Ch. 104: A Midsummer Night's Dream - Part 1

The rogue sneaks past the guards. The cleric prepares a spell. The fighter... Wait, an ad? Don't let interruptions ruin your next Nat 20. Get ad-free, immersive, actual play podcasts with Fable & Folly Plus for as little as $4 a month. Sign up now at fableandfolly.com slash plus.

Previously, on Of Mice and Men and Monsters. The three of you, when you look closely, you see areas of the fresco that look almost hazy, like they've been melted away. And this is the horror of that book. when misused i know that there was a fourth people but their names their faces their personalities their voices all of it is gone how are we supposed to find a page belonging to

A civilization that doesn't exist. If they were erased from this world, perhaps they're in another. You see a map. And at the top, you see Seelie Court. This is the last recorded location in the Feywild. At the very top, a newly added sheath of paper that simply reads, Patient Responds to Proximity of Fey-Linked Energy. Subject, Crusoe.

Bertram, you keep saying it's we're playing chess with someone who's three moves ahead. And you're right. He is three moves ahead. But I'm going to break the whole damn board. Four of you are back in Jekyll's office. Why are you starting the episode? I think this is it. I think we've got it. We're there. What's cracking? I don't even have to. It's just more of a... It's the video content. Just start normal, not... Poor of you. Adam, if you name it, it gets worse.

Somebody. All right. The four of you are back in Dr. Jekyll's office. Just roll with it. They need to know. I'm not starting over again. I'm not starting over again. We are amateurs. We are amateurs. We've been doing this for how many years? We're just tired. Alright, anyways, you guys found some stuff in Dr. Moriarty's

room, including you found a map of the Sealy Court's last recorded location. You found notes that on it were specifically coordinates that showed the constant change based on mathematical resonance. You found a folder labeled WD. showing some patient responding to proximity of phalanx energy, and that patient was named as Crusoe, which was enough.

to really light a fire under your asses and get you right back here. So sharing these things with Jekyll, you further found just more specific details on there.

So really, I would add a couple more things specifically at the top of our session. that would have been further explored in the notes as you are preparing for departure into the Feywild. And that specifically is, you see that on those coordinates, a set of them is aligned with the lunar phases for the mathematical resonance. You see tucked into the notes that same crumpled page with Crusoe's name handwritten in the margin. You also see the words transmission frequency.

451.7 And so now the warmth of gas lamps and tincture flame fills the lab with a low amber glow Papers flutter from the sudden closing of the door And Jekyll, pale and twitching ever so slightly at the fingertips, leans over the notes you've retrieved from Moriarty's desk. Frankenstein paces, muttering beneath his breath, occasionally clutching at the breastplate that is holding a shattered form together.

They both have confirmed with you that these coordinates do line up with a shimmering seasonal anomaly in the highlands that you have just passed through, an anomaly that is supposed to happen tonight. They explain to you what they have understood, especially Frankenstein, hearing about the Seeley Court as a potential fourth civilization. Notes and bits of information.

that would resonate with what you were able to glean from, oh, what was his name from Oscar Wilde's work? Dorian Gray. What were you able to glean from Dorian Gray himself?

And so as they prepare for your departure, they have things to give you. They have gifts for you. So these are what they give to you. One from Jekyll and one from Frankenstein each. To Awin. Jekyll gives Glasses of Fae Sight, where once per long rest, you can cast See Invisibility and detect magic simultaneously for 10 minutes.

From Frankenstein, Aewyn, you receive what he calls a Mirror Leaf Cloak, which gives you advantage on Deception and Stealth Checks while in the Feywild. You also gain a plus one bonus to your AC and saving throws just in general.

His AC is like 19 now. 19. It's one of our favorite numbers on this show. That's true. By the way, I'll put this in the notes here in a bit. Thank you. To Bertram. I was like, oh my gosh, I gotta write this down. You're like, ah! I know, because these are like fun homebrew things. To Bertram, Jekyll hands these Famos bandages, three of them, where as a bonus action you can heal 3d6 and remove one charm or fear effect. Frankenstein hands you five.

Potions of diminution. With a quink wink as he moves on. Of divination? Diminution. The hell is that? You could get really big or really small. Think of Alice in Wonderland. It sounds exactly like Alice in Wonderland. And to Penny, Jekyll hands you a steak made out of hawthorn. Basically, it's a plus one enchanted weapon that deals an extra 1d6 radiant damage to specifically fey or any corrupted creatures. And then Frankenstein Penny hands you two portions.

called mortal bulwark potions. These potions are contained in a small glass vial with a cap that resembles a twinkling star and the liquid inside glows softly with shifting hues of blue and gold. resembling a twilight sky and shimmering gently as you disturb it back and forth. When you take this, you gain the following benefits for one minute. You have advantage on attack rolls against Fae and Fiends.

And then when you hit a creature with an attack roll and you deal damage to it, you can also force it to make a charisma saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature is magically banished. to its native plane of existence where it originally came from if it's currently not there. You're putting all this in the chat, right?

I'm doing it now, baby. Thank you. I like tried to type and I got so lost. Oh, you're like, oh. Yeah. These all feel very similar to like the gifts the hobbits get in Lord of the Rings. I may or may not have thought of that. Nailbeer? What is the light of our morning star? What is that star called? Star of Arendelle. Arendelle. Arendelle. There we go. Alright, there's your gifty gifts. It's a choker. Mine is so easy. Mine is so small. Yours can be very small, but they're going to be very handy.

Penny, as Jekyll presses the Hawthorne stake into your hand, he leans in closely and says, I saw your voice when... The note's read. Crusoe, is it? Yes. It may be that you will find him where you're going. But he may not be the man you remember, not after what the spotted hand may have done. But this goes both ways. Even if he's changed. He will know if you call him. Trust in that. Penny just eyes Jekyll warily.

And then nods and appreciation for the kindness meant, even if it wasn't necessarily kindness received. And turning to the lot of you, Frankenstein now. enters the middle of the room. It would seem that the extra side ventures that Moriarty had myself and Jekyll here embark upon over the past several months would have paid off for all of us. And from a side drawer injection.

In the main part of Jekyll's desk, he pulls out a single bell. He was having us build something similar to this, but... as we were becoming more and more wary of him jekyll wisely held this back this will allow a one-way transport to the feywild Ring it. And it can take five. But it has to be at the right time when the gates are open. And now we know when they do. There are three of you, I can tell. Make that four, says Pip, from the floor beside you, Penny. Very well, four.

And as I said, this transports fire. If you allow me, I would like to accompany you. Penny doesn't even care about Frankenstein's feelings. She just turns to Eowyn and Bertram like Frankenstein isn't even there. She goes, it's all well and good, but how are we going to, can we take him if we're going to bring Crusoe back? I mean, we can just leave him there, I guess. What?

If we're going to get Crusoe, we need to be able to bring him back, and that makes five. I mean, does Pip really count? Does Pip count as a person? He's a little. Excuse me. What about Fezziwig? You can sit on my lap. I'm going to leave Fezziwick here for his own safety. Pardon me. Excuse me. Oh, I'm sorry. Were you speaking? Oh. Yes. Yes. This is a one-way ticket, I said. We ring it once, five go in, and the bell breaks. I'm not quite sure how we're going to make it back. I think I might...

Have that covered. I... You do. I've been studying this new spell. And I haven't used it yet. But I'm pretty excellent at magic. I'm pretty sure it will go flawlessly. Never a wild magic surge. Something about shifting planes. And I believe I'm able to bring... Let me check my notes from my studies. I believe I'm able to take eight willing creatures. Well, that's much better than five. Uh, yes. If you don't feel like backstabbing me there, then I would like a return trip, if possible.

We'll see. I too would like to come back, Bertram. Just to put my finger up there. But just like the bell, if we are in a hurry, this is a one-use spell. This is the most powerful magic I've ever learned.

You can only use that spell one time in your whole life? Unless you want to take a long rest there, and I'm not sure how dangerous it will be. I can only do it once per day. You thinking we're going to get out of there before a long rest? Just pop in, pop out? Don't know how dangerous it's going to be. I mean, think about it. I'm pretty sure all of these adventures we've gone on have mostly been one day. Yeah.

Yes, but one day there might be one minute, one hour, one week. Even in some cases, one whole year over here.

Time doesn't follow the same way in other planes of existence. What do we know about the Feywild? Can I roll history? Go ahead and you can roll history or you can also roll nature. Okay, I'm a shitty nature druid. I'm a city druid. I'm a shitty druid. They're about the same. I'll roll nature if that's what you want. Yeah. It's an unnatural 20.

You do know a bit about planes, especially how they interact with areas of the natural world. That you know that there are two planes of existence, almost like demi-planes. But they are fully their own, so they're not made. They are naturally there. They're a natural phenomenon. But there are two planes of existence, the Feywild and the Shadowfell.

that sometimes cross over into what we know as the material plane or like our our plane of existence and so where the veils are thinnest that's where you can step through but you need specific conditions to be perfect, a specific alignment of stars and planets, a full moon, a time when our specific topographical feature like a mountain aligns somehow with the same version, mirror version of that mountain in that plane of existence as well. So there needs to be some kind of overlap.

But you also know that where it is thinnest, it doesn't always stay the same. So it's not always there. It comes and goes. So it's easy to go one way, but it's almost impossible to come back the same way. So you can relate that however you'd want with the rest. I think there's kind of like, there needs to be some kind of way for us to get real close between our two realms.

between our two planes of existence. And if they match up just right, like a key in a keyhole, then it will twist and the lock will open, or in our case, we will pass through to the other side. indeed says frankenstein that means that as we're there maybe we need to watch for things that seem almost like mere images or Like anomalies that seem familiar like something's wrong. Like an uncanny valley or something. By there, do you mean this place called Sealy Court? Yes.

If what you told me from your time with Dorian Gray and from the bit that you were gathering from Oriari's office matches up, then this would be the final and fourth civilization. This... people who call themselves a sealy court they were once here and now they're gone there do you know where this place is

I only know what you found in Moriarty's notes, and that's where it's going to drop us off. However, and looking out the casement of the window, you can see the full moon now at its zenith. Time is of the essence. We're going to do it. We do it now. Let's do it. Let's go get Caruso. I'm ready. Penny takes a moment and takes out Fezziwig.

And, um, and leans down and says some next to Pip, but says, Hey buddy, I think, I think it's going to be best if you stay here for your safety, which, uh, keep an eye on these two. And she kind of, or this. Keep an eye on this one. And she takes a look. Wait, I can't tell. Jekyll's staying behind. Jekyll's staying behind. Frankenstein's coming with you. Jekyll's staying behind. Yeah. Makes the most sense. She looks at Bazziwake and looks at...

Jekyll and just goes, keep an eye on this one. If he gets weird, take care of yourself. We'll be back for you, buddy. That's right, buddy. The better one's coming along. Get on. Get. I don't need you around here. Pip. What? The sense of superiority is not necessary in this instance. I love you so much. I love you so much. I know.

Yes, buddy. You know, you're so near and dear to my heart, but just because you can talk doesn't mean I love you any more or any less. I love you as much as I would. I like to fight, too. I see how I've seen the weapons you carry. It's very impressive. Now, come on. Be kind to Fezziwig. Let's go. And then she holds a hand out for Pip.

He puts his little paw in your hand. Oh, I meant he was going to get in it. No, he puts his little paw in your hand. He's like, I will stand beside you. All right. And then she reaches behind and picks him up by whatever little shirt he's wearing. Oh, hey. All right. Set them on her shoulder. And the five of you, well, really four standing and one on shoulder, form a circular pattern on the floor that have been...

carved with time during that day, according to the notes that you had found in Moriarty's office. And you hear distinctly behind you, as the chime of the bell starts for midnight, the beginning notes of the sunken bell. echoing across the room. The Feywild circle below you activates, moss crawling across the flagstones. The gateway pulses in time, with the heartbeats inside of your chests.

The air is thick with mirrored possibilities and the gateway waits your next step. As you step through this portal, you're immediately enveloped in a crimson glow. The lights... of a blood-red fairy circle. Petals glisten around you with thick, sticky nectar. A heady floral scent clings to the air laced with something more ancient. Bertram, you recognize that feeling.

This feeling of wild magic, something which you try to keep in check, but it freely courses around you. Soft strings seem to echo through the forest, somewhere between harp and wind and chime. guiding you into the heart of the Feywild. The veil between the worlds parts with a shiver of moonlight and we, our audience, see five figures emerge into the hush of a midnight grove.

Around you, a perfect circle of blood-red blossoms pulses gently as if breathing, and the air is heavy with nectar and dreams. It clings to your boots, or in some others, paws, or even bare feet.

It stains your fingers and sweetens your breath. But you feel strange. Heavy. Light. Not yourself. And as your eyes flutter open, you realize you really are not yourself at all. me your pointy ears hey guys it's me kate your master teacher here at the break and uh yeah what what a beginning we are having into this newest one

It was always meant to be, people. Shakespeare could not be in my repertoire once. It had to come twice. And so we're finally going to get you guys into that elusive fourth civilization here with Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night. night's dream so i hope that you're enjoying it so far uh but really i'm gonna make this break quick

I first wanted to extend a hearty welcome to the newest member of our O'MAMAM fam, Miss Emily Inkpen, a friend of the show who also happens to be on our network. So I'm so happy that she has joined. And you can also hear her voice talents at our special that we did with the three other shows I want to say on our network for Christmas. But anyways, welcome, Emily. Other than that, I did want to invite the rest of y'all to join the Omamam fam on our Patreon.

where you can have some cool things like talking to us on Discord, every so often having some fun game nights, a book club, really some bonus content, after show.

The perks just keep on coming. With that also, if that's just not in your ability right now, then... hey if you would be so kind as to uh lend us humble folk the four of us a bit of your time 30 seconds 60 seconds uh really just to click a review and perhaps uh well click a rating and then perhaps even write a couple sentences review of the show wherever you're listening to it right now would super super super help us

especially as this indie project we've got going on. And then in exchange, if I do see your review in the wild, I will read it here and give you some credit. So with that said. interact with us. We love hearing from you. It strokes our little precious egos, but it also gets us further out there into the ether so that others can listen alongside you. And of course, we'd love to have you on our Patreon. With that said...

That's enough of me. Let's get back to the show, shall we? I'm going to invite each of you to roll a four-sided die. Now, I've pre-rolled who goes first, and then I'll let you know why and what's going on. So, Aewyn, you roll first. Sorry, there's a bunch of stuff on my screen. That's four. Hopefully that's good. Bertram, you're up next. I rolled a one. We gotta find out. Penny. I rolled a three. And now I have to roll for Frankenstein and Pip. Real quick for a mental image as you're rolling.

uh you keep saying like red with the describing this place is it kind of like an inverted world where as opposed to green trees and green leaves and green grass is everything red almost like an alien planet It's like you're surrounded by red flowers dripping with nectar. So you're in like a fairy circle and it's just red blooms everywhere. Oh, okay. Okay. So what has just happened, my sweet ones?

You have arrived in the Feywild. Intact. You are there. But as you come to, you're not in your own bodies. I've played a little switcheroo on you with a bit of game of chance. So you see beforehand, I asked each of you to give me onto our, well, basically to upload on our Slack, your player sheet that's most updated. So we're going to play a little switcheroo, and each of you are going to get to play each other as each other. You're going to be the dude playing the dude.

Who thinks he's the dude. Disguised. Disguised as another dude. Disguised as a dude playing another dude. So, Eowyn. Oh, God. You wake up in Frankenstein's body. Oh, shit. I forgot he was in play. That is too much power. Oh, shit. Who's going to be Piff? Bertram. You wake up in Penny's body. You're going to hate being this tiny. He's only 19. Oh, no. Frankenstein is going to wake up in Bertram's body. Oh, shit. Pip is going to wake up in Eowyn's body.

Which is great. An animal into an animal changing. Shout out. And Tenny. Take that body for a ride. Penny, you are waking up in Pip's body. Oh, my gosh. I knew it. I knew this would happen. So here's the rules, dear ones. You find the sheet that you are. That's going to be your player sheet for at least a couple sessions. But I'm going to require of you, when you speak,

you are going to do your best to speak in that character's voice. Oh, man. Damn. So, Awen isn't Awen's voice. Awen is going to be speaking with Frankenstein's voice. okay all right i need this again hold on a second so awen is frankenstein bertram is penny penny is fucking pip which is hilarious pip is Eowyn, which seems diabolical and dangerous. And who's the last one? Frankenstein is Bertram. The father becomes the son. Oh, geez.

The maker is into the creation. Raw. Yes. I love when that works out that way. Wait, so all those items we were just given, are those like now with the other person? uh you i mean you guys can exchange if you want like i you don't have to probably easier if we just kept it with like it stays with that person i guess i don't know but i think the biggest thing i'm gonna do here is like

Yeah. Awin needs to speak as if, just do an impression of Frankenstein's voice. All right, let's hear that impression. Penny's going to need to do an impression of Pip's voice. Let's hear that Snape impression. And then Bertram's going to have to do an impression of Penny's voice. I don't know. Which is basically just Kimmy's voice. I don't know how to do that.

Wait, who's the inspo for Snape? Frankenstein, I do like a really bad Snape. It's like a little nasally, I think. Always. Hello. Always. Hello. Yes. Kimmy. Can you remind me of Pip's voice? I need to hear it again. Butters from South. He talks a little like this. I mean, just put it back in your throat. That sounds really hard. It doesn't have to be. Remember, it's like. Adam is thrilled. He's like, Kimmy has to finally do a fucking voice. It's true. Every time you do it, it's great.

Every time you do it, it's great. You say that. It's not. But see, you also say, butters from South Park. I never watch South Park, guys. Just whatever that voice is she was doing. Oh, God, this is so hard. I never did. I'm not a performer. It'll just be butters like this. I don't know. Yeah, there you go. That's great. That's great. Nice. Okay. Thanks, guys. That's good. It was almost a little like Fargo. Like, oh, you betcha. Oh, you betcha.

It's so hard. It's so hard doing a woman's voice without pitching your voice up too high. so i'm trying to yeah so you don't start sounding like monty python like i don't want to do it like too much well because also kimmy you kind of have like a you have like a uh

an alto, kind of like a deeper kind of resonance voice. Yeah, no, I don't have a high voice, but I do have a valley girl accent. You hit it real good. I heard you. High? A little high? I don't know. Oh, man, that's going to be hard to not.

It's so hard to do a woman's voice without doing like, oh, hi, I'm a girl. You know, I don't want to do that. You could just do that. It won't hurt my feelings. I'll just dead eye you the whole time. So the best way to do it, dear ones, is let's just jump in and try it out. No, boy. All right. I'm going to have anxiety this whole time. I'm going to... Okay, so all of my bag and my items, they're all on my person still. So...

Okay, so I have all of Penny's items. The soul has transported into a different body. Yep. Awen, your just limbs are heavier and you feel... like metal weighing your chest down as you try to sit up and rolling your head to the side, you see your body and it blinks confusedly at you. And this is... Well, look at this. I'm a big ol' elf now. It's the animal that's gonna turn into an elf that's gonna turn into an animal. It's gonna be...

Very interesting. It's me, by the way. Pee up over here. Who's got my body? Who's over there? Where'd you go? What is it, Sam? Who's that, like, Western actor? Sam, what's his face? Sam Elliott? Sam Elliott. It's like Pip became Sam Elliott. I am honored. You sound a little bit more like you're doing Beetlejuice. Hey, where'd you go? I'll be like Italian. I'll be like Italian.

I don't even know how to jump into this. Pip in Aewyn's body starts to crawl on all fours towards you, Penny, to the little mech mouse. All right. So who's in my body right now? Oh, gosh. I'm trying to find it. I got to find my in like like enchilada. You're doing Schitt's Creek. It's just always good. Give me a second. Let me tell you something. You need a phrase. You need the starter phrase. Get that key phrase.

Penny Pip immediately pulls out her... Sorry, I'm looking at these weapons. Really immediately pulls out her Morningstar and goes... You better back. Oh, boy. How's it? Oh, God, Kate. This voice. Okay, it's just going to be bad, and I'll find it later. Yeah. You better back up, buddy. I got this thing. You watch yourself. I don't know what's going on here, but I don't like it. I don't like it at all. What happened? Who are you? Patty, is that you?

uh yeah oh this is a dream you're in yeah penny you're in me like you not like that but you know like why would you take it there immediately pip I'm in this body of this pervert. I don't know. It's just the thoughts are coming so naturally. You're huge. I'm tiny. I know. I didn't know I was so small. Oh, no.

Oh, what a mess we're in. How am I going to do anything? How am I going to be helpful in any way when I'm this tiny? Hey, hey, don't you get that, okay? Even the smallest person can change the course of the future. Don't you forget that. That's what you say to someone else. It's not what you actually think about yourself. I'm saying it to myself, kind of. Penelope, don't worry. It's me inside your body. Bertram, the person that you always wanted to have inside your body.

I will make sure that this body is nice and safe. Don't you worry. Well, fuck me. I will not do anything weird with this body. I promise. Oh, God. You saying that, oh gosh, you saying that immediately makes me think you will, but all right, all right. I just thought I should put that out there. Always saying weird things, Bertram. Wait, is that you, Eowyn, inside? Is that you, Eowyn? Might be me. I think it's me, but we're not sure.

This is the most complicated thing ever. I am... I'm... Okay. This is a weird experience. Don't know how to move my mouth. It feels like I can't... How do you live this way? It's like I'm talking through mud. I can't even move my lips. My jaw is like permanently stuck to the bottom of my mouth. Frankenstein, Frankenstein, where are you? Where? Fix this. You have to fix this. I'm not Frankenstein, but...

I look like Frankenstein. It's a word. I am Frankenstein. And Bertram's body rises gracefully. Is that supposed to be what I sound like? I don't know if I like that. This is exactly what you sound like. Yes. And actually, I think I have the best. I made this body, and so I know all about it. It actually is... Quite refreshing. A mindfuckery, mind you, but still refreshing.

I say that we just get through this and then let's get out of these bodies and get back into our proper bodies. I do not like being 19. I do not like being this short. I just, I'm going to do my best to throw these daggers and kill people and get back home. Man, Frankenstein, you're packing a hog, man.

You regretted it while doing it. You started waving before you did it. Before I even said it, I was like, nah, don't do it, man. There's certain lines that just sound so different depending on the voice that's delivering it. Truly.

Well, for all of you, your limbs are wrong. Your voice is wrong. You look around and see your friends, and yet, not your friends. Not in the bodies you know. And the forest spins. And then, laughter. High-pitched, mischievous, maddeningly melodic. From atop a crooked branch, no taller than a halfling and with eyes too bright for mortal comfort, perches a figure. A leaf and thorn crown tilts rakishly on his head.

where you can only see one of those eyes carefully. The rest is bleached and parted in a very emo style. A tight shirt with different floral patterns covers it. multitude of rings gleam on his fingers as they cover his mouth and try to hide the abounding mirth there. You see as he lowers his fingers, he's chewing a stalk of violet grass, grinning like he knows all of your secrets. Lord, what fools these mortals be?

He hums, voice like rustling leaves and ringing silver. A curious tangle you've gotten into. Puddly musical chairs, is it? How very seely, or... Perhaps unseelie? Hard to tell these days. The course of true adventure never does. Run smoothly, does it? He bounds down mid-air, flipping like a sprite-shaped coin landing inches from you. Come along, mortals. You want to get that sorted before Oberon sees you. I have a few places I can take you. Who are you? Oh, right.

Names around here. They carry quite a thing. You can call me... Puck. Did you say Puck?

Yes, Puck rhymes with fuck. Anyways, you probably want to get some rest and figure this out. I have a few places I can suggest to you. it excuse me um excuse me uh puck or fuck or whatever your name is uh can you just set this right what does it take for this to go back to normal uh I'm not a fan of my tiny stature. I feel I can... No offense, Pip. Do very little. None taken. You act as if I'm the one doing this.

Really, it's you who did it. And you're going to have to unwind it for yourself. And he gives you a really big cheesy smile. This must be your first time into the Feywild. Look, things aren't always as they seem here. And then also, it's a place that loves to, well, puck with you as soon as you land. But... Really, it takes a bit of you getting used to it. You transform on the inside and, well, you transform back on the outside. Inner growth and, you know, all that.

Hmm. I'm still confused at what you're doing here. Oh, well, I'm just here to really see who came in. Little... pop went off and I had to see who came in through the latest ring here. They don't stay in the same place. And you look behind you and it's already starting to melt away. Don't worry, those things pop up every so often in little spots, just when you need it, or maybe when you don't need it. Well, anyways.

You'll probably want a space to... I have a question. I have a question for you. Are you... This might sound kind of weird. Are you part of... Like a lost civilization that is like kind of like disappeared. Is that a weird way to ask that? Roll insight Penny Pip is just shaking her head Five Okay

You just from the shock of hair over one side, it kind of flips it back for a second. But you don't really catch anything in that gesture other than just a sense of mischievous, almost glee at your question. Loth. I'm not the one who's lost. No. But was I from somewhere else and then not? Yeah. Yeah, you can say that. But I've come to really like the Feywild and the environs around here. So, do I have another name? Yes. Do I really want to go by that? No.

There's too many fun places to visit around here. Maybe you'll catch some of them. He like uses like a hooked finger to draw you in closers if he has like a little secret to tell you. I pick up Pip and I say, go ahead, Pip. And I kind of toss Pip. Just did that. Not cool. Not cool at all. It was yourself that did it. Picking you up, tiny little finger.

picking you at Penny and then setting you safely onto a branch. He kind of waves his hands in front of you. Just for that, I'll give you a little tidbit. We have just a really great nightclub scene around here. And if you want a good rest or some good things to eat or drink, or if you just get really fucked up around here, you might want to stop around there. So...

The current one you might want to go to is called Mist. It has nine S's. Anyways, this is a party palace carved into the back of a giant sleeping turtle named Billy Shakes. And it's only open during lunar eclipses. Or whenever Titania breaks up with Oberon. You'll find out. Anyways, this place has everything. Backwards talking dryads. Centaur baristas.

tragic love triangles with four points, a mechanical owl that does improv, and get this, a whole room filled with fey remorse counselors. Go ahead, ask me what fey remorse counselors are. What are fey remorse calendars? Oh, thought you'd never ask. Well, that's when, you know, that thing where a spriggan in a tiny vest gaslights you into self-discovery. It's great.

I feel more confused than I was before. Why are we still talking to you? This is confusing and seems not towards our goals. Oh, well then... What are your goals? We have to find someone. We don't even know you, sir. Oh, I told you. I'm fucked like. Fuck. We have to find someone. But I don't know if you're going to be helpful or not. Are you a narc? I can. I cannot. What do you know about the spotted hand?

I know about spotted toads, but spotted hands doesn't ring a bell. Suddenly I feel my hands start to move. And they start doing kind of like weird kind of like hand signs and signals. I think I'm attempting to do a thieves cant. I'm trying to see if maybe I'm asking if they would know something about a magical piece of paper.

Wait, does Bertram know thieves can't? Did you learn it? Penny does them. Penny does? Penny does. Is it just like muscle memory? Okay. I think so. I think that's the way I'm treating it. The same way that you can cast all the spells that... that Frankenstein can, but, but A1 would know like the somatic and like the verbal components. I thought I'm choosing to play it. That's a good call. That's a good call.

He looks at it out of the corner of his eye like it's caught his attention. And as your fingers slow down, just as the query finishes off, he looks at you full in the face. How rude. How delightfully rude. I might. I might not. And he sends thieves can't back your way. Now, I will say, Penny, even though you're not in your own body, you still have your mental capacity. So I would say you recognize this too. So the two of you, Bertram and Penny's body and then Penny as herself.

would recognize that he's actually using thieves cant to spell out two names. And just as with American Sign Language or any other sign language, when you don't know the shorthand for it because you don't have that commonality between you two, you have to actually spell it out. He spells out two names for you.

He spells out the name Oberon. And he spells out the name Titania. Um. Pip Penny looks over to Penny Burcham and does an exaggerated nod because she thinks anything with subtlety will not be noticeable to anyone at her size. And I think I would just say, I would nod back. And then I would say, do you know where we can find them? Yes. And he just takes on such a bored thing. He starts to lean against a tree.

checking his own fingernails as if that's more interesting what what here okay how about we do something for you and then you can do something for us like what it seems like you're bored or you want to play or something uh

What do you want? Like, kind of a bargain. Ooh. Well, now I really can tell that you're new to this area. You don't know what goes around in the Feywild, do you? I invite all of you to roll history. And we're using the other person's stats, though. You're using the other person's stats. Yep. Sorry, dude. Jeez.

Do I even have history? I mean, you have intelligence. Intelligence, where is it? There we go. All right, so there's nothing marked. That's just like plus zero, basically. Yeah. Plus whatever the intelligence is, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, okay. 25. Dang. Here we go. It's a plus 11. Okay. Actually, I got a natural 20. Okay. Penny and Awen.

You do know that the memory just comes almost like it just, well, really the intelligence as if it's been stored there comes unbidden to you. You do know that in the Feywild, it's not coin. but promises, items from another plane of existence, or even memories, are how people and fae barter here. And the highest... form of bartering. The most valuable thing in this plane of existence is a name. A true name, right? A true name that's...

Like given and like lost? Or what do you mean by like exchanging a name? A true name is your actual name because names hold power. Now, Bertram wouldn't know this. Right. But both Penny and Aywin would know everything I just said because of your high damn rolls. So yeah. So once again, it is coins mean nothing here. So any kind of monetary thing does not mean anything here. But favors. regular everyday items from the realm you're from, so material plane. Let's see. Memories, so stories.

And then the highest thing that you can trade is your actual name. To give a Faye your actual name is a big thing. But again, you're saying that give it like share it or you mean like it's gone. Like I don't it's not my name. Share it. No, just tell it to them. What are we trying to get out of this?

Trying to barter. I was asking them to barter. They seemed bored and they didn't want to help us much. So I'm trying to say, okay, you obviously want to play a game. So what do you want? What can we do for you? And then you can do something for us. What kind of memories can you see of mine? I'm sorry. See, I can't see your memories unless, you know, you figure out some way to give it to me.

But you can tell me a memory. Well, I meant it sounds like the only thing that you've helped as much as you can and that our best bet is to hit this nightclub. All right. Oh, yes. Missed nine s's the one with seven is a piece of shit Great we'll make sure to count the s's thanks Where might we find this place? I can't do it. Did he tell us where it was? Did he tell us where it was? I can't. Go a bit more nasally with it, maybe. This is gonna drift in now. Yeah. Where did you say...

Where did you say it was? You mean, missed? Mi-mi-ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Because I like all of you and you're in such distress. It's a party palace carved into the back of a giant sleeping turtle. And that turtle's named Billy Shakes. And it's only open during lunar eclipses, which that's not tonight. But it's also open whenever and wherever you see Titania breaking up with Oberon. I'd probably follow the sound of thunder, and almost on cue, you hear the distant rumbling, as if the beginning of thunder and a quick flash of lightning.

coming from a northeasterly direction into the forest. I guess it would be that way. And in the blink of an eye, he's gone. Pip turns to the others and says, who wants to give me a ride? Oh, I'll give you a ride. I've always wanted to. Come on. Come on. Get on this back. You know what? Fuck it. And he's... Pip is going to wild shape into... What can you do? You know what? I'm just going to name something. Pip's going to wild shape into a polar bear. Nice.

Amazing. One of my favorites. Get on. Get on my back. That's right. I'm going to talk as a polo bear. Do I really sound like that? You sound like it when I'm in your body. It doesn't not sound like you. This is very... It's not the worst impression. ...disheartening. All right, Pip jumps on, looks at everyone and says, just because I'm tiny doesn't mean I'm not the leader anymore. We're heading that way. Wait, so we're just looking for a turtle? We're looking for a turtle.

Not just any turtle. There's a turtle with a club carved into his back. Weren't you listening? I mean, I was trying to listen. I don't know if I got all of it. We gotta follow Thunder and Oberon and Titania breaking up. That's the only time that it's open. I mean, if you got it, then I'll follow you.

I think the problem is if you think too much, nothing makes sense here. If you don't think too much, it all comes together. So I say we just go. Interesting. Interesting. All right. I'll follow you. Can't argue with that. Is that the spirit? Onward. I'm just not speaking much. Don't mind me, but I'm right with you. Attaboy. And he pats you on the back, Bertram. Frankenstein with your own hand pats you on the back. Take good care of my body, okay?

You made something miraculous. Or you made something okay and I made it miraculous. Probably the latter, but if I am going to be fully honest. You are the last thing that I have ever made, that I have felt proud of. And then he just sweeps on past you in the direction of the thunder and the growing lightning.

As you start to explore the area, you see glimmering mushrooms, silver-leafed trees, floating wisps. But then all of that pales in comparison to the rumbling coming from a clearing. just on the edge of the trees where you stop you see movement there and these two wondrous Fey monarchs, clearly a king and a queen in their prime. Oberon, you now know. Dressed in blue gossamer, dark hair.

cascading down his back and a look of wrath upon his brow to tanya standing upon a boulder up ahead yards away yet Even from there, her glowering visage sends a chill down your spine, the wrathful beauty there, fearful to behold. And you hear Oberon say, thol of vexation come i with complaint and this last word echoes on in the back of your skull and you start to see around them fey courtiers

Try not to listen. Having small whispered conversations as if this is the commonplace everyday thing and yet they cannot speak any higher because that is all they want to do. is be attentive to see what's next. Of course, you do catch small snippets of what they say around you. You hear, she gives him curses. And he gives her love. The more he hates, the more she follows him. And then some have even started to notice you. What's this?

How now? Why are their cheeks so pale? And another even, this small mothkin, barely the size of your hands if you're, you know, a medium-sized person. It starts to flutter about your heads in a very curious way, just staying without a reach. What are these? A killer? A lover? An adventurer? Could it be? And then they flit away very quickly. Just in time for you to hear Oberon continue. You hold this prisoner. This new...

One that should belong to me should be released. He does not belong to you. This has shattered the boundary between our court and our city. Return him to Tanya. and return to me and with one last vexatious look titania throws her arm down and a bolt of lightning splits the ground asunder between the two of them and she turns away and flees with her courtiers. Heaving a deep sigh, you see Oberon turn the other way, and in a flash of light, mists.

up the side of the hill. And once again, all is silent. Wait, weren't they the ones we were supposed to talk to?

You hear a small creaking in the underbrush, and this large-ass turtle starts to crawl through. And perched on its back, you see once again Puck. Sorry, you guys waited too long. The club's closed for the night. But there's a new hot one. Look, if you're looking to get absolutely fucked up tonight...

There's another club called Thrice Blessed. If you want to go there, you can and get a long rest. It's this new hotspot hosted by Bardcore influencer Lysander Thickwell. It's inside this invisible acorn. suspended in the canopy of an upside-down oak tree and answers the question, wherefore? This place has everything. Flirty moth folk.

gnomes doing body glitter alchemy, a coven of witches who speak only in TikTok sounds, and a squirrel that's definitely plotting something. And keep your eyes peeled at midnight, tomorrow midnight, or last night midnight. One of the midnights, the floor turns into a mirror and everyone sees their true Fae form. And looking at you square in the eye, Awen, he says, spoiler alert, you're a turnip with confidence issues.

Are they saying that to Aewyn or to Frankenstein? Oh, good question. Aewyn, Aewyn. You, Aewyn, yeah. Wait, that didn't answer the question. Frankenstein's body? Aewyn in Frankenstein's body. Oh, okay. Okay, so Frankenstein's body, which has anyone in it. Gotcha. Okay. Um, Jesus. Uh... I think we just want to take a nap. Is that so hard? I don't know where to find these crazy ass places. Sorry, I don't normally curse this way, but I mean, I'm just kind of going with what this body wants to do.

I feel like you're over leaning into it, Bertram, but all right. Look, he slides off the turtle and like pass it on the back. See you later, Billy shakes. That was wild. Do you have anything you would like to trade for me? Because I might have a name. Not of a nightclub. I have lots of those. Trust me, I'm not done. But really... I'm talking about a name. Puck is saying that they want a name.

He's got a name for you if you have something worthwhile to give him. Have you guys shared this information? Because Adam didn't, or whatever, I didn't roll well. Did you share what they like to be traded with? Because I have an idea of something. uh pip penny looks over and says they like memories or something an item from a different realm or i mean your true name if you even know that not all of us know or any of our names really

Well, well, hold on a second. Um, uh, Frankenstein, uh, you made me, you know, I did make you my real name. I was always just told it was bioengineered robot tailored something for the master. Do you know what my actual name is? Oh. Or was that it? I always thought that was it. I... I always thought that was it. That was the name I gave to you. It was... I don't know.

it was what a creator gives to his creation and then you would get to choose from thereon wasn't that made clear to you from the-from the featherfoot family no it wasn't It always seemed like a joke. Um, well, I turned to Puck. Well, that's my name. That's my real name, apparently. This... What's the word? I just said it. Not an anagram. Anagram? Acronym. It's an acronym, but it's mine.

His eyes grow so big. And as they do, like some of that part, his little emo hairline goes back and you see both eyes. Oh, my God. Oh my god, you just gave me the best thing. Bertram is your name? That is so cute and weird. Okay. Okay, thanks, Puck. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Now, I have something I want from you, okay? I don't think that's what you want the most. Well, you can try. Go ahead. And I kind of glance down at Penny inside Pip. And I say...

We're looking for someone. And we overheard there was a new prisoner. And I think it's someone that my friend wants to find. You gave me... B-E-R-T-R-A-M. I can give you a glimpse of...

C-R-U-S-O-E. And he snaps and points. And you see, cresting that hill where Titania had just recently been arguing. with her king. And you see guards escorting a figure with the body of a man and the head of a donkey. Being brought toward a veiled palace. deeper within the woods you can just see the softer parapets of it and you also see Titania watching from afar her eyes glowing not with power

but with what you recognize as enchantments. And for a moment, just a heartbeat. That figure with the head of a donkey. stops in its tracks as if it feels a tug and turning over its shoulder looks at Penny, reaching out briefly before being pulled away. I'm going to have to freaking battle a fairy queen. Like, I'm going to have to compete. I'm a mouse. I'm going to compete with a fairy queen for my man. That sucks. It's going to be hard. She's going to win. I'm in mouse form.

I'm sorry. I believe it's my man. He was looking at me. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. A lover that kills himself most gallop for love. That's one of our favorite storylines down here. Excuse me. I'm sorry. Did you say kills? What? Would you explain yourself? No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Anyways, you might want to get some rest if you're going to do anything worthwhile down here. And he gives you a wink. And indeed.

It's almost like the lights go up and then they go back down again. And twilight deepens in the Feywild. And the forest almost seems to shift behind your back and it's already a new scene. Glimpses of impossible things flicker at the edges of your vision. Silver scaled stags. Trees blooming with constellations. Children with fox eyes and hummingbird wings whispering nonsense poetry.

You've bartered your name, Bertram. Something that means a lot to you. And that also seems to mean a lot here. In return, you've been given a name. Crusoe, the mortal with the donkey's head, beloved of Titania, lost in a dream of devotion not his own. And with that name you know the truth. Your friend is here. Not lost, not dead, but ensnared in fairy games. Puck turns to you once more as you start to make camp beneath a tree whose leaves hum lullabies. You know...

You smell of purpose. He muses. I don't know, of broken lore and of old oaths. Be careful with those. They carry well in the Feywild. Sometimes... Farther than you'd like. And then once again he vanishes. No puff of smoke. No dramatic spin. Just... gone. And the stars bloom above you. Unfamiliar constellations forming a map you don't yet understand. But the journey has begun. And the Seeley Court is watching. The Fable and Folly Network, where fiction producers flourish.

Hey, this is Sean from Spout Lore. We were told the trailer we submitted was too confusing and didn't talk about the podcast and did talk about the 1999 Heath Ledger movie A Knight's Tale way too much. So we've been asked to submit another one with actual information. Spelt Lore is a fantasy RPG podcast about three idiots bumbling their way through the magical post-apocalypse, dealing with the fallout from their attendance at a small town hot dog festival.

How the fuck is that? It's us. It's like an early 2000s road trip comedy with swords, monsters, and more improvised world building than you could shake a stick at. It's Spout Lore, a podcast for best friends by best friends. Okay, Ryan, is that better? you f***. Is this what you wanted, Ryan? Is this why you wanted headphones on me? So you could hear this? We could yell at you in the trailer. Spout Lore is proudly a Spout Lore Studios production. a podcast for best friends by best friends.