“You can see your conscience?”
“No, it’s not tangible. It’s like my knives, it just appears usually when I need it to.”
“Avren can see his conscience, it’s ME!”

—Freely and Cally

Watch Silver and Steel Episode 3: Trouble Comes in Twos

You can also download our show as a podcast directly or listen on Google Play, iTunes, or Spotify!

The cast of Silver and Steel:

• Jasmine "ThatBronzeGirl" Bhullar as the Dungeon Master
• Avren - Human Armorer Artificer played by Todd Kenreck
• Sofieus - Elf Alchemist Artificer played by Meagan Kenreck
• Freely - Halfling Lore Bard/Oath of Heroism Paladin/Warlock played by B. Dave Walters
• Cally Zaffrab - Warforged Soulknife Rogue played by Lauren Urban

Full Summary

The group settles into the back of the cart to sleep and recover from the recent battle. Cally, as a construct who does not need to sleep but simply enters an inactive state where she can still see and hear, takes a seated position at the open end to keep a watch. She comes out of her sentry mode before the others wake up, and as the sun rises she takes time to write a letter to her Dad in a special book she has that will transmit the words to her Father. Sofieus is curious about Georgie’s widow and wonders if they should make a stop to see the woman, but Freely and Avren advise against a visit, and Cally does not see a need unless there is a reason to kill the widow as well. They all decide to stick to the matter at hand, so Cally connects telepathically with her companions and then everyone heads down the hill to track down the two guards who had stolen the cart.

Between Avren and Freely they are easily able to track down the two men who are currently crouched by a stream washing their clothing. The halfling is stealthy enough to get close and overhear the conversation between Rick, a half-elf, and Gil, a tiefling. They discuss being wary of their own encounter with some of the locals and some misgivings about their current situation. Freely decides a little deception is in order, and with a mental warning to the rest of the group he stumbles out into the open and joins the guards at the side of the creek. With clever lies he pretends to be lost in the area, happy to see Port Argent guards, and starts to ask the two questions about what they are doing. They admit they’re out on a job, and are waiting for something, but are reluctant to go into details.

While Cally has been relaying the conversation through the telepathic link, Avren has become annoyed at the whole situation and steps out of hiding. Both guards recognize him as a council member and begin to stammer and bow, attempting to lie about doing anything suspicious. However Avren demands to know what is really going on before he has to kill the two of them, and with Sofieus joining the conversation playing the role of good cop the two finally give up the truth. They were supposed to deliver the silver and vegetables to the next town over, Henge, which Gil enjoys doing because he likes to visit the town and try to spend time with a lady named Starla that he’s enamored with. They encountered a cloaked stranger on the road who offered money if they delayed the delivery; they didn't want to take the offer, but there was enough menace in the stranger's voice that both men were too scared to turn it down. The instructions were to hide out for a week or two, and that they would know when it was time to move along. The cloaked figure was tall, with a distinctive voice and marsh mud on their boots despite how dangerous the marshes are, and smelled distinctly of jasmine flowers. They feel bad now as there is a famine and the vegetables are rotted, and after several rambling apologies and explanations Avren finally has had enough and casts thunderclap.

Gil manages to avoid damage, but Rick is pushed back and reeling in pain. The sudden attack has prompted Cally to come out of hiding, knives in hand, and stand over Rick ready to strike. Freely attempts to keep up the ruse of being scared and injured by Avren, even convincing Gil to play along for his own safety, but once Cally realizes there is no battle she puts her weapons away.  As Gil and Rick recover from the attack, Sofieus encourages them to help recover the horses and get the cart to Henge, with Freely adding that being a hero in this way is the only solution Gil has for finally impressing Starla. No one is sure of the actual reason behind the plot, if it was to hurt Henge, to get two council members away from Argent, or something else. But with the shipment already seven days late everyone agrees to get the delivery done so more details can be uncovered. Rick and Gil retrieve the stashed ponies, Freely digs up the buried silver, and they all pile into the cart to head to Henge.

As the cart trundles down the road, Sofieus offers Cally a stick of gum and advises if she is ever feeling scared to use it. While the construct does not need food, nor chew, she’s happy to take the gum and is quick to place it inside the storage slot in her chest. This is enough to activate the magical gum and Cally turns invisible, startling everyone for several moments until Sofieus explains that she will remain invisible for an hour. As the construct gets used to being unseen, Freely asks the two council members if they know who lives in the marshes. Sofieus knows that the land is wild, treacherous, and uncultivated, and that the only people rumored to live there are witches eating magical herbs, but that might just be wild stories. The halfling then turns to Gil, hoping to find out any last bit of information to help track down the cloaked figure. Gil mentions how there have been rumors of people trying to undermine the council since it was established, and how the timing on everything is suspicious. Many bad things have suddenly happened all at once; the famine, the weredial, and now this stranger trying to delay the silver and food to Henge. He also remembers that the stranger advised that they would know when to stop hiding because all the pieces would fall into place, to think of it like a smoke signal.

That phrase prompts Cally to take a moment to scan the horizon for signs of danger. While she does not perceive any smoke, she does hear a strange bell ringing from back the way they came. This makes everyone nervous, but they have just arrived at the main gate to Henge and everyone is quickly distracted by the arrival of a gruff dwarf with a huge bushy red beard. This is Roger the Red, and he’s so furious at Gil and Rick for being a week late that he starts to smack them with a stick. The invisible rogue moves swiftly behind Roger, her knife at the ready as she believes the dwarf is attacking them, but in the telepathic communication Avren assures her that the dwarf is actually on their side. Freely quickly recaps what has taken place over the last few hours and what they have discovered, and they prompt Gil to repeat the details.

Roger is upset, agreeing that the timing is very suspect. The local farmers have abandoned their fields outside the city because of the rumors of the weredial, though Roger doesn’t think the beast is real. Freely is happy to offer to be a hero and track down the beast, and when Cally requests in their telepathic link to find out how much the job will pay he pointedly replies that being a hero is its own reward. Roger is happy to accept their offer as he explains that he used to be a fearsome monster hunter himself, but it’s a grueling and dangerous profession and eventually his body couldn't take the punishment anymore. He recounts that some livestock have been mutilated, not eaten like any other animal attack, and now a young girl named Daisy has gone missing. The information that a child might be in danger sobers the group, though everyone is suspicious that this might prove to be more than a mindless animal attack. Freely asks about the locals they met who had been kicked out of town, wondering if they could be responsible, but Roger insists that they were just lazy drunks who couldn’t be smart or devious enough to enact such a plan.

When Roger admonishes Gil harshly as the tiefling is recounting details, Cally uses her psychic abilities to create a mental connection with Roger and without explaining herself she mentally chastises Roger for being mean. Since the construct is still invisible, Roger is startled, but refocuses and asks the group to try and avoid causing more panic as they investigate the attacks. Suddenly everyone can hear the ringing of a bell, the same bell Cally heard as they were arriving. Quickly they realize it’s Milly, galloping hard on a horse into town. She’s panicked and exhausted and announces that the mine has collapsed with almost 40 people trapped and injured inside. She begs Roger for help, saying that while she knows he doesn’t like her father, Roger is her uncle and many others are in terrible danger. Roger seems reluctant to send assistance all the way back to Port Argent, but Avren speaks up to admonish him for letting a petty personal squabble get in the way of people’s lives. He passionately urges Roger to step up and be a leader. Roger is swayed by his words, deciding to lead the rescue mission and starts ordering people on to horses to make the trip to the mine.

Freely takes a moment to cast message and advises Roger to leave someone he trusts in charge, and the leader agrees that the timing is suspicious. Avren, Sofieus, Cally and Freely decide to take a detour to check out the animal attacks just outside of town first, then join up with the rescue efforts. Cally asks if she can ride with Sofieus, as she has never actually ridden a horse before and doesn’t think now is a good time to learn. The elf is happy to let her ride along, with the halfling and human taking their own horses, and they head out to the nearby farmstead. Seeing a decimated sheep in the mud, Cally jumps down to examine the dead animal for information as Freely intentionally calls out loudly in order to distract any beasts nearby. His noises work too well as a horrible creature suddenly leaps at the horse he is riding on and knocks the hafling to the ground! The beast looks like a massive crocodile covered in shadows and a strange slime, covered in decaying remains that cloak it in a maggot ridden stench.

Angry that his horse was injured, Freely hits the creature with an eldritch blast as Cally sinks two of her psychic knives into its hide. The beast shrieks in pain and lashes out at Freely but Avren shoves his armored form in front of the halfling to take the attack. The horrific jaws clamp down on Avren and lock in place, then whips its tail around to pummel Freely. The warlock lets loose his hellish rebuke to burn the creature even as the tail collides with the side of his head. In a panic at seeing her husband in the monster’s jaws, Sofieus casts grease on it even as Avren starts punching it with his thunder gauntlets.

...and the battle will continue next time, May 4th at 6pm PT on twitch.tv/dndbeyond

Lauren "Oboe" Urban is the Community Manager for D&D Beyond, as well as a professional classical musician on oboe and English Horn. When she's not playing a Bard in real life she's a prolific Dungeon Master and player on a variety of livestreams and podcasts. She lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband Luke where they spend their free time playing video games and drinking tea. The best way to keep up with Lauren's busy schedule is to follow her on Twitter @OboeLauren!