Episode 10: Further In

**Episode 10: Further In** - (1x10) A beguiling ghost barmaid, a screaming spider creature chef, and a living war game later The Nearlies continue to explore the Inn of Inn’s and find a threadbare legend. Careful who you startle awake.

Then, without warning, the story’s first Quest comes to an end, and another begins. Something deep and dark is happening beneath the inn and those crackpots outside can’t be trusted with the secrets under the Sacred Tavern, so the Nearlies head down below and their uncertain futures begin, as many heroes traditionally have… killing giant rats in a basement.

## Cast

### Nearlies

Josh | Xenator Brisbane
Kathy | Lavaleen Crest
Andy | Martin Sirque
Amanda | Gwendylyn Cloot
 Robbie | The Speaker
 Aaron |  Production & Sound

### NPCs

APPEARING
 Sarah
 Dodderfell
 Von Dark
 MENTIONED
 Orgess Ungerverden
 Izarizal
 Manni

## Summary

The Nearlies, after some continued searching, find a hidden passage in the back of the fireplace that leads to Captain First Class Ladimeer Von Dark. There is some initial miscommunication, and Martin's arm gets cut off, but they Nearlies succeed in convincing Von Dark to give them Hero Badges. After obtaining the Badges, and some other gifts, one of the actors runs in legitimately bleeding. There are mutated rats in the basement, presenting the Nearlies with their first Main Quest.

After dealing with the rats that were attacking Orgess Ungerverden, there is a roar in the distance. It is whatever creature that mutated and released the rats.

## Synopsis

### Prologue

The story opens to Marken, still stuck on the One Way Road, bitter about his fate, and the loss he suffered at the hands of the Nearlies.  The One Way Road, seeming to dislike his presence, sent continues Nudges at Marken, not allowing him to stop or rest.

There is a shift and he is finally allowed to exit the road, leaving him in a small clearing.  He is suddenly attacked by archers.  One of the attackers was a hunter, a wild kind, appearing to be a dog.  “I can’t believe it, he’s seen her.”  The dog says he will get Marken patched up, so then he can answer some questions.

### Episode

Lavaleen, who has been standing by the fireplace notices something odd, that everything except the back of the fireplace is immaculately clean.  She tries to touch it and discovers that the blackness is not soot, but instead a passageway.  Lavaleen, Valeriana, and Martin go to check it out.  Gwendylyn has difficulty fitting, but casts Spirit Fire to provide a magical lantern to light the group’s way.

They find a door slightly ajar, and Lavaleen pushes is open.  It opens to a rather cozy lounge.  In one of the chairs is a Toy Soldier, sleeping, and holding a box with a hero crest on the top.  Martin shakes him to wake him.  The Soldier starts awake, and cuts off Martin’s arm that was touching him.

He realizes his mistake as he comes more fully awake.  Valeriana uses Blood Red Bandage, to staunch Martin’s bleeding, while the Soldier apologizes. Gwen creates a potion of power to also help Martin, causing Martin suddenly muscle up, but doesn’t help much with healing.  Lavaleen picks up a nearby potion at random, and successfully finds a healing potion, letting Martin’s arm be reattached.

The Toy Solider, Captain First Class Ladimeer Von Dark, continues to apologize. He was previously a Hall Guardian and, like Sarah, was called out of retirement to help after the loss of Heroes.  He was watching the inn through the stuffed Elk head’s eye, and was to hand out the hero crests to those that were worthy of them. However, he accidentally fell asleep, which is when the Nearlies found them.

The Nearlies try to convince Von Dark that they had already run through their scenario and only came to find him after nobody appeared to present them their badges, but fail to lie successfully.  He gets excited at the mention of Izarizal, so the group tries to convince him that she had been asking about him, but that failed too.  As a last resort, Gwendylyn tries to bully the badges out of him while Lavaleen stitches up the popped stitches that Von Dark suffered.  This combination finally succeeds and Von Dark passes out the Hero Badges.

Xenator expresses a desire to learn more about the Splitting of the World. Von Dark starts off being cagey and avoiding the question.  When pressed he talked about the “activation of the triune”, possibly old magic that was set long ago in case of a catastrophe.  He isn’t willing to talk more about it though.  To aid the Nearlies he takes the Watchful Eye from the stuffed elk and provides it to Lavaleen.  The bartender reappears and gives Xenator the Anything Flask.  Martin takes a bird headed umbrella

Nimbrin the actor, at this point, runs in bleeding, legitimately, this time and not because of stage makeup.  There are giant rats in the basement.  After some difficulty with convincing the group that this isn’t an acting scenario, the Nearlies are given their first Main Quest, Rats in the Basement.

The Nearlies creep down into the Basement, and see Orgess Ungerverden and large rats feasting on some dead bodies of Bills. The Nearlies immediately attack. When the rats are killed, they have a death wail, causing some of the Nearlies to become Rattled.  The Nearlies pause when they’ve killed all the rats, and they hear a roar in the distance.  Orgess Ungerverden said it was the thing that let the rats out and mutated them.  Orgess Ungerverden can only hope, that it also did not let out the Manticore.

### Epilogue

Hound had been on the hunt his whole life, first for food, then poaching, then the men who had killed his wife, Baria.  He was eventually captured and presented, shackled, and muzzled, in front of King Demm. Hound is questioned about his actions and success in killing some of Demm’s knights.  Hound can find things by scent.  He has the ability to hunt a scent based on where he would be in the future. With a fresh piece of a living thing Hound can track where a creature would be, up to a week out.  Upon confirmation of his abilities, King Demm smiled, pulled out a white feather, and said, “Find me one of these, and all will be forgiven.  More we will be friends”  Hound has been working for Demm for decades, something that King Demm had done prevented him from aging, so he was stuck continuing to hunt for Demm.  And now he was hunting for the escaped Lavaleen, but he was failing. But now he had caught a scent, and found Marken.  In one of his pockets was a piece of feather.  He had found her scent. They are leaving immediately for the Grimm Wood.

## Notables

Episode 10

 Objects Acquired

 Spells Used

 Metamorph Attempts

## Quotables

Martin:  “Lucky for you I eat nails for breakfast, and drink glass for dinner.”

          “What’s your deal umbrella!? Why are you eyeballing me from across the bar?”

          “I came here to kick ass and drink soup; and I’m all out of soup.”

## External Links

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