175: Does The Rainbow Trout Have A Sister?

## Summary

The festive atmosphere seems to have gotten the best of Batthwack who, in a moment of pure impulse, casts *Zone of Truth* on the entire tavern, resulting variously in arguments, flirting, and soul searching from the villagers. Will and Raphina find themselves on the receiving end of unwanted attractions from a pair of giggly women and a drunk guy, respectively, Dew has a heart-to-heart with Brom, and Batthwack learns about the lizardfolks' raids on Norton. Eventually as the bar begins to quieten down, they discover that the spell has also caused one passed-out reveller to unconsciously repeat a mysterious phrase over and over again in a high-pitched voice: *"Beware! Beware! Six Rivers is in peril! Fragments of depraved gods have been set loose! Change abounds!"* The group are just trying to wrap their heads round this latest turn of events, when the "ticket float" begins and they awkwardly end up winning most of the tickets.

## Synopsis

Batthwack's *Zone of Truth* blasts out and silence fills the tavern as the piano player stops in a jangle of notes. Everybody is turned to look at Batthwack. *"Bless you,"* says Dew. Eventually Batthwack speaks *"Let's enjoy the evening everyone! Drinks for everyone!"* The crowd erupts in cheers and applause. The celebratory mood in the room is quickly resumed, and everyone certainly seems happy to accept the drinks on Batthwack's behalf. He's aware who has succumbed to his spell, which is the vast majority of the room. They're apparently untrained in resisting magical assaults of this kind. Raphina failed to resist it and Dew and Captain Clockface voluntarily succumbed. A few here and there did resist it, including Will.

As everyone begins crowding to the bar, the bartender looks over at Batthwack questioningly to see if he was actually serious. Batthwack gives a big thumbs up. He yanks out his coin purse, hoists it up, noticing it is quite heavy. It's almost difficult to lift up. The currant wine begins flowing as people enthusiastically stock up on drinks. People start crowding up to Batthwack saying, *"Wow, how did you do that? We've never seen anything like that before!"* They're patting him on the back and toasting him. They're genuinely very impressed and awestruck by this display.

A very giggly woman approaches Will. It seems as though she's had a few cups of wine. *"You see over there,"* she says as she points to a nearby table where another woman is looking angrily back at her, *"that's Beatrice. She er... She thinks you're cute. And I'm not lying."* Will thinks this is a prank. Arms crossed and looking complete uninterested, he declines the offer to go and talk to her. It then dawns on him that there's a potential place to stay on the cards here. The woman who approached him says they live with their parents. Will tries to evaluate Beatrice's cleanliness, wondering to himself if she looks like someone who would keep a clean home.

The woman asks Will *"Want to come back with us to Beatrice's house?"* She continues, *"Oh, I mean, I think you're pretty cute too."* Will assesses her coldly. She's wearing a dress, plainly made, but it's well kept. They both look like they have put effort into making themselves look good for the evening. They don't look rich, but they don't especially poor either. Will is not attracted to them in anyway, but decides he might as well investigate the opportunity that's presenting itself here. He throws up his hands and accompanies them to their table, the woman grabbing his elbow as they go.

Raphina, busy ordering 5 more wines at the bar, is suddenly soaked down one side when the person next to her has a large flagon of ale poured over his head. She turns to look and sees the woman who poured the drink storming away and out of the tavern, looking furious. The soakee is glum and making no effort to wipe his face off or shake his hair out. Raphina takes off her cloak and uses the dry half to mop him a little. He gives her a rueful smile and explains *"I wouldn't answer her question. She asked me if I was cheating on her with her sister. She wouldn't have liked the answer."* Raphina's not impressed. She says goodbye and begins to walk away, but the wet guy asks who she is and she introduces herself. He compliments her name and Raphina gets the sense that he's flirting with her. He's an elf, but he's in his equivalent 50s human age. He has a lopsided grin and is holding onto the table to steady himself. They chat a little and he says he has a ticket for the raffle. He's never seen the Rainbow Trout before. He says his name is Delbin. Raphina thinks the name is familiar. Batthwack is behind her in the bar and says she's thinking of Delban, the Star of Ice and Hate. Just to be sure, she asks Delbin if he hates ice. He says he hates it when his wife nags.

Brom is sitting off to the side with his arms crossed, looking displeased. Dew approaches him and learns that he's unhappy about Batthwack's spell, saying *"Your friend there just decided to throw his witchcraft around the place."* Dew says he didn't think Batthwack meant any harm by it. Brom replies *"Spellcasters. They all think they know what's best for everybody."* Dew asks if he had a bad experience and Brom explains *"We don't get many of them through these parts. You know we occasionally get someone travelling through that can throw some sparks around or whatnot, and everybody kind of goes wild for it."* He's clearly had a few drinks and is possibility under the influence of the Zone of Truth. He goes on to explain that when he was young his mother left home to travel to Carnivar to become a wizard. *"Went to study over at the Thaumaturgy Conservatory and never came back"* He's never heard from her since. Dew explains that the party's magic was put to good use defeating Strahd. Brom apologises for bringing down the mood, he just has a bad relationship with magic. He tells Dew that his mother's name is Veronica Trill. Dew says they'll look out for her if they make it to Carnivar. Brom thanks him, but wonders what good it will do; she could have got in touch any time if she'd wanted to. Dew offers to refill Brom's drink.

Batthwack goes to check in on the bartender. He pulls out a piece of paper which he unfolds three or four times, and with a slightly worried tone says the bill totals up to 10gp. Batthwack hands over 20gp, saying this should cover all the extra trouble. Dew arrives to grab another wine for Brom. The bartender is very grateful for the generosity. Batthwack says they've had a harrowing last few days and weeks, so being in Norton is a nice break and the bartender agrees, saying *"I think it is a place of great tranquillity."* Batthwack asks for any general advice in the village and is told *"We're kind of in the middle of nowhere here. It's pretty much Norton and then woods."* They say that Beartoggle is the nearest city, southeast downriver. They get shipments from Beartoggle every so often, but most of the stuff they have is relatively local. The river is the only route; there aren't any roads. He tells Batthwack that it's a very close-knit community. They all know each other, though of course there are troublemakers now and then.

Batthwack asks the bartender about the lizardfolk. The bartender says they're *"a bit of a plague on us. I don't know exactly what they're after. They raid us, take food and supplies and whatnot and head back off."* He says they've had some casualties, but the Rainbow Trout keeps them as safe as he can. He says the raids are a relatively new development in the past two years or so, wondering out loud if they just moved in or if they suddenly got brave. He describes them as pretty tough fighters. They come from somewhere up river, so the village-folk don't go in that direction. He says that a year and a half ago, a few villagers mounted up and went to try and root out the lizardfolk, but never came back. Batthwack asks who in the village maintains their weapons, but the bartender says there's only the West Shore Mercantile, which has some simple weapons, but mostly sells fishing gear. There isn't an armoursmith in the village, just a smithy, but they deal with just the more mundane goods. He says their safety is really down to the *"the blessings and goodwill"* of the Rainbow Trout. The bartender proudly says he did have an audience with the Rainbow Trout many years ago. Batthwack slides him a gold piece and invites him to have a drink if he'll tell him about his experience. The bartender says that in his youth he collected a huge pile of tickets, having cleaned up on the *Hold the Wine* game and won the raffle. *"I was the only one that year. It was me and me alone. I got a one-on-one."* He says the interaction that he and the Rainbow Trout had was personal and private, but he does say that Batthwack should hope for an audience with the Trout because it was certainly a life changing experience for him.

Batthwack promises to come back tonight or in the morning to settle up the bar bill. The bartender is very grateful and gives Batthwack a sealed bottle. *"This is a special whiskey. We get this up from Beartoggle. It actually comes all the way over from Bufflin somewhere. It is a fine, fine, fine drink."* Batthwack thanks him, saying he'll save it for a special occasion. Batthwack asks if Bufflin is where Tivoli is, but the bartender says he hasn't heard of it, being way up north. Looking at the bottle, he sees it says it is distilled in Bufflin city, which is on the Bufflin River.

Batthwack goes back over to the group to see if anyone wants to play any more games. Raphina shouts *"Greased Pig! Greased Pig!"* and three or four people jump up, saying *"Where?!"* and run out the door.

Will is talking to the two women and starts quizzing them about the Rainbow Trout. They're both drunk, and the unnamed woman who first approached Will is still doing most of the talking. Will asks if the Trout is a fish or a person? They just say *"He's a god!"* Will asks them if they've ever won, but they say they haven't. He asks why no-one ever talks about their experience of meeting him and they explain that apparently it's private. Will wonders if the god is diddling the townsfolk somehow. Beatrice's friend notices that Will hasn't had a drink and calls for someone to bring him one. Batthwack appears and puts one in his hand. They encourage him to drink and keep flirting with him, saying he's funny. Beatrice's friend keeps putting a hand on Will's shoulder. He learns that her name is Molly. Will continues to steer the conversation back to the Rainbow Trout, and Molly says *"He keeps us safe, he protects us, he fills our nets,"* and on the subject of why the Trout is kept in a temple, *"He's always been there."* Really though she's not interested in talking about the Trout. Molly says they've not been playing the raffle games; they've been waiting for someone like Will to come in and Will wonders how often new people come to the village. Molly says *"Oh, we were thinking maybe Jeremy would come in, or Travis."*

Beatrice is sitting very quietly, looking very shy and embarrassed about her friend. Also, it's bad enough that they know she finds Will attractive; she doesn't want to say anything else under the influence of the *Zone of Truth*. Molly's definitely more drunk than her too. Will *Messages* Batthwack to ask if these two failed to resist the spell and learns that they did. He tells them about the airship crash and Molly starts patting him sympathetically. Will *Prestidigitates* an electric shock. He explains they're looking for somewhere to stay, and Molly's keen they stay with them at Beatrice's place in the village, which she says is small, but she lives on her own, whereas Molly lives with her parents. They're both relatively young. Molly says *"I just haven't got my own place. I don't know. I'm not really worried about that. Beatrice wanted her own space. She and her parents didn't get along too well."* Will begins looking for a way out, saying that he thinks the rest of the group want to play more games.

By this time things are slightly quieting down in the tavern. People are still having fun, but as time has drawn on, some people have filed out and there's the sense that it's getting towards the end of the festival proper. Now that it's a little quieter, suddenly Batthwack and Will are aware of a muffled high-pitched sound coming from where Murray is slumped over a table, his head in his arms, completely passed out. Batthwack goes over to see if he's ok, but he's not responding. He flips him over to check he doesn't need medical attention and suddenly they can hear that despite being comatose he is speaking in a very unusual high-pitched voice:

> "...have been set loose! Change abounds! Beware! Beware! Six Rivers is in peril! Fragments of depraved gods have been set loose! Change abounds! Beware! Beware! Six Rivers is in peril! Fragments of depraved gods have been set loose! Change abounds! Beware! Beware!"
>
>

Batthwack shakes Murray. He's still passed out, but he keeps uttering this phrase over and over. Raphina grabs somebody's drink near her and splashes it on his head. He carries on regardless. Will runs over and slaps him squarely across the face. No change. Everybody in the bar has gone silent and is looking on at this. Batthwack puts his arm around Murray's limp frame and hauls him to his feet. He casts *Detect Magic*. Apart from all the known magical items and spells already underway, nothing else is detected. He drags Murray out of the tavern and as soon as he leaves the *Zone of Truth*, he suddenly falls silent. Batthwack moves Murray's body back into the zone and he immediately starts speaking in the same high-pitched voice again. He tries casting *Dispel Magic,* but he's not sure if it worked because at just that moment the *Zone of Truth* spell ends and Murray falls silent.

A little bit of a crowd has gathered around the doorway, looking out at them from the tavern. They're clearly finding all this very exciting. Dew asks them if Murray's ever done that before, and the crowd shakes their head and says he hasn't. Someone says *"What do you do to him?"* Batthwack says *"I don't know. He just started talking. It's like he was dreaming. Talking in his sleep or something."* The group try to work out what Murray meant. It begins to dawn on Will that this nightmare may not be over just yet. He says *"Change abounds. What does that mean? What does this mean? All right you guys, we need to go to sleep and get ready to kill more shit tomorrow, right? Fuck!"*

At that moment, a young boy runs up to the tavern and shouts *"Guys! Guys! The ticket float! It's starting, it's starting!"* The crowd gathered in the tavern look very excited and push past the group. Brom notices them and says *"This is where they pick the tickets!"* Everyone moves off, leaving the group with Murray. Will is still very perturbed by this latest turn of events. He tries to convince himself that the "fragments of depraved gods" could refer to a chopped-up fish god. *"You know what? Good thing I'm not an adventurer. Batthwack's gonna take me home and everything is gonna be totally fine."*

Raphina wants to go to the ticket float, but Batthwack is quietly contemplating what to do, wondering if they need to talk to Murray. Is he not who he seems to be? They suggest dunking him in the river to see if he wakes up. Batthwack wants to settle up with the bartender first, but he's not there, having apparently left with the crowd.

They head over to the river, passing the well in the square, and see that one of the panels, clearly decorated by a child, has a yellow ribbon pinned on it. The attendant/judge is standing nearby, arms crossed, smiling at Will. Will can't resist calling out to say that he doesn't care; he was just trying to make the contest fair. The attendee doesn't reply. Raphina shouts *"I would've picked that one too. It's gorgeous!"*

At the river, there's a large crowd gathered on the bank. They're gathering around a container, where they're writing their names on their tickets and putting them in. Raphina stamps her tickets with a little rubber stamp she pulls out of her Lanky Pack. Dew takes his 10 tickets and hands them over to a kid, who looks up at him with big eyes, and gratefully accepts them. Standing apart from the crowd, in the shallows of the river, are three relatively young people who appear to be in charge: two dwarves and an elf. A woman in the middle says *"Welcome everyone to the final event of the* Festival of the Rainbow Trout*! The* Great Ticket Float*!"* Everybody cheers. Woo! Yay! *"Only a select few will be chosen to have an audience with the Rainbow Trout. The tickets have been entered. Hopefully your skills have earned you many chances."* There are nets stretched across the river, from the shore almost all the way out to the temple. The nets are positioned one behind the other, four in total. The official to the left of the first speaker picks up the container and walks upstream of the nets. The speaker shouts *"Neil! Release the tickeeeeets!"* There are cheers and screams. The container is dumped into the river and the tickets begin floating downstream. Many of them get caught on the first net, but some make their way through to the next net and so on and so forth. More and more get caught as they float onwards. The third official has made her way downstream. It seems apparent that whichever tickets make it past the first three nets and settle in the fourth, will be the winning tickets.

A hush has fallen over the crowd. One ticket makes it way through to the last net... then another... and then two more. Finally, one more ticket makes it through. *"That's it! We have our winners! Five tickets. That's quite a large haul this year. Many chances! Who knows, maybe this will be your first time to visit the Rainbow Trout. Let's see. Martine, please read off our winners."* Dew provides a drum roll on a nearby barrel.

Martine starts to read off the names. *"Raphina!"* Everybody looks around. Nobody knows who that is, but they all clap, good-naturedly. *"Batt Hwack!"* Everybody's slightly confused again. Dew starts to look nervous. *"Robin!"* Everybody knows who that is. *"Batt Wack!"* Dew is concerned. Robin she has gone up and claimed her ticket. With a smile on her face, she goes over and she hands it to Brom. He tries to refuse it but she insists and he takes it from her and they hug. The final name is read out, *"Batt Wack!"* The crowd begin murmuring at this point, *"Is it one of those new people?"* Dew thinks back to what Brom had told him about his dislike of magic, and now this. Someone near Dew mentions that if anyone has won multiple tickets, they can choose to give them to whoever they like. They say they've never known anyone to win more than one ticket.

Batthwack walks forward to correct his ticket. Dew approaches him and suggests they should share them out. The speaker announces *"The winners have been chosen!"* and as the sky begins to lighten in the east, she says *"Ah look, dawn is cresting. It is time for the winners to visit with the Rainbow Trout."* **Day 2!**

Batthwack hands Dew a ticket, who says he's going to give it to someone local. A sea of hopeful faces look back at him. He hands it to the kid he gave his tickets to earlier. They're very excited and run over to where Brom is standing. Batthwack gives Will a ticket. The speaker asks them *"Are you ready to see the Rainbow Trout?"* Will's first thought is *"Do I have to walk through this river?"* Brom and the kid are making their way over to the temple. They also see Beatrice and Molly among the crowd. Molly is talking to a tall, blonde young man who seems to be interested in what she's saying. *"Ew, Jeremy. Jeremy, fuck off!"* shouts Will, but someone else in the crowd responds offendedly. Batthwack dunks Murray in the river and this seems to have desired effect as he immediately comes round. They quiz him and he tells them he feels fine and doesn't remember anything that happened or even if he had any weird dreams. He wanders off towards the shore. Batthwack and Raphina follow Brom in the direction of the temple. Will takes his shoes and socks off, rolls up his trouser legs and wades across. He considers casting *Fly* but doesn't feel sure about it at the moment. Under their feet they feel smooth flat river stones paving the way, perhaps by design. They head across the river to the temple, the impending sunrise in front of them, shades of purple fading into red appearing on the horizon.

## Trivia

* The episode title quotes Alex. Raphina is talking to a drunk guy, Delbin, who's flirting with her, having just got in trouble with his wife for cheating on her with her sister. It's complicated. Raphina says *"Have you ever seen the god before?"* Delbin: *"No, I've never gotten an audience with the Rainbow Trout. I have not. Maybe today is my day. Tonight is my night."* Raphina: *"Did the sister ever see the Rainbow Trout?"* Delbin: *"I don't... Maybe?"* Alex: *"Does the Rainbow Trout have a sister?!"*