Transcript – Hoarded Secrets

[Quest of Ruin theme plays]

ANNOUNCER
Scroll and Dagger presents:
Quest of Ruin
Episode Fifteen
Hoarded Secrets

[Theme fades to urban background noise, with sounds of stationery and dice in the foreground.]

GAME MASTER
Hello and welcome to Quest of Ruin, the post-apocalyptic fantasy roleplaying podcast. I am your host and Game Master. When we left off, you guys were exploring the library of Barad-Angol, trying to find information of the origins of vampires. That is until you, Vurieth –

MATT
Yes, hello.

GAME MASTER
– were grabbed by a giant tentacle and dragged out of sight.

MATT
[flatly] Yay. Lucky me.

[The players laugh in the background.]

GAME MASTER
But all is not lost because the others have come up with a plan to save you.

WILL
[sarcastically] Yep, by getting a whole bunch of books together. I can’t see how this couldn’t work.

GAME MASTER
I’m noticing a lot of sarcasm from the group today.

ROSIE
I didn’t hear you coming up with any better ideas.

GINA
I still think it makes sense. The monster’s interested in Vurieth, so we get a whole bunch of information together that relates to them, and that’s going to attract its attention, yeah?

MATT
Sure. Unless it’s, you know, read all the books already and won’t have any interest in them.

LEAH
I still think it’s worth a go. Unless you want to just be stuck with the tentacle monster?

MATT
Alright fine, fair enough.

GAME MASTER
Okay, so the four of you begin combing through the library, trying to find things that relate to Vurieth…

[Leaving the game table, there is the sound of the party frantically pulling books from shelves.]

BALINK
Rebellions… trolls… no no no… ooh, Songs from the Ashen Plains, that’s a good one!

YAELA
Do you think this creature is the one that’s behind the lack of organisation here?

AIOLIN
That’d be my guess. If it’s taking the books and then putting them back, I doubt it would care much for proper organisation. I mean, no librarian would allow a place like this to get into such a state.

[Yaela walks away.]

AIOLIN
… course, there is an alternative –

[Laethar talks to himself as he tosses books aside while searching through them.]

LAETHAR
No, no, useless, no, no, oh for the love of – Happiness in the Dark Times. Hm, now that’s interesting.

AIOLIN
Can you not drop those everywhere?

LAETHAR
I’ll write Master Librarian Istaband a note.

AIOLIN
I don’t mean… that’s not… they’re books, man! Have a bit of respect!

YAELA
Alright. Aiolin, do you think this will be enough?

AIOLIN
I think so. Let’s see…

[Aiolin sets the books down as he goes through them.]

AIOLIN
We have books on Ashlanders, magic, mm, some on vampires, and… [confused] one of uplifting poetry…

LAETHAR
That one is for their personality, not just the facts.

YAELA
Laethar!

LAETHAR
[shortly] What?

YAELA
No, it’s… just sweet.

LAETHAR
Shut up.

BALINK
So… do we wait?

AIOLIN
I am not sure. We are kind of making this up as we go along.

YAELA
Would this help?

[Yaela snatches at Laethar’s front.]

LAETHAR
Hey!

YAELA
Oh, stop it, you’ve got one of Vurieth’s hairs stuck to your tunic.

AIOLIN
Doubt they’d hurt.

BALINK
I got their satchel!

AIOLIN
You do?

BALINK
Yeah. Took it off Vurieth when we got them outta that ritual. Thought they was too weak to be carrying much. Must’ve still been sore ’cause they never asked for it back yet.

AIOLIN
Alright, great.

YAELA
Do we put them all together?

AIOLIN
Yes. Here, let’s clear this off.

[Aiolin clears a table off.]

AIOLIN
Pile them up here… and here, just like that.

YAELA
It looks almost like a shrine. Spirits, that’s morbid.

BALINK
Yeah, what if they…

LAETHAR
They are not dead.

AIOLIN
Alright. Now I think perhaps if we all focus on a memory of Vurieth, something to bring attention to ourselves.

BALINK
Oh brilliant. Here monsty-monsty-monster! Come and get us!

AIOLIN
Right. Everyone. Think. Focus.

BALINK
Now that I think about it, waiting around for a giant tentacle to come out of the dark and grab us seems like a really stupid –

YAELA
Shush!

[There is a slithering.]

AIOLIN
You all hear that?

YAELA
Yes. I think it’s working.

[Scared, Balink rambles to himself.]

BALINK
Alright, it’s fine, we’re gonna save Vurieth, then we’ll all leave safely. It’ll be fine.

LAETHAR
Don’t worry. We’ll all be –

[There is more slithering and then a rush of sound.]

BALINK
It’s gone dark!

AIOLIN
I think this is it!

LAETHAR
This is what happened before it took Vu –

[Laethar yells, and then there is sudden silence. He has been taken.]

YAELA
Laethar?!

AIOLIN
Try to relax, remember we want it to – oh!

[Aiolin is taken.]

YAELA
Oh spirits!

BALINK
It’s alright, we’ll all just meet up on the other si –

[Balink is taken.]

YAELA
Binks?

[Somewhere else, there is a slithering.]

VURIETH
Hello? Hello?

[There is no response.]

VURIETH
Where am I?

[There is no response.]

VURIETH
Why have you brought me here?!

THE HOARDER
[booming, voice echoing] What are you?

VURIETH
What?

THE HOARDER
I do not understand you. I do not know you. What are you?

VURIETH
I am… I am an Ashlander of Lithindbar, the Ashen Plains.

THE HOARDER
[impatiently] I know that already. Ashlander. Mage. Traveller. That is all obvious. But there is more. A something that shouldn’t be, that hasn’t been for more than an age. What. Are. You?

VURIETH
Well, what are you? You bring me here, demand answers! Show yourself and answer me!

THE HOARDER
I am that which serves Let-Me-Know.

VURIETH
That makes no sense.

THE HOARDER
To you, perhaps.

VURIETH
I do not know what you want of me! All I am you have already said. I am a mage and I travelled from the Ashen Plains.

THE HOARDER
I see. So you know not. Then I must find the answer elsewhere.

[It begins slithering away.]

VURIETH
Wait… wait! Where are you going? You’re – you’re just leaving me here? Hello? Sands, I need to get out of here. Where even is here? Hello! Aiolin? Yaela? Balink? Laethar? … Anyone!

[There is silence. Elsewhere, Yaela wakes with a start.]

LAETHAR
Don’t worry, you’re safe… relatively.

YAELA
Did it work?

AIOLIN
Looks like it. We definitely all got taken in by that creature.

BALINK
Did not like, by the way.

YAELA
But then, where’s Vurieth?

BALINK
That, we’re still trying to figure out.

YAELA
But, no, I thought they were supposed to be here.

AIOLIN
They might well be.

LAETHAR
The trouble is that “here” seems to be pretty enormous. And Vurieth is just one person.

YAELA
So, what, we split up and see if we can find them?

LAETHAR
No, I think not. Chances are we’d all lose each other as well. There are no landmarks or anything here. It’s just… void.

BALINK
Should make Vurieth easier to spot though.

AIOLIN
I guess there’s nothing for it but to just pick a direction and walk in it?

LAETHAR
Well, I don’t have any better ideas.

BALINK
Alright, I think that way is the right choice.

AIOLIN
It’s as good as any.

[Their footsteps echo hollowly as they all begin to walk.]

AIOLIN
This is ridiculous.

YAELA
You just said –

AIOLIN
I know what I said. I just wanted to be doing something but, let’s be realistic, blindly wandering around this place isn’t going to do the slightest bit of good.

LAETHAR
Well what should we do instead?

AIOLIN
Maybe the right thing to do is nothing.

LAETHAR
What?

AIOLIN
Well, Vurieth may well be looking for us too. If we’re all wandering around, we might miss each other. They’ve got a better chance of finding us if we stay still.

BALINK
But that way might bring us closer to ‘em.

YAELA
But it also might take us further away.

BALINK
… alright, fair enough.

LAETHAR
So you want us to just sit down and wait?

AIOLIN
Maybe just for a little while.

YAELA
It does make sense.

[Laethar groans.]

LAETHAR
Fine. We can wait here but think about this. There’s a chance the Ashlander is not in a position to come to us. They might be being held somewhere, unable to move and by waiting here, they might be running out of time.

AIOLIN
I understand that, but without knowing where we’re going, we can’t be sure we’d actually be going towards them. If you have some way of divining them, I’m all ears.

[Laethar sits down.]

LAETHAR
I’m going to count to five hundred. If nothing’s changed by then, we’re going back to the original plan.

YAELA
That’s fair.

[Balink sighs and begins pacing – and elsewhere, there is slithering.]

THE HOARDER
Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. In the oldest tomes, nothing. In the oldest memory, nothing. I cannot explain what you are.

VURIETH
I’ve told you what I am. Repeatedly I have told you!

THE HOARDER
And yet there is more. I can sense it in yourself, but you do not know it of yourself.

VURIETH
Well… maybe I am a vampire. I was involved in a ritual that they seemed to think would turn me, but it was interrupted before it could conclude. Is that what you sense?

THE HOARDER
[pauses] This is most fascinating.

VURIETH
Oh, well, Sands and the Wanderer be praised, my one true dream in life was to be an object of fascination to some tentacled library monster!

THE HOARDER
Hm, perhaps not then.

VURIETH
What?

THE HOARDER
You claim to be turned to the bloodcurse, yet you invoke a name that directly opposes those creatures.

VURIETH
What are you –

THE HOARDER
Clearly further research is required.

[It slithers away.]

VURIETH
[wistfully] Ugh! What it must be like to live a normal life…

[Laethar appears.]

LAETHAR
– and eight, four hundred and nine, four – wait, what?

VURIETH
Laethar?

LAETHAR
[dazed] What… on earth… just happened? Where am I?

VURIETH
Do not ask me, my friend. I arrived here in much the same manner.

LAETHAR
Wait, Vurieth? You’re here? But… how?

VURIETH
Something grabbed me from the library and brought me here –

LAETHAR
No, I know that. We all came in after you. But then we found ourselves nowhere and didn’t know how to find you. But never mind, you’re here now, so… now we just need to find the others.

VURIETH
You all –

[Aiolin appears.]

AIOLIN
Blood!

VURIETH
Aiolin!

LAETHAR
Ah, good, has it worked for everyone?

AIOLIN
I am not sure, were we all –

[Balink appears.]

BALINK
Wheeeee!

VURIETH
Balink!

BALINK
Hello! Woah, dark in here, ain’t it?

AIOLIN
Are we back in the library?

BALINK
Don’t think so.

[Yaela appears.]

VURIETH
Yaela!

YAELA
Oh thank goodness, you are all here!

LAETHAR
Yes, amazingly, it seems the “sit around and wait” plan worked. We’re all back together. But how do we get out?

AIOLIN
That part, I’m still working on.

VURIETH
Wait, wait, you don’t have a way back?

LAETHAR
Apparently not.

BALINK
You alright though, Vurieth?

VURIETH
Yes, I am fine.

YAELA
We’ll get out, don’t you fret. We just need to, ah… work out how.

LAETHAR
If we can.

AIOLIN
I believe that getting back can be done. After all, that creature moves between these places, perhaps we can follow.

BALINK
Like, hang onto it? That kinda thing?

AIOLIN
I mean… well, actually… if it comes to it.

BALINK
I am fine with that!

[Slithering noises begin once more.]

BALINK
Oh, it’s back!

YAELA
Can we fight it?

AIOLIN
You know what? I don’t think we can.

[Laethar draws his sword.]

LAETHAR
Do not be ridiculous, you can always fight.

AIOLIN
No, no, I mean literally. This is a creature of knowledge and learning. And we’re inside it. I don’t think it’s possible to fight it.

LAETHAR
Ah. So you mean –

AIOLIN
Exactly. My apologies, Laethar. I know that you prefer to handle things in a more traditional fashion.

LAETHAR
[stiffly] It is quite alright.

[The slithering sounds get closer.]

BALINK
So for real, is that the plan?

LAETHAR
Vurieth, did you get a good look at the thing?

VURIETH
Not really no. It, uh, spoke to me though.

YAELA
It can talk?

VURIETH
Yes, it asked me what I am.

LAETHAR
It what?

VURIETH
Yes, apparently it finds me fascinating.

LAETHAR
How… uh…

AIOLIN
Makes sense.

LAETHAR
It does?

AIOLIN
Of course. To a creature like that, Vurieth in their current condition must be –

THE HOARDER
– truly fascinating.

LAETHAR
What?

THE HOARDER
I think I am beginning to understand. Of course, this will take further study.

BALINK
How about, instead, you just… let us go?

[The creature laughs.]

THE HOARDER
But that is impossible. Watching this one simply interact with you is answering many questions.

YAELA
Spirits, I can sense it! It’s… it’s immense!

VURIETH
But there must be something –

AIOLIN
Let us out now! Or we will destroy this!

THE HOARDER
What are you –

AIOLIN
Vurieth?

VURIETH
Oh, oh, I see. Ignata!

[Flames burst into life as Vurieth incants.]

THE HOARDER
That is a first edition of The Hymns of Nan Annui. It is one of a kind.

AIOLIN
Well then, let us out, or it’ll be none-of-a-kind.

THE HOARDER
… You are bluffing. I see your nature. You are a scholar. You would never do such –

AIOLIN
Vurieth.

VURIETH
Parvignis!

[The firebolt hits the book, which goes up in smoke.]

THE HOARDER
No!

AIOLIN
And what’s this? The Life of Orimah of Ostirith. And is this a first edition – no, the original print! My, now that really is irreplacable.

THE HOARDER
Hm. A minor noble of a minor house. Hardly valuable knowledge.

AIOLIN
Well that’s good.

VURIETH
Parvignis!

[The book goes up, and the creature lets out a sound of pain.]

AIOLIN
And… Stone and Water; A Catalogue of Orod Eiliant.

THE HOARDER
No!

YAELA
Where did you get all of these?

AIOLIN
Picked em up earlier, thought they’d be good for some light reading.

BALINK
Those books are bigger than me.

AIOLIN
What do you say, Tentacle?

[The creature shrieks.]

VURIETH
It doesn’t sound happy.

THE HOARDER
Very well. I will release you. But this is not done. The Grasping Sight demands satisfaction.

AIOLIN
Well it can demand away, whatever it is.

THE HOARDER
Be. Gone.

[The slithering intensifies – and suddenly there is quiet, followed by the hushed sounds of the library.]

LAETHAR
Are we… are we back?

YAELA
I think… yes, I think we are.

AIOLIN
[distraught] Bolvag gijak daumab-ishi! What did I do?

VURIETH
You did what needed to be done. And it was a stroke of genius, my friend.

AIOLIN
We burned books! Master Sonrai would string me up by my ankles, if he knew. And he’d be right to do so!

BALINK
There wasn’t any other way out. You heard the thing. It wanted to keep us there to study us.

YAELA
You did what you had to do, Aiolin. We got back, thanks to you.

BALINK
Ang gijak-ishi, big fella.

AIOLIN
… thanks.

ISTABAND
Yaela? You made it back! Spirits be praised, you –

YAELA
[furiously] Istaband! Are you insane? What were you thinking letting that thing in here?

LAETHAR
… and letting us go up there with it?

ISTABAND
I cannot apologise enough, Yaela. I don’t… it just appeared one day and… you have no idea. I can’t deny it.

YAELA
You can’t –

ISTABAND
It’s like a compulsion. I can’t help myself. When I feel it hungering for new knowledge… I tried to tell you before you went up, but it wouldn’t let me –

YAELA
Enough! … I’ve heard enough. Look, we still need help with Vurieth’s problem. Can you help us, or not?

ISTABAND
I’m afraid the oldest knowledge on vampires were on that floor. If you couldn’t find anything –

BALINK
I found a few that might be good.

YAELA
Then we’re done here.

[Yaela turns and leaves.]

ISTABAND
Yaela, wait! Yaela!

BALINK
Wait up!

[Balink scampers after her.]

VURIETH
I cannot pretend gratitude for your part in the trap, Master Istaband. But I thank you for your hospitality.

[Vurieth walks away.]

AIOLIN
Is that the full Encyclopedia of Nor?

ISTABAND
What? Oh, yes. I have no place for it. It’s rather worthless.

AIOLIN
Yes… but heavy. Would you mind?

[Istaband sighs.]

ISTABAND
No, of course. It is the least I can offer, after everything.

[Aiolin picks up the book.]

AIOLIN
Hm, it is a bit heavy.

[Aiolin leaves.]

ISTABAND
I expect you’re loving this?

LAETHAR
Of course not. Yaela is my friend. You’ll recall I’m not keen on anything, or anyone, who causes her pain.

ISTABAND
You still haven’t told her?

LAETHAR
No, I’ve kept my word.

ISTABAND
I suppose I should thank you for that.

LAETHAR
I’m not doing it for you. Besides, that was part of the arrangement.

ISTABAND
You’ll keep her safe?

LAETHAR
Naturally. I would never abandon her.

ISTABAND
Get out, Monrunn.

LAETHAR
With pleasure.

[Laethar leaves, and closes the door behind him. The sound fades to the party walking through the Fae Realm.]

BALINK
What are you even gonna do with all that?

AIOLIN
Well, I did have one idea.

BALINK
Wait, hang on, that’s the face I make when I think of a new explosive device…

AIOLIN
Aye, it’s that sort of feeling.

BALINK
I love it.

VURIETH
Yaela, if you wish to talk about –

YAELA
Please just leave me alone.

[Yaela strides away.]

VURIETH
I only wished to –

LAETHAR
Don’t take it personally, Ashlander.

VURIETH
But –

LAETHAR
In case you’ve forgotten, the fae are a passionate people. They feel emotions at levels you and I could only guess at. And this will have hit her hard. Trust me, just give her some time.

VURIETH
[concerned] You’re in an unusually good mood. What did you say to Master Istaband?

LAETHAR
Nothing that didn’t need to be said.

VURIETH
Oh dear. So, we won’t be coming back here again, then?

LAETHAR
I shouldn’t think so, no.

VURIETH
… I cannot say I’m disappointed.

LAETHAR
You and me both.

DULINIEL
Lady Yaela! Did you find what you were looking for?

BALINK
Reckon we did! At least, we found some stuff.

DULINIEL
That’s wonderful. But, of course, where else would you be able to find it if not at Barad-Angol.

AIOLIN
Hmm, indeed.

YAELA
I think it’s time to return to the mortal world.

DULINIEL
Of course. You wish to return to Athradhel?

YAELA
No, I don’t think so.

DULINIEL
Well, we can reach a few other places from here, Aranoss Yaela. Did you have somewhere specific in mind?

YAELA
I think I would like to go someplace warmer. I don’t know about all of you, but I’ve had rather enough of the cold and snow.

LAETHAR
No arguments here. Weisscrag has not been as full of opportunity as I thought.

DULINIEL
There is a link a short journey away to Ospenglad, that place which is called Smokewood by the locals. Anywhere else will be a longer journey.

AIOLIN
Smokewood? That’s in Dathland, isn’t it?

VURIETH
Indeed, not far from your homeland, I think.

BALINK
Plenty of people living there. Plenty of work. Plenty of money.

AIOLIN
Sounds good to me.

DULINIEL
Very well. If you would follow me, I shall lead you there.

[In Ospenglad, there is breeze and birdsong.]

VURIETH
Oh that is such a relief, I feel like I can breathe again!

AIOLIN
I know what you mean.

BALINK
There a tavern nearby?

VURIETH
Or perhaps we could camp? It’s pretty warm down here.

AIOLIN
You’ll need to pack away that woolly cloak of yours.

LAETHAR
I would actually not mind camping out.

YAELA
Yes. Some peace away from, well… people.

BALINK
But… there’s a tavern nearby we can go to tomorrow, right?

[Vurieth chuckles.]

VURIETH
Yes, we are actually not far from Burrowton. Aiolin and myself came by not far from here when we were travelling to meet with you.

LAETHAR
Burrowton?

VURIETH
Indeed. Perhaps we can find time to check on that girl, make sure she is still well.

AIOLIN
Yeah, that would be nice.

LAETHAR
Yaela?

YAELA
Hm? Oh, yes, that would be fine. I’m going to do a quick sweep of the area. I’ll be back in a bit.

[She walks away.]

VURIETH
I think I shall make a start on supper.

BALINK
I’ll help!

[Dice roll and clatter at the gaming table.]

GAME MASTER
So you begin to prepare food, using the rations you have left.

WIL
[laughs] Gina’s still crying.

GINA
I am not!

MATT
Oh for god’s sake, what is it?

GINA
They were books!

MATT
Yes, Gina… books that don’t exist… in a fantasy world that also doesn’t exist!

GINA
They’re still books though.

MATT
[frustrated] Well, you can’t argue with that logic!

LEAH
You can’t, anyway. Gina, what are you going to do with the heavy books you got from the library?

GINA
… I may have had an idea.

GAME MASTER
What kind of idea?

GINA
I’ll tell you when you need to know.

GAME MASTER
Fair enough. Well I think we’re about to run out of time, so does anyone have anything else they want to do before they turn in?

[Most of the players say no.]

GAME MASTER
… Rosie?

ROSIE
Hm? Oh, uh, no – no, I’m fine.

GAME MASTER
Alright then, we shall call it there for today. We shall pick this up next time and, until then, goodbye.

PLAYERS
Bye!

MATT
Gina, stop crying –

[The end theme plays and the Announcer recites the credits]