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The Adventures of Bud & Herb is a new podcast from The Pocket Dimension. One part immersive audio drama and one part Dungeons & Dragons game where the dice tell the story and anything can happen. Follow along as best friends Bud and Herb hunt a cryptid that terrorizes their sleepy little town of Mystra’s Glen.
The Adventures of Bud & Herb: Into the Cinderwood
S01E06
===
Herb: [00:00:00] The sleepy idyllic town of Mystra's Glen is home to a predator. A beast walks the outskirts silent, yet deadly. Who will fall prey to its nightmarish stench? This is Mysteries of the Verdant Valley.
Bud: Okay, you guys. Welcome back to another episode of Mysteries of the Verdant Valley. I'm Bud.
Herb: And I'm Herb.
Bud: Listen we gotta be real quiet here. We gotta bring everybody up to speed, okay? You ready?
Herb: Yeah.
Bud: So, from our last episode, when we left off, we were at the jail. We got out of jail with the help of our good friends, Pickle and, and Da'ryl. Da'ryl's here.
Da'ryl: It's Da'ryl..
Herb: Da'ryl, remember? Da'ryl.
Da'ryl: Da'ryl.
Bud: Yeah, and then we went and got to Gerty's house, right? Gerty basically helped us [00:01:00] figure out how we're gonna find Theo, okay? But then, we had to find Grondar.
Herb: Yeah.
Bud: Gosh, this is complicated you guys. We went to his house and what did we find, Herb?
Herb: Well Grondar, let me just say is quite the investigator. He has been mapping out and systematically crawling through the Cinderwood.
Bud: Talk about burying the lead, man. He knew all kinds of crap about the Cinderwood Walker he did not disclose to us.
Herb: His board with the red string and he had a ton of notes that we really couldn't understand. But it was clear, based on the fact that when we got into his closet and he had a ton of weapons, there's more to Grondar than meets the eye.
Bud: He's basically a vigilante.
Herb: He must be. That or, you know, he's just faster at investigating than we are.
Bud: Uh, yeah. I guess it could be that.
Herb: He's pretty smart. Anyways, it was very clear, though, that somebody got to him first. And that's not good [00:02:00] news for us.
Bud: No. And it's very bad news for Grondar. Folks out there, y'all can't see this, so Herb, let's set the scene. First of all. We got our good friend, Da'ryl, here. And our friend Gerty is joining us as well.
Herb: Say hi, Gerty.
Gerty: Sorry. I was, I was concentrating on our friend Grondar. Hi, hi everyone. I do appreciate the, uh, the dramatics here, of course.
Da'ryl: We do need to keep it quiet though. There is uh...
Bud: Yeah, that's right, keep it down! Pipe down! Shush!
Herb: Shush.
Bud: While we were at Grondar's house we found a map laid out on the kitchen table with an X drawn on this very spot. Since he weren't at home, we figured this was as good a place as any to start. So we came out here to the Cinderwood and what did we find? It's Grondar! He's right over there, you guys. Just on the other side of this grassy knoll and, we can see, uh, who is that?
Herb: It looks like it's... oh, [00:03:00] no.
Bud: Oh no! It's those mother @#$%ers who were gonna eat Herb!
Herb: I know! I hate these guys.
Bud: Oh man, they've got Grondar in shackles!
Dungeon Master: In that moment, you hear the crunching of footsteps through the Cinderwood and some of the brush peels back to reveal Deputy Richard Dickinson approaching with three crumpled pieces of puffy cloth. He approaches and addresses the two guards and he says:
Dickinson: Hey! You @#$%s! Word's come down from the sheriff. We're supposed to wear these for the rest of the night.
Spiff: What? Really? I mean, this appears to be a diaper. You want us to put diapers on over our clothes? That's rather odd.
Dickinson: No, you @#$%in idiots! You need to wear it on your face!
Spiff: [00:04:00] Wearing it on our face, Kwill. This must be a prank. You can't possibly be real.
Kwill: No, no, no, no, no. We will not be doing anything of the sort.
Dickinson: Look, you chuckle @#$%s are you working for the sheriff or not? You've already been chewed out once tonight. Do you want me to rip you a third asshole?
Spiff: Uh, no, no, of course not, no. Um, I'm sorry, is, is, is this correct?
Dungeon Master: You see all three of them take a diaper, flip it inside out, and place it over their head like a helmet, covering their nose and mouth, leaving their eyes open.
Bud: Look, I'm not into kink shaming, but this is @#$% up, man.
Herb: To each their own, but this is, this is a bit much.
Bud: Yeah, Let's go shame 'em.
Herb: Okay.
Bud: Wait a minute. let's think about this for a second. So they're putting dirty diapers on their face, so that they're already smelling something really bad. Right? So they're used to some bad stink. So that way, if the [00:05:00] Cinderwood Walker shows up and starts letting that butt weapon loose then that's not gonna affect them, cause they're already smelling that stinky... I don't know, does that
Herb: That checks out.
Bud: It does?
Spiff: These diapers actually do smell a little nice. What should we do with the prisoner, sir?
Dickinson: You twos aren't doing @#$% with no prisoner. I'm gonna take it from here.
Kwill: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait a minute. You don't want us to take him back to the jail ?
Dickinson: Stop standing around with your dicks in your hands and go back on patrol. We're looking for those goddamn escapees!
Spiff: Okay, I suppose.
Kwill: But wait, do we need to keep these diapers on our heads?
Dickinson: Yes! Look. No matter what you do, do not take 'em off. No matter what you see, no matter what you hear, and no matter what you smell. The diapers are not to leave your stupid faces. You hear me?
Spiff: I mean, it is a rather odd fashion statement, but I suppose.
Kwill: Well, Deputy, here's [00:06:00] your prisoner!
Dungeon Master: They lift Grondar up from his knees and shove him bodily towards Deputy Dickinson.
Da'ryl: What's the plan here?
Bud: I think we need a distraction.
Dungeon Master: You see that Deputy Dickinson is leading Grondar away from y'all, while the two guards are coming nearer and nearer to your hiding spot in the woods.
Da'ryl: Alright Bud, should we relieve them of their diapers?
Bud: Oh.
Herb: Yes.
Bud: Okay.
Da'ryl: They seem prepared. So we should prepare as well. You know, I like a good plan.
Herb: You do like a good plan
Bud: Oh man. I can't get past putting a dirty diaper on my face, but I, I guess so.
Gerty: I could do a little something to maybe make them a little more indifferent towards us so we could take the diapers.
I, as they get closer to us, would like to cast Calm [00:07:00] Emotions on the two guards approaching.
So you see this little ball of light, begin to grow in Gerty's hand and then with a she blows it. It encircles them in kind of a gossamer sheen in a 20 foot sphere around the guards. By calming their emotions, she wants to just make them feel a little more indifferent towards us, rather than hostile, so we can get our way.
Dungeon Master: They roll a 7 and a 2, and your blossoming spell is spotted through the forest by Deputy Dickinson and Grondar off in the distance, but these two go:
Spiff: Oh my, Kwill! These are the people we're looking for! We were just talking about them!
Kwill: We were literally just talking about them!
Spiff: Ha, we could not be more excited to see you all!
Kwill: Oh, this is amazing! This is amazing!
Spiff: Maybe we can have [00:08:00] our turtle pie after all! Hello, everyone!
Dungeon Master: Deputy Dickinson has seen that and in your ear, Grondar, goes:
Dickinson: Let's pick up the pace, you vegan lump!
Dungeon Master: And he is like trying to tug at you. You are manacled. You don't have any of your stuff with you, Grondar, but you are also significantly larger and you think much more powerful than Deputy Dickinson.
Grondar: Watch it.
Dungeon Master: Is there anything that you're doing as he like, drags you along?
Grondar: I'm definitely trying to slow the process down. So as he's dragging me, I'm, I'm being as uncooperative as possible.
Dungeon Master: Roll me a strength check.
Grondar: That's a nat one though.
Gerty: Oh.
Dungeon Master: Oh no!
Grondar: Yay!
Grondar: Deputy Dickinson has a strength of negative one and rolled a three. So as weak as he is, he is dragging you along. And I think what this turns into [00:09:00] is sort of like a terrible stumble fumble forward. You're trying to pull on him, he's pulling on you, and y'all are just derping your way further into the forest away from the party. Back to the rest of the party. You're here with these two very chill guys.
Herb: If you want to get the diapers, I'm gonna go try to head off Grondar and the Dickcheese.
Bud: Yeah, good thinking, Herb. Hey there, fellas. You're looking really, uh, you look great today, I think.
Spiff: Oh, really? I wasn't sure I could pull off this look. But now that you say that, I do feel a little more confident.
Bud: Well, I mean, it doesn't look that good, so just calm down.
Spiff: Oh, I do feel calm.
Gerty: I'm wondering if we should show them, because seeing is believing, Bud, just how [00:10:00] good they look. If you wouldn't mind, gentlemen. Gerty will hold out her hand to see if maybe they'll share their newfound masks with us.
Spiff: Certainly! I couldn't imagine this possibly looking good on anyone. Although, I was starting to feel it a little. But here, try it. See if you, I mean, honestly you have no chance in pulling it off.
Dungeon Master: And he will pull off a diaper and hand it to you, Gerty. It's quite clean and it smells faintly of baby powder.
Bud: Why are you guys wearing diapers on your faces?
Spiff: We were ordered to, but obviously didn't want to.
Bud: Hm. Okay. And I guess if you were ordered to jump off a bridge, you just do that too. Huh?
Spiff: Uh, oh, why did you run away from our lovely time we were sharing back at the jail?
Kwill: Oh yes, Spiff. I thought that we were forming a rapport.
Bud: A rapport, oh yeah, [00:11:00] uh huh. In fact, we were hoping we could get your recipes for some other sentient creatures.
Spiff: Perhaps you would like to come back with us, because we were in quite a lot of trouble with our superiors.
Kwill: Yes, yes. We wouldn't mind saving a little face and saving other bits as well.
Bud: Oh. Well, the interesting thing is, we talked to the Sheriff and he actually said "Oh, you know what? All the charges are dropped and I just need to let y'all go."
Spiff: I can't say I'm surprised. As odd as the sheriff has been acting tonight, I am inclined to believe you and let it go at that.
Dungeon Master: Herb, you're chasing off after Deputy Dickinson and Grondar who are stumbling faintly further into the wood.
Herb: I run ahead and I block their path and I make myself as big as possible. I mean, I'm pretty big, but I [00:12:00] make myself look as big as possible and I look down at Deputy Dickcheese.
Deputy Dickinson: Hey, listen man, I don't want any trouble here, alright?
Herb: Well, heh heh, you've already learned once today that nobody messes with my buddies! Do you want to learn that lesson a second time?
Dungeon Master: Roll an intimidation check with advantage because he's already inclined to be intimidated by you.
Herb: Okay. Five.
Dungeon Master: You see the deputy, who is quivering a little bit, steel himself. Whispers a little bit to himself and he says:
Deputy Dickinson: All right. Come on, Dickinson. Get it together. You're brave. You're strong. You're powerful. You got this.
Dungeon Master: And he like puffs his chest up and he says:
Deputy Dickinson: No! I have orders to bring this vegan half-orc freak to Sheriff Thorne and I am not [00:13:00] letting him down again.
Herb: Too friggin bad! And I'm gonna try to push him.
Dungeon Master: Roll an athletics check.
Herb: Eight.
Dungeon Master: You shove him and he stumbles back over a protruding root, falls backwards, and then somehow, in the fall, stumbles back up onto his feet, still with one hand on Grondar, and he just goes, EEP!! And then starts running in a lateral direction, dragging Grondar behind him. So he's going off into the woods now at an odd angle.
We're gonna cut back. We've got these two guards. One of them still is bediapered around his head. Gerty has one of the diapers.
Da'ryl: Da'ryl is seeing the two guards distracted by conversation. Is going to try and sneak up the still bediapered one [00:14:00] and just stealthily try and take the diaper off without him noticing somehow.
Dungeon Master: Roll me a stealth check!
Da'ryl: I have advantage on these, cause my boots. Ooh, that's a natural 20 on the second one! Yas! For 27.
Dungeon Master: Spiff is so calm that he, not only does he not notice you there, he doesn't notice the, the diaper coming off, and you time it, like, perfectly with his low, languorous blinking, that you just slip it off his head. He thinks he's still wearing the diaper.
Da'ryl: I pocket it.
Dungeon Master: You have one Blasphor's diaper in your inventory.
Da'ryl: Still got it.
Dungeon Master: The other one is looking to see how it looks on you, Gerty.
Gerty: I'm modeling it and I'm giving some different angles, and then after just a minute I'm going to say: Well dears, why don't you head on back into town? It's a little bit safer there. We have some errands to run and how about we'll just pop back and meet [00:15:00] you there later. Okay, ta ta! And is just going to start very confidently marching where Herb ran off towards Grondar. Still sporting that diaper.
Spiff: I will say, Kwill. Part of me feels like this is entirely counter to our whole raison d'etre here in the woods, but part of me can't bring myself to care.
Dungeon Master: And they will stand indifferently as you march away.
Bud: Wow, Gerty! You played those morons like fiddle in a hoe down. You know what? I'm really sorry for accusing you of being a cannibal and eating little Theo.
Gerty: Thank you, Bud. I am so happy it is water under the bridge between us at last.
Dungeon Master: So leaving Spiff and Kwill in the dust, you are able very quickly to catch up to Herb who is, I assume, chasing after Grondar and Dickinson. He's actually trying to lose y'all. He has Grondar in his grasp, so [00:16:00] he has disadvantage. But anyone... actually, no. Those were terrible, terrible rolls. He's trying to lose y'all and in the process he's making the loudest possible trail through the Cinderwood you could possibly imagine. There's just like cracking branches and grunts and screams as he drags Grondar behind him.
Herb: I'm running for him and if I can try to grab Grondar's ankle or something.
Grondar: And I'd love to help try to trip him. Make it more awkward.
Dungeon Master: You easily snag Grondar. The question is, how are you stopping Dickinson? So go ahead and roll me that athletics check with advantage.
Herb: Okay. Twenty one.
Bud: Alright.
Dungeon Master: You grab onto Grondar's leg, easily snatching him away from the deputy, who stumbles forward and clonks his head on a tree.
Deputy Dickinson: Ugh! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!
Dungeon Master: He falls to the floor and holds his head, which is also still covered in a diaper.
Deputy Dickinson: Please! Please don't kill me! Please [00:17:00] don't kill me! I'm just following orders, man! Come on!
Herb: Why would I kill you?
Deputy Dickinson: Cuz you're carrying around a giant ass meat tenderizer and you're making it seem like you're gonna hurt me again.
Herb: I don't want to hurt you, but like, you were hurting my buddies, and when people hurt my buddies, I just get a little mad. Wait a minute! Why do you have a diaper on your face?
Deputy Dickinson: It's part of the new fall fashions? Something real important. We're running, we're running a new Civic Fall Fashion Line. That's it, that's it, a new Civic Fashion Line. You know how they do with the firefighter calendars and whatnot? We're gonna make, we're gonna make a public servants wearing various clothes on their heads calendar. We're gonna be raising a lot of money for charity to help with that boy who went missing. Yes, that's what it's about.
Herb: I think, you were only telling the truth when you said it was for something to do with [00:18:00] Theo. And to be completely honest, I'm still a little mad that you were gonna charge me with his disappearance. So, sir, I would like you to tell me where exactly you were trying to take Grondar and maybe I won't step on your face again.
Bud: Tell him, Herb!
Deputy Dickinson: Please, please don't step on my face. I'm trying to date right now. I'm trying to look good for the ladies, you know?
Bud: I hate to break it to you, Dickcheese, but the ladies aren't gonna be into you no matter what your face looks like.
Deputy Dickinson: No, no, no, no. Please, please, please. I was taking him to meet the sheriff in the Blightroot. Please, I swear.
Grondar: Why did he want me there?
Deputy Dickinson: Come on man, I don't know! I don't know @#$%! I don't know anything! I don't know what he wants with you. I was just instructed to bring you in the Blightroot.
Herb: At the Blightroot?
Dungeon Master: I will point out here, he did not say "at the Blightroot." He did say "in the Blightroot."
Bud: What the hells? What does that mean?
Grondar: I know what it means. Key, [00:19:00] please.
Dungeon Master: He offers the keys to Grondar's manacles.
Grondar: Thank you. Grondar undoes his manacles.
Herb: Hand over the diaper and scoot on back to the sheriff's department where you're going to hand in your resignation because you have not been protecting this community.
Deputy Dickinson: You don't have any authority to strip me of my title. I worked really hard to be deputy of this town. Come on.
Grondar: Mmm. No, you didn't.
Bud: Look, Dicksack. Are you aware that your sheriff, the man that you work for, is somehow involved with Theo's abduction?
Deputy Dickinson: That is broad hearsay and slander.
Bud: I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt here, man. I mean, I'm pretty sure you're as rotten as a goblin's toenail collection, but maybe, just maybe, you didn't know your boss was as crooked as a snake.
Deputy Dickinson: That is untrue, unfounded, and you ain't got no evidence.
Bud: No evidence? Okay, how [00:20:00] about that trail of slime he leaves behind? I didn't realize that blind loyalty was a part of your job description.
Dungeon Master: Deputy Dickinson stands very sheepishly and is backing away to leave and he's holding onto the diaper on his head and he's very reluctant to take it off and he goes:
Deputy Dickinson: C'mon man, do you really needs my diaper? I mean, can't I just have my diaper, please?
Herb: Why, you gonna @#$% yourself?
Deputy Dickinson: Assuming that that hasn't happened already, maybe.
Herb: What is the deal with the diapers?
Deputy Dickinson: It, uh, protects our identities in the night. Mm hmm.
Grondar: If you don't tell us the truth right this minute, you will need a diaper.
Dungeon Master: Roll an intimidation check with advantage.
Grondar: Yeah. Okay. Great. Fantastic. That is a 22.
Bud: Oh, nice.
Dungeon Master: His voice is slowly getting higher and higher through this whole exchange and finally he just [00:21:00] lets out a little like Beaker-like EEP! and he flings the diaper out at you and goes:
Deputy Dickinson: I don't know. I don't know. I'm telling you, I don't know.
Dungeon Master: And he RUNS as fast as his little legs will take him out and away in the direction of town and in the direction of the Sheriff's office to turn in his resignation.
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Dungeon Master: You all are now by yourself with a free [00:23:00] Grondar, who I will note has none of his stuff with him. And you have three diapers ferreted amongst you.
Gerty: Gerty is still very much wearing hers.
Herb: Looking good Gert.
Grondar: Kind of into it.
Gerty: Thank you, darling. It's this season's caftan. Grondar, darling, are you hurt?
Grondar: They were a little rough, but I, I feel okay. Thank you. You are true friends. True friends. You would be even better friends if you had brought a set of leathers and a bow and a sword.
Bud: Well, we, didn't know that you were gonna be all shackled up out here. Otherwise, we would have. Do you have any idea where your stuff is?
Grondar: No, they took it and ran. But I do have more equipment back at my place.
Herb: Grondar, just to be level with you here, Buddy. We saw your closet.
Grondar: Yeah.
Herb: We're just wondering, where did you get all that cool ass @#$%?
Grondar: Well, since you are my true [00:24:00] friends, that have rescued me from a sticky spot, I, will tell you that there was a time when your friend, Grondar Pawsniff, was an adventurer. It was a, it was a misguided time in my youth. I did a lot of things I wasn't proud of. Tried to bury it far back of my brain, but also the far back of my closet. And that's what you found.
Bud: So you're a closeted vigilante. Is what you're saying?
Grondar: Well, I mean, it's been, it's been years and years, but as the two of you probably know, it's, it's like riding a bicycle.
Bud: Not for me, it ain't.
Grondar: Okay, well, anyway. Time is of the essence and also it's...
Da'ryl: I'll come clean, alright? I definitely stole some @#$% from the closet. I know we just met, and normally I keep this kind of stuff to myself, but this seems like a serious situation here. And I just [00:25:00] start unloading all kinds of gear.
Grondar: I like the cut of your jib.
Herb: You know, you really are living up to the title of Master Thief. That's just incredible. It's just incredible.
Da'ryl: Thank you. I won't disagree with you.
Bud: Yeah. Whatever, man. I thought about stealing Grondar's stuff, but I have too much respect for him as a friend.
Gerty: Would it help? If I, perhaps, listened in to the scene as it's unfolding in the Blightroot right now, so we have a sense of what we're wandering into?
Herb: Yeah, I mean, I'm still grappling with using the word "in" to refer to Blightroot. So yeah, getting an eye on it would be helpful.
Gerty: I have two options. I can either get an eye on it, or I can get an ear on it. Which would you prefer?
Herb: Well, it seems like Grondar has some information, so maybe based on what he knows, we could choose.
Grondar: It can be quick. [00:26:00] With my investigation, I've discovered that, uh, well, a few things. Number one, the Cinderwood Walker is not a mindless beast. It moves with a purpose. It has an objective, which I was still working on. is an intelligent creature. Perhaps even as intelligent as we are.
Bud: Oh, oh my gods, that's terrifying.
Herb: This is so exciting, but scary. Sorry, it's very scary.
Grondar: Yes. Number two, the Blightroot is the source of its power. It does travel, but it needs to get back to the Blightroot periodically.
Bud: Like for a recharge.
Grondar: Mm Hmm.
Da'ryl: Hmm.
Grondar: The third part is really gonna blow your minds. Are you ready? There are tunnels deep, deep underground. Mm hmm. So, the rot that we discovered. Layers and layers of soil deep. It just keeps going and going. And that is how the Cinderwood Walker can get from place to place without people knowing about it.
Gerty: The vision! I [00:27:00] sensed we were underground. There were roots hanging down and it just had a feel of a dank old cellar. The bit of time I spent in there. This is all lining up.
Herb: Wait, we've been in these tunnels. We got lost in them trying to escape the vault at Castle Dinglehopper.
Grondar: Okay, so in the Blightroot would mean that the Sheriff is waiting somewhere for us in one of these tunnels. That's my guess.
Da'ryl: It seemed pretty urgent, right? With the vision and all? Gerty, this looking in upon? Is that something you can do quickly?
Gerty: I can do it right now, but we have to decide. Listening or watching?
Bud: Gosh.
Gerty: I was gonna go listening. Just, I feel like at this point we need to hear what they're saying.
Bud: Okay.
Grondar: Let's do it.
Gerty: Gerty is going to pull a small vial from her pack, and in this vial is a Potion of Clairvoyance, which will allow her [00:28:00] to cast the Clairvoyance spell, and listen in. I had to choose between seeing or hearing, for ten minutes.
Dungeon Master: So you're creating this invisible sensor in a location familiar to you. A place you've visited or seen before. Are you trying to put it where you saw the vision? Are you trying to put it at the Blightroot?
Gerty: I feel like I would be putting it where I had the vision. Homing beacon back on that to get more information, since when we tried the scry I was snapped too soon.
Dungeon Master: Here's the trippy part about this. You don't know where or when in time the vision was. What you are about to hear, is happening right now, this very moment.
The first thing you hear is a whisper. A low tone, matched by another a few steps above that, and a third a few steps above that. This [00:29:00] tritone whisper. You can hear the movement and shuffling of something large and wet. It seems to be scrubbing against tree roots and earth as it moves and shuffles forward. And then, after that enormous thing passes, you start to hear voices:
Thorne: I'm just not sure we're still able to do both tonight, right? I would urge caution, because while we have everyone distracted, is there really a reason to go in on that already? Everyone's already at the fundraiser, they're not gonna know what's happening over here.
Dinglehopper: You have such a small mind, Thorne. You have no idea the [00:30:00] preparation that has gone into this moment. We have more than one goal that we will achieve. It is not simply enough to take the boy's mind and soul. We must also distract the populace enough so that we can further our intentions with the town. And they, of course, can never suspect me. That is the key. An attack on the fundraiser, that will divert all suspicion. Especially if I’m there and present. Then no one will ever know that I was involved at all. In fact, I could potentially position myself as the saviour of Mystra's Glen. And then, we will be ever closer to our goals.
Thorne: Right, right, of course. My apologies, Blightwarden. How else can I be of service?
Dinglehopper: Well, when it all comes down to it, those meddlers [00:31:00] are gonna be on their way and they're going to need some kind of patsy. So I want you to take care of things here. And of course, I know that they'll be coming for you, because if they don't, the boy is doomed!
Thorne: Oh, ho, ho, ho, ha, ha, ha. Oh, ho, that's bloody brilliant. They have to choose between the viper's nest and the cow's udders. Either way, we are milking them teats dry.
Dinglehopper: Leave the higher levels of thinking to us, Thorne. Just shut up and do your job. And soon he will be manifest before us.
Thorne: Oh yes, yes he will. And soon at that. In his name, I will carry out your orders, Blightwarden. Forever bloom The Flowering Death.
Dinglehopper: Very well. You know, Thorne, this likely means you won't be coming out of this.
Thorne: Not in this life, but in the unlife. In the unlife, I [00:32:00] will return remade. For his glory.
Dinglehopper: That's the spirit.
Dungeon Master: And you hear these figures moving away from your sensor in opposite directions until there is nothing but dripping and the slight damp movement of earth.
Gerty: Does Gerty recognize both of these voices, Thorne and...
Grondar: The Mayor
Dungeon Master: One thousand percent.
Dungeon Master: These are very recognizable voices.
Gerty: Gerty comes back out of her vision, gasping for air, and just locks eyes with each of you.
Bud: Whoa. What happened?
Gerty: It is both what we thought, and somehow also far far worse
Grondar: Do some of these things, do they ring a bell? The Flowering Death?
The idea of the unlife? I mean, is this?
Bud: Mm mm.
Herb: No.
Grondar: No? Okay.
Bud: We've seen some undead before.
Herb: We've murderized a lot of undead [00:33:00] randos before, but this is so weird.
Grondar: Okay, okay, so this is another level.
Bud: People don't necessarily look forward to being undead, do they? I mean, I guess, unless you're like a lich or something. But Gerty, what about Theo? Was Theo there too?
Gerty: I did not hear Theo.
Bud: Oh man did they move him? Is he gone?
Gerty: Being quiet?
Da'ryl: You said you heard sounds of wet slopping.
Gerty: Wet squelching is actually how I would describe it.
Bud: Oh. Give us some sound effects, like:
Da'ryl: Yikes. Alright, we don't need that. So, are we assuming that's the uh, Cinderwood Walker here?
Bud: Them whisperings, that was the Walker for sure man.
Herb: Yeah.
Da'ryl: We best be on our way, yeah?
Bud: To the Blightroot? We're gonna try to get inside the Blightroot?
Gerty: It sounds like they're expecting us, or some part of us right? At least Thorne is?
Bud: Don't want to walk into a trap.
Herb: Look. I'm terrified for Theo, but I'm also scared because they said they were gonna do [00:34:00] something bad to the fundraiser.
Bud: Oh man, Rosie and Dougie are gonna be there.
Herb: I know!
Bud: Oh, Pickle! Pickle's gonna go.
Herb: Do you think Pickle could handle this on their own?
Bud: No, hell no.
Da'ryl: Grondar, how close are we to the Blightroot?
Grondar: We're very, very close. We just need to find one of those entrances.
Bud: Yeah, we gotta hit that first.
Herb: If we're fast, maybe we can help both.
Bud: Yeah.
Da'ryl: Exactly.
Grondar: Let's go.
Bud: The Adventures of Bud Herb is brought to you by The Pocket Dimension. Created by Anna Fitzgerald and Evan Bivins. Episode 6, Into the Cinderwood, stars Evan Bivins as Crygglinexxerflump "Bud" Buddlicker and Sheriff Thorne. Anna Fitzgerald as Herb and Deputy Richard Dickinson. Seth McKay as Da'ryl X'orrin [00:35:00] and Spiff the Guard, Matthew Bivins as Grondar Pawsniff and Kwill the Guard. Alison Kendrick as Gerty McGillicuddy, and Alejandro Tey as the Dungeon Master. Produced and edited by Anna Fitzgerald, Evan Bivins, Matthew Bivins, and Alison Kendrick. Sound design by Evan Bivins. Original character art and poster by Bridgit Connell. Special thanks to Alejandro Tey and Greg Hess. Please consider supporting our show by becoming a Patron at patreon.com/enterthepocketdimension. Or find us on YouTube and all socials @enterthepocketdimension.