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}
[cello march]
Ray: Hello, travelers and welcome to Tales From the Dark Dragons Inn, Season 2, Episode 2, The Party Paladin. This is the first episode set for early release as a reward through our Patreon at the $5 and above tier, which also includes a personalized thank you, and full access to our Patreon-only posts. Twice weekly on Wednesday and Saturday, we’ll be sharing content from our game, exclusively with Patreon backers, for as little as $1 a month. The primary focus of this will be letters sent to and from our characters throughout the campaign, as well as core NPCs. So, for those of you eager to learn more about our world, head on over to https://patreon.com/darkdragonsinn.
This week, we have the whole crew. Nina as Myx, Vinnie as Mhurren, Tom as Erbak, Liz as Tobe and I’m Ray, your host and Game Master and I play just about everyone else.
[tavern chatter]
Host: “There you are, right on time as always. Your usual seat’s waiting. Come on in.”
Doomsinger: “Our journey to Elturel has been long and dull. No surprise then that we were pleasantly surprised by what we found. There we all stood, in the center of the city.”
Tobe: Given the general feelings about elves, would we find it weird that there’s a statue of one in the middle of the city?
Erbak: I certainly find it weird.
GM: I don’t know. It depends on how well traveled you are, I guess. There are still cities that actually have elves in them. They’re not common. They do exist, though.
Myx: Myx would find it strange, really strange, to see a statue of an elf, just in the big city.
GM: What would she do about it?
Myx: She’d probably look around for someone who looked local or next time they speak to someone who’s running a tavern or the shop and actually ask about the statue, find out what the meaning behind it is. Out of curiosity, but also just ’cause, yeah, this is super, frickin’ weird.
Erbak: Can I side look the Doomsinger whilst everyone’s staring at the statue? And I just want to nod to him, just saying, “This, what’s his name? Amaunator. Is he known amongst your folk?”
Doomsinger: “Well, much like you, where I’m not really a god botherer, so, quite frankly, I wouldn’t know. I’m sure there are some people in my culture that knew of him, but your guess is as good as mine, to be honest.”
Erbak: “Well, would I love to stare at that thing. Come on. We should head to The Black Antlers.” I’m going to walk off, straight to looking around the town center, a bit put out.
Tobe: Can we see it at all? A Pair of Black Antlers, I assume if it’s popular, then it would stand out.
Ray: This whole town square is extremely large. There are a lot of different businesses that run here. But if you were to spend some time wandering around the square, yes. Eventually you come across one of the largest buildings here. It’s not necessarily the largest, but one of the largest buildings in this square does appear to be a tavern, based on the fact that there are several tables outside that appear to have umbrellas over them so that you can enjoy them in all sorts of weather. There are various glasses that are half full left on the tables. There are a couple of early drinking patrons sitting at the bar tables.
The front door of this tavern is actually shaped like a large deer’s head. When you take a step back, you can see the outline silhouette of the deer’s head in the shape of the door. And, directly over the door is a huge pair of black antlers carved out of a very interesting wood. It’s almost pitch black. And at first glance, it looks like they’re stained or painted in some way, but as you get closer, you see that actually, they’re not. Almost look like they could be made of obsidian, except as you look even more closely, you can see that there is a wood grain throughout the wood. But they’re real fancy and they’re a pair of antlers, and they’re black.
Tobe: “That’s a, huh. I don’t think I’ve ever seen wood like that before.”
Mhurren: “Interesting.”
GM: You’ve definitely heard of woods like this, but you’ve never seen any. And off the top of your head, you can’t remember the name of it, but you know that woods like this run you back a bit. They probably cost a lot.
Mhurren: Yeah. “It’s fancy.”
Tobe: “Hmm. Well, shall we go in?”
Mhurren: “Let’s go.”
GM: So you make your way through the deer head shaped door, underneath the black antlers, and when you go in, the size of the place inside is almost larger in appearance than the outside. It’s effectively just a tavern, but more of, there are so many tables here.
Tobe: It goes on forever.
GM: A good number of them are not populated by people. A lot of them have the chairs still sitting on them upside down to minimize the workload once people have cleaned up for the previous night. The bar is staffed. Mhurren, you hear, as you walk through the door, you’re trying to take all of this in, and you hear behind you the sound of someone trying really hard to sneak up on you very, very slowly, which is then accompanied by a loud clatter of tables falling off chairs and,
Nasim: “{pained cough} Ow, ah, owwww. That was unexpected.”
Mhurren: {laughs}
GM: And as you turn, you see a very familiar firbolg lying amongst several bar chairs which are on top of him.
Mhurren: I go over to him
GM:Nasim: Upside down, he looks up at you and goes, “{scoff} Hello. It is good to see that you’ve made it and I am very embarrassed about this.”
Mhurren: “It’s good to see you too, Nasim. Now, get up.” I help him.
GM: He shifts the chairs carefully off him because he doesn’t want to break anything, and then he stands up, rubs the back of his head.
Mhurren: “Are you all right?”
Nasim: “I, uh, I have only hurt my pride.” {laughs}
Mhurren: {laughs}
GM:Nasim: And he pulls up the chairs and starts putting them back on the table, looks over at the bar. “Sorry, about this.” And he turns back to you, “It’s the third time this week.”
Tobe: “Maybe you should stop trying to sneak up on people.”
Nasim: “No. This is the first time I’ve tried to sneak up on anyone. It’s just, the tables are so small and I am very big. It is good to see you.” And he continues to put chairs back on the tables.
Mhurren: I go and help him do that, “Um, Nasim, how long have you been in town, or in the city?”
Nasim: “Well, I would say we have probably been here almost a week now. We left shortly after Leosin awoke and you left for the camp. I hope your adventure was profitable and productive.”
Mhurren: “I’d like to think so, too. {laughs}”
Nasim: “You all seem in very good health.”
Tobe: “Not for lack of trying.”
Nasim: “Hah! Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. {slow, awkward, laughter}. I forgot how funny you are. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.”
{laughs}
Tobe: Oh, my god.
Mhurren: “It’s good to see you Nasim. But tell me, where, where is your master?”
Nasim: “I believe he is probably sleeping. He has been very lazy of late.”
Mhurren: “What makes you think that?”
Nasim: “I think the light here makes him sleep restlessly.”
Mhurren: “I suppose that’s reasonable.”
Tobe: “It is rather bright.”
Nasim: “Yes, that is why. That. Is. Why.”
Mhurren: “Well, {clears throat} what say we go wake him up?”
Tobe: “Well, there’s other places that Erbak wants to check out and we could familiarize ourselves with the city a little bit and come back later. There’s no reason to get him out of bed, really, is there?”
Nasim: “I happen to be here by happenstance and also because Leosin said that you would come here, but we are staying at The Wizard’s Harlot. It is a very nice inn with a very saucy name.”
Tobe: “Yes, I can see that.”
Nasim: “The name is a little bit misleading, though. There were no harlots there that I could see.”
Tobe: “I’m sure it’s probably just for, uh, dramatic effect.”
Nasim: “There is a very interesting picture, though.”
Tobe: “Uh-huh {skeptical}.”
GM: He winks at you, Mhurren, very slowly.
{laughs} {blows raspberry}
Nasim: “Not something you would see at the monastery, if you understand my meaning.”
{laughs}
Erbak: I see nothing wrong with this situation. I have missed all the nuance here.
GM: Actually, now that you mention it, Erbak …
Erbak: Mm-hmm {affirmative}.
Nasim: Nasim absorbs the fact that you are here and walks over to you and he offers you his hand. “I am told that you tried to help my master when he was resting and despite the fact that it would seem it did not go the way you expected, I appreciate the effort.”
Erbak: “I’m only sorry that it didn’t work anywhere near as well as I expected it to. But, of course, I’m a doctor and it is my duty.” And then I shake his hand.
GM: He shakes your hand for a very long time, very slowly.
Erbak: I’m a lizard, I can deal with this.
GM: You guys just watch Erbak and Nasim shake each other’s hand and stare at each other in relative silence, probably.
Tobe: “{clears throat pointedly}”
GM: Nasim turns and looks at you slowly.
Tobe: “Maybe we should get on with our day?”
Nasim: “I was just stopping for breakfast. You are welcome to join me or we can meet here later. I am sure that Ontharr Frume will be thrilled to hear that you have arrived.”
Tobe: “Have you told him about us already?”
Nasim: “I did not need to. Leosin took care of that.”
Tobe: “What exactly has he been told about us?”
Nasim: Nasim shrugs. “I am not privy to the details of the conversations of my master, but I’m sure it’s all good.”
Tobe: “{disapproving groan}”
Nasim: “Ontharr Frume is a very good man and he knows how to party.”
Tobe: “We’ll keep that in mind.”
GM: He smiles broadly and gives you two thumbs up.
Tobe: {laughs} That does not make me comfortable. {laughs}
Nasim: “He enjoys engaging in feats of athleticism under the influence of ale.”
Tobe: I side eye Scraw. {laughs}
Erbak: I’m just going to look at Scraw and then back to Nasim again.
GM: Scraw isn’t really paying too much attention to this, because Nasim talks really slowly and Scraw has a very short attention span.
Tobe: And we should all be happy about that for now. {laughs}
Nasim: “You will see later.”
Tobe: “I can’t wait.”
Nasim: “I look forward to watching you and him wrestle, Mhurren. It will be exciting.”
Tobe: “Looks like you’ve got a reputation to look up to.”
Mhurren: “I, uh, I look forward to that too?”
Nasim: “You should. It will be a challenge.”
Tobe: He said Leosin’s not been getting up up until 10:00. Do we know roughly what time it is now?
GM: It’s about 7:00.
Tobe: Some hours to kill.
GM: Yeah, you’ve got some time to kill.
Tobe: “Well, whilst we’re waiting for Leosin to get up and about, why don’t we go and find that apothecary?”
Erbak: I’m definitely on my way there.
Tobe: {laughs} Erbak’s like, he’s just walked off.
Mhurren: Did he just disappear halfway through?
Tobe: Tobe’s talking to open space.
Erbak: No, no. I’m actually still with you guys this time. “Well, I have a few places in mind for when the halfling gentleman told us, gave us some information. Erm, do you want to look at the apothecary first or would anyone further armory?”
Tobe: “Whichever’s closer, but I think getting at least a little used to the landscape of the city, even if it’s just the nearby vicinity would be a good idea, so we don’t end up getting lost in the future.”
Mhurren: “Yes, familiarize ourselves.”
Erbak: “Apparently there is a phylactery nearby. It’s in the town square.” Benson’s it’s probably nearby, because he said it was in the …
GM: Yes, it is in the main square.
Erbak: And I can definitely tell this party we need potions.
GM: This is true. You wander around the town square and it’s quite apparent when you find Benson’s Phylactery, because it’s a very unusual building. And by that, what I mean is, it’s almost sterile.
Compared to the other stores which are made with stone and wood and they have foggy glass windows and inside you look through and you see shelves and shelves of fruit and veg or haunches of meat or dusty bits and bobs, whatever they’re selling, this place, it’s made of stone, but inside the floor’s almost made of marble-like material. It’s polished to a fine point. And all of the shelves, primarily line the walls. It’s quite a small store and when you walk in, it is a relatively small open space. There are no shelves that are in the middle of the store for you to browse between. There are shelves, but they all line the walls. And there appears to be a glass pane directly between you and what’s on the shelves. But, if you glance through, you can see jars of things that are clearly marked for individual herbs or components and the like. There are also, so I imagine, the store on one side is all component based and the other side is premade supplies.
Erbak: Well, I’m heading straight to the premade aisle, because right now I don’t have any interest in concocting anything.
GM:Tabaxi: It’s a small, square room, effectively and between either of these glass walls is a counter which has a tabaxi who is very well kept. Their snout is longer and slimmer than what you’ve seen recently. They have an almost striped pattern in the fur that runs across their arms, but their fur is kept very, very short all over. They’re wearing an almost treated kind of leather outfit that runs from the neck down. And it’s almost like a bodysuit. As you walk in, they look up and greet you. “Hello. Welcome to Benson’s. How may I help you?”
Erbak: “Potions, in particular.”
Tabaxi: “I see.”
Erbak: “We’re looking for potions, healing potions.”
Tabaxi: “Potions for the healing. What-what kind of healing? Are you looking for a healing of the soul, of the internal body systems? Are you looking injuries or illness? Healing is a very broad scale, you see.”
Erbak: “Injuries primarily. Although, illness, maybe. I-I would very much be interested in.”
Tabaxi: “Well, um, let me see what we have. What kind of injuries? We have potions that are capable of treating minor grazes, preventing infection. We have potions that are capable of preventing limb loss in the situation where a dire wound is inflicted. We-we have a great many things.”
Erbak: “Hmm …” I’ll ruffle through the money I’ve got. “Just buying a minor injury healing for now, I would say.”
Tabaxi: They rifle around under the counter and say, “Uh, yes, well, we have … I can probably spare you six of these today and these come at 65 gold pieces and that is for healing minor wounds. We also have potions capable of treating poisoning. Uh, we have elixirs of health.”
Erbak: “I’ll take two of those generous healing potions.”
Tobe: “I’ll take two as well.”
Mhurren: “Same here.”
Tabaxi: “Ah, very well. That is our entire stock. Although, hmm, I may be able to find some in the back if the rest of you want anything.” Myx nods vehemently. “What are you looking for.”
Myx: “I would like two, please.”
Tabaxi: “Yes, we have elixirs of health also which are capable of curing, well, more or less any disease or any unnatural state which may be inflicted upon you. Say, for example, you were to sample a mushroom that you were not familiar with and became paralyzed. An elixir of health would resolve the situation. Let me see what I have.” And she starts rummaging around under the counter, comes back up and says, “I’m afraid we do not have any of the minor injury potions left, but we do have these,” and she brings up a slightly larger vial, which looks very similar to the regular healing potions, and these are greater healing potions.
Myx: “How much is the greater healing potion, please?”
Tabaxi: “That would be 165 gold, each.”
Myx: “{balks} Each?”
Tabaxi: “Yes, these are very difficult to make. They are capable of healing limbs that have been broken, or in some cases preventing amputees from becoming amputees. If you were in a situation where you potentially might have to lose a leg completely, uh, this potion could do enough to heal you. This is very powerful magic.”
Myx: “Um, guys, sh-should we split because, it sounds like the kind of thing we might want to have on us.”
Doomsinger: Doomsinger turns to the Tabaxi behind the counter, leans up with one elbow and says, “So, how much are they really worth to you? We’re buying and awful lot.”
Tabaxi: And she looks at him in the eye and goes, “The big ones are 165 gold, apologies if you did not hear me.”
Doomsinger: He reaches over and puts his hand on hers, “No, no. I didn’t, I didn’t mishear you. I just, I think we can come to an agreement. You and I, we-we’re friendly.” And she looks at him like, “Sir, I really think you should take your …” And he says, “I just think we’re buying a lot and you should give us a discount. And you should allow us to buy whatever we feel is reasonable at a reasonable price. And, uh, not think about it for the rest of the day once we leave.”
Tabaxi:“You know, that seems like a … Yeah. I think I could do that. Sure. Y-you are buying a lot. You’re right. This is, um, a lot of potions. I-is there anything else I can, I can get for you? We have more than healing potions. We have a very powerful mage under, on retainer who enchants our, our wares and they are very, very good. We can give you potions that do a lot of different things. Potions are more than just healing, you know, but that is a very good use of healing magic, of course. It’s very useful, but have you ever considered maybe you want to feel a little bit more, you know …” [finger snapping] And she’s wiggling at you, “You know, just, uh, something that gives you a little pep in your step. Hmm?”
Erbak: My eyes narrow. “Do you have anything that may particularly be somewhat soporific in gaseous form, perhaps?”
Tabaxi: “What are you trying to accomplish?”
Erbak: “We are travelers. We often encounter bandits on the road and well, anything that could get them off our backs would most certainly be useful.”
Tabaxi: “Well, I’m sure we have something around. That sort of thing is a little hostile for our tastes, but that said, I, yes, I think we can probably work something out. Hmm, let me see.” And she rummages around under the counter and brings out a small, blue vial.
She says, “This is a potion of rest and if you use it on someone in a situation in which you may need to apply sleep, for example, in a self defense capacity where perhaps somebody was rushing towards you and you wish to stop them from doing so. You can smash this on the ground and they get drowsy.”
Myx: “I want it! I’ll take it!”
Tabaxi: “If they are not already pepping in their stepping. This is 120 gold.”
Erbak: “Done.”
Tabaxi: She smiles blankly at all of you. “Thank you so much for you business. It’s been a pleasure to have you today.”
Myx: “It’s been a pleasure buying from you.”
Tabaxi: “You bought from us?”
Myx: “I mean, uh, have a nice day.” And Myx just just leave the store.
Erbak: “Sorry, just perusing.”
Mhurren: “Well met.”
GM: She doesn’t respond any further.
You notice that despite all the businesses here and perhaps because of, there are no stalls in this area. It’s the market square. It doesn’t have a market. There’s just the elven statue in the middle of the fountain and the greenery and all of the businesses lining the square. After all of your bimbling around, you can estimate it’s probably 9:00ish.
Erbak: “Erm, I’ve done what I’ve come to do here. Should we go find Leosin then? He must be awake by now.”
Tobe: “Yeah, I’d say … I mean, even if he isn’t we can just wait there for him.”
Mhurren: “Let’s hope so.”
Erbak: “Well, then, to the Wizard’s Harlot?”
Tobe: “Well, I thought we were meeting at The Pair of Black Antlers.”
GM: So, yes, you head over to A Pair of Black Antlers. You make your way inside and there are people sitting around having breakfast at this point. However, when you walk in, you don’t immediately catch sight of Leosin. However, you do see Nasim and Nasim is deep in conversation with a very large, dark-furred, bugbear who is wearing heavy plate mail and appears to be chatting with him enthusiastically and drinking heavily.
Tobe: All this day drinking. So, I walk over there.
Erbak: I’m going with.
Mhurren: Yeah, okay.
GM: You notice Scraw’s a little quiet. He actually hangs back slightly. He’s following you all, but he seems to shrink. As you approach, Nasim looks up.
Nasim:“Ah, and there they are now. Mister Frume, may I introduce to you …”
Frume: The bugbear turns around to look at you all. “The Scales of Justice! A pleasure!”
Tobe: “Yeah, hi.” {laughs}
GM: And he gets up and enthusiastically proffers a hand, a gauntleted arm out to you all.
Mhurren: I step forward and I take his … I shake him.
Frume: “As I expected. Mhurren the Undying, no doubt.”
Mhurren: “Please, just, just Mhurren.”
Frume: “We appreciate and respect titles around here and you’ll go by Mhurren the Undying whether you like it or not. Hah-hah!”
Mhurren: “Uh, very well. Uh, so you are Ontharr?”
Frume: “I am Ontharr Frume. I am of the Order of Torm. I am also of the Order of the Gauntlet. It’s a pleasure to meet you all and I’m glad to have you in our city. Have you found your way around?”
Tobe: “We’ve seen a little bit of the city, yeah?”
Mhurren: “Briefly.”
Frume: “Well, I like to meet early risers. It’s good to know that people who get up early are productive members of society and you do what’s right for the people that count. That’s good. Barman! A round!” And he sits back down. “Come, sit. Sit.”
Mhurren: Well, I take a seat amongst ’em.
GM: Scraw sits at the chair furthest away from Nasim and Ontharr Frume.
Tobe: Damnit. {laughs} That’s what I was gonna …
Erbak: Can I take a look at Frume and then Scraw? I’m just trying to work out why Scraw might be a little hesitant.
GM: Ontharr Frume is eight foot tall, broad, bestial looking, a little bit fat, but otherwise powerful and old. He looks like a giant beast of a man. When standing next to Tobe, Scraw looks massive. He looks like a big, powerful bugbear. Were Ontharr Frume and Scraw standing next to one another, it would be immediately apparent that Scraw is a teenager and he has not yet filled into his potential form and he feels small and insignificant.
Erbak: Erbak has difficulty understanding the whole concept of an intimidation sometimes, so …
GM: Absolutely, yeah. He probably doesn’t understand there being a social reason for any of this.
Erbak: All very strange.
GM: The barmaid come over and she smiles at you all warmly. She’s wearing very plain clothes. She’s got the typical barmaid’s outfit of the ruffled shirt that sits low-cut. She has a leather doublet over the top that cinches around the waist and goes to a long cotton skirt. She hands out rounds of ale, smiles especially warmly at you Tobe as she hands you a drink.
Tobe: Smile warily back. {laughs}
Myx: As Myx is seeing this happen, she winks and nudges Tobe with her elbow. She definitely knows Tobe better than that, but she’s playing with him.
Tobe: Yeah, I just like smile politely back and thank her for my drink.
Barmaid: “Such good manners. Frum, you should bring more people like him here.” And Frume goes,
Frume:“Aw, peace woman. She’s always getting at me, that one. So, Leosin tells me you’re all a bunch o’ heroes. Saved the town. Saved the people. And you’re after those bastard cultists.”
Tobe: “I guess that’s about the, the sum of it.”
Erbak: “That seems to be the case …”
Mhurren: “Well, we helped.”
Frume: “Well, you’re here now and I say you take a load off before Leosin gets here and ruins our fun.” And he starts drinking his drink very, very quickly.
Mhurren: Can I just say to the barmaid, “Um, just a water for me, please.”
GM: Puts the ale down in front of you. “Sorry dear, he outranks you.”
Mhurren: I’ll probably just slide it over to Scraw.
GM: You see Nasim looking at you.
Tobe: Dude.
GM: And without moving his head, he’s using his eyes only. He’s looking at you and then he’s looking at Ontharr Frume and then he’s looking back at you, looking at Ontharr Frume who’s drinking his drink. You get the impression Nasim’s like, “What are you doing? Drink the drink.” And Nasim picks up his ale and goes,
Nasim: {pointedly} “Oh, oh yes. I do love a good morning ale with the Scales of Justice, my friends who I enjoy a good morning ale with, frequently.”
Tobe: {laughs} Even Tobe is at least sipping at his drink as he’s {laughs}It’s just that even I’m giving Mhurren meaningful looks given the conversation I had said earlier about manners and {laughs} when people give you things.
Mhurren: I’m just kind of staring at my ale and remembering what happened at the last time we were …
GM: Oh, yeah, at the last tavern. Just over a week ago. {laughs}
Mhurren: Just feeling incredibly guilty.
Tobe: Kick Mhurren under the table {laughs}.
GM: I think Scraw is reluctantly sipping at his drink as well.
Erbak: Erbak is sipping and he has not noticed and of these little interactions whatsoever. I’m just drinking ale. So is everyone else. I don’t know why Nasim is talking about it so much.
Tobe: I’m gonna kick Mhurren {laughs} under the table. ‘Stop being rude.’ I’m guessing where he is. I’m not kicking hard.
GM: You’ve definitely successfully kicked Mhurren under the table, I think.
Mhurren: I’m looking up and just turning around subtly.
Tobe: I’m squinting at him {laughs}. And I’ve got my ale up to my mouth as I’m sipping it, I’m just squinting at over the top {laughs} at Mhurren.
Mhurren: I catch his eye and then I raise it slowly, with narrow eyes.
Tobe: Three people are uncomfortably drinking at this table {laughs}.
GM: Ontharr Frume is in no way acknowledging any of this. He’s just drinking.
Mhurren: I take one sip from it.
GM: So, yeah, you are all sitting around getting merry with Ontharr Frume when Leosin arrives into the tavern.
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[cello march]
Leosin: “Well, if it isn’t the Scales of Justice. It’s good to see you, friends.” Leosin walks into the bar and approaches the table where you are all merrily drinking, some more actively than others with Ontharr Frume, who is a large, eight foot tall, armor plated bugbear wearing the Symbol of Torm and the Order of the Gauntlet.
Frume: He looks up and turns to Leosin as he walks over. “Leosin! It’s about time. I didn’t expect last night would be quite so rough on you. Thought you’d be used to this by now.”
Leosin: “Yes, well, uh, we can’t all have your endurance. So, friends, I hope you arrive with good tidings.”
Erbak: “We have news? Whether it’s good news or not, erm, I suppose you’ll decide.”
Leosin: “If it’s the kind of news that I sent you for, then be it as it may, it will be good. The more we know, the more power we have.”
Erbak: “All right. Well, um, I suppose the biggest point of the day is, um, we killed Landedrosa .”
Leosin: “Well, congratulations, I suppose. It’s a shame you weren’t able to capture him, but he is a brute, so … I imagine that would have been a somewhat of a challenge.”
Tobe: “A challenge that he didn’t exactly give us the option.”
Leosin: “Yes, I expected not. Why did you, uh … Why did you fight him in the first place?”
Myx: “He kind of cornered us.”
Leosin: “So, you invaded the camp then?”
Myx: “{stutters} Th-that’s one of putting it, yes.”
Leosin: “You just went in there with all those cultists there and faced down Langdedrosa and nobody stopped you?”
Tobe: “Not exactly. By the time we returned to the camp they had, for the most part moved on.”
Leosin: “Oh, perhaps you, uh, buried the lead a little there.”
Tobe: “I didn’t exactly expect them to hang around after the commotion we caused getting you out.”
Leosin: “{grumbles} That’s is troubling.”
Mhurren: “How are you feeling, by the way?”
Leosin: He looks at Frume, “I’m feeling fine for the moment. I think maybe I need to {clears throat} hair of the worg.”
Mhurren: “I hear you’re having trouble ssssleeping?”
GM: Ane he sits down next to Frum, looks at the barmaid and signals for her to bring him a drink. You get the impression his injuries have all cleared up. However, he has spent at least a few days with Ontharr Frume now, and you get the idea that this day drinking of his is a regular occurrence and it’s sometimes and usually frequently turns to night drinking.
Leosin: “So, they were gone, they were gone but you fought Langedrosa. How does that work?”
Tobe: “They were still occupying a cave as they had possession of a couple of dragon eggs and were, I suppose, keeping an eye on them, since they didn’t seem to want to move them.”
Leosin: “I do recall them referring to the cave as a hatchery. So, that makes sense, What on earth would what they want with dragon eggs.”
Myx: “We don’t really … {sighs} w-we still don’t know, but they, they were quite heavily guarded and very deep into the cave.”
Frume: “Well, I imagine what they wanted with the dragon eggs was baby dragons, probably. Just a hunch.” And he slaps Leosin on the back.
Erbak: “We managed to get them out, but then we were corned by Frulum Mondath.”
Leosin: “That sounds familiar, but this is all very confusing. There were dragon eggs, you say, and you defeated and killed Langed Androssa.” And you notice for the first time, Tobe, that Leosin looks at you and takes in what he’s seeing. “Huh, yeah, that cloak fits your quite well.”
Tobe: “Uh, yeah, we kind of took it from him after we killed him.”
Leosin: “Hm, you might want to be careful about who you, uh, wear that around. It has a lot of very significant meaning to the cult. Those who know of their activities might not entirely interpret it as a, well, you wouldn’t want to be mistaken for one of them, now would you?”
Tobe: There is actually a look of distaste on my face as he says that. I’m like, “No, not really.”
Myx: “Does Tobe look like a cultist, ’cause I don’t think Tobe looks like a cultist.”
Erbak: “Well, no one looks like a cultist until they set a dragon to burn you.”
Leosin: “The cloak that he’s wearing is a mark of great stature within the cult. The wearers of purple are the leaders of their individual sects. Only the highest ranking members are allowed these cloaks and, in fact, from what I can tell, they’re actually individual. This cape, specifically belonged to Langedrosa.”
Myx: “So what you’re saying is we should dye the cape.”
Leosin: “If that’s possible, certainly. It’s not a bad idea.”
Myx: “Tobe, time to find you a new favorite color.”
Tobe: “Erm, blue? {laughs}”
Myx: “Eh, we can work with blue.”
Erbak: “Oh, we should probably mention the dragon.”
Myx: “Oh, yeah. We were getting to it.”
Leosin: “In the, the, in the eggs, you mean?”
Erbak: “No, the, the actual dragon.”
Leosin: He looks at you very perturbed. “Remember, a moment ago, when I said burying the lead? Perhaps we should just start from the beginning. I sent you from Greenest to monitor the cult’s activities. When you got there, they were gone. You then investigated the cave because I said that I would like to know what they had in there, and you found some dragon eggs.”
Erbak: “Mm-hmm {affirmative}.”
Leosin: “You took them, but you don’t seem to have any dragon eggs with you and there’s something about Frulum Mondath and a dragon? Am I, am I missing anything here? What?”
Erbak: “Well, when we left the cave, Frulum Mondath and some of her followers were stood at the entrance. And naturally, threatened us to get the eggs back on account of how valuable they were. And she appeared to have brought a dragon, the same one that had attempted to attack Greenest, if I recall.”
Leosin: “Well, it’s not unusual for chromatics to be aligned with evil. So, I suppose that makes sense.”
Tobe: “This one didn’t, at least at the time it attacked Greenest, did not seem to be willingly aligned with the cult.”
Leosin: So, his brow furrows further. “Why do you say that?”
Tobe: “Because the, {stammers} the dragon inferred to us that it was … Well, at least one of the eggs in the cave was its own progeny and it was basically being held to ransom. Mhurren, you had a conversation with Lennithon.”
Mhurren: “A conversation. Hmm. I …”
Leosin: “I, I don’t wish to question your judgement, but dragons are somewhat, hmm, powerful creatures. Were you to threaten its progeny in front of it, for example, the likelihood is you would not survive the encounter. It seems odd to me that it would be doing their bidding on the basis that they had its child. That seems more likely to be the kind of thing that would lead to them being incinerated, not giving instructions.”
Myx: “In all honesty, I think they had some kind of control over the dragon and I haven’t been able to figure it out, but it’s like he, he didn’t have a choice.”
Frume: Ontharr Frume looks at you very, very seriously. “Control? Are you absolutely certain? That’s a mighty thing to suggest.”
Myx: “Well, I mean, 80% certain.”
Erbak: “It didn’t not seem entirely in control of all it’s faculties when we encountered it outside the cave?”
Mhurren: “That is correct. I- I couldn’t quite explain it, but I-I felt like, for a second, I-I was able to, um, break whatever hold, whatever power was held over the dragon. But, as you can see, we-we didn’t leave, um, unscathed.”
Frume: “Well, the fact that you left at all speaks volumes. But you said that they had control over this dragon. It was not of its own will, but you managed to break through that. How, how was that possible? If such a thing could occur. If for some reason they do have the abilities to control a dragon, well, knowing how you were able to break through would certainly save many lives.”
Mhurren: “I wish I could explain to you, but …”
Frume: “Well, so do I.”
Mhurren: “I don’t really know myself.”
Erbak: “The last thing we recall, last we had the eggs and were being cornered was a huge bolt of energy and then we woke up in Greenest.”
Frume: “Hmm.”
Erbak: “Well, I did, anyway.”
Frume: “A lightning dragon, you say. What made you think that they had control over this, that it wasn’t simply evil? As Leosin says …”
Erbak: “It seemed more beastial, if I had to describe it, as though it couldn’t quite … I don’t know. It was more like an animal than a being with rational capacity.”
Tobe: “The first time we encountered it, it tried to negotiate with Mhurren and convince us to go and look for its progeny. The second time we encountered it, like Erbak says, it was less intelligent and more like a beast. We couldn’t communicate at all with it.”
GM: From the moment that Tobe says that Mhurren was negotiating with a dragon, he turns and he just looks super fucking impressed, making eye contact with you as he’s downing the remnants of his drink. He slaps you on the shoulder, Mhurren.
Mhurren: “{coughs} I mean, {sighs}”
Frume: “Mhurren the Undying. I have a proposition for you. A contest of strength. Proposition, nay, I demand it.”
Mhurren: “Well, I’m not one to back down, but …”
Frume: “Great! [claps]” And he gets up and {laughs] Leosin rolls his eyes
Leosin: “{groans} Must we really do this now?”
Frume: “When’s a better time than as the dawn is rising?! FOR BATTLE!”
Tobe: “Is the dawn still rising? {laughs}”
{laughs}
GM: You see him moving over towards the other side of the bar and it’s immediately apparent that this happens fairly frequently, because the waitress immediately starts rushing over and moving tables and chairs and pushing them up against the wall and just making as much room as possible away from things …
Mhurren: Oh, god.
GM: … as she can muster.
Mhurren: “Um.” I was halfway through to another sip. So, I just put my tankard back down, “{sighs}” and I stand up.
Erbak: I move my seat to get a better view.
Mhurren: I eye the barlady and, “I’m sorry.”
Barmaid: She turns with a smile. “Oh, no, no. It’s all good. It’s fine. T-t-the Gauntlet do plenty for this town and well, if the price that we pay is keeping Frume in drink and giving him the space he needs for his, uh, well, it’s a small price to pay.”
{laughs}
Mhurren: “I’m glad I can indulge him.”
Tobe: “I wonder if you’ll be glad for much longer.”
GM: Ontharr Frume walks over to the other side of the room, into this newly cleared area, turns and he takes off his plate mail chest piece and he puts it to one side. He keeps on his right gauntlet, which you notice is a completely different color to the rest of his armor and he stretches, reaches up over his head some, and then he looks at you dead in the eye.
Mhurren: “Um …”
Frume: “Now, [claps] Mhurren the Undying, COME AT ME!” He stands in a grappling pose.
Mhurren: Shit. Okay. I’ll just walk over into that area and face him off.
GM: He stands prepared and ready but doesn’t make any move.
Mhurren: I hold up my mace and I just look back at him.
Frume: You hold up your mace and he’s like, “Come now, real men do not need weapons when they speak with their hearts.”
Tobe: “I think he wants to wrestle.”
Mhurren: “So be it.” I drop the mace.
{laughs}
Frume: He continues to stand there, grapple ready. “Come! Show me what the dragonspeaker is made of.”
{laughs}
Mhurren: Nope. I go into a stance.
Doomsinger: “Yes, Mhurren, show him what the dragonspeaker is made of. Hah-hah.”
Myx: Where is Scraw in all this?
GM: Scraw is sitting on the other end of the table quietly looking into his drink and occasionally sipping.
Mhurren: I start inching over to him.
GM: He makes no move to move whatsoever. It’s like he’s made of stone.
Mhurren: I’m gonna throw a punch.
GM: You throw your fist forwards to try and hit him and he takes a double step backwards and then rushes forwards and tries to swipe at you. How do you dodge it?
Mhurren: Is he just rushing at me?
GM: He swings for a big haymaker.
Mhurren: I’ll put a forearm up and try to block.
GM: He swings a big haymaker at you and you put your arm up and block it and he grins.
Mhurren: With the blocked hand can I just spin it so my hand is grabbing his arm?
GM: So, you try to grab hold of his wrist and then twist it. Your hand lands on his wrist as you block his haymaker. “Hah, got you!” And you try and twist it and the gauntlet just stays perfectly still as he rushes forwards and one inch punches you with that same arm and it collides directly with your shoulder.
Mhurren: “{grunts}”
Myx: “Booo.”
Erbak: “Should have gone with the punch.”
Tobe: “I think he tried to go with a punch, that’s where it went wrong.”
Myx: “Come on, Mhurren! You’re better than that.”
Mhurren: I’m just gonna throw my other free hand at him and go for a punch. Goddamnit!
GM: You try and throw another punch and it’s like the impact in your shoulder from his previous hit has just set you off balance and he copies your move and as your hand comes in to swing from the other side he actually reaches out and grabs it and he’s going to try and grapple you.
Mhurren: Oh, shit. {sighs and whispers} Natural 1.
GM: Oh, okay. You swing at him and he replicates the move that you did. He grabs hold of your wrist as it’s coming in and he goes,
Frume: “Now this is how it’s done.” And he spins you around and how your arm is now twisted behind your back and you are grappled.
Mhurren: Oh, shit. I’m gonna try and break free from it.
Myx: “Punch him in the face.”
Mhurren: Oh, my god.
GM: You try and {laughs} spring out of it.
Myx: “Punch him harder.”
Frume: “Nope.” And he puts both arms around your waist and he’s going to try and suplex you. {laughs}
Tobe: Oh, god. {laughs}
GM: He wraps both arms around your waist and twists over backwards trying to suplex you into the ground and as he flips over, you use the momentum to cartwheel out of his arms and you land directly behind him and he is now in a very compromised position.
Erbak: “Ah.”
Tobe: “That’s more like it.”
Mhurren: I’m gonna try and grapple him. Gonna try and put him in a half nelson.
GM: As you are fighting, the Doomsinger begins to play a little medley.
Mhurren: I feel like I need it. {laughs}
GM: So, you successfully grapple him in a half nelson and he is going to swing his fist up into your nads with the gauntlet.
Tobe: Oof. The men in the room wince. {laughs}
Myx: Myx is shielding her eyes. She doesn’t want to see this.
GM: But, you still have him grappled. You, “{growls}” brace for the impact.
Mhurren: “Oof.”
GM: You take it. And his eyes widen in surprise as you …
Mhurren: Get one of my feet to clip one of his over the front and try and force him over so he falls down.
Frume: You reach your leg around and you push him over and pin him to the ground. He laughs uproariously. “{laughing} Leosin, you weren’t kidding. These kids know what’s up. {laughs}”
Leosin: “Thank you for allowing that. I think he’s, uh, probably got all the evidence he needs now,” he says to you all at the table surreptitiously and under his breath.
Erbak: “How has he got all the evidence he wants?”
Leosin: “We’ll soon find out.”
Frume: Frume, presuming Mhurren eventually lets up, he’s just like, “I yield!”
Mhurren: “{laughs} Okay.” I’ll get off him. {laughs}
Myx: “Naw, sit on him! Crush him!”
Erbak: “Don’t encourage him.”
Mhurren: I hear this from Myx so I just stay there a little bit longer.
{laughs}
Myx: “Yeah!”
GM: You sit on him and as you do so, you find yourself being lifted off the ground as he gets up anyway.
Mhurren: “Op.” {laughs}
Erbak: “I told you not to encourage him.”
Frume: He gets up and you slide off and he pats you on the back and he says, “That was well fought, but don’t push your luck.”
And he wanders over to the table and sees, to his cheer, that the barmaid has brought over a new round for everybody. Takes one in hand and raises it, “To the Scales of Justice! Tonight we will hold a banquet in your honor. It is a pleasure to have you.”
Tobe: Oh god. Ugh.
Mhurren: I’m just awkwardly dusting myself off [hands rubbing together].
GM: He’s still shirtless, toasting you all. He hasn’t bothered to recover his armor.
Myx: “Yeah! To Mhurren!”
Frume: “To Mhurren the Undying!”
Tobe: “To Mhurren.”
Frume: “The Undying.”
Mhurren: I go back over to the bar and I raise my tankard. “To the Scales of Justice.”
GM: Taps tankards with you for a toast and quaffs his ale.
Erbak: I should probably let them know about where cultists are probably heading.
Tobe: Yeah, we haven’t told them like the direction that we …
GM: You provide him with the details about where they’re headed.
Erbak: I’m just gonna go over and offer to help Mhurren reset anything that might have been popped out of place, because I watched the whole fight with great curiosity and appreciation and, yeah, there’s probably a few things out of place.
GM: You go over and you use your medical faculties to assess him. He actually seems quite sturdy, quite whole. It seems like he should have taken quite the blow from that nether punch.
Mhurren: “I-I think I’m good, doctor. Thank you.”
GM: I don’t know. Perhaps Erbak would like a closer look at your loins.
{laughs}
Mhurren: “{stammers} I’m really nnngh.”
GM: Ensure nothing is in need of repair.
{laughs}
Mhurren: I do a little jiggle. “Mmm, yep. It’s still there. All good, thanks.”
{laughs}
Erbak: “Ah the sheer robustness of Orcish genitalia.”
GM: I apologize for nothing.
[gentle string music]
Ray: And that’s all we had time for. Join us next week for episode 3, A Sudden Missive. Don’t forget to check out our Patreon on https://patreon.com/darkdragonsinn where you can gain access to exclusive content, a Patreon only Discord channel and more. Until next time, travel safe and remember, in this realm or the next, The Scales of Justice are here for you, always.
