Episode 19: Goin' on a Beast Hunt

**Episode 19: Goin' on a Beast Hunt** (C1E19) is the nineteenth episode of the first campaign of The Table is Yours: A Role-playing Adventure Show. The Faded Fates start their first mission for Lady Fiara di Marte in which they return to The Wilds to hunt down a beast...

## Synopsis

### Nightsweats and Payback

Cazamir tells Codex that the Faded Fates are being sent on a beast hunt in the Wilds. It is a creature that tears its victims to ribbons and has been an issue for quite some time. He tells her that someone will arrive to transport them to the Wilds the following morning. Codex relays the message to the rest of the group once Cazamir leaves and everyone decides it is best to turn in for the night. Terrance feels the descriptions of the beast attacks are oddly familiar, but it isn’t until his dreams that he remembers why. He flashes back to a time when he was very young and members of the Bronze Volguard were speaking to his mother. They told her that her husband was killed in the Wilds, and there was nothing left of him, but they did hand over a tattered brown jacket that belonged to him. Terrance wakes up in a cold sweat and looks over to see that same brown jacket draped over his chair.

Tensions are high in the house that night, as everyone is still unsure about what happened to Isa. Codex offers for Isa to stay in her room so she doesn't have to be alone after the night's events, and Isa accepts and cries herself to sleep in Codex’s hammock. One, meanwhile, decides after reflecting on her actions, that she should give Codex the money she was owed from their first job together. One puts 40 gold outside of Codex’s room with a note that says “I’m sorry”. Shae decides to gamble at the Silent Casino, but when she gets there, the casino feels a little too mundane for Shae’s liking, though she does notice another (hidden) door that seemingly would lead to a more exciting and high stakes experience. She makes a decent amount of money while she is there but ends up leaving unsatisfied. She divvies up the money she earned for the party, leaving each member of the Faded Fates 100 gold under their pillows in their rooms. She still owes the party the rest of the money that is left over from Teeter’s, but they don’t know this.

### Breakfast at Taro's

The next morning, Codex wakes Wash up to go for a jog and run a few errands. Wash wants to buy locks for his room, considering he woke up with money under his pillow. He is clearly unnerved that someone was able to get into his room so easily. Codex suggests that the two of them go to a pastry shop for a quick snack break, so she takes him to the Treated Taste. The shop owner, Taro, greets them warmly, especially Codex and her familiar face, and brings them owlbear-claws as the pair sit and drink coffee. Wash tells Codex that he really wants to help her learn to read, but he is just having trouble finding a system that works for both of them. He reminds Codex of what he said the night before about getting to know each other better; he says that he feels like he knows a lot about her already, so he decides to tell her some information about himself. He tells Codex she can ask him some questions, and he will answer honestly.

Codex immediately lights up, even more so than usual. She asks why he changed his name, and he explains that it was mainly to keep his friend, Lilly, safe. He was orphaned, and it was Lilly’s family that took him in. He is from the Ninth Precinct, near Farrenport. His parents made some bad deals and worse decisions, and it ended up getting them caught and killed. He explains that’s what he assumes, anyways, and he calls his parents idiots for it. Codex asks if he misses them at all, and he shrugs and tells her his feelings about them are complicated. He then tells Codex she can call him Felix in private if she really wants to, and she smiles and agrees but tells him she’ll probably just continue to call him Wash. He asks if she has heard anything from her brother, and Codex says no, but she did tell her family to flee, so she hopes they are safe.  The two of them chat for a bit longer before they decide to head back to the keep, but before they leave, Wash stops Codex as if he remembered something important, and he tells her that if she ever sees anyone with teeth tattooed on their hand, she should find him immediately. Codex does not pester him about this cryptic warning.

### Quick Confab

Back at the keep, One attempts to make breakfast for the group. This process is intercepted by Terrance who can tell that she has no idea what she is doing. As the two of them make food for everyone, One notices Terrance is more lost in thought than usual. She asks if everything is okay and Terrance, rather nonchalantly, tells her that he thinks the beast they are going after is the same thing that killed his dad. One, unsure of how to respond, looks to Shae, who is also in the kitchen, for guidance. Terrance notices their concern and tells the rest of the group that it is no big deal, that he was really young when it happened, but from what his mom told him, the cases sound eerily similar. If anything, he wishes he had more information because it could help them with their upcoming mission. It is at this point that Wash and Codex return from their outing, Isa joins everyone in the kitchen, and everyone prepares to be transported to the Wilds.

### The Midnora Pass

A carriage arrives outside of the Pale White Castle Keep as a mage emerges to teleport them to the Midnora Pass in the Dolmond Mountains to meet with a contact the di Martes have waiting for them. Apparently, their only defining feature is that they will be wearing black leathers. The area they are teleported to looks lived in and well traversed, which makes the party feel momentarily safe. They walk and talk for a while before they notice that they haven’t seen any other travelers in quite some time. The path starts to rumble, and they can tell something is moving nearby. Everyone gets into a position where they can hide from the creature, worried that this may be the beast they were sent after. Suddenly, a chimera crashes down in front of them and starts to attack. The party fights back doing everything in their power to subdue the beast. Isa swings with her axe, One shoots at it from a distance, and Terry charges in to beat one of its heads with a rock. Codex casts a spell on the creature that results in an additional outburst of magic that lands on One. It gives her the ability to fly, which in actuality doesn’t help or hinder her ability to fight. Terry attempts to slam the creature to the ground but gets thrown across the pass and slammed into the wall of the valley. It is Isa who deals the final blow to the chimera, putting her axe directly between the eyes of the lion's head, causing it to fly into as the last of its life is drained.

Isa notices there are several arrows lodged into the backside of the creature. From further up the pass, three humanoids, two of which are dressed in black leather, run towards the Faded Fates. The first person to arrive at the body of the chimera makes a big fuss about how the party stole their kill. He is pale with long, dark hair, with one green and one yellow eye. The group tries to explain that they didn’t know it was someone else’s kill and they were just defending themselves. It is Shae who asks if this group is who Fiara wanted them to meet. One of the other people introduces herself as Willow. She has dark skin, white braids, and small black sunglasses that sit on the bridge of her nose. She introduces the others as well, the angry one is Rush, and the third person, pale with short dark hair and pink eyes, is Howl. He looks like he is from the Burg, unlike the other two. Willow explains that they picked him up a few days before because they were looking for the same thing, the beast of the Wilds. Rush says that he and Willow are basically monster hunters, although he doesn’t like calling themselves that, and the Faded Fates just cut into their profit. Willow tells the group they are heading to the camp to discuss the plan further and leads the way further down the pass. While they are walking, Shae sidles up next to Howl, who she greets like an old friend. He says he is surprised to see her and she says the same of him. She asks what he is doing here, and he tells her that she should know what he’s after, it was something they had both experienced before. Shae nods, and Howl asks if her group can be trusted. Shae says not fully, and Howl takes note of this and decides not to say anything more.

Hanging out somewhere in the middle of the walking order are Wash and One, who are silently striding next to each other. One fidgets nervously like she wants to say something, but she is hard to read behind her armor. She eventually speaks up to ask Wash if they are friends. She explains she’s been trying to figure out her relationships with people recently and wants to know if they are friends or just work partners. A bit taken back by her question, Wash asks if she wants to be friends. This causes One to short circuit for a moment, and she says she’ll think on it and get back to him.

Codex, in a good mood as usual, walks by herself and humming a song. Rush shoots her a glare as if to tell her to stop, but she keeps going and casts Message into Rush’s head so he can hear her singing even louder. Her spell is interrupted by an ominous voice in her head that asks her how fast she can run. She thinks this is a bit dramatic, but she stops casting anyway. Isa talks to Rush, hoping to lighten his dark energy. She asks how he knows Fiara. He sighs and says that he owes her a favor, the rest doesn’t really matter. He wouldn’t have anything to do with this if it weren’t for that. As Isa extends her hand for their formal introduction, he sniffs it and, a little too casually, asks if she has a blood type preference. She asks what he is talking about, and Rush laughs and asks if she is sleeping with Fiara or Cazamir. Isa crosses her arms and says neither as Rush scoffs, and the two continue to walk in an uncomfortable silence. Eventually, they arrive at Willow and Rush’s camp to begin yet another debrief for their upcoming mission.