Volume 1: In the Blood Ep. 20 - Gates of Horn and Ivory
TRANSCRIPT - In the Blood Ep. 20 - Gates of Horn and Ivory
Tau
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Sound and Story — Brought to Life.
Tau
You’re listening to a parody that is not affiliated with or endorsed by Supergiant Games in any way, we’re just big ol’ nerds making improv fanfiction.
ROGUE RUNNERS is...rated R, for pretty much everything you can find in Greek Mythology: violence, assault, self-harm, offensive language, insensitive humor, and intense themes. We encourage everyone to check out our show notes and transcripts on our website at Whisperforge.org. Are you ready to run? Then welcome to Volume 1: In the Blood.
[SFX: Intro music.]
Tau
Upon climbing the stairs, you land in a long luxurious gallery lined with purple tile and gold columns. Along the wall, gold chains turn and turn in endless cycles and just out of reach beyond the rail lining the gallery are golden gears and pistons powering the infernal machinery of hell. Along the floor, reliefs of wolves howling in profile emerge from the stone. Along the left wall you find a low stone basin with fountain water sitting cooly still awaiting your drink. Pelops marches straight to it, kneels before the basin, plunges his armored gauntlets into the water and drinks deep. You see blood on his brow drip into the once pristine water. Further along the left wall, you see a well filled with a deep purple ooze. Beyond that, you see a fountain of blood pouring slowly from a tiered statue of pouring ewers. At the far edge of the gallery, you see another stairwell lit by a ghostly orange glow on the other side.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Well, I don't think we can shower in this one." Rolf is gonna head over to the fountain and drink from it.
Tau
Sure, you'll have to push Pelops out of the way because he is very greedily just like shoveling water into his, himself.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
I'll wait, assuming he doesn't drink all of it, right? (laughs)
Tau
I mean, he might. He's going at it.
Michael (Arete)
Arete, seeing the long line for the water fountain, goes over to drink the blood dripping from the statue instead.
Tau
It's like sipping boiling water. It burns a little bit.
Michael (Arete)
(lets out mumbled cries of pain)
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Pelops. How are you feeling?"
Tau
(drinks thirstily and gasps)
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"I see."
Tau
(takes a breath) "Okay. I'm fine. I'm fine."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"All right."
Tau
"Yeah, I'm good."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Good. Good. Good work back there. You you've managed to put out some serious damage. Just want to make sure you're, you're in okay shape to continue."
Tau
He wipes the fountain water off his lips and he stands upright again. He says (now helmeted with his mechanical voice) "Yeah, good job. Alright, let's go." And then he turns around and you hear his armor clanging as he just very businesslike marches to the end of the corridor and up the stairs.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"One, one quick second, I think we might need to have a chat here. As a party really quick. Before we continue."
Tau
How are you trying to stop him?
Giancarlo (Rolf)
It is not intimidating or aggressive in any way, shape or form. But it's very much just like a hey, like putting a hand on his shoulder. I want to include you in this conversation.
Tau
Okay, if you put your hand on his shoulder, okay, he'll, yeah, he'll stop, he'll say "What."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"I think we've been a little lost as to why we're doing what we're doing. Pelops you're clearly on a mission. The rest of us all seem to have some as well. Now that we're here, now that we've made it and we've seen the grave danger that we've left behind, I would like to know, what it is you all want, and what exactly we are willing to do to get that."
Tau
"I feel like I've answered this question six or seven times, so I'm going to get going and when you figure out what you want to do, you can join me," and then he turns around, annoyed and marches up the stairs.
Michael (Arete)
"Well, who spit in his bean curd," and Arete will walk over to the fountain and just gingerly splash his face with the water, he's not feeling very parched.
Tau
You feel like you're clawing for water because Pelops has drunk the lion's share of it. So much so that there are only seems to be enough fountain water left for about one or two of you at most.
Michael (Arete)
Oh.
Amanda (Annie)
"How's, how's everyone feeling?"
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"21 out of 67."
Amanda (Annie)
"Interesting scale, but I like it. Okay."
Michael (Arete)
Arete pulls out from his bag a "How are you feeling?" thing that you would see in a modern day hospital. And he will just point to kind of like the medium face. It's just like a straight line of a mouth.
Amanda (Annie)
"Oh, yeah, I see it. Alex, how are you doing?"
Nicholas (Alexander)
(noticeably silent)
Amanda (Annie)
"Oh no. All right, all right, buddy. Here you go," and Annie's gonna just open her sack and pull out an old chocolate milk carton. She's gonna just take this straw, and she's gonna hand it over to Alex be like, "I think you really need this. And it's, it's, it's okay to need it too, just want to remind you of that. Okay?"
Nicholas (Alexander)
So Alexander's thinking of a past moment during his conquest where his entire army was thirsty...
[SFX: Harp music fades in.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
...and they were on this long walk when Alexander's soldiers under his command desperately hobbles up to him with his helmet full of water that he's been saving and he tugs at Alexander's side while he's riding his horse, he tugs on Alexander's leg and he offers him the water and Alexander gets off his horse, picks up the helmet with one hand and looks at his entire army and just pours the water out in front of everyone. Gets back on the horse.
Nicholas (Alexander)
"I mean, you can I can share some chocolate milk with you too, if you need it. Like I need it."
Nicholas (Alexander)
(weakly) "Anastasia, if, if I may have the straw."
Amanda (Annie)
And Annie is gonna hand over that straw.
Nicholas (Alexander)
"I owe you," and he'll put his lips to the straw and try to drink like enough but as little as he can. So to save another drink for another person, but (slurps).
Tau
Alexander also gets inspiration as he sips through the straw.
[SFX: Inspiration DING.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
And then he'll hand the straw back to Annie.
Tau
The little basin does the thing where it's like you know those like really shitty like automatic faucets where if you like put your hand under it, it like stops pouring after like a second so you tried to put like new hands under it. You could probably get enough for like one more person but you're not sure.
Michael (Arete)
"Hey, Rolf, we can hold you by the ankles and dangle you over and dunk you in by your head if you want."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"All right. Dunk me in, boys and girl."
Michael (Arete)
"Alex give me a hand with this." And Arete walks over and grabs the left ankle...
Nicholas (Alexander)
...and I grab the right ankle.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Euah, okay."
Michael (Arete)
Together we lift him up and we slowly dunk him down.
[SFX: Water splashes, Rolf gurgles. Lets out a satisfied breath.]
Michael (Arete)
"Are ya good down there?"
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Yeah, I was feeling pretty, I was a thirsty bitch a moment ago, but now I'm feeling a little better."
Michael (Arete)
And Arete with Alexander's help will turn Rolf right side up.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"You fellows are very strong."
Michael (Arete)
"Teamwork makes the dream work."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"And I just want to know where your heads are at."
Michael (Arete)
"Oh, you mean about that, uh, soul in the jar?"
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Yes."
Michael (Arete)
"Hey, ya know, strategy, baby. Next time we have to go through there, there's only two out of three furies left or something like that."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"I agree with you. In fact, assuming again, based on what I know about Zagreus' travels, there are only three furies. I don't know who would take their place, if anything, but if no one takes their place, we have enough jars to capture all of them. However, this could be seen as a rather antagonistic move by a lot of people. At the same time, we have been commanded to escape, to make it out. I don't know how people are going to respond to our methods. But I need to know how far you are willing to go."
Nicholas (Alexander)
"I would have conquered the rest of earth if I could. I will conquer Hades as well."
Michael (Arete)
"My, my hot take on this is like, if they're going to set up all these rules for us. And then we find creative ways of doing things like, they asked us to do this. If they don't like the results... I mean, they told us to do it. I say we're all in baby. Put all the chips on the table."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Annie?"
Amanda (Annie)
"I know we, we, that whole, 'whatever it takes' kind of thing. Yeah. But with these jars, we really should consider if the soul we're jarring is you know, actually worthy of that? Only only because I just think the furies like Tisiphone and Meg and everything. They are technically just doing their job. And I know we're technically doing what it takes for us to get through to reach the top. I don't, I don't know I'm in a bit of a, I'm just a little wary of it. That's all. That's all."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Listen, I understand your concerns. But when all is said and done, clearly something is going on here in Hades. The Lords of the House have told us we need to leave because things are not going well. So why do they continue to stop us?"
Michael (Arete)
"I think it's because the interdepartmental memos don't go as far as they used to. The communication system has just had an absolute breakdown."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Ultimately, it just seems that we are at a crossroads and we need to figure out who we are. And I ask this question because you all clearly have more ties to this place than I do. I don't know why I'm here. And I am met with impossible walls at every step. No one wants to tell me why I'm here, I get no no explanations why we are being put through what we are being put through. I want... if we, if we can save Hades, we can save these poor, poor souls? Fix the system, give them a better afterlife? I'm all for that. But it seems like I find myself at the hands of this nearly merciless system. Like like the gifts we are given when the gods do help us they seem like it's born out of amusement moreso than actual caring. At least, perhaps I'm a little too frustrated, but that is how it feels to me. And all I know is that the one person to whom I do owe genuine kindness, to whom I have a debt of the unfinished contract, I can't complete that here. And so at the end of the day, if all of you are in alignment, because you are the closest I have to anyone here, I'm willing to do whatever it takes. And if that means aligning ourselves with Hephaestus, or Chaos, or whoever it is, that will help us, that's fine. But understand that if we continue down this road, we may be making far more powerful enemies. And perhaps at that point, we cannot afford to lose again."
Nicholas (Alexander)
"We've already been dammed. How much worse can it get?"
Amanda (Annie)
"(laughs) Sorry, I just have a feeling it can get a lot worse. If that wasn't clear. That's just how I feel."
Michael (Arete)
"Oh, no, the laughter was an immediate cue. But as for me, in terms of the jar, I stand by what I said when I first got it, I have a very special someone in mind for this jar. And if a soul happens to just keep it warm in the meantime, I have no problem with that. But I will not be turning that jar in until I get to who I need it for."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"I have learned that just releasing the soul from the jar will dispel it. The jar is reusable if you are willing to destroy the soul."
Nicholas (Alexander)
"So at this point, it's either she is gone forever, or she is tortured for eternity."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"I'm just saying if it comes down to it, that is an option. Perhaps there's another choice somewhere in the middle. Maybe something we need to talk to Nemesis about, it might be a risk. Who knows?"
Amanda (Annie)
"Do what you got to do. Are we ready to move?"
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Oh wait the fountains, the other fountains! He laughs, and he looks at the other fountains.
Tau
Yeah yeah, you see the well of the purple ooze and you see the the fountain of blood.
[SFX: The fountains splash amidst the mechanical clanking.]
Giancarlo (Rolf)
What can I purchase here? How does it work though?
Tau
What do you want to roll to find out?
Giancarlo (Rolf)
I would like to roll Arcana.
Tau
Okay.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
17.
Tau
With the 17, you get that for the purple well, if you deposit a certain number of obols in, you might get a benefit based on how many you put in. And then with the blood red fountain, you get the sense that if you drink deeply enough from it, you might be able to burn away some boons that you've received and instead get obols back.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Great, so we can burn away some boons and get obols in return or we can offer up some obols and hopefully get some sort of benefit."
Michael (Arete)
"We got 105 obols baby and I like our boons."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Should we throw 100 obols and see what we get?"
Amanda (Annie)
"Okay."
Nicholas (Alexander)
"Yeah, just toss it in."
Michael (Arete)
"Okay," and Arete will take everything but five obols out of storage and drop them into the purple ooze.
[SFX: A thick splash.]
Tau
Everybody restores 27 hit points as a bottle of life essence pours out from the well and immediately the bottle opens…
[SFX: The bottle POPS.]
Tau
...and that essence just flies into each of you.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
(gags)
Michael (Arete)
"Ooh, that was nice."
Amanda (Annie)
"That was weird. Can we go now?" and Annie is gonna make her way towards the stairs and up 'em.
Michael (Arete)
Arete will follow.
[SFX: The fountains fade, the mechanical clanks linger before they too fade.]
Tau
The air is hot and thick as the river Phlegethon burns all around you.
Amanda (Annie)
(coughs)
[SFX: Magma bubbles.]
Tau
The air is absolutely saturated with the smell of sulfur and it burns in your nose and burns your eyes. You feel the heat rise in your face. You'll also notice that there is barely anywhere to stand. Nearly all of the ground that you were sure was here at once upon a time is now simply just burned away as lava and you need to carefully step wherever you go. You see a long trail that leads off to the left over a cliff's edge, to your far right you see a long trail that you would have to hop over that leads to a raft made of bone.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Who knew, hell got worse."
Amanda (Annie)
"I told you."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
I would like to go brood over the cliff side and see what I see.
Tau
You carefully hop between various platforms as you try to make your way along the left hand trail until you finally reach a cliffside. And you realize that you are in Asphodel. And Asphodel is comprised of these large tiered discs of lava. And you see other large discs of lava everywhere else just pouring and oozing from their sides and they rise in this long kind of like tiered wedding cake style of just various discs of magma just pouring slowly and you realize that this is the new biome that you must traverse. Make a perception check.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
22.
Tau
So you're not surprised by this but you hear a loud rumbling from beneath the lava and the platform shakes underneath you as if something is quickly approaching you. What do you do?
[SFX: Strong beats of music come in.]
Amanda (Annie)
"Time to go! Time to gooo!"
Giancarlo (Rolf)
I head towards the raft.
Tau
Okay, it's on the opposite side so you can start making your way there. In the meantime, roll initiative.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
(lamenting) I rolled a one, plus one is two.
Michael (Arete)
I rolled a natural 20, so 23.
Amanda (Annie)
Annie got a 7.
Nicholas (Alexander)
10.
Tau
All right, Arete it is your turn. You're 150 feet away from the bone raft. Alternatively, there's just endless cliff and abyss right in front of you.
Michael (Arete)
Ooo, as tempting as an offer is jumping off that cliff sounds, I think I've got to try to head for the bone raft. So I'm going to use my movement and I'm going to call upon "Hermes and Poseidon aid me in this dash." And I'm going to use my regular movement to go 30 feet and then I will dash as a bonus action with Hermes, which makes my dash 60 feet and I'll do it on a wave to look cool with Poseidon. So I will go a total of 90 feet.
[SFX: Watery splash followed by the bubbles of magma undulating.]
Tau
After that the magma begins bubbling all around you and a massive bone Hydra head emerges...
[SFX: A SPLASH of magma.]
Tau
...from the magma. This is kind of like snake skull head almost and it roars, it goes
[SFX: Animalist bellowing roar, the music picks up its pace.]
Tau
...and it is right up all on you Arete, Annie, and Alexander. Then immediately attempts to bite you, Alexander, and it gets a 25. Does that hit?
Nicholas (Alexander)
Yes.
Tau
You take 15 piercing damage as these bone fangs just snap right into you.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Minus three!
[SFX: The hydra snarls but metal clangs.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
Ah. Thank you. Yeah.
Tau
Yeah, remember all your boons, you're gonna need 'em. Make a strength saving throw.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Twenty... seven.
Tau
As it's bitten into you, it attempts to yank you up but you actually just kind of superman with a car type of thing. You shove the fangs off of you again.
[SFX: The bone hydra ROARS.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
Close enough for me to hit?
Tau
Yeah.
Nicholas (Alexander)
I guess I'll swing at it. Well, I got 25.
Tau
That hits
Nicholas (Alexander)
Can I make that a Divine Smite?
Tau
You can.
Nicholas (Alexander)
"Ares, Dionysis."
[SFX: The boons chime with combat and the popping of a cork.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
The first hit will do 46 damage.
Tau
All right, what type of damage?
Nicholas (Alexander)
I think it becomes radiant because of the Divine Smite and I'm gonna try and do that again. Okay, does a 26 hit?
Tau
It does.
Nicholas (Alexander)
The second was for 39. The hydra chomps down on Alexander the Great, he uses his shield to pry open the jaws of death from the bone hydra. And then he's gonna slash upward at this bone from like underneath its head "Ares, guide my hand!"
[SFX: Hard THWACKS of sward on bone with the bone cracking and crumbling beneath.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
And he's just slashing at the hydra as his sword glows with the radiant energy from his Divine Smite. (gutteral sounds of hits) So each smack is like an explosion with the sword. (more gutteral sound sof hitting)
Tau
As you do this, everybody else sees Alexander's blade glow as he slashes into the hydra and it's like slashing through like a Jenga tower. Like he slashes this one vertebrae and it goes flying, the Hydra shortens back down onto its remaining neck and he slashes again and another vertebrae goes flying...
[SFX: Bones clatter.]
Tau
...the hydra just realigns, slamming back down. So it's like only about half the height that it was when it first emerged from the magma. Do you do anything else on your turn, Alexander?
Nicholas (Alexander)
Yes. Now I run towards the boat. My movement which I think is 30 feet so I'm getting away from Rolf hopefully.
[SFX: Running footsteps.]
Tau
Okay, it's gonna make an opportunity attack it. It gets a 22.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Oh dear.
Tau
You take 15 piercing damage as it gets that chunk...
[SFX: A snarl and deep crunch of its jaws.]
Tau
...and make a strength saving throw.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Ten.
Tau
You attempt to move the 30 feet away but it bites you and it holds on to you. So you're actually is still in place.
Nicholas (Alexander)
I've got the shield above my head as the jaws are coming down, closing me in, keeping me stuck. (groans with effort)
Amanda (Annie)
"Oh no!" Annie's going to cast bardic inspiration to give to Rolf...
[SFX: She plays a jaunty tune on her viol.]
Amanda (Annie)
...because Annie knows Rolf is up next. So I really hope that helps, please. And then as my bonus action, Annie is going to dash towards the boat.
[SFX: A splash of water as Annie dashes away.]
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Alexander! Are you willing?"
Nicholas (Alexander)
(struggling) "Willing to what?"
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"To move!"
Nicholas (Alexander)
"I'm... trying (grunts)."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
And Rolf is going to hug Alexander. And you see his eyes turned red with the blood crystal as this wave explodes from him and he casts thunderstep with Alexander...
[SFX: A growing woosh followed by thunder and clacking bones.]
Giancarlo (Rolf)
...which means, I can teleport myself with Alexander 90 feet away towards the boat. Also bone hydra is going to take 3d10 thunder damage on a failed save or half as much on a successful one. "Ares! Aid this step!" and I'm going to increase that damage as well and then he's also going to as a bonus action dash 60 feet toward the boat so moving a total of 150 feet.
[SFX: Splash of Rolf's wave dash.]
Giancarlo (Rolf)
The bone hydra must make a constitution saving throw.
Tau
What is the DC?
Giancarlo (Rolf)
I am blood crystaling it, so it is a 20.
Tau
All right, I could beat this...
[SFX: Dice clatters.]
Tau
(sharp intake of breath then gentle laughter) 21.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
So he'll take half damage. So 18 thunder damage as Alexander and I teleport 90 feet away.
[SFX: A growing woosh then a BOOM of thunderstep.]
Tau
Alright.
[SFX: The bone hydra roars in fury.]
Tau
As you thunder step with Alexander away and then you run clear all the way to the raft. So you are on the raft, you see an icon above the raft like along like this, like bone plating along the side of the raft, where there's this kind of like gondolier's paddle and it shows an icon of a heart. Also, the hydra looks pretty bad.
Michael (Arete)
"Hermes and Poseidon, aid me in my endeavor," and I'm going to dash as a bonus action to make it the rest of the way to the boat on a cool little wave and the wave crest will just drop me into the boat ever so gently as I land and then I will ready an action. I am going to go ahead and draw La Voix...
[SFX: The flick of metal as Arete draws La Voix.]
Michael (Arete)
...and be ready for an attack should be the bone hydra move into my immediate vicinity.
Tau
Okay, it is the Hydra's turn, it is going to dip into the magma and it is going to emerge at the raft.
[SFX: A gentle splash of submersion followed by a large splashing cascade of magma as it emerges.]
Tau
Also I want to make clear the mechanism for the raft. So the way with the raft is as an action you can basically do it just like a gate in Tartarus. So if you say like "Reactivate the raft," it is just gonna take you to the next room immediately. It's not like you have to like roll to row the raft or the hydra chases you, or any bullshit like that. So you just have to tell me you're all on the raft and you activate the raft and that's that. So the Hydra is at the raft, it is going to attack... Rolf. It crits.
Amanda (Annie)
(GASPS)
Tau
Which is 30 piercing damage or 27 piercing damage I should say.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
(shrieks)
Tau
Make a strength saving throw.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
I rolled a seven, with my bardic inspiration that becomes a 14.
Tau
That is one shy of what you need. You are now also grappled, Rolf.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"(Cries out) I hate this place so much."
Michael (Arete)
Since the Hydra entered my vicinity, that--
Tau
Triggers your readied action? Yes.
Michael (Arete)
Okay, I'm gonna go ahead and do that. An eight probably doesn't hit.
Tau
No it does not.
[SFX: La Voix whiffs it.]
Michael (Arete)
Great.
Nicholas (Alexander)
But the Hydra takes three Dionysus damage.
[SFX: The echoing sound of hangover.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
I'm going to move and then bonus action dash at it...
[SFX: Gentle splash of the Poseidon wave.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
...with Poseidon and Hermes combined and I'm going to slash at the hydra. "(Grunts with effort)" Does a 16...?
Tau
It does hit.
Nicholas (Alexander)
12 damage. And he's gonna go swing again.
Tau
Okay.
Nicholas (Alexander)
I rolled a 25. So 36 damage on this second bit. "Ares!"
[SFX: Wet slices whip through the air.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
Just slicing at the Hydra.
[SFX: The hydra cries out in pain.]
Tau
You just keep slashing it down to size, like now it is just a skull right above the magma, holding on to Rolf.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Ah!!"
Tau
Annie it is your turn.
Amanda (Annie)
Okay, Annie's gonna move 60 feet towards the raft.
[SFX: Footsteps running.]
Tau
So she is 30 feet away from the raft.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Wonderful. Rolf is going to prepare his second blood crystal as it comes out of his palm and lights up that fireball, turns it red, as it does and he is going to cast it into the bone hydra's face that is currently has him inside of it.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Alexander's putting his sword in the teeth to like crowbar Rolf out of there. Like "(grunts with effort)."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
As he's opening it, you see him shoot a fireboly out for a grand total of 25... of 29 to hit!
Tau
Okay, it hits and nothing happens.
[SFX: Record scratch.]
Tau
It's a fire bolt... to a creature emerging from magma, again from the river Phlegethon, I don't know what to tell you. (laughs) Okay, Rolf, that concludes your turn. Arete. It's your turn.
Michael (Arete)
I'm doing really great on the rolls. And it's a 14 which is one less than we needed. So...
Tau
You swipe at it and you miss its head. You swipe at it again and you just barely graze it but not enough to hurt it. Okay, so it has Rolf in its jaw. It swallows a firebolt. It picks up Rolf and it drags him straight into the magma.
[SFX: The hydra lets out a keening noise as it splashes into the magma with Rolf.]
Tau
Now, here's what happens. Rolf, we're suspending combat for a moment.
[SFX: Combat music fades to silence.]
Tau
So normally at this moment, your death defiance would activate or your adrenaline autoinjector it would activate. However, that does not happen at this moment. Instead, you find yourself someplace far away from the heat of Asphodel. Far away from the magma of Asphodel. You find yourself in a misty grove. Even though you can't see very well around you, you just get the sense that it is high, high high above the earth. But did you ever play Skyrim? It's a very Sovngarde guard like place, like you're just got the sense that it is very, very high up.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Who are you?"
[SFX: A gentle rush of wind, birds chirp occasionally.]
Tau
It is misty and there's just various like plant life at your feet. The air seems cool, and brisk. And you see, a little ways up through this grove, you come across these two large arches. And from one arch, you can't see through the arch, but from one arch, you hear the sounds of violent combat, you hear swords clashing, you hear people dying. You hear like more music like battle drums and horns playing.
[SFX: The roar of battle, metal on metal, yelling, screaming.]
Tau
That is through the gate on your left. And this gate, or this arch is made out of horn. The gate slash arch on your right is made out of ivory and through that you hear the sounds of feasting and good cheer. And you hear the sounds of what might even be old friends who have died in battle.
Tau
"Hm. Do you think you might recognize me?"
[SFX: Laughter, talking, echoing in a grand space.]
Tau
And you immediately recognize this to be the sound of Valhalla. Through this mist on the right, which is made of ivory, you see a silhouette of an impossibly tall and muscular man. And you see his silhouette is covered in pelts and he wears this silver helmet with these massive antlers coming out of it. And you understand that to be Odin and he is standing at the head of this long table in Valhalla on that side of that gate.
[SFX: The sounds of good cheer fade back to the grove where birds chirp, ethereal music fades in.]
Tau
In the middle between these two arches, a figure of a black man with a long flowing black robe and small black spectacles approaches you with his hands folded behind his back. (in a deep and commanding voce) "Even in death, the dead do not stop dreaming. Tell me, do you know how to discern true dreams from false dreams?" He turns his back to you and looks out towards two large arches, which form gates in the mist. Again, the gate on your left is carved from horn and the gate on your right is carved from ivory. "Pass through the correct gate and you shall emerge back into the waking world with my blessing, dreamer."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"I have a feeling, though I'm not quite sure."
Tau
Do you want to roll something?
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Yeah, I'm going to roll religion. That's a natural 20, 23.
Tau
Nice. So you know that this is not a man from your religion. But you know this man to be Morpheus, the personification of dreams and dreaming. He smiles to you and he says "Though your kind do not worship me, I still guide those who dream an endless death and die in endless dreams. You have just died in combat, have you not? Do you know where those who die in combat go?"
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"I was told they went to Valhalla."
Tau
"Do you wish to join your kin?"
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"I do."
Tau
"Well, you have been slayed in combat, have you not? Does that not qualify you?"
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"I no longer know what is true. How does one decipher dreams?"
Tau
So with your roll of 20 for religion, you also know another legend about what the Greeks believed about dreams and they believe in something called true dreams and false dreams. And they believe that true dreams are seen through gates of horn and false dreams are seen through gates of ivory.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"(chuckles, exhausted) When does it end?"
Tau
"When you awaken."
[SFX: Quiet lamenting guitar music.]
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"I suppose there's not much choice," and he walks through the gate of horn.
Tau
You once more rejoin the sounds of battle.
[SFX: Yells and clank of weapon on weapon.]
Tau
You may choose a Morpheus power boon, a Morpheus survivability boon, or a Morpheus utilityboon and this applies only to you.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
I will take Morpheus survivability.
Tau
You have foreseen that you will overcome insurmountable odds, you gain one legendary resistance for this run. Whenever you fail a saving throw when you wish you had succeeded instead you just say no, I'm using my legendary resistance here.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
That is very cool. Okay, thank you.
Tau
So Morpheus, even though his eyes are inscrutable through his small black spectacles, you see a smile curl on his lips as you wade back into the fog of war through the gate of horn and you emerge with a gasp...
[SFX: Lava bubbles and splashes. The guitar music carries echoes of the title theme music.]
Tau
...from the lava and are thrown to a stone platform...
Giancarlo (Rolf)
(coughs)
Tau
...right next to the bone raft. You have not lost your death defiance. You have not even used your adrenaline autoinjector but you are back at half of your maximum health.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Okay.
Tau
And this was instantaneous to everybody else.
Amanda (Annie)
Woah.
Nicholas (Alexander)
So it went in the lava and then...
Tau
It looked like he was like spit out of the lava and crashed landed next to you.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Is the bone Hydra still around?
Tau
Yeah, as soon as you were spat back out its head came back up above the lava.
[SFX: The bone hydra emerges with a groan and splashes of lava. Battle music returns.]
Tau
We are back in combat. That is Alexander's turn.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Okay. Gonna finish it off. Okay, a 12 does not land. One swing and a miss.
[SFX: The sword whiffs it.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
15 is just enough, right?
Tau
It is just enough.
Amanda (Annie)
(breathless) Oh my gosh.
Tau
Yeah, just describe how you kill it.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Okay, yeah, so the the head comes back up and it comes to bite at Alexander, but he stabs the sword through the top of the mouth, like going from up under the roof of the mouth out.
[SFX: A crack of bone.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
And then Alexander steps on the bottom jaw. And he puts his two hands on the hilt of his sword to kind of break the hydra's jaw by pushing it up up up so like the mouth starts going to like 180 degree angle, like (grunts)...
[SFX: A roar and a CRACK.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
...to snap it in half.
Tau
A voice from above says "Talk about a palette swap." As soon as you just snap the hydra's jaw, it goes...
[SFX: Lamenting roar of pain.]
Tau
...as it sinks slowly into the magma, which consumes it and you have now felled a hydra head.
Amanda (Annie)
Annie's gonna run over to Rolf and make sure that he's okay and she's gonna be like, "Rolf, Rolf, Rolf! Are you still with us? Rolf?"
Giancarlo (Rolf)
(tired, depressed) "It looks like I'm going to continue to be with you for the foreseeable future."
Amanda (Annie)
"Well, you don't have to sound so happy about it."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"No more mistakes."
Tau
You sense something off about Rolf, not like a he's off, just like there is some kind of like, like when you've all gotten boons, you've all collectively seen yourselves grow in power. You sense a power around Rolf that you don't recognize in everybody else.
Nicholas (Alexander)
"How did you get out?"
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"I would explain if I could. Morpheus was there. If you know him."
Michael (Arete)
"Ohh. Yeah, he haunts my dreams."
Amanda (Annie)
"He's really good at that."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Yeah."
Amanda (Annie)
"Are you alright?"
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"I'm fine."
Amanda (Annie)
"Are you sure? Like you say fine, like, you know, like, oh, yeah, like I'm fine. But I'm really not fine or like, are you? Are you just fine, like..."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"No more mistakes. This is all there is. Battle. I escaped it in one life yet here we are now. So if the gods want to make this fight for all of eternity, then we must do it well."
Nicholas (Alexander)
I'm getting ready to put my hand on the heart thingie.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Let's go."
Tau
Alexander touches the heart icon on the raft.
[SFX: Gentle glass clink.]
Tau
And the raft immediately start speeding through the magma. You move past these large geysers of sulfur and you see these large outcroppings of bone emerging from the magma in the shape of giant teeth. But like so big that you could like sit on them almost. You pass along stone ruins as if they were once standing in a field. But obviously, there's just magma now. And you remember that Asphodel once used to be a meadow, this place used to be all grassy green. And now the river Phlegethon seems to just be completely overtaking it. And you get the sense that if you were to come back to this place, maybe even one escape attempt after this, there might be even less ground to stand on. So there is rapidly less and less space to maneuver through here. The raft finally stops next to kind of this small pier of stone and you see again, just small snaking paths of rock around you and you see them branch off in two directions. 150 feet to your left, you see another raft and 150 feet to your right you see another raft.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Rolf walks to the right.
Michael (Arete)
Arete follows.
Tau
Is everybody going to the right?
Amanda (Annie)
This can't be good, Annie's gonna follow.
[SFX: Outro music.]
ROGUE RUNNERS Volume 1: In the Blood, stars our players Nicholas Benetatos as Alexander the Great, Amanda Facosta as Anastasia Pantazis, Giancarlo Herrera as Rolf Yannik, and Michael Pisani as Arete Laskaris. Dungeon Mastering and NPC voices are by me, Tau Zaman. Cover art by Chandler Candela. Audio editing by Daniel Manning. Sound design and editing by Giancarlo Herrera. Title music by Sage G.C., with vocals by Jessica Dahlgren and Sage G.C. Character theme music by Giorgio Volpe. Additional music by Epidemic Sound. Transcription by Eli Barraza.
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