Small Embers: Chapter 75 - Smoke and Mirrors II - A Cinematic D&D Actual Play - Dice Company: Small Embers - A Cinematic D&D Actual Play

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D&D Actual Play Podcast told in a Cinematic Style; Dice Company (00:02):
Small Embers Dice Company contains fantasy, violence, mature themes, and
unapologetic bickering. No feelings were hurt in the
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(00:26):
Just follow any of the links in the show notes for this chapter.
That would certainly be of greatinterest, don't you agree?

(00:46):
And from the shadows behind you steps a figure.
Tall, slender, clean shaven, with a neat blonde side party.
Yes, that would be of great interest to me.
Well met, master Talk. I've heard a great deal about
you. Query your identity and means of

(01:06):
ingress. My name is Cypher.
I am a friend of Greta's. I have been travelling, I have
returned from an exploration. I wanted to make sure she was
safe, that you did not intend toharm her.
That is correct. My intention is to learn,
acquire information. Then we are in the same

(01:28):
business. I have heard of you, obviously.
You have made quite a name for yourself in the last few months.
It is genuinely a pleasure to meet you, and perhaps you and I
could become friends. I would find that to be
acceptable. Excellent.
What is your profession? I am an information gatherer.
That profession would be of great use to us.

(01:50):
Good. I believe the tools should have
the use. We are fortunate to have
established that early in the conversation.
Greta, please give our automatonfriend here all the three
blueprints as a sign of good faith.
And in return, I will take the communications down for the spy
in the fingers. What is the spy's name?
The spy has no name. It is an automaton.

(02:13):
I have taken control of the automaton.
It guards the high security wing.
Ah. Having spies in situations is
always useful. It seems we have come to an
agreement. Blueprints and communications
done for blueprints. Agreed.
I would find that to be acceptable.
Now that the first negotiation is out of the way, we should

(02:36):
continue. I believe you have exclusive
information for which I need, and I definitely have
information which would be beneficial to you.
Shall we begin? How would a trade of information
take place? We do not need to overcomplicate
things. I will give you the information
1st and then you will give me the information in return.

(02:57):
Does that sound acceptable to you?
I would be unwilling to betray the interests or the persons of
the crew of the Sterling airshipor the Order of the Heron.
I have no intention of putting you in a situation where you
would betray your friends. Quite the opposite.
Then I find your terms to be acceptable.

(03:19):
Excellent. First things first, I have some
blueprints of my own. You'll notice that these are
blueprints for the vaults beneath the dark bank here in
shape. I believe this will be
beneficial to you in the days and nights ahead.
There are a series of obstacles which need to be overcome.
I'm sure your companion, Vander Finnick already knows all of
this, but just in case, and as an edited benefit, this may be

(03:43):
of some use to you personally. And he reaches into his
perfectly tailored waistcoat andpulls out a handful of coins.
He rifles through, picks one outand flicks it towards you.
If this coin opens a portal to the chaotic panda Monica, I
think with your newly acquired blueprints this may be of some
use to you. That will be of great use.

(04:06):
That is an item of value you have.
My thanks. What information did you
require? Your access to a spine, the
fingers, tells me that you were responsible for what happened
there recently. That is correct.
My first question is, do you know the location of Prisoner 1?

(04:26):
Yes. Where is he?
Prisoner One has no current location on this plane of
existence. My second question, what is the
last known location of Benicuez?The last known location of
Benicuez was in Roanoke in the Citadel.

(04:47):
However, he acquired a means of transportation.
His current location is unknown.I see.
And finally, and perhaps most importantly, what do you know
about the Emperor's moves to thecontinent of Garash?
The Emperor's reasoning is unknown to me.
I may make suppositions, inferences, but nothing is

(05:11):
certain. Why don't you indulge me and
make suppositions? The Emperor was attempting to
acquire the old continent of Antioch.
His plans were foiled by the death of the first Prince of
D'onofilia. His rivalry with Wolf Ericsson,
the warden of Frost Hollow, was ended with the warden's death.

(05:34):
Whilst aboard the Ravager we acquired information, documents,
maps. These may be of interest they.
Would be of much interest. Would you be willing to trade?
Of course I would be willing to trade.
I have some information that I think may be very beneficial to
you and your party. I would find that to be

(05:55):
acceptable. So T.O.K, being T.O.K, has
obviously made made copies of these things and he's very
willing to share basically all the documents we took from the
Ravager, the Ravager airship, which I think this guy would
really, really like. We've also got blueprints of the
fingers, but I wish actually, he'd probably quite like as
well. So in fact, the yeah, Tucker

(06:17):
will also retrieve the blueprints of the Fingers
because he's got a spy on the Fingers.
The blueprints might actually help quite a bit.
These are hugely beneficial to me and so allowing to pass over
my information. The Empire is crumbling and 1st
servitude is always difficult tomaintain over long periods, and
the number of groups have already begun overturning its

(06:39):
power, yourselves included. But the Emperor does not care,
He's dying and desperate. It is his only option as his
body fails him. The first part of his plan
involves the Sons of Kale. This is being reported that they
are marching on Crimson Reach aspart of a border dispute.
This is false. Their true goal is Lanasil, home

(07:01):
of the Elves. The Sons will eradicate them and
claim the Gerima trees to continue production of more Sons
of Chaos. That is alarming.
Thank you for this information. The sons are his personal army,
the chosen ones who will rise above the ashes of what is to
come. He has long studied the words of
Phallic Storm and intent to recreate a ritual of ascension,

(07:23):
the same one which caused the event known as Storm's Fall.
The ritual involves the sacrifice of a number of
species, but the emperor believes he has identified the
failings of the previous attempt.
Roanoke was his first attempt. I believe Roanoke was not the
ritual of ascension. The destruction in Roanoke was
the result of boons from a dark God.

(07:47):
Correct a Lokian benedictions. That is correct.
It is his belief that more soulsare required to be successful.
A continent of souls. In fact, if he's successful in
his search for the Elokian Benedictions, he will use them
to tear the continent apart. He needs 4 in total.
He already has three. He's travelling to Ghoresh

(08:10):
following a lead in search of the final piece he needs.
That is alarming news. It would be if there was a
benediction in Ghoresh, but I know there is not.
Much rests on the certainty of your information.
I know so because it was I who passed him the information.
Deception. A ruse.

(08:31):
You have my thanks. I will leave you with this.
And he hands you a map. These are the plans for the
Ravager. It may be of some use to you.
Mr. TOC, the benedictions hold the key to defeating the Emperor
and defeat him we must, or all will suffer.
You act against the Empire. Would you join the Order of the

(08:56):
Heron? His mouth momentarily curls into
a smile before returning to impassive.
It is a kind offer in times of war.
Make strange bedfellows. But I will decline.
I'm destined to make my use fromthe shadows.
Talk will offer him a sending stone.

(09:17):
No thank you. And I do not use them to use the
tools of my enemy to defeat the enemy and defeat him we must.
There is no greater threat to our futures than him.
We have spoken enough, if you need to speak to me again you
may reach out to Greta. Until then I wish you and your

(09:39):
friends all the best master talk.
I doubt this will be our last meeting.
And with the curt nod, he walks off.
Towards the bridge. Welcome on and all to Dice

(10:16):
Company Small Embers Chapter 75,where a group of friends weave
tales of triumph, heroism, and despair under the guise of
playing Dungeons and Dragons. My name is Tom and I'll be your
DM through the continuing adventures of this party of
awesome hysters, Party of awesome Heistlers.
Please introduce yourselves and tell the audience 1 fun fact

(10:37):
about your characters. Good start.
He's done that before. First time Al memory check.
Hey. Yep, there we are.
There we are. It's all working.
It's all working. Hi, I'm Charlie and I play
Vander Finnick 1 area. We haven't discussed about
Vander. Is his favorite colour.
Growing up his favorite colour was yellow because of course

(10:59):
that was his house colour. As an older person his favorite
colour was of course black because that is straight up
cool. But secretly he has the most
respect for the colour beige because of all the colours.
You never know what beige is thinking that's.

(11:19):
Great, that's completely true. So I think beige might be my
favorite colour now. What is it thinking?
What is it thinking? Someone approaches you in beige.
Why? What do they want?
Nobody knows. Talk sticks to a solid grey Hi
I'm Harry and I play Talk in imposing 6 foot 8 automaton and

(11:39):
Talk has had his first attempt at composing a song.
My God 0101010001101001, 011000110110101011 It's

(12:01):
dedicated to Little Tick. OK, so you've read that, which
makes me think. I mean again, I you know why is
a big question, but I think I might know why it means
something. This is a Harry Riddle and none
of us are clever enough to work out what it means.
So listeners, over to you. What the hell was that and why?
Someone translate for the love of God.

(12:24):
There's there's a much longer version but I thought I'd spare
you. Thank you, Father.
Oh, coming to your charts soon, I'm sure.
If you put dance music to that, it could become one of those
kind of ear worm hits, like the Hey Dougie Stick song for the
Crazy Frog. You know, it just goes, it's

(12:47):
just one word. Or, you know, ones and zeros,
just with a pumping dance track behind it.
Pumping, pumping techno music. Love it.
Hi, I'm Alex and I'm playing Oberon Sikh Sorrow and as we
know, Sikh Sorrow wants to escape the doom of the Sikh
Sorrow name. He's got a fairly refined
approach to that name, but when he was 18, he had a more blunt

(13:10):
way of doing things. So he went to the local register
office and tried to change his name to Seek Joy.
Unfortunately, the clerk in the office laughed, then laughed
some more, and then laughed so hard that he felt unconscious.
Seek Sorrow. Just had to leave it.
Can't be the it's can't be the saddest fact I've ever heard.

(13:34):
Sorrow Sort. Yeah, sorrow found.
Seek sorrow on that day. But Joy found the Clark.
Yes, very true, before sorrow took its.
Place so housekeeping. Insert housekeeping spiel here.
I'll do it later. Please keep it the same.

(13:57):
Just leave it like that. You should definitely do that.
Please follow us on Blue Sky, YouTube and TikTok and remember.
No, no. No.
You. Miss you forgot about?
Check out our companion podcasts.
The tales of Kelvala, the Extra Roll and Around the Campfire.
Very good. And the rest is politic.
Oh go on, do the and remember Al.

(14:18):
The irony of that is delicious. Oh, well, I've got to have a
I've got a quote, haven't I? I've got to say and remember,
I've got to have a punchy quote.Then I know what The thing is.
OK, it's and. Please remember, not just and
Remember, Remember. I'm doing mine in the
imperative. Oh please go into that, see if

(14:40):
you call her brain and pick out a memory for us.
Fuck it, I remember. Charlie's a prick, as we'll find
out in the next chapter. Of Joyce gum.
I've never wanted to turn a pagemore in my life.

(15:16):
Previously on Small Enders, the Order of the Heron believe there
is an Ilukian benediction in theHighmore Vault of the Dark Bank
of Shale. Having spent days planning and
with your companion Petron elsewhere, you hatch a plan to
break into the fortified structure through the sewers.
Using Tox modified Cloak, you'reable to appear through the

(15:39):
toilets as you make your way into the vault structure below
Shale, A lavish marble entry hall with intricate arcane
sigils inlaid in gold meets you.Eyes from the portraits of long
dead bankers seem to follow you as you move through this strange
area. Ahead of you is a locked door.

(16:02):
60 feet above it is a golden button.
Big sorrow. I believe this is your moment to
shine. Says Vander Herning in Seek
Sorrow's Direction 0. Thanks very much, Vander.
I'm excited about this. And Seek Sorrow reaches into his
belt and pulls out a boomerang. Vander claps his hand to his

(16:24):
head. One job.
Seek sorrow. One job.
Query seek sorrow. Why was returning a feature
necessary of the stick? Hours of planning.
Well, I wanted to come back talk, so I thought if I took
something that returned then I definitely have to come back

(16:45):
with it. Symbolism.
Destiny, Panda Destiny. I will admit I am rather charmed
by that, but you're still a fool. 6 RL.
Oh, that's a shame because your father said I was a nincompoop
and I was quite happy with that.Finally, the family have found a
batter on which they agree. This is truly a rare moment.

(17:07):
Seek Sorrow looks confused. He thought Lincoln Poop was a
compliment. Seek Sorrow does a binning
twisting run up like an Olympic hammer thrower and lugs the
boomerang at the golden button. Please give me an athletics
check. 18 for athletics. The boomerang swooshes up into

(17:28):
the air, with one end of it hitting the golden button, which
withdraws into the wall, and youhear clicking as the door in
front of you unlocks, rotates and moves aside.
Seek sorry, catches the boomerang, turns to Vander, nods
curtly and says, see. Nincompoop, I can't.
And Vander, without a word, justmeekly follows behind Seek.

(17:51):
Sorry, not finding a reply for this wildly unlikely event
that's just taking place. You move on through to a narrow
corridor lined with golden gearsand clockwork murals.

(18:12):
The golden glow emanating from the murals flickers and then
goes dark. Through the darkness, you can
see red beams of arcane energy in a crisscross pattern.
They block the entirety of the long corridor ahead of you.
This is within my capabilities. Tox Benser could 15 minutes

(18:32):
arranging A bizarre like contraption.
It looks like a a kind of like aa tunnel made of sticks like
that advances like see pushes itslowly like Caterpillar and on
the outside is like a tangle of mirrors.
And as the as the the like little tunnel gets pushed
forwards, the mirrors redirect the red beams until they sort of

(18:53):
like go back into the correct space, thus allowing a passage
underneath for the party to crawl through.
And the tap seek. Sorry with this case.
You see sick sorrow, planning, precision.
That's what a heist is meant to look like.
I'm, I'm to be honest, a bit confused by I don't remember
planning any of this, but yeah, well done.

(19:14):
Please give me gem cutters toolscheck before I do this.
I'm going to guide myself, justify.
He's going to get talk and it'lltake to help him adjust the
mirrors because you've got to have like, you know, see where
they're going and where they came from at the same time.
And you've got to work in perfect harmony.
If they're helping you, you can have an advantage as well.

(19:35):
Boo. Yeah.
Way 4 for guidance. There we go.
A natural 20. So that will be a role of a 37.
My good grief. I would say comfortably the
highest role we've had. I think quite possibly, yeah.
Yeah, the dark bank melts and wewalk out with all the treasure.
The rest of you watch as Tuck Tick and Little tick construct

(19:57):
this strange Caterpillar like device with loads of mirrors on
it and slowly edge it through and actually the arcane beams,
the moment they start hitting them they start reflecting back
into their point of origin and you see them almost short
circuit and as he moves through they're dissipating allowing you
completely free access. Last devil whack talk.

(20:19):
Vander says admiringly. It is fortunate that mirrors
reflected the beams. I was not certain it was a
calculated risk, Vander. Well, I do enjoy those talk, but
well done. Not all the same calculations of
yours are usually correct. That is correct.
Colourful language less so. Language may not possess colour,

(20:42):
vander it is sound. How do I exit this conversation?
Talk without doing you any injury, A question I often ask
myself. Vander by ceasing talking.
Vander nods. That was a game of chicken that
we all lost and you move. Through to the next World.

(21:14):
The next room has a series of small columns around 3 feet
tall, 6 in total. Atop each is a series of strange
mechanisms which bear resemblance in style to the
Obsidian Matrix. A quick study tells you that
each is a simple puzzle disc. To unlock the door ahead, you
would need to arrange the discs into various patterns.

(21:34):
Each pattern appears to represent a different theme.
An elegant design, says Vander. Looking around, the dark bank
is, as ever, ingenious in its protections.
However, and he produces from his robes A vial, drinks some of
it, gulps, and then throws the rest of the content contents on

(21:57):
the floor, smashing it, which creates a small flame.
Out of the flame marched thousands upon thousands of tiny
creatures, each hobbling in the direction of one or other of the
plinths. Quickly they form pyramids as
they get closer to the top of the plinths, and then up in
their thousands, they begin manipulating every possible

(22:20):
combination. Vanda turns to the other two.
It would have been possible maybe to discern the correct
combination, but thousands of hands like.
Thousands of monkeys can try every combination, and this
seemed to me the easier of the two paths.

(22:40):
And Vander gestures back at the creatures.
Each, of course, has a very short lifespan.
And after. One move, you see them falling
off the Cliff again in their thousands.
Give me an Arcana check please. 22 You see the creatures visibly
aging due to their short lifespans, but after thousands

(23:01):
of attempts you hear one of the plinths click and another click
shortly after. Bodies are now piling up around
each of the plinth. There's more and more creatures
are deployed from the fires and March mindlessly towards the
plinths until you hear a final click and creatures stop
appearing from the fire. The fire vanishes and you see

(23:22):
that the puzzle has been solved.Success as I predicted.
Says Vander, picking his way through the aftermath.
Talk's going to turn to Sikh sorrow and say, truly he is a
grim sower. Yeah, I I'd say so.
And Sikh sorrow is just looking around at this devastation.
He has no idea what to think andhe just turns and stares at

(23:44):
Vander. Do not fear Sikh sorrow.
These creatures long to fulfil atask, and their evolutionary
advantage is their extraordinaryproduction rate.
Much like humans. That's an interesting point of
view, T.O.K says. Vander looking slightly
worriedly at T.O.K. It seeks 0 spares, a worried

(24:04):
look for T.O.K, and then continues looking in a worried
way at Vander. This was the most elegant
solution as we have wasted little time and at the same time
shown the dark bank that there are more than a few ways to
solve a complex puzzle. Also top killer.

(24:27):
The kill list sees all, and you move on.
The next long chamber awaits. Listening carefully, you can
hear faint echoing whispers coming from all directions.

(24:51):
The next massive vault door sitsat the far end of the chamber.
In. The tail.
Do you think that's the vault bounder?
Utterly, but this is 1. Little.
I hadn't anticipated, though I believe I have heard something
of the like. Do you know of this type of

(25:14):
deception? It appears to be a door bounder.
It may have a lock. I will inspect it.
Truly visionary words. I suggest we keep our movements
to a minimum while we assess thesituation.
What's there to see in the room?Like what's the distance between
US and the door? A. 120 feet away from me and

(25:35):
it's just a plain long chamber. There don't appear to be any
murals on the wall. No designs, no cogs, nothing
like that. Dim lighting, the entirety of
the chamber and strange whispers.
Tell me, seek sorrow. Are you familiar with the
concept of sirens? You know, I think my mum might
have told me a story about it, something about voices that lure

(25:57):
you into trouble. That is correct, and earlier in
our adventures Talk and I encountered a species that used
a similar method of ensnaring us.
The whispers are difficult to place, but I suspect if we
wander forth with no protection,we will succumb to urges that

(26:18):
are not our own. So cover our ears and Sprint.
Not a terrible idea, but perhapswe can modify T.O.K.
Or. T.O.K may modify himself and
thereby render his senses immuneto this arrow attack.
OK, I don't know if T.O.K can entirely cut out his sense of of

(26:41):
hearing. He'll try by like, you know,
like basically blocking his ears.
I actually haven't even exploredhow T.O.K hears anything at all.
Can you can you turn something off?
It's. A twisted nozzle.
Yeah, can you turn off your ear trumpets, T.O.K?
I do not possess trumpets. Seek sorrow.
Well, it's actually not a bad idea if we make enough noise.

(27:02):
But we crossed across the room, we wouldn't hear any whispers,
would we? You got a trumpet in those
robes, Vanda? Vanda tilts his head.
That is in genius seek sorrow. Now I may have something that
will do the trick. Lucky I brought these and Vanda
produces bagpipes the. Weapon Award Bagpipes.

(27:24):
Vanda query the Aromicus in Frost Hollow.
The sound was not detectable by ears.
Vander It arrived in humans brains without sound.
Easy to test, talk and seek. Sorrow covers his ears and
uncovers them and covers them again to see if the whispers

(27:44):
come louder and quieter as he does that.
And the the whispers remain as you cover your ears and uncover
them and can not hear the whispers as well.
He can OK alter if you can hear them.
Try a tune on your pipes, Vander.
Because he speaks, everyone wants to see if it drains out
the sand, even though it's not being received through his ears,
if that makes sense. Vander begins to play on the

(28:07):
pipes. Cool, give me a bagpipes check
please. Is he making this check for how
well he can play or how loudly he can play?
It's it's a charisma based checkand I've got a 16.
Vander strikes up the bagpipes, which fill the chamber with a
deafening sound as it reflects off all surfaces.
You can't hear the whispers overthe sound of the bagpipes

(28:30):
playing. Vander looks to his right and to
his left meaningfully, and then begins to March forward to the
sound of the pipes. I believe it is too late, for
stealth seeks sorrow. Yeah, I think your right talk
and seeks sorrow. Pulls out his shovel and an iron
pot and starts banging them together as he walks along like

(28:51):
a drummer with Van Death. But this is not drumming.
This is discordant, random, justbanging on a pot with a shovel.
He's not, he's not. He's not on a rhythm.
Talk waits for a second, kind ofconsiders, and then just walks
forward with his feet just thumping as he hits the ground.

(29:12):
You look nuts. And you make it safely to the
far end, and the door which remains shut in front of you
appears to have a very simple spin element that can be spun to
unlock and open the door. Vander's going to have to keep
playing the pipes unless. Tock has the only one who isn't
using his hands to produce the noise so he will turn the wheel

(29:34):
to open the door. Waiting for a second to just
check to see if there are any traps around that are like super
obvious. Excellent.
Cool, give me an investigation or perception check at
disadvantage please. I figured the sound of the
bagpipes and the pot being smashed it's distracting.
Fair enough. OK investigation at

(29:56):
disadvantage. Oh well it was a bad role.
So only in 18. Pausing for just the briefest
second before opening the door, you notice that there is indeed
a trap on this door. Alarm no one is for once.

(30:18):
It appears to trigger when the door is opened, which would
cause a spell to be cast into the area where you are standing.
Can I see what the mechanism would be?
Do you have thieves tools? I know you've got most tools.
I have got thieves tools, yes. Excellent.
Because I made them. Of course you did.
Can I have a thieves tools checkplease?

(30:40):
I rolled terribly 52. OK, so T.O.K is going to slide
his armoured gauntlets apart, revealing his fleshy fleshy
human skin hands. Then, before making this test at
disadvantage, T.O.K reaches intohis pouch and removes a small

(31:05):
vial which he is going to lift up to the small straw that comes
out the bottom of his face. Cliff, I love that that's the
description as well. It's just accepted now and and
he'll he'll finish off the drinkin this vial before attempting
it. This is a tox version of a glyph
of warding and it contains the spell enhanceability.

(31:26):
Dexterity. Because I saw this coming.
OK, right. So be a standard Dexterity check
then. Yeah, a standard check.
So normal. And then T.O.K gets +5 to
thieves stools because he's got Vander's skin on his hands.

(31:49):
Damn it. So grim.
Oh, it's a good thing I rolled A4, which gives me a roll of 15.
Very nice. That's a fail.
Everyone please give me wisdom saving throws.
Shit. A wave of dark energy ripples
across the space and envelops all three of you.
Talk mentally prepares himself with his flash of genius.

(32:12):
Of course he does. Talk gets a 26.
I'm going to do. I'm going to play lucky.
What did you roll? I rolled at 14, which given my
wisdom boost is ridiculous. I'm going to re roll that 18.
I rolled I got 8 but I'm going to use indomitable which means

(32:37):
beginning at 9th level I can re roll a saving throw that I fail.
Oh, very nice. I must use the new roll 20 I've
only got. I've only got plus one to
wisdom. So to get an 18, even with my
indomitable I needed to roll high.
There I rolled a 19. The wave of dark energy ripples

(32:58):
across you, but mentally you steel yourself against it,
despite the sound of bagpipes and pans and tox clanking feet.
You take no damage, however, forthe briefest moment Vanda and
seek sorrow. You are plagued with scenes from

(33:19):
your life in the past as you relive your greatest regret.
Suddenly Vanda feels rain pouring down his face and the
darkness of the underground turning to the darkness of night
air as once again he finds himself staring through the
railings into a fine stately home.

(33:41):
She looks through the rain soaked window pane and there he
sees nobles laughing and discussing events of the day in
the midst them, sees her laughing with nobles and seeming
to enjoy herself. To his mind, she seems
thoughtless that he's no longer in her world, that she has left

(34:02):
him behind, and torn with sorrowand hatred, he turns away from
the railings and makes his way into the darkness, his decision
made to follow a life without her in it as well.
Sikh Sorrow was on his third alewhen the message from home came,

(34:23):
a note sent from mum telling himto get back as quick as he
could. He almost went, but his friends
convinced him to stay. It had been such a good day.
They've been out in the sun, they've been working together,
and then they've been drinking together, and the group of
friends was growing at the bar and the music was playing and he
decided to stick around for one more.

(34:44):
And that one more drink became two more, and that became five
more. He was very much in drink, full
of the joys of the night and ready to slump into bed.
By the time he got home, his dadwas dead and he hadn't been
there to say goodbye. Talk, your role was so high, you

(35:05):
don't need to worry, The cock has no regrets.
I open the door. The door opens.
Regrets are for suckers. The door opens and a huge,
cavernous room awaits you, meticulously clean with ceilings
hundreds of feet into the air. This is the Vault Annex.

(35:27):
Like so many other areas, it's covered in brass cogs and
strange designs which look like machinery but are actually
decoration. Even the smallest movement
echoes across the fast space. Ahead of you.
On the wall opposite are half a dozen circular volts doors with
simple spin lock mechanisms. The third one reads Hymal Volt

(35:50):
Founder. These gears are nearly
decorative. I do not understand their
purpose. It is often the case talk that
great families rely on some illusory apparatus to make
ourselves appear more wealthier or deceptive than we actually
are. Happily, I am aware that my

(36:13):
father prefers. The older solutions and from
Vander's robes he produces a simple key and places it in a
nook. It's not shaped as a keyhole,
nevertheless accepts the key andhe gives it A twist.
And with a clunk and a whir, thedoor to the Highmore fault

(36:33):
opens, protected by deception. That is wise.
Necessary talk has asked so manydeceptions. 6 Or stations
himself against the open door because he's suspicious that in
this kind of place the door might suddenly slam shut.
So he kind of puts the handle ofhis axe in the ground, embraces

(36:54):
his foot against it, holding thedoor open.
Vand is at the threshold lookingin.
Talks standing next to Vanda. Yes, you look into the High Mole
vault, which is stacked floor toceiling with chests, dark wood
with copper bands holding the contents in place.
It is a relatively small vault, and you can count 17 treasure

(37:17):
chests stack neatly in the corners of this vault.
However, SAT pride of place. In the center is a statue.
It shows a man on one knee, covering his face with his left
hand. His right hand is reaching
forward, fingers splayed, and onthe fourth finger is a gaudy
looking ring, overly large, square in shape and odd.

(37:43):
There she is, says Vander, gesturing at the ring.
It is not a further deception, Vander.
It is always a further deceptiontalk that's part of the fun.
The question is, where do the traps lie this time?
And Vander's eye roves the chests.

(38:04):
And seeks, sorry, can't help butto look into the vault just to
have a look at the ring on the finger.
And he's looking to see whether it's the same finger that Vander
is missing. Vander, give me an investigation
check and seek sorrow. Give me an investigation check
or perception, your choice. And Vander, you're guided.
At 22 and the guiding gives me. An extra photo. 26.

(38:29):
And that's 11 for Seek Sorrow, who probably can't quite see
very well from his position at the door.
Vander As you look around at thechests, obviously wary of
deception, you notice inbuilt into the cog decorated walls are
the shapes of automatons. They are hidden from you,
presumably protective, and you suspect that any movement into

(38:54):
the vault would cause them to activate.
I must confess, even for the dark bank, this is an ingenious
defence mechanism. Look, eyes concealed at the
walls, Automatons no doubt whichwill activate should we take a
step inside. A formidable foe, would you not

(39:16):
agree? Talk.
I would agree, Vander, It may also be an opportunity.
Do go on talk. Capable automatons are rare.
They may be taken as well. An interesting proposition.
And how would you go about the taking of them?

(39:37):
Undetermined. I see.
It strikes me that my family would have had a means of
controlling them, something thata Highmore could use that may
not even be available to the bank.
A word or phrase perhaps? Maybe the family words.

(39:58):
Your family own words, Vanda, Surely they can be used freely
by any human. Wrong again.
Talk. Nobles can buy anything.
And Vanda turns to the darkness.Truth speaks last.
The automatons jerk to life and step out of their holes.
They turn to face you, their eyes red, and then they

(40:22):
deactivate and take a knee. Vanda turns a smile from ear to
broken ear. The mind is truly a wonderful
thing when motivated to treasure, is it not talk?
That is correct, Vander. You are as perceptive as ever.
Yes. Says Vander, sensing absolutely

(40:44):
nothing but delicious praise flowing in his direction.
Now the ring. Vander seems slightly.
Overcome at this point, his needs to get hold of the ring is
starting to overtake his sense of caution.
Yeah, Tock's arm will will be held in front of him and

(41:05):
blocking Vander's path. Caution Vander.
There may be further traps. Vander straightens, a moment of
irritation flashing across his face, and then control returns.
After stuck, I was about to suggest the same.
And Vander takes a more passive stance and begins to assess the
room again. So you're specifically looking

(41:27):
for traps on the statue? Yes, and Talk will be assisting.
Please roll an investigation at Advantage. 26.
Nice. There are no traps on the statue
or anywhere else in the room. The room is inert.
You can do what you wish. I have waited for many years to
possess that ring. My birthright, My.

(41:52):
Precious. And attentively pushes Tox arm
out the way and slinks towards the ring.
Look at how it catches the lightboys.
One can tell it has powers even by observing it.
Vanda closes on the ring and hisgood hand reaches out and

(42:14):
withdraws it from the statue. He holds it up to the light and
then slips the ring on his ring finger of his good hand.
As you look at the ring close upyou see small engraved Elokian
ruins and then in an old high Elysian language the words

(42:35):
Carousel X misfortune. You place the ring on your
finger and for the briefest moment nothing happens.
Then slowly you begin to hear whispers, faint half
conversations from voices you don't recognize.
Then you see the outlines of images, people moving, fighting,

(42:56):
shouting Vanda. You hear a loud explosion, then
another. To your right you hear the
sounds of joy and happiness. To the left, horror, fear and
disdain. 6 are on talk. You see Vanda rise into the air,
seemingly dragged by a force gripping the ring.
You all hear an echoey sound as Vanda suddenly lands gently on

(43:20):
his feet. Sander, please add 2 to your
wisdom permanently. This increase is not stopped by
the normal limits for characteristics.
That just isn't you alarm. Vander, are you damaged?
Why the opposite duck? Vander says while staring at the

(43:42):
ring in his hand. I feel alive.
Vander we were alive before picking up the ring.
More so now, talk by a magnitudeI feel most well.
And Vanda looks around at the room, almost like he's tracking

(44:02):
down the sounds he can hear around him, working out where
they come from and what they might mean.
This is a ring of wisdom, a ringthat has endless possibility, a
ring that can do phenomenal things in the right hands.

(44:23):
What can it do in your hands, Vander?
Time will tell, talk, time will tell.
This is a good day. A good day for all of us.
On that, I swear. Now the question is, how do we
leave this place without a scratch on our collective

(44:47):
bodies? Let me see.
And Vanda places his hand with the ring to his forehead, just
feeling the energy of the ring and enjoying the sensations of
increased ability as they run through.
His body, Would you say it's precious to you?
If I'm angry, it's your fault. Sick, Sarah.

(45:12):
Evander, give me an insight check please. 20-30 Oh sorry, is
it at advantage? All of your insight checks will
now be advantage because of the ring that you are wearing.
Incredible 25. You can sense through some
otherworldly means, you can feelthe power of the ring, of this
Elokian benediction running through your mind and through

(45:33):
your body. There is danger and it is
imminent, and if you wish to avoid it, you would need to move
quickly. Toys, danger approaches.
We must leave this place. Grab what you can.
This is Stella Heist, and Vanda begins shoveling his own gold
into his pocket. Sneeks are abandons guarding the

(45:54):
door and starts filling up his iron drum pot with as much
treasure as he can get. Talk throws the the cloak into a
perfect five foot circle on the ground and then just push the
stuff into it and it falls into it as if, you know, like it just
disappeared into a big pit. This is just like the Idaho

(46:16):
James book said it would be. Tick will now be outside the
portable hole as well, just for capacity sake.
Talk Is there room in your cloakfor the automatons?
I believe so, Vander. And I command you to dive in
there, says Vander, pointing hisring hand.
At the cloak on the floor. The automatons dutifully stand

(46:38):
up, March forward, and dive headfirst into the cloak hole.
Tuck will gather the cloak up and yeah, tuck it into his belt.
Tuck the old ways, whack the best, says.
Vander climbing on top's back. He'll turn, seek sorrow, and
say, seek sorrow. Would you like to climb on ticks

(47:00):
back? No, I'm I'm all right talk.
I can run for myself. I find that to be acceptable.
We're showing for Petrin to missthis.
If you liked his revenge and oldMr. Highmore and then seek
sorrow as they bowl out of the vault.
He throws A solitary gold coin back into the vault, goes buy
yourself a suit. The single gold coin rattles

(47:22):
into the empty vault as you turnand Sprint away, joining talk
with Vander on his back. The decorative cogs on the walls
begin to blast out. Arcane power.
Explosions fill the air as you Sprint, but you're always one
step ahead as you make your way out of the dark.

(47:42):
Back. And we will end it there.

(48:11):
Out in the swamps to the South of shale, Petrin has spent days
in a hall when a voice from above him calls out.
Do you need help? No, no, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm fine.
And Petrin sort of seems to snap, snap to himself.
He stamps the staff into the ground and the staff instantly

(48:33):
changes into an oak tree and so Petra and kind of uses that to
propel himself up to the surfacealmost in an instant in a in a
way which I imagine is quite startling to whoever is at the
top of the hole. As you rise out of the hole atop
the ever growing tree, the figure who called out to you
takes 2 calculated steps backwards.

(48:55):
To avoid. Being hit by any branches.
What you see is a relatively tall in human terms, slender
human pale skin, neat blonde hair, parted on one side, clean
shaven, and he's wearing very kind of plain black clothes,
sort of like a suit. Very smart.

(49:16):
Without any precursors and I sees patrons.
Have you seen? Have you seen someone like me?
Have you seen anyone like me around here?
Big bluish. I have not seen anyone like you.
Ever before you sure? You're absolutely sure.
Now cast your mind back. No one at all around here.
Are you local? Do you know the area?

(49:37):
I know the area quite well, yes.I, I followed their footsteps
and then I, I saw a shape and, and as the journal and and I'm.
So sure, it is quite impressive the power that you have
displayed here. You appear to have grown a tree
out of absolutely nothing. What's that?
Oh, oh, oh, yeah, you're right. I, yeah, I, I, I, I did do that.

(50:02):
My handy stove staff. And Petra's going to grab the
trunk and turn it back into his staff before he forgets and he's
a pint. I was in shale and, and we, we
thought we saw another furball. And I, I came here and I found
the hole and I can read in and things and and then and then you

(50:23):
turned up. Who is we?
Oh, me and Cuthbert say hello, Cuthbert.
He looks around. Cuthbert's head pops up.
Squeak. Interesting it is a companion of
yours. Oh, that's right.
Yeah, My, he's my oldest friend these days.
Cuthbert. Yeah, we've been.
We've been together some time now.
I. Have to excuse me, it is quite

(50:44):
unusual to see a creature I've not seen before sitting in a
hole in the box of shale. Are you local to shale?
Oh, I'm I'm I'm a visitor. Yeah.
Petron at this point sort of comes to himself a little bit
and realises that he's just beenlaunching questions at this at
this person isn't he's. Oh yeah, that I see.

(51:06):
I see what you mean. It is a little bit odd, isn't
it? I'm.
I'm sorry. Let me I'll try to start again.
Yes. Hello.
My name is Petron. It's very nice to meet you.
I am a visitor. We, I was visiting the city of
Shale with my travelling companions, my friend, my
friends, my friends, my friends.Yeah.

(51:27):
And, and, and then, yeah, I, I got a bit sidetracked and I,
I've only slept for a while and I've been eating worms, so I,
yeah, I might be a bit incoherent, might you know?
So what's your name? What brings you out here?
You can call me Indigo. Right, you are very, very nice
to meet you. So, are you hungry?
Perhaps I can offer you some food.

(51:48):
Am I hungry? Are you?
Well, I suppose I must be. That would make sense, wouldn't
it? I've, Yeah.
I hadn't really thought about it, but yeah, I, I, I think I
probably am a. Large creature such as yourself
must have to consume a lot of food in order to get the energy
you need to move in such a largeframe here.
And he reaches into his pocket, and he pulls out half.

(52:09):
Of the chocolate bar. Oh well, that's.
That's very clean of you when you go, if you're if you're sure
you can spare it, of course. Which is the very least I can
do. I'm a firm believer in making
friends where it is possible. I believe that too, Indigo.
Very good. And and Petron chomps down the
chocolate. What?
What did you say? You brings you out here into the

(52:30):
into the box, Indigo. I like to gather knowledge what
I can information. You'll often find the most
interesting things happen in themost unexpected places.
I think it is important to maintain a good balance within
nature. Oh, I I couldn't agree more.
That's it. Yeah, that's pretty much my my
philosophy on things as well. This.

(52:50):
I don't suppose this is your whole, is it?
No, I live in town. But you are I I've been
wondering, you might have made this whole and what for?
But. It looks to me to be a trap.
That's very true, I've been in it for 2-3 days.
Surprised no one's coming to check it, that's all.
If they've made a trap. I wondered if you were the the

(53:12):
the trap maker coming to check his trap, I suppose.
Perhaps a particularly nasty prey turned on a predator.
Well, that can happen, I suppose.
Yeah, right. You are.
Right you are. How long have you been down the
hall? So I'm trying to work out I sort
of lost lost track of time a little bit.
I can see as I look down it is very neat and orderly down

(53:34):
there. Well, Oh yeah, I do.
I do like order. I have to admit I hadn't noticed
I'd done that. And subconscious.
We are kindred with spirits. As important as I think the link
with nature is, I think order within nature is the most
beautiful thing, right? You are right, you are.
Are you? Are you heading back to to Shale

(53:56):
Indigo? I'm not ready to return just
yet. I feel like I've achieved quite
a lot and learnt quite a bit of information already.
Meeting you is a boon in and of itself.
Where you are What else have youdiscovered on your travels?
You see his eyes squint very slightly.
I have found there is a particular type of mushroom that

(54:17):
I have not seen before. I am interested to take it back
and turn it into a soup. Oh, right, that's, yeah, that's
a, that's a wonderful discovery.We've got a friend who'd be very
interested in that, I reckon. Where are your friends?
Why are you out here alone? Well, I, I, I'm saying I, I, I
saw, I saw what I thought was this for a while, you see, and

(54:37):
I, and I, I wanted to get straight after it, so I, I had
to leave them behind. But I, I, I'm sure they'll still
be there. I'll catch up back in town now.
They are good friends of yours, I take it.
I mean, surely they should worryabout you, would they not if you
just disappeared? Oh well, I left them a note.
I think explaining exactly whereyou were going and what you were
doing. Well.

(54:58):
Yeah. I, I, I mean, to the extent that
I knew where I was going and what I was doing, yeah, it's,
it's good of you to be concernedin there, but I'm sure it's all
right. This is interesting, learning
about different cultures and theway that our relationships are
formed and maintained. Yeah, well, I have to tell you,
Indigo, it's an interest of knowing as well.
I'm, I'm trying to work it out as I go along.

(55:19):
See, until quite recently we hadn't interacted with people
for for many years. And then working out the
insurance and outs of it has been been, it's been tricky, but
I sort of enjoyed it in a way. But I think I shouldn't come get
in the hang of it but. But what is it that put you in
contact with people? Why were you not with people to

(55:42):
begin with? Oh well, I I was living in this
Grove and placed some distance from here and not far from Frost
Hollow. I have heard of Frost Hollow
before. It is a long way away from here.
That's right. Yeah.
Very long way. Very long way indeed.
Do you not find that you miss it?
Wow, that's an interesting question.
I miss the the the landscape around Frost Hollowed pretty

(56:04):
much changed for the worse in the last 10 years or so, so I
can't say that I miss it for what it was.
I miss I miss the opportunity tosee what it might be.
Does that make sense? Of course, potential is
important, and imagination even more so.
That's right, that's what you'revery wise, Chap Indigo, if you

(56:27):
don't know my saying. These are very kind words and I
accept them. Thank you and I, I.
I think I'd probably better be on my way actually.
I I don't want to miss them and.You're friends.
That's right. Yeah.
Yeah. But maybe I'll see you back in
in shale, would I? Quite possibly.
Who knows the way that the weavewill lead us in different

(56:48):
directions? Well, we've been visiting a
Tavern called The Shaggy, Captain, so I don't know if you
get the opportunity to stop by. I suppose it's possible you
might be there and and we could say hello, you know, you might,
might find that you're friendly with the other people in my
group as well. Well, I'm always willing to make
new friends and learn new things.

(57:09):
Well, this has been a pleasant meeting.
Very nice. All right, Well, well, all the
best. And I, I may, I may see you in
the future. If I may leave you with one
small gift. Oh well, I the chocolate was
lovely. I don't need.
There's no need to. What else?
And you know. He ignores your protestations

(57:31):
and reaches into the small pocket at the front of his
waistcoat and he pulls out a small battered looking coin.
I think this may be of some use to you in the days and weeks
ahead. It is a simple way to transport
yourself great distances very quickly.
Like a portal. I went through a port once.

(57:52):
I'm not sure I liked it. Then perhaps the gift is not
good for you. No, Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to
be. Oh, no, I didn't mean to be
ungrateful. I, I just been, it's a, well,
it's quite an odd experience thefirst time you do it, isn't it?
It's well, turns you, flips yourstomach upside down and all
sorts. I was a little bit on fire at
the time as well, which probablydidn't help.
So no, I, I didn't mean to be rude.
I'm sure that would be a, a tremendous gift.

(58:13):
I'm very grateful indeed. You were on fire and travelled
through a portal. Well, that's right.
Yeah, the the dragon and everything.
You know who it is. The dragon.
Well, yeah, there was a dragon and, and and there were two,
these two spell casters firing off fireballs at each other.
And then, you know, the emperor's there on the back of

(58:33):
the dragon. And the little girl, I was
worried about her, actually, butI think she's all right.
But I don't know. I do worry about her, you know,
I do. I do.
I concerned for her well-being and then, you know, and then
obviously the vampire Lord just went in in front of us.
But I think Tucker killed him atthat point.
So he was sort of crumbling intodust as he went through the

(58:53):
portal. And yeah, I mean, so that's why
I don't I don't it wasn't the best experience.
I think of going through a port for first time.
There was quite a lot, you know,going on.
If I may, just for a second Emperor arcane users small girl.
The Emperor is in Emperor Salazar.

(59:13):
That's the one, yeah. I see and he was fighting talk
and two magic users and the little girl.
I don't think he was fighting talk, but I don't, I know, I
think I don't think he was fighting the little girl, the
magic users. And yeah, it was all, it was all
a bit of a muddle. I apologize.

(59:35):
I don't have anything that I cangive you in kind.
And yeah, sorry about that. That is fine, You have given me
the gift of friendship. That's very nice of you to say
so it was a real pleasure to meet you.
Pleasure to meet you to Petrum and Indigo moves off into the
wilderness. Yeah, with that, Petrum is going
to glance around, check out the consolations, use them to work

(59:59):
out which rise north and be on his way.
You've been listening to Dice Company's Small Embers, starring
Dave Windust as Petrine Oakflower, Alex Morrison as Sig

(01:00:24):
Sorrow, Charlie Blackadder as Vander Finnick, and Harry King
as Talk with Tom Patrick as yourDungeon Master.
The humans of Dice Company wouldlike to thank the following
sweethearts for their support. Zeus, Legion 0.
Nova Sepulchre. Stennett, Marky B Jenny.

(01:00:46):
The War Camel. Stephen Sikora, Nori Gosler,
Mickey Arnold. Happy Daddy Scotty.
Tikka SJ, Fionix, Richard Ungermas, Rabbi Camel team stay
toxic half pursuit, Paris Hakar,Liz Beckett, Julia Zeno Shovels,

(01:01:08):
Queenie and a special extra thanks to our very own council
of Rojan, Mama Strange, Axel, Runholm and Chris from North
London. How did you get a message?
Like if someone, if there's a message from home, a secretary
is out in the city, how would a message arrive?

(01:01:29):
Letter. Warhog.
It was a bit, yeah, one of course, one of the
infrastructure warthogs are Frostware.
That bander will probably use an.
Urchin. Is it charged it?
Is it a? Messenger hog.
Get one of the messages. Off it for them.
And then it's safe to date for awedding invitation.

(01:01:52):
We really have to. Change.
The system, it's dirty and distracted.
It's a squealing. Hog who has a message?
Can I just take a second becauseI've built out the hog mail
thing. I think they're called post hog
hashtag. Hog mail.
Yeah, right. So hog mail, what you do is you

(01:02:13):
only need to pass them the letter you want to send and a
piece of clothing or something with the scent of the person you
want it sent to. And at 5:00 in the afternoon,
they comes with a hog pens and they staple a message to each of
the hogs or whatever and then they well.
Hang on, they put it on their horns, right?
They staple it. Again, they put it on their
horns, little hog bag and then they basically let the hog

(01:02:34):
nozzle the piece of clothing andthen they just open.
Why do they do it all? At once it's a very chaotic
approach to hog mail. Because that way every town
knows at 5:00 to just shut your doors while the hog mail comes
through. Letters for hundreds of old will

(01:03:00):
just Sprint through the town andjust smash into the buildings
they need to get into through windows, overturning carts.
Hog mail. I do very much like the sound of
hog mail. Can we have that as cannon dog?
No. I want 1 tag that has Hotmail.

(01:03:24):
Like we can. We can.
That can be a fun fact. We can canonize whatever we
want. God damn it.
So I'm pretty sure that's the thing in America, in the
Midwest, isn't it? Just without the letters.
Lore, thanks for listening. Please consider supporting Dice

(01:03:47):
Company on Patreon. Where for the price of a cup of
coffee you get access to a wholeother show extra role as well as
an ad free listening experience.The Dice Company discord server
along with our socials. Can be found on our link tree in
the show notes. If you enjoyed this chapter,
please like and subscribe and don't forget to recommend us to

(01:04:07):
your friends. If you didn't like it, recommend
us to your enemies. And we'll see you next time on
Dice Company.

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Small Embers: Chapter 75 - Smoke and Mirrors II - A Cinematic D&D Actual Play

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Small Embers: Chapter 75 - Smoke and Mirrors II - A Cinematic D&D Actual Play