Recently freed from jail, Arthas is granted a great reward for a small kindness. Although the Thieves’ Guild leader is dead, the adventurers still have the important task of convincing the city guards of their innocence.
As Arthas patiently waits for his friends, he meets an old beggar woman wandering the streets. After he generously hands over the last of his coin, the figure transforms into the god Gnodda and bestows his blessing on the Giant-kin. Shortly thereafter Jokul, Rialla and Eight arrive, bringing the ledger and the body of Hassan. With a little convincing, the group is finally able to prove their innocence to the captain and his guards.
In the morning, Rialla heads into the market to obtain materials for her scrying ritual. She manages to find a curio shop run by an enigmatic elven woman with a strange tattoo. When the shopkeeper reveals her ability to see into a person’s past, Rialla returns in kind by sharing her own vision of the shopkeeper’s death.
Follow Dax @GM_Dax, Cole @ColeMorreale and Wren @ThornyDryad
Transcript by CJ Kallevig
Upbeat piano intro ends [00:28]
Calm piano begins [00:30]
Dax: Welcome to the next episode of Roads Uncharted. Art, we’re going to join you when you have already been released from the jail. The guards escorted you back to the Grumpy Goat. You stand in the street at the entrance to the tavern, now alone. What are you doing? What are you thinking?
Neil: Do I have all my belongings?
Dax: You only have the weapon that you had slept with in the desert. Any of your equipment would be in the chest that Rialla and Jokul, unbeknownst to you, are going through with Eight. So, you just have your weapon on you.
Neil: Oh, that’s okay. That’s the important part. I guess right now, I’m just sort of trying to figure out where the party went.
Dax: It is late at night. It is probably about 2AM. The streets are, for the most part, quiet. A person here or there may walk by you but otherwise you just hear the sound of nothingness. A breeze through the streets, rustling against the shutters on the buildings. A cat maybe, every now and then, or the skittering of a mouse.
Neil: I guess at that point, I would just be hanging out and just recollecting my thoughts.
Dax: Are you just going to hang out in the street or are you going to go into the tavern?
Neil: That went poorly last time.
Dax: So, you’re standing outside the tavern and you start to hear the shuffling of feet down the street. It’s coming up from your right side.
Neil: Well, I’ll take a look.
Dax: As you come out of your mental processes and your thought stupor, as it were, you turn towards the noise and you see a hunched figure coming towards you. Their face is shrouded between the darkness and the hood of a cloak. The cloak itself is quite tattered and worn, it’s dirty. It’s dusty from the sandstone and the desert sands. The feet are bare and caked with dirt. You hear a voice.
Dax (as the beggar): [voice is older, creaky, a bit feminine] Alms. Coppers. A gold if you would please sir.
Neil: Well now I feel terrible, I have nothing on me. May I riffle through my pockets to see if I have literally anything?
Dax: You know what? Why don’t you roll me one, one of the green die? Just for fun? We’ll see what comes up.
Neil: Certainly. Guess what I got? One Success.
Dax: You find that you have one gold coin, that somehow got stashed away in one of the holes in your pants pockets.
Neil: I immediately hand it to her.
Dax: You see a very shriveled, old hand reach out, their palm up. And as you put the gold coin into their hand, the fingers clasp around it. The hand goes to the chest and then the hood of the cloak tilts up towards you. In the moonlight, you see the face of a tired old woman. She smiles at you and with a very, almost toothless smile, she says.
Dax (as beggar): Thank you, good sir. Your kindness will not be forgotten. By chance, are you a visitor here?
Neil (as Arthas): I certainly am.
Dax (as beggar): You look quite lost.
Neil (as Arthas): I, I would certainly think so. I’ve been separated from my friend.
Dax (as beggar): Well, that is a shame. I’m sure they are much closer than you know. Tell me, what is a Giant-kin doing in Kadiba?
Neil (as Arthas): Well, I was pushed off the Exiling Cliff and then I started going in a direction. I’m not exactly sure how long I’ve been walking, but I ran into a group of people that were heading this way and I tagged along.
Dax (as beggar): And this group of people, they are the ones you are calling ‘friends’, yes?
Neil (as Arthas): Yes.
Dax (as beggar): Come closer.
Dax: And you see a single finger crook and ask for you to come much closer to her face.
Neil: I kneel down and come closer.
Dax: She stretches out her left hand and puts her palm on your shoulder. And when she does so, you first feel the cold and dry feeling of skin that old people tend to have. That papery palm, and then suddenly, heat starts to radiate from it. When she moves her hand and you look down at your shoulder, you see that there is a red palm-print. Not the red of burnt skin, but almost the red of war paint. When you turn to look back at the old woman, it’s no longer an old woman. It’s a young boy and he looks at you and he says,
Dax (as boy): [voice is high, quiet] You have shown much kindness today. You did not have nearly anything and you have given what little you have. You now have the blessing of Gnodda. May you wear it and use it bravely. May it serve you in times of need.
Neil: I’m a little rattled by that but I’m appreciative.
Dax: Art, can you roll me a simple Intelligence check? Like, one purple and then your rank in Intelligence.
Neil: Certainly. A green and a purple?
Dax: Yep!
Neil: Looks like a net one Success.
Dax: So, with that Success, you recall who Gnodda is and while you and your clan never really worshiped such a god, you do remember that the knight that you spent those two weeks with, told you about him. He is the god of war and warriors, and he takes many forms and tends to be very chaotic. But, he knows that in the heart of every warrior should be, or so it is said, every warrior should have a heart of gold. For otherwise, they do not fight for honorable means.
Neil: So, Art’s a little speechless at that, and to him, that just feels like another milestone on his way to becoming a Knight. So he’s pretty…he’s pretty excited.
Dax: The small boy, Gnodda, gives you one last smile and then you start to see at the edges of this person, a shimmer. And slowly, everything disappears. You hear the clattering of your gold coin as it falls to the ground. Down the street, you see Jokul, Rialla, and Eight, walking towards you.
Neil: So, I feel bad but first, did the coin fall heads up or tails up?
Dax: Heads up.
Neil: Alright. I leave it, because someone else needs that good luck and I run over to the party.
Wren (as Eight): Simply Arthas! We have all of our stuff with us.
Neil (as Arthas): Everyone! You escaped jail!
Wren (as Eight): Yes, we did.
Wren: Question?
Neil (as Arthas): Mhmm.
Wren: Out of character. Does Arthas still have the bird?
Dax: No, the bird was taken by the guards
Wren: Booooooo.
Dax: And it was not released with Arthas.
Wren (as Eight): We are quite glad to see that you have been released from your supervision unharmed.
Neil (as Arthas): Likewise.
Wren (as Eight): What did they do?
Neil (as Arthas): Well, for the first hour I sat there and a guard would just watch me. Then I regaled him with stories of knights. And then he threatened me and I bent a few bars of the cell out of place. Then I continued with my stories and then he fell asleep. And then I started to walk around.
Wren (as Eight): You paced your cell?
Neil (as Arthas): More or less. What happened with you people?
Cole: At that, Rialla’s gaze shifts to the ground
Cole (as Rialla): Perhaps that is a conversation for later. I think we should, we should definitely turn in the book that we got so then, we can leave this place.
Neil (as Arthas): What’s the book about?
Cole (as Rialla): We found the thieves and as proof, we have a book of all their jobs and, their ledger for the last year. So I think we should turn that in.
Cole: What time of day is it?
Neil: Late.
Dax: It’s 2 o’clock in the morning. No, yeah, it’s really late/kind of early.
James: Pay no mind to the strange people who are covered in blood, carrying around a dead body.
Cole (as Rialla): Yeah I think…I’m sure that there’s guards somewhere. We can take all of this, turn it in and leave in the morning.
Dax: Did Eight bring the body? Did Jokul bring the body? (laughter)
Wren: No, we figured the book would be okay.
Cole: Yeah, we can just tell them where the body is, I don’t think we touched it. I think Eight set it up and then…
Wren: Yeah, I just kind of adjusted him into a more dignified death pose.
Cole: So respectful.
James: They did say they wanted the thief responsible, so bringing the body with us, as messy as it is, fit the task. So I mean, just throw him in his own cloak and drag him like a sack of potatoes.
Wren: If anyone’s doing that, it’s you.
James: I mean, Jokul will toss the body in a sack and just kind of drag it along.
Wren (as Eight): Simply Arthas, I must ask. Have you seen Horse Jones or Bessie?
Neil (as Arthas): I cannot say that I have. I’ve seen them before.
Wren (as Eight): But not recently, since your release.
Neil (as Arthas): Correct.
Wren (as Eight): I suppose if we bring the body and the book to the guards, they will return our animals to us. I mean, our best friends. They are more than animals. They are our best friends. I’m sorry, that was very inconsiderate of me to say.
Cole (as Rialla): It’s okay.
Wren: I look very sheepish right now.
Cole (as Rialla): Yeah, so let’s do that. Get our companions back, get some rest.
James (as Jokul): They gave us 24 hours to complete the task. We’ve completed it. They didn’t say we had to wait until morning.
Dax: So, it doesn’t take you too long. I imagine that Art probably would have started leading you toward where the jail was. And you do run into a few guards, not far from the Grumpy Goat. They see you walking up with the body and they stop. They begin to draw their weapons.
Music shifts to a more suspenseful tune [10:50]
Wren (as Eight): Weapons won’t be necessary. We are returning a thief.
Dax (as guard): [slightly lower voice] A thief?
Wren (as Eight): Yes.
Cole: I am going to hold up the book.
Wren (as Eight): We would like to speak to the captain. Or whoever’s in charge.
Dax (as guard): The captain’s at the jail.
Wren (as Eight): Okay, we would like to go to the jail. Not as prisoners, but to see him.
Dax: Make a persuasion, not persuasion.
Wren: Oh lord.
Dax: Make a negotiation check. And make it Medium Difficulty.
Cole: They asked us to do this!
Dax: But you’re walking up to them with a body slung over your shoulder and weapons. [laughs]
Cole: But we don’t have our weapons out!
Dax: No, but they’re visible. These are also not guards that you’ve seen before, so….
Cole: Ohhhhhh, they have to know though! Fuck!
Dax: Do they?
Wren: I have a Threat left over. Oh wait, no. I have Presence too. I have to roll another Green. It’s a straight wash.
James: [laughing] It’s the night shift. They haven’t been updated on anything that went down.
Dax: Alright it’s a wash. So, one of the guards pulls his sword and the other guard does not. The one that does not says,
Dax (as guard): Put the body down. Put it on the ground and take five steps back.
Cole: I do that and I have my hands up. I say…
Cole (as Rialla): This is the thief who stole the bird. Turns out that you had a Thieves’ Guild forming. He was their leader. This book is the ledger of all of their jobs and we need to give it to the captain.
Dax: The one that has not yet drawn his weapon looks at you. You can see that even in the, at this distance with the moonlight, that he’s now squinting his eyes as he’s looking at you. Trying to see if you are telling the truth.
Cole (as Rialla): We were given 48 hours to complete this job, or we were going to be arrested.
Dax (as guard): Oh. You’re that bunch.
Cole (as Rialla): Yes.
Dax (as guard): My order still stands. Back up. Away from the body.
James: Yeah, Jokul just dumps the body in front of them like “pluh”, like puff of dust and just steps back.
Wren (as Eight): I told you not to bring the body, Jokul.
James (as Jokul): They wanted the thief, there’s the thief.
Wren: I’m also backing up just, my hands as high up in the air as I can possibly put them.
Dax: Does Art back up as well?
Neil: Following the party.
Dax: Okay. Once you are far enough away, the guard that has drawn his sword hurries up to the body and checks it out. Then he turns to Rialla and outstretches his left hand.
Wren (as Eight): I believe he wants the book.
Cole (as Rialla): I know, but I’m scared that they’re going to take it and then tell us that we don’t have proof or something.
Wren (as Eight): If they take -
James (as Jokul): The book is too valuable. If he takes it -
Cole (as Rialla): It’s our only guarantee of our innocence and I would really like to give it to the captain. Or in front of the captain at least.
Dax: Make a negotiation check, Rialla. Medium difficulty.
[sound of dice clattering]
Cole: I have an Advantage.
Dax: The guard doesn’t move his hand but you see him quickly glance back at the other one. The unarmed guard walks a little closer to you.
Dax (as guard): If you will not give up the book and you want to talk to the captain,
Cole (as Rialla): You can follow us. I don’t want to keep the book from you, I want to give it to the one who ordered for our arrest because it is the only… This thief and this book are the only proof of our innocence at all.
Dax (as guard): So be it. But you will drop your weapons.
Cole: I tuck the book into a pocket and I reach into my sleeve and dump a dagger. Reach into my other sleeve, dump a dagger. Reach into my boot, chuck a dagger and hold my hands up.
Dax: [laughing] Rialla’s got all the hidden weapons.
James: I’m picturing Jokul kind of doing the same, but his are just more, Rialla’s dropping three daggers. Jokul’s like, boot, boot, sleeve, sleeve, bandolier, just an overwhelming amount of daggers.
Cole: Jokul’s that character that like, ‘drop all your weapons!’, finishes, ‘I said all of them!’, pulls out ten more.
James: I think that the Sinbad cartoon has a guy do that. Just like a pile of weapons. Jokul’s dropping as many daggers as needed to basically make sure that his spiked chain is still hidden somewhere on his person. I think he was wearing it as a scarf or under his thieves’ guild hoodie or whatever.
Wren: Hoodie... [laughs]
Cole: Thieves guild hoodie?! [laughing]
James: I don’t know [laughing]
Cole: I have to draw Jokul with a hoodie that says “Thieves’ Guild”
[the group laughs]
James: [sputtering with laughter] Just, just the hood thing.
Neil: The cowl?
James: Yeah, that! That was the word I was looking for, thank you.
Wren: Eight drops the meat tenderizer after everyone drops all of the daggers. And then I pop my spoon out of my wrist sheath and gently put it down on the ground. I just kind of look directly at the two guards.
Wren (as Eight): I am disarmed.
Dax: They give you the strangest look, but then they look to Arthas.
Neil (as Arthas): I just brought my club.
Dax (as guard): Alright. Mirrah take them to the captain. I will stay here and guard their things. This is….
Dax: He looks over the pile.
Dax (as guard): Far too much for me to carry.
Dax: The guard that has drawn his weapon motions the weapon down the street towards the jail and indicates for you to lead.
Wren (as Eight): Shall we drag the body or leave it as well?
Dax (as guard): You may carry the body
Wren (as Eight): Drag the body, got it.
Cole: Yep, following.
Wren (as Eight): Jokul?
Dax: Alright, Mirrah follows you back to the jail. When you arrive and you pass through the large doors that Arthas is quite familiar with now, you see this vast open space where there are a few tables and chairs. There are three tables on the left and three tables on the right. Very orderly, very neat. There is a guard sitting at each table and when you all pass through the door, they all look up at you. Seated, on the table closest to the door, mid-discussion with one of the guards, is the captain. The one that had called for your arrest. He takes you over with his eyes for a second and his smile that he had when he was in conversation with this other guard, drops and his face turns into disbelief.
Dax (as captain): [lower register, masculine] Well, I see you made it back in one piece.
Dax: His eyes glance over at the body.
Dax (as captain): What’s this?
Cole (as Rialla): This would be Hassan, the one who stole the bird. And this is proof of the Thieves Guild he was running, this is their ledger of all their contacts and jobs for the last year.
Dax: He stands up, slowly walks towards you and reaches out a hand for the book.
Cole: I give it to him.
Dax: He pauses for a moment, flips through it. You see him running his finger down the page as he reads. Every once in a while he reaches up and scratches at his chin, then the book closes with a snap. He looks at the body once more, walks around all of you so that he can take a look at the face and he studies the face for a moment or two. Then he walks around to the front of you again.
Dax (as captain): Alright then. I suppose you’ve held up your end of the bargain. I shall hold up mine.
Cole (as Rialla): We shall leave first thing in the morning. Thank you.
Dax (as captain): Tell me one thing. Where did you find him?
Cole (as Rialla): Sewers.
Dax (as captain): And were there others?
Cole (as Rialla): Yes. There is a priestess at the temple, there’s a symbol at the bottom of her skirt. I’m not sure how many more there are, they sort of scrambled. Hassan was leading them, so I’m not sure what will happen.
Dax (as captain): What kind of symbol? Would you be able to draw it?
Cole (as Rialla): Of course.
Cole: I’ll reach in my pouch, pull out some parchment and, I wanted to say a pen. Apparently I -
Dax: A quill? A quill pen.
Cole: Yeah, yeah okay.
James: Charcoal. Just draw it on a wall. [laughter]
Cole: Yeah, I’ll just draw it on the piece of parchment and hand it to him.
Dax: He looks at the parchment and you see his eyebrows relax instead of that furrowed, contemplative look. He nods.
Dax (as captain): Alright. We’ve seen this symbol around the city the last few months. We knew that there was a problem, we didn’t know how large. We weren’t entirely sure if they were connected until we started seeing this symbol.
Cole (as Rialla): I don’t know about the others, but Hassan had plans for expanding their network.
Dax (as captain): Interesting. And you said that they were in the sewers.
Cole (as Rialla): Yes.
Dax (as captain): Alright.
Dax: He turns to some of the guards seated at the tables.
Dax (as captain): Alright, go and search the sewers. Now. Get out [overlapping with Cole] anyone who has stayed behind.
Cole (as Rialla): It’s the entrance at the east end, around the Grumpy Goat. That sewer entrance is where we entered through.
Dax: He nods-
James (as Jokul): They covered it up with a crate or some sort of trash, so it wasn’t easily spotted.
Dax: He nods, turns to the guards and motions. When he does so, the three of them immediately stand up and head out the door. He then turns to you, nods, and the guard that had escorted you takes the body from you, Jokul.
James: Take all of our weapons off the pile before he runs off with them.
Dax: Well, you’ll have to go back to the Grumpy Goat or close to it.
Cole: Yeah-
Dax: They left them with the other guard.
James: Oh okay, I thought we were
Cole: They didn’t like carrying all of our shit.
James: I just pictured him using a cloak and kind of dragging the guy like a tarp, and then they just dropped all their weapons on top of him and just like…
Cole: Oh my god! [laughter]
Wren: Like some kind of sled?
James: Just like here’s a dead body and a pile of weapons.
Cole: For fuck’s sake.
Neil: Get the body off of my club, I don’t like that!
Dax: I’m guessing you leave the jail and head back to get your weapons and such?
Cole: Head back to our room at the Grumpy Goat.
Dax: Eight, you got a question?
Wren (as Eight): What happened to the bird?
Dax: The captain looks at you and says,
Dax (as captain): The Miras’pan?
Wren: I nod, eagerly.
Wren (as Eight): What happened to the Miras’pan?
Dax (as captain): It went back to its proper owner this afternoon, after we confiscated it from you.
Wren (as Eight): Excellent. I’m so happy to hear that the bird is back with its rightful owner.
Dax (as captain): Well, you are free.
Dax: And he motions his hand as if to say, you may leave now. (laughs)
Cole: Rialla turns and leaves.
Wren (as Eight): Goodbye Captain. Thank you for your hospitality.
Wren: And I turn and also leave.
Neil (as Arthas): Your jail is wonderful!
Cole: Don’t look at the bars too close!
Neil: I didn’t see any bars.
Cole: Yeah, after we collect our things, I think we’ll head back to the Grumpy Goat.
Music shifts to a more upbeat, jaunty tune [21:39]
Dax: Yeah, that’s easy enough. You are able to get back to the Grumpy Goat and get inside the inn. The doors are still unlocked, the way you left them. Arthas, there is a room on the bottom floor for you. You are all able to get some rest. Who is the first one to wake up?
Cole: Me.
Wren: I’m already awake.
James: I was going to say, Eight’s either watching us in a corner or…
Neil: Yeah, Eight’s just standing in the corner making sure everyone’s sleeping okay.
Wren: Mhmm.
Cole: I’d probably be the second one up then.
Dax: Yeah, so when I ask who’s the first one awake, I don’t ever count Eight. Just to be fair.
Wren: That’s fair.
Neil: That’s valid.
Wren: Sorry, book-keeping question. Is our Strain recovered at this point?
Dax: Mhmm.
James: I imagine Jokul would be the first one up then? Since he is still an elf by technicality?
Cole: Oh, true. True, yeah.
Dax: Yeah, that’s true.
James: He might not be out of bed, but he is most definitely awake after the four, six hours.
Cole: Probably not out of-
Dax: You probably got back to the tavern about 2:30 in the morning and it’s roughly now about 7:30-8, so.
James: Yeah, so Jokul might be up and he’d just be kind of chilling, like, I’m comfy.
Cole: Or he’s not out of bed because Rialla is curled up next to him.
James: I was like, yes I’m an elf. I only need four hours of rest but then I just sit here for four hours.
Cole: While this one sleeps, yes. [chuckles]
Wren: The whole time..
Neil: I’m the last awake because I’m pretty tired.
Wren: You’ve had a busy day of pacing your cell and bending bars. [laughter] While everyone’s asleep, I readjust my platings so that I’m back to my composite plating. So my normal configuration, not short and squat.
Dax: Okay. So Eight, you see your companions slowly waking up. First Jokul, then Rialla, then Arthas.
Wren (as Eight): Good morning, everyone. I’m so pleased you all slept so well. You looked like you were enjoying very nice dreams last night.
Neil (as Arthas): You changed your armor.
Wren (as Eight): I did. This is a thing I can do.
Wren: I grab one of my elbow joints, which is just like a ball, and I move it up and down a little bit. As it slides, it just kind of grinds a bit and clicks once it reaches different points in the configuration. Then I just put it back where it’s supposed to be.
Neil: I’m a little rattled by that. As far as he knows, my arms don’t do that, right?
James: I’m pretty sure Arthas tried to do that and going ‘ow!’.
Wren (as Eight): Simply Arthas, I would not recommend doing that. It’s only something that I seem to be able to do.
Cole (as Rialla): I think we should pack up. I was going to run out and see if I could find a better map.
Dax: You mean the map that is half Eight drawings on one side and then on the other side, the weird looking, not great detailed map of a specific region that is no longer useful to you?
[Dax laughs]
Cole: That’d be the one, yes. [laughs] So I’ll get dressed and take a walk.
Dax: Okay. So, you head downstairs and as you reach for the door you hear,
Dax (as innkeeper): [raspy, short] Hey! You want any breakfast?
Dax: You turn and there’s the innkeeper, the little Procid.
Cole (as Rialla): Yes, my companions will be coming down. I have to run an errand first though.
Dax (as innkeeper): Alright.
Cole (as Rialla): Thank you
Cole: A polite bow and I’ll make my way out.
Dax: You go out into the street and the sun is already bright. People are already bustling in the streets and going about their daily routine. As I said, it’s probably about 8 o’clock at this point, much later than, in some cases, you’re used to waking up, I’m sure. Where would you like to go?
Cole: I’m assuming we walked around enough that I would know where a general marketplace would be?
Dax: Yeah, you and Jokul, during your escapades on the roofs, did take note of some areas of the city. So you know that the nearest market would be off to your left, down the street.
Cole: That’s where I’ll head.
Dax: You head down the street, weaving in and out of the crowd. The closer you get to the market that you saw from the rooftops, the more packed it becomes-
Cole: Oh, okay.
Dax: The louder it becomes. People are shouting over one another to be heard with the vendors. You see vendors are negotiating or haggling or arbitrating, whatever word you would like.
Cole: If anyone tries to approach me, I immediately switch to Thevenoudian.
Dax: You pass by a few stalls. The first ones at the edge of the market are jewelers and clothing sellers and silk sellers and other forms of cloth and goods and things for luxury. The farther you get into the market, the more everyday use items come into play. You see a spice vendor,
Cole: oooooooo.
Dax: You see a produce vendor, meats.
Cole: If I see anything for that ritual I have to perform at some point, I’d probably pick that up too.
Dax: Okay. You notice as you go through the market, there don’t seem to be a lot of vendors for magic spells. At least not in the first several stalls that you see. When you start getting towards the back of the market, that’s when you start to see some more uncommon items. You see people trying to sell taxidermied animals and little carved statuettes. And then you see a door to a building and that door has both a sun and a moon carved into the wood. It is situated between two vendor stalls.
Cole: Is it like a narrow building and then the stalls are next to it? Or is it just the door?
Dax: No, the stalls are built up in front of this building.
Cole: Is there a sign?
Dax: No.
Cole: My curiosity is piqued. I’ll try to open it.
Dax: It opens and as you walk inside, you are immediately met with the smell of burning sandalwood incense.
Jaunty market music fades out [27:45]
Deeper, slower, calmer music fades in [27:48]
Dax: The light is a little more dim in this room but there are soft lit candles glowing.
Cole (as Rialla): Hello?
Dax: You hear shuffling in the back and then you hear
Dax (as shopkeep): [soft, lilting, feminine voice] Hello? Do I have a customer?
Cole (as Rialla): Yes.
Dax (as shopkeep): Please, come in and sit down. You may close the door behind you. I’ll be out in just a moment.
Cole: I’ll shut the door and walk in. I won’t sit, though. I’m still standing.
Dax: Okay. You do notice that along the wall there is, so you know those benches that are sometimes built into storefronts and such? Where it’s like a wooden bench that is set up against a wall, but then there’s lots of cushions? So it’s this big, long row of a seat instead of individual chairs. That’s what you have on the left side of the room. Then on the right side, you see a table with a tablecloth on it. Two chairs and something on the table that is covered with a vibrant purple cloth. You see herbs are hanging from the ceiling and jars of various liquids seated on shelves around -
Cole: Oh, so I’m right at home.
Dax: You are. Something about this place seems right, and something about it does not.
Cole: I’m on edge.
Dax: It doesn’t take long for a tall elven woman to come out of the back. She has long, raven black hair and pale skin and a strange tattoo on her cheek. Her eyes are sapphire blue,and her robes are a mix of navy blues and dark purples. On one side, the robes are decorated with images of suns and on the other side, images of the moon. She smiles a very broad smile when she sees you.
Dax (as shopkeep): Ah, welcome. How may I help you today?
Cole (as Rialla): I’m in need of some supplies and your shop looked like somewhere I might be able to procure the items that I need.
Dax (as shopkeep): But of course! What specifically are you looking for?
Cole: I’ll shuffle around in my little pouch and I have the list that I made for the ritual that I need to perform and I’ll just hold it up to her.
Cole (as Rialla): I don’t suppose you have any of these items, do you?
Dax: She takes the list from you and pursues it for a moment.
Dax (as shopkeep): Yes, I do have most of these in stock. There are a few that I don’t have access to, and not likely to have access to. They are not what you would call common items. But, I can at least get you what I have. Do give me just a few moments.
Dax: And you see her start to rifle through the jars and boxes that are within the store. It takes her not long, and she’s able to procure about three-quarters of the items on your list. She sets everything down on the counter and then turns to you.
Dax (as shopkeep): Out of curiosity my dear, I’m sensing you’re not from around here. Would I be correct in that?
Cole (as Rialla): Is it obvious?
Dax (as shopkeep): Your aura, it doesn’t seem to agree with this desert heat.
Cole (as Rialla): Not at all. I’m a very long way from home.
Dax (as shopkeep): That is a shame. Though I tend to believe that home is really where you make it, not so much where you were born. Or where you may have lived for several years.
Dax: Then she leans a little closer to you and says
Dax (as shopkeep): [whispering] Even if the city streets were dark and greasy and filled with evil.
Dax: She backs away again.
Cole: I close my eyes.
Cole (as Rialla): And how would you come up with such an image?
Dax (as shopkeep): I have my ways. I wouldn’t have a shop like this if I didn’t present a special gift.
Cole (as Rialla): And I guess, what purpose did that serve in telling me that? Is there something you want?
Dax (as shopkeep): Not at all. I just sensed you were far away from home and well, I like to speak my mind. Doesn’t do to hold it all in, after all. Those of us with special gifts either need to use them or they torture us, do they not?
Cole (as Rialla): Not all gifts are useful.
Dax (as shopkeep): No they are not.
Cole: Could I..so this “Visions of Death”, it says I can insert a spirit but in this situation, could I focus a little bit and see if I can see when she dies?
Dax: Go ahead and roll me an Arcana check. Roll me with Easy Difficulty, so the one purple.
[dice clattering]
Cole: Three Successes and a Threat.
b Let me ask you something. When you are using your ability to call upon when someone might die, since it is something natural to Rialla, does it look like anything in particular? Or does Rialla not change, since she’s not really casting a spell?
Cole: There really wouldn’t be any evidence… Yeah, no. Nothing really changes.
Dax: You open up what some might call a second sight as you’re looking at this shopkeeper. You start to see images, they’re not as clear as they usually are. Something seems to keep the edges fuzzy, almost as if you were looking at a photo and Vaseline had been rubbed all over it. But you see her, clear in the center. You see her at first, working in her shop, and then you see her lying on a bed. A dagger straight through her heart. Then the image goes black.
Cole: Did she look any older?
Dax: No.
Cole (as Rialla): I would be careful who you use your abilities on. Might end up with a dagger in the chest if you’re not careful.
Dax: You see her smirk.
Dax (as shopkeep): Ah, you have seen it too then. My fall? My death? It is coming, as it comes for all of us. Did you see anything? Other than my body on a bed with a dagger through my heart?
Cole (as Rialla): No.
Dax (as shopkeep): How is it you were able to foresee my future? I have not yet met someone that was not of my kind with such an ability.
Cole (as Rialla): I don’t necessarily see the future. I only see the end. Not all abilities are useful.
Dax (as shopkeep): Don’t discount your abilities, my dear. They may prove more useful than you think. Now, other than these jars and boxes, is there anything else I can do for you today?
Cole (as Rialla): No, that will be all.
Dax: She nods. You see her pointing over the items as if she were counting and then she turns to you.
Dax (as shopkeep): That will be three gold for all of the supplies.
Cole: I shuffle around in my pouch and hand her the three gold.
Dax: Once she has taken the coin, she pushes the stuff across the table and stands there and waits, watching you.
Cole: I pack everything away.
Cole (as Rialla): I’m sorry that you will be meeting a not so peaceful end.
Dax (as shopkeep): Who knows if it will be peaceful? After all, in my vision the bed was not mine. And I can’t guarantee I wasn’t asleep beforehand.
Dax: And with that she leaves and heads towards the back of the shop.
Cole: I also leave.
Dax: Okay.
Music fades out [35:47]
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, using the Genesys Roleplaying System published by Fantasy Flight Games. You can follow me on Twitter @GM_Dax.
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.