Episode 6 – The Longest Night

Hey, Tuck here telling you to donate to speltlore.com slash money please or patreon.com slash speltmore for more of this. I'm doing an act out, but you can't see it. Below the table. Show me your hands right now. No, I'm still doing it. Gather round friends, let me tell you a tale of three heroes, noble and bold. A brute, a druid, and a thief who is but nine years old. You know them by name, you know them by deed. Their quests are famously daring.

So here I sit, singing to you an adventure that is worth sharing. Tuck is the brute, he knows not his home. He loves to sing and fight. Fingers half-elf, he shifts his shape and wields a spear with great might. Billy's a thief, his tiny size does mask the light. The largest heart, best and brightest they may not be, but their friendship outweighs their smarts. So gather round friends and listen close for the tale's about to start. Hello everybody and welcome to Spout Lore.

I'm your game master, Sean O'Hara. Joining me as always, playing Tacoma Dome, the barbarian, Abdul Aziz. Hello everybody. Playing Ving, the half-elf druid, Paul Oppers. Hello. Hello there. And playing Fat Billy, the halfling thief, Jessica Tai. Hi everyone. When last we left our heroes, they arrived at the pirate haven of Port Forefrost.

Upon the Forefrost Isles, a collection of shitty snowy rocks in the middle of the ocean connected via a bunch of ramshackle buildings and sitting below some sort of ancient light guard fort. Oh right, yeah, the fort. Mm-hmm. Pretty wicked vibe to this place in general. Mm-hmm. It's pretty cool. And who knows whether or not we're gonna see any more of it. Oh yeah. Upon docking, the party made a plan.

Maggie was going to deal with some repairs, getting some new crew, resupplying, while the three of them, plus Perel and then minus Perel, decided to track down some leads about who may or may not have been upon the Blue Period and why it had such a large store of ghost root on board.

So, upon arriving, on the actual docks, Tuck smelled an incense reminiscent of the Medjay of McCall, which led the gang on a chase to the Hound Inn, a sort of tavern slash pub slash hotel, containing all manner of folk. Some investigations led them to discover that folks matching the description of the Medjay had been staying in room 401.

They were slipped the key thanks to a very forthright serving staff, member, Argus, Augustine, who was more than happy to do you a favor because favors were literally on the menu here. Also more than happy to shit on his bar and their housekeeping services. Yeah, I mean, hey, welcome to Port Fort Frost. Nothing is clean unless you clean it. Yeah, that's what it said on the billboard that was out in the ocean, I guess. It's floating. Just a buoy with a billboard on it.

Nothing is clean unless you clean it. Nothing is clean unless you clean it. They entered the room just as someone apparently dove out the window. A chase was undertaken by Tuck and Ving while Billy scoured for clues, finding a note beneath the bed that he believed contained at some point the letter B. Tuck and Ving continued to chase this cloaked figure down the alleys of Port Fort Frost. Ving did some cool-ass snow owl body mech shit. So fucking cool. Love it.

Taking down the figure and revealing Sweet Caroline, the orc. The chase continued. Billy arrived through a knife. There was a standoff while Caroline held a knife to Billy's throat and said, leave me alone, let me go. Until Billy knocked her out with some fairy dust. And Ving, upon searching the body, found the knife that was used in the ritual that robbed him of his shapeshifting powers. Yeah. The party jumped to some conclusions, which turned out to be true.

Running to the pier and seeing, the clear water beginning to sail off into the distance. With Perel on it. With Perel still on board. Okay. And that is where we find ourselves now, right now. How far away is the boat? I just rip off one of my flaps, stuff it in the bottle of vodka that I took from the restaurant, light it on fire and throw it at the thing. Too far for that. It just ploops into the ocean. My tinctures. And I lean over, I touch my shoulder, I was like, that was a pretty good try.

Okay. They were close enough when I saw them, but then like, trying to tear and then stuff it in. Then who's gonna light? Who's gonna light? I went around all around the town square looking for a light. I don't smoke. I used to smoke. I don't smoke. Where's the light? If you just throw in the bottle right away, you might've hit it, but now it's too far away. And you hear some clamoring at the end of the pier as a bunch of people are shouting and rushing towards you. Oh shit, cops, scatter. Fuck.

Scatter means we go together somewhere. Yeah, I dive into a boat. I don't know. You just get on a boat. Can we hire the fastest boat? Oh, good idea. To follow them? Defy Danger Charisma. Okay. Nine. I'm gonna aid Tuck. There we go, yeah. Eight. Great. Okay, so that makes it a 10. I'm gonna say there's a boat literally pulling away. Like the boat is starting to move and they're pulling the gangplank up. And they're pretty close to you and they're like moving. Tuck. Tick, tick.

Starts to hulk right. Everybody get on this boat. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. And he holds up his hands. This is a paying vessel. Okay. That's fine. I'll give you everything I have. You kidnapping her? Oh, right. I have Caroline over my shoulder. And I was like, does it matter? Kinda. 150 coins matter? 150 coins? Yeah, I'll give you 150 coins if you follow that boat over there. Come aboard. Okay. And then I fucking throw Caroline.

And the guy like just, oof, catches her and falls onto the deck. And I toss Billy up. Yeah, and Billy, whoo. And I throw Vig. And he does like, yeah, like Dirty Dancing style. Huck me, boy. And I jump. You're gonna roll? I'll roll. I don't give a shit. What is it plus? I guess strength probably. Okay. So five plus three is eight. Oof. You drop something. What is it? The… You drop something. You drop something. You drop something. You drop something. You drop something. You drop something.

You guys don't have much of anything anymore. The promissory note I was holding. Oh! What's it get? You drop the payment? Yeah, I was just like, I have a promissory note for 150 coins. He's like, these 150 coins don't matter. Oh. So yeah, it flitters out of your hand and flaps away on the wind. Oh, pay up. You're hanging on to like some lines off the side of the boat. We just won't tell them yet. Yeah. Hold them up. Yeah, Ving hauls you up. Okay. Thank you.

And then I point at the guy and I'm like, follow that boat. Quick. Well, I don't know. Give me a second. Give me a second. And he walks to the back of the boat where there's a group of people who look like some sort of unofficial militia or town guard shouting and waving. And a couple people fire crossbows and the guy ducks and he waves and he goes, see you later, fuckers. Who is this guy? Wait, who's that guy? Were they chasing you or were they chasing me?

Half dozen of one, 25 of the other or whatever the phrase is. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. Well, you know, happy to be aboard. I'll take my payment now. 150 coins. Tuck is he like, he's like, all right, here we go. Put my hand in my pocket. You take out the 150 coins and I'm going to punch you in the face. Defy danger dexterity first. Okay. To even land this. Seven.

So you club him right in the face and he stumbles to the side and he comes back up and he comes back up with a backhand and just clips you in the jaw. Uh-huh. Roll a D6. Three. So he tags you for three damage. Can I grab a rope and tie it around the person's legs? Yeah, totally. Okay. Yeah. Nice. You can't see me do this. Mm-hmm. 13. Fuck. Fuck yeah. I'm so smooth. Billy invents a new knot. Yeah.

And he moves forward to hit tuck again and just whoop, doesn't realize both his legs are tied together and falls back up. He falls down onto his face. Oof. Get him. What the fuck are you doing? We're, uh, okay. I lost the money when we jumped on the boat. So I'm going to stuff you in the hold for the right now. Wait, what? I have crew members. It's not just me on this boat, but you, so you hear click, click, click, click, click, twang, twang, click, click. What's that?

You turn around and there are four people pointing crossbows at you. Okay. I know what this looks like, everyone. We were offered a ride so we're going to some miscommunication. We're just negotiating right now. But in the meantime, could you set the sails? Uh, Vink, while Billy's talking to him with his mayoral, like, body language, Vink dumps out the rest of the forager's gold.

He has the vial and it lumps out into, like, a seeming looking, like, gold and he's, like, holds it out, like, delicately and is like, if we can catch that boat, this lump of gold is yours. Nice. Nice. 2d6 plus charisma for a parlay. 10. Wow. Nice. Plus the 150 coins that we owe you still. We're good for it. We will honor it. Boss? Yeah, just, okay, alright, alright, get me up, get me up. Okay. And he starts forcing his self up. Billy, how do you untie this guy? I'm sorry, I'm trying.

Good God, what the fuck is this? I don't know, I was just… How'd you even… It's shaped in, like, a cat? Maybe? Yeah. It looks like something cool. I had stuff on my mind while I was doing this. It looks like a, it's kind of like a clove hitch, but you, like, it's not even tied, but I can't get it undone. I don't know what that, that word is, but yeah. Can you, can you untie it? Yeah, I'm doing it. And he watches you do it and goes, what the fuck? Okay, there you go. You're good.

Teach me that knot and you got yourself a deal. Yeah, I can do it again, probably. Oh, no. Stress, stress, stress. Okay. And he, uh, he gets himself up. Off the ground. And, uh. Is he like a, like, you know, like, this is the fastest boat that did the blah, blah, blah, parsecs in 10 seconds flat. Yeah, is this a Han Solo type? Yeah, is this the Millennium Falcon boat? He's Han Solo if Han Solo was, like, in his late 40s. Oh, cool. Like, he's got kind of graying dark hair.

He's got a bit of a gut on him. He's wearing the fantasy equivalent of, like, one of those fur-collared bomber jackets. Oh, yeah, he's Chewbacca today. Exactly. And he's just like, okay, okay, all right. Well, name's Oleander Dreyfus. Let's go catch that boat. Heck, yeah. What do you need us to do? Get out of the fucking way. Okay. I'm sorry. Uh, and he starts ordering people around and sails off. I guess he's trying to catch the Clearwater. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, so the Clearwater is definitely pulling ahead because this thing isn't ready, like, isn't going full speed yet. Uh-huh. So it's going to be a bit of a chase. Okay, until we get the sails up and under sail, things like, I have an idea, and he, he runs to the back of the boat, jumps off, and, uh, in the water, there becomes, like, a little hollow around him, water, and then it forms into, uh, like, a killer whale. Oh, cool.

An orca, and then he starts, like, really whipping his tail and starts nudging the boat forward. Mm-hmm. Okay, so 2d6 plus wisdom for an elemental form. Thank you. Nine. Nine. Okay, yeah, so you've got two hold and what you're going to spend one of them to kind of push the boat. Yeah, get it going as fast as we can. Yeah, and the boat starts picking up, and Oleander goes, whoa, what the fuck? All right, let's do it. And you're catching up on the clear water. What's your plan?

Um, right now, I'm with Caroline, and I'm wondering, is lightning in a bottle a move that I have to have fairy child for? Um, it probably should be, but no, it's not. It has, at least is written. So what are you trying to do? I want to pull a memory from Caroline while she's asleep. Whoa, cool. Yeah. Shit. Okay, yeah. So 2d6 plus, what, charisma? It says dexterity, oh, dexterity. Oh, right, because I was thinking, like, it's like a manipulative, like, yeah. Tell me, Caroline. 10. Fuck, yeah.

Okay. Yes. So what kind of memory are you trying to get out of Caroline? And what does the, like, physical memory look like as Billy's removing it? You know what? I open her eyes. Mm-hmm. She's like, she's obviously still asleep, and it's like, in her eyes, I can see. Oh, yeah. Like, coming in and out. Mm-hmm. Nice. Uh-huh. Right, yeah, I guess if it's, because if it's something that you don't want to, like, hold on to, you don't have to take it out, probably. Mm-hmm.

Okay, so what kind of memory are you trying to get? Like, honestly, anything about the Magi, or, like, basically any, like, what is she doing? Mm-hmm. I'm like, I've got, like, Caroline's face in my, between my hands, and I'm like, tell me! What are you doing? Okay, so you're looking through her eyes, and you see her, from her point of view, you're looking at things from her point of view, her perspective, and you see her talking to eggs, and, like, nodding and, like, shaking hands and planning.

Whoa. And you see her watching all of you arrive on the boat, and then you see you guys coming up and being like, there's a mutiny, we found smuggling, and you feel, like, strong frustration. Oh.

And then, uh, you see her trying to deal with the mutiny, and walking up to, like, one of the mutineers, like, the people that you know were a part of the initial conspiracy, because it's, like, while everything's popping off, and she sees them fighting with another member of the crew, and walks up and hits this guy so hard that she kills him. Like, she just, like, breaks his neck. Like, to, like, tie up loose ends kind of thing. That's the vibe that you get.

And, uh, you see the approaching, uh… When she found out that Billy had killed eggs. Relief. She would, and she told him that he did the, she did, he did the, he did the right thing. And then you see the four frost approaching, and you feel the, like, anticipation of going to finally finish something. And, uh, you see her, like, taking Maggie to the ground, basically. Oh, no! Shit! Yeah. Like, this is all a flash.

You're not getting the full picture, but the vibe that you're getting is, yes, she organized the, uh, the mutiny, and betrayed Maggie for some reason, and, uh, got the knife from the Medjay. Salty Caroline. But, unfortunately, because it's, like, such a quick flash, you don't understand the entirety of the why, just the, that, yes, she did it. Oh, man. I, yeah, I tell Tuck what I just saw. Fuck! Okay, so we have to get on that boat and save Maggie and Perel, then.

Unless, unless, what if Maggie's not on the ship? She, she might know. Who, Caroline? Yeah. Okay, I slap her to try to wake her up, like, fuck, shit! I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. How do I undo this, Caroline? Language, Billy. I'm sorry. And then I just smack Caroline in the face so hard. Why? And she wakes up to that and goes, and starts struggling immediately. And I, I grab her to hold her down.

Caroline, is Maggie on the boat right now? I'm not telling you anything. We know you fucking betrayed her. Is she on the boat? I don't care if you know. You're gonna have to kill me. Ving yells, kill her! Um, I have, do I have any of the, Truth serum? Yeah. Oh, fuck you do. Truth serum! Truth serum! Truth serum. Pull her down, Tuck. Yeah. I don't know, cover her nose. I have to get this in her mouth. Okay, I hold her kind of still. Okay, that's gonna take a defied interest rank. Okay.

Fuck, Caroline's so strong! But I'm stronger, 11. Wow. Yeah, and you like basically, you just hold her still and she's like, and her lips are like, you know, you can, her, her mouth isn't locked shut. It's like three minutes though. She's like, yeah, totally. She holds her breath for a long time. She's a Navy SEAL. But the second she like, opens her mouth, you grab the sides of her face and get like your fingers. Like a cat. Yeah, exactly. In her jaw, basically. Yeah.

Oh, and she fucking bites through her own lips. Oh, gee. And it hurts a lot. It does. Yeah. Orcs have crazy jaw strike. Yeah. Yeah. But I still get a couple drops in. You do. Yeah. All right, Caroline, is Maggie on the boat? No. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Is Perel on the boat? No. Fuck! Are they back on the island? Yes. Fuck! What are, who's got them? Where are they? The Medjay. And where are they? Tell me. You can see her like, fighting against the influence. Where are the Medjay? Where are they?

They're in the fort. Okay, cool. Fuck, I just wasted so much money. Oh, God. You hear Oleander behind you go, ha, ha, ha, ha. Okay, Caroline, why is that boat sailing away? Why? It's a trick. Oh, good trick. Shit. Actually worked pretty good. Yeah. I should turn this thing around. I'm turning the thing around. And yeah, the boat starts turning around and Oleander goes, whoa, oh, all right. And why are you working with the Medjay? They're a means to an end. To what end? To my end.

What do you mean? What are, what are, what are they doing for you? What are you getting out of this? It's my part to play. And she starts like coughing, like, trying to make herself feel better. I'm gonna puke. No. Are you, are you a Medjay? No. Are you in the dark guard? No. Are you a warlock? No. Are you, are you a wizard? She's coughing pretty bad. She's, she's like getting, having trouble getting words out. There seems to be something stuck in her throat. What the fuck?

Oh my God, she swallowed something. Oh my God, what is it? Check her mouth. Something stuck in her throat. I, I fished my fingers in there to try and get it out. I guess probably defying your dexterity. Oh. Ooh. Ooh. Four. Oh my God. Okay, so she, you try and get your fingers in her mouth and she's gnashing a lot and you're like, oh no, not, not, not, you pull them out just before she like slams down on your fingers and chomps them off. Caroline, I'm trying to help you.

And then she coughs up a mouthful of blood. Jesus. Oh my God. And then another. Oh my God. And then she turns her head to the side and coughs up one final mouthful of blood and something clinks out onto the deck. I grab it. It's an obsidian coin. Fuck, Billy, no, drop that. Okay. And, uh, sweet Caroline, the orc stops moving. Uh, can I see if she's still alive? Uh, you can check. This is like, if she is, she's not going to be for very much longer. Oh my God. What do we do?

What, what has happened? I don't know anything about what the mechanism of her death is. Something she's been lacerated in her throat by this coin. Uh, so being, having spent your hold, I assume, have you come back up onto the deck? Oh, yeah. I guess turning around. I'd spend, I'd spend that final hold to give us a final push between the things. Cause he hears the commotion. I want to come up. Yeah. And you see sweet Caroline, uh, on the deck, like blood spread out.

There's a coin lying on the ground. Billy's backing away. So much blood, like way too much. And yeah, like these are, I don't know if you guys have a method by which you might be able to save her. Oh shit. I still have a use of wine wood. Oh yeah. Yeah. Oh yeah. I have so much wine wood and, uh, poultices. Uh, oh yeah. I mean like Ving, you're a healer. Like you might be able to give me a defy danger intelligence. Oh shit. Fuck. Oh yeah. Seven.

So the seven is if you use everything you have in terms of healing, wine wood poultices, all of it, you'll be able to stabilize her. She's definitely not going to be conscious for a while, maybe ever, but you'll be able to stop her from dying at least. It's worth it. Okay. So you, uh, you set to work. I set, I have six bottles. I have six bottles of wine wood. Oh yeah. Yeah. Pop all the lids. Great. You're using those mashing up herbs, like jamming them in her mouth.

I've pulled up water, like ocean water, using it as almost like a scope to go down into her throat and trying to like put, put wine wood in there in the water. Use it as a, uh, a method. Oh, you're turning like the water into a channel. Yeah. Like a scope with the wine wood too. To put it like directly on there. I kind of want you, to roll elemental mastery cause you're like using spiritual water to heal her basically. Oh God. Okay. Yep. Duty six plus constitution. Oh no. Five. Oh shit. Oh, six.

Oh, I help you. Yes. Billy. How's Billy helping? Um, I think I'm just like vibrating with like so much like energy right now. Cause I feel a lot of guilt. Mm-hmm. Maybe also, the memory thing, you're giving, you'd be giving, like filling in the gaps of what this is. Yeah. Like I'm showing you through like our link between Chamberlain's rings. Seven. Okay. Oh shit. Seven. Oh my God. You're welcome. Oh, the effect I desire comes to pass. Okay.

So you don't, I, I, I don't avoid paying nature's price and I don't retain control. Okay. Uh, so Oleander brings the boat in, like you weren't able to, you weren't out that long. So he, he, he's basically just alongside, he's talking to the militia people, like trying to calm everybody down while this happens. Just being like, there's, you just got to wait. There's something, there's something happening. Give them a minute. And it's not a minute. It's a long time.

Uh, you use everything you have in terms of your healing. This is nothing like you've ever seen before. You know that there's like physical damage, but there's something else. There's like a rending that's taken place inside her. But with the, the aid of the water spirits and the air spirits, you are able to bring a stability to her body. Her life force is very weak.

Like you can basically feel that she's barely hanging on, but you're able to stop whatever horrible damage was killing her from the inside and shore up whatever spiritual weaknesses were taking place that were allowing this to happen. And she falls into a fitful, uh, and deathly still sleep. She's stable. Barely. And the price that you pay and the control that you lose. What do we think that is? Uh, maybe, uh, Ving starts to have his health sapped. Like it's a balancing. Oh no.

I'm keeping her alive, but it's bringing me down. Yeah. It was long until we can figure out what's going on. It's like ET in that, flower pot. Totally. Yeah, totally. Uh, so how does that manifest in the moment? Uh, like I'm unable to stand. Oh, like you're just like, you're extremely weak. Yeah. Yeah. I have to be close to that. We have to maintain touch. Oh, cause you guys are sharing like one kind of spiritual ecosystem. It's almost like, yeah, like a boop boop. Like she's on the life.

He's her life support machine. Totally. Okay. Even Billy, like, cause I was like, I was holding onto thing. I can, I can, I can feel like so much being like, like sucked up. Oh yeah. This is classic thing. He gives almost too much. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. Uh, so then you're standing there, you have Caroline basically in your arms and thing passes out on the deck. My God. And I say, I, as I pass out, like, don't let us part. Uh, fuck. Um, I, I tie their hands together.

Cause I don't know, what else do. And I just like, hold on to thing. We need, uh, we shouldn't move them. And I go to oleander and I'm like oleander being in Carolina dying. We need, I don't, we need a doctor. Yeah. Is there a healer on this Island? Yeah. Yeah. There should be. Okay. Can you go get them? I should be, but they're on vacation. I mean, it is kind of like, I hope, you know what I mean? Like as long as they haven't been called away. Uh, yeah. Okay.

I'll, I'll, I'll be back as soon as I can. You are, you're, you're welcome. Just stay as long as you need. Okay. Thanks, man. I appreciate it. And he like hops over the side of the boat and lands on the, on the deck without touching the gangplank. Cool. Ving says from asleep. Yeah, that was pretty bad. I was, he says, he goes, parkour. Oh, right. Cause I'm touching you. So I'm watching. Cause I'm like, that's sick. If Billy let, can Billy let go?

I can let go, but I feel like, like, I feel, I don't know. Like, am I helping? Billy? Isn't sure. Yeah. It just feels like the safest thing to do. It helping. It helping. It helping. But I, I can see, I can feel how much energy it's taking for Ving. It's like a river rushing through me in a way. Mm-hmm. Oh yeah. Some of the moss up my arm is dying. Oh man. Oh shit. Uh, okay. I have a question. Mm-hmm. Can I try and use Bardic Lore, gods and their servant? Yeah.

Can you remind me how Bardic Lore works? When you first encounter, an important creature, location, or item, your call, covered, covered by your Bardic Lore, you ask the GM any one question about it. The GM will answer truthfully. The GM may then ask you what legend song or tale you heard that from. Mm-hmm. Uh, yeah. Go ahead and ask me a question about what's going on. Uh, okay. Yeah. What is going on with her and this coin? Yeah.

You, um, you think back on things that you studied, like in your time at the library about icons and demons, and possession, and you, I like that he was flipping a coin one night, like just like doing pushups, like, like one handed and flipping a coin. So I'm like, you know what that is, right? Yeah, exactly.

And like, you know, finding references, like vague references and text at the, at the library during late night studies, your conversations with Bara about the white coin that you have and how that interacted with the icon of ambition. You think what happened was that at some point, you know, someone did this to Korean and she has been possessed this whole time. Oh, whoa. This coin being inside her was how she became possessed. Oh shit.

The act of telling the truth about what she was up to cause the coin to expel itself from her and cut her in the process. So based on what you remember from, or like your experience, what was his name? The dwarf, uh, the ambition guy, the name, Helen guaranteed Corbin guaranteed Corbin. Yeah. Um, yeah. You think that, that whatever was possessing her, there might be that icon might still be there here, like in her. Yeah. Okay.

Like the forceful expulsion of the coin could be like the damage she sustained could be in connection to like the demon still being in there, but the coin being in there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. To escape right now. Okay. I'm going to Ving. Oh, fuck. They're tethered. Okay, so Tuck takes the coin that fell on the deck, and he takes TLC, and he wants to smash the coin just like he did with Guaranteed Corbin to try and trap the demon in it. Yeah.

Okay. How did you do this last time? Was it for the Blood God? I did use for the Blood God, yeah. All right. Zero wisdom. Fuck. Bye. Okay. So Tuck, you get ready to smash the coin in the way that you did last time, basically flicking it into the air and smashing it with the axe.

And you don't know why this happens, but in your slowed perception as you're watching this happen, you see the axe connect with the coin, you see it shatter, you see the fragments start to turn white, and then they all shoot towards you. Fuck! Oh, God. And they lodge themselves in you. Oh, my God. Like, in my body? Yeah. It hurts a lot. Like, birdshot? Yeah, exactly. Ow! And there's that same huge gust of wind, that howling of vacuum for a second until Tuck is driven, to his knees.

And then the wind's calm again. And Billy, you see this happen. This coin explodes and just shatters into Tuck. Oh, my God. Like, can you still see the bits? Yeah. Are the coin pieces black or are they white now? They're white. Do I take harm? Um, yeah. Definitely. I'd say roll a d10. Okay. That's a 10. 10. Oh, my God. Ow. Fuck. Okay, now we need two doctors. Shit. Billy is so scared. Um, I, uh, I'm afraid to let go of Ving, but I crawl over and I'm trying to pull Tuck towards Ving.

Tuck, can you come over here? Yeah, I can come over. I'm fine. No, you're not. No, it's fine. No, you're not. Just hold my hand. I'm fine. Just hold my hand. I'm holding your hand. Okay. I grab Ving's hand, too, and I'm just, like, waiting for this, like, healer to come, and I'm watching I'm watching the sky. Like, I'm, like, waiting for the sun to rise. Yeah, and but, like, it is basically night now. It's night, yeah. It's dark. I'm just like, fuck.

Lamps start to light all over the decks of the ships in the harbor. I, and while we're waiting for the healer, I keep telling Billy, I'm like, Billy, I'm fine. It'll be fine. It'll be fine. And Billy isn't saying anything. He's just, like, watching the sky. In the east? Yeah. Okay, so you hear, uh, hurried footsteps approaching, and Leander pops back up over the side of the boat, and coming up behind him is what looks like an eight-year-old child.

Pale, pale skin, hair in, like, a very complicated but practical looking bun, and long ears of an elf. Hi. Hi. Um, what's your name? I'm Bertog. I'm a healer. All right, okay. Well, this is my friend Ving, and um, and this is Tuck. Hey. Uh, Tuck, uh, shattered a black coin, and the pieces have been embedded in him. Yeah, I'm okay, though. No, he's not. But, but… Cough of blood. Oh. You're bleeding quite a lot. I know, but my, but Ving is dying, so you gotta help him. Yes, yes.

And, uh, Bertog kneels down on the ground and unrolls their implements, and, uh, just sets to work. Just… You don't really know what you're looking at, basically. Yeah, Billy's, like, trying to say stuff, but it looks like Bertog's got it. Yeah, Bertog looks younger than Billy. Yeah. Like, bigger, because they're an elf, but, uh, looks younger than Billy, which is odd. And they are doing something. They're running their hands over Ving, running their hands over Caroline. A Reiki?

Yeah, fuck, this is not gonna work. Ving says, Ving says, Ving says, Ving says, Ving says, Ving says, Ving says, fucking Doogie Howser doing Reiki. Get it as a doctor already. This is what's happening in Ving's head right now. How come nobody's looking at me? Hello? And, uh, they basically, um, it's something like, there was a a dark presence within this one as they move their hands over, uh, Caroline. And it attempted to enter this one, but it's gone now.! It's gone. It's gone. It's gone.

It's gone. It's gone. It's gone. It's gone. Life force is keeping the other alive. But Ving can't let go. And I can feel that Ving's energy is leaving him too. Yes, that will need to be addressed. And they, uh, kind of pull their little legs up and sit cross-legged and basically they untie the rope that Billy tied their hands together with and hold each one of their hands and sit there with their hands like on each knee still for a while. Like, their breathing slows, their eyes close.

And they just are here for a while. And Oleander's kind of tapping his foot. Is this working? Is this, what's going on? I don't know. It looks, I mean, they know what they're doing. I'm really nervous. You don't happen to have, like, snacks on this boat, do you? Yeah, yeah, I do. I do. Um, are you guys, do you want to come? Do you want to let them do their thing in the and we'll go down? Have a, have a bite? I don't know. Can you just bring it up here? I don't want to leave. Okay, alright. Yeah.

I'm sorry, Oleander. It's fine. It's cool. It's alright. It's fine. I'll be right back. Oleander, I'm on a keto diet. Don't get me any carbs. Do I look like a guy that eats a lot of carbs and he slaps his gut? Yes, dude. Because I do. Below deck and comes back up with, uh, some food. There's meat that you don't have to, like, there is keto and he gives, uh, Tucky hands you a beer, like a bottle of beer. Thanks. He does that thing.

He's got two bottles in one hand and he flicks his heel up and kicks one and the cap pops off. Whoa. So cool. And he, uh, popped, he, like, nudges the cap off the other one because they both came off and he hands one to Billy. What are you doing as a child? I'm not allowed to drink this. You're a kid? Yeah. He reaches down and takes the beer from you. Sorry, I wasn't sure. We got a lot of weird folks around here. That's fine.

And he sits down and leans kind of against a bundle of ropes next to you two. So, uh, what do you do for a living? You know, what brings you here? I'm so bad at small talk. Hey, there's no small talk, kid. Only small people. Uh, and I guess you're pretty small, so that kind of… So it is small talk because I'm a small people. Yeah. Ah, you know, I do a little of this, I do a little of that. Here and there. For this and that. Like smuggling? Yeah, I'm a smuggler.

Uh, I don't really deal with a lot of, uh, any kind of gestures vaguely. Whatever this is. So, uh, were you here when some people were taken off that boat? Uh… Like, did you happen to see a red-haired lady and a bald, guy with, like, probably very, like, flamboyant clothes and a hat and I don't… He might have been… He might have had a mustache or not or an eye patch or not. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. You saw it? Yeah, I did. Yeah. Who took them? It's just some folk. I don't know.

They kind of had a weird vibe about them. Like, what do you mean? What were they wearing? Real lean, mean-looking folks. Uh, tattoos. Uh, all sorts, you know. All shape sizes. Okay. Did you see which direction they went to? Didn't they… Who… What's… Didn't she say that they went to a fort? The fort? Yeah. Any points at the fort? I guess. I just… Oh, so nervous. I get it, kid. This is, uh… I have a kind of jovial energy about me right now, but I'm fucking terrified. Yeah, same.

I usually am pretty jovial, too, or whatever that means, but today has been a hard day. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Yeah, I hear that, and he hands you a beer and goes, well, I forgot. And he takes it, but… You have it. Uh, and Tuck at this point has propped himself up on, like, uh, like a crate that's behind him, and he's sitting up, and he's like, well, Leander, uh, I just want to tell you, straight up, you're being a pretty fucking stand-up dude right now. You know what? Call me Ollie.

Ollie, I'm sorry I punched you in the face when I thought I could not pay you. Do you think that you're the only person that has punched me in the face in lieu of payment? Because you're not. You're not even the first person to do that today. God, you're the coolest guy I've ever met, I think. So great, Ollie. How are you this effortlessly kind and cool? So cool. You know… Ving raises a silent thumbs up. Through this… Yes.

His hand just shakily raises, you know, you get to my age, you spend a lot of time around a lot of people that want to do a lot of harm, and you realize it is a hell of a lot easier to be kind. Let's drink to that. Yeah. For sure. And he hands you a beer. Stop giving my kid alcohol. No, Billy! It's just like for the tradition. I give it back. And he only clinks your bottle before. Also, halflings get drunk off dairy. Do they metabolize alcohol the same way?

I was gonna say he probably does nothing to Billy. It doesn't really do much to Billy. It's just honestly tastes bad. It does. It's just old wheat. Yeah. I think Tuck's like objection to it is just like, don't give my kid booze, man. You're right. I'm sorry. Yeah. What will people think? Yeah. What will people think? Just so much blood is leaking out of my chest still. And we cut to darkness. The infinite inky black of the mind. Bing, you're standing in an endless void, but you're not alone.

Hello? Hello? Hello? Who's that? Who are you? I'm Bing. I'm Bing. And as you introduce yourself, you use your true name. A figure resolves in front of you. It is the person that you have until recently known as Sweet Caroline. You're alive. Here. I guess. What do you know of what happened to you? I don't know. It's been so long. Since what? Since McCall. Since the library. Since servitude. What do you remember of that coin? I just remember my studies. I remember being approached by someone.

I remember being taken. I remember the coin, and then I don't remember much else. It was like I'd fallen asleep in a carriage, and I knew where I was going, but I couldn't see the road. What about you? What are you doing here? I'm keeping you alive. Huh. Why? I don't know you. Yeah, you do. And he puts his hand on her shoulder. And she looks down, thoughtfully, like, throws her brow. Oh. Come on. Let's go walk. And a scene resolves around you as you walk. What do you see? Her hometown.

Outskirts of her hometown. Her hometown is McCall. So you see sandstone buildings resolve around you. People pushing hand carts, loud, bustling, mercantile stalls, food sizzling, music playing. And you recognize this as, though the buildings are a little different, this is definitely a stepside. I haven't seen this place in feels like forever. When did you leave? I left when I was quite young to join the library. That's how it works. You go young. Yeah. They find kids.

Kids that have potential, need direction, and they bring them into the fold. Yeah, I know what it's like. And then Ving does the points to his eye, covers his mouth, open hand, symbol of the of the speakers of the silent word. And she doesn't react, but she nods. He does it again, like, I'm doing the thing. I remember. That I remember. You're not reacting. Yeah. What do you want to see here? I don't know. I guess I just wanted to see somewhere familiar. Wanted to see, yeah, home, I guess. Why?

Because I haven't had one for so long. I've been a prisoner in the one place that should have been mine, myself, my mind. And it wasn't mine for I don't even know how long. It was like years, months, decades, centuries. Look at your hands. She does. Her, like, the strong, like, gray skin, like, veins just bulging on the back of her hands. How long has it been since you've looked at these hands? Forty years. Forty years. Hmm. That's not so long, I guess. That's pretty fucking long. Hmm.

What about you? How old am I? When's the last time you were home? And the scene changes around you. What do you see? I see, uh, old sheer. The ice flows moving in the distance. Mm-hmm. People piloting, like, long boats and canoes. Yeah. There, there's, like, um, shops and houses on the flows and people pull them along the shore. It's been longer than that for me. Do you miss it?

Uh, he sees this, uh, a woman, uh, come out of a house, an older woman, with, like, a fur hide and, like, hang it over this, this little, the entranceway. The, the timber that's holding on its way and then grab a huge stick and just start whacking this thing. So what does she, like, whew! Ah! Hacking a coffin. I miss, I miss, I miss some of it. I miss the parts that aren't there anymore. I miss what it represents to me. But, I have a new home. And then we're back standing over our bodies. Mmm.

And you see, uh, kneeled on the ground in front of you, uh, a young, young elf holding both of your hands. You see Tuck and Billy sitting with Oleander in silence, basically, right now. You haven't lost everything. You're here. Yourself is here. You found yourself again. And, uh, from where they're kneeling, Vertog looks up and says, he's right, you know. There's still time. And she looks down at her body and looks at Vertog and looks at you. Yeah.

He looks down at, at the body, at the two of them lying there and down at Vertog and he, he says, you've done, you've, you've, you've, you've done a lot. You've fought a lot. You don't have to do it anymore. You know that. You can go back to the beginning. You can go back home. He points, like, down the, down the dark way, off the distance, step side, hustle, bustle, memories, back, go be in your bliss.

But, but, even though you didn't have control over what you were doing, there were still reasons that led you to be the person that you are now, here. If you want to find out what those reasons are and why you're still here, then lie down with me. Lay with me. And she looks down at her body and looks out into the darkness and you can hear the laughing, singing voices of the step side market. And you can hear, like, wind blowing behind Ving as he's like, it's up to you.

And he slowly lies down where the place of his body is. Mm-hmm. And suddenly, you're looking at the night sky. And you're like, okay. And you hear movement next to you as Corrine pushes herself up on an elbow. Ving. You okay? Yeah. I'm okay. Are you okay? Yeah. Why do you even ask? I'm totally fine. You look like you've been shot by many arrows all at once. He is not okay. Don't listen to him, Ving. Are you okay? That must have been really scary. It was scary, but I'm fine. I'm just, I hug you.

I'm so glad you're okay. Have you been drinking fucking beer? What? Have you been letting him drink fucking beer again? No. And Oleander goes, tuck points at Oleander. No, no, no. Oleander goes, well, I think I'm gonna turn in. That guy gave him beer. I tried to stop him. Okay. I only had a sip because. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. And, uh. Hey, sweet Caroline. She holds up a hand. Please call me Corrine. Okay. And she nods at you. Hi, I'm Tuck. Hi, I'm, I'm Billy.

You tried to kill us a little while ago. Yeah. Sorry about the truth potion. Million miles away now. Oh, that's good. Well, all's well that ends well. Tuck tries to stand up. Slits, falls in his own blood. Vertog walks up to you and puts a hand on your shoulder and just guides you back down to the deck. Okay, cool. Thanks. I'm just gonna lay down here for a second. Totally cool time. And we're all having a great time right now and it's good for everyone. And we're all having the best time.

Just like me. Totally cool. Winewood. We need winewood. We cut forward. It takes a long time for people to get Tuck to this clinic. Yeah. We have to take, like, everyone has to take a limb. And he's kind of fighting. Yeah, yeah, totally. Still very, very strong. I'm fine. Why are you being like this? Tuck, you're being such a bad boy. This is a bad example. You tell me all the time, oh, just let people take care of you. And then when it's your turn, you don't let anyone take care of you.

I'm tired. You're so heavy. Billy's saying this sitting on my chest while seven other people are carrying me. Look at these people are sweating. They're sweating. And you are taken through town down some twist. The alleys to a very cramped clinic in an alley deeper into Port Four Frost. Everybody has to, like, basically pivot, tuck into the doorway. Like, it's a lot of, you know, when you have a couch and you're like, well, I got to angle the arm around this door so it fits.

Flip them up on and a bunch of blood blush. Sideways, sideways. We're going to do it sideways. And then they flip me up and then through. You got to walk them. Walk them. And you get laid on this, like, cot that barely holds your weight. And there are, like, dried herbs of all kinds hanging from the ceiling. Jars and bottles of various onions. I'd like to take the pieces of the coin out. Tweezer them out. Oh, Vink doesn't. He's not really with it. Is he awake enough?

Yeah, well, you're very weak. Like, you're going to need a bit of rest, which is troubling because you know that Maggie and Perel are in the fort. Oh, right. Fuck. Bertog, keep the coin pieces, please. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I'm not certain that I'm able to remove these. Oh, you're like a healer. He does. And Bertog holds up their hands. So fucking rude. Hold on a moment. This motherfucker is trying to teach me about healing.

What I mean is, from a perspective of metaphysical health and balance, it might be a bad idea to remove these. Why? There's some reason for some kind of resistance. The demon's gone into Tuck. It's trying to. I can't say for sure, but if I remove these, I feel it would be all but assured. I wrap my saffron rope around Tuck, like around his shoulders and like a nice, around his armpits and around the neck and around the waist. Nice. Sick. Cool shirt, man. And I go, It's getting delirious.

I go, no, it's fine. The coins, the coins are white. The coin pieces are white. It means the demons in the coin pieces trapped in the coin pieces were totally fine. The coin pieces are in you. Just don't, don't take it out. There is absolutely a precedent set for this kind of situation and we know for sure I'm fine. Speaking of which, can I use that Spout Lore about the thing that nobody knows about? Would I Spout Lore about a thing that nobody knows about? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you can.

All right. Spout Lore. What's happening to me? Well, that's a three. So, totally fucking failed. Plus, plus what is it? Plus one. And then, but I also have a fucking minus one intelligence so we're back down to three. So, nothing you do is gonna help. Yeah. Nothing. And I think the only failure that we're gonna do right now is that you have no fucking idea what this is gonna do to you. Yeah. No clue at all. And then, yeah, and Tuck like grabs Vertog's hand.

And then grabs Ving's hand and he pulls them both in close and he's like, I don't know what's going on at all right now. Yeah, we know. We know. I'm aware. I have no Tuck. Information. Tuck, you don't have to know. Okay. You don't have to know. Thanks. Why don't you get some sleep? No, we can't. We gotta go save Perel. And she puts a hand to the side of your head. No. Whoop. Fuck. You're asleep. Tuck slumps. And the cop breaks and he slides off the back of it. Whoa, whoa. Just leave him.

Just leave him. This is better somehow, I think. It's time for you all to get some rest. And here. I'm not resting with him like this. There's nothing more that you can do. I'll stand by his side. Very well. Or perhaps, and they hold their hand out and take your hand, sleep. And you can sleep. And you fall asleep. I'll put myself to bed. It's fine. Very well. Here, make sure you, make sure you have a little bit of this.

And they walk over to like a glass decanter with some sort of pale pinky red liquid in it. Crush a bunch of herbs in it, pour it into a glass and give it to you. What is it? It's just a peeling onion. Just drink it. A healing onion? Go to sleep. I thought I put you to sleep. What? I am strong. It's, it's, it's good. It's good for you. What does it do? I, I, they told me never to put weird things in my mouth. It rejuvenates body and mind. That's all. Seems suspicious. I, I have no reason.

I take, took a sacred vow in the groves of my home. Totally. I'm going to sleep on the roof. Very well. I can't, I'm not going to stop you. That's my favorite Billy line to date me. All right. Good night. Thank you. The vibe of this was like rich kid interacting with total trash kid. It rejuvenates body and mind. Cool. I'm going to sleep on the roof. Fuck you. Also rejuvenates my mind. I'm going to go sleep in the empty dot pool. There's a bunch of frogs in there.

I'm really proud of Billy right now. Yeah, me too. I'm unconscious. Me too. So, Billy, you're on the roof. Yeah. You're kind of in between two taller buildings. Like there's the walls, the buildings on either side of you. And then of course, the alley across the alley is pretty tight, but you can see, you know, the night sky above you. I can't wait for the sun to come up. I feel like I've let down my friends. Why? Why? Yeah. Who am I talking to? Sean?

There is a little figure that looks to be made of chimney smoke sitting on a pipe nearby. I feel like I let them down because I should be able to do these things. I should be able to help them when things are hard. What's the point of being so old and knowing so much and not being able to use any of it? Well, I don't, I don't know if, if the point is just because you weren't able to do something didn't mean that you didn't try to. Trying and failing is not the same as doing nothing. I guess.

It just feels bad. All my friends are in trouble and I'm laying on a roof waiting for the sun to come up. I just… Is there anything that you can do right now that would help? Right this second? No. You know what's better? What? Being there for when you can. Okay. Thanks, chimney smoke. No problem. And they tip backwards into the chimney they're sitting on the edge of and they're gone. Okay. Yeah, I just, I don't sleep. I just lay there waiting.

And Billy, you're laying there on the roof as the sky starts to lighten above you and you feel cutting through the jagged alleys of Port Fort Frost. The first rays of the day's sun touch your skin. Finally. Go ahead and roll your fairy child. Yeah. Yes. Oh my God. Holy shit. Eleven. Wow. Woohoo. So that's what? Five hold? I get five hold. Okay. Remember that. Billy's so excited. He slips down the roof and scurries up into the window into the clinic.

And you can see, apparently, hours have passed. Like, it has been basically the whole night. It's morning now. And Tuck and Ving, you're both awake and you basically wake to Vertog pressing cups of some sort of potion-like thing into your hands. Drink this. What is it? Drink it. What is it? Just drink it and I'll tell you. Tuck slams it. And you feel a very familiar rejuvenating kind of buzz through your body. Ving's drinking it like a wine trying to get all the tasting notes out of it. Yeah.

There's definitely some sort of literal healing potion in here. And then herbs that you're familiar with in different kinds of healing salves and tinctures. Ooh, yarrow? Yep. There's yarrow in there. There's arrowwood. You might think yarrow is just arrowwood with a Y on it, isn't it? But it's not. It's a different plant that is original. Shauna, her creation, do not steal. Most importantly, you feel a little bit of energy return to your bodies. Not a ton, but some.

Corrine is very groggily sipping the tincture. And Billy clambers through a window. Morning, everyone. Hey, Billy. Hi. You're awake. Yay. Yay. Yay. Yay. Yay. We're awake. Where have you been? Oh, just up on the roof. Oh, yeah. Classic Billy. Thanks. Cleaning your mind and your body? Yeah. Hell yeah. I feel good. I'll drink that stuff. Oh, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. And I gulp it down. Oh, pretty good. Gulp, gulp, gulp. Billy is just full of beans this morning.

And you hear a and Oleander shambles into the room. Okay. Hey. Hey. How's everybody feeling? Ole. Ole, ole, ole, ole. Ah, you're fine. You were at the hound last night. Weren't you a old dog? Oh, yeah. I went to. I had a crazy night at the hound. You better believe it. I was there all night getting blasted. Yeah? Oh, yeah. What happened? And I went there and I was drinking, played some cards, won a bunch of money, then lost it. All in the same night.

You know how it is for an old scallywag like me. And you see Vertog walk into the room behind Oleander and go shake their head gently like, no, he didn't leave. He's showing him like sleeping with a candle beside him. He's got like love and lust novel on his chest. Like in the waiting room. Yeah. That's cute.

Got his coat like over top of him like a blanket, you know, that kind of shit curled up in a chair, trying to sleep in a chair that should not be slept in and goes, all right, so what's the move? Where's the coin? What coin? I told you to save the coin. What coin? And he points at Tuck and he goes, there it is. It's still in his chest. Yeah. And Vertog nods and is like, as I said, removing this coin is, it's a bad idea. Yeah. Um, cool. What can we do about it? Keep an eye on it.

Make sure that the, with the, with the tinctures and they're looking like really closely. They're like examining Tuck's chest. Seems that the wounds are closing up with the coin inside. Are they exposed? There are like bits, like you can basically see like chips of white in Tuck's chest. That's sick. Does it look cool? Should I start wearing a shirt? No, it looks great. Um, Vertog, should I start wearing a shirt? He goes through like a smash cut of him trying different shirts. Vertog? Yeah. Dr.

Vertog. Are my, are my friends ready to go? Ah, I suppose. I mean, rest is never a bad thing, but if you have places to be, I mean, that's up to you. I am a healer. I'm not a jailer. We gotta go get Perel and Maggie. We have to find them. Yeah. Here, I want to give this to you. And he gives them a jar of a jar of yellow powder. That's stardust. Oh, stardust. Yeah. I had it for a long time ago.

From the, uh, from the cup that had like random, I think you can do more with this than I could ever do. And they, they snatch it out of your hands almost like, and for that second, they look so much like an eight year old kid. Just snatch it out of your hand and look at it with wide eyes. Wow. And start like tipping the jar back and forth, watching the powder move. Wow. I will get much use out of this. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Please.

If you need any further treatment, return here as soon as possible. And also if anything happens with this and they sort of like draw a circle in the air around tuck, please return as soon as possible. Okay. Thank you. Be safe. There's a double thumbs up as he gets wheeled out in a wheelchair.

There Oli do you want to break into a A fucking Fort or a cage or something Yeah and fuck up some magi You know what I don't want to I have to Yeah Oli Oli Oli Okay I think that's where we're going to end it for this week I'm your game master Sean O'Hara Joining me as always playing Tacoma Dome The Barbarian Abdulaziz Playing Ving the Half-Elf Druid Paul Oppers And playing Fat Billy the Halfling Thief Jessica Tai Thank you to Aaron Reid The incomparable Unsurmountable He cannot be surmounted Aaron Reid for our intro and outro music Look up Spell Lord on Soundcloud For all of the original music featured in the show Thank you to all of our Amazing Patreon supporters Around the world if you want to support us on Patreon and get access to a ton Of bonus content including a whole Bonus campaign set in the Highspear Mall and featuring the Cooltree Kids Monthly live streams Including Q&A's and live games And a whole other Whack-a-shit gift boxes Postcards, merch, a ton of stuff Check us out at patreon.com Or spelllord.com We're also on the internet At Spell Lord most places And we'll see you next time There's a ton of fun And though our journey may be like a conclusion We will not leave you without a resolution Return next week to hear some more Whilst you commute or do your chores And for you I'd gladly spell dawn Thanks for watching!