Episode 14: Trial by Combat (The Galaderon Saga)

**Trial by Combat** is the fourteenth episode in the series and the second episode of The Galaderon Saga.

The party heads to Galaderon Castle to meet the boy king and defend Beverly's dad, who is peeved as ever. Moonshine dusts off her Crick lawyering skills, Hardwon learns more about his mysterious past, and Beverly goes all out to save his family.

## Plot Synopsis

This episode opens in the living room of Beverly's house, with the three paladins who came to tell him that his father was under arrest. They ask him to go wake his mom up, and he goes to get her. Then, he wakes up Moonshine, Hardwon, and Paw Paw.

They all go downstairs to talk to the paladins again, and they inform them that, because the Boy King of Galaderon wants to have a party as soon as possible, the trial will be happening in about an hour. It is revealed that the Boy King loves trial by combat, and that Moonshine is a lawyer down at the Crick. After a brief discussion, and a wardrobe change on Moonshine's part, they all head to the castle for the trial.

Once there, the Band of Boobs discover that Beverly Toegold IV's lawyer is going to be Duncan Pebblepot, father of the notoriously craven Scoutmaster Denny. Beverly's dad is brought out, and the Boobs see that he has been magically blinded in some way. Duncan Pebblepot begins his defense, but it quickly becomes clear that he is incompetent and will mostly likely doom Beverly's dad, so Beverly challenges the champion of the Boy King to trial by combat.

Before the fight begins, Beverly's dad tells him he is proud of him, even though he can't see what's going to happen at all. It is revealed that Beverly is going to be fighting The Crag, who is a half-orc barbarian. The Crag is very enthusiastic about the idea of killing both Beverlys, and strikes first. After an extended duel, in which Beverly's dad reminds him that he has to use magic in order to get past barbarian damage resistance, the Crag defeats Beverly, and it takes Moonshine and Hardwon stepping in to protect him. Moonshine prevents Beverly IV's immediate execution by suggesting having an execution party on the weekend, which buys them a few days time.

After the unsuccessful trial by combat, they regroup with Mrs. Toegold, who gloomily accepts her husband's fate. Beverly does not, and Galad suggests they investigate associates of the Widow at the airship docks. They find the SS Stormborn, a beaten up old ship being secretly repaired by a humanoid rat and bear, the accomplices described by Galad. They decide to try to get information from them under the guise of Beverly selling R. Cane, which quickly falls apart. A fight begins to break out, but when Hardwon calls himself the Pride of the Dwarphanage, the rat man, Red, pauses. Red reveals that he is the one who dropped Hardwon off, and was a friend of his parents. Furthermore, his dad was a captain of the ship they're currently on, and Hardwon's birth name is the same as his father's: Elias Stormborn. The fighting stops as Hardwon is shocked by this information, and Red then reveals that the Widow is none other than his mother.

## Quotes

* "Rise and shine, we're in the shit again." – Beverly Toegold V.

## Music/ Sound Effects

* "City in the Clouds" by Emily Axford.
* "Court of the Boy King" by Emily Axford.
* "The Twinkling Lights of Galaderon" by Emily Axford.
* "The Widow" by Emily Axford.
* "Woodpecker and Other Birds" by Kyster at Freesound.org.
* "Club Chatter, London" by mlteenie at Freesound.org.
* "Crackling Fire" by sagetyrtle at Freesound.org.
* "Grenade" by Ljudmann at Freesound.org.
* "Glasshouse" by Themfish at Freesound.org.
* "CINEMATICBOOMNORM" by HerbertBoland at Freesound.org.

## External Links

* Headgum
* Spotify
* NAD&DP Subreddit Thread