Arthas finds clues to help in his godkiller search, and experiences a little existential dread in the process.
The librarian Zura escorts Arthas past a hall of portraits and into an older section of the library. As the pair scan tomes and scrolls for information on Giant-Kin, Arthas comes across what appears to be a text depicting cultural aspects of his people, though not necessarily obtained through honest means.
The further he digs, the more he learns that some of the Aerir’s teachings may have been false. He also comes across some interesting information regarding the being that allegedly caused his deity’s death. In order to complete his quest, Arthas learns that there are dangerous steps ahead.
Zura tells Arthas that all knowledge is worth having, even if it comes at a cost. When she sees that this truth has taken a toll on Arthas, she suggests a cup of hot chocolate to make him feel better.
Follow Dax @GM_Dax, Kappa @TheKappaChris, and Wren @ThornyDryad
Transcript by CJ Kallevig
Upbeat piano intro ends[00:28]
Soft piano music fades in [00:30]
Dax: Arthas. Past the Observation Lounge is a very long, wide hallway. The staff member that has been assigned to you is about five feet ahead, she’s keeping pretty quick pace, leading you down the hallway past various doors and cubbies. You can see all sorts of little hideaways and sections where there are shelves upon shelves of books. There are a few doors that are closed, you’re not really sure what lays behind them. Down this hallway there are several painted portraits. As you walk by, you see there are all these little plaques at the bottom of the portrait indicating that they appear to be portraits of Headmasters past of the University. You get towards the very end of the hallway and the librarian opens up a door to the right. She turns to you and says,
Dax (as Zura): [femme voice, British accent] So, Arthas. Are you… how much assistance are you going to be needing? Are you going to want to just wander the cases yourself? Do you need a helping hand? I, I know you’ve been more interested in some of the information we have about Giant-Kin, but I don’t want to assume that you need your hand held.
Neil (as Arthas): If you can point me in the direction of your Giant-Kin and anything on theology, that would be beautiful.
Dax (as Zura): Alright.
Dax: She walks through the door and a lantern that she has been carrying, she twists the top and you can hear this very subtle, almost electric hum, as this soft light comes to life in this lantern. And it illuminates this room where you can see that the walls are just covered with shelves of books and scrolls. You see that there are several tables more towards the center of the room. A few stacks of books, like little mini bookshelves, scattered here or there. But this appears to be more of a room of study. It’s a lot wider, it has large stone tables with big stone benches. So it definitely seems a little bit more sturdy than some of the tables and chairs you’ve been seeing the past two days. She gestures towards one of the tables and sets down the lantern, hand waves towards the nearest section of the bookshelf to this table and says to you,
Dax (as Zura): So, here is where you’re most likely to find what little information we have about Giant-Kin. It’s been quite a long time since your people have been walking about freely. As far as theology, it depends on what kind you’re looking for. So, if it has to do with Giant-Kin theology, we have very little of that but it’ll be in this section. Is there a specific section of the pantheon you’re looking for? Are you looking for the minor deities? Are you looking for the divine? Are you looking for the elementals?
Neil: Do I have a good guess on to who would have been part of the murder?
Dax: From your discussions with Aerir, no specific name has ever been mentioned. The impression you’ve always been given by your family and your mentor has always been more along the lines of if we don’t talk about him, it kind of like wipes his name from memory and is more damaging kind of thing. It’s like a continuation of punishment.
Neil: Right.
Neil (as Arthas): Anything relating to Giant-Kin, absolutely anything.
Dax: She slowly nods. That, that look across her face of ‘okay’ [chuckles]. She walks down the side of the bookshelf for a little while and ends up grabbing one of those rolly ladders and brings it back over towards where your table is. She starts climbing up it. You hear her muttering to herself as she’s passing various levels. Eventually you hear,
Dax (as Zura): Ah! Yes, this is the one I’ve been looking for.
Dax: You see as she pulls this large tome out from the bookshelf, you hear the clunk of a couple of books kind of falling out of place when that one is removed. She slides down the ladder and she brings the tome to you and lays it out on the table.
Dax (as Zura): This is our largest collection. If you want to start here, I’ll go up into the stacks and I’ll see what we can find. Some of the older things might have a little bit more related to the pantheon, but you can at least start here.
Neil (as Arthas): Fantastic. Thank you again.
Dax (as Zura): You’re most welcome.
Dax: She returns up to the ladder, and every so often you can hear the rustling of scroll cases and the shifting of tomes, depending on which level she is. It tends to get a little quieter as she goes farther up the ladder.
Neil: Alright. I guess I’ll start reading.
Dax: Alright. Are you scanning the pages, like running a finger down to see if a name catches your eye and then reading? Or are you just opening up the first page and having at it?
Neil: So, I guess the absolute first thing that I would want to do is bust it open and look for like, you know how every page, like dedications and about the author, yada yada, on like the splash page?
Dax: Mhmm.
Neil: I don’t, I don’t know if these do, but if I can figure out the point of view of whoever was researching the Giant-Kin, that’d be great.
Dax: Sure. I won’t make you roll for that, there is not necessarily a dedication page and copyright information as we would know it nowadays. But, there at least is an author, there is a small dedication that says ‘To Lily, my eternal love. May your hunger for knowledge ever be satisfied’. After that, there is a small little paragraph, kind of like an introductory thing, not so much like about the author. It does say that Michael Devonshire dedicates this book to his one true beloved, Liliian, who’s obsession with Giant-Kin and other mythological creatures has always held sway and fascination. So, you can kind of gather that this is somebody who, I mean, you won’t really know how accurate their information is until you get into the book, but at this point, it’s a 50-50. Is this something like, a story that they wrote for this person, or is it actually information for this, for this knowledge hungry person that they love?
Neil: Does it say where the person is? Like, where they’re from?
Dax: The book indicates that Devonshire is from the Town of Ravenspire.
Neil: So, to start, I would like to make a little note on the author and town name, just because if it’s all mythology and just pretend ha-ha, like ‘oh Giant-Kin sure are wacky look at this little fantasy book I wrote about them’, so I can show up at his house and be like ‘hey, let’s go over these inaccuracies’.
Dax: I love it. Do me a favor, Arthas. Could you roll me a Knowledge Lore check and make it at Medium difficulty, please?
[dice rolls]
Neil: A Success and a Threat.
Dax: After you make your notes about the author’s location and his name, I should say their name, you start reading through the book. Within the first section, it’s pretty clear to you that this appears to be for the most part pretty factual. There is a lot of talk about how Giant-Kin construct their homes in the mountains, how they use a lot of phosphorescent lichen to light their way while they’re digging. How there, it doesn’t really matter what your gender is, as long as you can carry a weapon, you can go out on the hunt. Those that are unable to carry a weapon and hunt have to stay back in the caves and take care of the children, the food, and all sorts of things.
So, I mean, for the most part, it seems like the basics of society this person has accurate. It definitely speaks from the position of somebody who has spoken to at least one Giant-Kin in their time. Now, how they got access to this information, they don’t say. It is written in a very dry tone, kind of like, not really an encyclopedia, but along that same vein. Where it’s not really told in a story type manner. It’s very factual, this is how everything works, so on and so forth.
Neil: Spectacular. Any mention of pantheon in this one?
Dax: As you continue to read on, Devonshire notes that the Aerir is a little close-lipped about pantheon information with outsiders. So perhaps this particular Aerir was not as forthcoming with knowledge as yours was. He does mention that he… he admits, rather, and this is probably one of the first times in this book you’ve seen so far where the author indicates they have any sense of humor. It comes off very proud that he found a way to hide among some of the casks and storage areas to listen to some of the Giant-Kin share their stories. So obviously he was doing a little snooping and notetaking. He indicates how proud and almost pleased with himself for doing so.
So, it does start talking about how there is a story, and this is one that you would know, about a god that often wandered the mortal plane thousands of years ago, when the gods were rumored to actually walk in Rejiev. This particular deity taught people how to use fire to cook and to stay warm on cold winter nights. This deity was known for recording stories in a journal, so that he could share them with others he met. This deity, who at this point the author starts conjecture, and kind of trails off away from the factual and sounds a little bit more like, this is the author inserting themselves into the story and talking to the reader directly. Starts to theorize that this is probably in similar reference to Yuné, who was the god of home and tradition and memory. The reason why he, the author conjectures this is because there are many similar stories about a similar deity in various cultures across the world. It all ties up to what most people will call Yuné.
So, the author then gets back into more of the factual piece and starts talking about how Yuné was depicted as being, in some folklore, a little promiscuous. There, again, the author interjects themselves into this information and doesn’t really talk about how the Giant-Kin perceive this deity. So it’s very much like ‘here’s what other people are saying, but here’s what the Giant-Kin may or may not have shared’. It’s starting to become a little bit of a mishmosh of that and not so much factual. Talks about how until he discovered Giant-Kin, that this is when he met Ymin and fell in love with Ymin. The two of them… Yuné ended up spending years among the Giant-Kin and learned to hunt the way they did and fought alongside them in various battles, which you know are some of the oldest battles in Giant-Kin history.
It’s one of the first stories that a lot of Giant-Kin hear when they’re sitting at the knee of the Aerir and learning history. It is after one such battle that Ymin decided to part from his clan of Giant-Kin and travel with Yuné to discover the world. The Giant-Kin, your Aerir once told you that Ymin left the Giant-Kin and was gone for a hundred years before he returned. It is at this point that the book starts to go a little off topic, starts to deviate away from the pantheon and starts talking about other facets of Giant-Kin life.
Neil: Does the author mention any Giant-Kin by name?
Dax: Like as far as sources go? Or just in general?
Neil: Sources or in general. I believe I’d be more trying to find out, it’d be really cool if this guy name dropped a family that I’m familiar with.
Dax: Okay. I see where you’re going with this. The author is very vague about who they actually spoke to. They do mention a symbol tattooed on several of the members’ chest, very akin to a growling bear. But no names are mentioned. Now, you would know that tattoos generally aren’t a thing in your clan’s culture. It’s very possible this is some other culture from a distant world, or because it’s so ancient, you know, maybe it’s just something that Giant-Kin used to do before they went into exile. It’s hard to tell.
Neil: I’m going to throw that into my notebook to ask the Aerir next time I’m around town.
Dax: As you’re scrolling through this book, you start to hear the sound of the librarian coming down the ladder. You hear her feet hitting the stone floor. She walks over to you with this big scroll. It’s, it’s pretty hefty looking. Looks to be about almost two feet long, it’s pretty wide. She pulls it out of its case and says to you,
Dax (as Zura): So, while I was up there searching, I also realized I never exactly introduced myself. So, um…
Dax: She sets the scroll case down.
Dax (as Zura): [sighs] I am very sorry for that. My name is Zura, and you’re… I do apologize for my rude behavior. I think I got a little too distracted, potentially learning about Giant-Kin and all manners went out of my head. Has that ever happened to you?
Neil (as Arthas): Frequently. My apologies in turn, I have also forgotten to introduce myself. I am Arthas Boston Wapon Dynevy Marston Thurlow Lilford, Champion of Offam, Triumphant of Azarra. [pauses] Or Art.
Dax (as Zura): Oh, the Headmaster did say your name was Arthas. She did, she neglected to share all that. Oh, alright. Well, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Arthas. So I, I found this…
Dax: She takes the scroll out of the case and she lays it out on the table. You can hear the [imitates paper unrolling] of paper. What you see before you is very similar to what you found in the Wild Woods, where it was kind of like a list of the pantheon. However, this one has a lot of little side anecdotes, which is part of the reason why it’s so long and wide. She points to the section where it talks about Yuné. It indicates that Yuné had fallen in love with a Giant-Kin, and unfortunately the Giant-Kin fell to something called The Devourer. When that happened, Yuné, and this part you know from your own legends. Giant-Kin legends say that it was Ymin’s dying breath that spread other life onto the world. But according to a lot of these notes and what you read in Devonshire’s book is that other life existed before all of this. Little contradiction to what you’ve always known as truth, first of all. Second of all, when Ymin died, and like I said, the Giant-Kin is not named in this particular scroll. But I’m just going to use Ymin, because it’s just easier to use a name since you know who this is referencing.
Neil: Right.
Dax: The Devourer was imprisoned in the Seven Hells for the crime of murder. It was one of the instances that really prompted the gods to decide ‘we need to kinda leave these mortals to do their own thing for the most part’. And you know that the gods haven’t completely left the world, that they still do interact when they feel it’s necessary. But, it certainly was one of those instances where this was part of the catalyst to… for them to insist that they need to be less involved than they currently are. So she looks at you when, you know, once you’ve had a chance to read all this.
Dax (as Zura): Arthas, do you happen to know which Giant-Kin that they’re referring to?
Neil (as Arthas): I’m not certain.
Dax: Are you lying to this poor librarian?
Neil: Maybe a little bit as Arthas has just had his, when you’re told something that you’ve had instilled in your head since you were a little tiny five-foot-tall child wandering around a cave, it’s a little hard.
Dax: This child is taller than me. [laughs]
Neil: Yeah, Arthas is like, ten years old and six foot four. [laughs] Babyproofing a Giant-Kin house is hard. But yeah, Arthas is probably having a little bit of a rough time with that.
Dax: I think that’s fair. I mean it’s a little bit of a shock, it is, it is definitely. There’s so many religious instances we could turn to.
Neil: Yeah.
Dax: But we’re just not going to. We’ll let the audience pick their own chosen example.
Neil: Yeah, fun fantasy setting where we just don’t pay attention to that.
Dax: Nah. So you, you say this, that you’re not really sure. She just nods, I mean, she doesn’t think anything of it. She has no reason to disbelieve you. A puzzled look does cross her face, and she turns to you and says,
Dax (as Zura): Have you ever heard of something called The Devourer? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this.
Neil (as Arthas): I can’t say I have either.
Dax (as Zura): Give me a few moments. I have an idea, I’ll be right back.
Dax: She actually races out of the room, leaving you with the lantern, the open scroll, and the book. What do you do?
Neil: So, because Arthas is a direct person, is there anything that describes a way to get to one of, or wherever The Devourer is in the Seven Hells?
Dax: Before I give you a way to try and figure this out, how do you propose you’re going to try and look for this. Given the current information that you have in front of you, do you try to use that? Do you go to try to search through the bookshelves? You tell me.
Neil: I would probably try to do it with what’s in front of me as I’m, I’m not super familiar with the Dewey Decimal System.
Dax: I will say that between the scroll and the book of Giant-Kin that is in front of you, there doesn’t seem to be a reference to how to access the Seven Hells in these two things.
Neil: Okay. Well, I guess I’m standing up and looking through some shelves.
Dax: Okay. In that case, give me a Perception check. Give this one to me at, let’s see, you’re pretty tall, you can get a good portion of the stacks without using a ladder or anything. Go ahead and give it to me at Medium difficulty.
[dice rolls]
Neil: One Threat.
Dax: Okay. How do you feel about taking a Strain for this and we can say that narratively, one of the books that you went to go move on one of the higher shelving sections was very dusty and now your nose is really itchy and it’s kind of messing with your concentration? And it’s having, it’s very difficult for you to focus on what you’re looking for. Does that sound good?
Neil: Yes. Strain taken.
Dax: So, as you’re sitting there, you’re kind of itching your nose, you’re rubbing your eyes that are starting to water. You hear the sound of footsteps moving fast towards the room and in rushes Zura. She looks up at you and she’s got this little book in her hands. I mean, I say little, but it’s standard size for humans and things. She’s got this big wide smile on her face.
Dax (as Zura): Arthas, I think I found something!
Neil (as Arthas): A book!
Dax (as Zura): Well, yes. Yes, it’s a book. But it’s what’s in the book that matters! Are you alright? You look… were you crying?
Neil (as Arthas): No, I’m Arthas.
Dax (as Zura): [chuckles] Is..is that a… did you just make a joke?
Neil (as Arthas): No?
Dax (as Zura): Oh.
Neil (as Arthas): I… I hope I’m Arthas.
Dax: The smile and the giggly face that she was making immediately turns to very straightlaced as she kind of realizes, like, ‘oh, that was not intentional’.
Dax (as Zura): Oh, alright. Well, why don’t you come down here and see what I found?
Dax: She sets down the book and she’s starting to flip through the pages.
Neil: I will politely observe.
Dax: She’s flipping back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, and eventually stops on a page. She slams her finger down and points to a paragraph and says,
Dax (as Zura): Here. We were talking about The Devourer and how they were sent to the Seven Hells as punishment. While I’ve never really heard about a Devourer, I do know that there are a lot of myths and legends that talk about powerful beings being sentenced to the Seven Hells as punishment. It got me thinking, so I figured I’d go and find some of our other mythology books. I found this, and this book talks about how supposedly, supposedly that there are two portals to the Hells. They’re somewhere hidden across the world. During the War of Seven Hells, when the Spellweavers were drawing on creatures of the wild hunt and demons into the world to fight the demons and the fiends that the Empire was bringing on, that it was rumoured that they were drawing on these portals. Now, the portals are supposedly mythology. They’re not supposed to actually exist. And nobody has ever to this day figured out how the Spellweavers have drawn on those creatures and brought them into the world. But perhaps, this is the key you’re looking for. What do you think?
Neil (as Arthas): Hmmm. It sounds promising. I’ll take a read through.
Dax (as Zura): Oh, yeah.
Dax: She backs off and allows you to sit with the tome. She then kind of backs up a little bit and out of your viewpoint, and you can hear her in the distance making noise as she’s walking around. You know, who knows what she’s doing? She’s either straightening things up or doing her own research, but you hear rustling, you hear her feet. That’s pretty much it. What’s going on in your head, Arthas?
Neil: So aside from the minor existential dread, trying to figure out how to get there and then how to stab whatever the Devourer is.
Dax: As you’re looking through this book of mythology, the description of the portals are pretty vague. Allegedly, these portals are massive pillars of stone with runes carved into them. They’re ancient, thousands upon thousands of years old. And when they’re activated, the runes glow in a blue light.
Neil: Any notes on location?
Dax: There is a hint that one such portal may be in a location of thick vegetation and heat and humidity, hidden away from the prying eyes of mortals.
Neil: I’ll throw that in my notes too. I think that’s most of what I can glean from this book.
Dax: One other thing. The Devourer is said to be a creature of unknown size, of unknown strength, potentially because it devours its enemies. It can take many shapes, kind of assimilating what it has consumed and replicating it. There are notes in this book about how some legends say that The Devourer is miles tall, others that it can hide in the shadows, small as a mouse. Waiting for the chance to strike. No matter which legend that you read however, it does indicate that The Devourer has an insatiable hunger and if ever set free, would consume the world in its entirety.
Neil: Is limitless hunger kind of a giant, all around Giant-Kin trait? Cause Arthas does kind of eat non-stop too.
Dax: Well, I think we can both agree that Arthas also eats non-stop because Arthas is used to getting a lot more to sate his metabolism. Lately, you know, he’s been, he’s been out traveling, he hasn’t really made a ton of money where he can eat as much as he wants. So, a lot of the meals tend to be two servings worth, because Eight always gives their portion to Arthas, so. But as far as a well known Giant-Kin thing, I mean you’ve known some Giant-Kin that could outeat you. You’ve also known some that have had pretty, what humans would call a standard appetite. So I would say it’s, it’s not necessarily a typical Giant-Kin trait to have limitless hunger. At some point, even, even the hungriest Giant-Kin have to sleep.
Neil: Right. I was worried there for a second that it was just like a lingering curse.
Dax: I mean, maybe.
Neil: Oh no, oh no.
[Dax and Neil laugh]
Dax (as Zura): You… look a little troubled.
Dax: You hear from behind you.
Neil: I turn around and look at the lady saying I’m troubled.
Neil (as Arthas): What gave it away?
Dax (as Zura): Your brows are furrowed, and you’ve been staring at that same page for a good five minutes. What’s on your mind?
Neil (as Arthas): I could just be a slow reader.
Dax (as Zura): You could.
Neil (as Arthas): Very slow.
Dax: She smiles.
Music shifts to a melancholy guitar [29:16]
Dax (as Zura): You could, but I, I have this feeling that you’re digesting something that is a little hard to swallow.
Neil (as Arthas): I am burdened with knowledge.
Dax: She smiles.
Dax (as Zura): Could I ask you something?
Neil (as Arthas): Shoot.
Dax (as Zura): Giant-Kin haven’t been seen for a long time, due to their self-exile. What made you want to leave your cave?
Neil (as Arthas): A series of things. Being a knight, seeing the world, understanding why I could get out or couldn’t get out. But I am not sure I like what I have found.
Dax (as Zura): Hmm. It’s a funny thing, isn’t it? I find that all knowledge is worth having, that even to know a little of everything can be an amazing thing. However, it does come at a cost. I think most knowledge tends to challenge us and really challenge our perceptions of the world. It can be hard sometimes, it can be relieving. So hopefully, what is troubling you now with what you’ve learned will perhaps allow you a little more freedom in your search to become a knight. Or to explore without guilt of having left your family behind. Would that have made it worth it?
Neil (as Arthas): I think so.
Dax: She squints her eyes a little bit.
Dax (as Zura): You know what I find makes me happy?
Neil (as Arthas): What’s that?
Dax (as Zura): When I’ve had a hard day, some hot chocolate. Have you ever had hot chocolate?
Neil (as Arthas): I cannot say I’ve had the pleasure.
Dax (as Zura): Alright. Why don’t you set that book down? Come on, it’ll be my treat and we can come back and we can look through the books a little later. But I think you need some.
Neil: I do so.
Dax: She starts to walk out of the room. I think that’s a good spot to end it then.
Music fades out [31:53]
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, who you can find on Twitter @GM_Dax. We use the Genesys RPG system published by Fantasy Flight Games, and music licensed by Epidemic Sound.
Arthas, Champion of Offam, is played by Neil.
Eight is played by Wren, who also composed the music for our opening theme. Follow them on Twitter @ThornyDryad.
Rou is played by Kappa, and you can follow him on Twitter @TheKappaChris.