The audio of this episode can be found directly here; https://tailsfromthedarkdragonsinn.co.uk/campaign-episode-19/
You can find a ‘live transcript’ of the below here; https://youtu.be/uapAfvyonnY
This transcript is colour coded for ease of use. Please download the PDF.
Tobe as played by Liz
Myx as played by Nina
Mhurren as played by Vinny
Erbak as played by Tom
Narrator/Scraw/GM/Everything else as played by Ray
[Audio Description]
{Tone Guide/Sarcasm etc}
[music]
Ray: Hello, listeners, and welcome to penultimate episode of Tails From the Dark Dragons Inn, Season 1, Episode 19: Kill Your Darlings. This episode is a little on the short side and that’s because we left a lot on the cutting room floor. Don’t worry. You’re not missing much. From a gameplay perspective, we had a great time. From a listener point of view, there’s a swathe of this session where pretty much nothing happened. So, for the sake of keeping things interesting, a good chunk of it got cut. It should be fairly obvious where.
Rest assured, literally nothing happened.
Host: “Welcome to the inn! You’re not new here, are you? You’ve got a lot to catch up on if you are.”
Doomsinger: “Against the odds, The Scales of Justice live yet. Will their luck hold out?”
Mhurren: Does Scraw currently have the blue egg?
GM: Scraw is currently holding the blue dragon egg. He hoisted it out of the ground. Erbak tried to see if there were any remnants left behind. There were not. All of the crystalline like structures were built into the egg itself and were not part of the cavern in any way.
Myx: Can I try and see if I can lift up the red egg myself? Argh!
{various grunt noises}
GM: Is that a natural 1?
Myx: No.
GM: It’s a 2 minus 2. Myx, she puts her arms around the egg and then she moves them around and no matter what she does, she can’t seem to find a good position. She can’t get a good handle on it no matter … If she puts her hand around this side, then one of the crystalline structures is poking her in armpit. So, she moves it around the other side and she uses her other arm to try and hold that gem, but then there’s another one that’s poking her in the shoulder. And no matter what she does, she can’t actually even get a good grip on this. And so, it just looks like she’s hugging the egg.
{laughs}
GM: But she doesn’t appear to be making any headway with it.
Myx: Can I see if the egg will actually move? Can I try very gently slightly rolling it to see if I could do it that way?
GM: If you want to risk it, you’re welcome to try it.
{laughs}
Myx: Oh, no. Oh no, no, no, no, no. When I was a kid, I rolled an egg and it was not a good idea.
GM: I mean, I’m not saying they’re fragile. They are definitely stronger than your average robin egg, but if you want to risk it … Tobe, from the platform …
{laughs}
GM: … you’re watching Myx hug her way around this egg.
Tobe: I’m watching Myx struggle. and wondering about whether I’m going to go down there and help. And eventually, it gets to a point where it’s kind of just painful to watch. {laughs} So, I stand up and I go down the stairs and go over to Myx. “Do you want some help?”
Myx: “{contemplative groan} Want or need?”
Tobe: “Well, that’s up to you. Do you want some help, Myx?”
Myx: “Yes. I want us to bring this egg with us. I don’t want to leave it behind. It will be a lonely egg if it’s all on its own and it doesn’t have it’s beautiful, sapphire sibling.”
Tobe: “Good.” I go around so that I’m, I guess, almost opposite Myx, but as opposite to her as I can be and still … I’m gonna try and help Myx lift it between the two.
GM: So, Myx, you can try once more.
Myx: Okay.
GM: So, Tobe and Myx, you both put your hands on either side of the egg and bend at the knees and hoist. {exertion groans}
Myx: Ehh.
GM: And then you feel it shifting. {exertion groans} And then you put it back down because it’s heavy.
{laughs}
Myx: Ugh, okay.
GM: And you move it maybe a couple of inches off the ground between you.
Myx: “We tried, Tobe. We tried.”
Tobe: Yeah, after we put it back down, I brush my hands off because that was difficult. {laughs}
Scraw: Scraw’s just looking around. “So, uh, what now?”
Erbak: “We can’t leave the other egg here.{clears throat} If this thing definitely is a dragon, then there’s certainly no way we can possibly let them have control over it. They might raise it into all sorts of abominable religious monsters.”
Scraw: “I agree. Maybe you and, uh, Mhurren, can carry it between you. You look a brisk sort.”
Myx: “You trying to call me weak, Scraw?”
Tobe: Tobe just gives her a look. {laughs}
Scraw: “I wouldn’t say it to your face.”
Myx: “Just wait until you’re healed up, buddy.” And Myx shakes a little wobbling fist because she’s weak from trying to lift the egg.
Scraw: You watch as Scraw casually puts the egg in one arm while he scratches his nose.
Myx: Ugh.
{laughs}
Scraw: And then puts the other hand underneath it and readjusts it to get himself comfortable while he waits.
Myx: Ugh.
Tobe: {laughs} Watching this, Tobe’s ears just like go flat out in his disapproval …
{laughs}
Tobe: … of Scraw’s showing off.
GM: Mhurren and Erbak, do you guys want to try or do you want to come up with an idea of how to better handle this?
Erbak: First of all, I’m going to light a torch and I’m going to wander over to that far side of the room that I don’t think anyone’s really looked at yet, because it’s just occurred to Erbak that getting out of here might actually be a problem.
GM: You light up your torch and you wander over to the far end of the room. You scout out the area and it doesn’t look like there’s any other way out of the pit. The only way in and out of the pit in this room is up and down the stairs that you just came down to look into this area. There doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary. Flat stone caves. You can see signs that the drakes that were in here have been living here awhile. There are various decaying haunches of meat and various animal carcasses. And you’re not sure if they’ve been left here to feed the drakes or to feed the abomination on the ceiling. But, other than the remnants of dead things, there’s nothing really here. There’s nothing to be concerned about. There’s nothing that’s going to pop out of the shadows behind you or anything. But there also are no additional exits.
Erbak: {frustrated groan} Okay. So, I trundle back to the party and I’m going to raise my concerns about this. “We will have to go back the way we came, through that room that was filled with gas.”
Myx: “And I don’t know how we’ll make it.”
Scraw: “How long can you hold your breath?”
Erbak: “We need a surface to drag the eggs on.”
Mhurren: “Hmm.”
Erbak: “And the steps here, as well, will be very slow going, unless …”
Mhurren: “That is a risk.”
Erbak: Erbak’s just gonna walk over to the right hand side of the room and he’s going to address Gregor and Tuka.
Myx: Myx is going to follow him and tag along.
GM: You guys go over to where you last saw Gregor and he does not appear to be there anymore.
Myx: What about Tuka? Is Tuka still on the ceiling?
GM: From where you stand, you look up and you try to locate Tuka and you see that -there- is Gregor, in fact. Tuka is holding him up in his tentacle. Not in a grapple or dangling him in any way. Tuka is holding Gregor up by it’s face and Gregor is trying to remove the cement glue-like substance from its eye for him.
Myx: Aww.
Erbak: “Gregor, I have a proposition for you.”
GM: He doesn’t appear to respond.
Erbak: I’ll try again in Draconic. “Gregor. We have a proposition. You want us out of this room.”
Gregor: “You go home now! You leave.”
Erbak: “We will leave. With these eggs.”
Gregor: “Good! Take eggs. Gregor don’t care. You go.”
Erbak: “If you help us get these eggs out, I can tend to your friend’s eye.”
Gregor: “Gregor is just fine. Tuka does not need anybody else.”
Myx: “Is there anything else we could trade you for help?”
Gregor: “Leaving!”
Myx: “We’ll leave if you help us.”
{laughs}
Erbak: “Gregor. I am a doctor, and Tuka’s eye isn’t going to heal on its own.”
Gregor: “Are you going to heal my friends too?”
Erbak: “I can heal Tuka or I can heal none of them.”
Gregor: “Gregor has special chemical. It will make the glue go. Gregor does not need little lizardman. Gregor think lizardman need Gregor more than Gregor need lizardman. Hmm?”
Erbak: “Mmm.”
Myx: “I don’t think this is going to work, Erbak. Uh, he’s not going to help us.”
Erbak: “I have an idea. I will go back to the room with the gas and see if it is still there.”
Tobe: “Good luck.”
Myx: “Yeah.”
GM: You wander over. It’s still there, but it is distinctly thinner now. It does appear to be clearing out, and you figure give it enough time and it probably will be at least passable for people who don’t have your incredible levels of endurance.
Erbak: {frustrated groan} I return to the group and report.
Myx: “That is excellent news. Now, more importantly, can you and Mhurren carry this egg?”
Mhurren: “Could certainly try.”
Erbak: “Uh, I am, I’m a doctor, not a strongman.”
Myx: “Well, you might be stronger than me, so, please?”
Erbak: “Mmm.”
GM: You can either bring it out with you, or if you’re really concerned about the cultists having possession of a dragon egg, finding another way to make sure that the cultists do not have possession of a dragon egg.
Myx: No.
Tobe: I feel like that might piss off the dragon we got sent in here by.
{laughs}
Erbak: Far too valuable a specimen.
{laughs}
Erbak: “Hmm. Could we drag the egg? We might have some odds and ends in. What does everyone have?”
Tobe: “30 feet of hempen rope.”
Mhurren: “I’m wearing a robe. I could take it off, maybe turn it into a a baby {laughs}.”
GM: You want to swaddle the dragon egg?
{laughs}
Erbak: “I do have a riding cloak. Does anyone else have anything they could possibly bundle it in that might make it smoother to drag? Scraw, could you lift this other egg and give us a chance to wrap this cloth around it? This woolen cloak might protect it from most of the harm.”
Scraw: “I can put this one down and try and lift that one onto some kind of makeshift device is that is your desire.”
Mhurren: “Scraw, why don’t you give me the blue egg.” And I’m going to try and take my monk robes off and swaddle it if I can and then tie it around me.
GM: You swaddle this egg up and …
Mhurren: “Don’t drop it.” {laughs}
Scraw: Scraw slowly starts leaning the weight onto you and he watches your knees start to buckle and pulls the egg back and says, “Maybe I should just put it down and then I’ll pick it up again afterwards. We-we-we can come back to this.”
Mhurren: “It’s probably a good idea.”
Erbak: “I’ll help you carry it then. Me and Mhurren. Two of us. Doomsinger, you can help, too.”
Scraw: Scraw stands aside as you step in, Erbak, to put your weight behind the egg, and the moment that he lets go, you both suddenly realize how incredibly heavy this dragon egg is and Scraw, at the last minute, manages to just grab it off Mhurren’s back as he stumbles forwards. “I’m just gonna put it down here. Let’s see if we can work out that dragging plan.”
Tobe: “Unpopular opinion: It might be wiser to just take one and see if we can come back for the other later. We know where it is now, assuming that they don’t decide to move it.”
Erbak: “There’s also a roper here, or some, whatever that beast is.”
Scraw: So, Mhurren’s taken his robe off and wrapped the blue egg in it. Scraw is untying that because that plan clearly didn’t work and he hands you your robe back, Mhurren, after he gently places the egg on the ground and he says, “Right, so, I’m going to lift this red egg and you are going to bundle it and then between you all, you will drag it or hoist it or whatever it is you’re going to do and I’ll carry the blue egg, yes?”
Scraw casually hoists the red egg out of its position and says, “Right, where do you want it?”
Erbak: I grab my woolen cloak and begin to wrap it around the egg.
Mhurren: I’m holding the robes out.
GM: Erbak finishes tying off the cloak around the red egg. Mhurren, you begin swaddling it in the robe. Now that you’ve got it all wrapped up, Scraw puts it down and you find that it’s not exactly easy to move it. It does seem like you could potentially maneuver this around. So, Scraw goes back over to the blue egg and picks it up, very easily.
Scraw: “Right, uh, shall we leave these two to their own devices then and get out of here?”
Tobe: “Sounds like a plan.”
Mhurren: “Let us.” So, up the steps? {laughs}
GM: Scraw walks up the stairs and Mhurren, you are dragging the air, presumably with the rope as it’s swaddled in robes and cloaks.
Erbak: I’m going to go and give the egg some support just to make sure it doesn’t bounce to much or roll over or something.
Mhurren: Stand behind it. {laughs}
GM: Between the two of you, you manage to scrape it up the stairs. It’s not getting up there completely bump free, but you manage after a few minutes to get it to the top and when you get there, you notice from above you, Gregor is looking down and sneering at your puny efforts.
Tobe: Despite my better instincts, I go on ahead a little ways just to check that the coast is clear, ’cause the last thing you want is people who are struggling to drag a heavy thing running into trouble before they see it coming.
GM: So, you go on ahead. You cross the open platform to the stairs that initially led you to this area. You get to the room that was filled with the gas trap and you watch as the last remnants of the gas dissipate. There does not appear to be anyone in here. There is an exit to the northwest of the room and that is up another flight of stairs towards the bridge.
Tobe: I call back that the gas has dissipated and that the room appears to be safe now.
Myx: I’ll take up the rear so I will walk behind the eggs, basically, so that on the off chance something tries to sneak up on us, I can shout ahead.
GM: Despite carrying an egg, Scraw is effectively taking the lead. He’s just behind Tobe.
[fast forwarding sounds]
[music]
Narrator: Hey there, friend, you look like you need a coffee. Why don’t you take a quick moment to settle down, throw the kettle on, get yourself a hot, steamy brew. And in the meantime, here’s something just a little bit different.
MJ: I believe that roleplaying games are art, specifically roleplaying games are theater, which means theater artists are natural roleplayers.
What sort of hat am I wearing?
{laughs}
MJ: Is it like a tricorn hat?
Player one: Yeah, sure.
Player two : He has gone into full theater mode now.
{laughs}
MJ: Right, okay.
Player one: So, they want to be entertained. I’m gonna give them a show with my iron and my tricorn hat.
MJ: Life’s a game. The world’s our stage and we’re Merely Roleplayers. Merely Roleplayers, a podcast where dramatic people play roleplaying games. Hosted by me, MJ Starling, in association with Blackshore Theater Company. Find us at mearlyroleplayers.podbean.com or search your usual podcast app for Merely Roleplayers.
[music]
Myx: Okay.
GM: So, you guys are still hauling the egg. The stairs leading out of the fungal grove collapsed, ’cause someone stepped on them at some point.
Tobe: Tobe’s just a walking disaster.
Erbak: They should be nice and smooth.
GM: They actually create a very convenient and somewhat slippery, given the coverage of fungus slope which you can drag the eggs up and you find yourself on the platform leading to the exit of the cave.
Myx: No!
Tobe: Leaving was a lot quicker than entering.
GM: Who’s leading at this point?
Myx: It would still be me, wouldn’t it? Since we …
GM: You don’t hear anything, at all. It’s really, really quiet.
Myx: I wouldn’t have expected to hear much from outside the cave ’cause the last …
GM: You hear the wind rushing from the outside and rushes in from the entrance and you hear that rattling around. But, it’s weird. You don’t hear anything.
Myx: Mmm. Well, the only ones there were the kenku before we went in.
GM: But, where you’re standing right now, there is a path to the left as well as the entrance to the cave. And the path to the left is what leads to the fork and the fork had two rooms. One had The Doomsinger and the other had … Darconius said there were a lot of people in there.
Myx: I convey that, “It’s scarily quiet, but we should just get out.”
Tobe: “I mean, I can send Oz out of the cave and he’ll be able to see things. If it’s quiet in here, I’m just a little bit worried about what might be out there.”
Myx: “I think sending Oz out is probably not a bad idea.”
Tobe: “Yeah, ’cause like, the whole it’s quiet thing has me worried that there might be an ambush outside.”
{laughs}
Mhurren: “Uh, unless it’s still like dark outside, then …” {laughs}
Tobe: “Well, I don’t know how long we’ve actually been in this cave, so …”
Mhurren: “I’m not even sure what time it is now.”
Erbak: “Also, if it’s okay when we get out, look for a cart of some kind. Dragging these eggs all the way back to Greenest is gonna be a pain.”
Tobe: “There’s tents and stuff left behind, so it might be prudent to find somewhere to take a rest and then try and see if there’s a cart or something.”
Mhurren: “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”
GM: You probably have lost all track of time. You’ve been in a cave for at least a couple of hours. But, from where you’re standing right now, you can see out of the cave, or at least you can see the sky, and it does look dark out.
Mhurren: Hmm.
Tobe: I’m gonna send Oz out of the cave. Someone’s bound to have noticed that we’ve gone through here by now.
{laughs}
GM: Given how easy it was to get out because of how little you left behind, I would assume someone has noticed you have been through, yes.
Tobe: I just don’t want to walk into an ambush outside. If there’s nothing outside, then I’m quite happy to just get the fuck out. I turn turn to Oz, “Can you fly on ahead for me and make sure there’s no one, absolutely no one outside waiting for us?”
Oz: “I can do my best.”
Tobe: “Good boy. Go on.”
Oz: “Take care of yourself.”
Tobe: “I will stay right here.”
Oz: “You’re not looking well, boy.”
Tobe: “Mmm. Thanks.”
Oz: “Yeah, well.”
Tobe: “I’ll stay right here.”
Oz: “Okay.” And Oz takes off and carefully flies out of the cave. Oz flies around for a bit, “Mmm, nope, don’t see anyone. I don’t even see those kenku folks. No one here at all, as far as I can tell.”
Tobe: Hmm. I turn to the rest of the group, “According to Oz, there’s no one out there, not even the kenku who were there before. I vote we leave before that changes.”
Myx: “I vote that’s hella suspicious, but also we should leave.”
Scraw: “I care neither here nor there.”
Erbak: “Well, we should probably make a move. Get outside. See if we can find anything to make pushing these eggs easier.”
Mhurren: “Let’s just go.”
Scraw: “Yes, I’m sure the cultists will have had something lying around. They used those carts to bring the loot back to Greenest. Did you see any of those lying around?”
Erbak: “It’s a big camp, there must be one.”
Scraw: “They may have just taken it with them when they took everything else. I suppose we could have a look, though. There’s no harm in it. Although, how we would drive such a thing, I’m not sure. They did have horses. And as we’ve previously established, none of us know how to use those.”
Myx: “We will be the horses.”
Tobe: “We can figure that out when we get out there.”
Mhurren: {laughs} “That’s fair.”
GM: So, what’s the plan. Are you guys just going to head out of the cave or …
Erbak: Maybe one at a time first.
Tobe: Quickly and quietly.
Myx: “I’m thinking, maybe one of us or two of us should go first and then if we can confirm that it’s as clear as we can tell, then the others can follow.”
Mhurren: “The signal bat.”
Tobe: I decide to go first, considering I’ve already sent Oz on ahead.
Myx: I will go with you because Mhurren and Erbak were helping with the eggs anyway.
GM: And Scraw is carrying an egg and Doomsinger just wouldn’t.
Erbak: And I can’t see in the dark!
Mhurren: Yeah, we’ll probably be at the back.
Myx: Exactly. I go with Tobe.
Tobe: Sneaking, but being as quick as I can at it, as well.
Myx: Yeah, same.
GM: Okay. So, the both of you split off from the group and stealth towards the entrance of the cave, and you take either side?
Tobe: Yeah, yeah.
GM: You split off to cover more area. You scrape along the sides of the walls and you come out to the entrance of the cave, looking out over the remnants of the encampment. The previously lit campfire is burned out and the smoke rising from it indicates that it was probably put out relatively recent, but it’s a moonlit night.
At a casual glance, everything looks fairly clear. You don’t see anyone from where you’re standing.
Tobe: Tobe’s not quite satisfied. It looks clear but they’re all in a bad way and he doesn’t really want to take any chances. I crouch down as I leave, try to make myself as small as possible with all six feet of me. {laughs} As I crouch-walk out of the cave, looking around as I do.
GM: Where are you looking? So, if you’re scouting, it’s not completely empty. There are some tents.
Tobe: How far is the nearest one from the cave entrance?
GM: The closest tents to the area would probably be closer to about 100 foot.
Tobe: Is there any other kind of cover?
GM: No. This is a pretty blank area, except for the giant tree that was in the center of the camp and the randomly interspersed tents.
Tobe: In that case, I just crouch-walk over to where the kenku campfire that they had.
GM: The campfire was pretty close. I’d say it was 60 foot or so towards the northeast.
Tobe: Trying to keep as much of an eye on my surroundings as I can, I crouch-walk over to that campfire since it’s closest and take a squinting as I look around trying to see if there’s any movement in the camp.
Myx: Can Myx take a rock? I assume there is a couple, maybe, around outside of the cave and throw it just as far as she can to see if it landing gets the reaction of anything. And throwing it away from the direction Tobe went in, because the last thing she’d want to do is konk Tobe out.
GM: You just want to throw a rock?
Myx: Yeah. I want to throw a rock. Natural 20.
GM: You throw a rock. You throw it real good. You just throw that rock. It goes real far and lands somewhere in the camp. Tobe, you can’t see anything from where you are. You don’t see any signs of movement. Looking around the camp area, there doesn’t appear to be any signs that there’s anyone there.
Tobe: I’m still weary but I’m relatively satisfied, so I give Myx a thumbs up that it’s safe and the others should follow.
Myx: In that case, I will convey that to the rest of our party members.
GM: So, confident that you guys have scouted sufficiently.
Tobe: I wouldn’t say confident. I’m just reasonably satisfied.
{laughs}
GM: Satisfied that you have at least covered your bases and that there’s a pretty good chance, probably there isn’t any ambush lying in wait inside this camp or anything. You all make your way out into the camp.
Tobe, from your position, you hear, [plopping sounds], small, soft impact noises.
Tobe: Oh, shit.
GM: Not entirely unlike the sound of an adult humanoid landing in grass.
Tobe: Oh, motherfucker. {laughs}
GM: And all around you, torches light.
Tobe: “Well, shit.”
GM: And begin to close in. As you look up and see, stepping out from a tent in the center of the area, what looks like an elf, wearing a long cloak, and they begin to walk towards you and your group. And, the bearers of the torches close in, quite quickly forming a very wide ring between the walls and the area in which you stand.
Myx: “I knew getting out of that cave was too easy. I knew it.”
Erbak: I’m just gonna crouch down low and behind the egg.
Myx: I’m gonna stand up in front of the egg and try and hide it behind me?
Scraw: Scraw looks up from the egg. “Ah, this is more my speed.” Puts the egg down behind him. “So, now what?”
Tobe: I back up but I start preparing eldritch blast with anyone tries to attack me.
Frulum: The elf looking figure that is in the center of the camp continues to walk towards your position. [slow clapping] “Ah, well, that was fun, wasn’t it? Do you feel accomplished?”
Tobe: “No. I’m feeling quite foolish right now, actually.”
Frulum: The figure in front of you, you can see more clearly now in the torchlight being held up by the group, is a half-elf female who is half red dragonborn and she has a vicious looking red scale pattern that marrs her face quite distinctly. “I could use people like you. What are your services worth?”
Tobe: “Wait, who are you?”
Frulum: She turns and smiles and her teeth are sharp and pointed and there are a lot of them. “I’m asking the questions for now.” And you notice in the torchlight that her robe is visibly a rich and deep purple.
Doomsinger: “Um, Mondath, I believe there’s been a misunderstanding. You see. I was delivering them to you and I’ll just be stepping over here now.”
Myx: “Oh, no you don’t.”
Frulum: “That’s enough of that. That’s really not necessary. Come, tell me. What are you worth?”
Myx: “Well, that depends on who’s asking.”
Frulum: She does a small bow. “I am Frulum Mondath.”
Tobe: {whispering}“Ah, fuck.”
Frulum: “And who are you?”
Myx: “Well, I’m Myx.”
Frulum: “It’s a lovely name. I believe your friends are carrying something that belongs to a friend of mine.”
Myx: “And what friend of yours is this?”
GM: She points upwards and you hear, [loud whooshes], the great beating of wings and air pressure comes beating down and a dark shadow, despite the night briefly blots out the light of the moon as it soars across the camp.
Frulum: “They’re very close to hatching, you know? You should not have disturbed them.”
Tobe: “Well, shit.”
Myx: “They might belong to your friend, but what do you have to do with it?”
Frulum: “As I said, I’m the one asking questions. I believe I have you at somewhat of a disadvantage.”
Myx: “That’s what you want us to think, isn’t it?”
Tobe: {laughs} Tobe just facepalms.
{laughs}
Frulum: She looks briefly taken aback. “Am I missing something here? I don’t think I’m missing something here.”
Myx: She’s definitely missing something.
Tobe: Mm-hmm.
Frulum: “You’re an interesting one. What say I recruit just you? You come over here. We’ll take care of your friends, return the eggs to where they belong and you’ll be just fine.”
Myx: “No.”
Frulum: “Very well.”
Myx: “I don’t trust people like you.”
Frulum: “So, the eggs or your lives. That really is all there is to it.”
Myx: “We’re not giving you these eggs. They don’t belong to you.”
Frulum: “As you wish.” And she turns around and starts walking away from you. [echoing snap] Snaps her fingers, and you hear the great beating of wings as Lennithon flies overhead.
[great roar]
GM: The guards make no moves to move away. They just lower their weapons and hold them in anticipation.
Doomsinger: “No, wait, really. I didn’t mean to …”
Tobe: “Oh, shut up.”
Doomsinger: “Mondath!”
{laughs}
Tobe: “Someone closer to him, slap him please.”
Myx: If I wasn’t busy trying to hide the eggs behind me even though they’re clearly not hidden, I would definitely slap him.
GM: The elf turns around …
Erbak: I’m gonna carefully back into the cave …
GM: As you start backing into the cave, you hear, [heavy crashes] as Lennithon lands heavily on the ground above it, slamming his claws into the ground, and the cave behind you begins to collapse.
Myx: Welp, there goes that.
Erbak: So, it’s right above us?
GM: He is directly above you, 15 foot up above the cave entrance, slamming into the ground and it’s not a complete cave in, but there are chunks of ceiling collapsing down and it’s being made very clear that he is more than capable of collapsing this.
Mhurren: I look up, I just put my hand up, “Lennithon, stop! We have your progeny.”
GM: He bellows a roar in return. [roars] There’s no language coming from him at the moment. It seems to all just be feral.
Erbak: Ray. How fragile are these eggs? I investigated it before. Have I got a good idea how fragile they are?
GM: They seemed really sturdy, very tough.
Erbak: So, could they withstand the blow from a mace?
GM: You don’t know.
{laughs}
GM: You would have to test that to find out.
{laughs}
Tobe: I got a strange feeling that’s not gonna be a good idea. {laughs}
Erbak: I’m going to turn to the dragon, to everyone basically and just say, “You’re awfully aggressive for someone whose children we are holding. I don’t suppose it would be a good move for them to attack us.” And I’m going to stand very close to the egg with Mhurren.
GM: Are you saying it quietly to the party?
Erbak: Nope. I’m declaring it out loud to everyone.
Frulum: Mondath steps forward. “Look, uh, you really don’t want to do that. It would not be in your best interests {chuckles}.”
Myx: “As if you care about our best interests.”
Frulum: “I care nothing for you. I do care about these children and their future, but you’re right. I care nothing for you. However …” And she points up at the dragon screeching and roaring above you, “It would not be wise to pursue this course of action.”
Myx: “Why can’t we speak with him? He’s spoken to us before. We know we can communicate. Why? What’s happening?”
Frulum: She ignores your question.
Erbak: I’m going to maintain eye contact with the dragon, whilst slowly grabbing Mhurren’s mace and standing menacingly and closer to the egg. I’m going to carefully say, in Draconic, “Get us out of here, through these cultists, over them, any other way, and you will have your eggs back.”
GM: A 5 foot bolt of lightning gouges out the earth next to your feet in a 90 foot line. So, it starts by the wall and charges away from you, down the line of the camp, blasting right through one of the cultists, but it appears to be very clear that the cultist was not the intended target, it was simply sending a very clear message, or at least as clear as it could be.
Erbak: Unless anyone else is going to do anything to try and stop me, I’m going to gently rap on the the egg with a mace, and then I’m going to try and prep an attack on the egg in reaction to anything attacking me. And then I’m just going to give it another chance.
Tobe: “I-I-I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Erbak: It’s a gentle rap. I’m not planning to actually smash it.
Tobe: {groans}
Frulum: Mondath looks up. “I really think we have a stalemate here, don’t you? The way I see it, you’re not leaving with those.”
Tobe: I say in Draconic and loud enough that the dragon can hear mean, “We have no problems with giving the eggs back to the dragon. We just don’t want to give them back to you.”
Frulum: “That isn’t the conversation we’re having now is it?”
Tobe: “Well, it’s the conversation that I’m having with you, but as stated, we made a deal with this dragon previously. We’re quite happy to …”
Frulum: Mondath snaps her fingers.
[dragon roars]
Tobe: “{scared contemplation} Okay.”
Frulum: “As I said, that’s not the conversation we’re having.”
Tobe: “Guys, they might have done something to the dragon since we spoke to it.”
Myx: “I’m getting that impression.”
Mhurren: I look up at the dragon and I’m just gonna shout, “Arendelonthos”
Myx: “Well shit.”
Tobe: “Oh, shit!”
{laughs}
GM: You are looking up at Lennithon as you scream this, not really knowing what it means, and as you look into the eyes of the dragon, you see that its face is almost completely glazed over. And, you recall back at the keep, Lennithon was saying something about power, power over him, progeny. And when you guys were asking why it couldn’t do anything about it, it kept insisting that something had power over him. As you scream out this word, the glaze over the dragon’s eyes disappears, however briefly, and it turns and it almost seems to smile.
And you’re paying attention Mhurren, as it’s eyes focus on you once more. As it bends down from the perch on the stone walls above you, bears its teeth and opens its maw, as you watch a glow of radiant blue energy build in its throat. As it surges forwards, striking out into the night.
Ray: Thanks for listening. That’s all we had time for this week. Before we hit our outro, I thought I’d include a couple of outtakes that you might enjoy.
[music]
GM: That’s where we’re going to end this session.
{laughs}
Tobe: Nooo.
{laughs}
Tobe: This …
Mhurren: Goddamnit.
Tobe: So, it’s basically, we’re going to end the session. You don’t know if you’re dead or alive. {laughs}
[music]
Myx: All I want to do is take the egg babies and walk away and raise them in a nice field where there’s no bad guys.
{laughs}
Tobe: Myx can’t have a pet dragon.
Myx: {heavy sighs} Can too.
Tobe: Tobe feels very, very nervous about that idea.
Myx: “But think of all the places we could go if we had a dragon!”
Tobe: “Think of how we … How would we feed it?”
Myx: “Goats and stuff, right? I mean, dragon’s probably only so picky.”
Tobe: “And where are we going to get the goats?”
Myx: “I don’t know!”
[music]
Ray: Join us next week for the final episode of Season 1. Episode 20: The End of the Storm. The song that you heard at the beginning of this episode was Extravaganza by TRG Banks and the song you are now hearing is While You are Here by Ending Satellites. Thank you so much to all of our listeners who have been with us this far. We hope you’ve enjoyed the ride as much as we have. Until next time, travel safe and remember, the scales of justice are here for you, always.
