Hey, everybody. It's your GM, Isaac Allen Burns here on a not so great mic editing this podcast. Just wanted to let y'all know that the DodoBorne crew is going to Gen Con this year, 2025, end of July, into August. We'll be there. I'll be running a couple tables, and if you come to those, you might be able to play with either Joe, Rowan, or Annie, and even myself.
Isaac Allen Burns:So keep a lookout for that. See you at Gen Con. Okay. On with the episode. Yeah.
Isaac Allen Burns:Whenever you're ready. We can record whenever you want, Joe.
Joe Diametti:We are recording.
Isaac Allen Burns:Oh, hit that. Hit that. Hit that. Play that. Play it again, Sam.
Isaac Allen Burns:Oh, shit.
Joe Diametti:We need to get back to business.
Rowan Collins:Right.
Joe Diametti:What is going on with the staff And what about Scarlet's great grandfather?
Rowan Collins:Okay. So I went down there, and he was chained up with cold chains onto the ground looking emaciated, bloody
Joe Diametti:em pan sheeted.
Rowan Collins:He looked like a skeleton but with, like, skin still on him. Like, he hadn't eaten, like, in a long time. He had, like, mucus and blood caked all over him. Like like, the staff was literally like
Joe Diametti:Why didn't you help him?
Rowan Collins:I tried. He wouldn't let me near me. He wanted me to either kill him or be his replacement. I tried to talk to him about Scarlet. I tried to feed him and it turned to ash in his mouth.
Rowan Collins:And then as soon as, like, I started trying to talk to him, he started screaming. I knew, like, it was something was going to get happen, so I tried to help him more.
Joe Diametti:So why was the staff down there?
Annie Hawthorne:I don't know. I don't think we have the answer to that yet.
Rowan Collins:He said that this was keeping the town prosperous. I think the staff is what they've been using to give us good, like, soil and proper prosperous farms and apples and turtles.
Joe Diametti:Wait. Woah. And we took it out?
Isaac Allen Burns:Crank, we were
Rowan Collins:I don't know. I don't know. It's a it's a theory.
Joe Diametti:Why would if that thing is controlling the apples and the trees and the making our town prosperous, Craig, we need those recommendations. What about Polaris?
Rowan Collins:It literally was draining the life of a thousand year old.
Annie Hawthorne:I don't think it's a good thing that this was down there. I think we should take it back to where it belongs.
Rowan Collins:I think I I think it was draining you.
Joe Diametti:I wondered was that recommendation.
Annie Hawthorne:When I hold this stuff, do I feel anything from it? Do I feel like it's draining my life force?
Isaac Allen Burns:There is a small warmth that comes from this staff, Frank. And holding it feels no different than holding any other staff, but you notice that as you look at it and when your thoughts go to it, they linger.
Annie Hawthorne:Is there enough of my cape to just wrap it around the staff and make it look kinda mundane? You
Isaac Allen Burns:know, I think your cape is pretty long and frayed. So it wouldn't be perfect, but you can definitely wrap it around and kind of cover it mostly. Someone don't have to be looking for it to notice it, I think.
Annie Hawthorne:I'll wrap it around and try to make it look as normal as possible. And I'll just keep it with me.
Isaac Allen Burns:Crank wraps a cloth around it and, like, as Crank is holding it, Crank is kinda there's a feeling that bubbles up inside of Crank of kind of sadness that Crank isn't able to just touch the staff directly.
Joe Diametti:You alright?
Annie Hawthorne:Yes. I'm protecting the staff. Yeah. I'll keep it with me. And if anyone tries to take it, I will punch them.
Rowan Collins:I I think I think this is really bad, Kathy. I I don't know what to do with it. If this has been I don't know if it's if if they would just require more sacrifices. Like, what if what if instead of he what if instead of him, they asked for somebody else?
Annie Hawthorne:Yeah. What if Scarlet had to be his replacement?
Joe Diametti:But she wasn't the
Annie Hawthorne:How do you know? We don't know who his replacement was. How would you feel if Scarlet was chained down there with this thing and was just wasting away for centuries?
Joe Diametti:I would never let that happen.
Annie Hawthorne:So you would let it to happen to someone else?
Rowan Collins:You wanted it to be. I I don't Pistachio looks away and goes, I don't know if I trust the gnome guy, but I don't know what to do. And, Kapi, you've been through so many more than these, like, I'm scared. What should we do?
Joe Diametti:Oh, Yeah. Yes. Having been through
Isaac Allen Burns:for
Rowan Collins:What I'm worried about is the youth like you said that there was a lot of people trying to mess up the Apple Festival including, you know, our guy that Ash like, what if Ash found this? Right? It might be better in our hands right now.
Joe Diametti:No. You're right. And Kapi is definitely starting to think about how to not let this mess up his recommendation.
Isaac Allen Burns:So
Joe Diametti:he's a little conflicted because while it feels like maybe a much bigger issue, He's being very selfish. Yeah. Pistachio, I you know what? I like your initiative. Our job is to protect this and keep it somewhere within the vicinity of the town.
Joe Diametti:If the town is being powered by this, maybe this is what's in danger and we have to protect the town through the Apple Festival. Right, Crank?
Annie Hawthorne:Right.
Joe Diametti:Right.
Annie Hawthorne:Protecting the staff is protecting the town.
Joe Diametti:Exactly.
Rowan Collins:Right. Right.
Joe Diametti:K. So we're decided.
Annie Hawthorne:We protect the staff.
Joe Diametti:Where are we going? Where do you go?
Annie Hawthorne:Guest room.
Joe Diametti:So our options are the adventures guild.
Rowan Collins:Mhmm.
Annie Hawthorne:Timothy's basement.
Joe Diametti:Timothy's basement. Got it.
Annie Hawthorne:I I don't know if we need to have this around other people, and I'm, like, trying to hide the staff with my cloak if I can.
Rowan Collins:I've got one idea. There was a place when I was younger and I couldn't do field work that I would go hide out at home. I don't think anybody else knows about it. We could go there.
Annie Hawthorne:Well, let's go there. Okay.
Rowan Collins:I'll I'll lead the way. Thank you, Craig. Thank you for protecting me.
Annie Hawthorne:I'll always protect you. You're my friend.
Rowan Collins:You're my best friend too.
Isaac Allen Burns:Very good. The three of you walk out of town towards a secret place that only Pistachio knows, allegedly. Pistachio, where do you go? Describe.
Annie Hawthorne:So because the Droop family farmer is on the edge of town,
Rowan Collins:there is, like, a small portion of it that there exists, like, a shed that they basically keep, like, the extra tools when they're on that part of the farm in case something ever happens, like their hose or, like, whatever breaks and they can't get back to the other
Joe Diametti:side. Break.
Rowan Collins:Yeah. When your hose and shovels and all those things break, it's like the extra, like, part in the back of their farm where, like, all
Annie Hawthorne:the extra equipment is just so they don't have to lug it all the way back.
Joe Diametti:Hose in line.
Rowan Collins:Exactly. Out of that, like,
Annie Hawthorne:on the side you're done with them
Rowan Collins:at night. Like, out of that, like, on the side, there's, like, a little tiny, like, thing where, like
Rowan Collins:done. I'm done.
Isaac Allen Burns:Kathy's just saying this under his brain as he's walking because he's kind of uncomfortable.
Rowan Collins:Pistachio, basically, there was, like, like, a piece of wood that had fallen on the ground next to it. And then there's a little, like, tiny like, if you lift it up, there's a little tiny, like, underground piece where, like, the seeds might have been kept for storage. And as Pistachio lifts up that piece, it says, like, Pistachio secret hideout, nobody no no one allowed, and then an angry little, like, cartoon face. And they lift it up and they, like, go in and you see, like, there's a little bit of, like, there's blankets and pillows and, like, little stuffed animals all around. And
Joe Diametti:Does Crank fit in here?
Rowan Collins:Yes. It's like a like a wine cellar, but but fitted for, like, a little pistachio.
Annie Hawthorne:It's cozy in here.
Rowan Collins:Yeah. I spent a lot of time in here. Took me a lot of lot of time lugging pillows back and forth.
Joe Diametti:Alright. It's late. Let's get some sleep. We have one day till the Apple Festival. We need to prepare defenses.
Rowan Collins:Uh-huh.
Joe Diametti:The mayor has entrusted us in protecting this festival.
Rowan Collins:Uh-huh.
Joe Diametti:For everybody here.
Rowan Collins:Uh-huh.
Joe Diametti:For Scarlet. Mhmm. For your mom. Mhmm. For your family.
Rowan Collins:Yeah. All of my family. Yeah. And
Joe Diametti:for our recommendations, Polaris?
Annie Hawthorne:Yes.
Joe Diametti:Polaris? Polaris? We're going to Polaris.
Isaac Allen Burns:All we
Joe Diametti:have to do is make sure this Apple Festival is smooth and Cyrus can
Isaac Allen Burns:suck it.
Rowan Collins:Okay. Suck what, Kathy?
Joe Diametti:Sleep, Pistachio. I
Rowan Collins:don't okay.
Joe Diametti:Power down, Crank.
Rowan Collins:Will you keep watch, Kathy?
Joe Diametti:What? We're in a hole.
Annie Hawthorne:This I'll keep watch.
Rowan Collins:Okay.
Isaac Allen Burns:And and to bed, two of you go as one of you keeps watch.
Annie Hawthorne:Yeah. I'm when they're asleep, I'm gonna, like, unravel the the cloth for a second just in one section. I'm gonna slip my hand in there, and I'm gonna open up my little locker, and I'm gonna pull out the continually rotting turnip. And I'm gonna say, can you hear me now?
Isaac Allen Burns:Frank, there is as you do this, your hand that's holding the staff, there's a pulse there. You you feel it's one of those things where you can feel something kind of like like maybe a twitch or something coming in your arm where you can either, like, lean into it or you can resist it. Craig, do you lean into this feeling?
Annie Hawthorne:Yes.
Isaac Allen Burns:Craig, you lean in, and this, like, euphoric feeling travels through you as you see the turnip in your hand start to sort of almost, like, inflate back to its healthy color and size. You see the bite that was taken inside of it kind of closes up, and it's a full turnip. And you hear a response. Who's there? Someone talking to me at turnip?
Isaac Allen Burns:I'm just a little turnip. Thank you.
Annie Hawthorne:Hi. My name is Craig. What's your name?
Isaac Allen Burns:Hi, Craig. I don't know. I'm a turnip.
Annie Hawthorne:I'm gonna name you Timmy. Timmy the turnip.
Isaac Allen Burns:Oh, my name is Timmy now. You've named me. That gives me importance now because I have a name.
Annie Hawthorne:Okay. Well
Isaac Allen Burns:What are you gonna do with me,
Rowan Collins:Why is that sexual?
Joe Diametti:Turnips are just not they're an aphrodisiac, if you don't know that.
Annie Hawthorne:Crank is, like, freaking out right now. And I think, like, one of them, like, shuffles in their sleep and cranks. Well, we can continue this conversation later. And I just stuffed the turnip back in, and I wrapped the the staff back up. And I just sat there freaking out because I think I just did magic.
Isaac Allen Burns:You stuffed the turnip in there, and you hear it kind of like, oh, and then you close the door as it's shoved into your chest.
Rowan Collins:And you Hello.
Isaac Allen Burns:You stand there. You feel the turnip. It's a little heavier now because it is not rotting anymore. It's now fully back to a full turnip. And that lingering feeling of euphoria kind of fades as time goes on and you feel the staff and the staff feels good.
Isaac Allen Burns:Kapi and Pistachio, as you go to sleep, I would like the two of you to roll. Here's what we'll do. Here's what we're gonna do. I'm the GM. Hey.
Isaac Allen Burns:It's me, Isaac Allen Burns, GM. Sometimes you have a thought in mind, and maybe the skills don't exactly follow it. So you kinda just go outside the box for a second. What I'm gonna do, when I ask the two of you, Pistachio and Capi, I would like you to choose one of your mental traits. You can choose any of them.
Isaac Allen Burns:You can choose the highest. You can choose the lowest. You're gonna roll a check for this. The DC for this, I'm going to set at a 13. And tell me which you chose to roll.
Isaac Allen Burns:If you fail, something will happen that will be relative to the stat you choose. What's your choice between
Rowan Collins:Is this just like a bad dream?
Isaac Allen Burns:Veronica, tell you
Joe Diametti:what. I'm gonna roll. Okay. Selfishly, I'm gonna roll presents because it's a plus one.
Isaac Allen Burns:Nice. Okay. Go ahead and roll presents. And what are you rolling, Pistachio?
Rowan Collins:So I think his my thought is if it's got anything to do with, like, a mental stat, Pistachio's not doing well mentally right now. So I think I think Pistachio is also gonna roll presents because that's the lowest stat. And that's what I'm gonna do. Oh, no. Oh oh, god.
Rowan Collins:I crit.
Isaac Allen Burns:Oh, what do we get? So what do we get? Well, you crit. So What's
Joe Diametti:the crit?
Rowan Collins:Crit was elevens.
Joe Diametti:Wow. Woah. I got a 16 with fear.
Isaac Allen Burns:16 with fear.
Joe Diametti:I beat it.
Isaac Allen Burns:You do beat it. Pistachio, I think what's happening in this moment? The staff is reaching out to the two of you. Pistachio, I think that the trauma of today of what Pistachio has seen is just sort of overrunning any other sort of mental stimuli that could be coming from external sources.
Rowan Collins:Yeah.
Isaac Allen Burns:And, Kapi, you rolled a 16 with fear. Right? Yes. So you beat it. You beat the DC, which to me says that any attempts that the staff is making to try and insource you at all is stymied by the very willpower inside of you and the desire for that recommendation so bad that there is nothing this thing could do to set you off that course.
Isaac Allen Burns:However, because you rode with fear, you still do have a bad dream. Gabby, you weren't down there. You have no idea what was down there. You only know the description of what the two of them said, which is someone was down there and was chained up. Kapi, I think your bad dream is just multiple iterations of that scene except Crank's words of what if that was Scarlet ring true?
Isaac Allen Burns:And you just see multiple different ways of Scarlet being down there and in distress under duress with the staff causing it.
Joe Diametti:Yeah. And every time he tries to run down the stairs, it's just like one of those like never ending staircases where he's always trying to go down and he can't get to it and then it'll he'll finally leap and then like, Crank will catch him and push him backwards. Or like, he'll try to go down the stairs and he feels pistachio as the dodo, like, holding his legs so that he can't go. That's good. Yeah.
Isaac Allen Burns:That's good. And much like falling asleep at summer camp, you wake up without even realizing you'd been asleep. And the light streams through the board, and it is a new morning. Now the three of you have woken up to this day, and this is a rather intense day for this is the final day until the Apple Festival. The Apple Festival doesn't exactly start fully until noon.
Isaac Allen Burns:So, you know, you'll have the morning of but as the three of you wake up, let me ask. What do you wanna do?
Rowan Collins:Pink Pistachio looks over at Kathy and goes, okay, boss. So what are we doing to bolster defenses?
Joe Diametti:Well, I hate to say it. We're gonna need to get the peacekeepers on board. I know. I Pistachio? It's just a day.
Joe Diametti:It's a day. Trust me. Nobody hates the peacekeepers more than Kapi.
Rowan Collins:That's true.
Annie Hawthorne:Alright. Are you talking about yourself another person?
Joe Diametti:Yes. For dramatic effect. Right?
Annie Hawthorne:I was I was getting it. I was good. That that was that's fine. Yeah.
Joe Diametti:We need to go get the peacekeepers. That's number one.
Rowan Collins:Okay.
Joe Diametti:Number two, we need to make sure that the staff is protected.
Annie Hawthorne:I have the staff. No one's getting there without going through me.
Joe Diametti:Yeah. I love that for you, big guy.
Isaac Allen Burns:Crank. So I will say you can either put some ideas out of, like, what to do and, like, work on bolstering the town, or you can go out to the woods and test out all your new powers. Yeah. I think Which one would you like to do?
Annie Hawthorne:I think Crank can't stop thinking about that staff. Yeah. So he's just gonna say, hey, guys. I'm gonna go over there and just look at the
Rowan Collins:You're gonna keep it
Annie Hawthorne:out? The strategic just the strategic locations on that side of town. So I'll see you guys later, and I'll I'll let you know what I find.
Rowan Collins:Okay. Okay. Alright.
Annie Hawthorne:Course. I just I wanna be useful so I'm gonna go scout out Okay. That side of town.
Joe Diametti:Yeah. Alright.
Annie Hawthorne:I guess that makes sense.
Joe Diametti:As as crank leaves, I go to Pistachio. He's been weird since he lost the hat.
Rowan Collins:Yeah. I agree. I % agree. I think we need to get Crank that hat. Do we need to steal from a child?
Joe Diametti:Listen, I kinda think Crank has to earn the hat. Right? The last one was his actual mentors. Don't know if a hat from us is gonna alright.
Rowan Collins:Let's But we're like his best friends.
Joe Diametti:Yeah. Well, I'm your boss. But yeah.
Rowan Collins:I'm my best friend.
Joe Diametti:Alright. So I'm going to
Isaac Allen Burns:the peacekeepers. You go to the peacekeepers.
Joe Diametti:Is well, so I guess where is the where are they? Are they at their base, or are they at the bar, or are they at the
Isaac Allen Burns:Yeah. So you would know the best place to look for the peacekeepers is at the barracks.
Joe Diametti:Yeah. So I make my way to the barracks.
Isaac Allen Burns:As you head over there, stepping out of the barracks is one Nefany. Hey. Stepping out by herself, you see that she's got her her weapon kind of at her side. And she's walking out, she sees you and sort of smiles for every second and then kinda, like, straightens up and just kinda nods at you and says, morning, Kapi.
Joe Diametti:Morning, Stephanie. Hey, what? What happened after we split off the other day?
Isaac Allen Burns:It's been it's been a little crazy. So we, you know, we were there in your guild. Right? And that whole thing happened. Mhmm.
Isaac Allen Burns:And people can tune in to previous episodes to find out what that was. To me, Isaac Allen Burns, hopefully, this isn't your first episode. You all left. You ran up towards the farm, and you had said it was a distraction. And sure enough, I got back to you know, I went back to Stathaniel, and he was laying on the ground, like, clutching his leg.
Isaac Allen Burns:Sure enough, his his leg was cleanly broken. I've never seen it break that clean. He claims he fell on a rock, but I think he's lying. They have not increased the patrols at all. They believed him when he said he fell on a rock.
Isaac Allen Burns:So he's sort of he's in bed right now. This is gonna make it very difficult for him to be promoted if he's breaking his leg on rocks. But
Joe Diametti:of promotion, Nethany, what do you want out of all this? What do you want out of being a peacekeeper? What do you what do you want out of Oh, wow. Life?
Isaac Allen Burns:That's a deep question for 08:30 in the morning.
Joe Diametti:Oh, fuck.
Isaac Allen Burns:I forgot
Joe Diametti:how early
Isaac Allen Burns:it was. Oh my gosh.
Joe Diametti:Are you cold? He takes off his jacket.
Isaac Allen Burns:Oh, I mean, no. It's the middle of spring, but I okay.
Joe Diametti:Spring is pretty cold in the morning?
Isaac Allen Burns:It is I mean, it is chilly.
Joe Diametti:I see it.
Isaac Allen Burns:She kinda blushes. She kinda leans into you a little bit.
Joe Diametti:Oh, yeah.
Isaac Allen Burns:Well, I really wanted to be a tank mechanic to work on the armored divisions. And so I if I have a couple years here and things are pretty clean to me, this is a pretty cozy spot. It's pretty easy pretty cushy. So as long as nothing crazy happens, then I can
Joe Diametti:Have you ever worked on any tech before?
Isaac Allen Burns:Oh, yeah. All the time. I mean, growing up, I mean, my my mom was a mechanic. She worked mostly on just mostly farm equipment. You know, we lived in a town kinda like this outside of the capital.
Isaac Allen Burns:But once the NovaSite revolution started, they started having these all kinds of different technologies. I mean, there's a NovaSite powered tractor where they don't have to pull with horse mules anymore.
Joe Diametti:Wow. It
Isaac Allen Burns:just does it on its own. They're making these, like, little imagine wagons
Joe Diametti:Uh-huh.
Isaac Allen Burns:But it drives itself. There's no horse. It's basically like a tank, but it's for one person. Wow.
Joe Diametti:Sorry. Kapi is just picturing crank with, like, wheels.
Isaac Allen Burns:You see that she kinda gets a little embarrassed and flustered and says, I'm sorry. I'd yeah. I start to get going on technology. I kinda lose myself. Why why did you ask that question?
Isaac Allen Burns:That's a very odd question. Why do
Joe Diametti:you So where would you go to do that? You could pick anywhere in Altea.
Isaac Allen Burns:Probably I mean, the capital is one place. There's this big Chertan, and that's sort of the Let's do it. What?
Joe Diametti:Let's go there. The capital? Yeah. I'm tired of being held back here. Aren't you tired of the peacekeepers holding you back?
Joe Diametti:It's whether it's peacekeepers or
Isaac Allen Burns:I mean, it's I I mean, it it is Anthony, I have
Joe Diametti:a proposition. I'm about to get my recommendation.
Isaac Allen Burns:Does that mean is that a guild thing?
Joe Diametti:Yeah. It's a guild and then I can travel. Oh. We could go to Chertone.
Isaac Allen Burns:Yeah. Chertone, but okay.
Joe Diametti:Chertone. That's it's a it's a regional dialect thing. It's
Isaac Allen Burns:Well, mean, Cabbie is very sudden. I mean, I I mean
Joe Diametti:Yeah. Well, aren't you tired of just waiting around, taking it slow?
Isaac Allen Burns:Make a presence check for me.
Joe Diametti:My presence is plus one. 13 with hope.
Isaac Allen Burns:Oh my god. She kind of blushes and smiles and says, I mean, I don't know. That could be that could be nice. I mean, I could probably, you know, get maybe transfer. They wouldn't be I would be able to be transferred as high up as I'd want my pussy.
Isaac Allen Burns:Oh my god.
Joe Diametti:And then he says, I don't need to hear anymore. We'll do it. Here's what we gotta do, though, first. We gotta make sure that this Apple Festival goes off with a hitch. Without sorry.
Joe Diametti:We have to make sure this Apple Festival goes off without a hitch.
Isaac Allen Burns:She's like leaning kinda into you right now after the kiss and, like, kind of looking at you wide eyed.
Joe Diametti:Yeah. It's gonna take all of us. It's gonna take the Adventures Guild. It's gonna take the Peacekeepers. It's gonna take something that I don't wanna say, but it's gonna take us working together.
Joe Diametti:We can all make sure that this event happens without a hitch and then you and I, we can go anywhere you want.
Isaac Allen Burns:She her eyes are like stars right now. You have a feeling that maybe you were a crush that she had, and now her crush is kissing her. She's like
Annie Hawthorne:My god.
Isaac Allen Burns:She kisses you again and then kinda steps back and kinda, like, brushes herself off and says, this is this is a lot to think about. This is, I mean, this is a lot to think about having this with
Joe Diametti:Well, we have a day and a half.
Isaac Allen Burns:She kinda looks at you for a second as if it's, like, not real and says, this is a lot to think about. I mean, this I mean, I mean, I barely know you and, like, you're really cute and handsome, but,
Joe Diametti:I mean, it We have all the way from here to Chertain. What is it? Chertain. We have all the way from here to Chertain to figure it out. Wow.
Joe Diametti:And if we get there and it doesn't work out, go our different ways. But at least we'll have done something. Right?
Rowan Collins:Oh my god.
Isaac Allen Burns:You know, I'm gonna we're gonna all make the choice here that Bethany is the kind of person who would absolutely be into this. And maybe she got sent to the military because she's a little wild, and this was setting her on the straight and narrow. And now that wild streak is coming out, and she says, yes. Let's do it. What do we need to do to leave?
Isaac Allen Burns:She, like, grabs you on the, like, collar and, like, pulls you in close and says, what do we
Joe Diametti:need Kathy for a minute is like, oh, and then he remembers the plan. First thing is we need your peacekeepers to be on board. We need all hands on deck during the Apple Festival. We need them at certain posts and we need actual collaboration between the teams. I think that maybe at the end of it, we could even do a performance review.
Annie Hawthorne:Oh my god. Oh,
Rowan Collins:It all comes full circle. It all comes full circle.
Isaac Allen Burns:I'm shooketh. What do I have to say? What can I do? She you see a shiver goes to her, and she says, yes. I can make this happen.
Isaac Allen Burns:I exactly know what to do. The colonel is a drunk. I can get him drunk and I can put a plan on his desk to make him think that he did it. They won't listen to me, but they'll listen to him.
Joe Diametti:Nefany, I might actually love you. Oh
Rowan Collins:my god.
Isaac Allen Burns:Shut up and kiss me again. Oh my god.
Joe Diametti:And then he does.
Isaac Allen Burns:I'm going out on patrol. I have to go by my lonesome because Nathaniel is out of commission, but I can always have a second. Let's go. You you see that she takes her patrol around the woods. Basically, you're on the edge of town, and you walk, and you feel a strong energy coming out of Nepheny that you didn't know existed.
Joe Diametti:Yeah. Oh.
Isaac Allen Burns:We cut back.
Joe Diametti:And I was gonna say, don't know.
Isaac Allen Burns:We cut back.
Annie Hawthorne:Like, yeah.
Isaac Allen Burns:We cut back. Craig, you're out in the woods. How do you test your magic? Go through what does Craig do with this magic in these moments here?
Annie Hawthorne:Well, first, I'm gonna, like, find a clearing. I'm gonna make sure nobody's around. I'll, like, turn on my black and white vision, and I'll, like, scan my surroundings for anything that looks out of place.
Isaac Allen Burns:Oh, you do so, and go ahead and do a, we're gonna say, an instinct role with this, and you may definitely use Battleborn to add to it.
Annie Hawthorne:Battleborn. So that's a plus plus four then with Battleborn. 17 with hope.
Isaac Allen Burns:That's really good. So you look around. You're on the northern side, a lot of forests. You are looking around and your eyes scan the usual locations, and you find nothing out of place really, except you do see this little crook in a tree kinda high up. As you look at it, you see some fresh markings around the tree as though someone has been scrambling up and down this tree somewhat consistently.
Isaac Allen Burns:So you look at it, you look at the town, you realize it's kinda hot. It's kind of up on a hill in a more elevated portion. Just be clear to set the scene for everybody. The forests are on the northern side, which is where the mountains are. That's the more mountainous side.
Isaac Allen Burns:That's where elevation goes upwards. So if you're up towards the mountain, you're kinda higher than where the town would be, you can have a good view of it. So you find what looks like a stakeout location. It does not look like anyone is there right now.
Annie Hawthorne:I might try to actually tell them about this, and then I'll pull out the staff, and I'll unwrap it, And I'll put my cape back on because it makes me feel fly. And I'll just grip the staff in my hands and just, like, pour all of my energy into it. I'm just hoping that something will happen. Oh, no. Oh, no.
Joe Diametti:Oh, yes.
Rowan Collins:For for the the people that aren't in this room, the GM is smiling.
Isaac Allen Burns:I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know what you're talking about.
Rowan Collins:That's not good news. I don't know
Rowan Collins:what you're talking about. Uh-huh.
Isaac Allen Burns:You feel reaching out as though the forest around you and all living beings suddenly connect to you. You feel like you can as wind is moving through the trees, you feel wind through the leaves. Every little surface area, you'll all moving all at once. Grass underneath your feet, you feel the pressure from you standing there. Doesn't hurt, but you can feel it.
Isaac Allen Burns:You can smell the forest like you've never smelled it before. It's rich and earthy. You feel this connection as this magic is going out. It feels really good. Through this training, I will tell you this much right now.
Isaac Allen Burns:While you are wielding this staff, your instinct score will increase by one. Additionally, while you are wielding this staff, you can reach out to nature and reach out to the things around you and ask one question to it, which I will answer as truthfully as nature around you would answer. That is what you know for now. Now, crank, as you're doing this, in the same way that eating too many sweets makes your stomach kind of sickly, you sort of reach out this magic feels good. You discover this new thing about this.
Isaac Allen Burns:You feel your senses sharpen. You feel your mind grow strong. There's this feeling deep in your gut of, like, a wave of nausea that goes through you, but then ceases as the feeling the magic dissipates for a moment and it goes away. I'll also say you can do that once a day, that effect. So you use it for today.
Isaac Allen Burns:You can't use it anymore, but you can use it once a day. What is the question that you wish to ask nature?
Annie Hawthorne:Who was here?
Isaac Allen Burns:Nature bubbles up your mind. Footsteps. Someone breathing. They're alive. They're moving through.
Isaac Allen Burns:Hands grip the side of a tree. Strong hands, weathered hands. It starts to climb up with ease. This feeling sits there. You feel hair brushing against the sides, fur brushing against the sides of the bark.
Isaac Allen Burns:You see flashes of red. You see two long metal implements. You see this creature holding something, making his eyes huge. You hear his breathing. Every so often, you hear a curse under its breath.
Isaac Allen Burns:Its heart beats very steady, very athletic build. Resting heart rate really low because so athletic. Not too strong, though, to break the trees. Very nimble as it goes down. Continues up towards the north as it leaves.
Annie Hawthorne:Do I get any kind of feeling about that person's intentions from nature?
Isaac Allen Burns:You know, no role even necessary because you are battle born. As you're looking at this, you know war, you know fighting. You were basically programmed for it. This is a stakeout spot. They're not staking out for anything in particular, but as you're looking, you can see clearly the town square.
Isaac Allen Burns:You can see many of the roads. This is a really good position if you wanna keep eyes on the town, and this person has been doing just that.
Annie Hawthorne:I just stare at the town square, and I say, oh, no. Kapi was right. And I will quickly wrap the staff back up, put it back on my back end, just, like, run back into town.
Isaac Allen Burns:Kapi, we cut back to you and Nefany. You've done your rounds. What state are you two
Rowan Collins:in? Undressed.
Joe Diametti:Make it under the jacket.
Isaac Allen Burns:Nice. Nice.
Rowan Collins:Is she wearing
Joe Diametti:the dress? We did our rounds. That's what you said.
Isaac Allen Burns:You did your rounds. That's very true. That's very real.
Rowan Collins:Wait. Question. Is she wearing the jacket?
Joe Diametti:No. Like, we're
Annie Hawthorne:yeah. I think they're both
Isaac Allen Burns:under the jacket.
Annie Hawthorne:They're both
Joe Diametti:under the hanging out up against we're like, it's done. So now we're up against the tree with the jacket.
Rowan Collins:Oh. She's, like,
Isaac Allen Burns:playing with your shirt.
Joe Diametti:And, yeah, she's smoking a cigarette.
Annie Hawthorne:Oh, wow.
Joe Diametti:She puts up to my Kapi flips every now and then, and he takes a hit.
Rowan Collins:Woah. Kapi. Damn. Two
Isaac Allen Burns:furballs, you know, naked as the day they were born hanging out
Joe Diametti:with And Ashton starts she ashes and, like, almost goes on the jacket, he, like, flips it
Isaac Allen Burns:away really fast. Wash the jacket. That's me. Okay. Sorry.
Isaac Allen Burns:Yeah. Just lost myself for a second there in your eyes.
Joe Diametti:Oh, it's fine. I'm pretty cool about it. Anyways. But what about the plan to get him drunk and put the plans on his desk?
Isaac Allen Burns:I mean, I'm gonna put the plans on his desk. I'm gonna put whatever you want me to put on his desk. You just type up the orders what you want those six ne'er do wells to do and I'll get it to him.
Joe Diametti:Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Let's do that and, you know, hopefully nothing happens. And if it does, hopefully they jump into action.
Joe Diametti:You guys are trained. Right?
Isaac Allen Burns:Oh, yeah. They're trained. They're they can shoot.
Joe Diametti:Perfect. As long as we get them there and in their spots and focused, we'll be that much better off.
Isaac Allen Burns:If it goes bad, who cares? We'll be long gone. Right? You and I out to Shurtahn.
Joe Diametti:Yeah. Alright. Kapi is he's like, he's like actually oddly impressed and he's aroused and he doesn't want to be but
Annie Hawthorne:He's aroused and he doesn't want to be?
Joe Diametti:He's like, I love that. You're dangerous.
Isaac Allen Burns:She smiles coyly and says, that's what they told me. We fade to black again. Is there any last things you wanna do or you all retire? We start the next day Yeah.
Joe Diametti:I the festival. Kapi thinks that there's probably something at Cyrus's that he can use. He is going to try to sneak into his part of the study and I assume from growing up there, he probably has an idea, but he's going to try to steal something. I also don't know what. But I assume there's something that he Okay.
Joe Diametti:That would help us.
Isaac Allen Burns:As you go in, you see that Cyrus is once again not there. You don't know where he is, but you go into his study, sure enough.
Joe Diametti:14 with fear.
Annie Hawthorne:Here. Michael.
Isaac Allen Burns:On a 14. Okay. Here's what I'll tell you then. So you are looking for something in Cyrus's. Yeah.
Isaac Allen Burns:As you were rooting around, you find that there is a picture on the wall. It's kinda like a boring picture someone has in their office. You know those, like, old maps that people have in their office that kinda, like, you know, look kinda weird. Mhmm. He's got one of those.
Isaac Allen Burns:You push it aside and you see that there's a panel in the wall. And as you push it to the side, you find it inside the panel as a weapon unlike anything you've seen before. Yes. There is this huge halberd. Very top of it, you see that it is sort of separated where, you know, the shaft will be connected to where the blade is.
Isaac Allen Burns:They're sort of it's sort of separated there, and it looks like there's some kind of receptacle in there. And as though something should slot in there, veins of this strange metal are we are woven through the blade connected to that receptacle. Almost, you know, like a be very similar to you ever seen a motherboard the way that the metallic lines kind of move through there? Mhmm. It's kinda what it looks like.
Isaac Allen Burns:Something you also notice, Kapi. And on this one, I'm gonna need a knowledge roll. So you see that there is a symbol on the blade. It is it almost looks like a flag that is on fire. Go ahead and roll knowledge.
Joe Diametti:My knowledge is minus one. Nine with hope.
Isaac Allen Burns:A nine with hope. You have not seen this before. You do not know what this is, but you can tell that with a flag burning because you rolled hope, I'll tell you that I bet you bet this is you thinking. Kapi is thinking right now. I bet if I were to ask Crank, he
Joe Diametti:would probably know. Oh, awesome. Yeah. He takes it.
Isaac Allen Burns:You hear the door open downstairs. Oh, no. What will Capy do?
Joe Diametti:I mean, he's gonna immediately close it and put the picture back, and then he's going to try to sneak. Luckily, he's a rogue. He's a rogue. So I am going to when you move into a location where with this count as an enemy, no enemies can see you. You can use an action to become hidden.
Isaac Allen Burns:You know, in this case, I feel like with Kapi's feeling towards Cyrus, I'll say this is an enemy.
Joe Diametti:Okay. Yeah. So I'm going to use an action to hide. Ideally, like, by the door in the corner so that when the door opens, if he comes in, I can try to sleep out.
Isaac Allen Burns:Yeah. Sure enough. You hide behind the door, it opens and Cyrus limps on in. You see he's got a cane in one hand, the cane he always uses to walk. And you made a hide check.
Isaac Allen Burns:You're hidden right now. As Cyrus comes in, he is kind of doing a brief look around everything. You realize whenever Cyrus walks into you realize this a while back, and this is why you hid here. Whenever Cyrus goes into a room, he does a scan of whatever room he's walking into. Whether it be military training or what, he always looks for it.
Joe Diametti:I am a rogue. I'm the shadow.
Isaac Allen Burns:You're in the shadows.
Annie Hawthorne:Shadow.
Isaac Allen Burns:His eyes cross to behind the door. The oldest trick in the book, his eyes kinda go there for a split second and then come back because who would hide behind the door? That's like baby shit. So he kinda looks around. He does his quick scan, and he walks over to his desk and sighs very heavily.
Isaac Allen Burns:You see that he sort of looks out mumbling to himself. And then he's sort of looking you see he's looking out the window, sort of scanning. His back is to you. You see at this point, he pulls something out of his pocket. You see, he pulls it, puts it up to his ear.
Isaac Allen Burns:Is Kapi gonna use this moment to try and sneak out, or does Kapi stay? Kapi stays. Kapi stays. You hear him say
Joe Diametti:Well, wait. Can I imagine that while he was doing that and walking over to the window, he starts sneaking out the door? Yeah. And then he hears something and he peeks back around because
Isaac Allen Burns:He's peeking back around.
Joe Diametti:He's an idiot.
Isaac Allen Burns:Yeah. Well, Kapi so is Kapi gonna listen Yes. And risk being seen or will leave
Joe Diametti:and see?
Isaac Allen Burns:Okay. Very good. But I am
Joe Diametti:on the other side of the door now peeking in.
Isaac Allen Burns:That's true. You are peeking in. As Cyrus kinda puts his whatever up to his ear. You see it's kind of glowing a little bit. It's got a bit of a glow.
Isaac Allen Burns:It looks like almost like a shard of crystal.
Joe Diametti:Mhmm.
Isaac Allen Burns:Flat. Right? Flat and rectangular, and he has it up to his ear. And can you go ahead just right now just to set how terrified you should be? Go ahead and make an agility check for me.
Isaac Allen Burns:Alright.
Joe Diametti:My agility is plus one. That is a 15 with hope.
Isaac Allen Burns:Wow. That's really good. K. So in this case, I will tell you, Kapi, you have nothing to fear because you will be able to slip away after this. But you hear one side of this conversation.
Isaac Allen Burns:You hear Cyrus say, hey. It's me. Yeah. Something's coming. I think something's big.
Isaac Allen Burns:Stay on the lookout. I'd really rather not get the kid involved with this. They're young. If they're doing what I think they're doing, then you all need to be prepared for what's gonna come next. If I don't see you again, it's been fun.
Isaac Allen Burns:You see, he just kinda slides in his pocket, sighs. You see, he's about to turn around. You slip out.
Annie Hawthorne:I feel like I'm running into the town square or wherever the guild is, which I guess would be on the West Side.
Isaac Allen Burns:Nice. But You bought some to the town
Annie Hawthorne:square. For Kapi. And I think I catch Kapi coming out of the adventurer's guild.
Isaac Allen Burns:Nice.
Annie Hawthorne:And I just grab him by his shoulders, and I start shaking him. Woah. What's You were right. You were right. Someone's watching.
Joe Diametti:Who's watching?
Annie Hawthorne:I don't know, but I don't think they have good intentions for the Apple Festival.
Joe Diametti:Alright. Listen. You and I know what's at stake here. Yes. You wanna get to Polaris?
Annie Hawthorne:Yes.
Joe Diametti:I have to get out of here. We also have to protect Scarlet and your mother
Annie Hawthorne:And Pistachio.
Joe Diametti:And Pistachio and their family and especially Pistachio.
Annie Hawthorne:Of course.
Joe Diametti:So let's not tell them what you saw.
Annie Hawthorne:Okay. And that that will protect them?
Joe Diametti:Will protect them.
Annie Hawthorne:Okay.
Isaac Allen Burns:Very good. As you walk away, we, the audience, linger. We go inside the guild to see Cyrus leaning up against a wall hearing that conversation, and we fade as last minute preparations occur, and we'll end our session here. And next we meet will be the Apple Festival. Tune in for the final moments of
Joe Diametti:the very first arc. I'm actually horrified.
Isaac Allen Burns:Do we go to the Apple scared.
Rowan Collins:I'm so sorry.
Joe Diametti:Been this on edge about a
Isaac Allen Burns:festival. Apple Festival will be so fun,
Rowan Collins:you guys. We're gonna play Yay.
Joe Diametti:We're gonna play wait. Wait. Wait. Bobbing? Yeah.
Joe Diametti:There's a list. And we have games and a stage. There's gonna be theater and petting pens. You're gonna get
Isaac Allen Burns:to find out what the game Applejack
Annie Hawthorne:taking notes.
Joe Diametti:Oh, here's on my phone because I forgot my
Isaac Allen Burns:Well, thank you once again for listening here. Once again, shout out to Darrington Press for creating Daggerheart . We're still in beta. Can't wait to see what the final release will be. And from me to you to yours, good night.
Annie Hawthorne:Oh my god. Please, guys. Please. I swear. No.
Joe Diametti:Row it.
Rowan Collins:Please. No. Oh my god. Do you know how many people
Isaac Allen Burns:would much we have
Rowan Collins:to end. I understand. But, like,
Annie Hawthorne:just, like
Isaac Allen Burns:It takes a little bit.
Rowan Collins:Do a little
Isaac Allen Burns:bit of rest of it, it'll
Rowan Collins:be fine.
Rowan Collins:Just like, you got it.
Isaac Allen Burns:Like, a quick Woah, everybody. Settle down, everyone. It's me, your GM Isaac Allen Burns, here to step into this brawl to tell y'all the good news that we'll be doing weekly releases up until our finale. The final episode of arc one releases on May 20. And if you've been paying attention, you'll know that May 20 is the day that the official Dagger Heart release happens.
Isaac Allen Burns:So look on out for that. Next week, we're gonna have a special episode featuring Pistachio's little adventure while Kapi was getting laid. So keep on eyes on that and squawk on three. One, two, three.
Annie Hawthorne:Squawk.
Isaac Allen Burns:Hey, it's a podcast.