PALISADE 58: Above the Earth Pt. 2

With each strike of the hammer, each flash of magical heat, the Blade in the Dark grows closer and closer to restoration. Those living on the isle of Aubade, trapped inside the sword, say their final goodbyes and prepare to set sail home. But outside, as the smiths work their craft, time passes... and time brings new concerns: Resources draw low. Community members die or leave. A new threat breaches the scintillating shield of magic. The burgeoning town's leadership begins to doubt their role. An offer is made. This week on Spring in Hieron: Try To Live a Good Life Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Andi Clare (@captaintrash), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

9 Nov 20182h 16min

The fifth year of the settlement at the Last University begins with a reunion of old friends, as the Druid Fero reunites with Throndir, Eprhim, and the many who call the grand halls, hidden alcoves, and open air Campus yards home. However warm this homecoming is, though, it can not fend off the effects of unpredictable climate, unstable architecture, and unhealed wounds of the past. And while those who run this burgeoning town pray that the blade in the dark may offer them hope, the rare echo heard from within the city inside bears gloomy tidings: Distraction, confusion, disruption, and regret. This week on Spring in Hieron: Material Effort Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Andi Clare (@captaintrash), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

2 Nov 20182h 38min

It has been four years since the body of Hieron was ravaged by the swift arrival of the heat and the dark, and the wound grows deeper every day. Fero Feritas knows this first hand, as he watches Hieron Himself falter and fade in the cool shade of his son Samot's toppled tower. And while there are new signs of life, both in the Mark of the Erasure and in the environs of the Last University, it is unclear whether novelty means beneficence. For Ephrim and Throndir, they can count only on each other and the community they've built... and, hopefully, an old ally. Meanwhile, on the paradise island of Aubade, Hella, Adaire, Lem, and Hadrian are also adapting to a new sort of life: Their own. This week on Spring in Hieron: Hospitable to You Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

26 Okt 20182h 9min

The community at the Lost University continues to survive the harsh winter as sickness and conflict strain their growth. As Ephrim and Throndir struggle with their new roles, and Benjamin develops his budding skills, the arrival of Sunder Havelton, Stornras Glasseye brings an sliver of hope, even if it is split in two. Elsewhere, Fero continues to create new life, working with caution and purpose and a little bit of spite. And within the blade, cut off from the efforts of their old companions, Lem and Hadrian study their temporary home as Adaire and Hella try to find their place. This week on Spring in Hieron: Why Are You Here? Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

20 Okt 20182h 49min

It is still winter, yet. Months ago, the heat and the dark emerged from the long sands of Rosemerrow, bringing terror and destruction to Hieron. And though the sun has returned, and though the vicious blizzard that battered the North West has weakened, and though Adelaide's so called curse has vanished--the warmth of spring has not yet arrived. The people of Hieron have faced calamity, and now they look to their leaders--to you--in hopes that they may recover and rebuild. Ephrim, Prophet of the Unwavering Flame. Golden Lance Throndir, the Ranger--you two joined the traveler of worlds, Red Jack, and Corsica Neue, Queen of the Unstill, in leading thousands of refugees and survivors towards a new home: The ruins of the Last University. Besides your motley collection of loyal friends and allies--like Devar van der Dawes, Uklan Tel, Emanuel LaSalle, and Ephrim's loyal Kobbin, Highwater--you bring with you ten distinct groups, each with their own leaders to this new settlement in the center of Hieron. Corsica Neue's own Unstill come along, of course--now equals in unlife with everyone else, just one fatal error away from annihilation. Joining them are those who Red Jack called his companions: Rosette, and the moths of Old Man's Chin have arrived along with their weaver companions, and the remaining Oni boys who once sprouted from Red Jack side. Mee Kosh, the Goblin Elder, and the Snow Elves of Auniq--joined in temporary and precarious alliance came too. And Balion Wythe, the once romantic hero of Rosemerrow, and on-again-off-again lover of the late Chancellor Gilbert Lutz, has come with those halflings who were willing to leave their supposed ancestral home after it was hit so badly by the Heat and the Dark's arrival. They arrived soon after Chatterchin and the Gnolls--those who Fero left behind in the woods outside of Rosemerrow. Morbash came with you, too, just behind, along with those archivists who understood that sometimes, in the face of chaos, maintaining the pattern requires movement, not complacency. An old ally of yours, Throndir: Carrot the squirrel, arrived too, along with entire ecosystems behind them. With the north west devastated, the many animals who lived in the environs of twinbrook, the woods between Velas and Auniq, and the forests surrounding Rosemerrow all need a new place to forage and flock, somewhere less threatened by the heat, the dark, and the stars. They live now in the wilds on the outskirts of the university. Keeping within the walls of the school's campus, but still on the edges of society is the professional scoundrel Blake Bromley, along with their loose guild of people who knew how to find things… and how to get things done, often in the shadows where others were too precious to travel. Surprisingly, perhaps, was the arrival of Jerod Shiraz--the leader of the Ordennan Dissent, nearly one third of what once made up the nation's war machine, now turned open objectors to the imperial ambitions of the Impetus. Though she once traveled along with the living star, Obelus, as well as with Stornras Glasseye and Sunder Havelton--who were given the Blade in the Dark by Samol--when she arrives, Shiraz is flanked only by everyday Ordennan citizens and soldiers. And she makes no mention of the sword… or her absent companions. Finally, there is Rosana, who has become the lay-leader of the Creed of Samothes in this part of Hieron. Though given no specific title, she has become the de facto head and heart of the group in this dark moment--providing counsel, concern, and condemnation, when appropriate. Neither she, nor her son Benjamin, know what has happened to their beloved Hadrian--yet both live on with strength in his memory. With these groups, you've built the first workings of a real community here in the shadow of the college's towers and in the depths of the neglected ruins of the Last University. And, as is often the case in moments of dire need, some have already risen and found basic solutions to the most critical of problems. Perhaps most importantly, those with academic and magical acumen--the semiotician Uklan Tel, increasingly obsessed with his dangerous studies; Jerod Shiraz, living blood of sea and smoke; you, King Ephrim, and a handful of others--spent weeks scouring the Book of Life that Throndir brought, as well as the other magical texts of the University in an effort to establish the shimmering shield of starstuff that the--now undead--wizard Arrell once proposed. And with the power of the book of life, you succeeded, enveloping not only the University's campus but also the wilds around it in a scintillating gleam, a translucent sphere which ripples and waves in the wind. And which--for now, at least--protects the entire settlement from the ever encroaching flames of the heat and the dark. And with this existential threat held back, many other needs could be addressed as well: Rosana and the refugees of Velas immediately set to rebuilding the dorms, kitchens, and other necessary structures of the university, while Blake's moonlighters and and Morbash's archivists scoured the the school's remaining stores for food, fuel, and medicine enough to last at least a year. All while in the campus' courtyards, Rosette's mothkin have begun the agricultural processes necessary to at least subsist, if not to thrive, in this new home. Balion Wythe and Corsica Neue have risen as military leaders, the queen of the unstill and the uncrowned leader of the halflings each bringing their tactical strength to bear, Offeringthose who wish to defend the encampment a role and a duty appropriate to their skills. Throndir you are joined by Chatterchin's gnolls, Mee Kosh's goblins and snow elves, and the wild animals who have pledged their coy loyalty to Carrot, in an effort to map out the still-snow covered forests, hills, valleys, and wastes surrounding the University. And some--like Red Jack, Victoria Solomon, and Dr. Gloria Lake--travel even further, exploring beyond the university's protective cloak of stars, deep into the ongoing cataclysm of Hieron, all in hopes of finding other survivors. Partly, they seek to offer shelter to any who lived through the winter, and partly, they seek the most important thing of all: An answer to survive the impending collapse--a swift breeze, a cooling shade--anything to hold back… the summer. This week on Spring in Hieron: The Touch of Others Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

11 Okt 20183h 4min

Join us as we recap Hieron and get ready for Spring!! Today's plan is to go over Hieron, check out some old maps, and fill in a lot of gaps. Think of this as a combination of recap and world building: If there are questions about the world and how it works or things that are "true," now is the time for us to address them. This episode was originally live streamed and you can catch that stream here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi02xwXMeGs A transcription is available for this episode here. A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!! The time stamps won't match up exactly but you can skim through to check out all the maps that were mentioned there. For now, here's the important ones: Along with the character bios (in case they're hard to read on the stream!): Our current Dungeon World campaign takes place in the world of Hieron, a land still healing from a great calamity that struck centuries ago. Our characters only know this event as "The Erasure" but no one knows quite what happened, or just how long ago but the land carries the scars--both figuratively and literally. Fero Feritas comes from the Halfling farms inland of the south western coast of the continent. Running from the bitterness of barely remembered nostalgia for the old ways, whatever those were, Fero cloaks himself in new wilderness of his land, wandering and learning. Walking in shadow and step with the beasts of the woods and mountains for so long Fero hardly noticed when he became one himself. This new world may look like the old one, but Fero will not go back. He bears this new wilderness upon him. The Great Fantasmo, the elfish wizard will have a bio soon. Hadrian, Sword of Samothes, Defender of the Undying Fire, Officer of the Order of Eternal Princes, the human paladin will have a bio soon. Hella Varal is a human fighter from the magicless island of Ordena, the land spared from the Erasure, or so they say. She grew up with simple means but her role as a hired hand and conveyor lead her to gain respect and the attention of the government of Ordena, the reason for her frequent visits to Velas. Armed with a beautiful, mysterious sword, a lack of patience, and wariness of her people, Hella is a useful but unpredictable companion. Lem King is an orc bard, born and raised in The New Archives, a vast orc city carved into the side of a mountain. The archivists, and Lem, prize collection and categorization of histories and objects and whistled songs; the Archives resemble a warehouse or museum more than a city. Recent events, however, have led Lem to flee the archives, clutching an old violin, and he's arrived in Velas looking for adventure and excitement and (perhaps) somewhere to hide. Throndir, the Elfish Ranger, hails from the secluded settlement of Auniq deep within the Mark of Erasure. After seeing something he was never meant to, Throndir fled the only home he had ever known and began to rebuild his life in Velas. Alongside his loyal dog, Kodiak, Throndir's sharpened survival skills has earned him a spot on the team, but his naïve nature and clouded past leave more questions than answers about what's in it for him. Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000), Slyvi Clare (@captaintrash), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), and Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Episode description by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt

10 Okt 20183h 34min

Hey everyone, Austin here! Now that this trilogy of episodes is over, I can say it's probably one of my favorite things we've done both in the Live at the Table format and in the entirety of our show's history! I looooove the tone we found, and every single turn I was blown away by the creativity of Dre, Janine, and Jack, who I feel so lucky to work with. As magic leaves the world, the last Magus heads eastward, searching for its source. Today, her journey ends. What will that mean for the talking vinegar fox Fawn (Janine Hawkins), young farm hand Piccolo (Andrew Lee Swan), former crab singer Caspian (Austin Walker), and the living golem Harp (Jack de Quidt)?

28 Sep 20182h 18min

Hey everyone! Here's the second part of Fall of Magic! We open again the scroll, return to the side of the Magus, and watch as the world enters the Fall of Magic. Join Piccolo the swineherd of Barley Town (Dre), Harp the beautiful Golem of Ravenhall (Jack), Fawn the Vinegar Fox of Mistwood (Janine), and Caspian the Kind Crabsinger of Istalia (Austin) as they journey eastward as companions to the Magus. A transcription is available for this episode here. A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

20 Sep 20182h 57min