Perception

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So check him out today and show him some support. Let's do that thing where we go around the table and introduce ourselves. I'm Jason, I'm the Dungeon Master. Going around the table, start with Rachel. Hi, I'm Rachel and I play Devine Brayhart. And Kelsey. Hi, I'm Kelsey and I play Aria LeFayah. And Rob. Hey, I'm Rob, I play Malchus Grimnest, Carriage Enthusiast. Best carriage, guys. We got the best carriage. I'm a paragon to your carriage enthusiast now, so... Speaking of which, speaking of carriages, guys, last time on the show, you guys... You guys have been hanging out in Durn Hollow and things could be going better, they could be going a hell of a lot worse.

Unfortunately, you lost Duncan. He went off to go find Yenward and reunite, quote-unquote, the team, get things back on track, after having a bit of a disagreement with Theo. Theo was not exactly pleased that the woman he thought he was romancing was actually a prostitute, and sort of had words with Duncan. But you did end up meeting Aria formally. The party did. Malchus was a little wary of Aria, maybe thinking that she was a spy or assassin, and kind of gave her the third degree. But you did end up having a nice, pleasant meal at the Honest Harlot, and then it was kind of decided that she was going to tag along for a bit.

And your brand new, stunningly average carriage... I'm debating what to name it. Cool things have names like the Enterprise. I just want to call this the Adequacy. The Disappointment. The Tolerable. I like that. Oh my god, poor guy, he worked so hard. The Conveyance. I'm gonna give him pie. He's the one that rolled a 1. I don't think he worked that hard at all. I know! He wanted to work hard. Well you could work really hard and just suck for some reason. Maybe he's having an off day, maybe he had the flu, I don't know. But for whatever reason, it's not good. What made it worse is halfway through he realized it wasn't going well.

And then it just... Anyway. How's about we pick things up. You guys were pretty much getting on the road, right? You were leaving Durn Hollow and heading toward Winterhaven in your new, gorgeous carriage. Yes, that's what we were doing. I guess the question is who would like to do me a favor and roll a flat d20 to see how well this goes. I think Kelsey should. No, I am not doing it. Here's the thing, you guys have not... Should Theo do it? Ah, Shmalkus did it! There you go! See? That is average! It's so average! We'll call it tolerable! Right, Shmalkus! I will take tolerable over disastrous.

I will take it. Good ten, good ten. So, while we're riding in this carriage, who's driving, by the way? Who's driving the carriage? I can totally drive the carriage. Awesome. Alright. I picture Tevin driving the carriage being like Tevin standing on the back bumper and drawing the reins all the way over the carriage. So that the horses are weighing it down in the front and that she's weighing it down. Well, Theo has his armor so they can kind of count on that. There we go. And I have my hat on, guys. I thought we'd agreed that Theo would be the carriage driver at some point.

We probably did, yeah. I said I'd share with him. Okay. Okay, okay. So they'll share. Is there anything you guys would like to talk about while you're on your way? Because this, I would imagine, that, let me see, it is the sixth of Thorim right now, currently. You guys are on the road. It's a pretty decent day out. It's not terrible at all weather-wise. Nice breeze. Gorgeous little breeze kind of blowing through the carriage. It's almost like air conditioning, right? And you're not breaking any speed records, but it's comfy as shit. As opposed to riding on a horse or walking.

Oh my god, this beats that hands down. Plus, you guys don't have to carry packs and shit. You can just have it next to you in the carriage. It's beautiful. I don't know why groups don't do this more. I'm a trendsetter. Because he's petting goats. Yeah. I think at some point, I would definitely break out the snacks I bought. So the pastries and things, and offer them to Malkus and Arya. And Theo, of course. That's not to say not Theo'd. And not Theo'd. Malkus is taking your snacks and eating, and he's like, "Mm, very good, very good." And you can just see he's absentmindedly running his finger over uneven stitching and things like that.

And he's just not as good at this as he does. He can't focus on anything else other than the little things that are wrong with this carriage. Would it be super obvious to everybody? Probably. He's basically stone still, one fist under his chin, looking out the window absentmindedly. And so the only motion in his body is just his fingers repeatedly running over the stitch over and over again. Great. And then you occasionally hear, "700 gold pieces." (laughter) 700. Dern hollow. Well, when the food comes out, Arya would be very much focused on the food. She probably would hesitate and wait until everyone else started eating, but then she would be very happy to have her fill.

And then aside from that, she'd probably be sketching, and she keeps a notebook where she sketches and notes of things, mainly wildlife and stuff. So she'll probably be looking out the window, and if she sees anything interesting, or just trees in general, she's probably doing that. Theo. Theo as a character is not incredibly perceptive when it comes to the world around him. He's not incredibly world-weary. He's not even generally informed about a lot of things. But I feel like he does have empathy, if nothing else. He's good at looking at other people and thinking, "Are you okay, buddy?" I feel like that's kind of the tact he would take with Malkus.

If he looked genuinely distraught over the carriage, I feel like he'd even get that tone. He would kind of shift. I don't know if he could really move very comfortably in the armor, but he would just shift. It's not that bad. We can clean it up a little bit, but it's really comfy. Just trying to highlight the positives in it. I mean, I paid for it, and I'm not going to not take the carriage, but... Ugh. It'll get better. We'll find ways to fix the things that are wrong with it, I know. But... And it is better than walking. It really is. It's just so... middling.

Well, I've never had a carriage before, ever, so this is... It's kind of amazing. Okay, when we were walking, that was okay, and when we were riding horses, that was... The walking wasn't too fun after getting the armor, but I mean... We just get to lay back? And if you're in for all our stuff, I mean, it's pretty cool. You know, one time after... And he just kind of waves his warlock rod, after all these powers developed. And I was starting to protect my mother and the pawn shop and her interests and things like that. We had a business dealing with a visitor from town, came from far away.

It was a magnificent carriage, okay? You saw this gilded work of art traveling through the streets, and you knew that the person in that was a somebody. And when I got to ride in it with my mother and the businessman... We knew we were somebody too, you know? We got to bask in the luxury of it. It's... You've got to project an image of success and organization that can get you places. Places that you might otherwise have no right or leverage to get to. Just... I mean, look at the stitching. This is not going to... This is comfortable, and it's getting us places comfortably.

It's an improvement upon walking. But this is not a carriage that opens doors, Theo. That's the carriage I want. That's the Malchus Grimnus carriage. Okay. And we can fix the stitching, and we can make it pretty. I mean, right now it's kind of like an ugly dog. I mean, you can love an ugly dog. It's just not gonna... Okay, that's probably not the analogy I want to give. It isn't. No, it's not. No one's helping. No. Okay, okay. How about this? You want to open doors, and you want people to know you're coming, and right now we're going to a city where tons of people know who you are.

Or I knew who you were before I even really... I mean, I didn't know who you were right away, but she did, so you're known in certain places. I'm sure there's tons of people in Winterhaven who want to get one-on-one. You know what's going to happen when I roll into Winterhaven in this... Anyone who knew me, you know what they're going to think? What happened? Knighthood was... it was... That was something. That was a foundation. We need to see if that still stands. That's another pathway to leverage. Can you be un-knighted? I don't know. I haven't been back.

Quite a while. And there's, of course, the questioning issue hanging over my head. Oh, okay. Okay, you brought it up. I'm really glad. And he's going to gesture over to Arya again. Okay. Arya was concerned, let's say, about certain events that may have happened in and around Winterhaven. What actually happened? What are you afraid of people really doing when we get there? Because it sounds like they just want to talk to you. They want to talk to me in relation to questionable actions I took to succeed in a desperate situation. I don't sit here and not feel any conflict over the things I did.

But at the end of the day, when you're facing a superior force, you do what it takes to win. You look at the people who have trusted you and said they're going to go out on that battlefield and fight for you. And you say they're the ones that get to go home to their children. And those other guys over there don't because I'm not working for them. And they're not the good guys. So you do what you have to. Thea would glance over to Arya, just kind of like, "Huh? Isn't that reassuring?" She has been, when they start talking, paying attention and then, as the conversation goes on, I've been actually looking at them.

So she is kind of looking at Malchus and then... Arya, have you ever looked at someone and said, "Well, you're insisting on doing something that is going to harm or kill people I love, and you're not going to stop, so you have to die." I haven't to that extent. May I ask what it is exactly that you did that no one ever really said anything? It's just bad. You remember the war forged? She'll nod. I'm assuming that she would. Thea would also nod. Well, your...anyone's children will only read of them in historical accounts. I was given the power to end them, and considering the quantity that were part of the opposing force, I took the chance.

It left some collateral damage, true, but so many of them were bearing down on places and people that I had determined to protect that at the end of the day, you look at the math and you push the button. Her eyes are gonna glide at that. That's...you just...how would that even...you just wipe them all out? The mages in Umunyirra, they had a tool, a poison pill, a final safeguard in case things ever went terribly wrong. I was able to convince them to provide it to me, and I did what had to be done. And it did have to be done. You don't sit there and ponder and become wishy-washy when you're trying to win a war.

You do what needs to be done to protect the people you love and the people who trust you and the people who are on your side. Because the other faction, they're not suddenly going to go all soft once they defeat you. They're going to punish or torment or torture or eradicate your people. The end goal of war doesn't just roll to a stop at the end of the battlefield. There are people who didn't volunteer for the fight, who will get hurt when the war leaves the battlefield. So you do what it takes to make sure that it doesn't leave the battlefield in your yard.

She'll kind of flinch and look away, but your reasoning makes sense to me. I don't know what I would have done or what I think about it, but that makes sense to me. And I think that you might have done the right thing there. And if you can just explain that to the people in Winterhaven, then isn't that what they just want anyways? I don't really understand the whole situation there, but... Well, one would hope that it would be this easy once I get there. Who knows what the situation is politically, or if anyone is held over bad blood or suspicions or perhaps won't listen to my side of things.

But I need to know if I can be a part of what I was in Winterhaven again. After the incident, I went into hiding because I didn't think people would understand the measure that I was willing to take to win that war. I sincerely hope I was in error going into hiding. And, well, if that's not the case, I play the hand I'm dealt. We'll see what comes of it, but just be aware. Wherever you're going, wherever you're traveling with us, staying in my company does not put you in situations where it's easy to sleep at night. You are welcome with us, but just be aware.

It's not easy. It's not for everyone. It's been a long time since I was able to sleep at night, or risk getting hurt or something else. But for what it's worth, I'm sorry. Well, thank you. I appreciate your understanding. It doesn't sound like you had a lot of choice, Malkus, so I'm sure we can explain it. I don't think they'd want to talk to you without giving you a chance to tell your side of it, so we'll be there in case they need extra convincing. I mean, I feel like I know you a bit. You're a pretty good guy. I'm glad you see it that way. Unfortunately, one man's desperate measure is another man's grievous and vain and earth-shattering decision.

Well, how many Warforged were on your side? Well, a tiny fraction of the number that were arrayed against us. The estimates were that anywhere from 85 to 90% of all the Warforged in the world were being used as tools for this army. But the thing is that on the battlefield, nobody gets to pick and choose who dies, right? Nobody, you know, the soldiers go out and who dies? The man who's a drunkard in his off time, or the man with a family to feed? It's chaos. I looked at the numbers and I said, well, I can decimate the enemy troops. We lose a few of our own.

And yes, a few innocent, completely unrelated Warforged are collateral damage. But it was better than just letting the fickle fate of the battlefield decide. Well, we'll talk to them and we'll try and help them see that. And he's going to turn around. Right, Devine? Yeah. Yeah, I mean, you gotta just let him hear you out first and we'll make sure that you get hurt at least. Hopefully they will be as understanding as those of you are, but there's a difference between people who travel these roads and climb down into caves in search of relics, fight wars, and just everyday people.

Anyone from merchants to politicians, they don't get their hands dirty like we do. We're the ones who do what has to be done. We're the ones who understand that not every decision is clean and happy and clear. We're all people. I don't think it's really as different as you say. And if they are good people, then they'll want to hear you out. My experiences so far say otherwise, but as I've said, I do hope I'm wrong. I'll ask you guys a question. At a certain point, you're going to make it, let's see, I would say three quarters of the way to Augury before Nightfall sets in.

Which means you'd have a few more hours on the road before you'd actually reach town. Are you guys making camp or are you just going to try and push through? How tired are the horses? After, I would say, a nice eight, nine, ten hours on the path, they start to get pretty tuckered out. That's pretty much what the benchmark is. Okay, then we should stop. Yeah. I'm still thinking of names for them, guys. We don't let our horses fall into pits with spikes in them. Wow. They didn't try for, poor group four. We don't ride our horses into pits with spikes. Boy, I got, we got messages.

But we got messages about that. Man, they didn't, they were not happy about a horse dying. People are fine, but man. You catch a horse? It's all over. So, you guys are going to set up camp and kind of break for the day here. So this is going to be dusk, setting up nice crackling fire, kind of off the beaten path here. Let, you know, not too far away from the road, but at the same time. Is there anything else you guys want to chit chat about or just pretty much stop for the night and get some rest? I think the only thing is, uh, Tavine would pitch her a few names that she's maybe thought of, but other than that.

Okay, let's do that. So, cause she, she's talking to Aria the night before about helping name the horses. So after like everybody's kind of settled down, she might like, you know, walk up next to Aria and like plop down and be like, okay, so I've got a couple of names in mind. You said you were going to help me name them. You know, Tavine will point to the one horse that's, I'm going to say is a little darker and we're going to say it has like a little white patch on its forehead. And she's going to be like, I'm thinking Faywin for that one. What do you think?

That's a really good name, but I like it a lot. And then I'm not sure if I like, if I like Areli or Avini for the other one. I like Avini. It's cute. Sold. Faywin and Avini. And she's going to be like, like kind of do that, you know, where you like elbow somebody like gently like cool. Unless you have any other names that work better. No, no, those are perfect. You're good at that. Thanks. So how are you enjoying the trip so far? It's been really nice. I mean, the carriage is definitely the way to go. She'll kind of look up at the sky and still not really used to the whole open air thing, but it's it's really it's I like it.

Yeah, it's a it's a nice night out tonight. Be ashamed of something happened, Jason. Sure would. Like so. No, even though the carriage didn't come out what we hoped for, at least it's been comfortable and, you know, saved our feet and our backs a bit as far as carrying gear and things. I mean, it's the nicest carriage I've ever seen. So have you ever been to Aubrey? I haven't. No, I really haven't traveled around much, honestly. I mean, have you ever been? No, I've never been to Aubrey. So it's a new experience for us both. She'll kind of look over at Malchus and Theo.

I'm guessing they're kind of around. Have you guys ever been to Aubrey? I've been through. Theo would kind of shake his head. I've never been this far west, really. Why are we going to Aubrey? I thought Malchus's goal was Winterhaven. It's just a matter of taking the well-traveled roads. It's a better way to avoid criminals and monsters and so on and so forth. If nothing else, we'll pass through and restock and just be on our way. It's just a relatively safe stop on the way to Winterhaven is all. She'll not. We might be able to ask about what happened the other night as well with the weird earthquake.

Maybe they know something. I wonder if they did feel it this far away. I mean, it was, it felt big. So I assume that it would have spread a long way away. That's a big earthquake though, isn't it? Yes, it was very big. She'll kind of shudder a bit. So, and Taveen's going to look questioningly at Arya. Where were you? Were you in the inn as well or were you somewhere in town? I was still, I was almost at Durnhollow, but I was still on the road. I mean, it was definitely something. And you didn't see anything like large monsters, flying dragons, stampeding ogres that would have caused it?

Did she see anything, Jason? Nothing like that. Yeah, okay. So I'll just like shake her head. I didn't see, no, it was just out of the blue. But I mean, with something as large as that, it could have been from hundreds of miles away. I mean, it was really bad. I can only imagine what it would have been like underground. Yeah. So you came from somewhere underground? I know some drow live underground, some live on the surface here, but you came from an underground community? She'll nod. I spent the first few years of my life above, but then I moved. Neelu, that was the city that we were kind of in, but she'll kind of shrug.

For the last several years, I was underground. Yeah. Hmm. Can't say I'm familiar with it myself, but you probably know more than any of us about earthquakes and those sorts of things. Earthquakes are good when you live in tunnels. They're not so great on the surface either. In any case, we can certainly keep asking around about it when we get to Aubrey. Like you said, odds are the source is something powerful. Hopefully not malevolent as well. But the more people we can ask, the more information we can gather. Sounds good. Yes, we'll follow any leads we find.

Certainly need one way to make a name for ourselves. Figuring out what did this, stopping it, or preventing it from happening again. Okay, Morgan. Just going to look at you and smile like, "Mm-hmm. Can make a name for ourselves." It is a nice way to get rewarded, you know, if you're well known for doing something good and not ending a species. I would like to be famous for something other than that thing. But would you want to be known for the same thing that Morgan is known for? Probably not. Then I wouldn't spew anything about wizardmen when we get there.

No plans, Tavine. No plans. Theo would speak up. Malchus, how did you get knighted then? Well, I got together with some other adventuring types and we managed to rescue the daughter of a lord from a dungeon. The knighthood was nice while we were in Winterhaven, let's just say. That's going to sound like fantasy to Theo. Just like wrapped awe is the expression. Just like, "Wow." That's the shit out of storybooks. Because in Brightport, basically, it's like, "I sold a bunch of things for a lot of money." That's basically how I got to be where I am in Brightport.

Or I got stabbed. Or you sell drugs or slaves or something. Something terrible. The people who are the upper echelon in Brightport, usually it's one of those things. "Oh, I saved the Lord's Dog." That kind of thing. It's just, "Wow." That's the kind of stuff out of books. Yeah, Aria will also look visibly impressed. I have had a varied career. But one thing I have learned from it is that when you can do the dangerous things that good people don't want to have to do themselves, they tend to keep you comfortable. And you tend to be accepted, particularly in communities where they're less familiar with red skin and horns.

Well, at least with a reputation like that... Hopefully that'll help you out. Well, but yes, I've had a varied career. Everything from knighthood to crime to, I'm not sure if you would call it time travel or stasis or something else entirely. You learn to roll with the punches. And Tharia punches hard. Said time travel? I don't know for sure if it was time travel or hibernation or whatnot. Are you familiar with the Drauk? Am I familiar with Drauk, Jason? Holy shit, I think it's time for a roll on the table, guys. Give me a history check. It's almost like we're playing a game.

Yeah, I guess Tevino and Theo should also roll. Oh yeah. Theo is very intelligent. I'm sure he's great as a plate. I'm going to decorate Theo for Christmas. He's festive, he's just not bright. We should decorate Theo for Christmas. He did as well as Tevino. His modifier is so low. He's not book learned. Let's see, 16. Everyone's kind of had some introductions. It's very much like everybody's heard the name Genghis Khan. Whether you know a lot about them is up for debate, but everyone kind of gets the gist. A 29, Arya would be pretty well versed in all the stories and legends of Drauk and all that stuff.

It would be pretty much like someone mentioning someone very modern day. It's like, "Oh, yeah, I know all about them." Arya's a nerd, by the way. Arya will nod very enthusiastically. Well, in an attempt to raid his tomb for weapons and treasures and so on, an artifact was shattered. By the time we came out of the tomb, 17 years had passed, though it had only seemed like moments to us. Wait, you raided Drauk's tomb? Far in the snowy north. How? That's a myth. You...wow. Some days are better than others. Some days you're raiding a tomb, other days you're doing things that you'll regret.

And then you just...17 years, that's... The world changed a lot in my absence. And in fact, that reminds me that what I did in the war is not the only thing hanging over my head. Certainly, some blame me for the rise of a tyrant in the first place. It's complicated. I've been places. It's... Clearly. It's complicated. Well, I'd honestly like to press you for more details about the whole Drauk thing at least, but... Honestly, you should probably get some sleep right now. You always can another time. It's like first thing in the morning. Doreen smiles like, "We can learn more." Alright, is this a situation where someone's kinda taking watch or are we just going to bed?

Probably would want a set of watches. Oh, absolutely. I feel like that's standard protocol, but I ask. I just cannot know how to sleep without having a watch. So you guys are gonna get some rest and kind of relax. It's been a really long day. I feel like you guys kind of talked a little bit into the night and then you got nice and comfy. People are kind of settling down. They've eaten, all that. Around the Therian equivalent of like 3, 3.30 AM, somewhere in there. You guys are ticking over. It's the next day. It is the seventh of Thorim. Now, let's see here.

Do me a favor. Everyone... Who would be up around this time, would you figure? Let's roll a d4. See who would have been. I feel like Arya would volunteer to take whatever the darkest time would be just because she's a drow. Okay, well, once sun sets, sun kinda sets. So let's say it's Arya. Okay. Arya, do me a favor. Roll a perception check. Okay. Naturally. Naturally, I roll so high. I know all about Drauk. Everyone else, we're just going to use your passive perceptions. So let's see what we got. 24. Just let me know. Thank you. You're coming in a little low too now, Rachel.

Can we use my passive instead? I will also note, if it matters, I do have a feat, the alertness thing, which means I can't be surprised. Okay. So just let me know if that matters. Okay. I do not have that, so I'm gonna die. That's okay. So here's what's gonna happen. 24, yeah. Arya's gonna hear this and Tevin's gonna wake up and hear this. In the distance, seemingly pretty far distance, there is going to be a horrific sound. It's gonna sound like, it's gonna sound sort of like rending metal mixed in with some sort of gigantic creature roaring. That's kind of what it sounds like.

There's a presence in it that Arya has never heard. And being a drow from underground has seen horrible things. There's some terrible, terrible things in there. This seems really, really on the huge side, being as how it doesn't sound like it's anywhere near. But I would say that that's gonna catch Arya's attention. And then if, this is up to you, if you want to run and get everyone up, or if you want to just sort of crane your neck in that direction, see if you can see something. She's definitely gonna immediately spring up and be looking directly at, like as far as she can tell, wherever the noise came from.

Okay. Do me a favor, give me one more perception. Come on. God damn it! It was on at 19 and it tilted over. God damn it! Tevin, by the way, I wanted to ask you, did you want to do the same thing? Because this would have definitely been something you heard. Quick question before I answer? Sure. Would the horses be reacting? Oh yes, there'd be. She would immediately jump up and try and make sure the horses didn't bolt. Okay, yeah, they're, okay. So probably wouldn't look. Alright. Shit, shit, shit. Do it. So this, this, this, this would just be a thing. It'd be off in the distance and definitely, definitely large.

Sounds aerial and that would be all that, that Aria and Tevin would know about it. But after, after a few moments, it's going to pass. Aria will turn and help with the horses. Yeah. What was that? Did you see anything? She'll shake her head and... Uh, maybe we should, uh, call it an early, early morning and get up, get on our way to Aubrey. That sounds like a good idea. She'll turn back towards the group, kind of again, looking towards where the sound came from and Tevin can see that for, like, her eyes are white. Like all white? Yeah. So her eyes aren't normally white?

No. Oh, okay. I thought maybe they were just like, you could tell at night easier because they, like, Cat's Eyes, you can see the light shine. Do Drow Eyes do do that? The little, like, reflection thing though? Because that'd be cool. Like being able to see them in the dark? Because, yeah, there's, there's, it's, I always imagine kind of something like that. That's so cool. Okay. But yeah, no, that's not that. Creepy orbs and what? Completely, like, white eyes. Like, not normal. Okay. And I'm assuming Tevin would pick up on that. She's probably like, are you okay?

Oh, um, she'll kind of shake her head and blink a few times and then it's gone. But sorry, I was just on edge. That didn't, I mean, that didn't sound good and luckily it didn't sound near us. That's what I was going to say. So I guess we'll wake up the others. Yeah, I was saying if you want to, if you want to wake up the others, I can go ahead and get the horses ready. She's, she's probably going to wake up Theo and have him wake up Malchus. Not anything against Malchus, but just, I mean, the other day he was threatening to ruin her face off and she's a bit wary of surprising him in the middle of the scene.

Theo would be very sleepy. Oh no. But yeah, he would, he would, he would get Malchus up and... Malchus has been sleeping inside the carriage. Nice. Fuck this ground stuff. I don't know what's wrong with you guys. Velvet cushions. It's actually like a futon in the inside. You can pop it down to like a bed. It folds down. But because of its mediocrity, it's a little in the lot. Like there's the land and you can feel that it's tilted in one direction and yeah. Feel the bar in the middle. Ah, it's not perfect. See you guys are getting back on the road. Yeah. Would there be any urgency about telling either Theo or Malchus?

I mean, I imagine when she's waking up, once they're both awake, at least I don't know if Tevene would be there, but Ari would be like, "We heard something that was loud and not like anything I've ever heard before. And I've heard a lot of bad things. We don't think it was near here, but it's probably best if we just go ahead and get to Aubrey." I can agree with that. Certainly better safe in a community. Quick question, Jason. Could we tell which direction it came from? Let me see. Aria could have. Yeah, Aria, that would have been much more like southern.

Okay. Like kind of a southeasterly direction. Okay. Theo would be making any case to go back to sleep and just kind of be like, "Who's probably a wolf or something?" Just kind of... No, honey. No, honey. You can rest in the carriage. Yeah, you can sleep in the carriage. I'll drive. Oh, he would totally do that. He would curl up like a baby. Aww, no. Theo would boost him up into the carriage and be like, "Let's get on the road." So you guys are going to continue. Let's see. About... Yeah, this will still be really early morning. You guys are going to get to Aubrey.

The town's still kind of sleepy and quiet. Like you'd see a couple of merchants kind of setting up some stuff. No one with an actual reputable business, like a building, but a lot of like, "Oh, I sell fruit." That kind of thing. People sell apples or melons, that type of thing. They would be kind of getting their things together. But it's around like 6, 6.30 in the morning, something like that. I have a question. Hit me. It's an important question. Okay. Can I make an insight check to see how people are receiving the sight of a carriage? You absolutely can.

I just want to know if they're impressed. Okay, I have a question. I love it. I have a question and it's an important question. Sure, go on. Is Malkus silently, very stealthily peering out between the velvet to see if they're impressed? Or is this just full out staring? He doesn't care. It is somewhere between the two. He's trying not to look like he cares, but he definitely cares. Gotcha. So he's like, "Oh, I'm casually looking this way because I don't know, I just felt like it." But then it's also like, "Oh, there's a guy over there. Let me just take in his facial expression." Okay, let's do it.

Give me that insight. That famous Grimness insight. Alright, that's a nine. I don't have a great read. Total of nine. Yeah, Jason, that famous Grimness insight plus six. We're more charisma based. Okay, look, the female Grimnesses are more insightful, whereas the male Grimnesses are more stabby. Heirloob God of all issues. Okay, there, okay. To Malkus, there would be a definite sense of there's eyes on you. Like that is, okay, when you get close, you'll see little imperfections and stuff. And yes, the monogram isn't completely centered or level. Yeah, okay. But it's still, it's still a nice carriage.

Like it's still one of those things. It's like it's not even considered a fixer-upper necessarily. It's just, it's like, wow, man, some effort was put into that. Cool. Because most people are just on horseback or they're, they'll just kind of like walk or something. So most people would probably either think that you're a merchant or something like that. Like you're coming, you're going town to town to sell some kind of like some new elixir or something like that. I picture like the equivalent of a 2010 Escalade. It's like still an Escalade, but it's older.

Yeah. It's like, yeah, I mean like whatever. I mean, it has a CD player. I guess that's cool. Would this be, would this be a thing where you guys are stopping in town, you want to take a break or are you just kind of like riding through? Because it's still really early in the morning. I thought we were going to stop at least for a bit. Well, if nothing else, like even just passing through to ask like, Hey, number one, did anyone feel that earthquake? Number two, did anyone hear that Rippin' Metal sound? Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Like just kind of a basic, like, let's, let's kind of just like, like dip our toe in the water and get a feel for like, did people hear or feel these suspicious things?

Sure, let's do it. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. So you want to talk to like one of these fruit stand guys, something like that? Yeah. Because they're out and about. You're not going to bother them. What's that? A streetwise? Yeah, let's do it. All right. I would like to buy fruit for the horses while we're doing this. I see. That's, that's. Ooh, that'll grease the wheels. People like it when you buy from them. Yeah. I'll be good cop, you be bad cop. Got it. Okay. Yes. You know what? Because you're buying something, we're going to add a plus two to that roll. All right. Total of 25.

Nice. Gorgeous. So you're going to get some, let's say apples. Let's just, because melons for horses just won't do. Yeah, that'll do. Just crack it in half and like hold a half of them. Yeah. I totally pictured that. So getting some, getting some, I almost said horse apples. That's not, that's not, no. So asking about the earthquake there is going to definitely, the lovely gentleman you're talking to, his name Derek. And right off the bat. Did just, God, yeah, you felt that too? And he would want to get a sense of like, where were you? How far were you away? That, that type of thing.

Because they figured it was just like a localized earthquake type thing. And if you were to tell him, oh, we were over in Durn Hollow, like it would be a sense of like, wow, that is, you felt it that far away? Which is probably something you guys are thinking. Yeah, yeah, definitely. That's, that's, that's huge to, yeah, yeah. And then about the screeching metal thing. Yes, there also, that's been kind of the talk of the town for the day so far because there, you know, there have been reports and stuff about, you know, hearing that noise very far in the distance, but still hearing it.

No real sighting of anything though. So it's more just, what the fuck was that? That sounds horrific. And combined with the, combined with the shaking the other day, like people are a little on edge. Though Aubrey has its own problems. No Aubrey. And those would be what? Vampires. Oh, I thought you were going to say Lizardmen. No, they have actual problems. Lizardmen are a real problem, Jason. It's a problem in this community. The plague. With a 25, yeah, that's another thing you'd be picking up. Although Malkus already knows that they've had problems with vampires.

You know, that's, that's just been, that's just been a thing here, sadly. Made to sell him a rock that keeps Lizardmen away. I got a merchant you can talk to. Malkus says, well, all right, all these, these strange things have been happening lately. Is there any, any person or organization in town that you would typically go to, to try to get these sorts of things answered? He's going to really reflect on this. No. No, not really. No, I mean, you can go to the temple and they'll look through books and stuff and maybe, but no, not really. No. Oh yeah, yeah.

Malkus just kind of remembers. He's like, when he, when he says the temple, I'm like, didn't we know someone? Oh yeah, that, that Clarissa girl. Yeah. So he's like, you know what? I think that would be, that would be someone worth dropping in on. Even, even if she doesn't know any more about the situation, it'd be nice to say hi. She was pleasant. Let's, let's go to the temple. Aria, you'll like Clarissa, I promise. Okay. I mean, it has books, so it should be interesting. Onward and forward. So again, early in the morning. So the temple's not crazy active yet.

Everyone do me a favor, roll perception. I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. I am so done. What the heck is this? Not known for my perception. Roll a one on the dragon thingy, but an 18 on the look at this building. Oh my God. The architecture, Kelsey, it's stunning. Got a 35. Yeah. Oh my God. I know that's eating you alive. I'm sorry. It's okay. It's okay. Anywho. Malgus would be like, yeah, it's church. Like that's pretty much, everyone else that there's, it's, it's largely empty. There will be one sleepy looking girl, sort of, sort of going through stuff. Just this, this, this kind of diminutive kind of smaller framed blonde haired girl pouring through books like a bunch of different books are on this table.

And it looks like she's maybe been at it for a little while, but still definitely kind of tired looking. Good morning. And it's going to take her just like, there's, there's that when someone looks up and you could tell like there is no, there's nothing going on for just two seconds. And then it clicks in their head. It's like, oh yeah. She's going to look up kind of startled at anybody else's in the temple. But after that, she's, she's going to recognize Malgus and sort of jump up and run around and, and kind of just, just wrap her arms around him really quickly.

Oh, is it her? Yeah. Oh, it's, oh, it's okay. It's Clarissa. Okay. I missed the cue. I didn't get it. That's okay. It's been years. Just talked about how much she liked books, but you know what? Well, no, I thought that could be maybe they have a book gang. I want to join the book gang. The librarians. Oh no. You have overdue penalties. And we're going to take them out of you the only way we know how, with polite requests. Malchus is kind of stunned because he didn't, he didn't realize it was her when she had her head down there. And then once he kind of figures it out, he'll just kind of like put it, put his arms around her and, and, and hug her back lightly.

Well, I, I didn't know that I was that memorable, but it's, it's good to see you. It's, I haven't seen you since, since, God, before, before everyone took off for the, I mean, the big fight in Winterhaven. I just, no one really talks about you anymore. So I kind of wanted to, I've been wanting to see you. How are you? Are you okay? Well, there's ups and downs, but I'm, I'm well. And certainly the idea that nobody's been talking about me is, is heartening. I'm, it's, it's typically bad news if too many people are talking about me these days. That's not going to register with her.

It's like, well, that's weird. Okay. How's Yennward doing? Uh, Yennward has gone off his own way. He's trying to reclaim a mountain for the minotaurs. Oh, okay. Um, and, and she's going to kind of notice no one in your party is the same as when you were last through. You made a lot of new friends. It's probably best to look at it that way. Uh, we've, we've gone our separate ways for a variety of reasons, but, uh, in any case, it's nice to get back here and see you. Um, she's got this really excitable kind of like almost everything is the most exciting thing in the world.

Just very kind of amped up and she kind of comes alive after you, you walk in and stuff. But, oh, um, where are my manners? Um, uh, this is, this is Tevin. Hi. And, uh, Aria, she's, she's new with us. Hi. And, uh, oh, and Theo. Um, Theo's going to hold his hand out and, uh, she's just, just hi. And he's, um, he's going to take it just very kind of shy about it. Um, and, and shake hands and I'm, I'm really sorry I'm being so rude. Is there, is there anything I can do for you? Did you need anything or are you just stopping it? Uh, combination. It, uh, there've been, there've been some strange goings on lately, a strange sound we heard.

Well, I didn't hear it. I apparently slept through, but, um, well, that's one thing at a time. Uh, what do you know about the earthquake that happened recently? Well, I've kind of been looking into that and it doesn't really make sense. I don't think it was an, like an earthquake, like a traditional earthquake. Um, but I don't really have a lot of leads on it. But you're leaning toward unnatural causes. I don't have any evidence to support that, but I don't, I don't think it was natural cause, well, okay, if it were natural, we're probably all going to die soon.

That's reassuring. She's very blunt with information where she'll just like, "Oh, this is what I'm thinking." Aria will nod at that, like, yeah. Makes sense. Okay. So you're, you're still working on that once, what you're telling me? Yeah. Um, Tavine, Aria, you, the metal thing, I wasn't awake to hear it, but you seemed pretty spooked. Did, did you hear anything this morning? I personally, I only kind of faintly heard something. I really wasn't awake yet, but a lot of people in town have been talking about it. And I've asked them to give me a description.

If, if you were there or closer to it, that would be really helpful. We were further south than we are now. And it sounded like it was coming from there kind of southeast, I think. That's right, Jason, right? Yes. Okay. Thank you, Jason. Um, it, it sounded kind of like if you were tearing apart metal, but louder and more- More violent. Yes, exactly. Good, good word. More violent. I was about to say more bad, so. More bad. More not good? Um, she's going to be jotting down notes the entire time that you're speaking. Like, she's got like ink and quill just like, okay.

Was it moving or was it, was it stationary? Did it sound like, like an object toppling over or? Not like an object, I don't think. It did sound kind of aerial, like above, but I couldn't really tell more than that. I mean, it faded after a bit, so maybe it was moving, but I'm sorry. That's really all. I'm trying to look at it, but I rolled a one. But you see every inch of this, this glorious, this glorious temple. I know all the books she's reading. Um, when you say it sounded aerial, she's going to get kind of a look on her face. Like she's kind of bouncing as she's taking notes and then just like stop.

And then start writing again, but slower. Like, like there, her face is going to take on a bit more of a grim expression. Did you think of something? I don't, I don't want to say yet. I don't, I don't have nearly enough evidence, but I promise I'll look into it and I'll pour over everything I can here. I mean, we have a limited library, but. I mean, it could be a dragon, right? That's what we're thinking. Okay. Ripping, destruction, aerial. The more you describe it to me, the more that fits the general bill. Where were you exactly when you heard it? We were on the road to here from Durn Hollow.

How many hours South were we at the time? Um, three ish, wasn't it? Cause there's three in the morning and we got into town around three 30. Yep. And we, uh, so three hours South and we stayed on the main road between Durn Hollow and Aubrey. So that should do you good. We were south by carriage. By carriage specifically. Well, it's important that carriage is faster than, you know. How do you see my car? I just had to throw it out. Don't draw attention to it. It's a working problem. Enough about the carriage. We were in a carriage. That's how far South we were.

All right. Well, how far away did it sound like it was to you? Malchus just kind of throws up his hands and looks at the people who had more and more experience. I want to say far away, but with some, it was still that loud from such a far distance. Yeah. Far away that we could tell it was far away, but close enough to tell it was loud and big. There's not. Um, so we heard, we heard like a ripping and shredding of metal or, or basically destruction and some sort of aerial creature. Is there any, are there any legends of entombed dragons that might break free of something or, or something to that effect?

I mean, I'm trying to draw, draw a mental picture here based on what we're hearing. Can we roll Jason? You absolutely can. You can roll a history check. Oh, I'm so good at those. I'm not going to say anything. Deep breath, Kelsey. Deep breath. Hey! God damn you, Malchus. Uh, that's Professor Malchus to you. Three! Deep breath, Kelsey. It's going to be okay. I got a nine, Kelsey. I haven't rolled, I don't think I've rolled above a 10 tonight. I know she, I know Kelsey specifically has been waiting for this. Well, it's not, it's just the thing that it's like on everything else, like in the upper teens and then this, like it's just like, it's specifically spiting me.

That's what's getting out of me. Meanwhile, the next time the camera pans over to Malchus, like he's, he's in a smoking jacket with a pipe and zero explanation. It's like, hmm, yes, sometimes sagely, like you just expect. Quite. Well, here's the thing. The, um, the, the legend everybody knows is Strahd. That's the big one. That's the, that's your, that's your, that's your stake, right? That's the centerpiece. That is the thing that everyone knows about. And there really isn't, there's lots of tales of dragons and stuff, but I mean, a lot of them are your standard, your, your, your, their big red dragons, which you see a lot in there.

You got, I mean, Malchus has encountered a few on the road. Yep. Um, even hell, even Theo's seen one now and you'll see them above kind of hanging out, doing their own thing, kind of far enough up in the air that they're, they're not bothering anyone or hopefully, uh, but they're, they're, they're large creatures. Don't get me wrong dragons. I don't want to sell short how big a dragon is and how quickly it can kill you, but they're not here from several cities away. That's like the degree or several cities above. That's the thing. And they don't sound like rending metal for the most part either.

They don't, they have a very distinct roar. Like you'll hear a roar, it's like dragon shit and you'll, you'll hear it and run. This is different. It doesn't, it doesn't sound like that. And that's, that's kind of the thing you can tell she's doing math in her head based on the description that you're, that you're, that you're giving. No, I, there's nothing that doesn't make any sense that based on how far away it was from you and how far was away here. This sounds huge immense. Strahd's the only thing I know of that's even comes close to that big. That didn't sound like a, I mean it didn't sound like a dragon, or at least not a red dragon as far as I know.

I mean, it didn't sound like a creature of any sort is the thing. Well, I'll keep looking into it. And if I find out anything useful, if you're, if you're around I'll tell you all about it. I will kind of glance over at the others. I mean, I know we're just kind of passing through but maybe we could take an hour to help you out. I could use some breakfast somewhere so certainly if anyone else is looking to kill time. Breakfast would also be good. I could go get you some and bring it back. I'm not much of a reader. Tharja will smile like she's a yes. Malchus looks at Clarissa and goes, "Who makes good eggs here?" Hmm.

Well, there's an inn. There's there's a there's a restaurant in the inn. There's a there's a new person about to open but I don't think they have their shop ready yet. Well, we'll work with what we've got. We'll we'll head to the inn and bring back some breakfast and the two of you can get to researching. Perhaps two heads will be better than one. And she's gonna be she's gonna smile really pleasantly at Aria, like "Yay!" Theo, you're coming with us or are you gonna stay and read? I could stay. I mean, I could I could I could help. Oh! He can help get the books from the taller shelf.

Aww! Even though he is not he's not that tall. I was gonna say, I don't think he's as tall as Theo. Um, she I when I broke it down, I believe he's like five six five seven something like that. He is not that tall. Tevinne would be the one to get stuff from the top. She's seven foot two guys. Tevinne is the tall shelf. He can help carry the books and stuff. We will find a use for him. Maybe he'll pull a Thanos and find the one picture book that has all of the useful information. Yeah, that's that's the he's like the Xander in your Buffy crew just kind of like thumb through and if there's an interesting pictures like hey, but other than that, not the most solid of historical researcher, but I'm just I'm already taking this to the logical conclusion and I'm ready to request that DNR fans send us any Theo Clarissa shipped fan art.

Nice. I can see this. I can see this coming together already. Dude, personality wise, they're they're kinda like that's that's They're adorable. Guys, I think that's a good time for us to stop for the evening. And then the next time we start up, we'll we'll be able to kind of plow ahead. I don't want to I didn't want to end it too early, but I know like time zones are a thing and I want to make sure people get some sleep because it's a work. It's a work night. We need a little like thing where we can put we have gone X numbers of number of days without anyone trying to kill us with group one because because we've actually done quite a while.

Hey, guys, this is Rob. Thanks for listening to the episode. There are two big things you can do to help us get our name out there and support the show. By all means, drop into iTunes and give us a review. That is a big, big place for podcast reviews. And the reviews there are super important to keeping us in the public eye and getting people's attention. You can also help us out financially if you're willing to do that on patreon.com/dandr. That is that's what pays the bills. That's what keeps this going. And let's Jason and Bre do this as a full time job.

So if you do that, you can get some neat little rewards and know that you are part of the reason that DNR podcast exists. Last little thing. Several members of our podcast are going to Dragon Con down in Atlanta, Georgia. That's in September. You can find the details online. But if you want to catch us, that's the place to do it. Jason and Bre have a panel there and you'll be able to see them in person and ask them questions and shake their hands, take their pictures and all kinds of things you do for people who are Internet famous like they are. That's all from us.

Thanks again for listening and we'll see you again soon.