Episode 191 - Interlude - Family

## Interlude - Family

Skrag holding Laura-Leena. Fanart by Karlamarie Boria. Follow her: @arjunaaqualight and @karlaaqualight.

## Intro

**Episode description:**
Apologies for the delay, and some minor technical challenges with Lauren's mic this week.

**Opening Quote:**
*"Kyle, edit!"* -Stephanie

**Player introduction:**
Lauren: *"Hello and welcome to another episode of The Tabletop Champions! Tonight is gunna be a special episode, I have Ben who is playing Skrag-"*

Ben: *"Hello."*

Lauren: *"-and then I have Stephanie who is playing D’Nias!"*

Stephanie: *"Ahoy-hoy!"*

## Episode Summary

### Introducing Laura-Leena Var-Ragnall

We join with the familiar characters of Skrag and D'Nias, 25 years after the events of Season 3. They spent that time traveling, adventuring, and doing good works until D'Nias became pregnant. They settled down in D'Nias’ Mother’s home in the forest fixing it up in the process. They moved the shrine to D'Nias’ mother outside and built a garden around it in her memory out in front of the house. There D'Nias gave birth to their daughter who they named Laura-Leena, or Leena for short.

Five years after Leena’s birth D'Nias and Skrag decided to travel Irulan with their daughter, returning home often. Skrag spent these years helping raise Leena, teaching her the art of battle, how to stand her ground, and out it’s okay to rely on friends. Meanwhile D'Nias taught her the appreciation of music, how to be compassionate, and how to offer a hand, if possible, before resorting to fighting. Once she had become a young adult, they allowed Laura-Leena to go on a walkabout like D'Nias’ parents had let her all those years ago.

Due to her parents teachings Laura-Leena caught the eye of The Burning Arrow. Silo approached Leena on her walk-about and requested that she join The Burning Arrow, to which, Leena accepted. With The Arrow, Leena helps in their mission to heal the land, mend the relationship between Haven and New Doladon, and to give people a home in Haven.

### A Burning Letter

Skrag and D'Nias are used to their daughter writing home at least once every month, but her most recent letter was different in tone and came with a plea for help:

> “*Mom and dad, I know it's been a while since I visited / wrote, and for that I am sorry. Silo keeps me busy helping keep peace with New Doladon and Haven, it could be trying at times but, mom you taught me to never give up and I don't plan to. But I'm finding my ressources spread thin, and I've got a really bad feeling something terrible is about to happen.
> I keep having dreams about a group of adventurers being taken down by a dark force. A force so powerful it blotted out the sun and threw Irulan into chaos. Honestly, I'm terrified. And I need help. I saw a glimpse of a banner in my dream and I know this sounds crazy, I get this sounds crazy, but I have sent scouts out.
> A lot of my patrols never reported back to me and I don't trust anyone else with this information yet. I'm afraid they have probably met this terrible fate. If you can, please check out the ~~Zigezagar range~~ Ziragzar Spires. I have last sent them there and if you could any traces of them, any at all, that could tell you what happened to them, I would be forever in your debt. There's something in those spires, and I need to know. It could be something, it could be nothing, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
> If you choose to accept, I'll host the next holiday gathering at my place ❤ I love you, both of you. Please be safe.*”
>
> —*Leena*
>
>

A map is included, marking the small town of Westphalia130 as the last spot the Burning Arrow scouts have reported from.

### A Festival in Westphalia

Skrag and D'Nias travel to Westphalia for the next two days, reaching the town, which is famous for the fried chicken from the Westphalia Inn130, in the evening. The townsfolk seems to prepare a festival as they arrive.

Skrag lifts his wife to his shoulders, and the bard gets the attention of a large crowd of people, telling them about their quest in song. Lady D'Nias and Ser Skrag are soon recognized and celebrated as saviors of the realm, and the townspeople make them the center of their festival.

The Half-Elven mayor NPCs#Dresna greets them, and remembers the Burning Arrow scouts coming through town. She believes they ventured on to the mountain range north of the town. During a night of celebration, the people flock to D'Nias the famous bard, and she hears many **curious rumors:**

* Someone swears to have seen a full army mysteriously disappear in the mountains.
* Someone else claims the scouts planned to find an old cave at the base of the Spires.
* The forest at the foot of the Spires is said to decay for reasons unknown.
* A little girl claims to have seen a Dwarf, and that the Dwarves are coming back.

While his wife is gathering information, Skrag blends into the crowd to investigate on his own. Near the festivities he spots a Drow observing his wife, trying to spot someone else, then sneaking away into a barn and mounting a horse. Skrag follows him quietly, and grabs the Drow off of the horse as he is trying to flee. The spy is spooked, and confesses under severe threats that he was looking for them, as well as anyone else associated with the Burning Arrow. The Drow claims to work for the ***True God***, a new deity, who will dispatch of any scouts in the *Ziragzar Spires*.

Suddenly, purple tendrils grow from the nose and mouth of Skrag's prisoner, and start ripping the person apart under great pain, leaving only skeletal remains and a pile of goop. Skrag carries the remains out to an empty field, and lights them on fire, but a tendril remains alive and wraps around his arm, giving him intense pain and nightmare visions of his deepest fears. Afterward, he hurries back to D'Nias to report what he found, and they decide to leave for the mountains right away.

### A Cave at the foot of the Ziragzar

Traveling through the forest at the foot of the *Ziragzar Spires*, Skrag and D'Nias can see with their own eyes that these woods are decaying, literally rotting away. They find a small cave opening in the mountains, with the remains of four *Burning Arrow* scouts in their gear in front. Their bodies seem molten, similar to the way the Drow in Westphalia was killed. The adventurers smell a trap here, and D'Nias thinks they should inform and warn their daughter.

At this point, a monstrosity emerges from the cave: a large, skeletal head with a glowing, giant eye and a big toothy smile, surrounded by glowing orbs. D'Nias launches a Fireball at it, but the foe starts shooting rays from the glowing orbs, sending them both to magical sleep.

When they awake, they are caught in webbing inside a huge cavern, and notice that other people are caught with them. Above them, a Dwarf is susbended from the same webbing.

## Memorable Quotes

**Stephanie,** *"That's 25 years in 2 minutes!"*

**D'Nias,** *"Thaahaaanks, Skrag-see-poo!"*

**Skrag,** *"If there was anyone who could tell if that was a Dwarf, it would be us."*
**D'Nias,** *"Since we were basically the last ones to see them alive?"070*

## Trivia

* This episode features the original intro and theme which was used in the first three seasons.
* Laura-Leena Var-Ragnall appears here for the first time. She first appears in-person in episode 193.
* The name of the town with the fried chicken that Lux enjoyed so much is Westphalia130.
* When D'Nias mumbles about her and Skrag being the last people to see Dwarves alive, she's recalling when they met them in the Underdark069 070.
* The monster at the end of the episode is a Death Tyrant. When Skrag says *"Oh no, not this again!"*, he's calling back to the battle against Eutax Prime087 in season two.
* D'Nias changes her mind about *Otto's Irressitable Dance* because Death Tyrants cannot be charmed.