Episode 12: The Watchman (The Road to Galaderon with Nathan Yaffe)

Art by Matt Froese

**The Watchman** is the twelfth episode in the series and the first episode of the The Road to Galaderon.

The party picks up a new ally...literally. Nathan Yaffe (Drawfee/CollegeHumor) joins the Band of Boobs on a quest to track down a mythical being that could hold the answers to their burning questions: Who are Hardwon's parents? What's amiss at the Crick? And when will Beverly finally grow chest hair?

## Plot Synopsis

This episode opens on the Band of Boobs dashing to escape from Ezry, having just murdered Professor Duttle and Captain Oswald, as well as having burned down the Rehab Center. As they ride out of the city, the trio spots a gnome driving away from the city on a small steam-powered dune buggy. The gnome is scooped up by Moonshine, and Beverly commandeers the dune buggy with the skill and dexterity of Han Lue.

The gnome turns out to be Tonathan Tinkle, adorable wizard-turned-cleric from the Arcane University on a mission to meet The Watchman. Tonathan's greatest desire is to learn what happened to The Legendary Heroes, and he had learned of a mysterious entity living in a watchtower in the Galaderon Glades who could answer any question. The trio agrees to help Tonathan find The Watchman, and they make their way through the glades of Galaderon. As they grow closer to The Watchtower, it disappears. Fortunately, the group is able to gain access after they spot and chat up a goliath monk, who helps them enter the Watchman's monastery.

The four of them make contact with Uku, the official ambassador of The Watchman. He explains the nature and origins of The Watchman and leads the gnag through a series of trials designed to test their worthiness:

1. **The Elemental Trial:** The group faced a room with a locked door, a chest, and a lit candle hovering above the chest. Depending on whether the candle was lit or unlit, and upon just how the candle was snuffed out, a protective elemental burst through the chest and initiated combat. The trio fought a fire elemental after relighting the candle with the chest already opened (but they didn't look inside first) and an air elemental after they blew out the candle with a breath of air. They finally realized that snuffing the candle out with their hands would prevent an elemental from appearing and would grant them access to the key to the next room.
2. **The Shadow Trial:** Tonathan and the trio emerged into a room with two lights. One was off and one on, that one casting mysterious shadows on the wall. There were handles under each bulb, each of which controlled the opposite light. Mistakenly turning out the light would have enhanced the shadows' power, but Tonathan overcame this trial instantly by casting *Fog Cloud* over the lit light, which dispelled the shadows.
3. **The Dragon Trial:** The four adventurers found a series of stumps, each affixed with a different colored dragon's face. Upon stepping on a stump, that stump would shoot a hundred feet into the air, and combat with a magically-generated young dragon was initiated. The group overcame this trial via combat after fighting all four dragon wyrmlings simultaneously.

After overcoming these three trials, the Band of Boobs is granted access to the Watchtower. Uku warns them of a fearsome Ghost in the Watchtower, whom they must defeat to climb to the top. Fearlessly, Moonshine, Hardwon, and Beverly absolutely berate the Ghost through brutal verbal repartee and avoid being aged by the ghost's fear-inspiring spell, then Tonathan joins them in defeating her in combat. Upon defeating The Ghost, the group climbs to the top of the watchtower and encounter The Watchman. The Watchman answers one question for each member of the group:

Moonshine asks: "What plant will cure crick rot?" The Watchman answers: "Crick Rot is demonic influence and you cannot cure it with a plant."

Hardwon asks: "Who are my parents?" The Watchman answers: "Your parents are Lydia Stormborn and Elias Stormborn."

Beverly asks: "What has caused this amulet of Pelor to crack, this holy artifact which can be mended by magic but returns to its cracked state, what has corrupted it so?" The Watchman answers: "Thiala has broken her pact with Pelor."

Tonathan asks: "Great Watchman of the world, where have The Legendary Heroes gone?" The Watchman answers: "Alanis is not on this plane. Thiala and Ulfgar are headed for Galaderon."

After asking their questions, Beverly offers The Watchman a vomit-inducing berry, and The Watchman immediately begins to blow him off the top of the watchtower. He continues to blow against Beverly despite being pleased with the spectral healing possum spirit offered by Moonshine in an attempt to appease him. Beverly falls hundreds of feet and nearly dies on impact, but fortunately survives the crash. The others descend and are thrilled to find him unconscious but alive. Tonathan Tinkle decides to put any further adventuring on hold, and Uku agrees to let him stay in the Temple to The Watchman for research purposes.

## Music/ Sound Effects

* "Anguish" by Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com.
* "Harp.WAV" by RepDac3 at Freesound.org.
* "Scary Ambiance" by ashleyxxpiano at Freesound.org.
* "Piano Melody" by orangefreesounds at Freesound.org.
* "Smooth Emotional Dramatic Intro" by tyops at Freesound.org.

## External Links

* Headgum
* Spotify
* NAD&DP Subreddit Thread