A Knight of Shreds and Patches Transcript
Episode 7: Everyone Deserves a Goodbye
Transcript by Cameron Robertson
Note: Zee-o is a synthetic humanoid being and primarily speaks in a robotic, monotone voice.
Intro:
[hurdy gurdy music begins]
Nick: Welcome, listeners, to A Knight of Shreds and Patches. An immersive actual play podcast. This episode features the talents of -
Drew: Drew Mierzejewski as Wyatt Fisher.
Aly: Aly Grauer as Zee-o.
Cameron: Cameron Robertson as Emma Blackwood.
Sydney: Sydney Whittington as Cassidy Shard.
Nick: Nick Robertson as GM and Narrator.
Sydney: Hello listeners, this is your editor, with today’s messages:
Support Rhi, the voice of Pallie Fisher and the GM of The Magpies Podcast, in her next project! The Kickstarter to fund her new podcast is currently live, and they’ve already hit their first stretch goal! Currently codenamed Project Bluejay, this Blades in the Dark actual play will leave the standard setting behind and tell a story of crime, power, and desperation in a Roaring Twenties-inspired capital city. Visit clevercorvids.net to learn more and support the campaign! The link to the Kickstarter can be found in the show notes.
Also, we’ve had our first iTunes review! Thanks to Richard KL for being the pioneer. iTunes reviews are a great way for new listeners to find the show, and any good words are always appreciated.
And with that, we wrap up today’s announcements and head into episode 7: Everyone Deserves a Goodbye. And so...
Join us, for now our tale to yours attaches
To carry hope: a Knight of Shreds and Patches.
[hurdy gurdy music ends]
[electronic beeping]
[robotic powerup noise begins]
Distorted Robotic Voice: Power restored. Systems online. Reconfiguring audio connection.
[robotic powerup noise fades to radio frequency static]
[over radio]
Sydney (as Cassidy): Last time on Knight of Shreds and Patches, we got ambushed by invisible bandits that even Zee-o in their danger mode couldn’t see. Wyatt held his own with a knife and an empty gun. I got shot! I killed the guy in return but still, and Emma made a run for the truck.
[radio static]
Episode Start:
Nick: We open with an aerial shot of this deserted road in the cold north. We see Cassidy leaning and breathing heavily against a fallen tree; bow in one hand, other hand pressed against a bleeding gash in her side, cut by a bullet that if it had been three inches further to the left would have killed her. We see Wyatt surrounded by shimmering cloaked figures with hatchets, looking for an opening to cut him down. We see Zee-o standing near two more of these shimmering figures holding a hatchet right by the blade, screening their companions from any further attack. And we see Emma running as fast as she possibly can towards the truck, towards the Knight, and towards Wyatt's sword.
Cameron: So Emma takes off from underneath the log, dodging aside around Zee-o and combatants Zee-o is holding off for her. And the camera does the action movie you're running through the woods shot of like right over her left shoulder as she's running, jumping over logs towards the front of the truck where Wyatt's sword is.
Nick: And as you run you can hear the clash of Zee-o and Wyatt fighting their individual groups. And you move faster than you can remember running before. You have that feeling like when you had to go take something out to the woodpile in the middle of the night and you were in the dark and you couldn't help but run back cause you felt like something was right behind you. And you make it to the truck.
Cameron: So we'd established the windows were open.
Nick: Yeah.
Cameron: I'm going to leap through a window because it looks cool.
Nick: Do you dive head first or do you like, grab the top and swing in?
Cameron: Grab the top and swing in. Not quite feeling that bold to do the dive. So swings in through the window, climbs into the back where Wyatt's bed is and looks up at the wall where the sword is hanging just below Pallie's arm. And there's a pause for slightly too long in this action sequence, then it speeds back up and Emma grabs the sword off the wall, turns around, looks out the front windshield. Can see Wyatt standing in the road dodging around fuzzy combatants. And Emma doesn't really want to run over there. So Emma hops in the front seat of the truck, turns the ignition and guns it.
Nick: So that's going to be a Driving check to get the truck started and aimed towards Wyatt.
Cameron: What difficulty is it since I'm just driving straight?
Nick: Probably average. The main thing is if you've ever actually started a big rig, it's not just a turn the key thing you have to clutch in turn the key, adjust the choke, redo this other thing and then hit the right pedal. So it's mostly getting it started and rolling is the hard part here.
Cameron: I would like to use a story point to upgrade.
Nick: Okay, so that makes y’all's pool of story points three and that makes my pool of story points two. So that lets you upgrade one die from green to yellow.
Cameron: Okidoki. Two yellows and two purples.
[dice rolling]
Cameron: Two successes and a threat.
Nick: Great. The threat is that the truck is a little slow to get rolling, but you're able to get it moving and it quickly rumbles to life and you go barreling down the road towards Wyatt and his assailants. There's a rooster tail of mud and gravel and snow because you basically dropped it straight into third gear. And we're up to an NPC slot.
We see Emma tearing up the road, rolling forward, the truck beginning to roll and Zee-o your attention is drawn quickly back to your two remaining assailants. There's one laying at your feet that was electrocuted by their own technology. There's another one rolling on the ground clutching at their throat where you staved it in with the handle of the hatchet. And these other two bandits go to swing at you with their hatchets and I'm gonna need you to roll three green die versus two purple please, Cameron.
[dice rolling]
Cameron: Four successes, two threats.
Nick: Oh... so that's nine damage coming at Zee-o.
Aly: I have a soak of three so...
Nick: So you take six. That's a pretty hefty hit. These two bandits swing around to either side of you and leap in to attack.
Aly: So one of these assailants swings their hatchet at Zee-o and the stumpy blade of the hatchet connects with and embeds somewhat into Zee-o's bicep slicing into their poncho and breaking it open to reveal that the bicep that is embedded in is not flesh and there isn't even any other layer of clothing underneath this poncho, this cloak, that Zee-o has on. And I think there's a moment of startled surprise that happens, where Zee-o and the assailants looked down at the hatchet, and then Zee-o reaches across and yanks the hatchet out without wincing or crying out at all. No blood follows. Nothing happens when they pull the hatchet out, except that the bandits can now see that there's a big, ugly metallic scrape in the bicep of this person. And Zee-o looks up at where these figures are vaguely outlined nearby and swings their hands around now each hand holding a hatchet. Their eyes continuing to glow this hot molten yellow gold color.
Nick: And so we see Zee-o holding these two hatchets, basically upside down and the blade that made impact with their bicep is dented in slightly as though it was actually a little bit softer than the metal that it damaged. And you hear one of the bandits coming out from under this cloaking device say
Nick (as bandit): What are you?
Nick: And we're over to another NPC slot. So the three bandits still surrounding Wyatt are ignoring their companion who was hit with the netting and is down in the mud. And the truck is rumbling towards you Wyatt, but you can't look at that right now because they are swinging at you actively. And Cameron if you'd roll me three greens please against two purple.
Cameron: Okidoke.
[dice rolling]
Cameron: Two advantages.
Nick: So they aren't able to hit you, but they do make it difficult for you to launch a counter attack.
Drew: So we see Wyatt - he has since holstered his pistol, picked up the hatchet from the guy that he dropped and he's now fighting knife and hatchet. But he can't land any hits on them and they can't land anything on him. Of the three of them, there is one that is obviously more competent than the other two. And so it's mostly him fighting that guy, and then the two guys kind of coming in the sides trying to get their knocks on him. And there are things that we see that like Wyatt trips up one and then fights two for a little while. And then the third one comes back in or like Wyatt trips up two them just fights this one guy for a bit. And it's a pretty extensive fight that's just happening in the snow on this deserted highway in the middle of nowhere.
What's happening is we can see him fighting. And we see in the background we see the lights go on in the truck. And then we hear the engine and we see it rumble to life and then move forward. But Wyatt can't pay attention to that - he's mostly just fighting these guys. How Wyatt gets disadvantaged, is that they disarm him basically. At some point, I think it's the more competent guy, he gets in close and wraps up Wyatt's hands like he uses his knife, underhanded grip and is able to hook Wyatt's hands to the point that if he wants to get out he has to drop his weapons. And so he lets go with them. And so they clatter the ground, his knife and that hatchet that he's using, and he backs up a little bit as the three of these distortions in the air begin to move in closer to him as he's basically trying to suss out which one's gonna come at him next.
Nick: And as Wyatt holds his hands up and backs away slowly, the roar of the truck drowns out everything as it smashes through one of these shimmery figures - there's a pop of light as a rag dolling bandit suddenly bounces down the road past Wyatt. And Emma pulls up next to Wyatt, the rear of the truck facing these two remaining bandits. There's the loud squeal of the tracks locking up and grinding through the road as Emma throws on the brakes and skids over towards Wyatt. And we get a view of Emma holding the wheel with one hand, holding Wyatt's long sword by the scabbard in the other. There's a brief pause as the bandits stand there next to the rumbling truck and their compatriot bounces down the road.
Cameron: So when the truck finally skids to a stop, Emma quickly puts it in park and then hops up on the seat on her feet, grabs the sword from where she'd set next to her, pops out the driver side window where she's - how you stand on the side of a pickup truck - pops up above the cab to where she can now make eye contact with Wyatt. Lifts the sword up, pulls it back behind her, says
Cameron (as Emma): Look sharp!
Cameron: And tosses it, not in a way that necessarily makes sense to throw a sword at someone. It is in the scabbard, so that's good for Wyatt probably. But it spins and rotates way too many times for it to have been a good throw. But it does land handle first in Wyatt's hand when it catches it.
Nick: And with that, we come to the next PC slot. Wyatt you're holding your sword.
Drew: We have the camera on the sword as it flies through the air spinning. We see where it's gonna land and it's the hand into the frame and Wyatt catches it by the handle. We see both hands go down, he unsheathes it, drops the scabbard onto the ground, takes it in two hands and goes,
Drew (as Wyatt): That's more like it.
Drew: And he moves forward.
Cameron: And in the background, we see Emma popping back down into the cab and then hiding underneath the seats to where you can't see her through the windows anymore.
Nick: Okay, so you're moving forward, uhhh roll me that attack.
Drew: Alright, so this is two yellow and two green. And this is a average?
Cameron: Two purple. Yep, Melee is always two purple.
[dice rolling]
Drew: Three successes, and an advantage.
Nick: Three successes. So that's 10 damage. 10 damage is enough to take both of these two shimmering figures out.
Drew: We see Wyatt take his sword in hand and we get a really good look at the hilt of it. It's a nice wide quillons that curve upward just a little bit. And we see that that fish Maker's Mark is stamped into the crossguard. The crossguard itself is really, I hesitate to say old, but it is worn. It's got dings and scratches all over it, but it's well loved and well polished, and well taken care of. The hilt of the sword is leather. It's got that very prominent two handhold. So the upper part of it is thick and then it tapers to the center and widens into a ring and then tapers down to a round pommel at the bottom. And the leather of it is worn, it's stitched several different times, it probably at one time was red, but is it's now just brown and cracked and worn in a bunch of different places. And the scabbard is likewise just completely worn to shreds. But we see him unsheathe his sword and immediately go into an upward cut.
And the upward cut cuts - there's a flash of sparks as he does it. And it's obvious that one of the guys was running at him as he was looking at his sword, and he cuts upward through these sparks. And then it zzzt zzt fizzles out. And we see that rat nest wire poncho this guy is wearing as the guy basically bisects backwards from chest to neck just splits open and falls to the ground. And he does that move where he cuts upward, cutting that one guy and then he turns around and brings the blade down in a downward cut where the other guy was rushing at him from the other side. This is the more competent the two fighters. We see that guy take his hatchet up to like, stop it - like he's gonna stop it. And it goes through the hatchet head, through this guy's forehead, down cleaves his skull and into his neck. And as it does that, we see Wyatt be fully extended and he does a twist where it separates the skull bone basically and the neck and frees the sword and he pulls it back. And then he does the thing where he puts the blade in the crook of his arm and wipes the blade. And then his eyes fall on Zee-o and the last two that are over there.
Nick: And there's this again, brief pause in silence as these two figures fall into the dirt struck down by your blade work. And we're to another PC slot.
Aly: So Zee-o has two hatchets now. I think one of them they're still holding backwards with the wooden handle out and the blade towards themselves and the other one they're holding like a hatchet, with their hand on the handle and the blade out, which makes them look a little unpredictable, I think. So the one guy says What are you and Zee-o's eyes adjust towards the sound of that voice. And they say
Aly (as Zee-o): I am not like you.
Aly: And then they move forward smoothly, like the flow of a breeze in the trees, they step into this move. Zee-o's directive right now is to subdue them. In any form. Whether that is to knock them down and make them unconscious or to stop them permanently, it's really like whatever comes easiest in the moment, but they have to be stopped. They cannot be permitted to continue doing what they're doing.
Nick: So go ahead and roll me that brawl attack.
Aly: And that's two green, one yellow, two purple?
Nick: Yep.
Aly: Two successes.
Nick: So two successes, your Brawn is three?
Aly: Yes.
Nick: So you're able to take one of these guys down.
Aly: So Zee steps forward super smooth into this motion, which includes I'm thinking there's a woosah almost vibe to this move with these hatchets, one of which is being held backwards. And Zee-o swings their arms in a unified motion, and misses one of the guys but the other one connects. They clock, the other guy upside the head with the backwards hatchet. And as the guy reels from being hit with that, they finish their arm movement and step into it, and slice down from the part where his shoulder meets the base of his neck, across the front of his collarbone, and catches him in a slice downwards that forces him to the ground.
Nick: You just finish him. He's He's down and out. Uhh it's mechanical, it's graceful, and it's efficient. And we come to an NPC slot as this final remaining bandit skipped away out of the range of your reach, and you can't see their face, they're the only one still with functioning cloaking. But their leader with the rifle is pinyoned somewhere in the woods, they saw their three friends get taken down, and a quick glance out into the street shows that their remaining companions are also out, several of which have been pretty efficiently butchered. And this final figure, without a word turns in sprints into the woods. You struggle to watch them go, because their cloaking is still activating and shimmering, but you can see the branches snapping away and hear their panicked breathing as they run. And that's the end of initiative.
Aly: So Zee forces the one guy down and slices him and he's down. And then Zee's head snaps up. And like you said, their vision tracks the snapping of branches and the toppling of snow banks and stuff like that as this person is fleeing. And I think Zee is still in danger mode, so Zee is gonna start to take off after him. There's no need to stand down and this guy is getting away, so Zee’s gonna run after him.
Nick: After the brief and intense conflict of this area, the only sound you can hear is the rumbling of the truck as the crashing sound of this retreating banded fades. And Wyatt, Emma, and Cassidy gather next to the truck and you see Zee-o sprint off into the woods after the last bandit. And so you have this quiet moment. Emma, you hear the fighting come to a stop from where you're huddled under one of the seats.
Sydney: Cassidy stops and just listens and stays in cover in making sure that there's no sound besides ones that she recognizes from her people walking.
Drew: So as Wyatt goes down to double check that he's killed the first guy, he stands up and goes
Drew (as Wyatt): Alright! Who's not dead?
Sydney (as Cassidy): I'm not dead!
Cameron (as Emma): I'm not dead!
Cameron: Emma pops up in the window of the truck.
Drew (as Wyatt): Alright.
Sydney: Cassidy still is crouched, but stands up to look around and sees Wyatt up and no one else.
Drew (as Wyatt): Emma.
Cameron (as Emma): Yes?
Drew (as Wyatt): Where's Zee-o?
Cameron (as Emma): Umm I left them over by the tree.
Drew: We turn and we look and there's nothing there, just a bunch of bodies.
Nick: You could see three bandit bodies on the ground and then some still rustling leaves. You could see some broken branches and things as though someone with a lot of mass sprinted off into the woods.
Drew (as Wyatt): All right. Two of you - want you to strip these guys down. I want their tech, want their metal. I want anything else they got on them, all right? And we need to figure out where these guys came from. All right?
Cameron (as Emma): All right.
Cameron: Emma opens the door, climbs down from the truck setting the romance novel that she found underneath the seat on the passenger seat and takes a look at Wyatt's area and then turns around and walks quickly towards Zee-o's area.
Sydney (as Cassidy): Emma you got it?
Cameron (as Emma): Yes? I got these three!
Sydney: Cassidy's moving towards the gunman.
Drew: We have Wyatt going over the two that he's killed basically stripping off the active cammo of both of them and then going through their stuff. He takes the hatchets and he breaks - he's just taking the metal off, most of these are just falling apart anyway. But he basically just takes the metal cause this is all stuff that they're gonna sell.
Nick: Wyatt you're able to get the hatchet heads without much trouble. You notice - anybody who tries to salvage the active camo - as you pick it up, it almost falls to dust in your hands. The power sources were overcharged to basically get one more run out of them and you can tell Emma, with your looking through the active camo, that they basically used them up. As you try to get bits and pieces off of them, you're able to get a little bit of wiring but it just burns to ash. In fact, most likely the bandits were getting low grade electrocuted while it was running cause there's not enough shielding on this. It was a slapdash job. But you are able to get a little bit of currency, some metal. And then Cassidy as you approach this gunman, he is dead. You're able to salvage your arrows. His rifle is in pretty bad shape after having the scope smashed, probably not worth saving except for maybe parts.
Sydney: Cassidy takes it cause she knows it was fired after the thing exploded, so at the very least, it is close to firing and it might be worth something in town or it might be worth something as a spare weapon for say, Emma to use.
Nick: Yeah, that's fair.
Sydney: Cassidy's gonna need some bandages or stitches or whatever, at some point, but it may be at this point, she just packs the wound with cloth from either maybe one of the dead dudes just to stop it from getting everywhere and keeps going on about jobs. Then she pats the body down looking for any more bullets cause this dude shot at her three times, which is a lot.
Nick: Yeah, and so you pat this guy down, and you find a little bit of money, a hunting knife, and no bullets. He had three bullets left. And as you all compare notes, you really see this was a one last job kind of situation from these bandits. You all looked like a ripe enough picking that they used all of their resources trying to take you down.
Drew: Wyatt checks the two guys? Does he find any data sticks on them?
Nick: I'm gonna say no. They're decidedly, besides the active camo they seem pretty low tech.
Drew: Is there any personal items on them at all?
Nick: As you're patting down these people you find a folded and wrinkled photograph of what looks like what you can see of the bandit's face and a group of young boys. They're standing in the woods. It looks like some sort of camping trip. It looks like it's been folded and refolded over and over again, like a pleasant memory. It's now stained in blood.
Drew: Wyatt takes it and he looks at it. And he looks at the guy whose face is completely ruined. But he can probably tell which one is in this picture. And he folds it and he puts it in his pocket. And you see him reach down and put his hand on the chest of the guy that he killed, that he cleaved into and separated his spine, puts his hand down. And he goes,
Drew (as Wyatt): You fought really well. You should be proud of that. I'll remember you.
Drew: And as he gets up he goes,
Drew (as Wyatt): Emma! EMMA!
Cameron: Emma jumps slightly [laughing] where she was searching the three that were down over, that Zee-o had taken down.
Cameron (as Emma): Yes?
Drew: He like holds up the active camo ponchos that disintegrates in his hands.
Drew (as Wyatt): Are these worth saving at all? The wiring? Is there anything worth saving?
Cameron (as Emma): If any of the wires have made it? Yes. The material No.
Drew (as Wyatt): All right. I'll save the wires then.
Cameron: Emma gives two thumbs up.
Drew: We see Wyatt go over to the guy who's still in the snow.
Nick: The one that you tangled in the netting? Mmhmm.
Drew (as Wyatt): [deep sigh]
Drew: He leans down. And I feel like the guy has gone still like maybe he'll think I'm dead or something if he just leaves me here and we see Wyatt get down close to the guy, put his hand on his chest and push a bit and eventually the guy [sucks in air] breathes he has to breathe. And he goes
Drew (as Wyatt): All right, you're still alive.
Drew: And he grabs the guy and firemen carries him over his shoulder and walks back to the truck and sets the guy down a little roughly and gets down on his knees and he pulls off the hood on the guy.
Nick: This is a man in his mid 30s. He looks haggard and wrinkled - someone that you recognize as a career fighter. His nose has been broken a couple of times, he has reddish blond hair that stubble around his sharp cheekbones and short cropped hair on top of his head that looks like it was just cut with a knife. His clothes would keep him warm but they are not very high quality. It's lots of layers of clothes and you can see little scorch marks where the active camo was slowly burning through the clothes. He has a very large bruise on his forehead from where you threw him with the net and he hit his head on the way down.
Drew: Wyatt looks him in the eyes, and they just stare at each other for a long time. Wyatt doesn't break eye contact with him.
Nick: He stares back for a while, and then has to look away after...
Drew: And the moment he does Wyatt nods and goes,
Drew (as Wyatt): I know you're gonna sit still and stay right here while I go and do what I can for your friends. Okay?
Nick (as bandit): Yeah, okay.
Aly: I think at that moment, from further off in the woods, there is a distant but definitely clear as a bell on a winter's day, a man's voice go, “No, no!” And then a brief, strangled gasp and then nothing. And maybe some birds fly off into the distance. And then shortly thereafter, jogging out of the trees, as nimble as a deer comes Zee-o with this guy thrown over her shoulder, like they've just been out deer hunting and they got one. The bandit that ran off is now slung unconscious over Zee-o's shoulder, and they have a hatchet in each hand and a hatchet still attached to the guy's belt. So now Zee-o has three hatchets and one bandit. They break through the tree line and then slow to a long strided walk and carry the man over to the truck where the other bandit is and drops them and then turns around and says,
Aly (as Zee-o): I found one.
Aly: And their eyes have resolved back into that bluish white, neutral color.
Drew (as Wyatt): Tie him up. Make sure he doesn't get away.
Aly (as Zee-o): Yes.
Aly: And Zee-o does so.
Nick: Which seems a little like overkill, because this man is extremely unconscious.
Drew: And I feel like the rest of what we see is Wyatt gathering up the dead men. Are they all men?
Nick: Yes.
Drew: Gathering up all the dead men and putting them in the shelter that we were having lunch in. And he begins to make a pyre.
Drew (as Wyatt): EMMA! EMMA!
Cameron (as Emma): [startled] Yeeesss!?
Drew: As Cassidy's coming back Wyatt looks up and he's like
Drew (as Wyatt): [mumbling] Oh yeah - she's wounded. [yelling again] EMMA!
Cameron (as Emma): Yeah. I already said yes!
Drew (as Wyatt): Patch up Cassidy.
Cameron (as Emma): Okaay.
Cameron: [laughing] Emma walks over to Cassidy.
Sydney: Cassidy hands her the rifle off the dead dude and says,
Sydney (as Cassidy): Put this away first.
Cameron (as Emma): People keep handing me guns today.
Sydney: Her face is not happy. Not her standard smile. It's not unhappy, but she's not having a good time.
Cameron: Emma like peeks to the side and like looks down and can't see the cut cause Cassidy's holding fabric on it, but can see from the amount of blood in the fabric that it's a good hit.
Cameron (as Emma): Ooh. Um, let let's go to the back of the rig. There's a first aid kit back there.
Sydney: Cassidy just follows her back.
Cameron: Emma's walking holding the gun unsure-ly, cause this one is broken. [laugh]
Sydney: It's it's only mostly broken. [laugh]
Cameron: But that's more concerning than a working one that Wyatt handed her. [laughing]
Sydney: Yeah, probably. [laughing]
Cameron: Is it gonna do something? I don't know.
Sydney: You walk around to the back of the truck and Cassidy climbs up gingerly, holding still one arm against her side and sits legs out in front of her against the wall of the truck and then starts undoing the buttons of her jacket.
Cameron: Emma goes over to the corner that she has adopted, which was Pallie's corner, and picks up a first aid kit and heads back over to where Cassidy was sitting and then sits down, criss-cross applesauce, on the injured side.
Sydney (as Cassidy): How is your first fight? You still have the shakes?
Cameron (as Emma): Ummmm not yet. Ask me later. I think I'm still on an adrenaline high. That was exciting. Okay.
Sydney: Cassidy gets her jacket off and peels up two layers of shirt to show her bare side. She's got abs, she also has a hole in her.
Cameron (as Emma): Ooof.
Cameron: Emma's searching through getting alcohol wipes and clean fabric to reclean the wound after it had the whatever the bandit fabric had been in on it and has the alcohol pad and is like
Cameron (as Emma): I feel like I don't need to tell you this, but this is going to probably sting. Yes?
Sydney: Cassidy just flattens her lips together and nods.
Cameron (as Emma): Okay.
Cameron: And Emma starts cleaning the cut.
Sydney: She hisses but doesn't complain.
Cameron (as Emma): Did you get shot?
Sydney (as Cassidy): Yes.
Cameron (as Emma): Hmmm...[nervous laughter] I've never been shot at before.
Sydney (as Cassidy): It is not the most fun experience. [pained hiss]
Cameron (as Emma): Yup. Um sorry. And that's just getting shot at not actually getting shot that also hasn't occurred. Euhhh...I, I guess it's good that it hit your side and didn't like go in? But this still does not look happy.
Sydney (as Cassidy): There's lots of worse places it could have been.
Cameron (as Emma): Yuup.
Sydney (as Cassidy): You still [hiss] good with your decision to join up with a merch company?
Cameron (as Emma): You know... I don't know if I necessarily considered this part of it when I made the decision to join. [pause] I should probably have a weapon on me at most times.
Sydney (as Cassidy): You should probably have access to a weapon. Yes. Me and Wyatt can teach you depending on what you want.
Cameron (as Emma): Yeahhh I mmm well I don't. I I don't actually know if I'm in the, the right headspace at the moment to make a decision on which [deep breath in] area of weaponry I would like to uhhh, advance my skills in.
Sydney (as Cassidy): That is totally fair. And I'm thankful you're spending your time putting me back together.
Cameron (as Emma): Yeah, this is kind of more my speed. Um...
Cameron: Cut is now clean. Starts pressing gauze to it to begin to start wrapping it.
Cameron (as Emma): So umm, Wyatt's kinda scary with that sword.
Sydney (as Cassidy): He's a professional.
Cameron: Emma's just nodding while getting the gauze ready.
Sydney (as Cassidy): Honestly, he's probably been fighting longer than you've been alive - almost longer than I've been alive.
Cameron (as Emma): I I guess that that- Well. I guess if you've been fighting that long, hopefully it would make you good at it. I guess that's not necessarily guaranteed, but -
Sydney (as Cassidy): You don't, y- in his line of, in my line of work too, you don't get to grow old without being good at it.
Cameron (as Emma): [long sigh]
Sydney: Cassidy traces the scar on her eyebrow with her now not holding her side hand. It probably leaves a little bit of blood, but she didn't notice.
Cameron (as Emma): How-h-how often would you say [pause] that events like this occur that aren't like a a planned job that you're knowingly going into the fray for?
Sydney (as Cassidy): It happens more than we would hope for. We're only one truck, we're - there's only a few of us. Which means unfortunately we're mmm a beacon of opportunity for [sniff] fellows like this that want to have a pay day, for whatever reason.
Cameron (as Emma): That makes sense. I mean, I guess the... from looking at all of the technology and knowing what I do about the different like, pieces that y'all have, y'all are uhh - I guess we are, extremely well equipped, but uh not necessarily equipped in a way that is quick to react with. I don't know what good this guy is going to do in any situation like that.
Cameron: Waves up at the Knight which is sitting behind us.
Cameron (as Emma): He's just gonna sit there cause we're not gonna have time to get to him.
Sydney: Cassidy shrugs and then flinches. [laughing] She still has a hole in her.
Sydney (as Cassidy): Unfortunately, the Knight is not easy to run. We don't have a lot of fuel. I mean, obviously we have to take it out. But even I mean, this may seem a little bit silly, but even in situations like this, the Knight is still too valuable to roll out for just bandits. They there was one gun.
Cameron (as Emma): Yeah...
Sydney (as Cassidy): Which unfortunately again tells you the scale of the things that we tend to get hired to do.
Cameron (as Emma): Yeah, I'm way more into fixing things when y'all break them during these adventures. I think that that's where I'm at right now.
Sydney (as Cassidy): We might have to make a fighter of you yet.
Sydney: And I think that's the point where Emma finishes up with the wrapping and Cassidy pulls her stuff back down and looks at the bloodstains and then shakes it off cause it's - there's not time to clean it right now
Cameron: Emma picks the alcohol wipe back up and wipes Cassidy's eyebrow where you'd spread blood.
Sydney: Yeah. Cassidy does the like head nod of gratitude.
Nick: And we cut outside to Wyatt who is building a pyre. Is Zee-o helping?
Aly: Yes. I don't think we do this every time we get ambushed by bandits. But I think this has happened before. And upon tying the unconscious bandit to the conscious bandit so that they can't leave, either one of them. And then I almost think that there's a moment as Zee-o finishes that they make eye contact with the awake one. Zee-o looks at him and says
Aly (as Zee-o): I am sorry that this did not go the way you thought it would.
Nick: The bandit stares, almost through you Zee-o. He says,
Nick (as bandit): Yeah.
Nick: And looks back down at the ground. He seems exhausted.
Drew (as Wyatt): Zee-o?
Aly (as Zee-o): Yes.
Drew (as Wyatt): You want to take over and keep building the pyre? I got a question to ask these guys.
Aly (as Zee-o): Yes.
Aly: And Zee-o gets up. As they walk towards the pyre to continue building it with sticks and logs and whatnot. They put their hood back up, but there is still a big slash in their cloak at the bicep, that sort of ripples in the movement that they take and reveals again that there is a big gash on their metal arm piece.
Drew: We see Wyatt walk over to these guys. Again, getting down, hunching down to look at this guy in the face.
Drew (as Wyatt): Why you doing this? You guys hungry?
Nick (as bandit): You told me not to move.
Drew (as Wyatt): No, I know you're you're not moving. I'm asking you a question of why. Why you attacking people on the road?
Nick (as bandit): What else do you do in a world like this?
Drew (as Wyatt): You go to a town. Make yourself a trade. Become a merchant. Become a fighter. It's not like you guys were bad fighters.
Nick (as bandit): Oh, yeah. I'll just walk into a town and say "Hello. Can you hire me as a blacksmith? I don't have any experience." Yeah, that's gonna go super well. Definitely not gonna starve to death. Not gonna lay on the street, beg for money.
Drew (as Wyatt): Hey! Whatever gets you tomorrow.
Nick (as bandit): This was getting me till tomorrow.
Drew (as Wyatt): Yeah.
Nick (as bandit): Now I'm not so sure.
Drew (as Wyatt): Well no. You're not doing this ever again. Is it just you? Are all your friends out here? Or is there more of you? You need to answer me very quickly.
Nick (as bandit): I'm gonna be honest, I'm not sure how to answer that. It's, what? If I say no, that there's more of us. You're gonna ask me to betray people who are potentially my compatriots. And if I say yes, this was all of us, you're not going to believe me. So you've really put me over a barrel here, swordsmen.
Drew (as Wyatt): Look at me in the face.
Drew: And he gets very close.
Nick: The guy does look you in the face. And he couldn't hold eye contact before but he holds it now. And his eyes are bloodshot. And you can smell decay on his breath, like he has some teeth that are going bad. And he's not making any effort not to just breathe into your face as well. And he stares you down.
Drew (as Wyatt): How many people do you think I've killed?
Nick: He stops for a second and says
Nick (as bandit): Enough that it doesn't matter anymore.
Drew (as Wyatt): That's good answer. There is one thing I've learned through all this though. One thing that I really keep deep down. It's my word. So I'm going to give you my word. I've been where you are. I've done what you've done. I've been a bandit. I know the life. So I'm gonna ask you again. If you have friends out here, cause I know.
Nick (as bandit): Yeah. [long exhale]
Drew (as Wyatt): How many?
Nick (as bandit): Three? This was a majority of us. There's some people who help mind the camp. We're done.
Drew (as Wyatt): Yes.
Nick (as bandit): There aren't enough fighters left.
Drew (as Wyatt): Yes, you are. You are done. So here's what you're gonna do. Is there a town nearby?
Nick (as bandit): A couple of days up the road, there's Wawa.
Drew (as Wyatt): All right. We'll go to Wawa. I'm gonna give you an opportunity here. You, your unconscious friend here, and the rest of whatever's out there, you can come with us. I will take you to Wawa.
Nick (as bandit): Are you hiring?
Drew (as Wyatt): Yes. Or you, your unconscious friends, the three of you that are out there - can get the hell out of here. Because here's the other thing that will happen. If there are more of you, and if I get to Wawa and they say there's a bandit problem, and they hire me to take care of it, I will come back, and I will find you. So your two options are, you go with us - we figure out what to do there or you leave. Those are the only two options because you will not attack more people on this road.
Nick (as bandit): I think you're, right. I think we're done. And I don't think I'm going with you.
Drew (as Wyatt): All right.
Nick (as bandit): I - It's a nice offer, but I can't imagine traveling with the person who cut one of my friends in half.
Drew (as Wyatt): That's fair.
Nick: And he spits a little trickle of blood out of the corner of his mouth.
Drew (as Wyatt): [sigh] All right. So this is what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna let you and your friend go. You're gonna go back to your friends and tell them how the rest of these people died. And if I get to Wawa, and they want me to take care of you. I will find you. Do you understand?
Nick (as bandit): Yeah. It's a better way to end this then I thought I would come to. Uh if they bring up bandits, check uhh... Check the pocket of the one who fought better than the rest of us.
Drew (as Wyatt): You mean this?
Drew: And he takes out the picture.
Nick (as bandit): Yeah, that. There's no way he would have parted with that if you show them that, they might just assume we're dead.
Drew (as Wyatt): Well. I will tell them you are dead. But believe me. You keep doing this, this thing? It will not go well. I'm not the only one like me in this world.
Nick (as bandit): That's a scary thought.
Drew: And he leans closer. even closer and goes,
Drew (as Wyatt): Good. Now you're learning. What's your name?
Nick (as Samson the bandit): Samson.
Drew (as Wyatt): What's a pleasure to meet you, Sam? Your boys fought well today.
Nick (as Samson the bandit): Fat lot of good that did them.
Drew (as Wyatt): Mmmm...They died well too. Remember Sam, there's no shame in dyin'.
Nick (as Samson the bandit): Doesn't mean I'm eager to do it.
Drew (as Wyatt): Me neither.
Nick (as Samson the bandit): Well, I guess it's time I gather what's left my friends and we go walk into a town and say "Hi. Hire me to be your apprentice blacksmith. I've never done it before."
Drew (as Wyatt): Yeah, pretty much.
Nick (as Samson the bandit): I hope I never see you again.
Drew (as Wyatt): I hope I never see you again too Sam. Because if you see me again, you'll end up like your friends here.
Nick (as Samson the bandit): Either that or I'll sell you a sword.
Drew (as Wyatt): Well, I hope that will be a good thing.
Drew: And Wyatt reaches down and [cut noise] cuts him free.
Nick: And he painfully gets to his feet and we see him sling his unconscious friend over his shoulder. There's a bruise forming on the neck of the unconscious bandit that's shaped exactly like Zee-o's hand. And you can see that it's almost too much weight for him to carry but he's able to stand up straight. And he cracks his neck and he says,
Nick (as Samson the bandit): Well, I thought I might die today. Not sure this is better.
Nick: And he turns and heads into the woods.
Drew (as Wyatt): Hey! If you'd like I could kill you now.
Nick (as Samson the bandit): No. I think I'll walk through the snow.
Drew (as Wyatt): Then keep walkin'!
Nick (as Samson the bandit): I argh you're the! Fine!
Nick: And he stomps off into the trees.
Drew: And Wyatt turns around. He's like
Drew (as Wyatt): All right, everybody. Let's light this bonfire and be on our way.
Nick: I think Emma and Cassidy finished their first aid and caught the tail end of that conversation as well.
Drew: So Wyatt gets up and goes,
Drew (as Wyatt): All right! Oh, no, you're right here. Okay. All right.
Sydney: Cassidy just tilts her head at him.
Drew (as Wyatt): Now Emma. Emma. Where's Emma? Emma?
Cameron (as Emma): I'm literally right here.
Drew (as Wyatt): Sorry. Sorry. You're new here. You haven't done one of these before.
Cameron (as Emma): A fire?
Drew (as Wyatt): No, we're gonna burn these men we killed.
Cameron (as Emma): With a fire?
Drew (as Wyatt): Yes, with a fire, Emma.
Cameron (as Emma): Okay.
Drew (as Wyatt): We're gonna go around and say one good thing about them. All right? Come on. Let's take care of this.
Drew: I imagined we just see a quick montage of Wyatt going and lighting like a torch. And we see the what seven men?
Nick: Yeah.
Drew: Lined up, their faces are covered in their own coats and shirts and stuff like that.
Nick: I like the idea of the Patina standing around this bonfire and Zee-o silently handing a lit torch to Wyatt to set it ablaze.
Drew: Wyatt takes it and just tosses it on there. And we see this back shot of the four of them standing there as the fire begins. And Wyatt goes
Drew (as Wyatt): I'll go first. I didn't know most of these men. I don't know their names. I don't know their histories. I don't know who they were, but I do know they fought well today. I do know they were hungry. That they um, were just trying to get to tomorrow. [sigh] Unfortunately, they [pause] picked the wrong prey. I'm not gonna say these men are good. I'm not gonna say what they did was right. But everyone deserves a goodbye. I know these men had hard lives, just like everybody does. So, I'll honor them that way. Who's next?
Sydney: Cassidy's standing with her arms on her hips very carefully not hitting, not putting any pressure on the side of her jacket that's still stained with her blood. And she looks at the fire. She doesn't specifically see the sniper but she looks into the fire and goes
Sydney (as Cassidy): He got real close.
Sydney: And then she throws her torch on the fire.
Drew (as Wyatt): That's good enough.
Aly: Zee-o is holding their torch and rather than continuing to stare at the fire as Wyatt and then Cassidy speaks, their their face is tilted towards Wyatt and then they listen to their companions rather than focus on the pyre that has been built. And after Cassidy throws her torch on Zee-o looks at Emma expectantly.
Cameron: Emma notices the look. Has been standing there just kinda, with her arms crossed. Not looking completely comfortable with the situation. But when Zee-o looks at her, uncrosses her arms to hold the torch out.
Cameron (as Emma): I didn't know any of these men. But, Wyatt, I really liked what you said about everyone deserving a goodbye and respect. Um...So from what I saw, they were very skilled fighters, say especially the ones fighting Wyatt. The three of them were holding their own against Wyatt which I guess that still three on one, but that they were doing very well um until Wyatt upgraded to a sword. They did way better than I would have.
Cameron: And underhand tosses the torch on to the fire.
Aly: Zee-o gives this tiny nod to Emma almost with a an attitude of 'Okay, good job.' Because this is Emma's first time doing this. And then they look at their own torch and then they look at the pyre and they say
Aly (as Zee-o): This was unexpected. They were very difficult to see. Although their camouflage was imperfect, they still managed to achieve an ambush. Whatever their hunger was, it made them crafty. I wish they had not been hungry.
Aly: And then Zee throws their torch on to the fire.
Drew (as Wyatt): It's good words, everyone. I want everyone here to remember something. You're right, we didn't know who any of these people were. But we became the most important people in their whole lives. The ones that ended it.
Sydney: Cassidy looks at Wyatt and then nods and looks back at the fire.
Cameron: Emma's face just goes real white and she re-crosses her arms.
Drew (as Wyatt): It's a responsibility and it's a burden. But it's one we take protecting ourselves and protecting everybody on this road. Let's get in the truck. We'll drive a couple more hours before we make camp.
Nick: And the last thing we see is the truck rumbling to life and rolling away through the freshly cleared road. Cassidy and Zee-o walking beside the truck, keeping a steady eye out on the surrounding woods even though you know the danger has past and the camera focuses on the burning pyre left behind.
[hurdy gurdy music swells]
Outro:
Aly (as Zee-o): End of episode. Commencing end credits. The following information will be placed in the show notes for your added convenience.
This has been A Knight of Shreds and Patches, an actual play podcast using the Genesys game system from Fantasy Flight Games. The show is edited by Sydney Whittington, and features the talents of:
Drew Mierzejewski as Wyatt. Drew can be found on Twitter @worldstoforge and is the showrunner for Skyjacks: Courier’s Call, an all-ages actual play podcast set in the world of Spéir, designed by James D’Amato.
Aly Grauer as Zee-o. Aly can be found on Twitter and Instagram @dreamstobecome. Aly is also a player on and audio editor for Skyjacks: Courier’s Call. You can support both Aly and Drew by joining their Patreon @ Patreon.com/WhimsyArtifice.
Sydney Whittington as Cassidy. Sydney can be found on our Discord server, which is linked in the show notes, and on Twitter @ sydney_whitt.
Cameron Robertson as Emma. Cameron can be found on Twitter @midnightmusic13 and on Instagram @reading_and_dreaming. Cameron is also a player on Tabletop Squadron, a Star Wars Edge of the Empire actual play podcast.
And Nick Robertson as narrator. Nick can be found on Twitter @alias58. Nick is also the GM for Tabletop Squadron, which you can support @Patreon.com/TabletopSquadron.
This podcast features the musical talents of Dora Violet. You can find Dora at facebook.com/doraviolett with two Ts.
The official artwork for this podcast was created by Rashed AlAkroka, who can be found on Instagram and Artstation @rashedjrs.
You can follow the Patina on Twitter @akosap_podcast or visit the website: www.akosap.com.
Until next time…
...Audio Offline.
[hurdy gurdy fades]
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