Quiet Riot

**Quiet Riot** is the 5th Oxventure episode, in which the Guild try to retrieve some wheels.

## Synopsis

As the first episode begins, the freshly leveled-up Oxventurers encounter a waylaid travelling troupe, accidentally recruit a jester, and investigate the mysterious Paladin Order that has the town of Inkwater very quietly terrified.

## Summary

A couple of days after their latest adventure, during which they gained some levels and joined a few factions, the Oxventurers seek a bit of rest and relaxation in the town of Inkwater. While wandering, the Guild comes across a peculiar wooden object lying in the road. Flannery the Jester waves them down and starts seeking their assistance, but the team interrupts, requesting to speak to someone else. The wooden object is revealed to be a large carriage, and Lady Fyengeh emerges from a sliding door on its side. She explains that they are a troupe of touring minstrels who had intended to stage a show in a nearby town. However, their plans were thwarted by men in shining armor who deemed the troupe sacrilegious and confiscated their carriage wheels. Agreeing to help, the Oxventurers decide to take Flannery with them instead of negotiating a price.

As they set out, Lady Fyengeh reminds Flannery to brief them about the golden wheels. Flannery dutifully explains that the wheels are actually made of gold-plated steel. Though slightly disappointed, the Guild decides they will simply melt the gold off. Flannery, however, continues to ramble on incessantly.

Upon arriving in town, they quickly notice that while it isn't eerily silent, the locals are making a concerted effort to keep noise to a minimum. Since it's market day, Corazón begins to peddle his wares. After haggling with an elderly woman over a "Don't be a Dob" t-shirt, he inquires about the unusual quietness. Instead of answering verbally, the woman fearfully gestures up the street toward a square castle situated atop a nearby hill.

As they make their way towards the castle, they pass by a tavern where two town guards are painstakingly affixing a notice to the door. The notice reads, "Closed by Mandate of the Sacred Order of Keeping It Down." It becomes clear that the stolen wheels were not prized for their gold, but were instead taken to prevent a noisy concert.

They gather information from one of the guards, learning that the order is merely renting the castle and has recently intensified its crackdown on noise within the town. Deciding to free the town from these restrictions, the Guild hatches a plan. Due to the castle's formidable defenses, they formulate a strategy to lure some of the paladins away with a loud disturbance, steal their armor, and infiltrate the castle under the guise of guards and prisoners.

Amidst the eagerness of Egbert and Dob to set off an explosive device, they eventually opt to ring the bell of a nearby church as their noisy distraction. Arriving at the church, they discover that it had been closed down under allegations of "heresy." This leads the Guild to the realization that the Order's restrictions even extend to the prohibition of weddings, fueling their indignation. Corazón deftly picks the lock and uses Grease to silence the creaky hinges. While entering the church, Dob and Corazón effortlessly glide through the greased entrance, Flannery exhibits his acrobatic skills, and the rest of the group stumbles and slips on the grease. Upon examining the bell, they find that the clapper has been removed, but luckily, Egbert has a mace.

They set up an ambush, with Egbert vigorously striking the bell and singing tunelessly, while the others lie in wait behind pillars in the church. The streets clear of civilians, and what is initially thought to be a ballista in the fort turns out to be a banner bearing the words "KEEP IT DOWN." Six armored paladins descend the walls by rappelling. Merilwen casts Spike Growth behind the grease, intending to inflict some damage on the paladins. Unfortunately, the group hadn't considered the significant damage dealt by the Spike Growth spell. As the paladins enter, five of them fail to notice the trap and are obliterated without ever spotting a single Oxventurer. Horrified by the unintentional carnage, everyone reacts, and Egbert ends up vomiting over the side of the church. The last paladin attempts to flee but is put to sleep and restrained. Egbert interrogates the survivor, who elaborates on their order's beliefs but remains tight-lipped about tactical details. Influenced by the recent violence, Dob and Corazón use the Heat Metal spell to threaten the lone paladin, and after warning of dire consequences, he gives in, revealing that there are ten more paladins. However, he discloses that the Order cannot abandon their post.

After acquiring the paladins' armor, the Guild confines them to an office and places a corpse on the altar for show. Disguised as guards, with Merilwen, Corazón, and Flannery in uniform, and the rest posing as prisoners, they make their way toward the castle. Dob suggests using his disguise kit to make Prudence look less conspicuous, prompting Cthulhu to question whether she could have made any ordinary friends. Using a secret signal, they manage to convince the castle's occupants and are welcomed by a guard. Prudence and Dob intentionally provoke the guard, setting the tone for their interactions. In the castle's main hall, they are briefed by the Watch Commander, who inadvertently reveals the wheels' location. Before being escorted out, Egbert employs his Command spell to compel the Watch Commander to "shout," resulting in the commander yelling, "I AM THE WATCH COMMANDER. I LOVE MY JOB." By pulling a rope, the Watch Commander silently triggers an alarm based on banners and surrenders himself as a heretic. Other paladins arrive and are convinced to take the Watch Commander down to the dungeon.

In the dungeon, Dob and Prudence instigate a commotion to draw more guards into their cell, inadvertently causing Corazón and Merilwen to tumble to the floor. Taking charge, Corazón locks the others in the lower level and makes a rather unsuccessful attempt to headbutt a nearby paladin. Not only does he miss, but he fails to smoothly recover, sparking combat. Egbert bestows a blessing upon the party, Corazón cleaves a man into three, and Merilwen transforms into a bear, much to Corazón's surprise, beheading a paladin before their adversaries can react. A calming lullaby from Dob prompts one guard to turn against his comrades, incapacitating one of them. When it's the guard's turn, they encounter Bearilwen and Corazón standing over two lifeless bodies. Swiftly, all three are subjected to a religious re-education and are subsequently incinerated by Egbert's divine fire. After bathing the Watch Commander in Merilwen's Moonbeam, the fight concludes.

However, their triumph is abruptly interrupted by violent tremors and a resounding roar. Two of the defeated paladins volunteer to aid the Guild, and Corazón releases them from their cell. In the central hall, they confront a massive Owlbear that the Order had attempted to keep in slumber by silencing everyone. To their astonishment, Merilwen initiates the battle by casting Animal Friendship, promptly calming the creature. Prudence contemplates killing it while under the spell's influence, but Dob dubs it "Owlsworth," dissuading her from the act. Flannery proposes using it in Lady Fyengeh's performances, yet neither Merilwen nor Dob approve of the idea. Ultimately, Merilwen persuades the group to release Owlsworth far from civilization. Dob locates the wheels and employs the Heat Metal spell to strip away the gold, exposing the underlying steel. With the wheels recovered, a subdued victory procession ensues through the town.

Upon their return to the carriage, the steel wheels are reattached to the Omnibus. Merilwen transforms into a bear, and with Owlsworth's assistance, they lift the bus, enabling the wheels to be reinstalled. Lady Fyengeh is overjoyed by the return of the steel wheels to the Fyengeh Bus, and the troupe launches into the grandest concert the town has ever witnessed. Owlsworth bids the Guild farewell and dashes into the forest, and everyone is pretty sure he won't harm anyone ever again.

## Notable Events

* Corazón casts his first spell, grease, with a bacon sandwich. This then leads to...
* Merilwen's Meatgrinder. In one round of combat a full detatchment of paladins have their "feet stabbed to near death" as Egbert manically tolls a huge bell above. 1 is killed instantly while 5 others are mortally wounded.
* Merilwen wildshapes into a bear for the first time.

## Guild Hijinks

* "Fighting for love" and "Not thinking about things" are settled on as the two core pillars of the Guild.
* Once again they manage to sidestep the big boss with ease.

## Character Development

* Much to his relief Corazón discovers that Merilwen doesn't mind his swearing.
* Egbert realises that sometimes bombs aren't the only option and is deeply satisfied by just ringing the bell rather than blowing it up.
* Despite their initial hostility the Guild eventually comes to love Flannery.

## Trivia

* This episode is named after the band Quiet RiotW.

## Behind The Scenes Trivia

* The outside shot of the town church is from a church located in Peterborough, England.
* The image used to depict the lawman Corazón speaks to is a painting by Henry Stacy Marks of Dogberry, a character from Shakespeares "Much Ado About Nothing"
* Lady Fyengeh and her traveling band of minstrels is a reference to the 1999 song "We Like to Party" by the European pop music group The Vengaboys. The joke was surprisingly well hidden until the end of the campaign and particularly wrecked Andy, causing him to be paranoid about Vengaboys references in a later campaign.
* When they first come into the town of Inkwater to converse with the townspeople, Andy, Luke, Mike, Johnny and Ellen are all really whispering, with Jane being the only one sensible enough to simply state that her character was whispering.
* This was the first time they levelled up on camera, adding a ton of new spells to their repertoire. Some of these spells have been unused.
* Technically, the Animal Friendship spell shouldn't have worked, since the Owlbear isn't classified as an animal, but Johnny liked the plan so much they allowed it to happen.