Critical Role & Sagas of Sundry - Vox Machina Ep. 103 - The Fate-Touched

Episode Date: January 10, 2022

Vox Machina regroup after their devastating defeat at the hands of Vecna, all while Vax’s soul is tested by the Matron of Ravens.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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sit around and play Dungeons and Dragons. Every goddamn week. Anyway, before we jump into the craziness of tonight's episode, let's get through some quick announcements here. First and foremost, merch update. Laura, what we got? Well, those amazing David Mac posters that are only on sale, well, okay, here's the thing.

The signed ones are only available for one more day. They're going away tomorrow forever and ever and ever, amen. And after that, the not signed version will be available for one more week. And then those are gone forever and ever, amen. And so if you want them, you should get them. And we also have, you know, a bunch of other shirts like the Scanlan T-shirt and the Vox-Machina t-shirt and the Voxymokin a T-shirt and every other t-shirt that are so soft and comfy and cozy. And we said Slayer's cake apron. Which is a shipping soon, right?

Which are, we'll be shipping soon. Those will be shipping, yeah, pretty soon. So pre-order are still available right now. And then with the posters, I'm going completely out of order. With the signed ones, it's going to take a few extra weeks to ship those because we all have to sign them. So just be patient. We love you, and you will get them. And then the ones that aren't signed will get shipped out a little bit faster.

Cool. One more day for that. One more day. Tell your friends. Tell your friends. Tell your wife. That is not where I was going. I went with a really nerdy.

Perfect. So next updates we have, Wednesday Club for next week. Wednesday Club? Well, we're kind of like in this interesting transition point for a lot of shows on Geek and Sundry. So we thought we'd have a card party. And it's not as sexy as it sounds. I disagree, sir. So are you in? Are you down? Are you doing this? We're opening card packs? We're opening card packs. I'm going to be there for this. Matt Mercer is going to join us for the Wednesday Club. We may have We have a few other guests of people. You want to come?

Do you want to come? Can we all come and just open card packs? We already did a pog episode, but we'll do another. Shut your mouth. We actually made it rain poggs. We made it rain pogs. It was great. You can come, we're gonna have another pog party.

We'll have a lot of time after this, Liam. Fidgett's been around. We're also, yeah, since we're also the show is moving to its new time. Pog wizard. Yeah, new time slot next to eight. Seven to nine. So we're gonna be opening up card packs,

talking about them being really dumb. and in our pajamas, and it's gonna be great. And I'm so excited. Definitely Matt, and whoever, there's gonna be a bunch of people showing up. It's gonna be great. Like, there's so much in my childhood, you have no idea. It's gonna be like, yeah, it's gonna be like a,

like a, you know. What kind of cards? It's gonna be a crazy day. I've got, we're confirmed with some Jim Lee X-Men. Series one. Series one? Series one. We're confirmed with some, let's see,

I've got some, doomsday Superman versus Doomsday cards. Cool. Any Marvel Masterpiece? Original, we're working on Marvel Master's. We've got all this unopened. Oh, we've got a, We've got some Kirby, some Kirby cards. We've got some adventure, classic adventures cards.

We're doing a little bit of everything. Okay, I'm excited. We got a couple we're working on, though. Okay, okay. Marvel University is one of three is what we're really open for. No, they're not. I'll talk more about it on the show, but I have a long history with those cards.

All righty. Thank you, Tellson. Yeah. Signal Boost. I believe we had our recent episode went up this week with our fantastic Ashley Johnson. We're so good. So good.

Boosting. boosting. You're so good in it. That was fun. Talzin, you looked taller in that. You really did. I was wearing smaller people on my feet. I would help.

He'd learned from standing on the back of reasonably. He'd stack him in a trench coat. Just thought of four people that fit that bill and decided not to say any of the names. We, in planning for that episode, I remember talking to Marisha about, I was like, I kind of want to boost Talison. And then we were like, well, everybody knows who Talison is in this. I was like, yeah, but I know we can do that as your sketch. And like over half those facts, the beginning are actually true. Yeah, of course they are.

They've been, they're gozed a bit. They're peppered in between. The beauty about that is that you're not sure which ones are true, which ones aren't, but they are pep, they're back and forth. That's, that's about right. The bees are true. The bees are true. Yeah.

There are two more people have to die before you eventually become the most interesting man in the one. So I'm just crossing my fingers. One now. That's right. That's dark. Yeah, there we are. All righty. The guy who's running Canada, though, is very young. So we're gonna have to wait for a while.

All right, and last but not least, a couple things. Talks Mocking, of course, every Tuesday at 7 p.m. Pacific time here on Twitch and Alpha with our fantastic Brian Foster. Talk about this episode next, no, not next week. We're off next week. We're off next week. We're off next week.

Freedom! On Talks two weeks from now. So we'll see you then. And today, the Sagas of Sundry Dread went up. Which we're super excited about. I can't wish to say that. For those who are here for International Tabletop Day, Ivan Van Norman ran me, Taliesin, Sotin, Phoenix,

Amy Dowlin, A.B. Vorple, through a very intense game of dread, all being kind of like late 80s, early 90s, high school kids going up to a cabin kind of experience, and it went awesome. Well, we made a show. And it was amazing. It's so good. It's so good.

It's genuinely one of the coolest experience. She's ever had as like a player in a game. I feel like he invented a new form of theater. Like that. Kind of. So if you had an opportunity, it's on Alpha. If you're on Alpha, go check it out. If you don't have Alpha, there's a 60-day

Free Child Code. What's the code? Shipmates. Shipmates. Only today, though. Until tomorrow. Until tomorrow. Same as a little more, I'll try it out.

So if you're like, I don't want to pay for Alpha, well, you don't have to for 60 days. No, just put shipmates in. And then you're fine. Oh, yeah. And yeah, this is the first time I've ever said this out loud. Seriously, like, go check out Alpha for this show. It's worth it. It's amazing.

Oh, my God. Adam Lawson was the director. Sean and I were the producer. It's brilliant. Ivan was the story. Ivan did a phenomenal job running the story. Yes, but probably not any you're going to be happy with. Be fair.

I may make a post later on the Twitch, like on the Twitter tomorrow or something to like really talk about. I have a lot of feelings about the show. What's on your mind, Sam? Nothing. The power's out of me. my house. Oh, wow. Just distracted because they just came from my house and the power was out.

That's all. I'm worried about my kids. Are they going to have their little fans on tonight to keep them cool? Or what are we going to do? How are they going to light candles in their room? I don't know. Are they watching Twitch by candlelight? They are definitely watching Twitch.

Can they have a pillow for it in the living room? Maybe if they can find the living room, it's dark. It's dark. It's dumb. Just hear the sound of wine airing in the background. Oh, yeah. They have their wine aerators. They each have their cell phones.

They're okay. They're fine. Oh, yeah. They aerate their milk. That would be the worst sound. Oh, God. You know how gross that airator is gay? I know.

Anyway, that's enough for that, guys. Anyway, that's the end of our announcements. And as such, that brings us to some nice episode. of critical. Oh, no, no. Critical role. Hope you liked our new intro, apparently. I guess we're having some tech issues trying to get the regular intro showing tonight.

So a little change for the evening. We'll help. No biggie. No biggie. Next up. We're here. So last we left off. Vox Machina, after discovering that the various siphon orbs

or the one that was beneath Whitestone was one of many. And apparently were funneling magical energy energies from various arcane laylines that exist across Exandria into some plane other than the prime material. Through research and discovery, you found that this plane was the shadow fell. And upon traversing this barrier and dealing with some cultists of the whispered one, you discovered that Delilah Briarwood was still alive. And that there was a city in the shadow fell beyond the boundary of these siphons, known as Thar Amphala. It's an ancient city that had seen an ancient battle.

but much had been seemingly rebuilt and constructed. And there in the center of the town was the dark tower called Entropus, where apparently the whispered one, Vecna, or something involved in him, a ritual was being completed. You begin to make your way through this city, averting any sort of attention from most of the denizens in the sky and below.

You squashed heads of a few cultists on the way. Masqueraded as cultists, masqueraded as undead, and found the city itself shift strangely. Similarly, using technology of the threshold crests that Singorn uses, it transported itself out of the shadow fell and somewhere else, where apparently began to snow. You then made your way towards the central tower

and deciding not to ascend it, just took it to the ground with some earthquake spells. However, due to the magical defenses of the tower top where the rituals were being completed, it seems, seems, the top of the tower was untouched by the spells and lowered itself to the rubble of where it once stood. You then mustered your forces, right up to the top of the lip of the tower, what remains of the tower of Entropis, and joined in battle against Delilah Breyerwood, a death knight and the physical form of Vecna, the whispered one himself. However, the battle

did not turn in your favor. And in the process of the battle, and... That's debatable. In some degrees. Whether through just bad luck or not fully understanding the scope of what you were up against,

a number of you fell in battle with one of them not being able to be restored, being Vaxel done, who was reduced to dust by a disintegration spell, realizing that your fortunes were failing with Grog banished to another dimension and only barely returning in time.

You joined hands, and Kieliff attempted to travel you out of the plane to safety, of which Vecna intended to stop the counterspell, and Scanlan intended to stop that counterspell with his own counterspell, like a bard does want to do. So you successfully transported grabbing the corpse of Delilah Breyerwood, of which Percival managed to finish off with a shot to the head, and you found yourselves, last we left off, emerging deep into a wooded forest

in some unknown location within the Faywild. And upon arriving and glancing about to see that you're still mostly intact, clutching the no longer living corpse of Delilah behind you. Vax not with you. And Vex realizing, asked the question. I just walk up to her and I just like set down his armor and just don't say anything. What is this?

Where is he? There's nothing left. He was, he was just obliterated. He was disintegrated. What? I saw it happen, and then I saw it happen. And we just left him there? It was...

No, we brought... We brought him to him. Oh God. He's... I'm so sorry. Oh, then I was brought back. and doll is just... That's the ultimate question, isn't it?

Can you bring it back? Can you bring it back? I've never done this before. Um, I just go over and gather up all his armor and start hugging it to myself. I've recently learned of a spell that I could attempt, but it's nothing I've tried before, and it's expensive, and I'm already terrified of

of the fate in the hell that I might have, that I might have brought him in his final moments. But what is it? I think he saw himself die. I think I'm so sorry. What are you talking about? I cast foresight on him. And I think there was a link for a second.

And I haven't thought of those ramifications. of something like that before. I think he was held and there's nothing you can do. And what if that happened? What if he saw himself die? Then it doesn't matter yet. It doesn't help anything. Until we bring him back.

Only matters what we do next, right? Let's bring him back. What's this new spell you're talking about? Just try. I need 25,000 gold pieces worth of diamonds. What? I need 25. Not just gold. You need diamonds?

Where are we? I don't have that. We're in the Faye Wild. Well, we can find it then. As you look around at this point, for the first time really taking in the surroundings around you, you find yourself deep in a shaded, thick wood, where most of the leaves here are wide and triangular in shape, where you expect to see deep greens.

instead you see blues and purples. You see the tips eventually coming to almost like a midnight blue at the edge. There is a very faint mist that is gathered across the ground that stands about knee height, and the ground beneath you seems to have a somewhat crunchy sponginess to it with each step, though you cannot see where your feet actually touch the ground. Is it all diamonds? It is not all diamonds.

You do hear the ever-present, echoing, distant hooting of owls. Well, now we know what to do. We were too late, and we have seen what we're up against, and now we need to focus. And we can't let it be over yet. We just need to focus. We're going to find these diamonds. What did we do? Was it her? It was... Or was it Vecna? It. Grog?

Grog. Yeah. Can you put her in the bag and I toss him the body? As the body of Delilah Breyer would, the head's still kind of scattered and divided right around the forehead. This giant cleft of her skull hemisphere is just gone, and whatever matter was once there is kind of loosely fallen out as she's been dragged from one to the other location. You do see the left eye, which is not human, it seems, in appearance.

The actual white is instead a sickly greenish yellow in the pupil itself as a cat-like slit of black surrounded by a very thin kind of greenish blue tint. And as soon as you look down and see the face, the eye of which just looks upward at nothing. The dead body still, the eye twitches and shifts to look at you. Uh-oh.

Mm-mm. Fucking eye is still moving. Should we take it out? Yes. It could be Vecna watching us or another being. Can you put it in a bag or something, cover it up? Happily. Wait, but it might still, can I take a closer look at it

and see if I can, I don't know, identify it somehow? Do you have an identifies? No, but can I just kind of look and see? Make an Arcona check. Sure. Two. Two. You know, plus five.

Right. As you get down close to glance at the rather disturbingly bloodied face of Delilah Breyerwood, the eye shifts back towards you. It's the closer you get. You watch this. The thing is slit. People seems to almost widen and focus on you. It's an unsettling presence.

And as you try and concentrate on it to see if there's any. immediate signs of whether it be sigils or arcane marks that would mark it to be more of a magically enchanted object than an actual organic eye. Nothing comes to mind other than the fact that it seems to be very intent on studying you back. Can I try to remove it from the ocular cavity? Using with your fingers? Yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay, uh, go ahead and make a, uh, make an athletics check. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Nine. Okay. You can inspire myself, I suppose.

If you want to, up to you. How many more bardic inspirations do you have after the battle? Two, right? Because I didn't cutting words anyone. Those count as inspiration. They do right. Yeah. Your fingers are now pretty much knuckled deep into Lila Pryor would suck. I will inspire myself just to give it a serious try.

Okay. That's plus 10, so that's a 19. Plus, I guess, three for Jack of All Trades. If you're not training it, then you. So 22. All right, so you begin humming your favorite eye pulling song under your breasts. And with the horrible sucking sound, you pull the eye from her socket,

leaving this kind of trail of dark, black, and red Viserra that just dangles from it loosely. Which, as you pull it free, whatever attached The eye to it seems to burn off and fall, leaving just the circular socket. I also need you to roll a wisdom saving for it. Oh, no. Insta death.

No, I'm not. Oh, is this magic? Oh, is this magic? It's not a magic spell. I'd say it's a magic effect, yeah. So do I get advantage? I'll say for, yes, as an ome, for this, yes, you would. Way better, but still terrible.

12. 12. How bad was your first one? A one. Oh my God. Okay, so you guys watch the Scanlan kind of pulls this eye out and kind of looks at it for a second. For you, it's less of an actual voice,

but these images come to your mind of all the terrible things that have happened in your life, the loss of your mother, the near loss of Kaylee, loss of your friends. Every person that's ever mattered to you, you've seen slain before you were heard about. You could stop that from ever happening again. All the answers you could have, you would have the power to prevent any of that

from ever happening again. And it's so simple. It's so simple. Can we smack the eye out of his hand? Well, as this is happening, you watch, as he's looking at it. And this hand just goes up and starts clawing into his own eye socket.

I'm going to use every decks I have. I'm holding tight to this thing. I'm gonna slap fucking hard. This thing's gonna kill me. Dex isn't gonna help you so much here as it's gonna be a strengthening. So go ahead and make an athletics check. Oh my God.

Can I? And for you for this, go ahead and make, this would be an acrobatics to try and dodge out of the way. Oh, strength track? Oh, athletics. Oh, athletics, that's better. So you're trying to slap it out, get out of his grasp.

13. 10. 10. You slap and the hand kind of just like kind of pulls back a little bit, You can it, and you can see a trail of blood beginning to pull out of the corner of the eye. All right, can I, can I, can I, can I,

can I slap it out of his hand? My coke nails going in. Oh. Can I try to grab his hand and slap him across the Yeah, this, okay, this is the last chance anybody has to try and do the source, Kaling loses an eye. Okay. We're going to an event horizon moment here.

Go ahead and make an athletics check. 27. Oh. Do I want to ask that? All the acrobatics check. Don't be enough. It's the same thing. So it's 13.

Okay. So as his fingers are digging into the socket and the other eyes just staring at this, this, this piercing circular gaze in his grasp and his right, you see the blood beginning to trail down his face in two different places. He's gotten his fingers partway behind his own eye. And you rush up and grab him by the wrist. Put your other hand right at the front of his face, kind of pushing his nose and cheek up. and you pull it back and you watch as from behind the eyelids, his fingers slip out.

And he's fighting it with all his might, and with that as you pull back, as soon as you get it free, with your other hand, you just backhand the eye. Snap out of the eye. Well, you knock the eye out of his other hand. And he goes, and kind of disappears beneath the mist. Can we see where it landed?

Yeah, I'm gonna follow the eye. Do not touch it, Percy. Can I see? Can I see? The throbbing pain and the, you're not able to focus in this eye at the time. You're effectively unable to see out of this eye really well, probably until your next long rest, because it's pretty damaged just from the brief. Gabbing. Gouging.

Yeah, you can try and heal them if you want to. You'll heal. Your mind comes back to you for a minute, and you're like, what the fuck is wrong with me? What are you doing? It was speaking to me. What did it say? I don't exactly. I don't exactly remember, but it had some really strong arguments.

What, it's just like telling you to pull your own fucking eye out? I guess, yeah. It was offering me things. It was telling me it could help. I've never felt that way before. It was amazing. Where'd it go? You two, you said you were going to go ahead and look in the mist for it? Oh, yeah, you're just down...

...investigation check. ...to the remains of facts. Yeah. And Keelith goes over to Vex and just kind of like curls up into her. 14. As you dive over in the direction where you think you saw it go, you begin, the mist is thick and you start kind of pushing it away. And there's just very, very dense underbrush and foliage that is just gathered here that created the kind of crunchy floor. Glancing through and pushing around, there's no sign of the eye. I need help finding it. I need help. Be veiled.

Be very careful. I come over and start open a book. Oh, glad you're going to step on. I've got the flashlight box out, and I'm going to try and use this as a container if we find it. Okay. You're not using the actual light from using the box. No, no.

Yeah. The mist, the thickness in the mist right now, the light would probably hinder your search than help it. Kieleth, can you thin this? What? I need a sea. To make the mist. Make the mist go away.

What? Can you make the mist go away? I don't know. Can you try? I like, half hardly do a gust can trip while still sitting next to Vex. Okay, watch some of the mist dissipates and very quickly begins to roll back.

The mist here is almost aggressive and its need to fill the space. Like a lot of things in the Fay Wild, it almost has its own sense of nature and purpose. And it's not going to let someone push itself back if it wishes to exist on the forest floor. As you're rushing in to help, because you've already made the investigation check and the misses rolling in, and based on his inability to find it, you're not even quite sure where it landed.

Make your own investigation check, but your disadvantage. Okay. Hey, that's high. That's not. Three. Okay. Over the next three or four minutes as you guys pat through and tear roots apart in sections of the forest floor, there is no sign of where the eye landed.

Can I, if I were to cast a locate object, would that work? You can certainly try. Okay. Okay. So you, as you go over and grab your holy symbol and kneel to the ground, focus on whatever this dark relic is, that seems to have plagued you in two different ways in just the past ten minutes. As you concentrate, you feel the divine light of Sarenre come and restore warmth from the center of this cold, forest. You feel the energy flow through you and the image of her face descending from above,

her mouth opening, and she just exhales this breath over you. And as it does, you suddenly can clarify your visual perception on this object and you know exactly the direction it is. You start walking in that direction and you kind of push past Grog and push past Percival. And you find a portion of the ground and you look and it's not there, but you know it's that direction. I think I've located it, but I can't see it, but I know what direction it's in. Is it underneath the ground? Is it invisible?

So it seems like that it's in the ground or like it's been moved or? Okay. Kind of try and push aside some of the mist in the area and it's like all kind of closed in now since the gust can't trip is kind of held back what it could while you cast the spell. I see them moving in that direction and just once again kind of poof for them. The mist separates again. You look and you can see the direction where it would be, and as you kind of glance over and focus your attention, it looks like between two of the roots,

there's a portion of fresh dirt. Can I start digging? Yeah, you're scooping in. I've got a box out ready. About three inches down, you scoop down and pull up a big handful of moist dirt, and then there you watch, as some of it falls away, you see the wet exterior of the greenish yellow eyeball.

It's like, it began to burrow. See you kind of glancing about. Immediately you put it in a box. The eye is flickering around, like he's rapidly trying to find a way out. What? Put it in the box. All right, you close the box. I don't trust that thing.

Burrowing eyeball. Are you sure? No, I mean, I don't. No, I mean, I don't trust it. Greetings, adventurers. Spring has sprung here in Los Angeles, and that means it's a brief period. where it's only 75 degrees instead of 95 degrees.

I'll take it. And that means I've been outside a lot more. Walking around, occasionally galloping after a toddler hopped up on juice boxes, traveling a bit. You know the vibe. And after doing some spring cleaning, my wardrobe, I gotta say, looking a little bit sad. I want clothes that can keep up with me and my son,

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This is a limited time offer, so don't wait. Again, that's fabletics.com slash critical role for 70 to 80% off everything as a new VIP. And now, on to the show. Greetings, Adventures. Lately, I've been getting a bit more intentional about what I wear, from day to day because instead of just falling out of whatever laundry baskets nearby, I've been leaning into pieces that feel easy and comfortable, but still put together because it just makes getting dressed simpler when I have a plan. Quince has been my go-to to help with that, because the fabrics feel elevated, the fits are clean, and everything just works without me needing to overthink it.

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and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com slash critical roll for free shipping and 365-day returns. Quince.com slash critical role. I don't trust it near us. That is my favorite thing you've ever said.

I think, Percy, I think you need to give it to me to hold. I think that's terrible. No, I can take care of it better than you. What makes you think of that? No. Just give it to me. Trust me. You're bleeding out your eye right now.

I want revenge on this eye and give it to me so I can get revenge. Oh, I cast cure wounds for his eye. Right, you did that, yeah. So the eye, well, there's still, the eye wasn't removed from the socket, but the damage that was around it seems to have healed up from the mild cure wounds. There's still the dried, the drying blood that is kind of pulled down the cheek, but it appears that most of the initial damage which has been sealed. Do you want me to hold on?

I kind of want you to hold it. Okay. I think I should hold it. I just feel like I'm gonna hold onto it in case it tries to attach itself to you again or you pull out your eyeball again. That thing is close, and like, yes, and that thing should be difficult to get out of.

It is a big case that's designed to hold a big bright. What if it can still hear us? Sense where we are. It's an eyeball. It doesn't have ears. That is true. That is a very good point. Well, if we're really amused by it, we can just set off the light crystal that's in there and let it blind itself in there for a while. That could be funny.

We have bigger problems, diamonds. Yes, so much bigger problems. And Delilah. Oh, yeah, she still goes in the bag, right? Oh yeah, we're going to want to have a word with her later. Even beyond the diamonds. Vex? Vex. Vex.

You need you here now. I need you here. We're not done. This is not over yet. We are in trouble. We need to find a city. Two of you. I need both of you here. Of course, darling. This was supposed to be a weekend trip. Nothing is ever what it's supposed to be. It's a weekend trip. Let's get this done. Even after we find 25,000 gold pieces worth of done. diamonds. I've never brought anyone back before. And this is versus the Raven Queen. How do we know if his soul is even available for return? How do we know that she is against us? This was a Vecna. She may still be with us.

I believe I left his soul over there alone. I didn't. I didn't. I did. I did. I came back. We're not done. Maybe we should talk to the Raven Queen. How do you do that? There's a temple in Versaulheim, and there's a temple. I imagine... In white stone.

Same way that he did. We need to find diamonds. Can we find them without... While we're here, can we find them where we are? I don't know how you find. Diamonds in the Faywild. Possible, you know the Faywild. I...

Where are we? Yeah, do we see any, like, structures off in the distance, or is it all just overgrowth? You are in the seemingly center, or at least completely surrounded by enclosed, dense, bluish, purple forest. You cannot see above the canopy. What little bit of light that is visible seems to be

from sort of a, a biolubil, luminescence beneath the fog. As you guys kind of pushed below, you could see what appeared to be bits of fungus that grew out of the forest floor and the slowly dying off and decomposing leaves and fallen branches. So it's almost like this underlit glow,

but you don't see any structures, no science of civilization, you have no idea where you are. You've not been to this part of the Fayette Wild. Maybe our were werewolf friends are still around. Yeah, I was gonna say I have a terrible idea. Like, you know, I think they wanted to leave. So what if they know of like some hidden treasure trove around here? That could, you know, tit for tit.

Yeah. I might be able to buy diamonds as well. We can buy diamonds. If we go to a city. If we rest, I may be able to make them. 25,000 gold worth of diamond. How big is that? I don't know.

We are. It could be a lot of smaller diamonds. But how big, how many? I'll pull out one diamond that I have that's worth 1,500 gold. I feel like that's within a tinker theory is figuring out how much diamond is one of these. We would need 20 more of these. It can range based on the purity of the diamond,

how well it's been cut. You can make an intelligence check if you'd like. That'll do. I feel like this would be in the wheelhouse. I've gotta blow by dose again. God, I'm rolling just the worst. 13. 13.

Microphone. I mean, that's a lot of diamonds. That can range depending on the purity and where you're coming from or where in the world is found. There's a standard amount when it comes to magic practices that aren't tailored to the cultural variations of cost. You couldn't ask somebody, sell me these diamonds, but for six times the cost. And it wouldn't help the spell occur. It's actually that that's the general equivalent to the amount of diamonds that are consumed required for this belt.

We don't have a body. You've never seen them many diamonds in one place. We don't have a body, so we're basically making a diamond fax. I know where there are diamonds. That's fine. Where? I have three. I'll give them to vex. I can make them.

We just need an animal. How much can you make? As much as the animal. Ooh, like the bigger the animal, the bigger the diamonds? I can make animals. I mean, I know you're grieving, but we could give Trinket up for this. I can make animals.

It's worth a try. There is a second thought if this does not go well, which was, there was one place where we saw that many diamonds in one place before. Fuladak. Yeah, but they would have surely like cleaned all that up on now, right? now, right? I'm assuming. Yes, but there's not everything left, the city.

There's enough there. There's a, there's a, it didn't get just get randomly distributed. I'm sure that they have it, I'm sure we can make a deal. Took a loan? We could like take a loan? I have something worth money. Was that a bad idea? No, I'm just...

Taking out a loan? Just love me to you. To buy diamonds. I have, we have gold. We have plenty of gold. Gold. Hey, what did Kraghammer mine? What was their deal? All sorts of things. Many precious metals, gems, stone that was used for crafting and hewing into various forms of masonry. Pretty much anything that could be reaped from beneath the Cliff Keep Mountains. That's what Kraghammer

specialized. What if we go to a mine? What if we go straight to a source by direct? Go straight to Kraghammer and buy. Well, we can try doing what? We can try doing You try mine first and if it doesn't work. But I need to rest. I can't do anything today. Oh, I, should we get back to the, to our world? We can move to Craghammer, rest there. We can't.

We have to sleep before. Unless there's a portal nearby that we can get through. Did you send us to that pond? I thought you took us to the pond with the chick. I mean, it has to be nearby. Plain shift is general. I pick an area and it kind of gambles on where it's going to drop us. And did you specify the location?

I did. I said the Shademark bog and the pond or the glade. With that. I found the page in my notes and I just rambled all the names off very quickly and panic. Now what's interesting is since last you were the Shadmark, you recall this being a very kind of oil thickened. forest. Oh, you took us to where...

Oh, no. Sondor was. You didn't take us to the pond with the chick? Correct. This is the shade mark. This is where you battled with Sondor. However, the forest you're in now, this is indeed the same location. It seems to have vastly recovered from the corruption that Sondor's presence gave.

Which is why it's both unfamiliar to you and not as oppressive as the last time you've the last time you visited. And didn't we? No. Should we have to spend the night here? Wechner's in our world. Vecna's in a box. How much power does he get from that eye?

More than all of us combined, I imagine. If it burrows in the ground, it can't break out of the box, right? I don't know. Open the box and see what it's doing. We can look in the box without, Give it to me. Why? I'll take care of it.

What are you doing? I'll send it away. No. No. To a place where only I can get it. That is... That is... Yeah.

You open it up. Just like... Yeah. You hold it back and hold it open. There's a glass thing so we can look through the glass one here. Oh, okay. And immediately glancing in, you see it staring right back at you. Oh!

Give me the thing, I'll get rid of it. No, don't send it to it to end of the plane. Send it to it to the plane. Don't give it to him. Don't give it to him. But it's a personal plane. It's my plane. You are you sure nobody else can ever get into it?

I am not. Then no. I don't know how this works. My daughter taught me this spell. I've never used it before. Fuck it, we're not doing it. But it goes into a little pocket dimension is what she told me.

I don't even know what that means. That's really weird. What if it's the Vecna dimension? Here, let's try something. Just give me something. I'll send it there now. I don't know what that will do. How will we know what they'll.

Give me trick, kid. No, stop it. I can't do trink it. It has to be less than five pounds. Less than five pounds? Yes. It has to be just something small. Yeah.

No, no. No, don't consider it, Pike. No? Give me anything. Do you want a pair of manacles? Sure. Do you want me? Ask questions like you're considering it.

I will use wrist pocket. Okay, you watch as he holds a manacles, and then it shows like a flourish with his hand, and they just vanish from sight. How do you know if they're there? I don't know where they are. Nice right. I literally have no idea, but watch this.

They seem to apparate immediately back into his grass. I don't know how I even do that. Cool. We're not using a random-ass magic trick on an eyeball. Did you just put in me and tell me to come to you so you can make me disappear and come back? No, I know, I want the eye. I can get rid of the eye.

Don't do it, fine. No, I'm just, it makes me nervous skin when I want to keep our... Eyes on it. Maybe we should vote on this. Should we give it to me? Who says I? Ha, ha, ma, ha.

You can buy my vote. Well, for 25,000 GP of diamonds. Yes, you do. You can buy my vote. I don't have enough. Are there any animals around? They're going to need your check. Natural 20.

Yes, you do. You're familiar with forest. You're familiar with forests, definitely, and you can see telltale signs of scurrying telltale signs of track marks in the ground, feces left behind by living creatures, and you do see signs of things that live throughout these forests everywhere. Anything that looks like it would be like the size of an

adult deer or something? A doe, a deer? A bee, male deer. I'm thinking a male deer. A buck, a stag. A stag. A stag. A white stag. Any stag, really, just an animal? It's big. You see a number of tracks that would resemble creatures that size are larger. Some seem bear-like. Some seem larger than that. Those similar clod and heavy footprints, some that are smaller and skittery, some that you see like there was a small cluster of what might be deer-like creatures, but you're not quite sure what the tracks are. Yeah, there's plenty of life that wanders through here. And apparently since you've arrived, none that seem bold enough to approach you too closely.

And this clustered clearing you're in. I need to call it a clearing because you maybe have a total of 10 feet that you're all crammed into it this time. I know. I mean, if we howl, right? Oh yeah, we don't? Yeah, I mean, we haven't healed since the fucking wrecked. I'm not, but. What's everybody, will we?

I'm low. I'm okay. Two-twenty-eight. Like 11 or something? Yeah, you're probably super low. Let's see, I forgot I wrote it down here. I'm at 46. I'm at 48.

Oh, yeah. I forgot. Trinkets. Yeah, you're like, Trinkets unconscious still in my necklace. Okay. He's unconscious, huh? I can pop him out if you're gonna heal us.

Yes. Oh, buddy. I just start crying. I turn him into diamonds. You're sick. He's such an asshole. All right, so what are you guys doing? Mike's gonna heal us.

To heal and sleep. All right. And then I'm gonna kill something. Okay. Let Keelith make something big. What are you casting, Spike? Massure wounds. Massure wounds, all right, go for it.

Does it work on a magical animal? Will it work on a magical animal? Does it have to be a real animal? No, I can work on anything, I think. I mean, I've never turned anything into diamonds. Why the hell not? If I had that, I'd be doing it all the time. I mean, you could do it all the time.

In retrospect, I should have been doing this literally every day. Thank you. I just learned the smell like a week ago. Why are you dealing drugs? Just be like, poop, but look at this. Oh, it's gone. It's back. Cool, right?

And think how useful that will come in the bedroom. Oh. Oh. No, nobody. I was like pocket dimension. No, we went. You all, he'll 31 points. Okay.

Yay. Something. Which ones? All of us? 31. Everyone healed 30. Trinkey gets up. Yay.

No drink. Open it up. All right. Do you guys need more healing? I could try to. Give us more. I mean, we're gonna rest, so. Okay.

Yeah. I mean, are we safe to leave fucking, I know we're gonna rest. I mean, there's nothing we can do at this point to leave Vecna in the world. I'm open to, we have. We can't do anything. We have one problem at a time.

We have Delilah, and we will deal with, I think we need to question. She's been stuffed into the bag of holding. I know. We're going to talk to her. We're going to see what we can learn. We're going to be very thoughtful about what we talk to her about.

and we're going to find a way of making you sure that this is the last time we put her in the ground. By hook or by crook. Don't cry on camera and then have to blow your nose a bunch. She says to a nearby tree. The more you know. Should we try killing an animal and seeing how much, how many diamonds you get out of it?

Or do you, I can't try anything today. Okay, we have to wait. Okay, we have to wait. Okay, we have to rest. Tomorrow we go to Craghammer, we make an animal. We, and we don't have the mansion tonight. No. Do you want to speak with Dead before bed

or you want to sleep on it? We don't need to mention I got all my hit points. I'm good. I don't think I'm in the right mind to even think of anything to say to her that isn't just rage at the moment. We need to get up in a tree. I don't know what's in this area,

but I saw some mansion. tracks, they didn't know friendly. No mansion. Can't them. Let's get up there. Aren't these trees like dangerous in their own right? They seem like they've quieted down a bit. We've healed this forest.

It should thank us. Okay. Does the bow like talk to the trees or anything? Fenderous. Interesting. With the natural 20-nage check you made earlier, there is, I don't want to say, Not a kinship, but a sense of understanding between you and the surrounding forest.

It's hard to explain, and you haven't really had this sense before. This is more of Achilles' territory, of having this connection with nature. But it's because you wield Fenthrus and were responsible in a large way for cleansing this landscape, that as you begin to approach and look for trees for a place to sleep, you watch as one tree, the branches seem to bend down to form a small ladder, and you watch as a little. the boughs above kind of separate and create what appears to be an easy to lay down cluster of branches and leaves.

Small miracles. They like us now. One at a time. You guys crash out or take first watch. Pull the armor up so we can. Did you want it? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

We cuddle between the armor. That's weird. I'm not getting in box. That's the saddest thing. It's pretty sad. All right, the rest of you find yourselves to a night's rest, seemingly protected for the time being by the surrounding Shademark forest, no longer the Shadmirk bog, and unconsciousness takes you. Grog taking first watch.

Okay. Now I'm going to ask you guys if you wouldn't mind to step into the kitchen. What? Everybody with Grog? I know everybody. Okay. But Liam. Oh, fuck me, running.

We're on a... We're jacking off. I'm jacking. Jacking off. We're going to be okay. All right, we're getting Liam back in here. Oh my God. Shoo.

Shoo. No, I'll probably have you back in. Getting tangled for them to leave the room. Back, so done. As your eyes dart back and forth, glancing upward at the sky above, snow hitting and stinging your paralyzed eyes, you see the terrible litch above you. above you, a flash of green, then darkness, floating without weight,

without temperature. You glance around in the surrounding shadow and cannot see anything. Your hands before you nothing, it is just void, darkness. You will yourself to see something, anything, and in an instant you begin to glow. Your form becomes visible around you. You can now see your body,

nude and held aloft in this dark space, just emanating this soft, vibrant, orangeish white light. As the light begins to emanate and cast away the nearby darkness, you also see what appears to be a tangling of some sort of web, strands of silk that also begin to glow a similar light as to your form that holds you tightly in your position. You struggle, but you're held firm.

You think, You yell out, but as you glance upward to shout for help, you see the shadows now curl back to reveal the familiar sight of a massive white, porcelain woman's face, eyeless yet staring straight at, if not through you. Her presence imposing as it may be soothes you as her giant hand, Larger than a house, a palace, it seems almost, emerges from below and gives you a ground to step on

your feet finding purchase in the center of her dark palm. As your feet touch her palm, the silk web seems to loosen. You cast off the threads and fall to your hands and knees. You take a moment, and you hear that soft voice once more. My champion, you return to me and tear a swath through the tapestry. Please, be calm. My sight can pierce many veils, but you've been hidden from my sight in recent days, and I am worried what foulness has turned its intent upon us. Now here you come to me. Your very thread frayed and soul transitioning

and unexpected destiny for my beautiful fate touched. When her fingers kind of curls through your hair in the back of your head. Tell me what you have seen. He's come, he's come back to our world. My home, my family is in danger. The world is in danger. How so? How could one man be this dangerous?

What does he intend? What have you learned? I wonder why he would guard my sight. She goes into quiet contemplation for a moment. You see the strands of hair that emanate from the sides of the mass kind of just slowly shifting like waves on an ocean. As Vecna comes to your world,

Be a king. Grind us all into dust. This is historical. Mortals. The war is over and both sides lost. Kingdoms were reduced to cinders, an army scattered like bones in the dust. Now the survivors claw to what's left of a broken world,

praying the darkness chooses someone else tonight. But in the shadow dark, the darkness always wins. This is old school adventure. at its most cruel. Your torch ticks down in real time, and when that flame dies, something else rises to finish the job. This is a brutal rules-light nightmare

with a story that emerges organically based on the decisions that the characters make. This is what it felt like to play RPGs in the 80s, and man, it is so good to be back. Join the Glass Cannon podcast as we plunge into the Shadow Dark every Thursday night at 8 p.m. Eastern on YouTube.com slash the Glass Cannon

with the podcast version dropping the next day. See what everybody's talking about and join us in the dark. The world of Sonic the Hedgehog has been thrust into a not-so-dark, not-so-stormy, hard-boiled detective story that probably nobody saw coming.

Follow Sonic and the Intrepid Chaotic's detective agency as they take on their biggest case yet. This high-flying action-packed adventure will take them across the world, fighting for a lot. Every twill they can fight. It's one heck of a tale, which is good, because this story might be the only thing that can save their lives. Well, if that's all, I can just dispose of you.

Wait, what? All will be revealed in. Sonic the Hedgehog presents The Chaotic's Case Files. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts. the cave Continuously intend to find others to grind into dust If this being has the power to block my sight He has power beyond a mortal realm

Do you see anything? Anything else? We traveled to the shadow film. There was a tower and he had servants. He had powerful servants or a woman that we fought before and another man, a creature I don't know, with a blade, a dark blade.

And he was too powerful for us, he crushed us. Your short spark with him, you learn nothing more of his plan. No hint of what he's plotting. He lays eye on me. He murdered my sister. Thought we had. Come to an arrangement. Where is my sister?

She lives still. She is beyond my influence. However, your body is ash, and your soul is steeped in the divine energies that uphold the paths between life and death. You've yearned your eternal rest, and mass begins to recede into the darkness. No, no, no. I will not leave them behind. The faint gray of the mass that begin to fade into shadow stops and comes back even brighter, vibrant almost. You sense the mystery of the Raven Queen shift from this entity that dodges and weaves

to instead a pillar of power of life and death that is both awe-striking and awe-fearing. And for a moment you realize how small you are in her presence. Do we see to seek this. Bring it to its end. Your resolve is admirable. Your love of your chosen family is vibrant.

What I offer you is the power to see this conflict through to its end. You will be briefly beyond the very grasp of death. I will hold back in the attempt for you to transition. You will be a bulwark of my power in cold flesh. Walking between heartbeats, unstoppable. You will have the power to walk once more the Vox Machina with your sister, with your keylet.

And should you use this power wisely, perhaps save Exandria, save them, save her, but when it's done, and this foul, undying king lies dead or sealed, who were returned to me. me, my champion, evermore. The imposing image now shifts in chains in an instant. The giant being is now the simple woman. The mask you once saw removed, now missing.

And there the somewhat sad, beautiful, pale face of the Raven Queen as she steps forward. The silence is broken by the sounds of her footsteps across nothing. Her hand comes up, warm, you weren't expecting. As it races across your brow and curves across to your chin and pulls it up, but do you accept? Shlotte me in your eyes. Perhaps you will keep me company

when you come back to me. And so be it. You, whose nature bucks destiny, my beautiful thing, share what you have shared with me with others like this Vecna's play. or if he can block his intent from one who knows what he plots against the other powers beyond the gate learn from them ask them a blessing they have theirs to give as well and there may be all that stands between the woman of this world and you let their

blessings turn the tides Vaxelvan but choose your time wisely for corruption like this waits for no one. No. She pulls your head down and kisses you in the forehead. Brings your head close to hers, and you hear a voice whisper right into your ear ever so painly. You need to go ahead and retrieve the rest of the cast now. If you wouldn't mind stepping aside.

Sure. Thank you. That's interesting. Your youth in silence, how creepy is this? Never get to talk with you guys at the table by myself. Hmm. I didn't even know what to do. Oh, that's what to do. I may enter now.

Welcome back. Come, have a seat. Plug in. You go so far away. I'm dragging in. Jack in. By the way, audience, Travis pointed out as we left,

they might not know what we were talking about when we all said, oh, we're going to jack off now. It means unplug our microphone cords. Oh, yeah, that's actually a pretty good... Performing illicit X. I am. I am. I bet everyone else is.

To each throw, I suppose. Jacking in. That's the hard part. Is that? Why was Liam crying in the hallway? Is he? No. He's Mary Sam and Sam and you.

Is this yours? Tracking in. Checking him. Okay. All right. It's the only way we can need a coach around the five. What happens?

All right. What did you do? I can verify that none of us, listened or read anything about what just happened. We were just jacking off the whole time. We had to hide it at the other end of the building, man. That was a little mess. OK, good, Chris.

OK, let's get you more. So as you make your watch, who's making a second watch. I'll take both. No, you need to rest. I don't, boo. You don't want to be exhausted. You got to get your spells back, man. Yeah, you'll get exhausted.

Yeah. How long does he have to rest, so he's not exhausted? Long rest. These are all long rest. We are all getting long rest, but we just have to take. I'll take second watch. I'm already exhausted. Frenzied last.

Yeah, so if you don't rest, you don't get rid of that point. Listen, we've all learned what happens when I get two points of exhaustion. Just good things. We're all back. We all die. It's back. All right. So Percival's second watch?

Yeah. Perception check. That'll do. That's a 21. Okay. Your watch continues without issue. And final watch is? I'll take it, I'll take it. Pike, final watch. Perception check.

19, okay. While there is no real change from day to night in the Fay Wild, it's in that perpetual kind of nearly dusk sunset, you know, purple-orange skyline, which you can see elements of creeping through since you're higher up. higher up in the brush of the forest. But you do hear the shifting of sounds, where like the evening owl hooting has changed

to more gentle bird chirps. And sounds that would usually be fit birds that lead in wanting to you, whether that be the forest itself, its natural cycle, or it altering to fit your cycle of sleep. At the end of your watch is you're still kind of, You've had your full rest, but you know, still a little groggy. You hear what sounds like the crushing of leaves

on the ground below you. Try to hop up and hide in the tree with everybody. Well, I guess I'm looking awake in the tree. We're up. Okay. As you're up in the tree still, you kind of like move out of the way and you glance down. I'm just gonna, all right, I'm just gonna keep watching.

Okay. You see a humanoid figure emerge from where nearby trees. Um, pale, nude. Um... Long, dark black hair. Just kind of groggy stepping into the glade where you just were. Is this your name?

It's a familiar figure. Long, dark, black hair, pale. I'm gonna go down from the tree. It's pallor from the movie powder. Wait. Yeah, no hair. I don't know. I'm asleep. You're asleep.

So you crawl down. Yeah? I'm gonna, I don't want him to see me. Okay. Make a stealth check. What has happened? What has happened? Oh, that 22.

22. Passive wisdom. As you carefully stay in the tree, you kind of shake your head. kind of wandering into this opening here. I'm quite sure you are as your sensors are coming too. And you hear this slight scraping of something against bark. And you immediately glance up and you can see the small shine of a silver and brass set of armor and as a tiny gnome

is currently held up into the boughs of a tree. Faye Wild, where did you just come from? I'm not entirely sure. died. Did you know that? We're trying to figure out how to save you. What are you gonna do? Sorry, I'm a little confused. Um.

The naturally sensitive ears, even in a sleeping state, that are vexes, being the wild hunter you are, you hear a suddenly loud voice below that catches your attention, your eyes flicker open. Fuck. Get up and run down. Darding down the tree rapidly, you watch as your sister falls into the foliage. There, you see,

see before you. Your brother, clothes-closeless. But you died. I watched you die. It's a trick. It's a trick of the Faywild. Look, I'm sorry, I'm naked. Come here, come here, come here, come here. I'm all right. I'm all right. He's physical. He's cold. He's there. I'm here. I don't know. I died.

No, I know. I know. I didn't see it. I died too. But you're back. So are you. I'm so glad you're back. Don't cry. No, I have your armor. Keelit. Are you all right? Are you really here? Yeah, I'm really here.

Can I roll an insight check just to make sure it's actually him? Sure. About 20? 20? I mean, right as you've known your brother, there doesn't seem to be anything that's doesn't seem to be anything that tells you otherwise. I put my hand on his chest and see if I feel a heartbeat. Which now, as you notice, now that you're kind of lost focus

from just the fact that he's there, you can see, where previously there was a small darkened spot in his chest. Look, like a number of, like almost like a bruise of some kind that never quite went away. It has expanded a bit to be almost in the shape of wings across the front of the chest. Do I feel a heartbeat? You listen close to make a medicine check.

What's the matter, bite? I take my cloak off and put it around it. Oh shit. You get close and kind of clasp your, and to get close to where his heart is, you kind of have to pull him down a bit. There's a dick and he's naked. Can you actually?

Yeah, no much size right now. This is getting all sorts of weird. Here, just come down. Listen, I'm a cleric, it's nothing I haven't seen before. I see it all the time. She's a doctor. I'm a doctor. Do you plan diseases.

You hear a very, very faint slow heartbeat. It's there. That's really way to have that's Armstrong sleeping slow. It's three BPA. Okay. Okay. Does he sound weird?

I can't figure it out. I always sound a little weird. But I know that. Well, sometimes when people are very athletic, they have very slow heart rates. So maybe, you're very in shape. So. God damn it.

I'm going to climb up the tree and wake up Keelew. Okay. Tell her to bring the armor down. How are you here? Anybody else waking up at this point? Personally, you got a pretty decent perception. At this point, with the sound and the shifting up and down the tree, you guys are pretty alert by nature of having,

you all start coming to. I'm not the circle of a monster. What's happening? Super Grog. You're snoring. I'm asleep. Keeliff. What?

I have one perception. Keelis, you need you to... Yeah, I know, you're both asleep. Come down from the tree real quick. What's going on? Pike. Everything's okay. Pike, I need you to tell me before I come around this corner and see.

I just grab my hand. It's okay. Just come with me. I am not coming with you until you tell me, Pike. Come over here, come over here. Vax is at the bottom of the bottom of the tree. Vax is at the bottom of the tree. You are. I grab my stuff and I immediately run down the truck.

I'm moving away a little bit. A little bit. I clutch on Vax's armor. I don't know. I don't know. She sent you back. Yeah. She's my new favorite.

Vex, I need you to step away from him. Vax, if it is you, I hope you understand and please, just for a second. We are fighting the perversion of death itself this. This is what I would do to torture us. Just let's figure this out before we hand him back anything that's older than we are. I hand the armor over to my sister.

The armor is still being touched. Oh, I didn't get it yet. No. No, no, no. No. I'm keeping some distance. I haven't come down yet. You created a temple from me.

You know who I serve. Oh, I believe you're you. You just have to make sure of what brought you back. I don't even know if you would know yet. Just Pike, does he have a heartbeat? Is he undead? Is he? He has a heartbeat.

Have we tried to an undead? You would know if there's evil in my heart. It's not your heart I worry about. You would know if there's evil in my heart. He's fine. You would. We'll not survive this. You know that.

You actually haven't seen Kiela's yet. She's still up in the tree. Oh, please. It's okay. We were talking up in the tree and we were talking down. I'm sure it's going to be fine. Let's just take a minute and reflect on every terrible thing that's happened over the last 24 hours and be careful for once.

I'm so sorry. No, he's absolutely right. He's absolutely right. This is in saying, this is madness. Vax, what do you like to do with my hair? It's him in there. Let's just make sure that it's him that is the rest of him. You think he's like a litch or something? Could Vecna put Vax into something designed to hurt us? I believe it's Vax, it's the rest of it.

For anything, from when you woke up. when you woke up. I remember hitting the ground, and I remember watching you die, and then it was her face again. The Raven Queen? Yeah. What would happen to him if you tried to turn undead? He is, though. If anything awful happens, he should survive it.

They just... Go ahead. Go ahead, get it out of the way. Well, I don't know. I'm not worried about it. I know, but what if it... What if it... does something and then...

If I'm undead, then I shouldn't be here with you. Yes, sure. If you're dead, we'll just have to be extra careful and we'll have a little more understanding of what's happening. Where is Gila? When has just a random miracle ever just happened? If we work for a miracle, that's one thing, but this sort of thing just doesn't end up on your doorstep.

You know that. Thanks. Will you survive it? I don't know he is undead. I don't either. But I... But I don't want him to be able to be turned against us. He looks normal.

Does he? Well. You used to give me wet willies in abysal class. Well, yeah. It's me. I know it's you. You have something new on your chest. What?

Oh, shit. Just try it. Well, that's extra. Extra. Kayliff? Will you come here for a second? Yeah. Okay.

Climb back up the tree. Okay. Okay, I can hear everything that was going on because it's just in the tree. Are you okay? No, I'm super not okay. Okay. What's going? Okay, just what's going on?

What the fuck is going on? What the fuck is going on? Okay. Okay. We can hear you. Fuck all of you. Four of you. a fucking second just tell me what is I was I was I was I was watching and then I saw him walk out of a

tree of sorts and I think it's him and he's just he's obviously naked but I have his arm okay maybe you would be able to tell it see what's going on I think you should just come down Okay, it'll be okay. Okay, you go first. Okay. I'll follow you. Okay.

Okay, you come down there next to Vex and Percival, at a distance of a few feet. You see the pale body standing before you of Vaxildon breathing. I'm so sorry. You guys wake up slowly from all this. I'm going to go stand next to you so they can have me. I cannot wait for you both to be angry with me later.

Does you feel cold? Colder than you remember, yeah. I thought I killed you. You? Oh, just that I could have done more. No. Did you see? Nobody could have done more for me.

No, no. Put some clothes on then. I put my ear up to his chest. Make a medicine check. Natural 18, 24. You hear the faint, slow heartbeat. Heartbeat. I give him back the armor.

No, no, no, we... Percy. Not yet. I'm not taking it. Thank you. Not yet. How long do we have you? What do you remember?

Anything? Well, I mean, you can guess some of it. No. No, we fucking can't. We have no fucking idea what's going on. As far as I'm concerned, you can drop dead in front of our faces right now. And it wouldn't be much different than the past 24 hours.

You all have seen her the same as I have. We haven't talked to like you have. We saw her face. What did she say? Did she say, oh, you're gonna be undead and I'm gonna send you back and do some stuff? She did not say I'm a fucking ghoul. It's just in case I'm so sorry.

You're gonna be okay. Just take my hand. Right. Okay, this is gonna be okay. We're gonna figure this out. Yeah. Let everybody go. Good morning.

Grog. Surprise. What? I'll go down. Apuba. Is this real? We're not sure. We're figuring it out.

I need to pee. I come down and join everybody. This is happening. I look in my pocket to where I was keeping the dust that was about Is there anything there? Still filled with dust. Oh, that's fucking, what is that?

This is you. Oh, fuck. What? Okay. Let's not even begin to have this discussion if we don't have to. I feel like I should still keep this. Just in case.

Okay, I'm gonna cast. Should we turn on death? So using Channel Divinity turn on dead. What? Wait, wait, what? As you say that, You say that. It's okay, he's not gonna get her.

She takes her holy symbol and clutches it and you watch as there's this divine flash and this emanating force of, there's a slow hum as it billows out. You've seen her use it before. Clutching Vax in your hand, you feel the warmth pass over you. No seeming effect. Ah. Vax, I don't know how you did it or how she did it, but she's...

Something's happened. Like... He's a person? We're not at the woods yet, but I think that we can be physically optimistic. Go, go, go, go. Pike, she's, she's a god. You, you're... But I don't see things, I've never seen anything like this before in my life.

We have to figure out where you came from, because you're in a pouch. Yeah. You're there and you're here. Wait, you're in a pouch. Have we tried... Have you... Have you... Hey, can you cut your hand?

Do you bleed? Bleed? Can someone lend me a knife? Oh. Oh. Oh. You've got. I gave you back your armor and shit.

I didn't take it. It's on the ground. I'm going to take whisper. Is he still naked? You'll cut you. Well, he's got a cloak over him. I'm going to cut you right here. Okay.

You cut them in the sharp pane, you watch as it bleeds. Red? Yeah. Sorry. I guess cure one. This is looking better. Okay. All things considered. I don't know.

I'd already laid flame on your boots. I'd come to grips with everything and I decided I was going to wear them. You were going to look so wonderful. I was about to tell you everything she told me, but I have changed my mind. Oh, I'm going to fall down on the ground. How did this happen? How did this happen? I was asleep and now you're here.

You made a deal with your gun. guard or something? Years ago. And she can just do this? Year and a half ago. What kind of, what did you say? What was your deal? I was here until jobs complete, right? She feels that you've paid your service. I feel like I remember you telling me in bedside chat at some point at time.

Over the 15 months to- Tool team, I need to work on your intimacy. Chadden. Oh, God. She was a bit more specific. She doesn't like our new play pal. Rekna? Yeah.

Well, no. She hates him. Yeah. We were not effective. Was Keith right? If we defeat him, do you go away? Or maybe you're just free? If we defeat him, do you go away?

Where is your soul's yours again? Just answer the question! It was deaf, come back, and help. Oh, fuck. So if we win, you lose? It's one way of looking at it. Well, that's a brave choice. Deals final.

I don't have a lot of experience with other gods making deals. Darling, but I want you to live a long time, and I want you to, to live a long time and be happy, and I want you to get a halfway decent relationship with your daughter. I want you to lead many people. I want you to change the world. I want you to do all the things I know you can do. Grog, I just want you to be free. Thank you, New Vax.

So much better than they're all Vax. And look, any one of us could die at any time. I should, we have died. Some of us more than once. It's a miracle that I'm here now. Yeah, this is really, at this point, just, I don't mind it. It's fine. So that's it. Your purpose is to make sure that the rest of us find long, happy lives at the cost of your own. He's not my favorite anymore. I'm gonna take this dead thing. He's not setting up a theme park. Guys.

To get back. We need to talk to the Raven Queen. We need a plan. We need help. We do need help. We have Vax now. No matter what happens later, this was a brave choice. And I'm not sure I would have made the same,

but we're stronger together. And thank you for coming back. It's a harder choice to come back. It's easier to walk away. I know this. Thank you for coming back. Yeah, it's not like we have no agency, right? We've been hit with bigger problems. We'll work this one until we can't anymore.

And we'll just all try and keep each other alive. I don't accept this as a closed contract. Yeah, me neither. And maybe... Maybe this will make you more fun to be around too. I mean, because you used to just have like this death but now it's like it's done. So now you're just like

pop a beer and don't set your expectations. I was about to say we can give in that pouch and then he can have like just perfect proof. If you wear clothes is like the deal like Nolan Boyd. No, I have to be naked all the time. It's interesting. It's like the Terminator.

It's interesting, Vax. As Scanlan says those words, you realize I have to be naked. No. It's part of your new multi-classic. Please. Does he get a bonus to AC? Level five, Paladin.

Go on, come in. Level 12, rogue, level one nudist. Yeah, exactly. It's an armored defense. You had it? No, he has it, too. No. He has to say striker sprint. Exactly.

But no, the words you said about always having a death wish, no. The death with death wish is over, there's a strength in you, a confidence, an assurance that wasn't there before, that fear of death is gone. And he says that for the first time, while you raced towards death previously, it was out of fear and out of martyr-like purpose. And that's where we're gonna take a break.

Oh, yeah. Oh, damn. Wow. We'll be back here in just a minute. We'll continue from here. We'll quit drinking restroom break. We have our giveaway. Fantastic.

Zebrawood deck box, which is awesome from our friends at Wormwood. It's got a little card to tell you it's zebra wood. So one lucky winner is gonna get this when we come back from the break. So if you want to be part of this giveaway, go over to Twitch chat and enter, when it's requested by the chat, enter the word Raven.

Into the chat room. Raven. We'll have a winner for you when we get back. That's a Raven. So raving, guys. All right, cool. We'll see you guys here in a few minutes. That's so late.

We were so late on that. Change the rules of the game. You wait to the countdown's done, and then you say something foul. Welcome, guys, back to critical rule. I disagree. The winner, the chat room winner of our fantastic Wormwood deckbox is Nightmist 1.

Nightmiss 1. Nice winner. Your tonight's winner. Dinova will contact you for your information and we'll get that to you ASAP. So we've done. All righty, everyone. So they're figuring out the scenario

revolving the return of Axeldaen to Vox Machina and slowly learning some of the scenario around it and the discussions that took place. Pardon. I love the point that was that big a last three seconds. It's his birthday and you do whatever you want. God damn right. That's going to be a t-shirt.

I got this, I got this. I got this br-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h. I have no-ego anymore, it's fine. No reason. What I do? Thank you. All righty. So, as you put your equipment and armor back on,

minus your ace boots. And your other equipment away. Minus the boots. God, the grass is really cold. Oh, here, you can have these old boots of mine. Oh, thank you. Wow. Wow.

I admire how you're really sticking to that. I'm in awe. I'm impressed. Super greedy. I thought we knew this about me already. Wow. These are better than Velcro. Oh, good. Yeah, they're super flying.

I think we should call out to the werewolves. You think we should call out to the werewolves? Yeah. For what purpose? We need diamonds. We don't need diamonds anymore. We don't need diamonds anymore. We took all last night, we need diamonds.

Huge discussion. It took forever. We don't need them anymore. Then you suggested we sleep and suddenly we don't need diamonds anymore. We need diamonds. We were going to buy your soul back for a lot of diamonds, but we don't need to. That makes no sense.

It was a high cost of the spell. It's a very much of the spell. Attempt to resurrect you. A lot of diamonds. It doesn't, it's, don't worry about it. Good to know in the few. In future, though, I'm just going to save every diamond we find. We should probably, perhaps, get some,

I get the distinct impression this is. We should still call the werewolves. Just because. How often you in the Faywild, you know? It's like going to Philadelphia and not eating a cheese steak. We technically go to the Fairwild about once a year at this point, at least some of us. Since we are here, oh, I'm not going to pretend I have a plan.

I don't know what we're going to do. We are frighteningly outmatched. I mean, we should probably get back very quickly before too much time passes. We've already slept here. All right. If we go back, where are we going? Where were we?

I feel like we were in Wildmount, but I have no idea. Where are the places that are winter? Yeah, because it was winter there. We can't do this alone. Of course we can't do this alone. Art again. What? What about, that's his name, right? That's his start.

Who? Artigan. The guy, the, the guy who's here that we running. The guy who messed with us for three days. Yeah, but he was really powerful. Oh yeah, he was. I bet if we call the werewolves, he will show us as well. I'll just help for them real quick.

It's not like we can stop you. Oh, Greg, I haven't noticed. Two point, oh-oh! Make a performance check. I find that oddly comforting. Darn it. Less comforting. Thirteen.

There is much space to really echo as the trees to absorb a lot of the sound. But you howl, it's cathartic. You wait. You don't hear any response, howls. I love team love. I know every line in that fucking movie. Back on Jake.

Pugs. Artigan is a good start. We need The help of the gods? Higher powers here, yes. Seven, Ray? That's a star. I mean, that's of course I can ask.

But that doesn't mean we're gonna get it. Pickle, I actually mean a little more than that. What? What do you mean? Well, we have one God heavily in our corner. But we need to go and beseech the help of others. We are not enough in this instance. We need to fucking go.

Can we fucking go and talk to Sarenrae? Go? How do we go and talk to Sarenre? Vasselheim? Possible? Where's Sarenrae? You have a very different connection with your God. You can take us anywhere.

What, like a plane, like a heaven plane? Like a God plane? Oh my God. Plain, plain, she's shift. That doesn't exist, right? The gods? You don't think the gods exist after all you've seen, drug? It's a very long discussion, but I just make.

The religion checkback. Actual location for them. Pike. I thought gods were supposed to be all omnipresent and whatnot. 19. The Creator gods, the prime gods, the creators of Exandria,

when they left the primaterial plane and left the realm of the elemental planes, and the divine gate was crafted to separate their powers from the prime material for fear of causing another calamity and just wiping out mortal existence on this realm. Many of them withdrew and crafted realms where they reside, where they themselves

kind of harness their energies of creation and where the souls that fall under their sphere of influence come to upon being passed. The Raven Queen is responsible for ushering that transition. You do know that Sarenrae exists on a plane like this. She's not the only god that exists on this one particular plane. Would they kill us? I mean, do they like...

I know, like knock, knock, hello. I'm bumped into your universe. I don't know. We wouldn't come by if it was an emergency. What else have we been doing for the last year and a half? But knocking on different dimensional doors. I do like Nuvax's tenacity. That's very true, isn't it?

Would we be accepted there? I've done some things in my life that are less than heavenly. Where could you not talk your way into Scanlon Shorthold? That's true. And all seeing God pretty much. Yeah, no, that's true. That does immediately become the concern that I can't get us anywhere unless I have some sort of item... Generally a tuning fork or some sort of...

Well... Attuned item to that plane to get us there. We start in Vasselheim. We start in Vasselheim. I mean, you said your god, the Raven Queen, she's the one who can transition people. Maybe she can help. Does Pike have anything attuned to Sarenrae then? Get us there.

Well... Oh, to Sarenrae. So, well... I don't... Maybe... I don't think they're in the same place. Actually, you're right to ask a question? Um, shit, what was I going to say? Is your her symbol attuned to her?

Yeah, that's what I... When tuned to a deity, it's being tuned to a particular plane of existence, and those things can be the attunement process, I mean, you don't know much about what that would entail, but you imagine that would have something to do with the place of very strong holy worship of that particular deity. I mean, I'm going to assume that sometime in the last year and a half, These two have told you that I dipped into a bathtub full of blood and...

He was gone. No, you weren't. You just weren't paying attention, buddy. Oh. Must have had other things on my mind. The temples in Vasselheim are old. The oldest, including the temple that you helped pull out of the dirt. If anywhere is attuned to the gods, it is Vasselheim.

Oh, what about coal? I'm wearing his oven mitts. There you go. Oh shit. There is. Does that mean I should go talk to Marlora? We're recruiting? Are we straight up guard recruit?

Is that what you mean? Do guards talk to each other? Does the Raven Queen have... Yeah, the Raven Queen and Sarenre are best buds, aren't they? I feel like when you're in the same click, when you're on the same level, everyone talks, right? There's a small group of people. That area of the lunchroom is very... I think what Vax is trying to say is we need patrons.

Patrons. Patrons. We need patronage. We're going to need. What you mean? We're not enough. We are not enough for this. We are going to all die horribly if we try anything like that again.

Like we need them with us, or they are going to like imbue us with? I don't know. If I were to... Lips here. Ooh. Lips here in the Faywild? All of us. your family. We have to deal with this. So we have a short list is what we're saying.

We need to get a slightly longer list and we have to start begging. We are going to owe favors, we're going to owe our lives, we are going to lose. Are we really going to like pledge allegiance to a bunch of different gods? That's what we're going to do. That could be cool. We'll see. Do we each get like different suits but just like matching suits but in different colors? Like God powers? Maybe rings. Just relax a little. Do you want some mail?

Like Captain Planet? Probably, yeah. Who's your god's gonna be? Is there like a god of mischief, a song of... Raven Queen! Can make a religion check. A religion check? Yeah.

Your powers combined. 14. Do I add my jack-a-hole? Yeah, you do. If you're not... 17. There is the Moonweaver. There is the moonweaver. The moonweaver?

Yes. Oh, moonweaver. She is the god of moonlight in the autumn season. She is the god of moonlight in the autumn season as well as the patron of illusions and misdirection. Who is that? The moonweaver. A god that I've heard of once and therefore will pledge my eternal allegiance to it. You did?

No, I'm just, we're just, we're Godspin ball here. I have a stone. They have a temple to her in Singon. I have an ion stone, an ion stone. Ayon. Ayon is the goddess of knowledge. On our two call list. Yeah.

But I also have been, you know. Why don't I feel like we're breaking. I've been praying a seren ray lately. So I feel. Maybe she'll see. What if you moved out? What if I were to. Make a few calls.

Channel divinity. and trying to like, make a prayer and be like, hey, can we come up there? Yeah, do it. Just give a chat. Yeah. Is it better to do that here or in the prime material plane or does it roll or matter?

I don't know. They don't care, right? God's. Do we know? Would she know? Also, we probably want to alert the mortal coil that everything has gone to shit. Also, the longer we hear potentially, the more time gets wonky.

We're on a ticking clock here. We should go back to the material. Let's go to Vasselheim. Let's go to Vasselheim. I like this idea. It's a little crazy, but I like it. We should start with one God. Okay.

And see how it goes. If we don't die. Start with one that really likes you, so Sarin Raysa. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Work our way through in a montage. Yeah. I mean, it's for me.

A godtosh. A godtosh. Do we all get tattoos? Got tattoos. Dach! We need a godtouch! We need a godtash. There are me.

Vasselheim, Gazzalheim. To Vasselheim. Wait, we're just gonna go? Oh my hand, dick. Did we, what about the werewolf? What about the werewolf? Art again. Art again, are you here?

Is that how it works? Can you hear us? You want to help us? Maybe if we do something even stupider than holding hands in a circle and then involve the forest. Did any werewolf shots? We did this a lot. No.

Okay, let's go. I start howling. Awoo! And with a singular howl you all shift out of the face. Faye and Wild, and then rapidly appear right on the outskirts of the outer wall of Vasselheim. You see the large, almost, the large, almost Sumerian-looking structures and walls that surround the outside. The ancient architecture of the place definitely has the oldest look, and you remember seeing it from the inside or from the top when you flew into your first sky sail or your sky ship arrival into Vasselheim.

The snow-covered ground and snow-covered nearby trees as part of the Vaspir-Timberland. I immediately look around in a 360 very quickly. Does there look like any big cities that should not be here? You can make a perception check. Is there a city on top of the city? Uh, 19. You do feel the strange, I mean, as you arrive, there's a weird kind of fuzziness in your mind in regards to the... Oh shit.

I hope, oh God, what if it's been like years? I would like all of you guys to make a wisdom-saving throw, please. Oh, gee. We could lose our memories. Wisdom saving throws? Yes. All of you. Not a problem.

Oh, wait, but we're immune to that, right? What? People with Faye ancestry or immune. No, it's charm or sleep. I'm gonna re-roll that. Creatures that have Fae ancestry are immune to it, yeah. Damn it. Can I?

Can I... Can I... You're immune to lose it, because we're immune to this. We don't need to make a sleep. If you have the Faye ancestry trait, then you are meant to it. Fuck you. Macworld.

Am I? Yeah. You have a two. Your Huffold. Oh, do. That's better. Wisdom saving throw. Because I know I'm cutting.

It's not a spell or magical effect. It's more of a planner effect. So I'd say no. What'd you get? 14. 14. Okay. Can I inspire myself?

Yeah. Okay. Well, no, it's a saving. Wait, can you do it on a saving throw? Or can you just ability check? It's probably ability checks only. Yeah, I think it's just ability checks. I mean, let me double check.

Just to be safe. Well, I burn to resolve. I have to just make sure that I can use the result. Yeah, ability to check. I can use the resolve on five. Nine. Nine. Nine.

Can I use resolve on this? This is exactly, okay, in that case, at 20. Okay. So, as you guys all arrive on the outside of Vasselheim, the cold air hits you, um, Grog, Scanlan. is there live in front of you? Holy shit. The last thing you saw was in turn to dust,

and you guys left the shadow fell, and then now from the shadow fell in this battle, you've just now returned. Not as wounded as you were before. What happened? What's going on? Where are we? Who am I? What happened?

What's going on? I have to be. Yeah. Bring it back. Did you lose your memory last time? Did we ever realize that you lost your memory the last time? I don't know.

That I'm sorry. Are you real? Wait. You say? He's abundantly real. Okay. Can I greater restoration then? Is that how we did it before?

I don't know how you did it before, because I think I was here. I think that's how. This is weird to you, right? Totally. He was dead a second ago. Now he's alive. Is there still dust in your pocket? Last time, I'll be him back in the curse.

Got a kill him. Got a killer. I draw my whip. I draw my axe. And a curse can restore it. I whip him in the face. I'm whipping Vax. I'm whipping him in the face.

I'm whipping him in the face. He's not real, he's an illusion. He's an illusion. Roan attack, raw. Two. My eye! Why does my eye hurt so much? Oh, God.

Oh, God. God. Oh, here are. I don't know. It shouldn't have hurt that much. We'll call this a victory for you. You have won this day. Scanlan, Shorthold is your name.

We're in Vasselheim. We are? We were in the Faye Wilde for a little while. My eye hurt so much. Took a nap there and then we came here. You know, in the long run, I think this is going to be better for you. Scanlan. All right, Scanlan, if this is happening, Pike walks up and touches her hand on you,

and there's a flash of warm energy through your your body and suddenly the memories rush back to you from the Faye wild. Oh, God. That's why your eye hurts. His testicles hung so low. What? Mine or Beckna's? Yours.

Bechner was wearing like a big dress, so we probably could have seen his off. The magical moo-mo. The last thing I saw, right? He was flying above the whole time? That's your old ball. Oh, shit. I'll go over and touch grog too. Okay.

So it's two greater restoration. The memory returns to you of the failure. Oh, I don't have to beat. This makes me wonder if you've been doing it wrong this whole time, like I was saying. Just whenever he remembers. Okay, so since we're here now. Fax. You feel this like small pounding headache in your head.

It's like it's like a very, very faint burn. I actually have this right now. And you kind of shake your head and it changes in your head based on where you're facing. Dusk meadow? No. Turn around. It's, make a survival check to try and figure out where you are around the city of? 19.

Okay. Based on looking at the placement of the sun and the sky, looking at the mountain range that is built on the northern side of the city, you get the sense that you guys are on the pretty close. to the very perfectly south side of Vasselheim, the entrance that leads towards the quad roads in the center. And that burning sensation is, which it seems to be localized. No matter where you turn your head, it's pointing that direction to the northwest of your current location.

And the more you concentrate on it, the more you feel that hatred and loathing curl and push in that direction. And you know it lies in that direction. Do you have a sense of distance? Or just direction. Or something.

Cool. How far? I'm gonna double check here all fast. Vector. What's your Vector? What's your Vector? What's your Vecor? What's your Vecor?

What's your Vecor? You know the distance? You know the distance? So you roughly know about. 350 miles from where you stand to the northwest. Like 300, 400, like about 350, 400 miles northwest. So she gave you a Vecna compass. That's bad ass.

350 miles, how far is that from us right now? Like, where is that in distance? No, it's not. Like, how far is 350 miles? Sonoma. Yeah. Really, it's that close? Yeah. Okay.

Well, it ain't close. It's eight hours. Well, eight hour, drive, or eight hours. eight hour dry. Okay. Wait, you're taking a hybrid? Maybe go to like wine. Yeah. And then,

let's all of us, be fun. Yes. So the burn that I feel like there's no question what it is for him. Yeah, this is part of your charge. This was part of the deal that you struck. What deal? What deal was?

I'm hearing you of that shit. That's in my head. Yep. You are the Raven Queen's homing missile. Wow. That's pretty sick. So I'm gonna need those boots back, yeah. Why? Because I'm a missile.

I don't know what you're talking about. All right, well you think about it. You think about what you've done. I know you do the right thing eventually. I have a random thought. I have a random thought. While y'all are trying to go get Sarah and Ray, This is where the story that Lord of the Quad Roads is.

If you're not familiar with the Lord of the Quad Roads, he was a gentleman that just very quickly came into fame and fortune, and he's a personal friend of mine, and I thought, might try and go find him for a favor. Just like one of those people, if you pop in town, they get real pissed if you don't stop by. Is he a god?

Maybe, could be. Not sure. We don't have a lot of time, so do you think you could split off with somebody? Yeah. We go talk to... Yep. I'll just meet you up a bit like, where are we going? Where are we going?

To the Temple of Sarenra. To your temple, Pike. You may not want me in company for Saren, right? Why? I'm pretty sure we watch a brain around Percy. I mean, I know you're uncomfortable around all this shit, but I want you to fucking suck it up. I just don't want to say the wrong thing. I just walk up to him and I put my hands on beside his face.

I can't have you away from me right now. This is a deeply inappropriate convincing mechanism, and it is working. She's beautiful. You're a terrible person. I mean, she's okay. Do we need to stop by the Raven Queen? I don't think we do.

I mean, he just had a really long conversation with her. I don't think we do. Okay. To celebrate us, maybe? Grog, are you spreading off to find this shrinking body? Fine, this drinking volumes. Well, it's real important. You can stay on task though, right?

Yeah, yeah. And if I just pop in, give me a little fist bump, and I'll meet you at seven ways. Do you want a TV to go with you? Yeah, I think you need a mind. Do you want to pick someone? Fancy a trip. With you, Grog?

Yeah. Just the two of us wandering through a city together. Yep. You know, totally behaving ourselves. Do you see this? Do I see what? He's kind of relaxed. I should go with this.

All right, let's go. We'll see you at the temple. Yeah. Don't go to heaven without us. Sure, so. All right. Sarin Ray's a big fan of the cube. Where was the Malora Grove thing?

Oh, oh, you're talking about the tree. That we buried syndicure's, wife's ashes. Ashes. No, you're referring to the abundant terrace with the birth heart. Where is that? The birth heart would be on the northeastern side of the city. But it's here?

Yeah. There's only two in existence. Should I go talk to Malora? Should I go try and recruit Malora? Like there's a team San Ray and team Malora? Maybe. Let's do one at a time. Let's do it.

Yeah. I was trying to sleep. I think we're a bit beyond that at this point. I think it's, well... Besides, we know if old shit nuts is moving closer, because of... I mean, I just know what my patron charged me with. It doesn't mean I understand what it means.

So I think we should start with one. We're eventually going to have to tell somebody in charge. But to Serenry, let's get this ball rolling. Let's do it! All right. So you two are splitting off, and the rest of you are going to Serran Ray? Yes. All right.

So the five of you make your way through the Quad Roads, towards the northern side of the Cod Roads, before it splits off at the base of the mountain, and before it divides off towards the abundant terrace in the Trial Forge, the Braving Grounds. And that is where you spend a lot of time raising the temple of the ever-light, Seren-ray. Traversing there in the cold day,

the city seems to be as, vibrant as ever and as dour as ever, as is the nature of those who live in these northern lands. But, you know, smiles in existence come together occasionally. You come to the temple, it looks well kept. The various clerics and acolytes that you had assigned to watch over it in your absence over this past year and a half before you ventured out to defeat the conclave

seemed to have taken good care. And it's warming to your heart to see what appears to be children stepping out, laughing with their parents, and what seems to have been a small service of some kind. And as you begin to watch an approach, you can see the alkaliates that are saying goodbye to those at the front door, glance over and see your face, and they brighten immediately. There you go, Quentin's. Alkalite Sheila, who's one of the older women who first helped you raise it, became one of your

first alkaliates here at the Temple. The temple, which has been known now as the Temple of Renewal, is the official title of the location, which is taken from the realm of Sarenrae, known as the island of Renewal. As she sees your face, Alcala, Chia goes, Pike, Mistress Pike! And just runs up and just takes you in arms and he tries to lift you,

but far too heavy with the arm arm, and he's like, It's okay. I'm heavier than I look. Yes, of course. Oh, pure muscle. You guys see this woman in probably her late 40s, early 50s, mostly gray silver hair with streaks and bits of like a dark brown that are visible in it still.

It's to be put back in some sort of a bun with a large stick through the center to kind of hold it in place. And she's wearing robes of light blue and gold very much in the way that you've seen like wear most of her equipment and earlier armor to her deity. She looks around. Well, my apologies, I am Sheila, and I know who you are. We've heard much.

Well, you are welcome. You're welcome here at the Temple of Renewal. Please, please come in. It looks lovely in here. You guys have really kept it up quite nice. The hard part was already done. Come into her light, please. And leads you all into this tower.

The excavation site here. What was once a large pit below in which the original temple was the edges have been ground done to be this slow decline, and the tower was risen up. The actual stonework was ascended about 15 feet up. So now it's not quite street level, it's a little below, but it's the small bowl that leads to the tower itself. and it rises up a good 30 feet.

You did this. This is a great bike. Well, holy shit. Not all by myself. Is this how you learned all of your stoneworking and stuff? Yeah. Looks like a good like a druid could do it. It's very important.

That's a compliment. Yeah. Well. Good craftsmanship. Sheila, we're trying to figure out the best way to, What am I trying to say here? We're trying to go to Sarah and Ray, but actually go to her.

You know, not in the sense of, you know, the mind, just actually walking up and saying hello. I realize how crazy it sounds. It sounds. So as I started, I realized this is, So weird. That's a bit beyond my realm. Perhaps we should speak to Alkalite, Vincent Clor.

He's the keeper of knowledge and scripture. He'd probably be more help than I. Come, come. Is that right? I could try. I mean, of course. But maybe he will just know which plane she's on and then we can just head there.

Because sometimes she doesn't talk. Sometimes she doesn't talk to me. I mean, I can always try since we're in here. What do you want to do? I'll just go ahead and try. Sure. See if I can. You know, let me just say a quick prayer real quick.

I'm going to take a knee, everybody? Do you need to? Percy, it's fine. You don't need to. Do you want us to all take a knee with you? Let's just all take a knee. Okay. Okay.

If she sees that we're being. So the tower itself, it's a fairly wide tower. The 30 feet high at street level, it's about 45 feet full height. You know that feeling when you hear one, interesting thing, and suddenly you want to know more. Well, that's the idea behind my podcast, something you should know. Every episode starts with a question you've probably never thought to ask, like why people do or don't like you, why certain habits stick, or what everyday advice is

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this is the podcast that redefines what's possible. Hit play, subscribe, and join the millions who've made Mickumplug their go-to source for growth and greatness, because your next breakthrough is just one episode away. This is Mick Unplug, the voice and face of modern leadership entrepreneur and self-improvement. Let's get started. The baseline rising of it was and the rest of the tower that has been assembled beyond that. On the inside, there are four floors, all of which have a hollow center, about 10 feet across, four in the center of the entire tower, is one long, thin, ascending tower of, it looks to be a sculpture of stone and gold.

golden platinum, colored angels and clouds that all like turn and twist. And it just rises up like this thin spire of sculpture. And there at the very top you see the phoenix-like wings clutching the ruby stone at the top, the symbol of Ceron Ray. As you step to the base of this, the structure which you haven't even seen finished, you left before this was completed. It's all inspiring to see this thing that you see this thing that you You saw the very early stages of come into creation.

And now it's strangely comforting to know that for all the effort that you put in, for all the strange responsibility you put on yourself, that none of this would get done if you weren't there, it's comforting to know that even without your presence it can carry on to completion. And that as it is with worship, you don't need to helmet more than once you give it a shove, it carries itself forward. So you close your eyes and you kneel below at the base of this amazing statue. One of the few only standing to her direct worship of its size, the only of its size, but even if any note to the world at this time, what do you say? As your print. I'm back here and this is just so beautiful. I'm sure you've seen and have seen what's happened where you've seen what's happened where you're

seen what's happened where we were and I know the last time we talked you warned me and and told me that you wouldn't be there but I think we're past the point of being able to do this on our own just our mortal selves and we need bigger help might I ask for your please help us I don't know what else to say This is beyond us now. As the words leave your mouth, yourself prostrate before the temple that you help build with your own hands.

You open your eyes, but you see not the temple before you. You see instead around you, essences of a vision that have been blurred at the edges, but now come clear. You see around you sandy shores, pearlescent almost. White sand that glitters in your presence, of the peripheral, glass, gems, diamonds, you can't tell,

but the light that hits it seems to just sparkle and give off this light. You hear water around you rushing up and pulling back from the shore. You see statues, so many statues before you and what appears to be a glass fortress, a spire that rises up, crystalline, translucent, but seeming to glow with the flicker

of an internal flame's heartbeat. And as you look up at the top of the temple, you see the wings unfurl and drift towards you. And you see coming towards you the physical form of the ever light herself, her darkened skin, her beautiful smile, her light hair, leaving a trail of flame and golden sunlight behind. As she comes forth and drifts right before you

and says, the time is right for us to me. Come and join me on the island of renewal within the blessed fields of Elysium. Here. I just immediately take a knee. Thank you for letting me come here, just to see you, and we will come to you. Her hands reach out and clasp yours.

And the warmth of her touch is, it's hot. You feel like it's borderline burning, but it doesn't hurt. instinctually, that animalistic essence of primal life, tells you to pull back, but you don't, and it's just a comforting heat, like holding a cup of fresh, hot, and she seems to almost lift you off the feet up to her,

and her size, which was so vast and immense, seems to come to meet yours, one. She goes, and now she lets go. You look down in your hand, and you see what appears, to be a small little piece of curved metal made of a bright polished platinum, like a U. And as you look up to her again,

you're just staring at the statue, and you're staring around the temple. And you look down at your hand, but the item remains. Just gave us a key. What happened? Did you guys see anything? We saw you praying. And you had this crazy look in your eyes.

You look blissful. I mean, like, so happy. Wow. Well, I went there. I went to the land of renewal. That's where she is. And she gave this to me. What is it?

Do I recognize what it is? It's an IUD. You're not here. Your Scanlan Shorthal's voice on Ryan. Over the earring. Shut up, Scanlan. Structurally, similar, I suppose. No, it's not.

No. It's just a little bit. I can give, I can take away. It's different than the designs you seem to have been crafted. which have been a little more crude. Sure. But this has, once you kind of reach out and touch it, it has that vibration to it,

that hint of attuned activity to the metal, the pure metal, that definitely gives you some semblance of direction, your subtle understanding of the inner and outer plains and the general cosmology that surrounds Exandria. She gave us a key to find her. She gave us a key to plane shift there. This is the tuning fork that I needed. What the f-

Wow. Okay. Let's let people know. That was cool. That was crazy. Vax, you have a very different relationship with your god, but awesome. That was cool.

What was she liked? She was so beautiful. and just, she just glowed, no. And I, I just can't even describe it. She just glowed and it felt like, do you remember the movie Contact? You mean the old scroll? Yes, the old scroll contact

where she gets to the beach and her dad is there. The Mama's show. That's what it felt like. That's what it felt like. I need to go back there. Well, we'll go. We gotta go. Let's all go.

Hang on. Do other gods live there? Is this like their god club? Make a religion check. Okay. And we're waiting on a guy too, huh? You're waiting on the boys. Yeah.

Sheila, right? That guy. We talked to. 23. She mentioned the Blessed Fields of Elysium. Yes. Sarah and Ray, as you know, the faith had, the general understanding of her existence in the pantheon had been faded for a while. There was a betrayal to her and the calamity and most of her following was just annihilated.

And as gods, as they currently exist, their worship is what sustains their importance and viability in the various planes. She diminished. Hey, Siri. So her location, her home has been kept from most existing scripture and worship, both for her protection and those of her followers. So the existence of the island of renewal and where it may be had only recently come to your attention. The Blessed Fields of Elysium, though, they are a fairly well-known location in religious circles, and it is also home to the fortress of the sun, the home of Pell or the Dawnfather.

Oh. That's convenient. Different area on the plane. What did you say? The fortress of the sun. Fortress of the sun. The blessed fields of Elysium are an idealic plane of good. And are these something that Pike knows because of our expertise?

Or does everyone in the world know a certain amount about? They know the gods and they know the realms, but the name of the plane this? This is known to her because of her study of religion. This is more of an academic understanding of the real essence of the gods where they come from. I can't see so. I didn't think it was gonna work with. Oh my gosh.

Sheila, I think. Well, Sheila begins to return like two minutes later with Alcalipe Vincent Clore, who's this kind of mousy-looking guy. His eyes are smaller than they should be, it seems, for the size of his round face. and he comes up with a big, kind of toothy grin. So, I was told that you were seeking my presence. Wonderful, Mistress Pike.

Oh, wonderful to see you, Vincent. I think, I'm so sorry she went to go get you. I think we might be okay, and we got some answers. But maybe, for me see. We should probably tell them what's going on. People should start to prepare themselves for what's coming. It's kind of fucking true, actually. We can't just keep this to ourselves.

This could affect everyone. This is going to affect everyone. Don't know what. You're not here. You went shopping. We're in the House of Lady Favors of renewal right now. I'll get to you guys in a moment. Have you obviously have heard of Vecna?

I know. I don't. So there's this guy. He's a shit head. Okay. Is this guy. Right, right, okay. He wanted to be a god, but he wasn't a god. Three mimosas later and three hours later.

Yeah, we explained the story back now, tell him, that he's back. And Lenny Tulli didn't call us back. And I thought, I'm not getting back together. He's here. Sounds like a really, really bad man. He's here. He's here. He's here on this plane.

And he's trying to become a god. And who knows, maybe he succeeded. How long were we in the Faye world? Do we even know that for sure? Did I figure that out with my check or no? What's the date? Yeah, how much time has it been? The date would be.

The calendar system? Yes, there is. Oh, yeah. We've never asked about it. But we don't know it. But we don't know us a date that will mean nothing to us because we don't actually know the date we left. Because we don't know how dates work.

I think it's the day's day. Badae's day? Badaiday's day today. Badoos day, Biday's day. Good Tuesday. Let's see, it's Bada'ay's Day. Padu's Day. The Hey-Hae.

Oh, hold on. Sorry, I'm having to look it up, because you did this to me. We've literally never reached a date. This is like watching the Indian icon crash. I should have gotten this information before we made the Sam, the Santa Ceteen. It's frozen. This is, it's the 12th day of Missuthar.

It's the 12th day of Missuthar. Uh-huh. 812 PD. Oh, of course it is. Does that sound normal to us? It sounds like the exact same day that you left, actually. Oh. Oh.

Well, that's convenient. It's the same day we left? Yeah. Oh, cool. We lucked out. Yay! He did luck out. We lucked out.

We lost out. Oh, man. There's a chance they could show up and have missed the whole thing. thing. We flew from the east coast to the west coast. I would have had to change a lot. Oh, fuck. But that would have been fun.

From one roll. From one roll, yeah. Farewell, it's a dangerous thing when timetables are. Hey, buddy, Mr. Window. Yeah, sorry about that. So basically, we're going to need a lot of help. And please stay in prayer and... Get ready to fight, Vincent.

Get ready to fight. Get ready to fight. Get ready to fight. Get ready to fucking find. You look at Sheila and Vincent, who look kind of like anyone's in-laws. You're going to go, very well, mistress, right? Yes, we'll do our best. P.S. Do you know anything about the fields of Elysium?

Just say P.S. Just say P.S. to something. You just say it out loud. Yes, they are a home to souls who champion the cause of good outside the forces of law and chaos. It's a beautiful place. From what the tales say, many who go never leave. It's so beautiful.

What gods live there? Oh, as far as I know, only just the Dawn Father himself. Don Father is Pellon. That's all I know. My research is limited. Should you tell him? I don't feel like I want to. Let's gather the boys whatever government we can

and get things. You guys, thank you to your help today. Thank you very much. It was wonderful to see you guys again. Of course, my pleasure, Mistress Pike. Good luck. Well, hopefully you'll stop this thing. Hopefully we will.

Please, please pray for us. This temple looks amazing. Amazing. Great look. If you need any landscaping done, don't be afraid to ask. They can get you in touch with me. Or Melora is really good at it too.

We should talk to Malora. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's fine, and we know people. We can handle it. We know it. All right. I'll put back my studies. Keep up the good work.

You're doing just all the great stuff. Thank you. I just like the idea that everywhere we go we embarrass the one person that knows anybody else. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. You're those friends. Those friends.

They both seem, they smile and walk away, but Vince Clor definitely seems a bit shaken by the knowledge that you just put on to him, but you make your way out of the temple. Where you off to? What's your next direction? I will note that Bax feels a slight sense of bittersweet pride at the amount of bliss

that Pike just went through. Just a little bit. You two. Yeah. Where you going? All right. So, I know this guy's name the Lord of the Quay. Quad Roads, backup, while you were gone.

Were you gone? I'm not sure. Did you know that I have this little magical thing? No? No, okay. So, because you kept my secret about Craven Edge and you never told anybody about that, right? Not one time, never told anyone.

Never. I'm gonna confide you about this thing. So I found this little, like, it's like a deck of cards. And I took a deck of cards. And I was like, oh, I'm gonna pull a card out. And I did, and I got a magic weapon. Cool. And like, if I could throw it,

and it would start fighting and stuff like that, but then it turned to rust. Right. And so I was like, mm, I wanted, like, pull more out, but like Vex was like, no, it's so dangerous. That's a good impression. She can be that way. Yeah.

So I went to Vasselheim. Well, actually, I was looking for you, your little shit snack, and I was like, hey, I got an idea. Boom. I'm boom in my head. I got it the first time. This is the best retelling of this ever.

I was like, I'm a find a guy to pull out cards for me. See what happens? So I found. Because you were afraid? Yeah. Because she said you can't. Well, kind of like I heard of, you know, like nagging me in my head. So I was like, yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Sure. So I got this drunk guy on the street that was like, hey, pull out the card. And guess what? He pulled a card and he got wishes.

Did you get wishes? No, no, because I fucking, I made him pick it. And so he got like, he goes, ooh. And all of a sudden he was in, like, fancy clothes and he had a servant like in the end of the alley. Did he thank you? Yeah, well, he was like, he was like, thanks. I guess I have two more of these

and he just fucking ran up. Wait, he took your cards and he left. No, he just took the, he pulled the one card and then it like disappeared in his hand, right? And then he walked up, but the point is he's got two more wishes. On him?

Yeah, and I told him, I'm like, Grog, Grog gave you those, remember me. So we're gonna go, just so I'm clear, we're gonna go grab him, steal his wishes, leave him in a ditch somewhere. Is that the plan? Or what's our game here?

I'm not opposed to it. But what's our game? What are we trying to get? I thought maybe if we walked in, like, you know, if I had a title like Grog the Wishgiver, and we were calling to, like, check in on him. That maybe it was time to, like, pay his tithe to the wishgiver, and maybe he would give us one of the two.

Okay. So our game is to intimidate him into having him give you one of the wishes back. Yeah, all like pressure him, you know, like, lay it on thick. We could say, like, your fucking face is gonna fall off if you don't give me one of your remaining wishes. What happened to the deck of cards?

I still got him. Why are we going back to get, oh, he has more wishes. Yeah, he's got two more wishes. Not more cards, he has more wishes. Yes. And he should give one to us. Yeah. What would we wish for?

Well. for peace on Exandria, right? You don't seem enthusiastic about that wish. I want to live forever. Just never die. I just want him to go like, you will never die.

I'm happy. That's a better wish for you, for sure. And we have two of them, so we can... Are you, like, really old, though? So, like, you get company. That's true. Yeah. It'd be nice having you around for a bit.

What would you wish for? Peace on. I mean, not for the bullshit. Yeah, well, I think probably, maybe you just get one wish because I could be a little taller, a little buffer. And I think maybe you can get real descriptive with it, too, so you like, makes it real complicated.

I mean, what I wish for? Maybe think about it while we're on our way. Okay. Yeah. How about we go and we like pressure him and then if like he doesn't buy it, then we kill it. Take this hat. It's the hat of disguise. Put it on and you can look however you want to look. I want to look like me. He's going to remember me. Oh, well then never mind that. I thought you said you wanted to be.

You're the idea, man. I'm sorry. You're throwing a lot at me here. Warm it up son. Let's get the bad ones out of the way right now. All right, all right. All right. All right. All right. What do we need to intimidate him? Do you need me to be Your enforcer. Yeah, or maybe like my manservant. Uh-huh. Maybe make me look, can you make me look like really amazing? You already look amazing.

But like rich and like wish givory. Yeah. Take this hat and put it on. And now you can look however you think you should look. I want to look like a sultan. It doesn't do anything. You have to attuned to it. All right. Which at this point in time, by the way, you watch his four armed guards that are approaching.

I have a great record with these guys. Oh no. Are they approaching us? They're approaching you. And they're kind of like the two on the sides are spreading out and two are watching up with walking up with purpose towards the guys. The pop-po. We haven't done anything wrong.

We're just talking on the street. We're just two guys. Yeah. We haven't done any magic. As the two kind of come to the flank and stop, just hands on the side of their spears, the two that walk up in the middle, there's one that looks to be like a captain of some kind,

and this one to his right, who's dressed in standard guard gear, looks like he's got a few long-heeled scars and goes, it looks just like him. Oh, no. What did you do? What did you do with him as Terry? Nope. I wasn't there.

The one further adjourned, I'm going to go, Sir, what I have your name in purpose here in Vasselheim. Peter, Frostbucket, I seek the Lord of the Quadron. Make a deception. I don't need it. Negative one. Oh my god. We're about to kill some guards, aren't we?

We said he said he. We thought we did that. They did that. Sarah Gray comes down and says, Never mind. Your picture is going to be up in a small office by the gate. No, no, we got options for days. We're good. The captain looking individual goes,

On our's like, we got this touring floor. Mr. Frost Bucket's. We would like the both of you to please come with us, and the two guards rush into your flank a bit and kind of place their hands on your shoulder and your shoulder. Me, I just met this man. I've never seen him before in my life. I was just.

You've been walking with him for 20 minutes. Because thank you for coming over here. He was holding me hostage. He wouldn't let me leave. I'm a small man. I'm defenseless, and he was holding me captive. You make a deception. Oh, no.

Deception? Okay, okay, 24. Oh, 24? This is a natural 20. Oh, no. Really? And what's your name? Mm. Gerald Butler? Uh-huh.

Well, Gerald Butler. The two of you should come with us. should come with us. And he turns around and starts walking away. With the other guard with him, the one that seemed to have spotted you earlier, just walks with him but keeps looking over his shoulder at you. He looks genuinely terrified of you. And at this point you realize, oh yeah, you've seen this kind of

have seen this kind of before. The two other guards just kind of shove you forward, and as they push you a couple steps in that direction, they just kind of lower their spears towards your back and just say, keep moving! Oh, yeah, sorry. Aside from the four around us, is anyone around? around? Yeah, there's probably like roughly 20, 25 different townsfolk within the...

We just were walking down the street. What happens? This is profiling. It's really enough. It's racial profile. You kind of carve a figure. Thank you. You or me. All right.

Mine's a sure, I mean, mind to do one thing. You've got options. All right. I will, I guess, Jesus, this all seems so stupid. Only because it is. Critical role. It all seems so stupid.

Yep. That's our catchphrase now. All right, I will use some gigantic spell for no reason. Fighting gods one day. What is a thing that can help me here? I can help me, fine. It's you I need to deal with.

Manipulate that guy that recognizing. Sure, but I don't know what he knows. I don't know anything. All I know is he came over and fingered you. He said he looks like, it looks like it's him. All right. Put that away. Time and place.

Time and place. I will... Uh, okay. Fuck, I don't know what to do without causing everyone around us to die or be scared. All right, um, I will, uh, the guy, is there a leader? The captain. Yeah, there's the captain. All right.

One question. The, um, the one looks kind of scared, kind of looks over. Is your other friend around? The other big one? Look, kind of blanche, complete. reflection, orange hair. Yeah, with the... Hits people in the face.

That one. Somewhere around here. Turns to the guard and the captain, he was like, there's another one around here, possibly two. You know the thing about that one though. He doesn't like to leave loose ends. Make it intimidation. Damn it!

Thirteen! Stop rolling that one! No, I stay with my dimes. What did this on? What other would look like? This other would? Yes, the other one. What did he look like?

It was very tall and metallic looking. Metallic looking? Yep. You mean the one we just saw around the corner? We did. I was not really aware at the time. The super scary one? Yeah.

Well, now that you mention it, I felt a chill. Please believe us. There's an even bigger danger coming, and I think, oh, yes, it's right there. And I'll major image what I think he's describing, which is just a tall Iron Man. All right. I'll first make a deception check to see if they looked. 20 lots. 27.

Okay, so you urging them on, it's just enough to get them kind of glance over and look, which gives you enough time to go ahead and cast a spell and release this image. And from around the corner, with a heavy footfalls, you watch is what appears to be some horrific looking iron golem type entity that just covered in spikes and darkness and giant fists and sort of... And people just start screaming and scattering, and the guards all of a sudden, what? Oh no, his final change is complete.

Oh, it didn't look like this before? No, it's much worse. Oh, it's much worse, yes, it's much worse. At which point suddenly you watch as its size expands even further. It has metal tusks that now protrude from the front of its face and its breathing steam and smoke, its eyes red and glowing. I trip him fall. Please save yourselves!

Run! The guard captain there immediately seeing this, reaches back and pulls a horn off his belt and goes, Buh-oh- B-h-h-d-d- Don't kill him. Don't kill him, we'll all die! I reach up, I snapped the horn.

Run! Horns make him angrier! And I'll make the image go crazy with rage. Angrily, starts stonnyly, starts stonny. bumping around, not affecting anything directly in its vicinity. The only way, the only way to calm it down is if we slowly walk away in different directions. Deception check with disadvantage. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Okay, uh, 24. Is it a one? So what is it a 20? No, what is it? It's a 20. It's a 20. It's a 20. Oh, no.

Oh, God. God, we're national man. This is everything I ever wanted. He glances back at you. Oh, God. He reaches back and starts pulling a set of manacles from the side of his belt, and glances over at this image.

And you immediately, you see the face of recognition of somebody who now knows exactly what you were up to. This guy is not your petty wandering guard in the center of the street. And while two other guards have kind of rushed up to try and push Townsfolk out of the way spears drawn at this thrashing entity, the captain goes, stop, stop, it's not real.

You now see a bunch of other guards that now after hearing the horn call or like rushing around the sides of the street. Well, yeah, you got us. Yeah. Should we turn ourselves in? Yeah, sure, here. Lock me up first.

He comes over and... My bank! I'll be me. Roll it in attack. I don't think that far ahead. They started this war. We're finishing it. 26.

Okay, roll 1D4 damage with the Titanstone Gotland. Sad your strength modifier. Oh my gosh. What are we going to do? We're going to get a new guard. Ten. Okay. So the helmet he was wearing, which just was carved around the face and the eyes and the nose,

as you slam it with your fist, it kind of caves in a bit. a bit and he immediately hits the ground and his daze. He's like, oh, gotta go. Okay. Run, run, run, run. The other guards who were looking at him when he shouted that saw you just deck him in the side of the head and they immediately start rushing to his aid as the other guards are coming on the side of the street. What are you guys doing?

Are there any buildings around here? There are plenty buildings around here. You guys are, you guys are still walking through the Quad Roads and the quad roads is the most populated portion of the city. It's the worship here of Arathus is generally about civilization. And there's a lot of people and a lot of buildings around. What are you going to do? You're bigger. All right.

I'll do the old classic. I'm going to polymorph Grog into a flying eagle. The old standby. The giant eagle trick. If you'll accept it. I'll get smarter, sure. All right. And Grog, once again, you.

You feel the wings extend, you're free to fly. Huh. That's how numbers work. You leap onto his back as the guards is getting up and you guys take up. As you guys begin to fly up, the illusion vanishes immediately. Sure. And all the guards are rushing up stop,

see this happening, and start switching over to their various crossbows and ranged implements. Sure, yeah. I got nothing. Literally, that escalated quickly. Oh, God. All right, so a bunch of shots trying to be taken in both of you. We're going to say six to each from the crossbows.

Oh, no. Was the Giant Eagle AC, Marisha? I wanted to go visit the water of the Crossroads. Oh, my God. You are keeper of the Giant Eagle AC. Is the Giant Eagle small to dimension door? No. I rolled the perception check for that one guard.

13. Oh, really? Yeah, and he rolled really high, and he saw you just walking out of the street. He was like, oh, fuck. When got the captain. Should have killed him back in the shot. 13. Okay, so. Is that the takeaway from this?

You should have killed the guard? I'm just checking. All right, as long as I know what page we're on. Two shots hit the eagle. Okay. For seven and six, 13 points of piercing damage. Okay. You are at 27 points.

Oh, wait, is that the... No, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. And then shots at you scanlan? Nope, I lied. How many points? 13. Hits. Oh, you're at half. You're at 13 hip points. Hits.

Hits. Hits. He's gonna break your concentration in a man. Jesus Christ. This is the most hilarious thing. Next week on the prison. All right. So, uh, is...

9.14. I'm mixing it up. 16. I'm sorry. 23 points of piercing damage. Sure. I need you go ahead and make four concentration checks with advantage. What do we add? Nothing, right? Is your constitution saving throw?

Saving throw. Okay. 19. Yeah, you're fine. More for that one. Uh, 17. Okay. More. Okay, yeah, you're fine.

So you maintain concentration. The eagle form flies up. You guys are now beginning to just rise up over the city. And you're getting further out of the range of any sort of range weaponry to be immediately effective, but you don't know how long you have before other bigger guns are brought into the fray. What are you going to do? You're now like, you look down over the whole quadroids. You can now see the giant almost, almost, the whole city of Asselheim almost looks like a top-heavy X with the mountain range at the top.

And so you guys are right. The Quadroids is where that X sort of meets at the base. What are you doing? We have to go. Oh, you can't talk. Nope. Land us in an alley somewhere and we'll change our appearance, I suppose. Ma-ha. Really good. All right, make an investigation check.

What's the Eagles' intelligence modifier? Let's be perception, actually. Sorry, wisdom. I'll be a perception. Is this wisdom? Yeah. So plus, well, they have keen sight. Correct, they do.

So they have advantage on wisdom checks. So do it again. So do it again. Although, don't you maintain your? No. No, you do in wild shape. Polymorph, you do not. So plus two and you have advantage. What's the bonus to perception for the,

pretty sure? They just have advantage on perception checks that rely on sight. 16. Easily enough, you find, glance around with your eagle eyes and you see what appears to be a darkened alleyway. that is in a cluster of heavily residential buildings. You dive down, you hold on,

going down into this free fall, the wind rushing past you, you have to grab your hat, make sure it doesn't fly off your head, and then you dive down into the alleyway, come in land, and you watch those two children that were playing with sticks, kind of glance them, go, huh. Run along, now.

They just run out of the alleyway, screaming around the corner. I will release Polymorph. Oh, thank you. You didn't tell me that the guards all hated you. No, only one, apparently. That is what happens when you leave things alive. You're right. I know.

We've learned a lesson today, yes. So look, do we still look for the Lord of the Quad Roads? I feel like that ship has sailed. Which ship? Maybe not. Maybe we should just go find the others. All right. Temple of Sarin Ray? Yes.

Where is that? I know where it is. I've shot there before. I'm not going to wear the hat since I apparently am like a wanted person now. Why don't I just make us both invisible? Can you do that? Sure. Aces. All right. Third level invisibility, right? I can do me and another person? I believe so, yeah. Okay. All right, so you both turn invisible and you make your way towards the Temple of Sarenra. Oh, Jesus.

As you guys are leaving the temple, this wonderful appearance, you see commotion in the distance, and you see some guards rushing from street to street, some sort of... What's happening here? Do you think that guy went and alerted everyone about Vecna? Either that of that guard that we left alive that one time, ran into Grog and sounded the alarm. It's probably Vecna. It's probably Vecna. No, probably Vecna.

I mean, Vecna is a much bigger problem. bigger problem, right? Yeah, what would be the odds of that one guard seeing him? This is a very big city. It was the guard. You guys hear this voice out of nowhere. What? It's us. We're here. We're next to you, but we're invisible.

Did you get allegiance from the Lord of the Crossroads? Right? Is that a god? I'm reaching down for a head. You don't find a head, but you find Grog. Oh. Thanks, Max. You know, he was in deposed. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

We should go. Are you sure we could spend some time here? No. Yeah. Yeah. Don't you want to talk to code? Have a drink, see the local color. I can't really look like me in the city right now. I punch the captain and a guard.

I'm gonna have this metaphorable. You punt. You were gone for what, 45 minutes? Was it that long? No. It was like 30, yeah. It was about 30. Wow. We happened so fast. There was an incident in which we scared many innocent people

and assaulted several guards and they shot us with crossbows and we are bleeding. Oh, great. We just said goodbye to you. I'm over here actually. Let's fucking get out of here. Are we just going to try to bamf to the fucking fields? Or are we going to talk to Malora? Are we going to bam to the fields and then go talk to Malora?

Elora doesn't exist on that plane. Well, I know, but we'll have to come back here. Go to Tree Town. I think the priests of the temple are going to alert, give them the basic story back now and make sure that they get it. And also, dear, I think it's time to roll. The communication system that you and Percival and Terry set up. Is it here?

On. Where's the closest? The fire ashari. Why? Well, we've got two things on our plate, right? We need to start. Alerting the cities. Yes.

Maybe you can send a message. Do you have that ability? No. To the fire ashari. and then to the fields of Elysium? Yes, in that little bit, I think. To the fire Ashari, then to the fields of Elysium. All right, let's mist there.

Is it fast to mist, to the fire? I do have genius to the field. She did, she did. Wait, we're going to see Ashari? What happened with Sarah and Ray? Are we going to see Sarah? We're going to do that. We're just getting the word out the fastest way possible.

Missing once to the fire shari is not that long, right? In mist form, it won't take you, but not. maybe a few hours. That's what I thought, like a couple hours. More than that, like four hours or so, five hours. We're just getting a message to them? We're going to alert every, all of the major cities of the continents that things are on passion.

Maybe we should tree stride there. While you were, you know, selling stuff in the black market. Kieleth and Fredier have been building this system. They built it in all the major cities. They can get out an alarm. Pretty cool. I take that back.

We tree stride. Okay. Okay. Sorry, transport via plans. I always say that wrong. Tree strides. Tree strides the fifth level spells up.

Tree stride rolls off the tail and, you know, it sounds nice. Tree stride. Welcome to Mick Unplugged, the number one podcast for self-improvement and modern leadership. I'm Mick Hunt, your host, and I'm here to challenge your why and fuel your because. This is where leaders, entrepreneurs, and go-getters come to level up. Each week, I bring you unfiltered conversations. games-changing strategies, and the kind of motivation that transforms lives and legacies. I've learned from legends like Les Brown, Damon John, and Robert Irvine.

And now, I'm bringing their lessons, along with mine, straight to you. From modern leadership tips to creating unstoppable momentum, this is the podcast that redefines what's possible. Hit play, subscribe, and join the millions who've made Mick Unplugged their go-to source for growth and greatness because your next breakthrough is just one episode away. This is Mick Unplugged, the voice and face of modern leadership entrepreneur and self-improvement. Let's get started. Look, we all know there are a lot of celebrity interview podcasts out there, but there's only one happy, said, confused. I'm Josh Harrowitzin. Yeah, I'm the host of the show, so I'm a little biased,

but truly happy, said, confused is the place for nerdy and intimate conversations with all your favorite actors and filmmakers. From Andrew Garfield and Scarlett Johansson to Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino for over 10 years and over 700 episodes, Happy Say I Confused, has broken movie and TV news every single week. That's because I ask all the questions I want to know, and more importantly, you want to know. Casting what-ifs, backstage stories, acting pet peeves, and much more. So whether you're into superheroes, prestige TV, or just the coolest actors and directors alive, you're going to learn something in every episode. Listen to HappySac Confused on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Oh, please, not that music. That music gives me

nightmares from my childhood. Could we get something a little bit lighter, some lighter music here? Are you a fan of true crime TV shows? And what about Unsolved Mysteries, the show that jumped started all of our love of true crime? I'm Ellen Marsh. And I'm Joey Taranto. And we host I Think Not, a true crime comedy podcast covering some of the wildest stories from your favorite true crime can't be TV shows all the way to Unsolved Mysteries. Baby, you will laugh, you will cry, you'll think about true crime in a whole new way, and you'll also ask yourself, who gave these people, mics? New episodes of I Think Not are released every Wednesday with bonus episodes out every Thursday on Patreon. And every Monday, you can listen to our True Crime Rundown, where we go over the top

True Crime Headlines of the Week. So come and join us wherever you listen to your podcast. To strad. Just drive. Just dried like a tree. All right. Seriously, that text is really tiny. I've never really like taken into account.

It makes me feel old. I have a lot of stuff going on. Yeah. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Okay.

So as you guys step through the rapidly created doorway from one of the nearby trees here in the Quad Roads, as you're heading southward into that space, you pull through the portal and end up falling outside of the cindergrove, in the cauldron of which contains the city of Pira, the Fire Ashari. Within a short time, you find yourself to the actual city of Pira and make your way towards the home of CERCONOS. Yep, immediately look for CERCONUS. Tell them what happened. Light up the fire orbs.

Yeah. The chaos orbs. Crisis orbs. Crisis warbs. Put it a ten. No words. Speaking with him and letting him know the circumstance, he nods.

I do not know that the extent in which this danger will present itself, but we will light these orbs in what information we can. We rely upon you soon to fill in the gaps of information. The city's thaw, thaw, far, Tharumfala, tharampala. Tharampala. Theramphala.

Therumphala. I believe it, it, it teleported somewhere in the northern hemisphere, somewhere in a cold region. We think Wildmount. It was snowing. Hmm. We barely escaped. You might want to check in with our contacts there.

You might have the best knowledge. Wild mount, you say. I'll know, you say. Yes. It is a far way away. That's why we're alerting you first. We'll put up the Ops and try and gather with what information we have.

Let people know. Do you remember how bad the conclave was? Yes. That's what we're talking about here. Possibly worse. And after this, I'm retiring. Get to all for the ship. We are going to be.

going to the blessed fields of Elysium from here. I don't know what that is, but good luck. Thank you. Dungeon Master. Where's Vasselheim on this map? Vasselheim is in Assyria, which is the upper left. All the way up here? Yeah.

And didn't his internal compass say 350 miles northwest? Yep. So we kind of know where he is, right? Yeah. Northwest. Vasselheim is off to show you where it's closer to... Vasselheim resides on this side. Oh. So it's up at the peak.

Possibly. Maybe up here. Whoa. Maybe not. Okay, you know what? You might not be in the wild mountain. You know what? I don't know. He's in the north. 350 miles northwest.

Oh, there's a real map, yeah. Okay. That's just... I will light this beacon. Stay safe. Thank you, Sir Conniz. And good luck. That is...

If you speak to the other Shari and my father, let him know. Immediately. Thank you, Sarkhanes. Taitiake. All right. Katayake. Let's go. Cray-chiff.

Can I see that one? We're still invisible. Anything else? Do we need anything else? Well, no, no. This is not going to be dangerous, right? not going to be dangerous, right? We're just going to go talk to some really friendly people. Take a quick swipe to my right.

It's a good plane of existence. Ah, my eye! That's my bad eye. You plane ship? Sveeo. All right, as you all put your hands in each others, you feel the familiar sense of your physical form being drawn through the barrier of the primaterial plane. And much like when you transition, much like when you transition to the Nine Hells, Hells. You feel yourself pulled into this temporary space, this darkness, this sea of endless

void with distant blinking of stars that seemed to just shimmer. You understand this as being the Astral Sea. That they don't hear you say because this is so fast. You have no reason to have conversation. There before you you see the glimmering, almost burning lattice. of the divine gait comes streaking towards you at a men's speed. And you know you've passed through comfortably once before, so you hope and brace for impact

and pass through again. That warmth almost coming to a similar state of burning but then leaving you behind. And just as fast as it passes by you, you land your feet hitting ground, ground that gives. Three point landing. Okay.

Superhero three point. The ground gives a bit with the impact and as your eyes focus a bit on the brightness around you, you can see above you a clear blue sky, not a cloud in sight. Your hands and feet a few inches deep into the sand-like beach of the edge of some sort of an island, it seems.

But it is not sand. They are granules, pebbles of what appear to be shining pearls. An entire beach of pearls. It really is heaven. It is heaven. This is so beautiful. The water laps the edge of the shore, not but five feet behind you, an ocean that is clear

and lagoon-like, it's paradise. Looking ahead, you can see the once crumbling island. Now finding renewed strength with the renewed faith. You can see while there are no trees on this island, the hills themselves seem to carry what seemed to be old statues structures. Small temple-like oddities that have been swallowed by time and the ravages of the calamity, slowly emerging, like jagged bits of earth that have been plunged up by seismic activity.

Beyond these hills, you see what looks to be to you familiar, a gargantuan crystal cathedral that resembles the torso of a woman. But where the head is, it's spot. into a singular point. And from the inside, you see the flickering glow of what seems to be a raging inferno that flickers like a heartbeat from the inside of this crystal citadel. Here you stand on the shores of the island of Renewal.

And that's where we're in tonight's session. Wow. How pretty we have. It's so pretty. You were so ugly and this episode was so pretty. You used to be a fourth or fifth level cleric and now we're here. I know that is crazy.

That's crazy. I'm talking to her. Start on Steve and now we're here. Thank you. Wow. Wow. Guys. How far we've come.

Look how far I've come. Let's just give Vecna the prime material plan. Yeah, can we just stay here? New plan. New plan, stay here. New plan. New plant mimosa. Scatling and Grogs.

Sam and Travis left alone to their devices. Wow. I was just trying to walk across town. I was just trying to go see a man about a wish. The trouble just comes to us. I was literally, like, as you guys, I have this conversation, like, oh, that'd be so funny if, yeah,

they're not being careful, they're walking through the street. I also forgot that it wasn't actually that Doty knocked out the guards, so I should have just said like, oh, we rescued you from this poor. Well, Doty knocked out the guards originally. Yeah. Yeah.

And it was just that they followed you as you were following them and you're an accomplice. I didn't actually do anything. That's because they were unconscious. Except for the shopkeeper that saw you. Again, gotta kill them all. Yeah, for sure. Now we know.

I think we all. No, we haven't. No one's gonna learn. No one's learned anything. How are we gonna get you those wishes? He might have already used them. He probably already used some. He probably really wanted some ice cream. He's probably going to live forever.

I look forward for the viable possibility of returning for that conversation, because that's going to be extremely funny. Anyway, guys, well done. So much fun. Thank you so much. Not a single dice in the dice jail. Nope. Yay.

And only one of us is an undead ghost now. Not undead. Oh my god. My brother, the litch. He's not quite living. He's such a litch. You'll just understand me. Tell it to the necromancer, pal.

I have a heartbeat, a slow heartbeat, meat. Yeah. He just vaxed on all the quailets. You're just working tainted lover. Exactly. Anyway, guys, thank you so much for watching. We'll see you soon. Have a wonderful weekend and a wonderful 4th of July. Yes. For those that are in there.

Yeah, I'll be at AX on for the Persona Panel tomorrow. Also, on Saturday. Meg. Yeah. and Wendy are going to have a booth there. Yeah. So if you guys are familiar with their artist, Sally. I think they said like 11, 11, 11A. Check your local list.

Check Twitter. Check Twitter. And also, don't forget. David MacBosters. One more day. One more day. One more day. One more day.

One day. Oh, that. Oh, that. Oh, God. That is here. Drew and died. You guys, good job tonight. That was great.

Happy birthday, man. Happy birthday. Actually, Max, is this still a thing? He quit. Yeah, he was, like after the break, he said I quit and he walked out. Is Max still here? Betty.

Anyway, guys. Apparently the critters got you ice cream. What? Someone got you ice cream. A kind of ice cream. Been in Jerry. It melted long ago. Oh, I want ice cream.

Ice cream's gone. My name is gone. Max, Ryan, with my ice cream. You know, I respect that. Oh. Well, thank you, whoever was on ice cream. That's amazing. And thank you for all the amazing messages.

Today's just been an absolute flood of positivity. You're so old. For a very busy day, it was very good to just see that. So thank you guys so much. You're all amazing. And have a wonderful week. And is it Thursday yet? Good night.