Episode Transcript
[00:00:43] Speaker A: Wake me up from this sleep I've been dreaming dark so long I could not find meaning hold my hand let me stare by your side through this never ending night I can feel it now it holds me demon tells me in this red light it calls me he is reaching out, consuming.
[00:01:27] Speaker B: And welcome back to our final prelude for Tyrant of the Dark Star. I'm here with our last cast member, Sparlock.
I'm Aubrey, your GM, and I will let Sparlock introduce themselves and who they're playing, and then we'll figure out the story of this character.
[00:01:48] Speaker C: Hello, I am Alice Stair Whiskerfield, who uses he him pronouns. The rat, investigator and wizard extraordinaire. The people that kicked me out of the academy wouldn't want you to believe that.
Um, I am a brownish rat that kind of scruffy looking and dressed up a little bit like Sherlock Holmes.
Um, and you will notice that I only have half a tail.
I don't like talking about it, but let's just say I'm not a big fan of turtles anymore.
[00:02:32] Speaker B: Duly noted.
So we open on this same cell we've been seeing this whole time. As our final form is brought forward, bag over their head and tossed in the cell with everyone else.
We'll figure out exactly how Alistair ended up in cold iron prison. But we're gonna have to go back in time just a little bit, roughly, give or take two weeks to right around the end of the harvest festival.
And we will be opening in the ash district of Malachod. It is on the eastern side of the city, the more newer, prosperous part of the city. The Ash district is the newest district of the city. Several of the larger noble houses bought up large tracts of land and through some sort of magic have been able to suppress the magic of the watching wood so that they can successfully cut down the trees and build these massive mansions on this land. Land.
Though there are a lot of stories going around the other parts of the city that not everything is fine in the ash district.
And that's one of the things that you're here to find out.
You've been hired by the parents of a maid for.
Well, you've not been hired by the school family of themselves, but the parents of a maid who works in their estate that went missing.
And last anybody knew, she was leaving the mansion four days ago, and that's the last time anybody saw her.
So as you arrive in the ash district, what is going to be your first, the first thing you do? Wow. How are you going to start things off?
[00:04:58] Speaker C: Well, I will take a look around before I go in anywhere. Uh, maybe, you know, I have a feeling for like things of a more arcane nature. So I might feel out for any divine, for any magic with my arcane scents, uh, any scuffles.
I just want to kind of case the joint circle around a little bit, um, before going up and introducing myself to my new employers customers.
[00:05:43] Speaker B: So as you use your, because arcane sense that lets you cast, detect magic. Right.
[00:05:49] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:05:53] Speaker B: The district itself, there is some sort of spell that is over the district, some sort of enchantment spell that's over the district. It's a little too powerful for you to be able to tell exactly what it is, but there's a lot of magic here in the ash district and.
Yeah. So going to find the people who have hired you, correct?
[00:06:19] Speaker C: Yes, yes. After, after I've kind of circled the building a little bit.
[00:06:26] Speaker B: Yeah.
So it's not the scriab and family themselves that have harmed you. It is the sort of the parents of the maid.
[00:06:34] Speaker C: Now do, do the parents like live, are they is a livid maid? Are they elsewhere? Do they live nearby?
[00:06:44] Speaker B: They, it is not a live in maid. The maid is actually from, is from one of the districts. It is actually probably more likely than not like salvation row or not coffin walk, but salvation row or darklight bazaar is most likely where the maid originally.
[00:07:07] Speaker C: Lived.
[00:07:10] Speaker B: And would have to cross the bridge and pay the toll every day to get to work.
[00:07:18] Speaker C: The man trying to get us down, us working rats.
What was the maid's name?
[00:07:27] Speaker B: The maid's name is Liara.
Liara.
Rich Glade.
[00:07:40] Speaker C: Ironic name for a maid.
[00:07:42] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:07:44] Speaker C: All right. So I assume I've already talked to the family so it'll be less about going and talking to my people that hired me. But I will knock on the door and introduce myself.
[00:08:02] Speaker B: Yeah. And they would have given your, the family would have given you the basic information, like she leaves for work usually before dawn, well before dawn, quote unquote, most mornings, and then returns usually sometime in the evening when sort of the shifts change over at the house.
That for, she had said for the last couple of days she had felt like somebody had been following her.
And then if you talk to anybody on the way, you can verify that she did not make it to the bridge that night because they, when you pay the toll they, you know, write your name in the book.
[00:08:58] Speaker C: Absolutely. And I would know all of this.
So I go up and I knock on the door, wait for a moment who greets me.
[00:09:11] Speaker B: So this is the, if you go up to the screw Albin mansion. Mansion.
You would be greeted by the butler.
Hello. Hello.
[00:09:20] Speaker C: Hello mister.
What's your name, my good sir?
[00:09:25] Speaker B: He says you can call me Hays. Gust.
[00:09:33] Speaker C: Hayes guts. Nice to meet you mister. Hayesgutz. I was hired by Liara's family. They're really worried after she didn't come back a couple of days ago. They want me to take a look around.
Could I bother you for a bit of your time?
[00:09:52] Speaker B: Give me a perception check.
Then we roll with another nat one.
It's up to a great start. Um.
Yeah. You.
You cannot get a read on this butler. They are very stone faced. They don't have any expression. And uh, he just says to you that the masters of the house are out currently.
You are more than welcome to come back later today when they are here.
[00:10:30] Speaker C: Oh come on. I hope I won't be any trouble. Just give me like two minutes. I just want to. Did you see when Liara left yesterday or. Sorry. Four days ago.
[00:10:44] Speaker B: She left at her normal time just shortly after sunset when the nightmare came in.
[00:10:54] Speaker C: Okay. What time is it right now?
[00:10:58] Speaker B: It's probably sometime afternoon.
[00:11:03] Speaker C: Um. What time does the nightmare come in? Did they say anything as they passed each other on the way out?
[00:11:09] Speaker B: You'd have to ask the nightmaid. Um, but as far as I am aware, that did not say anything. Should be coming in 6 hours or so.
[00:11:20] Speaker C: Oh man, that's really late. But I guess I'll come back later. And when will the people of the house be in?
[00:11:30] Speaker B: He'll be back in time for dinner.
[00:11:36] Speaker C: Well, yeah, but which. Which dinner? First or second dinner? Wait, no. That's hobbits. Um.
Okay. And all. Uh, very like depressed looking cas link away.
I'll be back.
Um.
And meanwhile, I don't trust rich people. They're part of the upper crust. Do I know anything about this family?
[00:12:14] Speaker B: Give me a society check.
[00:12:19] Speaker C: Can I give you a special lore check?
[00:12:22] Speaker B: Sure, yeah, if you've. What lore do you have?
[00:12:25] Speaker C: I have academia. Academia and conspiracy lore.
[00:12:31] Speaker B: Sure. Let's roll conspiracy lore.
[00:12:36] Speaker C: How do I.
Is it controlled? A roll secret check?
[00:12:45] Speaker B: Usually if you.
So the Skriabins made their name in music.
[00:13:02] Speaker C: That would make sense.
[00:13:03] Speaker B: Yeah, they made their name in music, so they created an instrument.
And through that, that has gotten them their wealth and fame.
And they have built on top of that, several of the theaters in some of the richer districts are more likely not owned by them.
But there's always been kind of a dark shadow over their history.
Several generations ago, the head of the house is thought to have murdered his wife.
But nobody could prove it. So it was just rumor.
And there's kind of a reason why they focus. So that may be a reason why they focus so hard on the ash district, to sort of have their own area that they can control.
[00:14:14] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. I don't trust these guys one bit. I mean, you know, if it was just musicians, it'd be one thing, but, but no, no. Like, these powerful people are always up to something. So I'm gonna try to find a way to sneak in.
[00:14:33] Speaker B: Let's do a, let's do a thief. Recheck for that. See if you can find your best way in.
[00:14:43] Speaker C: Yeah, this is, oh, actually, I did get trained in that.
[00:14:50] Speaker B: So with a 21, you are sort of moving around, sort of looking, and you come across this sort of side door, and you hear voices.
And as sort of, as you peek around the corner, you see this person in this long jacket and this cowboy hat sort of chatting up this. You're guessing probably maid. Uh, you know, and so you have, you see that? And he is, he's got this person wrapped around his finger.
They're very, very distracted. And you think you could take advantage of this to sneak past them and into the house?
[00:15:45] Speaker C: I will definitely attempt to do that.
You want me to stealth that?
[00:15:52] Speaker B: Yeah. I'll give you a plus one for acting upon the knowledge.
So, yeah, you, it helps that you, as arat folk are able to keep very low to the ground and sort of, like, quickly just sort of scamper past them, around her, and into the house. As you, as you, as you hear the man say, like, now, darlin when do you, when does someone as beautiful as you get off? I have to take you out for a drink.
And then you hear her giggle. She is totally enraptured by this. And you are in what looks to be the kitchens.
[00:16:39] Speaker C: Don't get distracted. Don't get distracted.
Although this looks like a good place to.
All right, so I will take a look around. So I'm gonna be looking for anything that can sticks out. Like, I won't be, like, going through the cabinets, really, but I want to take a look. Just go through the various rooms and keep an eye out for trouble or secret doors, because, you know, these rich people, they probably, like, kidnap people or something. Who knows?
[00:17:21] Speaker B: Probably. Yeah, it's a, it's a good possibility.
[00:17:26] Speaker C: Is there any cheese?
[00:17:31] Speaker B: If you're quick in the kitchen, I think there's a, there's a block of cheese on that. One of the cooks looks like they might be using to make food. At some point.
[00:17:42] Speaker C: I'm gonna steal the cheese as I go out. Yeah, there's no one else here.
And then take myself on a rat tour of the building.
[00:17:57] Speaker B: Yeah, you are just sort of like. I imagine you see the cook. They're doing whatever they need to do for dinner. And in the background, we watch as the little yuksoi head sort of passes because you're just high enough that top of your head and ears come up above this table. And then we see you turn around, come back, grab the cheese, and walk off. And the cook turns around and is like, swear I had some cheese here. And it goes. Never mind. And then goes to get a different block of cheese.
And, yeah, you are in the house, like, as you're, like, sort of, like, starting to pad through the halls. You can kind of hear people from all over the. Like, this house seems to have a pretty decent amount of service.
You can kind of hear them moving around.
And you see, as, you know, you poke your head out and, like, are looking through one of the hallways. They. This house is equipped with, like, full servant corridors, places where they can move where people won't see them.
You'll watch, and, like, they are designed to not be noticed unless. Unless you're looking for them. Like, you'll watch as, like, a person pushes on a wall and sort of, like, the wall itself kind of opens up to this sort of very narrow looking staircase that they head up.
[00:19:22] Speaker C: That's the type of thing I'm looking for.
[00:19:26] Speaker B: Especially.
[00:19:27] Speaker C: And I don't, I don't suspect the servants.
Like, it's gonna be the big people. They're gonna be the troublemakers. So I will try to follow one of those. And I want to go as close to the kind of the rooms of the owners as it will go with those.
[00:19:53] Speaker B: So give me one more stealth check.
Okay, so you are making your way through these servant corridors, trying to find, like, the master bedroom or something like that.
[00:20:10] Speaker C: Yeah. Well, more secret passages off of the master bedroom.
[00:20:16] Speaker B: So eventually, you do find the master bedroom, and it is large, lavish. You can see a door, like, open to the side where, like, a large bath is like, this is like a sunken recessed tub that is heated through some sort of magic.
And there is a massive other, like, closet that has all sorts of flamboyant clothes. There's, like, a baby grand piano in here as well. And I do notice that you have that zod.
[00:21:00] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:21:00] Speaker B: And there's definitely a door in here that you can't see. You can kind of feel like that, uh, you know, there's like, there's something here. Like, you're, like, going around the room and kind of pacing off. Uh, the measurements don't add up.
[00:21:23] Speaker C: Wonderful.
So looking at the way it doesn't add up, I will try to find where this entrance is, and I'll look for, like, you know, a candlestick that needs to be turned or a book. You have to pull, like, any sort of mechanism, like hidden keyhole, disguised knob.
[00:21:50] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. This feels like a.
We'll call it another thief recheck.
So it takes you a bit. There's a lot in this room, and there's a lot that could be the thing that opens this door, but you do find it. It is like a candlestick, and this sort of door in the wall sort of pops open.
And, like, as you do, a very fetid scent comes out of it as the air wafts into the room.
There is something not right in this room.
[00:22:34] Speaker C: The whiskers know.
I will go forth cautiously, looking out for whatever it could be.
[00:22:52] Speaker B: Yeah. And as you push the door open, the room itself is incredibly dark. There is no source of light in. In this room. Just whatever is in the master bedroom itself that is now shining into this room. Do you use the rat folk? Do you have dark vision?
[00:23:15] Speaker C: I am just checking that out.
I have low light vision, so I can see in dim light as though it was bright light, but not proper dark vision.
Well, might grab a candle.
[00:23:34] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, you can easily grab a candle. All of these candles with rather than actual, like, flame itself. These. All of these candles are lit with sources of magical light.
And, like, as you do, and you open, the first thing that you notice is the chains.
They are very old and set in to the wall, and just below the chains is a mess of blood, gore and viscera.
[00:24:18] Speaker C: Oh, wonderful. Um, I would like to examine this using my knowledge of medicine and hope beyond hope that this is more than four days old or.
[00:24:36] Speaker B: Yeah, certainly smells like it could be at least four days old.
[00:24:42] Speaker C: Say it.
[00:24:43] Speaker B: Give me that medicine roll.
It is a seven. I will mention you do have a hero point.
[00:24:51] Speaker C: Yeah, I will use that hero point.
Um, in fact, I can.
[00:25:02] Speaker B: It is better with the twelve. You. It takes you a while there.
As you're looking through this, it is messy, and it's all of this old coagulated blood and viscera. And you're finding this is multiple bodies.
But eventually you pull out what looks like a hairpin.
It's small, and it has this, like, nice little.
It is made of silver. And has kind of a bit of a pearl inlay on it. It's very small, it's very fancy.
And liar's family said that she was gifted this from a suitor several months back.
[00:26:09] Speaker C: I say my rat prayers, whatever, you know, rats pray to, because there's no way I can gather up this mess, for lack of a better way of putting it.
And I close the door.
Um, like, I rub myself off, um, freezing. Uh, close the door. Tried to make it appear as if I was never there.
Return my candle and look for the quickest way out of this place.
[00:27:01] Speaker B: All right, let's do one more stealth check.
So, as you are heading through the passages and you are entering into. From the servants passage into the great hall, so you can take a different passage to try to get closer to the outside.
You open the door and find yourself face to face with a guard.
And he looks down at you and says, don't think you're supposed to be here.
[00:27:49] Speaker C: This isn't the guest room.
[00:27:53] Speaker B: No.
And you watch as his hand is sort of moving to the pommel of his weapon.
[00:28:07] Speaker C: Oh, I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. What's my back to currently? I know. Just face forward.
[00:28:16] Speaker B: You could turn around and run back up the stairs through the passage. There's nothing like. It's like stairs up, you know, as you're going through these maze of passages.
[00:28:29] Speaker C: Absolutely. So I go, wait, what's that? And then book it.
[00:28:35] Speaker B: Give me a deception check.
[00:28:38] Speaker C: Oh, untrained. Yes. Let's do this.
Beautiful.
[00:28:47] Speaker B: A nat one. And he.
[00:28:49] Speaker C: You do the.
[00:28:50] Speaker B: What's that? And he doesn't even fall for it. And then, uh, you. He just calls out, uh, trespasser in the house, and he pulls out his club and is going to swing at you.
[00:29:11] Speaker C: I mean, that's fair.
[00:29:17] Speaker B: So that is a 21 to hit you.
[00:29:23] Speaker C: That will absolutely hit.
[00:29:31] Speaker B: I mean, it's. It's a club. He's a pretty. He's a pretty basic dude. So, I mean, that's. That's gonna be, like, seven bludgeoning damage as this club sort of, like, hits you on your shoulder as you're trying to, like, pull away and run.
And in the house, you can kind of hear this sound of a bell and then the sound of multiple people.
[00:29:58] Speaker C: I can do this.
I have faced snapping turtles. This is nothing.
I will continue with the attempting to run plan.
[00:30:18] Speaker B: Okay, give me a athletics check to see if you can outrun this person.
[00:30:29] Speaker C: This is definitely my forte.
[00:30:31] Speaker B: Totally.
Oh, so, I mean, it's a 19. You're. You're making good progress. And you are, you know, there's like, you're keeping a small distance between you and this person, and you suddenly you get to the other side, you're gonna, like, try to run across the hall and hit a different one. You open up another guard. So now you're kind of boxed in by the guards.
[00:31:00] Speaker C: Okay, guard in front of me, guard immediately behind me. How much space have I got?
[00:31:06] Speaker B: Uh, essentially, imagine this is a five foot hallway.
This, this is a servants quarter. It's designed to be incredibly narrow.
[00:31:18] Speaker C: All right, I'm going to scream. Please don't kill me. I just wanted some cheese. And I'm gonna eat my cheese.
[00:31:30] Speaker B: So, good news, they're not gonna kill you. Bad news, they're gonna arrest you.
And, um, even worse news, uh, you know that, uh, they're gonna be, uh, pinning some crimes on you.
[00:31:51] Speaker C: Oh, cuz I have the pin, don't I? Yeah, that's, uh.
Maybe I should have eaten the pin.
[00:32:04] Speaker B: So you are taken into custody and charged with murder and trespassing.
And a few other things along there as well. Thievery.
And that'll bring us to where we find Alister in a cell in Coals Iron prison.
And next time, we'll be back with the very first episode where all of the cast will be together and playing these characters together. I'm very interested to see how the party dynamic grows, but for now, if you enjoy what you've heard, please just follow us on all the social medias at gobbles and gays other than twitch, which is GNG streams, because twitch doesn't allow us to have gay in the name.
And I'll see you all next time.
[00:33:13] Speaker A: Wake me up in this sleep like dreaming doctor long I cannot find meaning hold my hand, let me stay by your side through this never ending night I can feel it now it holds me all these demons always in this red light it calls me he is reaching out, consuming.
