Critical Role & Sagas of Sundry - Vox Machina Ep. 109 - The Ominous March

Episode Date: January 11, 2022

Live from Gencon: Vox Machina returns to Vasselheim to prepare for the coming of Vecna!    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Buster triple headliner Saturday, May 16th. Rhonda Rousey returns to face fellow woman's MMA pioneer Gina Carano in the main event. Plus co-main's Nate Diaz versus Mike Perry. And the best heavyweight in the world, Francis Nganoe versus Felipe Lenz. Watch Rhonda Rousey versus Gina Carrano, live only on Netflix. Saturday, May 16th at 9 p.m. Eastern Center time, 6 p.m. Pacific time. What's up, Jen Kuh? That's a lot of people.

How are you guys doing? Oh my God. Send me the bill for your plane ticket. If you guys think this outfit is ridiculous, you have literally not seen anything yet. Okay, thank you for waiting. What? You know what's up, brother.

Thank you guys for waiting. I heard Tico told me that people were out there at 6 a.m. Waiting? You guys, we're about to watch people play dungeons and dragons. What is happening? We are alive at the best moment in history. Right now, there's a stadium full of people basically watching this live on the internet

and going, how did Ashley let him wear that? Okay, let's start. Let's start. Let's get started. It is I, your host for the evening, recession-friendly Ryan Seacrest. This outfit is what happens when you take shrooms before creating a Saints Row character. All right, you guys already sound a little warmed up. Yeah.

But, but, but, just to make sure, because the live shows are all about the audience participation. We're going to go over a couple of rules for that really fast. But before we do, I get paid to be the hype man, so let me get you guys hyped up. Okay, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, okay, okay. When I say Terry, you say who? Terry.

Who? Terry. When I say Terry, you say who? Terry. Who? Terry. When I say Terry, you say what? Terry.

What? Terry. God damn. Okay, that's it. Warm up time over. That was easy. Okay, here's a deal. Sometimes people in the Twitch chat don't like Critical Role live because the audience participates.

Those people, those people, hold on, hold on, hold on. I just want to say, with all the love and respect in my heart, those people can tune off right now. Because I don't know about you, but when I'm at home watching Critical Role and someone gets to how do you want to do this, I fucking scream! Okay. Here's what you can do. You can laugh, you can cheer, you can scream, you can cry, you can stand up and blow the roof off this place if something cool happens. You can hug your neighbor and get drunk after the show if something sad happens. And then someone please tweet me the bar that you're at and I will join you.

With Travis Willingham's American Express, which is currently a. in my fanny pack. Please do not shout rules. Please do not shout advice. Please do not shout corrections. Please do not shout ideas. Odds are your ideas probably better than what some of the stuff they're going to come up with is. However, part of the thing that is so endearing about this show is watching these nerdy-ass voice actors figure out how to play Dunctions and Dragons. Isn't it? That's what I love about it. Okay, it's just disruptive and it'll light the community on fire, and we just like to keep these live things. But all that being said, please laugh, please cheer. There's going to be so much cool stuff. I'm supposed to throw these out. Okay, okay, okay. All right,

All right, right, right. Thank you guys. Who came here from outside the U.S.? Cheer? Wow. Really? For this? Look at me!

Without further ado, I would like to introduce the cast of a little show we like to call critical rules. This ruling head! Children, shield your eyes. I present to you, Sam, that brought us on all together, ladies and gentlemen, Matthew Mercer!

The cast of Critical Role, ladies and gentlemen. We're all so excited you guys can join us tonight, both here in person and out there on the internet. How crazy is it that we live in a world, but right now we have people here live in this fantastic theater to watch Sundance and Dragons. For all the crazy shit going on in the world, it's nice to know that we can carve some good out of it here tonight together. And in that regard, so we don't keep you too long before we can get to the game that you all came here to watch. Let's get to some quick announcements.

Oh yeah. Very quick. Very quick. In fact, I think the big announcement, if Liam and Talso want to take that. Sure, sure. Go, go, go, go. Hey, guys. So, Talton and I have been working on something for about a year with around 89 artists from our community.

It's been a glimmer in our eye for over a year, and it is almost here. We are going to be releasing, in the fall, from the Geek and Sundry store, a critical role art book. You guys. I'm not excited about reading. I love books. We've only told them about the pictures so far.

You guys know what a crucial part of this community the artists have become, and we have selected 89 artists from many more. There wasn't enough pages. We're limited. What do I got a page number on here? I don't forget it. Two hundred and 260 something pages? That's right, yeah.

We have seen it, and it is beautiful. Wow. There, let me see, there's going to be a deluxe edition and a standard edition. It will be available for sale in the Geek and Sundry store in the late fall, published by Hunter's books. And I'll say regardless of what version, it's going to be treated, when you actually get the book, it's going to be treated as an artifact from the Colbolt Reserve. So there's going to be... There's going to be historical texts and writings from various librarians, the Cobalt Reserve, chronicling the adventures of Vox Machina, including a lot of fun Easter eggs.

Yeah, and there'll be some fun Easter eggs in there. There may even be some background metadata that doesn't really exist anywhere else of things that hide. This is not your basic. Go to the CVS store and get a photobook made. A lot of love and care went into this. We've been talking with artists. for months and months. A lot of blood, sweat and tears have gone into this.

We're very grateful to the artists who are involved. Some of them are in this audience tonight. Thank you. And we stood around and looked at a proof of this about a week ago, and I might have gotten a little reclaimed. It is really special. So keep your eyes open for it. Oh, yeah, one last thing.

So to keep up to date, I'm sure we'll talk more about it, but you can visit geekensundry.com slash art book to sign it for email updates and book previews. So do so. Go get this stuff. It should be available for ordering sometime in the... Late fall. Late fall. Late fall.

Late fall. Late fall. Late fall. Thank you guys very much. Yeah, thank you guys for... These two busted their ass on this book. It's been... It's so beautiful.

The other quick announcement we have, it's a fun little thing. That'll be tomorrow for those of us at Gen Con and if it goes over well, hopefully at other events in the future. But when we released the Tal'Dorei Campaign Guide, the original design of the cover was from a POV of Scanlan, and there was some dissent in the community that Scanlan wasn't in full display on the cover. So I contacted Aaron Riley, the fantastic artist that worked on our cover, and we got some vinyl decals made. So you can put one of two different pictures of Scanlan on your cover, on your cover of the book or any book or art piece you find.

Yes. We're hoping to have those in tomorrow. For those who can come to the signing, even if you didn't get a ticket for the signing, come to the event anyway. We will have those available to pass out, hopefully. You can pick from the two or grab one of each. It's gonna be ridiculous.

One of the particular images, I'm excited to see where Scantlin shows up. They're really great. It's absurd. Why is this small man on the Sistine Chapel? That's why they're vinyl. You can remove them without damaging property. I think. We'll find out. Anyway, without further ado, I think that brings us to the end of our

announcements for the evening. And as such, bring us in to tonight's episode of Critical Role. Let's go. Right, let's bring this down. So, Beckna's Amish taint. A little late, but thank you. I appreciate that. A little late. So, last we left off, Vox Machina in their trek to eventually, hopefully, seal and be rid of the threat of Vecna, the whispered one, in his recently ascended godhood on the primaterial plane, found themselves traversing below the sub-ocean volcano of a scald seat, where they managed to water-bred their way through a jug, traversing the poisonous air within and coming upon the all-hammer's core anvil, on which many artifacts of the founding

and beyond were forged. There, you fought with the forge guardian, who was left to see who was proven worthy to utilize its components. You defeated it, and doing so, Percibel, with the designs bestowed upon you from Mayune, and Grog, with the bestowed upon knowledge of blacksmithing, took to the blacksmithy tools, and together managed to forge barely successfully with a modicum of structural integrity. The three prime trammels, hopefully intended to destroy or at least seal off Vettna's influence on this plane. So the trammels now complete, each glowing with the ruins of each gifted deity power source. We have one that glows yellow across its runic outside, one that has a sky blue and one that emanates a black shadow from its ruins,

representing each deity that bequeathed an element of their power onto these trammels. You then decided to have Scanlan drop his magnificent mansion. and decide where your next journey was. As you all entered the mansion comparing for an evening's rest or otherwise, we left off with you now away from the heat of the volcano plotting your next directional path.

So Vox Machina, what do you wanna do? That's a great question. Let me see those tremors. Who is the tremors? Well, I do what? I don't wanna look at them. All of them or just one? Just all of them.

Fucking, no, shit, there you go. That's it, I just want to hold them, really. Well, I mean, they're real big, right? They're like a person. Yeah, they're pretty long. They're probably like this. I'm cradling them, jog. Surprisingly, though, due to the platinum's design, they're not as heavy as you expect.

Whether they're be the enchantment or the material that was made from, they're... I mean, they're still heavy for you, Vex, because your strength is pretty shitty. But... Can I tell which one is... Seven strength? Which god? Yes. The one that glows yellow, you feel a slight bit of kinship with the... blessing you received from Pelor, the Don Father.

The other two, you can differentiate being the sky blue color, probably with Ayun, the knowing mistress, and the black probably representing the Raven Queen. All right, cool. I'm just going to hold on to the Palo one, passing back. I've got the other two? Yeah. I don't know if anybody else wants to hold it much. Just in case, like, things go sour, I also thought a nice way to use these, and I slide, like, one between each of my fingers, and I hold it up. Seek.

Sik! Suc! No. No, that's good. Okay, go back in the back of holding. Are you still in biggin' right now? No, no, I was in big for a while. Yeah, he was only big for the fighting the bullet.

All gone. Oh, wait, wait, by the way, um, I believe you said if I, um, successfully, Puck, all of these trembles that you had something for me. Thought I wouldn't remember, did ya? I did say that. I did say that. I did say that. It's rather personal, though, I hope the rest of you can understand. I mean, I'm not going to be around for much longer, so I kind of wanted to say... Do you want us to step out so you can have a moment?

Nah, we'll find a minute. What? What does that mean? Oh, is you... It's awkward. It's not something I'm comfortable talking with in front of the group. So you want us to need? No, we can talk out a plan. I mean, it'll... Tonight before we go to bed. I mean, it could be now. It could be later. You've said too much about it now. I take Grog by the arm and I usher him out the door of...

Oh no. This is weird. This is weird. Outside of the mansion. Yeah. You're out of the mansion? Aren't we still in the same? Yeah. All right.

You're going outside? Just out the front door. Into the inside of the volcano. Is it on fire? Well, it's certainly very hot. Why would you go back? It's so hot out there. Fuck it, Grog.

Let's go downstairs to your... He has like 40 floors. We're going down to the war room with the sentpitt. Yeah, and I ignore all the catcalling and all the sniping and all the shittiness. He's fucking assholes. Have fun, you two. Use protection. That's what Grog is for!

All right, the two of you to send the staircase into the subterranean war room, where there you see before you, the giant sand hit that is currently adorned with multiple training dummies with armor and weapons. Strap to them, uh, magnificently pristine. based on how many times you've destroyed and or restructured the chamber, but there lies before you. Big man. Yeah, it's me. I'm not going to be around much longer, probably. Or you're not going to be around much longer, one or the other?

Yep. Yeah. And, uh, boy, I've been holding on to a thing for a while now. Uh, Terrian, that scamp, uh, gave me a gift ages ago. He became sort of a fan after I pranked his ass at the beach. He kind of caught the bug, and before we said our goodbyes, he talked to me for a bit and gave me something. You pranked his ass and he caught the bug. It's about suppression.

Right, I got to talk simpler. Sorry. That's my mistake. Tarian gave me a very unique item and the purpose of it was to fuck with you. I could say to duck in and you people would turn it into sexual innuendo. That is. Anyway, he wanted me to pull a prank on you and, you know, we have a lot of history with that and I held on to it for a long time looking for a time that felt right and it never happened and sometimes I felt like I didn't want to do that anymore, but I don't want to give him,

let his gift go to waste. And truth be told, I did a bit of research on it. It is a love potion drug. I forgot about that. Last about an hour. Last about an hour. And you know, for a while, it was really tempting, and I was just looking for a moment because, you know, that's you and me. That's our history.

But then I did some research, and it turns out that it wouldn't have worked on you anyway. Because if you want someone to fall in love with you, it has to be on a person who you'd be interested in a person who you'd be interested in a person who you'd be interested in a person. interested in and to quote a very handsome dickhead we know I'm pretty sure you go taco not hot dog so I was right to assume then yeah yeah yeah taco you know it's not we're not also limited but that's your thing that's fine so I can't even use it on you but I've got it and I am going to miss you and be gone soon so I don't even know if we have time I mean A lot of us could be dead soon, but I'm not offering you this thing, but I'm offering you an experience.

I don't know a lot of big words, but I feel like I need a little bit of clarification. I don't know if we have time for this. Yep. Yep. But maybe for old time's sake, because I love you and I know you love me and we share this in common. Uh-huh. Maybe we could prank Scanlan together. Because, let's be honest, that guy would fuck a Tudkin in front of him.

Just for the record, I had no doubts about where that conversation was going. None. You have a deal. I don't know how or when we are going to pull this off. Or if you don't make time. Yeah, tell it. Well, like, it could be tonight. Fuck it is tonight. So here's what I don't have. Right.

I don't have a plan. No, me neither. We never have though. So listen, like, maybe while when we're eating some of those shitty salads that this fucking place makes now, you can just like a drizzle it on me top or does he have to like drink it with a drink? No, I think he just needs to down it one way or another. It could be mixed with something else, it could be on its own... Who do we... who do we make him fall in love with? Well, originally I was thinking... I was thinking maybe we could have a bet and see which one of us he falls in love with. And I mean I know that's a shitty idea, but we have to get up and go...

I fucking love it. So that means isolating the gnome away from the others, because I don't... He could fall in love with any... Literally anything or anyone. Yeah, but look, the hunter does not go after its prey in an isolated environment. The hunter finds him in his natural habitat. Let him roam free, I say. I say? I'm not sure I know what that means.

Me neither. But I will carry this baton and follow your lead. Well look, before the rest of the group starts wondering what we're doing in the war room, let's go back up and whenever your sneaky ass thinks it's appropriate, you just in his drink. How about that? We'll call that plan A. Okay. Plan B will be that that you, grab his ass and I just shove it in. Go to do. Plan A, plan B. You know those letters, you know that far.

I do. I got that far. This is what's happening. And we have back to the group. Meanwhile inside, I'm just so happy to be back in the group. I mean, it's been a pretty crazy few days, but I feel like you've all accepted me and I'm so happy to be back. I can't thank you enough from the bottom of my heart. Thank you.

Thank you for fully accepting me back. We're really sorry for everything, Scanlan. You know we love you. I love you too. Yeah. Not in a weird way. No, no. No, no.

I'm married. No. Just friends. That would be awkward. Hey, what are you guys talking about? Oh, just how much we love life. Just how we're a happy family. We are, we are close.

Thick as thieves, as they say. Who want to drink? It's a great idea, Grog. Yeah. Invisible servants, bring us the finest vegan wine. As a procession of ghostly entities make their way from the far-off kitchen on the basement floor of Scanlon's magnificent mansion, they procure a number of glass bottles containing wine.

It's just one. It's just wine. Just wine. But no added animal fats. You're not wrong. Goblets are placed across the tables. Drinks are poured, and you all have within your grasp a fair nightcap, if you will,

before you find rest for the evening. Uh-huh, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Uh, yeah, so Scanlan, men, you... really great teamwork today everyone really yeah seriously I'm so amazed with with both you and Percy you really pulled through and we would be lost without both of you I started examining my fingernails and moving closer to Scanlon you know I do feel like our teamwork has been getting better though we've been doing so good at synergizing you know I mean you know which work that could have gone

and terribly and we pulled through as a team. Oh, 100%. You know what, though? I know in the past, Vax, I've had my differences with you. Well, you know, I didn't like you charging after that dragon that one time. We had some issues, but tonight I just feel like we're close, and you would never do anything to betray me. Oh, that wine looks really good.

Yeah, let's take a sip. But first, you know, I was thinking about how close we've become, Bax, and I even wrote you a little inspirational song. Oh, shit. That is so, here, let me, let me hold your drink. That is beautiful. Okay, sure. You hold my drink, this is just a song to show you how much you mean to me and how close we've become over these years. Oh, it's a long one. Don't be tired. I'm here.

to inspire. Before you blow out, let me light your fire. I got no choir, just a gnome and a liar, so listen up to Bert Reynolds, Esquire. Oh, that's gonna fuck me up. You've got those moves like dagger. You're fast as a cat. You can attack five times. I checked it with Matt. You can't be killed. And one more caveat, you get to sit next to the pooh-a-doin' of all this and that. So imagine In a dark room lit from above, folks as far as Czech Republic came to give you their love. Your heart is beating like a goddamn drum. It's singing, I'm going back to Indiana. Indiana, here I come.

The tension is building. The roof's gonna blow. This ain't a rehearsal, it's the motherfucking live show. My scrolling, cameras on, dice rolling, Scanlan song. No more cajoling, this shit is on. This crowd is bigger than my Q Black Dong! You've been down, but what's it gonna take to give you some sack man? How about 2,400 critters chanting Vaxil Dan?

Vaxil Dan! Vaxil Dan! Vaxil Dan! Vaxil Dan! Vaxil Dan! Vastal dead! Go ahead and make a sleight of hand check. Oh shit! What is your home to?

Oh, fuck. 29. Scanlan. From that? Yeah. That was inspiration to me? How much? He's inspiring you because he thinks you're gonna fucking fail.

Because I love you, buddy. 39. So Scanlan, Scanlan, I want you to go and make a perception check. That's a 12. I instantly dive and grab Keelitt's eyes and cover them and turn her away. Don't get off of me! Sorry, sorry. Why your hands are a little clammy?

Oh, God. Why are you sweating? Why are you nervous? You're nervous. A very strange display from Baxeldan. However, your drink is available for you at the table. Yeah. That's good stuff.

Man, I just feel invigorated. All right, so as you finish the drink, and you blink your eyes. I'm going to ask you, Scanlan. Who do you see first? Let's see here. What do we got? Six people over here? Oh yeah. You have two that have dove off to the side and they're currently Oh okay

Then I'll roll the D4 one two oh wait it's just three Yeah that was a fucking four Two okay keelah Okay keelah Kiel's is being shielded right now Well then it's just very Vex or Percy? Or wait, are those two too? Grog or, or, uh, or the other people in them right now are Percival, Vex, or Grog.

Okay. Well, then it would be Grog. Or Vax, right? Or Vech, yeah, I'm gonna say that I... Do I have three choices or four? You have four choices. All right, and could you raise your hand if you're one of my choices? Okay, one, two, three, four. It's person.

So here's my question, Scanlan. First and foremost, let me pull up... Is there a saving throw? Filter of love. Right, no, I'm sure there's a saving throw, but... The next time you see a creature, within 10 minutes after drinking this filter, you become charmed by the creature for one hour. If the creature is of a species and gender you are normally attracted to, turducken, you regard it. You regard it as your true love while you are charmed.

This potion's rose-hued, effervescent liquid contains one easy-to-miss bubble, shaped like a little. a heart. How long is it last? An hour, you said? One hour. All right, and I guess my next question to you, Scanlan, is based on your journeys and travels across the lands of Tal'Dore and beyond. How adventurous have you been in your various exploits? A human man? That was teenage years, baby. Gone much further than that since then.

Then as you glance up into the beautiful eyes of the white-haired, mass-haired, mass of white stone, his white locks gently curling at the tips from an afternoon of sweating amongst the heat of the volcano, his fingers gingerly caressing the outside of the goblet in which he's enjoyed his own wine. You find yourself impossibly attracted to your once ally now, the erection of your affection. I don't know. I don't know if it's the wine talking, but... Oh man, I feel something I've never felt before, Percival. I...

That sounds like the wine talking to me, very... I... I've just never seen you in this light before. Your... your eyebrows. They're... I want to lick them. They just seem soft. And... You went to what? So, that came out wrong.

What I meant was, I, um, what do you do in later? Um, Scanlan's forehead and slams to the ground. Ow. What the fuck are you doing? I'm sorry, it's just, well, you've seen it. Continue. The way he, the way he looks at you and everything stops. The way all sound fades away when he's talking.

Oh no, that's just his silent spell that he got recently. Yeah. Yeah. The way he cocks his gun. Oh. Holds it so firmly. It trembles just a little. With this, but then bang!

Oh! Just a gentle touch is all it takes. Would this be an insight check at this point? Yes. Okay. Please. Come on, Percy. Oh no.

No, it's not. No, it's not. Is it really? Is it really? How long have you felt this way? This is a bit... It feels like forever. I'm...

One song, glory. Oh no. One song to win your heart, glory. Where do I even start? I don't know what's happening right now. One song from the pretty boy, no man. I mean, I don't blame you. I just, this seems to be coming out of nowhere and he's married.

To me, and I will cut you, all right? Love knoweth no boundaries. And even though there's a significant age difference between us. How much of an age difference? I'm not at liberty to say. Also, why does marriage need to be so constricting, man? I mean, can't we just be free in this crazy mixed-up world? I'm not going to pretend that I'm not extricing.

I'm extremely flattered by this, and I am, but I don't know. I want to see you naked. Scanlan, are you experiencing a bit of cotton mouth, maybe? Yes. Are your pupils a little dilated? The lights. I'm gonna look into his eyes. Are his eyes dilated?

I turn to Vax. What did you do? Isn't that hard to believe that maybe just someone finds me attractive? Guys, this is all besides the point we have. We have a god to kill. What are we going to do about the god? Yes, no, we should talk. This is beside the point.

We should try to strategize. I just want to step outside the game for a second to say that Sam Riegel gave me a bullet to kill Travis Willingham with. And I have turned the gun back on Sam. Well done. And shortly it will be my time to die. So after this unique and unexpected display

of overt affection. You find yourself sitting roundtable amongst the mansion to discuss over your wine and confusion. What plan of action to take next in your journey to take down the whispered one, the undying king? I'm going to sit directly between Percy and Scan for all of this conversation. So like we rest and then we go hunting? Or do we like, we like, we rest? Or do we like, we Trone Rally Allies. I cast mage hand to tickle Percy's me. Massive perception, Scanlan.

Scanlan, make a sleigh of hand check. 20. 20. 20 sled of hand check. You see him starting to make his fingers over towards your boy. I grab his fingers and start to bend them backwards. Whisper in his ear. Do you want to keep playing your fucking lutes or no?

Or not? I'd prefer it if Percy did. How long have you felt this way? Because this is very fucking strange, scanness. No, no. It was love at first sight, but now, so not first. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll try to keep it together. I'll just think of gross things. Victor's Ball Sack.

Learn from my mistakes. They're so singed. All right, okay, okay, let's focus up. Let's focus up. Focus up. Go on, strategize. Time, we don't have a lot of time. So what are we going to do with it?

Are we going to get allies? Are we going to talk to Allura again, Gilmore? Oh, wait. First things first, do we know where he is? Don't you have the ability to like? Oh, yes, he's still in the same place. I don't know in here. I need to shove my head out the door.

All right, as you emerge into the heated air of the sub-ocean volcano, you take a moment and concentrate and you can sense the direction and distance seems to be approximately the same. He hasn't moved at all. Make a perception check, I guess. 24. 24. You take about five minutes or so to concentrate, and while the distance and direction is relatively the same, there is very faint.

Am I able to feel gradual coming towards where we are, away, anything like that? From where you are currently, which is in the volcano, it seems to be east and south of its previous location. Where would that move him towards? Towards Vasselheim. Towards Vasselheim. Solid. Maybe go to Vasselheim in the morning. Start to rally.

Yeah. Should we do Laura and Gilmore and Kima and everyone? Do they know what's going on? Have we sent word? Well, we've sent some word out into the world. We send messages to Terry and to who else? There were two messages sent. Terry, the Ashari, Kaylee.

We activated the chaos wharf. We activated the chaos whorps. So we should rest and head to Vaseline. We're not any good to anybody at the moment, so I imagine so. I think we'll all feel a lot better after a night's sleep. Scanlon, where are you sleeping tonight? In my room. Do we need to post guards outside?

I have all the guards I need. Don't worry, I'll be safe. We're not worried about you. It'll be fine. It'll be fine. It'll be fine. be great. So we're going to sleep and then to Vasselheim? Yes. We rest and then we go. All right. That's the plan. Yeah. Okay. Let's do it. All right. Finishing your wine, you all scattered to your various rooms throughout the mansion. Prepare yourselves for anything's rest and a morning journey

to the cradle of civilization, Vasselheim. I do set a bucket trap at the door just in case. Just in case I set a bucket trap. Okay. Everybody's trembling up the stairs. I catch Grog just alone for a second and say, let this stand as a testament to how much I love you. I'm sorry that I shave your beard. Thank you. I don't have to kill you now. Give me a little pinch on the cheek. Oh Grog, you couldn't if you tried.

Good night, big guy. Night. All right, you all find yourselves in your chambers. Anything else we should do before the evening comes to a close? Yes. Sorry, Matt. I know we're trying to get to other things, but magic compels me to put on my best silk cheese string.

And it compels me to use the series of tunnels that interconnect all of the rooms. Oh shit, no! That only I know about. And it compels me to sneak into Percival's room in the dead of night and crawl into bed with him. All right. Make a stealth check.

I'm in the bed, you mother fucker. Are you in there? We're married. Yes. I thought it was like the 50s where you had two twin beds. I love Lucy. Have you seen their gold pile? Then I guess I better be extra stealthy.

Yeah, you better. Make a stealth check. Okay, I think that's going to work. With a slight jostle, Vexalia and Percival, you both pop one eye open and glance over as what you thought at first might be like a small child crawling into your bed, scared of a midnight storm, instead find a magnificent, silk-adorned familiar gnome trying to wedge himself between your bodies, which is impressive based on the stooning position. you're already in. Let it happen, let it happen. I reached underneath my pillow. I grab a small

copper ball. Manus. All right, and that's a strength ability check? That's a strength check, I believe. Just a check? Is it a check or saving throw? That's the distinction. Where is it? It's a... The cube. The cube just doubled in size. Ten.

Oh, no. With a rapid series of clicks, words, and grinding of metal you watch as a metallic exoskeleton unwinds from the sphere and wraps it in itself around your body, you find yourself suddenly bound and held in place and able to shift as these cold metal bars wrap around you like an exoskeleton. Scanlan, short-hot. Tell me now why I shouldn't feed you to drink it. I undo the lock so he can talk. I'm sorry.

I don't know what's happening. to me, I just, I know that this is your marital bed. I'm going to close, I'm going to close. Would we know that something is wrong? I mean, you're something wrong with you. I rolled a one. I don't know anything is wrong. You make I wish I did.

What am I making? Insight. Insight on this. Insight on this. Insight. Now that you're like up close and definitely discerning his behavior. Fucking A. I rolled a.

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That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com slash critical roll for free shipping and 365-day returns. Quince.com slash critical roll. I rolled a three. I mean, you get the sense that something's often different, but you don't,

by the nature, you think it may be a, You think it may be a practical joke or he's just trying to fuck with you? All I have is like, I mean, lesser restoration. Unless you're fucking with me, I'm going to try lesser restoration. Or we could just go to his room and defile his room. I mean, God only knows what's happened there. Here's the thing, darling, if something is wrong with him, and this is so out of character, I'm afraid something is wrong with him.

Not that you're not completely desirable. That's all I needed to hear, go on. But he needs a good night's sleep, and I'm not. I'm afraid he won't get it in this. All right, all right. I'm going to try lesser restoration on him. I'm not sure if it'll work. Okay.

In case this is magical, I just want to leave you with something. In case it's not, don't do that anymore. Excellent. All right. You extend your hand and complete the incantation under your breath and begrudgingly administer a lesser restoration spell onto his body. You watch this as a nomish form suddenly flashes with a brief burst of divine energy and as it subsides, his eyes blink and stare back to Percival

with the same longing lust that they had many energy. Wow. It's... Fuck, I got nothing. Scatlin, seriously, this is not acceptable. Go to bed. If we let you out of this cage, will you go to bed? Uh-huh.

I'm going to send Shrinket to your room with you and he's going to sleep on top of you so that you will go to sleep. Yeah, let's do that. Maness. All right, it unlatches itself and reforms into the iron ball that you carry at your side. Scanlon, as you fall to the ground,

kind of clasping the floor with your hands and knees, breathing heavily, still the warmth subsiding from the slight touch that you received at Percival's fingertips. Based on the time you spent drinking, conversing, scattering to your rooms, getting dressed, making sure you were properly prepared for this endeavor, making your way through the tunnel, stealthing in in this moment. It's right about now that the file wears off. Just a birthday, Brank. Is it your birthday?

No. Oh, got the date wrong. I need to change. I have dizzed in my pants. I'm sorry Too much information, thank you. Have a good evening. Good evening. Do you walk out the main door?

The main door, the main door. Okay, so you do in fact trigger a bucket. With the viscous powder that I mixed up, it's basically just a flower base. It's going to be a real pain to wash off. You are a ghost white, bucket-headed gnome and a silk g-string. For the lulls? I don't know.

I'll see in the morning. I'm going to block the secret passage. I'm going to shift some furniture and... By the way, when everyone asked me tomorrow on social media why I did it, same answer. This was good. Well done to you. After some disconcerting conversation between the married couple and a shameful walk back to your own chambers, you eventually find yourself coming to rest for the evening.

After a full night's sleep, you find yourself with your spells restored, your hit points restored, have your hit dice restored, and an embarrassing morning breakfast before you. As you all come down to a fine vegan breakfast meal, they're on the table. You all have a conversation, start plotting and planning, and you hear the gentle footsteps of one slowly approaching scam into the breakfast table. Hey, Percy. What distributor do you get your wine from? Just for, just, just curious? Hasselheim, huh?

Yep. Yeah. All right, so, finishing your meals, what do you guys want to do? Vasselheim, huh? You're going to Vasselheim, how are you doing that? Okay, okay, do we have a plan before we get there? Before I, you know, teleport us into a middle of a city that might possibly be in the middle of a war zone? Why don't I go see how much progress he's made, and I stick my skull out the door again and see how far he's gotten.

Okay, make a perception check. Very good. 30. Okay. Listen, kind of listening to your senses and focusing on the direction, still traveling, still relatively slow pace, as far as like the general distance, but is making headway. Has traveled throughout the night a number of miles. We should at least prepare Vasselheim, then. Yeah, I mean, he hasn't obviously gotten there, right?

And if the wrath of a dark god is on its way, they should probably prepare themselves. Yes. So, I'm assuming he's traveling with an army? We would assume. Okay. Oh, God. What if Vassenheim is his show of power? That would be bad.

Be likely. That's hurry. Okay. Where, too, is his show of power? Bachelov. How long would it take us to get out? Oh, wait. We chartered that boat.

Do we care about those people? Are we just going to leave them in the middle of the ocean? Did we pay? Yeah, we're only going to wait for us for a couple days and then they were going to head back. Yeah. They would assume we'd wrong. Yeah.

Okay, okay, okay, fair argument. Yeah, you gather that probably when they drove a bunch of Yahoo's at the middle of the ocean to dive under a volcano in the ocean, that they did not expect you to return. Yeah. We did put a $500 gold holding deposit on. We're not going to get it as a deposit. That we will not get back.

It's going to ding your credit. I think the destruction of the world may be more important than 500 gold. I know. Quick, cast lesser restoration on yourself. Okay. It'd probably take us a while to get up and out into a tree, right? I'm just kind of being a little selfish with my, like, upper-level No, no, no, I feel it.

You know? You can find a tree. It's not that fun. Up and out to it, like up the volcano, up the water. Oh, yeah, there's no finding a tree. Okay, you know what? Don't worry about it.

Let's go. Let's just plain trips. It's an arduous journey back to any possible. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Wanted to talk that one out, you know. Yeah. I plane shipped us to Baselheim. All right, so you plane shift to Baselheim.

As you guys encircle your hands again, once more, Kulith, you focus on whereabouts in Baselheim? Trial for you. Or, Malora's tree. residual, residual magic. Nothing real. Trial forge?

Trial forge? Okay. Trial forge? Trial forge. Where will you not get arrested? Ah! I think we're maybe on that. No one's gonna even notice me.

Yeah, I mean like they were all ringing the bells and running around and getting prepared and stuff. Yeah, and if for some reason somebody's like, that guy punched me in the face. we'll just punch them. I agree with this plan. Okay, yeah. Trial Forge. Trial Forge. All right. With that, you close your eyes.

Beneath your breath, you recite the incantation. With that, we feel your body is suddenly sucked into a dark void and thrust through the absence of space. And within a moment's time, before you can adjust to the sudden cold and dark, vacuous void around you, your feet hit hard ground. Your eyes focus again to the light. and you glance around in the center streets of the,

not actually directly at the Trial Forge, but in the, oh, we got music fun. Oh, that's cool. In the streets around the Braving Grounds, you can see the smokestacks from the Trial Forge just over the distance. You also notice that the sky above you is deep, dark, gray clouds.

It's as, if there is a perpetual eclipse almost placed upon this ground. You look around in all directions and you just see this roiling gray cloud cluster that just encompasses the entirety of the sky above you. What should be mid-morning or midday, it's blotted out by the storm. Rainfall is absent. And you see flashes of light and occasionally framing strange shapes in the clouds, whether by illusion or by a trick of your mind. You swear you see shifting darkness and forms.

images in the clouds, giant faces, silently screaming, hundreds of feet across that extend and push out of the clouds, then draw back into the sky. Massive hands that push against them, only to slowly recede moments later. You blink and they're gone, leaving you unsettled, regardless in the uncertainness to whether or not that was just you or if everyone can see this.

As your focus shifts from the sky above, you look around and you can see bastions are stationed all across the perimeter walls of Baslehem. You see a large ballista, mounted and armed, as watchers scour the distant horizon at all sides, looking for any sign of something in the distance, making its way towards the city, based on the warning you previously gave.

Unlit beacons sit at every major structure and juncture of the stone walls, awaiting the burning side that its assault has spotted. Militia and armored guard moved with haste to stations across the city quarters. you can feel the air of war permeating the streets. The streets are far emptier than you recall, with stragglers returning to their homes, with carts full of rations, produce, and weapons.

Fear grips their face as they pass by. You glance off to your left and you can see, a wiry old man in the corner has tangled silver and blonde hair bouncing with fervor as he shouts out, The reckoning of our opulence has come. The gods are away, and the price of our hubris comes to consume.

But no one's paying him mind, his tattered bones just jangling his knees across each other as he makes his way through the streets, his face, just a glance of utter despair. You notice an argument between two bastions and a middle-aged bearded man who is painting a familiar symbol on his front door, not too far from where you stand. A five-year-old girl cries and clings to his leg. What do you do? What is the symbol? Make perception check. I'll make a perception check. Let's see if you'll roll a one.

again. No, that's much better. 28. Glancing at this distance, you see a familiar and striking shape. It is a haphazardly drawn circle with a dark reddish purple paint and a small line and a pronged fork. Oh. A four prongs painted up against this wall.

Oh, hell no. What is that? He's painting it on the door the guy in the city is? The father figure. It could be to pass over their house. Yes. Pass over. That's the Vecna symbol, right? Yeah.

Sensing the distance of Vecna, he's still far to the northwest of here. But was once a few hundred miles is now shortly. About 200 or so. And getting lesser and lesser. Should we go up and talk to that guy? Maybe one of us.

Maybe not all of us. You there. As you make to the shot, see, the soldiers are currently arguing with him. One says, You welcome this rubbish. Are you one of them cuck believers? Then the father is just angrily sitting in his face,

says, You mind your business. I have no love for this, but if these dreams are true, I must protect my family. Dreams? They turn and look at you as you approach. What dreams?

The soldiers kind of take a step back with a look of recognition across you as you step forward with your white dragon scale armor, they know not to approach. And there is seemingly a sense of knowing who you are, at least, from the legends that are told amongst the streets of Vasselheim. The father turns to you and seeing your lordly approach and a strong voice, mealy. Nightmares I've had, and I'm not the first. This symbol is scares me, but if something comes like they say it is. I must let it know we have no quarrel to leave my family be.

This symbol will not protect you. How do you know this? Because I know his followers. They won't have mercy. They'll gouge out eyes, remove your hand, and make you one of them. Make a persuasion check, please. A 17? He looks at you for a moment. His eyes keen the fear in his face. You're certain this, my lady. Yes. Will you protect us, then? We'll do our best. That's what we're here for. He looks past you with the rest of your companions,

all looking well-armed and definitely capable. Looks down and kind of rubs the hair of his little girl, a sandy blonde hair, kind of curled up and a bit dirty, looking down from her gaze up to you. I trust you. And he takes the tattered paintbrush she was used. and immediately just smears across the symbol destroying it. All right.

Come, Gloria. Dear God, I hope that works. He goes inside to his daughter. Before he closes the door, thank you, please. Pulls the rest of the card in and closes the door behind of the slam. The two guards can evocally look at each other and back to you and... Thank you.

Be safe and they both wander off. They've gone wrong. I don't think they know. Man, I'm fucking slick. So, knowing a location, you're not that far from the quad roads juncture between the different areas. You can go further into the trial, towards the trial forge, or back towards the center of where the quad roads meets between that and where the platinum sanctuary and the Platinum Dragon section is. There is the temple to Sarenre where you left Pike previously.

What do you wish to do? Is the crazy guy, the crazy zel? still running around. Yeah, he seems to be just kind of scattered to the streets. He's maybe 60 feet above still shouting obscenities and weird, doom-saying prophecies. I walk up to him. Okay, as he's shouting at the time,

he will come! He will destroy us, sir! He will destroy you, too. I've seen it. Yeah. I've seen it. I believe you. I've seen it, too.

Good. And save yourself. Run. Run far. Wait, wait. How did he talk to you? In my mind, in my dreams, he comes. He says, he says it's inevitable. The clouds, they come as the first warning, the first seal broken.

The sky has already left us. The sun is gone. Okay, yeah, no. Accurate. Yeah. Okay, yeah. Is he already gone? He's running away. Man, I don't know how to deal with that type of. of abrasive personality.

Maybe, yeah. Maybe like, it's best to like, let people not give him power, because the more people believe in him, the stronger of a god he becomes, right? Definitely. But that guy resisted. He, like, knew, but others didn't. So, so, and he was crazy. Could you maybe make the sun reappear?

Um. Well. I, I don't know. Can I, can I do like a nature check to see if the This is above my capabilities? Or if I could counteract? It's definitely an unnatural form of weather pattern. You get the sense that this is itself kind of a minor miracle.

A minor miracle? A minor miracle? Well, yeah, the sky, this stretches beyond all sides of the horizon is of similar, strange, roiling cloud doom. Is it like Ghostbusters? Ghostbusters. It's very similar, yeah. Like we're talking top of tower, just curling ink clouds out to eat. each side.

All right. Traveling with vast speed in almost all directions. You see no plain single path in which they're traveling. They're just emanating. This seems like a minor miracle? Yeah. Can you miracle more? I could maybe try to carve out just a patch of sunlight above us, but I don't think it would be anything more than a morale boost at this point.

If we did it at a temple, perhaps. temple perhaps. Yeah, maybe above the Sarenre temple. He's bearing down on us. We need to tell Pike, we need to warn the authorities, we need to tell the temple of Bahamas. We have to keep people from defecting to him. The more people that he has, the more of his symbols that get spread around out of fear, the more he'll win. Right, but we can only either spread the word that we're going to resist or spread the word that it's about time to fight. We can only do one or the other. He's coming. Let's do both. Once we run up.

I turn to one of the guards of Vasselheim. It's one of those rushing pass. He has like a cluster of spears and one of them. Sir, sir? Yes. If there was a universal sign of Vasselheim, a symbol of Vasselheim or a sign to fight, what would it be?

There is no universal symbol. There are many symbols in Vasselheim. All the various divinities that lie here have their own symbol. Okay, I just didn't know if there was like a rally or a cross. or something that you all universally believed in. There's got to be something a symbol of Vasselheim. Vasselheim was a divided and united city as well.

All right, you know what, never mind. Never mind. Jeez, your politics. Okay, you know what, let me... It gives a strange glint of a glare towards your larger Goliath friend. Right as he begins to squint, you hear a voice off the distance go,

Lieutenant, we need you. Right to work. When he rushes off and spears under his arm. Thanks, Lieutenant. I'm so close. Yeah. Okay, let me just, maybe, maybe as some sort of sign will help them.

Yes. Let's do it at, let's, if we're going to make the sun... Let's do it at the Temple of Sarenrail. All right, all right. We've got to talk to Pike anyway. Okay. Pike. You make your way to the temple.

You enter the interior, and you can see most ever ones in kind of silent. prayer. They're all kind of either holding hands or kind of clutching close, the smaller kin, these renewed worshipers of the ever light. Glancing around, you don't see Pike currently in the vicinity. All you see is one of the head priests, Coraline, is currently off at the side, is tending to a few folks from the interior. Pike!

Coraline looks over and sees you guys into it. Oh, well, uh, rushes up. to you. I'm sorry she's not here. She went to the Platinum Sanctuary. Apparently there's a discussion a meeting of some kind. Right now. Right now she left not but an hour. Okay, go, go, go. Yeah, we go. Thank you. Of course. So walking up the endless stare along the side of the mountain that signifies the northern end of Vasselheim. You see small units of silver and blue armored warriors of the Platinum dragon descend past you, rushing, and and kind of giving you a sidelong glance as they do,

and not a recognition, as some of them recognize you upon your approach. Eventually, through an exhausting ascent in seeing the clouds growing darker and dark, you begin to see that there is, from this vantage point, a very slight shift in the direction that seem to be coming from the north, northwest. You eventually reached the base of the massive pillars

that mark the stronghold's entrance where you've been a number of times before. You immediately notice a crowd of mixed attire. You see scale bearers standing tensely along various bastion members. You see warriors of the Don Fist in their golden red robes. And you see soldiers of brass and sapphire. The hand of oared is here as well.

Now, upon approaching the guards, the guards at the front gate see you and expectantly signify for the front gates to open, and with the shifting, the two large marble doorways open inside, just enough for you to pass within. You enter the central chambers, the inner sanctum of the Platinum sanctuary, with the marbled halls lead to the familiar circular forum chambers

where you last met with the high bearer board, the silver touch. Who stands there before you among his guard in heated discussion? The room is lively with representatives of each temple clustered behind their highest lord. The red-robed, donned fists of cord flank, Earthbreaker groom. Philosophers gather near Holy Curator Curtis Ulius of the Quadrots and the Rathus. The glade keepers of the birth-heart stand behind the high Hierophant Ophira. While the dark-failed maidens of the Raven Queen gatherless as is their order.

Pike stands at the edge of the council, trying to listen. in before seeing you and rushing to your side. He's right. And rushes in and just gives a few quick hugs. Did it work? Did you do it? Yes. We got the stuff. We made them.

Good. Things are bit tense. And as she turns, you see now at the back of the council, towering over most others and without armed support, stands the dark-skinned, beautiful Jermon Saour. They're simple clothing swathed in a loose hanging robe of gold and sky blue. Germant smoldering pupils shift in your direction, and they give you a nod of respect. The discussions halt as you approach. Recognition also falling across the room, at which point the high bearer forward turns to you, saying, Vox-Marky now. What a gift of timing. Have you anything to aid in this crisis?

much. Then please take the center of the chambers. I believe everyone here could use some form of good news. He steps back and as the rest of the guards empty, they open the central space of the chamber for you to approach. Let us remember. Well, technically we've already

been observable, so very little that we can say that he doesn't already know. I mean he's listening right now. Yes. How much do you know already? We have only taken a bit from what your companion here, Pipe of the Everlight has said. You went off to a volcano. Yeah.

Scald seat. And we defeated it. You defeated a volcano. No, that's no. Kind of. Look, I'm sure you've realized by this point that Vecna has ascended to Godhood. As he begins to speak, immediately the high Harifant of Fear steps forward.

Yes, the dreams have spread. Right. We've seen and spoken with the clerics all across this land. And it seems that a new force has shoved its way amongst the rest of the pantheon, though apparently closer. He's not reached his full power yet. The only way it will happen is if he claims a... A great use of power.

It performs a miracle or so. He needs followers. He's on his way here. The more followers he has, the more power he has. I thought when you say he's on his way here, you watch his Groon steps forward, arms still crossed. How do you know he's coupled? Have you...

I mean, you just look outside. Kill, yo. I just... I just... Whoa. Take it down. I just, but... We don't need the sass. Yeah, with respect.

I'm not sassing. With respect. There are those of us among us that cannot tell where he is moving. Yeah. I am the paladin of the Raven Queen. At which point two of the maidens behind you say in unison together,

that he is. and the visions we've seen as well. The pretender God, his words channeled through prayers speak of a new terror. A vile tyrant unchecked. Believe him, his words are that of our lady.

And both of them step back once more. Creamy. Have you met them before? Did they say it in unison? They say in unison, yeah. Are you friends? Do you know, are you like on the same mailing list? They all kind of look similar.

Oh, can't you? Yeah. He's got... like this ability, you know, to... She has granted me knowledge of his whereabouts and he is coming fast. Vord now speaks up from behind. Good. Then let us gather our resources.

The esteemed Jemon Sa'Oad has agreed to lend aid and resources to our defense. Which point Jemon speaks up? This threat stretches beyond the borders of Assyria. The clouds dark in even our desert skies. It is spectre of the age of Arcannum has indeed ascended, as the clerics here are convinced, and it is a threat that we of Uncarel cannot ignore. Vord then turns his head frustratingly to the east and says, And King Bertrand Dwendal has declined date,

claiming that until this rumored scourge arrives onto Indalian's soil, it is of no interest to the crown of wild mount. No resources can be spared chasing whispers. We have sent out scouting parties, however. As you said, this threat seems to be coming from the northwest last you came through. And why even riders are seeking the location of this Tharam father, at which point there's a flash of blue arcane energy in the back of the room. And everyone seemingly turns the guards, the weapons drawn out ready,

and you spin to see a familiar, blonde-haired mage with braze in the side, a bit out of breath, and in the same, and in the same flash behind, a golden armored half-league, sun-kissed skin and long golden curling hair, large weapon dragging behind. Alora then hand up in resignation, staffed aside. We are merely here to offer counsel and communication.

We mean no harm, nor to bring our arcane knowledge to your quarters, and I apologize, but extenuating circumstances require strange bedfellows. bedfellows, I think you will agree. However, at the first sight of threat upon Tal'Dore understand that we will seek your assistance with haste as well. Imon and the council cannot survive another catastrophe. So, we are here to be haste, and ask only your ready to return, depending on when or where this assault strikes. There's a bit of muttering amongst the crowd and some grumbling. What, Iberra Ford nods. We are in need of aid and as many friends as we can gather.

You are welcome, archinists by Sord. Alara, does the sky look like this in Amon? In the past, 12 hours or so has stretched across the Osmite Sea and now seeks to consume as far as the east coast of Tal'Dorei. If this is what I believe it is within the next half to full day, the entirety of Alexander. will be under the shaded sky of Vecna. Well, maybe the miracle thing is just the change in weather,

and we'll be okay. Not all miracles have to be deadly. Very well. Will you be there fighting with our armies in the front line? We will. I guess my only question is, do we wait for him to come to us, or do we try to take the fight to him? I do not wish. wish to fight him where he expects it. As we are a city that has pride of itself on its impenetrable

defences, I can guarantee you that this entity has seemingly procured or cleverly defined some way of breaching. I gather he would expect less us bringing it to him. So, we hope to have information on the whereabouts of this city directly. What else do we have? We have the knowledge that we can't take him by surprise. What do you... He sees everything. He hears everything. He's been spying on us for quite some time now.

Little shit. Wouldn't be surprised if there's a spy in this room. Or at least an open ear. You have citizens of your city that are starting to paint his symbol on their doors out of fear. This is the last thing you want in the middle of this crisis.

All time spent with any volunteer hands need to be from any spare clerics who can help calm the minds of the afraid. He looks out amongst the rest of the crowd that has gathered here in the center, inner sanctum. But words speak true. If he is indeed seeking to undermine the worship of this city and as such break the defenses of our great creators, then we need whatever strength your temples have here calming the people of Vassel Heim beyond if you think he sees all

I think he sees the city as a ripe audience At this point you watch as Ford steps forward kind of fiddling with one finger long ago This grand temple Nearly fell to the prying minds Of terrible major This, here, and he pulls a ring from his finger.

He's called the band of shrouds. A powerful implement of the high bearer to shunt these prying magics aside. I lend it to you for the coming struggle. He passes it over. To Vexalia. Yes. Kept close enough to the one who wears this ring.

I doubt even his newly. born eyes could pierce it. However, you can only affect those nearby. So, if you are to strike, perhaps it's best you do so away from his vision and we distract.

So, so like he can't hear us right now. Everyone in the room can have, takes a few steps closer to you. But only if you seem to this chamber, it seems to seem to be seen. so he is. Feels so good. I think that would look better on your middle finger, darling.

Ooh, good call. Yeah. At which point, the doors in the back of the chamber burst open once more, and you watch as two armored figures come rushing up out of breath, you see as these two wyvern riders recognizing their armor with the horns

and the large dragon-like build of their armor and headpiece, looking damaged and splashed with crimson. Comcharging, and one of them, the helmet is removed. You see a young man shouting through his wounded breaths. Hiberra! Hiberra! Ryder Athetus, with writer Marley, returning from beyond Moldaya and the Todosk bass.

We found the dark city. Everyone immediately begins to mutter beneath their breath. The voices begin to rise as the high bearer puts his hand out to hush them. It lies within a valley a few miles into the Zenwick Mountains. Our team attempted to infiltrate, but an unseeable barrier protects the city grounds from all sides. We found ourselves overrun by errant magics and winged beasts of shadow and hunger. Only Marley and myself survived. We were only a scouting regiment. At which point, the High Hierophite steps forward.

Zedwig of all places. Yes, there is indeed. The high bearer turns to get very well. If this is true, we must mobilize our forces very quickly. Baroon steps forward once more. We can push our ground troops along the grasswalk road, towards the range. Allura steps forward to join the conversation. If we can choose some elite select numbers for an on-site assault,

I can transport them. In which point the curator, Curtis, Stepsvin, You will do nothing of the kind. It is arcane perversions that enabled this madman. And we will not allow Avera steps forward, putting her hand in front of his face now, saying, We have druids who are familiar with the woods surrounding the base of the Zendwick Mountains.

We could transport you to those trees, a number of you for an initial assault while the rest of our ground forces, assemble northward. At which point the wounded rider speaks up loudly. I am not done! My apologies.

Only Marley and myself survived with one of our wives' as we fled over the nearest mountaintop as fast as we could. Marley saw and the other one takes her helmet off and you can see just caked with blood, one eye coming swollen shut and a giant

wound across the face. I saw this city move. Part of it. It moved, I swear it. I heard a rumble over the winds, looked past, and back over our shoulders, and I saw the city begin to rise. Silence takes the room. I would like any of you with a fair amount of history to make a history check. What's a fair amount? If you feel confident in your ability to understand history, I would say putting it this, those who are The lands, that would probably Percival and Scamble. Okay.

Twenty-seven. Twenty-seven. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Okay. I have to, I'll make part of this a whisper. You'll make what? Wait, you'll make what? I didn't hear it.

A live whisper. There are two places in the Zenwick Mountains that would be of any interest or historical war-based elements. There is the Crips of Thomara. It's a subterranean. in vault city built around a precious metal vein cluster by the xenophobic Dwarven Fulmara clan in the early years of the age of Arcana. It's said a terrible madness fed into their greed, leading to eventual cannibalism and collapsed

to the society thousands of years ago. It's now considered cursed and is largely avoided. The other location is known as the stilted veil, the silted veil, my apologies. A small, cold veils. valley within the mountains that is comprised of ice-dusted, mineral-rich mud that was once rumored to carry natural healing properties when applied to wounds and restorative elements to aged skin. However, a large variety of dangerous creatures also discovered these features over time and moved into the valley, taking over and establishing a new violent ecosystem

based around the soothing muck. Scatlin. Okay, me too. Very true. Okay, so the critical mayor. Live, Critical Role Live, Fox Machmaqa T-shirts. The Crips of Thulmer, Thulmere. Thulmere. Is that what he said?

In the silted veil. Silmera. Silted veil. Yeah. Silted veil and the Crips of Thelmura? Yeah, the venture. The two places in the Zenwig. And one is like icy valley, the other one is like, what, zombie dwarves?

Yeah. Cannibal zombie dwarves. Angry, angry, icy terrain or cannibal. Bombie dwarves. Okay. So, at this information, Vord nods. There are all forces on high alert for impending attack here. Wyvern riders and air units, we need eyes on the Todosk Pass,

in case the city is indeed moving, as they say, the high hierophout will aid in transporting advanced scouts to the base of the Zemwitz. He would wish you be part of this if you are willing and able. Gathering information and seeking weakness to exploit our the key. Vox Machina, you are a focused stealth strike force. Yeah. We're mostly really good at that, mostly. Yeah. We're pretty good at that. If you indeed carry the boons that your Lady Pike has mentioned, then we need to keep Vettner and his force occupied to grant you entry.

And we can do that. I certainly hope the strength of our numbers, that there is no way that he can see you coming. On the distant end of the central chamber here, a familiar voice echoed start the hallway. With that, we're going to go ahead and take our break. What didn't... Shit! So, we're a piece of shit! So we're taking our break here.

Over turn at that moment here, a number of minutes. Ten minutes? What are we doing? Fifteen. You'll know when the light's dark. go and we'll have people out there to let you know. It won't be too terribly long. We need to get bathroom break and stop.

Anyway, be back here in a little bit, guys. We'll see you for the next portion of our day. We genuinely can't see you in the Lexington. All righty. Looking at the back booth. Are we good? Are we online? Perfect.

Welcome back, everyone. So, as the inner sanctum chambers of the Platinum sanctuary stood silent at the recent arrival of the vision of Vecna, Hovering but two feet off the ground and all his lich-like glory. His toothy grin is immense, threatening to crack the sides of his face. As gasps filled the chamber, armored warriors thrust spear and blade towards his illusory body,

arrows and spells passing through harmlessly and clattering and splashing and exploding against distant pillars across the room. Smoke subsides, and he stands there untouched. Quite the tea party you've gathered here for... I suppose celebration is in order. After all, you missed my rebirth day. I have something to show you that I'm quite excited. Don't rush the surprise, friends.

I'll bring it to you. Do not fret. You're all gathered here in one place. It would be a perfect place for an ambush, wouldn't you say? But where's the fun in that? When there are so many less protected loved ones, to send my shadows to. Your daughter DeSir, Earthbreaker,

trains alone at the boson caves, an easy target. Vord of the Platinum Dragon. Your family lies behind the double-sealed doors of your estate. I know your secret cellar entry. The great protector of Marquette's jewel is away, and your studious concubines are left without their guard. All of White Stone or Cassandra.

Young Elora Vissar now plays with her owl-bear doll, all alone in her room. At this point, Allura shouts the top of her lungs. That's enough! And with a wave of her hand, dispels the illusion with a flash of energy. causing it to fade, leaving only the lingering, omnipresent sound of Vecna's chilling chakra. Then silence takes the room.

Vaud. Does this need to be attuned? It does. Why would you take it off? I was gifting it to you. I didn't realize he was going to show up in my sanctum. It's okay. However.

However. I just sit down and just keep talking. I'm going to try to attune while that's happened. Ophira steps forward. It's a distraction, a bluff. We're close, and he knows it. Vord then turns to words, says, I will not abandon my family.

Bettner knows too much. We have no more time. Those who are primed for us all, it begins now. Vox Machina, How do you wish to proceed? Well, we can't tell you. I think we proceed by taking a 15-minute nap, really. What? Wait, did you just make a decree and then turn to us and say, what's your plan?

Yes. 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 adventuring 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 It's 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. 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, game-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 Unplug 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. You think I haven't heard tales of your chaotic battle strategies? Yes, exactly. I cannot attempt to ascertain the nature of how. how you've survived the trials you have. So I leave that entirely up to you. The rest we can handle, organize, and strategize.

You do that. You do that. As you take a moment and rest, the rest of the individuals there begin to talk amongst themselves. The other leaders begin to set their clerics and warriors and setting out orders to the various temples across all of Assylheim and beyond to prepare themselves, some for the defense of the city, and some to make

the way northward to wherever follow will be found head on. While this happens, and you're currently attuning to this ring. Yes, I'm unattuning to bracers of archery in order to attuned to this ring. Okay, so you're moving the braces of archery and you're tuning to the ring. Okay.

So that's two less damage on your range attacks. Do you have a card that I can see? She wants that paper. I want that paper! The ring card is in my hotel room. But you will have it. next week. All right.

But essentially what it does is a wall to tune to you and on you, within 60 feet of you at all times, divination magic is inert and cancelled. And what's the name of it exactly? It is called the Band of Shrouds. Bands. Also, the hotel printer was broken. Yeah, look, even just getting my sheets put it out for this game,

we've been in a whole ordeal. Thank you, Dan. So. As this is happening, and you guys are kind of amongst yourselves figuring out what to do, and the rest of the crowd is murmuring, you hear the footfalls one. Another, another, the approach to Montauraward. My warriors defend this city, but my strength also lies in the front lines. If a destruction is what you need to succeed, there are few things as distracting as a shining dragon. with the viverence once Fox Machina has been delivered and the delivery shall be

among the wings I bear if you'll have me fuck yes what and they give it about has it been wait has it been long enough it is like it's tuned not yet no the rest of the people are gathering out you guys are for the moment are kind of just focused inward there with you. There is attention being cast around, but right now they're letting you strategize before you bring what you have to the table. Because right now, they have nothing until you have a strategy. All right. We have to. We know of two places to go to

up near the something mountains. Yeah, should we? Sendwick Mountain. Let's hang for a moment. I just don't want to talk about it just for like just a little more time. Sure. We'll definitely stay here then. Yeah, just chill. Definitely be here the whole time and not leave. You know what we should go shopping. You know what? No, fuck that.

We are not shopping. No, it's... I'll quit. I'll leave. No, it's... No, it's just... It's a... Maybe we should just give up.

A wing. What is wrong with you? No, let's give up. She's right. We should give up. What the fuck? No, you know what? Vecna's right.

I'm really worried about our family. We should all split up and go be with our families right now. And you know what? Maybe we should convert. I should just stab me. myself in the eye right now. Maybe you should. Yeah.

Maybe we will. Yeah. Let's do it. Let's do that. Praise to back now. Praise back now. What the fuck! Take it back now.

No, I mean, I think that's a good idea. And I stop pushing Whisper slowly. Oh, no. Okay, seriously. It's too far. It's too far. Don't. I don't like it. I don't like it. Don't do that. Don't worry. He can't be killed. Just like all of us can't be killed. Jamon, I'm coming with you. These people lost in Pokemon. Do not worry, Grog. Be patient. I think there is more to their words than you are...

Sit down. For the sake of brevity, as everyone is kind of cautiously waiting for the ring's attunement, eventually you feel the energy click as the rings has been slipped on for this time, and you feel this kind of slight shimmer of cold, wash through your body and extend outward, at which point you know that the ring has finally been attuned. All right, we can talk freely. Hala, we're good. Show it to us. How does it look?

It looks fucking good. Yeah, great. That's quite nice. It looks great, grog. Yeah, quito. Okay, so fuck Bechner, we're not for Bechner. Yeah. I know, I know.

I do. So, we have two options, right? We've got... The Crips of Fomora or the silted bale. The stilted bale? I don't think... The silted bale. I thought it was a silted bale.

Silted veil. Silted veil in the cripid bale. Vail. Samora. Thromora. Thromora. Thamora. Fomora?

Sure. Thromira. We know a general sense of where we're going. So, wait, we're going there. Why? Those are the only places that we know within the Zenwick Mountains that have any sort of appeal. Okay, so we just choose between those two as like our strike place? Yes. One of them is filled with...

filled with crazy dwarf cannibals. And the other one has ice mud that can heal you. But has turned violent because nature is angry. The druids are just dropping us off at the base of the mountain. We don't really know where either of those things are. So maybe, you know what? Maybe it's best that we don't let anyone else know where we're going. All right, including ourselves.

But did he only... Worked before. I like that plan. Yeah. Because that way, it'll all be a surprise. Didn't he only hear our two options? Did he? Did he?

Did he? Was it after he? We don't know. I don't know what he heard. Oh, my God. No, he's the same. I don't know what he heard. I don't know how often he listens to us.

I don't know any of that. Man, how does it work? Does he have like several, like, lines open, and he just, like, switches back and bored? Does he have to actively listen, or is it, like, a passive thing? And, like, how bored? What is this guy?

Right? I mean, that's the thing. Like, I mean, he's building an army and trying to take over a world. I can't imagine he's listening to us all the time. Yeah, he's just trolling us. In my opinion, the guards are generally bored and looking for things to do.

Yeah, but him, he's doing things. Like, he's got shit to do. I'm personally thinking that an undead army of cannibalistic dwarves would be very appealing if I were starting a assault. on a city like this and I would be heading my city in that direction to raise a bunch of undead cannibalistic dwarves. It's kind of my vibe.

So you, Percy, you want to go burn them up? I feel like that's where we're going to find them and that's, I think we're going to find them preoccupied. But if we know that that's what he would do, then wouldn't he know that we would go to... Find him at what he would do? You're assuming that he's going to do what he would expect us to think he would do in the first place. Do we know what kind of creatures are in the icy veil? Do we? Do we?

I mean, could there be ice giants there? Would Vecna won ice giants? Or like, undead icy zombies? Exactly. Also bad. I mean, there's an entire ecosystem of very dangerous monstrosities that exist there, which means there are living and dead, and, you know, like an elephant graveyard of various aberrations and terrible creatures. Well, look, if there are undead cannibal dwarves or whatever in that, the crypts, don't we need, like, clerics to deal with them?

We have a cleric. Let's take her. Pike? Yeah? Are you willing to leave the temple now? I'm afraid for my people there, but I feel I can probably send myself with you like I have in the past. It's kind of all-or-nothing, pickle. I feel bad abandoning. Everyone that I've brought to the temple.

You aren't abandoning them. You're shielding them. I mean, you could always do like the astral projection-y thing, right? That's what I was thinking of doing. Okay. Well, but here's, well, okay. But if you're astral projecting, I mean, aren't you, like, just, like, chilling in one room here, like, not really communicating anyway?

Make persuasion, Jack. That's true. I don't know if it's for Pike or for the D. DM. I don't know. God, dang it. Wait, let's see. We have a bit of a roving blind spot here that we could use. 13.

13. 13? 13? Oh, no. But this can't be the only thing that determines if she's an astral projection or she counts with us. My begging has to count as well. She destroyed a whole undone army being a laser light beam.

She's, you know. That's right. She's trying. She's trying. She's trying. Yeah. Will everything work like normal if she's an astral projection? Yes, I will.

I'll tell you what. Astro toy, Josh, God. I'll tell you what, if you're so eager to bring Pike along when Ashley can't play, you guys want to Yeager her? Because I don't want to. Yeah, well, totally, yager her if she's a favorite. But there's also the thing, remember, we've talked about this. There's also the thing that if she dies, while Ashley's not here, we're fucking assholes. Yeah.

Yeah. That's true. Okay. That's very true. She won't die if she's just like a... But if she's an astral projection, can she still use, like, the champion's blessing that she got from Sarah and stuff?

We'll find out. We'll find out. Mother fuck. But we can always easily go, like, get her. It's the best we can do. It's the best we can do. It's the best we can do. Oh.

The Dutch master will remember that. All right, so what? The Crips or the Siltre? Bill. One thing I can tell you about the crypts that you may not know. They're not man-made crypts. They're actually the inside of a fallen Titan's body. I know things.

It seems like a pretty godly place to go. To make a statement. Are you telling me, are you telling me we're going to have to crawl into another monster's asshole? That's what you're saying? It's Friday. And now we have two immovable rods. I got weird.

All right. So to the crypts. To the crypts, I say. But are we druiding there and then flying on a dragon or just flying on a dragon? Pikes. Well, I'll come with you if that's okay. Yeah.

If we're going to this, we're going to this, We need to do this together. Yes. I trust the city guard. And if it gets real bad, you'll take us back, right, Keele's? What, what? If it gets real bad, they'll take us back, right?

Uh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Then let's do it, and she puts her hand out towards Grog. Fuck yeah, buddy! It looks like most of the sanctum is now dissipating and heading out towards the front of the temple and going about some sort of structured exit to prepare for this assault. Allura. As she's standing by walking with Kee Mother and a heated discussion with what looks to be the member of the paramours of the quadroves. She turns... Uh, Vaxiland, yes.

It's good to see you. It is so good to see you. We need advice. We need help. There you go. When we fought Vecna, he threw us around like ragdolls. He held us.

He did whatever he wanted. Do you have any way, anything, any suggestion for helping us avoid his grasp again? Because if it went the way it went the last time, we are fucked right out of the gate. What do you perceive? as the weaknesses you suffered in that previous battle?

What was that? What do you perceive are the weaknesses that you suffered in the previous battle? He was able to hold us magically. And there are ways to make sure those bindings don't hold you still. There are magics that can prevent that. And if your enemy is as strong magic user as I know, he will use distance to his advantage.

So close that distance and make it your advantage. Not quite what he's capable of in his new ascended form, and that scares me. Strike through everything you've got. Work together. Communicate. And anything you can do to allow yourself preparation. And the jump on this fray, do it. That ring, that vault gave you, that'll be a boon enough.

If you can catch him off guard, that might mean everything. Holding us just wondering. You said there were kinds, but I just want to make sure. There are a few in your mists that can utilize. There's a spell called freedom of movement that can prevent being held paralyzed in that way, yes? That's good, that's good. Yeah.

Just making sure. Because I thought that was what it was. I just wanted to double check. I completely understood. Well, shall we away then? We have to go now. I'd like to come with you, but currently with everything going on.

To be honest, if I'm not there amongst the council, it's going to tear itself apart. The skies, it is the people of Amman, threatening all sorts of insanity. I'm sure you've seen shades of it here in a city which has faith. I myself will not completely resolve to the dreams that harm to many others. I'll be doing what I can to pay attention, but do note that ring also prevents me from seeing in on you. And I have to look out for Imman. Me and my lady both. She turns over to Kima, who's currently in the process of getting an argument with the Wyvern writer.

Can you see what I'm like, oh come on I can write too? Have you ever ridden a wyvern? No, but I haven't met a wyverin that I can't stare down. Weberriter turns around and kind of chuckles and then gets tripped immediately onto his face. The crush of metal on the banks and he spins over and she can spins around and joins the lower side and goes, you know, I never really like this place. A bunch of pricks. Good to see you guys.

You as well. That Holy Avenger getting some action lately. Oh. Now we're near enough. That's okay. You come back, and you and me will have a tussle. God, I love chema so much. Awesome. So don't be all doom and gloom, alright? That's a promise.

Stay alive. Stay alive. Stay alive. She looks up and a lower looks down at her and kind of just rubs the top of her head for a second. Kimmy kind of pulls away. Come back safe. Okay? Mm-hmm.

You'll hold you to that. You see there's like a moment of her kind of, and she just pins around not wanting to show any sort of weakness of emotion. Laura looks back and watches her turn away and goes, You'll make it through this. I've seen you do great things. We'll try until you'll succeed.

We have many at your back. Look, and she puts her hand out, and you can see now there's what looks to be at least over 100 Wyvern riders, all scattered amongst the various mountain outcroppings, that are all getting on top of their great wing of beasts that are fully armor with wyvern barding and armor, and they're taking off in clusters and circling. They're all counting on you.

They're going to make sure that you have the opportunity you have to put those to good use, and she glances off to the side of your pouch, close as it is. And she turns around to go and join Kima. Give Gilmore a hug for us, will you? She stops and turns. I'll do that. I owe my visit anyway.

And if he has any trinkets that lend freedom of movement... I'll ask. Tell me, say hi. I will. And I'm sure he does as well. Take care. Be safe. Come back.

She turns and walks away. Did you see that? Say what? They think we're gonna die. You're right. Safe bet. I feel pretty encouraged. Yeah.

I don't know why. Well, I'm glad. So, um, what exactly is our plan? Is it to try and keep Vecna from gaining more forces? Or are we trying to cut off Vetna and his forces? I think they're taking care of the forces, we're taking care of the God. They're the distraction. Then why go through the crypt?

We think that's where they're headed. But are we trying to take out a potential additional force? That would be my fault. That's where I would go. Unless is that not what other people are doing? I think that the surprise that he's expecting to bring to the city, possibly now, especially with the information that you brought, is that he would try and raise this creature and use it against the city.

So he's basically wanting to raise a giant zombie titan, full of zombie cannibal dwarves, and then he'll just like poo him out to fight other people. Somehow you make that less threatening. I'm not sure how you do it. You know it? It's like when you take a chicken, a duck and you put it inside a chicken. And then you put a chicken inside of a turkey.

Let's get going before he starts raising this thing. Let's fucking do it. The Tuckin of the Dan. You think, are we relying on Grog to stab these, these trammels through Vecna? Or do we each need to deliver the one? What? If we can get all three in and one swift movement, once we've weakened... It takes three separate attacks, I'm assuming, right?

Or would it be like attack, attack, attack? You gather, you can't... So much sass. You gather by the nature of their enchantment and the sides and with your, you can't just like cluster them together like darts and jam them into the board at once. Yeah. Okay. But it would be like one of those situations where you like, you would have to attack and then draw another one and then attack, right?

If like, or... That's possible. Or three of us could each have one. That's right. They're big. mention it has to be, Bechna has to be severely damaged already before we even do that. There has to soften the meat, gotta tenderize them.

In the avatar form for them to pierce. What? Echie. Like there has to be, breaks, wounds, visible cracks in the veneer of the avatar for the actual tremors to pierce. We're gonna die. So we're talking about doing this. Hey, DM, logistical questions.

Yes. How many days does it take me to make a fourth level scroll? Spell scroll, spell scroll, spell scroll, fourth level, how many days? Say it a couple more times. Fourth level spell scroll. That's going to be quite a while. That's like weeks, weeks and weeks. Weeks to do a downtime activity.

What game has that kind of time? I thought our whole deal was about to go do a surprise attack. We have to go. No, we do now. You're saying we don't have time to make a scroll, scroll, spells, scroll, scroll, spells. Also. Allura also just said, like, yo, plan, maybe plan a little.

Also, DM, did we get told for the trammels, for these harpoons, did they need to be wielded by the person associated to their gods, or can grog chuck them all? From what you understand, there was no specification. It was more the fusing of the divine energy within the tramble's creation grants it with the power. The means of delivering it doesn't seem to be as important. But it is a melee weapon.

I mean, it might, it's javelin-like, so it could be thrown, but, you know. Could be. We didn't make them to be aerodynamic. Didn't we? They're, they're just related by nature. Once again, you can certainly try. I'm gonna pass the Palor trammel back to you. Oh, if I had the time.

Oh, damn it. I have freedom of movement, but I have three fourth level spells. I mean, I can start bringing. turning into my fifth level spells as well, but it lasts for an hour. So I was just trying to figure out if there's a way. Pike says, I can also do it. Oh, so, yeah. And it's not concentration, right?

It's not concentration, no, no. It lasts for an hour. We'll wait to we're a little closer to this. Yeah, yeah. And deathboard lasts for eight hours? Which, a death ward? Yes. They're both fourth level though, so we have to...

These words are like all great and everything, but it's not going to change that we're going to have to make it up when we get there. So why don't we just go ahead and fight this fucking... As you begin to descend down the stairs on the outskirts of the mountain side, you can see the Wyvern writers have now gathered into two large units, and the distant shrieks of Wyburn cause kind of... ...begin to echo through the mountain range. They all begin to swoop the wind. towards the abundant terrace.

You guys follow suit? Sure. All right. As you make your way to the abundant terrace in the outskirts of the birth heart, there are the orchards, the large clusters of trees that you have traveled to and from before when traveling to and from Faslehem at Kilaeim,

Kilae's behest. And there you can see a number of the high priest druids of Malora have all gathered around the high hierophat and they're preparing means of transport. for all the troops, wyverns included, to those they're going to make it as part of this initial frontline assault. As you guys approach and watch, you see as other generals and such begin to gather their army units,

they begin to discuss orders, and number of them in the middle of this refer over to you guys. And you can see there's definitely direction being given in regards to you guys. Someone else to stop their alarm. Okay, this is going to be weird. be weird. Is it yours?

No. Oh, there's an actual alarm on the stage. Oh, my God, there is. When it turned 12 midnight, the alarm clock went off. It's not flashing. That's important. Five minutes. This hits news, you guys.

Five more minutes, Raven Mom. Five, five more minutes. It was all a dream. As you approach, Ophira steps up. It would be my honor to grant you passage to the base of the mountain range. I believe your other companion is approaching soon as well. She looks over past her shoulder as you glance, and you see Jemon Saor approaching within their arms a small leather chest, a container of some kind.

Jermon steps up and places it before you and pulls it back, and backs away with a brandishing presentation. Was it? What's the box? May these potions keep you healthy. So, within here, there are eight superior healing potions. Okay, okay. We're really in for a fucking fight, huh?

When the game gives you eight superiors. So everybody take one superior. and superior, right? That's one for each of us? Everybody gets one. And there's one extra. Yeah. Oh, they are so fucking bad ass. All right. Everybody gets one and there's one extra? Yep. This is eight and you guys have seven in your party. I'm going to mark down that Pike has one.

Yes. Okay. And who's made of the most glass? Who's going to get hit the most? It's going to be... Scanlon is important. Scanlan's super important. Scandlan should have. Guys, I'm fine. Are you really fine? I know you're very fine and you're very capable.

And also karma is a thing and I just really want to sort of balance the scales so... Why would you feel any pressure that way? I mean, we've got a long road of history, you and I. We're best buds. Best buds. Best buds met at Big Apple Anime Fest in New York City all those years ago. Oh. All right, all right.

Or I'll take two. Yeah. Okay. In Marquesian, I say thank you, Jemansal. Be pleased. We are. Very. Be pleased.

Also, if you don't like the meat man, I can make him go away. Your business has not encroached upon the... upon the order that we maintain yet. You'd know if it did. The smoldering pupils that they contain within their darkened eyes just stare back at you and the curling smile. Thank you. Let's go.

We've got to get through this druid-y thing, right? Yeah. Ophira backs up and putting her staff to one side kind of makes a large oval shape of their fingers as she mutters beneath her breath. You watch as one of the heavy, thick trunks of the nearest tree, begins to just tear and crack and pull inward.

And there you see in the similar fashion of the keylet's casting, though a little more visceral, an opening, reveals itself, and the doorway is opened, and she goes, quick, now! I like your technique! You all rush through,

one after another, being flanked at the end by Jermon. And as you all, approach the opposite side of this portal, you emerge in a somewhat crowded forest of what looked to be the pine trees. Immediately, the northern

air is colder, and you see drifting bits of snowfall, softly coming through bits of the tree line above you. You turn around just in time to see the doorway closed, and in the distance you see other doorways sof, sof, opening around you different trees,

and you watch as dozens, upon dozens of wyvern riders and armored soldiers begin to emerge one cluster after the next. Fucking druids are badass! Let's do this. You glance up and just can briefly see what looks to be the top northern crest of where the Zenwick Mountain Pass is. Just past the canopy of the forest are in because you were sent to the base of the very slim

base of the Sunwick Mountains. You're within a forest. What do you want to do? What does my vector tell me? Interestingly enough, southeast of where you are. Oh, mother. How close? How close?

I'd say it's probably close to about four miles from where you are right now. Oh shit. And slowly moving away. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my... Four miles. Did we guess wrong? Where... We don't know where this shit.

Do we know where these things are? They're both northwest of where you are in the mountain range. He's past them. Passed over. He's passed over, it seems. What do we do? So wait. If we get a little bit closer, I can do a commune with nature's spell and try and figure out some stuff.

That's all I got. I can scry. I mean, if he's already passed by the crypts, is there any reason to go there? I don't understand. What direction is Vassauheim from us now? Southeast. South. The way they're heading.

Uh, anybody else think we should fucking hop on a big ass brass dragon and try and catch him before he gets there? Yeah. What are we gonna do here? There's nothing to do here. He wants to go fight Bechner right now. Either that or he just goes and sacks the city and we're like, what does this tree tell me about this? I mean, quickly, please, someone come up with an argument that-

Just to be sure. We should scry on the Dwarven City if we can really quickly. How? We don't know much about it. Do we know enough to scry? I can... I can scry on Lady Briar or what? Do it. Do it right now. Yeah, I bet she's with him. Deep dive now.

Or she's not. Or she's not. We'll learn something. Are you zoning in on the city? Are you zoning in on Beckna? I only know Beck now is. We know where Beckna is. We're not just a little bit of Lady Briar. All right, scrying on Briarwood. Oh, she rolls. She rolls. She rolls.

Smeagherst, spell DC is... 21. Nice, sad. B. That is a 22. Oh. Sorry. As you try and focus, the incantation completes, and as your vision begins to extend, it's blocked by darkness and sent back into your form, and you realize the scry has failed, the will is too strong. Can you scry on that death night guy that was next to her before? Did he live, is he still with her though? Yeah. We didn't kill him. We did not kill him.

We did not kill him. We did not hit him. We did not. Oh, hi, Beck, not. Oh, hi, Beck's. Yeah. Um, oh, hi, Mark. All right, all right, all right.

I'll scry on... Oh, hi, Vox, Ma. Undead, do she? 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...

of true crime TV shows. And what about Unsolved Mysteries? The show that jumped started all of our love from 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 campy 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.

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 every clothing and 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 Chaotics Case Fires Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts When the chaotic are on the cake

As your vision extends from you It races through the darkness You see dark clouds ahead And it fires down You look instantly within It looks to be the streets of Tharam Fala You see the cobblestone roads Now cracked and broken

You see buildings appear to have sustained some sort of structural damage you see. Roves are partially collapsed. Walking down the street, strolling with a number of undead soldiers at its back, the black night you battled before. As it struts through, you watch as the towers and buildings kind of shake. Oh, no. And then shake again. And then your vision returns.

Oh, shit. I was shaking as we watch. Oh, is it like on the back of some sort of, like, giant turtle or something? Oh, no, what a bit? We should stop that from happening. Let's go, let's go, attack it. We're super lucky, and it's just a turtle. Turtle!

How lucky this! It'd be so cute. Then there is no time to waste. You watch as Jamansa Ord's form ships. and giant brass wings extended a flash of reddish-orange energy. If nearby trees bend and break at the sheer force of the dragon's magnitude, their form expanding to fill the recent vicinity of the forest. And with a large guttural roar, you see before you, the brass dragon.

I guess we should get on. Shotgun. Hey, Keeleith, while we're flying through the air, Is it possible for you to give us a nice inspiring speech? Oh. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. It's all right. It's just our small group here.

No one's watching. You know us. Uh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Man, inspiring speech. Is it time?

So we're on a brass dragon? You can do it while you're all climbed on the back? Yeah. Yeah. They're waiting patiently for you all to jump on to the back of the dragon for. If you need a second to think about it, it's okay. We can start off first and then come back to you. Wait, what?

Do you need a second to compose yourself? You know, Scanlan. It's funny you should mention that because I do need a second. I have to think about my words deeply and a long time and even still they come out wrong, and you're so witty and quick, and you can come up with things like speeches and songs on the fly in front of thousands of people way quicker than I can. It is not my strength, but I do know my strength, and I know each of your strengths. But not as well of each of you know your strengths, and I know your strengths, and I know your strengths,

as well as you do. What I'm saying is, you should believe in yourselves. The way that I believe in you, Scanlan, and the way that you believe in everyone else, Scanlan, because you're all strong and unique, and we're probably gonna die. Fly, ahoy!

With a slow, with the slow metallic crinkling sound. of brass dragon scales curling, the large head of Jermon Sa'ords' dragon form spins around to look you, dead in the face, Keeleith. The same dark eyes with the smoldering, burning cores for pupils. The mouth opens, and you can smell immediately the breath that has a very earthy, syngh, kind of burnt wood scent to it. Oh, cedar. And the voice flows forth. Very good, Keeleith. I found that

quite inspiring. And with that, you guys can all take your 18 temporary headlines on the inspiring hands. How much is it? 18. 18 temporary headlines? And with that note,

with one large push of their strong dragon wings, shush. Shumansha Ord raises beyond the tree line up into the sky above where you can see the clusters of Wyvern riders have now also gathered to survey the territory. The first thing you notice, the southward wall of the tall rocky landscape surrounding the fields of ice-dusted grasses that filled this pass. You can see the mountain range seems

to have suffered an immense amount of damage. A gargantuan fresh rock slide nearly a mile wide, now resting at the base of the northern mountain. You can see actually swallowing and burying some of the forest land. And as you glance southward into the Todusk Pass, you can see what appear to be mammoth holes in the ground. Large craters of broken dirt and rock, forced into dunes of mud and shale surrounding their outsides. The scars pockmarks 200 feet across carved into the terrain.

I'd like everyone to make an intelligence check, please. You know what, an intelligence check? Can I do a nature check? Sure. Yeah? Vexalia. Is this an intelligence? Yes, is your intelligence modifier?

21. 21, good. Vax. Eight. Tequila, that's good. I'm doing a nature check. Right, to find out. If it looks like a path has been bore through B in a straight line,

like if they're just going through for 24? 24. What you can tell from a nature check is that, these are not natural formations in the ground. These are like blunt... This is blunt trauma to the ground that has caused these large craters in the ground. Does it look like a walking path?

Like a very large walking path? Like a big thing. Percival? Natural 20 with for 25. 19 total. Okay. Percival. Yeah.

And Keylet. And Persolia. Not you, Grog. Sorry. Oh. You do know. Notice. Upon immediate view that the patterns are, these large holes, these critters are a pattern. Staggered about every 350, 400 feet. And they do almost present the gate of a walking creature.

Oh, hey, you got that big fucking turtle you want. It's a giant turtle! It's a giant turtle! The final miniature is just Matt. It has been foreseen. I'm working on my costume. Do we see anything in the air? Any kind of like any of those shadow creatures in the air?

Is it just our Wyvern writers? Make perception check. Help. How, how, oh, Jesus. Hey! Okay. As you lift up to survey more territory, you manage to get a brief view over the edge

of that mountain range. You do not see any of the, of the gloom stalkers that you had previously faced near Thunemphala, none in the vicinity. It was only the Wyvern writers and a few errant birds that normally take to the skies that are keeping wide berth from your sudden emerging

army that has joined you in the skies. But you glance over this mountain range and you look about about two or three miles northward, you can see the same path of destruction that is torn through these mountain ranges and what appears to be a sinkhole.

Hundreds and hundreds of fields of across that disappears in the darkness. How big... Is the sinkhole in the direction of the city that's moving right now? No, it's in the direction you guys were planning to travel. Oh, maybe that's where they ripped the thing out. It's where it came out.

So these, how big are these footprints approximately? The footprints, each one is... That's the fucking, it's the Titan! It's the Titan full of Warbody! Yeah! And his name is... is Larkin.

It was just a really big giant. Big Titan, yeah. So, yes, each one of these craters is roughly 150 or so feet across. Oh, his feet are 100 feet across! But 150 to 200 feet across, yeah. Keeleith. How big would a creature be if it had footprints

approximately to 250 to 200 feet across? At least 100 feet big! I feel like that's a nature... Probably bigger? Maybe even bigger. Can I do a nature check to find out how fucking big this guy is? Sure. Yeah.

Yeah. There's about there. Let's do this lucky one. Uh, 28. Based on your experience with various creatures that leave large tracks that you've dealt with or hunted in your history with the Ashari, um... I mean, you know, the legs are generally pretty thick for a creature of men. size because it has to support all that weight.

But if each footfall, crater here is about 150 to 200 feet wide, you can surmise the creature is hundreds feet tall. Oh, God. At least six times. We are going to have to shadow of Colossus the shit.

Oh. What is it? What did you say? So we're going to have to shadow of Colossus this year. How are we going to fucking fight something that's 600 feet tall? If it bleeds, we're going to D. Okay, all right, hang on though. Caverns, undead caverns of dwarfs inside the Titan.

Yeah. Maybe we crawl up its butthole and kill the things inside. Yeah, maybe. Fight it from the inside out? Maybe. That's the most exciting Dwarven Forge thing I would ever want to see. The Godzilla interior. Yeah, I just, like, look down at his clock there.

You don't know. We gotta get inside of it. We don't... It may be all it takes is just... Are we on Jamon's awards back as we've been going on? Like, right now it's just large brass, dragon wings. Never ending story in our way to a... Wow.

...theirning story. Ah. Wow. Can you detect if we're making up any ground on your target? I'm talking to you. you, Vex. Oh, what? Liam, are we getting closer?

My brain's on Beckna. Oh, that's right, yeah. He was growing up. Is Vekner riding? Is Vekna right along? Is he still moving the same direction? Yeah, I mean, Vekna's just slowly traveling in that south-southish direction.

We've got to go after it then. All right. We're already too late to go to the... With that, you hear the booming voice of Jemann once more. Very well. Let us be off. Whush! And goes into a fast-paced dive. You all grab a hold.

by dragon scale and or loose bits of fur there are as it drives into this huge dive, this gargantuan dragon. Trinkets in the necklace for this part. I assume to such. I'm going to go on me! You see as the Wyvern riders immediately take this action and begin to swoop in and follow suit as well, following behind them.

At this point, you guys are guiding. You are the tip of the spear of this assault at this very moment. Oh, God. You begin to follow this pattern of impacts across the pass, heading south, southeast, heading over and through different mountain ranges. The higher you get, the wind gets a little more intense, and the cold becomes more biting, and Jermon dips down a bit to avoid having to thrust you

into this very dangerous stratosphere. The light in this area is very, very close to near dusk, almost, how much the sunlight is just blotted out by the cloud cover that is completely consumed, the skyline from horizon to Verizon on all sides. I kind of do a bit of a gust spell ahead of us to kind of clear the path, give them a little bit more visual line of sight. Thank you. You hear emanate from Jamon as the cloud cover tends to spread a little bit and give

a little bit of a good view. You travel on for about 25, 30 or so minutes before Vex, Vax, and Kielas. You glance around the bend of the pass that you've just begun to curve around, and you see it. An impossibly immense entity standing hundreds and hundreds of feet tall,

a gigantic, bulky mass of jagged rock, slowly walking on two castle-width legs, Each footfall sending a cloud spray of earth into the air around it, quaking the surrounding lands with a terrifying crack and rumble as the back leg lifts. Sifting through the air, you can almost hear the air tear with a high-pitched whine, even at this distance, as its sheer mass and the speed in which it's cutting through and breaking the atmosphere slams down for its next step. As you get a better view of it, the closer you get, it resembles the Earth elemental form.

you've seen Keeleth take many, many times, only proportionally malformed and terrifying on a scale you've never seen. Four colossal arms swing from its torso. Battering rams of shifting stone each over 150 feet wide. The closer you get, grove, you sense a faint vibration in the Titan stone knuckles. Oh my fucking car.

Just to note, these were made from the heart of a Feld type. I don't think it's that one, but... It could be. It could be. That one's dead. He was dead. That was sarcasm, but yeah. Is that mean... Does that mean you can, like, beat him up from the inside?

Oh yeah, I'll beat him up with his heart. Yeah. Aw. Yeah. Do I... Do I notice anything? Not in particular, just the closer you get, you clap and it sounds booming as it would.

Just the closer you get, it says this very, very faint vibration to them, as if just proximity keys you in bed. And even your simple mindgog can gather that these were probably crafted and made from whatever it is you see storming through that ravine. Okay, okay. Yes.

Go? Do I feel Vecna riding on this guy's shoulder? You sense the direction and distance of Vecna directly where this entity lies. I would like you to make a perception check, please. Do it what? Perception. Just him? Just him for now as he's focused.

27. You glance past as your proximity grows closer and closer. One, you notice that there are what looks almost like a beehive-type activity around the top of it, where its head would be. There is no massive head protruding, just a shoulder shelf where the top of it becomes these four arms, and it's faced away from you, based on the way that it's traveling. These arms kind of swinging wildly with each step slowly. Its size is difficult for you to fathom at this distance. It seems so big, it's so small, but as you get closer, you can see these, these, these, these, these...

Beesworn like clusters resemble creatures you saw in the shadow fell not too long ago. And there atop the shelf of its gargantuan torso, you see what looks to be a city line. Resting atop of this entity, there lies a portion of Tharam Fala, moving with this gargantuan primordial earth type. That's no. risen from below, it's long held too. That trace on us, it's not going to make any notes. But I'm going to do it.

I don't, will that work on the back of a big shiny dragon? Just another note, to be clear, these were carved from the heart stone of a ruined Earth primordial, and when they're doing their thing, they make me immune, resistant to fire, coal, and lightning damage. So, you know, that's good. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so just, um, uh, theory time, maybe. This primordial is marching with Therunfala on its back to Baselheim. Yep.

If I were God wanting to prove that I'm awesome and do like a big miracle thing, I would drop a giant city on top of another city. Or destroy the city and then replace it with that one. Just beat the city up with that city. Oh. We can stop this. So all we have to do is beat the titan. I've got magic missiles that can do like one D6 damage.

So with the number of those, we could be in business. Listen, listen, I know it seems really dire, right? But the only other option besides attacking it, in my mind, is trying to get its attention. maybe lead it away from Vasselheim. I think it's also, in theory, necrotic, which means it can be turned. I mean, that would be one powerful fucking stone.

We're going to have to do something, but we may have to work at least. How, Pike, how strong are you feeling right now? You look back at Pike who's clutching onto the back of Jamantza Ord seeing this, her face just pale white, eyes wide, and she's like, I don't know. It's all right, buddy. You go to, you're a monster.

I'm a monster. It's also a monster. Should we land on the city on its back, or should we try to fuck up the titan? I think we should like dive into one of the beehive tunnels and stealth in. I think we should still be stealth mode. Jamon can drop us off.

Jamon, you distract all of the city with all of your Webern riders as well, and we'll come in from the bottom up, yeah? Okay. How far are we from that? very sun plan. However, and as the Dragon's Head turns, look ahead and you can see some of these clusters of gloomstockers have now broken away from the titans, swarming in your direction. You're about, I'd say, a mile and a half away from it, and gaining only because you're pushing

at full speed, but you're seeing now, then breaking off in the clusters, and you hear the distant I know we bamped out here, but do we have any idea how much time we have, how far away from Vasselheim we are? Um, from what you can tell, I'd say make a... Don't make me make it. No, I'm ready, let's go! Yeah, I'm gonna guess too, because he's asking out left. Yeah, ma'am. It's a good question. I know, uh, make a nature check.

Can I check? Hey! Oh, okay, okay. Negative two! My modifier, my modifier, so 15. Okay. Oh. It was 17, I was excited.

That's good. Not too bad. You haven't traversed this area of the north side of the Sierra before, but gathering based on where you were, seeing the sinkhole and the distance that Maxidon was giving you earlier, you imagine it's probably about 200 miles. 200 miles or so away from Vasselheim. Okay, we got time, so... We got a lot.

It has very wide gait with each step. Yeah, but it's like Godzilla, right? It's like... Yeah, so you have time, but it's not... It's not 200 miles on a whole person. I mean, if we start skipping, we're fucked, but, you know. Hey, Keyleth.

Slouching to Vassel. Do you still have any of that, that? That wild guide, is that what it's called, that herb that scares away the undead? I do. I grab some so I can cultivate more of it. You should probably do that because we're about to hit up those. They're a mile, a mile and a half away, and they see us, it looks like. Yeah, they're closing in, there's a short time before they reach you.

And remember, at this traveling speed, any sort of smoke-based sensor material you have is going to just go right behind you like a flare. Can we turn into clouds, Kieluth, and fly off of our dragon ride and then poof inside Let me see what I packed. Let me see what I packed. We be in the air, and not all of us are so awesome in the air. We could fall off this dragon's back real fast. Her.

Okay. We could do wind walk. It's going to take an hour or a minute to transform in and out. I also have animal shapes that we can just ban. Can you become invisible by any chance? Jemann, do you hear the voice rumble? I can. Why don't we just do that?

But only myself. I could maybe affect a couple of you. I could affect a couple of us. How many? You know, three. Quite a few of us left. Maybe, like, Jamon, could you get, like... Five?

I could muster about four of you. So one of us. That's enough. Would be visible. Three and four? I can't add. Or, or I could make Jemann look like one of those dark, flappy things, and make us look like undead creatures.

They probably have seen us coming, though. They're on the way there. They're already on the way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're closing. Invisible then? At least we're a smaller target at that point. I can throw out a fog cloud and try and fog us the rest of the way.

just be a flare. You have flying through it, it won't work. Yeah, not far. We're in clouds. Yeah, but if you do the thing, we'll just keep going through it. Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's good point.

Invisible or changes, one of the other? We could do Invisible and I could fly like, as fast as I fucking can away. Nah. And there's going to get in. Two gloomstalkers come diving down towards the back of Jamon. Let's do Invisible.

I take. I shoot one with an arrow. No, don't do. No. All right, both of you guys, roll attacks, please. It's okay, we're going in a speed that it doesn't matter. Did that just happen? Yeah, I just knocked over a one, Bob.

You mean a great juice model? 28. 28 hits. 25. 25 hits as well, yeah. And I was attempting to, I was going to burn a, not that I should have said this, I was going to burn a grit to drop.

Right, I figured that was the case. All right, so one of them gets shot with an arrow, and is the impact hit, it shrieks, but continues its dive. The second one gets shot by, which weapon was it? It was animus. With animus, and you watch as the detonation of the kind of spray of black from the impact of the bullet hitting, and as it shrieks, its wings kind of buckle from underneath, and it plummets about 30 or 40 feet or so, and ends up falling out of its dive. The one, however, is still diving, and it's going to go for the one that shot it with its era.

Natural two. Wait a night. Yeah, that's going to be a 13, I'm pretty sure that doesn't hit you. So as attempts to dive past you, you duck out of the way, still like knocking yourself a secondary arrow, and claws hit the back of the dragon scales instead. You hear the scrape of it going across the back but having no effect on the hard, armored grass dragons back. As the boomstocker then shrieks once more, picks back up into the clouds and vanishes. Did you get an attack of opportunity on it with daggers?

You can definitely attack it with daggers, if you're like. Yeah, that hits a 29. Yeah, it is. My friend the dragon is against it. Do I get a sneak attack? No. Sorry. All right. That is 12, just about. Okay, 12 damage go. How much damage do you do?

15. 15. All right. All right. As it shrieks and vanishes back up into the clouds above, you can see now the Wyvern riders around are starting to charge in as well. And as you're rushing now, you're maybe three-quarters of a mile from the exterior of this giant Earth. invisible, invisible, invisible. All right, you complete your incantation in time with Jemong, and the entirety of your party turns transparent and is now free from visual perspective.

Is everybody? Or is there one person left? You did the math? I can do four if Jemong can't. There's Jemong Pike. Oh. That's all of us. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Can Pike two? Well, Pike and Jemann would be Okay, so I'll do four and four. I'll do four. And with that, you all manage to disappear and go into a dive as soon as you all vanish, which is interesting, because you've disappeared and suddenly your mount disappears

and all your friends disappear, so you're just clutching onto what you hope is still dragon scales and fur as you just look down and just see clouds, ground, mountains, and eventual plummeting death, where you're not holding on to the back, and freaking out, man, I'm freaking out! Wait, if our eyelids are invisible,

does that mean we can't even close our eyes? You can close your eyes? But does that... Oh, no, it's too much, too much. Not cool. I will say, because the enchantment doesn't make you translucent, it's just invisible to the visual gaze. Oh, so that it actually works.

The interior of eyelids would not be affected by it. Oh, thank God. Okay. Much like a Harry Potter invisibility, cloak, you can still see the inside of the cloak somewhat. Yeah, no, I was just having that clockwork orange moment. It was just, no! Like, ah! Make yourself more nauseousy.

by closing your eyes. That's not true. As you go into this dive, you can hear the clashing of Wyvernigan's gloomstock, or you hear the yelps and shrieks of two different beastial cries. You hear shouts of humanoid and elven voices shouting as spears are tossed, arrows are let loose, and this aerial fray begins. With that, you kind of glance forward as the dragon comes out of a dive, Germant, leading you towards this gargantuan entity. You can hear with further volume, the... Even slower than that, probably, based on the gate it has to walk

and the speed it's going. But it is... It's like watching a mountain with legs move. As you approach, what do you do? Do we see a clearing, a landing? Like a hole in that... You can go ahead and make a... Make a perception check, guys.

All of you, you can glancing. Nope. 25? Yeah. 30. 24. Six. Eight.

Eight. Awesome. All right. Keelef. As you guys, at this distance, it's hard to make out details. But Kiela, you rule 30, which, according to the edition, is nearly impossible. Thank you. 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. You're because. This is where leaders, entrepreneurs, and go-getters come to level up. Each week, I bring you unfiltered conversations, game-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 Unplug 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. 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 Say I 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. What Ifs, Backstage Stories, Acting Pet Peaves, 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 Happy Say I Confused on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ever open up your podcast app, scroll forever, and still not know what to listen to? And there are millions of podcasts, and most of them, they just don't grab you. That's why I created Something You Should Know. Every episode is built around surprising, useful, and fascinating ideas. We're consistently ranked in Apple's top 200 with thousands of five-star reviews. But more importantly, people come back because they learn something interesting every time.

If you're tired of searching and you just want something good to listen to, try one episode of Something You Should Know right here on the platform you're listening on right now. So you glance about and amongst the broken rock exterior of this behemoth entity you can see towards the base of its right leg towards the back what looks to be a faint trickle of water like a waterfall of pee probably a very fludgy a little bit of a trickling of a waterfall that's just flowing from its back leg area and then just kind of dissipating as it plummetes into the air. Oh.

That's it? Yeah. Coming from the city or coming from the Titan? From the Titan. He's linking from the back of his calf. Let's go in that. Let's hit. From the back of his hip.

Let's see if we can land on that burst pimple then. I don't think there's any landing. I think there's going to be a... Yeah. Yeah. But you know what? Let's see what happens. Let's fly in close to that waterfall.

Okay, so you point this out to Jermon? Yeah. Mm-hmm. All right, you hear the dragon voice boom up once more. Hold on. Goes into an intense dive trying to bring, because previously you were about levels, not a little higher than Tharum Fallam on top of the entity.

Germon goes into a dive towards the hip area that you point out. The wind is pushing past you. You're holding on for dear life, because any possible loss of grip not only is going to loose you from the dragon, which is going to be hard to find you, as you're all invisible. Um, uh, well, depending on the dragon's abilities, I guess.

Um, but as, as you begin to push down into this dive, I want you all to make, uh, strength saving throws, please. Oh God, strength? Strength? Jeez, Louise. Oh, ha, ha, ha. Natural 20. Natural.

Natural 20. I got an 11. Okay. I'm using my first luck of the day. Oh, that's worse. That is a nine for me. Oh, God, a 22 for me. I know.

All right. This is like a group success or failure thing, right? In almost a poetic justice way, both Vax and Keeleth begin to lose their grip. And with a sequence of moments, they both get blown off the back. They'll be fine. The brass dragon. Were they touched? We wouldn't even know. Were they touching each other? We wouldn't know because we-

Wait, are we all- You and Vax are currently now, no grip on any dragon. As you both reach out. Whistler! Throw my dagger at that sound. Roll an attack. Roll an attack. That sounds like us. That sounds like us.

All right, go for it. That's smart. Were you saying you were going to come to me? Now roll on attack. Yeah. There's the 18. With disadvantage, because she is invisible. That's a 20.

What's your armor class, Kielis? Yeah, I mean he hits. All right, go and roll damage. The armor class is 16. Good, so you can vamp to it. That's right. 12 plus psychic damage, honey. You guys have a fucked up relationship.

Yeah. Our entire relationship has been psychic damage, baby. 14. So you take 14 points of piercing damage. However, as soon as the pain hits you, it's immediately elated by the immediate impact of Axis' arms wrapping around you for dear light. Oh, that's right. I'm kissing you already.

You both are now tumbling and plummeting through the sky. Do you want to fly or should I? Hold on. And I go, giant e- Eagle form? Okay. The giant eagle form takes flight as her wings extend. You realize you've been clutching on to kind of the under down feathers.

So you're kissing her arm, head. Pull and climb back onto the top of the giant eagle. And with that, you both... Now here's an interesting question. Because invisibility lasts until you do an attack or cast a spell. It's a magical ability. I'm going to say because it's a natural effect. It will not affect the invisibility, especially at your high and up to wood level.

You're specifically shape-changing is your thing. So I'll say you just skirt under of what would reveal invisibility. Would you... You lose it, however, for attacking her. So now there's just a Vax kind of huddled on nothing, full-on, like, Wonder Woman style, invisible jet, just like riding through the sky.

So as you guys coast in, the rest of you hear Jemann go, it appears we've lost some passengers. No, no, no. Oh, go, keep going. Keep going. Keep going. We're all right. Everything's fine here.

Everything's fine. How are you? Jamon, they say they're okay. It's okay. We can go. Very well. Continues into the dive. You guys trailing behind at this point,

but making your way down towards the base hip region of this entity following the direction that Kiela gave. spotting earlier. Woo! All right. As you guys get closer and closer, you can see there is indeed what appears to be a trickle of a waterfall that is just dissipating.

The wind is so strong that it gets maybe 25 or 30 feet down before it just gets scattered into droplets. Is it pea-colored? No, it is actually a pretty clear water. You do also glance as you get closer that it appears to be emerging from some sort of an opening, like a cavern. Yeah, let's head for the opening. All right.

It's just got a hot spring in. It's a hot spring, yeah. So as you approach... Oh, no. We have passed without a trace. We have pass without a trace. You do. But the flying man does not.

So as the rest of you make it up towards the side and the wind is strong here and you can hear the impact of each footfall so deafening, your eardrum is almost shake and her pain with each impact, the base of each footfall is just immense. But you do see, there appears to be, interestingly enough, there is the waterfall coming out of it, and the waterfall is careening down what looks to be a broken stone staircase. The path, the opening is about 15 feet across and about 10 feet wide, and it looks like it was at some point

attached before this creature rose to another series of tunnels or wherever else this dwarven. stronghold, these series of vaults that were carved within this creature's body extended beyond its torso, and this is one of the breaking points. As you glance back, and you can see your brother posting down about 100 or so feet away, you also watch as one of the large arm swings back. No, no, no, no, no, I dodge it. I try to dodge it. Stop hitting yourself. I need both of you guys to make dexterity saving throws. Oh, shit. Because you're riding Keyleth right now, it's going to be on the giant eagle form.

Because you're clutching it. It's just on me. It's just on you. The giant titan. It's hard to avoid a hundred plus foot wide arm. I'm a nimble eagle. This is a save. Wait, wait, wait.

Oh, that's not bad. Wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. It's a deck save, right? Yes. I'm blessing Keyleth. As you see it coming. Yeah, as a time, because it's so immense.

Add a D4, yeah? Yep. Oh, yeah! Boom. Okay, 24 total! It's not enough. You were one away. It's a 25 DC because...

It's huge. This is a giant fucking arm. So... Oh. Both you and Vax... I don't have the dice for this, so I'm gonna have to use the app. You both suffer 87 points of bludgeoning damage as the force of a mountain slams into the side of your half-elph and eagle form. You say 87? 87 points of bludgeoning damage, yes.

Okay, okay. Uh-huh. No problem. Are you stunned? Does that mean you're not an eagle? I immediately drop form and start falling. Okay, any carryover damage, make sure to mark that. Yep. Does uncanny Dodge affect this at all?

Unfortunately, because you're relying on her eagle maneuverability, no. Okay. Do one carryover damage. Well, then I shoot the wings out immediately. Okay. She's still... The wings emerge. Both of you begin to plummet at this point.

Hopefully. I'm okay. Keyless. What? As you're plummeting, the vaccine is your own perception check. Hang on, I'm doing math. Oh shit.

Oh, I love it. Jamon, they're fine. They told us... They're fine. They'll be here any second. Don't worry. We did see this happen, right? No.

You guys are right now kind of like hovering by this and looking back and you watch this occur. Okay, good. We saw this. You see Vax get smacked. fall and then his wing shootout. Vax roll a perception check. Reception check, great.

Roll a really high. Come on, buddy. Disadvantage. Roll a really high twice. The same thing. So it's a 24. Oh! Reliable talent.

Strangely, you're able to see a slight shift in wind to give you just a brief moment to see where Keelan's invisible plummeting body is. Well, I'm still in physical. Oh, I'm so invisible. Yeah. Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because you haven't cast a spell at any attacks,

so you just, you managed to see this brief shimmer in space where the wind kind of bends around her reverting form. And pick it up, grab it, right? Thrust downward with your wings, you grab her body, and manage to carry, you can feel her invisible body below you as you bring it back up. Punch me in the face, punch me in the face right now. Good job!

Hey, beautiful. Oh, I'm sorry. Let's get the fuck out of here. Do a barrel. All right. Another giant arm swings. What? But swings wide, as it attempts to swing in the same place

it did before, it does not seem to see the two of you quickly approach the proximity of its torso, and you hear this... Mm. Cut, ah! Passing over you by about 30 or 40 feet. Not cool, man. Oh, my. Oh, hitting, you're trying to go for Jaman? No, it's trying to go where you guys were.

It's just, it's just jogging. You guys do manage to, because you still have a visual point on it, so you kind of direct and tug, Vax by the hair and ears in the direction of the path you saw. By the ponytail? Yeah, basically. Oh, God. Oh. Oh.

And there, on the edge, you can see Jemont Sa'Or there, wings flapping. as you guys rocket down and land right on the edge of the footsteps. There's about a five-foot's gap where the water isn't rushing past. Okay, okay. I immediately cast control water and suck it inside. Okay. The waterfall stops and bends upward and it's now being held. You guys have would appear to be a row of steps ahead of you

that are safe enough to land on right now. They're still slick with water, but there isn't a rushing waterfall pouring over them. Can we see where to go to? You can see it descends upward out of view. That'll be. Let's just go. Let's do it.

This is what's happening. This is who we are now. Jamon, they swoop down and their giant dragon claws grapple onto the rock side of this large Titan and leans forward, giving each of you the opportunity to jump a very short distance over to these steps. As each of you make this leap, Jamon disengages and flies up.

This is, I can only grant you so much, for I have many to watch out here as we distract he who resides above. However, take this, and as the dragonhead rescinds, you see the eyes flare with energy, and he's gonna cast mass cure wounds. Whoa! So as...

Two six and a seven, not bad. All right, this is 12, 19. That's the thing with the dice. That's going to be at 28 hit points healed to both of you. That helps. That helps. Yep. Yeah, as we were landing back, the gashes all over Vax's face started to heal up a little bit,

but not all the way, and then something like they went even further. Nice. Thank you. Be safe. Fight well. See you on the other side. I'll see you on the other side of the war. As you all stand there on the precipice of this opening that just falls off into a drop, hundreds of feet into the rocky ground below.

You can smell the cold wind blowing through these caverns emerging from this entrance you've found. As Caleb holds back the flow of this river, you glance up with the dark, rising stairs deep into the body of the Titan amongst the cursed vaults of this dwarven city, long. abandoned and begin your trek to eventually meet your final conflict with the Whiskered 1 and that's what we're gonna end today. This is a little surreal. Big time. There's some people that we really, really, really, really, really want to thank really fast, and it's our crew and it's the people who help put this on for us.

So we want to thank, I have a live. I have a list, but I left it backstage because I was too involved in what was going on. Okay, Danny, Sacks, Courtney, Ryan, Rachel, Ed, Jamie, Danny, Ben, Chris. Chris, Fernando, Joe, Audrey.

Everybody who's, you guys, it takes, yeah, it takes literally, six months to put one of these on and the amount of work and heart and love that our crew has put into this has been incredible you guys are incredible thank you for waiting thank you for coming thank you for participating don't worry it's almost Thursday see you guys tomorrow get some sleep thanks so much this is you a lot of Bye.