The Unforgiving City | Age of Umbra Episode 6 Part 2

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New episodes release every Tuesday.

Hey there, Matthew Mercer here, and you're listening to part two of this episode of Age of Umrah, a dark tale and campaign setting from our recently released tabletop RPG Daggerheart from Darrington Press.

If you haven't checked out part one yet, pause this now and head over there first.

Otherwise, let's return to our adventurers striving against the darkness in part two.

And welcome back.

So,

charging into the inner sanctum surrounding the Athenium,

the sky gets darker still as you push forward.

The sound of heavy impacts, footfalls, and growls in the distance.

The calls of many of the surrounding entities.

The fiends that hunt and search are aware of your presence and their coming.

As you get close to the outer walls, you can see torchlights

alighting along the wall and voices starting to shout, Hey!

Hawkers!

Gather to the front!

weapons ready, oh no,

and you start seeing many of the Guardian soldiers along the top edges of the fortress walls arming themselves,

as well as in this bend of here,

but you don't have to.

The arch you all went through blasts open from behind a few hundred feet back, and you watch the terror gut.

Oh no,

it's chasing us!

Help us!

Help!

Who?

We're from Desperate Luck!

Please!

We're survivors!

They're like!

We're the Enduring Enduring!

I'm a fellow Pyrekeeper!

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, the cop, the colour.

Alright, I'm gonna need you to make a presence roll for me.

Okay.

As the current shift guard on this side of the fortress is the one with his hand up as you glance up and see in the light, he's about to let loose a barrage of arms against you.

Before they see me,

do I have a moment to adjust my appearance?

I'll say I'll allow it.

Okay.

As you start noticing them take notice of you, you can make that shift.

I'm going to make that shift back into.

Okay, do you have to roll for it?

I do not.

Yeah, so you just go ahead and do that.

I am going to describe, by the way, what they see as you change.

Are you going back to the previous one?

I'm going back to some of my previous

young woman, Dark hair.

Okay.

Round oh eyes.

So, like Laura Bailey?

Laura Bailey.

Okay.

She's still here with us.

Yeah.

Yeah, she's still here.

I'm going to use my dedicated Orderborn ability to use one of my values, one of my tenants,

to help with this presence role, which I haven't used this one yet.

No one dies alone in the dark.

So as I shout to them,

please,

it is your duty.

Protect us from the darkness we don't want to die like this.

All right, does anybody else want to

have advantage?

I don't have advantage.

I'm just using a D20.

I will spend a hope to use one of my experiences lending aid unnoticed and I will at your feet sort of cast a little divine light so that there's this

like underlighting of divine light underneath you as you shout out.

Excellent.

So you're giving advantage to this by helping?

Yeah, for the presence, yeah.

It just kind of highlights, it's almost like underlighting underneath of like my pyre keeper robes so that like it illuminates them and gives further credence to my claim of being part of the pirate to my investments okay come on now come on now i'm gonna roll the

yeah we're we're cooking baby we're cooking with that there we go there we go okay so that is a

That is a 17 for my hope on the D20 alone.

So 17 plus 4 from the help.

So that is going to be 17 minus 1 for my presence.

Plus 7 for the fear dice.

So that is going to be 27 with hope.

Damn.

27 with hope.

Damn.

As you're running and the ground beneath you lights up as you're rushing, hearing the

behind you, you hear the voices above the wall go, Did she see that?

She carries the gift.

Let them in.

Let them in.

Open the gates quickly, but close behind them.

No, they think I can do what you can do, but I can't.

Oh, no.

You all hear.

As the nearby gate shifts.

With the pulling of heavy chains out of sight, a light crack

opens across darkness as the warm interior of the fortress Athenium opens.

You rush around the corner.

The sound of the whip slashing and breaking stone and wall behind you.

You rush around the corner as you hear

airs being loosed.

Tearing into the fiend charging behind you.

Another volley!

You hear

a dark shape

misses the fiend and

crashes as an off-site catapult launches a massive boulder towards the behemoth.

It ducks below, looks over towards it,

Keeps lurching forward.

You all come charging into the gate.

As you rush in,

light and warmth hits you.

And as your eyes adjust from the darkness, you just see dozens of faces looking back as voices shout, Close it, close it, close it.

The wall behind you and the gate lurches slightly,

and slowly

you you hear a

here

you stand

within the strongholds

entry atrium from this side

many other armed enduring themselves

Heavy cloaks cross their shoulders, tattered and worn, dirtied.

Many of these soldiers are unkept and haggard, the ones that keep the frontmost gates.

But beyond just their immediate presence, all the other faces you see and focus on,

you realize that you have just stepped into a massive, cramped neighborhood

of wooden shacks, tents,

huts.

large levels of scaffolding built onto the atrium wall and ceiling of what was once a grand college entry chamber.

Now

a clustered

settlement built throughout the halls that remain standing.

You see across multiple chains hanging from edge to edge lanterns that glow gently.

and little symbols of faith kind of hung amongst them like trinkets or reminders.

You see amongst the soldiers civilians and families of all ages,

elderly themselves wrapped up in heavy robes or blankets in the process of cooking on kettles,

distributing what sort of foods and breads can be kept.

And indeed you smell, for the first time since you began this journey, the smell of fresh food.

And everyone's looking at you.

With a tension,

with an expectation,

Like any minute you might lash out before a soldier comes rushing through.

It's all right.

She carries a gift.

And you see a few faces look up.

The soldier kind of steps forward.

You see now a kind of the hood being pulled back.

You see an elven man, probably in his early 30s or so.

Multiple scars across his chin.

One eye looks a bit clouded on the right-hand side, but besides that, rather handsome fellow with long brown hair that goes past his shoulders.

There's pointed ears there.

One looks like it was cut along the side there, and there's kind of like a gap.

But other than that, looks like a strong soldier.

And the one that you recognize is the voice shouting at the top of the wall.

Steps forward.

You are

quite lucky that we caught you when we could.

If it's all right, I'd like for you to stay here to ensure that we have

clearance to allow you further within our domain.

We've not had the best of luck through the generations of strangers being let inside.

And for the protection of all within, I trust you respect that.

Of course, we have similar protocols in Desper Lock.

We understand.

Are we, by the way, are we are we carrying Callison's dead body right now?

100% of his body over his shoulders.

His upper thorax.

Yes, yes, he did

a leg or two.

You realize is the other reason everyone's staring?

You rushed in your strangers and you are carrying a charred half-body.

The soldier looks at you.

Is this

a friend?

Two, we two.

We lost two companions, and one is missing.

I'm sorry to hear that.

Do you have a place here to have a proper burial?

We've already burned him.

He's

he's not at risk of

one life.

There is a...

a courtyard of the Athenium.

It is quite full, but we're digging levels lower where we can

inter

those who pass and have been

freed from the salt light.

I will inquire if we have a chamber there not quite at capacity.

A few moments, please.

What is your name?

Sir Derenthal.

Sir Darren?

Sir Derenthel.

Derenthal Derenthal

I will speak to my commander.

She will likely be

the one to

help you or send you on your way.

You said

Desperok.

yes, we've been sent by the Triarch to

reignite our pyre

You've lost your pyre it has been extinguished.

It's uh desperate times and a few parties have been dispatched

to seek aid from Volcaro.

We've passed through there

It's honestly been quite a long journey only a few days

But as you can imagine it we've endured heavy losses

Of course.

I'm just gonna

heave August's body over in him now, just cradling him.

Take a knee and just rest him in front of us.

How long since the pie was lost?

Just a couple of days.

But we don't know when the umbra will come, so we're in a hurry.

We are on a journey to find a

blessed branch.

Um

It'll

shift eastward towards Tesbulok, so I know not what time there is.

But

I'll speak to my commander, Kieran.

She'll be able to help you

more than I could.

I'm sorry.

your hospitality is already appreciated

i'm

i'm glad you could be so convincing

it's not often we

open our gates for strangers if there is any way that we can return the favor we will

we are gracious here in the athenium

It turns around and everyone's still.

There's what were now dozens of faces.

There's now 30, 40, maybe 50 civilians that have all quietly gathered and are standing shoulder to shoulder.

You see, humans, orcs, elves, dwarfs, halflings.

It is just a smattering of the peoples of the domain who have

lived here for generations, who have traveled from afar to seek the safety of the Athenium.

or fled from other homesteads that themselves fell to the darkness.

You don't know.

But it...

there are degrees of squalor, but everyone seems at least healthy.

And they're all just staring.

I've seen these types of looks before.

Some questioning, some hopeful.

Can I do a quick scan for the thing that I'm looking for, which is not wonder or

quizzical or hopeful, but disdain or contempt amongst the rest of the faces.

Yes, make an uh, make an instinct roll for me if you don't mind.

Uh, that is a 17

with fear.

You glance through the crowd, and while most of the eyes are tense,

at the very least, just

waiting waiting for something to happen.

You see, there are a number of faces, those that

clutch trinkets around their neck,

even one that wears vestments, an older, more portly fellow

who has long, kind of balding hair,

gray,

and wears a chin beard, who kind of looks upon specifically your troop

with like a smile and is kind of just muttering under his breath, like a silent silent prayer

Beyond them you see two

of the soldiers of similar station and decor of the one who is helping you who walked away and they're both talking amongst themselves and just keeping a dark eye on Brixton

Can I sort of mark them in my mind just to kind of just remember what they look like you yeah you might one you see is a

younger male halfling who has a scruffy beard that's like unkept at all and his hair is a big mop, dark brown eyes and he just wears a scowl.

The other you see is a very thin female woman, shaved, bald head,

one massive old white scar that carves across her darker skin.

It goes over across the face and over the head where she must have suffered some serious wound and somehow survived.

And it healed a little wrong, so her head is slightly lopsided at where that mark is.

And they're both just looking towards Brixton with disdain.

But I spend a fear, and immediately they catch your glance and then turn and disappear into the crowd.

Yeah, motherfucker, I saw you.

And who were they?

Just.

I was clocking.

I was looking for people that weren't curious or hopeful or

full of wonder at someone saying, saying, she has the gift.

I was looking for people that were dogging.

After the soldiers leave and a few moments pass,

the crowd begins to move towards you slowly.

People begin to step forward from the crowd, about a dozen or so.

Some saying,

you're here to save us, are you?

You carry the gift.

No, please,

it's not safe.

I'm sorry.

Our friend fell to a terrible ailment.

Please, we...

Please, we are starving.

Whatever all the gods can bring, what blessings and miracles can bring upon us.

My child, my child is sick.

I understand, please, keep your children.

Reaching out and grabbing and like reaching towards yourself.

Please, please, I will set her up.

Give her space.

There will be time

for all of your questions and anything else.

We are on a mission of great import, and believe me, we understand how you feel.

The more that you can help us settle in, the more we'll be able to help you in return.

A soft apple hits your chest plate and splatters, arced past the crowd, and you glance past, you do not see the source of it.

Everyone comes up.

I don't even know if Brixon

caught

people saying, like, she has the gift, she's touched.

So I think Brixon is just a little

doesn't fully even understand what's going on.

Idol turns around and goes, they think you're touched, they think you have the gift.

I am going to

play

a relaxing song.

And

you and your allies within close range clear a hit point.

So if you have a hit point, clear a hit point.

Yeah.

But I'm just trying to sort of.

The band is the Titanic isinking.

Yep.

You can't even heal anybody because we've got 30 plus people watching us.

Yeah, I I just want to just try to calm everybody down.

Describe to me.

Misty.

How this song is played in your current form

of a normal human being.

Just describe to me.

Like, how does it sound to the folks around you?

Is it possible

to, because I don't, since most of the music comes out of the wings and body, is it possible to

make

on top of this an illusion of a little violin?

Sure, I'll pretend that that is where the music is coming from.

Allow it.

So you release some of your musical

aether weave through the wings, a pinched tone that sounds like a soft violin as you make the motion.

And indeed, like as it washes over, many people begin to like perk up to it.

Like many of them haven't heard nice music in a moment or two.

People begin to kind of sit up.

They're still looking towards you, those that kind of came towards you and were pushed away and intimidated by an idol,

they still kind of sit where they're standing and kind of begin to build a circle around you.

And as you play the music, more begin to come.

This kind of drawn please relax.

We have all been through so much.

We have lost

friends.

Please give my friend a moment.

Some of the children remain sitting and listening to the music, kind of looking up at you.

This little like maybe three-year-old, four-year-old is just kind of sitting looking up.

This kind of very waifish young boy who has scraggly, kind of dirty blonde hair and bright, vibrant blue eyes, just kind of dirty smears on his cheeks.

He's just listening to you and goes, ah.

And listens and kind of just sways with it.

Two other kids kind of come up and listen, and you start like pipering a small troop of kids that

you wonder if they've ever heard music in their so far short lifetime.

Come on, bro.

Oh, bro, be horse.

You then hear the shifting of metal plates, and people begin to depart from the crowd.

As soldiers return, amongst them you see a stern-looking older female fawn, two large kind of curved horns that go back, her hair cut very short,

kind of silver-white across the top.

Her adornments match the coloration and symbols of the scavenged armor that you wear, Brixton.

A dark green, like forest green cloak that's thrown over one shoulder, and she has a

well-kept-looking axe to her side.

Yeah.

Let's go.

And steps forward.

I'm Commander Kirin.

Kiran Tolis.

You've met my subordinate, and he's spoken on your behalf.

For the time being, you are guests of the Celsian Council.

And within the Athenium, you will find solace,

recovery,

and should you have the means to barter, materials.

We do not have room amongst our holes for more civilians.

But you can stay till you can be on your way.

That is more than enough.

More than we need.

And we do have things to barter for certain, yes.

Yes.

This is very generous.

It is very appreciated.

We are...

very stalwart on our mission.

So we will not stay alone.

Come with me.

And she turns, and the crowd parts behind her, expectant of you being escorted by these soldiers into the actual proper Athenium.

The back of the entry gate still behind you.

You haven't made it more than 10 feet into the stronghold until this moment.

And you begin to step and lock, step the warmth of the interior and the flames beginning to crackle.

You see hearths and small fires around that kind of just warm the interior.

The crowds that part watch you as you pass.

And Brixton, you feel many hands reach out and brush your arms.

Many of the townsfolk of the Athenium are trying to grasp the one who is touched with the gift.

I kind of

try to reciprocate, like in a very gentle and benevolent manner, but also I am deeply uncomfortable.

You hear a heavy

and all the hands pull back and Commander Kierns turn around.

Do not mistake

appearances with miracles.

They are our guests briefly and they will be on their way.

Expect nothing more.

And she turns and continues to lead you through the crowd, which now,

the commander's voice they respect, though still locked upon your troop.

You're led beyond the entryway into what is now the thriving heart of this community.

This

monstrous college has been completely converted into an interior village.

Each classroom, each hallway, each portion of this structure that was used for higher learning in the old world is now small homesteads homesteads in shops and alleyways.

You can see multiple layers of even homes built up into the tops of the high-arched ceilings.

There are rope ladders and pulleys that people utilize to get around to the multiple tiers.

There are open archways that lead to the interior courtyard where you can see fruit is being grown, where small farmsteads are being expanded upon.

This is a self-sustained community, and you can see why it is so fiercely guarded not unlike desperlock was

even just looking past into the courtyard you can see the bright flicker of the sacred pyre from some tower high out of sight just barely reflected through some of the low tree boughs but it is here within the athenium that you have a chance to rest and to maybe seek whatever aid you need for the journey ahead Do you think that a cappella group over there would would help us or those two guys playing playing hacky sack in the quad?

Up the acapella group, the the sign says city boys with a Z.

My mom didn't reload, but

I can't read my credits.

Snicks.

Yes.

Are these

gardens?

Are these the gardens like Aliana talked about in her

in in her letter to me?

Um,

I they are similar.

Hers is more uh humble, I think.

I

mean, I I it is, and and

um

much much more humble, but but yes, it has the beauty of

the same sort of natural softness of hers.

If this is the type of life she is living, it is well earned.

Yes.

Wow.

Um.

What do we do?

I mean, first of all, what do we do with August?

Well, I think they were going to check if there was space.

But um.

Yeah, we should.

We should.

Let's just get to maybe a safe spot.

Sure, sure.

Before we strip him naked.

Uh-huh.

Commander Kieran Tolis leads you to a small chamber that when you approach, realize it is often utilized as a

hold.

You know,

what was once a larger storage room that's been affixed with bars.

Yeah,

it's used as a temporary prison if needed, but it is also a space that feels safe and within the proximity of the rest of the Athenium Guard to where you may not be bothered unwantedly.

So it's left open.

They aren't like locking you in, but you are given, this is your private space for the evening to return to as needed.

And you have the walk of the Athenium base floor.

The upper floors you are not given permission to explore.

I know.

Well, then, in our privacy, our moment of privacy, we'll gently lay out August's body, maybe wrap him in one of our sleeping bags,

and gently and respectfully loot his body.

Yes.

Okay.

The effects that he carried with him, his needle.

The wand, right?

The wand.

Yeah, so he has a wand, he has a grappler, which is like a sword thing or whatever.

I like that.

Yeah, it's a long bit of like a heavy, thick

rope with what looks like a hook, like a barbed hook at the end that can be used to grab and pull things okay we can trade that that stuff unless anyone wants his wand

um

he also has some fucking amazing armor fucking amazing armor

which you should probably take

if i take the because it is

i have a lot of stuff but also i would get rid of my round shield which is

just a plus one base of armor and I would get rid of this guardian's crown which is decreasing my thresholds to just do the the armor.

So if anyone wanted a round shield, there's this guardian's crown situation

which allows you to wield a two-handed weapon and something else, but it decreases your threshold.

Not interested.

Not interested.

But I might take the round shield.

Do you have...

What's your armor?

My armor, I currently have full plate armor, which gives me...

Not interested.

I mean, mean, I'm sure it's good, but it's a very good idea.

It gives you minus two to evasion.

So that's why my evasion is shit.

So this would boost my evasion, boost my armor,

boost my thresholds.

Do it, fam.

It would do my agility.

Do it.

But also, unless anybody else wants it.

No.

Because you're rocking bare body, right?

Yeah, I got bare bones.

You got bare bones.

Do you want the shield?

Nope, I can't use it.

I got a two-weapon, two-handed weapon.

But you could use it if you had this.

But it decreases your thresholds.

That's the only catch about that.

Nah, fam.

I would be decreasing to increase.

I could use the round shield.

I wouldn't have a long-range weapon, though.

Because you use a shield as your secondary weapon, right?

Could I just for like aesthetics, though?

Because I want like my armor is so much a part of my backstory.

But like use the chain armor almost as like a base underneath and still have the breastplate for aesthetics.

Yes, you could wear it and still carry the breastplate as just like the adornment beyond the actual protective measures of the armor.

Okay.

I'd allow that.

Unless you want this armor.

The full plate?

No, thank you.

No, nobody wants it.

Oh, okay.

Oh, the chain armor?

I mean, of course it's amazing, but you take so much damage for other people, you should have it.

I think I've taken more damage for Ashley than for myself.

I think.

True.

I think.

Okay, okay, okay, okay.

Okay, we'll hit you.

So I will.

Before you equip everything,

because decide what you want or what you want to trade.

Yeah, we're going to.

We can trade the crown.

We can get rid of the crown.

We can trade the wand and the grappler.

And do we have other items?

Yeah, we don't have any other items.

I had, I think.

What did I have?

Well, we have the...

Oh, no, that's that.

Like a sword or something.

I have my great sword that I also found that I'm not using anymore, so I can give up a great sword.

Okay.

Or is this how much is reasonable, Matt?

Hmm?

I guess however much we want to give.

However much you want to put up for barter.

Are we going to have to barter again?

Wow.

Later in the game.

We don't know.

We might not be alive that long.

We might not.

Barter like there's no tomato that we see.

Oh, we still have to go through the cinnabar corridor.

This one goes.

Yeah.

This is

already in the middle of the morning.

Barter like there's no tomorrow.

Oh my god, I'm so excited.

This is

huge for me.

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So, crown, wand, grappler, great sword.

Anything else up for barter?

Yeah, my

Halberd, my original halberd got you

i could ditch the scepter of elias

oh you know what i had a crossbow that i'm not using anymore i could get rid of that yeah scepter of elias was in a big ass lead locked case i'm sure it's well valuable i have old gambison armor that i'm not using okay

are you keeping the scepter or are you bartering i'll keep it for now just in case i need it it for reasons.

Yeah, it's fair.

Yeah, yeah.

Okay.

The guy who owns it might want it.

Who is helming the barter

with the community of

merchants and keepers of goods and traders?

I have presents, but minus one to my presence.

I would have managed to negotiate with criminals, but I don't.

It depends on who we're bartering with.

It does depend on who you're bartering with.

Are you, you're, you have some presents?

I have presents.

If you want to look for a criminal element you could what do you have for presents zero okay

But I do I do trade a lot so

you know

And usually criminals got that they got that good good, you know what I mean?

Yeah

Feel like you're gonna be good at this

I can certainly try

Okay, so are you bartering with the above-level merchantile here as opposed to looking for the underground merchantile?

You get advantage.

You get advantage when negotiating with criminals.

I mean, man, that's pretty good.

I mean,

either way could have benefits, but it's up to you which path you want to take.

I mean, basically, I'm better.

I need to go the criminal route.

Yeah, better.

Just so you guys are aware.

If you go the criminal route and you roll really poorly, you may be immediately discovered to be in league with the the criminal element after just arriving at the stronghold.

But the benefits could be much bigger.

So.

The choice is yours.

Did you just offer me hot sauce for my taco?

Yes.

Yeah, let's do that.

Why not?

So we're going for the criminal element?

Any objections?

No.

Let's do it.

No.

Okay.

We can boost it up, right?

We can give him advantage and shit.

Yeah, well, he gets advantage.

He gets an advantage.

You get advantage already.

Okay, thanks.

So,

idol.

After you've had a moment to rest and

someone was sent to go look into the expanding catacombs beneath the Athenium to look for a place where you can enter and give your respects to the friend you've lost that's present and possibly the new friend that you've lost and isn't.

You walk through the crowds and there are looks of a lack of recognition, people that see a new face and kind of follow a little bit and you kind of, once you make eye contact with them, they back off and leave.

There's just a lot of it's based in curiosity, some of it's based in mistrust and concern,

but you know, you can't help but draw an eye here and there.

Asked a few couple questions.

Eventually there's a certain look about someone that tells you they might be

a little more into the idea of doing what's necessary to get the upper hand in life, a life that doesn't normally give you much to work with.

And you see what looks to be a

dwarven woman with a knotted tuft of a beard right at the end of her chin,

who has like two leather straps that hang from under her hair from a headband.

And for what she wears, has very, very nice rings on one hand

and looks to be sitting back and kind of

the best way you can describe it is casing

a thoroughfare

can I

I'll ask for just a minute and I will go over and approach but I won't walk directly up to her I'll stand maybe ten feet to the side and

Just turn and look in the same direction she is for a few seconds and then

slide a couple steps closer.

Is anybody watching her or

myself?

Take another steps closer.

An incredible refuge you have here.

You're a new face, ain't you?

We sure are.

And one that'll probably be gone before the sun rises.

I couldn't help but remark on the uh

the beauty you've collected in such dark times.

You got keen eyes

that extend to your wanderings beyond the wall

only if I'm lucky

turns their head towards you, makes eye contact, and your like piercing emerald eyes meet yours and there's a bit of a grin to one side.

Give a little wink.

Yeah.

Well, before you shove off, what y'all looking for?

Hopefully the best that um

that this pyre has to offer we

can only offer what we came in with but um we are motivated to stack the deck in our favor

i hate to negotiate against myself already but we are desperate Oh, you can earn your way right quick with a new community by throwing one of their uh

bits of the underbelly to the dogs, can you?

Are you trustworthy?

To a fault.

Roll a presence roll.

Come on.

With advantage.

Come on.

Advantage, okay.

Come on.

This is it.

This is it.

With hope.

Do you have any experiences you want to add to this that would apply or not?

Probably not.

But just checking in.

Reading between the lines.

How would you want to apply that?

So in taking stock

her body posture, but also trying to keep a low profile at sort of the edge of the city, keeping all of her marks in front of her, but also still wanting to be noticed by wearing the bling on her finger.

She's not wanting to disappear entirely.

So, I think she wants to be recognized for the work and station that she's built for herself, but not too easily, only recognized by

those that know.

Okay, if you want to spend a hope, you can add that experience to the road.

Yeah,

That is 10, 15

plus 10.

16, 17 with hope.

All right, 17 with hope.

Take that hope back that you just spent.

Okay, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go.

She gives you a look,

puts a finger up, licks it and does a little rotation in the air.

And you notice the six other figures that were scattered amongst the crowd that you didn't even pick up until now that were watching this whole exchange that all kind of nod and scatter.

And she goes,

Follow me.

I think we can procure quite many things.

And she steps away from the wall and back into the crowd.

You follow her, and we'll say for the purposes of brevity,

I mean, it's pretty decent rolling with what you have to offer here.

I'll say you can choose

to the crown, right?

To you all.

You're offering the crown, yeah?

Yeah, which is quite a bit.

Pretty much like,

honestly, whatever you can carry from these lists.

What?

From whatever lists.

These are all better stuff.

These are the tier two

improved weapons.

They're not crazy, but they're a bump up from your level one equipment.

All that is could be scavenged by them for the bulk of what you've offered to trade.

If you only want a few items, we can pull it one by one.

But if you give them all that you have for trade, you can have your run of the lot

because you rolled pretty high.

Wow.

Whoa.

This is sick.

Disgusting.

Like, very close.

Well, you might be able to get a better shield.

I know.

I'm going to

trade the shield too.

Oh, boy.

Well, this is the rest of the

can I ask you a question?

If when I walked in, because this is the first time we've been in a population with like a large swath of people, the bone-hooked glaive,

did that gather a lot of attention?

Like, were people averse to it, or

did they recognize that as a weapon from the umbra?

Like, did it have a little bit of a bad, bad vibe with it?

I'll say

they were more entranced with the

expectation of a gift, divinely gifted arrival.

Sure, a few folks probably gave you a solid look.

It didn't help that you're strangers and that mistrust already bred.

And those that looked at you with mistrust, you couldn't tell if it was because of just you being strangers let in or the weapon you carry.

But it's certainly not an inviting weapon.

Yep.

I would just get a plus one, but the cool thing about the Bonehood Glade is it's scary and on a successful attack, which I've been doing, the target must must mark a stress.

So, maybe I should actually use my weapon correctly first before I upgrade shit.

I think I'm gonna stay.

Okay,

with this, are we able to also request any type of look?

There's there's also armor on there and stuff like that stuff.

But I do, I'm bare bones, baby.

That's right, you're bare bones.

My armor that I just got is sick.

Um,

I think I'm gonna upgrade my returning blade blade because it can add a plus three.

So that would give me a plus four because my guess limit to damage.

Is it also possible, since we're hooking them up, to request any type of like information?

I especially wouldn't mind the information, just once again, for the sake of brevity, from like Commander Kieran on information about this armor that I have to just learn more about it.

And or and or any potions they might have.

Potions potions, or conspiracy, and in lieu of a weapon armor, or right.

Yeah, the rest, the rest of the hall that

they're able to acquire for you, I'll give you in just a moment.

Okay, okay.

Um, I think I will take an improved great sword because now I do it has plus six to physical damage,

so it's 2d to him plus 6, and I still would roll three damage.

Equip with that sucker.

So, I now have a gilded falchion if anyone wants

a gilded falchion, I guess.

What's the It's melee?

It is melee.

I'm very close, dog.

So the armor, the armor that you...

Very close.

The armor that you found back in Desperwock you're referring to.

The armor you started with.

Yes.

The one that I'm still want to wear.

Correct.

I still am wearing it.

It's very important to me.

It's my destiny.

That information comes from just somebody kind of looking at the symbols on it.

And indeed, it was armor of one of the high guard of Amber Reach.

Somebody that was likely

higher ranking than the standard captains, probably worked closer to the core of like the very, very

upper levels of the Basilica quarter, close to where the God King's throne was, which means this is armor of somebody who had of station.

So it had visible importance and the markings and connotations of it denote that.

Any other information you want to find?

Um, I guess we got a decent amount of information on where we're going towards the burrows, or to the to the barrow.

But any other potential information on what we can expect on the rest of our journey?

Okay.

You learn that the Astro Foundry is

been dark since the apostasy.

There are rumors that there are lights that occasionally at night can be seen in the distant bits of glass and windows that remain, But the Astro Foundry is more of a

landmark for your journey than a necessary destination.

You're welcome to enter it if you like.

Because it's just south of the barrow of Blind Repose.

Correct.

But that's just a point that you then use towards

which the wilds are referred to as the Orumwild.

The what is it?

Orum Wild.

A-U-R.

A-U-R-U-M-W-E-A-L-D.

The Orum Wild

is a dense wood of strong druidic history.

A powerful nature spirit

has long taken up residence there and had a vast community of

revered and respected druidic aether weavers

who worked in lockstep.

with Ophidius' counsel

to protect the nature and wilds that it, Amberich and beyond.

Since the apostasy,

that union crumbled,

and a curse took up the woods.

Some say the spirit still wanders, and most avoid it for fear of those that

attempt to bypass it sometimes are never seen again.

But certain scouts that keep to the higher peaks sometimes see something shifting in the wood, tall enough to be seen pushing through the boughs and canopy.

And that's where we're so basically like avoid the Astro Foundry, but we will have to go through the Orem Wild.

Well, we're using the Astro Foundry as like a marker to head towards, and then we're going north.

Okay.

Okay.

Like hit the Astro Foundry and straight up Hildilla.

Okay.

So,

anything else you want information on, possibly, while you're here?

Anywhere

else we know we're going to hit on the way out of here that we need to...

We're going to go around the Cinnabar corridor.

We're going to like hug the water and head up towards the Astro Foundry.

We know that that's the best way to do it.

It seems like we're...

Is there any tricks or tips?

We're here.

And the Astro Foundry is here.

And the Cinnabar is kind of just off to the side if we can.

Stay to the outskirts.

Okay.

Yeah, I guess we could ask,

is there a more safe passage over water or something?

Toward the Astro Foundry?

From what you hear,

all paths that get to the wood from here through the Cinnabar Quarter are either hugging the inside wall of the quarter

or just running straight through.

Speed is of essence

if you're ever found or discovered because the Damascus Queens definitely call that region their own.

What's the name again?

Damask.

Damask Queens.

And there are factions within the Queens, each with their own queen leader.

Oh, boy.

Yeah, sure.

Damascus.

The two to look out for

are Yuri of the Emerald Crown,

who is a dualist and flamboyant showman who certainly loves to talk,

loves the theatricality of cruelty.

That's who took Adelia's family.

The other one is Farah of the Ruby Crown.

Bold and energetic, dominatrix of a captain.

Her sadism knows no bounds.

And the queens that work beneath her enjoy the slow challenge of how long they can stretch

an enemy's torture before they expire.

So you really win either way.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's good.

Great.

I feel very fine.

Yeah, you can try pass right by them.

Ready to go?

Yeah.

Excited.

Can we also get some Pop-Tarts before we hit the ring?

Sure.

To that point.

They do manage to scrounge for you two health potions.

Yes.

Just basic health potions.

Three stamina potions.

Can I have one of those too since I can use most of my healing on someone other than myself?

Yeah, I don't want stress.

You guys take the stress.

You also get two varic leave pouches.

What is that?

These are extremely rare treated

like bay leaves that have a historic connotation for ritualistic use.

And they're often they're kept and grown here in the garden for ritualistic use and for keeping the higher command of the guard spry and ready.

But they managed to steal a little bit without anyone noticing and so you have two uses of this uh you eat them to immediately gain two hope whoa

you have two of them you can eat these paired leaves to immediately gain two hope okay we'll leave them right here

yeah come in the center and one

little piece of crystal that kind of when you shake it it almost seems to glow beautifully from the inside and it it's cracked in places it looks like it was just a shard of a broken crystal sculpture of some kind if not for that slight faint glow it is an unstable arcane shard you can make a finesse roll to throw it to a group of adversaries at far range

and targets you succeed against take 1d20 magic damage damn he gave us a holy hand grenade

one-time use kind of a thing

both of those are good thrower cool

i am not good what would that be under that would be strength maybe

or finesse.

It says that.

Health finesse.

Like it says on the card.

Duh.

I'll take one of those extra stamina potions if that's okay.

I already marked it.

I already have one.

So you guys have to be able to do that.

I have one.

I don't need a lot of stamina stuff.

Do you have a stamina potion?

No.

But I don't.

But do you have one?

I have one.

Okay.

I'll take a stamina.

And then I took an extra.

So that way we all have a stamina potion.

Yeah.

You're going to at least take one of the health.

And then who else?

You want to take one since you're always getting some stamina restores?

Yes.

I can hold on.

I'll mark it.

And then we also still have one extra.

I gave one recovery salve to Amelia.

What's that to?

When you rest, you can use it to get one additional health or stamina.

She's dead.

Well, she died, but I have one more.

Okay.

I have one additional one still in my inventory

is what I mean.

Because we had gotten two of those in the past.

Okay.

And then I'll, yeah.

As per use, we can always.

And Matt, where I take one of these things or two or what's the.

Depends on what you want.

It depends on what you want.

Like if you...

I'll take an improved Gameson armor and an improved

glowing rings slash boomerang if I'm allowed to do both things.

You guys traded quite a few things, so you have all this at your disposal.

Amazing.

Yeah, if I wanted armor it on, I know I'd have to get rid of one of the changes, but I don't know when we're leveling up again, so I can't.

I know.

It's too risky.

It's too much exposure.

Yeah.

And I'm taking an improved great sword.

Is it okay if I also take a returning axe just to have in my inventory in case we get...

It just costs the stress to switch them.

To switch them.

In case we get into some flying bitches again.

Yeah.

It's the worst than flying bitches.

It's the worst.

The actual worst.

Okay.

Oh, those flying bitches.

How they did plague our heroes night after night.

Bitch after bitch after bitch.

Is there anything else you seek before you take your night's rest?

Anything else we should seek?

I I don't think so.

We got directions.

We got info on the wilds, the aurum wield.

Well,

wow.

Excuse me.

There's a ghost over there.

We traded up.

We got potions.

We're gonna take a long rest tonight, overnight, before we head out.

Sure.

Let's do it.

We're waiting on the courtyard.

Yep.

Okay.

As you finish up

one more thing.

Yeah.

items, weapons, armor, the finest I've ever seen.

Nothing is as valuable as a favor.

If I could,

could you keep an eye out for us?

We've been getting a bit of the stink eye since we've been here.

And if you and yours could just

keep your nose to the wind, I'd make sure it's worth your while on our return.

Glances over now that you've finished your trading.

She acknowledges.

I've seen your face before, so

I know there's a chance you'll be back.

I'll put it on the tab.

Just know we don't forget.

Thank you.

She steps back.

And you are given one guard of their type.

You know what?

Describe for me the guard that they give you.

Very unassuming, older gentleman, very lithe,

needs a cheeseburger badly, very, very baggy clothes, but within those clothes are contained all manner of blades and weapons and a wry muscularity that is fast and lethal.

And he walks with a limp and in an unassuming way and never comes any closer than 15 to 20 feet of us, but just always seems to be at the periphery.

Cool.

As he approaches, he kind of gets that proximity in.

And grins with a toothless smile.

And just keeps watch.

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Eventually, you're notified that they were able to find a corner of the catacomb in which you can enter

your friend.

You are led below the gardens, through the wine wine cellar, beyond to the deep basements, and the now vastly expanded caverns below, where you can see some have been sealed off, who knows why in the past, and others have been

spread.

And you're led into a small, kind of newer excavation.

The small alcoves off to the side, some are reburied, and you can see stone plaques with kind of hand-carved names in them.

In memoriam to people who have been lost whether buried here or just placed in memory but you are given one alcove

have you done a funeral before either of anyone here

been present for many of

never led them

um

you lay them to rest and usually someone says something.

I only put him down here.

I lay his body down.

Um, I hand the top hat

to Misty.

He would want you to have it.

Thank you.

Um, before

we leave him, I would like to

remove

bits of him that

were

put on him by the Queen Mother.

So I would like to try to unsew the moth from his back

and sort of free whatever is left of his body to be

back to himself in some ways.

Okay.

As restful an expression as you've ever seen on August's face.

Fix his coat.

You'll settle him within the alcove.

Let's step back.

Riksen takes a little bit of the soot

that is constant on her

from her time working with pyres.

She just kind of brushes some off that is built up over time off of her vestments.

And she takes and she kind of like marks across his forehead

just a little bit of a blessing from a sacred pyre.

This isn't just to August,

but also to Adelia.

And blessings to Scrive,

wherever he may be.

Their valiant efforts will be remembered.

In the happiness,

in the tears,

in the good times and the bad.

From the sanctity of Desperlock

and the outer reaches prolong beyond.

For just because

many in our settlement may not know their names

does not mean

that their efforts will not be felt.

We can only hope for generations to come.

That was lovely.

You're good at this.

You are good at this.

Beautiful words.

Better than we deserve.

Many years of

listening to the ramblings of the other pyre keepers and the Emperor Wardens.

I guess it's rubbed off on me.

Maybe you do have a gift.

The gods are really smiling on you.

Hopefully, a bit more so in the days to come.

That was a rough day.

Yeah,

we're gonna need all the blessings we can get.

We should eat and drink before we rest.

Do they have wine here?

One way to find out.

The gravekeeper who led you to the lower outs takes his shovel and withdraws it from the ground.

This kind of

man in his mid-thirties, a little hunched his head forward, says,

Death is but a door.

To suffer is the journey.

We are the enduring,

and we do what we must to endure.

Shh!

It begins to fill the grave of your friend.

To the enduring.

To the enduring.

You settle off, and through your

contact, nothing

but another that overheard you approaches as you go to rest.

Another one of the grave diggers who is nearby

approaches.

A young girl of sixteen who

offers a bottle of of

wines?

I was keeping it for a special occasion.

Just

please

save my brother.

He's quite ill with a fever.

I cannot accept this gift in good conscience.

It is not a promise I can make.

Please,

I cannot.

I know what you can do.

Please.

She leaves.

Oh, boy.

I can help.

I can help.

Let me go.

I don't want you to reveal yourself.

I've been hiding for years.

I'll be better at it.

Plus, you've got to watch.

It won't be looking at me as closely.

I'll blame it on a potion.

Tell them a prayer has been said in their honor.

I'm going to fucking bottle wine now.

Uh, can I um

can I run after the girl and ask to be uh taken to her brother?

Oh, uh, of course, yeah.

This way.

Is she

uh she has um

she's gifted you with a very rare relic, a potion that may cure your brother's ills.

But we can only find out one way, and please keep it to yourself.

Of course, of course.

And she kind of hurries along, leading you through alley to hall to a back tent where she and her younger brother, I know more than 13 or so, lays on a cot, sweaty, feverish, under a blanket.

She's like,

coughing under a switch.

Can you can you help?

I can't.

Give him some space, though.

I don't want you to catch the same fever.

And close the door.

Yes, yes.

And she leaves and looks back one more time.

Just a moment.

And closes the flap.

I'll shut the door, make my way over to the boy, feel his head.

Hot.

Extremely hot.

You see his darkness under his eyes.

He's sunken.

He's sallow.

He probably doesn't have more than a week or so unless treatment comes in.

Young man, you are in dire straits.

I have something special for you.

And I'll take out an emptied health potion bottle that just has water in it and unstopper it.

To your health and I'll tip it to his lips, but I'll put my hand under the blanket under his arm arm, and I will use a sparing touch to heal two hit points or two stress from them and infuse whatever divine light that happens under the blanket with my back to the door and tip the water into his mouth.

He drinks of it,

and as the glow emanates from below,

his eyes go wide

better.

He has a slight cough.

Yes.

Keep the trick.

No, no, no.

It's just the bottle.

Keep it as a memento.

Still lying back, he grabs it.

And remember, it's important to look out for others besides ourselves.

The old gods might be gone, but they're not

gone, gone.

I don't know what that means, but we're

the best that can be put into the world.

So, return the favor, will you?

Yes, of course.

Alright.

Rest.

I'll tell your sister to come back in, and I'll go to the door.

You turn and your arm is snatched from behind.

No.

You turn around, and he is sitting up and grabbing your hand, his eyes unblinking, staring into your face.

The void will take you

faceless.

The darkness will swallow you all.

She is not to be breached.

The angels will consume all that you see.

You

will be darkness

and he passes out.

And that's what we're gonna finish.

Why'd you do that?

Why'd you do that to me?

Oh my god.

Something wants you dead.

I'm back.

Hang on.

Dude,

I don't like like it!

We'll pick up there next episode.

Thank you for joining us.

Love you very much.

And is it Thursday at Wildlife?

And we finished up this episode.

Thanks for coming along on this wild journey with us.

If you liked the adventure, consider leaving a review on your podcast platform of choice.

We're always looking for new critters to share our stories with, and your review may help a new batch of wayward adventurers discover the show.

See you next time.

So, um, I was just parking my car, and then I saw you.

A Gecko, huge fan.

I'm always honored to meet fans out in the wild.

The honor is mine.

I just love being able to file a claim in under two minutes with the Geico app.

Well, the Geico app is top-notch.

I know you get asked this all the time, but could you sign it?

Sign what?

The app?

Yes.

Sure.

Oh, that means so much.

Oh, it rubbed off the screen when I touched it.

Could you sign it again?

Anything to help, I suppose.

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