[0.0s] Previously on Dumbgeons and Dragons.
[3.0s] Our adventurers, Flint, Thea, and Eulara, are in the Misty Forest.
[8.0s] They've been followed for a little while by a couple interesting characters.
[12.5s] My name is, uh, let's go with Will.
[15.2s] And you can call me Kelp.
[16.8s] We're, uh, trying to figure out what's going on with these dragon attacks in
[20.2s] this forest.
[21.2s] Oh, yeah.
[22.2s] Dragons.
[23.2s] We've seen some of those around here.
[24.2s] Um, I think it was, uh, what is it, a green one?
[27.0s] Yeah, he looked like a, like a mean old bastard.
[29.6s] Reburned off all the hair on my face.
[31.5s] Oh my god, I can't even imagine.
[33.0s] I think if you could, uh, do us a favor, maybe we could get you there.
[37.0s] What kind of problems are you having?
[38.5s] We want to go back to the fae.
[39.5s] There's this, uh, mean old, uh, do we call her, she's kind of, she's kind of
[43.4s] a bitch.
[44.4s] Her name is Avon, and we just want to go home.
[47.2s] You'd be helping all of the creatures of the fae.
[49.6s] I've read enough fantasy novels.
[51.6s] This is a very bad idea.
[53.6s] Let's do it.
[54.6s] Who tripped a trap?
[56.3s] Did you guys trip our trap?
[58.0s] I'm sorry, sir.
[59.0s] We tripped your trap.
[60.0s] Sorry about that.
[61.0s] Boss says, whoever trips the trap has to come say hi.
[64.1s] You all hear a loud and quick, the light seems to dim around you.
[72.4s] All right.
[73.4s] In that case, I'm going to take my, uh, action surge and attack them again.
[79.4s] Just for mouthing off.
[80.4s] As he's like, she's going to skin you alive.
[83.1s] And then you just, you just splat him.
[86.3s] As one does with an ax, yeah.
[88.4s] Brutus!
[89.4s] Noooooooo!
[92.4s] Avon briefly shows her form.
[94.6s] I'll use fairy fire.
[96.3s] So she can be seen and tracked?
[97.3s] Yeah, I'm just going to stab her.
[99.2s] She needs to sleep for four hours.
[100.4s] Her wings stop flapping and she falls to the ground.
[103.5s] Oh, we can just, we can just kill her.
[105.4s] Yep.
[106.4s] Is there no law?
[107.4s] She was just trying to kill us.
[109.0s] The only difference now is she's asleep.
[110.8s] So I feel like it's okay.
[111.8s] Okay, you do it.
[112.8s] Okay.
[113.8s] I make a little hole and I kind of shove the rapier in there.
[116.8s] What if, what if, I'll take the bottom half, you take the top half and then we could just
[120.4s] kind of like fluff her like you're doing your sheets, but like on, onto the, on the
[126.8s] rapier a couple times.
[127.8s] We can like kind of like throw her sideways like we're throwing a toddler.
[132.4s] Oh my god.
[133.4s] If the light comes back to her eyes, but then quickly leaves.
[139.6s] We'd like to show them the way.
[142.1s] You make it to the edge of Alton.
[147.1s] Welcome to Dumbgeons and Dragons.
[149.1s] We are a fifth edition actual play podcast.
[151.5s] I'm your dungeon master Russ More and with me today is Amy More.
[155.1s] Yes I am.
[156.5s] And Carla Johnson.
[157.5s] I am her.
[158.7s] And Tom Laird.
[160.2s] He is me.
[162.5s] No character names.
[163.5s] We're incognito this game, I guess.
[165.5s] Yeah.
[166.5s] It's true.
[167.5s] You're not listening by now and you don't know who we are.
[170.3s] Go back to episode one.
[172.1s] Start at the beginning.
[173.1s] Have yourself and have yourself a journey.
[174.8s] Or just start at like episode three once we figure out the audio situation.
[178.7s] Or that.
[179.7s] Or just start at the last recap episode.
[181.5s] We're getting a lot of directions off the top here.
[183.9s] Do all of those things.
[185.9s] Actually just ignore what we say and you do you.
[188.3s] Yeah.
[189.3s] Do what you want.
[191.1s] And we're okay with that.
[192.3s] As long as it involves listening to us.
[194.5s] Yeah.
[195.5s] We want to be a part of your life.
[199.1s] Just Furnace.
[202.1s] I didn't know where to go from there.
[203.1s] Just Furnace.
[204.1s] Yeah.
[205.1s] I'm sorry.
[206.1s] What day is it today?
[207.1s] It is March.
[208.1s] It's March.
[209.1s] March 14th.
[210.1s] Happy March everybody.
[211.1s] 14th.
[212.1s] Two weeks into March.
[213.1s] Patreon.com slash dumbdragoncast.
[214.1s] You can go check out the tiers and rewards over there.
[219.1s] What?
[220.1s] No nothing.
[221.1s] It's just tiers didn't pop into my mind as T-I-E-R-N.
[226.7s] It's so sad over there.
[229.7s] It is.
[230.7s] It's just sad over there.
[231.7s] You can see Russ's tears over on the Patreon page.
[234.7s] We're trying to make it a happy place.
[237.7s] Maybe there are joyful tears of disbelief that people are our patrons because we're
[242.7s] just a bunch of dinguses.
[243.7s] It's true.
[244.7s] That's how I feel every time we get someone.
[247.7s] Right?
[248.7s] Part of being a patron is you get a random episode dedicated to you.
[254.2s] Like today, he's been mentioned on the podcast before, but now he's a patron.
[261.2s] Ty Zuniga.
[262.2s] Thanks, Ty.
[263.2s] You're the best.
[264.2s] You are amazing.
[265.2s] You are one of the best.
[266.2s] And everybody else is also amazing.
[269.2s] Yes.
[270.2s] We don't have favorites.
[271.2s] No.
[272.2s] And I mean, if we did, they probably know who they are.
[275.2s] Yeah.
[276.2s] You know who you are.
[277.2s] I'm going to go message everybody all right now and say, you're my favorite
[280.8s] I'm going to go message everybody all right now and say, you're my favorite.
[283.8s] It was you.
[284.8s] We were talking about you.
[285.8s] Yeah.
[286.8s] Yeah.
[287.8s] I like that.
[288.8s] It was inside you all along.
[289.8s] Part of being on Patreon as well, which we announced before this episode, but we
[294.2s] will be doing a monthly hangout live stream.
[298.0s] We talked about it with each other and we put a little, put a little poll up on
[302.0s] Patreon and you guys, you guys want to see our faces and how awkward we are.
[307.5s] So, uh, towards the end of the month here, we'll host our first one.
[310.7s] And then every month after that, for about a half an hour, an hour, there'll be a
[314.4s] Patreon hangout for the tiers five, five dollars and up should be pretty special
[319.1s] because I have no idea the, like what my face does, like I have no, yeah, there's
[325.7s] a lot of expressions I make.
[327.5s] There's a lot of challenges here.
[329.4s] You can see my face already worries me.
[333.1s] This is a lot of editing to make us sound less awkward, which I know seems
[337.1s] unbelievable because we are so awkward anyway.
[339.9s] You should hear the raw audio.
[341.9s] And this will be unedited, us actually just, just soaking in the awkwardness.
[348.5s] Although maybe we're, we're usually pretty good until like the second we start
[353.2s] playing.
[354.2s] So maybe it'll be fine.
[355.2s] Let's have, let's think positively.
[356.2s] Because we won't be playing.
[357.2s] It'll just be bullshitting.
[358.2s] It'll all just be preamble.
[359.2s] It'll, yeah.
[360.2s] And then we'll just, you know, chat.
[362.7s] That's where we shine.
[363.7s] Once we hit the anvil.
[364.7s] I think it's going to be endearing.
[365.7s] I think our awkwardness attached to our faces might be endearing.
[369.5s] Oh, I hope so.
[371.5s] I'd be sad if we lose all our patrons and listeners once we do one of these.
[378.3s] No, just remember they voted for this.
[380.5s] It's what they want.
[381.5s] It's what they want.
[382.5s] That's on them.
[383.5s] Give the people what they want.
[384.5s] Yep.
[385.5s] Oh goodness.
[386.5s] They decided it.
[387.5s] It's all good.
[388.5s] All their fault.
[389.5s] All right.
[391.5s] Shall we play some Dumbgeons and Dragons?
[394.5s] I don't think that's how it goes.
[396.5s] That sounds oddly formal.
[397.5s] No, we shall not.
[398.5s] Is that how we're starting things now?
[400.5s] Oh, I don't like it.
[401.5s] That's a weird.
[402.5s] Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to play Wizards of the Coast Dungeons and
[409.5s] Dragons, fifth edition.
[413.5s] Fuck it.
[414.5s] Let's play some D&D.
[415.5s] There we go.
[416.5s] Yeah.
[417.5s] That's more on brand.
[419.5s] Isn't it though?
[420.5s] You showed up at the city.
[423.5s] Altened.
[424.5s] Altened, where the settlement, where the elves are.
[429.5s] You had just turned around and looked behind you and Kel and Will, they're gone.
[435.5s] Thea has a Hybsil antler in hand.
[440.5s] You're like, how the fuck did I get this?
[443.5s] Yeah, it's slowly coming back to you, but your friends, they don't know quite
[448.5s] what's going on, you being of the Fae persuasion.
[454.5s] But Altened, as you turn back around and look upon the settlement, is much like the
[460.5s] last settlement you were in, where there are very few buildings or structures on the
[465.5s] ground level.
[467.5s] You look around and you see towards the center of this settlement there is a
[472.5s] clearing and in that there is a large statue of an elf in very woodland attire.
[478.5s] And you look up and much like the last one, there is a village in the trees.
[483.5s] And walking along string rope bridges between these different sites and
[488.5s] constructs are wood elves.
[491.5s] There are actually elves in this settlement.
[494.5s] What do you do?
[495.5s] Does it seem destroyed at all?
[498.5s] Or just normal?
[501.5s] Has the dragon been here or not at all?
[505.5s] Did they fight them off?
[507.5s] Good question.
[508.5s] And probably something I should have said first.
[512.5s] It appears, just looking at it, to have some damage to the city.
[517.5s] Some of the bridges are broken, some of the pulley elevator type situations,
[524.5s] the pulley systems have been damaged and destroyed, and it looks like there
[529.5s] has been much fleeing and scuffling about down on the ground floor.
[535.5s] But there are still people, so whether they escaped and have come back or
[540.5s] something else has happened is uncertain, but it looks like something
[544.5s] has happened here.
[545.5s] Is there any people on the ground floor with us?
[548.5s] And by ground floor I mean ground.
[550.5s] Not that you can see, no.
[552.5s] Can I go look at the statue and see if there's like a placard on it that tells me
[557.5s] anything?
[558.5s] Yeah, of course you can.
[559.5s] Great.
[560.5s] You walk over to the statue and it is carved out of what looks to be a bronze
[565.5s] type material.
[567.5s] And it is of a male elf dressed in very ranger-esque clothing.
[573.5s] So very woodsy, very outdoorsy type clothing.
[576.5s] And the placard on there says Adren.
[581.5s] Just the one name.
[583.5s] I can't remember what the guy's name was, you guys, but remember we're looking for
[587.5s] that guy, so I thought I'd better ask.
[589.5s] Nerenvane.
[590.5s] Nerenvane.
[591.5s] Okay, thank you.
[592.5s] Thank you.
[593.5s] No problem.
[594.5s] I couldn't remember and I only have one page of notes with me, not the whole
[596.5s] book.
[597.5s] I got my notes in front of me.
[599.5s] Sweet.
[600.5s] We're good.
[601.5s] Are we a way up?
[604.5s] Like to get to where I assume like the village part of the city is?
[613.5s] Yeah, as you've been walking around, you've kind of caught the attention of some of
[616.5s] the elves up on the higher level there.
[618.5s] And you walk towards one of the pulley systems and one of them calls down to
[624.5s] you and he says, excuse me, do you have business here?
[629.5s] We do.
[630.5s] We're, I'll just be blunt.
[632.5s] We're looking to fight a dragon.
[634.5s] We heard there was a dragon had been here and we want to find out what's
[637.5s] going on.
[638.5s] And we're supposed to be meeting our friend Delane here.
[643.5s] You've seen him?
[645.5s] Other non-elf kind of guy?
[647.5s] No, Delane, Delane has, let me, let me send down the, let me send down the
[652.5s] platform and we'll come up here so we don't have to yell at each other.
[657.5s] And he starts reefing on the rope and the pulley system comes down and I assume
[664.5s] you climb aboard.
[666.5s] Is this like the platform from Mad Max Fury Road?
[670.5s] Much smaller in scale, but yes, very similar to.
[673.5s] All right.
[674.5s] Yeah.
[675.5s] So yeah, you four climb aboard and are raised up to the tree top village.
[682.5s] And he says, I'm sorry, you four are?
[686.5s] We're the.
[691.5s] Classic.
[692.5s] The.
[693.5s] Okay.
[694.5s] You're the.
[695.5s] I'm Luana Moonbrook.
[696.5s] Nice to meet you.
[697.5s] Thea Amastasia.
[698.5s] LinFirebeard.
[699.5s] Yeah, yeah, I'm Thaddeus.
[702.5s] And you, sir?
[704.5s] My, my name is, is Gallenden.
[708.5s] And he said you were sent by, by Delane.
[714.5s] He hasn't been through in quite a while, but his, his, his agents of the Emerald
[718.5s] Enclave, they have been previously, not currently.
[724.5s] You are looking for the dragon, you said?
[727.5s] Well, yeah, that's the short version.
[731.5s] Yeah, we're looking for the dragon.
[734.5s] I mean, we generally are opposed to dragons in general.
[737.5s] So we wanted to see what was going on here.
[741.5s] We heard that a dragon was destroying villages and in fact have seen one.
[747.5s] And we want to help or want to know what's going on.
[753.5s] It seems like your village has taken a little bit of a hit here.
[757.5s] Can you tell us what happened?
[759.5s] Yes, yes.
[760.5s] I am not specifically from Altand.
[763.5s] I came from one of the other settlements.
[765.5s] There are, we, we were here recently hit by the green dragon and, and whoever is
[775.5s] controlling it.
[777.5s] There are some survivors.
[779.5s] I, I showed up after much of the cleanup had happened.
[783.5s] So, I mean, I only have kind of hearsay about what has been going around.
[789.5s] Perhaps you should find the warden, Gallen.
[793.5s] He, he was on hand when the dragon specifically hit.
[799.5s] And it's been, it's been said that he is one of the reasons why the dragon had left.
[804.5s] I'm sorry.
[806.5s] Your name is Gallenden and we need to find the warden name Gallend.
[810.5s] Gallen.
[812.5s] G-A-L-I-N.
[814.5s] And my name, yes, is Gallenden.
[816.5s] Okay.
[817.5s] That's not going to be confusing at all.
[819.5s] Don't worry.
[820.5s] You'll never talk to me again.
[821.5s] Oh.
[823.5s] Quite.
[825.5s] I am but, I am but a, I am but a long time pulley man.
[829.5s] So, I mean, you might see me on the way out.
[832.5s] We're what we call in the biz an expedition dump.
[839.5s] We are also, we're also looking for a friend of ours and Nerenvane.
[847.5s] Have you heard or seen?
[851.5s] Wait, is he our friend?
[853.5s] No, I was using the word friend.
[856.5s] Let's, let's try this.
[858.5s] We met Nerenvane's father and he said he would be here somewhere.
[864.5s] Do you know a Nerenvane?
[866.5s] We have, we have a message from his father.
[869.5s] That's better than what I said.
[871.5s] You're speaking of, of Nerenvane King Melandrich's lost son.
[877.5s] Yes.
[878.5s] That's the one.
[879.5s] Well, I mean, I have never met, met him in particular myself.
[885.5s] Being but a simple pulley man.
[887.5s] Being but a simple pulley man.
[889.5s] He often, you know, veers away from the pulleys and just.
[894.5s] He's a real anti-pullite.
[896.5s] He just uses the magic of the wind to carry him about.
[901.5s] So I heard, but he's been missing for quite some time.
[904.5s] I don't know why you would be looking for him in this specific instance.
[909.5s] Yeah, me neither.
[911.5s] I don't remember why we're looking for him guys.
[913.5s] Because he might be a bad guy or he might not be.
[915.5s] We don't know.
[917.5s] That was said out of character, not in front of the simple pulley man.
[922.5s] Do you know why you are here exactly?
[925.5s] No, no good.
[927.5s] We're here to help.
[929.5s] I wish I could help you more.
[932.5s] But as I said, I was not here when this direct attack happened.
[937.5s] He directs you towards a kind of towards the center of the settlement.
[944.5s] And if you walk that way, Galen, the warden, he is his establishment is over there.
[952.5s] And perhaps on the way you might find other people who have who were here when the attack happened.
[958.5s] Thank you for your help.
[960.5s] Anytime you need a pulley.
[963.5s] Sounded weirdly suggestive.
[965.5s] We clapped twice and he appears.
[967.5s] Well, I mean, you have to come back here.
[969.5s] I'm not allowed to leave.
[970.5s] I am on till about till about eight.
[972.5s] So, you know, catch me before then.
[976.5s] Next guy, he's a real bumpy ride.
[980.5s] OK, so we walk away from our friend that we'll never talk to again.
[989.5s] Never.
[990.5s] And I can fervor with my friends.
[993.5s] I turn back to look at Gallendale just one more time.
[997.5s] All right, I'm good.
[1000.5s] So I guess, guys, we go find Gallen.
[1004.5s] Seems like the next the next obvious.
[1008.5s] Wait, how is everyone feeling?
[1010.5s] Seriously, are you guys all fucked up?
[1012.5s] I've lost some hit points in our last adventure.
[1014.5s] But I'm not many that I worried about it.
[1019.5s] Yeah, that's what I'm wondering.
[1020.5s] I'm still full health.
[1022.5s] Yeah, but we can always, you know, like, oh, yeah, I'm bloodied.
[1026.5s] OK, I'm like straight up like half dead.
[1030.5s] I guess two questions.
[1032.5s] Russ, what time is it?
[1034.5s] And is there an inn somewhere nearby so we can rest and get our hit points back?
[1040.5s] Well, we do have a cleric in our group that could heal us.
[1044.5s] Yeah, Thaddeus.
[1045.5s] Thaddeus, pull your weight.
[1048.5s] Hey, Thaddeus.
[1049.5s] Yeah, Thaddeus, I keep forgetting is with us.
[1051.5s] Any any champs that can do that voodoo you do?
[1057.5s] I was kind of hoping we'd have a little nap.
[1059.5s] But yeah, sure, I could do the voodoo.
[1062.5s] Oh, nap totally works.
[1063.5s] I just didn't know our timeline.
[1065.5s] Yeah, no, it's.
[1066.5s] You know what, guys?
[1067.5s] No, we're probably going to end up napping anyway.
[1069.5s] We're going to find this this warden and he's going to direct us to a good inn.
[1077.5s] We're going to have a rest.
[1079.5s] We're going to have a good talk.
[1081.5s] It looks like this place has already been hit once.
[1083.5s] It's probably not going to be.
[1086.5s] Thea starts slamming her fist on on like a branch beside her like knock on wood.
[1092.5s] Like it's probably not going to get hit again by the dragon.
[1097.5s] Well, what time is it, though?
[1099.5s] I mean, if it's nine a.m., we're probably not going to go lay down.
[1102.5s] But if it's like nighttime, you were traveling for the bulk of the day.
[1105.5s] So it's probably late afternoon.
[1110.5s] I'd say, you know, if we're going off of GAlydindin's schedule,
[1114.5s] you've got a couple hours before he's off the clock.
[1117.5s] So he probably is like just about to take up his schedule.
[1122.5s] I mean, he's just looking to get to the weekend, man.
[1124.5s] Working for the weekend, as they say.
[1126.5s] That's fair. That's fair.
[1127.5s] I'm just thinking, like, in theory, we can just like go to the inn, eat some food, go to bed, wake up.
[1133.5s] It's the next morning.
[1134.5s] Let's go talk to Galen.
[1136.5s] Sure. That's what you want to do.
[1138.5s] Yep.
[1139.5s] Perhaps you should find someone to direct you towards an inn, though.
[1142.5s] That'd be good. We walk back over to GAlydindin.
[1145.5s] He's not there anymore.
[1147.5s] Oh, what?
[1148.5s] What? He's on until eight.
[1150.5s] My dwarf heart is breaking, Russ.
[1152.5s] There's a new elf there.
[1156.5s] Hey, Mr. Bumpy Ride.
[1160.5s] His name's Carrick. What do you want?
[1161.5s] Just kidding, Carrick.
[1162.5s] We were wondering if you can direct us to an inn, a place we might rest for a while.
[1168.5s] Yeah, of course.
[1169.5s] If you head that way, and he points you in the direction and gives you directions across the rope bridges, he says,
[1178.5s] you'll find a lovely inn named the Nimble-Fingered Homestead.
[1187.5s] Ugh.
[1189.5s] Is there another less creepily named inn?
[1193.5s] Is there a non-sex inn we could stick in?
[1197.5s] Well, I mean, you guys kind of looked like the kind of type. I don't know.
[1202.5s] Nope.
[1203.5s] Well, Flint, maybe. Maybe he's naked a lot of the time.
[1207.5s] We could stay at the champagne room, because we all know there's no sex in the champagne room.
[1211.5s] There is no sex in the champagne room.
[1214.5s] So, I mean, you got the Nimble-Fingered Homestead, or you got Beefy Stews Beefy Stews.
[1222.5s] Oh, yeah. Beefy Stews Beefy Stews all the way.
[1225.5s] He is really hungry. Thea could go for Beefy Stews.
[1227.5s] Okay, let's go to Beefy Stews Beefy Stew.
[1230.5s] Alright, he gives you directions to Beefy Stews Beefy Stew.
[1236.5s] And if you're looking to write that down, that's Beefy Stew is in the Man's Stew, who makes Beefy Stews.
[1243.5s] Oh, no, we all got it.
[1244.5s] Okay, I just wanted to make sure.
[1246.5s] Oh, it was not lost on us.
[1249.5s] Oh, goodness.
[1250.5s] Okay, let's go.
[1253.5s] You pull up and there's a sign that says Beefy Stews Beefy Stews.
[1258.5s] And it's got one of those double swinging doors.
[1262.5s] Like a saloon?
[1263.5s] Like a saloon, and you go on in there and there's a...
[1268.5s] A beefy looking guy with a name tag.
[1270.5s] You know what?
[1271.5s] Or is he really skinny, because that would be really great.
[1273.5s] Is he standing over a pot of stew?
[1275.5s] You don't normally see beefy elves, but this elf, he's a little bit beefy.
[1281.5s] And he's tending to a pot on the stove.
[1285.5s] And there are quite a few people in the establishment.
[1289.5s] He doesn't notice you come in though.
[1293.5s] Is there also a bar or just a giant stew pot?
[1296.5s] Is it like in the middle of the room?
[1298.5s] There's a giant stew pot behind what looks to be a counter of some sort.
[1304.5s] It's like one of those kitchen theater restaurants, but it's just one dude with a pot.
[1309.5s] But Gordon Ramsay will still bust in and just start screaming at him,
[1313.5s] making all the patrons really uncomfortable.
[1316.5s] I go up to the counter, where I see...
[1320.5s] Is there anyone else?
[1321.5s] Is there a diminutive Tim at the counter?
[1329.5s] As a matter of fact, no, there's not.
[1331.5s] It appears to be a family establishment, and there's a few different families.
[1337.5s] One of them sitting at the counter there,
[1340.5s] as well as what you can assume to be beefy stew,
[1344.5s] stirring his stew, who turns around and looks at you and says,
[1347.5s] Gordon Ramsay, come in there.
[1350.5s] What can I get for you?
[1352.5s] I guess some of your delicious stew and rooms for the night, if you have them.
[1358.5s] I walk up and I say, and an ale, if you have it.
[1361.5s] Oh yeah, I'll take one of those too.
[1363.5s] Yeah, of course, I'll get you...
[1366.5s] Okay, stews all around and...
[1370.5s] And brews.
[1371.5s] And brews.
[1372.5s] Stews and brews.
[1374.5s] Stews and brews. Gonna change my name.
[1376.5s] Name a restaurant to suit their beefy stews.
[1379.5s] Don't you dare.
[1380.5s] Stews and brews.
[1381.5s] Beefy stews and beefy brews.
[1383.5s] All right, coming right up in a set of rooms here.
[1386.5s] Okay, I'll be right back.
[1387.5s] And he goes into a back room.
[1391.5s] Yeah, the family sitting beside you at the counter there.
[1394.5s] They look over to kind of nervously and then back to their meal.
[1401.5s] I look over and I say, how's the beefy stew?
[1405.5s] It's as can be expected.
[1410.5s] But it is the best stew in town.
[1413.5s] So, I mean, we come often.
[1415.5s] Where do you keep the cows up in this tree?
[1419.5s] This beefy stew.
[1420.5s] You don't want to know.
[1424.5s] It's not beef.
[1425.5s] There are some questions we don't ask.
[1428.5s] Fair, that's fair, that's fair.
[1430.5s] We come through town to meet a friend and see if we might help with this, you know,
[1437.5s] dragon problem that seems to be plaguing these woods.
[1441.5s] You've come to aid us.
[1445.5s] They've been taking out settlements.
[1447.5s] We are but a mishmash of pretty much all the settlements from the Misty Forest now here in Alton.
[1456.5s] There aren't many wood elves left.
[1460.5s] A couple settlements further south and one more that we know of to the far east.
[1467.5s] How has Alton managed to stay standing?
[1470.5s] Well, it's difficult.
[1473.5s] You know, for some it might be difficult to say, but we were attacked not too long ago
[1479.5s] and we really, we were saved by our village warden.
[1485.5s] I don't know if you've heard of him, Gowan.
[1488.5s] He, our priest went out to try and stop the dragon and to try and stop the people coming
[1495.5s] and destroying our village and killing our people.
[1499.5s] And the priest was killed.
[1502.5s] But Gowan, he was in the thick of the fight and he seemed to survive unscathed.
[1509.5s] And after he went down into the fray, everyone left.
[1514.5s] So he is the reason that we are here today.
[1518.5s] The attackers left when he went down into the fray.
[1522.5s] Yes.
[1524.5s] Is Gowan particularly strong or particularly magical?
[1529.5s] Why, why would they leave?
[1531.5s] Why would the fighting stop?
[1534.5s] It's, it's, no one would describe him as particularly strong, I don't think.
[1541.5s] I don't, I don't know exactly how he did it or if he convinced them or if he did something.
[1547.5s] But all we know is that he went down and they turned away.
[1553.5s] What a hero.
[1555.5s] He must, was he, he must be much beloved in your city then.
[1560.5s] He is, he is highly revered for saving those who he could at that, at that moment.
[1566.5s] Do you know where we may find him?
[1569.5s] Um, yes, yes, of course.
[1572.5s] He lives just up the way there and they give you directions very much the same as GAlydindan did.
[1577.5s] Uh, was he much loved before this incident as well?
[1582.5s] He was a large part of the settlement, um, in the day-to-day and making sure everyone was taken care of.
[1589.5s] Um, he, he himself has since the attack, um, lost a lot as well.
[1598.5s] His, his wife was killed in the attack and he right now seems to be suffering from the weight of this new leadership role.
[1609.5s] The priest was previously in charge of the, of the entire settlement, um, and he after this was next in line of sorts.
[1618.5s] But yes, previously he's, he's friend to all.
[1621.5s] You're lucky to have him.
[1623.5s] That we are.
[1624.5s] Um, as you're having this conversation, Beefy Stew comes back with, uh, with your Beefy Stews and Beefy Brews.
[1630.5s] And, uh, tosses you some room keys.
[1633.5s] How long are you staying there?
[1635.5s] At, at least one night and maybe more.
[1638.5s] We're, we're waiting for a friend to meet us here.
[1641.5s] Of course. Yep. Yep. So let's stay as long as you need.
[1643.5s] We don't have a lot of people coming through these parts here.
[1647.5s] Thank you.
[1648.5s] Of course. If anything, if you need anything else, just, just, just keep a hauler.
[1652.5s] I start tucking into the stew.
[1654.5s] Thea, are you particularly hungry?
[1656.5s] You didn't even give Beefy Stew the old up and down eyeball maneuver you give most people.
[1663.5s] You know, throughout the battles, Thea has significantly calmed down sexually.
[1669.5s] It's true.
[1670.5s] I think she's just really tired. You know, all this fighting takes a toll on a person.
[1673.5s] Yeah, you are bloody right now.
[1675.5s] And maybe she's becoming a little more, a little more discerning in her, in her choices of, uh, you know.
[1681.5s] That's fair.
[1682.5s] You know what? I, I think she's actually, she's holding a bit of a torch for, uh, for Salazar.
[1688.5s] Yep. That makes sense. That makes sense.
[1691.5s] Uh, how's our stew, DM? Is it delicious? Am I really enjoying it?
[1695.5s] It is, uh, it is a, it is very good. It's very good stew.
[1699.5s] It's perhaps not the best stew you've ever tasted.
[1702.5s] Um, but it is, uh, probably top six. Top six stew.
[1707.5s] Oh, top six stew.
[1708.5s] It's pretty good. It's pretty good.
[1710.5s] It's very rich and it has lots of big, big chunks of vegetables and meats, which you would hope to find in a stew.
[1718.5s] Um, but yeah, you, I would say you'd, you know, give it a good Yelp rating and recommend it to all your friends.
[1725.5s] All right. Thea's tired. Thea has plowed through the soup and is yawning.
[1730.5s] Like, like almost like comically, like, yeah.
[1735.5s] Yeah.
[1736.5s] I'm on board. Let's, let's go to our rooms.
[1740.5s] Tuck in, go to bed and wake up the next day, fully refreshed.
[1743.5s] Perfect.
[1744.5s] Oh baby.
[1745.5s] Ah, that feels so good.
[1746.5s] Ready to take on the adventure.
[1749.5s] Uh, well, let's, uh, break our fast with some leftover stew, I assume.
[1757.5s] Oh yeah. He's got breakfast stew.
[1759.5s] Is that oatmeal? What's breakfast stew?
[1764.5s] Cereal?
[1765.5s] It's got eggs.
[1766.5s] Do you mean cereal?
[1767.5s] Probably sausage.
[1768.5s] Yeah.
[1769.5s] Sausage, eggs.
[1770.5s] Yeah. Just mix it all together.
[1771.5s] In some broth.
[1772.5s] Are we just talking about a scramble here?
[1773.5s] Sounds delicious.
[1774.5s] Yeah. In a, in a, in a meaty broth.
[1776.5s] In a thick gravy. Delicious.
[1778.5s] Sounds like a nice take on eggs, Benedict.
[1780.5s] Yep.
[1781.5s] So good.
[1782.5s] Let's go talk to Galen.
[1784.5s] Uh, you follow the directions of both people who you've asked for them,
[1790.5s] and you make your way to a modest dwelling suspended among iron-strong bows.
[1796.5s] You come up and it's an open-air concept.
[1801.5s] Um, there's no real doors, but yeah,
[1803.5s] you come to what you assume is the front entryway there.
[1807.5s] I, uh, got some extra breakfast stew to go and brought that with us for now.
[1812.5s] Oh, that's nice. Good thinking. Good thinking.
[1813.5s] Oh, wow.
[1814.5s] Very considerate, Flint.
[1816.5s] Uh, I guess we-
[1817.5s] Might do it again.
[1818.5s] Knock on, I don't know, a pillar.
[1821.5s] I don't know what open air means.
[1823.5s] I feel like we just wandered into a living room.
[1825.5s] But we stop at what seems like the entrance and knock.
[1830.5s] Yeah, you knock and you hear from inside.
[1832.5s] Yes, yes, yes, come in.
[1834.5s] And we do.
[1835.5s] And you enter into the dwelling and you enter into a cozy sitting room,
[1840.5s] which is where the voice was coming from.
[1842.5s] And a slim elf sits at a desk and he stands up to greet you
[1846.5s] and seems to have kind of a forced smile
[1850.5s] as a raven perched in a nearby cage cause hideously.
[1855.5s] And he says, uh, welcome to our village.
[1858.5s] How can I be of service?
[1861.5s] Galen, I assume?
[1864.5s] Yes, yes.
[1865.5s] I heard there were some travelers coming through
[1868.5s] and I assume that's you.
[1871.5s] It must be.
[1872.5s] Is there something I can help you with?
[1874.5s] Well, I'm new Laura. Nice to meet you.
[1878.5s] Nice to meet you, Galen.
[1880.5s] And he shakes your hand.
[1883.5s] Thea is mesmerized by this.
[1885.5s] You said it was a raven?
[1887.5s] Yes.
[1888.5s] In the cage.
[1889.5s] I'm getting a really uneasy feeling about it.
[1892.5s] You know, it does seem strange.
[1894.5s] Is there anything I notice about the raven?
[1897.5s] It seems like it's maybe a pet raven.
[1902.5s] It's calling pretty consistently.
[1906.5s] It's an interesting pet you have.
[1912.5s] What is your raven's name?
[1915.5s] Franklin.
[1918.5s] It's a dwarf. It's very endearing.
[1921.5s] He's awfully loud.
[1923.5s] I put my hand forward to shake his and I say, my name is Thea.
[1927.5s] Yes, since the dragon attacks, he's been a touch on edge.
[1932.5s] And it's been difficult to calm him down when new people come around.
[1937.5s] If only someone had animal handling.
[1941.5s] I do!
[1942.5s] I walk forward and hand him the stew and say, have you tried this breakfast stew?
[1946.5s] It's out of this world.
[1947.5s] Flint Fire Reader, nice to meet you.
[1949.5s] Oh, yes, beefy stews.
[1951.5s] I recognize the lovely breakfast stew.
[1955.5s] Nice to meet you, Flint.
[1957.5s] And Thaddeus seems to be just kind of standing by the doorway.
[1961.5s] I walk over to the bird and I look at the warden and I say, may I?
[1969.5s] Yes, yes, of course.
[1971.5s] And I'm going to use my animal handling to like...
[1974.5s] Unless you're going to eat it, then no.
[1976.5s] May I eat your bird?
[1979.5s] No.
[1981.5s] That's what most people mean when they look at a pet and go, can I?
[1985.5s] May I? I can stop this noise.
[1988.5s] Strange things have been happening.
[1991.5s] Do what you will.
[1994.5s] As long as it's not eating my bird.
[1998.5s] He's really made a weird vibe in the room now.
[2000.5s] Yeah, he has created something quite strange.
[2003.5s] Also, isn't it like some really bad juju to eat a raven?
[2006.5s] Yeah, at least with crows, if you kill one, then the other ones remember you.
[2012.5s] I think that's most birds, actually.
[2016.5s] Anyway, I use my animal handling to try to calm the bird down so it stops screaming.
[2021.5s] Sure, you got to roll for that?
[2023.5s] Yeah, I'm going to roll some dice.
[2025.5s] 22.
[2026.5s] Tell me how you calm down Franklin.
[2029.5s] I walk toward the bird with my palms out.
[2034.5s] I just start kind of like whispering to him.
[2037.5s] And I slowly open the cage and put my hand in for him to hop on.
[2043.5s] And I stroke his feathers and I just...
[2047.5s] Calm, buddy, calm.
[2049.5s] And it takes a minute, but yeah, you manage to calm Franklin down
[2055.5s] from the hideous cawing that is coming from him.
[2058.5s] I put him gently back inside his cage and give him a little do-do-do on the top of his head.
[2064.5s] And I close the cage.
[2065.5s] He starts hideously calling you.
[2066.5s] Are you fucking kidding me?
[2069.5s] Oh, he hates that.
[2070.5s] He doesn't like to be treated to look down upon with little scratches on it.
[2074.5s] No, it's fine.
[2077.5s] Okay, good.
[2078.5s] So Galen says, I'm sorry, is there something I can help you with?
[2086.5s] We're in town looking, waiting to meet with our friend Delaine
[2092.5s] and just wanted to see if we could help with anything.
[2096.5s] We have some experience fighting dragons and helping settlements that need assistance.
[2106.5s] And since it seems like you're in charge, we thought we'd see if there was something we could do
[2112.5s] or if not, at least introduce ourselves.
[2115.5s] Yes, yes, of course.
[2118.5s] Well, I mean, I can tell you what I can recall from the attack.
[2125.5s] Maybe that will give you some clue as to where you can go next.
[2131.5s] And he begins to tell you about the attack that occurred.
[2140.5s] And he says, the dragon swooped down and attacked on the ground first.
[2148.5s] Nearly half of the village died during the first assault.
[2155.5s] It was after that that humans in Regalia, many wore a deep purple.
[2163.5s] They had an insignia that I believe was from the cult of the dragon
[2169.5s] followed in behind and started killing people as they tried to flee
[2174.5s] that the dragon did not catch up to.
[2178.5s] Our priest, he went down to try to reason with anybody who was in charge
[2185.5s] and he himself was killed by the dragon in his attempts to halt their attacks.
[2192.5s] The attack lasted only a short while and then the dragon, it unexpectedly retreated
[2200.5s] and the cultists followed.
[2202.5s] But as they fled, they took nothing really of value from the village.
[2208.5s] It just seemed they came in to kill our people, not to gain anything from it.
[2218.5s] I'm really sorry to hear that you've suffered such a loss.
[2224.5s] Thank you. Thank you.
[2226.5s] Do you know of King Melandric's son?
[2232.5s] King Melandric's son? The missing one? Or the not?
[2239.5s] The missing one.
[2240.5s] Of course. Yes, we've all heard stories of Naren Vane,
[2246.5s] but he hasn't been seen in quite some time.
[2251.5s] As he's saying this, make an insight check.
[2257.5s] Nat 20.
[2259.5s] What?
[2260.5s] Yeah, he doesn't seem to be making eye contact with you
[2267.5s] during any of what he's telling you about King Melandric or his son.
[2274.5s] And you're not sure what he might be withholding, but you sense that he's withholding something.
[2280.5s] So you've heard stories of Naren Vane, but you have not seen him around here?
[2287.5s] No.
[2288.5s] You have not heard tales of him being here?
[2291.5s] Because we have under fairly good authority that he is in this forest.
[2297.5s] If he is in this forest, I have not seen him. I don't know who...
[2303.5s] It's hard to see anything when you're staring at the ground.
[2308.5s] I did not invite you here at all. You come, you show up, you question me.
[2318.5s] In my own house, in my own settlement, who do you think you are?
[2322.5s] We're the people here to help save you from this dragon, but if you don't give us the truth,
[2327.5s] there's nothing we can do for you.
[2329.5s] As you say that, you hear a voice come from outside the building.
[2336.5s] It sounds like it's a small voice, but very gruff.
[2341.5s] And she says, hey boss, I tried to find those papers you were looking for, but I didn't find them.
[2350.5s] And he says, oh, shit. Yes, yes, come in, come in, flamekins.
[2358.5s] And in walks a female goblin dressed in, how do I describe it, kind of like swashbuckler attire.
[2368.5s] Like puss in boots.
[2371.5s] Except not naked.
[2372.5s] Sure, but not naked. Yeah, it's got clothes on.
[2375.5s] Amazing.
[2376.5s] And she walks in and she senses the tension in the room.
[2381.5s] And she's like, oh, did I walk? Okay, what's going on in here?
[2390.5s] We're here to help. We're trying to find a man named Narenvain.
[2396.5s] I haven't heard the name myself. I'm kind of new to these parts though.
[2402.5s] Where are you from?
[2404.5s] I was on a ship. We were a merchant ship.
[2409.5s] And now, you know, I just felt like I needed to try something new, something different.
[2414.5s] So me and a group, we wandered in here to the Misty Forest, and then all these dragons attacks started happening.
[2422.5s] And I found these fine folks, and Galen here was willing to put me to work.
[2428.5s] Bet you were wishing you were still on that ship.
[2430.5s] Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's dangerous out there too, but the dragons weren't swooping over our heads all the time.
[2438.5s] I turn back towards Nularaaa and Flint and I go, remember that time we were on a boat with Larry?
[2446.5s] Yeah. Remember we played that really neat dice game?
[2449.5s] Hey, do you know that dice game that you play on boats?
[2451.5s] I ask her.
[2453.5s] You know that dice game?
[2455.5s] I know many dice games. I know many dice games.
[2459.5s] There's one very difficult one that nobody seems to get, so we don't play it all that often.
[2464.5s] Maybe sometime. Maybe sometime.
[2467.5s] She says, well, if you don't need me now, Galen, I'll just go down to get some stew from stews.
[2475.5s] And maybe I'll see you guys. Maybe I'll see you guys around.
[2479.5s] What's your name?
[2480.5s] It was nice to meet you, Flammokins.
[2483.5s] Flammokins. Flammokins.
[2485.5s] Flammokins.
[2486.5s] Yes.
[2487.5s] It's nice to meet you.
[2488.5s] Nice to meet you as well.
[2490.5s] And she hops off.
[2492.5s] And Galen returns to a bit of a scowl, and he's like, if there's no other questions, I believe we're done here.
[2501.5s] Galen, we want to help. We've been fighting the Cult of the Dragon for a long time, and it seems they're behind this attack.
[2511.5s] So I think we maybe got off on maybe the wrong foot, but we are here to help.
[2517.5s] We're at Beefy Stews, if you think of anything else that might help us stop this.
[2522.5s] And she hands him our card, which says...
[2524.5s] Which says...
[2527.5s] Nothing.
[2528.5s] For a good time, call Nulara.
[2530.5s] I don't think it would say that.
[2533.5s] He seems slightly less on edge and just kind of slumps back into his chair, and he says, I'm sorry.
[2549.5s] In this dragon attack, I've seen many friends die.
[2555.5s] I've seen my wife at the hands of the dragon die.
[2565.5s] For you to come in here and question my ability to stand up for my city is an insult.
[2576.5s] You've been doing a wonderful job for this city.
[2579.5s] The people we have talked to speak irreverently about you.
[2585.5s] I just feel like there's maybe more to the story that, once you're ready, you could share with us and we would be able to help each other.
[2600.5s] I have told you all I can.
[2609.5s] A liar.
[2610.5s] Make an insight check.
[2611.5s] I'm gonna insight.
[2612.5s] Insight the shit out of this.
[2614.5s] 13.
[2617.5s] You feel that he may be telling you the whole truth.
[2622.5s] Okay, so now I feel like he may be telling the whole truth, although he hasn't given any extra information from what he's given before.
[2628.5s] I don't like this.
[2629.5s] Smells fishy.
[2631.5s] Thank you for your time.
[2632.5s] We'll take our leave.
[2633.5s] We'll be at Stu's if you think of anything else.
[2638.5s] I shake his bird cage.
[2643.5s] No, I don't.
[2644.5s] Motherfucker.
[2645.5s] Motherfucker.
[2646.5s] Is it a parrot or is it a raven?
[2647.5s] That's a raven who talks like a parrot, obviously.
[2649.5s] I'm just kidding.
[2650.5s] I don't do that, but I want to a little bit, but then I'm extremely ashamed of myself because, like, nature and shit, right?
[2656.5s] Obviously.
[2658.5s] I guess we go, like, so we leave.
[2663.5s] Guys, what should we do here?
[2665.5s] I mean, we're waiting for, like, I don't know, he's in charge.
[2672.5s] He doesn't seem to need our help.
[2674.5s] And really, I don't know what we can do if, I mean, you know, if there's an attack, we can attack.
[2682.5s] Thaddeus stops you and he says, we let's head back to Beefy Stu's.
[2688.5s] That goblin gave me the heads up that we should go talk to her.
[2694.5s] And he's still not telling the truth.
[2699.5s] I knew it.
[2700.5s] I knew it.
[2702.5s] Thaddeus, are you psychic?
[2705.5s] I just rolled a higher insight than she did.
[2709.5s] No, that totally makes sense.
[2712.5s] I was just like, how did that happen?
[2715.5s] Has he been reading our thoughts this whole time?
[2719.5s] Yes.
[2726.5s] Hey there, I'm your Dungeon Master Russ More.
[2728.5s] Thank you for joining us for episode 34 of Dumbgeons and Dragons titled Welcome to Altant.
[2733.5s] If you enjoy what we're doing and you want to be more involved in the community of Dumbgeons and Dragons,
[2737.5s] I invite you to check out our Patreon page, Patreon.com slash dumb dragon cast.
[2742.5s] There you'll be able to see the many awesome tiers and rewards that are available to you.
[2746.5s] Some of those rewards include amazing bonus episodes,
[2749.5s] DM'ed by Tom Laird following the adventures of the Tabaxi Bard,
[2753.5s] Opal Light Brightcliffs, the Goliath Barbarian,
[2756.5s] Gael Nighthunter Ogallakanu,
[2758.5s] and the Asimar Monk, Elia Strong,
[2761.5s] as they have stumbled their way into a game of the gods.
[2765.5s] A new episode is released on the 15th of every month,
[2768.5s] and as of tomorrow, there will be seven episodes available for you to binge through,
[2772.5s] so go check that out.
[2773.5s] And starting March 22nd, and then again every month,
[2777.5s] we'll be hosting a patrons-only livestream Google Hangout at the $5 tier and up,
[2783.5s] where you can come hang out with the whole cast of Dumbgeons and Dragons
[2786.5s] and chat about the show, the game, and whatever else comes to mind.
[2790.5s] We're really looking forward to spending that time with you.
[2793.5s] Another Patreon reward is naming an NPC, which in this episode is Flamikins,
[2797.5s] named by Kat Waterflame, so thank you Kat for Flamikins.
[2800.5s] I think we're going to have a lot of fun with her character here.
[2803.5s] So again, if any of that sounds good to you,
[2805.5s] please check us out at Patreon.com slash dumbdragoncast.
[2809.5s] If you want to find us on social media,
[2811.5s] all of our links can be found on our website, dumbdragons.com,
[2814.5s] and I would especially encourage you to join us over on our new Facebook group.
[2818.5s] We're having a great time over there,
[2820.5s] sharing stories we have about playing D&D and other RPGs.
[2823.5s] It's a small group, but getting bigger every week,
[2826.5s] and there are a ton of amazing people to chat about the game and the show with right now.
[2830.5s] Links for everything mentioned today can be found in the description below.
[2834.5s] The next episode will be out March 28th,
[2837.5s] but let's dive back into the tale with Flint, Thea, and Nulara,
[2840.5s] and see if we can't figure out where to go next in the Misty Forest.
[2844.5s] Have a great couple weeks. We'll talk to you soon.
[2850.5s] Well, at least I think we got off on the right foot with little Flammikins.
[2859.5s] So you head back to Beefy Stews, and you go in there,
[2862.5s] and you see Stew, and you see Flammikins.
[2866.5s] Fuck. Flammikins.
[2868.5s] Is it Flammikins?
[2869.5s] Her name is Flammikins.
[2871.5s] Get it right.
[2873.5s] I know. Flammikins.
[2876.5s] And she hops up out of her chair and runs over and says,
[2879.5s] You guys, are we going on an adventure or what? Holy shit.
[2883.5s] I want out of here.
[2885.5s] Oh, my God. I love your enthusiasm.
[2887.5s] Great.
[2889.5s] I immediately feel like a kindred spirit to this Flammikins.
[2893.5s] I very much like her.
[2894.5s] So what did he say? Did he say how he's been going out late at night and shit?
[2899.5s] Like, fuck, I don't know what he's doing out there.
[2902.5s] I feel like she's very loud in the, like, any way.
[2906.5s] Oh, yeah. She's boisterous.
[2908.5s] So I just shh and I kind of bring us over to like a corner booth.
[2913.5s] Is there like a?
[2914.5s] Sure.
[2915.5s] Sure. Yeah.
[2916.5s] Like, you know, somewhere a little more less like standing in the middle of it.
[2919.5s] Stew, send us over some stew.
[2922.5s] Yeah, you got to have privacy at Beefy Stews.
[2924.5s] You got to eat your stew in peace.
[2926.5s] He was lying the entire time, Flammikins. He was.
[2930.5s] Well, I mean, I don't I don't know exactly what he told you.
[2932.5s] So I can't tell if he was lying the entire time.
[2934.5s] But I mean, he I mean, he did see a lot of the villagers die and stuff and his wife did die.
[2940.5s] But I mean, he I've been kind of hired by him to, you know,
[2946.5s] take care of some paperwork and just run an errands for him, really.
[2950.5s] But yeah, he sneaks out just about every night is what I've seen.
[2955.5s] I tried to follow him one night, but kind of lost him.
[2959.5s] So I don't know where he's been going, but he's been going somewhere.
[2963.5s] Is he a bad man or is he everyone seems to like him?
[2968.5s] Do you like him?
[2969.5s] I mean, I wouldn't I wouldn't peg him as a as a bad man,
[2974.5s] but he's got something something below the surface going on that it doesn't quite add up to some of the stories that he's been telling.
[2983.5s] I mean, the dragon didn't just disappear.
[2986.5s] From what I hear, the dragon wiped out entire settlements.
[2990.5s] It's true.
[2991.5s] And then this one, they just leave some leave some folks just hanging about.
[2995.5s] Do you think he made a deal with the dragon?
[2997.5s] Made a deal with me?
[2999.5s] That's possible. Maybe made a deal with somebody.
[3002.5s] I mean, there were a lot of from from what they told me, there's a lot of a lot of humans running about.
[3007.5s] And maybe one of them was actually in charge and he just happened to catch the right one.
[3011.5s] I don't know.
[3012.5s] And he I mean, he sneaks out about about about the same time.
[3016.5s] Oh, you know, you know, there's this thing they call like a sting operation.
[3021.5s] You just you set up and you follow them.
[3025.5s] Uh huh. Uh huh.
[3027.5s] And you see who he's meeting with.
[3029.5s] I like it.
[3030.5s] I like what you're putting down, Flamikins Kins.
[3032.5s] I like it a lot.
[3033.5s] Good.
[3034.5s] Oh, this is this is what I got off the boat for.
[3037.5s] Alrighty.
[3039.5s] Is there anybody else from your boat still in the in the village?
[3044.5s] Uh, no, no, we kind of got separated.
[3047.5s] We came originally to a different settlement.
[3051.5s] A lot of the people who came with us, they just kind of scattered.
[3054.5s] We lost each other and I ended up here.
[3058.5s] Good thing for us.
[3060.5s] Good thing for everybody.
[3064.5s] Beefy stew brings you over your stews.
[3067.5s] Thanks, Stu.
[3068.5s] Thanks, Stu.
[3070.5s] I'm already eating it.
[3072.5s] He's like when...
[3074.5s] Flamikins Kins, can I ask you two more questions?
[3077.5s] You can ask me all the questions.
[3079.5s] What?
[3080.5s] Except that question.
[3082.5s] Uh oh.
[3083.5s] I'm just kidding.
[3086.5s] Any anything interesting in the paperwork he's got you shuffling?
[3092.5s] No, I mean, not really.
[3096.5s] It's just regular like day to day.
[3100.5s] Just warden-y day to day?
[3102.5s] Taxes, wardens.
[3104.5s] You know, there's been a lot of deaths, so there's some death certificates.
[3107.5s] I mean, really, it's just moving papers from one place to the other.
[3111.5s] Not really a merchant's life.
[3115.5s] Second question.
[3117.5s] What times, Galen, head out?
[3120.5s] How are we going to...
[3122.5s] When we're doing the sting operation is what I'm asking.
[3125.5s] It's always kind of in the middle of the night about just after like the midnight hour.
[3132.5s] So you guys want it tonight?
[3136.5s] Absolutely.
[3137.5s] Let's do this.
[3138.5s] All right.
[3139.5s] He's hiding something and whether or not it's, you know, malicious intent or not, I think it's something we need to know.
[3149.5s] I think it's something that'll help.
[3152.5s] Also, what else are we doing?
[3155.5s] Right?
[3156.5s] So it's currently 9 a.m.
[3157.5s] What do we do for the next 15 hours?
[3162.5s] Just give me like a point form, things you want to do in Altand.
[3169.5s] And that's what you do for the next...
[3171.5s] Thea walks around like just spreading a little bit of cheer.
[3174.5s] So like seeing people working, like rebuilding things, bringing them cold drinks, helping hoist stuff.
[3181.5s] And just generally talking to people and keeping things light in a gloomy situation.
[3188.5s] Pedaling her merch.
[3190.5s] I want to ask someone about...
[3193.5s] Right, there it comes.
[3195.5s] I want to ask someone about Adren.
[3198.5s] You know, he of the statue down below.
[3200.5s] Anybody in particular you want to approach?
[3203.5s] There's lots of people kind of just working about and going about their day.
[3209.5s] Is there...
[3210.5s] I'm a very loyal Beefy Stew's Beefy Stew's customer.
[3214.5s] Sure.
[3215.5s] But is there another...
[3216.5s] Is there like a tavern or anything I could go into?
[3219.5s] Yeah, of course.
[3221.5s] Beefy Stew hears about it.
[3223.5s] He sees you leave and he's like...
[3226.5s] He knows you're going to the Clock and Hen.
[3229.5s] The Clock and Hen?
[3231.5s] I was just going to say that.
[3233.5s] The Clock and Hen?
[3234.5s] Is it?
[3235.5s] Yep.
[3236.5s] Okay.
[3237.5s] Yep.
[3238.5s] Okay.
[3239.5s] I go into the Clock and Hen.
[3244.5s] Yep.
[3245.5s] And go up to the bar and order an ale and sit down.
[3249.5s] Sure.
[3250.5s] And what's the bartender like?
[3253.5s] Bartender is a female elf and she hands you your ale and says,
[3258.5s] You're new around these parts.
[3260.5s] What has you coming through in such a time as people are trying to all leave?
[3267.5s] Well, a couple things.
[3269.5s] We're waiting to meet a friend here and...
[3272.5s] Well, we're kind of...
[3274.5s] My friends and I make a habit of trying to wreck the plans of this Call to the Dragon.
[3279.5s] We're here trying to get a little bit more information.
[3282.5s] See if we can't, you know, kill some of them.
[3285.5s] Well, we would greatly appreciate that.
[3289.5s] My name is, when I find it I will tell you,
[3293.5s] Don't move on Vedanya.
[3298.5s] Don't move on Vedanya.
[3300.5s] That sounds like a good song.
[3301.5s] Yeah.
[3304.5s] Song to the tune of Come On Eileen.
[3307.5s] My name is Vedanya.
[3308.5s] Nice to meet you.
[3309.5s] And you are?
[3310.5s] Sorry, you might have said already.
[3312.5s] Nulara.
[3313.5s] Nice to meet you.
[3314.5s] Vedanya.
[3316.5s] Hey, I'm curious about that statue down on the ground.
[3321.5s] Adren, is it?
[3323.5s] Adren, yes, yes.
[3325.5s] He was the founding member of Altand here.
[3332.5s] He was the one to find the site and bring other wood elves here with us.
[3338.5s] And that's our commemoration of him.
[3342.5s] He was an adventurer at heart and when he decided it was time he settled his people here.
[3350.5s] And that is just us remembering him.
[3354.5s] Was that many generations ago?
[3357.5s] It was quite some time ago.
[3359.5s] You know, us elves live quite a long time.
[3364.5s] Quite a lot longer than you human folk.
[3369.5s] But yes, it was several hundred years ago.
[3373.5s] Only several hundred years ago?
[3376.5s] Several hundreds of years ago.
[3378.5s] Oh.
[3379.5s] It's in the thousands, you know.
[3381.5s] Yeah.
[3382.5s] Hundred hundreds.
[3384.5s] One hundred hundred.
[3385.5s] One hundred hundred years ago.
[3389.5s] Any other tourist sites I should see while I'm here?
[3394.5s] I mean, we don't like to recommend our competitors.
[3399.5s] But have you tried Beefy Stew's Beefy Stew?
[3402.5s] You know, I have.
[3403.5s] And that is some good stew.
[3405.5s] Some good stew.
[3406.5s] Excellent, excellent.
[3407.5s] Well, no, no.
[3408.5s] Just make yourself at home here and if you need anything you let me know.
[3413.5s] Otherwise, anybody here would be glad to discuss anything with you.
[3418.5s] Great.
[3419.5s] Thanks, Vedanya.
[3420.5s] Hey, hey, one other thing.
[3422.5s] What's...
[3423.5s] How about that warden?
[3424.5s] We met him and I got...
[3426.5s] I don't know, he seemed nice but I got kind of a weird vibe.
[3429.5s] What's his story?
[3431.5s] Galen?
[3432.5s] Well, he...
[3434.5s] I mean, he's been going through, I mean, some of his own problems.
[3438.5s] Having lost his wife obviously is quite a large problem.
[3443.5s] He's kind of thrust into this leadership role.
[3446.5s] I noticed he's been a little more tucked away than he usually is.
[3451.5s] Usually he is out and about and he's been kind of hiding away in his house there.
[3461.5s] But, I mean, we just kind of assumed that he's dealing with the stresses of the events that occurred.
[3470.5s] That seems reasonable.
[3471.5s] Hey, thanks, Vedanya.
[3473.5s] Of course.
[3474.5s] Flint, what are you doing?
[3475.5s] I'm going to go sharpen my axes.
[3478.5s] Okay.
[3479.5s] Is that a euphemism?
[3480.5s] Because that's gross.
[3483.5s] Well, guilty as charged.
[3485.5s] So you're finding a blacksmith?
[3490.5s] Yeah, no, that one.
[3491.5s] Or a brothel?
[3493.5s] A blacksmith slash brothel, yep.
[3497.5s] It's a dangerous thing to be.
[3499.5s] It's this economy, guys, you got to multitask.
[3501.5s] Blacksmith and naked, it just doesn't seem...
[3503.5s] No, it seems very dangerous, very bad idea.
[3506.5s] You ask around and you find that there's just one blacksmith in town and in fact they call it just blacksmiths.
[3514.5s] Yeah, solid naming.
[3516.5s] Yep.
[3517.5s] It's hitting the nail on the head.
[3519.5s] I mean, it's direct, it's to the point, it's minimalist, I'm on board.
[3523.5s] And you're heading there and there's just one elf.
[3529.5s] One elf working in there and calls over to you and says, welcome, what can I do for you?
[3536.5s] I got a little downtime here, I was wondering if I could sharpen my axes in your smith.
[3543.5s] Smith-a-rino?
[3546.5s] Yeah, we don't usually run into a lot of people who can smith themselves, but...
[3552.5s] I don't think we're using that word right, you guys.
[3556.5s] Jonathan, if you're listening, fix this for us, please.
[3561.5s] No, it's fine, it's fine.
[3563.5s] There's no rules on what you have to call a blacksmith, but yeah, help yourself, I suppose.
[3568.5s] Awesome, thanks, if there's any projects you need to hand with, I'm pretty good, I'll help you out.
[3574.5s] You're like that Flint always just looks for some freelance smithing work.
[3578.5s] Little odd jobs here and there.
[3580.5s] That's kind of sweet.
[3581.5s] Sure, sure, where are you from?
[3584.5s] Originally from the Grey Peak Mountains, but our family moved and set up shop in Mithril Hall.
[3590.5s] Oh, from the higher up dwarven settlement there, good, good.
[3597.5s] So, did you work as a smith there? Is that why you know your way around the tools?
[3604.5s] No soldier all through and through, but I've kind of picked up smithing in my last couple years here.
[3610.5s] I've been liking to think I'm getting pretty good at it.
[3613.5s] Excellent, excellent.
[3615.5s] He tosses you a blade and doesn't warn you about it, so make a dexterity check.
[3623.5s] Kind of rude.
[3626.5s] 14.
[3627.5s] You catch it, quite fine, he says, give that a sharpen.
[3631.5s] I will do so.
[3634.5s] Roll a smith tools check there.
[3637.5s] Roll a honing check.
[3643.5s] I'm honing in on it, it's a 26.
[3648.5s] Oh, you sharpen that motherfucker, and he looks at it and says, so you live in here now?
[3655.5s] Is that what's happening?
[3657.5s] No, no, no, no, no.
[3660.5s] We're just going through, we're on our way to hunt some dragons.
[3665.5s] You guys have been having a bit of a problem, but yeah, we're just here for a couple days.
[3670.5s] Yeah, problem to say the very least.
[3673.5s] Well, take as much time as you need, sharpen as many things as you'd like.
[3678.5s] We're going to need some sharp blades here, I feel, coming very, very soon.
[3685.5s] Oh yeah, what makes you say that?
[3687.5s] Well, I mean, it's just, most of the other settlements, they were completely wiped out.
[3695.5s] Yeah, it's kind of weird that you guys weren't, hey?
[3698.5s] And we weren't, and I mean, there was rumors kind of floating around
[3704.5s] that the dragon was being ridden or controlled by someone.
[3710.5s] Whoa, what?
[3712.5s] And yeah, I mean, it's just rumors.
[3717.5s] No one has a firm grasp on who it was or exactly what they were wearing or who they were.
[3727.5s] But there's rumors that the dragon was being ridden by somebody, by a humanoid creature.
[3735.5s] Oh, this is interesting.
[3737.5s] Yeah, I mean, some people firmly believe it, others aren't quite so sure.
[3742.5s] There was a lot going on.
[3744.5s] I mean, I'm one that, you know, I thought I saw somebody there.
[3750.5s] But again, we were all fleeing as quick as we could.
[3754.5s] So who's to say, you know, unless we were to see them again, of course.
[3760.5s] Fair enough. I appreciate the heads up on there.
[3764.5s] Somebody might be riding the dragon. That's new information to us.
[3768.5s] Well, I hope it brings you some aid in whatever battle you have coming towards yourself, if you have one.
[3775.5s] Oh, we always seem to have one.
[3778.5s] Aha, adventuring types then. Good.
[3781.5s] So, yeah, I guess I finish up and head back to tell my crew what I found out.
[3786.5s] Sure. Yeah, you guys all meet back up.
[3789.5s] I relay all the information to them.
[3792.5s] Then I have a quick nap, eat some more stew.
[3795.5s] Now it's eleven thirty and I put on my cat burglar outfit.
[3799.5s] Oh, yeah, there we go.
[3801.5s] Flammokins, she gives you a place to kind of meet.
[3805.5s] That's a little bit of ways from where Galen was seen by her.
[3812.5s] And you guys go meet there, the four of you.
[3816.5s] I guess do all four of you go.
[3818.5s] Do you bring Thaddeus or do the three of you just go?
[3822.5s] I don't know. What's Thaddeus doing?
[3824.5s] We haven't heard much from him.
[3826.5s] Thaddeus has just been chilling.
[3828.5s] He's like, you guys, you guys seem to got this.
[3830.5s] You let me know when you need me.
[3831.5s] But I mean, if you want me there, I'll I'll be there.
[3834.5s] I think it might be good not to have somebody there to have someone who knows where we are.
[3839.5s] If we're not back at a certain time, come find us kind of business.
[3842.5s] Please alert the authorities.
[3844.5s] Yeah, sure.
[3845.5s] Thaddeus stays behind a beefy stews and you guys go to the meeting spot where Flammokins told you to meet.
[3851.5s] And you look around and she's not there at the moment.
[3855.5s] Guys, are we being set up?
[3857.5s] I'm going to cast Pass Without a Trace on us.
[3861.5s] Sure.
[3862.5s] So we're like super stealthy.
[3863.5s] It's the short version.
[3864.5s] Super stealthy.
[3865.5s] Yeah.
[3866.5s] As you as you cast Pass Without a Trace, you hear from behind you coming from what you thought was a tree.
[3873.5s] You hear, hey, hey, hey, I'm back.
[3876.5s] I'm back here.
[3877.5s] Shh.
[3878.5s] Shh.
[3879.5s] Come over here.
[3881.5s] And you turn around and you don't see anybody, but you hear the direction that the voice is calling and you head back a little ways.
[3890.5s] And she drops whatever spell she has on her.
[3895.5s] And she's just blended in with the surrounding.
[3897.5s] And she's like, I like your cat burglar outfit, but don't worry.
[3902.5s] I can just cast Seeming on us and we'll just blend into the surroundings.
[3907.5s] Oh, well, even better.
[3910.5s] So now we're like extra wicked.
[3912.5s] We've all got stealthy spells.
[3913.5s] Extra wicked, super stealthy.
[3915.5s] So she could see us even though we had Pass Without a Trace.
[3918.5s] Pass Without a Trace does not make you invisible.
[3920.5s] Right, right, right.
[3921.5s] It just makes you super stealthy.
[3922.5s] Yes, right.
[3923.5s] But yes, she was there waiting for you anyway.
[3926.5s] So she saw you come up.
[3928.5s] Russ has done his homework on Pass Without a Trace.
[3930.5s] You'd better believe it.
[3933.5s] It's not an invisibility.
[3935.5s] There is invisibility.
[3937.5s] Yes.
[3938.5s] It just masks us from detection.
[3941.5s] We can't be tracked and we get super bonuses to stealth.
[3944.5s] Yeah, you get like a plus 10 or something to your stealth checks.
[3948.5s] So basically you can't fail stealth is essentially what it is.
[3951.5s] I guess you can still crit fail.
[3954.5s] Yeah.
[3955.5s] Yeah, we don't.
[3956.5s] Yeah.
[3957.5s] I mean, I don't.
[3958.5s] If you roll a one, I still let you add on your modifier for a check though.
[3961.5s] So you should still be OK.
[3965.5s] So she's like, OK, well, he's he's probably going to be down here soon.
[3968.5s] So let's just head out.
[3970.5s] OK.
[3971.5s] Yes, she leads you and you guys are all super stealthy heading through the trees.
[3976.5s] And you catch a glimpse a ways up ahead there, but of a cloaked figure heading away from the settlement.
[3985.5s] She's like, there he is.
[3987.5s] But as you continue to follow him, he steps into an open clearing.
[3992.5s] And she's like, OK, get get down, get down.
[3995.5s] And she casts seeming on the four of you.
[3999.5s] For all intents and purposes, you guys are our bushes just kind of setting by the side there.
[4007.5s] Gallan is pacing around this this open clearing and looking up at the stars that you can see through.
[4014.5s] And she keeps checking the sky and looking around and pacing around.
[4019.5s] And she's like, he's I don't he's been doing this for I don't know how long you guys what you guys want to do here.
[4028.5s] But I see we just wait him out.
[4031.5s] Yeah, I was going to say, wait patiently.
[4033.5s] We're not so much of a sting operation right now as we are just a stakeout.
[4037.5s] Yes.
[4038.5s] Sure.
[4039.5s] So he paces around for what seems like the better part of an hour.
[4045.5s] And he's getting increasingly nervous and openly frustrated by the fact that whoever he's waiting for has not shown up.
[4055.5s] And then he gives one last look to the sky and then he throws his arms down and then starts heading back towards the settlement.
[4063.5s] Crazy. I guess we follow him back. Yeah.
[4065.5s] You keep being stealthy and you follow him back to the settlement and he heads directly back to his house.
[4071.5s] Do we want to go confront him now or go back the next day?
[4074.5s] Maybe next day we might get a better idea of what's going on if we can kind of catch them in the act rather than trying to force him.
[4083.5s] Oh, I see. Like follow him again the next day.
[4085.5s] Yeah. Yeah.
[4086.5s] Yeah. Maybe we'll see.
[4087.5s] Maybe what he's waiting for will finally show up.
[4090.5s] Yeah, you're right.
[4091.5s] Like, I want to see what's going on.
[4093.5s] I want to see it.
[4094.5s] He's obviously not telling us something.
[4096.5s] Exactly.
[4097.5s] He's looking at the sky.
[4098.5s] A dragon is fucking coming.
[4100.5s] And is his wife riding it?
[4102.5s] Why do they keep saying his wife died?
[4105.5s] What's up with that?
[4106.5s] It's tragic.
[4108.5s] I don't want to keep hearing about it.
[4111.5s] I hate hearing about other people's pain.
[4115.5s] If everyone could just stop, that'd be great.
[4117.5s] So you head back to Beefy Stews and Thaddeus is sitting there waiting.
[4121.5s] So what did you find?
[4123.5s] Fucking nothing. Guy didn't have anything waiting for him.
[4128.5s] No, but he was waiting for someone or something to come down from the sky.
[4132.5s] Did you see him looking up?
[4134.5s] Yeah, I mean, he was clearly waiting for somebody,
[4136.5s] but whoever must have caught wind that, you know, maybe the jig was up
[4142.5s] or maybe they just had other things going on and didn't tell him.
[4146.5s] I don't know.
[4148.5s] I have a feeling from the look of frustration on his face
[4155.5s] that this is not the first time.
[4158.5s] I think he's been going back.
[4160.5s] I don't think anyone's been coming.
[4162.5s] Thaddeus says, so what are we going to do?
[4164.5s] Well, follow him again tomorrow.
[4166.5s] I mean, it's got to be the dragon or maybe Nerenvane, right?
[4169.5s] That's when he was acting all sketchy is when you were asking him about Nerenvane
[4172.5s] and someone said Nerenvade flies on the clouds or something,
[4176.5s] something poetic like that.
[4178.5s] But unless we catch him, how do we know?
[4181.5s] Thaddeus kind of has this look of consternation.
[4185.5s] And he says, well, it's not what he always looks like.
[4187.5s] Yeah, no, it's more so this time.
[4189.5s] He's like, fuck.
[4190.5s] And he gets up and he walks out of the building.
[4195.5s] I think he's too close to this, you guys.
[4198.5s] I guess we should probably follow him.
[4200.5s] He's heading directly towards Galen's house.
[4204.5s] Oh, I want to see where this turns out.
[4206.5s] Yeah.
[4207.5s] He goes in and you're following a bit behind.
[4212.5s] And you walk into the sitting chamber where you originally met Galen.
[4216.5s] And Thaddeus has Galen up against a wall by the scruff of the neck, screaming at him.
[4238.5s] Music in today's episode was by Kavin McLeod of Incompetech.Filmmusic.io.
[4243.5s] The Snuggly Duckling.
[4245.5s] Oh, that sounds nice.
[4247.5s] Yeah, sure, the Snuggly Duckling.
[4251.5s] Perfect.
[4252.5s] Can you name it the Snuggly Duckling?
[4254.5s] I think you can and did.
[4255.5s] That's from the movie Tangled.
[4257.5s] Oh, fuck.
[4258.5s] Isn't he going to come in here and sue us?
[4261.5s] I don't think so.
[4262.5s] Maybe.
[4263.5s] I don't want that shit.
[4264.5s] I had stew for dinner without a word of a lie.
[4268.5s] Really?
[4269.5s] It was a pork stew, but still it was stew.
[4272.5s] Wow, that's kind of amazing.
[4275.5s] What stew?
[4276.5s] It was a pork stew, pork and vegetables.
[4278.5s] I heard horse, which I wouldn't judge you for.
[4281.5s] Horse stew.
[4282.5s] Good ol' horse meat.
[4284.5s] Tom's family's very European.
[4286.5s] Gonna wait till the midnight.
[4290.5s] That's a good one.
[4291.5s] We used to sing that on the boat.
[4293.5s] We made it one hour before a song got sung, I think, because I couldn't find Franklin.
[4299.5s] So, wow.
[4300.5s] I couldn't let that one slide.
[4302.5s] It had to happen.
[4304.5s] Whoa.
[4305.5s] That's crazy.
[4306.5s] What's he screaming?
[4308.5s] Well, we'll find out next time on Dumbgeons & Dragons.
[4314.5s] Same dumb time.
[4316.5s] Same dumb channel.
[4318.5s] Dumbgeons & Dragons is a Dumb Dragons production.