Aerois - Episode 6: Into the Deep

Kim Richards as Nova V'ger

Mark Hulmes as Aila

Rhiannon Frost as Sentry

 Tom Hazell as Qillek Ad Khollar

**Into the Deep** is the 6th episode of the Aerois Campaign. It was broadcast live on both the Yogscast Twitch channel and highrollersdnd Twitch channel on 12th August 2018 from 5PM to 8PM BST.

*With a few missions in mind the party explore the town and hatch a plan to make some more money!*

## **Summary**

### **Announcements**

* Mark welcomes everyone and introduces the players.
* Trott was late for the start of the stream as he was making his way straight to the Yogscast studio from the airport (he arrived just at the end of the announcements).
* The two sponsors for this week’s stream are D&D Beyond and Brilliant.org.
* Kim gives the Brilliant puzzle “False Information”.
* Send fan art to highrollersdnd@gmail.com.
* Katie is away today.

### **Recap**

"*The party, having crashed in an airship in the Bitterwood, had slowly made their way through dangerous terrain across what was revealed to be the continent of Suvonna. Making their way north, they encountered various wilderness, various horrors and combat encounters along the way. They also passed by a large chasm, which the party investigated and found contained the ruins of a place called Dwalinden, an old Dwarven town said to be full of wealth and riches, that had fallen during the great Sundering, an event which had basically caused cataclysms and the land to be disrupted all across Aerois. You carried on in your journey, deciding not to investigate the ruin before you settled down and had time to recuperate. You fought some creatures along the road, but eventually you made your way to a town called Rosehall. Rosehall appears to be a small town, closer to a village, but it's slightly larger than your typical hamlet. The town appears to be full of friendly local folks of Suvonna. You were warned not to cause trouble in the town by the Harvest Guard, which acts as the local police force. Inside, you located an inn called the Brazen Heart, run by a Halfling woman by the name of Rosalina, who is very friendly and welcoming. You secured rooms for yourselves, as well as a meal, courtesy of Lucius, who paid for food and drinks for everyone (thanks to a very remarkable sound-alike for Chris Trott last week). The party is now level three, and you had investigated in town the option of healing Arval Degas, this Dwarven friend that you'd taken with you from the ship. You investigated the cost of getting his leg and injuries healed. You went up to the temple of Palador, where a Dwarven priest told you it would cost 300 gold for the various reagents and things that are needed to fuel the spell. Inquiring about work, you spoke with someone called the Field Warden, who appears to be like the mayor, or the person in charge of the town, a man called Merrick Tallfellow, who told you that there was a couple of jobs that he had around the town and that you could come and speak to him in the morning for more details. And that is where we left things last week.*"
### **Part 1**

*With a mission in mind the team explore more of the town to meet the locals!*

It is the beginning of the Long Night, a three month/cycle period of cold weather after harvest. They are escorted through the Merrick’s house, through to the back yard and head back to The Brazen Hart – they are still being followed and observed by the men until they enter the inn. It is bustling with activity and full of most of the citizens of Rosehall with an immediate lull when they enter the door. Lucius offers to buy the tavern a round which makes him immediately popular: he then insists that it will only be the beer, Sunbringer, on offer. Rosalina asks one of the locals, Neb, to take his farmhands and sons and leave the table so that the party can sit, which he does without complaint.

Nova prefers a chocolate milk over beer, but Rosalina has never heard of chocolate; instead, she says that she will put honey in the milk instead. The Half-Elven girl with the facial burns comes over to take their order – she is very shy and quiet – Quill wants water, Nova a warm milk, Lucius a Hartwine, Sentry a warm empty cup, and Aila a beer. Quite a few of the patrons come over to thanks them and introduce themselves – most are farming folk who really just want to see the newcomers who look very different. One of the people is a young woman, mid-late 20s with sandy blonde hair pulled into two tight pigtails and a very athletic build; she has soot smudges around her ears and introduces herself as Daysa Goodsmith, she is the town blacksmith.

They ask her to tell then what she can about the spear tip that they took from the Wild Elves: she tells them that it is definitely magic and probably Wild Elf manufacturing. Nova asks if she would have a pearl worth 100 gold: Daysa laughs and tells her that she would be lucky to find such a thing here, but could try the Dalegeld company (she should speak to Maximillian), or Navill from Navill’s Quills and Quandaries (he is a gnome who does not like people and builds small ships in bottles).

Daysa politely asks them about their reason for travel, but it is obvious that she is extremely curious about Sentry, and eventually she asks to examine her, which Sentry agrees to. Daysa’s parents used to tell her stories about Guardians when she was a child, but she did not think they were real. Daysa offers to fix their weapons as well as a few nicks and bumps that Sentry has collected along the way.

Lucius has gone outside for a moment and sees two rough looking men watching him: he shuffles around and pretends that he has not seen them but aims to move around to the back of the tavern without being seen by the men. He notices Arval, Yusef, Corin and Valla setting out their bedrolls in the stable out the back of the tavern – they have negotiated with Rosalina to stay in the stable until Arval’s funds come down from Goldthrone. Lucius tells them about the dangerous men around, Arval pats Evangeline, and Yusef tells Valla to stay in the back of the barn – Lucius silently checks to see that Valla still has both her daggers and she nods at him.

Inside the tavern, a Dwarven woman with sandy blonde hair has approached the rest of the party, her skin is very well-tanned like a farmer’s, and she holds a floppy straw hat in her hand. In contrast, she is wearing a thick suit of leather and ring mail – she introduces herself as Windy Gale, and says that her son, Jessup, had told her about them. Lucius wanders back in as Windy asks why they are here: they tell her about the airship crash and how they managed to survive – she is suspicious of them, especially Nova wielding Tiangong and knowing about the Remnant. They ask Gale about work opportunities, and she says that she has a couple of tasks that need doing that she is working on with the Field Warden.

On the farm to the east, some weird mounds and tunnels started appearing in the ground a couple of days ago and some of the cattle have gone missing. She does not think that the cattle have been taken by a traditional monster, such as a wolf or bear, or even Wild Elves, because there have not been the usual signs. Sorting this issue out would earn them 200 gold.

The other job is looking for what has happened to the last two caravans of wagons coming to Rosehill from Goldthrone – all the men and supplies with the wagons have gone missing, and they need someone to find out what has happened and to stop it. Quill argues that this should be worth 250 gold because it must be so important to the town, and Gale, smiling, agrees. She advises them to find the Harvest Guard if there are any problems, and not to take the law into their own hands: they tell her about the men that have been following them, and she sighs saying that that sounds like “Brett’s boys”. She gets up to leave, telling them that she is going to deal with Brett Brookstone’s boys, the party hears shouting outside and then the sound of running feet.

Lucius asks to see the menu, and Nova, still curious pipes up with a question for Rosalina: she says that she misses her parents and wonders if the adult services means that Rosalina pretends to be her mother, gives her a hug, and tells her a story for an hour. Nova thinks for a bit, and then it dawns on her what the services are actually for. They head to bed and take a night’s rest.

They head down in the morning and Reld is cleaning up. A young man, about 20 years old (not Jessup), comes down the stairs as they are preparing for breakfast: he is red in the face and awkwardly pulling on his harvest guard tabard and adjusting his belt and britches – Roselina follows soon after wearing a nightgown. Nova leans over to Quill and whispers “Adult services!”

They discuss what they are going to do: Nova wants to take a look at the tunnels and burrowing creatures, Quill prefers to check out the trade wagons, but they also discuss checking out Dwalinden or simply leaving Arval until his own funds arrive. Lucius prefers to check out Dwalinden as long as Rosalina can clean his clothes once (if) they get back. Aila abstains from the vote. Sentry is keen to go into the chasm, thinking that she might be able to get some information about Guardians and Solwynn. The decision is made – they will go to Dwalinden.

### **Part 2**

*Let's jump into an unexplored and dangerous chasm, they said. It'd be fun, they said.*

Aila recommends buying rope, knowing that they are going to a chasm, and they want to talk to Windy Gale to see if she knows anything about Dwalinden. They find her about 20 minutes out of town with a small group of the Harvest Guard, including Jessup, and they are looking over the bodies of some very large wolves. The wolves were caught attacking a farm overnight, and are now being skinned and butchered for meat and fur. They ask about Dwalinden – Gale does not know it by that name, but warns them that many people have been to the chasm and not come back; she is sure there would be treasures and relics from the Founding Age down there. As no creatures have come out of the chasm to attack the town, Gale is not inclined to send her troops in there.

They head to the Dalegeld Company: the building is near the entrance to Rosehall, and outside hangs a sign showing a valley with a gold coin hovering over it and saying, “Dalegeld Company Provisions: Rosehall Branch”. Inside is a beautifully arranged general store with shelves of lanterns, casks of oil, dried meats and general supplies for travellers. At the back of the room, there is a locked cabinet with thick strips of metal that are etched with arcane runes of protection, and inside is a bundle of arrows, a cloak and various gemstones. Behind it stands a tall Half-Elven man with long brown hair tied into a tight bun, wearing very well-kept clothing, a fine tunic with a vest, high britches and tall riding boots: he is filing his nails when they enter. He greets them on their arrival, introducing himself as Maximillian Elias of the Dalegeld Company.

Quill is aware that the Dalegeld Company is a Company of Dwarves that trek all over Aerois and serve as a combined mercenary and trading company. They supply goods as well as bodyguard and protection services, escort caravans and have several trading posts across Aerois – they can be purchased as franchises. They speak to Maximillian about what they should purchase for an expedition to the chasm: he says that his husband, Boric, travelled there with the Dalegeld Company to investigate and decided that it was not worth pursuing. They found that it was 200-250 feet deep to the lower levels: he recommends purchasing healing potions, climber’s kits, rope, lanterns and backpacks. He also says that he has more expensive items in the cabinet: enchanted arrows (unknown amount) and a cloak of protection (1000 gold), should they want them. Nova sells some of her excess items and Maximillian offers to purchase or trade for any items of interest should they bring something out of the chasm. Nova shows Maximillian the spear tip, and he is happy to purchase it for 100 gold: not knowing its properties or value, they decide to hold onto it for now.

It takes them a day to travel to the chasm, and they rest overnight undisturbed. The chasm is a wound in the earth, it is deep and echoes darkly. They can just see the tips of buildings in the bleak light that manages to make its way down into the dark recesses of the chasm. They can see that the climb is going to be difficult, mainly because it is a long way down: they send a levitating Nova to secure the rope along their climbing path using their climbing kit.

Aila climbs down, as does Sentry, and as she does, she notices that one of the pitons pings out of the wall. Nova, down the bottom of the chasm with a small lantern, has heard something move – the direction is uncertain as noise echoes within the dark, ominous chasm: she whispers to Aila about the creature once she makes it down to the bottom. Another piton pings out as Lucius climbs down, and the rope starts to sway as it is now less secure: he yelps, and the noise echoes around the chasm, prompting the unknown creature to start moving again. The creature seems to be coming from high up, then from ground level, and they are not certain where it actually is. The last one down the rope is Quill – using his single hand and clawed feet to try to steady himself, but the top piton suddenly comes loose and the rope and Quill begin to fall, while Lucius, hearing the noise from above jumps clear the last few feet and is caught by Aila at the bottom.

Quill falls 20 feet onto a ledge 100 feet from the bottom of the chasm, sustaining damage, and the rope falls to the ground; those at the bottom begin to see movement from the corner of their eyes in the dim light from Nova’s lantern. There is a scuttling nearby, but with all of the shadows from the ragged rocks nearby, they are not sure whether the objects are moving towards them or trying to move around them.

Suddenly, out of the darkness sprint four human-shaped figures, their bodies gaunt and skeletal with greenish flesh attached to their bodies: they have ghoulish, bloody, rotten mouths and long clawed hands. Sentry is hit and immediately paralysed, and the rest attack the ghouls; Sentry manages to shake off the paralysis mid-fight, while Quill throws offensive spells from his perch 100 feet above.

The creatures are defeated: they stink of rotten meat, there is fungus and other growths over their limbs, and they look vaguely Dwarven in shape. Quill tries to climb down the last 100 feet without a rope, but slips and falls as the rock he is holding gives way – Sentry tries to catch him, but misses, and Quill hits the ground hard, immediately falling unconscious. Sentry heals him immediately.

They look around them, seeing that there are three nearby stone buildings intact, and all have been built with squat life forms in mind: one has a chimney, another is elongated and has a side torn open with a foul smell emanating from it, while the last has a very faint sign outside.

## **YouTube Timestamps**

00:00:02 - Episode Start
00:05:36 - Intro
00:07:20 - Part 1
26:00 - Tom thinks Mark is calling him a nonce
01:21:21 - Break time (cut)
01:21:30 - Part 2
2:28:33 - Sentry tries to catch a falling Quill...and fails
02:34:20 - Outro/Donations

## **Featured Characters**

#### **The Adventuring Party**

* Aila (played by Mark)
* Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto
* Nova V'ger
* Qillek Ad Khollar
* Sentry

#### **New NPCs**

* Daysa Goodsmith (blacksmith in Rosehall)
* Maximillian Elias (of the Dalegeld Company)
* Neb (drinker in The Brazen Hart)
* Windy Gale (Scarecrow of the Harvest Guard in Rosehall)

#### **Returning NPCs**

* Arval Dagos
* Brother Corin
* Reld
* Rosalina
* Sister Yusef
* Valla

#### **Mentioned NPCs**

* Jessup
* Merrick Tallfellow
* Navill (of Navill's Quills and Quandaries)
* Torval Blackhammer

## **Featured Locations**

* Dwalinden
* Rosehall
	+ The Brazen Hart

## **Trivia**

* The recap introduced Arval Dagos's last name.
* **Continuity error:** Mark refers to Dwalinden as “Dwalindell” in the recap and part 2 (1:36:40).
* The party is now level 3.
* Mark plays Aila this episode because she is away. He (as Aila) uses "Bird Man" as her nickname for Quill.
* Lucius has never had a job and appears not to understand the word.
* **Continuity error:** Mark describes the girl assistant in The Brazen Hart as having most of the left side of her face scarred. In episode 5, he described her scarring as occurring on the right side of her face.
* When Daysa, the blacksmith, comes to sit at their table, Mark describes her as “Riker sitting” on the chair, referring to the way Jonathan Frakes would sit on a chair as William Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation. This involved putting the chair in place to his left, then swinging his left leg over the chair’s backrest before sitting down.
* It is revealed that Quill is about 2 or 3 years old, and his lifespan is expected to be 10-15 years.
* Kim's wedding was on in the week after this episode aired.