257 - Transcript - Who Added Them to the Call

Tittlin: Oh. Spesof Beegstick: Oh speak of the devil. Momen Tomori: Okay, there we are. Tittlin: Craig, you dumb bitch, Craig. Tittlin: We were late waiting for you for a long time. Tittlin: You are late. Tittlin: I’m going to fill you in on what happened. Tittlin: And then I’ll want you to shut the fuck up and take some notes, okay, buddy? Tittlin: Thank you. Tittlin: Um. Tittlin: Yeah, so we uh started our session. Tittlin: I wanted to go do the quest board as titling. Tittlin: Um then Spessoff told me no, and I got upset and I’m three hundred feet in the air. Momen Tomori: Outing. Spesof Beegstick: And Momin prepared his spells uh with the context that we will probably be trying to talk to the dragon or the dragons or infiltrate the dragon’s cult uh sometime today. Momen Tomori: Yeah. Tittlin: Whoa, there’s no more queuing. Tittlin: You can’t cue up movements anymore. Momen Tomori: All right, so then what is our plan? Momen Tomori: Are we do we want to try and uh do the upfront approach, or do we want to or do we want to uh try and sneak around? Momen Tomori: Because uh if in the if we do sneak around and get discovered, it’s gonna be difficult to uh to claim honesty after that. Spesof Beegstick: I think trying to deceive a dragon is a monumentally stupid thing to do, as we’ve seen in the past. Spesof Beegstick: So uh I’m not and especially if we’re at least initially like uh honestly we’re approaching simply with uh curiosity as well as asking for the book back nicely. Momen Tomori: All right. Spesof Beegstick: Um and I think we’re we’re trying to probe the dragon for its intentions broadly, right? Spesof Beegstick: And like if its intentions aren’t are any better than Nidhogs, then even offering to copy the tome and give the dragon a copy um is I think a deal we’d be willing to make, right? Momen Tomori: Well scribing a copy uh is probably gonna take a it’s not gonna be a short task. Spesof Beegstick: Well, unless we take uh a jaunt back up to the uh the library and uh yeah use asked to use the magic printer. Momen Tomori: Magic printer. Momen Tomori: The the magic kidney, the magic printer is a physical thing, right? Momen Tomori: It’s not just a spell. DM: Yes. Spesof Beegstick: And sorry, can you also Chris Maybe we should inquire as to what one of those things would cost, and we should prioritize that for the thief in your lab. Momen Tomori: No moment I I was I was th I was the bait it debating if it if it’s a spell, I can could learn it, and and then I wouldn’t need to be but as it is, I’m gonna be taking all my spell scrolls back to the library to get them photocopied. Momen Tomori: Essentially. Momen Tomori: Every so often just returning to the library. Momen Tomori: Hello. Momen Tomori: Momot Roman uh moment standing in front of the Xerox machine just. Spesof Beegstick: That would be super useful to have. DM: Not a bad idea. Spesof Beegstick: Um Chris, out of character, I wanted to ask if you could just remind us uh what Hadrian’s description of the tome was uh that the dragon stole. DM: It is a tomb that explains how to uh become a great worm. DM: So to go from a regular dragon into a being of essentially divine power. DM: So it’s more of a theoretical sort of uh thing rather than a real practical thing. DM: But it might give a dragon some ideas, so it’s best to keep it out of the hands of things that might use it for evil. Spesof Beegstick: Got it. Spesof Beegstick: Okay. Spesof Beegstick: Somebody else. Spesof Beegstick: Yeah, yeah. Momen Tomori: Quickly check. Momen Tomori: Um wait, I’m using preparation for mage hand, right? Momen Tomori: So that’s one. Momen Tomori: And then I’m looking through, and you missed Edwards. Momen Tomori: Fourth level. Momen Tomori: And it still doesn’t count mage hand because it’s a cantrip. Momen Tomori: I guess we’ve done something really unusual with that one. Momen Tomori: Hey. Momen Tomori: That I can remember that exception, though. Momen Tomori: So is that is our plan essentially just go go up to the dragon and say, hey, we know you’re not Nidhog, but you’re trying to be? Momen Tomori: Are you gonna be better than the current hid hug? Momen Tomori: Is that essentially our plan? Spesof Beegstick: Uh uh yes, and maybe kinder terms. Spesof Beegstick: Um in a in a way that won’t get us like lynched by the cult if they’ve got that kind of vibe. Momen Tomori: That entails uh getting a pri a more private audience with a with them, which may be more difficult. Spesof Beegstick: Yeah. Spesof Beegstick: I mean, at the very I think we just kind of need to go and suss it out, because I think we’re not really gonna be able to Yeah, we’re not gonna really be able to figure out what to do unless until we know if we’re able to talk to the dragon directly or if we’re talking to a cult. Momen Tomori: Not gonna be able to plan this. Spesof Beegstick: Uh yeah. Spesof Beegstick: Are you talking to lowly customer service worker or are you talking to the CEO? Momen Tomori: So then are we just going up and saying, hey, we want to speak to the dra to the dragon? Spesof Beegstick: Uh yeah, I think so. Spesof Beegstick: I mean, we could have Tidlin scout ahead a little bit uh on his invisible magic carpet up there. Spesof Beegstick: Also for context, it’s literally just Momin and Smash having this conversation because Tidlin is three hundred feet up in the air and invisible. Tittlin: You just can’t see Tiddlin. Spesof Beegstick: Um, so it’s best off. Momen Tomori: Did someone lose their carpet in the wind? Spesof Beegstick: Um yeah, I think it could be wise to have Tiddlin uh just fly ahead of us uh as long as we’re hopefully confident he won’t get shot out of the sky. Tittlin: If I were to make like a harness straps for the underside of the carpet, and then wear the cloak in a way where it covers the whole carpet. Tittlin: Can I make the carpet invisible? Momen Tomori: Your cloth I don’t think your cloak is that big a second cloak. Tittlin: If I get a second one and then sew them together. Momen Tomori: I think at that point it’s just easier to find an enchanter to uh to make to enchant the carpet to make it invisible for once literally looks like someone lost the carpet off their laundry line. Tittlin: But there’s no enemy up there, so must have been the wind. Spesof Beegstick: That’s how it goes. Spesof Beegstick: All right, well, I’m basically good to just head out and start uh tracking this thing down and see what happens. Spesof Beegstick: So yeah, I think just uh whenever we approach what we deem within. Momen Tomori: Well, we can come up with uh what else we’re gonna do after after Tidlin’s uh laid eyes on it. Spesof Beegstick: Uh close ish proximity, we should uh throw up intellect fortress. Tittlin: I f I fly down. Spesof Beegstick: Um we’re gonna track the dragon, you’re gonna fly up in your carpet and scout ahead uh and let us know when you see something, uh, if we don’t see it from the ground. Tittlin: What’s going on? Tittlin: Okay. Tittlin: And what uh are we throwing up telepathic bond? Momen Tomori: I’ll do that. Tittlin: Um what was the height that I was allowed to go to? Spesof Beegstick: How long doesn’t the cold oh wait, but do you have the cold resistance? Tittlin: Wasn’t it like two thousand or something? Tittlin: Or we said was like two thousand, right? DM: You can go up until you can stop breathing. Momen Tomori: Take you ages. DM: Uh how high can you breathe? Tittlin: Twenty six thousand feet. DM: Wow. DM: Well, there you go. Tittlin: I have the boots. Tittlin: Oh, but they’re not on. Tittlin: Hold on. Tittlin: I should really put those on for this. Spesof Beegstick: ‘Cause yeah, the cold will get you before the before breathing becomes an issue. Tittlin: I feel like I actually don’t need the the wound closure for this. Tittlin: If I’m gonna be so up in the air. Momen Tomori: The period as long as we don’t get into a fight. Tittlin: Yeah, that oh, actually, maybe. Spesof Beegstick: As long as you don’t get one shot by the dragon. Tittlin: I was gonna say the other the other option is I turn off the cloak. Tittlin: Cause they’ll know where I am the whole time. Momen Tomori: We have other means of going invisible. Momen Tomori: I have I do have invisibility prepared. Tittlin: I’ll just I’ll I’ll uh wait, hold on. Tittlin: Uh how high in the air before I can take cold damage. Spesof Beegstick: Are you just asking that like how long does Intellect Fortress uh remain up for an hour? Tittlin: Yeah. Tittlin: Chris, what what temperature do you think is too low for me to be naturally in? DM: Like without your boots. Tittlin: Give me a temperature, because at the top of Mount uh the top of Mount Everest is negative nineteen degrees Celsius. DM: Uh I would say, like. Tittlin: What if I’m wearing thicker clothes? DM: You’re wearing winter clothes, and I suppose down to like negative five. Tittlin: What height on the planet is negative five Celsius. DM: Oh my gosh. Momen Tomori: Why does this matter? Momen Tomori: We’re we’re not we’re not we’re not doing the trigonometry to figure out the angular resolution that Titland will occupy within the sky. Tittlin: Because I know. Tittlin: So let me figure out what that is. Tittlin: Six hundred feet. Tittlin: That’s definitely less than that’s definitely higher degrees than five degrees. Tittlin: So I should be fine without the boots. Tittlin: Six hundred feet in the air, yes. Tittlin: I have a spy glass. Tittlin: I’ll be able. Momen Tomori: It will last for up to an hour. Spesof Beegstick: Okay, so we can’t yeah, so we need to do it when we’re relatively close. Momen Tomori: Whereas the telepathic bond I can I can use that as a ritual so I can just so every ten so I can’t with ten minutes I can just put it right back up. DM: Okay. Spesof Beegstick: With all that sorted, I’m good to go. Momen Tomori: Off we go. DM: What would we like to do? DM: Where are we going? DM: Yeah, absolutely. DM: You put out your spy glass and take a look around, six hundred feet in the air. DM: You have a pretty good view of the surrounding Till Nol uh countryside. DM: Uh unsurprisingly, there isn’t uh a lot going on. Spesof Beegstick: Like it’s not even anywhere close to trying to We need to head south south or west southwest, I believe. Momen Tomori: It’s not like it’s not like it’s besieging the town. Momen Tomori: South, I’m gonna be able to the tokens lie. DM: You don’t know. Spesof Beegstick: Yeah, just making kind of a trek in along that line between if we divide Norholt and Kissy and uh yeah. Spesof Beegstick: Uh no, it’s more west southwest, because we’re basically heading west, but slightly south. Spesof Beegstick: I mean, even then that’s more west than it is south. Spesof Beegstick: We’re in Trond can. Tittlin: No, we’re in Norholt. DM: No, no. Spesof Beegstick: Oh, sorry, I’m looking at our tokens on the map. Tittlin: Oh, okay. Tittlin: My bad. Tittlin: That makes sense. Spesof Beegstick: Thank you. DM: Gotta move that gear up. Spesof Beegstick: So we’re basically heading, I guess essentially either southwest or south southwest. Tittlin: Southwest. Tittlin: Almost south. Tittlin: Alright, I will lead us that way. Tittlin: I’ve got navigational on the lookout because I’m not gonna be get lost in the woods per se, and I’ll always have the reference point. Tittlin: Like, Chris, if I’m looking around, if I start heading in a direction, and will I be able to look back and like obviously see Trond can because it’s an elevated region. Spesof Beegstick: Norholt? DM: Uh yeah, for the three miles or so you can see before you s hit the horizon. DM: Yeah. DM: Oh gosh. Momen Tomori: How far you can you see? Momen Tomori: How far can you see? Tittlin: Twenty-nine point eight eight miles. DM: There you go. Tittlin: So it will be quite a while. Tittlin: I that that is a hundred and fifty-eight thousand feet away. Spesof Beegstick: I mean Moman, do you have locate creature up? Momen Tomori: The issue, the one issue with that is that it doesn’t have half as long a range as I’d hoped for. Momen Tomori: It’s uh let’s see. Momen Tomori: It is only a thousand feet. Spesof Beegstick: Oh. DM: Well, that’s nothing. Tittlin: Almost a hundred and fifty times more. Momen Tomori: I unfortunately I think Tidlin’s gonna see it long before or my my spell does. Momen Tomori: Maybe with a with a large metal dish. Momen Tomori: Just imagine Roman sticking in a uh wand into a telescope into a uh satellite dish. Tittlin: Radio dishes. Momen Tomori: Anyway, on we go. Momen Tomori: Searching this should actually be relatively easy to find, considering that if they have a cult with them, they’re gonna be leaving a significant number of attacks. Momen Tomori: So I think mostly we need and they are going west, so I think mostly we need to go south until we until we f hit that large set of tracks. Spesof Beegstick: Yep, that sounds good to me. Spesof Beegstick: So we’ll head uh south southwest-ish, based on uh I guess the most recent description. Spesof Beegstick: Was the most recent description for the path of the dragon what we got from the half orc bartender? DM: They were going south like that. DM: Making their way downtown. DM: Rocking fast. Momen Tomori: Is Mo I know we I need to watch for that? Tittlin: My fart just killed me. Momen Tomori: I was wondering if Moman could determine the latitude by the angle of the sun, but I don’t think we’re going far enough that that helps us. Tittlin: Just get a sundial, dude. Tittlin: What’s wrong with you? Tittlin: Oh, wait, sundial is time. Tittlin: Fuck. Momen Tomori: And you can and if you if you have time, then you can well, if you have time, then you can use that to figure out how far uh north or south you if you know the time, you know how high the the the sun should be, so you can figure out how far north and south you are, but my if the land turns green, we’ve gone too far. Tittlin: Uh uh. Tittlin: Well, I’m sure we’ll be okay. Tittlin: I’ll just look back and I’ll give you a rough idea. Spesof Beegstick: Let’s set out. DM: All right. DM: You head out into the Tilnola Wilds, heading south, southwest, that direction from Norholt. DM: Uh coming across the bridge. DM: I’m just gonna uh grab these two. Tittlin: I tell the flying carpet to follow a straight line in one direction and move slowly. Tittlin: Until I tell it to stop. DM: Oh, okay. DM: What just like straight south? Tittlin: Straight south southwest, so we don’t get our directions confused. Tittlin: Wait, if I tell my if I tell my if I fly on the carpet and I say, hey, fly along the surface of the ground directly south, will it do that? DM: Uh yes. Tittlin: So I’ll never be able to get lost ever again if I need to go a certain direction. DM: If that helps, yeah. Tittlin: Hell yeah. Momen Tomori: You always know your cardinal directions. Tittlin: Well, it would have been really helpful when Moman died. Tittlin: But I didn’t have the carpet yet. Momen Tomori: Wait, can’t it go to uh specific places if you know the place? Tittlin: I think if I’ve been there, right? Momen Tomori: So you could have so instead of wandering around in the wild, we could have just asked it to take us back to Norhol. Tittlin: We’ve never been to Norhold at that point. Momen Tomori: We could ask it to take us back to whatever city we’d been in. Tittlin: Tron can, yes. Tittlin: We are going. Momen Tomori: We go. Tittlin: Where am I? DM: You’re right here. Tittlin: Oh my token reference no longer exists within this world. DM: The other two, uh follow along the path, follow along the road because you can’t fly over the lake. DM: Well. Tittlin: Is this the old titling? DM: That’s probably old tiddling. Tittlin: Players. Tittlin: I returned. Momen Tomori: And what did you know? Tittlin: Hey. Momen Tomori: I see. Tittlin: Moments not even trying to be on this map. DM: Tiddlin, give me a perception check for finding for finding a white dragon in the snow. Tittlin: With advantage. Tittlin: Isn’t it black in color though? DM: Give me a perception check. Tittlin: Do I have advantage? DM: Ooh. DM: What would give you advantage? Tittlin: A spy glass? Tittlin: And determination. DM: I don’t know if a spy glass helps you scan several miles of land underneath you. Tittlin: What if I used to tell you that I played a game when I was a kid that was literally just a white screen and you had to tap on the black pixels as they showed up? Spesof Beegstick: Oh my gosh. DM: I don’t you don’t see any tracks, but what you do see is a big banner with a dragon on it. Spesof Beegstick: I would I would question your childhood. Spesof Beegstick: That’s what I would do. DM: Fluttering about a cave over here. Tittlin: Hey guys, do you want to check that out? Tittlin: And I I telepathically show them what I’m seeing. Tittlin: I’m zooming and enhancing. Tittlin: Do you see that? Tittlin: Or do you need me to zoom in and enhance one more time? Spesof Beegstick: Are there any signs of uh people or dragons? Spesof Beegstick: Or is it just the banner? Tittlin: I don’t know, God. DM: God, are you there? DM: Looking around, you can see some uh what looks to be uh a small dirt path leading into the cave. DM: You suspect that some people have been going in and out. DM: Uh yeah. DM: So it looks like a busy cave with a banner. Spesof Beegstick: All right. Momen Tomori: That looks to be it. Momen Tomori: So we found them now. Spesof Beegstick: Sounds reasonable to me. Tittlin: Uh I will go ahead, you guys just follow me so that you don’t get lost. Tittlin: Weewoo. Tittlin: Move your fucking character on the map, man. Tittlin: Let’s be engaged. Spesof Beegstick: Also, Chris, I just want to let you know that I might need this texture down resed a little bit because it is just rendering as black for me. Spesof Beegstick: Same issue as one of the the entire map. Momen Tomori: Yeah, you know, it’s funny. Momen Tomori: The fact the I I’m play I’m I’m playing on a on a relatively low powered laptop. Spesof Beegstick: I don’t maybe it’s weird. Spesof Beegstick: I don’t know why. Momen Tomori: And I’m not seeing that any issues. Momen Tomori: What br what browser are you using? Spesof Beegstick: So uh gecko engine based. Momen Tomori: Okay. Momen Tomori: I’m using Firefox. Spesof Beegstick: Yeah, same. Momen Tomori: I don’t actually know I I don’t I don’t actually pay that what what is it? Momen Tomori: I know that edges running on Chromium, but that’s about it as far as I I know for browser engines. Spesof Beegstick: Fire Firefox’s gecko. Momen Tomori: So it’s not the browser engine then. DM: Yep. DM: As you get closer to it, you can see that there’s definitely definitely something going on. DM: There’s a big flag out front, the banner that uh Tiddlin saw with sure enough, a an image of a dragon on it. DM: Uh and you can definitely hear some talking from inside the cave. DM: So there’s there’s definitely something going on. Spesof Beegstick: Are there any uh there’s no guards or anything outside? Spesof Beegstick: It just seems like they’re making themselves known with the banner, but don’t seem too concerned about visitors. DM: Seems that way, yeah. Momen Tomori: So the next question is are we worried about brainwashing? Momen Tomori: And I suppose this is gonna require closer in spying, I suppose, if it if we want to do that. Spesof Beegstick: Now would be the time to throw up in a like fortress. Momen Tomori: Uh I’m not sure if we want to do that yet, or if I i can ya can you tell if it looks like any other people are uh are being mentally influenced or anything? Momen Tomori: Are they walking around in a days or anything like that? Momen Tomori: I’m sorry, mental back is on my forte. Tittlin: God. Momen Tomori: I’m not entirely sure what it looks like. Tittlin: Hello, Jesus. Tittlin: Is that you? Tittlin: Can you tell me? DM: Uh Tiddlin uh give me a perception check. Tittlin: Would this be perception? DM: And this yes, perception, and this time you get advantageous. DM: That’s brutal. Tittlin: What? Tittlin: You don’t know the equation? Tittlin: Two D twenty kill me now. Tittlin: Ten plus zero plus ten. DM: That’s two D twenty, keep highest, minimum of ten, plus zero plus ten. DM: So in other words, you rolled the lowest you could divided by seven to the square root of pi. Tittlin: No, it’s kilometer hours per minute. Momen Tomori: All over to a Well that’s strange. DM: Uh you take a look around, but you don’t see any of the actual uh cultists. DM: So you’re uh left unsure. Tittlin: Sorry, guys, I got Nata. Momen Tomori: Well, there’s a cult. Momen Tomori: Then the entire like we we see an entire camp outside, right? Tittlin: God Nada. Spesof Beegstick: They’re probably just deeper in the cave. Tittlin: We shouldn’t all I can always give us ten extra stealth points if we want to have the option to be stealthy anyways. DM: No there’s the only thing you see outside is a banner with the dragon icon. Spesof Beegstick: It’s entirely in the cave. Momen Tomori: No. Momen Tomori: It’s entirely in the cave. Momen Tomori: My mental image has been corrected. Momen Tomori: Uh okay, so then probably gonna so then looks like we’re gonna need to go in. Momen Tomori: No, ifs and sorts. Momen Tomori: The question is uh Are we worried enough that we want that we want to go in sneaky and if and we do, is that is that gonna take the dragon off? Momen Tomori: As I could I can imagine out of the creatures that that have the chance to see invisibility, dragon is gonna be rather high on the list. Spesof Beegstick: I Yeah. Spesof Beegstick: I think going in sneaky is giving the wrong impression. Spesof Beegstick: Um, and that we should be a little more forward about things. Momen Tomori: Fourthright. Spesof Beegstick: Um I mean, I don’t think it would be a bad idea to leave one of us outside the cave, potentially. Spesof Beegstick: Uh with Rarry’s telepathic bond up, and that way, if like shit goes sideways, at least uh the one person can hopefully well that you know, get some help from the thief, hopefully stage a rescue mission. Momen Tomori: Run back to pound and get our obituary signed. Spesof Beegstick: I’ve been rescued before, so I mean, I really don’t think that’s gonna matter against a dragon who probably has true sight. Spesof Beegstick: So just in case there is no dragon here, but we need to break make a break from the people. Tittlin: I can also I think before we go in, I should give Momin Longstrider, which will give him ten extra feet of movement. Tittlin: Okay, yeah, never mind. Tittlin: Let’s just let’s just go in. Momen Tomori: Questi one last question before we go in. Momen Tomori: Does the moment know how old a dragon needs to be to gain true sight? DM: Give me a history check. Momen Tomori: She character. Momen Tomori: No, where’s history? Momen Tomori: Character. Momen Tomori: Not a good role. DM: You don’t know, but you do know it depends on the dragon. DM: And some of them never get it. Momen Tomori: As in the as in the type. Momen Tomori: Do do I know if do I know if white dragons are the types that do or do not get it? Momen Tomori: So I know a fat load of maybe. DM: That’s right. DM: Then armed with your maybe you head in. Tittlin: I mean, I s I already have height advantage, and if you’re not trying to be sneaky, I think my my expertise is to be sneaky, deceptive, and foolish. Momen Tomori: Actually, one second. Tittlin: If you guys don’t want to do what I want to do, so I can hang out up here up high and keep an eye on the people and see if anything looks weird and then just relay that to you through massage. Momen Tomori: Then Moman refreshes Ray’s telepathic bond. Momen Tomori: Uh, try recast it. DM: That’s okay. Tittlin: If if that is what you want. DM: I understand. Momen Tomori: And I will cat and Moment will also cast Intellect Fortress. DM: It’s got thirty feet. Momen Tomori: Oh one second, I needed to upcast that. Tittlin: Oh, one willing creature, so you do really need to cast it on to? Momen Tomori: Yeah, I need to upcast that to to cast it on two. Tittlin: Like, do I need I’m six hundred feet in the air. Tittlin: What’s gonna fucking stab me in my brain? Momen Tomori: Well, it’s it would be for both Special and I. Momen Tomori: It doesn’t just it it doesn’t it helps not just with with general intelligence, what helps uh helps with all manner of me of uh mental uh fortitude as well as uh help allowing you to resist the m mental attacks you said you want to stand outside. Tittlin: Okay, I’ll come down. Tittlin: Uh That’s what I’m saying. Momen Tomori: What do you what are you gonna use it for outside? Tittlin: Like I can come down and Yeah, but you don’t need to upcast it then, because it it already works for it. Momen Tomori: No, for me and Speathov is the two people No, it target It targets one person Yeah six hundred miles All right is now concentrating and we we should apply active effects well no there’s no button for that Into the cave we go to To get our uh to throw ourselves into the Maw of the Dragon, knowing full well that we are tasty and good with ketchup. Tittlin: No, oh, you are one willing creature. Tittlin: Yeah, you’re right. Tittlin: Okay, never mind, ignore me. Tittlin: Oh, I guess I’m not six hundred miles in the air. Tittlin: Uh, I’ll glue myself to Momin, I guess. Tittlin: Um then that way I can still see, but I won’t actually have interactions. Tittlin: And I won’t react at all. Tittlin: It is a cult. Tittlin: Well, I think we see the Dragon Momin. Momen Tomori: Oh mentally one last thing. Momen Tomori: Are we addressing them to the cult as Nidhogger? Spesof Beegstick: Uh we should be approaching we should be approaching with curiosity here. Momen Tomori: We didn’t really other than the book. Spesof Beegstick: I don’t think we should we should not act like we’re assuming anything about the cult, because uh yeah. Spesof Beegstick: Like I think just to the extent of we are adventurers who received a quest, uh to retrieve a tome. Spesof Beegstick: We mean no harm to anyone, uh, and we are curious about the intentions of you folks and the dragon. Spesof Beegstick: That’s basically it. Momen Tomori: I suppose been nice had we had we asked uh asked around to see if any anyone had heard what the intentions of the cult were, but I suppose straight from the horse’s mouth it is took my cult my only cult, how could they? Tittlin: What are your intentions with my cult? Tittlin: Back before dinner, I assume. Tittlin: Definitely not after midnight. Tittlin: Are you guys gonna fucking move forward? Tittlin: This is the worst movie I’ve seen in a while. DM: You walk into a fairly large clearing in the cave. DM: It’s damp, snowy, there’s bones strewn across the place. DM: But other than that, the people seem to be doing all right. DM: There’s a smattering of nobles and commoners, just sort of hanging out. DM: You can hear every so often a sort of cooing noise from the southeast. DM: There appear to be two owl bears chained up in the corner. DM: And of course, you can see up here a very large dragon. DM: Oh, and there’s a minstrel over there playing some music. Tittlin: That’s actually Wait, but that’s actually a white dragon, right? DM: Maybe the scales are uh a dark gray, but they glisten. DM: In the light, it looks sort of white, in the dark, it looks quite dark. DM: It’s difficult to tell. DM: You can see why there has been some confusion about whether this was a white or a black dragon. Momen Tomori: And do the Momen Tomori: Guards notice that we have arrived. Spesof Beegstick: Are they even guards? Spesof Beegstick: Or at least the guys up front? Momen Tomori: The doorman. DM: Uh these are two orc half workmen who seem to be talking to themselves. DM: Yeah, ever since I got Nidhog’s blessing, everything’s been going great. DM: My store’s been getting record profits. DM: Life’s turned around. DM: My ex-wife came back. DM: It’s great. DM: The other guy replies, oh wow, that’s that’s great. DM: Maybe I should you know spring for it. DM: Well, you could, but it’ll cost you. DM: It’s a whole ten platinum pieces. DM: Ten platinum pieces. DM: Yeah, ten platinum pieces. DM: I scrounged and I saved and I, you know, managed to get ten platinum pieces, but I gotta tell you with my my new revenue from the store, I’m I’m up. DM: I’m I just earned like thirty last week. DM: It’s well worth the price. DM: Oh man, maybe I sh should do this. Momen Tomori: Return on is this is this a multi-level marketing dragon Pyramid Dragon Invest the Nidhog coin. Tittlin: It’s a pyramid scheme. Spesof Beegstick: Damn, I was told Spezzov wants to invest. Tittlin: Thirty platinum a week is pretty good. DM: As you walk in, one of the men turns to you. DM: Oh, hello there, gentlemen. Spesof Beegstick: Hey, uh Oh, is that is that what this is? DM: Looking for an audience with Nidhog. Momen Tomori: We we heard some rum. DM: That’s correct. Momen Tomori: We heard some rumors and were wondering what it was all about. DM: Ah, yeah. DM: Well, I’m sure you’ve heard about the fearful Titan Nidhog, the serpent fated to devour the world, all that. DM: The one that uh sucks the life force of traitors and all those in hell. Momen Tomori: To put not too fine a point of it on it, yes. DM: Yeah, well, he’s here. DM: Or she, I suppose. DM: I can’t really tell with dragons, you know. Momen Tomori: Over a new leaf or something. DM: Don’t know. DM: Yeah, I’m just a guy. DM: I I I pretend to know the lands and machinations of the gods. DM: All I know is that I spent ten platinum and now I’m stinking rich and my wife back. Momen Tomori: May we speak with them then? DM: Don’t ask me, I’m not in charge here. DM: He gestures around. DM: If you’re looking to talk, you best uh ask the uh priest over there. Spesof Beegstick: And uh before we go uh talked with them, I I just wanted to ask, how how did you find out about this? Spesof Beegstick: Like was it from just the rumors, or were you one of the folks who initially ran into the dragon? DM: Oh no, no, here, check this out. DM: He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a flyer. DM: It says in big bold letters, get blessed by midhog. Spesof Beegstick: Is there like an author or like contact information? Spesof Beegstick: Does it have an address for this cave? Spesof Beegstick: Like what? DM: You you he flips it over. DM: He flips it over, and there’s just a map from uh Norholt to this cave in a dotted line and an X. Spesof Beegstick: Oh, would you look at that? Momen Tomori: We finally found a dragon who has a who has figured out the how to make the mortal do the do the work for gathering the money for them. Spesof Beegstick: Where’s it? Spesof Beegstick: And uh where who did you get this in Norholt? DM: Yeah, that’s right. Momen Tomori: Should have looked around a bit more. Spesof Beegstick: Yeah, I guess this would have been a lot easier to find if we had just maybe stopped in a tavern. DM: They’re plastered all over the place. DM: If you go into any uh adventurer’s guild up to the monster hunting port, they’re all over the place. Spesof Beegstick: Oh, goddammit, we should have looked at the monster hunting board. DM: You went to a regular traveler’s end. DM: This is a you need to go to an adventurer’s guild. Momen Tomori: What is the target audience adventurers then? Spesof Beegstick: Um, well, that’s good to know. Momen Tomori: Well, with trying platinum, I suppose it can’t, it’s not regular or townsfolk. Spesof Beegstick: Thank you for that bit of information. Spesof Beegstick: Um, sir, did you follow the same flyer or uh different story? DM: Uh no, I’m from Kissy. DM: This one clearly from Kissy, also with a map on the back with dotted lines pointing to this cave. Spesof Beegstick: Oh my pardon me for asking, but did like did did Nidhogg produce these himself? Spesof Beegstick: Or like that them them themselves, or get like somebody else to do their bidding? Spesof Beegstick: It’s I’ve literally never seen a dragon do this sort of thing. DM: The two shrug. DM: I don’t know who made the flyer. Spesof Beegstick: You you you didn’t you didn’t question at all that uh that a deity would be hawking their wares on flyers at an adventurer’s guild? DM: Well, I mean, it seemed kind of strange, but uh, you know, when I got here and talked to the priest, he explained, you know, what was going on, so it seemed strange, but after talking a bit, everything seemed on the up and up. DM: So I guess I guess even the gods need a bit of cash sometimes. Momen Tomori: Who are who are we to to uh to presume the ineffable? Spesof Beegstick: Well money is power, all right. Spesof Beegstick: Thank you for your time. DM: No problem. Spesof Beegstick: Uh Special is interested in inquiring with one of the nobles here? Momen Tomori: I don’t suppose we we recognize any of them. Spesof Beegstick: Uh yeah, actually, dude, when we yeah, do we recognize anybody here? Momen Tomori: Wait, no, they would wait, no, the is we left the banquet ear way no, the banquet was a day ago, so it’s possible one of them is uh come by, but we’re sure. DM: Uh you think that you saw that guy at the banquet. DM: You don’t remember his name, but you you certainly he looks familiar. Momen Tomori: All right, we went we walk up and and uh greet him. Momen Tomori: Hello there. DM: Uh good morning, gentlemen. DM: Uh what brings you here to this cave? DM: Coming to get blessed, I presume. Momen Tomori: Well not sure yet. Momen Tomori: Well, we’ve uh we’ve seen we’ve uh heard heard rumors and so uh have been wondering what all what it all what all it’s about. DM: He nods. Momen Tomori: Nidhogg is here and get and handing up blessings now. DM: Yes, uh that that seems to be the case. DM: I was a little skeptical myself, but uh sure enough, after getting blessed, I was quite lucky at the banquet, he says, nudging you slightly. DM: Truthfully, I’ve been trying to get engaged for many years now. DM: I thought it was hopeless. DM: But I saw a flyer back in uh Trond can pointing to me this to the c pointing me to this cave and thought, well, what the heck? DM: I’ve got enough money to give her a go, so I came out, got a blessing, and next thing you know, I’ve already got an engaged in less than a week. DM: It took me five years, and I had no prospects. DM: A week after getting blessed, everything’s up and up. Spesof Beegstick: How did you miss these? Tittlin: I sleep outside all the time. Spesof Beegstick: Boards or something, at least. Spesof Beegstick: I don’t know. DM: They weren’t quests. Tittlin: I showed them to you. Tittlin: I guess we just got lucky, they were on the quest boards, we looked at the Momen Tomori: All right, so then the one thing that does seem peculiar is that at uh second person we’ve talked to who talked about finding love and seems outside of what what Nidhog normal normally is about. DM: The noble shrugs. DM: I’m not exactly DM: A priest or anything, but I guess the gods can do what they want, he says with a question mark at the end. Momen Tomori: Do gods have free will? Momen Tomori: Question mark. Spesof Beegstick: It just really seems uh out of character from what I’m aware of from a theological perspective for uh Nid Hog, but I guess they maybe they can do what they want. Momen Tomori: Perhaps we should perhaps we should go out go ask the priest then. Momen Tomori: Or ask the priest then over there. Momen Tomori: I’m certain they they have uh been been thinking on it. Momen Tomori: Uh sorry, actually, is there anything else Besov wants to ask the noble or they are later refreshments? Spesof Beegstick: What’s with the like obviously there’s the owl bear that I assume uh Nid Hog is munching on, or the owl bears in the corner, just uh chillin’. DM: They look a little distressed, but they are they are uh chained down, so they can’t exactly uh leave. Spesof Beegstick: Ah, I see And uh You folks are free to leave whenever you want, right? DM: Oh, absolutely. DM: No one’s stopping us. DM: I mean, uh look around, the only guards in this place are the two by Nidhogg. Momen Tomori: Enough Makes sense. DM: Of course it’s cold outside, so it’s not like we want to go wandering off into the wilderness, but you know, I’ll go home eventually. DM: I just thought I’d come back and see what was going on after getting blessed. Spesof Beegstick: Neat. Spesof Beegstick: All right, well, thank you for your information. Spesof Beegstick: Uh, shall we talk to the priest? Momen Tomori: I think so. Momen Tomori: I think that’s the next reasonable thing to do. Momen Tomori: Where’s he doesn’t say anything when hovered? DM: You head over to the priest. Tittlin: He’s invisible. DM: The priest is currently in a conversation with Nidhog. DM: You finally get up close and get a good look. DM: Nidhogg is large and fat. DM: They have gray glistening scales, and they are perhaps the largest dragon you’ve seen. DM: They wear a large mammoth fur scarf, and they are covered in ivory piercings in their frills. DM: You can see that on their scales are small hand prints in white paint. Momen Tomori: Huh. Momen Tomori: Interesting. DM: Oh, this this owl bears fantastic. DM: How did you tell it was prepared? DM: It was lightly seared, sir. DM: Little seared, excellent, what a divine way to prepare food. DM: Little seared, I love it. DM: Oh, you’ve got such great ideas, uh. DM: Thank you, sir. DM: I’m glad you appreciate it. DM: As you approach the priest turns around to you. Spesof Beegstick: What name did he call the the priest? DM: The priest turns around. DM: Oh, guests, are you here to receive Nidhogg’s blessing? DM: It’s only ten platinum pieces. Momen Tomori: He says as if it’s it’s not a small fortune in itself. DM: Yeah, exactly. DM: This point Nidhogg speaks up. DM: Yes, the flyers. DM: That’s one of Austin’s better ideas. DM: Isn’t that right, Calvin? DM: The priest nods. DM: Yes, thank you, sir. Momen Tomori: He just used two different names for the priest. DM: He called the priest Colin, then Austin, then Calvin. DM: Yes, that’s correct. Momen Tomori: He is less concerned about the specific name of the priest. DM: Ah, well, I, of course, I’m the high priest. DM: I attend to all of Nidhogg’s needs, whether that’s food or getting out the word, or planning a route. DM: At this point, Nidhogg speaks up again. DM: Yes, Gavin is quite good at his job. DM: I’d be quite lost without Justin here. Momen Tomori: But as a smack. DM: The priest nuts. DM: Thank you for the compliments, sir. DM: Now then, gentlemen, what can I help you with? Momen Tomori: Well uh certainly as it as you can imagine, we’ve heard uh significantly different stories about uh about uh Ned Hog in the past, and we’re wondering what explains this um change a change in feeling, as it were then is the pro is the prophecy still on then or right uh how good am I at insight? DM: Would you like to learn more about Nidhog before you take the punch, as it were? DM: Or what can I well? DM: I’m glad to illuminate it for you. DM: You see, uh Nidhogg was doing as he does in hell, you know, devouring the souls of traitors and those such uh terrible folk. DM: When suddenly he had an idea. DM: What if he came up to the surface and simply ate those uh terrible betrayers and treasonous people directly on the surface rather than down below in hell? DM: Nidhog then laughs. DM: Ha! DM: Yes, it’s exactly as Kevin said. DM: I thought to myself, why am I stuck down here? DM: There’s so much more to eat up there, and then I found Griffin here and said, Well, let’s let’s get it going. DM: The priest uh give me give me a uh insight check here. Momen Tomori: Wait, Tiddling is Tillon more insightful than me. Momen Tomori: He’s watching through my uh I have a plus I have a plus six good. Tittlin: I’m pretty good. Tittlin: I’m pretty good to insight. Tittlin: Can I do the inside check? Momen Tomori: I have a plus six Do we think uh do we think a fifteen is going to be good enough? Tittlin: Well, we have a fifty percent chance to get one extra points. Momen Tomori: All right, yeah, yeah. Momen Tomori: You could you can take it then? DM: Why don’t you assist there, Moman, because you’ve got a high enough intellect or a high enough insight, so why don’t you assist? DM: Why don’t you, you know, Tiddlin focuses on his body language and Momin focuses on his speech patterns or something. DM: Six nine. DM: Uh unfortunately you can’t you don’t get a good sense of uh what he’s thinking or whatever, but the uh the priest continues, ah well you know how prophecies are they’re simply prophecies, gods change their mind as things change. DM: And in this case, Nidhogg has changed for the better. DM: Yes, that’s exactly right, Martin. DM: You tell them. Momen Tomori: Well, I know that, but are we are we I at this point I I don’t think I can’t imagine that that this nid hug will be any worse than the one we’ve got we’ve got. Momen Tomori: Well, I need a I need a sound effect button, so that might I could make Moments’ voice sound all all wavy and doo. DM: At this point. DM: At this point, Nidhog uh grab a pile of snow off the ground and puts it in his mouth to wash off the blood from the owl bear. DM: Just wiping it off. DM: Can I get a religion check from somebody? Momen Tomori: Let’s see. Momen Tomori: I have plus five. Spesof Beegstick: Nice. Momen Tomori: Decent roll. Momen Tomori: But what does it mean? DM: Nothing, because he failed the path, the check. Momen Tomori: The problem I always have with the Indie is that the hard checks are just so damn hard. Momen Tomori: That even at the top of your game, it’s like the I think we definitely want we definitely do want to bring it up, but I’m not but the way we introduced ourselves is uh has made it a little bit awkward to do so, but the actually it was this. DM: Alright. Spesof Beegstick: Um, over the telepathic bond, uh, all say the moment uh where should we bring up the tome in a light hearted manner like we were inquiring about it? Spesof Beegstick: Just uh looking looking around like uh past the guards and like around the dragon, potentially a little bit behind the dragon, from what we can see, or are either of us able to spot like uh something that looks like the book Sure. DM: As you’re thinking about what Yes. DM: You can see that there’s a uh a pile of what appear to be platinum coins hiding behind the dragon. DM: I don’t have anything on the map, so you’ll just have to pretend they’re there. DM: But you can see that there’s a pile of platinum coins back there, and amongst those coins, you can see what appears to be a book. Spesof Beegstick: Huh? DM: As you’re thinking about what to do next. DM: And then looks at Spessov. DM: Do I know you? Spesof Beegstick: Uh not to my knowledge um Hadrian, you mean Oh, you’re well, you’re you’re good at smelling. DM: Nidhog steps forward and sniffs you closely. DM: Oh, you smell just like the old man. DM: Uh yes, yes. DM: Uh from the the uh place up north, the uh yes. DM: It must be as what grandson. DM: I’m not good at names. Spesof Beegstick: Yep, that’s accurate. DM: Yeah, if you haven’t figured it out, dragons are quite adept at sma sniffing out bloodlines. DM: It uh helps when we’ve got, you know, a promised hero that died, and we need to find his descendant, pull them out of the rubble, as it were. DM: A diamond in the rough sort of situation. Spesof Beegstick: That’s most impressive, honestly. Momen Tomori: I had to I had started to come up with a with a plan for it, which is essentially taking the the priest aside and uh and letting him and asking him privately about about the book, but uh I guess that we’re past that. Spesof Beegstick: Yeah, we’re past that. Spesof Beegstick: Um anyways, with respect to uh my grandfather, um he uh I happened to catch wind of the fact that he actually put out uh a class post. Momen Tomori: He has he’s lost these uh misplaced one of a book, you see, and although we and we’re one and we’re uh well, simply put, Hurti’s looking he is looking for it back. Momen Tomori: I’m so uh I can’t think of a thing away. DM: I see. DM: Humans, you can be a little forgetful at times. DM: Devon. DM: Yes, sir. Spesof Beegstick: Uh he’s he seems to believe the book may be in your possession, and we uh part of our curiosity was inquiring about that. Momen Tomori: Like you say? DM: Nidhog shakes their head. DM: Oh no, no, no, no. DM: Uh I didn’t I’ve never stolen a book for anyone. DM: Uh I’m sure that uh what uh the old man probably just misplaced it. DM: Although he does have quite a quite a splendid library. DM: He’s a very thoughtful man. DM: A real kindred spirit of mine, you know, two peas in a pod. DM: He and I we go way back. Spesof Beegstick: Can you elaborate on that a little bit more? Spesof Beegstick: I I wasn’t aware of any sort of connection uh that my grandfather mentioned. DM: Really? DM: Oh, that seems odd. DM: I’ve been hanging up at the spire of Dizif for well. DM: Three, four hundred years now. Momen Tomori: Well quick question. DM: I mean, I was in hell. DM: Yes, that’s sorry. DM: No, I’ve never been to the spire of Dizz. DM: Don’t know a thing about it. Momen Tomori: The the um rumors of the uh the rumors of the dragon how recent were they pri uh like the the rumors of the melanistic dragon prior prior to them claiming to be Nid Hug. DM: Which rumors, the of them moving. DM: Old decades. Momen Tomori: Okay, so long enough that it that he could that he could very well help me telling the truth there. Momen Tomori: Uh but I think we I I I d I do have some f further questions, but I think I I I don’t think that they are such that we would uh need to oh to occupy the great Nid Hug’s time specifically. Momen Tomori: We we’re your priest here should be able to uh f help help us fill fill the fill them in and by by the and if if that i if they have the time to do so May we uh and then rather quick all right and then in hushed tones so we are looking for the book. DM: The priest nods and Nidhogg shakes his shakes his paw. DM: Very well. DM: Go on, Robin. DM: Entertain them. DM: The priest takes you over here. Momen Tomori: We we don’t we don’t need to make sure based on what we’ve seen here, I don’t think we need to make sure that we have the only c the only copy of its contents, but i but if you do have it, we want to make sure that we get the book itself back to Hadrian. DM: The priest sort of scratches his head. DM: Yeah, that would be a little bit difficult. Momen Tomori: How so do they need the do they need the uh book in its specific format for that or or is is not the knowledge contained within it sufficient? DM: Well, Nidhog really likes it. DM: They’re sort of set on the whole becoming a great worm plan. DM: Maybe. Spesof Beegstick: And sorry, even in that even in that statement, you’re you’re in the loop here that this quote unquote Ned Hog is not a great worm. Momen Tomori: Oh, the the the the the s the sesshing didn’t make it through the microphone, KB. Spesof Beegstick: I I sort of heard it. Spesof Beegstick: Okay, okay. Momen Tomori: So given what we’ve seen then in i i if they don’t manage to succeed, it’s good it’s probably gonna be a turn for the better for everyone. DM: I’m aware. Momen Tomori: But the the the question will be how the the question is how to make uh both parties happy on this one. DM: The priest takes for a moment. Spesof Beegstick: Is that your perception here too that this is gonna be a a good thing? Spesof Beegstick: Uh if he manages to become a great worm. DM: The the priest nods. DM: Yeah, I think so. DM: Don’t tell anyone, he says, whispering. DM: I can tell you guys figured it out. DM: Annoying adventurers. DM: He’s not actually Nidhog, obviously. DM: But what he is he’s smart enough to read. DM: He’s been hanging around Dziff for hundreds of years, impersonating one of the students that was slacking off. DM: And next thing you know, he goes to the library, finds a book that says how to be a great worm, and says, Oh, well, I’m in a library. DM: When you’re in a library, you take the books. DM: And he grabs the book, heads out, finds me, and says, Hey, make me a great worm. DM: I want to be the new midhog. DM: And I’m like, I don’t know how to do that. DM: So he hands me the book and says, You can do it. DM: I know that you can do it. DM: Uh Weston. DM: I’m like, Weston’s not my name. DM: My name is Jacob. DM: But here we are. Momen Tomori: Well one way or an one way or another. Spesof Beegstick: And do you like do you get paid for this? Spesof Beegstick: Or like okay. DM: Oh, yeah, absolutely. DM: I get paid very well. DM: I don’t mind this. DM: This is a great gig. DM: Plus, you know, the chance to defeat Nidhog? DM: That’s fantastic. DM: I’m gonna go down in history. DM: He looks at you two. DM: Actually, you guys look kind of strong. DM: You want to help with this whole plan. Momen Tomori: Uh no, hold on. Spesof Beegstick: Honestly, like maybe as long as we can figure out some way to I mean, we’re not doing it. Momen Tomori: Is the is is the is the pol the is the plan take is the plan taking on the little the literal deity in in combat. DM: Eventually. DM: Well, you might be. DM: What look, here’s here’s the general plan. DM: Okay, I looked through the book. DM: The basic concept. DM: How how well read are you guys? DM: He looks at you kind of funny. Momen Tomori: I I have not given myself a proper introduction. Momen Tomori: I am Professor Momentomori, professor of applied necromancy at Noora’s Institute of the Arcane. Momen Tomori: I am my current uh field of research is actually how to overcome the net the natural magical resistance of dragons so that they can be necromantically raised. Momen Tomori: So I am I don’t like reality in many cases. DM: He snaps his finger and point at you. DM: Excellent. DM: That’s exactly what we need. DM: Look. DM: You’re familiar with like the planes, right? DM: The material plane, the ethereal plane, the demi plane of ketchup, right? DM: So you know how there are all those different planes that sort of reflect this world. DM: Well, reading the book, it goes one step further. DM: All of those planes, right? DM: Our reality, they’re also mirrored. DM: There are echoes, or so the book says, of this world, another world, where things are similar, but not the same. DM: Particularly dragons. DM: Dragons are powerful. DM: They’ve got strange magics, they’re intertwined with the world. DM: So even though in another world, Datris might not exist, the dragons in Datris probably do in some form. DM: Maybe they’re older or younger, maybe they’re, you know, not the same color. DM: Maybe they’re, you know, they’ve lost an arm or something like that. DM: But either way, there are echoes of a dragon in the other worlds. DM: Do you understand? DM: Exactly. DM: Which means that he points to Nidhog. DM: In other worlds, there is a white dragon or a dragon like this here in this space. DM: And what we need to do, according to the book, is simply absorb that dragon’s energy. DM: If you do that enough, absorb enough echoes, you become a great worm. Momen Tomori: And so then how do you how do you go from knowing how knowing that that you need to absorb that goes to actually doing so? DM: That I haven’t quite figured out. DM: But that’s fine. DM: You guys don’t quite look strong enough to fight Nidhogg yet anyway. DM: So I figure, you know, we got a bit of time, figure out what needs to be done. DM: We do a few, you know, fights with those dragons, get this Nidhog powered up, and then go to hell and show the other Nidhog who’s boss. Momen Tomori: Alright. Momen Tomori: Um so the plan essentially does involve m inv invol all the a direct fight with Nidhogg. DM: Once we’ve got a great worm. Momen Tomori: Uh and based on Maltman’s knowledge, what i what all does the worm great worm entail? DM: Let me just pull up. Momen Tomori: So we are rip and pair until it is done. Spesof Beegstick: And we do end up fighting Nid Hog, I really want like just any of the music from Doom as our soundtrack for that. Spesof Beegstick: Yes. Momen Tomori: Damn it, and dirt down. DM: The uh priest speaks in hushed tones again. DM: The book described a red great worm named Ashardolon, who worked with a Baylor, a demon, to drain the power of his echoes, and then infused that power into themself by implanting the baylore where his heart was. DM: So there’s at least one example of how that power can be drained and used. Momen Tomori: Quick question. Momen Tomori: Does this sound to moment like a trap that a demon would use to trick a dragon? DM: No, it sounds like the opposite. DM: It sounds like a way that a dragon would trap a demon. DM: Demons are, after all beings of contract and regulation, and dragons are wise beyond years. Momen Tomori: So then so that’s the the long term plan, but then what do we do in the short term to uh satisfy Hadrian? DM: How badly does he want the book back? Momen Tomori: Uh what was the reward? Momen Tomori: He had uh he had posted one. DM: Oh boy, I hope someone took a note of that. DM: Nobody did. DM: You don’t. DM: Let’s do ten thousand gold pieces. DM: That’s a nice number. Momen Tomori: Sure. Momen Tomori: He was he was and that that was was that for information on it, or was that for the book itself? DM: The capture of the dragon. Momen Tomori: It was ten ten thousand gold gold pieces serious for the capture of the dragon. DM: Jacob the priest winces. DM: Oh. DM: That’s pretty serious. Momen Tomori: Well the I suppose the other question is do we do we want to do we want to try and get Hadrian on side with us? Momen Tomori: Because that might actually be easier. Momen Tomori: Well, I was thinking the whole shebang, because uh because if it’s if i if your grandfather found out what you what what you’ve used his book for or and and uh thought that you had returned it safe and sound. Momen Tomori: That’s gonna make it that’s gonna make Thanksgiving dinner’s awkward. Spesof Beegstick: Uh well, yeah, so I guess uh Jacob, thank you, first of all, for uh being candid with us here. Spesof Beegstick: Um yeah, I think it’s probably best if we go speak to my grandfather, uh, see if we Spesof Beegstick: We can iron out a plan there, and then uh we’ll return when we’re ready, I guess. Momen Tomori: Uh for for contacting him, it’s with him. Momen Tomori: It’s it’s just a card, right? Spesof Beegstick: Yeah, yeah, I can I can contact him whenever wait, are you suggesting we conference in the priest or uh the dragon? Momen Tomori: So then we’re any way to uh bring the discussion directly or without without having to do a do a uh game of relay That was my thing unless you got an reason not to Wait, I can use terrary’s terror path telepathic bond All right call set we set up a conference call one second how did the uh as the caster of rare is telepathic bond how the heck did the dragon won’t get in on the on it hello good good to see hear from you again as as this is happening moment is looking at the the priest of the he to watch for for a cutting motion Well that’s our friend Turtlen Uh I regardless So Hadrian the the reason we are c the reason we are calling is because essentially give as you may have as you have first hand uh and wit and uh witnessed they our friend Ned Hog here is not is not uh is not actually malicious. DM: You want a conference in the priest. Spesof Beegstick: Uh yeah, I guess we could uh can I do that? Spesof Beegstick: So long as you’re on good terms with the spire, you can spend five minutes concentrating on the card to create a telepathic link with Hadrian, which lasts for one hour. Spesof Beegstick: Can I just give it to the priest? Spesof Beegstick: And then we can all be in on a conference call. Tittlin: Yo, uh, Patriminal, you know, you’re a bit of a can the lizard hear me too. Spesof Beegstick: Okay, I guess I guess we’re setting up a conference call. DM: You set up a conference call. DM: At that point, you then hear Nidhog in your mind. DM: Who are we talking to? DM: And then Adrian comes online. DM: Ah, spas off, how are things going? DM: Did you find my book? Spesof Beegstick: Hey Gramps, uh, just wanted to uh telepathic bond with Yeah, okay. Spesof Beegstick: I figured that we were gonna have to deal with something like that. Spesof Beegstick: Uh, so we’ve got uh several characters here on the line. Spesof Beegstick: So there’s Tittle in a moment, uh, who you know, say hi, guys. Spesof Beegstick: Uh, and we’ve also got um Jacob here, who is a uh Dragonborn Priest? Spesof Beegstick: Um as well as uh Nidhog Hey Drian, Hadrian, please Gramps, Gramps, hold hold on. DM: Nidhog. DM: Hey, what’s up, old man? DM: How’s it going? DM: What you thief? DM: What thief? DM: I didn’t take it. Spesof Beegstick: We’ve got uh we we’ve got uh he likes the book. DM: Well, I sure hope he likes the book. DM: I’d be pretty pissed off if he stole it and then didn’t like it. DM: I didn’t steal anything. DM: It’s a library. DM: You’re supposed to take books from the library. DM: That’s how libraries work. DM: I guess you’re just not as well read as I am. DM: Now let’s hear you stupid lizard. DM: That’s how a public library works. DM: This was a private library. DM: You can’t just take books from a private library library. DM: Well, you can if you’re part of the private institution, the spire of disciples, and I have been impersonating one of those students for long time. DM: The priest is just rubbing his temples. DM: You see, one of your students has been slacking off for well, a hundred years. DM: I don’t think he’s ever been to class. DM: So I just impersonated him. DM: I was taking the classes for him. DM: I even took notes. DM: What you’ve been impersonating one of my students? DM: Well, yeah. DM: Actually, you should probably check up on him. DM: I don’t know if he’s still alive. DM: What you stupid lizard. DM: What about you? Spesof Beegstick: Yeah, you’re you’re in on this. Tittlin: No, I’m not asking in character. DM: Huh, who’s that see that? Tittlin: Wait, can the lizard see what I’m thinking if we’re on telepathic bond? Tittlin: If I project an image, can the lizard see the image? Tittlin: Uh uh riddle in naked when he was a kid. DM: Everyone goes silent. DM: Why are you showing us this? DM: asks the priest and Hadrian in unison. Momen Tomori: They they now now they certainly have they certainly have not have not uh been forth forthright with you or and and have not quite and I’ve not treated you well, but the I am thinking here that we that based on what we have seen that it may actually be a thing for the better if they can and properly assume their title it it feels uh it feels a sight better than than what the prophecy already calls for Tiddlin would be terrible at operational security Why did I include him on the link? DM: And then Nidhog speaks up. DM: Yeah, I’m definitely better than that stupid lizard down there. DM: Isn’t that right, guys? Tittlin: Uh zero point one miles. DM: The priest speaks up. DM: Who who is this man? DM: Why is he in this call? Spesof Beegstick: He he’s he’s a member of our party. Spesof Beegstick: We just figured we’d keep somebody outside just in case things went south. Tittlin: We either sign up for something really horrible, or I get injured pretty badly. Spesof Beegstick: Yeah, he’s died multiple times down, diddling down what do you mean? DM: Nidhog says. DM: You heat you feel a spike of psychic energy hit you. Tittlin: Um wait, it’s psychic, right? Tittlin: Can I imagine the damage and like reflected to everyone else, even though I took it already? Tittlin: Because everyone’s on this call, right? Tittlin: So that should hit everyone. Spesof Beegstick: What do you mean you imagine the damage? Spesof Beegstick: What does that mean? Tittlin: Well, I’m I’m taking psychic damage, right? Tittlin: So if everyone’s on the same psychic bond as me. Spesof Beegstick: Oh my god. Momen Tomori: Uh Special, we also have resistance, so we only take two Um Quick Quick question No, this is this isn’t for the bonds. Spesof Beegstick: Oh, does this drop the bond? DM: Psychic owls. Momen Tomori: This is this is for intellect fortress. Momen Tomori: Well the does uh there’s the concentration saving throw at a minimum DC Yeah, like I should not have included head tidlin on this one regardless, uh Hadrian. DM: A minimum DC? DM: Yeah, it’s ten. DM: Minimum of ten. DM: There goes Intellect Fortress. Momen Tomori: As such we are debating what we are debating what would be the uh best way to proceed from this we’re we’re we’re we’re leaning to towards uh helping helping it along as it would uh certainly be a site better than uh what we currently here in s have in store. Momen Tomori: I mean it I’ve got to be I’ve got to be entirely honest. Momen Tomori: It’s above my it’s entirely above my pay grade. Momen Tomori: I am I I I uh mo most of my research is actually above my pay grade. Momen Tomori: If I if I was getting paid uh what I was what Momen Tomori: What my research is worth at No Order, I don’t think they could afford to keep me. DM: Yeah, you should come to the spy of Dizath. Momen Tomori: But at the very least. DM: Yeah, we can pay well performing mages quite handsomely. DM: If you’re ever looking for a career change. DM: Now you won’t have as many colleagues pestering you all the time, but maybe that’s a bonus. DM: What do you say, Professor Tomori? DM: It’s the premier educational institution in the world. DM: No one gets cutting edge research like us. Tittlin: I’m also pretty good at mage things. Tittlin: How about me? DM: The tree does not respond. Momen Tomori: He just flat out ignores Didland, which is probably the right call. DM: At this point, Nidhawks be helps. Spesof Beegstick: So uh get getting getting back to our uh proposal uh for the deal, so I I guess Nidhog, we we we we are interested in helping you here. DM: How come you’re not offering me a job? DM: I’ve been there for longer than that guy. DM: You don’t play the lizard. Momen Tomori: Andrew the Hitler Hidden. Spesof Beegstick: Um we just want to find an amicable way to get Hadrian’s book back while also getting you a copy of it, ideally. Spesof Beegstick: Is that something that you think we could work out? DM: Mid hog thinks for a moment. Momen Tomori: The book is unfortunately overdue. DM: Hmm. DM: I thought that was weird. DM: You know, nobody scared no, I didn’t get my library card filled in when I was there. DM: That’s I must have forgotten to do that. DM: Franklin, you should have reminded me. DM: At this point, the priest shakes his head. DM: Ah Jacob speaks up. Momen Tomori: Safe. DM: Oh, we can we can probably get the I can I can get the book trans uh transcribed copied. DM: Uh that would be probably twenty gold pieces. DM: He looks to you guys. DM: Just say I take that out of the reward for getting the book back. Spesof Beegstick: That sounds great to me. DM: Great. DM: He hands out his he holds out his hand for the twenty gold pieces. DM: I’ll get that done in say a few days, and then you can come back, grab the book, we’ll all be on our way. DM: And when I figured out what to do, we can meet up again and we can get to work on overthrowing Nidhog. Momen Tomori: The plan. Tittlin: I feel like the scope of this adventure has gotten so large. Tittlin: We were here to save one girl. DM: I mean, this is Adrian living up to his namesake sounds disgruntled. Momen Tomori: Well, have you not have you not heard of Adrian’s Rants? Spesof Beegstick: We just ended up having a meeting about it. Momen Tomori: Like we’ve had. Spesof Beegstick: I think it’s fine. Spesof Beegstick: We let everybody air their grievances like uh Hadrian. Spesof Beegstick: I know you’re not, you know, super happy with how all this went down and the uh initial deception with the impersonating of a student and everything, but uh this I I don’t know, I feel I feel pretty good. Spesof Beegstick: How’s everybody else feel on this call? Spesof Beegstick: Moment, how are you feeling? Momen Tomori: I’m feeling like once again I’m dipping I’m uh sticking my neck where it doesn’t belong, but I think that’s starting to be a uh unfortunately normal part of the CCMB. Spesof Beegstick: Nidhog, this sound like a good deal to you. Spesof Beegstick: We’re we’re here to help you out, my friend. DM: Nidhog nods. DM: Yeah, that would be great. DM: I’d love it if I had some uh assistance in uh taking out those echoes, you know. DM: I I don’t mind doing it myself, but the thought of sort of you know, killing a parallel version of yourself is uh it’s a it’s uh what’s the term uh what’s it’s nidhog that’s the what’s the what’s the when no when something’s when something’s like a uh a huge crisis of your of your like Yes, there you go. Spesof Beegstick: Not pleasant, nobody wants to do that. Spesof Beegstick: Is this Nidhog that stumped or Chris that stumped? Momen Tomori: Yes. Spesof Beegstick: Doppelganger. Momen Tomori: Existential. DM: It sounds like an existential nightmare. DM: Adrian speaks up. DM: You don’t even know that word, you just read that. DM: That’s in the first chapter of the book. DM: Don’t give me that you would no, that’s not true. Spesof Beegstick: If I stop Okay, thank you, Gramps. Spesof Beegstick: Thanks for agreeing. Spesof Beegstick: Bye. Spesof Beegstick: And then I I like stop focusing on the card and put it away, and I disconnected. Spesof Beegstick: Um Jacob, you uh Jacob, this this all sitting well with you, just to confirm. DM: Yes, this seems like a good plan. DM: I was always looking for to recruit some people that could actually assist with the whole taking the echoes. DM: After all, it would be difficult, of course, to fight yourself in a parallel world. DM: At best that would be, you know, hopefully an even match, but at worst it could be terrifying, like having to kill your baby self would be uh terrifying psyche breaking. Spesof Beegstick: Right. Spesof Beegstick: I don’t think we’re there yet. DM: Do they sell those for dragons? Momen Tomori: Now in Dragon Size for all those dragon sized problems. DM: Mission accomplished question mark. Momen Tomori: We have a we have somehow this feels less crazy than taking on on Iodria. Spesof Beegstick: This is crazy. Spesof Beegstick: I love it. Spesof Beegstick: Well, I mean, I mean, the one thing that I mean, now that you mentioned Aodria, uh, and this is all out of character, is that this could potentially help us right, because if we get essentially the backing of a great worm. Momen Tomori: You know, behold. Momen Tomori: I’m not sure which would be funnier. Momen Tomori: If this turns out to be the smartest version of the dragon, or this turns out to be the dumbest. Spesof Beegstick: That yeah, that could be a really funny. Momen Tomori: Essentially, we have a favor we have a favor from a god to tap. Momen Tomori: Well, favor from two gods from Aphrodite and the and a great and the new Nidhog. Spesof Beegstick: Well, Aphrodite was just like the Tidland’s love interest, right? Momen Tomori: No, she doesn’t own you a favor, but uh but sh her champion has requested our aid in protecting the the woman that he loves. DM: The champion being Duke Oberstein, who are you addressing Hello? Spesof Beegstick: Oh, right. Spesof Beegstick: Oh, now he’s gone ho about getting Kachia back. Momen Tomori: Different. Spesof Beegstick: I see. Tittlin: Um what else did I do? Momen Tomori: He got better. Tittlin: I got possessed and almost murdered my whole party. Tittlin: Uh no, it wasn’t. Spesof Beegstick: Yeah, that was your fault. Tittlin: We were fighting the same thing, and then somebody possessed me. Tittlin: It could have happened to anyone. Spesof Beegstick: Yeah, and you got possessed. Spesof Beegstick: All right, thank you, Jacob. Momen Tomori: It hasn’t happened from Homeland yet. Spesof Beegstick: Thank you, Jacob. Spesof Beegstick: It was a pleasure. Spesof Beegstick: Uh, your uh honorable greatness nithog. Spesof Beegstick: Uh we’ll be back. Momen Tomori: Who is that a drive? Momen Tomori: Moon cuts the link. DM: You get style tone. Momen Tomori: No, you don’t even get dial pound. Momen Tomori: You have lost service. Spesof Beegstick: Out of the cave. DM: With that the serpent fated to devour the sun, you have completed the first objective of a meeting with the usurper. DM: You now have three more objectives, defeat the usurper’s echoes, complete the ritual to turn the usurper into a great worm, and then defeat the original Nidhog and usurp his position. Spesof Beegstick: All in a day’s work. Spesof Beegstick: I’m good to wrap there. DM: Right. Spesof Beegstick: That was a lot of talking. DM: Sure, we can end the session there. Momen Tomori: This is one of those sessions where everything happens by conversation. Momen Tomori: Which is it’s Momen Tomori: Nice to do that once in a while, as well, it it means I can think without having to worry too much about numbers or positioning. DM: And next time. Spesof Beegstick: That was that was really fucking funny. DM: We can do the Raksu Derby. Spesof Beegstick: Woo. Momen Tomori: You have put in so much prep for this. Tittlin: When are we actually gonna save Katia? DM: Sorry, what was that, Matt? Tittlin: When are we actually gonna go try and save Cadia? Tittlin: Is this just like a back burner objective now? Spesof Beegstick: Well, we’re waiting for we’re waiting for information from uh the contact. DM: Not right now. Spesof Beegstick: We can’t we can’t just go and save her without the information, man. DM: Correct. Tittlin: I could Wait, really? Momen Tomori: Spies first. DM: When it is time to save Katia, you will be notified by Aphrodite. Spesof Beegstick: Yo, they got secretariat. Spesof Beegstick: I’m betting on secretariat. Momen Tomori: Wait, what? DM: You don’t want to bet on Eclipse. Momen Tomori: Wait, where has that been revealed? Spesof Beegstick: Uh, in the Rack to Derby race sheet. Tittlin: It’s in the Roxy Derby Race sheet. DM: I showed the sheet. Tittlin: The racist sheet. DM: Right here. Momen Tomori: There it is. DM: It’s a two thousand meter left handed race. Tittlin: What are these like the betting o like what is what are these numbers on the right? DM: The numbers on the left are the post of the horse, quote unquote horse. DM: So which which gate they’re in. DM: The numbers on the far right are which position they’re favored to be in. DM: So Eclipse is the favorite winner. Tittlin: And then what’s the number to the like to the left of that right number? DM: That is their career winnings. Tittlin: Oh can I can I can you uh I was gonna say, can you draft up a uh betting line for the for the Derby? Momen Tomori: And to the left of that, you actually you actually included this. Tittlin: If you throw it into Chat GBT or something, they could probably do it for you extra quick. Momen Tomori: He’s he is already pulling so like I recognize so for the reference. Momen Tomori: I recognize like two third thirds of the names on this list. Momen Tomori: Christopher has been you recognize Secretariat, right? DM: Yes, these are all these are all actual racehorses. DM: These are their actual records, their actual breeding lines. DM: These are these are actual horses that I’ve misappropriated for this race. Spesof Beegstick: Wait, actually. Spesof Beegstick: Oh shit. Spesof Beegstick: I just thought I the only reason I recognized it was Bojack Horseman. Spesof Beegstick: I didn’t even realize that was a real horse. Momen Tomori: No, Secretary was a famous racehorse. Spesof Beegstick: I know nothing about horse racing. DM: Eclipse is arguably the greatest racehorse of all time. DM: So you’ll see that their record is eighteen and eighteen. DM: So out of eighteen starts, they have eighteen first place finishes. Spesof Beegstick: Wow. Tittlin: I’m gonna bet a lot of money on something and lose it all, and then I’ll go to Caty and be like, hey, I’m poor, do you wanna get married? Tittlin: Romance isn’t dead anymore, children. Momen Tomori: So I so notably, I’m not seeing rice tower on the list, so we don’t need to worry about rain. DM: No. DM: Okay, so TM operos out of the running. DM: We’re good. DM: It’s gonna be fun. DM: It’s gonna be a great time. DM: I can’t wait for the races. Spesof Beegstick: Sick. Tittlin: Splendid. Tittlin: Splendiddled more like it. Momen Tomori: Please do not spend the diddles. Spesof Beegstick: My diddles are truly splendid. Tittlin: Hello? Momen Tomori: Hello? DM: Then with that session’s over. Spesof Beegstick: Uh yeah, same time next week. DM: Anyone got any issues that would prevent that? Tittlin: Uh let me double check. Spesof Beegstick: Oh, wait, shit. Spesof Beegstick: I think I do. Spesof Beegstick: Uh wait a minute. Spesof Beegstick: That’s that’s why I asked. Spesof Beegstick: Uh it’s only sometimes. DM: That’s funny, that’s funny. Momen Tomori: I think you need to work figure out why your mic keeps flipping you out here. DM: Oh, does it? Momen Tomori: Your background noise projection is too strong. Tittlin: Only sometimes. DM: Oh that might be that better. Spesof Beegstick: Actually. Momen Tomori: Py lapping or shushing again. DM: Shh. Momen Tomori: It cut out about half of you there. DM: Uh Wednesday, so the twenty first. DM: I think that should be good. Momen Tomori: As far as I’m aware, I’m clear. DM: Johnny, you got anything? Tittlin: Yeah, I’m fine. DM: I have nothing on the twenty first. DM: Then I shall see you all next week on Wednesday. Tittlin: On this game. Momen Tomori: C C M B next next time on PBM. Momen Tomori: There we go. Momen Tomori: As long as they don’t turn it into a bottom gear meme. Momen Tomori: This week on CCMB.