Ep. 54: The Suffering Game - Chapter Four

"I don't think our boys are having much fun playing The Suffering Game. Maybe their luck will improve in Round Two! But probably not! It's the Adventure Zone!"

Synopsis
''After Round One of The Suffering Game, our heroes aren't doing too great -- and with another turn of the Wheel ahead, the future's not especially bright, either. Can they keep their heads up (and on) to power through? Magnus makes an invisible friend. Merle charms the crowd. Taako makes 'em laugh.''

The Tres Horny Boys have just gotten out of a kerfuffle with some Dire bears and slimes. With them now is their new bodyless friend, Cam, who they'll have to cover for during the next few sacrifices.In order to get to the next room, the boys must, once again, sacrifice something to the Wheel of Sacrifice. Merle spins first, and the wheel lands on eye. Edward explains that the penalty for this round is that Merle will have to give up one of his eyeballs. Merle asks if he'll at least get a cool eyepatch if he does give up an eye, which the elves feel is only fair. Merle gives up his left eye, and with a poof it's gone. A white ball containing an diamond-shaped eyepatch stylized to look like an owl appears in front of him. Merle puts on the eyepatch.Magnus spins next, and the Wheel lands on Clock. Lydia explains to Magnus that he will have to sacrifice 10 years of his life. Griffin asks what Magnus' age is, and Travis tells him that he's 32. Magnus says yes to this, and he ages to 42 years old. His muscles become slightly lankier, and his hair becomes somewhat grayer, including, according to Travis, his pubes.Taako, still bleeding out from having heavy machinery fall on top of him and who now just wants this nightmare to be over with, spins the wheel and lands on body. For this, Edward explains, Taako will have to give up some of his vitality. Taako allows the two liches to take some of his life, and 15 is subtracted from his max HP. Looking on the bright side, Justin figures that, if Taako dies during this arc, at least he'll get his Tuesday afternoons back. Still not caring what happens to him, Taako tries to spin the wheel again. Merle stops him before he can, however, and goes to spin the wheel instead.

While Merle attempts to maneuver the Wheel, Magnus feels something poke the palm of his hand, and as he reflexively pull his hand away, he feels it again, only some sort of force is like pressing down into his hand and moving in sort of deliberate strokes. Magnus allows this strange force to continue stroking the palm of his hand, and, after a dozen or more repetitions, is able to decipher that this is Thieves' Cant, the secret written language of symbols that thieves use to communicate with each other that Carey taught him during his thief training. Right now the force is making two symbols that mean silence, which warns potential burglars of nearby listening marks, and confirm, which thieves use to ensure that other thieves have seen their message. Magnus, using his left hand, moves his finger in the shape of confirm. The force responds with a secret symbol-

Featured NPCs

 * Cam
 * Edward and Lydia

Featured Music

 * Battle Axe Proficiency

Featured Locations

 * Felicity Wilds
 * Wonderland