Critical Role & Sagas of Sundry - Vox Machina Ep. 48 - Into the Frostweald

Episode Date: November 30, 2021

Vox Machina continue their quest to collect the vestiges. Along the way they are rejoined by Pike, and discover some other old friends in dire straits.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Dragons called the Cromaclave that have destroyed society all across the continent of Taldore and beyond. You returned to the outskirts of a city named Western that was very important in your early adventures to find it from a different. distance, partially destroyed by the dragon attack but a couple weeks before, and since taken over by what seems to be the remnants now swelling in power and size of Grog's old herd of wandering barbarians and various savages, having taken the city by force and rolling it with an iron hand. It was also deemed not the right time to face this foe, and as such the party continued venturing southward in the direction of the Frostwailed, where somewhere at the

base of the Storm Peak Mountains, the Mait of Ossesa, the Gynosphinx you had met in Vasselheim, for mate resides somewhere in this vicinity. That's all the information you have to go on as you head down towards the frozen forest. So that's where we begin. As you guys continue pushing, as you guys Continue pushing south from western, seeing the distant pillars of dark smoke that slowly drift into the atmosphere disappear as the town itself vanishes over the horizon. You continue to push southward through the open grass fields. You continue traveling for the better part of the day, eventually coming up along the side of the silver-cut channel, which is the river that comes down and cuts through near Craghammer into the west of the river.

of Western, goes past Kaimal and then eventually heads down in this direction towards the Formier Basin. You guys traveling fairly quickly as you're in your mist forms, which is making up a lot of the normal travel time you would have to worry about here. By the time the sun finally begins to set across the mountains, pay attention please. Yes. Sorry. It's another bow holder. The kids are... Yeah.

I got plenty of things I can throw in here if you guys aren't paying attention. That's not funny. No, it's really funny for me. As you continue pushing southwards, the sun slowly begins to set in the distance. You glance over towards the Foremere Basin. You can see just gently over to the right what looks to be the city of Kaimel, which has lights kind of glimmering in the far distance. But what you see by the basin itself is this large lake that is centered in this region just north of the Frostwale. You can see where the two main rivers diverge before heading

southward towards the ocean. There's a smattering of various tents that are clustered right towards the side of the riverbank, or the riverbank and the edge of the lake itself. As you continue coasting overhead in your mist forms, you see small trails of smoke. from smoldering campfires, clusters of people and families wandering the shore in this small group. Do you continue going forward? We should check it out. Yeah. You don't have to, you can keep you going.

It's a tent city? It looks like, yeah. They're like refugees, probably. Hundreds, thousands? There's probably somewhere in the neighborhood of a few dozen, close to maybe half. I'll say about 50, 60. What are the 10 cities? look like, do they look like military encampment tents or like refugee tents?

Can't really tell from this distance, especially as the light is beginning to slowly diminish. Can we float closer? Yeah. We've been we still mists? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, my God. That whole description, and yes, we're still mist.

As you coast down closer, you get a better look. And yeah, there are about 50, 60 or so people on the outside. you don't have an idea of how many or maybe inside the tents even more, most likely. But these tents are fairly ramshackle, barely standing. The people look destitute. Look like they're holding on to survival here on the outside of the city. You see a few boats that are going in and out on the shore. Probably fishermen. There are a few bonfires that are now starting to kick up as the night's cold begins to swell in. in. It looks to be like this is a fairly, say, thriving, a fairly functional refugee camp.

Well, those to give a fuck speak up. Well, we can't, we're in misform. They're like... ...in the direction. Maybe we can... Good point. Maybe we can... We can send them back to Whitestown.

Maybe if we could talk, which we can't right now. I float down into the trees outside of the camp. Outside of the camp. Okay. These are open grasslands. There aren't a lot of trees and they're spotted around. There are a few rock formations and small hills that you might be able to get out of sight. So you coast around there and you go back into your physical form.

Rest you follow? Tall grass, low grass? I'd say it's probably thigh length. Okay. Following? Yeah, yeah, of course. Were you close to knee? Yeah, the rock, so that we're kind of in camouflage.

All right, so you guys go ahead and you set down maybe 300 feet from the outside. of the nearest part of the camp. Reconstitute into your physical forms. At this point, the sun has now disappeared over the horizon, and the blues have now gone to orange, to purple, and you can see in the distance the darkness of night is starting to crest over the sky. What do we want to do? What would we start for? Are we here? No, there's, it looks like a refugee camp grog. They may have information. People that escaped from Western potentially. me.

What? Oh, really? Yeah. Possibly. I mean, it's a large group of people. I'm assuming they came from a city of some sort. Hey, Scanlan. Oye.

Look, if we go over there and it gets a little like Harry, you still got old magic doll, right? Old magic doll? Yeah, Hugh Hefner house. Oh, yeah, old magic door, yes. Magic doll, if you have it too, for Lego. I mean, I have a little pike figurine that I keep with me. What, no, it's a keeps saying. Yeah, absolutely.

Why is everything I say creepy? I don't know why is it. Maybe you can pop them back to White Stone. I feel like it might be good. I mean, if we find out if they're hurting, that's where we're putting our survivors. They look like they're hurting. I couldn't help with that today.

Oh, I'd have to rest overnight and you could pop them in in the morning. Yeah. How is it? Late, sun's gone down. Super late. Not a volume? Oh, mistform. Missed form.

Got us here. It's worse talking to them at the very least. Pike and I are from Westall and if they're over that village or that city, I'd like to make sure they're all right. Maybe they're friends. Maybe we could find Mike's dad. Grandfather. Grandfather will help. Percy, would Whitestone be able to sustain this many more people?

I think at some point we're going to have to have that conversation, but for now, I think we'll probably be all right. Yeah. Yeah. All right. You're good for it. You're rich. Should, um, maybe... There's an idea.

Scanlon, you said that a lot of people can go into your house, yeah? I can fit many people into my hole. Could you... I wonder why everything he says is creepy. Could you invite the folk in, and then they live in your hole for a little while, and then when we get to White Stone, you open your hole and out they come? I don't know if it... No, not quite. Some of cartel shit right there.

Yeah. No. We become Vox-Machina Coyotes. Scandons the mule. No, the house is mainly for us and a few guests for one night at a time. You can't like... Did you say a hundred people the other day? 100 servants are in there.

I don't quite... They live in the walls. I haven't jammed people in there. I don't know how many it can totally hold. You mean you never thrown like a party? Go ahead and roll on intelligence check. First roll of the night, natural 20. Wasted it on an intelligence.

Smile. I'm sorry. Though the magic is new to you, you've spent in your first time casting it in a large part of the evening, especially since you realized you probably weren't going to have as fun a night as you thought after the broom had been taken and Vex laughed your room.

Learning the intricacies of the spell itself and the pocket dimension that is created, you can fit quite a few people in there. However, it is stationary in its entrance and exit, and then once the spell comes to completion after a 24-hour period, it expels anyone and anything that was brought into it on the spot where it was originally cast.

Oh. Gently or violent. Like a flush. Please leave or get the fuck out. It's not a transporting type spell. It is a temporary shelter at best. You just don't want to bring them in. I have a cold, cold heart.

Listen, I'll consider taking the females in. That is very noble of you. So noble, Scandinav. I will join him in this charity. Oh, yes. Well, all right, why don't we just walk around and talk to these people? Maybe they're not even interested in being transported.

Let's just find some. Should we make sure they're actually innocent, nice people? We should probably do that as well, and they're like a band of thieves, bandits. That could be fun. Can I, like, sneak ahead and just like, listen to them? Yeah, sneaking up on them, we'll definitely put them on our side. Hey, like 100 yards out, I just want to hear what they're saying.

All right, all right. She can read lips, so she doesn't be that close. It's pretty dark, though. But I do have good dark visions. This is true. As the night takes over, you, it's still quite a distance to be able to make out a lot of detail. You'd probably have to get closer, but you're going alone? No twins. Fins are going together? Yeah. Why you both roll stealth to check?

Oh, I guess I'm going on. I'm keeping an eye also to see if anything from a great distance. I'm just keeping in the woods, right? No, we're in the place. We're in the grass. We're in the grass. I'm going to roll this big grass. 32. That's white mana, not green mana.

18. All right. I'm hiding in a tree. There's no. There's no. The grass to me is like a tree. This is true, actually. It's more of a rose bush.

So as you guys push forward, kind of pushing, stalking through the grass. You come to about 40, 50 feet outside, and there's a little bit of chatter. It's kind of hard to make out at this distance, but the people seem to not necessarily be jovial, almost like they've accepted the circumstances and are just surviving at the time being. There are a few individuals that are armed, though the armor itself seems kind of patchwork, or not the best and most trained of individuals you could see currently guarding this group of survivors. But there are patrols going around, people that are keeping close to look. Their torches being lit now as people begin doing walking.

Do you see anyone that we recognize from Western? Not from this distance. Like especially with your dark vision, you can make out the outline of the very, very nearest individuals, the guards in particular, but at this distance nobody catches your eye that you'd be able to make out much detail on that you would recognize. sit for five or ten minutes. Well, the cards are coming through it. Yeah, but I don't want him to think that. Sure we are.

Yeah. I think you can stay, because you're more hidden than I am. I'm gonna go back to the group. I feel like they're gonna see me. All right. You don't know that. As far as you know, you're so hidden. I'm so hidden.

Shit. Come on. All right, all right, just a second. I was gonna stay for a couple minutes longer. Wait, did you said they were coming our direction? Or there's just... No, they're just wandering. They're just patrolling.

You're paranoid. All right, fine, fine. Five, five, five. Okay. Have you both throw perception checks, if you could. All right. Twenty-two. Twenty-three.

Okay. You two, at about the same time, kind of focus best you can. You have to scoot a little bit closer once the guard that's nearest to you passes by. You kind of wait for your moment, scoot up close, get by one of the tents and kind of look off to the side. There are a few folks that kind of catch your attention a little bit. There was like one that was a L.O.N. Brist, who was the mother of the first child that went missing in West. You see her with her daughter, who's a little bit older now, that you guys helped save for. Both are a little dirty, but alive. They kind of wander off. You scan through the crowd,

kind of keeping it out for the guard as well. No one really catches your attention. You see one older gentleman that walks by 60s, still, you know, not completely withered away, but, you know, older, but carries himself with much importance. Very expensive clothing, reds and blues. It seems like he's tempting to hold a social station, even though in his current location society has crumbled. He doesn't really catch your attention, as anyone you recognize, but the person to the left of him is a very familiar-looking elven man with long brown hair, slicked over and behind his ears. This is Dresvina, who originally contacted you when you arrived to the Holy.

About her son? It's Dresfina. I don't know. He's looking a little rough too. This is not been in kindness doing things to any of these people. Okay, let's go back to the group. Should we go back to the group? We should tell them to come on in?

We have to come on in. We have earrings. Oh, yeah, that's true. Oh my God. Hey, you guys. What? What? What?

Hey, Percy, pay attention. There we are. Yes. Hello. What? Guess who I'm looking at right now. Your brother. Well.

God, you're so good at that. Dress fucking Vena. Oh, Tres. Wait, remind us who? Dresvina was that dude that sent us on our very first mission together, you guys. He protected us. He was mostly drunk that time. Oh, at the Winter's Christ Festival.

I remember. That's not hit at all. No, no, no. That's not hit at all. That's Abderasnosia. Dresvina was the dick. Dresvina was the dick. Dresvino was the asshole.

Doesn't he work for someone else? Yeah, yes. Wait, wait, the guy that we stole from, kind of? Hey, keep it down. Do they have the tower with the magical items? Here, I should step in here and clarify. It's about three years. It's only three years ago.

No, I know. Dresvena came to you under the pretense that he was working for an individual called the Master. He called him his master, who was interested in hiring your services. I originally sent you into the mage tower of Esco Rindarian, the Rome Seer, to steal the brass box, the pearl top. However, you did not steal it and instead ended up befriending. Archmage.

Right. Let us pick some. Yes, you pick something from his array of items. That's right. Drez then found you guys that you're in a number of weeks later, and Znester was very unhappy that you both didn't return with the item and used a very powerful, expensive object that was part of this endeavor and never paid it back. So to pay back your debt, he sent you guys to the Druid Barrow, where you had to retrieve this kind of cortex,

This like magical gem that was embedded in the center. And that was where we fought the column. Yep. Yes. Where you fought the Column. And you've retrieved the cortex successfully, and that's last you've seen him. See? He likes us now.

He's only helped him. But he has magical items. Well, maybe not. Had. We should, what was the... Tartu. Can you remind me the name of the mother that we spoke to all that time ago? The one you just mentioned.

You just mentioned. Eloy. Elloin. Eloin. Eloin. Pretty sad. Well, regardless, it's people from . Yeah, let's get in there, come on, please.

Do you guys want to just come on in? Yes, let's go in. Let's go in. Make it a nice, pleasant chaturice. Maybe you should sing, as you approach so that people that were nice. I would love to say. Oh, right now. Sunny days, chasing the dragons away.

On our way to where the air is clean. And you tell me how to kill, how to kill some dragies. Go ahead and perform. Roll performance check. Performance. Yes. Oh! What is it? What is it? It fell off the table and it is a six.

Oh. But plus 13. Plus 13. Okay. Uh, wait, plus 14. Plus 14, okay. So. Amazing.

Okay, so as you guys begin strolling up, immediately you see torches. Hands up, no weapons. Yeah, guards come forward, two of them with knocked crossbows. Who goes that? Hey you guys. They look over it. They don't really recognize. They see, they're all kind of looking on this source of singing crossbows.

It's a magic carpet. carpet ride except we burned our magic carpet so we can The guards slowly drop their crossbow What's your business? Oye, that's not necessary. We're friends. You've already got enough mouths to feed. Move along. We're not looking for food. We're here to provide aid if we can if it's in need. People need our help. A persuasion check.

Oh shit. Persuasion. You? I know. Rogue? Do it ten. No. I'm so proud of you.

While their crossbows are notched, they haven't lowered them completely. They're still on guard and still nervous of your approach. We also think there's a woman with you named Eloin. She knows us. We'd like to speak to her. We'll wait here. When I'm notches over the other one, one of the guards who was paying attention, walks away, and they all raise their crossbows again and just kind of train them on you guys for the next one. few minutes. I mean, it's really not necessary.

Even if you were to lose so, it would just be a tickle. I mean, trust me, we come from restaurant, all right? Don't you remember us in restaurant? Yeah. Winterscrest Festival. Vauxmogginner? All the eyes. All the eyes.

Hight. Wimhelm. One of the guards kind of takes a moment and kind of gives you an eye and just, I remember I've ever seen you around town. You were, oh man. It's good to see you. Right. Yeah.

I'm sorry if we gave you any trouble back in the day. I was young and stupid. Why don't you all lower your cross pose for a second? I mean no offense, but we're very guarded with your kind at the moment. Understandable. Right, we just actually came from Westwin. It seems to be a bit occupied at the moment. And he's with us. He's different than the other guy. See? He's got a beard.

No, this came about me. it's just like, I just got the genetics for it. At which point the guard that left comes back with Elowin. She walks up with her tightly braided, kind of reddish hair with a little bit of gray on the sides that probably has come since the last time you've seen her and the experience of having her child gone so long. It's taking a physical toll on her, but there's a smile on her face. Now she kind of looks over and focuses her eyes. Eloin. That's them. Let them. Let them in. Let them in.

And she runs forward immediately and just gives a big hug to you. Vex, and it starts moving through and, you know, there's this big smile and surprise. And you can see her little boy, Simon, come up to the side there. Oh, Simon. Simon. Last time you saw you were retrieving him from the pocket dimension that the Dread Emperor had called his domain. At which point, there's a few quick pleasant trees as she says hello again. She's just, please, please, come in. Please, it's fine. Please, it's fine. They're trustworthy, and the guards kind of nod. And they follow behind, not in an aggressive way, but just a being careful kind of a way.

So you have two people, two armed individuals, flanking you the entire walk that you guys are doing, but it's at ease. Heweth goes up to Simon. Hi. How old are you now? This many. He puts up nine fingers. Growing up so well. Thank you.

And I just give him a big hug. He kind of reads a big hug. up. Get a little shy at the interaction. I kneel down next to them and I say, do you want to see something cool? Look at this. And I take off the serpent belt and... Stop, Jesus. I'm going to go around my neck. I named him after you.

Really? Do you want to... He's gentle as a lamb. Do you want to tickle his neck? Yes. Yeah. Here, you hold him. You hold him. Oh, God.

I set it down around his neck. Don't worry, nothing's going to happen. He locks up again. Snakes and women have the same reaction of this poor little boy. Simon, fart in his ear. Go and fart in his ear. He gives you a stern look and the snake kind of traps around for a second. Keith, that does a little wind gust.

He starts laughing. Reaches up and kind of rubs his ear from the tickle. He's good to see you again, kiddo. Come here, Simon, Jr. I'll put him back now. He has a big smile on his face now. That's so cool. Yeah.

While that was happening, I sort of pulled aside his mother. Is this everyone that made it out of Western? Well, we're one group. Many went to Kaimon, but they're at capacity now, and based on many of the farming fields that were destroyed or burned by the the dragon ransacking, there's only so much much food to go around, so they had to turn us away. But there were some small farming communities along the river

that were kind enough to take us in, and we're getting by. But you're searching for a home. Hoping to find out if anything takes care of the problems in Lester. We should probably talk to Cornelius. I don't know the details of everything happening. Cornelius, is he the man I saw in the finer robes? Oh, no, Cornelais is rather, it's not very well dressed. He kind of scratches her head.

He used to be the bookbinder in Western, but when everything fell apart, he rose up and took the lead and keeping everyone safe. And so, I mean, he won't say it, but we kind of look to him as a leader for now. Did he work in the Cobalt himself? I think he did business with him, but I don't think he worked directly, isn't it? Here, let me take you. Oh, wonderful. And she walks over and kind of, as you guys are talking to Simon,

she scoops Simon up and kind of pulls him to her side and kind of gives you guys a smile acknowledgement. Come. We'll meet in Cornelius. Okay. He's a bookbinder. Never heard of them. You guys are led through. Most of the folks kind of stop what they're doing and pay attention.

Some look wary and guarded. Others, you see their faces brighten up as they begin to connect the dots between the whispers they've heard of Vox-Mocking, throughout the landscape and the individuals walking through. Most everyone seems to have a somewhat visceral emotional reaction once Grog passes by. It does catch you, you know, as a person who's always kind of stuck out against the society as it was, and you've worked hard to agree to get some respect, especially in that city, having so many eyes on you and you can feel the, while unearned from your standpoint, the heaps of hatred that are are thrust upon you by how you look right now is uncomfortable. Eventually, the guards

and Elowin bring you guys up to a central tent around what looks like the larger bonfire in the center where a lot of people are starting to bring their big nets of fish over and starting to divvy out and set up small cooking arrangements so people for the evening could have their dinner. She kind of walks up to the edge of the tent and speaks to one of the guards, mentions you guys and they're wanting to talk to Cornelius. The guard leans in, shouts off. It's hide. Cornelius, you've got some visitors.

Is that okay? A voice kind of muffles through. That's fine. Go ahead and let them in. The guard pulls up in the tent, and at this point, Ele wins. I'm going to go get my son some food. If you need anything, just ask around.

We'll see you again. Thank you, guys. Again, she can rub some Simon's head, and walks off. And as she walks off with him, he keeps looking over his shoulder at you the whole time, kind of a big smile on his face. You guys walk into the tent, and it's, it smells like a tent that's been lived in for a couple weeks. The interior is not fancy by any means. It's blankets and burlap and whatever functions to kind of guard against the relatively muddy shores of the river. And you get a sense that

most places here, just because of the landscape and how close is the river, mud is tracked everywhere. so it's mostly caked ground. There is a small cotton, the far edge, and there is a table set up, and some elements of dried fish that are kind of being pulled from and snacking the side. And there are two guards, and you can see what appears to be Cornelius coming to reach you as you enter. Man in his mid-40s, blondish hair or the scruffy, unkept beard. You get the sense that he's a working man. His hands look calloused. He's got a layer of just dirt and grime across his brow that tells you he's definitely one who gets in the thick of it when it's needed. And you can kind of see why in this circumstance people put trust into a person that can rise up amongst all the chaos from

simple means and kind of prove themselves to want to help everybody. And the moment he smiles, you immediately see also white people follow him. He's got this bright, toothy, white smile, and he puts his hand out immediately to each of you. Pleasure to meet you, I'm Cornelius. Vexalya. So I'm told that you are all here to talk to me. What's this about? We know that you've been driven out of your homes by an attack of dragon or dragons.

How many have menaced your city? Well, we had a Count's Haw saying that we have upwards three dragons that came through here and tore into this city. They were gone for a while, and we had hoped they weren't going to return. but that's when he kind of looks over to you, Grog. That's when the savages came in and took what was left. I mean no offense to that. I recognize you. I've seen you around the town before. You seem like you're not, not like your ilk.

No. I'm sorry I don't know who you are. That's okay. No one really knows who I am, and I want to keep it that way when all this blows over. Understandable. Don't like all the attention. How long have you been nomadic for? We're going into our second week now, I think. We sent a few of our most able-bodied up north in hopes of trying to figure out if the city

was safe to return to, and only a few made it back, and those that did said there was a bloodbath. It's quite dangerous there right now. It's rough. How many do you have here in your encampment with you? Let's see. It takes a moment to think and kind of does some couple marks on the dirt in front of them to do account. He's not a very numbers guided person.

I like him. I'd say we got probably about, close to 60, 70 people left. We used to have more. We lost the scouting parties up north, and in these past four days we've had a few of these orcish fuckers been raiding the outskirts of our camp every night and taking goods, people. What's your current destination? destination. We got none. We're just staying here and staying alive. What made you camp out here? Fish mainly. I mean, all the farm and grounds are destroyed or they're being

guarded currently, and there's no space for us in Kaimel. We can keep going east, but... If I could be selfish for a moment, have you seen Wilhelm, Pike, Pike, Trickford, her grandfather? A small, older gnome? We've got a few older gnomes from the city. I've got a few older gnomes from the city. I'm I don't think we have any among us, though, no. You thought I'd ask. If we could help you relocate quite a ways away, would you be open to them? How do you mean?

There's a city. A lot of the refugees from other cities that have been destroyed by the dragons are finding their way there, and Percy actually has family who's in charge there. We could give you safe passage. Very quick, safe passage. Possibly find you some place to walk.

Can they account for 70 extra people in White's home? We lost a lot during the attack with the Briar Woods. There's room, but there's only, we can maybe make room for a few more. There's farmland. There are some empty buildings. I appreciate the offer. Hasn't been touched by dragons yet. Yet.

Yet. I'll tell you what. We really appreciate the offer, and we're liable to take you up on that at some point in the near future. Right now, we have too many of our people that aren't encountered for to the south. We got a couple scouting groups who are trying to find out where these orcs are, where they've taken them, and see if we can retrieve our own

before we go ahead and find a new place to live. How many are missing right now? Well, we've lost 11 in the last few nights of exchange to Blade, and we've lost about nine to the actual bands themselves, so it was not an encounter for. We're hoping to keep on them. If we found them, would you be more likely to Take your people to somewhere safe?

And what is necessarily stopping you for at least sending a handful of women and children ahead? Families that don't need to be nomadic. Do you have the means to keep them safe for that kind of travel? That's a long way up to White Stone. We don't have the guards to keep them up on that. We have very safe means of travel. A short cut one would say.

They'd be there in an instant. I don't know anything about them weird magic stuff, but you seem like a reliable group. You can tell we're a motley bunch of of assholes. You've seen shit and we've done shit and we can do shit. You know the truth. Well, we'd also like to talk to you perhaps to see if you've seen some shit. We're actually, we're looking for something out here. Oh. Are we?

We are, well, we're on. You've been traveling. We're looking for a creature. We may have what we need to help defeat these dragons. Possibly a bit deeper into the cross world. Hit the Frostwheel. Yes. That's what we're thinking, her scouts are saying these orcs are hold up anyway. Really? That's useful.

That's where we've been sent in our folk. We can follow them out there. Only one group went in after them and they never came back, so. No one's returned, who's come back? No, we've gotten one group that came back. That's how we know they're there, but they were just scouting party. They got to the out skirts and came back. Can we speak to them?

I think they're out right now, actually. No one to get more information. Sorry. Well, that works out well, but... That's, we can go up that direction. Perhaps take care of this problem, possibly? Yes. It's on the way.

No, wouldn't mind a good stretch. I'm... I could use some breathing. Do you know your way around the Frostfield at all? Can't say I do. But I do have some stake in this personally. Don't mind me asking. Don't have much to offer you at all, really, other than my gratitude.

But, um, top of a few things. friends of ours that have found their way wherever these savage creatures are stationed. One of the individuals that was taken in the raid two nights ago was my brother Cyrus. I don't know if he's still amongst a living, but if you are indeed planning on taking a look at where these orcs are, bringing folks back safe, if you could just keep an eye out for him. Well, I'll tell you, in times like these, it will feel good to be able to do a bit of good. Yeah, yeah. What does your brother look like?

He's about 15 years younger than me. Shaggy brown hair, a bit of a puffy goatee. He looks like a lazy man. He is a lazy man, but I love him. If you're looking for someone who's hiding in the corner shaking the boots, it's probably him. Understood. Take the corners. This is his defense mechanism. A very safe one. I hope. His eyes go a little colder at that moment. I hope. Well, we've been to the Frostwell before. I'm not straight to go in there again. I'd say we take the evening to rest and first thing in the morning head out.

Would there be any injured members of your camp that would want to head out in the morning to Whitestone, somebody that needs any medical attention? There are plenty of folks who aren't feeling too well. Illness and disease unfortunately tend to go hand in hand with these type of nomadic lifestyles. Yeah, we can probably about seven or eight people that could use some relatively immediate attention. A couple survivors of the recent raids. If you can indeed do this, we'll be saving some lives here.

Are we camping the rest of the night? Yes, that's why I see. Yeah, we promise you no one will bother you tonight. Question. Question. Can I do my transport via plants as a ritual cast to not burn a slot level? Nope.

It would say it next to the spell ritual. It's what I thought. No, meh. Um, okay, uh, keeleth spends the rest of the evening burning of my remainder spell slots to do curing on those who need it. Okay. You guys are given a relatively ramshackled tent of which you can sleep for the evening. Cooked fish, about all they have to offer with a few leftover potatoes that appear to have been recently either located amongst their remaining crates. You have no idea, but a passable meal is presented, if you'd like, in a place that has cloth over your head.

I don't need to sleep tonight. I'll be on the watch. I'm sleeping tonight. I don't know. What's wrong with him? No, he said there are no gnomes. There's only 60 people. I feel like he'd know 60. That's like this many, but... And it's not a lot of gnomes. I'm assuming it's a handful of nodes. Right. I just... I don't know. I wish Blake were here. Yeah, we too. Always wish Pike was here. Well...

You do recall last time you were in Whitestone, you left the other half of your gate stone with Pike. I'll write a letter. I'll write a letter. I'll write a letter that will travel with them to Whitestone. Oh. Oh, that's a good idea. That's wonderful, and she can pop over. Take about a minute. Really? Yeah. We'd have to send them tonight, though.

No, in the morning. In the morning. Maybe go in the morning and just go find her immediately. Yeah, just ask someone to find her immediately, and then as soon as she gets a message, she'll be to us. All right. I've still got the other one. Great, we take the night there.

Let's do. I write a letter to my sister letting her know that I do apologize that we're sending more people, but it's necessary. And I write her letter to insisting that Pike be sent here stone immediately. Okay. D-E-A-R-C-A-R-C-C-A. R-C-A-S-S, how are you, I'm fine.

What the fuck are you saying? Everybody else is too. Wow, you know what's doing. What was that? You are a nerd. A theater nerd. Yeah, you are a theater nerd. Wow.

Secret Garden, ladies and gentlemen. Secret Garden, the musical. It's magical. All right guys. So. Is we have the break so Talz and I can go make out and the other room? Don't go on break for that.

Let's move your seating arrangement. And suddenly the YouTube hits just go through the room. What injured people are going back? Have we met these people yet? Let's go meet the injured. You guys are led with Keelts as well. There are two armed guards that are hobbling their way through their patrols tonight as they've wounded in the previous

work raid that happened in the couple nights beforehand. There are a number of just relatively sick people, a couple of children, just either whether it be having to eat whatever was around to stay alive, but some of the food had spoiled and travel, or just catching disease as when you have clusters of people in cold environments, especially cold wet environments like this at night. It does tend to happen. Nothing like seriously life-threatening, but definitely worrisome. Well, I try to find the one who's the most able-bodied, right? We're going to need someone to go find Pike or deliver a message, right?

Yes. It's going whoever's organizing it and... Is someone going who's not injured to transport these people? Possibly. I mean, you can organize whoever you'd like. Yeah, I started to need to the children first. Okay. So you tended the children, helping them feel comfortable, deal with any wounds, scrapes, relatively inconveniences, and it's easy enough for you to take the moment to cure disease if need be.

Can we find any families with children and maybe see if there's able bodies in there? That's good luck. That we can send through. Okay, yeah, you managed to, and with Elowin and her son Simon as well. Yes. Maybe Elwyn can go. Elwyn would be perfect. Well, remember, we were able to get about 25 or so people through.

How many sick people are there? How many sick people are there? Seven. About seven, eight people that could use it, so you can get a bunch of other folks through as well. Yeah, okay. I talk to Ellowen and ask if she can go find Pike in the morning, if she wants to go through and all that kind of stuff. I'd be happy to. I... Do you remember what Pike looks like? Yeah. About your size, lightish hair. Hair, the color of the sunset, eyes like waves that crash in the night.

Breasts, supple, firm. Okay, I'm Scanlan. True, true, true. Right, yes, I remember. I'll find her, yes. I'm not. The smell of morning dew as it touches. She begins to cover Simon's ears. I think we should turn in for the evening,

but yes, I'll be happy to take care of this. Also of note, you're going to be going through a tree. What? Just go with it. Well, you know, you didn't have to tell them that now, we could just let it have been a surprise. It's really fun actually. It's like a little bit more.

No way. You'll pop right out in White Stone. It's amazing. It's still a little weird for me, to be honest. No worries, no. All right. So as the evening comes to completion, you're taking guard for the course the evening,

take a watch. I pop trinket out and I sleep on it. Very attentive. Curles up. Hugs and hugs. Yeah. Warm, fuzzy, Trinket makes for a very good bed for one. Yes.

I'm going to curl into the butt end, which is all I get is all I ever got when we travel. I forgot when we travel, the butt hand. He farts on you all the time. I fart on him all the time. This is just a fart exchange. I can forth forever. Bala-long-long-long-long-long-long. Well, that got weird.

Did you want to do anything for the evening? No. Make a perception shirt. Oh, boy. Oh, crud. Big two. Big watch, big watch. Nine.

Whoa. Big hill. All right. Evening goes by without a hitch. What would you have seen? What would you have seen? You all come to consciousness. You eventually get your rest as well for the evening. What didn't you see? Tell me what you didn't see. At this point, the tent city is kind of back to a bustling sound of folks

swinging about their business for the day. What kind of business can be done? The people that you've requested be sent over to White Stone have been gathered on the outside, the western side of this small city area. And some of the gardener that I prepared to greet you in preparation for sending these people over. Keelith, before we do this, there are no trees here. What? What do you mean?

Are there trees here? No. It's a plant. I mean, there are the occasional, like, small tree kind of scattering clusters up in the ground. I thought we were on the edge of a forest. There's no forest here. The forest is south of you guys.

We got to walk them to the forest. We're walking to the forest. We can do that. We can do that. I'd say probably. Four days journey. Yeah. No, from this area, it's about most of a day's travel.

Oh, geez. I mean, there are trees closer to the forest that far of a distance. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just need a tree to fit people through. I need a, a person with tree. A giant tree. To find a tree larger enough to do, this is probably going to be about two hours walking distance. Okay, okay, we can walk for two hours.

You know what? You know what? I'm gonna fly up. Why don't you go. I'm gonna, and fly up and find a fucking tree. Oh, you're gonna scout? I'm gonna scout for a tree. All right, go to me perception check.

Why don't you pick that as the man? I didn't think about it, I forgot. That was a great decision. 23. 23. You find actually hiding just around the bend on a series of small hills that butt up against the southwestern side

of the former basin. There is a small cluster of trees, one of which is the largest of the group that may function as a function of this that is only about a 30-minute walk from these. Hey. That's doable. There we go. I'm right down and I tell them. I look along the path though, make sure it's safe the walking back. Is it okay? Yeah. Hopefully nobody saw the comely half-el flying for the bright blue sky. I wear turquoise to blend in with the blue surroundings. Yeah. Well, it didn't blend in too well as when you coast the over a number of the families and kids that were prepared for pointing up,

mom, she's flying, and you know, people were excited to see you just take off in the distance. It was quite a display. Yes. Well done. I do some circles around and wave. Maybe you could join Dr. Dr. Dranzel in the circus. I hang off of it as I come down, like woo, and then come back up. Oh.

Snow and cold kill that one. Dexterity check. Dexterity or acrobatics. Dexterity or acrobatics. Outsteering. Oh, I'm so excited. Outsterity. Outstair.

BAM! I said as I come down, it was low. I was low. No, that's not what I said. So as Vex takes a moment to do some unique tricks with her elaborate and long-running experience, directing brooms across the sky, she gets a bit cocky and does it look on no hands moment. However, in doing so, the broom sputters out from under the grasp of her legs and so. of her legs and suddenly goes limp as it begins to fall almost as fast as you are. As you both

begin to just pull it. I'm going to grab for it, grab for it, and hooked up, hooked as I'm going for it. Okay. Go ahead. Can't fight the power of the one. Unfortunately, you don't have any momentum to go forward, and it's already coasted about 15, 20 feet away from you, and there's nowhere to swim. All the kids are like, yay, cheering, and all of a sudden you start falling. And then it was like, oh, it starts yelling. Which child in the crowd is going to become Robin? I'm so excited.

I want you to go ahead and roll acrobatics, Jack. Oh, man. This is how we make a vigilante. Okay, okay, 25. 25, okay. So you only suffer nine points falling damage. As you hit the ground into a tumble, land, arms out, and catch the broom, smiling, amongst the serious pain in your legs and back.

I bet you thought I was really falling. All the kids were like, yay, and they're cheering, clapping. Even the parents started clapping. The guards start clapping. Like, that was genuinely impressive. Played it off. Oh, they're so fine.

The blood trickles out of the air from the brain trial. Does the broom just fall, or does it shoot off like a missile? It shoots off for a second, just carrying the momentum of the propulsion, and then it falls limp as it no longer has the immediate connection. with the person. But she did catch it after she tumbled in the Oh, okay, that's cool. Working on it.

Yeah. I'm going to work on that trick, you guys. It's going to be amazing. I think it's perfect. Blood for the blood guards. All right. Finding the tree, you guys walk and bringing the families and the children and the people that were chosen to go to White Stone.

You create your transport via plant spell. The door opens, and it barely fits onto this, this. one kind of half-dead willow that's kind of crossing the side there. Everyone's going to, we form the line. Climb through, climb through. You have to move quickly. Here we go, go, go, go, go. Pushing through. At the very end, Eloan's like the last one through, and she's holding the letter and she looks back to his promise and then leaps through right as it closes in the tree. This is where the cards that are with you guys are just kind of watching this whole thing

with their eyes wide open. Well, glad you let us in, aren't you? Yeah. I turn to him and I go, high five. Okay. At this point, you see two figures walking towards you at this southern forest. Two figures walking towards us? Rather hastily.

I draw my whip. Okay. Whip stop. What the second time after that. You glance over and... Very money python. Easily enough to see it is Dresvina and this older individual are both rushing up, Dressas, his hand up. Excuse me, I'm sorry.

Pardon me. Yes, hello. Hello. It has been some time, everyone. Rez, pleasure to see you again. We remember, dear. Wonderful, wondrous. I'm here with, and as he put, a gesture as the old man kind of puts his hand in front

and goes, do you please just let me talk for once? Hello, I am, has he been given you my, I am master, Quall. Pleasure to meet all of you. I was the collector that had hired you in previous times, as dress has recently made me aware. And while our track record has been spotty, you seem to have able-bodied, and whispers this morning that have come to my ears, mention that you have interest in returning to Western. Is that correct? To set it free, yes.

On this, one of course. Looks over a dress, just goes, yes. Well, you see, the master here lives within Western, and I'm talking, I've got this. My abode, which is a relatively humble structure of two stories, bricks and dark wood, about southeast of the town square, right by the fountain crossroads, I'm sure you've seen it before. Well, since this whole endeavour has happened, it has usurped a bit of progress in my experimentation, and I would be remiss if I didn't request your assistance and perhaps retrieving a very important piece of my collection, so I might continue this research in this desert place.

What are the subjects of your experimentation? Various things. I enjoy finding out the base elements of existence and life. Insight check. This is interesting. Oh, go ahead. Inside check. 18. 18. 18. Oh, wow, wow, wow.

God damn it. Whispers. Oh, do you want the whispers? No, I just... Dagger, dagger, dagger is one of the shirts that's available. Is strong jar ale available for sale? Check it out. All right.

That's very interesting. You know that I'm a collector as well, actually. Really? Yes. Of specifics. Of Swadha. Specifics, and I see that you have not really handed any over. Not... Really?

Hmm? Maybe a bit beyond your understanding. understanding. I highly doubt that. All right, very well. I appreciate the synergies between various elements and the ability to link the essence with that of a living or organic entity or the transition of such living essence into what is normally non-living matter. So you're a necromancer. Venturers, spring has sprung here in Los Angeles, and that means it's a brief period where it's only 75 degrees instead of 95 degrees. I'll take it. And that means I've been outside a lot more. Walking around, occasionally galloping after a toddler hopped up on juice boxes, traveling a bit. You know the vibe. And after doing some spring cleaning, my wardrobe, I got to say, looking a little bit sad.

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But what I'm out and about, I've really been loving the ribbed Johnny Collar Polo. It makes me look like I should be taking a high-powered meeting by the pool at the White Lotus, hopefully with less murder involved. I don't know. It's insanely comfortable. I highly recommend it. So shop now at fabletics.com slash critical role to get 70 to 80% off everything

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Yes, yes. Thank you. Uh, the, the transitioning of essences or sparking essence within what was once non-living matter. I'm talking about elements. I'm not talking about flesh. Like natural elements? Like golems.

Like golems. It's the veganism of necromancy. It's just kind of dull. Was that? Nothing. Um. Now, I, Mug people.

I previously asked you to, um, alchemical. To retrieve an item in the past. That was part of this research. And I was nearing a breakthrough, I believe. However, if you could find your way into this abode and retrieve for me, and it's in the basement amongst my work desk area, it's a simple dark iron and cobalt circuit, a band, if you will. If you could retrieve that for me, I would make it quite worth your while

and be ever grateful in your service. What are we talking about? A pile of coin or something else? As I said before, I am quite the collector, and while I do hate to relinquish my grasp on various parts of this collection, for someone who does me, a grand favor, I am willing to look the other way as one might disappear. What does the circlet do? It's just more of an experimental piece. Come on, don't treat us like a bunch of fucking assholes. It's in the middle of shit right now. We're not going to go in there for a trinket. It's obviously something very well.

worthwhile. You have a better chance with us if you're honest. Dres at this point, steps for his board and goes, I would appreciate if you respected the master for his research. He is going to offer you a great guy. Oh, shut up Dres. Yeah, you're an asshole. You're the biggest asshole. You can, I'm not talking to you, I'm not talking to you, I'm not talking to you, I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to you. So perhaps we need to, which way it looks over in the master's kind of like, he he he ha ha ha. About time someone called you on it. Master Quall? Quall?

Quall, yes. We're looking for the vestiges of divergence. What's Skat? Oh, is that not, am I not supposed to say that? Well, I was really a little bit more subversive. That's what we want. If you can offer us one of those, we'll do business with you.

Otherwise, we're gonna fuck off. It's... Wait, wait, he might... Look, Master Quall. Let's finish what you were saying first. Yes. I've heard of this title before. You say you're seeking them, are you?

I am, not that I'm great. Where are you seeking these? Whereabouts you off to? Well, we were headed towards. We don't know where they are. You're all sorts of different places. We're trying to figure that out right now. We're not exactly sure.

We're not exactly sure, Keyleth. I'm sorry. How is it, how is what we're seeking less important than where we're seeking it? I'm really confused. Oh, you know, just in case we'd mention where we might be looking for them in front of these people. No.

Because what if he goes to find them? Don't worry. Does he look like the man capable of going and finding things? He's trying to send us back into his own goddamn basement to get his own shit. Let's get back to your face. There is a woman who speaks both her mind and a mind of quite a cute truth. She is cute. Yeah, that's great.

Is it morning yet? Should we, is Pike? Can Pike come join us yet? She's probably being assaulted. Like the letter is making it. It's snowman. As you guys are having this conversation, there's a little flash of a divine energy before you. and a slight popping sound as out of the middle of the air next to you, there comes jogging in a freshly winded, fully armored pike.

Whoa! What an entrance! If you speak of the tree, she will appear. See you start arguing and you just make a gnome. This is what happens. I run over and I pick up pike and I spiel around in a big bear hug. I'll argue. Ah, Hank hug. There's a lot of a nobes. No, it doesn't.

little buddy Pike, we missed you. Oh, I missed you guys. Hi, Mike. Hey guys, oh, who were these two? At this point, Master Quo is going through a series of notes goes, nothing. This is Master Quo. I'm fairly certain this gnome was not created.

And do you remember Dress? Oh, yes, I'm Mr. Vina. Yes. Drespeep. It is a delight to see you as well, a small one. Hi. Well, this grew very complicated. Well, MasterQuil.

Yes. Let's lay the cards on the table. If we find this thing of yours in your basement, and if we go to your home, we are certainly going to go into the basement and find it now, regardless. We're going to figure out what it is before we give it to you anyway. The world is dangerous right now, and it is not appropriate to just be handing mystical artifacts of great strength willy-nilly to anybody who asks. The world is dangerous, and we need to make sure that power is flowing in the correct direction. Now you can either be forthright with

that and get your property, or we can find it in your basement and experiment on it till we know what it is. Good luck even attempting such an endeavor. I have very good luck attempting these endeavors. Well, let's just say that it's a device that, when completed, under the speciality of of my own training and studies would enable me the means of personal defense to get me through these rather difficult and dangerous times, as I am not getting any younger,

and it seems that we're having entities of great power, mischief, and intent on destruction, continuously tearing down my very doorways, he looks off into the direction of Western. I would feel more comfortable if I could keep myself well-guarded, and that is what the circuitist intended to provide. Tell you what, Master Kual?

Yes. We're not heading there now, but we'll be going back. And when we do, we will find your home, and we will search out this circlet. Well, hold on, before we just say no, what's the reward? Do we know what you're paying for this? I'm wondering, Master Kual. A simple trade of my collection, who bring me one of my connections, you bring me one of my and I gift you one of mine is all right. I personally feel this is reasonable.

I'm curious if you could be more beneficial in paying us with information, with knowledge. As well as something in your collection. I'm more than willing to offer information for trade. It is quite a grand trade indeed. If that is acceptable. No, we would want something as well physically. This is a deposit of information.

All right. Then, as part of the deposit, what did you require? Are you familiar with a sphinx named Osset? Can't you? Resides up? No. No? What does he know, perhaps, of the, of the, no, no?

No. Are you familiar with any other sphinxes that reside in this area? Do you know the address? I'm sorry, but they don't really want an open daylight. I... Do you know where they wander? In darkness, if they don't want her, an open day. It gives it curiously.

I'm not a master of mythology. I do not know of such entities and where they might reside or exist. I apologize. Well, you do seem to be a master of items. We are looking for certain special vestiges. So you say. And you're saying the Sphinx maybe one to help you in this endeavor? No, maybe not.

Maybe. yet. It's a long walk. We thought maybe he could help us find them, but maybe you could be at the similar service. What I do have, and he kind of turns around, come with me to my tent, please. I may have something that could be of service to you. Sure. I'm supposed to go to strange friends.

I give Pike a hug as we walk to his tent. Okay. Hey. Hi. Hi. Actually, I pulled Pike aside and say, or not aside, I just ask her, how's Whitestone? What's going on there? Well, it's okay. I think I got to the point where I couldn't build any more, heal any more people. I needed a little adventure.

But everything, everything is as you would think it would be. No dragon attacks? No, none at the moment. So we've been trying to hold down the place as much as we can. And Gilmore seems to be okay. Good, good, good, good. I did not go up to Pike. I hung way the fuck back. Okay. All right. You guys eventually make your way back to the small, what'd you call, outpost at this point, to the tent of Drozavina and Mesterquall. Master Quall, steps inside. You hear rummaging through some things, something rolls and breaks, and you hear, oh, damn it!

On the inside, he comes back out and goes. All right. So, this, and he'll holds up this small glass of bobble in the inside has a spinning, looks like a brass kind of gyroscope type interior. This item, when clasped and concentrated on, should light up any sort of nearby magical incantations or enchantments. This, if you're in the presence of such objects as you're seeking, should be quite helpful in locating their presence. It does not have an incredibly long ray.

but it should at the very least be somewhat helpful. That's pretty cool. Thank you. You're giving this to us? I'm lending it to you. Should you wish this to be part of the trait instead of something from my collection? Lending is...

Lending is perfectly agreeable. I've lent you something in the past and not only did it not return to me, but I had to extract the funds by forcing another contract on you. Can I trust you to complete this endeavor? You can trust us as far as Grog can throw me. Pretty far. Pretty far.

You can trust her. You, you hand it out. We will make our way into the city, and when we do, we will look for your items. Thank you. I appreciate that. Or we could just send Vex on a broom right now to get it solo. We're not flying a half elf into the city on a broom that she's already fallen off of in the last twenty more hours. Watchers. I am recovering a bit right now,

but thank you for the wonderful, wonderful ideas, Gatlin. I think you could do it. I appreciate the vote of confidence. He is a tactician. What might this item be called? I still think you should go talk to Thordeck on your own. I haven't named it, actually. I made it for myself. Call her what you like.

How about the hunk of quall? The hunk of quall. Should you wish, certainly. Didn't we have a conversation about letting him name things? I feel like we had that conversation at some point. Enjoy carrying amongst yourselves the hunk of quack. Thank you. Dres, Drinna, it's hasn't been a pleasure, nice to see you. Dres can not be a hug of.

Indeed. All right, good luck. Can I take Pike around the shoulder and lead her out of the tent? Yeah. right. Hey, hey, Pike? Yeah. So, um, I'm glad things have been good at Whitestone. They've been good, yeah?

Yeah, they've been all right. I mean, it's okay. I've been missing you guys, though. Yeah, we miss you a whole lot. Um, listen, I've got, um, I've got some rough news, actually. Um, we made it back to a restaurant and the city's kind of been ransacked. overtaken. It was attacked by a bunch of dragons and what's worse is that after it was attacked, you know that herd of wandering Goliaths that left me for dead in the woods?

Of course. Yeah, they, um, they've kind of taken control of the city and I, I think it's my family that's in there. Oh no. Yeah, look, we wanted to go in. I wanted to look for Wilhand, but I, we haven't done it yet. And, um, Have you heard anything else? Do you think they're okay? I don't know. Some of us went in via mist and they didn't see him, but they don't really know what he looks like. The place looks pretty rough. He's not here in this little encampment. I'm not really sure where he is. Okay. Um... Well, I... I wonder if we should go look for him.

Yeah, I want to be. Yeah, I want to, but look, listen, I'm afraid of putting everybody in the group in jeopardy. They're going to be there in this city, and I was wondering what you might think about, going to look for maybe a few of the more vestiges, trying to find Osses' mate and seeing if we can find anything that can help us, because it's going to be a fight, right? And you know me, I fucking love a fight, but... That's a lot of them. Yeah, it's a lot. I think we should wait so we're fully prepared.

Yeah, you think so. Yeah, I think so. I don't think it's safe any other way. I miss you so much. Oh, God, I miss you too! And I cry a little bit into my beard and I wipe it away. I'm like, oh, the pollen out in these fields is awful! It's okay, grog. I give him a hug and I take my blue scarf when I pat his eyes. Oh, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

It's red. All right, well, as soon as we find this out, if we find nothing, I promise, I pledge to you that we will find wheelhand. Okay. All right. All right. So is the task then to go find the orcs that are keeping their people hostage up in the frost wheel? We head into the frost wheels. We find the orcs and send them back and keep going and find this um...

this sphinxy mate. Did we have any other information of where he is in the Frost-Wield or if we just know Frost-Wield? We just got to be Frost-Wields. The information that you received was somewhere in the base of the Storm Crest Mountains. Oh, that's more helpful than... Passed the Frost-Wild.

Pass to the Frost-Wield? Through it, to the base of the mountain. Oh. Of the what mountain? Stormcrest mountains. Stormcrest mountains. That's a real place. Um...

Actually, a Pike. Yeah. Look, I'll be holding on to something. I think you might like it. I had these gutlints of ogre power. What? Yeah, and I can't wear them anymore because I, um, because I got some new stuff.

Uh, and if you wear it, your strength score goes up to 19. What? What? Do you want them? You have to attune to them. Do you think they'll fit? I think they might straight. I don't know, though.

Do you know what 19 means? We'll put them in the dryer. Isn't it like a French dish? Yes. I would love to wear those. And I give Pike the gotlets of Ogapal. Okay. As you guys take a short rest to prepare for this, Ashley, it takes the time with the gotlets.

and while you're kind of looking them over and taking your own armored gauntlets off and replacing them with these, your hand goes, it's like placing a baseball into a bucket. It's just, it's so big around your arm. But then as you kind of take a moment to see the metal and reflect upon it, you can feel the kind of hum of a magical energy that begins to kind of invisibly intertwine with your forearm as the metal begins to creak almost, and it shrinks down in cases itself to you, your forearm. While it doesn't match the metal of your armor, the kind of silver gold theme that goes on along it with this kind of weird, ogreish face that spilled into the plate there,

you feel suddenly this surge of strength begin to spill through your body. And you're pretty confident that this may be useful in your future, so. You're stronger than rock now. You are technically now stronger than rog. I love a battle cry. Yeah, and I'll go together a fist bump. And my fistball moves. And it hurts you a little bit. He jams your finger.

Oh shit! Pike is so strong! Holy shit. What was the name of the mountains? Oh, it's poor. Pike, what was your strength before? 13. Okay.

Wow! So at a 19, you're now at a plus 4, as opposed to a plus 1 to all your hit and damage with your physical weapon. So... Holy macro. You just Tyler Dirden. out, son. Yeah. So on your sheet where it has your attack bonus with your Mace,

or with your Morning Star and the damage, whatever it's, yeah, add a plus three to both the attack bonus and damage. What? All right. Because right now it's a, my attack bonus is plus seven. Yeah, it's now plus... It's now plus ten. Holy moly!

That's so cool! You're a beast! Oh, God. Okay. A little golden box. I'll call it. Yes, I can't find a pencil. That's okay, I'll make a note.

I'll do it later. No words. I'm unprepared. Okay. Yes, I'm unprepared for all this strength. Okay. Alien. Awesome.

Okay, sweet. Right, so now we have all our stuff. Should we make our way towards that area? They said that the Orpreders were coming from. Yeah. A couple days from here? On foot travel, it's about a day and a half. Or mist form?

Miss form, it'll get there by nightfall. But we can't use it because she already used to travel through the trees. Sorry. But we saved all those people, Scammon. Pike, can you make us mist? No, I can't do anything like that. All right.

Let's walk. I feel like I haven't spent any child with bags. What's the weather like? With Vax? Oh, he's around. You know, he's probably just sulking. Oh, I walk away. Yeah. If you glance back and see Vax towards the back of the group, noticing this conversation, Vax immediately turns around and walks away and kind of dodges around where they're near by tents.

Big note to that one. What is the weather like outside? Actually, today it's pretty spotty clouds, but blue sky. It's actually pretty good weather versus a lot of the rainfall that you had over in Vassel. Just cold snowy on the ground? No, no. Just chill? It's because you're getting a lot of the rain.

A little further south than the northern area of it, the temperature is probably around high, 70s, low 80s. Okay. It is going to get cold, though, once we head into the crossworld. In the meantime, she can... We had all those fancy clothes. I had like winter's cloaks for all of us before. Yes, do it. Does everybody still have the winter's cloaks from a long time ago? Yeah. Oh, wow, yes. Look at that. I didn't burn this one out of disgusting, disgusting, like, cloaker flesh. Yeah, we can just have that to more. Just going to walk? Does these refugees have any horses or anything? The refugees.

Not a fish. The horses they do have are currently forward to wagons and look to be more beasts of burden for if they have to move to carry most of their goods with them as opposed to riding horses. Yeah, come on, man. Let's just hope it. All right, we'll walk. All right.

Oh my gosh, are we walking? We're going to walk. You guys, we haven't walked anywhere in so long. We're getting exercise. It's like we're level three again. And those horses will survive because you didn't take them. Oh, that's one. That's right.

At some point I feel like I paid for a really nice amount. Take a walk, save a horse. I feel like at some point I won't take advantage of that again. It's a good box muckingieie bumper. My other horse is walking. Coming to the gig and such a day. Yeah. All right, you guys make your fellowship

trek southward with the sweeping camera, drum shot. I constantly keep an eye out for anything in the front of us and behind us. Thankfully, most of these fields. Most of these fields, varying degrees of grass height, but for the most part, it's a pretty wide vision of where you're heading. I paint pictures in the clouds as we go. Okay.

Well, that's good. That'll definitely not let anyone know magical people are on their way. Just point arrows in the opposite direction. Just point arrows in the clouds in the opposite direction that we're going. Can I insight check, Vax? Sure. Roll an insight check. Roll an insight check. Oh, natural 20.

Oh. Whoa. Oh. Oh. Oh. No. I believe you. This never happens.

You just saw all of his dirty dreams. You know what is she see and read on your face in body language facts? Oh, I got to say this? I can say it if you want to. I don't want these assholes to know what I'm thinking. I don't know. Can't whisper to her. You can text it to her real fast.

Yeah, I'll text it to you. But put it on Twitter so that everybody else knows what it is. Nope. All right, so you'll have an incoming text on information. As you guys continue walking, these are the observations you make of VACS as you travel southward. You guys travel for the better part of the day. You get quite a bit south. you do see in the distance a few times what appear to be some pack animals, some larger

beasts that can roam the land, none that are necessarily aggressive unless you encroach upon their territory in Kiel, if you have experience with some of these beasts so you manage to keep people at bay and traverse around what they claim is their own landscape. But not without, you know, no terrible detriment to your traveling speed. You make your way to the point where the sun goes down. You can stop in camp for the night and can push through the evening. What do you wish to do? I think. Are there any trees nearby? Um, little periods here, little tiny groves that might be spotty along your journey, but for the most part it's open field.

How much more day travel, like how much further do we have, do we think? One more day, one more like eight hour period of travel. Should probably rest then, right? We'll be hitting the cross world at night tomorrow and... Eight to ten hour. It seems... We're not in a rush. I mean, not anymore. Not any more than the dragons are bunkered down, I believe.

Everything we do now is measured in weeks and months and not days. And I still have a little dried blood on the outside of my ear. I could use with a bit of rest. All right. Actually, do you have a concussion? Is that something that we can... How many figures am I holding up? You're really blurry, Percy. I have no idea. No.

Save versus brain swelling. All right, I guess I'm sitting at Camp Blue. Yeah. I want to pull my brother aside when we set up camp or do you want to sleep at a mansion? Oh, right. Oh, we can do this one of the day. Oh, you have to show her the marble floors.

Do we want to do it now or do we want to do it tomorrow night, is the question. We can do it. Oh, that's right. It's going to be actually, we can do it both nights. I can do it every day, right? Fuck yeah. We didn't have a mansion. Scalyn has a mansion, Pike. I inherited some money.

It's a long story. There was great Uncle Vesuvius. Also known as Uncle Tiet, Uncle Tachy. Uncle Tachy. Uncle No, no. Canon, that's canon. The court said that he had to give me, no. So yes, we'll sleep in the mansion tonight.

And they all know where they're sleeping, but I'll personally show Pike to her chambers, which are right next door to mine at the end of the, of the long hallway. My room, obviously the biggest, tallest. Of course. Pikes, a close second, beautiful, covered in yellow rose petals, as far as you can see. So Pikes, Scanlan creates this somewhat shimmering door of mystical energy in the middle of the air off of the path you guys have been walking. In the middle of this field, it's just the open grass that's blowing with this gentle night breeze, a little bit of the moonlight that's coming through the clouds, kind of just giving enough of a visual of this change in the airspace.

pushes open the shimmering door. On the inside is this beautiful mansion, tall foyer with marble floors, pillars that raised the ceiling with gold trim. There's a giant portrait in the center of the main stairway now that has both Scamlin and you on horseback over a beautiful landscape. There are a number of mystical servants that are somewhat transparent and and spiritual arcane energy in form, that take your coats and offer food. A delicious meal is presented for all of you. And Scanlan brings me.

Mostly chicken. It's a lot of chicken. I'm having a lot of talk with the servants about different ways to prepare food. They keep cracking it up. Potein bro. Poutine bro. Scanlan does lead you to your room,

which is right next to his, and covered in yellow rose petals, a beautiful interior, The color scheme is marked tailored specifically to your taste that he's been able to glean from conversations with you over the past couple years. Blue, silvers. Silver and gold. Yeah. There's a little mini-many prayer area for her to pray to Sarah and Ray. And there's a little statue of Seren Ray, and if you pull it, a little secret door opens to my room.

But it's a small room that only a known could fit. Oh, wait, is there a lock on that maybe? Only on my side. Okay. Oh, this is beautiful, Scanlan. I did it for you. And hey, while we have a moment alone, can I just mention something to you? Listen, I'm not really concerned with other people's vices or bad behaviors, but Grog has this sword. and it's sort of not good. It could be used for good, possibly.

But I'm just worried about it. Just keep an eye on it. I don't know what it is, and maybe you could just check it out next time you're friending it up with him. Okay. I had, I had, when they had that fight with Percy up in the house, I felt like there was something weird with that sword.

with that sword. I'll see what... I'll check it out. I don't want to judge him or what he does, but just make sure that it won't kill any of us. That's all I care about. Yeah, that's a good plan. Okay, I will. Thanks, Gannon.

Sleep tight, and if you hear any footsteps in your room, it's not me. It's the servants, I assure you. Can I find, is there like a library in the mansion, Scanlon? Of course. Can I pull my brother into like a library or something? Whoa. I just want to talk to you.

What? What? Okay. Weirdo. I couldn't help but notice anywhere Pike was, you were not, all day to day. And I have a feeling it's because... You want to talk? Yes. I do.

Do. Don't walk away from me, please. I have a feeling it's because of this Raven Queen situation. I don't know. I know that you offered yourself to her to save me. And I can't put into words how much that means to me. And I'm worried that she took you up on the offer. And I know you're worried about it too. And I'm afraid that's why you're That's why you're avoiding Pike. You're afraid she's going to see something in you. But I want to tell you, I've been looking through this book. It's the best 35 gold I've ever spent. Maybe it was 30 gold. I don't even remember anymore. It was 30. It would have been worth 35 for all the things that I found in it.

Look, it's got all this information about the Raven Queen, and I've been looking at it all the time. And I don't think she's as horrible. horrible as you're afraid she is. Can I tell you what I've found? Yes, please. It says that those that follow her must hold no pity for those who suffer and die,

for death is the natural end of life. It's not bad. Bring down the proud who try to cast off the chains of fate. As the instrument of the Raven Queen, you must punish hubris where you find it. Bring down those. who try to cast off the chains of fate. The Raven Queen represents death, right?

Therefore, she hates those that live an immortal life. She hates vampires. We hate vampires. They're terrible people. Right? That's not bad. Watch for the cults of Orcus and stamp them out whenever they arise. Orcus is bad.

If she hates him, then she must not be there. She must not be that terrible. She's already speaking to me. Oh. And? I don't know, Vexalia. I don't know what this means. I know that she's not a force for evil.

Neither are funeral homes. I don't want to bed down in one. Well. That's understandable. But it doesn't matter. And I do it again because I did it for you. it for you and I am trying to come to terms with it, not knowing the terms.

Well, we've lived half our life in the shadows. You've made them your home. Am I right? Maybe so. I mean, this is a time you can either, you can either let those shadows swallow you down and keep falling into a hole or you can you can use them to your advantage. You can become a champion, you ask me. Bad, this armor smells. I can smell it, actually. Pretty terrible. It's several centuries old. It's not pleasant. Maybe we can get you some oils or something to put on it.

Maybe. What I'm saying is brother, I'm proud of you, and I'm happy for you. And I'm so, so thankful for you. And you don't need to be frightened. How many fucking people can say they're a champion of a fucking God. Listen, I'll take what you say under consideration. Again, I don't, none of us, you and I don't know what this means.

No. I'm waiting to see. All right. But as someone who's seen the other side and has come back thanks to you, there's no use living your life in fear. And I love my reckless brother, as much as he hurts my heart. I love you for that. And don't be afraid to be that.

I have no clever answer to give you. That's wonderful. I love you. And I walk away. I got to bed. Before Skemland disappears, I grab him as he's leaving. I'm just making the rounds make sure everyone's tucked in for the night. Wasn't looking in on pipe.

Wasn't looking at on pipe. Have you perhaps installed some sort of workspace in this wonderful home of yours for me? I've got a few little projects I want to poke at. You mean the all-purpose room? The room of requirements? I'm a little worried by what all-purpose necessarily means, but... Don't look in there with a black light. It's not really a work table, is it? It is the danger room?

It's all purposes, Percy. All purposes. But yes, it is a private room. No one can hear you screaming. It's often, it's the farthest wing that we have. I can give you some servants to help you set something up, bring in some tables, whatever. You know, we don't have much in here.

We're not prepared for chemical reactions. Nothing complicated just. some very basic blacksmithing and a little bit of leather way. Do I have that stuff, anything to help him? Yeah, if it was prepared within the house. I tried to make enough stuff for all of us to have our basic needs. I can think of some very sexy things that can be done with an anvil. Think about it.

All my anvils are gnome size. That's comical. Keelis pops her head out into the hallway. Did I hear something about working? Yes. Scanlan's helping me find a room that apparently is so soundproof we don't actually have to hear anyone else's drama. Oh, that's fantastic.

I know, grab a book. I might join you. You're gonna have a working dinner, I'll send some chickens down. I can't sleep, so yes. More about cows. No cows in my room either, please. I join Percy and help him. Okay.

You guys find the all-purpose room in which it does have the basics required for smithing. The smithing gear that is brought to by the servants in itself is very, very finely crafted and nearly weightless. It's really impressive. and you look at the label and it has a small timer on it before it becomes immaterial. I can work with materials that are in the bag of holding that are real materials as long as I put them back in the bag of holding and take them with me. I can't leave anything.

Anything you leave in here will just be spat out. Oh, just be spat out. That's lovely. On the ground where it was. I want to, for the moment, because I don't have everything I need for the broom. I just want to work on a piece of jewelry if that's okay. I want to work on a thing. I want to work on a thing. Work on jewelry.

I want to construct a little piece of jewelry. That's okay. Not magical. Do you have a jewelers kit? Do I have a jewelry skit? I mean. It's a whole different skill set, man. I can tinker something.

You can tinker something, but jewelry is different from tinket. It's like third grade jewelry class. No, this is a piece that has purpose. It actually is going to be a functional object. What is the function of this object? You can tell me these things. I know.

This is something. I'm so sorry. I'm going to make something. Make me roll for it. I got to know what you're doing. I know. It's not going to have a. It's a, I want to make a, oh God, I'm so sorry, I'm losing the word.

Hey, Percy, what you're trying to make? Something that's too complicated to explain to you. I'm blanking on, I may have to just give you the name at the brink. Like a little, like a little herb pouch, like a little, like one of those cages that, that close up to put herbs in them. Oh, like you make tea with? Yes, like it. Okay, it won't be pretty, but you can make some functional. Yeah, go make a tinkering check.

All right, I'll make it pretty later. Like a shop right back with a bunch of shit in it? This would be a dexterity mod because it's not a very complicated piece based on what you've constructed in the past. It's more about just your ability to make it work. Dexterity? Yeah. Thank God, because that's a terrible role. 14.

14. Okay, it takes you the better part of the night. Do I assist him at all? Do I assist him at all? With a job this small, it's not a whole lot you can assist with it. I'm not going to run the whole night at some point. I'm just going to run the whole night at some point. I'm just going to be like, I don't have the design. I'm just going to, I'm going to, this is something I want to get right, so this is going to be working towards it.

Okay. So you get the first stage of that setting ready to go. I'll think of the name of what it is. I'm so embarrassed. All right. You all eventually find yourself to rest, tasks completed to the extent of what you wanted to, conversation is finished. You find yourself to breakfast, a delightful spread of breakfast chickens prepared for you. I pick one up off the table and I say, hey, vex. Oh, shit. I'm not even on my... All of you duck instinctively as the chicken has enough time to arc and begin to plummet down before she gets her arrow out, and you see her aiming downward as it falls as she releases the arrow. It manages to catch it, go ahead and roll for attack.

Okay. See how well it hits. Oh, that's good. 30? Oh, wait, 28, 28, 28. 28. It pins the chicken to the wall, which then ends the sack. You're great at protecting your data, but lots of places could still expose you to identity theft.

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The war is over and both sides lost. Kingdoms were reduced to cinders and armies 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 so good to be back. Join the Glass Cannon podcast as we plunge into the Shadowdark every Thursday night at 8 p.m. Eastern on YouTube.com slash the Glass Cannon

with the podcast version dropping the next day. See what everybody's talking about and join us in the dark. The wooden shafts like snaps on the way in the chicken courts, hits the ground. One of the servants scoops it up and sends it back on the table and when I feel it with the broken arrow shaft

sticking. I like that game. I'm a favorite game. You want some more broom target practice? I need to practice with this brew. You do need to practice. I need, but I mean, we have more chickens. We've got stuff to do. Yeah, we have stuff to do.

I'm still eating. I would love to see you for five minutes get up on that broom and fly around and fucking put some arrows and some chickens. All right, fine. I'll fucking practice. I'm still eating. Does it help me at all to practice on this broom?

It helps me. I will command seven servants to each have a loaded pigeon, a chicken at the ready. All right. I start flying. Vax, you can do the honor. and say the pulls. I clenched really hard with my thighs to try to hold on to this broom. All right. As the rest of you enjoy, what is the strangest of medieval times experience

as you had? Let's go with the green knife. Lance. Lancing upward, the raised ceiling of this dining room area. You watch Vex spiral around on her broom before. Scanlan? Vax is saying pull. Pull! Pull! Oh God. With disadvantage. Oh, Jesus.

Okay. Say it. Say it. One. It's the easiest number to count to. So, as the first chicken goes in the air, she reaches and goes to aim, however, she catches herself, the broom kind of throws her off, and she stops just in time and haphazardly focuses on just the chicken, not realizing where the chicken had now fallen past, releases it. Oh shit.

Scanlan, I don't want you to make a dexterity saving throw. Duck on some bitch. Dix? Nine. Go ahead and roll damage for your... Oh, no. Okay, okay, that's not that bad. Damage?

Yes. Oh, it's automatic hit? Yeah. Okay. Oh, no. A full, full damage. Natural. Oh, my God.

All about 17. So, Scanlan, as you're watching this, chewing, suddenly, Your wounds on him. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. The old chicken just dangling at the end of the air. I'm just applauding. I'm just applauding. I tried to forget my chicken and I throw it at skin.

Does this mean when the night's over there's gonna be a little pool of blood where the door was... You know. Yay! Oh, my ass! I have a good. Go ahead and work for healing. Oh, God, oh, God, okay. As Ben reaches out and grasps you and it manages to heal some of your wounds.

Oh, good, that's good. It's just 1D8? Do I add anything? 1d8 plus your wisdom modifier. Plus my wisdom modifier. Oh. 11. So you heal 11 hit points.

Oh, can I pull out the arrow? Sure. A gout of blood kind of spray is out. I just hold my hand there. I'm there. Mike, can you help? You can you help? It's in here anyway.

Yeah. No, we're healing scandal. You have a chicken? Yes, I'll cast any cure wounds? Yes, I'll cast cure wounds. The wound closes as Pike reaches out and with a small chuckle, heals. How many hit points? Sorry.

The chicken comes back to life. What did you say, man? How much do you heal? Roll 1D8 plus 5, I'm pretty sure. That was amazing. Sorry, Scanlan. You can play my brother. I'm back.

You're back to full. The wounds closed. Pike's there holding your hands on your shoulders, closing the wound. Thank you, Pike. Thank God you were here. All right, well, let's say breakfast is over. I would have practiced a bit more, you guys.

The other servants are holding their chickens at the ready. Pull. Pull. I'm punching one in the air with my new gullets. Okay, I was just about to throw it up. Pike runs over and grabs the chicken and throws it and punches it in the air. Hold on.

Pike, roll a strength check. Just roll a D20 and add plus four to it. 20 chicken mcnuggets fly. That's a so. I'm doing this. I'm going to do this. What am I doing? Roll a D20, add four to it.

Jesus. For the greater good. Okay, it's not that high. 11. 11. Okay. You batted it up with a pike punch. We'll say for the sake of brevity on this, go ahead and roll one more attack, and this will account for the rest of the shots.

Oh, shit. She back hands it. With disadvantage. Oh, come on, 16. 16. You do manage to recover your sense of self-esteem as you manage to pin a couple more chickens against the walls and the table in here,

but each arrow is just a reminder of the one stray that began this whole breakfast excursion. Sorry about that, Scanlan. Great job. Guys, this is the best brunch we've ever done. I will never forget it. That was great. Thank you for that, Scanlan.

Sure, sure. We should probably get a start on a walk. Yes, so, question, before we leave, you guys. I'm gonna make the archery with it, right? Filarious. Sorry, okay, carry on. Oh, do we want to travel via wind walk, or are we okay? We're only eight hours away?

All right, because I can save my strength. Yeah, yeah, yeah, save it. Okay, all right, thank you. We might come across some orcs. That's true. Hopefully, shit. Oh no, right? Not.

All right, let's set out. All right. You guys, say goodbye to your servants, gather yourselves as you step out and, you step out and, you and the door closes behind you. Do you should just leave the spell up, or you're just going to fade it as you walk along? If I leave it up, can anyone go in there? Anyone that you allow into it.

Ooh. I want to see if the blood comes out. No, I'll shut the door and hide the key under a rock. Okay. You guys continue walking southward towards the frostbill. About another seven to eight hours of travel On that way you begin to see the storm crest mountains and the distance get closer and loom larger and larger. And you get the feel of the storm crest mountains, definitely, because

there is a very large storm surge that seems to rise from the ocean to the east of it, that has caused a very heavy thunderstorm that's just blasting through. You can't see the peaks of the mountains from this distance. There are clusters of trees and forest areas along, but ahead of you, you can see, coated in a very, very bright, visibly white forest. This is the frost well itself, the snowfall. And once again, you've been here before, and there is an essence, and you don't recall the specific reason for it, but there was a purpose, an ancient purpose as to why this one area is perpetually sitting in the heart of winter. And amongst what is relatively temperate, in some places almost tropical temperature layer, it

is very strange and part of the mystical calling to the frost-weld that it is perpetually locked in a winter's state. You? Okay, don't worry, I'm working on it. I, um, I, um, Keelot takes a second to meditate on the previous time that we were here in the frost world, and I cast Find the Path. Find the Path. Six-level spell.

Okay. Which gives me the most direct shortest route, as long as I'm on the same plane of of where I'm going, if I have a vague idea of where I'm going. Whispering voices get a communication's degree. We're going to the... Sorry, I do this for a living. Stormcrest Mountains, right? We're trying to get to the Stormcrest Mountains through,

but we're also looking for the band of orcs traveling. So if you name a destination on another plane of existence, a destination that moves, or a destination that isn't specific, specific, such as a green dragon's layer, the spell fails. Right. But we're in the frost wheel, right? Yes. Or you're approaching it now.

Is the frost wheel considered on a different plane? No. Okay. But do you have a specific location that you are familiar with that you want to go to? Well, I can find this the shortest, most direct route to the storm across mountains. Have we been there? Yeah, you can see them. Oh.

I'm trying to figure out if for the spell to work, you have to choose a spin. specific location that you're already familiar with to lead you to it. Right. So what are you saying? Stormcrest Mountains. Okay. But just because I can see them doesn't necessarily mean we're going to find the most direct path, shortest direct path towards it.

Right? Or is this a waste of a spell and I should just do something else? It's castle. I will give you the benefit to say that A D&D player getting confused by their 500 stats, that's unheard of. This, you would need a, this is more useful if it's trying to find a place that you're very familiar with in a picture. of that isn't different, or you had a very specific bit of information for it for a general like location or a location you're unaware of, the spell wouldn't have any effect.

Maybe you could think of the location of her, the Sphinx's mate. I don't know it. So it fails. That's why I was trying to do Storm Crest Mountains, but apparently that's not specific enough. That's all right. It's a mountain. It's just we can see them. Yeah, it's right there. There's a large range that's very visible. Let's move on. Let's move on.

I'll do something else. Save it for something special. for something special. So as you guys press forward to the outside of the frost well, the snow and ice cupboard tree line is a very familiar sight from you last time traveling here. There are canopies of pine-like trees that interlock with windless snowfall that leave a fairly dark interior set from the frozen-over canopy. Slick surfaces and knee-deep, snow banks just permeate this entire forest region.

Your breath is immediately visible as you step past that threshold, and the temperature drops about 40 degrees from what it was before, getting steadily cold with the further in you travel. But you're glad you have that beard now, huh? It keeps you warm. No? It's actually quite nice out here. This is like spring for me. Oh. Oh. Are your people, do you grow up in the cold?

Yeah, we're pretty cool. Wow. Ha! Pressing in as temperature drops further and further, you occasionally come across a broken sunbeam that manages to penetrate aspects or different places in the canopy, and even stepping into those, they don't lend any change in temperature or warmth. The enchantment surrounds this entire forest doesn't seem to be moved by such natural incursions. Everyone go ahead and roll perception check.

25. Are we in the woods? Yes. 29. Two. 18. 15. 20. 25. You guys are walking through keeping your ice peeled.

Vax, you're so lost in thought that you're just kind of glaze over for a second and you forget where you are. Pike and Vex, The two of you kind of get a little bit ahead the rest of the group, kind of pushing through the snow, come around from a tree and you can see, this is about an hour or so into the entrance to the frost. When you see a small clearing with a few patchy trees outside of the heavy canopy and what appears to be a couple of small stone ruins and a single obelisk, like a monolith like pillar of stone that just kind of juts out of the snow. It's about 200 feet away from you guys.

Can we see anything around it? Any people, any trace of tracks in the snow? From this distance, no. If you don't see, there are no figures, there's no movement, there's just that stone piece. That kind of, at a slight angle, just stands out amongst the rest of the tree line. What do you see? There's a, look, there's a fucking obelisk. It's a tall stone thing, Grog.

Yeah? So? Let's go over. Yeah. Gock. Vex, you and I should hang back, but we'll let everyone else. It's a big obelisk? Mm-hmm.

Are there any birds or anything like that around? Is any birds? Listening? That's what's interesting. It's usually forest, because there's teeming with so much life, there's a perpetual sound of things that live amongst the bows and the tree line. Because it's so cold here, it's eerily. silent. Every footfall that hits the snow, you can hear the crunch resounding and echoing through the nearby vicinity. It is just a still silent atmosphere in this forest.

Click, clank, clink, pike. Let me check if it's safe to move on and I reach down and scoop up a handful of snow, right? It's like snow. How's your taste? It's the clearest snow you've tasted in a long time. It's crazy pure, yo. So then we're safe to move ahead? Yeah, we're good. Let's go check out the scary obelisk. Everybody starts inhaling snow.

Are you moving ahead? I'm moving ahead. Who was to come with me to an obelisk? I'm going to hide behind a tree and watch. To the what obelisk? For what? Why are you hiding? I'm just going to keep gone. I'll come with you, Brock. There's nobody out here.

God. Bad luck time. I'm going. There's a big obelisk. Borg, Gaelith. Pikes coming. Bigg, Goplas, just ahead. It's a Grog, Kieleth, Pike, and Scanlan are all going forward.

Looks like Vax, and Perseer's name. I'm getting a slightly down. I'm getting another angle so that we have two different vantage points of what may happen. All right. So you guys kind of split off. Were you going with Percy or? I'm kind of brain farting, so I'm just following Percy. Okay.

Percy and Vax kind of splinter off to the left. Vax, you go ahead and take the right and you kind of head around this clearing, while the rest of you walk into the center of it. Here. Keeping an eye on that. thing in that, can... Look at that. I know, it's a thing.

We're gonna let Grog touch it and see what happens. You guys approach and as you're stepping through the snowfall, which right now is for you up to just past your knees, kind of like the grass was. Oh, no. For Kieleth, it's just up to your waist. Scanlan, your head's just like you and Pike are both kind of like, like the dogs jumping through the snow that kind of vanish at each leap. You guys are having to kind of find your way through this heavy snowfall.

Do you guys, you guys, you want to run a... Yes, please. I'll pick up each nail them on my shoulders. Okay. So are you going to pick them up and bring them up? Thanks Brod. No problem. Go ahead and make an investigation check as you guys approach this.

25. Yay. Investigation. It's a two. It's a two. Minus three. It's made of rock. Eleven.

Okay. All right. Like your pants? What did you get Pike? 14. 14. Okay. So as you guys approach this vantage point, it's carved definitely, and the carving is very old,

weathered somewhat, but not too heavily, so it's either not very old, there's not a whole lot of weather that comes through here, and by the stillness of the wind since you've entered, you get a feel that's probably more the case. So it's hard to gauge how old or how long it's been here. But there are various carvings amongst it. There is a big symbol. I want to have you guys roll a religion check real fast. What the fuck?

Wow. I'm not to not use that dice right now. It's religion. It's some kind of... Twelve. Religion. Nine. Pipe?

Come on. 15. 15. Okay. It looks familiar, but you're having a hard time kind of really getting the essence. Pike, you recognize this. This is not the largely understood or most commonly utilized symbol of Ayune. symbol of Ayun, but it is a very ancient, the basis of the religion of Ayun, which is the same

goddess of knowledge that Ossisa was overseeing beneath. Right. Right. How do you spell it? I-O-U-N, which you actually carry a stone enchanted with the essence of Ion's knowledge. Oh, that's my ion stone. Yep. Is it like made of, is it stone?

Ayun stone. Oh, is solid, solid stone and goes up about 35 feet or so. Hey Scanlan, I heard if you like touch your tongue to something like this, it'll stick. Wow. Yeah. Wow. We should probably try that out. Keeleth?

What? Can you go lick that obelisk? Oh, hell no. I know that one. Keyless. But you should do it, Grog. Keyless. I can't do it just because of my elven abilities.

It's our saliva. It doesn't work the same way. It's not the same way, but you should try it. It's all good. Doubt, Keyleth. What? That was very clever. How far are we?

You guys are about 10 feet from it. What? I'm gonna just look around it for any traps. Okay. Make an investigation, Jay. 18. 18, okay. So you kind of have to leap off grog

and start kind of waiting through, you start getting through. You're finding pieces of broken stone, chunks of, you know, smaller chunks about that big, and bits of stone dust that are kind of scattered amongst the snow. You push around, because you see the ruined walls around. Oh, okay. You do find a larger piece of stone that looks like a broken statue.

Like some sort of a statue here have lost the hand and it's kind of stumbled there on the ground. Okay, upon him seeing that, I pull out my hunk of quall. Okay. And see if it... Lights up? Lights up. Oh, you have to concentrate on it. Are there orcs present?

I knew someone would laugh. I knew someone would laugh. You hold it aloft. There is, like, you know, it has a small vibration of energy as part of the crystal sliver itself, but doesn't seem to change in the environment. You continue looking through and you kind of, you step, as you stepping close to the obelisk, you also notice there is some writing or some sort of scripture that is carved towards the base that is partially buried by the snow that is kind of gathered at its base.

find more pieces of statues, like arms, part of a torso, like somebody had knocked over a series of statues, but a lot of them have deep grooves in them. Like these statues were either carved to pieces, like they were actually physically torn down. Are you describing what you're seeing at all? Are you... Sure. I can't have a reaction to this unless I'm actually hearing anything. I do control water. Can I do control water and clear away all this snow from around it? It takes you a little bit of concentration because it's in a different state than liquid, but you can you begin to focus? And as you guys are watching, Kiel's focusing a lot of the ice

begins to rapidly melt into a water form, and it begins to melt away, leaving the wet, muddy ground around it. These statues that have been broken, they have gashes and slashes in them? Yes, around the areas where they're broken. Can I see the statues at this point? From this distance, you can't. I want to get a little closer just so I can kind of make out the statues. Okay. As the snowfall begins to melt away, you guys see around the base of this obelisk, it is a garden of statue pieces. Are they classical statues? Are they people in weird poses? Are the poses weird?

Some poses look aggressive, some poses look surprised. Back up, everybody. Back up now. And we're going to go ahead and take a break on that. We fought basilists in the process of a pool. Damn it. So, we're going to go and take a quick break here for the restroom. Hello and welcome back, everyone.

So as the snow is melted away, revealing this garden of statues in various states of some of them are still solid, some of them are just missing pieces, some of them are entirely shattered, many of them crushed or torn, thick, heavy grooves visible on the pieces of them that have been torn asunder, the party begins to gather their thoughts and figure out what this may be. You did notice as well that there was writing or script among the bottom of the obelisk, as the snow melts away, there was another large shape that is carved into it. Can I hold my hand up to the obelisk and just feel if there's any like heat radiating off of it? Sure, as you walk up to the edge of the obelisk can put your hand to it. No heat being radiated.

I'd pull out the hunk of qual again. Anything? Kind of hold it closer to the symbol. It does not seem to be reacting to anything in the immediate vicinity. Man, somebody does not like sculptures. Those aren't sculptures. Can I do a nature check? No, it's art. I get it.

What languages do you know? It's interpretations and fancy and whimsical. Let's... I'm gonna double check on my... Can I hop on the room and fly up and see if I can spot any vassalists around? Sure. Wait, Percy, what do you think they are? Where's she going?

Did you hear me? Did you say that? I think... Sorry, Elvin, Sylvan, Drouinic, primordial. You, the language, as you walk up and begin to hold the hunk of qual towards it, you can see that the language, the script that is beneath the initial symbol of Aune that scan the scene is Elvish. Oh, okay.

And it reads, in the rough translation, it's old, old, old text. It reads, it's . There's it, there's it. It reads, a name is earned. A name is earned? A name is earned. Oh, no. And beneath it, there is what appears to be

the other large carving you saw onto it, looks like like a triangle, like a dark recessed triangle that is just built beneath the text that tapers internally to a point, almost like you could, like a reverse pyramid on the inside. It's just an empty space that comes to a point. Oh, no. I think that there are basilisks nearby. Do I see any? What?

I think these statues of victims. Can I do a nature check to see if I can see any signs of basilics? Sure, make a nature check. You make a perception check. Are we at a short, where is this a short rest? No. No. 21? 26. 26. You glance up above and you don't, you do not see any immediate baselisks from what you can see. This clearing itself is visible from your height, but once you get above the tree line, you can see the trees are pretty thick. You don't see any sign of basclisks in the immediate vicinity. You, upon looking around the ground, you can see where, because it's very muddy, from all the water that it melted, all the snow that it melted down.

And you see that some of the mud is kind of slicking into what looks like holes in the ground, like four foot wide cavernous holes that were dug, like little burrows that now have all this water and mud slip them into them. Burrows made by a creature, it looks like. It looks like, which one of them kind of expels a bunch of mud and water, because kind of just bubble outward. At which point you see something burst out and emerged under the ground. Nearby, more of these holes start bursting forth. All the mud and liquid that has seeped into it is now being forced outward, and these creatures now covered in mud. You can see long lizard-like bodies with a tooth snout,

multiple legs, rows of them down the spine as tails flicker about. I'm closing my eyes. Don't look at them. I would like you all to roll initiative. Fuck. Shit, I'm standing right in the middle of them. Ew. Fuck you.

I have the fucking shittiest initiative rolls. Y. I have a terrible initiative row. Okay, this is it. Burl Instics, it's growing up. Battle in the snow. They've got Ashley. Now, it's hard to see with the mud across their surface,

but you do see hints of blue coming through. You have encountered these previously. These are referred to as the eye. heard to as the ice scale basilisks, the ones that are more specific to this indigenous region. All righty. So, going by initiative order here, folks, 25 to 20? 22. 22. Percy?

20 to 15? 18. 19? Really? Oh, no, Percy. Oh. Oh. 15 to 10? 13. 11. All right. It rolled really badly. Yeah. Pike!

I know, I know. The initiative is always shit. Welcome back, Pike! She likes to get a layer to land before she attacks. Yeah, yeah, you know, I'll do the cleaner. Is that everybody? I'm eight. Pike up, all right.

All right, so, due to the series of rolls here, they're going last. Oh, roll the five, minus one penalty to decks. So as these, oh, there should be one more that bursts up right next to Scanlan right there. Oh, great. Oh. As they all brush out of the ground, kind of shaking their heads and the mud slinging off and slapping into the stone, spattering across the white snow around them and across some of you,

they snarl and hiss as you see the eyes now. Ah. Oh. Oh. Oh. Merry Christmas. So, top of this will be you, Vex. You actually will be, since you are on the, on top of here, on the broom, looking above.

Now we can't look at them, right? We remember that from before. You can. You're going to want to try not to. We can look at them to shoot them and then look away? Just don't look at them at all. You can choose at the start of your turn whether to avert your gaze or not. You'll have disadvantage on pretty much everything as long as you're doing that. as you're doing that. That's so annoying.

I can't tell how everybody's clumped. They're like, just basically they're all amongst all of our friends. There's three right here and there's one right there that popped behind. So there's one, two, three, four. Okay. Can I fly down and land on a tall tree? You can try to. Brace myself?

You'd like to try to. Yeah. Just like, yeah. We'll say for the purposes of this that you coast down to the height. Stupid broom. Oh, pooh! That's out. I'll say you land down somewhere over here.

Okay. All righty, there you are. Okay. I avert my gaze-ish. I look like off to the side of one, but I can see it in my peripheral. Is that how it goes? You kind of guess where it is real fast, peripheral and kind of.

Okay, Hunter's Mark one. Which one? The one. The one, who is that? Is that Scanlan? That it's next to, the little, is that Scanlan? Yeah, Scallon is next to one there. Yeah, I do the one next to Scanlan.

That was my eye. That one, laser pointed. I can't, that's just a flashlight. Oh, that's how I do it, okay. I've never, okay, that. There you go, that one. The one that you already. And what are you doing?

And I'm gonna. Professional D&D player. That's right. And I'm gonna shoot it. Go for it. With, through the blazing bowstring. Okay. So go ahead and roll disadvantage in the first strike. Does it, oh, I don't get regular, because it's favored terrain, so I just like cancel it all out? You can't, it's disadvantage for reverting your gaze, advantage for being in favor of terrain.

Well, I don't think you get advantage on attacks for favorite terrain, do you? I think it's just ability checks. Okay. Yeah. So no, you're a disadvantage. I'm a disadvantage. I'm a disadvantage. I don't know why. We'll check this, so the internet doesn't screw at me.

18. 18 with disadvantage? Yeah. That still hits. Go ahead and roll in it. Let's find out real quick. That would be amazing. I haven't done that since the

14. It's just like the old school show. 16. Plus the blazing bow string. 16. That's an additional detail. All right, so first attack on the basilisk near Scanlan. 17.

17 damage. Go ahead and roll the second attack with this advantage as well. 17. 17 does hit as well. Just roll damage on that one. They included the blazing bowstring for the first one, right? 15 on the second. 15. 15.

15 points image. Holding on to the top of the tree, we're starting to bow a little bit with your weight, and you're kind of clutching the broom under one arm and you pull back in the release two arrows in succession. Both find their mark. You did 100 mark damage on top of those? Yes, I did. All right, good.

You see Scanlan as you, you, you... try and avert your gaze momentarily as you see the giant creature there and you recall. Two arrows, streak past, which gives you a little PTSD based on your morning. So that'll complete your turn? Yeah. All right, Scanlan, you're up. I will. He's right next to me?

Yes. Are you birding your gaze or not? I'm averting my gaze. All righty. Well, geez, I mean, can I see the, do I know where they are? You saw them all burst out. Once they shook off the mud, you heard her shouting and you're like, oh, hmm. So I kind of know where they are.

All right. I'm going to hop away five feet from the guy who's. I'll get an attack. Yeah, that's a fine direction. Sure. It lunges out at you with a strike. That is a 22 to hit. Hit?

Yeah. All righty. Yep. As you pull away, pain strikes your body as the sharp stone crumbling teeth of the baseless reach out and pierce your body for 12 points of piercing damage. You wrestle your elbow out of the way. You can feel the wound beneath your leather armor. It's barely an arrow and a chicken in the neck.

Okay. And I'm going to aim to the one in the middle there. In the middle there, can you give us, anyone have a pointer? Yeah, that one. The other two are within 20 feet of him, yes? Yes. So I will cast a wand of fireballs right there. Yeah.

On him or behind them? Just behind him so it hits all three? Right, and not yourself. Yes. That's probably what you wanted there. Okay. All right. So, as you back up, I'm going to release it in that direction.

The beam of light streaks out from the wand, the snow bank right behind it, boom, exploding. Already the slushy atmosphere is snow and fire scattered around as they both screech out in pain. DC of what's in the... DC 15. I wrote it down.

That's... First one failed. Second one, roll the 15. It's a minus 1 deck, so that's a 14. That's a fail. And natural one. Yes. Go ahead and roll to that.

8D6. Vax you're on decks. Be ready. All right, okay. 25, yes. 25 points of damage, toll. The flames subside after the force of the explosion. The obelisk itself kind of shakes from the impact. The three baskets, you know, notably charred.

Whatever mud was on them is immediately dried and is now cracking on the outside of their scales. You hear the hissing at their presence. Do you want to keep moving or stay where you are? I'll tuck around the obelisk a little bit. Okay. And I'll turn to Pike, my love, and inspire her with a song. I will sing, I used to cry you on the shit phone.

Late night when I need your love. I know when that poop phone glows. It can only be one now. Only be one gnome, ever since you left the potty, you're okay. Oh, yes. It's a real inspiration. All right, so Dietz and inspiration after you. I know, in that group from you.

I'm going to click my heels together. Set the boots going. I'm going to go very far away towards you, your end of the map. I want to be about a little away from the tree, though, so I've got a clear line of sight on that one. on that one further back though. I want to be like 50 feet away. Yeah. Okay, you're away. Yeah. You're off map. You're off the grid. And I'm going to dagger, dagger, dagger him from very far away. Okay. And I'm going to use that sharpshooter trick where I take a negative five to attack but add 10 damage.

Okay, go for it. All right. On all of them? Are you averting your gates? No. Whoa! So you started your turn at first, the first part of the round. I want you to go ahead and make a Constitution saving card. From this far away? When you started your turn, you were in the area. Oh, yeah, okay. So, a Constitution save the room?

Uh... 16 total. Yes. Okay. The gaze upon you as you glance over and see the vassas, it kind of turns its head over, shoulder at you, and hisses, and the eyes catch you, and can feel the natural effect, take hold in your body for a moment. You back away and quickly close.

away and quickly close your eyes and you can feel it begin to reach over, but you shake it off. Oh, yeah, gamble worked out. All right, so you do not have disadvantage in these attacks. Yeah, I'm not. Shrch, shunk, shunk. All right. Minous five to each attack. First one, an advantage, because I'm going before it.

So the first one is 18. 18 hits. Second is 14, and the third is, what was it? 16, it's 27. It's 27. Okay, first hits, last hits. Last hits. Okay, first one gets sneak attack damage, and it's plus 10 to both hits because of the sharp

shirt. Correct. Right. So here we go. Here we go. Two. Plus, where's my... Two, plus four, six, ten, fifteen, seventeen, seventeen.

Everytay. I can't think, I can't think. 33 for the first one. And then the second one is 43. 43. Oh, no, no, no, no, 43 plus 49. 49 for the first one. And for the last one that hits is 3 plus 6 is 19.

Sharp shooter. As you run backwards, Tegger, jegger. At the best glaring back at you, it's kind of toothy mouth opening in the breath out, you shake it off, throw the daggers, one sticks into one eye and the other just into the other and it... What? What?

That was fast. The snow nearby is spattered with this kind of dark purple basile blood. Oh my eyes. We need to change some baseless blood, remember, that's like super good. Yes. All right, so you want to stay where you are? I will take another 10 feet back. All right from everything.

Hi, guys. All right. Percy, you're up. Okay. Virtue gaze or? No. Oh. You can't know.

Gamblers. You got to know when. That's a... That's a... That's a... 4015 is going to be 20. Yeah. 20-something.

21 points. What do you know? You know, a point? Constitution save. That's right. Roll? That's 14 plus 7. That's great.

All right. I look it in the eye. Yeah, you stare it down and it kind of like, bark and bark it down. Orthaxes left his mark on you. I cast hex on it. I'm looking at the one that she's 100 mark. I cast hex.

Oh, nice. Are you going to bark all day, little dog? Same one that she's 100's mark? Yeah. All right. And I'm taking, I'm taking, I'm taking, I'm giving it a willpower, a disadvantage on willpower ability checks.

Okay. And I'm going to take three shots with a shot. Shrush shooter, go for it. Already done. 12. 12, all right. Misses. Miss this, unfortunately.

Oh my God, goodbye. Going to the good die. 12. Better. Like 24. Yeah, third shot hits. Go ahead and roll damage. With the hex damage as well. That's, oh my God, I'm just sucking.

22 points of damage. 22 points of damage. So the first shots go wide. Second shot goes wide again. For some reason, it's moving faster than you expected in this moment. The third shot manages to find the front of its nose, and its front of its skull shatters and it kind of crumbles to the ground. of crumbles to the ground.

Yeah! Damn. So while shooting, I ran from that one all the way to the other one. That was a running shot, so. Okay, so you're running this way? Yeah. It was a lot harder the last time.

I'm behind the tree over there. Because you're going about that far with your running. Right there? Okay, yeah, then you got behind there. That's fine. All right, that's your turn. Percy, Rog, you're up.

Ah! I would like to avert my gaze. Okay. And go into an averted gaze race. I would like to run at that little bastard right there. I can't see you, but I'm so angry. And using my feral, no, that's wrong, using my, what the fuck is it called? Oh, er, begit.

Slap fight. Hair pull. I've totally forgotten what it's called. Where the fuck is it? Reckless attack. Oh yeah, there you go. Yes. So can I cancel out the disadvantage and get just a normal roll? Yes. You have a normal roll.

Nice. And great weapon master on these two strikes. All right. Shit. Nine. Whiff. Whiff. Shit.

Shit. Nope. It's a bad luck night for Grog rolling. You rush forward. You thought it was there. You sure it was there. You heard it hiss. It's about two inches below where you swamber.

I'm so mad that I come out of my rage because I don't hit anything, right? You don't have to hit. attack. There's a difference. Well, I've been swinging. Yeah. All right, ending Grogs turn to Kila threw out. Okay. There's how many left, two? There are two left. I am remembering what the Basilis did last time and have only done this once before. I'm going to go... Avert your gaze or not? I'm looking down and I'm transforming into a giant scorpion. Okay. Scorpions are fascinating.

How so? They don't have eyes or something? Yeah, they have blindside. What does that mean? It means they don't use their eyes to see things. They have blindside. So, Scanlan, as you're averting your gaze, you glance over as Keelcher goes into this giant scorpion, big tail, big pincerers, kind of black and red. Cerepice. It's awesome. It's upsetting.

I'm scared. Really upsetting. Where are they? The two are like kind of in the middle there? One side to Grog. Okay, I'm going to move in between them. Okay. And I'm going to do a multi-attack on both of those. I'll start on the one that Grog's not focusing on.

Okay, go for it. So I have three attacks, two with my claws and with my stinger. Do it. Okay. Disadvantage on all the sides. Disabendage. No, why? Because you averted your gaze?

No, I didn't. I didn't. Blindsight as a scorpion. Right, but at the start of your turn before anything happens is when it happens. Did you avert your gaze or not? No, I turned into a scorpion. At the beginning of your turn. Did you avert your gaze or not?

You said you haveverted your gaze. I said I looked down and turned into it. But once I'm a scorpion, I have blind sight. Right, but the effect takes place before your transformation happens. Okay. So yes or no? Do you want to take the advantage or not? Well, I said I looked down and turned into a scorpion.

to a scorpion. Good job. It's just game numbers, man. Say yes you know. I mean, I did, yeah. Okay, it's all right, so disbanded on the attacks. That's my reason why it is a scorpion. But it's also looking cool.

It's okay from here on now, you're fine. Miss six misses for the first one. Nope, that's a three, and misses again. Nope, that's a two. Last one, there's an eight plus a four, so that's 12. Probably still nothing. Let me think here for a second.

So the Scorpion has blind sight? Starring Ashley Johnson. Blindsight. How did we not walk into that? How did we be sitting here and that didn't happen? No, you're right. It legitimately made me spit my fucking copy in my face. No, you're right.

Because it's... It got up good coffee in my eye. I was thinking more in the terms of it averting the magical power of the basilisk, but you can still avert and blindsite would allow you to still know where it is without having the disadvantage. So yes. Although with coffee in the eyes, the advantage is back.

This is true. But you're awake. I'll let you roll those attacks. All three? Okay, I wish I remembered them. You want me to re-roll all three? Yeah. That's on me. Okay.

Just straight? I was thinking in wrong terms. Matt, you're the worst. I know. I know. Geez, I'm going to tweet at you later about this. Actually, Matt, how blind tight works. There have already been sent.

We've already been sent. Wow, I'm shutting. Go ahead. These are just straight. They don't have this advantage? No. Okay, so first attack, 14. 14 does not hit, unfortunately.

Second attack was in natural 18, so 22. Yeah, that does hit. Natural eight. And for the tail? Natural. 16. 16 hits. Wow.

Oh. Gush, gush. Yeah. Yeah. So we have one. Just a bunch of idiots. There's a much of idiots talking around, guys. Hello.

There's coffee everywhere. That's not very much. Four damage for the claw attack. Okay. And then for the sting. Oh my god. Three damage and they have to take a Constitution saving throw. All right, what's the D.C?

12. Yeah, so it makes the save. Fuck. Yeah, Keyleth, good one. Oh, oh, they take, okay, they take 40, 10 poison, and on a failed save, they take half as much. Okay, so I look at out. That's cool.

That's still really bad. That's great. You should be a scorpion all the time. Thanks, guys. That's why these are fucking horrifying rules. Six, seven, eight, nine. He's a beautiful scorpion. Four and four.

Seven is 16. 16. I don't know. Total, so maybe eight for half of it. No, that is half of it. That is half. Nice. That's not bad at all. All right, so as your first claw just streaks off its armor, the second one grabs hole and actually like breaks into its... No.

I'm listening. Thank you. Sorry, it was eight damage. No, you did, because you did half the dice instead of... No, she did four D10. She did four D10? Eight damage. Okay, damage.

All right. Yeah. All right, so as the first claw streaks across its armor, second one manages to grab and actually pince onto it, getting some damage as you're holding it there. The tail, strikes inward, manages to pierce the outside of the scaly basilisk. Kide, not as effective as it could have been, but still you see its body tense with a sudden pulse of poison in its system. Okay. That brings just to Pike. What's up? Okay, how, I, since I can't see it, is there any way that I can guiding bolt one of the basilics

without hurting anybody? I mean, yeah, it would, for guiding bolt, which I believe it's a spell attack, Am I correct on that? Or it's automatically hit? I'm trying to remember which one it is. You guys have so many spells. Guiding bold, yeah. So you can totally guiding bolt, you'll have disadvantage on the attack roll, but you can do it still.

Okay. Do it, Pike! All right, let's do it. All right, so roll, disadvantage on the attack. The fog of war. Which one, the one near Grog or the one near Scorpion face? Which one would I not hurt anybody? I mean, neither would you are, it sounds so much you hurting any.

It's not so much you're hurting anybody. You wouldn't hit anybody. It's about if you miss or not. Frog and I can take it anyway. Okay. The one by Grog. Yeah, we'll do the one by Grog. Okay.

Oh, natural 20. Oh! But it's with disadvantage, so you got to roll it out. Oh, no. Say it again. One in 20 chance. 13. And with that, unfortunately, as you're holding your eyes at bay,

Wait, you're inspired. You can add the inspiration dice too. Add the inspiration. I'll add inspiration. Okay, so roll a D10, add that to the attack. So 13 plus. Okay, okay, okay. All right, seven, so 20.

Woo! And roll damage on the bottom. So 4D6, radiant damage. Okay. All right, 17 points of radiant damage, and now there is a glowing hue of radiant light around it. So even though you're not looking at it, it's a pretty decent beacon, so it gives advantage

next attack roll against it. Nice. Keep that in mind. Do you want to move it all? You want to stay where you are, Pike? I'll stay, yeah, I'll stay. All right, now it is their turn. This one turns around and it's going to go ahead and make a bite attack against you, Keelith, in Scorpion form. Oh, that's a 17 plus six. That hits. All right. You take 11 plus 3, 14 points of piercing damage. damage, plus seven points of poison damage. So that was... My brain is not doing numbers for some reason.

So is my, I know, and I keep looking at you. I'm against you, Grog. Five. Well, it has it has advantage on you because you're reverting your gaze. Plus you have to drop this attack last chance. The... Instool only rolls on nine, plus six, so that's 14. 15 to hit.

Misses. This one bites out towards you, and even though it's not there because it's so bright. 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,

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Backs you're up. Awesome. So the glowing one gets, I get advantage on an attack because it's glowing? You do, yes. I'm on a hunter's market. Okay, so the hunter's mark moves over. I'm going to avert my gaze. All righty.

And just roll a regular attack then? Since its advantage? Yes, it cancels out the disadvantage. Okay. Let's roll your first strike against it. Oh, yeah. Nice. That's um, 31.

31 hits, yeah. 15 plus Hunt those mop. Oh, I didn't huntage mark it. Okay. Okay. Did I say 15? 15? 18.

18. 18. All right, so the first arrow strikes into it. It's still standing. It's looking a little hurt, but it's still standing. but it's still standing. And then do I still get regular attack? This is a disadvantage.

Disadvantage in the next one, yeah. 19? I made against this target. Yeah, and yeah. 19. 19 with disadvantage? That does it. Yeah.

18, all right. This arrow, however, manages to strike through the top of the head, stapling the mouth shut, and it kind of falls to the ground as its eyes slowly glaze over. Yeah. I roar from up in the tree. Whoa. Wait, do you let go with the broom to roar? No, I hold the broom in my hand.

Oh, Katie Perry style. Define gravity style. Oh, your hand while you're flying? I'm not flying. You're sitting on a tree, dude? Oh, cool. She's clenched up on top of the tree. I'm not looking at you. All right, that brings us to Scanlan.

Are you reverting your gaze or not? I'm not only averting my gaze. I'm looking towards the holes that it came out, that any of the holes that are near me. There's two that are near you. two that are near you. Okay, I'm going to go over to one and throw a fireball down into it. Okay.

So, Scanlan, you walk over to the nearby hole behind you where the one that snuck up behind you essentially came out of aimed down and make sure you mark off these charges to each use of the wand. Yes. You release the beam, which gets about 15, 20 feet down before a blast. I need you to make a dexterity saving throw. Okay. Like putting yourself at the mouth of a cannon.

Seven. Oh no. Roll 8D6. Oh my god. But take half damage because it's mostly guarded and this is just sort of a circumstantial at the outskirts of it, you're not taking the full run to the fireball. However, you do get caught in the very edge of the back blast. Wow.

29. Okay. So you take half of that. You take 15 points of fire damage and are blown about five feet backward, pf, up to the ground. However, the ground shutters beneath all your feet, and the earth, the wet, damp earth kind of sinks inward and the tunnel collapses. And a few of the others kind of into it. Yeah. There's still a couple more on the opposite side that are open. There's two more on this side that are open. So the tunnels nearest me are not accessible anymore.

The two that were there and there, both kind of like the ground from it shuttering just kind of collapsed inward and now the mud has filled the space. All right. There's these small sinkholes where they were. I'll spend the rest of my time in this round, just sort of licking my wounds and studying the obelisk. See if I can see any other clues or anything on it. Okay.

You can see the text that she saw on there, the Elvish script. You can't read it though. No. But you see it there, and you see the triangle, is a dark recessed triangle about that big that is in the base of it. Is it a hole or is it? It's a hole, but it's carved, it's not like a perfect triangle. It starts as a triangle and then slowly as it recesses inward comes to a point toward the

about. A peremont. I throw a snowball in it. Okay. It's safe, guys. Back you're up. All right, I'm off the map, but I want to try to come down towards the tree that I think Percy's at? He's between two trees?

Yeah, and I'm going to avert my gaze. I'm going to look at the ground, come up around the side of that tree, and I'm listening for scorpion clacking and basilisk hissing, and I'm going to throw dagger, dagger, dagger in the direction of the basilisk I hear near scorpion claws clutching. Does that make sense? Mm-hmm. All right. So this is a disadvantage because I'm looking at the ground. Right.

So first one is... There's about the fine spotlight raining down though. First one is a 21. That one's dead now. 21 hits? Yeah, and second one is 19. Hits. Third one is 16.

Hits. Okay. These are not with sharp shirt. No, not at all. So this is, so we got 10, all right. Plus nine, plus 10. With that, your final dagger hits

the side of its rib cage and the creature slumps over on the ground, living out a horrible gurgling hiss as it slowly dies amongst the mud. Nice. Dead devil. Yes. That devil. Was that all of them? Currently, yes. Make a reception check.

Okay. Oh, I roll with advantage because I'm in the fourth. Oh my god, I rolled a one twice in a fucking row. I see nothing from my trains. Two natural ones? We were fucking eating it on a lot. I'm fucking eating it on rolls tonight. You're about to look down and to inspect the vicinity.

However, the tree's starting to bow forward, and you're like, oh, it had to catch yourself, and you have no chance to even survey the territory. Hindshad it's in your eye. Laura Bailey dies on stream. Arroof 16. Aroop 16. As you take a moment,

the rage still in, you could hear the blood pumping in your ears, but you also hear the rising hissing what sounds like some sort of a distant echo coming up from a subterranean tunnel. Subterranean tunnel? Yeah, that fireball, I think it might have pissed him off. Good. Maybe we should send us viable.

My blind sight, like, tremor sense to, like, see if I can feel how far away they are? You do, you feel beneath the ground. It's less of a tremor sense, but more just like being able to sense the vibrations in the around you. You can tell that there is motion coming from underneath this. Sounds like a lot of them? A few more. Fire by the other holes? I'm going to drop my...

fire or sorry sorry I'm gonna drop my scorpion spell okay form Jesus Christ oh god Keeleth you're horrible oh wait now you've turned back to normal the things you say Scanlan and then I'm just going to do a wall of stone over flat over the area with the holes okay parking lot so from the stone chunks and portions of the the shattered bodies that litter part of this garden a giant stone wall kind of forms around them and builds over it, sealing these holes. Eventually you hear a sph-b-b-l-l-scraping sounds. Hello. They're friendly. I can't breathe.

Yeah, they're not budging it, they're just hitting it from underneath. It's getting more frantic as time goes on. All right, well. How long can you hold that? Well, it'll last as long until they bust out of it, so we either keep moving or figure out where we're going from here. Well, what is this obelisk? It seems important if these things are protected. What does it say?

Well, it has writing in Elvish in it. What does it say? It says, a name is earned. A name is earned. In Elvish. A name is earned. Should we say a name to it and see what happens? One of the stone parts of them all,

just kind of gets to crack from underneath. Didn't D'Cesa say something about her mate wouldn't say its name? That's right. That's right. That's true. And this is a symbol of Ayune. Of Ayune, correct. Should you say Ayune in Elvish?

I say Ayune in Elvish. You say it out into the air. Why don't you say it into this triangle hole over here? Ayun. Say knowledge in Elvish. Knowledge. Elvish is just English. Except in knowledge name.

Well, I'm going in the triangle hole. Will it passes. Osset. Osset. Sphinx. A name is earned. The name is earned. What's in the hole?

What's in the hole? The name is earned. I don't know what's in the hole. Nothing. A basilisk face burst through from the stone wall. Wack'em all. Grog, whack them all. Yeah, can I run over and play golf?

Do you want to advert your gaze or not? Nah. All right, I need you to make a Constitution saving throw. Oh, shite. I need a giant statue, Grog. Oh, that's good. 22. All right, without an issue. The eyes find yours and you just kind of grin as you bring.

What kind of a text do you want to do? Uh, Rectlis and great weapon, Basta. All right, go for it. It's earned. That's natural Twitter. I'll take that one on the first one. Okay. Ernest is Ernest.

Ernest. Ernest goes to frostbos. 10, 20. Yeah, both hit. The first is critical. Oh. Oh. What?

Head splatter. 7, 12. This would be over here. Oh, get it. 20, 21. So 31. Times 2? That times 2?

No, that's just the attack. It's critical. But before you add your modifier. Yeah, before the modifier? It was... You rolled 7 on the... It was 12 before the modifier. So 24 plus the modifier.

Which is 32 and then plus 10 is 42. 42. Did you roll it, this the additional brutal critical rolls? So roll 46 on top of that because of your six. I think it is. I think we can all agree it's the jelly of the month club at this point. 17.

17. Do you like it smooth? For a grand total of the question at this point. 59? Do you double those ones though because it's the dice? At this point, the Brutal Critical is. That's just the first hit. Yeah, all right. So, 59 points of damage. You square up and...

Happy Gilmore style. You strike it down with the blade an angle, using the stone kind of holding it in place, like an executioner's block. The blade scrapes against the stone as you strike, finding itself embedding about seven to eight inches into the throat of the basilisk, its heads protruding out. Immediately, blood begins to just pour out of its side, and it's gurgling and it's an attempt to try and push through, you wedge the blade out, go for your next strike. You hear Carl We're on your attack, which is a 19-story. Will damage to that one.

Seven, twelve. Fifty-nine points on the critical one. 20, 30 on the second one. Oh, that's all. That's embarrassing. With a second strike, you push, clean slice. The head kind of, on the stonework there. The body's still wedging the whole shut.

The neck gets a clean cut and just starts gouting blood out. You just dip the tip of the sword into the little well and pick up the head. Which, by the way, both saving throws were failed, so you gain another plus two to strength. Yeah. Oh, god. Wow, you're almost catching up to pike.

Ow. Oh. Did you cut yourself on your cup? No, I just hit my tooth. Oh, I hate that. All right. So you can feel the impact still attempting from beneath going more and more frantic.

I say, Er. I'm gonna take off my... Can I go get the... Can I go get the... collect some of the basilis? I can't say that. Can I get some of the blood? Sure. Sure.

And you notice that the longer that it stays out there, the blood itself is beginning to freeze in just the general atmosphere and get kind of slushy. We can get some and put it in my bag. Or we can things good? Can I just stab the carcass then, like in another area and then like get some fresh in the body? Yeah, I mean, there's plenty of carcasses of

baseless around. So you guys, as they're inspecting, and you still feel the impacts from underneath the stone wall and the other tunnel, you manage to gather, we'll say, two small vials of baseless blood. I'm going to go into the tunnel. Because you have to. Yeah, you put it in vex's little refrigerator bag of holding. Yeah. Okay. Okay.

The slamming on the other side of the stone wall slowly subsides until silence comes. Oh. Do you give up? Has anybody like put the hand in the hole yet? It's all you, Groke. All right, I'll put my head in the hole. Where the one you killed is? No, the triangle.

The triangle. The triangle? Okay. So you take your hand and you place it inside this empty recess in the obelisk. It reaches into the, where the shadow of the oblast completely takes it to the wrist. Like it goes... Nothing happened. Oh.

I'm going to take my Ayoon's... stone and shove it in the hole. Nope. Okay. You take the iron stone and you place it in the hole and it kind of it gives a soft light that it gives off just naturally from the magical enchantment and it kind of lights the inside of the dark recess and as you place it inside the top of the obelisk begins to glow ever so faintly like a little beacon which kind of the very very top of the stone glows a matching color to your stone. Move.

A matching color. Yeah, I need you all to make a perception check. Oh, shit. Bullocks. 17. 14. 16. 19.

19. 25. Oh. Check out the rain on bread. Ashley Blindside? 16. Yes. So you catch a little bit of this grog and you kind of perk up as you notice and you see immediately.

There is a matching. beacon, a different faint glow that appears to be a streaking down the mountainside in the distance. It's a little bit off center from the direct south direction that you're facing, but there is a slight marker very faintly visible on the mountain range, just visible over the tree tops. I drop a pin in that. How do you do that? And I tell Keelit, now you can use that thing. I hold up the hunk of Kwan. Kohl. No, that's not what I mean. Your spell, Keyleth.

Oh. Fastest way to get to this point. I didn't bring it because everyone said not to learn that spell. That was today, wasn't it? I thought you already learned it. He said to learn something else because it wasn't going to be useful. No, he said just don't use that thing. No, he said to learn something.

It was at the beginning of the day. You can't unlearn things. Yeah, you go. I thought we were you're going to pick something else? It's okay, it's fine. It's fine. It's okay too. It's totally fine.

I can see it and... You had it already memorized when you guys got to the edge of the forest, I'm pretty sure. Okay, well then I thought you were saying to pick something else because it wouldn't be handy. But I will take it back and I'll use it now if we want. No, we're good. We're good. I'm so confused. So confused. Is it me tonight? Did I just not see it?

It is a really weird pot of coffee. It's not just you. I need sleep? What am I missing? It's all good. I can't math. Do I, do I, do I, do I, I can keep it. Just lick your finger and stick it in the wind. Just see, just use the spell and pretend you never unlearned it. I never unlearned it. It's been there the whole time. I didn't use it. Pretend you use the spell.

It's not like I used the six levels. I feed. Look, guys. We're off the rain. Guys. Find the path that way. Let's do this. Okay, so your point, what is it that you're focusing on for the spell? That beam of life. Okay. That I pointed out to him. And then she pointed out. Okay. Am I doing this wrong? No, you're not doing it wrong. You cast the spell and concentrating, concentrating on the source of this beacon, you feel the direction that would pull you the best way to travel towards that beacon is to travel towards that beacon.

Look, you're just doing what the bossy half elf told you to do. Just show it. That's the only bossy half elf here. If I, can I, DM, can I experiment and take away, if I take away the, my island stone, does the light fade? As you pull the island stone out of it, the beacon does fade, yes. But you have a direction. I have an idea of what is now. You very much have a direction now. I have a pin in it, right? That counts.

Yeah, no matter where you travel in this place, you will have a directional position towards that beacon. See, there we go. Fucking handy, that one is. Yep, let's go, let's move. Totally a great seven, six level spell I'm going to use all the time. Oh, for folks sake. Here we go, people.

We take off at a jog now, too. Yes. Wait, wait, wait, before we leave, is there anything else we need to do here? Do we need to go down on the tunnels? Do we need to piss on the obelisk? Do we want to do anything? You should piss on the obelisk. I just to be sure. You should lick it too after you piss on.

Let's look it well. Let's go. All right, are you guys leaving? Yep. Wait, we need some bascaliske blood and stuff. We already got it. You're standing amongst the obelisk, a long series of mud with a bunch of mostly together

stone statues of people and pieces of people around. Do we want to check the other building ruins? We didn't check those at all. Is that a whole corner of a building over there? Sure. We'll go check it. Sure. I go look at it.

Halfel's look at the building structure. The investigation. Oh, holy fuck. The 26. It says it was forged by dwarves. That's all I can understand. Investigation or? Investigation, yeah.

19. 19. All right. You guys both kind of start gathering around the sides of the ruin. Glancing about the outside, it looks like at one point it was a smaller structure. probably part of the construction, like this here was a satellite place of worship, Ryoun. Like a, honestly, a beacon is part of a journey. But nothing about it catches you, your eyes. As you're stepping over the remnants of the stone individuals in the ground,

you catch your eye on one of the individuals you see lying partially submerged in the snow and mud. You glance down and see two arms that are out like this, although the right arm from the elbow down is missing. It's broken off in stone. Both are reaching out a young human male, shortish brown hair, spectacles at the end of his nose, thin body, and tucked in nice buttoned shirt, slacks. This is Tiriyak, the mapmaker. The mapmaker. The map maker? You're a terrible person. No, why would you do that, Matthew?

Wait, wait, wait, wait. He was traveling the world. I take... Wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait. We're shush. I look at him for a moment, and then I leave him, and I don't tell anyone else. Wait.

We have Pike with us. I don't tell anyone else. Pike didn't seem. Pike, could... His arm is broken off. You don't fucking know he exists. exists. He's gone. Blit, blit.

Okay. Don't you just write a sequel to Batman while you're at it? It's just destroy everything. I don't know. You don't know. Eventually, after you guys do a perusal of the ruins, you can find your way back to the party and you guys continue traveling, which way?

Towards the beacon. I've got it in my head now. Okay. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait. I go to pike. I go to pike. You got a pike. Pike. Pike.

Yeah. Hi, Vax. Do you remember the mapmaker? Were you with us? So much shit has happened. Do you remember Tyriok, the Matmaker? I don't think I was with you, but. There's a man over there, Rezama's gone.

Can you fix stoning? Can you fix a man who's been turned a stone? I could try. I don't. I don't. I remember one time we fixed Vex when she was turned to stone, the last time we fought the basilists. Two years ago, yeah?

What did we do? We covered her in basilis blood. I need to take a walk. Could you do that? Could you do that? Sure. Which stone is he? Look over there by that tree, there.

Do you see him? There's two hands pointing towards the sky. One hand. Okay. Two. One and a half. Arms, you fucker. All right.

Can I head over there with the... You walk over there and you do see a number of broken body parts all turned to stone, various states of disuse and crumbling. You do see a young man who is caught with his arms out, one broken off at the elbow staring up, glasses at the end of his nose. Looking both front. both frightened and frozen in a moment of complete unaware danger. Okay, could I try covering him in some of the basilisk's blood? Sure. You take one of the vials you collected and take the basilisk's blood and pour it over the statue. The blood kind of congeals and spills over, crystallizing slowly as the ice cold gets to it.

It doesn't seem to have an effect. It's got too many. You gather the... Oh man. happened, the blood needs to be applied within a short period of time after the person turns to stone. Okay, okay. Do you have anything else that might help? Probably greater restoration. Do you have that prepared? Do you have that prepared? I do. Okay. You concentrate grasping the symbol of seren ray around your neck and touch your hand out, the warm glow of sarin rays, divine energy

transferring into the stone form. The form glows with energy and the glow subsides and fades. the stone texture of his body beginning to slowly soften, and the color returning to his skin. And for a moment, the head team seems to shake, and the eyes kind of clarify, and a voice begins to peek through these previously frozen vocal cords. I mean, no. As all of a sudden, his arm begins to just spray gouts of blood.

Oh, God. Oh, I got it, I got it. I start catching it with the form. Oh, God. He turns to you, just sprays right across your face. He gets his arm and then cure wounds. I don't know, I mean, that's a good good. Okay, go ahead and heal him up.

Do I try to like reattach his arm? You gather that might have been something to do before you had restored him. Oh shit. However, go ahead and heal for cure wounds. We'll a D8 plus five. That's kind of buggy hilarious. Let's do it. Five D8 plus five?

Depending on what level you want to use on it. Level one is 1D8 plus five. Oh, God. OK, I feel like I'm using all this. I don't know. OK, so let's do level five. Level five? All right, go for it.

5D8 plus five. It's not our finest hour. It's a pretty reasonable hour, but it's definitely not the finest. We brought most of them out, make your bag. Good job, Greg. Thanks. So how much is that? 29.

29. Okay, as you reach out and grasp the edge of his bleeding stump. Stop moving! I just, ugh! And the warmth kind of causes the pain to fade, and it kind of calms for a second. Oh, uh, sorry. Sorry. Looks down as the wound has stopped bleeding. The skin is, it's kind of scabbed over,

and it looks like it's now in a place where it's no longer an open wound. It is mostly healed over, though he is now missing part of his arm. Can he regrow his little arm like you re-grew my brother's little nubbin of a toe? This is a bit beyond your healing capabilities. One Deadpool hand. Which point looks he goes?

Thank you, small one. Well, I, and he kind of goes to reach up for his glasses. Oh. Other hand. Oh, we're terrible. Okay, we save seven and eighths of a Mac maker. And he looks around at the rest of you.

Oh, hello. It's been a while. We haven't, well, I seem to have got myself in a bit of a predicament. What happened? Well, I was, well, I had to. two escorts, and I had been making my way through most of Taldore and had gotten as far as this region, and that's all I remember. Basilisks, big lizard creatures. Yes. Very scary. I tried to run. That's all I remember.

Was it just the three of you then, not a large group of people? No, just three of us. What were you doing over here? Well, I was trying to finish this portion of map if I, uh, uh, uh, Ah, and he goes over and reaches through some of the snow and pulls up a large stone bag that is currently still attached to his broken. Oh no! No! Is this?

Nope, no, no, no, that's just a part of a, it was a statue garden. It's not a big deal, yet. It's just a fragment. All right, well, these were my maps. Are they stone? Stone? They are stone currently. Can we... Oh no. Is he on the ground still? No, he's standing.

Oh, okay. Oh, boy. He takes his glasses off and goes to rub them into his shirt and puts him in his Oh, no. Oh, buddy. I feel terrible. Well, uh... One-legged duck walk around.

Oh, no. What do I do? Which hand does he have? His left hand. Are you right-handed? I'm kind of amphidextrous. Oh, that's good. That's good, that's good.

Um, well... There's an encamp, there's a lot's happened. You see there's shock on his face, like he still wasn't quite taken in on this. Everything's going to be okay. Well, you have a great story now. And a period of adjustment. It's very true, this is a valid point. We should send him back to the encampment.

It's like a two-day walk. These escorts that you had with you who were also turned to stone, were they important to you? Were they friends of yours? No, I hired them as part of this endeavor. They were nice fellas. Hold on a second. He starts walking off and starts like rummaging through the pieces of stone and various people kind of picking up heads. No. Well, that's Alex. Alex. Uh. Golly, I don't know.

I don't know where Gerald is, but um. I come with you for now. Oh, well, you're more than actually. No. He's rather smart, isn't he? He has knowledge of the area. That guy. It actually could be useful.

Here's the thing. It's very dangerous, dear. and it's quite possible you might be turned into stone again, or you might, no, we don't want that for you either. Also eaten alive, burned, shot, stabbed, straight up killed, beheaded, lacerated. All options.

But that's just in the morning. But you're more than welcome to join us. I don't have it today. Or a short amount of time. Or you can, you know, head back to a camp that's about a day and a half away. All right, well, where about the day? What are you going?

We're heading up the mountain. I'll head for the camp. Are you sure? Yeah, we could always use you as a deco, I mean as an aide. I'm good. I'm all right, thank you though. I appreciate the offer. I have lot to think about.

I could. We'll run into it when we get back. Do you need a hand finding your way to the campbent? Oh, gross. Not cool. Gross. Grown. Grown.

Just walking south or northward, basically trailing past the path where you guys watch up. I feel like we should help him something. I mean, I... Not bad enough to actually do it, though, right? I have conjure woodland beings in my back pocket today, so I could conjure you like a little posse to escort you. That would be good. Have some squirrels, buddy. Yeah, have a little, a little posse.

What's the duration on that one? Possi apossi a possum. Not very little. It's something else that I am. haven't done ever. Wait, wait, hold on it. Have you been up the mountain? Untested high level spell, do it.

Is this? It always works so well. Is this as far as you go, or did you make it up the mountain previously? I was cresting through the base of the mountain and made it most of the way down the storm crest and then was heading back through the frost well. Oh, you've been up there already.

You've been to the base of the storm crest mountains. Oh, kind of along the side. We were currently, we were trying to make our way through the central portion of the mountain pass so we could keep track of the division of the division of top and bottom. Oh, right. Both top and bottom.

Well, didn't you say so? I mean, we could really use your help here. Actually, did you see something similar to this, this, this, this obelisk? At the base of the mountain? Uh, he kind of looks back and thinks to himself. Not quite like this, though, but there are a number of cavern entrances that, you know, litter various portions of the base of the mountain. Did you go in any of them? No, see, I was afraid those would be too dangerous, so I went in the forest.

Right. Anyway. Well, look, you don't really seem to have a lot, aren't you? Why don't you join us for just a little bit to the areas that he knows, and then we'll send you back on your way. Maybe with a bit of ale, a little bit of food, maybe a weapon. That would be fantastic. And thank you. I realize now that if you hadn't come by, I probably would be. They would have been there forever. Yes, well, I'm sorry about the arm, dear.

It's, there are worse things. And I can retrain the right with this arm. It's totally fine. Yes, you're lucky to be alive, and now you're going on an adventure with us. Hey, who has two thumbs and is really excited. You and me both doing this. You know what? Make a charisma check.

You worry me. Charisma? Yeah, just add your plus five charisma bonus. What's that in this game? Oh yeah, no, there is. 20? As you do that, he kind of like, Yeah, you're right. You're right. I'm thankful to be alive today. And it's because of you guys. No. Technically true.

What do you? Let's travel. All right. Let's travel. Well, listen, I walk with you. Lead the way. All right, so where are we going? Because this place was dangerous, and that place is dangerous.

And now we don't want to go that way. You vex only a will point where we're headed. Have you seen orcs in this wood? He kind of points it says, there's a lot of them that way. We kind of came through here to avoid them, and that's when this all happened. Oh, actually. Actually, we should probably take care of the oaks. The oaks really quick, and then we could send him back with the refugees.

We did say we were going to take care of the oaks. Yes, we did. We did promise that. Would you say, Grog? Would you like to kill some ork? I mean, do you always ask questions to which you know the answer already? Would you like to stay here while we fight the or could you walk us toward them and then stay hidden? I don't want to stay here. Then you come with us and then you stay very, very hidden.

I can do that. We'll give him a bear. Definitely do that. Will we? Well, when it's time he can be, he can hide with a bear. Then a bear will be hiding with a mapmaker, or most of a map maker. We'll be fine. Let's go.

Let's go. A bear and most of a map maker. Right. While all of that happened for the last 10 minutes, can I stelt away for a little bit? Sure, we'll self-check. Uh, 31. Okay, based on passive perception, nobody notices your exit. Okay.

I don't want to go that far. I want to go so I can still hear all this bullshit behind me and find a quiet spot. I know you can hear me. I'm going to need more than nightmares. A deal has been struck and I will honor it. I need to understand what this is. Any time. In that moment, the white snow suddenly flashes to dark and it's like you were struck blind. You gasp instinctually as your vision goes. as your vision goes dark, nothing. And you see come from the shadow another flash, another vision. It's a Vasselheim, another flash. You look out and you can see there's one large,

darkened structure that you have not visited but passed by on the southeastern side of Vasselheim. Yeah. This... Temple. Temple. The temple. The raven queen. The temple.

actual name of this, and you've heard it in passing before, and you were given your initial passover of the... I got goosebumps. Trying to find the specific name here so they don't mess it up. You see this dark obsidian structure that is ridged almost like an even ribcage along each side. It is ominous, and it stuck out in the middle of the city because, amongst the rest of the jovial atmosphere, it kind of loomed over the emirondonement.

Antinubliate. But this was the central temple to the Raven Queen. You then flash once again in a long chamber and you see veils, dark veils passing by one after another, after another. Another flash forward and you see a chamber with dark brown smooth floors. You see gold trim along large pillars that reach up to a dome-type stained glass ceiling of amber colors. and white. And in the center of this chamber, you see what appears to be a pool of still crimson liquid. You see the crimson liquid shift, and the form rises up out of it, an arm rises up and beckons a finger. Vision goes to black, and you're back in the forest. Not exactly what I was talking about. At some point, a little bit of clarification.

Congratulations, you're creepy as fuck. We'll work it out. I head back to the group. Good talk. Good talk. My house. As you guys gather yourselves your new companion and start heading in the direction that he ushered you within the frost wail towards where supposedly these orcs have hold up and made their camp, you know that the good news is you probably have the element of surprise in this.

that you're not entirely sure what it is you're in for when you get there. That's where I'll end today session. No, no. 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.

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