Episode Transcript
[00:00:42] Speaker A: Lovely, lovely patrons. It's me again. I'm coming at you this week with another mini. So since you're our patrons, I want to be 1 million% transparent with you all of what's going on.
So, as you know, we record a podcast. What? I know. Weird, right? But on top of that, when we record the podcast, we use a bunch of sites and things to help us facilitate sounding as good as we do nowadays and making it sound like we're in the same room. However, sometimes there's technical errors, and episode 197 that should be coming out soon was stricken by some of those technical errors.
The technical error is that my audio did not record on any of the services that we use to record the show. So kind of to give you a behind the scenes look, we have a program we use called Riverside, which is great, and that records all of us in real time. And then we all also record locally on our computers just in case Riverside has a problem.
Well, for some reason, both my Riverside and my local recording didn't work. So I'm in the process of trying to recover those audio files, and it's taking a little bit longer than I was expecting.
But I will tell you all that we have the missing file found, mostly, and I am in the process of editing that now before it goes off to Nathan, our wonderful audio editor.
And when that happens, I expect us to be back on our normal episode release by next week. And if not, well, then you all can yell at me. So that's what's going on. In all honesty, other than that, I do want to ask all of you of a favor, and it's completely free.
Very little effort involved. A little bit of effort, but not much.
[00:03:16] Speaker B: You can do it from the comfort.
[00:03:17] Speaker A: Of your own home with your feet up eating dinner. But my request is that you go online and to whatever system you use, be it Apple Podcasts or Spotify or any of that stuff, and leave a rating or review and a review, not or and a review, if you haven't already.
I listen to podcasts, too. I know every podcast asks this, and I didn't realize how important these ratings and reviews were until we started doing this show just to, again, give you folks some transparency, those ratings and reviews are what let other people find us. I'm not a big fan of algorithmic things, but that's how shows get put onto the front pages or even moving up the charts.
And if you can take the two minutes to leave us a five star review or a four star review or an honest review, we would prefer five stars. But we'll take honest reviews, too. That's what we really want, and that helps us out more than anyone listening can even know.
Just an example is a while back, we had four or five people leave reviews for us on consecutive days, and that took us from somewhere in the 300 range of podcasts in North America to the low 200s high 100 range.
And that just means that more people could get eyes on us. So I know it sounds very silly, but it is so important to get ratings and reviews on the show. So if you can take a couple of minutes out of your day and do that for us, we would be super appreciative. Also, if you're a newer member to the Patreon yeah, if you're a new patron to the Patreon and you have not submitted a critical hit or critical miss card, please shoot me a message over on Patreon. Just shoot the show a message. I'll get it. I will send you the link to make sure your card gets submitted. And if you're an older member of the Patreon and haven't submitted a card, please let me know as well, and I will get that form over to you.
Yeah, so I've rambled a lot. Let me send it to this little minisode. But also, I do want to put a trigger warning into this section here. It is a weird trigger warning, I feel, but it pertains to what you're about to listen to.
Trigger warning on cannibalism and humanoid dissection.
We try not to get too gross with it, but it is part of the story, and I just want to give everyone a heads up if that makes your stomach turn or you get a little squeamish. I just want to warn you about that ahead of time.
All right? I love you all. Thank you so much for listening, as always. And here is a minisode.
[00:07:05] Speaker B: The moon slowly rises above the Brazen Peak Mountains, its lights shining on the now sleepy nation of Cataphesh.
Safe behind the city walls, dancing lights from all manner of spells spill out into the night.
Inside the redstone walls of the Red Pyramid, aurelius talks with his trusty aides. This journey, he feared, was coming to an end, and soon. The meddlers must be getting close. His only hope was that Veshmirix would take care of them. And if they had managed to deal with Veshmirix, then he knew he would have to confront them. Here hoping that his plan, already well in motion, would continue no matter what he did.
He had plenty of soul cages hidden, so death was not a worry for him. However, the pain of this plan failing, a plan that had taken him years to cultivate and move the pieces into place, would be disastrous. And such a setback on his plan to control the most powerful weapons Galarian had to offer dragons.
If his newest set of slave workers could work faster, this would not be a problem.
The work that went into finding and capturing Cardalion had taken more of his time than he thought it would have. The damned pactmasters took so long to convince that he and his group of loyal servants, the Scarlet Triad, were nothing more than a group of mercenaries here to help protect the people, the fools. Nothing a little silver couldn't take care of. But still, finding the right palms to grease and the right palms to make disappear had taken more time than he had wanted. But looking on the bright side of things, aurelius could now focus on the rebuilding process taking place.
The recent influx of jewelry makers that were added to his trove of captives made the reforging process move on ever faster. Soon he would have the orb that he wanted so badly.
A slight knock at his door stirred him from his thoughts. Come in, he said with his cool, calm voice.
Sir, a haggard and sallowed looking Alec came in the he paused for a moment.
Person you were looking for has arrived, Alec said as he looked down at the floor, his skin looking paler and paler and stretched tightly over his thin frame.
Excellent. Send them in.
I expect that you are prepared for what comes next, Alec.
It is something that we have been working towards and planning for a while now.
And should you succeed where many others have failed, you will be promoted to the head of my legion when the time is right.
Yes, I am, sir.
This visceral hunger has gnawed at me for weeks now. I'm just pleased that the waiting will finally be over. With a quick curt nod to Aurelius, Alec leaves the room to let his boss and their new guest have their conversation. What felt like hours to Alec slowly ticked past. Then he heard what he had been waiting for a thud in the room with Aurelius. Finally, his weeks of fasting were over. His body quivered with anticipation as he thought about finally getting some sustenance into his emaciated body. After weeks upon weeks of waiting.
He trusted his leader after all, it was Aurelius who had first brought him back from the dead after he was poisoned for trying to help strangers.
It was Aurelius who had taught him how to use his new powers, and it was Aurelius who had guided him to this point.
Yes, there had been a few bumps in the road with getting to this.
[00:11:10] Speaker A: Point, and the heroes who had killed him were getting in the way around every turn.
[00:11:15] Speaker B: But this was his chance to show what he was made of and that he could make Aurelius proud of him and show that it wasn't a mistake that he brought him back.
The door to the room slowly opened and Aurelius beckoned Alec into the room.
Alec nodded again and moved in as if he were dreaming. And there he saw the man who only a few moments ago had been breathing and offering his master a deal unconscious on the floor.
Alec took a moment to look at the man on the floor and was instantly filled with the jealousy of him. This man was draped in finery that could have kept his old Hell knight order in quality armor and weapons for years, let alone help the people around them.
He felt what little blood was left in his system well up into his cheeks.
Now, Alec, you know what is needed to be done with him. I will take my leave, but I expect you to deal with all of it.
Alec nodded as Aurelius left the room.
As soon as the door closed, Alec began the process he had been practicing for months now. He stripped the unconscious man down to nothing, taking and putting into his pockets every last piece of gold and finery. He then folded the silken clothes and placed them in a corner away from what was about to happen so they wouldn't get soiled.
Then Alec, moving with predinatural speed, bound the man's hands behind him and shackled his feet to the ground.
Then began the part that he was dreading most began to cut off the man's fingers one by one by one and place them over a small roasting fire that had been set in the fireplace.
As the flesh on the skin began to blister and sizzle and pop over the fire alec pushed down whatever feelings of regret he had and began to slowly eat the finger, pacing himself at first. But the growing hunger that was in his belly started to overwhelm him.
It was gnawing at him and he started to eat the fingers faster and faster trying to sedate the unbearable hunger.
Soon Alec was dissecting the man as easily as a butcher does a cow. And as he got further along the process, it began to get easier and easier for Alec.
He was even perhaps beginning to enjoy this process.
He was cooking and eating more and more of this poor creature. Alec, however, didn't think of them as a person anymore. For all the meat that came off this man that he had eaten, the food could not sedate him. He ate every last bit of his victim and yet still a deep hunger remained.
This was getting to Alec. He could not stand by it anymore. He pushed over the desk that Aurelius was sitting at mere moments ago and as he did, wind started to whip all around his small office.
Alec wanted more. More flesh, more bones, more blood, especially that of humanoids. Alec raised his hand and pointed his finger at the door as a flash of lightning erupted from him. The door splintered and what came out of the room was no longer human but a being of pure hunger, anger and greed.
Good Mused Aurelius. Now, as the plan is move out to finderplane and deal with the people out there. And should any heroes come along, I'd like to ask you to deal with them. The creature that once was Alec threw its head back and out of its mouth came a bone chilling howl, the creature whirled around and out the window to complete the task that he had been assigned to them by its master.
With that done, Aurelius smiles.
Everything was working as he expected.
Alec had followed the orders to the T and was no longer Alec, but instead some sort of creature of hunger.
Aurelius slowly climbs the steps up to his bedroom and lays down, smiling to himself as he closes his deep green eyes and goes to sleep.
