C2 E28 | A Madness Most Discrete

Hello, I'm Bill Ramsey, and I'm DMSA. Welcome to Venture Fourth.

Of woe-begotten heroes and repentant man duels, of villains and their scheming and the fools that heed the call.

Sweet melodies to ensure that dueling dragons in the dungeon.

Ladies and gentlemen, folks, fell and fiends, gather your art.

When last we left these heroes. An eventful evening at the Governor's Mansion saw Vale and Ramsay join the rest of the group after. Whoops, I fucked that up. That verb should go there. After an eventful evening at the Governor's Mansion, saw Vale and Ramsay. Join the rest of the group at the Split Keel to track down Class Verheag and learned of his treachery of the Akanite trade here within Black Rush.

That bastards. You interrogated him, you learned of his plans, you had some interesting interactions with bugbears and goblins and dragonborn and various others. But wing it. After the events of the evening, Vale joined Ely and Shaw to escort Class to the coin clubs, while Ramsay stayed behind at the split keel to discuss life and morality with the party physician Philippa.

But unable to square their differing worldviews, Philippa left Ramsay in the company of his cups and Luther, but only briefly, as Ramsay was soon joined by a figure he knew only by description and intent, the dwarvish woman, who Shaw said had been asking after him at the Red Thorn and elsewhere. She was brief and to the point.

She told Ramsay that she'd come to collect him and convey him to his family back in Ondale. And she gave him a choice to meet with her at the end of the road or face a more difficult form of said conveyance. She bid you farewell, whereupon Ramsay and Vale reunited with the group, thanks to a series of interventions by the Forger family, defended off agents of the Dyrock tribe who assaulted Souths and Salves, and eventually left the Roche family in the wake of this attack to discuss their plans to address their ailing patriarch, Reese Roche.

You left Souths and Salves, tracked down Dom Forger, who took Thornwatch members to set up vigil outside of the shop, and you returned with Shaw to the Red Thorn. Shaw soon thereafter departed to head upstairs to speak with his supervisor. Supervisor. And that leaves you two gentlemen down at the bar here in the Red Thorn, the heady smoke and the pungent odors here of the Red Thorn permeate the air.

These this place is still in pretty full swing for the most part. Although it is uh beginning to get into that portion of the night where people are starting to maybe filter away and off. Um it is probably two, three in the morning, something like that at this point. Uh it's gotten quite late. But the two of you pull up your chairs at the bar, and the evening is yours.

Uh, Vale. How are you? It's been a night. Yes. Uh I can't remember. Did you did you kill any of those goblins, bugbears at the I think I killed one or two.

I definitely hurt them.

Did you? I did. It's odd. I can't remember if I've ever taken a life before. I thought not. But before Aren't you supposed to I don't know, have some sort of um reaction when you do. No.

No. Because it's a thing you do to protect yourself or others. So it's what reaction would you have?

I don't know. Um I've heard tell well, you know, um I didn't make a lot of friends in the military. But um the some of the folk that came back from the war. Um well, they came back quite changed. You know, the horrors of war they change you, they make it hard to sleep at night. Make it uh a little frightening when you hear loud noises.

unknown Hmm.

I'd rather hear loud noises than not come back. Suppose so.

Well, but in a way, you don't come back.

unknown Hmm.

At least not the person you were before. This is all hypothetical, of course. I don't know personal experience, but that's what the impression is.

unknown Hmm.

I don't know. I guess I've never really thought about it.

What was your experience the first time I killed? I killed someone.

For the Gith Gear, it's a matter of us and them. It's it's our enclave, our people, versus those trying to take or those trying to invade. So it was easy. It wasn't a choice. Um I guess you would say I exist to serve the group. So it was me doing my duty. Doing my job. And you know the meditation that you refuse to do is about quieting the noise, both inside and out.

So you do feel noise then.

I can actively work not to. I see. But that's been harder and harder to do here.

Why is that do you suppose? That's Raywood, just too noisy.

The opposite. It's it's it's it's quiet here.

Hard to imagine it being too serene for.

There's there's not a lot of it's it's constant where I'm from. You don't get a moment to not Right.

Limba things transforming waterfalls to mountains and whatnot. In moments.

Attacks just happen, they come. You have to always be ready. There's a lot of gaps here that I don't know what to do with.

Hmm. Most people live for those gaps.

unknown Hmm.

Not me, though. I quite like the um I don't know if I would characterize it as, you know, turmoil. I think I don't know if I'd like to be under siege. But I do love the fray. Do love noise and combat and mayhem, you know?

Well, was your first time in battle? What do you mean? Your first time taking a life. Well, did you? Which is weird because we were just at the mansion and I saw you. Well Dispatch.

The you mean the the monsters. Those creatures. Well, yes, monsters. I don't know. I don't really consider them Yeah.

People. I mean, some people think I'm a monster. Who? Well, not here. I'd like to have a word with them. Here they think I'm the great veil.

The hero hero. Yes.

Um But you've seen you've seen how some people look at me here.

Yes, yeah, well I don't know. People are afraid of what they don't understand. And they don't understand much. Especially out here. Um but uh the I don't know, the bugbears, uh some people consider more monstrous, but uh just moments ago they were drinking at the sputkeel, like the rest of us. Conducting business with Klass, who's arguably more monstrous than many of them.

Anyone we've met. So I don't know, but it's a little easier when they screech in language you don't understand. As opposed to when they're fleeing from their botched assassination attempt. You simply beat them to death with your hands.

It was easy though. But that was your first that you recall.

Yes, yes, it just strikes me. But I thought it would be more eventful is all.

But you were a soldier.

Yes, but I just worked a guard post, just didn't see any combat or anything. Oh. Just you know, man to fought. Was rather unexciting.

Did you play music? What did you do?

Uh a little bit. They don't quite um they don't love music in the military. Uh you know, um outside of war drums, those sort of things. Not a lot of place for Luther or any of my other um more reed-based experiments. Um yes, uh, so sang a bit. But um I mean I was a soldier, just didn't see deployment.

I was spared that.

So wait. Where did you learn to move like you do? My mother was also a soldier or a fighter.

She was a woman of esteem. She taught um combat soldiers. It was her pride and joy that I enlist.

Did you choose to enlist? Well can't remember. Do you remember how we met?

Oh yes.

The over under playing that delightful song. Um and uh fight in the alley.

Yes. Yes, yes, I don't think they liked it.

Well, those men came back from the war and it were quite affected, I would say. Not too fond of um only perceived scrutiny of their um esteemed queen.

So you didn't choose your conscription?

I think I did. I think I did.

Did you hit your head tonight?

I don't know.

Maybe too much to drink. It has. What is bothering you? Oh god, Sarah. The vision? When that spider drank from me.

It left you with a vision.

God, Vale, what's wrong with me?

You drink too much, you play with the truth, you can't.

Those are all uh uh I would argue uh uh positive features. I'm I'm simply a a joyful um uh uh companion. That's all fun.

But what is wrong? You are distressed. Clearly distressed.

Oh god, so did I why did I join? Did I want to? There was a girl.

You joined for a girl. With a girl.

I don't know.

There's no smoke.

It fills your nostrils, heat malls across your face. You feel the sensation of it as it presses against your skin, draws it tight. The fine hairs of your eyelashes in the wind shifts in a burst of heat. With it a sweet, cloying scent undercut with acrid tang. The smoke changes. It's just wood now. It's quiet, the familiar scent of an evening stew, the crackle of a campfire, music carried on an evening breeze, a flash of auburn hair, green eyes, the curve of a smile, a single burning point of turquoise.

Your vision revolves around that point, resolves into an eye. Your hand sits just below that eye.

There's warmth on your hand, warm liquid hulling over it. Vibrant is dark in its red hue against your pale skin. Something clamps around your neck, pressure, squeezing, something soft but it's unyielding. Darkness closes in around the edges of your vision as you follow your hand.

You follow that hand of the arm, up to the face above it, to the eyes, one pale gray, one gold, black fluid leaking from one as it stares pitilessly at you.

Your lungs burn, you grow cold, the eyes fade, the gray iris spinning, growing, shifting blue.

It resolves into the radiant blue glow of the Tide Father's eye looking down upon you.

It's so far away, your breath is running out, your lungs burned, it's so cold. It won't be long now. A crushing dark envelops you. Your chest burns, time's up, your body reacts, your mouth opens, your mouth and lungs flow, and you're adrift.

Euphoria, pain, and then nothing. Time distorts. How long have you been here? How long have you floated? Gone is the burning, that desperate fight for air. Blue glow above you grows, and the darkness recedes.

Strong arms wrap around you, and a blanket of starlight envelops you.

Water cup Ramsay. Oh God, Sale.

Where did you go? I've been saying your name.

Oh no, no, Vail.

Drink this, drink this. Drink this water.

It's been too long, right, Vail. I think I've been far too much to drink.

Yes. Yes.

What? You're alright, right. If I if I go, if I were to disappear, you'd be alright.

No. What do you why are you talking like this? You're not going anywhere.

The dwarf is the woman is scarce.

The one Shaw mentioned.

She ca she came to me in the tent after you all left.

She's real.

She's real, yes. Not at all beautiful, quite uh unappealing, and not after me for any of the reasons I would prefer. I don't quite know why.

What did she say? Consequences. For what? I don't know. From who?

I don't know.

Where? My parents. What does she want from you? Scan the room. She was a dwarf. Make a perception check for me.

Seventeen on the perception. Okay. Uh twenty-four.

Twenty-four?

Yeah. She uh scars?

She's a dwarf. Scars. Sort of she looks like a bounty hunter veil.

Stay here.

Welcome. I'm gonna run.

Okay.

To the I don't I'm I'm I'm I'm a fucking wreck. Okay.

To the to uh if they're still there when I get there.

Okay. Ramsey, you stay at the bar. Vale, you make eye contact and you start walking towards running towards them? Walking with very urgently with yeah. You see as the figure shifts as they notice you making your approach and they go to dip out the door. They leave and exit through the front doors of the red thorn.

Do you follow?

I'll look back at you.

What? What is it?

They were here. Just left.

I will walk back. What did they say? No, you can't leave.

No, I don't think it's a good idea.

They don't like the sound of consequences. They said, um not much. My parents want me back. Didn't even know they were still alive. I haven't exactly kept tabs. Came out here to be rid of all. All that baggage from the war, you know. All that contempt and ill will. Followed me here, of course. This is how we met.

Fallout from the war. It's pervasive.

Um why now? Have you you've never seen this person before?

No. Do you think my parents must have hired her? Come find me.

Should we go find them? Talk to them. What do they want? Do they they want you to go home?

Yes.

To face consequences for something you don't know.

Yes.

Are you sure you don't know? Quite sure. It's weird. I give you. I talk to you a lot about lying, but I strangely think you're telling the truth more often than not.

That's um. Well, thank you, I think.

I think you want people to think that you're not telling the truth. Or to not be able to tell between the two.

Well, you know, um I was saving this for for a lesson down the road because I I have been pleased to see yeah you were experimenting with well truth. Story. But part of what makes a lie convincing is if you believe it. You have to find a way to make yourself believe. Just temporarily, of course. It's that it is.

Is this why you're having memory issues right now? You seem confused.

Altered your memory of it. Since I got here, I've been drinking a lot. Hard on your mental faculties, that.

I don't know if that's simple or extravagant. I've always thought the Githgear were the best of any creatures on any plane. But somehow they're involved in all of this.

Best how? Like from a moral high ground, sort of. Yes. You're disappointed to find that they've perhaps facilitated this assault on the Freywood.

In some way. And the assault on my ship. Gith gear. Someone, at least. Yes. I thought we were above reproach.

Perhaps the victims. Trying to do the right thing with these um lattice keys.

But I was told not to speak of it. Doesn't feel above.

Hmm.

You think that your ship may have been against the wishes of the Gifgear at large?

I don't have conclusions. Just questions. Was it my ship? My captain? My mentor? Someone else?

Who is your mentor?

Rizvai. A master navigator. Teaching me. Trying to teach me how to focus and how to navigate the stars and the planes. It's very difficult.

Yes. Yes, I couldn't even begin. To understand. Um You think maybe they led you astray? Leave it to a navigator.

I don't know. I I don't know what to think. I don't know who. But they specifically told me to not speak of what I saw. Why would they do that if they didn't know more?

Forgive me. I am I am dripping. Uh but information is always extremely valuable. It is a weapon. It is a powerful weapon. The question is who Riz Vai was hoping to keep this weapon from. I can weave a hundred different tales where Rizvae is the hero. Or the villain. Your your structure at the Gift Gear is um alien to me.

Yeah. I'm much I understand much better the way that Black Rock operates. But in a system, in a world where everyone is serving a higher collective. An individual keeping secrets is certainly a threat. Especially secrets like the latter ski. Something that unlocks the primal forces.

First children. Oh. Reminds me. Been meaning to tell you. I remembered a line from a poem or a um a story. Time unspooled itself into the universe. So beginnings could have endings. What's the line from? Poem? It's quite something. Uh, when I was brought into the Gith Gear.

I thought you were born there.

No. My home was attacked and destroyed.

By a method.

I don't know what it was. I was very young.

Yes.

And the Gith Gear rescued me. Brought me in. It's part of what we do. And in our young education, there was a story, a a tale of the beginnings. And it's from that.

And the all this business with the lattice key that's made you think of it, you suppose? Yes. Time unspooled itself into the universe so that the beginnings could have endings.

This place is very busy. Very loud.

Mm-hmm.

I'm in a focus straight ahead. And you know, you could try this with me. Might help you remember how you got into your military or any of the other things. Maybe why this person is tracking you. And as I breathe, I'm gonna remember being a young, young Gith sitting amongst these new Geth. Being told a story.

You know, I think I'll just watch you for now.

Earth, wind, water, and fire exhaled themselves into raw substance, giving form to the physical planes. Chaos clashed with order, and from their friction came stars, currents, and motion. Light and shadow contested the void, dividing it into realms of illumination and secret. Time unspooled itself into the universe so beginnings could have endings.

Spirit danced with thought, and from their union came awareness. Entropy, ever patient, gave decay, so that all would not remain still, and bond reaching across the void between things drew the disparate forces into relation, so that what had been made separately might find each other, and the cosmos would not be merely full, but bound.

Earth, wind, water, chaos, order, fire, light, shadow, void, time, spirit, thought, entropy.

This little story.

Yes.

I'd never heard of them before you.

I'd never heard of them before the Githgear.

I wonder. Perhaps Elbor had never heard of them. Githgear being part of the Restra and all.

Maybe we're meant to protect them.

From what? First children? Bugs?

Bugs. Elbor didn't exist until recently. To most of us.

Suppose we are in our infant stages of Verestra. New beginnings.

We have crashes in Verestra. Birthing grounds for some Gith.

Always thought it sounded a bit sexy. Crash? Yes. Yeah, birthing grounds, I mean, I don't know. Sounds fun. Um not the birthing part, but you know, everything leading up to that point.

I'll take you to one one day.

Oh, that would be delightful. I mean, you are quite the beautiful figure, but I I've never seen a female gif before.

unknown Oh.

Striking.

Oh, I truly, truly can't wait.

And striking, they will kill you.

I that's fine. Worth worth the uh risk, I suppose. I don't suppose. I know. Um I don't know if we should drink more. No, I suppose not. Um the the the water will do for now.

Would you like me to try and see what's in there? Right. I could try. Class's head was resistant. I've never done that before. I've seen it done.

The gift, they have this ability.

A yes, um genetic aptitude towards using the mind as a weapon, as a way to pry.

Right, it makes sense why you would be so religious about training it. Such a thing untethered could be very dangerous. Fortunate that it's only you and our group of comrades that has this um challenge.

I would yes. And if you don't train things, you lose them. Or they go chaotic and you forget things and what are you insinuating?

You think it's my lack of practice? Yes. Yes, exactly.

I Yo I know that I read as a I know you don't use blades, but if you don't sharpen them.

I just um like to use blades are undignified, you know. I don't know, un ungentlemanly. I'm quite disciplined, though, Fail. You don't learn how to play instruments without discipline. True. You have to choose what to practice, and I just don't like to practice peace of mind. It's not I th I feel it uh hinders my uh creativity.

That's all.

unknown Hmm.

I'm afraid of what you might find if you look inside my head.

Me too.

Doesn't mean we shouldn't look. Or we could confront this person.

Yes, uh, that has crossed my mind. She said if I don't come to her tomorrow at the road's end. Oh, she said more. Well yes. Sorry.

Just a little bit more. If you don't meet her, then what?

Well, then we do it the hard way. Like with blades.

Yes. Or she carrying weapons. Yes.

Though uh I suspect many of them concealed. She was fearsome. She wants to take you. This is why you asked me. What happens if you leave? Her job. I've considered taking her up on it. No. You cannot. Not now. No, you're right, I agree. More important things than whatever Mother Dearest has in mind. Consequences could mean anything, you know.

If your parents are alive, maybe you should see them.

Well maybe. Someday. Later. Once we've resolved whatever it is about. I want to get you back to your people, and well, I don't know. If your people are responsible for some sort of um grand catastrophe with regard for primal forces, first children, last keys. Well, that is a story worth chronicling. Maybe embellishing a little.

What about your story?

I I don't think that's one worth chronicling, quite frankly. They might just mean that I left. I don't like that I left and they want me back. That's isn't that the mother's way?

I know.

Empty nesters.

Why do you like stories so much but not your own?

I just don't have much of one.

That cannot be true.

I raised in a military family, learned to play music, tended a guard post, had a miserable experience with war, you know, drudgery. Didn't like the way people became. What else is there to tell? Dalliances with some women, sure. Is that some men?

Is that all you remember or all you're willing to tell?

It's all blur. Really? One or the other. Take your pick, I suppose. You know, um there was a a girl that I visited in town, um, Estelle Woods, um Easy on the Eyes. Bride. Um but you know forgettable. No offense to her. I don't know if she remembers me either. And there were a few other girls as well.

Um, you know, you man of thoughts, there's not much to do, but sometimes your eye weeps a dark substance, and you say it's normal. I've never believed you. No, I suppose you haven't. Why does it do that? I don't know. When did it start? I don't remember. Can I try something? Last year. Yes. As he looks down, I raise my left hand.

And a a star, a moat of light, starlight travels down my neck, down my left arm, past the bracer to my forefinger, and the lights just the tip of my finger. And I touch your eye, your right eye closest to me, and cast lesser restoration.

Magic pulls forth. You feel it go. Into Ramsay, it suffuses his skin, his body. Ramsay, you feel no ailment to leave you, no restorative effect. Simply the warm the rush of magic that is simultaneously cool and warm at the same time. That is all.

Oh good. I don't feel anything. So it means I'm fine, right? Then nothing changed, so uh I'm not sick.

Or no, it's not what it means.

I think that's what it means. I think it's pretty conclusive.

unknown Shh.

If it all doesn't work, then you weren't ill in the first place.

Or it's beyond my capability.

Nothing can beyond your capability. You're the veil.

I am, but much is beyond me. I was reminded of it constantly.

Sorry. Sounds unpleasant.

Confusing to be told you're very gifted. But unfocused, undisciplined. A problem.

I think. She must be dealt with.

She's there where she was staying.

The end of the road. First in BlackRock. Kind of poetic. For her when we I suppose we'd should we kill her? Maybe we just Well, I suppose we'd have to kill her. She's not nice, then Yes. Not nice. Oh, she's doing it the easy way right now, so I suppose she's being nice.

You said it's a herd job. Yes. Her duty. Here, respond to coin. And we have that. Imagine coin and she was.

She seemed very motivated.

For coin. Yes. Well no. I don't know.

My parents may have paid her a lot. Or she might have other reasons. The dwarves, they lost the war. In a wall. Sort of defaulted. It was a whole thing with lich and it was a real mess. But they suffered. Quite a bit. I was on the other side. So I don't know. It could be personal in some ways. So we could offer her coin.

Kill her. But we'd have to start by finding her. Okay. Let's find her. Do you ever do you ever wonder who you'd be if you hadn't been taken in by the gift gear? No, because I'd be dead. Well let's say that it happened everything. What? You wouldn't be a navigator, you would have a whole whole different life.

Why?

No, never. I am. This is me. This is what happened.

But it might have been nice.

But it isn't. Alright. Should we stop and see Armin? What for We never figured out what's wrong. And he was likely attacked by the same creatures.

Right, perhaps they put something in his head the way they did mine.

And I might be able to see. Oh yeah. What's in there. If anything. When you got your vision, you said it pulled on your mind.

Yes. Uh like I was trying to drink from my brain or something.

Maybe it took his.

Right. Interesting. Yes, um. Alright. Detor. Probably not a good idea to visit him uh right now. It's uh in the middle of the night. It's been the longest night of our lives, probably.

Everyone's awake, why not now?

Uh well most well, these creatures. You look back, you see people in like, yeah, estates of undress. Not not uh uh uh probably most uh peop some people have work in the morning. So um not Auburn, I suppose, but I doubt he's out partying. No his lovely wife. So So um get a few hours first thing in the morning, go visit Auburn, then we go to the end of the road.

Yes. Where we feign that we are uh uh agreeing to the easy way, and then we make it the hard way for her and turn the tables I need to make more moats, so yes. Perfect.

And we make it the hard way.

Sleep, moats, auban, hard way.

Motes, sleep, oh, right, Auburn, hard way. More motes. Maybe we could pay them in moats.

Don't they only last for like a minute?

Do they know that?

Probably.

Why? Good night, then.

Good night.

You push away. Make your way up to bed, both of you into your various chambers. And Ramsay, as you fall off to sleep, your mind kind of adrift in that space between sleeping and waking.

Enters into your ear. Resolves. An ending redacted. Tale worth chronicling.

And we'll go to break.

Okay.

What the fuck?

Guess we're gonna be back. Guess we're going to break.

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All right. So the two of you get a relatively good night's sleep. It's a shorter sleep than you might otherwise get. And what time do you think you both get up? Like what time do you think you rise from from your veil? Feels like uh always at the same time, not early, like maybe just before the crack of dawn.

That reminds me, I have to roll. Yes, you do. Oh, yeah. And then that's the second thing.

Oh my god, a new day. Imagine the first routing being over. Yeah. Right? Imagine.

Imagine the 19th Village. So I've got to roll. Yes, you do. 17. 17. Okay.

Vail, you find where do you go? Um, because we're going to find Oben, and I'm Uh shouldn't go far.

I'm allowed to do.

I'm like just the tavern. Okay. Are there I'm getting other people passed out in the tavern?

Like as you come down in the morning, there are people who are you hear the quiet, like snores of people in booths and things like that. It looks like the morning after a very intense night of partying. There are I mean it's not like jam-packed, but there are definitively people who fell asleep here and they just kind of let lie.

I'll just pick the loudest snore and get as close to them as I can reasonably.

That's a large sort of big barrel-chested figure, clearly some kind of laborer, you know, dock worker, logger, who is who is like doing that thing where he's actually relatively upright, but just like big bunched shoulders, and you sit down next to him, you begin to meditate.

Now I'll start earth, wind, fire, light, like just below my breath, and then let it just kinda be what I'm thinking of.

Vale, as you tune out the sound of this very loud snoring. You begin to recite this children's fable that you recall from your nascent days in the Gith gear, this explanation of how things came to be. You find your mind quiet, the metal around your forearms warms. And today, not a day. With that intention of self-mastery, you succeed on your check for the day.

And it's a peak. And you feel the warmth of your bracers linger a little bit longer. You have a plus one bonus to strength checks and strength saving throws today. Hell yeah. And I have to do one other thing.

Mm-hmm.

Um, nothing else happens.

What? Okay.

What? Hey, sorry, but no, no, no. No, the uh I'm thinking of something else. The wild uh cool. Yeah.

Um, the wild yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Um a short time later, um you uh after your morning meditation, giving Ramsey a little more time to sleep, you traips up to the second floor, I presume to go wake him. I don't wanna okay. Ramsay, uh uh a very early knock comes on the door. You see that uh d dawn has risen, um, but just barely. Like it's still very early morning light.

As you hear a knock at the door. No. Come out.

Alright, just let me finish the sentence.

The door opens. Just a just a crack.

The thought. Just gotta finish the thought.

Ramsey's awake. A little pile of lights is shoved in. Oh you.

Thank you, Vic. Hurry up. And I'm throwing my bag. I'm I'm still in sort of a state of undress, so as I'm on my way out. I started to throw things on and get my boots on and uh pick up the notes of light. Awesome. Your your little um your little poems uh is uh is quite um lovely. I thought. So um I'm working on something, but uh you know, you say sometimes um But it doesn't always come together, so gotta give it time to ruminate.

But uh yes, but thank you for that.

Uh I was meditating on it this morning. Trying to understand it.

Any revelations. No.

Right.

Curious that. Well, I think there's something to it. The gift knowing this about the primal forces, pursuing these lattice keys, the lattice keys having such a clear relation, you know, in the chamber.

There has to be. It has to connect.

Yes, it does. Do you think there are 14 keys?

Uh oh, no.

One key for For each. Although, I don't know. Three three rooms, three voids in there. Um, so it could be any number of things. Cause also, uh, one might think, well, uh, why would all 14 primal forces be um represented in one chamber if there were fourteen keys? But maybe there's more chambers. Oh yes.

In other places.

Almost definitely, I think.

Though it could be 14 keys.

There's at least more than one. That much seems certain.

There were in there were the pairings in the in the fable.

Um Right, they fire and something. Yes, and they collided and made chaos. Yes, yes.

So maybe one key represents multiple.

Could be. Could be there.

Uh.

Were they all represent all four teams? Yes, um, anyways, all been.

Do you think you could talk them into letting me inspect his mind?

I would love to. And may okay, perfect. Let's go. I can at least give you um time alone with him. Which should be enough.

Or maybe you could join and Oh yes. Um, I find your music almost meditative.

Alright. And it might help him. Yes, I can I can participate in that. Why not? Okay.

You wander out of the front of the red thorn.

I'm make sure to grab Luther on my way.

Grab Luther, get prepared, grab all of your things, the the accoutrement you carry throughout the day. I got my alder. Oh, yeah, you got your staff.

The alder staff.

Oh yeah. You wander past the sleeping forms of various uh uh uh debaucherous souls who found rest where they where they found it. And uh wander through the uh the the foyer here of the of the red thorn out into the morning light. It is a cool, crisp spring morning, and you make your way into the center of town, um, kind of to the east, away from where the red thorn kind of abuts the b the bluffs of high stone um and wander past the the central massive maple tree here in the center of town.

You see also some people just out on tables with heads resting on the house.

I have to poke one.

Um five more minutes.

Uh we drink a lot, but could have been worse.

Uh yeah. There's always the smell.

Yeah. As you wander through, you see, yeah, just uh a cleanup is gonna be necessary. Um you see mugs and the the the leavings of a city after a town after a very a very intense night of partying. Yeah. Just yeah, mugs and tablecloths and random shoes and bits of clothing that are just left on the wayside.

Yeah. You are one of not a ton of people who are wandering, or like there's the activity level is definitely lower and suppressed than it might otherwise be. And you do see a few people who are very bleary-eyed and not and looking miserable wandering through the streets going off to their work or whatever.

But yeah.

I just want to scan the pro like look for that that silhouette, that shape of the the dwarf dwarf. Make a perception check for me.

Critty critty crit for a total of 27.

Let's go!

Oh man. Okay, that is that is crazy. Um keep my boy safe. Vale, as you look around the uh the area, you search through all of the shadowed alleyways and the porches and recesses where you look for that same silhouette of that wide-brimmed hat and that long coat, and you do not see it. You're very confident.

But as you are looking, you see crow that is like sitting on the edge of a of a building looking at you. And as you're looking around throughout your walk, you spot it again on a building up ahead of you, looking at you. And after the third time of this same bird. It's the same bird. It's the same bird.

MZ. Yes, ma'am. No, no, no, don't wake up. You're alright.

What's what's wrong, guys?

That bird is following us. I've been keeping an eye out for your hunter. Yes. And that bird is jumped. Not once, not twice, three times. Following us.

You think it's red?

Yes. I do.

That's probably bad. Probably. Shaw killed that um He killed Class.

Yes. You saw the poison.

Yes. So we're probably fine then.

How to how to put a I wouldn't I wouldn't wager on it. He worked for Dredd. Um oh no, I suppose not. Or you mean class or Class. Yes, he did, but he was betraying Dred. And Shaw killed him. Works for the same. They both work for the Arcanite trade. But Class. Class was betraying the Arcanite trade. With the bugbears.

No, I don't Dread is a is another thing altogether. It's a lot. Um I mean it's the Freywood. It's um it's wild out here. I think Dread sort of uh is overseeing things. I think Dread is probably a little more frightful than Architect Trade, even.

So they're watching us more.

Yes, but I think we've served their interests. So maybe we're fine for now. What happens if he waves to it?

And it flutters off.

I'm gonna take that as a good sign.

I think it said hello. It said hello as it flew away.

unknown I don't know.

Alright. Yes, well, you know, we'll find out when we get there, won't we?

You wander through the streets and eventually arrive outside of um the domicile. And in your downtime uh over the last several days, you were able to ascertain where this place is, and having been intent on coming to see this man at some point. Yeah. You see at the sort of right at the edge of the market ward, technically within the wall ward, um, as most of the Thornwatch all live in the perimeter district of town, close to the wall wards.

Better be able to get to their jobs and the wall when such moments arise. You find a relatively small house in the shade of a uh of a tall pine. Um yeah, you it's you see a uh uh gentle smoke rising from a small stone chimney, um, well-tended flower beds out front, and you're able to walk up to the front of it, knock on the door, and a moment later you hear the sound of footsteps, and a door opens.

You see standing there, um a woman. She is um has her sort of long dark hair tied back. Uh she currently wears a um plain woolen dress, sleeves rolled up, and she see an apron that's tied at the waist, and she sort of looks at you guys. Hello. Um I Ms.

Belgard. Uh Ramsay the Friend, um uh the Vale. Uh I don't know if you've heard of us. We have uh a few heroic exploits in recent days.

I did. I I heard a rumor last night. You're the one who housed the governor.

Well, we were able to get her somewhere safe, but she was in poor form, so don't know. I heard last night people uh talking. Um was a harrowing event, um sorry to report, but that's not why we're here.

Um You're friends of Phil's?

Yes. As uh friendly as friends can be with Phil?

She's uh Hmm.

She's a sharp.

She's prickly, but she's um pretty soft underneath that old.

She's a good sword.

Very capable healer.

Yes. Yeah. Certainly that. Most of the time. Yeah. I um I assume you're referring to your husband.

Yes, and you can kind of see over her shoulder, like you see um a familiar silhouette. You see um Aubin. You see, he's uh um a little thinner um than when you last saw him. Um he has like a probably four or five day beard, and he stands, you just see him silhouetted in the sort of morning light coming through a window as he's at the kitchen, basically, and he looks like he's like washing dishes.

He's he's moving pretty slow, but he's he's going about his routine. Um is why we're here.

Right. We um well, we've had some.

I don't know if do I still have the marks from where the spider got me? At this point, god, that was 10 days ago. It was like 10, 11 days ago. Um, yeah, I mean they're they're probably really faint at this point, you know. Um uh most bruises heal uh I think are totally gone, like around 10, 14 days, which you it was about 12 or 13 days ago, I think.

Right. So just it might be just the faintest, yeah.

We um but we encountered something that I think might shed some light on what's happened to Auburn. Um and I show her faintly. I don't know um how closely you looked at his injuries, but um they were created by s well something quite uh bizarre. Um that I happen to experience myself, and um the Vale, uh as whether or not it's it's been widely reported yet, um has quite an affinity with ailments of the mind.

Um and since Orban has lost some of his acuity, his faculties, we may be able to help, and if not, at least shed some more light on what's happened.

With your permission, of course. Make a persuasion check at advantage for me.

Natural 20.

Oh, this is jumping up. Let's go, dude.

Okay. Oh man, that's awesome. Wow. Okay.

Yeah, for a total of 27. That's a lot. Some of my some of my own against my will, some of my own vulnerability kind of shows through, some of my own like desire for my own clarity. Yeah, kind of presents in my visage.

And you see as as as you as you come asking um to once again kind of disrupt the life of a woman who has now so many times held to hope and been disappointed. Yeah. You see that moment of like vulnerability shine through.

unknown Okay.

Um in. Thank you.

Robin.

And you see as he responds to his name, yeah. Kind of looks at you both. Walks over. Um, if you uh have a seat, sir.

We will um we just have a few questions for you. Um if it's possible to relax yourself. That would be best. I'm Ramsay the Vale. We we mean no harm. We come um hopefully to ease your suffering.

And he looks at his wife, Louise, who she puts her hand kind of up on his shoulder. He's quite tall. And she nods at him. It's okay, sweetheart. And you see, he goes over and he sits down in a comfortable armchair. And he sort of leans back. It's very interesting. He moves slowly, but in that, in the motion, you see, you see the unmistakable like acuity, this sort of like self, the bodily self-awareness of a trained warrior.

Like he moves with this sort of even though it's slow, it's very intentional, and there's this grace about him that you're not unfamiliar with, having seen so many other members of the Thornwatch, um, and the way that they're able to move through the woods and and and the way they fight.

But you see as he sits down and puts his hands over on the armchairs and looks to both of you and kind of questioningly one moment, sorry, sorry. The tools don't always put um you know make things easy on us, do they?

No. Well, we have time. Have you um had anything to eat? Luis asks.

unknown No.

Uh not this morning, no.

Okay.

And she just pats her pats Aubin's hand. I'll be right back. And you see as he seems to understand her. And she goes off just kind of a few feet away from you into the kitchen and begins grabbing and preparing morning tea and just some sort of light refreshment. Thank you. And you see as Aubin kind of looks at you.

I am going to attempt to see your mind.

It's a gift for my people. To find out what happened to you.

Ramsey's want to play some music. And as he is doing that, I'll hold my hands on either side of his head.

Okay. And Chail, as you sort of reach out your hands, you he looks over, you say, My friend's gonna play some music.

He kind of looks over at you, Ramsay, fiddling, and a a star drops out of a constellation of my neck, it comes down my right arm up to the tip of my thumb, and it jumps to my forefinger, but it stays a lit my thumb, to my middle finger, to my ring finger, jumping, and then it jumps across to my other hand, alighting the fingertips as a a field of stars um bursts into the space where his head is.

Kwa ni as I cast detect thoughts. Okay, close my eyes. What happened to you? Show me.

And as the explosion of stars resembling the various neural pathways of the human mind sort of condense and coalesce around Ovin's head, you feel your magic through your hands enter into the space.

Ooh, and if I may, the one like right in front of his face when I was in that tower, and I looked up and saw those stars. That is the constellation in front of his eyes.

Stars shift to resemble the familiar Freywood night sky. And you enter into Aubin's mind. You sense a dullness. Everything is rounded edges, everything is blurry, as if viewed through fogged glass. You hear language coming at you, and you understand the intent and the basics, but not the intricacies or the subtleties.

You see a flash, flashes of several days gone by in a haze of routine. You see one bright moment. You hear alarm bells and fire, and you feel a sense of purpose. You feel the familiar shaft of a bow pulled taut in the hand, the familiar sensation of an arrow let loose, the familiar need, a desire, a driving force to help, to protect, to aid.

And then it's back into dullness, days on end, going backwards and backwards, and then it's dark, you're in twilight. No, it's the wood, the trees, the boughs overhead. You see streaks of silver light webs illuminated by shafts of sunlight peeking through the canopy of trees. You see a cavernous opening ahead of you in a hillside.

You feel the familiar scents, sounds of the Freywood, the familiar tread of a person accustomed to moving quietly. You feel the bowstring taut against your forefinger and your middle finger as you enter into the darkness. The temperature drops. You look around, you smell the dank dirt and something putrid.

Show me. And then this gittering noise assaults your senses. You immediately sense movement to your left. You turn, you let loose, you hear the of a some sort of creature as your arrow takes it in the face, and then suddenly something tight constricts around the back of your head. You feel slime, appendages grab a hold of your neck.

You feel something dig into the back of your skull, you feel lancing pain, and suddenly your self is drawn away from you. Pulled outward. And that dullness, you feel this feral sense take over. You reach down to something, something sharp, something handy. You feel your hand close around the hilt of a knife.

You blindly stab upwards and behind you. You can't speak, you can't scream. You feel the squelch of blood as suddenly those tentacles, those those appendages release, and you run and you run and you run, and you don't remember who you are or why you were here or what you were supposed to do. You just know that safety is somewhere this way, and you keep running and you keep running, and you see the gates, and you burst through them, and people, people you know but can't remember, grab a hold of you and calm you down as suddenly everything goes into a haze again.

And in that moment, Dale, what do you do?

Who am I? Who are you?

And um the remotes of light go to my palms and connect to each other from my palms through his head. And I cast um uh what do I cast? I cast a I cast a thing. Uh I cast a spell magic. Um, I cast a spell magic to see if it helps. Um third level.

Hale, as you experience this memory and you ask this question, who am I, who are you, and you push your magic into the space between in an attempt to banish this haze? I'm going to allow Aben to attempt to make a saving throw. I will say, with the expenditure of your magic, he's going to do so at advantage.

And Ramsay.

Yeah, certainly. If I can.

Minus five. Bring him to a nine. Plus four, which puts his total at a thirteen. And the haze pulls back from Oben Belgrade's mind as the feeble mind effect that has been on him since he encountered this creature goes away. Oh God. Um reaches up and he grabs your hands. What did you And speech is returned to him.

And you see the full lucidity of a man. Just do it. I think you've done it. What did you do? And Luis runs in from her place in the kitchen. Ovin? Ovin? And he Luis! And he stands up and he runs over to his wife and he embraces her. What happened? What happened to me? Where have I What was that? And he turns to you, Vale.

What did you do?

I gave you a moment. You fought. You were hidden behind a haze in your mind. It was the same.

Those creatures there. And easily as Louise looks up and she grabs her husband by the face and turns, she's like, You're back.

You're back.

And you see he. I've been here the whole time, sweetheart. I just. I couldn't, Tom. You couldn't see through. And with the aid of your dispel magic.

Yeah.

You fe you see a man restored. As he was only able to do that saving throw every 30 days. But thanks to the detect thoughts, the music, and the combined efforts of you both. He is restored. You helped.

All in a day's work for the hero of the veil.

Um. Oh my god, I gotta uh. Have any of um have any of those things come? Uh did is anybody tell Tacket?

What is um Oh my god, I not yet, no. Where did you where did you see them? What did you d was it a a spider with uh tentacles coming out of its face?

I don't know. I don't know. It got me from behind. I didn't see it, I didn't hear it, I heard um, but I did I was there was a cave. Uh I was Was it the same cave? No, it's different. It was different. Okay, a cave where? It was um I was I was I was about a day, a day north, uh or sorry, um I was about a day a little south and east of town or west of town.

Um Can you make a map? Southwest, are you sure? Southeast or southwest, southwest, yeah, yeah, yeah. I was I was on long-range patrol, and um uh Can you make a map?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I r I remember where I was, but I don't remember what.

Was the sound the same as those guy those creatures coming into You remember the skittering that you heard, that sort of same the the the re the recoiling at the damage was the same as the creatures that you guys fought in the chamber. It it it was the same.

If there's another one of those things, then there might be another key. Yes. Or at least another chamber. There's evidence something, some uh a lead. We need a map. If you can, if it's all right. I I don't have to put too much strain on you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um okay, I can make you a map. I gotta tell Tacket. Um, because if there's more of those things out there, then then that's bad. That's really bad. Um I'll tell you that. They're not good. No. Well. Um. And he grabs his wife. Uh, sweetheart, I I gotta go and she's like, go. It's okay.

I'll um I'm just and you see, just like she she's at a loss for words as she just reaches up and she kisses her husband. Um and they sure you see you are witnesses to this intimate moment between these two people as they part.

As they start to part, I reach like right in between them, like as their faces are really like Yeah. And I've got two moats.

Uh-huh. One for each of you. She ignores your hand and she just smashes you into a hug. And she buries her. She's quite small, actually. She buries her face like in your chest, and you feel the quiet, kind of like just a like one or two like laugh and a sob and relief. And you just hear, thank you. She pulls back.

Thank you. And she turns to her husband. Go, bud. Get your ass back here. As soon as you're done. Eat this.

Quite better. It's good. It's good.

I'll do at this point. And she just takes it and eats it. Mm-hmm.

Thank you.

You too.

I think she's alright. No, for Abin. Yes, right. He takes one, eats one. Oh. And you see him immediately register what it is. Yeah. As he's familiar with the druidic. Yeah, the familiar magic. And he walks out of the front with you both. Come on. We gotta let Tacket know. And all right. Yes, yeah. Yeah.

Um, definitely worth reporting.

Yeah.

Our success. Yes.

And he walks out of his front door and out into the sun, and you feel as he stops. At which point you see two familiar figures making their way up the road.

And we'll pick up their boy.

Not worry, we've no other appointments today.

Well done, gentlemen. Well done, guys. All right. We'll we'll see you next time. Hope you enjoyed watching as much as we did. Bye, Venturers.

Guys, hey venturers. It's your friendly neighborhood editor, Shane. Quick heads up. Next week we will be premiering our official Daggerheart one shot in collaboration with Darrington Press, Dark Heart of Andaloria. I will be GMing it. I'm really, really excited to share with you guys. Please, if you haven't already, head over to our Instagram and our TikTok and our YouTube and hit like on our trailers and our posts about that.

We really want to show Darrington that we mean business and that we're cool kids and it's cool to work with us. We hope you enjoy watching us play other systems. I can't say any more on that right now, but we really hope you enjoy that because there may be some more of that in the future. We're super, super pumped to uh broaden our horizons in this way.

And we can't do that further without your support. So uh it's totally free to go. I like a post on Instagram. So I won't belabor the point any further, but please do do that if you haven't already. Thank you all so much. We'll see you next week for Dark Heart of Andaloria. It is a bloodbath, it is a spooky dookie adventure, it is four hours long.

So uh brace yourselves, folks, and uh we'll see you then. Take care, adventurers.

C2 E28 | A Madness Most Discrete

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