D&D is For Nerds - Stories of The Greyhill Free Company I #22 Horsemarks in the Woods
Episode Date: October 2, 2021Sign up to our newsletter here. Join our facebook group here or join our Discord here.You can now physically send us stuff to PO BOX 7127, Reservoir East, Victoria, 3073.Want to help support the show?...Sanspants+ | Shop | TeesWant to get in contact with us? Email | Twitter | Website | Facebook | RedditOr individually at;Adam | Cass | Tom | Jackson | ZammitTheme music by the wonderfully talented Mia (AtomicCupcakes). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Sants Pants Radio, Australia's dumbest podcast network.
Previously, on Stories of the Greyhill Free Company.
You know, old corpses.
Old corpses.
Yeah.
But I guess the fighting continued from upstairs to here.
It's no good.
You feel a chill run down your spine as if something cold had rushed along it.
Then you leave.
Yeah, same thing.
You've got the willies.
Oh, no.
This feels very unlike yayola yayola does not
yayola isn't like a callous person but yayola has never really cared about funeral rights yes
perhaps that was the um the vibing is give these poor folk a decent burial say a few prayers all
they know is that they have existed here since before they can remember. Since before, for them, time began. His last words still magically echoing through time.
A seal upon this place.
And in doing so, they break a seal
that has existed here for so very long.
Stirring, it realizes that its cage has been unlocked
and it has not fed for so very long.
And Chantel gets to the top.
All right.
You're all out.
I feel her.
Okay.
What's around us?
Let's quick vibe check of the area.
That's forest.
As you're making your way down the mountain, you, who's at the back?
Probably.
It might be me because I'm taller and it feels like a nice way to bookend.
Yeah.
That way I can see everyone like a mama duck.
You hear something big and heavy crashing through the trees behind you.
Oh, no.
Get up the trees.
Hide?
What?
Hide?
Hide, hide, hide.
Something's coming.
I'm going to go up a tree, but I don't know what you want to do.
We try and hide, Adam.
We try and hide.
So you're going to try and hide.
Glovel tries to hide.
I suggest that everyone sort of splits off left and right.
Chantel's also going to try and hide.
Does so poorly.
Yayola dives into a bush and is gone.
Did I do good, Adam Adam or did I do bad?
You're not sure
Can I double my proficiency bonus in that?
You do as well as you can
and it feels like you do decently
but a hiding place
is only
you don't know how good a hiding place is until someone's looking
That's fair
Double of one is only two
Love is blind climbs a nearby tree.
That's clever.
What are you doing?
Climbing a tree.
You do a pretty good job of climbing a tree.
Yes, you save.
Just above your own head height,
when a bear explodes out of some trees,
quite clearly terrified,
it bumps into Chantel
and
swipes at her in panic.
Aww. Let's go to initiative.
That poor bear. No, let the bear run.
The bear's just scared.
The bear is panicking and is attacking.
There's nothing you can do
except... Spank bear on bum.
Send him on his way.
Yeah. Spank him on his bear
bum. Bears can climb trees, can't they his way. Yeah. Spank him on his bear bum.
Bears can climb trees, can't they? Yeah.
Okay. Maybe if I stay hidden.
How many of us have ranged weapons that we can
sort of... Because if we pop out
and whatever's chasing the bear pops out...
Who would you like to act with, Globble?
I'll go with Chantel. Who would you
like to act with, Big T? I'm gonna go
Yayola. Enjoy playing a cleric. Loser. I won't. I'll go with Chantel. Who would you like to act with, Big T? I'm going to go Aeolum.
Enjoy playing a cleric.
Loser.
I won't.
No, I will.
All right.
Global, it's your turn first.
Is the bear looking like it's going to throw down?
Yeah, the bear's throwing down. Like if Chantel moves out of the way to go bear.
She could make a handle animal check to just get the bear to pass her by.
You should just tell the bear to go.
Speak with animals.
Okay.
And then an animal handling check,
and then to chat with the animal to be like,
what is going on?
Hey, good friend.
All right, you cast speak with animals,
and then you try to have it.
So you got one sentence.
What would you like to say?
We're not your enemy.
We're running from it too.
Say hide with us.
Yes.
All right.
And you want Chantel to do what?
Help me in terms of animal handling.
Okay.
Well, Chantel makes an animal handling check.
You hear the bear screaming, it's coming, it's coming coming and then it swipes at chantelle oh no
it's just acting you could tell it's just acting in blind panic that's fair it's imagine a bear
got imagine you come around a corner and bump into a bear and startle it and it swipes at you. Everything makes sense.
Fight and flight for this fucker.
The bear
slashes at Chantel, hitting her.
And Chantel takes
too many.
Six.
Six.
14.
19 points of damage.
Oh no!
And then it is Big T, your turn with Yayola.
Um, Yayola's hidden, aren't they?
Yes.
Um, I would like to cast Thermaturgy to sort of make some flames where, behind where the
bear was running to, to try and scare the bear in the direction it was going.
I'll make that a advantage on the next handle animal check that you make to get the bear to move along.
That was Yayola's turn.
Big T, would you like to do anything?
No.
Everybody just be calm.
If we expose ourselves and the bear doesn't go away sooner, we need the drop on whatever's coming, you know?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Love is blind. ourselves and the bear doesn't go away sooner we need the drop on whatever's coming you know yeah
yeah yeah yeah uh love is blind love is blind casts thunderclap up in the tree it doesn't
actually hurt anyone it explodes part of the tree but it makes a booming loud sound and i'll say
plus one to the handle animal check as well i would tell the animal where we're at. So, Globble and Chantel.
The bear is not getting up to
love is blind.
Well, first off, Chantel is going to do
a bit of a second wind.
Just to get some health back.
Chantel recovers
seven hit points. And then he's going to dodge
or whatever it might be.
An action would be to use handle animal.
Would you like to dodge or handle animal?
Well, get her, Chantel, to get out of the way.
And then I, as Globble, is going to say,
run and handle animal for the bear.
Run away.
Go.
The bear, okay.
We'll be behind you.
Don't worry.
What?
We're also running. The bear sprints off. It's gone. Don't worry. What? We're also running.
The bear sprints off.
It's gone.
Let's run.
Whatever the sail scared that, it's scaring me.
Good job.
Well, you keep going and you march or half run maybe until the end of day.
I'll let you make double time but for one level of exhaustion.
Probably worth it. Probably worth it.
We'll run every four hours
to make me wet.
Then we'll keep going.
You make a good time. You're a
decent distance away from the
mountain.
So surely there's enough food
between there and here
for it to be okay for us now.
That was... It didn't look like it was eating. between there and here for it to be okay for us now. Yeah, that was.
It didn't look like it was eating.
Yes, I don't think it was hungry per se.
Then why was it?
I'm guessing perhaps it was its lair, wherever it lived was there.
You just want people out of your house?
No, I understand that.
Yes, yes.
So yes, this is, I guess, be wary.
There are so many monsters there. Yes. Yes. So, yes, this is, I guess, be wary. There are so many monsters there.
The giant bird, the dragons and the bird, eh?
Yes, there's quite a lot of problems going on in this section of the world.
Yeah, I guess that's why we're here.
You know, we're trying to make it a little bit of a better place.
Okay.
That's what the Greyhill Free Company stands for.
Trying to make this place a little bit better for everybody else.
Stronger together, yes.
Yes, adventures together strong.
You're going to bed down for the night?
Yes, I think probably we should find somewhere to have a bit of a bed down
to have a rest.
That sounds good.
Get our bearings, see where we're going.
Oh, too soon.
Can I get both of you to roll the encounter dice?
Seven.
One.
Uneventful night. Excellent.
Thank God. Yayola has started
to, before you go to sleep,
she has started to construct with
rocks a little fire
pit sort of thing, which she then lights
a fire in and says a prayer, which she then lights a fire in
and says a prayer over before she goes to sleep.
Yes.
Okay.
Join in on that prayer, perhaps, if she'll let us.
Sure.
Is that polite?
It's fine, yeah.
Yaelo doesn't mind.
Yaelo already is kind of like an interloper here,
worshipping a dwarven god.
Before we have that long rest again,
maybe we'd have another chat with animals to see lay of the land.
Have a chat with them to see if they've been seeing anything, any cobalt, any dangers going on.
Maybe you'll talk to a bird or a squirrel.
No, you glean no useful information off these animals.
Okay, that's fair.
Well, in the morning, let's get our bearings and let's head towards this cult place.
We're going to look out for those, I guess,
slavers as they come our way, but
who knows what's going
on right here. There's so many things happening.
For the next day, can I get
you to roll the encounter dice twice?
Five.
Twelve.
Cool. No, that's
fine. So at some point you get back onto
the road and you're heading along the road towards that chapel
where the cultists live.
Along that trip, you see that there are, up ahead of you,
there are a series of wagons that have quite obviously come to a stop
and it looks like trouble ahead.
Yeah.
You're some distance away from it.
How would you like to react?
So, look, that looks like to react? So, look
That looks like a wagon overturned, yes?
So I would probably say
It's a trap
It's definitely, look
It could be a lot of things
It could be the kobolds in this area
It could be them again
It could be these cultists that we're heading towards
It could even be, heaven forbid
It could even be these slavers as well.
Whatever it is, these people need our help.
That's fair.
How about this?
If we are seeing them, are they seeing us?
There's no one there.
What about this?
Or none that you can see.
This seems suspicious.
This does seem quite suspicious.
What about if I turn into, say, some kind of...
Look, I'll turn into a little monkey.
I'll go in the treetops.
I'll swing by and have a look.
And then I'll come back and see what's going on.
The tree coverage here is probably not thick enough for that.
A deer, perhaps.
Let's all pretend like we're going off into the woods here.
I'll turn into a deer.
I'll come back.
Look like I'm being chased by you guys.
And then if we don't spring a trap, then we can all investigate. What does that say? I'm just like, look, I'm just into a deer. I'll come back, look like I've been chased by you guys, and then if we don't spring a trap, then we can all investigate.
What does that say?
I'm just a little bit cautious right now.
That sounds good.
I mean, if someone got into trouble here and now they're gone,
it means that if we go over there, we're stealing their things.
Yes.
But if they needed help, they'd still be here.
Yes.
I don't feel good about this, but go for it.
Yeah, I don't feel good either.
I'm very wary of perhaps one thing is somebody to help.
That's one thing.
But there are many things that want to kill us.
So many.
So many.
Okay.
Well, let's go back into the forest then.
Yes.
Look, I see a deer, I say, and then run off.
Oh, that will be lunch.
Good pantomime.
All right.
A lot of you run off into the nearest, thickest part of the forest,
and you transform into a deer.
Yes.
And then you sprint towards where the wagons are.
Yes.
And everyone else follows you. You get there, obviously,
way ahead of everyone else. Oh, we don't follow him. We stay in the forest, yeah?
We're waiting. He's reporting back. Yes. Oh, okay. So no one's following.
No. Okay. So you just, as a deer, run towards, bound towards the
wagons. Make it look like he's been chased out of the forest. Yes. Okay. So
you bound up towards these wagons.
There are maybe five of them.
Several of them are overturned.
So of the five, maybe only two were actually standing.
The front one, which is maybe one of the standing ones,
has been turned off and has been kind of forced into a ditch.
And one of the other ones is just standing,
but you could see obvious signs of
fighting and struggling there are no people here no horses no no merchants of anything of any sort
like that you could tell that these people were obviously trying to make a shortcut here it looks
like they were trying to get further into kandor into a different part of Kandor, and hoping to avoid probably the king's road, which means
the king's taxes.
So, moral of this story is
pay your taxes
or you'll be fucking killed.
Or enslaved, you're not sure.
You're not 100% sure.
You're still not 100% sure who did this.
There, like I said, are obvious signs of a
struggle, and you can see very obvious
drag marks going off into the forest.
There's no blood here whatsoever.
There are maybe some broken weapons and stuff like that.
There are several sets of really big drag marks.
And you can tell that the horses were dragged away as well.
Not led, dragged away.
Okay. As in like picked up and dragged? Or just. Not led, dragged away. Okay.
As in like picked up and dragged or just being like led by their...
No, dragged.
Like they're on the ground, drag.
Oh, that's not good.
You look around and you can see there is like a...
Don't make jokes.
No jokes.
All right.
There is a sticky white substance all over the place.
Okay.
You touch it and it's like gooey and sticky.
Is it like webs?
Yes.
Are we looking at webs, Adam?
We're looking at giant spiders, Adam?
Yeah, you're looking at giant spiders.
I look around, a very scared deer.
Your slavers appear to be giant spiders.
Yeah.
Well, you are looking
a little too much like a horse, so
maybe come
back? Yes, I prance back.
Alright. I turn back.
Good news, bad news.
Good news
is that I think I've
uncovered who the slavers are.
The bad news is
spiders. Big spiders news is spiders.
It's big spiders, giant spiders.
You know, like spiders are big, bigger than big.
Think of a big spider, now big it.
I do not know what a spider is.
It's like an eight-legged bug with big pointy teeth that likes to eat you
and encases you in a web.
We do not have those in the deserts of my homeland.
Right.
So think of scorpions.
Scorpions we have.
Yes.
Okay.
No tail, more legs.
Yes.
No tail, more legs.
That's the most delicious part.
Yes.
No part of a spider is gone.
No, unfortunately the pasty bits have gone away on the spider.
I maybe do a very crude drawing on the dirt.
That's a spider.
It looks like the sun.
Yeah, yeah.
I assume, yes.
It does look a lot like the sun.
Are you sure it's not the sun?
Look at the sun.
Ow.
Look at the suns.
Suns.
No, no, no.
Definitely not the sun.
It usually has two bodies.
It's in like two circles.
Two circles and then this, and then I draw like a web.
It's not great.
Yeah, like the suns, two circles.
So it's the suns joined in together.
Yes, but like a big dog.
A double eclipse.
Okay.
Yes.
Anyway, you think this is big spiders?
Yes, yes, yes.
Why is this whole forest so itty?
This forest is very itty, yes.
So I guess we could deal with the spiders if we wanted to.
Why?
That was part of the contract.
To deal with the bandits.
But they're not bandits.
They're just spiders.
Probably easier to, maybe easier.
What do you know about spiders?
What do you know about spiders?
Great question.
Great question. Incredible. Can I say a spiders? What do you know about spiders? Great question. Great question.
Incredible.
Can I say a word? Can we, if they eat horses, can we just kill a deer and fill it full of poison
so the spiders eat the deer and kill themselves?
Do you think you have enough poison?
Yes.
I would usually get the poison from a spider you're right
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Well, it depends on the type of spider, to be
honest. There's a lot of spider types.
A regular
giant spider is already
about the size of a horse. Significantly more
dangerous, though. You know that they can stick you in place with a web to restrain you.
And then typically from there, they will inject you with a poison or acid that will dissolve you.
And then they like to drink you up.
Though some eat differently.
Some prefer live prey.
Some prefer dead.
Some will just eat a corpse others only want to
have live uh and struggling i explain this to love is blind but use the reference point as a horse
yes there are other types of spiders though there's uh uh spiders infused with like fiendish
resistance so demonic spiders you can have kind of hell spiders, I suppose, but I don't know
if they were quite right. I've very rarely come across
an intelligent spider, but I don't know if
they exist. Do they exist?
Intelligent spiders? You would imagine
they are possible, but you don't know if they exist.
I've never heard of a talking spider.
But, look, I gesture the
wonderful wide world.
It's potentially possible that it's a swarm
of spiders as well. It could just's a swarm of spiders as well.
It could just be a swarm of spiders.
Less the size of a horse and more the size of, say, small dogs.
They just kind of descend upon.
No, no, no.
Spiders, like regular, maybe tarantula size.
Yeah, right.
So less the size of.
But a lot of.
But a lot of them.
So it could be little tiny spiders all working together in unison, which I don't like, to be honest.
It happens.
But they're spiders.
They get together kind of like a rat king.
They sort of coalesce somewhat together and act as like a hive mind.
You've also heard of a terrifying creature called a phase spider.
There's something called a phase spider, which…
Phase spiders are similar to regular spiders, but they can teleport.
They are not of this plane.
They are actually from another plane of existence, but they can teleport. They are not of this plane. They are actually from
another plane of existence, but often
phase into here.
Say, for example, you're sitting
in your lounge room
having a wonderful cup of tea
and then a spider just happens
to appear for a brief moment,
rears up, and then goes away again. That's
a phase spider and is terrifying.
A phase spider would possibly be the worst-case scenario.
That's the worst-case scenario.
No, but then they're not here as much.
That's true.
Probably evens out.
It's worse, but less.
Yes.
Well.
I still think we should go, but no, we need to kill them.
So let's all investigate the overturned wagons,
because if they're taking just, I guess, the people,
they probably left some of the goods.
Potentially, yes.
Ah, yes, the people we're trying to help.
Yes, there.
It looks like this happened a while ago.
You don't think they're still alive.
Well, actually, you might, if you were really quick,
depending on how far away the spider's
lair is
you might be able to save these people
yeah right well we could
look at the tracks
it seems to be kind of recent so
depending on the spider and depending on how
quick we are depending on how far away it is
we could perhaps save these fine folk
oh we probably should, shouldn't we?
Of course we should.
Well, let's
see what's here and then we'll
go on a spider hunting
expedition. Okay.
Let's go.
Sorry, are you searching
the wagons and whatnot? Yes.
Don't we need to save time?
Right. How much is time of the essence?
Could be very important.
You're not sure.
Okay, well, let's just
head off then. We know where this
wagon is, and we know
generally the direction we're going with, so let's go
with that then. If we live, we can come back.
Exactly.
Yes.
We'll look at the spider tracks, I guess, and see which way they go.
It would look like little dots everywhere.
Are you in charge following the spider tracks?
Yeah.
Have I proven to be the best outdoorsman?
You are among some of the outdoorsmen.
Yes.
Can't we tell from the tracks whether or not it's big one spider
or many little?
Yes.
Well, no, because you actually do a very poor job of following the tracks.
You have trouble acquiring the trail.
Could I, with a tripling of that profession bonus,
you're all very
poorly, but we'll see.
That's not promising.
No. Number three times one is
only three.
Alright, yeah, you can't tell if
it's... So, you're following by
the dragging, not by actual
footfalls, so you actually can't tell if
it's one big or many little.
I don't. i'm really just
following the horse really at this point yeah just following the horse i wish i could say any
better but honestly i'm really just focusing on that horse all right that's the biggest track i
understand i'm good at tracking you follow the trail for about an hour and then you you hear
some like rustling bushes in front of you. Everyone draws weapons and prepares to fight.
But then riding on the back of a gazelle, lowered down.
Obviously, they were moving at great speed.
Riding on the back of a gazelle is an elf, a strange-looking elf.
Their hair is autumn leaves.
Like, literally, their hair is, is imagine a dense bush of autumn leaves
cascading out behind his head his face or his skin looks literally like bark like actually
his skin looks like bark it's knobbly in the same way then how do we know it's an elf he has the
exact same body shape of an elf. He's not
shaped like a tree or anything. He's shaped
exactly like an elf. That tree is
riding a gazelle.
Pointy ears and all.
In Elvish, I will say
hello. In Elvish,
they respond
it is bad
omen that we meet like this.
Like what?
Over death's takes like this.
Ill omen to meet in such terrible conditions.
Yes, yes, I agree.
But nice to meet you.
You are a druid, yes?
Yes, yes.
My name is Globble.
I am from the Greyhill Free Company.
I am Greed of Farash.
Nice to meet you, Greed of Farash.
What circle are you from?
I am from the Swamp Circle.
Swamp Circle.
I do not know this one, but I know of it.
Yes.
I am of Circle of Stars.
Oh, right.
Stars, eh?
You've heard of the Circle of Stars. You've maybe known a few of them.
Oh, yes, yes, yes.
I know.
Do you happen to know a... You've maybe known a few of them. Oh, yes, yes. I know.
Do you happen to know a...
What was their name again?
I think it started with a T.
Like a Tina.
We have no time for pleasantries.
Sorry.
We're following a giant spider.
You are hunting spiders.
Yes, you are, yes.
Many of them giant, led by an evil intelligence.
Intelligent spiders do exist, I say, in common.
Do you speak common?
I do not, no.
I speak elven, the ancient languages and the languages of the forest.
All right, I speak the language of water. I don I don't know if anyone else is speaking Elvish.
Well, Chantal, as an elf, also speaks Elven.
If you look towards me, I say, what?
Yes, never mind.
I thought Chantal was human, anyway.
Oh, Chantal is human.
Fuck.
But speaks Elvish.
I forget why.
That's nice.
Yeah, Elvish is probably the most common one in your party
In that two of you speak
Yes, you're also hunting the spiders?
I am the warden of this forest
Oh, that's very nice
It's impressive
The animals here consider me their protector
Oh, that is very nice
Speaking of, let's walk and talk.
All right.
I fill them in on the dwarven whatever that was.
I am aware of this.
The word travels from vine to tree to bush to me.
Do you know what it was?
No, I do not.
The dwarven fortress stronghold is here long before my tenure.
Yes, fine. It is so ancient
that even the land itself has forgotten
it. Oh, very interesting.
And also a bird killed a lot
of dragons. Have you heard of
this thing? I know of it,
but it lays without my realm
further on. Ah, right.
I think the kobolds, if they survive,
were worshipping it. There are maybe fae
closer to there that understand it better.
I know only of the kobolds.
I kill them when I can, but sometimes it is hard.
They maybe worship this bird, but they have no communications with it.
Oh, that makes sense.
Kobolds, yes.
They always think the biggest thing.
I have seen it.
It is truly incredibly large.
You've seen it?
A bird of great size, yes.
Yes, and we only found its lair.
It looks like a sparrow.
Sparrow?
Yes, but very big.
Sparrow, is it?
Yes.
Interesting.
I imagined it a bit more like...
I imagine you think of a giant bird,
you think like an eagle, a vulture.
But Sparrow.
It's the idea that it hops.
Yes.
Dumps, dumps, dumps.
Oh, yes, it moves with hops.
Huh.
Yeah, that's something to write back to.
It luckily has largely ignored my realm.
But, yeah, luckily, if it were to swoop and attack,
I do not think there is much I could do.
I do not know what fel magic is created.
If any magic whatsoever was in its creation,
maybe this is a creature that I have just never heard of.
Look, it ripped apart a dragon and a net merchant.
I am aware of this, yes, from the
kobolds. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Oh, so they were worshipping the... and then, of course... They
worshipped the dragons, and when the dragon was killed, they were forced from their home,
and have chosen to worship this bird, thinking perhaps they can appease it. I doubt they can.
Ah, yes, this such a heavy, smooth brain of a kobold. But yes, this
dwarven fortress
I fear
whatever dwells within it
yes, must now be free.
I felt a disturbance
upon the land itself.
Yes, we came across a very terrified bear.
Don't worry, we sent it on its way.
Yes, Peter. He is
easily spooked.
Ah, yes. Yes, Peter. He is easily spooked.
Ah, yes.
He seemed very afraid.
I appreciate that you did not kill him.
So you had all rights to say so.
That is, he was just a scared little bear.
He's nothing.
We look.
Take only photograph, leave only footprints.
But that hasn't been invented yet.
Take only memories?
Take only sketches.
Take only sketches, leave only footprints, you know?
Yes, yes, yes.
I wish to inform you that you are adventurers, obviously, here to claim a bounty of some sort.
Well, yes, well, the intel we had was it was some kind of bandit slaver that was taking but we saw an overturned wagon train Spiders, yes
Many, several
small spiders
swarms of them
some larger spiders, all led
by an intelligent phase
spider. Oh, it is a
phase spider. Yes, I'm afraid this
is the worst of all scenarios
Yes, yes, I was afraid. They have taken part
of the forest as their own. It is now a
no-go zone for me and my animals.
Alright, are we, um,
are you here to try to rid the forest of the
phase spider? I can take you to
the boundaries, but I do not know
if I can help you.
I mean... There are many
problems that I must deal with within my
boundaries. Look, any help is much appreciated.
And of course, from one truth to the next, I understand it.
Your realm takes quite a large area to look after.
And this is only one small part.
But if you can lend a hand of any kind, much appreciated.
What that form will be, again, I don't really mind.
But even just guiding us there, much appreciated.
The further we go, the worse our situation will become.
Or the more dangerous things will become.
Yes, yes.
You and your friends should be on the alert.
We could be attacked at any moment.
Oh, right.
I tell the rest of the party.
And, yeah, we're going towards spider territory.
It's the bad one.
It's the fair one.
The one that...
Oh.
Yeah. And also its... Oh. Yeah.
And also it's little ones as well.
Look, it's no good.
How is it the combination of all of the bad ones?
Yes.
How is it big and little and the fair...
Oh.
Yes, yes, yes.
Oh, can you tell the nice elf?
I'm not sad at him.
I'm sad at the news.
Yes, we'll...
Big tea here.
This is...
Tree stump. She's not happy with the news. I don't think the news... Yes, we'll use our big tea here. This is Tree Stump.
She's not happy with the news. I don't think
anyone is. I give the elf
a little thumbs up, but I still look upset.
Yes.
I'm sorry
this is bad news upon you.
Look, needs must,
and, well, needs must.
If you
are able to solve this problem for me,
I will give you a gift or a wish if it is within my power.
We much appreciate that.
That is super helpful.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Such casual dropping of I'll give you a wish.
Yes.
I think maybe like a boon of some kind.
Yeah, you don't think it's actually like the wish spell.
Well, why would he say it?
It has many meanings.
Anyway, I think it would be wise if we were to bed down now before we go deeper in
so that you may be rested and prepared for the next day's arduous travels.
Oh, yes, of course.
You happen to know any waters?
If those people are alive, this is
killing them, definitely.
Look, we're pretty well rested as it were
and I was hoping we could try and
find the people
that were following
the riders
of that horse. I was hoping to perhaps
if we could rescue them.
If you want to, I can guide you further
but I will not come with you
in your kind of
state. I am slightly weakened from
my own battles, he says.
And he shows you, sure enough, you can see that he's been
wounded in a fight. Do you need
any healing magic? I feel
this would take more than healing magic.
I am fighting off a
disease of sorts.
Yeah, right.
It is not trouble. It will pass,
but I feel like I must need time to meditate
upon this.
I think time is of the essence here.
Perhaps if you would like to come,
lead us where we need to go,
and then if you want to join us,
let us know.
Well, you are taken further and further into the forest
until it's almost like literally a line
where suddenly the trees become heavily cobwebbed
and the ground here is cracked and blackened.
This is the boundary of where my warden now ends.
You may continue onwards,
and good luck to you.
And to you too.
But I cannot help you any further.
Thank you so much for your guidance.
Thank you. I guess I'll send word if we succeed.
Before you leave,
let me give you something.
At least what magic I have left for this day
before the stars return
and my power is renewed.
Oh, thank you.
All of you have the gift of heroism.
Ew. Ew. What does that do?
Yes.
Thank you. We'll write it down.
What does it do? Love it.
Would love to know more.
As a free action, so it must be
on your turn, but it doesn't
cost you anything to do.
You can imbue yourself with
the power of heroism.
Until the spell ends, which is a minute,
you are immune to being
frightened, and you gain temporary
hit points equal to...
You gain, let's say, five temporary hit points
at the start of each of your turns.
Thank you so much.
I really appreciate your help.
This is all I can give you.
No more, unfortunately.
This is okay.
Good luck to you.
Yes, you too.
I wave.
Head into the webs.
He bows to you.
Despite his odd appearance, there is like an odd charm to him.
I bow back.
Okay.
He and the gazelle he is riding bow.
Oh my God, we bow.
Oh, so deep.
Will we ever see Grey Dove Fararash and his gazelle ever again?
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