to Outset any time soon
That being said, he knows the dangers of bogging oneself down with excessive materials and wares
So he went pretty simple
He got an extra pry bar
He got a grappling hook and a rope to go with it
A singular pup tent with, you know, just for his own use
And then three weeks of rations
Because he predicts that we will likely be looping back around to the...
The trading post finding it somewhere up on the road at some point later
Because trying to bog yourself down with everything you could possibly need
Is a surefire way to sink into nothingness in the middle of the swamp
Absolutely
Okay, uh, checking really quick, uh, Oren, had you made any purchases?
Yeah, Oren bought some snacks
Oh good, what kind of snacks?
Okay, good
Just like, two rations
Two rations, good, god
Good
This is, I'm, I'm, I'm loving this
Uh, and, uh, and what about our, our dear Rahua?
That depends, Rahua's kind of, uh, you know, kind of unprepared
But he did have some last minute shopping
That he did want to get done
Okay
So in preparation for the journey ahead
Assuming that he's going to run through the solitude once more
He picked up a couple flasks
Some sealing wax
Get them nice and tidy to collect some reagents
And various natural resources in the swamps
Some camouflage netting
Just to throw over himself or anybody
Yeah, assuming we need to camp out in the wilderness
A butterfly net
And a book of puzzles
Potentially even a puzzle box
Butterfly net
Uh, beautiful, beautiful
All right, so this has taken, um, the, the, the better part of a day
For you to, like, make these purchases
Have, have goods delivered
Uh, each of you is sort of, like, you know, figuring out where, who's holding on to what
Now, I believe some of this went into the, into the, the people's loot
Uh, was where some of this is gone
Now, um, whilst the people's loot can hold some stuff
Um, guess the question becomes
Who is holding on to some of this stuff?
Like, the tent
The four person tent, for example
I was actually thinking about that
Yes
And I was thinking
That it might pay some dividends
For us to obtain a wagon
Uh, or something along those lines
I, I don't know how practical that is
Just given that we're gonna be in the city for the most part
Yeah, a wagon in the swamp is gonna be, uh
That's gonna be a tough one
A sled
A sled might be a better choice
Do we still have the walking cauldron?
We do, but it's not exactly big
Yes
Is it big enough to hold, if it's big enough to hold a person
We can at least dump some shit in there
Or is it just, like, a little, like, soup pot?
I thought it was always, like, a small soup pot
Uh, okay
Yes
Yes
Uh, can I do some bullshit at you?
Great start
Of course
Of course you can
Um, it's like, it's a decent-sized cauldron, by the way
Just to, to clarify
Like, it's like a medium-sized cauldron that can carry, like
Some, some good amount of, of, uh, of bulk and ingredients and stuff
Um
It can carry up to two bulk of ingredients for potions
Yeah
Which is a lot of bulk for ingredients for potions
Uh, if you put anything else inside it, though
It stands in place and refuses to move
Aw, he's edgy
It's a unionized cauldron
No, it's just, it's just a dog, yeah
Dammit, Tanny, you unionize the cauldron
I'm sorry, but the union makes us strong, too
Baldrick pushes him into the swamp
Excellent
Uh, alright, uh, Zoran
What are you, what's the bullshit you wanna throw my way?
Okay
I need my party to back me up on this one
Oh no
So we get a wagon
We get a wagon
We need a drink
So, Thirsty
We're gonna go through a, a thought process, right?
Yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm open
So we're in a swamp
We're in a swamp
Yeah
Sometimes swamps contain, contain gases, right?
Okay, sure
Okay, so could some of those gases, perchance, be put into a balloon-like device
In which we may attach to the wagon
So it floats
But the wagon is strong, or that flotation is strong enough
With enough balloons and gases
To where we could put stuff in and make it very easy to go through the swamp
I, I, I think I like where Zoran is going with this
But I'm going to remind him of two things
One
Methane is not a very good floating substance
I think it does float on the surface of air
What do you mean?
However
I would like to remind you of a little, a little incident
That took place, I think in Germany at one point
What was it?
It was like the, it was like the Hindenburg disaster?
Uh, urban legend
So, uh, so basically we find some of that stuff, we get a floating wagon
I'll, I'm willing to spend a narrative declaration if, if people want it
Orin
Neutral good
Strix
Shoreline Strix
Yeah
Strength
Three
Dexterity
Three
Yeah
Constitution
Three
Intelligence
Minus one
Master
I would like to, to invent blimps
Yeah
Hold on
Thurston
You are so right
Orin
Doesn't have the intelligence necessary
Oh no
To invent a blimp
Yeah, yeah
Or, or looks like Tannhauser goes
Yeah
Man, it'd be nice if we could make this float in some kind of convenient way
And this stuff
Yeah
Tannhauser
Tannhauser would be very interested in finding some way
But it would require someone with perhaps a crafting specialization and making vehicles
Like Tannhauser
Oh man
How do you feel about that?
I was just gonna say that because Thurston, or no
That because Orin had a plus three in strength, that he should just carry it
Uh, you know, make me the bitch of the party
Just, just, just, no
No, no, no, no, no, no
At this point, speaker and fucking Zoran are set
Like, here we go
We've got the blimp
First we've invented the bike, now we're onto blimps
Airships exist
Technology's there
That's true
That's very true
Alright
I will, I will allow this on two conditions
One
Condition the first
Both of you are spending their declaration for this
Are you good with that, speaker? You're good?
Absolutely
Be ride or die for the blimp
Yeah, yeah
Condition the second
This will require a crafting check
Uh, with Orin assisting
Oh, hell yeah
Wait, wait, you said that
I have a minus one crafting, go fuck yourself first
Just give me
It all comes back to that intelligence check, my friend
Hey guys
You're forgetting the other guy who is an expert in crafting
Just saying
Yeah, me
Yeah
Wait, we need a fellow craftsman to help out
Rahua, you're made out of wood
Surely you can help us
That's not quite how
Fucker, all of you are like trained in crafting
Okay
Jesus
Orin looks at his wood hand
Oh
Oh
It's okay
One day you'll be made entirely out of wood too
Although you probably won't be alive when that happens
I assure you
My body is not biodegradable
I could be made of wood, whatever I want
Uh, alright
Alright
He literally casts tree shape
Oh, okay, alright
There he goes
He turns into a tree
Alright, so what does that reduce his crafting to?
Oh, it doesn't change his crafting at all
It just
It just
Allows him to be a tree
Zoran and I talked about this before the session
Zoran
Don't turn yourself into a marketable poplar tree
Zoran
The tree like shifts away
Just rustles angrily
I don't think you can move
Yeah, no, you're a tree
You're a tree
Alright, so I'm gonna say
Yes
For expediency's sake
Oh, for sure
Unit lights
You know
Bladders being sold on the market
Some things that can be purposed into balloons
Perhaps some different materials that could potentially give off swamp gas
Hell, maybe they sell swamp gas for some reason
I don't know, it's a trading post
Do they sell swamp gas?
Well, can
Let's
Let's
Let the man finish his tails
Let's find out
Let's find out
Okay
I
Am going
Yes
To make my crafting check
To try to make
A rudimentary
Um
Dirigible based flotation device
Okay
I
Am
Fascinated by the inevitable nat one
I'm
I'm looking for
I'm already pulling up like hard DCs for tasks right now
This is good
I got a
I got my specialty
And I got my nanite surge
Yeah
Let's go
He is committing so hard to this
Oh, I saw that one
I saw the one
I saw the one
I saw the one
Let me tell you
The transportation revolution has begun
Most importantly
Who's assisting him
You know
Yes
Who
Who is assisting
Yeah
I don't know
Get Baldrick in on it
Not me
I
I
Well
Eh
Corrin like steps anew
I
I presume at some point coming back to camp
Baldrick will behold the pulley and bladder system in which Chanhouser
Yeah like at this point like at this point as you are you are building like
As you are building your flying pack mule
Um
Or at least like like and again this is kind of I'm guessing your your sort of keep yourself
Busy project as the you know the trading post is gathering all of the supplies and getting them
Ready like like the pavilion tent and the various items are being um
Are being put down like beside like Tannhauser as Tannhauser is actively like constructiconning this thing
Um
We're we're we're we're now getting well into like midday there have been some new arrivals at camp you see a
Um
A group of finely dressed um like business uh business people two of them very clearly uh guards and one of them
Kind of like a almost like a
Almost like a workhorse herself a woman in her mid maybe thirties early forties uh like with with backpack
And satchels and carrying like what looks to be a fairly firm
Um
Well well built lantern is sort of like moving in and they go into the trading post
This is all happening as you are you are beginning your construction
And you're having a lot of a lot of good success here Tannhauser
And that's when when Baldrick you would come by and see this this thing being constructed here
Uh hey Tannhauser got a question for you
Ah
Baldrick a fellow craftsman how might I help you
What exactly are you doing here
What are you doing here
Well
Are you familiar with the dirigigants of Lord Golgotha's
No but I'm aware of what blimps are
Fantastic
Then you would know that I am attempting to replicate this technology for the purposes of our swamp expedition
What's it gonna do
Well ideally it should be operating as a pseudo airship
We don't quite have all the materials and time to create something that can actually fly
Or even scout above the foliage
At least reliably for long periods of time
But we should have ample enough to have a cart
A cart that we can utilize above the swampy murky waters
Something we can ride above the normal accoutrements of this decrepit land
And in so doing haul a survival gear
How are we planning on pulling this exactly?
Well the idea is that the flotation devices shall do the job for us
They'll require constant expenditure of flame as well as oscillation of the different gas valves
But it should be more than enough to handle us on our journey
Can I inspect this to see if that is what he is actually accomplishing here
And how much time it will take to construct such a complicated device as that
Absolutely you may
Okay, what would I be rolling? The crafting?
Crafting, crafting check in
Okay, am I getting any bonuses?
Uh, not in this case
Not chemical savant, cause that's not relevant
Not in this case
I got a 25
Uh, you're able to tell that, like, Tannhauser is certainly building something that will
Basically be able to carry a couple bulk worth of supplies above the ground
And very little more
Uh, the-the-the tales of, like, having multiple people riding this over the swamp
Are entirely far-fetched
And at most you're probably gonna be able to keep some of your- your supplies off of this
That's-that's realistically what he's built
Which is still very impressive given the skill check
So, I need to ask now
Is-is this thing going to be self-propelling or are we going to have to do the propelling?
Uh, it will need, like, constant infusions of-of gases
And, like, cleaning of bladders and other equipment
Presumably we can get Oren to do that
He is a-he is a-he is a nature person after all
Yeah, right
I'll just-I'll just be bitch boy, it's fine
Yeah, yeah
I'll do janitor work
You're-you're a-you're a nature person
That makes you a shoo-in for this factory job
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
I'm glad
He needs to get the swamp gas into the fuckin' gas bag so we can move the blimp
Well, presumably-
Wow, so what's all this?
Oh, for fuck's sake
Oren immediately throws mud in his mouth
Hey, kid
This is one of them Dirijima blimps, isn't it?
Yeah
It is something like it
The first steps on our road to our-our-innovation
The swamp
The swamp
An innovative way to cross the swamp
Thank you
Oren, uh
That looks-that looks-that looks real-real-real sturdy-like
You could probably-probably put some supplies on that, I think
Yes
Hopefully
Can I-can I, um
Can I do, like, an intelligent-or-a crafting check
Intelligent-or crafting check
To see how-
Look
I'm trying to roleplay this in characters so don't medicate the fuck out of this again
Oren wants to give Tannhauser a suggestion
But I don't want to just say it out loud
I'm gonna see how stupid it sounds
May I do so with my minus one crafting
You may
Okay
Thank you, chat
We're never leaving this trading post
We're at this trading post-
Okay, Oren got a 12
Okay
Okay
I'll try to-I'll try to-I'll try to do this out
Oren kind of comes up to Tannhauser
And as he's watching Tannhauser build his blimp
Uh, Oren kind of like tugs out
I'm like, Mr. Tannhauser
Yes, Oren
Uh, could we, instead of making a large elaborate device, now that I see him, it's kind of foolhardy and very high maintenance and I don't like hard labor sometimes every day
Um
Um
What if we did something to where it could kind of glide on the water and if it was almost a sink it would just float
So use the bags to make it float or something
And then the easier to instead of going wheels it could like slide along somehow
Well, Oren, that would have been a nice suggestion if I wasn't already six hours into its construction
Oh
Well, I thought you would have thought of it
Well, I would imagine that the gases, if we were forced to have it make a crash landing, would allow it to float rather than to sink
It has been designed with this in mind
However, once we run out of gases, it shall be difficult to keep this thing propelled or even floating
I should hope that the buoyancy of the structure shall see us through
Okay, well
Um, okay, okay, so, so Baldrick, Oren, and Tannhauser
I just wanna ask, can we get a frickin' pack mule?
I just, well, well, well, all of you are, like, discussing the finer points of blimpo dynamics
Pack mules also sink
Um
You wanna do the fuckin' never-ending story bit where we get attached to a pack mule?
Only if you get attached to it
Well, I would-
Do you, is that why you want a living creature to watch it die in the swamps of sadness?
Yeah
If we're going to be sold a pack mule, presumably there's a thing inclined to work here
The camera cuts to Rahua
Are you ready for that responsibility, Baldrick?
I don't care, I'm going to firebomb you
The camera cuts to Rahua, who stands motionless, staring at the increasing argument of his companions
And then, then, then Rahua's single monocular eye shifts slightly to see Pick-turned Squelchfoot
pacing around the ever-growing stash of equipment that is being delivered
Like, like, kind of, like, holding, holding his hand on his chin
Like, hmm, this is a dilly of a pickle, hmm, okay
And then, you see Rahua Pick-turned, and again, in the side of this frame
We have the, the party continuing their argument
Oh, what about the pack mule? Never-ending story!
Um, but then we see Pick-turn kind of, like, moving things together
Um, like, trying to arrange all of the, the equipment you've purchased
So it's, like, in, in a fine Tetris
Uh, what do you do when you see this, Rahua?
Pick-turn, it seems we have a bit more than we are equipped to carry at this time
What do you think?
He looks at you
Well, what I was thinking was
I could cast this spell I mentioned called Floating Disc
Whoop!
And this magical disc literally lifts everything of, all of your equipment out of the swamp
It's pretty useful, isn't it?
How long does Floating Disc last for?
Oh! Uh, is that Orin? Is Orin just tearing? Like, how long does it last for?
Oh, well, usually about eight hours a day
But I can cast it a few times if we need
Polly puts her head in her hands
Oh!
Orin looks to the grip
Do we want to rely on Pick-turn?
Do we really need to rely on him?
Well
Hold on a second
You're telling me that Pick-turn could create a floating disc to allow objects to float off the ground
This will be perfect for the hover device
Pick-turn, cast floating disc upon the hover device
It will be the best way to conserve methane
Okay, okay, so please tell me that for the rest of this fucking adventure
We have speakers, like, beautiful but totally impractical dirigible
That Pick-turn casts floating disc on
Just to give the appearance that it works
Yes!
And when the Pick-turn gets eaten by a swamp gator
We'll activate the dirigible and it will work
Explode
It will
No, no, no
Hulky, you see, that isn't working
Oh, good
I
I'm sorry
It's a pinto
My small, low-intellect brain did not grasp the explicit intent of the dirigible
The dirigible
The dirigible is an airship version of the pinto
You can't counterspell a dirigible
You can only shoot it
Something arguably easier to do
Wow, Tanhauser, that was a great idea
Looks like we got ourselves some fun teamwork
He goes to high-five you
Zoran raises his hand
The cosmic entity known as Gumaster acknowledges Zoran
What is the total bulk of all of our inventory and that cart?
So, Joe, I was looking at this
The stuff that's in the people's loot currently is less than five bulk
Okay, and the cart
How much bulk is the cart?
Oh, I can find that out
Remember, the cart is alleviating some of the bulk by floating
The cart, it can't lift the cart if it goes over five bulk
Sure it can, because the cart was made to be lifted by swamp gas
So it's like, it's like one bulk in itself
This bitch is made of balsa wood, it's gonna shatter and crash it
Yeah, like, like, like, speaker was very much like it has to be propelled by swamp gas
Guys, I just want to say this has been an excellent 40 minutes
Oh, I agree
I am so...
You're welcome everyone
This is, this is the real reason chat comes here
This is the deep floor
Alright
We have our cart
Well, that was great teamwork, though
That was the best teamwork I've ever seen
Now that we have prepared ourselves to leave after wasting a giant amount of time in the day for it
What exactly are we doing once we get out to the swamps again?
Weeping
Beyond that
Well, there's, there's a lot of, there's a lot of terrain around here to, to, to, to look at
Now, I was thinking maybe we could go back inside the trading post, get one of those tables
And maybe talk about what direction we're going to and what the area's like
Um, uh, Mr. Zapp, uh, I, I bought a map off him for five gold pieces that I thought might help us out
Pigturn, do you know anybody who can
Help out with
This?
And he kind of waves his, his hand in front of his eyes with his rotten fesset eyes
Uh, well, well, um, sort of like, like blinks and shyly looks away from you
Uh, well, uh, weren't you, weren't you going out in the, the, the, the, the, the swamp to find them, them twang folk?
They, they're supposed to be primalists, they, they probably know
Yeah, do you have any idea where they may be?
Well, how about we go in, we sit down and we plan this out, we, we strategize
Okay
We're gonna have to, I think
Unless we plan on walking out in the swamp and not coming back
Which, you know, we could very easily do if we wanted to die
That'll be our plan B
That'll be our plan B
Let's have some positivity here
You know, my brother, his name was, uh, Denis
He always thought that it was real smart that what you should do is you should always be positive
Cause if you are always positive
Anyway, let's go and sink him up
Okay, thank you very much Pigturn and ruffle his hair
Thanks
Uh, thanks
Uh, alright, so, so you, you go inside, like, sit, sit at one of the tables, like, Pigturn, Pigturn gets you all drinks, he comes back, big smile
Alright, so, like I said, I paid that, some gold for a map of the region, so here we go, he sets the map down on the table
Alright, so we're slightly southwest of this X
Pigturn, this is just a strip of paper
Oh, I see
With an X on it
Oh
Well, it says outset there, too
It...
It sure does
You're so good at reading
I need the audio people to know that the, the asset for this is entitled, Near Useless Map
There is a small object, identified as outset, with a red X on it
There are a couple stains, presumably blood, maybe coffee, maybe beer
And a large compass in the bottom left
The paper is torn, crumpled, and looks like garbage
Uh, you could wipe your ass with this and no one would know
Hmm
Well, you know, this is, uh, this is great work, Pigturn
Um, this map is
Incredibly
Useless
Useless, yeah
Well, we, I guess
We can wander the swamp and see where it takes us
Let's
We could go and shake down your bug friend and make him give us a better map
How about this?
Baldr kind of places his hands on the table and, and looks around at everyone
Why don't we try to find someone who knows the swamp?
Pigturn, you said you know the swamp, right?
Well, well, I, I have an idea of exploration
I, you know, I, I don't know this swamp
We established that last time rather, rather diligently
I just, I have a good understanding of things and places
Good enough
Okay
So what we need now, we need someone who knows the swamp and can give us a map
I don't know who that would be
It could be Vic, we could ask any of the other people around here
There's probably going to be a cartographer at least in the area
Because you can make a good bit of money being a cartographer
Hanging yourself around the trade post for any yahoo who comes through here
Hey, Oren?
Yeah?
Can you, uh, give me a survival check, please?
Sure can
Oren, survive!
Uh, Oren got a 24
Okay, so, Oren, like, as this is, as, as this discussion is going on
Like, you, you click into your survival instinct
And you look at this map and you, like, get a sense of scale based on your knowledge
Like, a 24 is, is a pretty solid result here
Um, and, like, within moments, uh, Oren, you, like, you would have a solid understanding of, like, how much space and dimension there would be
Uh, even how you could probably, like, fill this map out, uh, to use as a basis for something to explore the region with
Oren looks at Pictor and goes, hey, you got a pen?
You're, like, a little quill or something?
Oh, course I do!
This one belonged to my sister, Janine
Okay, thank you, Pictor
And Oren starts sketching and basically, he's like, okay, well, this is one thing my, my, uh, my dad used to teach me
And he starts making these, like, you know, hexagons and stuff
And starts kind of, like, sketching things, like, okay, well, we went to here, we went to here, and it's, yeah
And here's all the bullshit here, okay
This is what I feel like we're currently at right now
Okay, uh, so, so as though to, uh, to exemplify that, lol
Okay, let's, let's hope this, this works
Alright, um
He, he draws a hexagon, a hexagon based map
Yeah, uh, Zoran, if you want to zoom out just a bit, too, to show the, the, like, the entire thing of this, this map
Um, okay, so, this is the region that you are, you are exploring at this moment
Um, so, to the, to the northeast of you, uh, is, is the city of Outset that is, sort of, of marked here
Um, then you are currently at a, a section that is a trading post
You know, around you are, um, various marshlands
So, like, regions to, essentially, the, the west, northwest, south, uh, are all difficult marshlands
Uh, yeah, we're, we're Oren, Oren has made Settlers of Outset
It's good, uh, it's fun
I, I was about to point that out, because someone in chat made me snicker real hard
This Pathfinder session interrupted by Settlers of Catan
Um, and so, so you, you, like, Oren, you're, you're able to, to sort of lock this out
You're also able to put in some, like, rather thick, like, thick lines on the, the specific region
You know you need to explore this sort of southwestern region where you know the twang folk are, are located
Um, and, and, like, very quickly, I'm going to explain, like, Oren, as, as your, your survival check has given you a bunch of just, like, knowledge on this
Um, you would know that roughly each of these hex, or each of these hexes is roughly, uh, 12 miles across
Uh, and depending on the terrain, it will take you a good amount of time to travel
For example, any of these, like, marshlands, these swamplands that are nearby
Would take your group about three days to travel through, from one end to another
So if you wanted to, like, basically, like, say you went into the, the, the hex adjacent to you to here
If you wanted to go to any of the other adjacent hex, it would take you three days of travel
If you found, like, maybe less, less marshy, more foresty, that might be two days
If you found some more open terrain, that could be one day
But you know, like, immediately around you, the terrain is, is pretty, pretty brutal for traveling
It feels like every time I look at this, it's like, okay, what do I have to do to make sure my torso isn't exposed to the, uh, the wolf ring to the north
Look, look, those LRMs are coming whether you like it or not, okay?
Quick hit him in the back armor, it's weaker
Oren's back armor does not exist
He put it all in his face
I have jump chest, I have jump chest, I have mobility four, I'm good
Continue
You dare adore my patrol?
So, like, Oren, you've sketched this all out for everyone
And, like, placed it on the table
And sort of, like, created these, these hexes now that people can see
Yeah, so we're here, and this is where the no-no place is
And we need to find where, uh, those folks are
Well, may as well go to the location where we can see the most from
Maybe we could, we should ask around, you know, if
Oh, it's only 13 feet away
If, yeah, if we, uh, yeah, yeah, shut up
Um
Very small
By the way, chat, this is, this is because Erndel was showing off his fallout game to me yesterday
And was like, look at how I've made the, like, the, the, the draw distance work
And I'm like, very impressive, Erndel
I did not do that
Um
Because it's just hexes
But anyways, um, yeah, so, so, so pictures, like, maybe we could talk to some people here
Scramge up some information
We don't really know the, I don't know the lay of this land too much
I can tell you though, uh, the caravan and I was with
They were off somewhere in, in this direction, here
I'm gonna pick a color that is not fucking gray to make that stand out, one sec
Just have a bleed on the map
Yeah, somewhere, somewhere in that direction
Alright, so we'd wanna be heading northwest, ideally
Well, that's where my caravan that, that got attacked was
Now, I, I don't know if that's the direction you wanna go in
Uh, we may wanna talk, talk to some people here
I mean, we're gonna have to spend the night, I assume
We're not gonna go out in the swamp in the middle of the night
That, that'd be crazy talk, right?
No, we are not doing that, but if we happen upon your wrecked caravan, we could at least look for supplies there
It might be useful
Or ideally, maybe a map
Undoubtedly
Undoubtedly
Any supplies within that caravan would've been taken by the raiders
It would be far more
Beneficial to our coffers to find them
Yeah, they, they, they seem more interested in setting everything on fire with their, their, their flaming weapons and whatnot
Oh
Oh
Is that true?
Seems a bit wasteful
Oh, oh, yeah
I did, I, I think I mentioned this last time when they came at us
They had these, they had these swords and stuff
And they put some, some kinda, some kinda, juice
Like, like, what Mr. Baldrick has there
And put it on
And it lit up like a bonfire
In fact, it remember, reminds me of the summer festival at Netter's Branch
Anyway
Is that robbers tend to not leave anything of value behind
If their goal was just to kill and destroy
They would probably have killed and destroyed to the degree that they wanted
As to whether or not that's everything in the caravan, that's another issue
But we could at least get an idea of where they might have gone if we didn't expect it
Hmm
Maybe so
And we have no idea where these
Rot
Adjacent
Individuals are
These
Medicinal
Helpers
That we need
Flying folk
Yes
We can at least figure it out once we get a firm idea of where they might function
And again, if we bump into those bandits, I'm certain we could probably take them on, provided it's not an army
Or we could get the drop on them
Whichever works, really
As far as they end up dead or capitulated, I don't really give a damn
Right
So, uh, you said the Twang Fork went to the southwest, correct?
Um, you don't really know, like, an exact location
I think you've heard, like, like, possibly just out
Like, southwest is in the region, that's kind of the region of the map you're in
Oh, okay
The biggest, the biggest swath we can get is in here, and then we can try to figure it out from the
Yeah, yeah
For, for ease of, like, you don't just completely go off in the wrong direction
Uh, that's why some of these are, like, darkened, like, these hexes up here are all darkened
We're not gonna beeline for the coast
Right
Um, have we, uh, asked anyone in the settlement about where the Twang Folk might be?
Fuck no
Literally, I was gonna have one
I made this pretty clear
Maybe we should ask around
I have tried to say this
Well, okay, well, I'm going to do one better, and then rather than just try to say it
I'm gonna find my bug boy friend
Uh, the new, the one that I intimidated with my very bugger story
Absolutely
You can see he's, um, he's currently, uh, Zabuzap is currently in the, the back area, uh, counting up several coins from all of the, the day's purchases
Tannhauser, you depart the table to go, go speak to him
Uh, uh, Zabuzap
Mm, yes, hello
How are you faring?
Uh, your, your influx of coin is much appreciated
I hope my trading post can continue to supply you on your missions into the solitude
Uh, Zinn-Lockthalahast has many secrets, mm, and, and, and, yes, yes, yes, and, um, give me perception check
Um, give me a perception check as well, Tannhauser
I absolutely will, sorry, I was drinking water
How dare you?
How dare I?
How dare I?
How dare I?
Okay
Oh, there it is
Alright, here we go
Aha!
29!
When this conversation is happening, you also see that in the pile is a, a second set of coins that has been spent that is slightly, um, higher than the amount of coins your group has spent, and you can tell that these coins are also of a higher quality
Like, they look like they're in, like, a better mint, um, possibly, like, more of, more of a noble aesthetic to them, um, and you see that, like, Zabble Zap has this set of coins off to the side from yours, but has been counting everything sort of together
Those coins, they seem rather ritzy
Are we not your top customers?
Not, not, not today, no, but, but, but very much appreciated
This trading post caters to everyone who's interested
Well, I'm happy to hear that, but now I'm curious
Who are these other individuals?
Uh, can you give me a diplomacy check, but give yourself a plus four circumstance modifier for the fact that this bug is terrified of you
Excellent, uh, four
That, oh
Must be a plus four
That'll do it
Hell yeah
No it won't, okay
Plus four
Let's rock
Oh!
Rock, rock, rock, rock, rock and roll
Nine
Emotionally unaware
Um, like, yeah, you can tell, I, I cannot discern details of, um, kinds, but, uh, should you wish, they are over there
And, um, sort of, example, zap nods to, to a table at the, the far edge of the, the inside of the trading post
Where there is, I, I believe I mentioned the, the, the woman who has sort of all this, this gear on her, her two guards, um, like, a fairly ornate lantern is, like, placed at their table
That's very much a different light source, uh, than the types that are in the, in the post itself
Uh, and this, this woman and her, her, you know, attache is sort of sit and are drinking and having, like, a very conservative meal
I see
I see
What were the name of the people that we're looking for again? I'm so sorry
The Twang Folk
The Twang Folk
I'm going to look at Zebel's up
I see
And
One more thing
Yes
What do you know about the Twang Folk?
Hmm
Adherents of old powers who regularly move and live in the regions
We've had dealings with them before, off and on, we, we trade goods
We sometimes, uh, provide supplies and information to outset caravans that go to bring them supplies
And the city often sends them goods
Ah, fantastic
Do you have any idea where they are located?
They keep their exact location secretive and it is always moving
But they are out to the west
Out to the west? Any in town to your knowledge?
Oh, no, not, not here, no, not, not at this moment
They come in maybe once a year, maybe
Hmm, I see
Well, thank you, Zapplezap
And I'm going to leave him
Uh, look over at the group having their dinner
And then I decide I'm going to go back to the party
Uh, if we decide to confront these people
I'll do it with just more
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay
So, so Tannhauser, you, you, you left the group who, who still consists of everyone but you, like, looking over the map
So as Tannhauser is going away
Oh, well, I, I, Picktern looks at all of you
I guess he's going to, uh, to talk to, to the proprietor
Uh, so what do y'all think we should do?
I mean, Baldrick, you, you think we should head out to my caravan
Like I said, I think it's in this direction now
Can't take my word for it though
I got lost in there
Like I said, I got in that fog
And who just didn't know where I was going
It reminds me of this time
Better than nothing at this point
So, it's the direction we can explore with a potential location
Failing that, we can come back
And really, time is more or less on our side
As long as we continue to avoid going down
He shoots a sidelong glance at Volley
Knowing full well that time literally is on our side
Because the more time we spend, the more the heat goes down
But, you know, it gives us increased chance of Volley dying
And that's bad, so
Well, we definitely want to find these twang folk first
Speaking, uh, personally
I think that, um, my most pressing matter would be attending to
You know, this
I just gesture at my face
Oh, there's, there's nothing wrong with you
You're fine, don't worry
Well, we're gonna solve all that
Precisely my point in finding this caravan
Because, potentially, it could give us some ideas
And if the people who burnt it down
Have long since abandoned it
It may be valuables there
It may even be some locals picking around it
And they may have a better idea of where we're going
It's a location of interest
That could theoretically help us out
As long as, of course, we actually find it
Therein lies the rub, doesn't it?
Well, it's a better direction than we've had for anything else
Unless you plan on striking out in the middle of the swamp
Finding God goes well
Finding God goes well
No, certainly not
What about you, Rahua?
What do you think?
I mean, uh, you seem kind of naturally inclined
Like, like Orin is here
Maybe you got some information thoughts on all this?
Well, my first question
What the fuck?
Orin gets stabbed immediately by Rahua
Just for counting him
I apologize
I'm doing five million things in the background
I heard Orin, I thought someone was calling me
I'm so sorry
Keep going
I wanted to ask
How did
How exactly did you get lost previously?
Oh, hell
You're asking me to tell a story
That's good
All right
He sits up really happy
No, I'm not asking you to tell me a story picture
Perhaps something more important
What happened?
Well, I was with a caravan
Out of Outset
I think I mentioned that
Got all sorts of
Caught up with them
They were making, I think, their way
They were going to send some goods to the twang folk
They got some kind of
Some kind of old style accords
Where they do good
They send goods to the twang folk
Because of all the good
The twang folk do out here
With their primal stuff
I don't know the specifics
Anyways
I found this caravan
They seem rather nice
You know
They like some of the
Little magic bits I could do
You know
One of them also reminded me
Of my brother
Billimus
Now, I think that he just was
Was glad to have someone
Who had a musical instrument
Made the journey a bit easier
You know
Some nights it was just
It was real hard
Being in the swamp
The wagon that they were using
It got stuck twice
I think the crew there
Hadn't done it much
Now, when it got stuck
The second time
We decided we'd take a break
And that's when overnight
These
These folk
They
They just came at us
I
I mean
There was
There was no parlaying
There was nothing
They
They shot full arrows first
And then they came in
And they
Put that little
Juice on their swords
And the swords
Just lit up
And they
Um
You know
It was
It was
Awful
Awful
Like
The burning
And the fire
And I
Had
I just got knocked unconscious
At some point
In the scuffle
Motivated with my pipes
And then
Then I woke up
And it was all over
And at this point
Tannhauser you approach
And I
You know
The picture nods and smiles at you
Without stop
Without stopping
Baldrick bashes him
On the shoulder
To shut him up
So we can listen to Tannhauser
Oh
Comrades
I have news
News
Two things
One
We can likely found
The people we're searching for
To the west
They are a nomadic people
That aren't often found around here
But are noted to be
Situated somewhere in
That direction
Secondly
There is a second client
For our dearest
Zabble Zap
A rich and wealthy
Well-to-do individual
With a small gathering of gods
It may be worth it
Understanding what brings them
To these necks of the woods
Or the shot
We don't all need to do that though
Might also scare them off
If we all
You know
Gather around them
Exactly
Which is why
I would volunteer
Vali
And perhaps someone of her choice
To go ascertain the nature
Of this
Individual
Meanwhile
I can continue work
On the dirigible
Oh
Are you gonna need my
Floating disc
To help with your project
No
Oh
Okay
Well it's always there
If you need it
I just
I like helping
It's in the pick turn
Squilchfoot family motto
You know
Help
Molly who are you taking?
Well
Which one of you is a good schmoozer?
Uh
Let me check my skills
Cause I don't think
Valdrick's very good at it
No
He is not
He's quite terrible at it
In fact
But he can
Explode
I think all of you
Except Vali
Are terrible
Like
I think Vali is the only one
Of you fucks
Who has
Diplomacy
Oh my god
Because I got tired of doing it
I have
Plus one
Is
Is that our
Is that our highest?
Auron has a minus one
Remember
Remember
The talk of like
How the party needs
You know
Like
A face character
No you are the face character
I guess I am
The face character
Oh god
Yeah
Well it seems like
With a plus one
Rahua's our winner
Rahua
You wanna come with?
Sure
You feeling particularly schmoozy today?
If you don't
Don't worry Rahua
I got a whole story
About my family
I can tell you
In fact
I got a good one
I just give him a look
I just look at Rahua
I can go with you
If it would help
Alright
I'm sure it will
Shall we?
Let us be off
Alright bye
But don't
Don't forget
I'll tell you about
The tree in the center of town
One day Rahua
I think you'll get
A hoot out of it
Now where were we friends?
For the rest of you
Okay
I hear the word hoot
And I just have PTSD
Looks over her shoulder
As Val and Rahua leave
They see Oren
Just look at them
With like pleading
Like puppy dog eyes
Like don't leave me here
But as soon as you leave
And you leave
And you just have to see Oren
Just stuffing his face
Like stuffing Picktern's face
With mud
Like stop!
Stop!
I give him like a salute
Godric is right here
I just also imagine
I just also imagine
Because like speaker
Has the bit of
Tannhauser actually
Being interested
In these terrible stories
There's just the nodding
From him
Yeah Tannhauser
Just like
Ah continue
Comrade Picktern
How many pigs will lose
At country palm
Alright
And so
So Val and Rahua
Abandoned for Oren
And Paltrick
Um
And yeah
You make your way
Towards
Towards the other table
Where you can see
At the far end
There's this woman
Who is
Who's laden down
With equipment
And
These two
Two human men
Who are
Bedecked in
Studded leathers
But
The studs are
Pretty few and far between
It looks like the material
Though is
is very well tailored.
They almost look like business attire,
something you would see
for professional security services.
At their sides, they both have
what appear to be maces
and then short swords,
and then they've also got bows
that they have put off to the side.
Both of them have immediately noticed
as you've come and approached.
The woman, again,
she's sort of in this late 30s, early 40s,
has a bit of darkened black hair.
It's pulled back into a bit of a bun.
Her clothing is,
as opposed to the other two,
which are fairly form-fitting
with overcoats,
hers is like,
she looks like the Michelin Man,
just full of gear and equipment.
And it's clear that her actual clothing
is very loose-fitting
to allow her to, like, put things on.
And, like,
it has a sense of, you know,
someone who has no idea
what they're doing
walking down the Walmart camping aisle
and buying one of everything.
And then she's sitting there
with this lantern.
And she looks up,
like, last minute
as the two of you
are approaching the table.
Well, somebody's prepared.
Yes, yes, I am,
as we are, I should say.
It's a pleasure to meet you.
Yes, certainly.
Can I ask why you have come over?
Have we done something wrong?
I'm not familiar
with all of the socialities
of this place.
Oh, no, no, no.
Just interested to see
other travelers here.
And you certainly look like
you're ready to travel far.
What's all this stuff for?
Oh.
Well, we are traveling.
We're going south
to investigate this thing.
This ruins, I should say.
Yeah.
Ruins to the south.
Oh, ruins to the south.
So are you guys like adventurers?
I just sit down across from her
just completely casually
and kind of put my chin on my hand
and just lean in.
One of the, like,
the men sort of, like,
puts a hand on the pummel
of the, like, the sword
and, like, this woman sort of waves.
Like, no, no, no.
It's fine.
It's fine.
Where are you having a conversation?
We're adventurers, too, you see.
My friend and I.
Not the adventurers.
This is Rahua, by the way.
Not an adventurer, though.
Yes, your anarchite kunrasu friend.
Oh, you're familiar with the kunrasu?
You just called me a tree.
That's a first, isn't it?
It is a first.
Thank you.
Yeah.
But just because you say
you're not an adventurer
does not mean you are not an adventurer.
After all, you're going to explore ruins,
something that only adventurers
and archaeologists,
as short-lived as they tend to be, do.
No, no, no, no.
We are...
At least adventurous.
We are business-minded individuals.
We are members of the BMF Co.
You can give me a society check.
Oh, society.
Society.
I'm okay in society.
Society.
Oh, okay.
I know everything about these guys, I guess.
What did you write?
A natural 20.
Thank you.
For a 27.
Yeah, BMF Co.
is a company
from the King's and Queen's
Palastrian outset.
It stands for
Beaufort Matthias Faust and Company.
BMF is a company
that was primarily made up
of those three who were barristers.
They did a lot of legal cases in outset,
but once they had amassed
a sizable fortune,
what they ended up spending it on
was rather than like reinvesting
and doing more legal work
and increasing their practice,
they instead started funding expeditions,
but they specialized a lot
in expeditions that went outside of outset
rather than underneath.
So they aren't in direct competition
with like the Delvers
who, you know,
delve the buried city underneath.
BMF sends expeditions
semi-regularly outside of outset
to investigate things like runes
and whatnot.
Interesting.
Have I robbed these people before?
Your choice.
Works well.
That's interesting.
So these guys are essentially
just a company
that steals from ruins.
Well, explores ruins.
Yeah, like if I,
like they kind of have like shades
of like, I don't know,
like Hudson's Bay Company style,
like individuals,
if you want to go with
like a modern twist,
they're like,
they sell goods
and tend to like sponsor expeditions
to find things
that they can then resell.
Interesting.
So what's the deal
with these ruins to the south?
Any sort of a history to them
or just found some ruins
sticking out
and decided to go digging?
Um, both of you,
give me a perception check,
both Rahua and Fali, please.
Okay.
Okay.
Well, my perception's not terrible.
Okay.
That's a 19.
That's a 23.
Oh.
Can you mark me down
a hero point, please?
Oh, no.
A villain point, please?
Oh, boy.
Oh, boy.
Failing to notice
the pistol aim matters.
I'm just gonna,
just gonna,
just gonna re-roll
this little,
yeah.
Okay, cool.
Um,
thank you,
thank you,
thank you.
Um,
this,
this one kind of like
stutters over her words
a bit as you,
as you bring up the ruins.
Well,
well,
um,
you see,
it's,
um,
how can I be saying this?
Um,
hmm,
hmm,
hmm.
Uh,
and then like,
kind of like,
like stutters,
I'd say,
and Rahua,
you get the distinct impression
as she's speaking,
she is like,
averting,
intentionally averting
her eyes from you.
Hmm.
Hmm.
Interesting.
Very,
uh,
very,
unknown runes.
We,
we sort of have,
uh,
some,
some basic information
about them,
you see,
they are to the,
uh,
the,
the,
the southwest of here.
Wow,
how fun.
I,
I mean,
if you're maybe,
um,
looking for some extra hands?
Well,
I mean,
certainly,
I said,
I hope I do.
No,
no,
ma'am,
no,
don't,
don't,
don't.
One of the other.
It's,
it's all right,
Albert.
It's all right.
Apologies.
These are my,
uh,
my,
my,
my hired assistants,
uh,
also members of,
of BMF.
Uh,
that is Albert,
and,
and that is,
uh,
Morgens.
And,
like,
both of them give,
give you nods.
I should point out,
like,
both of these have,
like,
incredible handlebar mustaches.
Oh,
yes.
Very clean shaven.
Um,
like,
you can see sort of suspenders
underneath their jackets
with their,
like,
leathers on.
Yeah.
I gotta say,
the mustaches,
some of the best I've seen
in outset.
Probably the best.
You two should be proud.
I'm,
I'm,
I'm schmoozing the shit
out of these guys.
Schmooze.
Right.
Well.
Volley,
while you,
while you distract them,
Rahul,
turn his attention,
the woman.
something tells me
these ruins are not
as unknown
as you let on.
Call it
intuition,
but I dare say
you may
have some use
for someone
of my
Rahul
will
kind of
move his head
up and down,
gesturing about
his,
his body.
Someone
of my
progeny.
Yeah.
Um,
let's see here.
What social skills
does Rahul
have?
Oh,
you have
intimidation.
You can
absolutely
be an
intimidating
tree man
as you
lean in
and say
those words.
You wouldn't
happen to be
plundering
Konrasu ruins,
would you?
It's a
graven sin
against the
universe itself,
didn't you?
24.
Oh,
the woman's
eyes go a
bit wide.
As,
as her eyes
go wide,
you can also
see that the
lantern seems
to light up.
Like,
like,
her own,
like,
emotions cause
the lantern
to react a
bit.
Uh,
and she,
she looks
at you.
Well,
I,
I suppose
when I say
it's,
it's unknown
to us,
I,
very commonly
the ruins
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
the loxins
here of
the solitude,
they are,
uh,
often fundamental
in nature.
I see.
You see,
there were
many sieges
of outset
in,
in,
millennia ago,
ancient,
even earliest
days.
Siege towers,
structures,
all,
all of them
out,
out in,
see,
out,
out there
to be found.
We,
we sometimes
find them
and see
what is in
them.
In this
case,
it appeared
to be
some structure.
I,
I don't
know exactly
what it
was.
There was
talk of,
of,
of,
of strange
metal.
if it's
strange metal,
I dare
say you
would be
right on
the money
but being
fundamental
in origin.
In fact,
I've known
of these
structures
and remnants
of these
bygone
eras for
some time.
I,
myself,
have done
my own
researches
and my
jaunts
through the
solitude
and have
no stranger
to plainer
bleed out
in these
parts in the
deepest reaches
of the
swamps.
If I may
amend my
previous
statement,
I,
dare I say
you may
not want
me,
I think
you are
in dire
need of
someone of
my experience
and knowledge,
especially to
navigate when,
well,
force is less
inclined to
reason as
you or
myself may
be lurking.
I like for
that whole
delivery you
sounded like
the G-man
and I was
honestly terrified.
Um,
the G-man.
Well,
I suppose
we might need
some assistance
in our way.
We're leaving
first thing
tomorrow.
We're heading
to the
southwest.
That's just
our plan.
Great!
So we have
a deal then,
right?
Uh,
well,
maybe we can
help you out,
you know,
for just a
paltry sum
and make sure
that you have
the absolute
best to
ensure that
you get to
this ruin
safe and
you get back
to your
BFE co
or whatever
it is.
BMF.
That,
what he
said.
I can
give you
my word
that I
am not
interested in
plundering the
treasure that
you may be
after,
more so
understanding
the nature
of how
these things
came to
be and
why they
exist.
And the
better you
understand it,
the better
the price.
I suppose.
Yeah,
yeah,
yeah,
yeah,
I think
you're
right.
Yeah,
yeah.
How about
Morgans?
We may
have some
guests
joining us
and that
is fine.
I don't
like it.
I don't
like it
either.
But we
like you
guys so
much.
What's
my name?
Look,
she told
us the
names.
Now,
Odo isn't
very good
with names,
but I'm
sure
Volley is.
It was
Albert and
I just
heard like
a Mogus.
Albert and
a Mogus!
How about
you make a
isn't there
a recall
check?
There's a
there's a
flat D20
roll I will
allow Odo
to make
here.
All right,
I got you.
I got you.
I got you.
Watch this.
Concealment,
it comes
back.
Look,
you remember
it's
Mogens,
not a
Mogus.
Listen,
I have,
I'm very
good at
hearing things
and understanding
things.
It's why I
have captions
on when I
watch
Netflix.
I just
like that
forever,
this NPC
will now
just be
a Mogus.
Very
good.
Anyway.
A Mogus.
Yeah,
I relay
that back
to them.
Right,
so you
guys are
planning on
leaving in
the morning?
Yeah,
that was
our plan.
Perfect.
We're going to
start heading
to the
southwest to
see what we
could find.
Right,
so we can
accompany you
and I'm sure
we can negotiate
pay later.
That doesn't
need to be,
you know,
discussed right
up front,
but...
Give me a
diplomacy check,
you monster.
Oh, yes,
of course.
Yes,
of course.
That'll be
a 27 for
you.
This rolls
very nice
today.
I know.
You know,
you know,
just,
I'm swayed
by your words
and the fact
that you
have a,
an archite
can last
with you,
yeah,
yeah,
very good,
very good.
I think
we could,
we could
come to
some,
um,
some,
some,
some,
some,
certainly
some,
some good,
some very
good,
um,
yeah,
yeah,
yeah,
a very good
payment,
yeah.
Yeah,
perfect.
Well,
it is such
a stroke
of luck
that you
guys ran
into us.
Oh,
right.
Yeah.
Your grunts
make me
so happy.
Anyway,
uh,
we'll get
back to the
rest of our
entourage and,
um,
see you guys
in the morning.
Yeah,
yeah,
and she like
raises up her,
her little like
mug that she
was drinking
from.
Ah,
cheers,
I raise my
own flask.
The others
who just shake
their head
and go back
to eating.
All right,
well,
thank you so much.
she is.
Returns back
to the table.
Now,
that's what
happened with
the butter
turner,
if you could
believe it.
Isn't that,
isn't,
wasn't that a
yarn,
Tammy?
Pushing the
shoulder so
that they can
focus on the
other two
returning.
Okay,
sorry.
I can't believe
your family won
that blue ribbon
with so few
casualties.
No,
never forget,
like,
bats his heart.
How'd it go?
It went pretty
well.
We, uh,
We have a mission
now.
Yes,
indeed we do.
There are some
ruins to the
south,
ones that are
connected to,
uh,
Ruhua's people,
and it seems
like a certain
corporation out
of Outset has
their eyes on
the place.
I imagine,
if nothing else,
it's a lead.
Interesting that
you aligned us
with the corporation
from Outset,
but...
I mean,
we can rob
them blind.
Well,
we can kill
them if the
end up
disturbing
these ruins.
My point
is primarily
that we're
trying to
stay low.
That is
correct,
but if they
have been
out here
for some
time on
an expedition,
it is likely
that they
have not
yet received
word of
our escapades.
And they're
very well
to die
in the ruins.
Of course,
we're operating
under the
veil of
anonymity,
and like
Volley said,
if they end
up turning
coat or doing
any unsavory
things,
and I would
rather them
not to
primordial
artifacts,
we can
take care
of them.
What sort
of primordial
artifacts are
they dealing
with?
Prior to the
established
outset that we
know,
the city at
large was
besieged for
a number of
years by
forces from
the primeval
bones,
fundamental
forces such
perfection,
anarchy.
These remnants
of these
conflicts long
gone as
relayed siege
towers,
bastions,
artifacts,
and many
other curios
have remained
in the
muck and
mire of the
solitude for,
well,
to dare I
say generations,
a bevy of
mystery and
potentiality just
waiting out there
for us to
discover it.
If it gives me
any idea more
to why they
came into being
here and why
they kept
besieging the
city,
dare I say
why I came
into being as
well,
well,
I think it
would be worth
looking into,
as it may give
us some
lead on
curing,
well,
Rahua will
put his hands
out and
shimmy them
towards Ornn
and volley
the condition.
That would
be ideal,
as much as I'd
love to find the
people who might
have a better
idea first.
If nothing else,
a lead's a lead,
right?
Very well.
I believe that
it would be to
our advantage
to take advantage
of this ruin
expedition.
From there,
we shall continue
our search for
these nomadic
peoples if we
encounter our
dearest friend
Pictern's
caravan,
then we shall
bring an end
to those
blazing
imbeciles
that have
raided this
area.
Well,
we still have
the night to
go,
so if there's
anything else
we want to
inspect before
we go,
now's the time
to do it.
Mm-hmm.
Well,
we should probably
just get some
rest.
Seems we've
pretty much
exhausted all
our options
around camp.
Have we?
Unless you
want to go
talk to your
girlfriend again.
Hey,
you seem more
interested in
talking to her
than I was.
I like talking
to people.
And she
seems
interesting.
That's a way
of putting it.
I would've just
called her a
bitch and called
it a day,
but that's up
to you.
Listen,
I like
bitches.
Mega mind
bitches?
Bitches?
Are we
bitches?
Are we bitches?
Are we bitches?
Well,
you know what
I think about...
Wait,
what were we
talking about?
Don't worry about it.
Bitches.
Anyway.
Oh.
Oh, sorry.
Should we not use
naughty words
around you?
How old are you?
No, please
swear and cuss
and curse.
That's fine.
Okay.
All right.
Fuck.
Shit.
Anyway.
You people
are so
antisocial.
You're right,
Tanny.
We should
take more
of a note
out of your
book.
No.
Oh, hey!
Open sky!
One of the
tables nearest
the door
seems to
stand up
and, like,
head out
the entrance.
Open sky!
Another one
gets up
and falls.
Open sky?
Open sky?
Open sky?
Open sky?
Ohren looks
up.
Are you a
nature check?
We're inside
a building.
Absolutely.
Give me nature
if you got it.
Oh, absolutely.
Here we go.
Yeah.
Ohren will
also nature.
Yeah.
18.
Okay.
Ohren and
Rahua know
that open sky
is actually
an important
thing.
It means
that, like,
typically this
area is covered
in clouds.
Like, you
rarely
see the
open sky
near outset
because of
the sort of
punishment of
the old
powers.
In fact,
seeing the
open sky
anywhere on
the jutting
peninsula
where you
are is
a rarity.
And, in
fact, the
people seem
to have
noticed it
and as you
look out,
as you look
towards the
door,
you can see
sort of a
red-tinged
light coming
in.
Oh.
You may
want to
see this.
Open sky?
Vali, like,
lights up.
I'm just
going to
start running.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Okay.
Come and see.
Yeah, and so
all of you
come outside
to see
the actual
open sky
of Tyne,
a sort of
mix of
a black
blue
created by
the reflection
of the sun
off of the
large,
brilliant,
white moon
that's in orbit,
as well as
a second
sight in
the sky,
a vast
red
wound
that seems
to cut
outwards
in every
direction,
like a
perfect
circular
hole
in space
with
rippling
veins
of excess
wounds
coming off
of it
as though
someone had
stabbed a
hole
into space.
And
let's
take
a break
there,
shall we?
Okay.
Yeah.
Okay.
All right,
everyone.
We'll get some
snacks.
We'll be right
back.
As the
prophecy
of our
toads.
Be sure
to do
your dailies.
We'll be right
back,
everybody.
Do your
dailies,
Hulky.
As our
adventurers
take a break,
we'd like to
take a moment
and thank
our sponsor,
you.
You sharing
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You help
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And we're
back.
Hello.
Hello.
How was your
snack?
Oh,
hello.
I had banana
bread.
Oh,
I want
banana bread.
Now I want
banana bread.
I'm coming to
your home.
Get on.
Yes.
Yes.
Hi.
We see a red thing
in the sky.
What's up?
You do see a red
thing in the sky.
And in fact,
Oren and Rahua,
neither of you
are surprised.
This is a natural
phenomenon that
exists called
the rose wound.
it is
Tyne's
second moon.
In a strange
way,
because it is
only visible
from the
continent of
Perdoma.
This
strange,
almost like
red
crystal,
red,
like red
tinged blot
in the sky
sits ominously
and isn't
visible
from
anywhere
but this
continent.
And very
rarely around
Outset,
because the
clouds
very,
very,
very seldom
part to
allow vision
of it.
But in this
case,
you do see
it.
You can
give me
nature check
would probably
be the best
again,
just to see
what you know
specifically
about this
immense,
strange
sigil
in the sky.
nature check.
Yeah.
22 for
Rahua
and an
Oren.
One got
me.
32.
Damn.
Okay.
There's a
nature boy.
So yeah,
this,
this is,
yeah,
as I mentioned,
the rose
wound.
What you,
so,
Hulky,
you would
know
essentially what
I just said
about it,
though it's
you would
also know
roughly
when it
appeared.
About,
let me,
let me pull up
my,
my deep
lore documents.
Um,
this appeared
roughly
about,
gosh,
like 1800
years ago.
in like
very,
very,
very far
away times
during sort
of the
rise of
the Empire
of the
First House
just prior
to it,
this thing
appeared in
the sky.
And at the
time it
was,
it appeared
as like a
small
moat of
red in
the sky
and then
grew over
time.
It stopped
growing at
the same
time that
the,
the deities
that would
become the
first house,
like the
king,
the queen,
and such,
ascended and
became deities.
At that
point,
this,
this blot
stopped
growing.
Many times,
many times,
people thought
that this
was going
to be the
end of the
world.
But instead,
like in the,
you know,
centuries and
even thousands
of years that
have now
passed,
people have
come to,
to sort of
just see it
as,
oh,
it's a
celestial
phenomenon
now.
And many
people do
give thanks
to the
first house
for stopping
the growth
of this,
this strange
anomaly in
the sky.
For those
of you who
aren't from
Perdoma,
naturally,
this would
probably be
your first
time seeing
it.
So,
like,
Vali,
this might
be your
first time
seeing this,
unless you
had done,
like,
a lot of
flying over
Perdoma
in other
areas.
Probably
not.
Yeah,
yeah.
So,
this has a,
like,
very strange
effect.
Very common
to the people
here,
but,
yeah,
it's,
like,
oddly not
seen on
other
continents,
which makes
no physical
sense,
but this is
clearly some
sort of
strange
metaphysical
entity
thing.
Maybe one
day someone
will be able
to fly into
space and
find out
what's going
on with it.
I lean over to
Baldrick.
I saw
speaker's
character
begin to
speak to
and I'm
like,
wow.
Starfinder
game time,
yeah.
No,
I lean over
to Baldrick.
Is that
normal?
Can't say I'm
terribly familiar
with it,
but I don't
really look up
at the sky
very often.
By the way,
don't trust it.
I'm in the sky
a lot,
and I've never
seen that.
That's the
rose wound.
The what?
The rose
wound.
Okay,
so I'm not
the only one
that's seeing
it.
I'm not going
crazy,
right?
No.
My dad told
me a lot
about it
when he was
traveling through
here.
First time
I'm seeing it,
but he said
that it was
existed for
a while,
long while.
I mean,
for an older
than he is,
and he's
pretty old.
It's been up
there for
quite a while,
and yeah,
a lot of
people seem
to sometimes
burst a bit
or something
else about it.
They do a whole
bunch of things
regarded to it.
Some people
believe a whole
bunch of things
around it,
but yeah,
my dad didn't
really think
much else of it.
Huh.
Oh,
interesting.
Yes,
quite so.
Also,
Orin,
one thing you
would know.
Sorry,
sorry,
we're going to
actually go
finish up.
Oh,
it's particularly
interesting that
this phenomenon
is not known
outside of
Cridoma.
It is in fact
only visible
from within
the confines
of the continent.
Oh.
It's been that
way for roughly
1800 years,
give or take,
a few decades.
Huh.
So it's not
something that
Outset did,
is it?
Well,
we,
people aren't
necessarily sure.
My knowledge
of it is
cursory,
but I have
enough of
understanding
to say that
what once
was a small
prick of light
probably no
bigger than
a star
had continued
to grow
and bloat
to,
well,
that gaping
wound
was aptly
named in
the night sky.
It only stopped
growing around
the time that
the members
of the first
house ascended
to Godhu.
That's right.
My mom says
that's true.
Great.
And Oren
is 100%
correct.
Some worship
it,
some fear it,
but none
are any
more knowledgeable
on what
exactly the
phenomena is.
Huh.
Well,
once we get
an airship,
maybe we can
explore.
Oren,
one thing
you would
know with
your,
like,
amazing
near,
well,
basically,
crit success,
is that
oftentimes
it's,
like,
being visible
when the
rose wound
is visible
in
Outset's
area in
specific,
a lot of
people take
that as
an omen,
that when
people see
it,
that it
represents
the start
of,
like,
a very
arduous
journey,
and,
like,
basically,
it has
connotations
with destiny,
but a
particularly,
like,
difficult
destiny
when one
sees it.
Oren relays
that to the
group,
and I've been
interesting,
like,
yeah,
my dad was
with a group
of people
going through
here,
trying to take
on one of
those journeys.
He didn't,
he didn't really
want to talk
about it
any time
that I try
to inquire,
but apparently
sometimes it's
a great mystery
and a great
destiny to a
lot of people,
but he didn't
really like
talking about
that adventure.
Oh.
Well, I guess
I'll just chalk
that up to
another one of
our eight
billion bad
omens that
follow us
around,
eh?
After a point,
you just kind
of start to
ignore them.
Bad omen,
the sun in
the sky is
red,
and in our
hearts is
the sun of
a revolution.
Oh,
let me take it
that way.
Oh,
you,
you,
you,
I'm going
back inside.
So,
Baldrick,
you depart.
Go back
inside.
You find
a nun,
let's do
another
revolutionary
story around
it.
Like,
Baldrick,
I hate it.
Yeah,
I've seen
this enough.
It's,
it's pretty
common back
home over
near the
branch.
Baldrick,
I'm going
to join
you.
Great.
Oh,
well,
all right.
Strange
that it's
so normal.
Yes,
seeing is
often believing.
If it is
to be a
hard journey,
then,
well,
I give you
my word,
as I always
do,
to just
plow on
through it,
as they
would say,
and surely
we'll make
it through.
After all,
it is just
superstition,
is it not?
I'm going to
choose to believe
that,
if for no other
reason than to
keep my
sanity right
now?
At the
exact moment
you say
that,
someone appears
behind you,
Vali.
Oops!
Erndel?
Hi!
We all
looking at
the rose
wound?
Ah,
yeah,
we are.
You come out
here to see
the sky,
too?
It's nice
to see you
once in a
while,
once the
sky clears
out,
but it's
the same
old damn
bloody wound
as it's
always been.
Hmm.
What are we
talking about
out here?
Bad omens.
Such as?
The giant
bleeding wound
in the sky?
Apparently it's
a bad omen
to some people.
Oh,
don't tell me,
you're one of
those people
that believes
that the wound
means that
you're going
to embark
on a great
and fantastic
journey
that will take
many months
to complete
and you will
face many
hardships
on the
blah,
blah,
blah,
blah.
You know,
with the way
our lives
are going,
you kind of
just have
to believe
it all.
She kind
of casts
aside a long
glance at
Tannhauser.
Do you believe
any of that
crap?
I believe
there is no
destiny,
save for that
which you forge
with your own
hands.
She will clap
a hand on his
shoulder and
clap real hard
going,
Atta boy.
Fuck destiny.
Forge your own
path.
Carve a hole
in it,
see what
happens.
Well,
I appreciate
the endorsement.
Was there
something else
you needed?
I kind of
guessed that
you guys
were going
to be leaving
town here
soon.
Am I
correct on
that assumption?
We are.
Mind if I
ask where
you're going?
Um,
yes.
She leans
over,
getting
uncomfortably
close to
Vali.
I lean
closer.
Yes.
Yeah,
we mind a
little bit,
but,
you know.
Why?
I'm sure
it's not
going to be
any consequence
to you.
Don't want
to split
shares?
Must be
something nice
if you're
keeping it
to yourselves.
why?
Are you
going to
fight me
for it?
No.
But I
figured if
you were,
you know,
in the need
of some
muscle,
I could
come along.
Maybe.
If that
piques your
interest.
A lot of
muscles between
the lot of
us.
So,
hmm.
Wait,
why are you
out here
anyway?
Don't you
have somewhere
to be?
No.
What makes
you think
that?
I didn't
think that
anyone would
come to
these swamps
because they
wanted to
be here.
Are you
kidding me?
Excuse me,
as much as
I would hate
to interrupt
this lovely
banter,
I can't
help but
notice that
something seems
to have
caught a
blaze,
and I'm
going to
point out
to the
distance to
a small
fire that
I noticed
from the
camp,
alongside the
spell of
smoke.
Yeah.
Yeah,
it looks to
be like a
set of
maybe three
desiccated
trees that
have begun
to burn.
There's nothing
around them,
so nothing to
catch to,
but they're
going up in
flames.
Well,
shit.
If you want
to flex your
muscles now,
now's the time
to do it.
And I
ruffle on
top of her
head where
her hair
would be,
as we are
still standing
very uncomfortably
close.
I'm going to
go check out
the fire.
Hey,
Thurston.
Yeah?
I suppose in
this situation,
she would go
with them,
if you're
cool with
that.
Yeah,
sure.
I mean,
I totally
wasn't expecting
to have four
random fucking
NPCs join the
party at this
point,
but hey,
hey,
hey,
I don't let
you do
anything.
Yeah,
yeah,
Victrix has
temporarily
joined the
party.
Don't make
that a
celebration.
Yeah,
so Baldrick
Baldrick's
inside.
He's missing
out on
whatever the
fuck's
happening out
here at
this point,
and now it's
Victrix.
Victrix is
here.
Ignore the
fact that
Baldrick is
still speaking.
It's fine.
That's fair.
He's chilling.
Yeah,
yeah,
yeah,
yeah.
It's all
good.
It's all
good.
I'm an
advanced
GMNPC.
Jesus Christ,
what have I
let them
do?
All right,
so Victrix,
Tannhauser,
Volley,
like,
you're sort
of like,
Tannhauser
directed you
to this fire.
Oren and
Rahua,
what are you
doing as
like,
Tannhauser
points this
out as
well?
Go ahead,
Hoki.
Oh,
see,
mostly we
should
probably
investigate
this.
Oren,
do you
feel like
we should
probably
help out
whatever
is about
to go
down,
right?
Yeah.
He'll
just get
real close
to me.
How are you
holding up?
Well,
I've no
idea where
my friend
is.
Probably
out somewhere
in the
world
dead.
I've
died.
People I'm
now friends
with are
all now
stuck in
a swamp.
Everything
sucks.
Yeah,
it's not
exactly an
ideal situation,
but such
is the
glowing winds
of change.
Sometimes
they're good,
sometimes
things get
bad,
and we
just have
to go
along with
it.
But I'm
sure that
we'll find
your friend
was
Gorgamunga?
Gorgamunga,
yeah.
I'm sure
we will
find him
in time.
I'll give
you my
word.
Well,
at least
look for
him.
I can't
say if
we'll find
him.
And
although I
meant to
say this
to you
for some
time,
but well,
things kind
of happened
since.
With what
happened at
your own
expiry and
resurrection,
death is a
funny thing.
think of
it as
a
question,
a question
asked to
all of
eternity.
It is not
something to
be feared in
itself.
Be afraid
of what
the answer
may be.
We'll pat
him on the
back and
just get up
and motion
him to go.
your kind
of breath
as he's
going.
He's like,
well,
who are the
issues that
have already
found the
answer and
already
conflicted
with what
we always
believed in
really,
that we
would just
return to
the earth
and try to
provide for
the forest,
the things
that are
around us,
that is
fair as
nature takes
its course
for all
of us.
And now
that I've
kind of seen
what the
glimpse of that
was,
it's kind
of hard to
keep going
at this
point.
But I
believe in
all of us
and I
still want
to help
Gorgamonger,
so I'm
going to
have to
deal with
that when
I get
to it.
We all
will return
to this
world in
time,
whether to
the firmament
of creation
or to
the forest
floor.
What you
saw I
cannot
possibly
fathom,
as I have
not gone
through it
myself.
But I
do know
that what
you saw
was perverted
by rot.
And we
will root
out this
infestation
in time,
so that
we might
ease that
you might
find that
answer in
the end
different than
what you'd
seen before.
But enough
on that.
Let's not
tarry any
further.
We have
some people
to kill.
I think
as you
say that,
Rahua,
like the
scene is
you and
Oren
standing beside
each other
and then in
the distance
there's like
Tanhauser,
Victrix,
and Volley
silhouetted
by these
trees,
like trying
to get
them to
stop
burning.
Jesus.
Who are
this?
Victrix is
just stomping
on a fire
that's on the
ground,
beating it.
How is Tan
putting out
the fire?
Like they're
a good couple
hundred feet
away.
How is
Tanhauser
putting out
this fire?
I'm more
used to
setting fires
stop taking
them out.
I think
that Tanhauser
is probably
using hydraulic
push as
like an
ad hoc
fire hose
from his
hands.
Power wash
it.
I cast
firemen.
Okay,
okay,
so to
set the
scene,
like Rahua
and Oren
are like
several hundred
feet away
watching the
silhouettes
of their
like three,
well,
two companions
and one
GM NPC
like attempting
to put out
this fire
and like
Rahua,
you,
you,
you,
you know,
give this
like,
you know,
this,
this loving
dismal
speech to
Oren
and then
the camera
tilts just
slightly over
to a third
figure standing
right beside
you who
like adds
on just as
you say we
have to go
kill people.
Well,
I don't think
you need to
do that
right now,
friends.
Why don't
we have
ourselves a
little talk?
Jesus Christ.
Oh,
shit.
As Rahua,
you turn
and Oren,
you turn
to see
the,
the top
hat form
of the
Children of
the Blaze
leader,
Mr.
Alert,
standing there
beside you.
Oh,
shit.
That's even
worse.
Standing there,
I do
realize.
You don't
look at
anything like that.
Oh,
I don't,
I don't
believe I've,
I've met
you,
my friend,
but I've,
I've met
your associate
briefly.
Nods to
Oren.
And Oren,
Oren nods
back and
listens.
Oh,
yeah,
I forgot,
he,
Rahua doesn't
know what
Jack did.
That was
during the
Rahua special.
Yeah.
Cook serve
Rahua.
Rahua this
moment.
Well,
I,
I don't know
you or know
of you,
so,
hi,
I am
Rahua.
You seem
to know
my friend
here.
Oh,
my,
my name
is Mr.
Elort.
It's a
pleasure to
meet your
acquaintance.
I,
uh,
set your
friends about
that little
fire over
there.
I just
wanted to
chat,
uh,
particularly
with your
friend,
but I
wanted to
meet you.
You seem
like a
interesting
individual.
So,
I am
told you
by your
Bidex
Regalia
also
seems
similarly
interesting.
Why,
thank you,
but I,
I'm,
I'm,
I'm just
a simple
man with
simple pleasures
and simple
desires,
and,
well,
in this
particular
instance,
I,
I felt
that I
owed your
friend here
was very
polite to me
last time.
I believe
you were
looking for
a,
uh,
draconic
creature
in these
swamps.
Yeah,
yeah,
I was.
Orin gets
more excited.
Excitable
boy.
Oh,
well,
I was
thinking
perhaps I
could help
you with
that.
I could,
uh,
if you'd
like,
point you
in the
direction
of that
there
draconic
figure in
this region.
Orin will
look at
him and
go like,
you appreciate
that,
but my
father told
me something
everything's
for free.
Is there
a cost
to this?
I would
simply
respectfully
request that
you stay
out of my
business in
this swamp.
Well,
I'd have to
know where
your business
is,
mister,
or I
can at
least know
what to
avoid.
Well,
you have
met my
associates,
my fellow
children of
the blaze.
We are
performing
some
clean-up
in this
here region,
and perhaps
if you could
let us
continue our
clean-up
without
having to
deal with
any
interruptions
from your
band of
friends,
looks over.
At this
point,
I assume
the tree
has somehow
caught more
on fire,
and everyone's
like,
ah!
The trick's
just strangling
the tree.
Hold on,
I've got
water,
as I'm
pouring alcohol
on it.
Yes,
you are so
serious.
Now,
I will
gladly inform
you of the
location of
your draconic
enterprise,
should you
simply
just
think about
not
interrupting
my affairs
here in
this
swampy
land.
Orin
looks down
and then
looks over
at Rahua
and
looks back
and is
their lord.
So,
it's very hard
for me to
guarantee that
considering that
there's multiple
mines of this,
but
if you tell me
where to
avoid,
then
I'll do
my best,
but I can't
guarantee
we can
100%
avoid
any conflicts,
especially if
those of the
children of the
blaze
can come
after us.
As long as
it's not our
fault,
assume we
won't have a
break of
agreement,
right?
That
sounds
perfectly,
perfectly
agreeable to
me.
If you
give me a
moment,
I can
update your
map with
maybe a
location or
two of
interest.
I'm sorry,
about
very sky
remember,
he's like,
you must go
to the
cave adventurer,
a market on
your map.
You have
accepted a
quest,
unbeknownst to
your friends.
I hope you're
ready to engage
in combat.
We're now
playing Divinity
Original Sin 2.
Another hand
touches the
map.
By the way,
I forgot to
mention,
but the
Fighters Guild
needs some
new recruits.
I do get
the vapors.
Will you
head in the
map?
By the
gods,
stay off
the road.
Or we'll
look at
Rahua and
like trying to
get his
like confirmation
if this is
okay or not.
Just by
looking.
Rahua will
shrug because
he has no
investment.
He doesn't
know this
person.
Okay.
Well,
a shady
motherfucker
comes up
and he's
like,
you know.
Rahua doesn't
know what it
means to be
shamed.
He's asking
Tree Dad
for permission.
Tree Dad,
don't say
that.
I don't think
he's qualified
to be a dad,
but Rahua will
give a shrug
indicative of,
I don't know,
man,
do what you
gotta do.
Orin will
hand over the
map.
He just gave
his word that
he would help
you find your
friend.
Yeah,
Orin will
hand over the
map.
Okay.
All right.
As he's doing
so,
may he roll a
perception check
to see if he's
like leading
him into a
trap.
He's like,
I'll help you
find your
friend.
Go to this
area.
Will there
be traps
and evil
to kill
you?
You know,
that's what
he's looking
for,
to see if
there's any
like ill
intent.
There's like
a very,
very quick
like,
like,
I guess
like scribbling
with a quill
that Mr.
Lort had
ready.
And he's
like,
the entire
time he
doesn't even
look at the
paper.
He just
meets your
eyes,
Orin.
And they
still roll a
perception check
this year?
Yeah,
absolutely.
Yeah.
I got a
four on the
dice of
17 tall.
Yeah,
he has this
kind of like
wide smile.
The fact that
he's doing
this just
completely
unnerves you
that he's
like,
has this.
He hands
you,
again,
never breaking
eye contact
just as the
flames are
starting to
die down
on the
distant tree.
Hands you
back the
map and
says,
well,
it's been
a pleasure.
Looks like
I'm about
to,
and at
that exact
moment,
Tannhauser
finishes with
his hydraulic
pushing to
put out the
tree.
And as the
last of the
flames die,
Mr.
Lort explodes
into a
cloud of
ash that
just kind
of stains
the air for
a moment
before dissipating.
Oren will
look down
at the
map,
then kind
of show
to her
where he
marked
down.
Yeah,
sure.
It has
been updated.
Oren
sees the
conflict.
Ah.
like,
Oren
looks down
and
Ruhua
looks up
at
Ruhua
and goes
like,
oh.
And he
will
kind of
wrap up
the map
a little
bit,
store it,
and goes
like,
I'm gonna
go sit
down at
the fire,
Mr.
Ruhua.
Oh,
I have
some thinking
to do.
Yes,
quite.
And
Oren
will go
to the
fire and
he will
kind of
sit there
in
contemplation
for a
moment.
And just
for people
in,
for audio,
basically,
we went to
the hex map.
We have a
thing where we
have a
suspicion
where the
twang folk
is there,
but there is a
marking by
that says,
don't go
here.
I miss
Mr.
Lort there,
but there's
also a
location to
where my
dragon friend
will be.
And so
Oren has
to make
a decision.
As he does
so,
I'll be
right back,
so keep
going without
me.
Yeah,
yeah,
yeah,
absolutely.
And at
this point,
like,
I assume
like,
Tanhauser,
Vic,
and Vali
return triumphant
from putting
out the fire
as like,
Ruhua stands
sentinel after
Oren has
gone back
inside to
the fire.
Not to
worry,
everyone.
It wasn't
some kind
of fire
monster.
It was
just a
normal fire.
I killed
the shit
out of
that fire.
You sure
did,
Queen.
Who the
hell's
setting fires
out here
and they're
telling us?
Everything
all right,
Ruhua?
Where'd
Bird Boy
go?
Ruhua was
just staring
up at
the rose
wound within
the sky,
almost pensive,
a little fearful,
but turns his
attention back
to the party.
Oh,
Oren went
inside.
We had a bit
of a heart
to heart.
Had a visitor
as well,
probably the one
who started
that fire
after all.
But the good
news is we
got a lead
on one of
his friends.
Oh,
Gorgamonger,
the dragon,
yeah?
Yes,
yes.
The what?
Our friend
has a friend
who is lost
somewhere in
these parts,
we believe,
or evidently
may actually
be out here,
who Oren
has been looking
for for some
time.
However,
this has come
at a cost
of some
degree,
and now
we are faced
with a number
of different
options.
It's not
necessarily my
place to
decide for him
or to speak
on it,
so I will
let Oren
tell you the
details,
if you would.
I am back,
so I'm here.
Well,
fair enough.
Something
happened?
Is it
bad?
Are you
at Tannhauser
and Volley?
Give me a
perception check.
Oh,
yes,
please.
That's OK.
You're not in
the conversation.
Don't worry,
Oren went back
inside.
Yeah,
Oren was
inside,
so that is
a natural
one for
Volley.
I am
blinded
briefly.
Excellent.
Stabbed you
in your
kidney.
I got a
17.
OK,
so,
OK,
one sec,
one sec,
one sec.
I will figure
out a
complication
for our
dear Volley
in a sec,
assuming that
Google will
allow me to
re-access
the complication
sheet.
Anyways,
Tannhauser,
as Volley is
about to
suffer some
fate worse
than death,
Tannhauser,
you smell
the, like,
faintest,
faintest
scent of
ash on
the air.
Like,
even this
far out,
it seems to
have, like,
a different,
like,
smell through
your, you
know,
breathing
apparatus.
Yes,
I smell
ash.
Was this,
uh,
similar at
all to the
Children of
the Blaze?
This is,
like,
very similar
to the
smoky
simulacrum
you saw
in The
Cackling
Jackass.
Remember
that,
everybody?
Remember
Hoot Hoot?
We all
remember
that.
Fantastic.
Wee hooten.
Wee hooten.
What did you
say was
here earlier?
Rahua.
Oh,
sorry.
Rahua moment.
I believe
it was
somebody who
you were
familiar with.
Dressed
in very
ostentatious
clothes,
fire motifs.
I believe
it was
Mr.
Elort
was the
name?
Ah.
The leader
of the
Children of
the Blaze.
But what
would he want
with you,
Lorz?
If it
makes any
sense to
you,
he had
described it
as doing
some sort
of
cleaning
in these
parts,
at least
as he put
it,
some
liquidation
of some
kind of
acid,
I would
imagine,
and
created us
information
on
Oren's
friend,
Gorgamunger,
who should
be somewhere
to the
southwest.
on the
condition
that we
did not
quote
interfere
with his
operations.
And
actually,
who happened
to see
the updated
map once
it was
given
Oren?
Yeah,
yeah.
Yeah,
Oren showed
it to you
and then
kind of
so was
like,
oh no,
you know,
this would be...
Hey, Thurston,
crazy question.
Would Victrix be
at all aware
of what the
hell the
Children of
the Blaze
are,
or is this
like just
complete and
total nothing
to her?
This is
complete and
total nothing.
Their presence
here is
very new
to the
region,
so weird.
Oh, you
know what?
I know
exactly what
one.
Thank you,
Yuna Calista.
So your
failure on that
check,
Oda Roshi.
Yeah,
I guess me.
I'm going to
use this one
from Yuna
Calista
called Rotten.
An NPC
in the scene,
including a
GM NPC,
notices that
a character
has the
rot.
Specifically,
Victrix now
takes note of
Vali's
particularly
rotten state.
Yeah,
she's kind
of
side-eyeing
Vali,
who's presumably
trying to
notice something
in the air,
and it's a little
obvious with the
little streaks
of black gunk
coming out of
her eyes,
and her eyes
looking like
garbage,
and basically
being very
sickly looking.
Hey,
what the hell
is the deal
with you?
Me?
I'm a pirate,
in case you
haven't noticed.
Yeah,
you look like
you're,
you know,
you're about
to, like,
have your eyes
fall out
and turn
little black
marbles
on the ground.
Damn.
Pardon?
I'm afraid
I have no idea
what you're
talking about.
Deception.
Yeah,
absolutely.
Use your
social skills
against other
players.
Very good.
Ah,
that's still
a 19.
Uh,
Thurston?
Just roll me
a d20,
I'll figure it
out.
Sure.
Now I've
got a,
you stick.
It's alright,
it was just
a six.
I rolled,
I rolled
for the party.
Yeah,
you rolled
for the party.
No,
no,
no.
People roll.
It's,
it's very
sus,
but like,
okay,
you guess
maybe?
Yeah.
If you're
sick,
better not
give it to
me.
No,
I promise
I won't.
Yeah,
you better
promise that.
I cough
at her
direction.
Uh,
you get
punched in
the ribs
quite hard.
Oh,
you're funny.
I like
you.
Yeah,
yeah,
yeah,
yuck it
up,
sicko.
Well,
as charming
as you
laying
hands
on our
companion
is,
I believe
we have
a more
pressing
matter
to tend
to.
Yeah.
You're
saying
that
in
Lord
was
here.
Fuck.
The
master
of the
children
of the
blaze
is here
making
deals.
Well,
we can't
exactly
trust him.
If we can
in any way
impede
him,
yes.
he did
say not
to get
in his
way
if he
was to
give us
information
about that
dragon
of
Orin's.
The only
question is
where is
in his
way?
That
would be
the settlement
where
presumably
the
twang
folk
reside.
Oh.
So we
are forced
into a
rather
compromising
position.
Hmm.
Well,
if we
find something
at the
ruins that
will
help with
present
affairs,
then
maybe we
don't need
to see the
twang folk.
and we
vote for
splitting the
party.
I was
actually
thinking of
something here
just a
second.
As was
I.
Oh,
no.
So,
you guys
are known
to this
alert guy,
right?
Yes.
I'm not.
Okay,
what do you
want?
Aye,
aye,
aye,
aye,
aye.
She holds
her hands
up,
sort of like
in a
surrendery
pose.
All I'm
offering is
you can pay
me for
my services
and I'll
go out
and see
what this
alert guy
is up
to.
I don't
know him
from Adam.
Frankly,
he sounds
like a bit
of a ponce,
so I don't
give a good
goddamn what
he's up
to.
But if
it's important
to you,
I'm sure
I could have
my palms
greased a
little bit
and I could
go check
it out
on your
behalf.
Hmm.
I don't know.
Bring Victrix
into the
garrison mission.
pay gold.
What's
your going
rate?
Sure,
we could
discuss the
finer points
of it,
but for
something that
I don't know
the danger
level of,
and frankly
I can handle
myself,
I'd say
going rate's
maybe 50
gold.
we got
plenty of
money for
that.
And of
course,
if you want
me on
retainer,
I'll bump
that up to
100,
and I'm
yours to
work with.
You better
keep Baldy
behind,
though.
Him and I
don't get
along.
Well,
as much as
he complains,
he is a part
of the
entourage,
whether he
wants to
be or not.
Yeah,
he does
bitch a lot,
doesn't he?
It's one of
his charm
points.
We'll talk
it out amongst
ourselves and
get back to you
in the morning.
How's that
sound?
Sure,
sure.
I'm not
going anywhere.
If you'll
excuse me,
I got booze
to tend to.
I'll leave
you for,
uh,
three.
Sorry,
eyes a little
screwed up
sometimes.
I'll leave
you three to
it.
See ya.
And she
will exit
the scene.
Okay.
At this
point,
I'm going
to assume
that the
rest of
you head
back inside
and that
we have
a grand
reconvening
of the
party as
like Oren
sits at
the table
pondering.
Baldrick
has just
probably
enjoyed
the quiet
or has
like at
least
blacked
out
everything
that
Picturn
has been
talking
about.
He's
kind of
leaning
back in
his chair
with his
hands
behind his
head.
Again,
because you
can't see
his eyes.
Picturn
has no way
of knowing
that he's
closed his
eyes at
this point
and just
treats him
like a
white noise
fan.
Now,
that's what
I say.
That summer
festival,
it was a
humdinger
of one,
you know?
Oh,
hi there,
friends,
as the rest
of you
return back
in.
I was just
talking about
the summer
festival at
Netter's
Branch.
Oh,
the bad
one,
of course.
I mean,
oh.
Was there a
good one?
Well, I can start
over.
You want to
pull up a seat
and I'll get
going.
You guys are
back.
Good.
What have
you been up
to?
Resting.
I mean,
listening to
his story.
Stories.
Whatever he
was doing.
Victor and
smiles widely.
All right.
So, let's
get our ducks
in a row and
figure out
what our
game plan
is.
Yeah,
why don't
we do
that?
Orin kind
of came
in and
wandered
over by
the fire
and then
sat down.
Like,
over there
points towards
the hearth
and I guess
Orin's there
as he's
Orin.
I'm not
going to
just get
on your
behalf.
No,
no,
it's okay.
It works
out.
He's literally
just sitting
there.
He has the
map kind
of in his
hand and
he's just
been like
he does
have it
open.
He's just
kind of
like,
you know,
like you're
just like
holding the
book.
He's just
kind of
like half
thousand
yard
staring past
something.
So,
that's what
he's been
doing.
He's been
sitting there
just
pondering
right by
the fire.
You
all right,
bud?
He kind
of looks
back and
like,
is everybody
back?
Yeah.
Okay.
And then
he'll get
up,
you know,
do we have
like a
center table
or just
like somewhere
in the
center where
he can
like present
the map?
Yeah.
Okay.
Orin will
kind of
call her
like,
hey,
everybody.
I think
we might
have a
problem.
And Orin
will come
over to
the table,
spry out
the map
that everyone
else sees,
and he
will go.
As you
guys are
putting out
the fire,
which was
a distraction
by Mr.
Yort there,
he came
up and
offered me
something.
He said
that if
we left
the Children
of the
Blaze
alone
while they
were doing
their work,
and he
would tell
me where
my dragon
friend is.
And my
whole being
of being
here is to
find Gorgamonger.
Told me
that he's
right here,
and that he'll
point on the
map where he
is.
Like,
I'm just
trying to give
any hint
that I could
of my
friend.
and I
accepted,
but
it seems
that his
target are
the exact
people that
we need to
go talk to
to try to
help cure
us.
Right.
And I'm
having a
decision of
what to
choose.
that's
definitely a
dilemma.
If the
Children of the
Blaze are
after the
Twangfolk,
then that's
a problem.
We don't
want to show
up and see
the entire
village has
been burnt
down.
Our
entire point
of coming
out here was
to talk to
the Twangfolk,
much as I
don't wish to
step on your
feet here,
Oren,
that is kind
of the point
we're here
for.
I know.
I know,
Mr. Baldrick.
God damn
it.
We should've
killed that
bastard.
I mean,
I did
technically say
that I
would try to
not get in
his way and
I couldn't
guarantee
anybody else
and he
agreed to
that.
I'm not
sure he's
going to
quibble over
some antics
like that.
I think
he is very
much the
kind who
will quibble
over semantics
like that
and if we
betray his
trust,
we're probably
going to lose
both or at
the very least
one is going
to be a lot
harder to
deal with.
Hold on a
moment.
I have an
intriguing
question.
Shoot.
Does this
trade post
have any
sort of
armed
militia?
You mean
mercenaries?
Well,
yes,
but presumably
being a
trade post
out here
on the
outskirts
of civilization,
they will
have been
well defended
against the
risks of
bandits.
If they
didn't have
any sort
of self-defense
force,
they wouldn't
be able to
protect their
coffers,
even hidden
among the
swamp.
Post usually
employs a lot
of mercs to
do their
dirty work and
just trade
them out
every so
often.
Well,
then,
if they
have a
plethora of
mercs,
and you
have that
uniquely
deplorable
friend of
yours,
Baldrick,
well,
we can
afford
Zappel
Zap that
there is a
high possibility
that customers
of his are
being genocided
by a street
gang.
Zappel
Zap will be
wise.
He will
likely move
to protect
his investment,
and whilst he
impedes the
children of the
blaze,
we can
obtain the
dragon,
and then,
assuming he's
in good
health,
ride it,
or merely
cross swiftly
to where we
believe the
twang folk
are.
Tend to
them,
and see
to it
that justice
is rendered.
As,
as Ten
Hours is
talking,
Oren would
like the
casts
detect magic.
Okay.
The,
the point of
it is to
see if
there's
anything,
like,
if he
left
anything
magical
around,
he'll
listen in.
Yeah,
you get,
you get
magical auras,
but you
would know
that they're,
um,
they're auras
that are
related to
your allies.
However,
you do
detect other
magical auras,
but they're
likely just
the equipment
of other
people in
here,
like the
lantern from
the lady
at the
other table,
and some
of Zabble
Zap's,
like,
items and
such in
the back,
but you,
you don't,
like,
immediately,
you're not
detecting
like any
scrying
sensors or
shit.
Okay.
Oren,
uh,
Oren looks
at Tanhauser
and goes,
I could do
that,
but what if
they don't
agree?
Do we,
if that
won't do it,
then could
we try to
hire that
one person
to do,
and maybe
hire some
other people
to go and
try to
make sure
the Twang
Folk
don't get
slaughtered?
We shall
be hiring
those individuals
regardless,
but Zapposap
will see
reason.
Although the
Twang Folk
are an
infrequent
trade partner,
they are a
significant and
indigenous force
in the region.
Losing the
Twang Folk's
business would
possibly mean
great consternation
for this
trade post.
It is in his
best interest
to come to the
aid of these
grateful nomads.
On that
note,
we do have
a lot on
our plates
at the
moment,
especially
this whole
ruins trick
that we're
going to be
making,
supposedly.
Wait,
hang on a
second.
Baldrick
seems to
get a
note of
idea,
which perks
his voice
up very
slightly,
frightening
everyone who
knows him.
Hang on.
Those
guys
and they're
the employee
of that
company
from
outset,
if we get
on their
good side
and we
manage to
convince them
that there
could be
something of
interest out
there that
would be
worth securing,
we could
send them
on the
way too,
or to
take care
of something
else.
Exactly.
That's not
a bad idea,
actually.
How much
time do
we have,
though?
Well,
that's the
problem.
We kind of
just figured
this all out
today,
and to
assume a
time scale
is kind
of absurd,
we kind of
just have to
deal with it
as we go.
I also
find it
likely that
there is
no dragon
at the
place marked
Dragon.
That's also
a possibility.
But,
but,
we have
the least
check.
Yes,
Oren,
we shall,
or at the
very least,
we shall
discover.
The question
is,
what to
do,
I believe.
Well,
if,
if,
if the
one group
that's going
to the
ruins doesn't
want to
come along
as a backup,
we can
ask the
one wrapped
up person
to give
them some
extra money
to hire a
group of
people to
go out
and maybe
try to deal
with the
people of
the blaze
and our
stat,
we'll be
going to
look for
Gorgamonger.
Vic could
probably hire
a posse too
if you don't.
I worry about
us getting
all wrapped
up in a
bunch of
people going
to a place
and maybe
revealing our
hand.
it is the
strength of
the people
that has
waned in
this world
and it is
through their
hands we
can see
justice done
to the
evildoers.
I believe
that if we
speak to the
ruined dwellers
and we
offer this
task in
lieu of
our payment,
they will
greedily
pursue it.
Meanwhile,
Zapplezap
will be
convinced
for the
economics
are in
his favor.
All that
remains
is to
pay your
mercenary
friend.
They shall
head out
towards the
twangfolk
and if
nothing else
delay
the children
of the
blaze.
Meanwhile,
we shall
rush to
the dragon.
Then we
shall rush
to the
twangfolk
and when
we reconvene
we shall
see the
fate
that has
befallen
them.
Looks
to me.
I can
sneak
my way
out
there
to
whatever
works.
Exactly.
Afterwards,
we can
make our
ways to
the
ruins.
I believe
that would
be foolish
to ignore,
but clearly
time is not
on our
side.
It isn't.
The question
is,
if something
at the
ruins has
something to
do with
Rahua's
people,
how do
we know
it's not
going to
be
completely
cleared
out by
the
time
those
corpos
are done
with it?
Baldrick's
just going
to hold
up his
hands at
this
point.
We're
making a
lot of
suppositions
about time
and distance
that we're
not really
fully prepared
to back
up.
Why don't
we make
an expedition
and see how
much we're
going to be
spending here?
Let's
arrange this
for Zap
for Zap
he will
be one
of the
first
obstacles
and
as well
as a
funnel
of
practical
knowledge
on the
area.
Good
starting point
I suppose.
All right,
better than nothing.
It'll take a couple
days at least
to get through
certain parts
of this
swamp.
Well,
anything that
can be done
in days
can be
shortened.
We merely
need to find
the way.
I'm going
to lead
everyone over
towards
Zappelzap's
tent.
Again!
We're
bothering this
man so much
tonight.
Good
hello.
Welcome
to
getting
awful
late.
I was
stretching
time to
hit the
old
nest.
Zappelzap.
Hi.
Yes.
I have
unfortunate
news that
requires
immediate
action.
Okay.
Are you
familiar with
the Children
of the
Blaze?
No?
Precisely.
They are
outlanders.
A street
gang from
outset.
They are
murderous
pyromaniacs.
The small
bit of
arson that
you can't
just
experience
that was
at their
hands.
And I'm
afraid I
have darker
news still.
Have you
noticed that
the twang folk
deliveries are
slightly off
time?
Um,
no?
But they
bring in a
substantial
amount of
coin to
this little
trade star,
yes?
No,
they come
once a
year for
little bits
and bobs,
that's it.
The city
sends out
supplies to
them.
Had
caravan come
through a few
weeks back.
the city
does.
Yes,
the city
sends them
supplies,
comes from
outset,
goes out to
meet twang
folk.
So,
so wait,
the indigenous
folk out
here,
or at the
very least,
the smaller
communities out
here,
yes,
do not have
any strong
connection with
the trading
outposts and
are almost
irrelevant to
its success.
the twang
folk specifically.
Yes,
I was under
the impression
that they
were the
only.
No,
there are
like several
groups like
corpos and
then there is
like a
settlement to
the south
and there
are like a
variety of
other things.
The twang
folk are like
Ashlanders.
I mean,
they are
essentially like
a group of
druids is the
best way to
look at it.
They live in
BFE and
don't
interact.
They're
Ashlanders,
but in the
swan.
Yeah,
like they
have like
once a
year,
like Zabble
Zap had
said,
they deal
with them
once a
year,
but the
city has
agreements to
send them
supplies.
Like the
city is
like,
oh,
we know
you do
important
druid
shit,
we think,
so we'll
send you
supplies so
we don't
piss off
the gods
that
literally
wrecked
this
entire
region.
Then it's
probably in
our best
interest to
go with
the ruins
people,
because they're
from the
city.
We've got a
lot of
options,
so I think
we do.
Yeah,
yeah,
yeah.
I like
giving
choices to
you.
We can
at least
see if we
can convince
Apple's
app.
Yeah,
let's keep
going here
for now,
but I'm
thinking this
one has
now been
catapulted
further away
from us.
Unfortunately,
I explained
this all
originally,
I swear.
I mean,
you did,
but I also
didn't want to
interrupt
Speaker's train
of thought,
because I
thought we
could pursue
it.
I knew that
they only
visited once
a year,
but I
assumed it
was like,
oh,
the
twang folk
are here,
guys.
Get all
the shit
out.
Start
hawking up
the prices.
It's like,
no,
we come here
and we
bought a
snow globe.
Goodbye.
Like,
when you
said they
come once
a year,
I thought
it was
like a
huge trade
event that
would be
like a,
almost like
a festival.
Oh,
once a
year for
some
stuff.
That's
about it.
I didn't
realize they
came by once
a year to
buy lollipops
and gumdrops.
Look,
they can't
make those
naturally.
Admittedly,
we didn't
really ask
that.
No,
we didn't.
Regardless.
Let's
continue.
Well,
you will have
been interested
in knowing
that this
criminal group
likely has
interest in
moseying in
on your
territory.
They are
engaging in
operations to
harass
the outlying
indigenous tribes
and settlements
starting with
the west.
Their leader
personally informed
us of this
and then
threatened us
not to
aid them
around.
As you,
as you
understand,
wildfires
are often
not conducive
to healthy
trade,
yes?
Oh,
fire bad.
We have
an area
where we believe
they shall be
attacking.
I would
request
quite strongly
that you rally
your mercenary
forces.
We will be
propagating a
command force
to tend
to the
children of
the blaze.
You need
only supply
manpower.
Do this
and your
problem
will go away
at the
near cost
of a day's
work.
Keep mercenaries
here, though.
Only have,
like,
ten guys.
Well,
ten guys
are better
than none.
Rally them
and put them
under my
command.
What?
Yes.
Baldrick is
going to kind
of interject
at this point.
Tannhauser,
I think we have
a problem
with that volume
of people.
If we take
them away
from here,
that leaves
the place
understaffed
for defensive
purposes.
Perhaps so.
Can you
spare five
men?
Where
are they
going?
What are
they doing?
How much
will I be
paid for
their services?
You will
be paid
in loss
prevention.
That doesn't
sound like
gold.
Is that
some foreign
currency?
Are you
aware of
the idea
of arson
insurance?
It's a set
amount that
you pay
so that if
your assets
are raised,
you will not
lose your
livelihood.
Congratulations,
Zappelzap.
I am your
insurance salesman.
You're
being a
timidate check.
Zappelzap
is totally
thinking now
that you're
threatening to
burn down
his establishment.
Oh my god!
That is
that.
That is a
loss of
critical
thinking on
his end,
but his
failure is
my game.
Well,
we'll see
about that.
At this point,
you've come up
and just like
given him the
fucking most
random story
and is like,
ah.
You do have a
hero point.
I do.
I will re-roll
it.
And I didn't
give him a
random story.
I told him,
there are guys
recklessly setting
fire to their
foes.
It could impact
your trade routes.
Yeah,
yeah,
and he is
totally interpreted
it as like,
oh shit,
these guys are
randomly setting
fire to shit.
If I don't
give them my
guys,
they're going to
set fire to my
shit.
That sounds like
a personal problem.
That's a 26.
I suppose I could
give you some
some guys.
Maybe.
Thank you.
Do this and I
promise the
children of the
blaze will pay.
Oh yes,
they will.
And your trade
routes shall be
more secure
had you not
given us these
forces.
I thank you.
Alright,
I'll see what I
can put together.
Excellent.
Now,
let us make
for the
ruined elvers.
They shall be
the ones we
must sweet talk.
How can we do
that in the
morning?
Likely in the
morning.
They're probably
going to be in
bed and we'll
take to sweet
talk when they're
tired.
Excellent.
Very good.
In the interim,
Baldrick,
make sure that the
coin gets to
your former
abetter.
We will need
her services
leading the
speartip into
the blaze's
heart.
Fantastic.
Alright.
I'll take
from the
coffers then.
Alright,
so with that,
you all go to
rest.
Beb time.
Beb time.
Healing your
wounds,
rest and
relaxation,
regaining all
your spells.
The morning
comes along.
When the
morning comes
at this point,
the settlement,
the clouds
have returned
in the sky,
and you can
see that the
group from
BMF has
prepared and
seems ready
to go.
In the
morning,
Zabble Zap
has assembled
a host of
five individuals
that seem
armed with
clubs and
crossbows.
They are a
haggard
gaggle of
individuals who
have joined
together and
sort of
stand out
front kind
of confusedly.
And yeah,
yeah,
that seems to
be the setup
that we have.
Oh, and you're
all awoken to
the distant
sound of
Picturn playing
on the pipes.
Yeah, that was
that carve
rooming you just
heard in my
voice.
Yeah, that's
the pipe
sounds.
But yeah,
so you all
emerge to see
the two
forces assembled,
both your
I don't even
want to say
hired friends,
but like your
insurance team
and then the
BMF crew of
rune delvers
or rune
explorers.
What are
y'all doing?
That's a good
question.
I don't know.
Okay.
Okay, so
we've got
Victrix
and the
dudes are
going to
check out
where the
children of
Blaze said
that they're
going,
right?
Just to
kind of see
what's going
on.
We're going
with the
rune,
the ruin
people to
go and check
out the
ruins and
then we're
moving to
Gorgamunger
while we wait
on word from
Victrix and
the dudes.
No, that's
not the plan.
Okay.
Slightly similar.
The plan,
and again,
guys, this is a
weird reference,
so please tell me
my plan.
Okay.
We're coordinating,
this is the
plan.
We're not
asserting anything.
I'm thinking we
go to the
ruin dwellers
before they
go and we
say, hey,
look, there's a
situation evolving.
You know, the
trade routes are
being imperiled,
this trade station
could be imperiled,
and there is a
dangerous street
gang that
threatens perhaps
even to burn
the swamp down.
Zapplezap,
his infinite wisdom,
is arraying a
force.
We are going to
be attacking
from one
angle.
We would
actually be
interested in
waiving our
fee for helping
you exploit the
ruins if you
aid us in
taking out the
Children of the
Blaze.
You are the
most heavily
armored and
clearly competent
adventurer force
around.
You would be an
excellent force
in the
world.
It would be a
hard sell because
it is way in the
opposite direction of
where they're going.
It is.
We could also
offer to pay
them, or we
could, you
know, not only
are we offering to
pay them in
literally five
swarthy bands of
adventurers helping
them plumb an
incredibly dangerous
ruin, but also
we could pay them
potentially monetarily
or even sweet talk
them into thinking,
well, these are the
Children of the
Blaze.
They're a powerful
force in
outset.
You would be
legends.
I don't know
if it's worth
trying to just
get two extra
bodies on the
Children of the
Blaze excursion
because we don't
really know exactly
what they're up to.
We think it's
bad.
Again, I think
the key thing was
just having
Victrix go alone
just to spy and
see what the
hell the deal is.
We could have
literally anyone do
that by themselves.
We don't have to
go like attack
like expecting
there's going to
be a giant brawl
there.
For all we know,
he could simply
be trying to
convert them to
Blaze ideology.
Well, he was
saying he was
explicitly liquidating
people, which is
Did he say that?
Yes.
Yeah.
Thurston?
What?
Did, did, uh,
Elort say that he
was liquidating
people?
He said that he
had things he was
doing there.
He didn't specify
like murdering
people.
Now, you know
that there have
been caravans
attacked by people
using fire
weapons.
But, like, Mr.
Elort never said
anything about, like,
killing people.
He just said,
stay out of my
business.
Exactly.
play.
Yeah.
I guess, um, my
thought was, is that
he was, like, going,
I thought I heard
something about
liquidating assets.
Maybe I'm wrong.
You're, you're right.
I said that.
I didn't say we
liquidating people
necessarily.
Yeah.
Um.
Oh, no.
Hokey gaslit us.
It's the telephone
game.
It's the telephone
game.
I didn't gaslight you.
You just chose to
misremember it.
But you know what?
It's good that you did
because that just
gives us more reason
to go there and
stop them from
destroying people.
This is true.
And we are going to
destroy them, them
people, instead.
Yeah.
Fair enough.
Um, I guess part of
me worried, like,
five NPC mercs and
then, uh, DMPC, uh,
I don't think are going
to really make a
substantive difference,
um, in the face of
the Children of the
Blaze.
So, like, they could
recontour, um, but I
also worry about a
situation to where
because we got
distracted,
distracted with
Gorgamonger, uh, we
come back and then
all of the twank
folk are dead.
Jesus.
Um, maybe it
could pay to get
them to investigate
Gorgamonger.
Ah, we don't want
to do, we don't
want to do that
about Oren.
I just thought
about that for,
like, more than
half a second.
Yeah, yeah, you're
right, you're right.
There's, like, 600
reasons why that's a
bad idea.
We don't want to
send randos after
Dragon.
That's, uh,
Little timeout
is our party
things.
Can I, can I
just say, I love
the, the joke
we always have of
the GM never lets
us do anything, and
now you're all
fucking paralyzed
with options.
You're like, there
are, like, a million
ways we can
approach this
what-do.
I'm not paralyzed,
I'm just trying to
make sure we
actually know the
stakes of what
we're getting into,
because also,
Yep.
Tannhauser made a
promise, like, this
will take more
than, like, only a
day's work, but I
distinctly remember
you saying it
could take three
to five days to
cross one of these
swamp tiles.
Yeah.
Like, like, it's
three days per hex,
in some cases.
Yeah.
I was not aware of
that.
In that case.
If I could give a
suggestion that
add to it, just
a metagaming
stuff, uh, have
it to where, uh,
the couple people
that we rounded up
from Skiddle
guy, like the
five guys,
whatever, have
him send them
over to the
twang folk people,
whatever, just
scope it out or
figure it out, or
send them out and
see what they can
find.
We talk to ruin
people, try to
get them on their
side, do whichever
which, but then
our party goes to
Gorgamonger and
check that out
because, because
for orange, for
orange stuff, he's
going to be like,
I don't want to go
and mess up this
deal.
He wants to find
his friend, so
that's where his
thing is, but at
the same time, he
doesn't want to,
he's having that
debate, so it's
like, whichever one
people want to go
on, it's like, he'll
figure it out, but
that's probably, that's
my suggestion so
far.
Yeah.
Until more stuff
comes out.
We do still have, we
did kind of say we
were going to go to
the ruins and
then, you know, help
them out.
The ruins are also
on the way to
Gorgamonger.
Like, they're
literally, like,
in the past.
Yeah, help them
out, use that to get
them on our side,
try to be generous
with any findings,
like, hey, you
came here for this
stuff, here you go,
let's get a little
bit.
We'll see what we
can get.
Especially if we're
fighting the lord, we
want to get, I don't
know, maybe there's a
cool sword in the
ruins that we can use
to stab him.
Wait, I'm used to
just exploring to get
valuable items and
experience and loot,
so you'll be ready for
the threats at the
far end of the map.
Yeah, man, I've
never played a
game.
Historically from
Goodsprings.
Very good.
Very good.
So we're skipping the
potential location of
the caravan.
We're going to go to
the ruins and work
with them, and then
we're going to
probably, depending on
how long it actually
takes us and how much
of our resources we
consume, we'll then
either go to the
dragon location, air
quotes, or we'll go
back and get more
resources or supplies or
what have you, or, like,
ditch someone who
might be dead.
I don't know.
Like, one of us could
very easily die from a
run.
Here, here's my, here's
my thinking.
I, I think we're on a
much more solid track
now.
It seems like it's the
only thing that really
makes sense.
We get the five
putties and, um, our,
our nightly friend.
And so with these five
red shirts, she will be
recontouring on the way
to the twig folk tile.
There's twig folk
somewhere here, don't go
here.
Um, meanwhile, this is
a trading post, surely,
this is a trading post
in the middle of nature,
so, surely there are
trackers, surely there
are messenger pigeons,
or something along those
lines, to quickly exchange
information.
Um, we ensure that our
mercenary friends gain
access to that, so that
they can swiftly bring
messages between us and
them.
Let's confirm we can do
that.
Yep.
Thurston, can, is there a
messaging system that we
can actually, like, keep in
contact with our
squad of goons plus
Victrix?
Oh, fuck no.
Okay.
No, no pigeons?
I have a spell.
I do have that bird spell.
If you have, like, magic
and shit that is yours,
absolutely, but, like, no,
there is no, like, every
story requires a cell phone
nowadays type thing.
Um, this is very much
like a, we're sending the
squad on, and we're going
to see if they come back,
but, like, you don't get
regular updates or anything.
Mm-hmm.
Well, the issue is if we
just send them out to
Reconteur, we have no way
of getting information
reports.
We've got Oren.
We've got Oren's spell.
So, no, no, no, hang on
a second.
We can still very easily
do that.
We would simply, we would
send them out.
They would go and, like,
look around, but we would
tell them maybe don't
directly attack them,
because that's a bad
idea.
They meet us as we're
going somewhere, because
they'll have to come back,
because they're not going
to stay out.
We can set up a point
somewhere between us
going to the ruins and
going to the dragon where
they meet us.
Like, maybe, and then
they can go back if
they're not dead.
If they're dead, then
they don't come back
anyway, and we've learned
nothing anyway.
Fair enough.
Okay, that sounds like
about as good of a plan
as we can conjure.
In the meantime, probably
during my downtime, I'll be
fucking with the
dirigible and seeing if we
can do something like
burn it dangerously to
cross a tremendous amount
of land in a short
period.
Well, and again, I want
to point out, like, the
dirigible's for holding
equipment.
You're not building
something that is capable
of holding people.
Yeah, exactly.
That was certainly the
original intent.
Yeah.
We don't have a ton of
time to futz with
inventing.
Yeah.
I'm going to point out,
we also did cover that
the dirigible can hold
a bulk of two.
Yes.
Yeah, like, it's...
Yeah, it's...
It can hold, like,
glum top.
It's, like, for holding
stuff above the water
was what I was going
to say.
It will hold glum top.
We could put glum top
in there.
Speaker, it's the glum top
chariot.
Yeah, make glum top
pull it.
Oh my god, he could
wear a little captain's
hat.
It could be, like...
Yes!
Give him a flintlock,
it'll be the cannon.
That would really be
some glum top helping.
Yep.
He is helping.
Glum top captain.
What the hell are we
doing?
You can work on that
to, like, at least get
it to a point where you
can, like, hold more
equipment, which is...
Which was sort of
the original plan with
that, so...
Um...
Okay.
And then you're going
to dispatch the guards.
Where's Victrix going
in this?
Victrix is supposedly
leading the guys and
helping...
Okay, that's kind of
what I wanted to make
sure, yeah.
So Victrix is gonna
take the five of
Zabble Zab's dudes,
head out this way.
Cool.
So we'll probably blow
the hundred on her and
then just have that be
the case.
She's, like, the elite
guy that we're sending
with them to ensure
they don't fuck it
up.
Or maybe she'll just
kill them, I don't
know.
That's up to you.
Good question.
Okay.
And then my
understanding is that
you, along with the
runes explorers, will
start heading in this
direction towards the
runes.
Yep.
Yep.
Okay.
You have a choice of
going directly south or
southwest?
Um...
I'm gonna go there
with them and then
ideally we'll go this
way if everything
works out fine.
And then at some
point they'll meet up
with us, like, here
and we'll take a
different path or
something.
Yeah.
Okay.
Um...
Southwest I'm good
with.
Um...
If nothing else, it'll
at least open up a
little bit and we'll
kind of see, uh, what
the path toward
Gorgamonger looks like
or toward a dragon.
We'll see more hexes
if we go there.
Yeah, exactly.
Mm-hmm.
Min-maxing.
Min-maxing.
All right.
So, uh, you head out
with, uh, and you
you are traveling
alongside the
the individuals of
the BMF company,
uh, particularly, uh,
Dita, who she
introduces herself to
you finally, uh, Dita
Nissen and her two
guards, Albert and
Mogens.
Uh, the three of you
join together and
make your way out
into the swamp
lands.
I think that's
actually what we're
going to call it
because, um, yeah.
Planning!
Yeah, yeah.
Now that we've
finally decided the
whole plan and how
you're exploring and
everything else, we'll
find out what happens
when you start going
into some of these
places next time.
Yeah.
Awesome.
Yay!
Thank you,
Nissen.
Thank all of you for,
for, like, biting on
the million plot
threads I apparently
gave you.
We want all of
them Thursday.
Uh, you, you're,
like, you're, you're
all Bethesda players.
You're like, okay, I
want to get all the
companions, I want all
of the people to like
me, I want, yeah.
Exactly.
I, I, I want us to
come back to this
session in, like, five
or ten sessions time
and be like, oh, man,
we planned all this
stuff.
It totally worked out
for us and everything
went great.
Yeah, it always
does.
Yeah.
Nothing bad ever
happens to this TTRPG
party.
Exactly.
Ever.
Never.
Ever.
Never.
As you all leave,
thank you everyone so
much for watching
another exciting episode
of Rotgrind.
I have been your host,
Zoran the Bear,
playing the strict
steward, Oren, and I
have been joined by the
amazing, amazing
Odo Roshi.
Hi, I'm Odo.
I was playing
Voli, the self-
swashbuckler.
You can find me on
Twitter at
Odo Roshi Writer or
somewhere in your
home if you look
hard enough.
Wonderful session, you
guys.
I'm excited for the
plans to definitely
come to fruition.
Next up, we have
the indomitable
Hulky Crow.
That's me.
I was playing the
Kanrasu cleric,
Rahua.
You can find me at
Hulky Crow on Twitter
as well as on our
narrative declaration
community discord
server.
Always love to see you
guys there.
Always happy to talk
and do some fun
things, community
events every now and
then.
But thank you very
much for coming out.
Had a great time with
everybody this evening.
Hulky, have you been
playing Ultra Kill this
entire time?
I just haven't closed
it.
Hulky.
I haven't fucking
played it.
Don't at me.
I haven't touched the
game since we played.
And then we have the
ever-judgmental
Erndel.
Judgmental, huh?
Damn.
Yeah, I've been
Erndel.
I've been playing as
Baldrick, the
Alchemist, and also
as Victrix, who is
Mercenary.
I don't want to
say anything else
really, I guess.
So, yeah, I've been
playing as them and
you can meet me at
Twitter at Erndelio.
And again, basically
nowhere else, but also
Discord if you happen
to see where I am.
And then we have the
ever-revolutionary
Speaker D.
Hurriers.
Hi, I'm Speaker D.
You can find me on
Twitter.
Super Snake
Kick.
You can find me
as Big D and a
plethora of other
characters on Alpha
Buse's YouTube channel.
And I can find you
anytime.
Sound the horn three
times and I will
come.
I always will.
Come.
And the one who has
been bringing us
through the swamps and
corrupting everything that
we do, our amazing
game master, Thurston
Hilleman.
OK, I swear, though,
like now we're going to
get into like some
hardcore adventuring,
y'all.
So buckle your butts
up like now.
They're now they're
passing away from the
last vestige of
civilization.
So we'll see how they
do and how their little
B team does.
I'm excited.
I I I like how much
this map has already
evolved today.
This is just the
session zero of us
going into Swamplands.
Oh, excite bike.
Excite back.
It'll be fun.
Uh, hi, I'm yeah,
Thurston Hilleman on
called GM.
You can find me on
things that I'll call
GM.
Uh, I'll be back here
in like two weeks time
and well, it's going to
be great.
And with that, thank
you, Chad, so much for
watching.
Thank you everyone for
watching this live.
You liked everything
that we do here.
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Love you all.
And we'll see you all
next time.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
We love you guys.
Ah.
Good job.
Bye.
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