SE07 EP09 - Just A Visitor

[00:00:02] Speaker A: Welcome, friends and adventurers to another episode of Dungeons and Blaggards. I am the dungeon Master, Robulon. Joining me in no particular order are the players. Brandon! [00:00:16] Speaker B: I am Ekurook Punschley, half orc blood hunter, Level 10, Dark Lord. [00:00:24] Speaker A: Eric! [00:00:25] Speaker C: I play Dr. Zozo Brightfeather, Level 10 Aarakocra artificer potionsmith. [00:00:32] Speaker D: Caleb! [00:00:34] Speaker E: I'm Kaitoa Tata. I'm a level 10 warforged barbarian. [00:00:40] Speaker A: Tomo! [00:00:41] Speaker G: Hey there. I'm playing Steve Tehuman. I am a human Gloomstalker Ranger, level six, Battle Master Fighter, level three. And a little bit of Rogue, level one. Vale! [00:00:56] Speaker H: I am playing Johawk. He is a gnoll champion fighter and totem warrior barbarian. [00:01:05] Speaker I: Hey, I'm Braeden. I'm playing half elf Beleg Dygar, hexblade warlock. [00:01:21] Speaker A: Well, we have a guest appearance on the show this episode. Leah, could you please introduce your character? [00:01:30] Speaker I: Hey, I'm Leah. I'm playing Leah. Not a coincidence. Oh, Leah's a sorcerer. Nice. And a badass. [00:01:44] Speaker A: All right, excellent introduction, Leah. Now let's get this session underway. [00:01:51] Speaker I: Yeah, for sure. [00:01:52] Speaker A: It will take place in the realm of dreams. The dream plane, where we find Beleg falling into a nightmare. Now you know you will be woken up by the little Tabaxi girl there who you tell the story of Krizblik to, Beleg This is before that. This is the nightmare that you have woken up to. And it is you in the Feywild Beleg. And there are shouts all around you. There are people running with weaponry into the Feywild fold. What are you doing? [00:02:33] Speaker J: So I recognize, do I recognize this place? And we're in the like a forest or a field or. [00:02:38] Speaker A: Yes, you are on the fringes of the Feywild. So this is where the pocket of Elfdom here that still exists sort of turns into that gravity defying folded area. But this is a strange now shouting going on that you have not heard before. It seems like there is a full call to battle and you hear shouts all around you. [00:03:06] Speaker J: And I'm surrounded by elves. [00:03:09] Speaker A: Yes, there are elves, half elves dressed in gray and they have long polearm weaponry. And they are running in one direction into the forest. And now they kind of go out of view. [00:03:22] Speaker J: Okay. I look down to see if I'm wearing the same clothing that they're wearing. [00:03:29] Speaker A: You are. [00:03:30] Speaker J: Well, if that's the case, I do a quick 360 and then run in after them. [00:03:35] Speaker A: Can you roll a perception Beleg? [00:03:39] Speaker J: You know I will. That's a 12 plus one 13. [00:03:44] Speaker A: Okay. It is not. [00:03:45] Speaker J: That's a good perception roll for me. [00:03:48] Speaker A: Yeah, I was gonna say it's not characteristic of Beleg. So you get at least the chance to halt your advance into this forest patch here. Because it seems all of these people have been slain. You see that whole dozen phalanx of - well, the Belegian Guard. These are your brothers. Slain. They're all dead in the forest around the trees. What do you do? [00:04:24] Speaker J: I see that. I pull up and do a 180 and run it in the other direction. And while I'm running, try and look back to see if I can figure out what attacked them. [00:04:38] Speaker A: Okay, Leah, can you roll a wisdom saving throw, please? And your stats will be a D20 plus four, [00:04:51] Speaker I: 15 [00:04:53] Speaker J: Wise. [00:04:54] Speaker A: Oh, 15 meets it beats it. So you are thrown off, Leah, because you seem to have had your dream hijacked. You are not disoriented, though, so this is a good thing. But you are at the mouth to a cave in a jungle, this wild jungle that you can only sort of dream of. But you clearly have had your dream in some way hijacked. You were asleep at the Jolly Jackalope in Lantin - nice little inn - and you are aware of your surroundings, so you can function. And this is a lucid dream. It's a waking dream. What do you do as you hear shouts of battle from the jungle? [00:05:47] Speaker I: Do I see anyone else around me or just the opening of the cave? [00:05:52] Speaker A: You do not. Oh! Except for one figure. There's a person in gray running from the jungle up towards this hill. [00:06:03] Speaker I: I'm gonna follow. Start running in their direction. [00:06:06] Speaker A: Like dovetailing with where they're going? [00:06:10] Speaker I: Yeah, I'm gonna follow and call out, hello! [00:06:15] Speaker A: Okay, Beleg in this you are of course totally caught off guard as you ran away from a slaughter. And as you look to your left, I gotta ask you to roll perception. [00:06:32] Speaker J: Ooh, even better than the last one. It's a 13 plus one. 14. [00:06:36] Speaker A: Odds or evens. Do you look left or do you look right? [00:06:41] Speaker J: Evens is right. Also, while I'm running, I'd like to say that I am looking for like a bush or something. Something I could hide into to see if I could catch my breath and get a grip on what's going on. [00:06:54] Speaker A: And so you chose the right or the left? [00:06:59] Speaker J: What did I say, Leah? [00:07:01] Speaker I: You said right was high. [00:07:03] Speaker J: Right odds. Okay, I rolled a three, so I do look right. [00:07:11] Speaker A: Well, as you look away from the bushes, there is clearly a gargantuan creature stalking along your same trajectory. You are being tracked. But then at the same time, you glance over to the right and there is a figure trailing you, and you trip over a root and fall flat on your face. You take. [00:07:35] Speaker J: No, not my nose. [00:07:37] Speaker A: 1D4 damage. [00:07:40] Speaker J: And, [00:07:42] Speaker A: yeah, you have fallen flat on your face. So, Leah, you also see a creature stalking through the jungle canopy. It's about to bear down onto this fellow in gray, and you notice. Can you roll a quick perception [00:08:01] Speaker I: 21. [00:08:01] Speaker A: 21. Okay. Well, you would know. Horrifyingly, you've heard of this sort of creature. It is known in some children's nightmares and fables and stories as a red frog. It is a red slaad. [00:08:26] Speaker J: Giant red frog. [00:08:28] Speaker A: Yes, a red frog. And this is a red slaad. [00:08:36] Speaker F: And this fellow in gray, of course, is just getting up. His face is covered in mud. But Also, with your 21, you notice he has very distinct elvish ears, clearly that of a half elf. About as high elf content as you're going to find in this world. [00:08:56] Speaker I: Do I recognize him [00:08:58] Speaker F: at the moment? No, but you're getting a feeling that you might. [00:09:02] Speaker I: Okay, can I run up to them without attracting more attention from the beast? [00:09:11] Speaker F: Certainly. Because this beast, I would say, is two or three strides away. As you see its form about to leap on to this gray figure that you're really starting to get a feeling, you know, whose waking dream you have been hijacked into. What would you like to roll? Athletics to do? Something fancy to get there. Intelligence to estimate if you can do this in time. Up to you. [00:09:38] Speaker I: All right, so I guess so. Sort of speed wouldn't be my strong suit. Then would I be more likely to go with something like an intelligence? [00:09:51] Speaker F: Yeah, sure. Let's lean that way. [00:09:54] Speaker I: Thinking maybe like a survival. Like, can I find a path that will get me to them? [00:10:00] Speaker A: Yes. Let's roll a plus three with survival. And you actually have proficiency in that. [00:10:07] Speaker I: 14. [00:10:09] Speaker A: Okay. If only this person could rouse themselves and quickly escape from this mud patch. I mean, you do see an opportunity to perhaps both help this person escape and perhaps waylay this creature that is totally about to leap into view completely. But you must act quickly. And Beleg just in this moment, dark mud drips from your face. You're okay, and you're just turning around, and you see a figure with red hair and a very familiar face. It is Leah. [00:10:51] Speaker J: All right, so I see Leah. She's running towards me, and there's a giant slag about to jump on me. [00:10:58] Speaker A: You will know that in moments, Beleg the character. [00:11:02] Speaker J: Okay, okay. So I just see Leah. [00:11:06] Speaker A: There is the slaad as you glance the other way, they are now equidistant. You sat in mud. She's just feet away. And this creature, clearly now it is breaking through. It is terrifying. What do you do? [00:11:24] Speaker J: I. I'm flabbergasted to see Leah and trying to process things. That I want to get up as fast as I can and prepare to jump either left or right. [00:11:35] Speaker A: Let's do joint athletics, guys. Can you guys both roll athletics? And Leah? I think we'll do a D20 plus two. [00:11:45] Speaker I: Thirteen. [00:11:46] Speaker J: Can I roll acrobatics instead if I want to do a handspring out of the way? [00:11:50] Speaker F: Sure. [00:11:52] Speaker J: 10 plus 6. So 16. [00:11:55] Speaker F: Okay. So combine that. Sue, are we cracking 30 guys? [00:12:00] Speaker J: I think that was 29. [00:12:05] Speaker F: Leah, I guess I'll just ask you to maybe in this clutch moment, we'll roll a quick strength as you try and grab Beleg's upper body. [00:12:15] Speaker I: It's not gonna be good. It's a five on the die. [00:12:18] Speaker A: Okay. I'm afraid you have also kind of, you know, slipped and gotten mud to a fair degree on you. And this slaad crashes down into the mud puddle here. And it is huge. I mean, we're talking about nine feet tall. A red frog from origins unknown. And here in the Feywild in Beleg's dream, you two, what are you doing? There's the cave half a mile away, up that hill back to the cave mouth. There's the jungle and the slaughter, and then there's this open area in between. [00:13:00] Speaker J: Would I know any of the like? Would I know that cave? Would I know the jungle? Would Beleg have an idea of where the better spot to go would be? [00:13:08] Speaker A: Oh, as you look at that cave, you would know that cave. [00:13:13] Speaker J: All right. I grab Leah's collar and try and pull her up. And I try and get up as well and say, let's go! Run to the cave! [00:13:21] Speaker I: Lead on. [00:13:23] Speaker A: you guys scramble to your feet. And this creature here, it has only been waylaid for a moment. And as you dash through the jungle undergrowth, there. Beleg, where precisely are you leading? [00:13:40] Speaker J: Straight to the cave mouth. [00:13:43] Speaker A: You see it coming up. There's those small waterfalls at this time of year in your dream in the Feywild, it seems to be late, late summer. And here the water is much lower. Your boots don't get wet at all. And your muddy footprints as you run in. I mean, you recognize this. You know exactly where the chamber of Anansewa is. And so here's the juncture right to the right down to the chamber of Ananseiwa. To the left. Not sure where that goes. And there you are at the cave mouth. The slaad is moments behind you, scrambling upwards. [00:14:24] Speaker J: Beleg doesn't want to introduce anybody to Anansewa, so we go left. [00:14:32] Speaker A: You immediately fall down like a 20 foot slippery rock slide. That used to be a nice tunnel, but now is all a rock slide. So you can both make dexterity saving throws? [00:14:47] Speaker I: 18 on the die. [00:14:49] Speaker A: Nice. Okay, so we'll add a plus two to that. So that's a 20. [00:14:52] Speaker J: 18 on the die as well. Plus three. So come on. [00:14:57] Speaker I: Okay, so you have really navigated the fall well. No broken legs, no twisted ankles. Let's see how the slide does. And then guys, you better scurry because you hear it coming down. And like a horrible demonic or some terrifying language - it did not save on that. [00:15:21] Speaker J: How wide is this passageway? [00:15:24] Speaker A: Five feet where it pinches. Very narrow and maybe ten at the max. But this chamber is all crowded with boulders and rock fallen debris. [00:15:36] Speaker J: While we continue running at the five, five foot choke point. Would like to just cast a quick bonfire on the ground to see if it deters the slab. [00:15:47] Speaker F: Nice. Okay, you cast the bonfire. Run down the corridor. And now it's quiet. There does not seem to be a pursuit. [00:16:00] Speaker J: What are. What? [00:16:01] Speaker I: Has it gone? [00:16:03] Speaker J: I've never seen anybody else in in these nightmares. What are you doing here? [00:16:07] Speaker I: Well, I could have asked you the same thing. Where are we? [00:16:12] Speaker J: We're in a very terrible, very special place to me [00:16:16] Speaker I: that's very unspecific. [00:16:19] Speaker J: Welcome to the Feywild. I figured you've been here before. [00:16:23] Speaker I: Have I? [00:16:26] Speaker A: Only in imagination. Never physically. And again, you are perfectly aware you're in some sort of waking or lucid dream. [00:16:37] Speaker I: Right. This is more your home than mine. I appear to just be a visitor. [00:16:45] Speaker J: I see that. [00:16:46] Speaker I: Have you any idea why I would be here with you? [00:16:49] Speaker J: I have no idea. It might have something to do with the Wizards Guild. [00:16:54] Speaker I: Hmm. Well. What are you doing - not here? The real you. I guess. [00:17:02] Speaker J: we're at the Wizards Guild. From what I understand, we're about to face a trial. [00:17:07] Speaker I: Have you seen Mem there then? [00:17:10] Speaker J: Have we seen Mem? No, but I have heard his name. [00:17:16] Speaker I: Interesting. [00:17:20] Speaker A: Guys, as you begin to converse there, a small trail of smoke from that bonfire is encroaching upon your position. So your tunnel here isn't quite level. And the smoke is now traveling upwards. You've gone down sort of a bit of a V shaped dip. [00:17:40] Speaker J: We're being smoked out a little bit. Leah, let's keep going. [00:17:46] Speaker I: All right. Lead on. [00:17:47] Speaker J: I run down and I end my concentration to make sure we don't get completely suffocated in case this leads to a dead end. Okay. [00:17:58] Speaker A: At the next juncture, there's again like a T intersection. And Beleg you have no knowledge of this juncture. [00:18:07] Speaker J: No. Right or left? [00:18:09] Speaker I: You're asking me? [00:18:12] Speaker J: I guess so. All right, this way. And I grab Leah right above her elbow and turn left. [00:18:23] Speaker A: Leah, as Beleg grabs you by the forearm and leads you on, you realize there is a small doll at this T intersection. And just as you whip around, there it is in the dust and debris. [00:18:39] Speaker I: What is that? [00:18:41] Speaker J: Is it my doll? Sounds like period medication. [00:18:47] Speaker K: Is it my-doll? [00:18:50] Speaker A: This is an unexpected endorsement from Midol. You never saw it coming. [00:18:58] Speaker M: Gosh. [00:19:02] Speaker F: Well, you ask that aloud, Beleg to Leah. And of course, Leah, you would actually know the answer to this question because Beleg has consulted you on this item. Yes. It's the doll that he has shown you in the past. [00:19:18] Speaker I: Yeah. Don't you recognize it? [00:19:21] Speaker J: There are many like it. I'm a little flustered right now. I recognize it now. Beleg reaches down and picks up the doll. [00:19:29] Speaker I: Seems like it'd be hard to forget [00:19:31] Speaker J: I'm flustered. [00:19:35] Speaker I: Fair enough. Is sort of a weird situation we're in. [00:19:39] Speaker J: Very much so. [00:19:40] Speaker I: Shall we keep moving? [00:19:43] Speaker J: Absolutely. I know this dream will end eventually. What do you. What do you know about Mem and the Guild and the High Magi? [00:19:52] Speaker I: Well, I mean, the last I spoke to Mem, he'd left Polb on business and I was supposed to stay and watch the shop, but I left right after because I was supposed to meet with my sister, but we missed that meeting and, well, here we are. [00:20:11] Speaker J: Your sister? [00:20:13] Speaker I: Yeah. [00:20:14] Speaker J: What were you to meet about? [00:20:18] Speaker I: Well, I'd rather not say right now. [00:20:22] Speaker J: Why is that? [00:20:23] Speaker I: I mean, I am in your dream, I think, but it doesn't necessarily mean I'm safe. You are you. So I don't want to give away all my secrets right now. I wonder whether you still have those Stones of Near Speech I lent you last time. [00:20:47] Speaker J: Beleg checks his pocket while Braden checks his equipment. [00:20:52] Speaker A: Oh, nice. That was like real SFX there. Well, you know what jingles in your pocket, Beleg is not the stone of near speech. It is small pebbles that you, the dream, you, has clearly kept in your gray drab sort of tunic here underneath your gray cloak. And, no, but, you know, you think about the waking you. And you sure hope that you remembered to pack your little rocky talkies. [00:21:21] Speaker J: I feel those two pebbles in my pockets, and I bring them out to present them to Leah and then realize that they're not actually the stones of near speech. [00:21:31] Speaker I: Those are lovely. They're not mine, though. [00:21:34] Speaker J: Well, waking Beleg has a better idea of where those stones are, I promise. [00:21:39] Speaker I: That's good. Hmm. Well, I'm. I'm in. I've been in Lantin. And, listen, how far are you from Matchpoint? Can you meet me there? [00:21:57] Speaker J: in Match? [00:21:58] Speaker I: Mmm. [00:22:00] Speaker J: Possibly in another dream, but not. Not right now. We're. We're pretty well imprisoned by the wizards guild right now. [00:22:09] Speaker I: Oh. Doesn't sound very good. [00:22:13] Speaker J: No shit. [00:22:17] Speaker I: I don't know if I can offer you much to help with that situation. [00:22:23] Speaker J: We can meet in Match if we escape. [00:22:27] Speaker A: Right. Can you roll a quick intelligence, Beleg? As your dream begins to fade, you have a bit of trouble now. Leah begins to sort of fade just a little bit in your waking dream. [00:22:45] Speaker J: That's a 16 minus 1. 15. [00:22:49] Speaker A: Well, meets it beats it. And so you feel like she didn't quite complete what she was saying. Did she say Match? [00:22:59] Speaker J: Well, I heard Matchpoint. But he doesn't know where that is. Or does he? [00:23:05] Speaker A: roll 1d4 for good old fate. Does Beleg know or remember Matchpoint? [00:23:12] Speaker J: Good old fate says one. [00:23:15] Speaker A: No. You have not been there. You can deduce where it is. Like you know, this must be a place around the point of match on the continent where there's the point the ferry from Lantin would go around, and you guys have sailed around that point. [00:23:32] Speaker J: Okay. [00:23:34] Speaker A: And Leah, you know, in this moment, too, you start to see the roof of the room in the inn of the Jolly Jackalope in Lantin. Like your dream is starting to be ripped apart. [00:23:50] Speaker J: Can I hand her one of the stones and say, hold on to this. Maybe it can keep us connected. [00:23:56] Speaker I: I already have something that can connect me to you. [00:24:00] Speaker J: My heart. [00:24:03] Speaker I: You wish. Listen, I just have to pass something along because it. I don't know, it might help you. My sister Emis, she warned me: Don't trust the priests of Jebda. They aren't what they seem. [00:24:21] Speaker J: Don't trust the priests of Jebda. Duly noted. [00:24:27] Speaker A: And as you share those words, suddenly the red Slaad charges towards both of you and charges right through Leah's dream form. [00:24:42] Speaker J: Oh, shit. [00:24:45] Speaker A: And you are now, thank goodness, you are transported out of the dream because this thing was making a beeline right through your dream apparition towards Beleg. But unfortunately, Beleg, this is your dream. And the red slaad bowls you over in the tunnel and is now tumbling and falling down into one of those precipices that was waiting right behind you. And all fades to black Beleg [00:25:21] Speaker J: Well, tits [00:25:25] Speaker A: and Leah, you wake up startled in the Jolly Jackalope. Of course, you've paid for a single room here. And it's very early, very early indeed. You think now about your one contact in Lantin at the Triton Athenium. And in your hand you are clutching your Stone of Far Speech. [00:25:52] Speaker I: Well, that'll come in handy. [00:25:56] Speaker A: Is there anything else you would do in this moment, Leah? [00:26:03] Speaker I: I don't know. I think sort of make sure she's not leaving anything behind. And also, I think, test the Stone of Far Speech and see if she can actually get in touch with Beleg right now. [00:26:18] Speaker A: Okay. So anything left behind, well, you don't want to forget anything important. And so, you know, as you look around, you would be grabbing your satchel and your traveling gear and, oh, here's a very nice walking stick that Leah travels with. And then you look for - well, where would Leah keep, like, a very important trinket or ring? [00:26:43] Speaker I: I think on a chain around her neck. [00:26:46] Speaker A: Would it maybe be in a small concealing thing? So it's not even obvious that it's a ring? It's that important. [00:26:54] Speaker I: Sure. If I have something like that, [00:26:56] Speaker A: what do you think it would be? Wood, leather, anything. Give us some flavor. [00:27:02] Speaker I: I like a little chainmail pouch maybe lined with satin. [00:27:08] Speaker A: It's a chainmail pouch. [00:27:10] Speaker J: What color is the satin? It's important. [00:27:14] Speaker I: It's gotta be green, right? [00:27:16] Speaker A: Oh, that makes a lot of sense. [00:27:18] Speaker I: Like forest green. [00:27:21] Speaker A: Green like the green magic in this world. The magic of longevity and resurrection and restoration. The providence and the secret of the ancient elves. Oh, green for elves, Leah. So this bag, to the untrained eye, would look like a small droplet of chainmail lined with green. [00:27:46] Speaker I: Yeah. [00:27:48] Speaker A: And so you tap the Stone of Far Speech, it'll make a small vibration. As long as it's near to somebody's skin, as long as it's kind of on their person. And Beleg as you are currently at the wizards guild awaiting trial with the rest of the party, that is where we are going to have to leave you tonight on this episode of Dungeons and Blaggards. And now let's take a moment to thank Leah for joining us tonight. That was great. [00:28:22] Speaker I: Thanks. [00:28:25] Speaker J: Thank you, Leah. [00:28:26] Speaker I: Thanks, everybody. That was really fun. [00:28:29] Speaker F: New Leah sounds way better than old Leah. [00:28:33] Speaker O: Yeah, totally. I was like, oh, this is actually convincing. [00:28:38] Speaker I: Oh, thanks. That was really fun for me too. [00:28:42] Speaker J: I too, had fun. [00:28:46] Speaker I: This was great. [00:28:50] Speaker A: And that is where we will have to leave you. Until the next time on Dungeons and Blaggards. [00:29:58] Speaker J: Braeden wants to know what would have happened if I led her to Anansewa's chamber. But I know that Beleg wouldn't wish anybody to meet Anansewa, so. [00:30:10] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. What do you think about the slaad? [00:30:14] Speaker J: I got excited about the slaad. [00:30:17] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. [00:30:18] Speaker J: That was. That's fun. I'm hoping the slaad makes more than just a dream appearance. [00:30:24] Speaker A: Yeah. Hmm.