Roll For You: Arcane Train! Episode 4 - Green Eyes

After a trial by fire battle as a team, the crew sits down and talks shop with a very slippery bird. We get a small glimpse into Gor-Els past...

As always, thank you for your support on this project. Our cast is as follows...

Game Master: Ross Bloedorn (He/Him)

Mallan Monko: Sam Maxwell (He/They)

Fern Hollinger: Katie Lynn Sinicki (She/Her)

Gor-El: Nic Mains (He/They)


All music in this episode is recorded and produced by the incredible and multi-talented Sam Maxwell


If you feel like supporting our show, check out our patreon at patreon.com/rollforyoupod for bonus content, after show talk backs, monthly live streams and download links to the original music used in this show: Patreon

Transcript

0:15

(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai - Go Unlimited to remove this watermark) Previously on ArcaneTrain This is the first official meeting of the Train Busters. Recently, I have been sought after by a group called the Rip Chords. The intentions of this group are noble. They want us all to be free from the train and be able to get off of it. And they feel that they have searched the train effectively enough to make sure that there is no explosives on it. We don't know for a fact how thorough they've checked. You know the boxcar bar as opposed to the locomotive lounge is further towards the back, though I don't suspect any of you have actually been there. Anybody here name start with F? Uh, yeah, Fleurin. I've already been a convicted felon on this train once before, and I'm ready to do it again. Wow, oh, fuck, he fucking headshots this man and fucking mercs him. Gorel suddenly transforms into a bear. My name's Jern Warren, I'm an Aldaran man. Oh, great, well you can suck this Jerdick. And then the rune glows and it comes back and it just strikes him in the back. Yeah, I want to try and cast dissonant whispers on the leader. You break this man in front of you. Onto the counter jumps a pure white feathered Aldaran man. Magnificent! Truly a brutal spectacle to behold! I plead with you, I beseech you, ascertain if the bombs are on this train and if they aren't to stop it. Let me ask you a question. Are you aware that the Deep Woods, for which you are so aptly named, is much closer than you might once have thought? Gorel, we are going to step back in time a little. Back to before the train, before the Roiber. You're on the outskirts of the Deep Woods, deep into the nation of Bowery. An enormous redwood forest with thick trunked trees, thousands of years old. Most would not dare go into these woods alone and without proper planning. So you, I think, find it sensible to maintain a healthy distance on the outskirts, maybe just slightly inside. And I think you're meditating here, if you don't mind me being presumptuous. Yeah, I think that's fair. Looking for answers, eyes closed. Looking for things in the void and calm of your mind, as you have been noted to do in our present day story. And I think the question you are asking and the question, perhaps, that you should be asking are different. The question you should be asking is how can I show the elders of Bowery that I am a worthy candidate to lead our people into the future as the next chief and secure nominations. But I think a more, let us say, selfish and ashamed part of you admits to thinking more on the level of how do I show my father, a seasoned warrior and current chief of Bowery, and my younger siblings who should be looking up to me, all stronger and more characteristically capable than you, that the mystic arts that you hold dear and you consider power can be just as respected as swinging an axe. And as you're looking for these thoughts, while concentrating here, go ahead and give me a perception check with disadvantage because your eyes are closed. All right. That's going to be 16. Wow, on disadvantage. Yeah. Gorel, you hear a rustling from behind you. Before they can sneak up on you, though, you're able to react even on that disadvantage on a 16. Go ahead and roll initiative. Here we go. Oh, OK. It's going to be a 10. Yeah. As you turn around, this person's going to get the drop on you. You see a large, burly cavalcade of Bowery warriors that you do not recognize at first glance, which is rare for you. You know, being the chief's son, you are pretty well acquainted with most of the nation of Bowery being a smaller nation for sure. But anyone who would be able to approach you at this level you would think would be recognizable. But you are, I think, shocked by the suddenness of this situation as you are dragged out from this. They are going to get a jump on you, and immediately this could end right away. They're going to try and make a grapple check on you, and it's going to be with advantage because there's three of them and one of you. OK. And what am I rolling for that? I think it's going to be opposed athletics. All right. It's going to be an 11. OK. They're trying to beat 11. They have a plus five to this roll. They are beefy. They are warriors. Mystic arts are clearly not their forte here. That is on those three men all jumping you, they are going to bind and gag you and put a sack over your head. I think as this is happening, I'm trying to call out what's going on, what is the meaning of this, but then the gag comes in, so it's like, Absolutely. You feel darkness overtake you as this bag goes over you, as you've been cuddled over the head to be knocked down, and I think you wake up some time later. This is very rude. On that perception check from earlier, we're going to continue that forward because that was so clutch. Even on that disadvantage, the first thing you notice is the creaking of what it feels to be a wooden cart rolling on a path that you were under. Your hands are bound behind you. You can't see. You have that bag over your head, and you are gagged, so you can't speak. I feel like someone's going to be like, you're finally awake. They're going to Skyrim you real quick. Hail, Kingsman. No, you hear on that earlier check, someone say, I don't know about this. If they send a search party for him, they could wipe out our entire camp. You hear someone respond, it needs to be him. The elder says he is beyond capable for his age. He is politically and spiritually viable, and those are the key words I think you hear, and I think going off that earlier conversation of those doubts, what is Goral feeling in this weird medley of being attacked and at the same time being called worthy? I think that he feels, I personally feel like that being called worthy does not matter from these people to him. Sure. I feel that he's definitely staying quiet, almost pretending that he hasn't woken, so that he can just continue to listen, because he needs to know what's going on before he can figure out a plan of how to get out of here, or what's about to happen. I think you eventually, after 10, 20, 30 minutes, who knows, feel the car stop. You're strangely cold. When you were at the edge of the deep woods, you, uh, the sun was still relatively high. You don't know how long you've been out, but you feel the cold, and you think maybe the sun is no longer shining on you. Mm-hmm. As you begin to feel this cart stop here, wherever you are, you are thrown over someone's shoulder, very roughly, taken a few steps, and thrown to the ground with a heavy thud. You feel them begin to tie you up to a heavy surface from behind you, and once you are secured to this surface, your blindfold and gag is taken off. Uh, go ahead and give me one more perception check to see what's going on here. All right. That's only gonna be a 10. Wow. Crazy rules. Uh, yeah, I mean, even a 10, the things you do understand about the situation is you're definitely much farther in the deep woods. I don't even know if Gorrel has ever ventured this far in. This is crazy to delve this deep. Even seasoned warriors do not come back from going this deep because there's not really much purpose even going this way. There isn't much to hunt, uh, the game back here, and all sorts of superstitious, uh, things. Right. Uh, the trees are wider, and there's just something more wild, dense, alive. You don't know, but it is certainly ancient, and you can feel that core closer to the hearts of the wild. Yeah. I think, like, I try to get a look at, like, who's near me. Like, do I see anyone, like, looking at me? Sure, you actually see, uh, a small encampment, really. Um, not, like, tents or anything everywhere, but certainly, uh, lived in, kind of, like, clearing. The soft shade of the leaves overhead, there's almost no light coming in, moon or sun, uh, otherwise, whatever time of day it is, uh, the brush overhead is so thick, but you can see, through all of this, that, one, there is, uh, a small party of the people you recognize that cuddled you and gagged you. You, uh, see them. You see a few more people, equally menacing. And I think the thing that really startles you is you see Abernthedal, and you would know Abernthedal is the current head of the Wildwalkers, um, and the person in charge of being one representative on the Council of Elders. Essentially the, like, I'm assuming, like, the spiritual advisor, essentially. Yes, and you yourself are not a Wildwalker, but you certainly have taken in a lot of their teachings. You would know you don't work personally with Abernthedal. Abernthedal does not, uh, discuss their ancient arts with people who aren't officially Wildwalkers. Um, but certainly, there is no way you can keep teachings away from, uh, anyone of Vowrey. They're not so close-knit. Uh, it's just Abernthedal that is close-knit. You know what I'm saying? Right, yeah. And I think the last thing, uh, I'm gonna ask from you, as you see one more figure off in the distance, I think they call back saying that you're awake, and you see a huge, burly Balron Warrior, larger than all the rest, almost in an unnatural manner, broad-shouldered like nothing else. As this figure turns to you, and comes out of the shade, go ahead and give me a history check. Alright. That is gonna be a 17. Yeah, I think, at first, you would mistake this person for, um, Dragar'al, who was the head of the rebellion who fought against your father. Right, but as far as I know, he's dead, so I'm, like, looking at a ghost. Right, so you see this man, and you realize he's closer, I think, on the history check, because you've, I don't think you've seen Dragar'al in person ever. You've seen illustrations, perhaps, from the days of old. I think it's very striking, but you notice this figure is closer to you in age than it would be to your father. If you had to take an educated guess, you would say there's blood relation to Dragar'al in this Balron man in front of you. Well, that does not bode well. I think he has almost a very, in contrast to all the stories you've heard of Dragar', he has a very calm energy to him. As he approaches, I think he rips a stump up from where he is, and he drags it over to you, and he kind of sits down, his axe, like, cradled his arm, but not menacingly, you know? It's like, just like an extension of his body. It's just something that goes with it. Right. You know, and he sits down, and I think he says, Uh, I don't know how we got here, if I'm being honest, but, uh, I'm told here, and he gestures to, uh, the head wildwalker, Averanth'dal, next to him, I'm told here by Averanth'dal that, uh, you show much potential, and, uh, while he does not see your training himself, he finds you hard to ignore. I think Gorel is just almost at a loss for words, looking between the two of them, like, I think even though Averanth'dal has always been kind of like, you know, closed off, it's like, he's still an elder that you respect. Sure, yeah. And being essentially, like, tied up in front of this man, like, he's like, why, why are you doing this? And I think he looks at you, like, a little, like, like expecting some questions, you know? And I think he says, first of all, my name's Agar, Agar'al, pleasure as it is, Gorel, despite the bad blood, and, well, I, uh, I'm told you have quite the connection with the old ways of our people, and, uh, well, that's something we appreciate greatly here, we don't want any trouble. Forgive us for getting a little rough, we really didn't think you would be all that, uh, we didn't think you would be, well, you'd put up a fight, if I'm being honest. But, uh, it's good that you didn't, it's good, a little fight's good. And yet you, you simply didn't ask if I would come? Well, you know, when you're, you're wanted by your dad and it's kind of kill on sight. Your father, not mine, for the record. No, your father's the dad. Yeah, that, that's true, that's absolutely, that's right. And hey, there's no hard feelings here. My father was, uh, not a great man, to be frank. He was selfish, and he wanted a lot of things, I think he said he wanted them for the people of Bowery, and I think, uh, looking back on it, I think he wanted a lot of those things for himself. I think he, he was, uh, he was hungry. I think as he's speaking, Gorial just, like, un, like, subconsciously, like, even just shaking, like, shakes his head at, like, the level of, like, disrespect that, towards, like, he, yeah. Towards his father, yeah, absolutely. And he's like, tell me about your father. What do you like about him? He is honorable, and he does what must be done. Gorial, I don't think your father is dishonorable. I think, uh, he's honorable, actually, to a fault. I think his honor is killing what makes Bowery, Bowery. And I want to ask you, and I think the wild walker elder, uh, Abernth, turns and, like, cuts him off, and he says, you know, you know that the forest is dying. And on that note, I want you to actually make a nature check to let me know if Gorial does notice such a thing. Okay. It's going to be a 12. Gorial, yeah, I think you know something's wrong. Maybe you wouldn't have put the words something's dying, but I think you can feel. I've felt something is strange, but dying? That can't be possible. The deep woods has lived thousands of years, and under your father's rule, it has begun to die. He has not listened to the ways of the wild walkers. He heeds no counsel. He heeds no words of warning. He only sees the hunt. He only sees honor, what is just in the moment, but thinks not for what comes after. And what would you have him do? What could he possibly be doing to destroy the woods? I think Agar says, like, well, actually, truth of the matter is, uh, there's this horrible tradition that people tend to cull when a plant is growing wild, and it thrives when it gets to grow wherever it needs to go. Well, your father has stunted that growth. He won't let the deep woods grow beyond what it needs to go, and because of that, the forest is slowly dying. Because he protects the long plain? Because he protects the long plain, but from what? What does he have to protect it from? It's not protecting it from anything, it's protecting it for the people who live there. I think he, like, chuckles. He's like, look at us, Gorrel. Where do you think we have been? We have been here for tens of years, and we have discovered no... And I think as he begins to say that, his eyes, like, kind of, like, roll back into his head for a brief moment. Go ahead and just give me an insight check. Ooh, that's gonna be a 21. Yeah, Gorrel... Or 22, actually. Yeah, on above a 20. You see this man's eyes very briefly buckle back into his head and go kind of, like, almost so hard to see in a glimpse of a moment. If you had blinked, you would miss it. But his eyes go dark, and his head kind of, like, twitches so quickly before he comes back to the conversation like nothing happened and kind of, like, blanches for two seconds, and he says, what happens with the Great Plains is of no matter. We have been able to live here in peace for a long time and not have anyone intervene in our culture or how we decide to live, and we were fine in leaving it like that until our homes started to die. So, Gorrel, we offer you a chance to help us. You, the eldest son of my father's greatest enemy. Together, we could work to make a better Bowery. Think about the symbolism of us working together. Two sons of two mortal enemies. It's difficult to think about symbolism chained to a post. I think he says, I'm sorry. You've got a point there, and if I didn't think it was necessary, I wouldn't do it. We're gonna, I'm sorry to speed this along, I'm getting a little lightheaded, but, Elder, and the Elder comes forward, and he takes out a dagger, and he slits your wrist. And he gets blood on it, and everyone, almost in, like, a fashion that resembles efficiency, and, like, it is routine, begins to gather around you, tied to this tree, and you see the blood dripping off this dagger. It is very ornate in nature as it drips into the earth, and you see the earth kind of begins to soak it in, and he begins muttering something under his breath as he holds his hand over the dagger, and everyone begins chanting. You are cut free from your bindings from behind the tree, but before you can do anything, the dagger is thrown into the ground, and stabs the earth. Go ahead and make me a wisdom saving throw. All right. Ooh, that's good. That's gonna be 22. Hoo boy. As you feel this dagger plunge into the earth, and I mean you feel this dagger plunge into the earth, you feel your blood coursing through your veins, feel like it's been set ablaze. You feel this burning sensation as you throw yourself forward onto the earth, having been cut loose, and I think Agar'al, I think in a very strange gesture, actually is by your side in this moment in an almost comforting way, and I think on that high wisdom saving throw, you resist like this seizing pain, and your head throws back, and I think what saves you in this moment is you catch a brief glimpse of the moon in the sky, a crescent, but beautiful nonetheless, and it's calm, it's present, in contrast to your situation. I feel like Gorrel sees this, and it just tries to hold on to the light, almost like a grounding point. Yeah, I think everyone sees you kind of like, that you're visibly winning in this situation, and I think much to your confusion, there is a round of applause around you as everyone seems overjoyed that you have come out on top in this situation, including the Elder. Agar'al is the only person that seems to be looking at you very curiously as you are looking up at the moon's pure white visage, shining down as a beam onto you, and I think your eyes wide, the light engulfs you, the burning in your body almost increases to an ungodly level, and the next thing you remember, is you standing, you feel taller, stronger, exhausted. Out in front of you is the bodies of your captors, littered across this clearing, where once Agar'al is, is a bloody smear, but no body. The body of the Elder, still clutching the dagger, is dead on the ground before you. The only body not here is Agar'al. And you are back in the boxcar bar. Flurin has just asked you if you are aware that the Deepwoods is closer than you think. So we're back here everyone, just a reminder to everyone at the table that the people here are Flurin, Oberlin, Skivin, Penelope is out cold I believe we left off, but is here technically, Linden, and of course Larry Bunsen, the most important of them all. My sweet, sweet bespectacled boy. My blind old man. Are we also just gonna hop into this without grazing the fact that all that crazy cold shit just happened? We're just gonna do a dry drop into a wet bird? Dry drop into a slippery bird. Flurin goes like, you look like you went somewhere that I can't follow. You didn't answer my question. The Deepwoods, the closer. Hello? He's waving his slippery, feathered arm in your face like, Zian, are you in there? I think Gorel just holds up a hand in front of his eyes, almost like, stop. Stop, I'm getting overwhelmed. I'm having sensory overload. Stop. He doesn't really, he's like, hello? He's absolutely just getting more and more intense. I think Oberlin is like, hey, Flurin, Flurin honey, please sit down. Please sit down. I think you just single-handedly gave my man a panic attack over here. How did you do that? It's a frequent occurrence in this household. Really? It's not a good way to grow up. Oh no, Gorel. What is happening? I cast Mending on your emotions. Does that work? Does it work? Can I roll? Absolutely not. That's mean, real life. I got a five. I don't have to read the text. I got a five, does it work? 20? Out of 20, yeah, I rolled a low. You heard him more. No, no, no. Just accidentally punch you. You have been diagnosed with clinical depression. Flurin looks, while very perturbed by this reaction, seeing your 50-yard stare here, he is slightly concerned. He's like, if you need to take a minute, I understand, we can... No, it's fine. I just, what do you mean? I have a friend of mine who works in Sector 3. Now, as you all know, Prince Stratus has taken over command over in Sector 1 for most of the goings-on in the train, but, well, has anyone noticed that food has been a little more hard to get fresh recently? I mean, I did notice that my usual oatmeal was coming in dustier bags. Yeah, Malin, you would notice that you remember earlier, Perkins mentioned that it was the first time they'd had fruit in like a month. Oh, yeah, we hadn't been able to have our... Yeah, it's been literally months since I've had a good fruit salad, and I've been hankering. I don't eat any food that has a water content. How are you alive? Flurin's like, agreed, immediately on your level. You look like you are a water content, sir. I don't know what you mean. So slippery. What are you talking about? What is that all over you? I'm sorry, I'm being antagonistic. It's my natural sheen. Oh, somehow that makes it worse. What are you... What is this? I don't like that. First off, Flurin, I reach my hand out, I'm like, this is for science purposes. What are you doing? I just, just one touch. Oh, no. It's a good touch. Why is it so coarse? Yeah, my hand. A good touch? Is this foreign to you, Gorel? What are you doing to that bird? What are you doing to this bird? I just want to feel the oil. What's wrong? I work on mechanics. There's a natural sheen. I want to know if I could, you know, harvest it for mechanics. I think he slaps you. Oh, Jesus. A wet, wet slap. That is just about enough of that. I agree completely. No more touching me. I'm sorry. No, I mean this. Okay, you drop this very oily bomb. Okay, poor choice of words. See, you're on it now, too. Can we all get over my natural spectacle? You are walking WD-40, don't you tell me you're not. Are we about to be consumed by the ancient spirits of the wood? Hey! Hello. Larry falls to the ground. He's having an aneurysm. He doesn't know what to do with that. That was the loudest thing he's ever heard. I think that's the loudest that Fern has ever been. It's the first thing he's heard in a long time. It's the first thing Larry has heard in a long time. He's like, yeah? I would just like to say that this is absurd. You come out of nowhere after a huge fight in which you could have interceded as the owner of this joint, but you choose not to regardless. You come out and choose to divulge that you have assembled us for a secret mission to stop the train, but we can't stop the train because there's bombs, but you say there might not be bombs, but we've got to find the bombs and stop the train.