Ep. 9 Seeking the Teacher Chapter 1

## Listen

Ep. 9 Seeking the Teacher: Chapter 1

—William Faulkner

The pary finally arrives in Sharn, only to be berated by a greedy cleric and attacked by attempted muggers. Draconos pukes all over a skycoach(twice) and loses some gold, Beric gets a fancy new sword and Dex goes to a very dark place.

## Synopsis

### Arriving in Sharn

The adventurers finally arrive in Sharn, City of Towers. The station has been cleared in preparation for Oargev's arrival, so they don't see many people when they get off but they do hear the busy life of Sharn all around them. Oargev turns to the party and thanks them for their service on the train and protecting him from the warforged. Ruken butts in and chimes how smart it was of him to have hired them. They exchange some snippy comments and Ruken hands Beric a bag of 600gp, then walks away.

Barasha walks up and pats Draconos on the shoulder, saying it was good fighting with him. He and Oargev leave for whatever business they have in Sharn. Farlan exits the train and approaches. He asks them to keep his druid side a secret, and Beric and Dex have no problem with that. Draconos didn't actually see him use his druid abilities and, as usual, has no idea what they're talking about. They promise to keep Farlan updated with any news about Jacob and he wanders off.

They exit the platform and see Ruken, once again, reading the *Sharn Inquisitive*. Dex checks in with him to make sure he doesn't need them anymore, and Ruken is annoyed that he's even being talked to, but says that he's staying in Sharn and they're free to do whatever they want. It was planned for them to return to Mistmarsh, but if they want to stay in Sharn he'll let the conductor know to leave without them.

Dex asks Drac where to start looking for Crast, and Drac comes up with "let's look around." They suggest looking for a temple, and Drac agrees that they should look for a temple for the White Flame. He is again reminded of what deity he has devoted his life to.

Drac tells them they're looking for a paladin named Crast Wott, and Beric recognizes the name from his mother's journal. He served directly under her in the Last War, but couldn't recall much more than that.

### The Church of the Silver Flame

They all set off to find a church of the Silver Flame, which is in the upper wards. They hail a skycoach and are surprised to hear it costs 10gp per customer. As soon as they take off, Drac starts looking around them and finds out he's terrified of heights. He's holding it together until he realizes that even where they got off the train there are lower levels to Sharn, and that makes them all the higher in this flying cab. Beric sees what's about to happen and grabs one of his horns just in time for Drac to puke over the side of the carriage. The driver is pissed and demands 5gp for cleaning, rejecting Drac's offer to just clean it with his hand. He refuses to land until he's paid, making Drac sound very very sad, and Beric pays him so they can get off.

They walk about three blocks to the church. It's a fairly tall, cathedral looking building with ornate wooden doors and a beautiful stone structure; it looks very out of place in Sharn. Once inside, they see a cleric with very fine robes and a tall hat and welcomes them to the church. He notices the insignia on Drac's shield and pays special attention to him. Drac asks if he's seen Crast and is told he works for the King's Sword. The cleric makes sure to mention how paladins of the Church of the Silver Flame usually make a donation before going on quests to get the church's blessing, which is at *least* 20gp.

*"What does a half blessing get me? You know like I'm mostly blessed, but kinda damned."
"Well you should know—you are a student of the Silver Flame—that there are no half blessings."
"Dex reaches into his pocket and drops 20 gold pieces into the hopper."
"Mmmmmm. Thank you."
"No, not directly into your hand. And don't ever make that sound in my headphones again. It's like whatever the opposite of ASMR is is what just happened to me.
—Draconos, Silver Flame cleric, and Dex*
After giving the "donation," the cleric directs them to the Cogs, where Crast has been stationed.

*"Uhh Beric…what's a cog?"
—Dex*
Dex wonders if there's some kind of contact or a base they can find Crast at, but the cleric doesn't have a way to contact him. The cleric does like to talk though, and talks without pause until Dex ends up walking away mid-sentence. He gives Draconos his much earned blessing, and they leave.

Before heading for the Cogs they shop for supplies; Dex finally gets the studded leather armor he's been yearning for since episode 1 and they stock up on healing potions. They also stop by to see Verden, Beric's uncle. They make pleasantries and Verden asks about visiting his mother's grave; it's assumed Beric hasn't come to visit a lot since Urik's death.

They board the same skycarriage as earlier, and are again upset to learn a ride to the Cogs is 30gp instead of 10gp. He offers to take them to Tavick's Landing, which is one level up, for 10gp. Drac tells them he's fine with going down, just not up, and they decide to take the extra hour of travel to save them the extra gold. Drac finds out he is, in fact, not okay with going down.

'*"I don't have anything left to throw up. [Rolls] I found something!"
—Trevor*
He goes over the side this time without Beric's help, but it's still grosser than last time seeing as they're going down at a faster pace than it falls. Beric is bothered by the attitude of the cabdriver and grabs the edge of the cab, turning it black. When they land the driver thanks them for keeping his cab clean, right before the vomit falls on his head. They hurry off before he demands more gold.

### The Cogs

The smell of sulfur and smoke assault them when they travel further into the Cogs. Throughout there are rivers of lava, with bridges going over them laced with magic to protect from the heat. There are torches providing dim light, but the sky is not visible at all; they're underground at this point. There are all kinds of races; shifters, goblins, orcs, and any other odd creature. Beggars are commonplace, holding out hats or hands for coin. As they pass Beric drops a gold piece in, and time stops.

Beric looks around him; Draconos and Dex are frozen midstep, and even the coin he dropped is floating in midair. He sees movement further down, but it's not natural, like he's in a dream. A hooded figure exits a building, but the door he went through doesn't move. Down the street a young drow is waiting, and the figure approaches him and in a low, rumbling voice greets him.

> *"It is good that you met me here. It is time for you to help your people and show them the strength that they have. Take this. Go, meet with her. There will be a battle soon. You must be there. Our plans will come to fruition, Eladrin."*
>
>

The hooded figure passes a sheathed sword to the drow, and they fade out. Everything is still frozen, and in an instant the figure is before Beric. He can't see a face under the hood; there's only darkness.

*"It is time for you to do what your family could not. Take this. The flame will burn bright and vanquish its enemies."
"Who are you? What are you talking about? What do you know about my family?"
"Your family and I are one in the same."
—Curse-Bringer and Beric*
And this that he's gone. Left behind is the sheathed sword floating before Beric. Necrotic energy flows off his hands towards it, and with that a compulsion to take it. He reaches out and grabs it, and time starts again. A voice in his head asks who he is, and he answers uncertainly. The voice introduces itself as Curse-Bringer, and it's clear that the sword is talking to him. Dex questions what's happening and Beric suggests they find some alleyway to discuss this in.

Beric summarizes his visit from the hooded figure and pulls the sword from its sheath. The blade looks like it's made from obsidian, but darker; dark enough that light doesn't reflect from it. Veins of red run down it. He puts his hand to the blade and feels an effect like the opposite of pulsing, as if it's drawing in quick breathes. Not knowing what else to do about it at the moment, Beric suggest they continue their search for Crast.

As they turn to leave, four shifters block their path. They're looking for gold for "protection." Dex is not the least bit intimidated, stating, *"We are not the people in this alley that need protecting."* And with that Jeff rolls initiative.

Dex moves in closer and starts swinging the ribbonweave, and extends it just as he throws it forward. It hits the shifter who demanded the gold right in the shoulder and he screams in pain and calls for his comrades to kill them. Dex moves back to the group and Beric flicks his wrist out. A crackling bolt of black energy whips out and pulls one of the shifters closer, dealing it only 1 damage. The shifter is scared when the lightning comes out, but shrugs it off when he sees the damage it did. Beric holds up his new sword, who insists these are agents of darkness and must be destroyed.

The shifters close in and swipe at them. One hits Drac, but the one going to Dex gets blocks by the ribbonweave. Drac chastises the one who hit him for being not nice and swings with his ax. Dex saunters over to the shifter he hit in the shoulder, easily dodging one who attacks him as he passes. He pulls the blade back in and smashes the cane right across the guy's face. His eye socket caves in and he gives a bloodcurdling scream. The other shifters see this and flee. Dex leans close and suggests he be done with the protection work, and Beric chimes in that there's actual bodyguard work he could be hired for. The shifter tells them to go to hell and they shrug and leave the alleyway.

Beric tries something he's read about in his mother's journals; he holds out his arm and lets go of the sword, and it disappears. He closes his fist, and the sword comes back. When it reappears, it's almost like the space it's going to occupy opens up and a brief flash of silvery light can be seen, an instant before the sword comes into being.

The party asks around for rumors of the King's Swords, and eventually find a minotaur who tells them someone was investigating some murders around Blackbones, a district close to where they are.

### Crast

When they find Crast, he's standing over the body of a murdered warforged named Leatherneck. It's a gruesome scene, with the arm ripped off and a hole in its chest where its heart should be. It's clear it's just happened and Crast is investigating the body. When Drac sees him he gives an excited hopping run, until he's about 25 feet away and breaks into a full run. He stops in front of his and throws his arms open.

*"Papa! Hi Papa it's me!"
"Sparky?"
"*Heeeeeeeeeeey *what's up?"
—Draconos and Crast*
Crast looks at him very confused and asks what he's doing in the Cogs. Drac tells him of the prophecy about finding the demon blood's shaper, and promptly starts showing off his shiny new armor. He pulls Cashew out to see if he's as excited as Drac is, and the mouse squeals in excitement at seeing Crast. Crast takes on a serious note and comments that it's impressive armor, and impressive that someone hasn't killed him for it. It's made of gold and he's down in the Cogs. Dex interrupts and says they're not concerned with being mugged; they needed to find Crast and were willing to take risks to do so. Crast agrees to talk with them and wraps up his inspection.

End of episode.

## Locations

* Sharn, Breland
	+ Tavick's Landing
	+ The Cogs

## Spells

* **Beric**
	+ Lightning Lure

## Quotes

"One of us died, who was that?"
"I got knocked the \*\*\*\* out."
*—Jeff and Trevor*

"I swear if it's just Skittles I'm gonna be so mad."
"Dude, I would be so happy with Skittles!"
"[In Ruken's voice] It's coal. You all have been bad boys."
"Gross. Don't say that with that voice.
"That is not okay."
*—Jeff, Trevor, Eric, and Philip*

"Sadly, due to the fact that he works with the King's Citadel, he doesn't share the particulars of missions with us and the church. He would love for him to be wholly dedicated to the faith but we understand and so no we…"
"Alright—"
"—don't know the particulars of what he's doing—"
"But—"
"—down there—"
"Well sure—"
"—I really wish that we did—"
[Talking over each other]
"It really is a question of faith verses your civic duty, which is something that people have to deal with frequently. I mean you look at Thrane and I really think that—"
"Right, so—"
"—they got it right with allowing the faith to lead the people so people no longer—"
"So I guess the real question is—"
"—awful decisions of—"
"And I'm walking away."
*—Cleric of the Silver Flame and Dex* *0:10:47*

"Keep the faith."
"Yeah, party on, dude."
*—Barasha and Draconos*

"Looks like this tinman…lost his heart."
*—Eric*

## Trivia

* The stat block used for the shifter fight was the wererat.

## References and Footnotes

1. ↑ We find out his name in the next episode.
2. ↑ The Knowledge Check: Ep. 7 The DM’s Spellbook!