016 - Bounty Hunters - Resolution

Content Warnings
- Pain/injury
- Spiders
- Body horror
- Sounds of bones breaking/gore
- Government and societal collapse (mentioned)
- Coercion
- Corpses

[Show intro plays]

ROVER

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Remains To Be Seen, the DnD show where one group's past could determine the other group's future. I am your host and DM, Rover Elliott, and today I am here with...

ANNIE

Annie Ruby, she/her.

ELIZABETH

Elizabeth Simpson, she/her.

Jo Mendacium, all the pronouns.

MIRA

And Mira G, she/her.

ROVER

And who are you guys playing?

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Josie, a brown bear who is just trying to keep her friends alive.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Corwin, who's had a bit of a near-death experience.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Viktor, my arm hurts, I am a pink Tiefling, and I don't think anything is out of the ordinary here. I'm just walking back to my friends.

MIRA [as UNA]

And Una, who feels a little bit tired right now.

ROVER

So, Elizabeth, what happened in the previous episodes?

ELIZABETH

Alright. I'm just gonna say it very plainly. If you haven't listened to the previous episode, you really ought to go and do that first.

ANNIE

At least one back.

ELIZABETH

At least one back. That said, we are mid- party split. We are in the Oxford libraries. We are split between the Bodleian and the Radcliffe Camera. Vik and Una started last session in the RadCam. Vik touched a very spooky book and took book damage. Una was seemingly possessed by someone and dealt Vik additional damage. Not a great situation for our friends in the RadCam.

Vik then started to make their way back toward the rest of the group. He's not arrived quite yet. But when he does, he will find Corwin and Josie. We had, in the meantime, a quick info debrief. We had been looking over a bunch of newspapers, got some information on Graham and Alea and some of the other missing people. Just as we were kind of finishing that debrief, we noticed that the library was silent, and there were quite a few people with chess pieces on their clothing scattered around them in the room.

That was when we heard the sound of a spiderboi climbing the balcony, which is lovely and terrifying. And we entered combat. We got some good hits in. Josie transformed into a bear. Corwin critted and then was critted upon. And, and went down. But luckily, Josie has healing. Corwin is back up, more or less. And Vik is very, very close to where we are currently.

ROVER

Before we go back into combat, what we do when a character goes down is: we give them scars. And what is Corwin's scar?

ELIZABETH

Corwin got slashing and piercing damage. I was envisioning that this spiderboi slashed at her probably kind of starting in between her breastplate and her shoulder piece-slash-armpiece of her armor? And so the scar goes kind of from below her collarbone right by her shoulder, up over her collarbone, up her neck, and right to the bottom of her jaw.

ROVER

Creepy. We love it. Alright.

Hot! I mean, what?

[Laughter]

ROVER

With that said, let's get ready for combat everyone. We are right back into Initiative.

[Rhythmic, fast-paced music begins]

The two fellas at...one is at the door, one is at the table. The one at the door looks quite badly hurt for an already quite dead-looking corpse. And the one at the table is currently Frightened by Corwin's ability of—remind me of the name?

ELIZABETH

Dreadful Aspect, which basically just kind of cloaks her in just fear and hate.

ROVER

Yeah. So we currently have those two. The one at the table stays away because he can't move closer because of the Frightened condition. The one at the door is, I think, was closest to Corwin or Josie. It’s just gonna slash at, at Josie.

[Dice clacks]

What is your AC?

ANNIE

12, as a bear.

ROVER

(Sharp inhale) Yeah no that hits. So that is 2d8 damage of one of the invisible spidery legs of this creature, specifically.

[Sound of an impact on flesh; bear groans]

You take 12 damage as it slashes and pierces into your body. And yeah, then it will do one more at Corwin as well.

[Dice clacks]

I would like to know what your AC is. Is it...is it a 22? Possibly?

ANNIE

Oh!

ELIZABETH

(Laughs)

Oh no!

ELIZABETH

It's a 15. Did you crit again?

ROVER

I didn't crit, because a 19 isn't a crit for this one.

[Dice clacks]

That is...same damage. 12.

[Sound of a piercing impact on flesh]

And the one at the table doesn't move. Then it's Corwin.

ELIZABETH

She is currently Prone, so she has to use half of her movement to stand up. But that's okay, cause we're not using the rest of our movement. Everybody's all around us. So Corwin stands, and then she is going to slash at the one that is closest with her halberd. So I believe that's the door guy who just attacked us, right?

ROVER

Yes.

ELIZABETH

Alright. So we're going to slash at him.

[Dice thunks]

That is a 16 to hit.

ROVER

That hits.

ELIZABETH

Thank goodness. And then we get 1d10 +3 damage.

[Dice thunks]

That is 10 damage.

[Slashing impact]

ROVER

What remains of this creature?

ELIZABETH

Did it go down?

ROVER

It went down.

ELIZABETH

Oooh.

ROVER

What remains?

ELIZABETH

What does remain? So she slashes at the creature with her halberd. I would say she's slashing—because we can't see the spider creature on this one—she's slashing at the corpse and probably, probably slashed it in the same way that she got slashed, between its kind of shoulder and its neck.

ROVER

Okay. Once you do so, the body drops.

[Heavy thunk]

[Fleshy sounds of skin tearing]

And when it drops forward, you can see the gashes of where you think the spider legs come from. Like right at the back. And it starts actively bleeding, and the creature is now officially, fully dead. You cannot see the legs, but you couldn't anyway.

ELIZABETH

Oooh. That's terrifying. Corwin is gonna kind of take a shaky breath and turn and use her bonus action to lay a hand on Josie's shoulder, to use Lay on Hands for Josie. That is also 1d10 +3.

[Shimmering chime]

ROVER

Is Lay On Hands a bonus action?

ELIZABETH

It is! I double checked.

ROVER

Oh!

ELIZABETH

In 2024, it's a bonus action.

ANNIE

Sick. Love that.

ROVER

Amazing.

[Heavy dice thunk]

ELIZABETH

That is a 10 on the die, so that's 13 hit points back to you, Josie.

ANNIE

Let's go. I am now better than when I started this episode.

ELIZABETH

Also, Ro, is another one of the creatures within 5 feet of the creature Corwin just killed?

ROVER

I think so. I think one of the balcony fellas was also on you.

ANNIE

Yeah.

ELIZABETH

I thought so as well, but I wanted to be sure. So Corwin was a Weapon Mastery called Cleave, that means if I hit a creature with melee attack roll, she can turn and make an additional attack against a second creature that's within five feet of the first.

ROVER

Then you may.

ELIZABETH

Yay! Okay, cool.

[Dice clacks]

That's a 23 to hit.

ROVER

Yeah, that hits! Oh, absolutely.

ELIZABETH

This attack is a little bit special. It doesn't get the ability modifier to the damage. It just gets the straight weapon damage, which is 1d10.

ROVER

Okay.

[Dice thunk]

ELIZABETH

8 damage.

[Piercing impact]

ROVER

Okay. Anything else you want to do with your turn?

ELIZABETH

I think that's it, I don't think I can smite on a Cleave attack.

ROVER

Yeah, no. Okay. Then it is the balcony fellas, which one of them is going to hit Corwin—the one that you just attacked. And the other one is going to climb down the pillars from the balcony towards Josie. And is going to try to hit both of you. I will roll them at the same time.

[Dice thunks]

They both miss.

ELIZABETH

Thank goodness.

ROVER

By literally one.

Ah!

[Dice thunks]

ROVER

And that is a crit on Corwin and a normal hit for Josie.

Oh!

ROVER

This is a different die, I promise.

ELIZABETH

(Strained) It's fine, it's fine, it's fine, it's fine. I have 6 hit points.

ROVER

I will roll the crit first.

ELIZABETH

Okay, thanks for that.

[Lots of dice clacks and clunks]

[Laughter]

ROVER

That is 17 piercing damage, as it stabs once again into you.

[Sound of impact on flesh]

ELIZABETH

Corwin's down again.

ROVER

And for Josie...

[Dice clacks]

That is a really bad roll. That's only 7 damage.

[Sound of impact on flesh]

Hey Vik, you open the doors—

[Door creaking open]

Just for me: Door Guy is the one that went down. And it's the same door I'm entering through?

ROVER

Yes. The door guy is also dead. There is a dead body, and then there's Corwin, almost dead.

And the balcony creature that, no, that—whatever, attacked her, right?

ROVER

Yeah. You can see from the one that attacked Corwin, that you can now finally see the legs and the body that you were fighting on the train. You can finally see the large, bony legs coming from the back of this creature, and the ribs outside of their core.

What is Vik's reaction when they open the door?

I think you can only see their face drop, and then it's just business mode, because he has been a bounty hunter for a bit. So, deal with that shit first. I am going to use my bonus action first, and activate, for the first time, Hexblade's Curse.

ELIZABETH

Let's go!

ROVER

Tell us what that does.

Hexblade's Curse puts a curse on the target I choose, which means I crit between 19 and 20 on this target, and I get my proficiency bonus as additional damage to the roll. And it does not specify whether magical damage or melee, so I'm going to use this first. It also...it's there for one minute, or either if I go down or the target goes down. If the target goes down, I get hit points back. So yeah, I'm activating Hexblade's Curse, and what is essentially happening is that Viktor's shadow moves underneath the creature. And then (laughs) I'm going to cast Witchbolt—

ROVER

Okay.

—because I can.

ANNIE

Zap 'em!

ELIZABETH

Get 'em. Get 'em!

[Dice clacks]

Does a 19 hit?

ROVER

A 19 hits.

Oh, thank fuck. I'm casting on second level, so this is 3d12s. Okay.

ANNIE

Oooh.

[Dice rattling]

Yeah. 30.

[Magical, electric zap]

ROVER

On the one that just downed Corwin, right?

Yes.

ROVER

Oh, hey Jo, do you wanna know how bad it looks?

Is it Bloodied?

ROVER

It's very much Bloodied! It's, you know, like, like two legs bad.

Wait that's—

ROVER

You know? Basically there's only two legs left. Basically there's only 2 hit points left.

Oh my god.

ROVER

What else do you want to do, Viktor?

Is there a way Viktor can move his body between Corwin and the thing?

ROVER

Yes, I will say so.

He will do that.

ROVER

Okay. Then you're basically now kind of almost standing over Corwin's body, almost. Just between.

Yeah. That’s my turn.

ROVER

Amazing. Before we move onto Josie—can you, as a bear, heal?

ANNIE

Yes.

ROVER

Incredible. Good to know. It’s your turn.

ANNIE

Great. After seeing that—Vik steps in, opens the door, sees what's going on, obliterates one of them...Josie, still in bear form, is gonna kind of over-the-shoulder go,

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Welcome to the party. Hope Una's close behind you. Get Corwin up. I'm gonna try and keep them off her.

ANNIE

And then I'm gonna start attacking.

ROVER

Okay.

ANNIE

So, I have two attacks—one is a claw, and one is a bite. I'll start by clawing at the one that is, that Vik just hit.

[Dice tower clacks]

[Bear roars; sound of an impact on flesh]

That's a 24.

ROVER

So, so hey. Does it potentially, hypothetically, do 2 minimum damage?

ANNIE

In fact, yes. It does 4 minimum damage, so...I don't even need to roll that.

ROVER

Okay so, what remains of this creature?

ANNIE

So this is the one we can see all of, right?

ROVER

Yes.

ANNIE

And it's barely hanging on to its corpse puppet, at this point.

ROVER

Yes.

ANNIE

So I think that Josie, having watched the previous one fall, and the wounds where the legs were attached kind of open at that point as the corpse fell, she's gonna go for the nearest point of contact that she can see between the spider and the corpse and just try to basically rip it out with the bear claw. Just rip it out of the corpse.

And I'm hoping that, because this thing was so weakened, I can kind of just hit a joint in it so hard that that particular limb of the spider comes off and then the whole thing collapses.

ROVER

Yeah. The moment the legs start getting cut off, they drop.

[Bones crunching; heavy thunk]

There's clattering, and then they crumble into ash. The moment they are not attached to this body anymore, they lay there for maybe a second or two before they crumble. And the wounds on the back where the legs come from, they don't open again.

ANNIE

Okay.

ROVER

It did when Corwin killed the creature. It doesn't with this one because the legs have been cut off.

ANNIE

Okay. And then my second attack—so, are both of the other, the other balcony one and the table one within 5 feet?

ROVER

The table one isn't. The table one is definitely, like, 30 feet away. Because it couldn't come closer because of the Frightened condition.

ANNIE

Okay.

ROVER

So it's only the balcony one is 5 feet, like right next to you.

ANNIE

Great! Okay, then I will, Josie will kill that one and not even take time to react. As it's falling, is immediately already lunging at the other one to bite. And is again targeting kind of the area where those limbs would make, be making contact.

[Dice tower clacks]

ROVER

Wait, are you attacking the limbs, specifically, not the body? Because for this one, you can't see it, basically.

ANNIE

Yeah yeah, no. I'm attacking, I'm attacking the body where I estimate the limbs were touching the body.

ROVER

Yeah.

ANNIE

That was mostly for flavor. I'm not attacking the limbs themselves. That is a 19.

ROVER

That hits.

[Dice tower clacks]

ANNIE

That is 10 damage.

[Bear roars; sound of an impact with flesh tearing]

Ro.

ROVER

Hello.

Since Josie was so kind to kill the cursed creature, I am back at full health because Viktor's shadow returns to him, and with it 8 hit points.

ANNIE

I gotchu!

ROVER

Amazing.

Thank you Josie!

[Laughter]

ROVER

I need to know, Corwin, when you go to zero hit points, right, does the Frightened condition end on this creature?

ELIZABETH

It does not. I looked it up specifically. It continues.

ANNIE

Wow.

ROVER

Okay. Can I have a Perception check from Josie and Viktor?

[Dice clacks]

Oh, jesus fucking christ.

ANNIE

17.

What if I close my eyes?

[Dice clacks]

[Jo laughs]

ANNIE

Oh no.

ELIZABETH

Oh no.

ANNIE

Did you get a nat 1?

(Laughing) Nat 1!

[Laughter]

ANNIE

Yes! Vik literally closes his eyes!

Gotta close your eyes!

[Laughter]

ELIZABETH

Vik's like, "I don't wanna see this!"

[Music stops; low ambient noise begins]

ROVER

If Vik indeed closes their eyes and is unable to see this, Josie will, Josie will see it.

When Corwin drops to the ground, from her body levitates up this small cardboard box.

[Fast whoosh; sound of paper rustling]

And one of the sides opens, and from it starts dripping gold lines onto her body, that sink into the skin.

[Echoing sound of water dripping; shining chime; haunting choral music begins]

And the gold lines flow over her, and then they reach the scar on her shoulder and neck, and they, it's almost radiating off of it. And there is the pink, almost strawberry blonde kind of glow that comes from that onto her hair.

And Corwin rises.

[Cloth rustling]

And the halberd that she has, she throws it with unnecessary hard power towards the Frightened creature at the table.

[Whoosh of air; impact on flesh]

[Chiming cracking]

And when it hits, the golden lines in the body start cracking open. You can see the legs coming up from the back of this creature at the table, as the bones also turn gold before they completely turn into almost this purple-like color. And then they crumble. And the body stays upright.

[Rhythmic chiming]

The gold flows away from Corwin, back down to her feet. She now has 5 hit points.

You guys are able to ask questions to this creature—three max—before it collapses onto the floor, dead, while the halberd that unconscious Corwin threw is still stuck in the core of the body itself.

ANNIE

Three questions for the party?

ROVER

Three questions that you can now ask. Don't make this mistake where it's like, "Can we ask you a question?" Because that will count as one.

ANNIE

Yeah, of course. So, but I'm just saying—yeah, it's okay. And, is time—to the DM, obviously—

ROVER

Yes?

ANNIE

—is time stopped while we do this, I assume, effectively?

ROVER

Time will be stopped.

ANNIE

Excellent.

[Elizabeth laughs]

I think, point of order, Viktor did not have his eyes closed. Corwin was behind him, so all he saw was this fucking halberd hitting a creature, all the other shit going down.

ANNIE

Whooo! Past his head.

ELIZABETH

That's better. That's better. That's cool.

Yeah.

ANNIE

That's so funny.

[Laughter]

(Laughing) What the fuck?

ELIZABETH

Alright so Corwin's up now, so she sees Vik for the first time.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Ah, glad you're here. Welcome.

ROVER

Don't ask any questions to each other, either.

Okay okay okay, cool cool cool. Above table, one of the first questions that comes to mind is, "who are you working for?" Because these creatures kept popping up, but unrelated to Jonny.

ANNIE

Yeah.

At least, we have no, there was nothing we found at Jonny's, or in the paperwork that would connect them naturally. So, yeah.

ANNIE

Can I...another question to the DM to make sure I'm understanding correctly.

ROVER

Mmhmm?

ANNIE

The creature we're asking questions to is not the bone spider. It's the corpse that it was piloting?

ROVER

It's the corpse. Yes. Cause the bones are gone. The bones have crumbled to ash onto the floor.

ANNIE

So, if we ask who it's working for, we're not asking the spiders that were piloting them—

No.

ANNIE

We're asking whatever they were piloting.

ROVER

You're asking the body.

ELIZABETH

Above table, not asking the corpse yet, I think Corwin's number one priority would be to ask the corpse why it has been directed to follow us. Does that sound logical, or are we again running into the conundrum...

If it's not the spider anymore, the corpse might not know that. Because if it's, like, Speak with Dead, they cannot, they cannot learn new information after they are dead. So assuming this person died and then was turned into Corpse!Spider, they will only retain the information they knew when they were alive, so—

ANNIE

Would you count the phrasing, "Do you know what was piloting your body and why?" as one or two questions?

ROVER

That's two.

ANNIE

Okay.

ELIZABETH

I think asking it how it got to be a corpse spider, might be legit—

Yeah...

ELIZABETH

Cause it probably is, is related to the chess pieces. It's probably related to the people it was working for.

Yeah.

ELIZABETH

So maybe a "What happened to you?" kind of question?

ANNIE

Yeah, just "How did you die?"

ELIZABETH

Yeah.

ANNIE

I think that Corwin should be the one to ask, I'll say that.

ELIZABETH

I think we should each ask a question.

ROVER

Yeah.

ELIZABETH

I think that one makes sense for Corwin cause she's very people-oriented. So she's gonna wanna know what happened.

ANNIE

That's fair. We can decide the questions as we get answers, right? So we can ask one question, get an answer...?

ROVER

Yes. Yeah.

Okay.

ANNIE

Are we all comfortable with "How did you die?"

Yeah, we start with "How did you die?" and then we see. We have two left after that.

ELIZABETH

Yeah, Corwin'll ask. So she, I think, is gonna grab the box just to, so the box has been taken care of.

ROVER

You recognize it.

MIRA

Didn't she burn it—?

ELIZABETH

She did, in fact, burn the box. So she is gonna kind of frown, set her shoulders, grab the box, and shove it into a pocket.

ROVER

Oooo give me a Perception check while you do that.

ELIZABETH

That's just a 10.

ROVER

You can't see, but there is something in the box. You can't see what it is.

ELIZABETH

Oh! Okay, she's gonna file that away for later…or actually, yeah, she will probably continue clutching it. So she's gonna turn to the corpse.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

How—how did you die?

[Bones cracking; hollow gasp]

ROVER [as CORPSE]

Death is just a meaning for a new start. My phase is ending, and a new one returns. Death is not the end. I died with resolution.

[Bones cracking; echoing, hollow breath]

ROVER

That is what you're going to get.

ELIZABETH

Corwin is just gonna look at Josie, look at Vik.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Well, so how do we avoid your fate, then?

[Bones cracking; hollow breathing as the corpse speaks]

ROVER [as CORPSE]

The web of fate tangles. Only some tap into the web. The fate strings, and only they can change it. Find the solution. Give me the resolution.

ANNIE

Cryptic, but at least it actually contained information. Josie is gonna roll her eyes a little bit at the way that this thing is answering by not answering, and go,

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Okay. What information would most benefit the living in an attempt to give you the resolution?

ROVER

The creature starts stumbling forward.

[Footsteps]

Step by step. And it comes closer to Viktor.

[Bones cracking]

And a hand with cracks of gold points with a finger towards the pocket of holding where you keep your books, and taps onto your chest on that specific place. And says,

[Hollow gasp; bones cracking intermittently as the corpse moves]

ROVER [as CORPSE]

Tap into fate. When the cards decide their turn, the books will find out how to. My resolution has been decided by Him. And I am but a mere soul left in the dust of a game of chess. I am nothing but a living being of a play of fate.

[Chiming whoosh; final gasp of breath]

ROVER

The gold disappears and the body drops.

I catch it.

ROVER

And Corwin's halberd stops glowing with that gold.

[Shining chime]

And on the line of her, of the pole of it, are two extra lines. There is, by the way, still one creature alive!

ANNIE

Mmhmm! Mmhmm!

ROVER

The moment you catch the body, time is back.

[Suspenseful music begins]

You guys are still in initiative order. Corwin, that's your turn. You're on 5 hit points.

ELIZABETH

Excellent.

ANNIE

And don't have a halberd in your hands?

ROVER

Yeah, you're gonna have to pick it up.

ELIZABETH

Yep. Is that my movement, or is that a full action?

ROVER

I can call that a bonus action. Like, you're gonna actively have to pull it from this body.

ELIZABETH

Okay cool. So we're gonna use the bonus action first and pull the halberd from the body.

[Bones cracking; shining chime]

And she's gonna feel those new lines and kind of shudder, but like forcibly...you know like you do when you're forcibly trying to compartmentalize something? She does that. And then she's going to turn to the remaining creature and swing on it.

[Dice clacks]

That's a nat 1.

Oh!

ROVER

She's, she's still shaken. It's okay. She's still very much shaken. And she misses.

[Whoosh]

And that brings it to Viktor's turn, with now the dead body in your arms.

ANNIE

It's the creature's turn before Vik's.

Yeah.

ROVER

I lied! It is going to try to hit Vik.

[Dice thunks]

And what is your AC?

16.

ROVER

Yeah no, that misses.

[Dice clunks]

The other one hits. That is 2d8 +3.

[Dice clacks]

That is 8 damage.

[Sound of impact on flesh]

No! My hit points I gained back! How dare you.

[Laughter]

ELIZABETH

I was gonna say, I think, as her reaction, Corwin will try and intercept that, which—as a reminder, is just, she just kind of lunges forward and tries to block it with her halberd. It doesn't...

[Heavy dice thunks]

Yeah, so it's 1d10 +2, and that was 7 plus 2. So I intercept 9 damage of the 8 that you took.

ANNIE

Of the 8.

[Laughter]

So I take no damage.

ROVER

You don't take any damage.

ANNIE

Whoo-ah!

I think Viktor's only reaction to that is,

JO [as VIKTOR]

Thank you, Princess.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

(Quietly) I do what I can.

ROVER

Viktor, now it's your turn.

I'm going to, like underneath Corwin's interception, he's going to stab at the creature with his rapier, because I can't really get up, but I feel like I can get my arm long enough to stab it from the underside. That is a 19.

ROVER

That hits.

8 damage, piercing.

[Sound of a blade impact on flesh]

ROVER

It’s still not officially bloodied.

Can I use my movement to put down the body and walk, not leaving the threatened square, but walk around the creature to get a flanking somewhere, with someone?

ROVER

Yeah, you can get a flanking bonus.

Cool. Cool. Amazing.

ROVER

Cause Corwin, Corwin and Josie are also there. You're all flanking it right now, which means you guys will get advantage on the creature, the creature takes disadvantage on all of the attacks it does to you.

Yeah, I'm going to position Viktor in a way so that we get the flanking for, for whoever's next. Yeah. Amazing. Cool, that's me.

ROVER

Then Josie, it's your turn.

ANNIE

Josie's gonna kind of shoot a glance at Corwin and a glance at the body as Vik sets it down, and go,

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

I didn't like that.

[Laughter]

ANNIE

And then go for, immediately a claw first at the creature.

ROVER

(Laughing) Go for it. Roll me the attack roll.

[Dice tower clacks]

ANNIE

And at advantage, right?

ROVER

Yep. You have advantage.

[Dice tower clacks]

ANNIE

That is...an 18.

ROVER

Hits.

ANNIE

These are mechanically large creatures?

ROVER

Yes. Mechanically large creatures.

ANNIE

It is now prone.

[Dice clacks]

ELIZABETH

(Whispering) Good job!

ANNIE

And I deal 4 damage.

[Bear roars; sound of an impact, flesh tearing]

There is no save against it. It is now prone.

ROVER

So now it's bloodied.

ANNIE

(Laughs) And on its ass. And now I will bite it.

ROVER

Go for it!

[Dice clacks]

ANNIE

Let’s see. That's a 16.

ROVER

Yeah no, that hits.

ANNIE

Okay, and that's a d8.

[Dice clacks continue]

Oh yeah. 11. Max roll baby!

[Bear roars; sound of impact; bones and flesh crunching]

ROVER

Nice!

ANNIE

Nom nom nom!

ROVER

At this point, Una could come into the initiative. However, I wanna know, because Una has an ability, I think it's called Alert? Can you explain Alert to us, with your initiative?

MIRA

Of course I can. So with the 2024 rules, the Alert feature that Una has gives her a....two things, one of them being Initiative Proficiency. So when I roll Initiative for Una, I can additionally add the Proficiency bonus to the roll, not just the Dex modifier. And it also comes with the Initiative Swap. So immediately after rolling initiative for my character, I can swap it with an initiative of one willing ally in the combat. However, neither my character nor the ally's character can be incapacitated, otherwise the swap can't take place. And it doesn't need to be a higher roll. It's just, it's a swap situation. Higher, lower, depending on who wants to go in the initiative order.

ROVER

Do you-slash-anyone want to swap? Currently you are first in the initiative, then it's Corwin, then it's the creature, then it's Vik, then Josie.

ELIZABETH

Above table, I'm good with you going first, cause I wanna see Una in action.

ANNIE

I want Una in here before we're done, so.

ELIZABETH

Same, yeah.

MIRA

Okay. The creature is prone.

ROVER

The creature is prone in the middle of all your friends when you open the doors—the doors are now open, actually, cause Vik opened them, I think? I don't think Vik closed them behind them?

MIRA

No, I think they were just swung open, right? Or did anyone close the door?

Door’s open. Yeah.

ROVER

Okay. You walk in, and you can see what is currently happening.

MIRA

What's the distance that you want me to take into account from when Una steps in through the door to the creature. Is it gonna be within 25 feet of movement?

ROVER

Yeah it is.

MIRA

Okay. Thank you. So you guys do see, like you don't hear, you just see Una just walking in completely unhurried, look glazed over. She looks exhausted. She looks very similar to how she first appeared in your life. Very ashen, eyes completely glazed over, and she has a very big white streak in her hair now that's extending all the way, on the left-hand side of her head.

She quietly walks past everyone, and without saying a word, summons the blade. And I never described it, and I have a little cool description of that as well, if you'll allow me?

So, she would summon the psionic blade, and it doesn't, like, flash into existence. It doesn't glow; there's no sound to it. The air around her hand appears to be...like when it's very hot outside. It's that mirage kind of situation. And it starts congregating in one space. And I would say at this stage, you would get to see a glint of an obsidian glass. And with that, she would attack the creature right in the middle of everyone. If people are within 5 feet, then she would apply the sneak attack as well, if that is possible.

ROVER

Go for it. This creature's still prone.

MIRA

Cool. I do apologize. My cat was purring on the recording, go away.

Cute.

MIRA

This is not your time!

[Laughter]

Right. So I actually have an advantage on the roll because they are prone. However, Una is exhausted, so it will be taken away, minus 2 of any roll I do.

[Dice rattling]

So I'm rolling 2d20s. 24 to hit?

ROVER

That hits.

MIRA

Okay, so that would be...

ROVER

So, hypothetically, how much damage would you do with your sneak attack, minimum?

MIRA

The barest minimum would be a 7.

ROVER

Hey, so, you know...what remains of it? (Whispers) It has 7 hit points.

MIRA

So with the...(laughs) the minimum would be 7! So with the, with the blade appearing in her hand—I'm just going to add a flare to it—she would raise it up above her head and then grab it with both, like another, and just strike it into whatever would be the center of this creature—just strikes it down with as much force as she can. Nothing happens for a moment. The effect of the blade disappears from her hands. She doesn't let go of the creature herself. And the blue hue starts glowing, and the creature's engulfed in blue flame,

[Haunting chime; roar of flame]

And then disintegrates into dust.

[Music stops abruptly]

And she would get up, and she would just stand there without saying a word.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Well that was cool as fuck.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Perfect timing.

ANNIE

As we exit combat, Josie is, still in bear form, going to kind of turn, take two steps directly back from Corwin as she transforms back into a Tiefling, and is going to go,

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Corwin, what's in the fucking box?

ROVER

Corwin, now that combat is over, you also get one level of exhaustion from the drain that your body has been put through by this...well, this weird-ass shit basically.

[Laughter]

ANNIE

Yep!

ELIZABETH

Fair. Yeah so Corwin is gonna, mirroring Una a bit, just look ashen and just drained, and her shoulders kind of slump.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

I can tell you completely honestly that I don't know. It shouldn't even be here. I thought, I thought it wouldn't come back.

ELIZABETH

And she's gonna open the box, Ro.

ROVER

There's a note in it, that you put in there in the fire.

ELIZABETH

Oh yeah!

ROVER

It's crumpled, but you can kind of spot that it has definitely been opened and then crumpled back again.

ELIZABETH

Interesting.

Viktor, who has not been told about the bottle of wine and the note, by the way, looks at the box, looks at the crumpled piece of paper, then looks at Josie, rolls his eyes, and he's like,

JO [as VIKTOR]

Ooh, scary, a note! What the fuck is going on?

ROVER

By the way, what does the, what does the box look like, Corwin?

ELIZABETH

The box looks like a very embellished playing card box. It has these kind of embossed swirls and lines that are almost kind of reminiscent of threads or strings, and in the bottom right corner, there's a little embossed pair of scissors cutting one of the kind of glowing, golden strings. It's about palm-sized.

So just a reminder the note is in French, and Corwin's gonna kind of pull it out, uncrumple it, and then crumple it back up and put it back in the box. But the note is in French, and it says, "Thank you for your gift. Indulge in mine. Alloric."

ROVER

(Whisper) Italian.

ELIZABETH

Oh, it's in Italian! Just kidding! Glad you remembered that, cause I didn't!

[Laughter]

MIRA

Ooh, gotcha!

ROVER

It doesn't say that.

ELIZABETH

Oh. Oh! What does it say?

ROVER

In Italian, "That's not a nice way to accept a gift." And there is no name to it, other than a golden, inky line under your name on the very corner of the paper. There's just "Corwin," and then there's a golden line under it.

ANNIE

So, the fear-effect spell that Corwin did is an Oathbreaker-specific thing. Would that be something—I assume Josie would kind of know that?

ROVER

Yes, I think you would.

ANNIE

Okay. Then in response to Viktor's question, Josie's gonna say,

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Princess here's an Oathbreaker. Which, by the way, more respect to you for it, but...you saw as much as I did about how she managed to raise herself from the fucking dead. And I don't wanna be anywhere near her until we figure out more about that.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Don't say "more respect to me for it." There's no respect in being an Oathbreaker. It's not something to be proud of.

MIRA

Do you specifically use the word "undead" when describing Corwin?

ANNIE

"Raising herself from the dead" is the word I said.

MIRA

Una is making steps towards Corwin, and looks at her, and doesn't say a word. But the stare is very intent.

ANNIE

And in response, Josie's gonna say,

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Agree to disagree, but at least you're in good company.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Okay, before we all poop our panties, I would suggest that we leave this place and, I don't know about you, but I'm not very keen on cleaning up this time. Can we just go somewhere and have a talk?

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Agreed.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Because I think a lot of fucked up things are going on, and I kind of do not want to stay here.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Agreed.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Yeah, I don't think we can call anyone in for these bodies. We're gonna get in more trouble for them being here than we could get out of.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Amazing.

ROVER

Viktor.

Oh, fuck. Yeah.

ROVER

Can I have a Perception check from Viktor? You really thought I would leave it off like that? Jo, you underestimate me.

I just want them to talk. We never talk! We didn't even have train time. The others had chocolate on the fucking train!

[Dice thunks]

That's a natural 20.

ELIZABETH

Let's freaking go!

MIRA

Of course!

ROVER

Of course. Of course it's a natural 20.

Is it plot-relevant? Because of course I—

ROVER

You recognize your own shadow. When you look through the open doors at one of the corners, you can see that your own shadow is there, and is waving at you. And then runs past a corner further into the library.

I have no shadow, currently?

ROVER

You have no shadow currently.

He looks at Josie,

JO [as VIKTOR]

Have you ever had the feeling that all the things are happening at the worst timing? Because I fucking do.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Most things do, Vik.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Give me five minutes. We should meet at the next inn right from the library you can find. Good?

MIRA [as UNA]

No. I'm not done here.

JO [as VIKTOR]

What do you need to do?

MIRA [as UNA]

If you need some time alone, take your time alone. I need to go into the archives.

MIRA

She means administrative archives.

JO [as VIKTOR]

(Sighs) Okay. Okay. I know we've met like one and a half days ago. I…I'm going to set a rule here, as we go further. If it becomes a group problem, we need to address it. There's a lot of shit going on right now, which to my keen eyes could become group problems. I'm trying to figure out if my problem is becoming a group problem, or is going to stay a Viktor problem. Five minutes. Just tell me if you all will stay here, go to the archives, or we meet at an inn.

MIRA [as UNA]

I wouldn't say splitting up again would be a wise idea. More than happy to stick with everyone while you're taking care of your business.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Yeah, we'll go with you, Vik.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

I agree.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

If there's more of them in here, you're not getting caught by yourself. No splitting.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Okay, that's fair. Ah. Okay, before we get to that, I don't know how it's going to go, if it will affect you, so I'm just going to butt out with the truth. I...

He holds up his left hand.

JO [as VIKTOR]

This is not normal. This should not happen to a warlock. I am bound to do some extra work. I do not know why. I'm not necessarily certain what the thing is I made a deal with. But I get this sense I'm going to find out a bit more about it. So, we're not going to split up, but I ask you to take a step back if necessary. I don't know how they are with guests.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Fine, but...

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Understood.

ELIZABETH

Corwin steps back, but she casts Shield on Viktor, which gives you a +2 to your AC.

[Shining whoosh]

Is it pink and sparkly?

[Laughter]

Or is it a more serious kind of—

ELIZABETH

You know, you know that's a lovely question. She casts—it's Shield of Faith, a shimmery—I'm so sorry, maybe you don't want this—it is a shimmering field that surrounds you within range, granting you a +2 to AC for the next 10 minutes. So you get a very faint kind of, more golden than pink, but definitely rose gold kind of shimmer, and I'm gonna say that it kind of settles into you. So it's like…it’s not like a bubble around you. It's form-fitting.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Ah, thanks.

I'm not going to spend more time in this fucking room. I'm going to follow the shadow.

ANNIE

And I'm going right behind you.

MIRA

As Viktor is walking out, she just says after him,

MIRA [as UNA]

Don't touch anything you're not familiar with again. Don't make me...

MIRA

And she doesn't finish, cause obviously he's walking out, so she just kind of trails it off.

[Footsteps begin]

(Laughs) He's going to respond from walking ahead. Be like,

JO [as VIKTOR]

Oh, what happened, Una? Ten minutes ago you were so fucking sorry.

MIRA

Actually, I forgot that she cast a thing. You would have just heard her in your head. If you respond that into her head, absolutely fine.

No, he's going to say that out loud.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Anyone want to explain what that meant?

MIRA [as UNA]

Did you see the bruises on Viktor's arm?

As you say that, he's rolling down his sleeve, holds his left hand up, and you can see it's not a full bruise anymore, but it's the very red, like it's very clearly a handprint, right below his mark. He's not going to respond.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Una, did you—what happened down there?

MIRA [as UNA]

I happened.

ROVER

Your shadow is waving, Vik.

Yeah, I'm following the shadow.

ROVER

Who's going to join, I need to know?

ELIZABETH

I'm following Vik.

ANNIE

I'm following Vik.

ELIZABETH

Yeah, I gotta be within range to keep Shield going.

How close are you walking to Vik?

ELIZABETH

So mechanically, she can be within 60 feet. Corwin as a person...she'd probably be trailing. Normally she'd be right up next to you, but she is not sure if you guys...she's not sure about the reception to the oathbreaker thing yet, so she's probably gonna be like keeping her distance, but keeping an eye, with her hand on her halberd. So, 10 feet away from you?

Okay. That's fine. I just wanted to know.

[Footsteps continue]

ROVER

So as you turn the corner where Viktor's shadow is going, you're in a hallway. And at the hallway, you can see the same window with the glass stains where the entire, the priests of the gods were all there. And where that archway of a window is, the sides of it start to become completely black.

[Ominous, echoing music begins]

Dripping black ink, and it covers the entire line from up to down under the side of the glass. And the dripping falls into a veil down across the entire window. So the entire window is now just pure blackness and darkness and everything in between.

From that void is an extended hand, a ashen, dark shadow-like hand with extended fingers out of the void towards Viktor.

He stops.

JO [as VIKTOR]

I…get the feeling that...I get the feeling that I don't want this to be a group thing, right now.

Can I willingly break the connection to Una, the Message connection?

MIRA

Yeah, yeah you can.

Yeah, he does that. He's going to turn to the rest, slowly walking backwards to the extended hand, grinning.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Five minutes. You can all wait here if you like.

MIRA [as UNA]

Well, you granted me my privacy. I think it's only fair if you have a minute of yours.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Five minutes.

He looks to Corwin.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

If you're not back in five minutes, we're coming after you. If we can.

JO [as VIKTOR]

You probably shouldn't.

He winks at her and grabs the hand with his left hand.

ROVER

You're pulled into the void.

[Resounding, pulsing hum begins]

And for that, I want everyone to deafen.

ELIZABETH

Good luck! Godspeed.

Thank you.

[Annie, Mira, and Elizabeth can no longer hear this conversation]

ROVER

So you get into the void, and it is just pure void. It's completely dark and shadow around you. There's no life, there's no living in the darkness that is this void. Nothing at all. You can't even see what you are walking on. And the hand that was holding you is pulled away, and the mark on your arm starts becoming more ink-like as it starts swirling around your arm. And you are alone in the void.

He...can I, can I see my own body, or is that also—

ROVER

Yes, you can see your own body.

Oh no yeah, I have Devil's Sight, I can see shit.

ROVER

Yeah.

I assume there's nothing, though, to perceive in this space, right?

ROVER

There's nothing.

Is my mark growing, or is it just moving?

ROVER

It's just moving. It's only swirling around.

Alright.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Well, good day to you too, I suppose. What is the reason for your visit?

ROVER

From all around, can't see the creature yet, it's just,

JO [as MR. NOX]

(Echoing) Darkness is a lovely thing, isn't it Viktor?

JO [as VIKTOR]

Well it helps me sleep at night. What do you want?

JO [as MR. NOX]

(Echoing) I would like to know something from your work, as it is.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Oh, is this like a job review kind of thing?

JO [as MR. NOX]

(Echoing) Possibly.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Right.

JO [as MR. NOX]

(Echoing) How much power do you crave? How much power do you hold?

JO [as VIKTOR]

Is this the moment where you're offering me another deal? Because I feel like I'm doing quite a lot here already, don't you think?

JO [as MR. NOX]

(Echoing) Yes.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Right.

JO [as MR. NOX]

(Echoing) And that is why I want to give you more.

JO [as VIKTOR]

(Laughs) Of course. So your question is how much power I crave? Or is your question how much power I already hold?

JO [as MR. NOX]

(Echoing) Isn't it the same? Your power is mine.

JO [as VIKTOR]

(Sighs) Right.

JO [as MR. NOX]

(Echoing) You know that.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Oh, yeah, you remind me every week about it.

And he holds up his left hand with the mark.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Are you asking for your own amusement, because I fear you might know the answer already. That's the whole reason why we have this business relationship in the first place, no?

ROVER

It stays silent. There's no response.

JO [as VIKTOR]

And yes, I am avoiding the question because I don't really know the answer. I want knowledge. You know that already. That's how you got me into this deal in the first place. And that didn't change in the last almost two years. But I have to admit that...I quite enjoy the access to magic you are giving me. So I'm willing to hear what you're offering, because you know I want more—more of everything.

JO [as MR. NOX]

(Echoing) Creation is such a brittle thing. If only you knew how to find it. Creation, as it is. The veil covers and continues. Why would you not want the power of my creation? The Valthayne has been fantastic to work with.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Well, it's nice to know I'm part of a family business. I was wondering about that for a while. But you don't grant me visits often. So...in plain words, what do you offer and what is the price?

JO [as MR. NOX]

(Echoing) You running and being one of us once again. The only Valthayne in this work. The one and only Valthayne who seeks the knowledge that they all could not have before.

ROVER

Do you want me to lay it out in mechanical terms for you?

Yes.

ROVER

You would become a part of the Order. And what you would get is that you can, once a day, become your shadow.

(Gasps) Oh my god, that's so cool! Is there anything Viktor would know about the Order?

ROVER

The Order...I mean, you have the knowledge. The Order is the group of bounty hunters that attacked the government in Sweden, and then when the government fell, the entire country fell, and it has been covered in the veil ever since. And it is most likely where you can find the one power that they had there.

(Deep breath) Is my patron still just a disembodied voice somewhere, or is he standing somewhere?

ROVER

Give me a Perception check.

Alright.

[Dice clunks]

19.

ROVER

At the very, very far back into the void, you see this large, almost straining grin of white teeth in the darkness. And the dripping sounds falling onto the floor in the distance.

Ew. Um, ew. (Laughs) Okay. He's going to look at it for a while, his own grin growing wider.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Hmm. That's quite the offer you're making. Are you a gambler?

JO [as MR. NOX]

(Echoing) I wouldn't say I'm not.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Good. Let's add some spice to this deal, because I feel like there's a lot of things you're hiding from me. As, for instance, your reasoning for picking me. Because I'm not an idiot. Us meeting wasn't just a coincidence. I don't think you were just waiting there until someone shows up. So...I will take your offer if you add something to what I'm getting. Because power alone was never my goal, and you know that. Put some knowledge on top of this, and I will join the Order. Very specific knowledge. Would you be interested in that?

JO [as MR. NOX]

(Echoing) Speak, Lonesome.

JO [as VIKTOR]

I want to know everything about you. And I'm yours. That's what you want, right?

JO [as MR. NOX]

(Echoing) In due time, you will know everything about me. You know where to find me. Come and get it, Valthayne.

ROVER

And they start stepping forward. And you can just see the ink-like body that it is. It's a humanoid shape. But the arms are slightly too wrong in the corners, and the fingers are too outstretched for it to be real, as it's just...it's almost, it’s so cartoonish in a way. And one of them cradles your face, and they say,

JO [as MR. NOX]

(Echoing) You will be hunted, Viktor. And I cannot wait to watch the chase.

ROVER

And then they slide the hand—

I'm going to stop their hand.

ROVER

Okay.

With my left...I don't know which one. Whatever, whichever side.

ROVER

Yeah yeah yeah.

And interlace my fingers with theirs.

JO [as VIKTOR]

I don't fear the chase. And I don't fear the game. You should know that by now. I like touching things I'm not supposed to touch just to see what happens.

And he, his eyes slide over to the fingers he's just holding.

JO [as VIKTOR]

I'm going to take your deal if you keep your promise that I will know more than I do right now.

JO [as MR. NOX]

(Echoing) I...promise.

ROVER

And then the hand continues falling out of yours and pushes you backwards out of the void.

[Everyone un-deafens. All players can now hear.]

[Ominous humming music fades away]

So Viktor, after not even that long, maybe a minute or so, falls out of the void that was there. Make a Dexterity saving throw to not fall on your ass, basically.

[Dice thunks]

(Laughs) This is a nat 1.

[Laughter]

ANNIE

Yes! Yes!

ROVER

Viktor falls out of the void.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Ah!

ELIZABETH

(Whispers) The dice know.

ROVER

And as they stumble back on, can I have a Perception check from everyone—Corwin and Una with Disadvantage, everyone else flat.

ANNIE

Dirty 20.

16.

ELIZABETH

Corwin gets a 9.

MIRA

Una gets a 15.

ROVER

Everyone but Corwin watches as—well, Corwin also sees that it disappears. From where it ended, it starts back up as the line of darkness flows past the arched window, and you can see the outside.

[Church bells ring in the distance]

And everyone but Corwin sees smoke rising up from where you guys were at Jonny's place.

[Tinny fire alarm rings]

And that is where we end the prologue of Remains To—

[Static and radio interference]

[Upbeat music begins]

GREGG

Aaaand welcome back to the Craig and Gregg show! As always, he’s Craig.

CRAIG

And of course he’s Gregg.

GREGG

And we sadly have to interrupt this moment for some B-B-B-BREAKING NEWS!

[Record scratch; music stops]

Take it away Craig!

CRAIG

Thank you, Gregg. This news has just come in from Oxford. It seems Mechanics Incarnate, the shop of the missing crown smith Jonny de Rolo, went up in flames earlier this morning. The fire department is currently getting the fire under control, however it is uncertain how much of the original building will be left. They have yet to find any witnesses to the incident—

[Sound becomes tinny, as if coming from a speaker]

—and with tensions rising across the country, experts are speculating—

GREGG

Experts? Or maybe just president Isworth.

CRAIG

Experts are speculating as to whether this might be a distraction for some other kind of business.

[Radio clicks off]

[Fire crackles softly in the background]

“GAME MASTER”

Poor Mr. De Rolo. A foolish man and his shop of memories and pride…gone. Nothing more than rubble and ash. A pity. (Chuckles)

And now I have to bother myself with eight creations interrupting my years of work. Do they even have a clue what they are doing? Alas, if they insist on interfering, I might as well have some fun. Their fates could do with some twisting, after all.

[Sounds of a card deck being shuffled]

Hmm. Interesting...Well, time to put my assets to work. Don’t you worry, bright eyes, we are just getting started.

[Piano stinger plays]

ROVER

This episode concludes the prologue of Remains To Be Seen. We thank you all so much for the love and support you have shown us these past months, and hope to have you join us again in October, when we pick up the story in season 1. But don't worry, until then, we have plenty of bonus content coming your way, and the first one will be out on the 23rd of July.

But what that is? That remains to be seen, of course.

[Show outro plays]

Remains To Be Seen is an original podcast created by Dyaflame Studios and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution non-commercial share-alike 4.0 international license.

Today’s episode was produced and edited by Rover Elliott and Jo Mendacium. It starred:

Elizabeth Simpson as Corwin Duvall
Jo Mendacium as Viktor Valthayne
Annie Ruby as Josie
Mirah Fae as Una
Rover Elliott as the Dungeon Master

[Spoiler Warning] And with Special Guests:
Mounssif El Yamlahi as Craig and Gregg
And Ben Meredith as the “Game Master”

The intro and outro were composed by We Talk of Dreams, and the transcript was written by Elizabeth Simpson.

To get in touch with us and keep up to date with our antics, follow us on Instagram, BlueSky and TikTok @ DyaflameStudios or view our website at www.dyaflame.com

Check out our show notes for additional credits, links and transcripts.