The group investigates the mysterious portal they’ve discovered. What lies beyond is quite unsettling.
While Eight and Shepherd are sure that they need to enter the portal, Rou isn’t so sure. The group takes their time looking for tracks and testing out the portal, knowing that it could very well be a one-way trip. When they see someone appear in the portal, they try to call out and get their attention. While it appears they can hear the calls, it seems they can’t see the group and carry on.
Rou, Eight and Shepherd eventually jump through the portal, and learn that the individual they saw is named Sprickle-sprack. He reveals to them that someone fitting Hunter’s description arrived about a month ago, and was last seen with Thistle. When the group asks for him to guide them to Thistle, he does so only in exchange for gold and warns them that people in that realm generally avoid Thistle.
Follow Dax @GM_Dax, Kappa @TheKappaChris, Wren @ThornyDryad, and Gaynor @gaynorcott
Transcript by CJ Kallevig
Upbeat piano intro ends[00:28]
Soft piano music fades in [00:29]
Kappa (as Rou): Last time on Roads Uncharted, Eight and I came across this wonderful person that goes by the name of Shepherd, that seems to have lost a friend. After spending the night at their cabin, we decide to help them out and try and find this lost individual. After some bit of research, we found a diary of sorts, a journal of Hunter. Describes some curious odd details that led us to this clearing of strange flowers. The smell of electricity hung in the air and off in the distance, we can see what I believe to be a portal. And now you’re caught up.
Music shifts to a mysterious, suspenseful tune [01:19]
Dax: Eight, Rou, and Shepherd. Ahead of you is this elliptical window to a meadow beyond the grove in which you stand. The edge of it is crackling with this electricity. What do you do?
Wren (as Eight): Oh! I’ve seen one of these before!
Wren: I exclaim and I jump up and down slightly, like on the balls of my feet. Like, bouncing. I’m shaking my hands like, up and down, my fingers kind of waving as I’m displaying genuine excitement.
Kappa (as Rou): I, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen, I never thought that these would be real. It’s a very intense form of magic, is it not?
Wren (as Eight): Yes! Yes, Friend Rou, it certainly is. And quite rare, from what I’m to understand. But here it is! Another portal!
Wren: And I sweep my palms in a broad gesture in front of me.
Wren (as Eight): But it’s right here. I have never walked through a portal though. Is this something we’re willing to do?
Gaynor: At this point, I think I.. I see Eight being excited and I’m rushing down from on top of this pile of rocks where I have been standing and rushing down and getting very, very close to Eight.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): What is, what is going on? Do you know? Do you know about this? Is this something you know about? Is this, it it smells, it smells like um, it smells like, like excitement but like oooh, like oooh, bad excitement but excitement!
Wren: I will turn and look at Shepherd and I’m still excited. I’ve got this broad smile crease across my face.
Wren (as Eight): Oh Shepherd, yes. There is genuine excitement here. Although, did you say bad excitement? Maybe you mean the fact that I am apprehensive about the fact that it seems your Hunter perhaps has wandered through a magical portal?
Wren: And I point at the portal.
Wren (as Eight): This one in particular, in fact.
Gaynor: Question for the DM, have I, is this where I was at the beginning of the month? Is this at all related to that?
Dax: I will say that you remember smelling something similar, but you have not seen anything manifested with the smell.
Gaynor: I think then I would turn to Eight, and I’m just kind of like, just trying to... I am turning between Eight and the portal a lot, and just being like,
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Um, okay! Um, well, then what, we should go and go get him. That’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna get, get right in there. And just, oh, we’re gonna get him and we’re going to bring him back. We’re going to say ‘hey, you’re back now and that’s great’. And, um, it’s going to be a good time and I’m excited. But yeah, I don’t, um, smells like it’s a little dangerous and I don’t, it’s kind of weird, it kind of smells like, um, smells like it’s not supposed to be there. Which is, like, the smell of like, you know, like excited but like ooooooh, you know?
Kappa (as Rou): I, I don’t think we should go through it. At least not without knowing for sure that Hunter went through. Who knows where the portal will lead us? That’s, that’s how portals work here, right Eight? That’s… brings us to an entirely different location than we are now? There’s no distance limit on it. It can take us all the way across the world.
Wren (as Eight): From my understanding, the portal may take us to a completely different plane of existence all together. That’s what makes it so exciting as a prospect for exploration! There are so many unknown elements to really verify here.
Kappa (as Rou): And I think that’s what scares me the most about it, because who knows if we’d be able to come back. Portals aren’t permanent, are they?
Wren (as Eight): Oh, no. They’re very unstable.
Kappa: I start nodding my head, just,
Kappa (as Rou): Mhm, mhm. I don’t trust this portal.
Wren: I will reflect your nod.
Gaynor: I’m also nodding. I don’t know what we’re nodding about, but I’m also nodding.
Wren (as Eight): Yes, portals are quite difficult to discern the true nature of. A gentleman that Arthas and I met in the forest named Theodore Lawrence Briggs had devoted a considerable portion of his life to studying this phenomenon. And despite the longevity of his time and tenure in searching for answers, the portal that we witnessed together was the very first one that he had seen in his entire life! How exciting, I have seen two in so many months of my own existence that it has taken him years and years of life to see only half as many!
Wren: My face flashes from that excitement to a look of consternation and concern.
Wren (as Eight): Friend Rou, I can understand your trepidation. With respect to traveling through a portal. I suppose, in my excitement, I anticipated that we might explore it a little more intimately.
Kappa (as Rou): How, how about this? How about this? We try and discern whether or not Hunter went through it for sure. And if Hunter did indeed go through it, maybe then we go through. But I don’t want to jump through a portal without knowing for sure what’s on the other side.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Sounds good to me.
Gaynor: And I am going to flop down on the ground and begin smelling for Hunter. Face in the dirt, just trying to get the scent best I can.
Wren: I will lean in and whisper to Rou,
Wren (as Eight): Friend Rou, it is my understanding that humans do not have very good senses of smell. Are you perplexed by this behavior? Or is it just me?
Kappa (as Rou): I know I should be, but I’m not.
Wren (as Eight): That’s fair. We have met humans and other beings with very strange abilities in the past.
Kappa (as Rou): Yes. Maybe this is just Shepherd’s strange ability?
Wren (as Eight): Perhaps he simply likes the feel of the dirt on his skin.
Kappa (as Rou): Or in his nose. There’s quite a lot of it in there.
Kappa: While this is happening, I’m looking for footprints and suggest over to Eight,
Kappa (as Rou): We should, we should follow suit. Maybe not with our noses, but with our eyes. Just looking around for footprints, articles of clothing, you know, real Inspector Nine stuff.
Wren (as Eight): Oh! Yes, perhaps that is in order.
Wren: And I will set my rucksack down on the ground after unshouldering it, and I will begin digging through my belongings. You just kind of hear me pushing papers and vials and containers around. Eventually I pull out this dilapidated looking pipe, shoddily made. Does not look like it serves its intended function. It’s just like made out of clay, I think it was.
Dax: Mhmm. It’s literally a lump of a pipe.
Wren: Yeah. I will stick it in my mouth and..[smacks lips] pretend to puff on it a few times.
Wren (as Eight): Ah, yes. This is good, I am almost in character.
Dax: So, Rou and Shepherd. I am going to have the two of you give me a combined Survival check. So the two of you can determine who’s got the higher rank, who has the higher characteristics, and we can build the group check from there.
Wren: Question.
Dax: Yah?
Wren: We have an article of the intended trackee’s belongings..
Dax: Mhm.
Wren: Can we perhaps get a scent Boost die? Because it could be used as a scent baseline?
Dax: That is an excellent idea and I am all for that.
Gaynor: So I have two ranks in Survival.
Kappa: You have two, two ranks? I have no ranks and three Cunning. Right? Cunning is the stat, so I have three, so..
Gaynor: I have two Cunning and two ranks.
Kappa: So you would have four dice to roll.
Gaynor: Yes, I believe so.
Wren: So that means as a combined check, you would use Rou’s Cunning and Shepherd’s -
Dax: Mhmm
Wren: Survival ranks.
Dax: Yep. So it will be one green, two yellow, the Boost which is the blue. I’m going to actually give you this at Easy difficulty, so one purple.
Gaynor: One Success, one Advantage, one Triumph.
Kappa: A cycle.
Dax: Okay. So I will say with the Success, the Advantage, very easily Rou, you see footprints actually heading towards where the portal was leading. They’re very faint, they do seem to be quite a few days old, but you know, you’re very good at this.
Kappa: And I will put my hands on my hips, sigh, and hang my head.
Kappa (as Rou): [deep sigh] He went in, didn’t he?
Dax: Shepherd, oddly enough, as you flop to the ground, you are sitting there and people can hear you snuffling in the dirt. Which is very loud with a human nose, and you pick up on the scent of Hunter and you’re following it and following it and you and Rou end up stopping right at the same spot. Facing this portal. Now, with a Triumph, what would you like to utilize your Triumph for?
Gaynor: Can I use the Triumph to give everybody a little kiss? Just a little *muwh*
Kappa: You don’t need a Triumph to do that. You can just do it.
Gaynor: Oh, okay. Alright, that’s fine. I, I do that.
[Kappa laughs]
Kappa: Can we, can we, would we within the means, within the means of this Triumph to maybe recognize where the portal is headed? Cause we haven’t actually, like looked in and seen where it is.
Gaynor: Sort of a hazy picture of what might be on the other side.
Kappa: Yeah. It’s just, the break room at The Office.
Dax: Good lord.
Gaynor: Oh hey, it’s Dale. Hey!
Wren: There’s a, there’s a lone dude at a table in the break room with his head down on the table and like a half eaten sandwich and a thermos of soup.
Gaynor: He’s having a rough day.
Dax: So I will say, so since normally with Triumphs you can also kind of throw some things into the scene, like notice and you know, throw some things into the scene. So what I’ll, what I’ll say. You already know that there’s a meadow, but what I’ll say is that you happen to notice in like the maybe half an hour that y’all have been searching and talking and hanging out since you’ve seen this portal, that well, it looks a lot darker. Almost as if a full day has passed.
Wren: I walk up behind you with the pipe in my mouth and I look at Rou and I look at Shepherd. I turn and I look at the sad look on Rou’s face, and I simply take the pipe out of my mouth.
Wren (as Inspector Nine): Ah, as the world-class Inspector Nine examines this scene, I deduce that you are in fact disappointed, Rou. For it seems our quarry has escaped through the portal, has it not?
Kappa (as Rou): Yes, you’d be right about that Inspector Nine.
Gaynor: I see Eight and I, I look at Eight and I go find the nearest stick. Pop that bad boy right into the old mouth, and nod at Eight.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Yes. Our quarry has escaped. Like when you’re hunting a rabbit and the rabbit says not today, and runs away. Just like that. Except that it’s Hunter and not catching them is not an option.
Wren (as Eight): Are there rabbit people that speak?
Kappa (as Rou): At this point I would not be surprised.
Wren (as Eight): I know we’ve met Jerboamin, and we have also met the Sciurens. Are there also rabbitfolk? Oh, so many wonders abound in this world.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Sometimes they don’t use words, they say it with, like, running away.
Kappa (as Rou): Oh.
Wren (as Inspector Nine): Ah, yes. Non-verbal communication. Inspector Shepherd, I appreciate your insight.
Wren: And I will pop the pipe back into my mouth.
Gaynor: I bite off just a little piece of the stick and chew it thoughtfully.
Kappa (as Rou): Okay, so Hunter definitely went through the portal. Which means we are probably going through the portal. And there’s no telling where we will be spit out or if we can come back. I just want to have all the facts laid out before us before we decide to step through. It’s like, it’s like back in Baukora, we have these lifts and elevators and great mechanical things. Sometimes the elevator will get stuck in between floors. You don’t want to leave because potentially these boxcars can go free and cut you in half as you’re trying to climb out.
Wren (as Inspector Nine): Goodness gracious!
Kappa (as Rou): It is a very horrifying sight and I am scared that the portal is going to do the same thing.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Sorry, and you, you go in there on purpose?
Kappa (as Rou): Me? Uh, no. No, some people do. They’d rather not take the stairs.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): There’s only a couple of them, why would they, it’s like…
Kappa (as Rou): You can do many great things with stairs. There could be more. Lots more.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): I guess I never even thought of that many stairs. Um, okay, well. I do have one last question. Which is, is a portal anything like a bear cave?
Kappa (as Rou): I’m not sure what that means.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Like, so, Hunter says that before you enter a bear cave, you should always smell to make sure the bear isn’t there. Because when you go into the bear cave and the bear is there, it’s like you’re going into somebody’s house and you’re saying I’m here now.
Except that they’re a bear. And that can be very dangerous, and so my, I guess I’m wondering if I should check to see if there’s anything dangerous in this portal. Like a bear, or a group of wolves, or a pointy stick that’s, that you can’t see. Or other dangerous things.
Dax: So how do you plan on going about this? How do you check for danger?
Gaynor: I think it’s a scent thing primarily, but I think also I yell into the portal to see if anything yells back.
Dax: Alright. So yell for me first. Don’t actually yell into the mic, but I mean like, you know, at least say what you would say. [chuckles]
Gaynor: Yeah. I think I just walk up and I go,
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Hey! Hey! Hey! You in there? Is it, are you, Hey! What are you doing, what are you doing in there?
Gaynor: See if anything comes out.
Dax: So I will say that that does not garner a response from anything.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Looks safe to me.
Kappa (as Rou): We are going through this portal. We are going -
Wren (as Inspector Nine): Perhaps.
Kappa (as Rou): Okay.
Wren (as Inspector Nine): And I, I don’t mean to interrupt you, Friend Rou, but I want to make sure that we test all avenues before we put ourselves in a potentially life-threatening situation.
Kappa (as Rou): Yes, okay.
Wren (as Inspector Nine): Inspector Shepherd, do you suppose you would be able to find us a sizable rock and or stick? With expediency?
Gaynor (as Shepherd): A stick? Big stick. Yeah, uh, um, yeah.
Gaynor: Immediately run off into the woods, I’m immediately running off and looking for just the largest stick that I can fit in my mouth.
Dax: Easy enough. How big is the stick that you come back with?
Gaynor: I think I found like a fallen branch that I grabbed onto with my arms but also have one of the branches sticking off of that branch in my mouth. And am fully body dragging it back. It’s taking just way too long and I’m like growling, like [imitates growling with a full mouth] and eventually just get it back and toss it at Eight’s feet.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Okay! Now how many more sticks?
Wren (as Inspector Nine): This branch that you have brought will be entirely adequate for the purposes of this test. Now, we as a team should shove the end of this branch through the portal and see just what happens to anything that enters it.
Kappa (as Rou): That’s actually very smart. Maybe, maybe we put it in partway and then pull it back out. See if it, like, it’s burned up or, or something.
Wren: I tap where my nose would be on my faceplate.
Wren (as Inspector Nine): That is an excellent way to go about this experiment.
Gaynor: I also nod at Rou and also tap my nose, though I don’t know why. This looks like what we’re doing, so I’m nodding and tapping my nose.
Kappa: Okay, so we do that, right? We put the branch in part of the way then pull it back out and observe to see what happens, you know? Because that’s science.
Dax: Who’s sticking the branch in?
Wren: I would argue it’s a group effort, considering how honkin’ hecking chonky this branch is.
Dax: Okay.
Kappa: Yeah, we want to be able to pull it out with expediency.
Dax: Mhm, mhm. Well, that’s all nice and good, but the minute that the branch touches the entryway to the portal, it disappears out of your hands. [fwoosh sound effect] And you now see the branch in the meadow on the other side of the portal.
Kappa: It looks fine?
Music shifts to a gentle, inquisitive piano [20:02]
Dax: Mhmm, yep! Looks exactly as it did when you had it in your hands.
Wren: Can we use a story point to insert something silly into this scene?
Dax: Sure. Well, I say sure, but what would you like to insert?
Wren: Would we, would we be able to spend a story point to have somebody else on the other side of the portal that shows up and is like, looking at this branch like where the heck did this come from?
Dax: Sure. Why not? You see an individual, what appears to be a very short, short, short person walking up in the middle of the field with a little axe over their shoulder. They suddenly notice that this branch is here. And you watch as they stop, they look all around themselves because there don’t appear to be, from what you can see, any trees nearby. You watch as they look up, look back down, and make a wide berth to get away from the branch and continue on their way. Like, for as far as you can see them in the portal, like looking back every once in a while, like is it still there?
Wren: Seeing this person, I would encourage someone to try calling out to them.
Kappa: Yeah, as soon as, as soon as the person, as I see the person walking up to the branch, I’m like,
Kappa (as Rou): Oh, oh! Hello! Hello, can you hear? Hello! Over here! No -
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Kappa (as Rou): Your left! Your other left!
Dax: You see this person slowly walk back. Like, you can tell they can hear something, but it doesn’t appear that they can see you.
Kappa (as Rou): Oh!
Wren (as Inspector Nine): Friends, it appears that this person can hear us.
Dax: Because they, there are times they look right at you and then immediately start to look around like, where is that voice coming from?
Kappa: No there, yeah their eyes just kind of glaze over.
Dax: Mhmm, yeah.
Kappa: Okay.
Kappa (as Rou): Okay, okay, okay, okay. We can do this, we’re going through the portal.
Kappa: And I’m going to -
Gaynor: As soon as Rou says that, I’m running through.
[fwoosh sound effect]
Dax: The minute any part of you touches this, you immediately, as far as Rou and Eight are concerned, you completely disappear from sight and you are on the other side of the portal.
Gaynor: I try to turn back towards where I think the portal is.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Hey! Hey, it’s good! We’re good! Hi!
Gaynor: I wave.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Hi! Hi! I’m, I’m okay! I’m okay!
Gaynor: And then I’m just waving until they come.
Wren: Can we hear Shepherd?
Dax: You can’t hear Shepherd.
Kappa: Oh?
Dax: You can see him waving but you can’t hear.
Kappa: Okay.
Wren (as Inspector Nine): Well, it appears that the portal has robbed Shepherd of his voice? Perhaps it is a silent world on the other side of this portal.
Kappa (as Rou): Maybe. Or the sound can’t penetrate the portal.
Wren (as Inspector Nine): Perhaps. Or perhaps it is a one way portal.
Kappa (as Rou): Oh no. That’s what I was scared of. Okay! Adventurers! We are adventurers...
Kappa: I will take a few steps back, start bouncing and hyping myself up.
Kappa (as Rou): Okay, okay.
Kappa: Shaking my hands near my face.
Kappa (as Rou): Oh!
Kappa: Just, just sprint at the portal and jump in.
[fwoosh sound effect]
Dax: Same thing. The second a part of you touches, Eight, you see Rou disappear and Rou is now standing on the other side with Shepherd and a very confused looking short, short person with an axe.
Kappa (as Rou): [deep breath] Okay! Oh we didn’t die, okay. Oooh, it’s not an illusion. Hello. Hello, one second.
Kappa: Looking around.
Kappa (as Rou): Eight! It’s safe!
Kappa: Do I see the portal?
Dax: You do not.
Kappa: Okay.
Wren: I cannot hear them, but I see Friend Rou looking around expectantly.
Kappa: Thumbs up. I’m putting thumbs up in various directions in the air.
Gaynor: Spinning around full spin, doing a thumbs up.
Wren (as Eight): I don’t believe I’m familiar with this gesture.
[Kappa laughs]
Dax: Oh no, you totally are because Arthas does it all the time.
Wren: Okay, yeah. That’s true, that’s true. Arthas does do thumbs up’s an awful lot. Seeing the thumbs ups, I will be like,
Wren (as Investigator Nine): Ah! That is Arthas’s universal signal that things are “a-okay” or as he also likes to say, “okey-dokey”. I will join my friends.
Wren: And I will march forward and before I push into the portal, I stop for a second.
Wren (as Inspector Nine): Oh! Investigator Nine has fulfilled their duties today.
Wren: And I will take the pipe and put it back in my gear, and I will step through.
[fwoosh sound effect]
Music shifts to a jaunty piano tune [25:27]
Dax: So the three of you are in this meadow, with what looks to be toward a much later afternoon. It is certainly a little darker than the last, you know, when you were standing in the grove. The very short individual, which actually only comes up to, like, Eight’s knees, standing there looking at the three of you, mouth agape.
Dax (as the short person): [high-pitched, nasally voice] Where did you guys all come from?
Gaynor: Nope, I am standing between my new friends and this.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): State your business there, friend [stammering]. Friend?
Kappa (as Rou): Shepherd, we are the ones intruding on this person’s area. We should probably be the ones stating our business.
Dax (as the short person): I mean yeah, that would be nice.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Um, my, my business is that I am here searching for the Hunter. You seen him?
Dax (as the short person): Well, that does depend. What does he look like?
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Um, he looks like, um, he’s got clothes on kind of like mine, and he’s got a beard and he’s got nice eyes that are really friendly and he’s always saying things like ‘hey good work out there’ or ‘we’ll get them next time’. Things like that, and giving people, like, pats on the head and like scratches and like, give them lots of good hugs.
Kappa: Does this, does this person look very confused?
Dax: Not quite.
Kappa: Oh. There’s a bit of recognition?
Dax: So this, this individual is standing there and they’re kind of like tilting their head to the left, then to the right as you’re talking, Shepherd. And you can kind of see their eyes, they’re squinting a little bit like they’re thinking.
Dax (as the short person): Hmmm. Wait a minute, wait a minute. Is this someone with like a ponytail?
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Yeah, um, that’s the hair that goes long in the back. Yes. Yeah, uhuh, that sounds like the Hunter.
Dax (as the short person): Yeah yeah yeah yeah.
Kappa (as Rou): They would have appeared here roughly two weeks ago, much in the same matter that we, we did.
Dax (as the short person): Well that can’t be right. ‘Cause the person I’m thinking of showed up here about a month ago.
Kappa (as Rou): A month ago? Wait, is this a regular occurrence? Just people rand - showing up randomly in this meadow?
Dax (as the short person): Well, not really. Usually the only person that likes to come in here is Thistle, but we don’t mess with Thistle.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Well it’s probably, probably not, probably not Hunter then. So I guess, um, I guess we gotta look somewhere else. It was great to meet you.
Wren (as Eight): I have a potentially silly question. How long is a month?
Dax (as the short person): A month would be about 30 days.
Wren (as Eight): How long is a day?
Dax (as the short person): Well, considering it’s almost night time, I mean, a day is a day.
Wren (as Eight): Do you have no concept of time then?
Dax (as the short person): No, I have a concept of time. A day is twenty-four hours.
Wren (as Eight): Thank you.
Gaynor: I don’t know if this is something Shepherd, I feel like this might be something Shepherd knows how to do, but I don’t know if he, wouldn’t know what it actually is. But can I look up at the sky and see if it’s getting darker faster than it does where we are? Or whether it seems like there might be like a time differential?
Dax: If you are looking at the sky and you are actively trying to figure this out, give me a Perception check. Go ahead and give it to me at Easy difficulty, one purple.
Gaynor: Alright. [dice rolls] Two Successes, one Advantage.
Dax: You now notice that there are stars in the sky and it is a darker blue. It will be dusk very shortly. Time does appear to be moving a lot faster here.
Kappa: I thought so.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): The sun is, is moving fast, is, is closer to night. Maybe, maybe they have a different.. it’s different here. ‘Cause it smells like it’s getting colder and it’s getting later but not like it does at home. Maybe, I hope so.
Kappa (as Rou): Well, then perhaps this ponytailed individual is indeed Hunter. And here, for you,
Kappa: Motioning to the individual who we’ve been talking to.
Kappa (as Rou): Has been a month for you, but only two weeks for us. Sorry, what is your name? How, it’s very, very rude of us to, to not introduce ourselves. Hello. I am Rou, this is my friend Eight, and Shepherd.
Dax (as the short person): I mean, yeah it is a little bit weird, but you know, considering you’re from out of town, I didn’t know if that was a custom from wherever you come from.
Dax: And this individual does kind of like wave their hand in a circular motion.
Dax (as Sprickle-sprack): But you know, I wasn’t going to say anything. I’m Sprickle-sprack.
Kappa (as Rou): Sprickle-sprack.
Wren (as Eight): Sprickle-sprack.
Kappa (as Rou): Well, good to meet you Sprickle-sprack. Would you, do you mind helping us out here just a little bit? Just trying to bring us to this pony-tailed individual. We are, we are trying to help our friend Shepherd here.
Dax (as Sprickle-sprack): Well, uh, I mean, maybe. What, what are you going to give me if I do?
Wren (as Eight): Do, do you enjoy compliments, Sprickle-sprack?
Dax (as Sprickle-sprack): I mean, I’d like something a little bit more tangible than a compliment. Compliment only gets you so far. It’s not going to feed you.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Like a hug?
Wren (as Eight): And a compliment?
Dax: Sprickle-sprack gives you, like, a deadpan look, Shepherd.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Is that a no?
Dax (as Sprickle-sprack): What did I just say?
Gaynor (as Shepherd): I’m out of ideas.
Dax: Sprickle-sprack then does reach up their hand and like start to, like, gently rub their fingertips together.
Wren (as Eight): Wait a minute. You have an axe. Are you perhaps a lumberjack, Sprickle-sprack?
Dax (as Sprickle-sprack): What’s it to you?
Wren (as Eight): Well, we did provide you with this enormous piece of wood.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): It is a very big stick.
Wren (as Eight): From our point of origin, perhaps you can utilize this to turn a profit of some sort. We would gladly give it to you.
Dax (as Sprickle-sprack): Well you see, the problem with that plan is that this branch was already here in the meadow before y’all showed up so you didn’t give me anything. I found this, this is mine.
Gaynor: Shepherd is mortified.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): I found the stick!
Dax (as Sprickle-sprack): I don’t know that.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): How dare you?! [whiny, teary voice] That’s my, I found that stick!
Kappa (as Rou): Before, before anyone gets more upset, here. I, would, do, would you take a gold piece? To help us out?
Kappa: And I will procure and produce a gold piece.
Dax: You see Sprickle-sprack’s eyes get like, really large.
[Kappa begins to respond, pauses]
Dax: Go ahead Wren, I’m sorry. No, go ahead.
Wren (as Eight): Technically, we put it through the portal. Well, I do and I do not lie, therefore you must trust me that we would gladly give this to you, free of anything more than helping us find Hunter.
Kappa (as Rou): I do think it’s very negative, I, we did just barge in on this person’s day and request services. And, and we’re just trying to help out Shepherd. This is, this is a triviality in terms of helping out our friend Shepherd here.
Wren: I will look aghast as you hold up that gold piece and go,
Wren (as Eight): Friend Rou, no! You are reinforcing negative behavior.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): [on the verge of tears] If it means finding Hunter, then I am willing to give up the very large stick. I.. it will be hard for me, I don’t know how I will feel about it because I did work so hard to get the very large stick. But if it means finding Hunter, I will give you this very large stick that I found.
Wren (as Eight): That’s quite noble. Sprickle-sprack, does that not tug at your heartstrings?
Kappa (as Rou): [stammers] I will give you this gold piece once you take us to Hunter. Who is potentially Hunter. It’s, it’s right here. It’s right here. I promise to give it to you once we meet Hunter.
Dax: So I will say when Rou offered the gold piece, Sprickle-sprack’s eyes got really big for a fraction of a second and then got really small again as if they were trying to control their excitement and make it seem like they weren’t really that excited about the gold.
Dax (as Sprickle-sprack): Oh yeah, I’m sure that that would do. And thank you for the stick, yes that will, that will work out very nicely too.
Dax: And Sprickle-sprack will hold out their hand for the gold piece.
Kappa (as Rou): That’s, that’s fine. That’s perfectly fine. Should be on our way.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): One stick now, one gold piece upon delivery.
Dax: Sprickle-sprack closes in their fingers.
Wren (as Eight): Shrewd business tactic, I knew you are a negotiator.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): I’m very persuasive.
Dax (as Sprickle-sprack): Alright. But here’s the deal. I’m only gonna kind of bring you to where it is, because the person I’m thinking of is with Thistle. And like I said, we don’t mess with Thistle. Alright, well, come on then.
Dax: Sprickle-sprack makes a come hither motion and starts walking off towards the distance, which at this point now, it is almost nighttime. It is very dark out.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): I can’t believe in such a short amount of time, I lost Hunter and a very large stick. [pouty voice]
Kappa: As we’re, as we’re following.
Kappa (as Rou): There are other sticks, are there not, Shepherd?
Gaynor (as Shepherd): [pouty] …not the same stick.
Kappa (as Rou): Ah, I see. Well think about just how happy you are when you are reunited with Hunter. Try and focus on that and not on the loss of the stick. Just Hunter.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): You, you guys, you guys are going to love Hunter. They’re great, they, they do, they’ll probably give us all little bits of meat for doing such a great job finding them. But we got, if we find them, they might, um, they might be a little confused about me. And it’s probably fine. It’ll probably be okay. But they might be like ‘woah, what, who are you? What did you, what happened here?’.
So if that happens, um, you know, just just tell him everything is going to be okay and, and that, just that I’m still me. Just let him know that. Yeah, um, it, um, so I, um, some of it is new, some of it is old. My eyes are old, but I, my skin is new. Um, and I don’t really know where it came from. But I, it’s good. I like it. And plus I got arms and stuff now, so that’s great. Can use those for hugging and, now I can give Hunter a little pat on the head and tell him he did a good job.
Kappa (as Rou): Still you, have you not always been this way? Shepherd. You haven’t always had this, the skin and the face and the uprightness very long, have you?
Gaynor (as Shepherd): What, what makes you say that? Um..
Kappa (as Rou): You just, you just told us! [chuckles]
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Oh, right. Um, so..
Kappa (as Rou): And what did you, what were you before this change?
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Probably just a, um, what, what do you think I was? Probably just like a person?
Kappa (as Rou): Well, I, I think a person, sure. But I think you took on something a little bit more, more canine.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Rou, can I ask you a question?
Kappa (as Rou): Always.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Does canine mean dog?
Kappa (as Rou): Yes, canine means dog.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Then yes. Then yeah, 100%.
Kappa: I am not being judgmental or anything, my face reflects only, just a smile.
Gaynor: I think Shepherd is, is still walking with their head kind of down and walks a little slower, slightly behind you.
Kappa (as Rou): Shepherd, it’s nothing to be ashamed about! It just explains a lot more that we didn’t know before now.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): Um, is, I liked being, I liked being me. And it’s, it’s nice. But, Hunter isn’t like me. And it’s hard to, when somebody’s your best friend like that, and you spend all your time with them, and..
Kappa (as Rou): Mhmm.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): You know, you, you love them. You wanna be able to show them like they show you and so that’s all I wanted and so when I, when I, when I turned out this way, I was all excited and I went to show them and they were gone. And it’s been hard, because I thought they would show me how to do this. But, just been trying to figure it out and it’s hard.
Kappa (as Rou): I know some people really envy being, envy dogs.
Gaynor (as Shepherd): I didn’t dislike being a dog, but they’ve probably never tried to give a hug without hands before.
Dax: So I will say that as this conversation has been going on, you’ve been walking for quite a while with Sprickle-sprack. Or rather, behind Sprickle-sprack. You do notice that light and dawn comes very quickly. By the time Sprickle-sprack starts to slow their movement, it is nearly dark again. It seems like in the span of an hour, you’ve experienced a day.
Wren (as Eight): How does anyone get anything accomplished in this world?
Dax: Sprickle-sprack stops short suddenly and turns to the three of you.
Dax (as Sprickle-sprack): All right, here’s the deal. I’m not going any further than here. Thistle lives in that copse of trees just that way.
Dax: And points behind them.
Dax (as Sprickle-sprack): If you go until dawn, you’ll get there. Now, if you don’t mind.
Dax: They hold out their hand for the gold.
Kappa (as Rou): Thank you, Sprickle-sprack. As promised, here is your gold piece. Just over there?
Kappa: And I’ll point in the direction with the gold coin, as I’m like putting it in Sprickle-sprack’s hand, and pull it back and just point.
Kappa (as Rou): Over there?
Dax (as Sprickle-sprack): Yes. Straight beyond and behind me.
Kappa: And then I’ll put it in Sprickle-sprack’s hand.
Gaynor: As you do that, I think I get right up to Sprickle-sprack and say,
Gaynor (as Shepherd): And if you do anything to hurt that stick, I will hunt you down and you will wish you never did anything.
Dax: Sprickle-sprack looks at Rou and Eight.
Dax (as Sprickle-sprack): Does this one know what a lumberjack does?
Wren (as Eight): I would imagine not, given this current exchange.
Kappa: Rou is just shaking his head, smiling, just..
Gaynor (as Shepherd): That stick is probably one of the greatest things I have ever found behind my friends. So, in the same way that I would treat you if you hurt my friends, I will also if I see you even look at that stick bad. That, I will be very upset and maybe I will attack you. Except if my friends tell me not to, in which case I won’t! But I’ll probably make a growl at you.
Dax (as Sprickle-sprack): Uh-huh.
Dax: Sprickle-sprack starts to walk around you and head back the way you all came. But they stop short, and they turn back to look at you.
Dax (as Sprickle-sprack): So, uh, one piece of free advice. Just remember that not everything here is as it seems.
Dax: And then they walk off into the dark.
Kappa (as Rou): With any luck, you will never see us again Sprickle-sprack.
Dax: And that is where we are going to end this session.
Music fades out [43:50]
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.
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. Arthas, Champion of Offam is played by Neil.
Shepherd has been played by our guest, Gaynor. You can follow them on Twitter @gaynorcott.