Aerois - Episode 5: Soft Beds, Warm Plates

Kim Richards as Nova V'ger

Mark Hulmes as Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto

Rhiannon Frost as Sentry

Tom Hazell as Qillek Ad Khollar

**Soft Beds, Warm Plates** is the 5th episode of the Aerois Campaign. It was broadcast live on both the Yogscast Twitch channel and highrollersdnd Twitch channel on 5th August 2018 from 5PM to 8PM BST.

*The party continue their journey down the Whitebreeze River towards Rose Hall!(sic) They might finally get some well deserved rest!*

## **Summary**

### **Announcements**

* Mark welcomes everyone and introduced the players.
* Chris Trott is away on holiday this week.
* Sponsors this week: D&D Beyond (Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron is now available) and Brilliant.
* The characters have levelled up for this week.
* Send fan art to highrollersdnd@gmail.com. First fan art video is available on YouTube.
* Merch: nothing brand new yet, but there are some new things coming including an Aerois dice set, t-shirts, etc.

### **Recap**

"*You had been engaged in a battle in the Bitterwood, a cold valley of ice and mountains where your airship had crashed. Trying to survive, you had made enemies with a group of Wild Elf exiles that were living in the area. Trying to escape from a band of them, you attempted to hide and had several of your possessions, namely Nova's sword that she seems extremely protective of, as well as Lucius's arcane focus, taken from you. And so a plan was made to raid their camp at night to try and steal the items back. The raid did not go as you had hoped initially, with 'alerting the guards you were drawn into a pretty deadly battle, where you were pushed to your limits. Their leader, Kalla, a druidic figure who shapeshifted into a bear, bitterly fought you to avenge her fallen comrades, and a battle raged. During the end of it Valla, the teenage human girl that had escaped the airship with you, had managed to sneak into a tent to retrieve Tiangong and the arcane focus, but a strange purple explosion erupted from the shelter, causing a mild distraction. She emerged, returned the items, and you fought to the end, defeating the druid and saving your companions. There was a brief moment where it looked like Sentry might be dead, but she wasn't, thanks to her Solwynn shield protecting her, definitely not a math error on the dungeon master's behalf! But you managed to overcome the situation and you began the journey north, to where you believe there to be civilization. You followed a river, which Arval, your dwarven companion, referred to as the Whitebreeze, and began following that north towards a place called Rosehall, which Arval said was a town at the southern end of a kingdom that he is part of. You made your way there, you camped overnight. Really the travel went mostly uninterrupted, except for the second night, where Aila spotted a series of eyes watching you from the darkness and a gang of six goblins emerged to attack you, almost - well, knocking Lucius unconscious and nearly injuring him. But you managed to fight them all off. You complete the long rest and the morning comes to, and I believe this marks the second chapter of the Aerois campaign. This chapter is called Every Rose Has Its Thorns. The first chapter was called Stormy Skies.*"
### **Part 1**

*The party continue their journey down the Whitebreeze River towards, hopefully, civilisation!*

Palador rises in the east. There are still 2 days of travel until the party will get to civilisation. Nova examines the spear tip that they took from Kalla – it is a large, black iron spear head strung up on leather thronging into a crude necklace. The blade is very heavy and still incredibly sharp: it is very plain and there are no runes carved on it, but Nova is fairly certain that it is magical. Aila isn’t sure if it is a relic like she carries in The Howling Gale: she knows that Wild Elf clans sometimes carry magic weapons and armour, and there are countless tales of warriors from Aerois carrying magic weapons, armour and artifacts, all of which were used in the war and to survive.

They continue to follow the river, and late in the afternoon, they crest a hill and see a large chasm off to the west – from deep within the chasm poke the tops of ruined and abandoned buildings, as if the chasm had swallowed an old town. Quill thinks this was a town swallowed up by the chasm during the Sundering; Nova knows from her knowledge of the Founding Age that this is an old Dwarven settlement, Dwalinden.

Nova knows that the whole continent of Suvonna was once ruled by Dwarves. Quill explains, using his map, to Sentry that this is what happened when the Sundering split the world – Sentry had known Aerois as a Pangaea without borders: everyone worked together in a utopia. There were kingdoms, but the gods ensured that while there were occasional skirmishes, the population worked together as a whole. Sentry sees that where Solwynn was is now ocean and a series of islands on the map (the Starfall Archipelago), and she knows that she was found very far from where Solwynn would have been, but she does not know or remember how she got there. Solwynn had been a very large city at the centre of Aerois, being primarily responsible for most of the technological advances on Aerois.

Arval confirms that Dwalinden was a trading town that used to collect lumber from the nearby woods and found treasures (gold and gemstones) in the mountains, so was a very wealthy town. The site has attracted a lot of treasure hunters, but most people who go in have not come back. Sentry was a soldier in the latter years of the war against Starbane, but was primarily focused on protecting the royal family, specifically the princess. She knows that Dwalinden was part of Goldenfields, the breadbasket of Aerois – the land was magically fertile, and most of Aerois’ food supply was grown here. She recalls that Dwalinden was a rich town that used to trade wood, metals and gemstones across Aerois. The Guardians’ matrices were made from gemstones from Dwalinden, and Guardians were often sent to Dwalinden to work or protect it, and many Guardians who fought were fighting to protect the Goldenfields.

Quill and Sentry agree that there is a chance that there will be Guardians in Dwalinden, but Sentry thinks it is possible that they will be feral: Guardians have a limited lifespan of 15 years (Sentry is currently 13). After their maximum lifespan is reached, the matrix inside them begins to break down and can cause Guardians to become unpredictable and violent (“feral”), or they may just shut down. Yusef asks if the energy can be replenished, but while Sentry knows that there used to be (because she knows of some Guardians that were hundreds of years old), she is not aware of any such method that is currently available – there may be something available under the sea near the Starfall Archipelago.

With his exceptional vision, Quill can just see (about a day and a half’s travel away), the Whitebreeze River emptying into a lake, and on the far side of the lake is a town. Quill marks it on his map in case they decide to return to the area later: they think they may find someone to sponsor an expedition who may also give them more information about what may be found in the chasm.

They travel until dark and set up camp; Sentry takes first watch, then powers down. Guardians don’t dream, but they occasionally cycle through old memories, sometimes without any intention of doing so. Sentry’s memories surface on this occasion...

*She sees the tall walls of the city of Solwynn before her, its pennant fluttering in the wind. People come and go, trading, and Guardians help them to carry goods or patrol the walls alongside the Dwarven and human soldiers. People seem in good spirits: it seems like a day of celebration. Sentry is in the royal chambers, sitting with human and Dwarven soldiers, all wearing armour of the royal guards that Sentry, herself, wears. There is a series of long tables, on which shields and weapons have been laid out, and each shield bears the symbol of the Solwynn royal family.*

*A large man appears, but his features are obscured, almost as if the memory is faded: he marches before the soldiers, going down the line – he shakes a hand and says a few words, hands the soldier a shield, and they take a weapon of their choice from the table before they are led out onto the marching field. Sentry is at the end of the line of soldiers, and the face becomes clearer: there is a beaming smile beneath dark eyes and dark hair, but there is no name that Sentry can put to the face. He stands proud, “Sentry! You have been gifted to the royal family. As one of the greatest Guardians that has ever been produced, it is with great honour that we accept you into our ranks. You are to be given a special assignment: Guardians do not have the same failings as we guards of flesh and blood, you rarely need sleep, you do not need to eat or drink, but you can do so if you wish, which makes you perfect for testing for poisons. You are relentless – you pursue things with a great ambition, and that, I admire greatly. We would like you to protect our greatest asset: the heiress herself, the princess. She will be a fine leader one day, but we must ensure that in these times of war that she is well-protected. We would like you to be her personal Guardian. You will care for her, look after her needs, and you will protect her if you must. Do you accept this?” Sentry assents. “Then please stand forward and recite the oath of Solwynn for us all today”. He holds the shield, ready to provide it to her. Sentry calls out in a clear voice:*

*“Defend the joy, shine bright;
Protect the pure, in the name of light.
Night will fade in the glow of day,
My axe and shield will never sway.”*
*The man hands her the shield: she holds it for the first time and there is a pulse in her core – a feeling that something important has happened.*

Nova sleeps and hears fragments of a voice that flips between genders, sometimes it is many voices at once, and other times it is no voice but only a feeling: it is Tiangong. *Nova sees a memory of her own, purple light exploding out of a shelter in the woods as a young girl emerges, sword in hand. There is a strange sensation from Tiangong - fear; what it fears, you do not know. It also feels stronger, and tells you in a strange, unspoken manner that there is more power to it to be unlocked. As you begin to think on this, strange alien thoughts begin to enter your mind – there are magical incantations, new spells that you did not know before that you can now use. All that Tiangong asks in return is protection.*

Aila notes a noise somewhere out in the dales, the baying of hounds, and the smell of death and decay – she does not know which direction the noise is coming from, so wakes the rest of the party. In the dim light, they see two shapes looming at the top of the hill overlooking their camp: they are huge, black-furred hounds covered in sores and pustules, and a thick, green, glowing ichor drools from their mouths. There are worms and bugs crawling around in the skin on their bodies and paws; they look down upon the party with dead, black eyes, let out a howl and suddenly attack. The hounds are destroyed and almost instantly begin to decompose until only their bones are left. Aila has been bitten during the battle, and is poisoned – Sentry cures the poison from her, realising that the poison would eventually have killed her if not healed. Nova and Sentry recognise their attackers as plague hounds, creatures that died in battles long ago and whose spirits have lingered because they died away from their masters or in very bad ways.

Within half a day of travel, they see the settlement that they are heading towards (Rosehall), start to pass some large farms and patrols of armoured soldiers (the Harvest Guard) who look like farmers themselves. They eventually get within reach of the settlement – it is built around a large hill. At the top of the hill is a large tower-like building emblazoned with the sun symbol of Palador (one of the gods), and the bottom half of the settlement is surrounded by a wooden palisade. There are also other large buildings, and some windmills; the river continues north behind the tower and about half a day’s travel away, joins a large lake. On the western side of the town is an enormous forest that stretches out and leads all the way to large, tall, snow-capped mountains on the distant horizon to the northwest.

When they approach the town gate of Rosehall, they are challenged: Quill tells them that they were in an airship crash, which the guard saw, far to the south. He does not want to let Aila into the town because she is a Wild Elf, concerned that she is part of the Kalen'Rus – they have had trouble with those clans in the past. They advise Aila not to cause any problems, and to avoid the Brookstone family, who might cause them trouble. They are admitted to a reasonably sized, but rustic village town that has 30-40 buildings within.

### **Part 2**

*The team have finally found people! People that aren't trying to kill them, anyway! It's finally time for some rest...*

Rosehall is fairly bustling around midday – there is more preparation for the upcoming harvest than actual trading in goods at this time of year. There is a large open market square in the centre of town, a large temple to Palador on the hill towards the back of the town, and some larger houses out to the northwest towards the forest: it is a very rustic town. Arval is very pleased to be in some form of civilisation – he has not been here for some time, since his trading days, and mainly spends his time in Goldthrone these days. They make for The Brazen Hart, run by Madam Rosalina, rather than The Whitebreeze Rest, which is frequented by the Brookstones and his cronies.

Brookstone owns and runs the mine in the Ironweald near the forest: it produces most of the iron in the area. About a quarter of the village works for the Brookstone family, and the family itself is made up of Brett Brookstone (the patriarch), his wife, numerous sons and a couple of daughters. The party is warned that Brookstone may be something of a trouble-maker.

The Brazen Hart is a quaint-looking stone and wood 2-storey cottage with a thatched roof, and outside is a sign with a white hart standing in front of a forest; inside there is the smell of fresh bread and roasting meat, and the noise from many patrons. Behind the bar is a halfling woman in a loose flowing dress: she is curvaceous and well-endowed with long curly hair, brown eyes and full lips – she is humming while she cleans. Rosalina welcomes them to her inn: she is well-travelled, originally from the sky city of Horizon, and recognises their races as well as the Elenasto family name. She offers them food and drink – drinks available are Hartwine (a strong fruity wine, and the most expensive), Rosemead (a honey wine made locally by the priests at the temple), Sunbringer (light, frothy beer from Goldthrone), Hotmead (Rosemead which has been heated), milk and water. They all eat (except for Sentry, who asks for a “comforting warm plate”). They are served by a young Half-Elf girl (Reld) who hides half of her face because she has been horrifically scarred – most of her right ear has been burned off, and the rest of the right side of her face is scarred and melted.

Rosalina brings them a list of rooms and services available, including massage, alchemy services, spellcasting services, “adult services” and “tailored adult services” (including the use of disguise self). They ask about someone to heal Arval’s leg, and are told that the best person would be Sunbringer Blackhammer, the priest in the local Temple of Palador. Rosalina says that she can do minor healing as a follower of Sayanna. Arval offers to stay in the town to heal and let the party continue on with their travels, but offers to give them a writ to get money back from his business in Goldthrone. They organise for rooms for the night, and Rosalina asks if they are interested in doing some work in exchange for some healing potions and a small magical trinket: she is looking for pixie dust and Winter Eladrin tears. She says that there is a ruined Elven palace to the north near the lake where they may find the items.

They leave Arval, Yousef, Corin and Valla at The Brazen Hart and head up to the Temple of Palador to see if they can organise healing for Arval: they pass some people leaving the dusk service who give them a dirty look before heading off to the buildings in the north of town close to the forest. Standing at the door to the temple is a Dwarven man, wearing dark red robes covered in orange and yellow flame motifs: he has a shaven head, a short, cropped beard, a bull-like face (“as ugly as sin”) with a flat nose, small iron studs piercing both ears, and small iron bands strapped across both palms. The man carries a large sceptre (topped with a sun-like emblem) in one hand and a bell in the other, which he is ringing as he proselytizes in an evangelical fashion about Palador.

Nova knows that Palador is the sun – a being of light and warmth: his duty by Siaska was to rise into the sky every day and to share his light and warmth with the people of Aerois, and then to rest at night. People who revere Palador are farmers, those who hunt down evil and undead, but he is also followed by zealots: fire cleanses and does not leave a trace behind, followers do not tolerate evil and can be not just passionate, but also short-tempered. The rank of Sunbringer is a low one in the church, equivalent of a local village preacher. Blackhammer confirms that he can do healing for their friend, but that it will cost them a significant amount of money (300 gold – it would have been 350g if they had not been travelling with Sentry).

When they mention Rosalina, he is immediately concerned, saying that they should find somewhere else to stay because she has a chequered past and is a follower of Sayanna, a fickle and indifferent goddess, not truly caring for people but always wanting to have a good time. Blackhammer is wary of Aila, being a Wild Elf, but is impressed that they travel with a Guardian, and he kneels to Sentry. He suggests that if they need money to pay for his services, he could apply to the Field Warden (who runs the town) or Windy Gale, the Harvest Gard Scarecrow (a rank denoting captain/sergeant).

Quill notices that the men who were watching them before are now lounging against buildings and watching them as they walk back through the town. They go to a quaint 2-storey house that is the home of the Field Warden: sitting on the house’s thatched roof, looking down at them, is a massive hawk which lets out a cry as they approach the door. The door opens to reveal a dark-eyed man in a loose, low-cut linen shirt, tight trousers and farmer’s boots; he has a very well-chiselled chest, big round muscular arms, dark hair slicked back, a few days’ stubble, and carries a thunderstone shotgun cocked in his arm ready to use if necessary. He introduces himself as Merrick Tallfellow, Field Warden of Rosehall, and is happy to offer them a couple of bounties: look for trade wagons that were meant to arrive with supplies from Goldthrone, retrieve the supplies and stop the bandits responsible if possible (200 gold), or there is a farm to the east where some strange earthen tunnels appearing and livestock going missing – discover the cause and stop it (200 gold). Tallfellow says that he cannot spare the Harvest Guard to solve these problems because he does not have a sizeable contingent, and they must protect the town from other issues, some internal that he does not want to discuss, and others such as raiding hobgoblins (Remnant still adhering to the ways of Kalus Starbane) and beasts such as Plague Hounds, Griffons, Manticores, and Giant Spiders.

Quill asks about the Wild Elves: they have not raided Rosehall for months, but when they do, they come without warning and usually hit the outer farms for supplies and livestock, killing on occasion. The Kalen’Rus are particularly determined and dangerous, and Tallfellow is not even sure who their leaders are: they will kill themselves before allowing themselves to be captured for questioning. Some of the raiders have been members of the clan (noted to wear tartans), others have not; the clan members generally attack in larger numbers, sometimes on horses, other times on armoured bears.

Tallfellow says that there is another matter that they might be able to help him with if they can sort out the other bounties that he has offered them. He warns them to stay clear of the Brookstone family, and Quill mentions the men that had been following them through the town; Tallfellow offers to let them in so they can leave through the back door.

## **YouTube Timestamps**

2:45 - Topical dragons
5:16 – Dun duns
6:25 - Recap
9:30 - Part 1, Name of The Sun
10:30 - Lucius incarnate
12:35 - Magical relic noobs
13:00 - Qill offers Nova his feathers
13:17 – Mark’s Lucius impression
14:33 - Misgendering of sword?
17:22 - Qill has spotted a chasm
19:15 - Dwalinden & Sundering Info
20:54 - Sentry catches up on history
22:35 - Existential crisis alert
24:10 - Air Genasi racial ability
24:30 - Air breathing contest
27:47 - pre-Sundering area
28:54 – Guardians and feral Guardians?
30:09 - Aila confirms "Sentry could kill us”
32:23 - Aila suggests killing Lucius?
37:28 - Androids don’t dream (of electric sheep)
7:50 - Guardian memories/dreams (oath story explanations)
39:14 - Automation coming for guards
40:17 - Oath of Ancients
40:58 - Tiangong dreams/memories
42:25 Aila storms & night encounter
42:46 - Aila looks at the night sky
47:46 - Battle ahead
52:05 - Con fail - Aila is poisoned
53:07 – H’esper’s holy symbol
54:25 - Qill has commitment issues
55:51 - Dichromancy abilities
57:02 - Aila goes into a rage
1:06:26 - May I go to the bathroom?
1:07:47 - Aila is no longer poisoned
1:08:20 - Lucius gag
1:09:30 - Info on the creatures
1:09:36 - Aka sad doggos
1:15:05 - Rock and Air at the bottom of the river
1:16:45 - Settlement descriptions
1:20:17 - Meeting a Local
1:24:44 - Break time
1:25:00 - Kim’s Puzzle “Red Eyed Dragon”
1:27:27 - Part 2
1:37:15 - Thanks Dad
1:47:45 - Half a beer
1:56:25 - Inn Services List & Prices
2:13:00 - Info on Palador & the religion
2:37:05 - Outro/Donations
2:37:20 - High Rollers Traditions
2:43:51 - Awkward Dog Boner donation
2:44:27 - “Red Eyed Dragons” Riddle Answer

## **Featured Characters**

#### **The Adventuring Party**

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

#### **New NPCs**

* Jessup (Deputy of Harvest Guard in Rosehall)
* Reld (Rosalina's assistant)
* Merrick Tallfellow (Field Warden of Rosehall)
* Rosalina (proprietor of The Brazen Hart)
* Sunbringer Torval Blackhammer (priest in Temple of Palador in Rosehall)

#### **Returning NPCs**

* Arval Dagos
* Brother Corin
* Sister Yusef
* Valla

#### **Mentioned NPCs**

* Brett Brookstone
* Kalus Starbane
* Palador
* Windy Gale (Commander/"Scarecrow" of Harvest Guard in Rosehall)

## **Featured Locations**

* Suvonna
	+ Dwalinden
	+ Rosehall
	+ The Bitterwood

## **Trivia**

* **Continuity error:** Mark says in the intro that it is the 5th of Pallis in-game; this is probably because this episode was recorded on 5th August. According to the in-game calendar, however, it should be the 10th and 11th of Pallis.
* Mark says that the Guardian lifespan is a “hard” 15 years before the core begins to degrade.
* **Lore dump:** Sentry’s “dream”/memory of Solwynn represented her Oath of the Ancients.
* When the hounds attack them, Mark says that they smell awful, like death – Kim asks if they smell like durian: Mark says yes.
* Tom asks when they are fighting the hounds what the holy symbol of H’esper is: Mark says that it is a staff tipped with a pair of wings.
* **Continuity error:** In this episode, Mark describes the spear tip as being plain with no runes. In the previous episode, it was described as having "runes carved into it that pulse with a slight power".