Altheya - Episode 7: The House of the Rose

Katie Morrison as Daisy Thistleheart

 Kim Richards as Gruffudd of Tremorrew

Rhiannon Frost as Ophelia D'larosa

 Tom Hazell as Xantheus Auregan

**The House of the Rose** is the 7th episode of the Altheya: The Dragon Empire Campaign. It was broadcast live on both the highrollersdnd Twitch and YouTube channel on the 7th of January 2024 from 5PM to 8PM GMT.

*Happy new year! We're exploring the diverse city of Ashen Rest and preparing to meet the Duke!*

## **Summary**

### **Announcements**

* Mark welcomes everyone to the stream, to 2024, and introduces the players.
* There has been a lot of great fan art and HR-related cosplay during the break. There will be a new video with these pieces coming out soon. Please put your fan art in the Discord.
* People are encouraged to join the HR Discord where you can talk to fellow HR fans, discuss the campaign, and find people for your own D&D campaign.
* If you can, please sign up to YouTube membership or Patreon. Becoming a Twitch member gives you access to all of the HR emotes.

### Recap

*This story began in the village of Burnell, a little trading community nestled beneath the Obsidian Mountains and well-positioned near the Imperial Highway – a stopover for travellers going to, or coming from, the Empire’s great capital city of Kelscariss. In this quaint and pastoral village, a group of five strangers met: Gruffudd, a Wildheart fisherman with dreams of becoming a knight, Ophelia D’larosa, a traveller from a distant land with a skeletal assistant, Rowan, a gentle giant with a love of stone and music, Daisy, a seemingly simple local girl with voices in her head, and Xantheus, a Dragonborn haunted by nightmares and with unusual magical powers.*

*Brought together during an investigation for a group of escaped criminals, this party worked together and tracked them down to a nearby mine, fighting off strange creatures drawn to gold and gems. They discovered the criminals were involved in a strange plot connected to a magical rod, an evil and heretical Goddess, and a local mine foreman. With the monsters slain, the criminals captured or killed, and the rod stolen at the last moment by a scrupulous Tyfling, our newly formed party were free to leave the village of Burnell and make their way onwards to the town of Ashen Rest with gold in their pockets, and a signed favour to be presented to the regional Duke. Having befriended a few of the soldiers, and with the local law enforcers suspicious of some of them, alongside them, they travelled the road south – fortunate, as they soon found themselves under attack by a pack of Gnolls, Vaultspawn, created by the Proto Magi long ago and now loose and wild in the world.*

*Surviving the attack, their journey continued, and at last they arrived in the prosperous town of Ashen Rest.*

### **Part One**

*The team are in need of a good ol' bath as they explore the city of Ashen Rest!*

***(A slight retcon on the last episode: the inn, The Enticing Devil, that the players were told about last episode has been removed. The two other inns that they were informed about have switched character from episode 6 (or maybe Sergeant Yarrow got them mixed up? ~Crispi) – The Grumpy Hog is now the quieter, more up-market inn that tailors itself to travellers, while The Clever Toad is cheaper and more of a brawler’s tavern.)***

It is overcast but fair weather. The party is moving through the central plaza of Ashen Rest while considering their options. The town is large – probably the largest settlement that Rowan, Daisy, and Gruffudd have seen, although is comparable to what Ophelia is used to in Osseus (usually run by a Provincial Lord or a major priest/priestess, and usually the size of town where a House would have representation) – Xantheus has recently been to Kelscariss, a much larger, capital city. In the centre of the central plaza of Ashen Rest is a fountain that is adorned with several statues, one of them being the Dragon Empress. In life, the Dragon Empress had a magic about her that made it difficult to perceive her and to remember exactly how she looked, so records and art or sculpture of her is left up to artistic interpretation – for this reason, there is never a set appearance for her when she is depicted. This artist has made the sculpture from shimmering, iridescent crystal that reflects the light in a cascade of rainbow colours and the Empress is shown in full majestic Draconic form with ten horns sprouting out from her head, and great majestic wings. The other statues are of Red Dragons and several famous Caldran knights.

The plaza is an open space with statues and fountains surrounded by shops, dining, and drinking establishments. It is busy. There are entertainers such as jugglers, dancers, and musicians performing on the streets for locals and travellers alike who mill about in the plaza area. There is a beautiful sign nearby pointing towards the Dominus Ignarum. The Grumpy Hog is a very large tavern – it is two buildings conjoined and is three storeys tall, so they imagine that there must be dozens of rooms available there.

Rowan is impressed that they have met a real knight and Gruff is not only impressed but a little bit overwhelmed – this is what he aspires to be one day. Daisy decides that she will write a letter of reference for Gruff and does so while she walks while the others steer her. While Ophelia is prepared to pay the extra amount asked by The Grumpy Hog, thinking that this will guarantee a certain amount of quality, the others think it prudent to check The Clever Toad to see if that would be to their liking – Rowan offers to go and check it out. Xantheus suggests going to the baths first before they have to deal with any locals – he hopes that their looking presentable may make their first interactions more positive.

Looking around, they see that most of the people in Caldra are well-presented: some have expensive dress, others have relatively simple clothing but most look like they have clean hair and clothes (even the poorer clothes that may be patched are well-maintained). They do notice some people who stand out from the crowd – people wearing woodsman’s garb or green rangers’ outfits who look a little more bedraggled, and they believe that these people are likely from Mistwold, the province of the Green Dragon, not far from Caldra. Looking around, they also see people from the Suncrest Isles, Gildai, and Urdas Kirr – they do not see too many people from Azarr Steppe or Iceheart, however, given that they are so far away. They realise that having been on the road for a week, as well as in combat, they have mud and blood on their clothes and boots, and they need a wash themselves. Rowan holds up his arm and Ophelia is almost sick at the sudden stench, so Percival moves up to her with a pomander to overcome the smell and stop her retching. With Rowan and Gruff having been on the road for some time before meeting the rest of the group, it is clear that a bath will be welcome (and overdue) for both of them. Xantheus looks around the shops bordering the plaza for clothing that would be suitable to meet the Duke but the only clothing shops he can see here offer simple clothing. He is aware that because Ashen Rest is a traders’ town and is on a major trade route, there will be shops that suit his need elsewhere, possibly down one of the side streets.

The plaza itself appears to be surrounded by shops that cater to tourists and statues that depict figures of Caldran history. There are several things that are clear standouts to them in the area of the plaza. The first is The Grumpy Hog Tavern (mainly because of its huge size) – the swinging sign on the outside is a man-like pig’s face that is frowning while he holds a beer in each hand to the side of his head. The second is the number of large towers that emerge from the rest of the town and stand tall over it. One of the towers that they passed on their way to the plaza (#5 on the map of Ashen Rest) is one of the tallest towers in the city – it has a large magical crystal at its peak that is illuminated, and they think that at sundown this will shine brightly as a beacon all around. Hanging off this tower are dozens of smaller magical lights, and there is a sigil on the door. It looks to be an important-looking building, well-guarded by guards who are not wearing the Duke’s armour (and are probably private guards). Another tower, across the plaza (#6 on the map), is a marvellous stone tower with a spiralling design that has crystals that seem to capture light and project faint images of a draconic shape, making it look like a Dragon is coiled around the tower itself. The projected Dragon has elements of the Empress and may be intended to represent her – the tower is beautifully engraved and is a masterpiece of stonework.

They also see an imposing building on their left just before they enter the plaza – a temple to Saint Abrenor(sp?) with the relevant signs and sigils on its exterior. Saint Abrenor is one of the ascended saints of the Church of the Scion and is the saint of magic, mathematics, systems, and record-keeping – the building (#4 on the map) is a public library and has a record keeping department and is called The House of the Quill and Scale. On the opposite side of the plaza (#9 on the map) is a weaponsmith’s shop with a beautiful shopfront – there is artisan-level filigreed full plate armour displayed in the window (similar to what Sir Greold was wearing), plush red velvet interiors, and no obvious weapons on display inside – instead there are staff discussing items with mercenaries and travellers. It appears that the weapons sold here will be quite expensive and custom made.

They decide to head first to the temple dedicated to Saint Tyfeen, the House of the Rose, where they will be able to have a bath and make themselves more presentable to the people of Ashen Rest. The House of the Rose is a beautiful building decorated with statues and other artworks depicting the Tyfling, Saint Tyfeen, various acolytes, children, and symbols of beauty and love. The main building is a large, multi-storeyed structure with an attached side building with a garden at the rear. In the garden, they see six or seven children who are being escorted around and entertained by a robed priestess and a Human priest – these appear to be their caretakers, teachers, and possibly their parents. The party notices several people approaching the shrine – some are turned away while others are part of a queue that is emerging from the door. They make their way up the stairs and enter the main chamber of the temple. In front of them, as they enter, is a statue of Saint Tyfeen, although she is depicted as a Succubus demon rather than a Tyfling – she holds children in one arm and offers her other out delicately as if inviting someone to join her in an embrace. Around them are desks with desks with mirrors, ointments, hair treatments, and so on, all scattered around the temple – at each of the desks are acolytes, priests, and priestesses who are brushing people’s hair, or assisting them with make up or lotions. Occasionally, someone will speak to a priest of priestess and be taken to a private room that is off to the sides of the main temple where some sort of service is offered (*yes… it’s “tea”*). There is an open door that appears to lead to the garden behind the temple where they can see people relaxing, but they cannot see where they would need to go to get a bath.

They notice a Dwarven woman with silver earthskin dots embedded into her neck (almost like piercings) who carries a collections box, and as people enter the temple and use or request services, she speaks to them and gets a donation from them before moving onto the next patron. The services are free, but donations are very much appreciated. There are two prominent figures at the back of the temple near some doors that open onto some downward leading stairs, and they are speaking to a group of citizens that have gathered around them. The two figures appear to be the leaders of the shrine, the Reverend Mother and Reverend Father – both are Wildheart rabbits with long ears, tufted hair, and tails, and the woman, who is six-feet-tall, occasionally takes a puff on her long-stemmed bronze pipe. They are dressed in beautiful robes, and while the woman’s is very low cut, the Reverend Father’s exposes his sculpted physique, showing off his abs and arms to great advantage. Both look sensual and alluring. They are currently having a hushed discussion with the people gathered around them and things do not appear to be well.

A young Human man in his 20s approaches them – he is clean-shaven with perfectly quaffed, oiled, and styled hair, blue make up around his eyes and bronzer applied. He wishes them day’s blessings and offers to assist them. When they explain that they would like a bath, the young man apologises and explains that the baths, famous hot springs, are currently out of service with no estimated time for which they will once again be available – he tells them that the Reverend Mother and Reverend Father are discussing the problem and trying to resolve the issue. He advises that in a pinch, they can provide wash basins to clean faces, hands, and feet, and can organise for the cleaning of clothes. Ophelia is devastated. The young man offers to allow them to speak to the Reverend Mother and Father but tells them that they are trying to find someone to make the appropriate repairs. They agree to speak to the leaders. As they approach, they overhear an older Dwarven man complaining that the baths have been out of operation for days – the Reverend Mother asks him if he knows any artificers or those skilled in magic who might be able to help.

When they make enquiries about using the baths, they are told that they are out of order but that every attempt is being made to find someone to fix the problem. The Reverend Father does not recognise them as any of their regular patrons. He introduces himself as Reverend Father Dandeli and his companion as Reverend Mother Aurelle before welcoming them to the House of Lover. Dandeli and Aurelle are brother and sister. Ophelia introduces herself and offers her assistance if there is anything that they can do – after looking them over, she asks if they have any experience dealing with water spirits and usher away the rest of the people milling around them.

Once they are alone, Aurelle begins to explain the problem to them. Beneath the temple are the baths, geothermal springs – magical fountains draw the water up into the baths and add a subtle enchantment to give rejuvenation and relaxation. A few days ago, something started to go wrong with the magic and the water began to come to life. The water is not harmful, but it is aggressive. It began to create a less than relaxing atmosphere for the bathers, so acolytes were sent down to disperse them (an easy task). Every time they were removed, the water spirits would return a little bit more aggressive, and now it has got to the point that no one can get into the bath chamber at all without being blasted with water and sent flying, so no one can do the necessary repairs. Aurelle tells them that it is not dangerous, just troublesome.

Dandeli tells them that they have no idea of the source of the mischief – the temple has been around for hundreds of years, long before he and his sister took over its care, and nothing like this has ever happened. They have been trying to hire someone to find out what the problem is and to fix it but have so far been unsuccessful. If the travellers are able to fix the baths, however, Aurelle and Dandeli agree that they can temporarily have the temple’s services pro bono – there would not be a monetary reward because all donations go into paying for the orphanage or provision of services in the temple. Rowan tells them that the party is just happy to help which makes Aurelle very grateful – she unashamedly takes his dirty hand and pats it in a motherly manner. Aurelle appears to be the more affectionate of the two siblings, while Dandeli is more complimentary (he enjoys Daisy’s bodice with its beautiful flowers, Xantheus’ shining scales, and Gruff’s fluffy mane).

Aurelle asks them to keep the baths as clean as possible if they plan to go down into the rooms and asks them to remove their armour and clothes, possibly even their weapons. Rowan immediately begins taking off his jerkin before Aurelle stops him and tells him about the changing rooms downstairs. Xantheus prefers to keep his clothing on and offers their magical abilities to discover the cause of the problem and fix it if possible. Aurelle leaves Dandeli in the temple to deal with any further enquiries and leads the party downstairs to the softly lit spa area where there is a faint sound of music in the air.

There are large open, ungendered changing rooms for all guests along with storage chests for their gear. There are a number of smaller rooms off to the side for other treatments. All but Xantheus strip down – Rowan puts on a loin cloth and his flip flops, Daisy takes her layers down to a linen slip dress, Ophelia strips right back to a wrap and loin cloth, and Gruff goes naked but refuses to be parted from his staff – Xantheus maintains a perfect eyeline to ensure that he only has eye contact with Gruff. Xantheus, on the other hand, only removes his outer layers (such as his cloak) and ensures that his whole body and hands are well-covered. Percival stays completely robed and stays behind in the changing rooms.

They are told that there are multiple bath chambers with similar fountains that have similar problems, but that if they can work out how to fix one, the rest will be sorted out quite quickly afterwards. As they begin to walk into the chamber, they notice the soft orange underglow lighting from four magical torches in the corner of the room. There are tables, chairs, and benches, a large fountain in a circular pool that is bubbling with jets, and at the far edge are two wall-mounted fountains pouring water into the main bath pool from the geothermal springs below ground. Each of the fountains has been beautifully inscribed and carved with runes. There is a heavy scent of lavender and herbs in the air and hot steam hits them gently. The second that they all emerge into the room, the water in each of the three fountains starts to coalesce into amorphous shapes. As the water pulls itself to life, they notice a distortion in the air around the fountains.

Daisy walks towards the back wall and approaches one of the fountains and the churning and roiling water there – as she gets next to the fountain, the water surges towards her, pushing her backwards into Xantheus, both of whom end up sprawled on their backs on the floor in a puddle. Daisy can feel the rejuvenative power of the warm and pleasant water, but it almost seems to be too enhanced, and she notices that her skin is really slippery when she tries stands up – she has been EXFOLIATED!

Ophelia tries to learn more about the fountain that Daisy has just been to on the back wall – she can see that there is some errant magic in the air that is disrupting the magic of the fountain and causing the water creatures to reform. She thinks that if she destroys the water, which she should be able to do with a single hit, it will reform and be more aggressive again - it may then be stronger or harder to hit. To fix it, she thinks that they can use magic to disperse the malign magic influencing the fountain, but they must get very close to the fountain, somehow avoiding the water blasts of the magical creature. Ophelia tries to attract the interest of the water creature in case she can stop it attacking anyone else so that they can get close to the fountain and calls out what to do with the others.

Rowan moves up to the fountain next to Ophelia, telling her that what she has said sounds really important – he dips his hands into the water in the fountain… then starts cleaning his armpits. The water is lovely and refreshing, washing away the smell and he wishes that he could soak in it. Gruff moves to the same fountain as Ophelia and Rowan – being more attuned to natural energy and primal magic, he is certain that there is a malignant force that is not primal magic. Reaching into the water, he calls on the energy of the elements and cleanses the malignant energy, although he is still not sure of the cause.

The water creature at the cleansed fountain does not immediately disappear – it remains focused on Ophelia but creates a 10-foot-wide wave that catches Ophelia, Rowan, and Gruff in it. Ophelia and Rowan are immediately washed away, exfoliated, and end up in a big pile on top of Daisy and Xantheus; Gruff, however, manages to resist the watery shove. The water creature that has just washed them away surges towards the bubbling fountain across the room.

The remaining two water creatures create a cloud of steam and mist around the last two fountains that obscures them from view. Xantheus, at the bottom of a pile of bodies (Daisy, Ophelia, and Rowan), slips out then moves close to the edge of the fog cloud with the intention of burning off some of the steam with a *Burning Hands* spell – when he gets to the edge, however, he is spotted by the aggressive spirit that attacked them before and shoved back into the pile of bodies with a blast of warm water, exfoliating him again. Daisy struggles to get out of the pile and out from under Rowan who is lying on top of her – she manages to commando crawl her way out, then gets up, slides towards the bubbling fountain, and hides under a nearby table. Daisy asks Nim whether she will be able to use any sort of magic to fix the malfunctioning fountains and is met with some good-natured laughter (Nim thinks that the situation is very amusing) - Nim tells her that it is not clear if Daisy would be able to disable one of the fountains herself but may be able to distract one of the water creatures to allow the others to help. Daisy moves towards the bubbling fountain and its water creature, and even though it blasts her with water, she manages to grab onto the edge of the bath, avoiding being blown back into the pile.

Ophelia, currently in the middle of the pile (playing sandwich meat to Xantheus and Rowan), is angry – she wants a bath. Enraged, she stands up and then runs up and across the back wall, shouting abuse at the two water creatures in front of her, trying to draw their attacks. Rowan gets up and starts to move behind Daisy – being exfoliated, he is incredibly slippery, and manages to fall straight over again onto Xantheus. He stands again and falls over for a second time. Rowan’s hands ripple with green energy as the geometric patterns activate – he closes his eyes and puts his hands into the ground. When he opens his eyes, they are also green – he pulls his hands back out of the ground, pulling behind them, a huge mattress that is coalescing out of magical energy. He waits, looking as if he is waiting to see who will get blasted next, ready to catch them in his new mattress.

Gruff uses *Shape Water* to try to freeze the water creature on top of the bubbling fountain but because the water is a hot spring, the spell fails to complete the freezing process before it thaws again. Instead, Gruff moves to a very slippery Xantheus and picks him up off the floor.

One of the water creatures notices Daisy and blasts her with water – this time, she does not get a grip on the edge of the bath and is blasted backwards against the wall, exfoliated. Fed up, she rolls under the bench and lies, facing the ceiling, waiting for someone to come and help her. Another creature attempts to blast Ophelia on the wall but she manages to dodge and stay put for now. Slippery Xantheus grabs Rowan by the arm and calls on Gruff to push him towards the bubbling fountain like a curling stone – he makes it over on his knees but is blasted backwards and exfoliated again by a jet of hot water.

### **Part Two**

*We continue to explore the city of Ashen Rest... but first, some pesky Water Spirits are interrupting bath time!*

Daisy tries to stand up and falls over again, so commando crawls over to behind the bubbling fountain and up to the water creature there in an attempt to distract it. Daisy then asks Nim what she should do: Nim does not have the ability to do magic outside of Daisy’s body but tells her that the malignant magic feels familiar somehow. It is also obscured from Nim, and she cannot disperse the magic but can temporarily disrupt and disperse the water creature that has been created. Daisy reaches out and touches the fountain – there is a flash of light, and the water becomes normal even though the fountain is still distorted with magic. Nim recommends looking into the distorted magic some time in the future since it has unsettled her.

Ophelia climbs around on the ceiling and drops to the floor behind the wall fountain, readying herself to assist the next person to come over and try to deal with the fountain. Rowan grabs his mattress and moves to Xantheus, putting the mattress where Xantheus just landed. He grips Xantheus by the shoulder, sending a ripple of energy into him, casting *Enhance Ability*, giving Xantheus *Bull’s Strength.* Finally, he gives Xantheus *Bardic Inspiration*, summoning a *Mote of Potential* that spins around Xantheus’ head.

Gruff moves to Ophelia’s fountain but is blown back by a jet of warm water and exfoliated. Looking like a drowned cat and angry now, Gruff, who had tried to be respectful and work with nature, decides that enough is enough. “Bramm an gath!”(see Trivia) he cries and casts *Destroy Water.* Both water creatures are destroyed and all the water in the 4-foot-deep bath is evaporated. The fountains begin to replace the water in the bath, but it is slow work. With the water destroyed, they see the distorted fields of magic around the fountains – Gruff’s anger seems to mix with the malignant magic field, and they hear a spark and crackle in the air as the water starts to fill back up. Xantheus stands and moves to the bubbling fountain, casting a spell to burn the malignant magic aura away as he moves towards it. Xantheus then tries to grab and use the fountain to turn the corner towards the other fountain on the wall, but his exfoliated and slippery hand cannot get purchase. He loses his grip on the fountain and shoots straight into the wall behind it. Rowan slams the mattress on the ground next to him.

After seeing Xantheus launch himself into the wall, Ophelia sits on the edge of the bath, dangles her feet, and waits for the water to come back while she points at the fountain on the wall behind her with one hand. In a supremely casual but cool manner, Rowan grabs the mattress and uses it as a surfboard to move next to the fountain on the back wall. He steps off it, takes a couple of steps and shoots magic into the fountain to disable it. With his connection to stone, Rowan can feel that there is an anger, an aggressive beat to the malign magic – it is soft and has woven itself into the bath house, and he knows that it has been caused somehow, even if it is not on purpose. Rowan tells the magic that there is no need to be angry any more, that it is free to leave – it does, and the bath fills up with normal warm water.

Now that they know what to do, they explain the outcome to the temple staff, and with help, clear all of the other bath houses of their malign magic. When they return to the upstairs area, the Reverend Mother Aurelle sees Xantheus’ bleeding nose and a very wet and angry Gruff standing in a puddle and asks if they are ok. She is surprised that anyone has been harmed by the creatures since they have never done this before. Aurelle casts *Cure Wounds* on Xantheus and heals his nose – to Xantheus, the healing magic is evocative of his mother kissing a wound to make it better. She goes around the group offering hugs of thanks to all of them and offers them free services from the temple for the day. They ask for clothes cleaning and are offered a private bath chamber, which they accept. Percival stands by the side of the bath with a towel, waiting for Ophelia to finish her bath.

Xantheus appears for a bath with clean bandages around his chest and across his shoulder – there are some small areas poking through the edges of the bandages that look heavily scarred, but most of the wound is covered. (He has also cast a spell (likely *Alter Self)* to hide the damage to his hand from the others). He has waited until the others have been in for a while and are now relaxed. Gruff is very grumpily sitting in the water and watches Xantheus come in. He looks at Xantheus’ chest, but remembering Xantheus’ reaction when he was touched there, simply asks, “Does it hurt?”

Xantheus says that it does not hurt much any more and that he thinks that it is healing. When Rowan asks him what happened, Xantheus tells him that when he was in Kelscariss, he “got into a little scrap with somebody”. Gruff tries to work out if Xantheus is telling the truth about how he got the wound, but he knows that Xantheus’ story is possible, and he might just be ashamed about how he came by it. Either way, there is no reason to believe that there is any more to it than what he has said. Gruff does not wish to push Xantheus to get more information, however, he stores this away for later. Rowan offers to heal the wound, but Xantheus is nervous – when Rowan lazily lifts his hand and casts *Healing Word.* They note that even though they can only see a small amount of scarring peering through the significant amount of bandages, the wound itself must be grievous, but there is no bleeding and the healing spell does nothing. Rowan thinks that the wound is healing naturally on its own and recommends giving the wound some air – Xantheus declines, saying that he would like to keep the bandages on “just in case”.

After they finish their bath and go to the cleaning chambers, the attendants offer them crystal globes that affects the air around them and acts as a warm air dryer. When they return upstairs, the slim and athletic Reverend Father Dandeli offers them the services of any of the attendants. Around them, they see a wolf-like Wildheart being brushed, oiled, and groomed, and another woman next to him having her long hair brushed and braided. Gruff shyly asks one of the attendants to braid his mane and beard so that he can look as presentable as possible.

As they are being pampered, they see a very well-dressed Halfling merchant comes in – he makes a big donation of gold coins before the Reverend Mother Aurelle takes him into a communion room. When she leaves, her brother, Dandeli takes over the services of the temple. It appears that the temple is a very popular place for most people of the town to come once a day or at least a couple of times a week.

Xantheus gets his hair brushed and trimmed and his scales buffed. He talks to the Wildheart deer hairdresser to find out some rumours about the town, also asking where he might find a shop dedicated to magic and sorcery. She tells him about the shrine of the Quill and Scale whose lorekeeper is a mage of sorts, shops like Alguilo’s Alchemicals (although that’s not really sorcery), and a tower near Duskrise – Ravenstar Spire (#11 on the map). There is an Elf who lives there who only comes out around festivals or to speak to the Duke – they come and go as they please and the children perform tricks for them. The Duke has previously called on their services. The strange thing is that there is no door on the tower, so no one knows how to get in – it is assumed that they are a wizard or enchanter. She tells him that magical research is normally done at the shrine, and although there is a school, that is usually to teach children. The Duke has a court mage, one of his Knights of the Realm.

Gruff is being braided by a Dwarven man, a handsome acolyte of Tyfeen who has a long braided beard himself, and has the title Master of Braids. Gruff asks him if he has heard of the Order of the Knights of the Loyal Hound. The Dwarf tells Gruff that while he has heard of the Order, he has not heard of them being in Caldra – the best people to ask, he says, are the Duke’s Knights of the Realm. There is also the up-coming festival and tourney that is due to start in ten days on the first day of the first moon in the month of Bronzeglow. While there is normally a festival on the first day of each month, when everyone has a day off and a bit of fun, this one will be special because it is also Saint Misara’s Day – the Duke will come out and Knights from all over the place to fight in the tourney and show off their skills. It is possible that some of the Knights from this order will come to watch or compete, the Dwarf tells him, and suggests that Gruff go to the tourney field, but he could also go to the cathedral and speak to the Holy Knights if they have some. Gruff is very excited at the prospect of a gathering of Knights.

Ophelia, having her hair brushed, oiled, and slicked by a 17-year-old Human woman, asks how one might conduct themselves favourably when approaching the Duke. She tells Ophelia that one must make an appointment with the Duke’s Considerate, a lovely Dwarf who manages the Duke’s business. Alternatively, she says, in two or three days, the Duke will have an audience where people can simply attend and speak to the Duke about any matters of concern. The woman tells Ophelia that one must be respectful to the Duke – he is well-loved in Ashen Rest, and is a hero after fighting and being wounded in the Insurrection where his mother died to the traitor, Galdvassar(sp?), the Gold Dragon. She then natters on to Ophelia, telling her that she is going to visit her parents, sister and sister’s babber down in Goodvine. The woman recommends that Ophelia, when meeting the Duke, acts as if she is proud of herself, is respectful, and offers and honest compliment. She says that Ophelia can mention his titles, such as The Crimson Bastion – a title given to him during the Auria(sp?) Insurrection because he acted as a protector of the people.

Ophelia asks about what happened during the Insurrection and the woman is astounded that she does not know until Ophelia tells her that she is from Osseus, a land from across the sea. The woman is astounded because she has never met anyone who has made it safely across the sea and past the monsters dwelling within. They are told that Orjanya(sp?) lurk in the depths - they snatch boats and sailors into the deep ocean. Once she has recovered, the woman tells Ophelia that the Auria Insurrection was a great civil war started a few hundred years ago by an Archdragon, Galdvassar. The great Gold Dragon had hoarded magic metal and then eaten it – this caused him to become more powerful, so he and his allies attempted to overthrow and kill the Empress. There was war. The Empress, her allies, and their armies marched against him and fought in Gildai. The Duke’s mother, Lady Ignaxa, was slain in the conflict, and so the Duke became the Lord of Northvale. There is a statue of Lady Ignaxa in the town centre, although the large central statue is of the Dragon Empress.

It is now midday, and the party has spent about two hours in the temple. Their clothes are returned to them – the clothing has been cleaned (although not repaired as this is not a service that they provice) and the boots have been polished. Rowan and Xantheus offer to walk down to the port to check out the Clever Toad and see if it is suitable for them, and the others go to look at the Grumpy Hog Tavern (Daisy thinks they might be better staying at the Grumpy Hog just to keep Ophelia happy since she is scary when she is angry).

The Grumpy Hog Tavern is a large edifice – it is actually two buildings with a connection built between them. When they step inside, it is packed with patrons. The ground floor is a huge dining hall full of various sized tables with a bar at the end of the room. A kitchen is out the back, filled with many chefs and a serving window into the dining area and where serving staff collect food to deliver to the customers. The bar is quieter, and it has some booths and smaller tables, as well as a fireplace, above which is a large portrait of a very grumpy, tired, and heavily scarred Wildheart man with porcine features (piggy snout and ears, pink skin, and chubby cheeks). The man in the portrait is dressed in very fine clothing, and there is a plaque underneath that they are too far away to read. There is also a balcony around the top area where there is more seating and some booths. A small empty stage sits in the middle of the room, and it is available for people to play.

Serving at the bar, they see a porcine Wildheart who bears a familial resemblance to the man in the painting. He has an eyepatch and a few scars on his burly arms, a small moustache (like Poirot), floppy ears, and he is smoking a large cigar while he serves drinks and chats to a few of the regulars. They notice that the dining hall is completely full with no empty tables, although there is room upstairs on the balcony, and there are empty tables near the bar. Even though the furniture is not luxurious, it is of good quality, and Ophelia would be satisfied to stay here. Thinking that Rowan could perform on the stage, they consider whether they might be able to negotiate a reduction in price for the entertainment.

Ophelia makes enquiries with the barman who introduces himself as Hogrim Horker, the owner of The Grumpy Hog. Stubbing out his cigar, he tells her that the basic rooms sleep two people, costs 25g per night and that this includes breakfast between 6 and 9 in the morning. There are also larger, more expensive rooms available. Other meals are not included in the price, but they can get food and drink (including fine wine) at the inn at any time of day. He lights a fresh cigar and puffs on it while they consider whether to book some rooms or wait for the boys. Daisy asks Hogrim if he is looking for musicians to perform on stage – he tells them that while they are always welcome, he has a couple who perform every night already and would need to hear any prospective employee at an audition set. Hogrim is a bit less impressed when he hears that there is a song about the feelings of a pebble that does not have lyrics but is open-minded (unlike his great grandfather), which is why they call him “Happy” Hogrim.

Ophelie buys some drinks for the three of them – Gruff gets some Iceheart mead (Hogrim, having done some travelling in the Duke’s army recognises that Gruff is from Iceheart from his garb), Daisy asks for orange juice, and Ophelia gets a bottle of red wine for herself (this all costs 13g).

Xantheus and Rowan walk down towards The Clever Toad Inn, and it takes them about 20 minutes to get to the area near the river. At the end of the street, they can see river barges arriving, stopping at the docks, and unloading goods, before loading new cargo and departing once more. The river is called the Ruby River, and it is a major river in Caldra that runs the length of most of the province. They hear The Clever Toad Inn before they see it – there is a shrieking and howling as two very drunk and rough-looking sailors roughhouse with what appears to be a shroud of fabric that is crawling over them. The sailors struggle for a bit with this unseen foe, stumble, and then simply run off. A third sailor comes out of the inn, and immediately vomits outside the tavern – he is immediately pounced upon and swarmed by the fabric, which they can now see are small, cloaked figures. As the man stumbles off, the small figures kick him in the legs. It becomes apparent that there are 7-8 of the small figures, and they are only 2-3-feet-tall. Once they have dealt with the drunk sailors, the small figures swarm back into the inn. The swinging sign hanging outside the tavern is a purple and orange frog with a wizard’s hat and an open book, wearing an arrogant smirk on its face.

Having seen the reaction to the brawlers and the sick sailor, both Rowan and Xantheus attempt to work out what Ophelia would think of this inn – they both think that her reaction will not be particularly favourable. Rowan suggests checking the inside, suggesting that it may be pristine inside and that what they have previously seen might be a ruse – as he says this, one of the windows smashes as someone is thrown outside. It is a large, hulking Bugbear (a rare occurrence, since these creatures came from the Feyweald a long time ago with the Elves). The massive Bugbear gets up from the pool of shattered glass, crying his eyes out, and is unceremoniously chased down the street by the seven, shrouded figures that have emerged from the inn. It is not long before they return and go back in again, however. Rowan and Xantheus briefly see a homely and rustic inn through the broken window – ship parts have been turned into tables and chairs, and things look ramshackle if well-structured. They almost immediately see small, clawed hands putting up and hammering boards over the broken window. Through the now boarded up window, they hear singing, laughing, and more vomiting. They watch as a courier bringing a package, walks into the inn – as soon as he walks in, they hear a dozen small, squeaky voices call out a welcome.

Rowan decides to follow the courier in and sees that the layout of the inn is like a Viking long hall with a second floor and separate stable rooms out the back. The bar is a ramshackle mess – it looks almost as if someone has collected things that they have found and turned them into other things. Behind the long bar are twelve Kobolds in matching outfits with a painted toad (matching the one on the sign outside) displayed on the chest, and as they walk in, all twelve call out a welcome in unison in high, squeaky voices before going back to doing what they were doing (pouring drinks, cleaning cups, cooking meat skewers, end so on).

The place is packed with sailors, carpenters, and labourers – there is a much more down-to-earth feel about the place. Walking around, serving drinks and food, are the twelve Kobolds in cloaks and hoods who had chased out the rowdy and drunk patrons – all of the Kobolds, both those hooded and behind the bar, look very similar, almost identical, and are probably part of one family. There are minor differences, such as a small difference in spines and scales, but it is hard to tell them apart. At the far end, there are some Dwarven teenagers huddled around a glass cabinet, inside of which is a big fat toad in a wizard’s hat with a book, with “CLEVER TOAD” written on the glass above it. When they put a brass coin into the cabinet and pull a lever, the toad’s eyes open and it glows for a moment before it mutters something. The kids laugh before repeating the process.

Xantheus grabs a Kobold who runs past and makes an enquiry about rooms for rent, referring to Rowan as his friend (which causes Rowan to tear up).

The Kobold welcomes him and introduces himself as Ixel Tarrik(sp?). Ixel excuses himself saying that he has to get back to what he was doing, but introduces Uran(sp?) Tarrik, another Kobold. A room for four is 20g, and an individual room is 10g. Uran excuses himself but passes them onto Zini(sp?) Tarrik – she is smaller than her brother and her voice is squeakier. Xantheus, having attempted to have this conversation twice now, swiftly goes through his request with her. Food is not included, but the rooms are available.

When she glances over her shoulder, as if to pass off to another sibling, they make the gesture of the open hand with he fingertips swiping across the throat, indicating that none of them is keen to step up – Zini has a few more minutes to spend with him. Xantheus checks with Rowan and tells her that they will have to fetch their friends. She tells him that when he comes back, to try the toad sticks.

## **YouTube Timestamps**

0:00:00 - Intro and announcements

0:04:07 - Part 1

1:33:49 - Part 2

## **Characters**

#### **PCs**

* Daisy Thistleheart
* Gruffudd of Tremorrew
* Ophelia D'larosa
* Rowan
* Xantheus Auregan

#### **New NPCs**

* Reverend Father Dandeli Everdew
* Reverend Mother Aurelle Everdew
* "Happy" Hogrim Horker
* Ixel Tarrik(sp?), a Kobold owner of The Clever Toad
* Uran Tarrik(sp?), a Kobold owner of The Clever Toad
* Zini Tarrik(sp?), a Kobold owner of The Clever Toad

#### **Mentioned NPCs**

* Saint Tyfeen
* Saint Abrenor(sp?)
* The Dragon Empress
* Archdragon Galdvassar, a Gold Dragon and a traitor to the Empress
* Lady Ignaxa, Duke Ignarious’ mother

## **Featured Locations**

* Ashen Rest
	+ Central Plaza
	+ House of the Rose
	+ The Grumpy Hog Inn
	+ The The Clever Toad Inn

## **Trivia**

* Tom was having a laugh in the intro because he had a burp brewing and was imagining what would happen if he threw up. Trott asked if people could see a mark on his face because he was wearing a mask earlier…
* Mark presented the players with a map of Ashen Rest this episode. He had forgotten that he had mentioned the inn, The Enticing Devil, to the players and it does not appear on the map. He instead retconned this information, and the suggestion is that they *just* closed down. It is actually because he needed to be able to put other things on the map.
* The House of the Rose is the shrine to Saint Tyfeen.
* The plaza is described as being similar to those “found in Florence or Firenze”.
* **Lore drop**: Caldran culture is based on the attitudes of the Red Dragons who have natural pride. This has an almost magical influence on the people on the region, who take great pride in their appearance – even a poor farmer will take the time to make sure that they present well (their hair will be washed and clean, their clothes will be in good repair, etc.). They do allow for people to get dirty and do not expect people to be clean all the time, however. While there may be people wandering around in woodsman’s garb or green ranger’s outfits that look somewhat messier than usual, these people stand out, even if they are not treated with open disdain. Rowan and Gruff stand out because their clothes are patched together and functional, but they just don’t look particularly well maintained. Daisy, as a Caldran, fits right in, and her outfit is similar to what can be seen on young women around the town. Ophelia looks like she fits in with her intricate and detailed armour and stylish dress. Xantheus’ style of dress is relatively simple, but he has added richer elements where he can.
* **Lore** **drop**: Saint Abrenor(sp?) is one of the ascended saints of the Church of the Scion and is the saint of magic, mathematics, systems, and record-keeping. Temples to Saint Abrenor are called The House of the Quill and Scale.
* Mark claims to have rolled randomly for the NPCs in the shrine to Saint Tyfeen. “I really did roll randomly for the NPCs and the head of the Tyfeen Shine, but when I got Wildheart I knew it HAD to be rabbit people. Be grateful I put her brother in there as well to balance it out. But yeah, the temples of the Saint of Love provide MANY services, and a rabbit lady and rabbit man being in charge is a fun little detail. “
* **Lore drop**: Urdas Kirr is the Black Dragon province, Gildai is the Gold Dragon province, the Suncrest Isles is the Bronze Dragon province.
* Kim imagines that the sauna culture in Iceheart is similar to the Swedes, Norwegians, and Finns. Mark advised that Caldra and Iceheart would both be very similar since they both have geothermal areas, so hot springs and saunas would be very common in both areas. While Gruff was resistant to the idea of a bath, once hot springs were mentioned, he was immediately interested.
* Mark joked that with Gruff going naked, this was the perfect time to roll for dick size. Kim did not roll but said that she would need to roll a d30 for Gruff. Trott did roll for Rowan and got an 8 – given that Cam had rolled a 20, and Lucius a 1, Mark decided that this should be rounded up to 10 to leave the universe in balance. Trott had asked if he could use a Crucible of Fate die, but they had not yet rolled the dice and the decision was just to use a straight roll.
* Private baths are a pleasurable thing in Osseus, but the idea of a communal bath would seem very strange to them. Percival takes the opportunity to wash his robe whenever he can.
* This episode introduced the homebrew condition of "exfoliation". It makes a player slippery and requires an acrobatics check when the player tries to stand up (**DC?**).
* When a player is pushed back and exfoliated by the water spirits (Strength saving throw DC **13 or 14**), their movement speed becomes zero.
* Exfoliation goes at the end of a player’s turn if they have not received another stack during their current turn.
* It is a Wis DC13 for Gruff to disable the malignant energy on the fountain so that it can be cleansed.
* Crucible of Fate dice rolls: Kim (5), Trott (5), Rhi (5), Katie (3), Tom (1), Mark (6).
* Mark made the DM’s call that because this encounter is not about doing or taking damage, he would allow Ophelia to maintain her rage without taking damage.
* Rowan was revealed this episode as a College of Creation Bard.
* During the break, Rhi deliberately distracted Trott (by talking to him and holding his hand) so that he would not notice how long he had been dunking his biscuit for. This ended up with his biscuit disintegrating in his coffee, or what Tom referred to as “murdering a biscuit in a coffee”.
* Ophelia’s magic is “more in the jewel” according to Mark. Her rage allows her to do extra damage when she loses blood or she sees others lose blood – it drives her hunger and inner power to let her go further.
* “Bramm an gath” translates to “the cat’s fart” in Cornish.
* Xantheus was the only one to take damage during the fight with the water creatures.
* When Tom is asked if Xantheus is going to take a bath, he says that he will try to get away from everyone else, then cast “a second level spell” and take a bath. Mark says that the spell will only affect certain things (Tom indicates his hands, which Mark agrees to), but won’t hide “the other thing”. It appears that Tom wished Xantheus to cast Alter Self to hide his chest and hand deformities, but only the hand would have been affected.
* Kim refers to Gruff as “sitting grumpily in the bath water like Worf in the mud bath”.

* When Rowan casts *Healing Word* on Xantheus, Mark has Tom roll a d100 (73).
* Using the baths removes journey exhaustion by 1. The first time you have a bath at the House of the Rose gives 6 temporary hit points that do not go away on a long rest, although they will disappear if the player gets another source of them or they lose them in battle. This is because the players have washed in the cleansing waters blessed by Saint Tyfeen. Because they also get free beauty treatments after their baths, the players also get a +1d4 to a charisma ability check for the next 24 hours.
* **Lore drop**: Duskrise is a walled off section in the north of Ashen Rest where some of the richer merchants live as well as the site of the cathedral of the Church of the Scions and another temple.
* **Lore drop**: On the first day of each month in Ashen Rest, a festival is held – everyone has this day off to rest and have fun. Because the first of Bronzeglow coincides with St Misara’s Day, there is also a tourney held.
* **Lore drop:** The Auria Insurrection was a great civil war started a few hundred years ago by an Archdragon, Galdvassar. The great Gold Dragon had hoarded mysterious magic metal and then eaten it which caused him to become more powerful. He and his allies then attempted to overthrow and kill the Empress. There was war. The Empress, her allies, and their armies marched against him and fought in Gildai. Lady Ignaxa, Duke Ignarious’ mother, was slain in the conflict, and so the Duke became the Lord of Northvale.
* The Clever Toad machine is compared to a Zoltan machine from the movie, Big.