C2 E11

Rimeford is on the edge of its collective seat waiting for the performance in the Goblin Pitt. We are all stealing ourselves for our next steps and after last night, especially. Some of us need to do a lite murder...

## **Story**

### Long Story

Life at The Goblin Pit has been a bit chaotic as of late. Take last night for example. R'Oarc wasn't there to perform, so tavern owner Ratma Ritmo had to do the unthinkable: issue refunds. I know, I can't believe it either. Well, she's here now, and gives the performance of a lifetime. Providing you're, like, a house fly, and your life span is only like a couple hours. Anyway, T'Chuck is also working, and spending his shift chatting, talking, and otherwise being sociable. Mostly to the end of finding out if anyone knows anything about things that have been happening around town. He meets up with Bert Nidaro (spelling?), a local blacksmith who has a history with T'Chuck (who doesn't?). The only weird things he's noticed are the many-armed mechanical monstrosity running a printing press, and strange Gnome wearing a trench-coat who's been snooping around, peeking in windows and such. Weird stuff.

Something else weird that's been happening around town is this whole thing about a man in a squirrel costume? The sketches that Screech has been drawing haven't really had any locations in them (except the one showing him leaving town, that is), but there are a lot of those Wanted posters hung up around the Goblin Pit, the center of town. She makes a plan to sneak out tonight to find her rodent friend. Selene's making plans of her own, to sneak out tonight and find Professor Devin Decacog, to kill him. At around 10pm, she makes a big to-do about going up to her room, she's really sleepy, ready for beddy-bye. But she doesn't go beddy-bye. Instead, she says goodbye, to her beddy, after stuffing it so she looks like she's sleeping. And sneaky Selene, sneaky sneaks out.

She finds an employee staircase, and uses it to leave undetected, even though she's not an employee. This is, arguably, Selene's greatest crime. She follows it up with her second greatest crime, rolling badly. Selene is terrible at Stealth, which is hilarious for how much she has to do it. Case in point, she's noticed by a mysterious figure that TOTALLY ISN'T SCREECH watching her in the moonlight. He follows her, silently.

As Selene approaches The Farhold Trumpeter's caravan, she is seen by someone else, the Gnome in the trench-coat, who's comes up to meet her. He introduces himself as Dictionary Doug, and immediately becomes Mister Red's (that's me) favorite character. He's Columbo as fuck, and basically implies that he knows why Selene's there, and what her plan is. He's seen other adepts come sniffing around the Trumpeter, and things don't always turn out well for them. He also puts together that she was the one who left the note for the Gnomes to investigate Alandra Thorne a few episodes ago. He happens to agree with the note, that the priestess is, in fact, up to something. Dictionary Doug suggests that Selene go and investigate a locked door in the temple. Let's just say it would be good for her to tell her boss what's behind that door...

With that, they part ways. Selene acts as if she's returning to the Goblin Pit, but instead darts behind a corner. Doug doesn't notice, and heads off on his own, but not before recognizing something up on the rooftops, click click click. He tips his hat in acknowledgment. Selene sees movement on the rooftops, but Screech-- I MEAN, WHOEVER IT IS!!! darts out of sight, and then very much into sight, as he drops down behind her to introduce himself. He's calling himself "Drop Bear" now, and is missing the chains he wore when he was "Koala T", but he's canonically, the same character. Anyway, Selene tells him she's after Decacog, because he's spreading lies about things that the Order doesn't want lies spread about. She's just going to talk to him to politely ask him to stop. Even though Selene is trying, Drop Bear can see that she's lying. He tells her so, which starts her crying. He says there's no reason that Decacog should be dying, so unless a reason she's able to be finding, she'll have to leave him sighing. Or, breathing. Alive, in other words. I'm not as good as R'Oarc is at rhyming. Oh, that's another one!

Anyway, Drop Bear is still trying to find out where his moral lines are drawn. He doesn't think Decacog should be killed, and he also doesn't approve of Selene's idea of framing him. But, he is fine with her next idea: Casting *Sleep* on Decacog, and then destroying his printing press. They decide to team up and work together, and since they can't see Doug around anywhere, they head back toward the caravan. Selene by way of ground, and Screech by way of rooftops.

Meanwhile, R'Oarc has been searching for that someone, and it's her out on the prowl, but she's not sitting around feeling sorry for herself. Instead, she's snuck (sneaked?) out of the house, and is looking for her Koala friend. She fails to find them, but they do find her, because she's very noisy. They consider if they should continue with their Decacog attack or not, but decide to do so, and ignore R'Oarc. She's not much of a threat.

Selene approaches the caravan, and knocks. Decacog emerges, angry at being interrupted, and and wearing his special mechanical arms. Selene invites herself inside, but Decacog doesn't really mind. He's too busy working on preparing the morning edition of the paper. And while he's busy, he's distracted. And his back is turned. Giving Selene the perfect opportunity to make him go beddy-bye, by casting *Sleep* on him. This is successful. But that's when Selene sees the little blue light on the back of the arms. The light blinks once. Then twice. And then turns red. The arms, moving independently of Decacog, turn to attack Selene!

### Short

R'Oarc performs her beat poetry. T'Chuck talks to Bert Nidaro about the Gnomes in town. Selene meets one of these gnomes, a trench-coat wearing detective named Dictionary Doug, who warns her against taking out Decacog. She doesn't heed this advice. Instead, she teams up with Screech, now masquerading as "Drop Bear", to attack him in the night. She enters his caravan while he's working, and puts him to *Sleep*. But the mechanical arms he's wearing attack!

## **Trivia**

* Day 4 of the campaign.
* T'Chuck slept with Bert Nidaro, but then ghosted him
* Michael references the detective gnome who was mentioned once in a previous episode, and says that no one remembers it. I remember it, Michael. I remember it...
* Selene uses a purple ink pen to write notes in.
	+ The Goblin Pit doesn't have any purple ink pens. These are important facts worth writing down.

## **In This Episode...**

### **Cast and Player Characters**

* Michael DiMauro - *Dungeon Master*
* Tim Lanning - T'Chuck
* Jennifer Cheek - Selene von Esper
* Nika Howard - R'Oarc
* Mike Bachmann - Drop Bear (Screech Echo)

### **Non-Player Characters**

* Ratma Ritmo
* Bert Nidaro
* Dictionary Doug
* Professor Devin Decacog

### **Locations**

* Drunkeros
	+ Whispering Peaks
		- Rimeford
			* The Goblin Pit
			* The Farhold Trumpeter caravan

### **Quest Log Updates**

* [Active] - Investigate the mysterious goings-on in Rimeford
	+ [On-Hold] - Investigate the mines, eliminate the Knocker threat
* [Selene] - Investigate the light in the window of the White Spire
* [Selene] - Kill Professor Devin Decacog

### **Quotes**

* **"I don't hide my dalliances, and I'm not a secretive person!"** ~ *T'Chuck, too loudly*

* **"Mordenkainen's Magnificent Honk-Shoo!"** ~ *Jennifer Cheek, inventing new spells*

* **"I'm a new hero, you see, and I'm really trying to nail down where I draw the line. I'll murder! Probably. I'll know the line when I see it..."** ~ *~~Screech Echo~~ Drop Bear*

## **Rolls**

* **T'Chuck** rolls *Persuasion* to carouse around at The Goblin Pit - 19
	+ He gets some talk from Bert Nidaro

* **Selene** rolls *Stealth* to sneak out of The Goblin Pit undetected - 20
	+ Success - She's like a shadow

* **Selene** rolls *Stealth* again to sneak down to The Farhold Trumpeter - 4
	+ Fail - She's basked in the light of the moonlight

* **Screech** rolls *Perception* to see who it is sneaking down to The Farhold Trumpeter - 16
	+ He thinks it's Selene

* **Screech** rolls *Stealth* to follow Selene undetected (with Advantage) - 22
	+ Against Selene's *Perception* roll - 16
		- She does not see Screech

* **Selene** rolls *Deception* to convince the detective that she's on the up-and-up - 16
	+ He claims to believe her, but maybe sarcastically

* **Screech** rolls *Perception* to overhear their conversation (with Disadvantage) - 15
	+ He can't hear them

* **Selene** rolls *Insight* to see what Dictionary Doug is up to - 16
	+ He knows that he knows about what she's actually doing here

* **Selene** does another *Perception* check to see if she can find Screech - 5
	+ Against Screech's *Stealth* - 22
		- She doesn't see him

* **Selene** rolls *Stealth* to hide from Dictionary Doug - 13
	+ She feels like she's become one with the shadows

* **Screech** rolls *Stealth* to drop down behind to Selene in surprise - 25
	+ He surprises her

* **Selene** rolls *Deception* to convince "Drop Bear" that she's only going to Decacog to talk - 7
	+ Against Screech's *Insight* - 20
		- He doesn't believe that she just wants to talk...

* **Selene** rolls *Perception* to see if Dictionary Doug is around - Nat 1
	+ Nope

* **Screech** rolls *Perception* to see if Dictionary Doug is around - 9
	+ He doesn't see Doug

* **R'Oarc** rolls *Stealth* to sneak out of her room - Nat 1
	+ Against T'Chuck's *Perception* (with Disadvantage) - 24

* **Screech** rolls (another) *Stealth* to not be seen by R'Oarc - 22
	+ Against R'Oarc's *Perception* - Nat 1
		- She does not see him

* Selene and Screech roll *Perception* to notice R'Oarc trying to find Screech
	+ **Selene** - 19
	+ **Screech** - 22
		- Against R'Oarc's *Stealth* - 16
			* They notice her

* **Selene** rolls *Perception* to see if Decacog is in the caravan - 7
	+ She sees nothing

* **Screech** also rolls *Perception* to see if he's in there - 12
	+ He sees some movement inside

* **Selene** casts *Sleep* on Decacog when his back is turned - 26
	+ He goes limp,

* **Screech** rolls for Initiative - like shit