Over breakfast, the group learns what happens to Eight when they consume alcohol. Armed with a new map, the foursome sets out on the road with some very awkward conversations.
While Rialla is out shopping, the other three gather for breakfast at The Grumpy Goat. The Procid proprietor offers hard liquor as a beverage option and Eight naively orders some. Three glasses in, the group realizes that Eight’s eyes have turned a very interesting color. Rialla returns to an intoxicated Eight, and immediately tries to help them recover.
On the road again, Eight tells Arthas what they’ve learned about Jokul and Rialla’s mysterious past. Rialla overhears them and the group engages in a discussion on trust and perceptions.
Follow Dax @GM_Dax, Cole @ColeMorreale and Wren @ThornyDryad
Transcript by CJ Kallevig
Upbeat piano intro ends [00:28]
Jaunty tune begins [00:40]
Dax: So Rialla has left the Grumpy Goat and you know that she’ll be coming back to eat before you all leave Kadiba. Eight, Jokul, and Art, you’re still in your room. What have you started doing while Rialla is gone? Or are we doing just the silent ‘let’s just head down and eat quietly at the table’ kind of thing? (laughs)
Neil: I mean, with the promise of food, I was already pretty well dressed.
Wren (as Eight): It’s the three of us in a very strange and awkward situation together. This never happens. I am happy to be here, and if Arthas wants to eat, I will go join Arthus for an enormous breakfast. I say enormous because I assume Arthas is going to need to eat an inordinate amount of food.
Neil (as Arthas): That is an astute observation, because yeah, yeah I am.
Wren (as Eight): Jokul, will you be joining us for food or should we set about gathering our belongings and tracking down Maeve and Bessie?
James: Jokul’s probably sitting there like, basically looking over all that they recovered. So Jokul’s basically repacking their backpacks, making sure everything that they had was there and making sure it’s all stowed away. That sort of stuff. Once that task is done, he’s probably just polishing all the daggers and making sure they’re all sharpened. Between Rialla and him, there’s probably at least ten daggers. He’s just idly polishing and sharpening them all.
Wren (as Eight): We will go down for food, you can join us if you would like.
James (as Jokul): I’ll be down shortly.
Wren (as Eight): Excellent. Simply Arthas, you lead the way. You need more space.
Neil: I certainly begin leading, better to go get a snack.
Dax: So you go downstairs, and the tables are pretty empty. Either the other patrons have already been up and out or they have not risen from their beds yet. You sit at the table actually, oddly enough, that you sat at yesterday. And Arthas, you hear the scuffling of feet coming up to the table, but you don’t see anything when you look around.
Neil (as Arthas): Mmmm?
Neil: I assume it’s some sort of small animal. I look down for the small animal.
Dax: You see a creature with a big bushy tail, grey fur, pointed nose, and it’s standing up on its hind legs. It has a little cap on its head, with a tall feather poking up. And it looks up at you and says:
Dax (as innkeeper): [in a raspy voice] Oh, well that’s uh, that’s something you don’t see every day.
Neil (as Arthas): That’s what I’m told.
Wren (as Eight): We would like some food if you would, good sir. He has worked up quite the appetite serving time in the joint, as it were.
Neil (as Arthas): Whatever that is, yes.
Dax (as innkeeper): Well, I’ll get your breakfast but uh…
Dax: Then it looks at Eight.
Dax (as innkeeper): I’m not a sir.
Wren (as Eight): Oh! My apologies.
Dax (as innkeeper): None taken, happens all the time.
Wren (as Eight): Kind..Procid...
Dax: And with that, the little creature, the Procid, moves and heads back to the kitchen and comes back relatively shortly thereafter with two bowls and two plates and sets them in front of you.
Dax (as innkeeper): It’ll uh, it’ll be just a few minutes. We make everything fresh.
Dax: And then the Prosid leaves.
Wren (as Eight): So, Arthas
Wren: Just kind of tap my fingers together as I’ve got my elbows up on the table.
Wren (as Eight): How are you liking your travels abroad so far?
Neil (as Arthas): It is wildly different than the mountain. Everyone is either too short or really, really short. The animals also talk. Don’t know how I feel about that.
Wren (as Eight): Those are all very good observations. But you are also very tall.
Neil (as Arthas): I’m not sure. I was considered runty in my tribe.
Wren (as Eight): Oh, oh my. How tall are your people normally?
Neil (as Arthas): Well I know cousin Ayen was about three of me tall, but I only heard stories of him. I never got to see him in person.
Wren (as Eight): Three of you, in height?
Neil (as Arthas): Yeah!
Wren (as Eight): That seems unbelievable.
Neil (as Arthas): Well, you would never breathe, sleep or eat things unbelievable at the same time.
Wren: I shrug my shoulders.
Wren (as Eight): I suppose that’s fair. There are all sorts of strange things to experience in the world.
Neil (as Arthas): You’re telling me.
Neil: And Art is just very new to awkward conversation, and he’s just sort of sitting there.
Wren: Mhmm. And Eight is all too familiar with trying to make awkward conversation, but at this point I’m content to just sit and tap my fingers together and stare awkwardly across the table. Very intently.
Wren (as Eight): This is nice, we are friends. This is a friendly breakfast.
Neil (as Arthas): Absolutely.
Neil: He says, just sort of avoiding eye contact, messing with his club.
Dax: After a few minutes of awkward silence, the Procid comes out with a very large bowl and sets it on your table and then leaves. Over a few trips, comes back with a platter of smoked meats and a platter of steamed vegetables. The bowl that she originally brought in the first place is filled with, kind of like a porridge.
Dax (as innkeeper): Do you want something to drink?
Neil (as Arthas): Well, what do you have?
Dax (as innkeeper): Anything you like. We got uhhh cool water. We got uhhh ale. We got uhh wine. We got some hard liquor but not a lot of that, so we don’t generally advertise it. Especially not for breakfast.
Neil (as Arthas): I’ll have water, thanks.
Dax: Turns to you, Eight.
Wren (as Eight): I will gladly partake of, hmmm, you said you serve a thing called hard liquor?
Dax (as innkeeper): Yeah.
Wren (as Eight): I do not believe I’ve ever seen that before. Would you bring me a glass of that?
Dax (as innkeeper): Sure.
Dax: With that, the Procid scurries over to the bar and you hear some shuffling of bottles and opening cabinets. The clinking of a mug and then, the Procid comes back with this very, very short mug and sets it down on the table in front of you, Eight. Then it leans forward and stares at you in anticipation.
Wren: I grab the tiny cup and swirl it a little bit.
Wren (as Eight): This does not appear to be very hard.
Dax (as innkeeper): Try it.
Wren (as Eight): What makes it a liquor?
Wren: I pretend to sniff it.
Dax (as innkeeper): Something in the distilling process, I don’t know. We don’t make it here. We just get it when some of the merchants, every once in a while, can’t really pay for their room. So they give us things and, we had a merchant once, came in that was selling this stuff. Gave us a few bottles of it.
Wren (as Eight): I see. Rooms for barter, quite the smart way to run a business sometimes.
Dax (as innkeeper): Sometimes, but it’s not always profitable. Especially since very few people drink this stuff.
Wren: Unfamiliar with how to drink this, I take a huge swig of it and hold it in my mouth.
Dax: Okay. So, this is a good time to introduce this. So normally, Eight can put stuff in their mouth and they can tell if something is poisonous. Anything else?
Wren: If we’re talking about that ability, I have to make a Medicine check.
Dax: Eight is just sitting there with this liquid in their mouth?
Wren: Can I tell that it’s a toxin?
Dax: You tell me. What is Eight trying to accomplish by just holding this in their mouth?
Wren: Does it burn at all? Well I suppose I can’t really tell that either!
Dax: Yeah.
Wren: So I just swallow it. Mmmm. Goes down smooth.
Dax: The Procid’s eyes widen, then look down at the mug.
Dax (as innkeeper): You uh, you want another?
Wren (as Eight): I suppose.
Dax (as innkeeper): Alright.
Dax: Procid goes off to the bar, comes back with another short mug. Jokul, are you just hanging out in your room while all of this madness is going on? Or…? (laughs)
James: Jokul will come down probably ten minutes later. He’s experienced with a variety of stuff.
Neil: Eventually.
James: So, it doesn’t take him long to sharpen that many knives and pack their stuff but..
Dax: Still takes time.
James: Yeah, it still takes time so like, he comes down five minutes later and probably just walks in on Eight drinking booze or something.
Dax: I will say that Jokul probably comes down the stairs just as Eight is being handed their second mug of hard liquor. When the Procid sees you,
Dax (as innkeeper): Oh hey, you want some breakfast?
James: Jokul nods.
Dax (as innkeeper): Alright.
Dax: The Procid puts the second mug on the table and then goes off to gather another empty plate and bowl, sets them in front of Jokul and says,
Dax (as innkeeper): It’ll be just a few minutes, we make everything fresh.
Dax: Then the Procid leaves and goes to the back. Jokul, you see in front of you the platters of smoked meats, the bowl of porridge, the steamed vegetables. You see that Art has a mug of cool water in front of him, and you see Eight has a partially empty short mug of something and a second full short mug of that same something in front of them on the table.
Wren (as Eight): Jokul, smell this.
Wren: And I hold the cup up, out towards Jokul’s face.
James: I impulsively, Jokul’s just going to lean away but then when he realizes what Eight’s handing him, like it’s booze..his curiosity is like ‘why is the robot handing me booze?’
Dax: So Jokul, when you smell this stuff, it doesn’t take much effort to smell it. If you can get close to the small mug, you can smell the alcoholic content of this liquor. It’s essentially a whiskey, but picture the strongest, sharpest smelling whiskey that you can imagine. It’s a very dark, almost like a rum.
James: I mean, Jokul doesn’t make a habit of drinking but he’ll try some.
Wren (as Eight): You drank my drink.
James (as Jokul): Didn’t, didn’t you say try some?
Wren (as Eight): I said smell this.
James (as Jokul): Oh, my bad.
James: I screwed that up out of character.
Dax: No, no, no it’s fine.
Wren: No, it’s fine!
Dax: We’re going to roll with it. Jokul smells this liquid and for some reason, in his early morning haze, thought that Eight asked him to taste it. So,
James: Yeah.
Dax: He takes a sip and this alcohol burns your mouth like you wouldn’t believe. You know that this is some strong stuff that is not very well made. It is meant to get you drunk, and get you drunk quickly. It is not meant to be sipped.
James: Yeah. Jokul will just kind of make that, like he’s an elf, he doesn’t have a terribly great constitution. So it’s just like,
James (as Jokul): Yep, that’s some strong stuff you got there Eight.
James: He just hands back the cup.
Wren (as Eight): How did it smell?
James (as Jokul): Like a rum.
Wren (as Eight): Interesting. I had the same thought.
Wren: And I waft it under my nose again.
Wren (as Eight): Yes, much like a rum.
Wren: And then I just swig the rest of the cup down.
Dax: Let me get this straight. So you had taken a big gulp of the first mug, did you just finish the first mug or did you gulp down the second one in its entirety?
Wren: That.
Dax: Okay. The Procid comes back after a few minutes and Jokul, you receive a whole mess of the same stuff you’ve already seen on the table but in smaller portions. The Procid originally brought the big platters of stuff because they figured Eight and Art would be eating it. You get the same stuff, just in one person-sized portions. The Procid turns to you and says,
Dax (as innkeeper): I’m sorry I forgot to ask, do you uh, want something to drink?
James: Jokul tries to say ‘I think a water’ but still just on fire from the sip of crazy rum he just had.
Dax: I’ll take a waaa-ater.
James: Wa-ter please
[laughter from multiple sources]
Dax: The Procid nods, goes behind the bar and pours you a nice tall mug just like they gave to Arthas. And then the Procid turns to Eight.
Dax (as innkeeper): You want another one?
Dax: And it grabs both of the empty mugs off of the table.
Wren (as Eight): I believe I will switch to water. Thank you.
Dax (as innkeeper): You sure?
Wren (as Eight): No.
[Snort of laughter]
Dax (as innkeeper): Here, hold on.
Dax: The Procid goes back behind the bar and sets the empty cups down and then comes back with a mug of water and another of the short mugs filled with that same liquor. The Procid sets both on the table in front of you and says
Dax (as innkeeper): Just sample it on the house. I gotta get rid of this stuff anyway. Well, enjoy your breakfast.
Dax: And the Procid goes off to do whatever the tavern keeper does when they’re not serving clients.
Wren (as Eight): Interesting. They’re just giving this liquid away. I can’t imagine why, it has no taste.
Wren: And I just swig the other cup.
James: I’m facepalming.
Dax: Eight, could you please make me a Hard Discipline check? Please, and upgrade one of those.
Wren: One Threat.
Dax: Curiosity. I know your peepers change colors with whatever emotion you’re feeling,
Wren: Did you just say peepers?
Dax: I did. I’m allowed to say peepers, I’m the GM. What…. So they’re red when you’re angry. They’re a light lavender, right? Most cases?
Wren: Yeah, they’re like violet.
Dax: Do they turn any color when you’re sad?
Wren: Let’s say they go blue now. Ooo yeah, we’ll go blue. Blue’s a, more like an indigo.
Dax: Okay, so blue’s when you’re sad. Jokul, Art, you watch as Eight pounds this last, essentially rocks glass full of hard liquor that is absolutely terrible, and then as Eight sits there, you notice their eyes turn a bright pink. Almost like a puce, rimmed in gold.
Neil: I lean over and ask,
Neil (as Arthas): Does everyone do that when they drink that?
Wren (as Eight): Do what?
Neil (as Arthas): The eyes.
Wren (as Eight): What about my eyes? Is something on my face?
Neil (as Arthas): No.
Wren: I just start palming my cheeks.
James: We’ve been around Eight long enough. Do we know, colors his eyes to a certain thing? Or would that be like an Intelligence to figure out. Because we recently saw him angry for the first time, so.
Dax: You’ve seen Eight’s eyes go red, you’ve seen them stay that nice violet. You have also seen them turn blue. You have never seen them turn pink or rimmed, even with a second color. Rialla, this is when you enter the tavern. You see Arthas and Jokul sitting at a table with lots of food in front of them. And Eight, who just happens to be facing the door, is just sitting there with a really silly smile on their face and puce eyes rimmed with gold.
Cole: I feel like, as I come in, I actually have the map out in front of me and I’m kind of taking in more information and then finally look up and look down and look up again. I roll up the map and walk over.
Wren (as Eight): Everyone look, Rialla is back.
Wren: I wave.
Wren (as Eight): Good morning!
Cole (as Rialla): Eight, what’s happening with your eyes?
Wren (as Eight): Everyone keeps saying that; what’s wrong with my eyes?
Cole (as Rialla): They’re pink and they’re, there’s gold, a gold color. What does that one mean? Are you feeling okay?
Wren (as Eight): I feel fine.
Cole: Instinctively I touch their forehead, and then realize oh, they don’t have a temperature. Nevermind. (laughs)
Wren (as Eight): Excuse me.
Cole (as Rialla): Sorry.
Wren (as Eight): You know, none of your eyes ever change color and I don’t bring attention to it.
Cole (as Rialla): No, I just, I’ve never seen this one before. I was just making sure you were okay.
Wren (as Eight): We’re just enjoying a lovely breakfast. Aren’t we?
Wren: I turn and look at the other two and smile.
Cole: Do I notice the mug? (overlapping with Neil)
Neil: I just nod.
Dax: Do you notice the what?
Cole: The mug. The smell on him.
Dax: Yeah you see, well you can’t smell it from your distance, but you do see a very small mug sitting in front of Eight and it is devoid of anything.
Cole: I’ll take a seat next to Jokul and pull my chair really close.
Cole (as Rialla): Dare I ask what you were, that doesn’t look like a coffee mug or a tea mug.
James: Jokul will lean over and be like
James (as Jokul): Eight is apparently enjoying a very strong whiskey for breakfast.
Cole (as Rialla): Oh. Eight, have you ever been drunk? Can you get drunk?
Wren (as Eight): Aahhhh, I don’t believe I’m familiar with what you’re saying because I am a solid. So I cannot be drunk.
Cole (as Rialla): Oh, ah, no. Ah the liquid that you’re drinking, it’s um..
Wren (as Eight): Quite tasteless.
Cole (as Rialla): Oh, well not to most. It’s a very potent substance and it affects.. it inebriates most humanoids. But I’m not sure how it would affect you.
Wren (as Eight): Fascinating! I’m not sure.
Cole (as Rialla): It’s a depressant.
Wren (as Eight): Oh.
Cole (as Rialla): It slows everything down.
Dax: Eight, make me another Discipline check. Another Hard one, and this time, upgrade two. While Eight is doing that, I will say that the tavern keeper Procid comes up to the table and looks up at Rialla.
Dax (as innkeeper): Hey sweetheart. Can I get you some breakfast or something to drink?
Cole (as Rialla): If you have any tea, that would be lovely. And something small.
Dax (as innkeeper): Something small, alright. Oh! Also,
Dax: You see them digging through the apron that they are wearing and they pull out a slip of paper.
Dax (as innkeeper): You guys are the one with the horse and the uhh…donkey and the cart, right?
Cole (as Rialla): Yes.
Dax (as innkeeper): Alright, yeah. The guards came by this morning and dropped this off.
Dax: They hand over the paper, waiting for somebody to take it.
Cole: I take it.
Dax: When you open it, you see that there is a note indicating that Maeve and Bessie, along with your cart, have been sequestered by the main entrance to the city, in the stalls. And that if you show the stablehands this note when you go to leave, you’ll be able to claim your animals.
Cole (as Rialla): Oh good. Thank you so much.
Dax (as innkeeper): No problem. Do you want chamomile or do you want uhhh…something else? I got that, I got some uhh vanilla. I got uhh mint.
Cole (as Rialla): Chamomile, please.
Dax (as innkeeper): Sure sweetheart.
Dax: The Procid goes to get you some breakfast.
Cole: Haven’t decided how Rialla feels about that, but Cole is very off-put being called sweetheart by a raccoon.
Dax: How did that Discipline check go?
Wren: Three Threat, one Triumph. It’s a great question, I don’t know what I’m rolling for.
Dax: Your eyes slowly fade so that the gold edging is no longer there. But they’re still bright puce. You also, as you turn your head and are talking to people, start to notice that your vision is getting a little slow. As if the image takes a moment to catch up to where you are currently looking as you shift your head from one side to the next.
Wren (as Eight): Oh no.
Cole: That’s a really good description of being drunk! (laughs)
Wren (as Eight): This is very strange.
Wren: I just start craning my head back and forth, to experience that slow drift.
Cole (as Rialla): Eight, are you alright?
Wren (as Eight): Are you? You’re moving very slowly. You all are. This table is shifting weird. Oh, huh. There must be something strange in that drink.
Cole: Is there any bread on Eight’s plate?
Dax: There’s porridge, there’s steamed meat, or steamed vegetables and smoked meats, that are on the table in front of you.
Cole (as Rialla): You should eat that porridge. I don’t know how that will react but
Neil (as Arthas): I am wildly curious about the drink.
Cole: I’ll wait for the Procid to come back over and I’ll probably ask for bread.
Dax: Yeah, it doesn’t take much longer before the Procid comes back with a mug, a little porcelain pot, and a plate that has a little slice of some citrus fruit. It’s not really a lemon, but you can smell its got that very citric acidic scent to it. And a little pot of honey.
Dax (as innkeeper): Food’ll be right out.
Cole (as Rialla): Could we also get some bread, by chance?
Dax (as innkeeper): Sure.
Dax: Procid goes back to the kitchen and immediately comes out with a crusty loaf. A little bit thicker than a baguette, and a little shorter.
Cole (as Rialla): Merci.
Cole: I’ll cut off the butt and then a slice, and hand that to Eight.
Cole (as Rialla): Eat this.
Wren: The butt or the slice?
Cole: The slice. No one likes the butt.
Cole (as Rialla): Eat this.
Dax: I do.
Wren: I take the bread.
Wren (as Eight): Oh, thank you.
Wren: And I will consume it!
Cole: I don’t know how Warforged work but I’m hoping (laughing), my experiences with drunk people help.
Wren: Little nibbles at a time. Grinding it up under the palette and some sort of approximation of swallowing?
Dax: Yeah, I… Eight has had quite a bit of practice at this point of eating when they normally don't have to. So I would say that your days of dropping food out of your mouth are no longer an issue. But if you do try to talk, you will see this bready paste caught in your maw.
Wren: I take a swig of the water as well.
Cole: I’ll pull out the map and hand it to Jokul.
Cole (as Rialla): I got one of these. So we shouldn’t get lost this time.
James: Looks at the map.
James (as Jokul): Oh yes! That will certainly..
Cole (as Rialla): Where did we want to go? We.. what was the name of the town we were heading to?
Wren (as Eight): Qudolva.
Cole (as Rialla): Right.
Dax: One of these days you will get that word right. (laughs)
Wren (as Eight): I said Hudova.
Dax: Kee-dole-vah.
Wren: That’s what I said!
Cole (as Rialla): Kidohlva .
Wren: Ki-dohl-va.
Dax: Yes, there you go.
Cole: How far is Kidohlva from Ka..Kadiva?
Dax: Kadiba? Eventually the Procid brings you a small plate of scrambled eggs and fresh toast with a little butter on the side.
Cole (as Rialla): Merci.
Dax: As you pour over the map and you’re all enjoying your breakfast, hearty or small or none at all, you see that Kadiba is not quite in the center of this map. It’s more towards the bottom left corner. You can see that Kidohlva is at the opposite corner, almost to the edge of the map. You do see some roads that lead out of Kadiba but none of them lead towards Kidohlva. In fact, from what you can see on this map, there are no roads that lead to the Elven City.
Wren: Oh no.
Cole: What’s the closest? Like how, is there a city in that general area that we can..?
Dax: There is a city about half-way, that based on the map, would be a little meandering if you followed the road, called Azarra.
Cole: And about how far does that look to be? Like, using the legend on the map?
Dax: It’s going to still take you probably another couple of weeks.
Cole: Okay.
Dax: Maybe a week and a half, if the weather is good, you can get to Azarra.
Cole: And is there anything between Kadiba and Azarra?
Dax: There’s a few small towns, but based on the size of the map, you also understand that there is a possibility that there could be villages and things that are on the way that maybe are just not big enough to be counted.
Wren (as Eight): It seems that if we’d like to get to Kidohlva, we’ll have to travel along roads uncharted.
[group laughs]
Cole: Thanks, I hate it. (laughs) Roads uncharted!
Dax: You spend the rest of the morning lounging and taking the time to really enjoy your breakfast. It doesn’t hurt that you also have to wait for Eight to cycle the alcohol through their system. You no longer have the stress of potential prison or losing Maeve and Bessie. Before you know it, the tavern is getting busy with the lunch crowd. Is there anything you’d like to accomplish before you head out for the day?
Neil: I’d say I’d like to make a stop at that fountain and wash myself a little bit, as it’s been a few days. And then I’m ready to go out.
Cole: Fine.
Dax: Wash yourself in the large fountain (chuckles)
Neil: I could -
Cole (as Rialla): Or you could see if there’s a bathhouse or something?
Wren (as Eight): You do remember how giant Arthas is?
Dax: Alright, so Arthas is bathing in the fountain. What about the rest of you? Eight, I think by now, the effects of the shots that you had this morning have worn off.
Wren (as Eight): I feel perfectly fine. There were no ill effects of that drink whatsoever. Good morning. Is it still morning?
[Cole snickers]
James (as Jokul): Hold up, let me check my sundial.
Wren (as Eight): That’s just your arm, Jokul. I feel like it’s late, did I miss something?
Cole (as Rialla): No, it’s about afternoon. Did we want to… we should probably head out. I’d rather not stay here any longer than we have to.
Wren (as Eight): That seems like a good plan. We were heading for Kidohlva.
Cole (as Rialla): I found us a map. There is a smaller town mid-way, so I figured that could be our first stop.
Dax: You have all your shopping done, all your supplies are restocked. You are free to leave whenever you wish.
Cole (as Rialla): I think it’s safe to say that Jokul and I would prefer if we left as soon as possible. Eight, Arthas, is there anything that you need to do before we leave?
Neil: I assume I’m just going to show back up after washing, which is just entering the fountain in my clothes and then exiting the fountain in my clothes.
Dax: No, that’s fine.
Neil: This brigandine is homemade, I don’t really have a way to put it on or off easily.
Cole: Can I say that as Arthas is coming back and I’m asking this question, I notice that he is sopping wet? Could I use a Utility Spell, such as Prestidigitation, to…?
Dax: Yeah, you can use a Utility Spell to dry him up.
Cole: Fantastic (laughing). So as I’m asking this, I look up and I give a weird up-and-down, and I’m just like,
Cole (as Rialla): Um, I can…
Cole: And I’ll snap my fingers and you’re dry and clean.
Neil (as Arthas): Well that was faster than usual!
Dax: Go ahead and give me a Utility Spell Roll, but we’re going to give you the lowest..is easiest the lowest? Then yeah, do that.
Cole: Two Successes.
Dax: Okay. So, what does this particular Utility Spell look like for you, Rialla?
Cole: With most of my magic, like the inky marble pattern on my skin darkens. With this spell, it looks like it gets a little bit lighter and there’s just a slight glow as I snap my fingers. You feel this, it’s like a warm breeze and you are suddenly dry and extra clean.
Neil (as Arthas): That was much faster than it usually takes.
Cole (as Rialla): Magic does that.
Wren (as Eight): It might just be the very dry heat.
Neil (as Arthas): That also might be it. This is the desert.
Cole: I kind of give Jokul a sideways glance and laugh and shake my head. (laughter)
Cole (as Rialla): So are we ready to head out then?
James (as Jokul): If Bessie and Maeve are saddled and ready to go, other than, we can head out.
Cole: We go to the horse and the donkey and we leave.
Dax: So you head west out of the city. You start on one of the roads on your new map, Rialla. By night’s end, you have reached a less rocky outcropping.
Music shifts to a melancholier tune [27:52]
Dax: Throughout the day, the soil turned less dusty and sandy and moved more into the dirt and grass and shrubbery, low-hanging shrub that you are used to. Almost like the grasslands. And by night’s end, you start to see in the distance the outline of trees. But you know that you probably won’t reach it until it’s dark. Do you keep going or do you make camp in the grasslands?
Cole: I’d say that we go as far as we can until we’re very tired and need to set up camp, cause I definitely want to get as far away from Kadiba as possible. And I would push myself.
James: Agreed. It’s safer to camp in the woodlands than exposed in the grasslands where people can see our fire and stuff.
Cole: Mhmm. Rialla probably looks a little tired but she doesn’t stop.
James: If that’s clearly obvious, then Jokul will hop off of Maeve and get Rialla on Maeve. Trade places so she can just ride the horse.
Dax: So you stop to switch Rialla, get her situated on the saddle, and now that you are walking next to Maeve, you can’t really trot the way you have been. So now Maeve is taking a much slower pace. Eight and Arthas, trailing behind. Is there anything that you two are discussing or are you riding in silence?
Neil: I’m just trying to keep pace with the horse.
Dax: Yeah, I mean it’s easy for you to keep pace with Maeve.
James: I was going to say, I’m like one long stride out of you is like eight for the horse probably.
Dax: Yeah.
Cole: Rialla’s usually quiet, but she seems very solemn. She’s not saying anything.
Dax: Eight, Arthas, are you two discussing anything or are you walking in silence?
Neil: I lean over to Eight and say,
Neil (as Arthas): I think Rialla is sad.
Wren (as Eight): Simply Arthas, I would be inclined to agree with you. However, Rialla usually tends to be dour.
Neil (as Arthas): Why?
Wren (as Eight): This I am not certain of. However, I think it might have something to do with her mysterious past.
Neil (as Arthas): That’s concerning.
Wren (as Eight): Yes. In fact,
Wren: I lean in as we’re traveling and I look up at your eyes. I’m assuming you’re kind of like maybe
Neil: Hunched (laughing)
Wren: Hunched slightly over at me. I look into Arthas’s eyes and I say,
Wren (as Eight): In fact, in our most recent excursion, I discovered that they used to be criminals.
Neil (as Arthas): That’s terrifying.
Wren: I do my best to whisper that as quietly as possible, like not even the whole sentence, but just the word ‘criminals’.
Neil: I do not whisper anything that I have just said.
Dax: Rialla and Jokul, all you hear from behind you is ‘that’s terrifying’.
Cole: Rialla’s head will pop up and she’ll look towards her companions and,
Cole (as Rialla): Did you see something?
Neil: I snap up.
Neil (as Arthas): No, just..just the desert.
Cole (as Rialla): What’s…
Neil (as Arthas): Nothing criminal.
Wren: I give you a thumbs up.
Wren (as Eight): Ah, everything is perfectly fine. We are having a normal discussion like traveling companions do.
Dax: I want you both to make a Deception check.
Neil: Oh boy.
[Cole laughs]
Wren: What’s, what do you want us to make the difficulty?
Dax: Vigilance.
Cole: I have two ranks in Vigilance.
Neil: Oh boy.
Wren: What’s your dice pool look like normally? Is it like?
Cole: That’s a three.
Wren: So it’s three and two ranks, so it would be two purple.. two red and a purple?
Cole: Mhmm. Good luck! (laughs)
Neil: Uuuhhhhhh, oh boy. I’m going to wind up with a Threat and a Despair.
Wren: I have three Threat and a Failure, because –
[Cole guffaws]
Wren: I rolled a single green because I am a very honest bean.
Dax: Okay ‘Honest Bean’, we’re gonna start with you and then we’re going to move on to Arthas.
[chuckles from the group]
Dax: Tell me, what does this failure of yours look like?
Wren: Well, like I said I flash a quick thumbs up. The universal symbol that I know organic forms use to show approval or positive reinforcement. My face turns into the most forced smile possible and my eyes are squinting up. I’m just like,
Wren (as Eight): Everything’s fine. We’re talking normal stuff together. Right?
Wren: And I just kind of like give a slight elbow to Arthas’s hip because I’m assuming he’s probably traveling next to me and is literally at hip height where my shoulders would be, so I’m just kind of like ‘yep, right?’. Nudge, nudge, nudge. And if I could sweat, I would be sweating. But I can’t, so I’m not. But I am visibly awkward.
Dax: Now Arthas, you got a Despair. So tell me, what is going on with Arthas with this Despair? (laughs)
Neil (as Arthas): Of course! Eight and I are discussing normal things. Like counting grains of sand in the desert, and not any potential criminal backgrounds of anyone that I’m in close proximity to or dangerous misdealings of their past.
Dax: So Rialla, you clearly know that these two are discussing what Eight discovered the previous night, about you and Jokul potentially having a devious past. You gather they feel some discomfort about it.
Cole: I’ll glance over at Jokul before turning back to Eight and Arthas. I’ll say,
Cole (as Rialla): Well, you can ask us questions. I think there might be some misconceptions here. Is there anything that we can do to reassure you that we’re not criminals?
Neil (as Arthas): You don’t have any brands and both of your hands are still intact, so I didn’t assume you were.
James: Jokul kind of smirks at the mention of branding but, like he, I imagine he’s in front of Arthas so you can’t see that smile.
[Cole laughs]
Dax: Yeah, I’ll give you that one.
Wren (as Eight): Rialla, I don’t have any questions for you at the moment. I trust you and Jokul implicitly and I might have more questions about how to become a criminal. For research purposes, of course. I mean, I have a wide variety of skills, but none of them quite of that nature. And I think it would be beneficial to be able to acknowledge how you operate.
Cole (as Rialla): Our history is a little bit more complicated than that but we are traveling together. I don’t want there to be distrust and if you have any questions, we’ll be forthcoming in our answers.
Wren (as Eight): No distrust. Absolutely not!
Wren: And I raise my hands, letting go of the reins on Bessie for a moment before I grab it quickly again.
Wren (as Eight): I just find it fascinating. Arthas, you don’t have a problem with it do you?
Neil: Arthas is very, very clearly on edge.
Dax: Like your eyes are wide?
Neil: A little bit, just like, there’s a very clear ‘hey, crime?’, some draconian punishments back home. So he’s like, they escaped the rocks, so they’re the most dangerous kind of criminal.
Cole: Do you voice this?
Dax: Oh I hope you do. (laughs)
Neil: I’m trying to think of the best way to voice this.
Neil (as Arthas): How did you escape?
Cole (as Rialla): Well, we..we ran away.
Neil (as Arthas): You do not look like you could push the boulder out of the way.
Cole (as Rialla): Push the…. I’m sorry?
Neil (as Arthas): When you commit a crime, you’re exiled to the deepest part of the mountain and the boulder is pushed in front.
Cole (as Rialla): Oh, oh! No, we.. (laughs)
James (as Jokul): There aren’t a whole lot of mountains where we come from.
Neil (as Arthas): That’s unfortunate.
Cole (as Rialla): Yes, no um..
James (as Jokul): Or fortunate!
Cole (as Rialla): We simply ran away. There wasn’t any formal exile traditions. It was no longer safe and we had to leave. Jokul had a favor that he called in and now we’re here, so.
Neil (as Arthas): But that means you’re still criminals. You haven’t repaid your debt.
Wren (as Eight): From what I understand, and you may correct me if I’m wrong, based on our experience with Hassan and his band of scoundrels, there was an implicit underlying feeling that you were unwilling criminals.
Cole (as Rialla): Yes. We didn’t join at the same time but, our circumstances ended up… We were, at least in my case, I was forced to be involved. I didn’t make the choice. By the time I knew what was happening, it was too late and I couldn’t leave.
Cole: Rialla’s twisting the ring on her finger and not making eye contact. She’s looking down.
Wren (as Eight): Arthas, have you ever had to do anything you did not want to?
Neil (as Arthas): Several times.
Wren (as Eight): Such as what?
Neil (as Arthas): Listening to Ymir. When Ymir said to not go near the goat pen.
Wren (as Eight): And why did you go near the goat pen?
Neil (as Arthas): Because I wanted to pet one of them.
Wren (as Eight): What was the danger in petting a goat?
Neil (as Arthas): The three cracked ribs from the buck that head-butt me.
Wren (as Eight): That sounds like a very strong goat.
Neil (as Arthas): It was worth it. I was much smaller, almost five feet tall.
Wren (as Eight): And did you learn anything from your experience with the goat?
Neil (as Arthas): To go back and pet it again when I was much taller.
Wren (as Eight): So it taught you strength and fore-thought.
Neil (as Arthas): Yes to the first one, yes to whatever the second word means.
Wren (as Eight): So in this instance, being a criminal is the goat. However, no. This analogy doesn’t work so well because they did not want to go to the goat.
Cole (as Rialla): It would be like not liking goats, but working in the goat pen is the only option you have. But instead of staying outside the goat pen, you are thrown into the goat pen and you are at the goat’s mercy.
Neil (as Arthas): That sounds awful.
Cole (as Rialla): It was.
Wren (as Eight): These analogies are confusing me.
[Cole and Neil chuckle]
Wren (as Eight): We will have to write that down so that I can dissect it later. And by we, I mean me.
Wren: And I pull out my pad of paper and I start jotting down as best as I can remember.
Wren (as Eight): Crime equals goat.
Neil (as Arthas): Question mark.
Wren (as Eight): Question mark. Crime equals being forced to pet the goat? At any rate, I would hope we can trust one another, despite our assorted pasts. I mean Arthas, you’ve been thrown from the tallest mountain, were you not?
Neil (as Arthas): Yes, but I deserved it.
Wren (as Eight): You’re so… humble.
Cole (as Rialla): I don’t know if anyone deserves to be thrown from the tallest mountain. That sounds painful.
Wren (as Eight): Sounds like an experience.
Neil (as Arthas): Yes, but I committed the most grievous crime of all. Being annoying.
Cole (as Rialla): That is the crime that you committed?
Neil (as Arthas): Yes, I would not stop talking about my hobby.
Wren (as Eight): Which we know is your particular fondness for knights.
Neil: And Art just gets excited at the mention of knights.
Wren (as Eight): I see you quivering. It’s okay.
Wren: Eight smiles.
Wren (as Eight): I don’t find you annoying. In fact, I find you very interesting.
Neil (as Arthas): That is the first time I have heard that.
Wren: I pat you gently on the.. back? Lower back? (laughs)
Cole: Probably more like upper thigh?
Wren: On your hip? I don’t know.
Neil: I would reciprocate, but I don’t want to crush the robot.
Wren: No one appreciates that more than me. Except maybe Bessie.
Music fades out [40:01]
Outro begins [40:02]
Dax: Thanks for listening! We hope you’ll join us next time but in the interim, follow us on Twitter @RoadsUncharted.
The “Roads Uncharted” podcast is GMed and produced by Dax, you can follow me on Twitter @GM_Dax. We use the Genesys Roleplaying System published by Fantasy Flight Games.
Jokul Genhorn is played by James and Arthas, Champion of Offam is played by Neil.
Rialla Lenoir is played by Cole, follow them on Twitter @ColeMorreale and check out their art.
Eight is played by Wren, who also composed the music for our opening theme, follow them on Twitter @ThornyDryad.