November 11, 2025 • 25 mins
Beyond the Lines" Tale of the Manticore is a hybrid solo-actualplay D&D game and full production audiodrama. I use Dungeons & Dragons B/X (OSR). This is a dark fantasy tale made for a mature audience.
Join the Supporters' Club: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tale-of-the-manticore-a-dark-fantasy-dungeons-dragons-audiodrama--6276878/support
Join the Supporters' Club: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tale-of-the-manticore-a-dark-fantasy-dungeons-dragons-audiodrama--6276878/support
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, this is the Alexandri Justin Alexander, and you are
listening to the Tale of the Manticore. The following podcast
is intended for a mature audience. Listener discretion is advised.
(00:31):
Welcome back to Tale of the Manticor Season three. Like
the creature from which it takes its name, Tale of
the Manticor is a mashup, a crossbreeding between two different
species of storytelling. Here you will find the unpredictability of
old school paper and dice games with the story craft
of a dark fantasy novel. No character is sacred and
(00:52):
none will be spared if the dice decide their fate
is at hand. According to Laura, the Tale of a
man Corps is barbed with cruel iron spikes. There will
be much pain in the days ahead. Last time on
(01:16):
Tale of the Manticor, episode thirty nine begins with a
flashback in which Aldvey and the Elven maiden Eulaloon share
a blissful life together, basking in the light of each
other's love. Eulaloon teaches Aldvay the magical art of imbuing
life into inanimate things by imparting them with a wisp
of his soul. In Aldovey's first attemptedness, Robin is created
(01:39):
when we rejoin the companions and the present ten Tier
has gone off to offer a shoulder for his brother
colinon Drenni has been suffering from dreams that force him
to relive a painful memory in which following orders led
to the death of his friend in Mentor. Later, when
the companions are altogether again, they visit a lake that
fair Wind had spotted earlier. Here Achilie fails to catch
(02:00):
a fish, but coord succeeds in communicating with an old willow.
Through his conversation with the tree, and also with the
help of Robin, Coord manages to locate what could only
be o doog Zaigog's home. A few hours later, the
companions arrive at the spot, and while they do find
a cottage, to everyone's disappointment, it appears to be abandoned.
(02:30):
Chapter forty, Part one, Day thirty six, late afternoon mythic
event meaning harm rumor party status. Achillie thirteen of thirteen
hit points, Cord twenty four of twenty four, der Anny
(02:51):
sixteen of sixteen, ten Tier nineteen of nineteen, fair one
nineteen of twenty six, Flicker sixteen of sixteen supplies. The
companions have no food remaining. Spells available. Achillia can cast
(03:12):
and large message, glitter dust and detect evil. Cord can cast,
entangle slow poison and old animal. Fair wind can cast
cure light, wounds, and protection from evil. Achilia fought the
(03:33):
sick feeling inside, the feeling that her hope was dying.
She rushed ahead of the others and reached the weathered
wooden door, dimly aware of the rattling sound of frogs
from the pond on the left. As she touched the
initials carved into the door's surface. Each letter was a
few inches high and with a familiar block print. Achilia
knew so well from Odoak's sketchbook. When she pushed on
(03:58):
the door, it swung inward with the creek. Somehow, finding
the place unlocked put a lump in her throat, as
though the fact confirmed what was already obvious. Light from
outside filled the single room cottage. It was very small,
no more than thirty by thirty feet. Inside it smelled
of disuse, damp, musty mildew mixed with the smell of mice.
(04:22):
Pechilia entered as her companions drew up behind her. The
cottage had a floor of warped wooden planks. The walls
and rafters were also made of these rough planks, while
the roof itself had been fashioned of straight branches denudtive
bark and packed with moss. To the immediate left was
a large rectangular mat somewhat for Odok to have put
his boots, perhaps under a line of three wooden pegs
(04:45):
from which coats could have been hung. There were neither
boots nor cloaks here. Now to the right was a
rickety bed frame with a thin stained mattress atop it.
The back wall featured a small stonework fireplace, A large
shelving in it was flush against the chimney. A few
rusted pots and cups were still there. There was a
(05:05):
trunk at the foot of the bed, with the lid open.
From here it appeared empty. Achilia felt Fairwind's light touch
on her shoulder.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
I cannot imagine how you are feeling, my friend, was.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
All he said. Achilia made a wry smile without turning around.
She could barely identify her own feelings. However, one she
could name was denial. This couldn't be happening, Not after
it always been to she muttered aloud. By now Fairwind
had entered the cottage and walked to where the bed was.
In the wall. Above it was a window shutter. This
(05:39):
he opened, letting in more light and air. Suddenly something
occurred to him. He turned around and stalked back to
the door.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Wait a minute, he said, Wait just a minute, This
is not right.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Achilia turned around. The cleric's words had brought the hope
inside her back from the dead, if barely. Fairwind touched
the initials carved in the door.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
This is not right at all, he said.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
The letters match the handwriting and Odoke's book of drawings.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Fair Wind said a Kilia, she was deflating already.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
No, no, no, that's not what I mean.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Fairwind glanced over at dur Any Tintyrian cord, who were
all waiting outside. Then he looked at Kilia straight in
the eye.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
What I mean to say is that odok Zygon was
famous for many things, but above all, he was famous
for being a rec loose. He would never write his
own initials on the door of his house. It makes
no sense at all.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
That's a fairly astute inside fair Wind. I'm impressed, of course,
what else should I expect from a fourth level cleric.
That's right, this episode is a level up episode for
the Cleric of sad All. He'll get to add a
D six to his hit point total, an nevel to four,
which means the existing total of twenty six goes to
thirty three. Well, if he could find some marmor and
(07:09):
a better weapon, fair Wind would be extremely hard to
beat in a fight. Potential stat increases are next for
strength a three no good, intelligence, a four wisdom I've
got a one, and for dexterity another four and I'll
skip constitution as the stat is already maxed out, and
(07:31):
last chance to turn up a six for charisma another
four no stat increases that hurts a bit, and a no.
Fair Wind is still a level away from his first
basic attack bonus. But as a consolation prize, how about
access to a new spell. Let's see the book says,
Oh nice, he can now pray for a second level spell,
and some of those look very useful too. Of course,
(07:54):
fair Wind will not be able to do this until
the next in game day, so that wasn't a home
run of a level up, but it was a solid
base hit. I'd say Flicker had come inside the cottage
and was making noise. Fairwin ignored it and continued, and.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
There's something else. Where are the spider webs? When I
first came to the chapel Ruins and the kymoor Lands,
it was full of them?
Speaker 1 (08:22):
He turned to look inside the cottage.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
A place like this should be full of them too.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Flicker barked once, excitedly, as though punctuating the clearic sentence
with an exclamation point. Peculia knit her brows and re
scanned the room. The cleric had a good point, there
should be spiderwebs here, But was he implying that I.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Think this place could be a decoy, something to throw
people off the trail? You understand?
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Oh? Flicker barked again, this time as though in enthusiastic agreement.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Perhaps.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Achilia said, slowly.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
But I think we still need to give this place
a thorough search.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
She was now standing over the trunk by the foot
of the back. As expected, it was empty. Flicker's barking,
by now was strident. What's wrong with Flicker? As ten
Tier standing in the doorframe, come in or stand to
the side tent Tier, Achillie replied, crouching down to inspect
the trunk.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
More carefully, you're blocking delight.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Tinto shrugged and came in and walked across to examine
the fireplace. Cord and Robin remained in view out front,
while Dorenni had decided to see what was behind the cottage.
Achillie used her knuckles to tap the lid of the trunk,
then its bottom. If there was a hidden compartment or
a false bottom, she couldn't find it. She decided to
look under the bed and got down on her hands
(09:38):
and knees to do so. Ten tier By now had
his hand inside the chimney and was reaching around. Fairwind
was inspecting the pots and cups.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
M All rusted, he declared, there's nothing special here.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Flicker barked again and then growled straight into the boot
mat under the cloak pegs, and the cleric decided to
see what had taken the animal's interest over.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Flickers seems really agitated, he pointed out.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Achilia had noticed the blink dog's fixation on the mat already.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Most likely some animal urinated on it, and Flickers bothered
by the sand, maybe.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Murmured Fairwood contemplatively, now that he was really looking at it.
The mat was notably odd in design. Typically, he would
not have expected to find any design on a boot mat,
or if there was one, something simple, But this one
had an asymmetrical design woven into it. It had a simple, thin,
rectangular inner frame of darker thread, which was unremarkable enough,
(10:36):
But then there was a circular design set in the
middle off to one side. While the mat itself was brown,
this woven circle was of gray, who was a bizarre
design choice. Apart from this was the size of the mat,
who was much too big for its purpose. A man
could have laid a top it and had a room
below his feet, above his head and to either side.
(10:57):
Then there was Flicker's reaction to it. He touched the
mat with his boot and tried to lift up the
edge with a toe. The mat is something out of
the ordinary, as I'm sure you'll have already figured out,
it's a permanent illusion. As such, it isn't quite as
powerful as one a wizard might cast and be able
to concentrate on, so it won't survive really close scrutiny.
(11:20):
I wonder if Fairwind will see it for what it is.
The handling of illusions is one of those things that
is famously tough to do in a game of D
and D. Having characters telling the DM that they are
trying to quote unquote disbelieve a wall, for example, is
weird at best and ridiculous at worst. Either way, it's
hard to not treat the situation completely at the metal level,
(11:41):
if you know what I mean. In this situation, Flicker
has given Fairwind a reason to come and examine the mat.
So I'm going to give the cleric a role to
realize that there's trickery afoot. It's not a role to disbelieve,
it's to notice. I think a role under wisdom check
would work here. Fairwin's wisdom score is not very high.
It's just an eleven to bet it didn't improve during
(12:02):
his level up right, Oh well it didn't, so on
D twenty an eleven or under is a success. Here
comes the role. Oh I got a ten. Dramatis personae
(12:25):
fair Wind thirty years ago, in Silence, the Sun speaks,
its voice is every hidden thing revealed. Dalen Fairwind was
seventeen years old and yet a novice. Although he had
started his training in Nepuel, some parts of his education
had taken place in Camrad's Merepool and of course still Moral.
(12:47):
Currently he was living and studying in that great city,
and it was expected that one day, after many years
of missionary work, he would return here to live out
the rest of his days in quiet study, prayer, and
contemplation in the Church of the Sacred Flame. On this
day he had been given a portion of scripture to
memorize and to analyze. He was to report back with
(13:07):
these tasks completed to Brother Ickhart later in the day,
but Dalen had struggled with one of the lines, as
his ability to think in the abstract was still developing.
When he sought advice from another of the senior clerics
by the terragram, he had been sent to speak with
one of the sisters in their library. The Church of
the Sacred Flame and Soil Moral had an impressive collection
(13:28):
of written works. It consisted of a number of small libraries,
all organized by category and spread out between several rooms.
In the largest of these, Novice Dalen found Sister Amadan.
The priestess, was seated at a table at the back
of the room, beside an open window. Dalen shivered a
little upon entering. He'd been here several times and always
found it cold, probably because the room had no fireplace
(13:51):
and was not close to any that did. Likely, whoever
built a church wanted to keep the library far from
any potential fire. Dalen stod at the doorway to the
room and.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Bad Priestess amagon I was told you might be able
to help me.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
He held that a parchment scroll upon which he had
written the challenging scripture.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Come in, Novice, how may I be of service to you?
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Dalen entered.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
It's this line from the Book of Breaking Dawn, volume three,
line eighteen. It says, in silence, the sun speaks its voice.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Is every hidden thing revealed?
Speaker 1 (14:26):
The priestess recited. She hadn't needed to look at the scroll,
which remained unopened in Dalen's hand. Oh yes, Dylan blushed,
a little, feeling somehow like a child in the presence
of an adult. To the two clerics were less than
a dozen years apart in age.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
That is the passage. What is your question, Novice? I
can understand how a thing can speak in silence. Many
things can communicate their meaning without sound, well, this very scroll,
for example. But then there is the explicit mention of
a voice. What is this voice?
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Perhaps you need to read beyond the lines in this.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Case, said the priestess patiently.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
I do you mean I should read between the lines
and for a subared meeting. Maybe? No, that is not
what I said.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Her voice was cool, like the room.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
I said, you should read beyond the lines. I am
embarrassed to say it, but I cannot understand what you mean, sister,
very well, I will show you.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
The priest tests stood up and crossed the room. At
a bookshelf, she ran her finger across the spines of
a number of tomes before selecting one and drawing it
from its place on the shelf. She opened it, flipped
to a certain page she seemed to know, and, nodding,
returned to the table where she put the book down.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Look At this.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Instead of text, Dylan saw usual illustration. It showed a
stylized image of the sun, with six concentric rings. In
each ring, the Sun's rays were shorter and offset from
those of the ring beside it. All in all, it
looked not unlike a kind of circular checkerboard. Dalen blinked
and did a double take. He laughed softly.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
When I look to one side, the middle part of
the design seems to flicker.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
He declared, precisely replied Sister Amadan. Our senses can fool us,
and so we must look beyond what we see.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
If we seek truth.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Later in his career as a missionary, Brother Dalon Fairwind
would carry a recreation of this image with him in
order that he might more engagingly teach others about the
nature of perception and reality, and he would often repeat
to those who spoke with which Sister Amadan had told
to him.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Even though we often say look here when we wish
to make a point, or ah, now I see when
we understand it, so at all teaches us that the
two are not the same at all, and a true
follower of the fire must understand the difference between seeing
the light and knowing the light.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
He would always conclude these lessons with a broad smile.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Adding faith, as they say, is blind.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Chapter forty, Part two A thirty six late afternoon mythic
even meaning harm rumor party status. The party's status is unchanged,
with the exception of Fairwind, whose hit points have risen
to twenty seven of thirty three. For an instant, it
(17:45):
felt as though the matt resisted his foot, and then
a strange feeling not unlike drunkenness passed over Fairwind as
his brain and his eyes failed to find an accord.
But then the moment was gone, and he saw the
matt edge lift under his foot, and the pill wouldn't
floorboard beneath it. Still, the experience was enough to make
him mutter what in Siddal's holy name as he crouched
(18:08):
down for a closer look. As he did, the man's woven, worn,
and somewhat dirty topography came into clear focus. It looked
completely normal, except he had felt that something was wrong.
The cleric directed his attention to the circular design offset
and in the middle of the man's length. He could
see new details. Now with his face only a couple
(18:30):
feet away, the gray circle was actually a series of
concentric circles. He was not so different from an optical
illusion he had once been shown, and that he, in
turn had shown to others when he was young. It
tricked the eye, but once he understood what was happening,
the shape seemed to expand and contract, as though it
were breathing. This is most strange, said Fairwind, and he
(18:51):
reached out a hand to touch it. Even before his
hand made contact with the design, the strange, drunken feeling
came over him again. He thought he felt resistance in
the air above the design. But then, as before, his
brain and vision reconciled and he was touching the mat,
feeling the texture of its threads with his fingertips. Beside him,
Flicker barked again. The distraction made him look away for
(19:14):
a brief moment, and that was when Fairwind's perception wobbled,
and he saw for a moment that he was not
touching the mat at all, but something like a metal
ball resting atop it. He blinked hard and shook his head,
and then something even more bizarre happened. The circular design
distorted it and bulged out of its two dimensions into
a third, and suddenly Faerwind was looking at a metal ball. No,
(19:38):
not a metal ball, but a a doorknob, said the
perplexed cleric. Then the entire mat flexed in himon itself,
and then it was no longer a mat, but a
door set into the floorboards. And this was not like
any trap door he had ever seen. It was the
size and shape of a regular wooden door, as one
would expect to find on the wall. Kerr barked excitedly
(20:01):
as Fairwind's insight broke the spell and it saw reality
for what it was. By now, Achillie and Tentyre drawn
by the dog's noise, were standing behind the cleric, and
they saw what he saw, a boot mat that transformed
into a door in front of their very eyes. Achilie's
face lit up with a satisfied.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Smile at decoy. Indeed, she said, well done, brother Faiwod.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Achillie walked to the door of the.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Cottage court find her any and bring him inside. Everyone
needs to see this.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
It constructed as he was bid, and soon all of
the companions were gathered together, standing around the door on
the floor.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Ah I'm I'm not sure this is a good idea.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Said Ferwind, guessing what Achillie was about to do. The
half elf had in fact been moments away from grabbing
the doorknob, but the cleric's words made her hesitate, and
instead she closed her eyes and uttered the words to
a spell she had never cast before. Achilia has just
used the spell detect Evil. This is a second level
(21:05):
spell that, according to the BX rules, causes objects under
evil enchantment and beings with evil intentions to glow, it
cannot be used to detect traps. The spell lasts for
twenty minutes.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Finally, Achilia said, I sense no evil here.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Fairwin still had significant reservations about what she was going
to do. As Achillia bent down, grasped the metal doorknob,
and giving it a twist, pulled it up towards her.
The door came open with a little creak, and the
assembled party gasped as one at what they saw. Stretching
straight down into the earth. As far as the eye
(21:44):
could see was a hallway, not a shaft, but a
well decorated hallway with walls of fitted stone work, complete
with torch bearing sconces. There was a carpet that began
at the bottom of the door and ran the full
length of the corridor, going straight down. From a cat's perspective,
it was as though she was simultaneously looking at a
sheer drop and across into a well appointed manner. But
(22:08):
to enter and navigate it, one would have to be
standing at a ninety degree angle to the rest of
the world, for the entire thing was built sideways. What
in the name of theirsendio are we looking at? That's
ten tire in awe, Flicker barked in a cord.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Hold on to me by my pack, said.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Achilia, biting her lip once the words were spoken and
studying the mind scrambling scene below her. Akilia, don't do this,
said ten Tyr, but he took hold of her by
her pack anyway, knowing she would.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
I am not turning back now, was the reply, and.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Then Achilia stepped through the door. Thank you for listening
to Tale of the Mandigor. You'd like to join the
great folks who support this show. Here are four different
ways to do so. You could recommend the show online
or to friends. You can like and repost episode announcements
on social media. You can purchase a Tale of the
(23:05):
Manticore t shirt at bare Arts dot store or one
of my offerings on drive through RPG. And finally, you
can rate and review the show on your podcast or choice.
Any and all of these things are greatly appreciated. Speaking
of support, at this time, I would like to read
a listener review. This one's from Audible, but I'm unable
to see the name of the person who left it,
so mystery listener, thanks very very much. It's also quite lengthy,
(23:28):
which I love, but maybe a slightly abridged version is
appropriate here. Mystery listener writes, Dear mister Manticor, I hate you.
I love you, thanks very much. I'm writing to quibble, grumble,
and otherwise express my deeply faux disapproval towards the manner
in which he succeeded in making me care about these
characters and then persisted in endangering them with your dastardly
(23:49):
dice in one episode after another. Terrible, just terrible and magnificent.
And so, although I'm thoroughly vexed with your reckless tendency
to roll for wandering monsters whenever the wind blows, my
insatiable greed for the danced episode instead compels me to
offer my heartfelt appreciation and congratulations for a most excellent
creative endeavor. You've taken something very old and very cherished
(24:11):
and made a new again. Brafo Ah shucks, mystery person,
You've gotten my heartfelt appreciation too. Thanks for the very
kind and very fun review. Next, let's talk about this
episode's great cast of voice actors. This episode features two
regulars and one newcomer. Dave Cooper and Kevin Barringer play
fair Wind and Tan Tier, respectively, and Joining the cast
(24:34):
is sc Albin, author of the Strega series. Sc takes
on the role of Sister Ahmadan in Fairway's Flashback. My
gratitude to these three great talents. For those curious to
learn more about Tale of the Manticor, I keep a
blog where I post all kinds of show and RPG
related stuff like sketches, maps, tables, crafts, and show notes.
You can find it a Tale of themanticor dot com.
(24:55):
To get in touch with me, you can find me
at Solo Roleplayers Network dot com, Tale of the mantcor
dot Bluesky dot Social, Tale of the Manticor podcast dot Instagram,
or you can shoot me an email at Tale off
Themanticor at gmail dot com. The adventure will continue on
the next episode of Tale of the Vanta Car. It's
the story where chaos rolls.
Hi, this is the Alexandri Justin Alexander, and you are
listening to the Tale of the Manticore. The following podcast
is intended for a mature audience. Listener discretion is advised.
(00:31):
Welcome back to Tale of the Manticor Season three. Like
the creature from which it takes its name, Tale of
the Manticor is a mashup, a crossbreeding between two different
species of storytelling. Here you will find the unpredictability of
old school paper and dice games with the story craft
of a dark fantasy novel. No character is sacred and
(00:52):
none will be spared if the dice decide their fate
is at hand. According to Laura, the Tale of a
man Corps is barbed with cruel iron spikes. There will
be much pain in the days ahead. Last time on
(01:16):
Tale of the Manticor, episode thirty nine begins with a
flashback in which Aldvey and the Elven maiden Eulaloon share
a blissful life together, basking in the light of each
other's love. Eulaloon teaches Aldvay the magical art of imbuing
life into inanimate things by imparting them with a wisp
of his soul. In Aldovey's first attemptedness, Robin is created
(01:39):
when we rejoin the companions and the present ten Tier
has gone off to offer a shoulder for his brother
colinon Drenni has been suffering from dreams that force him
to relive a painful memory in which following orders led
to the death of his friend in Mentor. Later, when
the companions are altogether again, they visit a lake that
fair Wind had spotted earlier. Here Achilie fails to catch
(02:00):
a fish, but coord succeeds in communicating with an old willow.
Through his conversation with the tree, and also with the
help of Robin, Coord manages to locate what could only
be o doog Zaigog's home. A few hours later, the
companions arrive at the spot, and while they do find
a cottage, to everyone's disappointment, it appears to be abandoned.
(02:30):
Chapter forty, Part one, Day thirty six, late afternoon mythic
event meaning harm rumor party status. Achillie thirteen of thirteen
hit points, Cord twenty four of twenty four, der Anny
(02:51):
sixteen of sixteen, ten Tier nineteen of nineteen, fair one
nineteen of twenty six, Flicker sixteen of sixteen supplies. The
companions have no food remaining. Spells available. Achillia can cast
(03:12):
and large message, glitter dust and detect evil. Cord can cast,
entangle slow poison and old animal. Fair wind can cast
cure light, wounds, and protection from evil. Achilia fought the
(03:33):
sick feeling inside, the feeling that her hope was dying.
She rushed ahead of the others and reached the weathered
wooden door, dimly aware of the rattling sound of frogs
from the pond on the left. As she touched the
initials carved into the door's surface. Each letter was a
few inches high and with a familiar block print. Achilia
knew so well from Odoak's sketchbook. When she pushed on
(03:58):
the door, it swung inward with the creek. Somehow, finding
the place unlocked put a lump in her throat, as
though the fact confirmed what was already obvious. Light from
outside filled the single room cottage. It was very small,
no more than thirty by thirty feet. Inside it smelled
of disuse, damp, musty mildew mixed with the smell of mice.
(04:22):
Pechilia entered as her companions drew up behind her. The
cottage had a floor of warped wooden planks. The walls
and rafters were also made of these rough planks, while
the roof itself had been fashioned of straight branches denudtive
bark and packed with moss. To the immediate left was
a large rectangular mat somewhat for Odok to have put
his boots, perhaps under a line of three wooden pegs
(04:45):
from which coats could have been hung. There were neither
boots nor cloaks here. Now to the right was a
rickety bed frame with a thin stained mattress atop it.
The back wall featured a small stonework fireplace, A large
shelving in it was flush against the chimney. A few
rusted pots and cups were still there. There was a
(05:05):
trunk at the foot of the bed, with the lid open.
From here it appeared empty. Achilia felt Fairwind's light touch
on her shoulder.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
I cannot imagine how you are feeling, my friend, was.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
All he said. Achilia made a wry smile without turning around.
She could barely identify her own feelings. However, one she
could name was denial. This couldn't be happening, Not after
it always been to she muttered aloud. By now Fairwind
had entered the cottage and walked to where the bed was.
In the wall. Above it was a window shutter. This
(05:39):
he opened, letting in more light and air. Suddenly something
occurred to him. He turned around and stalked back to
the door.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Wait a minute, he said, Wait just a minute, This
is not right.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Achilia turned around. The cleric's words had brought the hope
inside her back from the dead, if barely. Fairwind touched
the initials carved in the door.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
This is not right at all, he said.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
The letters match the handwriting and Odoke's book of drawings.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Fair Wind said a Kilia, she was deflating already.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
No, no, no, that's not what I mean.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Fairwind glanced over at dur Any Tintyrian cord, who were
all waiting outside. Then he looked at Kilia straight in
the eye.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
What I mean to say is that odok Zygon was
famous for many things, but above all, he was famous
for being a rec loose. He would never write his
own initials on the door of his house. It makes
no sense at all.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
That's a fairly astute inside fair Wind. I'm impressed, of course,
what else should I expect from a fourth level cleric.
That's right, this episode is a level up episode for
the Cleric of sad All. He'll get to add a
D six to his hit point total, an nevel to four,
which means the existing total of twenty six goes to
thirty three. Well, if he could find some marmor and
(07:09):
a better weapon, fair Wind would be extremely hard to
beat in a fight. Potential stat increases are next for
strength a three no good, intelligence, a four wisdom I've
got a one, and for dexterity another four and I'll
skip constitution as the stat is already maxed out, and
(07:31):
last chance to turn up a six for charisma another
four no stat increases that hurts a bit, and a no.
Fair Wind is still a level away from his first
basic attack bonus. But as a consolation prize, how about
access to a new spell. Let's see the book says,
Oh nice, he can now pray for a second level spell,
and some of those look very useful too. Of course,
(07:54):
fair Wind will not be able to do this until
the next in game day, so that wasn't a home
run of a level up, but it was a solid
base hit. I'd say Flicker had come inside the cottage
and was making noise. Fairwin ignored it and continued, and.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
There's something else. Where are the spider webs? When I
first came to the chapel Ruins and the kymoor Lands,
it was full of them?
Speaker 1 (08:22):
He turned to look inside the cottage.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
A place like this should be full of them too.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Flicker barked once, excitedly, as though punctuating the clearic sentence
with an exclamation point. Peculia knit her brows and re
scanned the room. The cleric had a good point, there
should be spiderwebs here, But was he implying that I.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Think this place could be a decoy, something to throw
people off the trail? You understand?
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Oh? Flicker barked again, this time as though in enthusiastic agreement.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Perhaps.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Achilia said, slowly.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
But I think we still need to give this place
a thorough search.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
She was now standing over the trunk by the foot
of the back. As expected, it was empty. Flicker's barking,
by now was strident. What's wrong with Flicker? As ten
Tier standing in the doorframe, come in or stand to
the side tent Tier, Achillie replied, crouching down to inspect
the trunk.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
More carefully, you're blocking delight.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Tinto shrugged and came in and walked across to examine
the fireplace. Cord and Robin remained in view out front,
while Dorenni had decided to see what was behind the cottage.
Achillie used her knuckles to tap the lid of the trunk,
then its bottom. If there was a hidden compartment or
a false bottom, she couldn't find it. She decided to
look under the bed and got down on her hands
(09:38):
and knees to do so. Ten tier By now had
his hand inside the chimney and was reaching around. Fairwind
was inspecting the pots and cups.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
M All rusted, he declared, there's nothing special here.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Flicker barked again and then growled straight into the boot
mat under the cloak pegs, and the cleric decided to
see what had taken the animal's interest over.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Flickers seems really agitated, he pointed out.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Achilia had noticed the blink dog's fixation on the mat already.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Most likely some animal urinated on it, and Flickers bothered
by the sand, maybe.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Murmured Fairwood contemplatively, now that he was really looking at it.
The mat was notably odd in design. Typically, he would
not have expected to find any design on a boot mat,
or if there was one, something simple, But this one
had an asymmetrical design woven into it. It had a simple, thin,
rectangular inner frame of darker thread, which was unremarkable enough,
(10:36):
But then there was a circular design set in the
middle off to one side. While the mat itself was brown,
this woven circle was of gray, who was a bizarre
design choice. Apart from this was the size of the mat,
who was much too big for its purpose. A man
could have laid a top it and had a room
below his feet, above his head and to either side.
(10:57):
Then there was Flicker's reaction to it. He touched the
mat with his boot and tried to lift up the
edge with a toe. The mat is something out of
the ordinary, as I'm sure you'll have already figured out,
it's a permanent illusion. As such, it isn't quite as
powerful as one a wizard might cast and be able
to concentrate on, so it won't survive really close scrutiny.
(11:20):
I wonder if Fairwind will see it for what it is.
The handling of illusions is one of those things that
is famously tough to do in a game of D
and D. Having characters telling the DM that they are
trying to quote unquote disbelieve a wall, for example, is
weird at best and ridiculous at worst. Either way, it's
hard to not treat the situation completely at the metal level,
(11:41):
if you know what I mean. In this situation, Flicker
has given Fairwind a reason to come and examine the mat.
So I'm going to give the cleric a role to
realize that there's trickery afoot. It's not a role to disbelieve,
it's to notice. I think a role under wisdom check
would work here. Fairwin's wisdom score is not very high.
It's just an eleven to bet it didn't improve during
(12:02):
his level up right, Oh well it didn't, so on
D twenty an eleven or under is a success. Here
comes the role. Oh I got a ten. Dramatis personae
(12:25):
fair Wind thirty years ago, in Silence, the Sun speaks,
its voice is every hidden thing revealed. Dalen Fairwind was
seventeen years old and yet a novice. Although he had
started his training in Nepuel, some parts of his education
had taken place in Camrad's Merepool and of course still Moral.
(12:47):
Currently he was living and studying in that great city,
and it was expected that one day, after many years
of missionary work, he would return here to live out
the rest of his days in quiet study, prayer, and
contemplation in the Church of the Sacred Flame. On this
day he had been given a portion of scripture to
memorize and to analyze. He was to report back with
(13:07):
these tasks completed to Brother Ickhart later in the day,
but Dalen had struggled with one of the lines, as
his ability to think in the abstract was still developing.
When he sought advice from another of the senior clerics
by the terragram, he had been sent to speak with
one of the sisters in their library. The Church of
the Sacred Flame and Soil Moral had an impressive collection
(13:28):
of written works. It consisted of a number of small libraries,
all organized by category and spread out between several rooms.
In the largest of these, Novice Dalen found Sister Amadan.
The priestess, was seated at a table at the back
of the room, beside an open window. Dalen shivered a
little upon entering. He'd been here several times and always
found it cold, probably because the room had no fireplace
(13:51):
and was not close to any that did. Likely, whoever
built a church wanted to keep the library far from
any potential fire. Dalen stod at the doorway to the
room and.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Bad Priestess amagon I was told you might be able
to help me.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
He held that a parchment scroll upon which he had
written the challenging scripture.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Come in, Novice, how may I be of service to you?
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Dalen entered.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
It's this line from the Book of Breaking Dawn, volume three,
line eighteen. It says, in silence, the sun speaks its voice.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Is every hidden thing revealed?
Speaker 1 (14:26):
The priestess recited. She hadn't needed to look at the scroll,
which remained unopened in Dalen's hand. Oh yes, Dylan blushed,
a little, feeling somehow like a child in the presence
of an adult. To the two clerics were less than
a dozen years apart in age.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
That is the passage. What is your question, Novice? I
can understand how a thing can speak in silence. Many
things can communicate their meaning without sound, well, this very scroll,
for example. But then there is the explicit mention of
a voice. What is this voice?
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Perhaps you need to read beyond the lines in this.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Case, said the priestess patiently.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
I do you mean I should read between the lines
and for a subared meeting. Maybe? No, that is not
what I said.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Her voice was cool, like the room.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
I said, you should read beyond the lines. I am
embarrassed to say it, but I cannot understand what you mean, sister,
very well, I will show you.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
The priest tests stood up and crossed the room. At
a bookshelf, she ran her finger across the spines of
a number of tomes before selecting one and drawing it
from its place on the shelf. She opened it, flipped
to a certain page she seemed to know, and, nodding,
returned to the table where she put the book down.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Look At this.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Instead of text, Dylan saw usual illustration. It showed a
stylized image of the sun, with six concentric rings. In
each ring, the Sun's rays were shorter and offset from
those of the ring beside it. All in all, it
looked not unlike a kind of circular checkerboard. Dalen blinked
and did a double take. He laughed softly.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
When I look to one side, the middle part of
the design seems to flicker.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
He declared, precisely replied Sister Amadan. Our senses can fool us,
and so we must look beyond what we see.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
If we seek truth.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Later in his career as a missionary, Brother Dalon Fairwind
would carry a recreation of this image with him in
order that he might more engagingly teach others about the
nature of perception and reality, and he would often repeat
to those who spoke with which Sister Amadan had told
to him.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Even though we often say look here when we wish
to make a point, or ah, now I see when
we understand it, so at all teaches us that the
two are not the same at all, and a true
follower of the fire must understand the difference between seeing
the light and knowing the light.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
He would always conclude these lessons with a broad smile.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Adding faith, as they say, is blind.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Chapter forty, Part two A thirty six late afternoon mythic
even meaning harm rumor party status. The party's status is unchanged,
with the exception of Fairwind, whose hit points have risen
to twenty seven of thirty three. For an instant, it
(17:45):
felt as though the matt resisted his foot, and then
a strange feeling not unlike drunkenness passed over Fairwind as
his brain and his eyes failed to find an accord.
But then the moment was gone, and he saw the
matt edge lift under his foot, and the pill wouldn't
floorboard beneath it. Still, the experience was enough to make
him mutter what in Siddal's holy name as he crouched
(18:08):
down for a closer look. As he did, the man's woven, worn,
and somewhat dirty topography came into clear focus. It looked
completely normal, except he had felt that something was wrong.
The cleric directed his attention to the circular design offset
and in the middle of the man's length. He could
see new details. Now with his face only a couple
(18:30):
feet away, the gray circle was actually a series of
concentric circles. He was not so different from an optical
illusion he had once been shown, and that he, in
turn had shown to others when he was young. It
tricked the eye, but once he understood what was happening,
the shape seemed to expand and contract, as though it
were breathing. This is most strange, said Fairwind, and he
(18:51):
reached out a hand to touch it. Even before his
hand made contact with the design, the strange, drunken feeling
came over him again. He thought he felt resistance in
the air above the design. But then, as before, his
brain and vision reconciled and he was touching the mat,
feeling the texture of its threads with his fingertips. Beside him,
Flicker barked again. The distraction made him look away for
(19:14):
a brief moment, and that was when Fairwind's perception wobbled,
and he saw for a moment that he was not
touching the mat at all, but something like a metal
ball resting atop it. He blinked hard and shook his head,
and then something even more bizarre happened. The circular design
distorted it and bulged out of its two dimensions into
a third, and suddenly Faerwind was looking at a metal ball. No,
(19:38):
not a metal ball, but a a doorknob, said the
perplexed cleric. Then the entire mat flexed in himon itself,
and then it was no longer a mat, but a
door set into the floorboards. And this was not like
any trap door he had ever seen. It was the
size and shape of a regular wooden door, as one
would expect to find on the wall. Kerr barked excitedly
(20:01):
as Fairwind's insight broke the spell and it saw reality
for what it was. By now, Achillie and Tentyre drawn
by the dog's noise, were standing behind the cleric, and
they saw what he saw, a boot mat that transformed
into a door in front of their very eyes. Achilie's
face lit up with a satisfied.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Smile at decoy. Indeed, she said, well done, brother Faiwod.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Achillie walked to the door of the.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Cottage court find her any and bring him inside. Everyone
needs to see this.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
It constructed as he was bid, and soon all of
the companions were gathered together, standing around the door on
the floor.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Ah I'm I'm not sure this is a good idea.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Said Ferwind, guessing what Achillie was about to do. The
half elf had in fact been moments away from grabbing
the doorknob, but the cleric's words made her hesitate, and
instead she closed her eyes and uttered the words to
a spell she had never cast before. Achilia has just
used the spell detect Evil. This is a second level
(21:05):
spell that, according to the BX rules, causes objects under
evil enchantment and beings with evil intentions to glow, it
cannot be used to detect traps. The spell lasts for
twenty minutes.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Finally, Achilia said, I sense no evil here.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Fairwin still had significant reservations about what she was going
to do. As Achillia bent down, grasped the metal doorknob,
and giving it a twist, pulled it up towards her.
The door came open with a little creak, and the
assembled party gasped as one at what they saw. Stretching
straight down into the earth. As far as the eye
(21:44):
could see was a hallway, not a shaft, but a
well decorated hallway with walls of fitted stone work, complete
with torch bearing sconces. There was a carpet that began
at the bottom of the door and ran the full
length of the corridor, going straight down. From a cat's perspective,
it was as though she was simultaneously looking at a
sheer drop and across into a well appointed manner. But
(22:08):
to enter and navigate it, one would have to be
standing at a ninety degree angle to the rest of
the world, for the entire thing was built sideways. What
in the name of theirsendio are we looking at? That's
ten tire in awe, Flicker barked in a cord.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Hold on to me by my pack, said.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Achilia, biting her lip once the words were spoken and
studying the mind scrambling scene below her. Akilia, don't do this,
said ten Tyr, but he took hold of her by
her pack anyway, knowing she would.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
I am not turning back now, was the reply, and.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Then Achilia stepped through the door. Thank you for listening
to Tale of the Mandigor. You'd like to join the
great folks who support this show. Here are four different
ways to do so. You could recommend the show online
or to friends. You can like and repost episode announcements
on social media. You can purchase a Tale of the
(23:05):
Manticore t shirt at bare Arts dot store or one
of my offerings on drive through RPG. And finally, you
can rate and review the show on your podcast or choice.
Any and all of these things are greatly appreciated. Speaking
of support, at this time, I would like to read
a listener review. This one's from Audible, but I'm unable
to see the name of the person who left it,
so mystery listener, thanks very very much. It's also quite lengthy,
(23:28):
which I love, but maybe a slightly abridged version is
appropriate here. Mystery listener writes, Dear mister Manticor, I hate you.
I love you, thanks very much. I'm writing to quibble, grumble,
and otherwise express my deeply faux disapproval towards the manner
in which he succeeded in making me care about these
characters and then persisted in endangering them with your dastardly
(23:49):
dice in one episode after another. Terrible, just terrible and magnificent.
And so, although I'm thoroughly vexed with your reckless tendency
to roll for wandering monsters whenever the wind blows, my
insatiable greed for the danced episode instead compels me to
offer my heartfelt appreciation and congratulations for a most excellent
creative endeavor. You've taken something very old and very cherished
(24:11):
and made a new again. Brafo Ah shucks, mystery person,
You've gotten my heartfelt appreciation too. Thanks for the very
kind and very fun review. Next, let's talk about this
episode's great cast of voice actors. This episode features two
regulars and one newcomer. Dave Cooper and Kevin Barringer play
fair Wind and Tan Tier, respectively, and Joining the cast
(24:34):
is sc Albin, author of the Strega series. Sc takes
on the role of Sister Ahmadan in Fairway's Flashback. My
gratitude to these three great talents. For those curious to
learn more about Tale of the Manticor, I keep a
blog where I post all kinds of show and RPG
related stuff like sketches, maps, tables, crafts, and show notes.
You can find it a Tale of themanticor dot com.
(24:55):
To get in touch with me, you can find me
at Solo Roleplayers Network dot com, Tale of the mantcor
dot Bluesky dot Social, Tale of the Manticor podcast dot Instagram,
or you can shoot me an email at Tale off
Themanticor at gmail dot com. The adventure will continue on
the next episode of Tale of the Vanta Car. It's
the story where chaos rolls.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Ruthie's Table 4
For more than 30 years The River Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen, are just some of the people who love to call The River Cafe home. On River Cafe Table 4, Rogers sits down with her customers—who have become friends—to talk about food memories. Table 4 explores how food impacts every aspect of our lives. “Foods is politics, food is cultural, food is how you express love, food is about your heritage, it defines who you and who you want to be,” says Rogers. Each week, Rogers invites her guest to reminisce about family suppers and first dates, what they cook, how they eat when performing, the restaurants they choose, and what food they seek when they need comfort. And to punctuate each episode of Table 4, guests such as Ralph Fiennes, Emily Blunt, and Alfonso Cuarón, read their favourite recipe from one of the best-selling River Cafe cookbooks. Table 4 itself, is situated near The River Cafe’s open kitchen, close to the bright pink wood-fired oven and next to the glossy yellow pass, where Ruthie oversees the restaurant. You are invited to take a seat at this intimate table and join the conversation. For more information, recipes, and ingredients, go to https://shoptherivercafe.co.uk/ Web: https://rivercafe.co.uk/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/therivercafelondon/ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/therivercafelondon/ For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iheartradio app, apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com