Riptide Episode 8: A Hero's Burden

> "The crew comes face to face with the terrifying source of the curse. Jay and Chip have a pretty nice time. Gillion dies." -*Episode 8 Official Description*
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## A Hero's Burden

### Characters

Chip, Gillion Tidestrider, Jay Ferin, Julian Booker, Niklaus Hendrix, Edyn Tidestrider, Rolan Loffin,

## Summary

Traveling through the forests of Loffinlot after they learn of the people's curse and place their suspicions on the mayor, Chip, Gillion, Jay and Julian arrive at a quaint cottage in the woods. Here though, Gillion discovers the reality of the curse and the concept of moral grayness as he faces the terrifyingly powerful Wish Doctor; Niklaus Hendrix.

## Episode Events

The episode begins with Gillion, Jay, Chip, and Julian walking through a flower field with magical energy, approaching Niklaus Hendrix's cottage. The cottage is small Chip and Gillion argue quietly about whether to allow Julian to accompany them, as they are approaching unknown danger, Julian ultimately stays, and Chip combs Julian's hair. Julian's coat is filled with a large number of combs, lining the inside fabric of it. When they get closer, they hear a voice call out that only one person may enter the cottage at a time, and before they can discuss it, Gillion sprints through the door, yelling "GILLION!". The door magically seals behind him, and it cannot be opened even by the combined efforts of Jay, Chip, and Julian.

Inside the cottage is small, decorated like an antiquarian's shop with magical and nonmagical items that Gillion cannot identify due to his unfamiliarity with the Oversea. Niklaus is sitting in the room, reclined on a chair behind a table. He is a tall, dark-purple skinned Tiefling with large horns, decorated with ornate gold filigree and jewelry, wearing fancy clothes that make him look like an ostentatious Elizabethan child, along with a gold scarf wrapped around his neck. Niklaus insists that Gillion sits down, but he declines.

They discuss the deal that Rolan Loffin made, which is an exchange of the prosperity of the island for Rolan losing what he loved most. Niklaus explains that he is not at fault for the fate of the town, because it is the corruption of Rolan's desires that leads to the consequences of the deal, rather than his own interference, that leads to the laughing disease. He shows Gillion a vision of Rolan, alone somewhere in the woods, coughing up a kind of thick, black ooze. Niklaus then calls Gillion a hero and makes him an offer; Gillion could either kill Rolan to end the deal, or make his own deal, in which he would owe Niklaus a favor in exchange for the freedom of the town. Gillion decides to challenge Niklaus to a duel, so that if he wins, Niklaus will release the town, but if he loses, he will make a deal with him. Cue the episode midroll.

Outside, Julian, Jay, and Chip have lined up to pull on the door, each person holding on to the previous person's feet, with Julian in the front holding the doorknob. This effort does not succeed in opening the door. They sit together, and Chip takes out the electric razor that he stole in a previous episode, from their confrontation with a group of bald men in an alleyway. He attempts to shave off Julian's pompadour, but he fails.

Inside the cottage, the duel commences, and due to Prophetic Screwup, Gillion has a natural one on his first saving throw. When Niklaus looks at him, he takes 39 points of damage and is subsequently incapacitated.

While unconscious, Gillion experiences a vision, a memory from his life in the Undersea, in which he is speaking to his sister, Edyn Tidestrider. He speaks about failing at something and expresses that he is upset about not living up to his prophecy, which is not further explained. Edyn tells Gillion that he is special, and that he should learn to live outside of the terms of the prophecy. He responds by saying that it is his duty to live up to his destiny, even if it crushes him. He is afraid that the prophecy is not about him, and that notion scares him more than failure does. Edyn tells him that he should find his own truth, and they embrace.

Gillion is revived, healed to one hit point by Niklaus. He accepts the deal with Niklaus; in exchange for lifting the curse on the town, Gillion now owes Niklaus an undefined favor sometime in the future. A black, crescent-shaped tattoo appears on his wrist, with the letters NK in the middle of it.

Gillion is then thrown out of the cottage, takes a single point of damage, and is incapacitated again. After him, a rat in a cage is also thrown. They discuss the deal, and Chip is very concerned about Gillion.

The rat turns out to be a trans-mutated form of Abigail, Julian's girlfriend who was missing for some time. She runs off into the forest to find her father, Rolan, and the others run after her. As they run, she transforms into her usual form as a girl. Abigail locates her father in the woods, still kneeling, coughing up the black ooze. Gillion determines that he no longer radiates an evil energy, and the episode ends.

## Transcription

A Google Doc of this episode's transcription is available here.

This was created by pistolwaltz and their transcription team on Discord.