Critical Role & Sagas of Sundry - Vox Machina Ep. 53 - At Dawn, We Plan!

Episode Date: January 10, 2022

Vox Machina must decide: Leave Westruun to fight another day, or prepare to face the deadly black dragon Umbrasyl?   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Pour your money back. Isn't it nice to have someone like that on your side? Save up to 40% your first year at lifelock.com slash Spotify. Terms apply. So from last week's episode, uh, and from There beyond. Vox Machina, our band of adventurers, who have found their way into a struggle

against a group called the Chroma Conclave, a collection of ancient chromatic dragons that had torn across the landscape of Taldore and beyond, setting ruin to a number of major cityscapes and then claiming areas as their own after the fact. In order to combat this, eventually their, hopefully their leader, Thoradak, the Cinder King, a great and powerful red dragon. They've been in search of ways to improve their prowess as heroes and in search of these artifacts known as the vestiges of divergence lost from wars long past. After finding information about these, it was also discovered that one of their original homesteads, Westruh, the actual place where Pike and Grog for a lot of portion of his life, grew up after being sieged

by the dragons, had been overtaken by the herders. of the storm of which Grog previously ran with for most of his life, and his current was helmed by Kevdak, his uncle, a rather cruel and ruthless leader. After they had absorbed the River Ma' years beforehand, it had swollen to a great size, battled the dragon, and amongst their losses came to an accord in which they would leave riches for the dragon, and it would kind of let them be, for the time being. Upon making their way into the town, some of the ranks of this ravenous herd. Travis as Grog threatened Kevdak to a battle one-on-one for supremacy of the herd and quickly may have gotten a little in over his head.

In the center of the town square, a great battle commenced where after calling to his side his friends Vox Machina a bloody fray that nearly felled a few of you through some ingenuity, some decent planning, and some trickery of magical item use. You manage to survive and have Grog deal the death blow to Kevdak amongst all of the watching herd. After some, just barely screaming by diplomacy, managed to bring it all to a ceasefire at the time being freed Kevdak's son, your cousin, Zanroar, who, from his binding seemed to be of a different mentality, emotional mindset than his father was, and is now wishing to with the two of you, me and Voxmachina and the remainder of the herd, bring this fight to the Black Dragon itself, pulling themselves from under the thumb of its rule, thus saving Western and your own lives in the process.

You all have brought to life one child who was lost in this fray and are currently escorting this boy northward towards the temple district of Westran, and that was where we left off last time. So, has you guys recovered somewhat, some of your wounds, taken a breather, begin walking through the now slowly unrolling streets of Westerns? Some folks are coming out, some are still staying in because there are still various druids, warriors of very aggressive nature wandering the streets, though sparser than before, seeing you guys walk through, as many people do recognize you through your previous exploits. kind of building a little bit of sense of security they have not had for the better part of a week.

Making your way northward with this little boy, you eventually find your way into the outskirts of the Temple District, the very familiar half-topled stone wall that in a circular way encompasses this portion of northwestern side of Western. What would you like to do? Well, I would like to make a proposition. If everybody would like to take a rest, I know I'm pretty rough right now and maybe we could go see my great-great-grandfather is okay of course yeah who what we were in the process of escorting this boy to his it was the three ladies right but we'll bring him home and then we'll find your grandfather yeah or we can take him home and meet your grant meet you do how

how where is it little dead boy yes The little boy is still kind of clutching on to Trinket's fur, kind of riding him behind you. He's got a little smile on his face, the dried blood still kind of covering half of his smile. Do you, does any of this look familiar to you, darling? Yeah, it is. Mom should be up that way, and he points just further down the thoroughfare. And your grandfather lives in this area as well, yes. Don't see why I can't do both.

No, we'll pick him home. Swing by his house, yeah. Giddy up! And kind of kicks the side and trigger like, mhm. I've had drink its buck. It's okay. Licks your hand begrudgingly and continues forward,

swapping on the cobblestone. For a while, eventually the boy kind of looking around, looking for familiar sights, some of the buildings have taken some damage in the initial Black Dragon onslaught. He does suddenly point his finger forward and goes, That's it. That's it. And you go past a couple of little.

humble buildings and then you start getting into kind of the slum section of this. I say a slum. It's where the poor people in the temple district live when they're not tending to temples or businesses that are surrounded by this district. You can see it's a functional, it's a standing hovel, but it's mainly a scrap wood roof with bits of thatch to kind of just help maintain any protection against rainfall. The wood looks sort of. Some of it may have been rotted but treated since. It's functional. But the boy jumps off Trinket and goes, doesn't even pay attention to you, and just runs up to the door and hits the door and it's all, and he goes and kind of pulls on it and it seems to be closed. And

he goes, Mommy! Mommy! And he seems genuinely excited, but also trying to get into the front door. Walk up behind. I kind of whispered a pike and be like, we didn't think about this potential outcome, did we? No. Knock him out. Hello. Is anyone home? It's relatively safe. Er, then it was. Can I... Well, time passes. What are you doing?

Check the door. It's locked. The door itself, it doesn't have a knob, per se. It just has like a small dark iron handle that's bolted to it, but you pull it and something is holding it back. Like there's something actually borrowing it from the other side. A few... A few... Wait, wait, wait. A few moments pass. Silence.

Silence. Ah! Child, how long has it been since you've been away from your home? They just pulled me out today. Then you hear a voice come from the other side of the wooden door kind of peeking through the space. Hello? Knock knock, we have your son, safe and sound. Delivery.

Special delivery for Child's mum. Yeah. Theodore. Yes, Mom. Please, please, please, please. There's nice peepa out here. And you hear the shifting of wood under the side. The door opens ever so slightly, and on the inside you can see a pale and scared-looking woman. Clean, simple clothing. It has what looks like some sort of a half-torn apron on that's wrapped around. Just a simple pleasant blouse. She has her hair up in this like, small cloth cap, and she kind of pushes through.

See, the door, opens the door and just picks him up and wraps her in her arms, wraps in her arms, and kind of holds him for a second, not even paying attention to any of you. And there's this kind of moment where you can see the fear that has been stuck in her mind since he was pulled from the inside of their abode, slowly abated with the return. Eventually she stops and her eyes come up over her shoulder the rest of you. I'm sorry, pardon my manners. I'm Yulia. Thank you. I...

Um... She kind of puts Theodore down. Hold on, let me... And she goes and steps inside of her home. Eventually, a few moments when she comes back, and she has a small handful of coins, like coppers and silver. No, darling, set away. It's fine.

It's the least I could... Is that it? It's not what we did this for. It's fine. I'm just glad that. and not even slightly dead. Nope. Not a scratch. It's fine, just nothing even happened.

If he has weird dreams, don't worry about it. Just children. Herod is partially trained on Grog as she kind of like now notices you as she steps further out of the house. She's like, is everything okay now? Oh yeah, he killed the bad guy. Yeah, we're under new management now. There's going to be a lot of changes around here. For all the better. Okay.

Thank you. She kind of cups the coins back into her hand, and he just then and rubs Theodore's hair, kind of looks at the blood that's still kind of there and looks a little worried for a second. I think it's paint. I think it might be paint, they were painted. Is he going to be all right? He's fine. He's great. He's great. We had spaghetti for lunch. Yes. Quite an adventure. Thank you. Give him a little hot cocoa, warm blanket. He'll be fine.

We're going to clean you up. He'll clean you up. He's like, oh, Okay, and he runs in behind her. She turns again and kind of takes the door and pauses for a moment looking out at you and says once again very quietly under her breath. Sorry. Have you seen a small elderly, an older gnome? Yes. Have you seen him? Is he all right? I will even staying inside since the incursion came. Did you see him on the other side? All right. A few that I have seen. Not under good circumstances. But the fact that I haven't seen it might be a good thing. Yes.

Do you know if they were hiding anywhere, if anyone else went anywhere specifically to hide? There were a lot of places to hide. Only certain areas in the sewers are safe, and our homes are the best places if we knew our way around our own homes. We had a hiding spot, but Theodore got away from us, hearing all the noise, and they managed to take him away.

Where did you hide? Brings you guys inside, and it's very, very plain in the interior. It's very cold. You can see there is a small, like a fire pit with a cauldron over it that's used for making simple soup as whatever food they prepare in here. There is a portion of the roof that is open to allow any sort of smoke to pass through, but it does have some runoff to exiting any sort of waterfall outside of the window. She heads back behind where the cold cauldron is and where the stones are set up to kind of guard the back from catching to any of the wood behind it. she goes and pulls on one of the pieces of stone, and as she pulls it back,

it's a false front of stone that pulls open. There's a small, like a cabinet there that you see there used to be what looks to be a religion check for those who are trained in it or who are skilled in it. Trained in it. You can try. I have a proficiency in it. 20.

Oh, okay. You see, even just a quick glance, There's a small broken statue that lies to the ground, and you can see the semblance of a destroyed shrine. This back room was a shrine to Malora and has since been seemingly tossed aside in the hurried state of trying to protect one's family. Can I reach down and pick up the statue? It's about like three pieces. As you pick it up, she goes, oh my, I'm sorry. She kind of goes for it from your hand and I didn't. Hopefully she'll forgive us. I know she will. Oh, tell me about this deity.

Melora, huh? Laura. You've heard Malora. There's a whole section of Vasselheim that is based around her sphere of influence, and she is actually where most of the food in Vasselheim has grown. In such a cold environment, her blessing is what allows the land there to be fertile for crops from many different places. But she tells you, she tells you, And you can see the symbols, too.

The symbols that are carved on the side of the stone are these swirls, almost like a slow cascading spiral. She watches over nature. She watches to make sure we have a good harvest. She makes sure we don't get washed away in the storms. She makes sure that the ships to the far west make their passage across the ocean. She looks out for us.

The smaller folk and brings vengeance upon those who attempt to destroy our life as she looks kind of distantly out, the open door behind you, into the city itself. But anyway, I'll repair that. I might be able to help. Can I attempt...

Hang on, hang on. Can I attempt a mending spell on it? Yes, you can. You take a moment, close your hands around it, close your eyes, and you can see what little bit of dried grass or moss that are just kind of gathered edges of the stone all of a sudden spreads and encompasses all the pieces of stone as you're holding it together. She kind of takes a step back, her eyes full of wonder as the moss then turns dark brown like a shell of soft vegetation and then cracks and falls away, leaving behind the stone statue in one piece.

That's sick. What? Wait. I just hand it over and I tell her, I'm a druid of the Ashari people, and I know several worshippers of Malora, but wasn't necessarily a believer of her powers. She protects you two. And you're sure of this? She looks over to her child, who's now kind of sitting on the side, pulled a couple of these wooden toys out from the side, and is, like, gathering

him in his arms and he's basically grabbing all the things that he kind of missed while he was taken away. And she goes, she brought you to me. She brought you to him. Why should I believe? She'll show you. In her own. She takes a statue and, well, if there's anything else I can do for you. Yes, actually. You should leave. I don't mean that in the way that it sounded. Sorry, back up. So come tomorrow, there might be danger in Westwood. You and your kin should go. In fact, anyone that you see, take them with you. There's a little encampment far from here.

Not far from here. Which direction was, yeah, the shanty area of people. Oh, the refugees. It was south of here by four mere base. South, northwest, south. No, east-by-scent-west south. North and this area. I drove about former basin.

Head for that if you can. Look for no trees. No coverage. Shakes a mental note. No trees, all right? I haven't been that far south. Should we get the others? Should we tell others to come with us?

If there is danger here, we should. Yes, it should be. We're gonna fight here in Westrop. We're gonna do this out of town. There's a fight coming here. You don't want to be here. Don't be too obvious about it, on the sly, if you can. We're trying to make your way out of here before dawn tomorrow.

Okay, that's probably, you know. Okay, we will. Theodore, start gathering your things. We're taking a little trip. A fun trip. He goes, a trip, yay! And starts gathering more of his things. He gets like a pillow case and starts putting stuff into it.

We haven't done a trip. We haven't done a trip. I know. Thank you. On second thought, should we ask them to leave on the sly, like through the sewers, just in case? I wouldn't make us show of it. So maybe underground if they can. I think we're going to have to have, are we here? I can't remember.

Yeah, yeah. We are here. I thought we were either. I thought it was just the girls, but then everyone started talking. Let's stick together. It's just better than that. Reality is very malleable. I think we're going to have to have a larger conversation about where everybody ends up in the very near future. And while two people in and out of town is definitely agreeable,

I think there's a larger discussion to be had. I have an odd question for you. Yes. Do you know of anyone still in the city who would know who would know their way about the sewers. I mean, usually the guards would go through and make sure the things that were living down there weren't living anymore, but I don't know anyone in particular

that were down there. Sorry. I know someone. You do. Yeah. Why don't we let this woman to her rest of her day? We have more appointments as well. Yes.

Much to do today. Outside of town. I've seen some folks come and go. We're looking for a woman who was a daughter of one of the gentlemen that worked in the fields and I've got to have no idea how to go about finding her. Reginald starter, yes? Bresgenold's daughter.

I'll ask. All right. You know where to find us. We'll be about. I think I know who to have that discussion with as well. Good day. Oh. I go over to think. Theodore, and I don't think I have to bend down. No, no.

He's, like, maybe a half an end shorter than you. I had a little wooden doll, and so I'm going to pass it to him. I'm going to say, in case we never see you again, you can always think of us. That's for you. And you can name him whatever you want. What's your name? Pike.

I will name you, Pike. It throws it in. It turns. Thank you. You give you a quick little kiss in the forehead. Oh, wow. Oh, who looks at the door. It's so much better.

I know, I mean, the thing he never died. Look, yes. Hey, a rare ray of sunshine from the DM today. Yay. Such a bodies. Let's continue on. Don't poke them. You guys, they're in eyes.

She lets you go and she locks the door behind and you gather through. Oh, like. Making their necessary preparations. Where's your next? Hi. Okay. To Wilhands.

Follow me, please. All right. Not too far away, actually. You come to the Red Brick Homestand, homestead where Pike, Grog, and Wilhand live. Mostly intact. The second floor, which you guys are definitely familiar with. I remember this place.

Part of it has kind of fallen in. It doesn't look like it was set fire or anything. serious damage in that regard, just some sort of nearby rubble or some sort of impact caused part of the roof to collapse from the outside. You come up to the front door. It's currently locked. No answer. You have a secret knock? Maybe you should say who's knocking just in case. You do knock so strong. Papa Wilhand! Well I heard that.

Nothing. He might have very soft footfalls. He might not be home. Is he old and hard of hearing? A little. He could, a little. Vax? Yeah. Would you mind maybe you'll get some luck with this door?

You can't have the keys to the home. You'll... I mean, I can do it if you want to. Wait, hold on. I forgot that somewhere in the summer. He needs this. He needs this. Absolutely needs this.

I'll explode the door. All that, clanking is actually this key moving about my armor. All right. Unlocks the door? That key has seen a lot of miles. Good push. Around the world. The door hits something.

Damn it, doors. It's like budge. Budges maybe a quarter inch. It's a very good thing. I go through the car. Pop! I go and look through the window. Is there a window?

There is a window. It is currently. there's cloth shuttered around it. You cannot see you can't see if me inside. And the hole in the roof. What's the front? Could I get up it? Yeah, you could probably get up there, you can. Go to make an athletics check. Oh, bugger all. I say we give it a shove. Uh, yeah, 14. It takes you a few minutes, but you eventually climb your way up, looking down and do it, the second floor. It is, it is a part of the roof is just fully pushed in.

It looks like there's a piece of wayward stone that was ejected from an impact not too far from here, possibly from one of the nearby temples, that ended up slamming through the roof. It's like partially embedded in the ground. The woods kind of splintered up around it, but it didn't hit the bottom floor. It kind of lodged itself in the floor of the second. Here, anything, see anything inside? What you see? Oh, well, I'll help Percy do a bit push. Yeah. We're going to the bottom floor? Yeah.

Bottom floor, all, there is some furniture that's kind of busted, but a lot of that's, but a lot of that, the furniture's Auburn push right to the front door. There's the giant barricade of mish-mashed furniture that is jammed impossibly into this front area. He's very strong. We're gonna give a push to the front door. Percy and I. What I'm using when you consider that there's a glass window

right next to it that is not blocked at all, just shuttered so carefully. There's a window. There's nothing in front of it. You wanna come in the window. Percy and I give a chef to the door. We give a big shoulder shift. We're giving a shoulder shift to do.

Make a strength check with advantage, to say as you, well, him having advantage, because you're helping. Oh, him having advantage because I'm helping. Oh, 18 is my strength. And I. You guys have to slam it a few times, and the impacts kind of lodged a few things loose,

cascading down, causing a bit of a racket, but eventually you managed to get it pushed open enough or you guys can squeeze through. I think you just broke a Shay's lounge, but come in. Pike, after you. Okay, I step in and. Start looking around.

Looking across the way, you see the fireplace mantle has been ruined where the original small shrine to Sarah and Ray used to be. Looks like it's been knocked over and then put back together on top haphazardly, like it was shattered and then was kind of just put up there and is delicately keeping its form by how it was laid. The rest of the room is cold.

It's quiet other than your footfalls. Can I check the bedroom? Okay, you go up to the bedroom area. As you go up the stairs, you can see the giant piece of stone that is smashed in there, where the bed would be. And part of the bedroom area. Pike, did he have any hiding places like that other house? I'll go with it. I'm gonna look around for any personal effects.

Investigations check, both of you guys. There are a basement here, Pike. There are 18. 18. 15. What are you say? There are hiding places. I start.

You guys go through the kitchen area and you guys are kind of looking about moving stuff. In the pantry area, there is a small wooden slat that is partially moved across that leaves a small opening in the floorboards. Pazey. Willhand? Hello? Pike, I've got the news. He says he's not here. Okay, I go running down. Okay, you run and you kind of push it out of the way, and there's the one board that's kind of slit open.

All the rest of the boards are still kind of loose and, you know, placed over it. You just take the boards and toss them up. As you pull the boards off, a little bit of light has made it way from the window on the far end of the kitchen. You can see just a bit of glimmer off. Looks like a set of glasses that immediately recoiling the shadow and go, Oh! Pop on a little hand. Like?

Come on. And his hand reaches out and grabs yours, and you pull him up, and he's just covered in dust and the dirt and just, he's probably been down there at the smell. He's probably been down there for a few days. He comes a little hug. He has a big hug. He has kind of long, ratty, silver hair

that's going to bald on the top, kind of bowled on the side. He's kind of curled up and matted on the edges of his shoulders. His normally nice kind of light blue, kind of sky blue shirt is just kind of torn in places and covered in dirt. He's been living under the house for a quarter. quite a while. He's a little bit of dried food crust on the side of his chin. But he's just there in a big old hug. Pike, I missed you so much. I missed you so much. I'm so glad you're okay. Oh, you too. Look at you. Where'd you get the scar?

It's a long story. We'll get there. I want to hear the story. And it's gone. Run! Runs up and goes to give you a hug and he's like, oh, come down, come down. Take it easy. There, there. Big guy. Ha! Ha! And his eyes go from like really warm

to something very, very cold. And he goes, They came back from me. They came back from me. I know. I saw him in the street. I know. It's all right.

It's all right. It's all been taking on. You hid. They didn't find me at all. There was no way they could find me. I know what the secret plates is are. I see where Pike is. to a smots from.

Yeah. So, it's been a while, all of you. And he starts going around and kind of giving each of you, like, you guys got the hugs. He's keeping you the formal, like, oh, yes. This is Vex. This is Vags. He shows us.

Folks, yes, I remember. It's been a while. I don't actually think we've met before. No, you're unfamiliar to me. Nice to, good to see you again. Scanlan, Scalus. I always nice to see a fellow known in these parts. Nice.

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Hello. You can go. Right, and he kind of pats your shoulder. That took some doing, well done. I'll meal down for that. So, you were there to hide too? There was a very big battle. And Grog beat Kevdak.

Yeah, yeah. Chopped him in half, straight down the middle. Flayed him. Oh, no, you would. Yep. You've always been the strong one. So everything's a little bit more under control, hopefully. A little, mm-hmm-ish.

Willhand Yes Did they want something in particular with you? Why did they want you? Well They It went after me years ago I nearly had me

I've heard The story I escaped I managed to flee And took one of their own with me I know There's this one back to health we did Thank goodness

And I think I made them angry So they came to Westron Trying to get revenge on all the world hand, but no, too keen for that. These eyes have seen the world. You think the Goliath... Well, of course they did. Of course they did. That's the only reason why he came here. Yes, no, that's... Who hasn't heard the legend of Willard? Yes. You're a very important thing. They cry your name across the...

The seven scenes. No, no, no, don't give me a big head about it. I've written many a song about you, it's true. Well, if they're all dead, let's have a meal. No, little of misunderstanding. They're not all dead. We unseated Kevdak. Okay.

He's dead. And so were the horrible bastard who was pouring poison in his ear. But listen, I gave power up to the herd, to Zanro, his son. Okay. So it's in slightly better hands. Little problem. Right. They want to stay and fight the dragon

that's going to come back. So we need everyone in here to leave. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. In what way? Leaving or fighting the dragon? Dragon?

What? Sorry, yes. Did you know about the... You're aware, right? The judge! Okay. Yes. Yes, that one.

He starts walking back towards the hole. No, no, no, no. I'll grab the back of his britches and I'm pulling back. No, no, no. Hey, guess what though? We've fought many dragons already. She killed one. And guess what, I killed one.

Two, three, or three. Two or three. That's my pike. Then you, this is nothing. The dragon slayer. Pipe Trickfoot, come and come on. to kill another. That's how she's known.

Great. Wondrous. Brothless. Let me know it's dead. No, no, I'll grab the back with Brettie. No, no, no. It's okay right now. We're glad you're safe.

But will it? But we want to make sure you're out of here before any real damage comes to town. We're also going to need any and all recruits that you may know of or any favors that you can call in. If we are in fact going to fight this We haven't quite talked about that.

We really should have a conversation about that. But what is known is that there's going to be a fight tomorrow. There's probably going to be a fight. And unless you want to throw down and I know you're a mighty warrior, not saying you shouldn't, but if you don't want to, now might be the time to help skip out of here. There's no shame and prudence. No, no, not in the hall.

That's your head away, English. It goes back down into the hole. You hear rummaging a little bit. Something falls and shatters. Ah, cheer and brig it! Eventually he comes back out, clutching a dark brown glass bottle with a corkening, goes,

is it perfect? What? Well, dope beastie. This is the Chukford special. I've been distilling while you're away. How much you got of that, old man? Two casks? All right.

I drink the whole rest of the ball. It is awful. It is like potato moonshine, in its most basic form. It is. Grain alcohol. Like you, you, yeah, this, you've probably singed your eyebrows, just put them a bottle near your face,

which you don't realize half a bottle as you drink it, you pick off, oh, it burns. Welcome to Red Fair. My favorite. Original recipe Windex, my favorite. It's a little stronger than I remember it. Hey, Pike's a disaffair. I'm gonna get your life in the day.

Paying some vomiting off and on for the rest of the day. To the hooplae. Hello. Would you want the sputty, oh no. Maybe a little. I'm okay. I'm okay. Okay, hook it up, Omi.

It's been a day. I won't. I'll get the cups. And he goes and opens a cabinet and there's just shattered glass. Okay, no cups. It's fine. It is. Pass the bottle.

Pass the bottle. You guys pass the bottle around for a bit. for a bit, finish off the bottle, it's... Finish the bottle? Well, she took most of it. I think we should make a meal. He's a very good cook. Is there...

Is the kitchen and functional here? Is there food? You know what we should do. Eat food and talk about plan? Bring him into the mansion. Could bring him into the mansion. We do need time to rest and plan. And we still have one more stop before the evening.

Bring him in the mansion. You can show his people that work in the mansion how to cook, because they are terrible. I can tell you that much. The great one dish. You have a mansion. I do. I'm quite successful as Nome's go. In fact, before we-

He has a mansion. He does. He does have a mansion. Is he a magic mansion right now? He looks like he's coping with the past weeks of a inside check, his soberness. He's been just drunk the whole day. Should we make the mansion, get Wilhand a room,

and then go to our last destination of this night before we turn in? Yeah, we can do that. Yeah, Grog, how long do you reckon we have before your cousin wants to either talk or get busy? I don't know. Are we supposed to meet up with them later tonight? No, he said at dawn.

At dawn. At dawn. We ride. We fight or at dawn we plan. Puff. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say. at dawn we planned. So I'm gonna-

I think I would remember that. A dawn we rise. I'm gonna make a plan. At dawn we quorum. At dawn we Microsoft Excel. He could be in a early pattern. You get the sense he meant at dawn. Shit.

So we have two stops before the actioning's done then. What's the other one? The other one is the house where we're supposed to plunder? There's a house we're supposed to plunder. Oh, we should have. Yes, we do. Oh, we're right, we do. We absolutely do. You're right, you're right. Master Quall.

Master Quall, and I'm, I will admit, I'm vaguely indifferent about whether or not he gets his property back, but I am very keen to find out what that property is and what else he left if he left that. Why don't we set up the mansion in Wilhands House? We'll go and run our errand and we'll come back, and he'll have gotten the kitchen all up to spec. All right. You know, seeing as we might be tangling with a black dragon tomorrow, and all of us, we'll be. I think maybe that stop off you're talking about. God forbid. No, I don't think it's a good idea, but if it should happen, if we get,

I wanted to say railroaded into it, but I don't know what that is. We probably need every bit of edge we can get, so I actually agree with you for the moment, first of all, and we should stop by the way. This is terrifying and this is truth that we should do it then. Can we just get, you know, like an early, 12 angry men, you know, raise of hands on who,

who just right now on if they want to fight the dragon or not? Do we want to do this? Who wants to fight the dragon or not? Who wants to fight the dragon tomorrow? No, I'm down. We've got 40 Goliaths with us. This is the best time to attack. No, I'm alone here.

It's true. It's true. I mean, it could be one of the best times to attack. I would like to just do three more days of research and planning. Don't correct the door. We'll hand start to turn green. I mean, it's a big conversation that we should have. The where when how is pretty huge. Well, I guess...

Well, I just give me the bottle. Sorry. I feel that's not something you do, but spur of the mind. All right, let's just get this man to safety and then we'll finish up our errands for the day, yes? Is there anything you want to bring with you? Uh...

Maybe you'll... Well, he starts walking over to the shrine, and he kind of... He takes it off of his hand. That's how he's... I need. As the head rolls off. Buh, bhr-b-b-b-h. Oh.

Steve Martin. No one saw anything. We'll fix it. Yeah, we can fix it. It's fine. I took old Davin, too. What? Who?

Davin was your neighbor. Davin was my neighbor. Is he going to dead? Didn't we meet Daven? You didn't meet Daven? No. I dragged a bunch to the iron stalks. I could only hide.

Your uncle's a coward pike. I'm sorry. I should have helped. You get this since now the alcohol's kicked in and he started to go through his emotional process now. I thought he was your grandfather. I thought it was your great-grandfather. He's my great-grandfather.

And uncle? He's drunk. He's drunk. He's drunk. Come on, no more of that talk. Grandfather. Let me carry that for you before you drop it. I'll keep it safe.

I'll keep it safe for you. Do you don't want the head to fall off it? No, it's a head's fine. Okay. Passes it over? I suddenly pick up the head from the ground. So we can put him in the mansion. All right, yes, I'll make the mansion.

I kiss him on his forehead. It's going to be okay. Just go in there, take a nap, and show him how to cook. I will. You'll come back soon, my dumpling. It kind of squeezes your cheek a little bit. There's a mansion. Tristan.

You're of Mary and A, Junkbike. Oh, wow. Holy shit. We'll talk about it later. I'll tell you how it is. What? Mansion. I'll tell you how it is. Oh, I've been there. You can go stay.

You've been to his mansion. I have my own room. You can go stay in my room. Hey Scanlan, how I know which one is my room? Your room is the one covered in rose petals. You stay in the room. Show me the mansion. So I will cast the spell.

I'll sit down and just start humming. My house is a very, very, very, very, with chickens everywhere. I used to be so bad. As the shimmering doorway is conjured in the center of the room. I take him in, I show him to his room. What is this? The door opens and he looks inside.

Turns around to you, looking at you through the doorway. It's big. It's big. Here, come with me. I take him upstairs. Show him his room. And before I bid him a due, I say, Later tonight we can discuss more,

but I would like to ask for your granddaughter's hand in marriage. But I'll need your permission first. I need you to roll a hell. Oh, no. A persuasion check on this one. Roll for initiative, Sam. Reswation. Oh, my God.

Well, it's a 20. Shut up! But that's low for me. No, it is. No, it is. Yeah, no. He goes, I think about it. I'd like to see more of your fine abode.

I call for five servants, and I instruct them to take him wherever he'd like to go and give him whatever he needs. Wine seller. He began taking them on a tour of the grand estate. Don't be cheap with the chicken. All right, so I know. I scoot out back to rejoin our friends.

I assume at some point we're taking a short rest, by the way. Can I just. You guys took a short rest at the end of the last. Oh, Lord, we hit dice. Okay. So if you wanted to use any hit dice deal yourself up with that, that's good. Can I, I would like to just go check my room out

and see how it is, if it's okay, if anything, any damage, any. Your room is intact. It's a little dirty and some of the crumbled stone and roof part kind of just pushed its way into the room across the floor. but for the most part, your room is intact. Wilhands' room, which was the main room on the upper floor, was the one that guy kind of destroyed by the Fallen Rubble. All right, what's the plan?

Should we go to, should we split the party and send a few people to pillage this house that we were instructed to pillage? We can all do it. Let's do it together. I feel like this should be agreed by it. This is a... Well... I wanted to grab something under the bed.

All right. I'm going to take it and I'm going to hide it. Okay. But there was some talk of needing someone to take us through the sewers, and I can go fetch someone who knows the sewers. I think we need to have a, maybe have a talk about what we're doing. Talk before that happens. Yeah. Talk before, yeah.

Before finding your friend. Time is of the essence. All right. You're talking about Mr. Dee, I know, yeah? Well, or someone with him, yes. Right. It's a good idea, but I think we need to figure out what we're doing first. Sure. What are we doing?

I have no fucking clue. What are we doing? First, we're robbing an old van. Right. Can we walk and talk? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We walk and talking. Where's the master qualls? It's at the fountain crossroads. It's a brick to story house near the fountain. Before we walk and talk, do we get the general idea that it's safe to walk through the city right now without being word? Yeah. Considering we just like put on the most epic Avengers style. And some people are coming to the streets, though moving quickly from destination to the destination. They've kind of, word has gotten around, and there's been a general sense of release a little bit throughout the city. You do pass a few of the

herd members, some of them who are which are gathering their supplies, gathering their arms. Some of them are dragging the bodies of friends that had died in previous phrase, or just haven't intended to. And all of them keep a very intense eye on you. Nothing aggressive, but not friendly either. I think we have to convince Kevdak to abandon this plan to attack the dragon. Is that now not Kibn? Yeah, no, wrong one. I'm sorry. You all look vaguely the same to me, I'm so sorry.

Oh, Except for this one. No, he's got the beard. Yeah. And the ability to kill me in my sleep. I'm a unique little snowflake. I take no offense. I find you charming. Thank you.

But no, we have to convince them not to do this tomorrow. Really? Well, honestly, isn't the dragon going to do this? come pick up its loot in the next couple days? Is it happening tomorrow? That's... I think that perhaps if it's possible to convince them to at least wait one more cycle to heal and prepare for the battle. I don't know if we'll be alive in the morning. I don't know if it's occurred to any of you, but I don't particularly feel safe. I'm glad we got out of there.

I'm glad we have a mansion to hide. I'm glad we have a mansion. I'm glad we have a vestige because of it. But look, I got abandoned once. You think anything's changed since then? They're not good people. They killed a lot of innocence. I genuinely don't understand the place you come from. No, neither do I, but I don't really understand much things. I feel much better about any decision to just leave then, although we would have to do something about the city and everyone who's in it. There's a lot to think about. There are a lot of people still here, and I don't, I personally I personally don't think attacking that dragon

in the next few days is a wise decision, but if we do leave, what do we do with these people? They're going to be run over by these people. It's possible we can wait for all of the Goliaths and other barbarians to attack the dragon and when they all leave the city. We bar them out, take the city back. And hold it against a dragon?

Well, the dragon could just be concerned. intent fighting them. We take the time and get everyone else out of the city. Are they clever enough to attack the dragon at the point at which the drop is made? Or are they just going to not make the drop and wait for the dragon to attack the city? Well, look, if it was the day before yesterday,

I would have said they're old fools and they're gonna do it the stupid way. But I think I underestimated them a bit. So yeah, I think they might be a bit clever. We also have your cousin Zanroar now at the head, head, which seems a little bit more clever than Kebdak ever was. Yeah. We also have to empty out the prisons if we get that chance of any of the citizens they may be holding.

Well, look, it's not a bad call. The dragons seem to be interested in the power that they hold over the people. If there's no people, no power. Will your cousin understand that we have a bigger battle to fight? No. No. On the other hand, this is our battle. When are we going to have a better opportunity to kill a faggy dragon than with 40 giant strapping-

Two vestiges? There is just a . Are we going to have this discussion right here? Well, we're walking in the street. How are we going to deal with one of the largest dragons we've ever seen in the air? What are 40 Goliaths going to do with something 500,000? 500 feet above a spitting bile from above. He has to land to get his treasure.

We're gonna have to make that plan at some point. If I had time, if I had a few days. Got a day and a half maximum move. If we had a little bit of time or if we're really, really smart, we could theoretically rig the most epic dragon trap ever. We could. Do you think your cousin would hold for a couple more days? We could you see the sense of planning that longer?

the people in this city under the rule of any more of these monsters. Which is why we would get them to flee. We have to get people out. Right, because even after we, even if we somehow, by some insane chance, defeat the dragon, cool, we've defeated the dragon and now the city is still under control by the herd. A few days.

Well, the herd will leave, I think. Will they? I think they will. After they ransack everything again? Well, that's what Grog pitched to them. Here's my vote. Just thought, having said, I would rather get everyone that doesn't want to die in this town

out to that encampment. If we take this meeting with Zanroo, we will no longer be able to walk away. There could be a total chance that they all turn on us right then. In the throne room, in the yard, wherever we are. We could leave now. How do we get everyone out? You and Zanroar seem to have a mutual respect.

Yeah, because I just saved his life for a second. I also beat his ass when he was little, and let me tell you a thing about grudges, they don't go away. So you don't think you would hesitate in a second to turn on us? No, he's a little man, and little men have Napoleon complexes. He's this horrible elf from the West.

I do have a Napoleon complex. No, I've seen it, it's huge. Square shape. If everybody is out of the town and it's empty, then won't the dragon know? Yes. I'm going to be furious. And won't he leave?

Furious and he'll come find us. And anything we do here, anything we do to that dragon, anything we do in this city is likely to be known by the other worms. Sure. Eventually, yes. So if we kill that dragon, what do the other dragons do in that moment? And are we ready to take on Thorndtach right now?

No, we kill him and run. But we can't kill all of them at the same time. It's got to be a one-by-one process. Absolutely. But are we going to try to kill the black and then go on a hunt for all these. There are going to be consequences to this no matter what. How big is the black dragon?

From what you saw? Oh man. Bigger than the blue? Bigger than the white. It was bigger than the blue. About equal size to the white. The white one that we killed or the white one that we also saw? The one that you fought at the keep. Yeah, that one was real big.

Where I rolled the 21 and it missed. Yeah, that was not funny. It was, I'd say from height size, of standing on its legs, probably, I don't know, 30 to 40 feet tall. We've never fought like a full realized dragon, correct? You fought them. We've fought them.

We've run from them. We've run from them. Screaming. Yeah, remember 21 missed. Look, I can't believe I'm saying this. Yeah, but all those guys, they were, I mean, They're strong attacks. Right, but there might be some that can hit him

when he's in the air, but not all of them. If I had time, I could build a machine that might be able to trap him on the ground for at least a little while. A machine? Yeah, if you had time. Why are we being in such a rush about me? Because we know where the dragon is. We have an army. We have an opportunity.

This is it. We're never going to have an army. I think, I disagree with that. I disagree with that. I think we'll absolutely have opportunities to have an army. And I think that if we call upon the herd later for something like this, maybe we can get them, I don't know. How much time are you thinking? As much time as it takes. You can't build a machine like that under your... And what if the machine fails?

We need a plan that doesn't rely on technology, I'm sorry. What if we put out the loot, let him come down and get it, and then we'd like throw big ropes up and over him or something? I feel like between Pike Scanlan and I. It's not a machine and it's... Well look, I feel it between Pike Scanlan and I and Percy with his mechanical genius, we could figure something amongst the spells that we know to make a viable trap. If we had 40 Goliaths throw 40 chains attached to... Not all Goliaths.

Fine. Well, here's the other... 30 Goliaths. We'd throw 30 chains with 30 spikes on them at this dragon. I bet few would hit. It would hit. I could throw up a blade blade, but... I could throw up a blade.

their ear on top of them. Yes, we are super powerful. They're strong, we're smart. Let's do this. We kill it now, we're gonna have to be, if we kill it now, all the others are going to punish the people they're sitting upon and we're not ready to go dragon to dragon to dragon right now. Yes. Yes. Drisons are vain. How do you know they won't just find that dragon weak and think that he's not worthy of them? They're going to know that something challenged his power and they're going to be consequences for it. They'll make a display of their strength.

I have a feeling they were very upset when we killed. So what? We're never going to kill any of the dragons then? Because that will happen at some point. We will. We will. And they won't react then? This is our mission to kill these dragons. Once again, there's going to be consequence no matter what we do.

This is it. I don't think this is it. At this point, you guys, as you hit the end of the sentence, purse, you all look up and you do see the two-story building with a dark red brick contrasting Will hands home. Perhaps. It's a deep set heavy brick with dark wood siding to it and looks like a dark marble finish at certain elements from the base of it. It matches the description that was given to you by Quall.

Does it look like it's been ransacked at all? It looks like the door is partially a jar. Partially a jar? Why don't we see how our favor holds? Let's take a moment. All right. If we find something cool, we kill the dragon. Okay.

Oh, and we're leaving this up to a coin flip now? Yes. Should it be checked in fantastic. It seems to work well for us. I'm curious what the fates would say. I don't give a shit what the fates have to say. I do have a coin with a 21 on it. All right, so what's fun?

Are we going, are we, are we silently, quietly walking up to the front door? Vax, if you would be so. It's already partially a jar. Should we check it for traps? Check for traps. Yeah. Go make an investigation check.

Unbelievably cautiously. Investigation or is a perception is normally what I've done for traps, isn't it? Investigations for trust perceptions to notice changing the Iron XIV. All right. 27. 27. You approach the front door, it doesn't appear to be trapped. You open part of the door.

In the interior, a fireplace is still going. You see the crackle and the distance. fine furniture set up. There is what appears to be the body of a Goliath face down on the ground, about five feet from the front door. Head just splattered across the ground. Oh, he's dead. You do also look around the circumstances and you glance upward to where his head would be. And amongst all these stone tiles in the ceiling, there's one that's set just slightly lower than the rest, right above with that splatter occurred. A warm fire, and I ever written up.

It's a little brain running around. Well, this is exactly what I was hoping for. I need a minute, everybody. Everybody hang back. Do you want me to hang outside? Yeah, Vexalia, could you come here? Of course, brother. This is a death box.

This room is a death box. And I have a keen eye, but I wouldn't mind another set. Do you want me to look around? I'd like us both to look around. No, I said come inside. I can actually walk in? Yeah. All right.

Yeah. I stand exactly in front of the door. Come in. Take any more steps. Oh, you're my bestie. All right, I'm gonna start looking around for traps. I look for traps visually. Another.

But you guys make investigation checks as you slowly move forward at a slow pace. Can I assist you guys? Well, you know, your music does come and sue me. Not with music. I'll send an invisible guy in there to start pre- pressing on the floor and walls. Oh, we'll give us just a moment.

Yeah, but that's a good idea. Yeah. 24? 24. Okay. The tube you guys scoot for, and you find there are four different pillars in the ceiling that are arranged in a similar way. They are triggered by a little bit of pressure.

You see there's a rug that kind of oversets it. You can see the slight variations in the texture of the ground where the actual trigger plates are. You get the sensation that this house was going to be ransacked, and then the troop that came in, one of the troops that came in, one of the and then just went, pf, and they all went, nope, and backed out of the house. You eventually find your way across this area marking quietly,

with an arrow scraping the carpet where each one of these places are, but you make your way across the room to staircase that leads up, staircase leads down. Bullshit. Bullshit. Lot of bullshit. All right, guys, I think it's kind of safe

to come into the first room. So you said, because I was being jackass and saying bullshit, what was the description you just gave? There's stairs where they're gone. Stairs up and stairs. There's the main living area that has the fireplace and there's stairs that go up and stairs that go down. Are there doors in this main?

It's just like a foyer. It's like a giant foyer area. There's an area that passes behind the stairs so that they would go into a kitchen area, like a dining room kitchen. Let's not split up, let's do this together. He's rich and paranoid, so if anything, is a value to be downstairs.

So I say we do upstairs first. All right. Trinket weight outside or trinket fog. Oh, Trinket. Dear. Oh my God, do you have to go in the locket? You do? If you don't, you can wait out here,

but it's probably safer in the locker. Mummer's forward and kind of gives his luck. You don't be sad about it if you're not, if you don't want you. I don't want to make you. You may have a wardrobe. Sure, I get pulled into the amulet. Oh, I love him so much.

Amulet, which you've now been in. Yeah. What was it like, grove? I left something in there for him. Oh. So is it like, So it's basically like Jeannie's bottle, but now with no. There's time passing the locker?

Yeah. That's great. You know. What, thought to work for out. Tango cartridge. Poo. Oh, my. Oh.

Poo. Come on no leave by this. Poo. Gotta leave your mark. You get that extra speed. Can we. All right, twins going forward. Check out the stairs and make sure nothing's wrong with the stairs.

Yeah. You go to make an investigation time. Oh, I did not see anything. I'm fine. I got a 20. Okay. The stairs, as you begin to inspect, you kind of reach out and take the railing and take the first step and your foot passes through the stair. Ooh. That's not solid at all. Look, you can put your foot through that. I'm just going to stand here and watch you do it, actually.

I'm going to get down on my knees and stick my head through the stairs. Oh, do what? Are you fucking kidding me right now? Oh, that's disgusting. You go to try and stop him as he pushes his head through the step. You're passed through this illusory staircase. You can look and you can see the bottom half of the staircase. This area is just a slide that descends into darkness. You've been having your dark vision can see that the slide descends into what looks to be a,

a now cold furnace. Now cold furnace. Do you want to get your whole body in there? But can I see, I pull my head up. What can I see at the top of the stairs? Is there a landing there? You look up, if you, if you, from where the illusion is, the illusionary stairs just stop at a ceiling.

Yeah. You have something sitting that leads down, you can not able to look past it. Looking up, you can see a landing in a secondary floor. Okay. Is there any like stray furniture around? Yeah, there's, there's, there's precarious Are there any shitty pillows or anything?

Yeah, there's like a couple of clothes on the couch that are by the... Some really great pillows. I just totally ignore my sister, which is what I've done half my entire life. Yes. And I stick my head down and I let it go and watch it go down the slide. Was that fun? Was that fun? Oh!

You guys watch as the jet of flame jettison's out from the staircase. Oh, God. Singes the top of the roof area where there's a bunch of wood, but the wood is not burned or charred, and the flames died down again. and the flames died down again. You know, it wasn't fun, but it was educational, shit head. I want to live here.

And I walk over and stop at the edge of the stairs going down. You said there were stairs going down? Who the fuck is this guy? I don't know, I suddenly like him. Same thing, I wanna see. Could you help me over here? I'm looking, I'm checking out those. Wise us.

Both of you go for you. I wouldn't have slid down the fucking slide. I would assume that leads to death. I don't need to throw a pillow down the slide. You are very, very smart and wise. To be fair, it was a very gaudy pillow. You know, we could be dead tomorrow. We could be dead tomorrow. Do you want to keep arguing with me like this?

No. 21. Yeah, I got higher than that. 26. You're a dick. I can watch this. Twilies. The staircase descends, solid stairs. Partway down, you do see what looks like a slight carving in the stone, a glyph of some kind that is just faintly hidden with dust and what looks like a dirt place to fill the gap. There is some sort of a symbol, just ever so faintly hidden in the stone halfway. Do we understand it?

Do you know the last time I saw something like that, the carpet was fucked? Do you think Wilhand would have any idea? The carpet? The carpet? Maybe Pike has an idea what it is. The regular Persian carpet. Scanlan has an idea what it is. Scanlan.

Do you know this brune over here? This, what, I don't even see what you're talking about. This little, this little glowy brune right here. Look closely. Oh, I didn't do it. I would have totally missed that. I totally missed that. I think that I have not seen anything like this before, but have I?

Make an Arcona check. Thirteen. It appears to be magical in nature. The symbols allude you, the construct, the arcane equation that is based around this. You can't tell if it's still functional or not, but it is magical in its construction. I'll throw a pillow down there? What an interesting idea. I go get a pillow and I throw it at the room.

Okay. How do it work? Is that how you're supposed to do it? A pillow. Down the stairs. Yeah, you did it wrong, see nothing happened. Well, go get the pillow, try again. Try a lumbar.

Make a little bit of the result. So wait, wait, wait, wait, the last time you saw rooms like this, you lost the carpet, how did you lose the carpet? Well, so, oh, did we never talk about that? Yeah. We did, we were drunk. A bunch of us. were riding it and there were a bunch of,

it was the dwarf, I swear it was the dwarf. We were on a carpet and there were runes on the walls and as soon as we got near the ruins, the carpet went and just fell down. So it might disenchant whatever we have on us. Well, it could do that. It could also, I don't know anything about magic but I assume it could burn us.

Well, how do we make it not burn us? Well, I mean, hey, Shorter, you're our best bet here. I don't know anything about this shit. Who can undo magical thingies? Pikey, Pike. Can you undo magicy things? Could you have spell magic spell for the record? Yeah, I have to spell magic.

You ever prepared? Yeah. And now you can give it a shot. Oh my girl. I could try my dispel magic for it. Is that what I put a bullet? I'm going to shoot it till it doesn't work anymore. No, did I put it?

All righty. So, Pike, as you step forward, they point out this, this glyph on the wall. You're going to cast a spell magic on it. I need to go ahead and roll a D20 and add your ability, spell casting ability to modifier, which. Whoa, oh, what is it? What was it? It's a 20 on the board!

It was bad, it doesn't count, but if it's good, it does. It doesn't count. Hold it intentional. Good, because it's not that good. It's fine. So your wisdom modifier is actually a five, because she forgot to add her level 12 on this we discovered recently. We discovered recently.

So your wisdom now to 20, you have a plus five on the roll. So go ahead and do 20 add 5. Eat it. All right, 18. 18. As you reach up and grab your symbol of Serenrae, you focus for a second, and there is a flash, like a flash bulb. As it flashes, the glyph glows for a second, and then you hear what sounds like a cracking sound.

And this glowing energy seems to shatter, almost like glass made of energy. As the energy fades and falls out of the glyph, it hits the ground, and dissipates into a light mist. that then vanishes. Yay. Nice pipe. I think it's disposed. Yeah.

I think so. Good job, Pike. Okay. All right, let's go down there. Wait, we're going up first. We're going up, right? Up or down. There was no upstairs.

We don't want to go up. There's no up. There was no up. Up is outchie. Right. I thought we just could skip over that one step and then there was up. Straight to the ceiling.

The stairs from underneath go all the way up to underneath the point you haven't attempted to go over if you wanted to. It's up to you. Yeah, we can just jump over that little gap. Oh, I thought you said went to the ceiling. I mean, the stair illusion is the entire staircase,

but you don't see what's on the actual land. Well, you got that. You got the fancy broom. You got the fancy broom, exactly. All right, I get on the broom and I blow it on up to that landing, and I look and see if there's any traps on the ground. Without setting foot on it.

I've seen you take other people. Can I hang off the bottom of that thing? I mean. Can you carry me up? I don't know, you're pretty heavy. You might. I'm lighter than you. Oh, wow.

It's not something to drag about, scrawny. Look at my constitution is very low. Mine is two. I am equally scrony. We're learning so much tonight. Dangl, grab onto the bottom, you can hang off the bottom. You guys were born at the same time,

you're both scrawny. If you're going to do this. I was born first. If you're going to do this, I insist that we visually see it with the actual broom. I second this. Diorama. So, you get onto the broom and bring yourself to rise up, speaking the key word, which is...

There you go. As you begin to drift up, Vax, you go ahead and grab onto it. This is stupid. As your weight is lifted by the broom, your feet dangle and actually fall through the illusion. Don't fucking let go. So you guys watch this body kind of blow. and the lower half his body vanishes against the stairs. I already do not like this plan.

I'm checking for traps. I am too, I am too. They're working things out, just like let it happen. I don't understand. This is a family thing, please keep up. Make we up to the secondary floor. Dark up here, you see there are two rooms. Both doors are open.

The one to the right appears to be some sort of a desk study. bookshelves, but all the books are gone. Yeah. The desk appears to be cleaned out. Actually, all the drawers are open, and there are a couple of, like, haphazard writing utensils that have dropped on the floor, but it looks like Quall was trying to leave in a hurry. Grabbed most of what was important to him.

Except for one thing, which is what he sent you here to get. Oh, yeah. That's it. I was just going to be like, look for the circlets! Obviously. Do you? Thank you. This is a reminder.

Thank you. Okay. The room appears to be a bedroom. There is a kind of garish canopy bed with like spiral edges with like little gold leaf imprints into the next. Oh, master crawl was a little freaky, I think. Contacting. Can we look under the bed?

Traps, traps, traps, traps, traps under the bed. Don't rope tight or on the bed. On the bed, around the bed. App has really sought off. Investigation. 20. 23. Okay.

This room does not appear. Can I look under the bed? You look under the bed. Under the bed, there is a small chest that is just like pushed the right back. You pull it out. I check the job's all in the chest. I take three steps back away from my sister. They're very cautious.

As it tends to. Go ahead and make an investigation. I'll drink of the bed once. No. Uh, 26. 26. The chest is not appear to be trapped. Oh, good.

I try to open it. It is locked. It's locked. Open it. You're so good at all my tricks. Are you sure? Do you want me to try to pick this lock? No, I mean I'm better at it than you are.

I am very talented as a rogue. You are extremely talented and you're going to get better and better every day. Well then fine, I'll try to unlock it. All right. I take five more steps back. Okay. So you go ahead and take out your lock pick. Is this how you hold it? This is how you hold it there? Hey man, I don't want to harsh your mellow.

I'll take the slice. Go ahead and roll at E20. Add your, this would be Dex, your Dex bonus, and your proficiency bonus, and your proficient in the tools. I need more time with you. 24. Wait, 24.

Is that saving throws or just rigged? No, no, no. Okay, yeah, 24. Hey, look at that. Good job, that's a good job. Thank you. Yeah. All the gold, all the gold.

Open it. There is a handful of copper. It looks like the other thing that was within this chest was also taken by Claw on his way out. Why would he take the shit out and then lock it and put it back under the bed? What a douche. Besides from traps, are there any, you know, paintings with eye holes cut in it for peeking? Secret things on the... The holes in the wall.

Check, check the chest. For like, secret things. Check the chest. What, how is he? Check the chest. I've been listening to this hole in the box. Does they have a force bottom? the chest.

Yeah. I've met many. It does. You move some of the copper out of the way and you kind of feel for it as you push on one corner at the floor of the actual chest kind of shifts a little bit. Yes. And you have a lot of experience. You've had a lot of experience.

Always got a check for a false bottom. I did. I did. I checked. You didn't say shit. I was saying and I'm checking all around the fucking chest. That's what I said. I didn't hear the words false bottom. Oh my God. The war is over.

over and both sides lost. Kingdoms were reduced to cinders, an army scattered like bones in the dust. Now the survivors claw to what's left of a broken world, praying the darkness chooses someone else tonight. But in the shadow dark, the darkness always wins. This is old school adventuring at its most cruel. Your torch ticks down in real time. And when that flame dies, something else rises to finish the job.

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At the bottom of this, you see a key. A single kind of brass-colored key. It's a key. That's right. You'll smile. It's only a brass key, though. You know what? That's all like the lowest level.

We're gonna get downstairs and this key is going to unlock the thing that has the circlet. I know it. I think you're right. You know what else? What? We don't need to argue like this. Yeah? Yeah.

Why you always busting my balls then? Because it's fun. I'm sure it is, but you know, getting hit and the nuts hurts. Double- Double-checked the bedroom for safes or things behind paintings or maybe something car. I'm sorry, who's talking? Who's this? It's the voice of reason coming from downstairs.

Yes, yes. Is it though, is it really? I know, I'm just as depressed that it is as you are. I double-check the room for what would you like me to look for again? Check paintings, behind the paintings, but check the bed for any odd, slaty bits. Percy is a paranoid rich person, so if you know. Trust Paranoid rich people. Trust Percy.

Make a general investigation check throughout the room as you search for any sort of nukes and crannies, hidden spaces. I rolled a one. You can actually find an in-list model that would make me. 20. Okay. You, come to the conclusion, there's nothing else to find. Nothing else to find. I found the key, damn it.

You look behind one of the paintings, and it's a wall behind it. The room appears to be, for the most part, cleaned out from your discovery here. There's more than one room, though, right? Yeah, we checked all the rooms. No, we checked the other room already. Check the bedroom now. You looked within the office room, the kind of the study with the desk and all the drawers were kind of left open and things have already been taken from the room.

Okay, let's take that key downstairs, as you said. Hop on the broom. Nothing. I don't want to sit behind you, I'll just hang from it again. It's gross. You can sit side saddle. You glide your way down, back to the main floor. You guys are now at the top of the stairs leading into the basement. What are you going to do? It's going down to the basement.

Yeah, and I like this then. Yeah. I'll go down to the basement. A little ways ahead. Keep checking for track. Passing. I'll go up to the sigil. All right, give it back. You took the copper.

You took the copper. Exterity saving throw. Oh, shite. What did you just do? I don't know, but I will have a high 23. Okay. As you step just past the glyph, the wood beneath your foot creaks,

and you instinctually leap forward landing on your feet. Nothing happens. You, sweetie. I love you, Matt. You have you? I love it. I just always have to be alert. You never know.

Sometimes you think you know, but you don't actually know. There was nothing there. Now I know. You just look like an end. PTSD is really, sorry, three-point landing. Okay, we're fine. While they were up there dicking around,

we were looking around at the middle floor, anything good? No, we were not going anywhere near the pressure points, by the way. Well, that is, without being said. Portraits. Other than the rooms you guys went into, there was the dining room area and the kitchen area. Anything going that looks? Investigation checks from both of you guys.

I hate to investigate numbers. Ooh. Oh. 13. 19. Yeah, what's up. Okay. Are you just letting them wander and you're staying where you are?

I'm not going with them. No way. There's terrible bombs and stuff there. All right. So, Keelef, you wander through the dining area. Being very gentle. Percy, you scorer on the other side, kind of checking around elements. Not touching anything, just looking. Yeah. Nothing catches your attention specifically. You get to the kitchen. The kitchen is cold, layer of dust.

It doesn't appear to be anything in particular interest in there. All right. Okay. Downstairs it is. You know what? Appreciate your rugs is all I'm saying. Am I right and run, right, on my right? I'm running, right.

So, you guys who wish to head down into the space. I'm going downstairs. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Everybody, Groggy, you still staying outside? Yeah, actually, can Trinket and I walk to the other side of the street? It's on... Can I walk to the other side of the street?

Do you want Trinket with you? No. Okay, so you walk to the side of the street in your own. Yeah, and I'll just watch the house from across the street. Stick out. Okay. Since this is taking a bit, it's not a short rest, would it, if I'm just chilling? I mean, if you sit for like up to about half an hour to an hour or an hour,

rest. No, no. I'm just watching. Okay. All right, you guys make it down to the basement area. This is a very, very small room, 20 by 20 feet, and there is a door, a big, heavy-ass metallic door that has what looks to be a very specific door. to be a very specific keyhole. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,

yes, we will, but hold on, can I have a look at it? Can you have a look at it? We'll just take a look, and then you do it. That's all. Look, they're doing it together. It's tall. Shut up back there, it's easy to make mistakes.

25. 20. Okay. There is some sort of an enchantment on the door and the keyhole area itself. You can't ascertain the nature of it, of it, but as you approach, you can see that the metallic sheen shimmers without the light changing. There's just something about it that is unnatural.

I hate that shit. Hey, Mike. Do you think you can try dispelling magic again? Because there's some shimmery sort of shit on this door, and I don't trust it. It's really pretty, but let me give it a try. It's iridescent. Wait, wait, wait. Just leave it.

Before you dispel the magic, Maybe it's good. Maybe that's how the key works. You just spell the magic. Maybe the key won't work anymore. I don't know. I mean, because that key was hidden for a reason. Okay. Is there magic on the key? If I stick it in and I turn it and it explodes and I die. Oh, I don't know. That's simple Friday. Just spell the magic. Yeah, no, that's good.

Thank you for that. Um, you might need some extra help because I only got a 10. Oh. Okay. So, as you- Can I inspire her retro? Can I inspire her retro? Yes. Nope.

Dors, everybody. As you mark off your second third level dispell, releasing the dispel magic, the shimmer intensifies for a moment on the door and then returns to its natural state. Shit. I think it worked. Do we have anybody who has telekinesis?

Does anybody have telekinesis? Telekinesis? No. Oh, a bear of telekinesis. Wait, I can have someone. Oh, you're invisible service. I can have someone turn the key if that's Go, go do that.

We give it to make someone expendable. It's a brilliant idea. Should we just get out of the room? Let's just back up, let's back up. I think it's gonna dis-back it up. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What if it explodes the lock and then we're not able to get in at all?

Then where we go kill a dragon? Exactly. Well, sort of yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, we, so. Then at dawn, we talk about things. At dawn, we discuss. We've done. At dawn!

I already had my great moment. All right. So what you are Scanlan? Can you, can unseen servant carry a key? Or is it more a mage handy? I mean, a key is not, a mage handy can even do five pounds in its own. I'll do an unseen servant.

Okay. Named Mort. Mort. There's a slight shift of wind. And while you guys see nothing after the wind fades, you know Mort is with you. I'm holding the key out tomorrow. Can you give you?

I don't know where he is. He's right in front of you. Or take it out of my head. Don't be rude to Mort. Like a card trick? Nothing happens. Oh. It isn't.

He's a friend. Take the key. The key lips out of your hand. Oh. That's very unsettling. Now just kind of in the middle of the air. I have to wait. Let's go over this back up.

Back up. Back up. To wait six seconds. Let's let us begin. Mort. Restarting. Can I go ahead. I want to throw up a gust can't

camp trip in front of us to kind of help shield us. If anything else happens. Light breeze, shimmers before you. I don't want to blow anything big. Lord, open the door with the key. The key drips over, finds turns, enters the keyhole. Turns to the side.

The metal around the keyhole begins glow brighter and brighter for a second. The outer rim of the door itself begins to glow accordingly. The actual frame of the metal door begins to go from this dull, dull, old iron looked, this almost red to orange to white hot vision, and then fades to darkness in the door. Hey. Who'd have burned us?

Hey. That was a bit anticlimactic. I think it would be. Not us. Yeah. Yeah. Is your unseen servant okay? He's fine.

He's fine. I walk through the gust of wind and get my hair tasseled. Oh, wow. You go through your hair gets castled. You kind of unintentionally shoulder check, Mort. Sorry, Mort. I'm gonna see if I can see any traps inside the room. Sure.

Investigation check. Yeah. It doesn't matter. 20. Even with that? Yeah. Really? Yeah.

Step in the room, you do see this is a chamber familiar to you. You actually had a room similar to this in your keep. This is specifically an arcane. an arcane sanctuary. This is used for the construction and the enchantment and the development of various arcane items. Excellent. Similar to, you've seen the chamber before Gilmore, so in a smaller scale. This has seen various types of use. There's like an alchemical set up in one corner, untouched. Yeah.

Wait. Scanlan. Would you and your lightfooted friend like to join me in here? Sure, I'll come. Yeah? Yes. Mort, join me. Mort has joined you. Okay.

I don't want to touch anything in here. I don't see any traps. I want to touch everything in here. I do too. Have at it. All right, let's go pillage. I'll just start looking around and... I'm gluing.

Perception check. Gingerly start looking to see if anything is useful, because I have a lot of plans. Five. I want to start heading. We'll start heading towards the alchemical station and see... The architecture catches your attention. Ah, this is beautiful.

It's really well made. 14. What are you saying you do? I want to head towards the alchemical stop to see there's... Various glass beakers. Supplies. I mean, there are supplies you can see. There is a small rack that has many glass vials that contains ground materials,

liquids, various metals. They're all labeled. Well, like you know? Primorial druidic Sylvan. Elvin? Elvin? You do not, you're not able to read the actual label. Can I... Celestial, can I read any of it?

The language you see now? Common celestial and elvin. Dancer. What is it? What is it? All around. They're all different. But would I recommend any of the alchemical symbols?

For what you can tell, there's symbols for, you know, Mercurial liquid metals. There are many different herbal elements that are in here. There are a few that just the design of the label shows toxicity. You see there are like iron filings. There are all those things that are used in various. You have the brew potion ability, correct? Yeah. So you also recognize some of these are used in the process of preparing liquids with an easy to accept presentation when you're enchanting and brewing a potion.

I start clearing out the materials and throw them into my bag. Okay. Good girl. Can I look around for a fucking circlet? Go for it. What were you saying, Scanlan? Don't you have some ability that you can find magical objects? 16?

16. You look around the room, you don't see a circlet, but you do notice in the far into the room is a 12-foot tall. humanoid structure built of solid stone that stands there looming across the way. Giant piston-like stone arms, tree trunk-like legs. You've encountered something like this before. Yes. Was the iron before?

With Grog's dead. Dad. Excuse me. This was the druid barrows. This is a golem. It was like up in the wall. The big iron gollum. How about we tie it together? We tie its legs up, just like we did before.

Is it gonna come alive? Just in case he comes alive, then you can trip and fall. Well, I'm assuming it's there in case someone breaks in, like we trigger a truck. I don't care, I start tying a rope around his legs. Yeah, don't we have that never-ending rope? Just in case. Let's just do it like 200 times around.

As you approach the giant stone entity pulling the rope out, you can see embedded in the chest, there's a little slit, a very, very tiny slit in its stone chest. you see a faint blue kind of sparking glow. The very same color of the cortex that you had recovered from the Druid barrows when you were originally hired by Drisvina to recover it.

As you see this and you approach, it doesn't seem to react. Right, wait. Did we have that thing? And Drez sent us out through Kual. Yeah. The master is what hired you. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So we thought this other thing because of Kual Quall. So why are these things showing up wherever we go for Quall? Because he's, that's what he does. He makes gone. The first one you encountered was built for the barrel from whoever was in turn. For there, yeah. He wanted the blued. He wanted the old to bring this thing to knife. Oh, that's right. And now he made, now we see the fruits of our labor. We made this thing? I see. We brought back the crystal.

We were so good. We brought back the crystal so he could make this thing. Wow. Gotcha. Right. Okay. I have no idea what you're talking about. If I take a step forward, does he look like it has any kind of reaction? You take a step forward, no reaction.

I'm going to keep trying to tie around the steps. Keep time. I'll help around, and we'll just go back on. You guys bring the rope around, you tie it pretty taut around the legs, which are pretty close together. They're not like in a wide, aggressive stance. They're just kind of standing there inert. You wrap the rope around it multiple times, give it the best knot to the that you have.

All right, well, bookshows. I feel safer. I grab, in my bag, I have the charcoal that I once painted half a beard on Grogwith, and I use it to draw a little curly mustache on it. Really? Okay, so as you climb to the top and you get up there and smear this big old

kind of Pringle's can style mustache out of charcoal on the front of this stone golem's, kind of featureless face. Can you try, can you try, Can you try to look at its chest? It has a little blue glimmer in it. Climb down and look and see if you're... We'll have more... Yeah, I'm more comfortable drawing mustaches on it

than I am dickering with its power source. Just look and see what it is. I look at the crystal, admire it, go dink-dink with a knuckle. You glance through this little slit, and it's about that wide. Like he just released the flicker, and the stone is about a good foot and a half,

two feet deep before you even see with a source of the light. It's a very, very thin slit to it. What little bit you can see, you see the gem that's just embedded in there with multiple metallic and stone things, just kind of keeping it suspended there. Can I inspect the chest of this creature like it's a trap? Make an investigation trick. Can I see if the gollum's wearing a circlet? Yeah. 20.

20. Well, he was up against his head. There was no circlet on the colon. Looking at it, I mean, there's no trap, per se. It's just part of the construct of this construct. What's it made of? Is it made of metal or stone? Stone. Is there any way to open it from the front?

Not from what you can see now. Okay. Should I go upstairs in your grog just in case things get ugly? I had a little pointy beard on the bottom of his chin. I think you should keep looking. Anybody else want to look around the room for the circuit? I feel like this is not the only room. This is not enough. Yeah, I start looking around to see if there's hidden chambers, loose stones in the wall. You guys have, you know, using your acute awareness, to the environment when you previous terms of investigation, nothing comes up.

Oh, that's true. The hunk of qualls. The fucking morons. That's true. That's true. Pull it out. Pull it aloft. It begins to glow a little bit and react. The golem's chest kind of glows a little bit and reacts. Oh, right.

And in the far distant corner, underneath the alchemical table, kind of an appellings. kind of in a pile of what looks like some pieces of wood in crumpled stone is a slight dull glow. I walk over and I start brushing it away. Okay, pull it away. You find what looks to be a somewhat almost full loop of metal. Dark iron. Maybe a dark iron coal belt band, maybe. It is actually. Hey. Thank God for that lump of qualls.

Yeah, hunk of quall. Thank God for that Sam Riegel brain. Yeah. Wait, has she picked it up already? Yeah. It didn't kill us? No. No, that's good.

Not yet. We're winning. Did it wake up the beast? No, the Hunke-Q-Q-Qaeda. It's a circlet. It's a glow is faded. Circle's glow is faded. Oh.

Well, we have the thing. Do it. Keyleth don't. I'm going to quickly just take a look at the papers that we've buried in. What is it all just? You know what I bet it does? I bet it controls that gone. Series of notes scribbled in the paper.

Do it. You can see what appears to be a number of sketches, of the construct of the actual golden itself, pieces of its body and its form. But some of it's been torn and crumbled up, like it was tossed aside. Failed attempts. Does he write his name anywhere?

No. I take off my very prized circlet that I love, oh so much. Okay. Why did you make that face? make that face. No, nothing. Do what you're going to do. What are you doing?

Go for it, Carol. And I put the serpent circlet on. Okay. And I concentrate to see what it feels like. Okay. And I hand my circle it to don't break it. Of course I'm not going to break it. It's a family heirloom.

I'll have more hold it. Mort. Mort. The sort of floats in the air, just out of reach. Oh, okay. Concentrate, as soon as you place it on your head, it locks to the sides of your head. and you feel this kind of cold probing into your mind for a moment.

Oh. You feel like... Not Windows TIN, not Windows TIN. God damn it. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

Sorry. I'm so sorry. Into the corner and face the corner for a minute. Because it's prevalent. All right. So you feel there are, there are, There is a connection trying to be made, but you would need time to attune to this.

Oh. Which takes what, like 30 minutes? 20 or 30 minutes. Just do it. 30 minutes to an hour, depending. Do we want to take a minute, yeah? Let's take all of this out of the house, maybe. We can't take the Ghalm.

I don't know. I want to see, I want to stay here. All right, we'll stay. I want to stay here. See you guys continue looking around. I'm going to meditate for a second. Much time goes by, 20, 30 minutes. Not a peep.

We're going to be in here for a while. Can I, um. Since I'm bored, look up and down the street, if you think suspicious. I mean, a few folks kind of wander by looking nervous around you, and you do kind of make perception check. Oh.

It's like Patrick Orbert. Oh, minus, no, plus one. No. 18, wait. It's 0. 0, 19. Okay. You do notice on the far into the street, there does appear to be a pair of individuals that are just like leaning as to building, looking right at you.

Yeah. They're kind of walking a half down the way. The direction you came. I don't look at them. Can I try to attune with my new blood X while I'm waiting? You can. Just the blood axe? Oh. You got the better bidders. Can better, better.

No, no, no, no. So you sit down, your hands stills with the gauntlets, and just take a moment to find the connection. You feel this rush of adrenaline hit your body as your hands seem to go numb for a moment. And in a flash, your eyes see the chaos of the elements of the creational planet slamming into it, flames and earth, this instant vision of the very force of creation, a time before civilization. and you feel that fiery wrath all of a sudden burn through your fingertips, the vision ends and you look down, and as you curl your fingers, strength pulses through your body that you haven't understood in a while. As you're kind of coming over that moment, the blood axe solidifies

in your grip, and you can feel, you can see where this kind of rush could definitely send Kevdak's had to get a little big. Oh, God damn it. The power of Neil deGrasse Tyson is with him. But you know, let's go kill the dragon before we get the rest of these things, because that's a good idea. Because that's going to be great. So you take the time, eventually the connection finds its way and there's a clarity. And as it hits you at the end of this restful period in the basement, you open your eyes and you feel there's like a, it's hard to describe.

It's like a bit of coldness, a coldness in your head. It's kind of off to the right side of your head. It's just this kind of slight tickle of cold. That's no fun. Can you do any? Slight tickle of cold? Yeah. Right there, almost like inside your skull.

Ah. I concentrate on it. Okay. And I see if I can manifest the cold. Okay. You look down at your hands and try and manifest the cold. Nothing happens. I focus on the gollum.

You turn to the gollum, and as you turn, the cold shifts. the front in the direction of the golem. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Wait, wait. I look at the gollum and I say, step forward. Okay. Suddenly the eyes, which were dark flare with bright blue light matching the chest. His legs are tied up.

And I'm back on. It's a tail onto the ground, the rope coming tot. It slams. the floor, you hear this loud impact beneath the ground. We're okay, we're okay. Everybody's fine, okay. I swivel out a dagger and cut right below the nose. He looked like a moron, that was a big.

And then I go, sorry, sorry. No response, it's still face down on the ground. I'm like on the ground laughing. Then I go, um, rise. Wait, wait, wait, one second, one second, one second, one second, one second. We tied it around a lot of times. As you're trying to cut the rope free, you start standing up, and you're like,

ah, ah, ah! You finally pull away just as its foot backs up and almost crushes you. The ground, and it writes itself, and it just stands before you. Look at that mustache. It has a majestic... A mustache.

Black mustache across its face. It's glowing, arcane-driven eye sockets, and it's like pulsing blue energy source, source in its chest just stands looking down at you intently. I'm gonna go diving to see if there's an instruction manual somewhere in this room. I'm on my hands and knees going through these papers. I'm searching too. And I look at the rest of them and I go,

Holy shit. Make them, make him wave. And I say, your manners wave to pike. Keela's awesome, this is awesome. And then I say, and a curse. artsy for Vex. Oh, come, come on, don't demean them. Yeah, no.

And it tries to... This is the coolest. Can it do a double bird? And I say, What do we say to those who we have just vanquished? Turns to Vax. The old stony middle fingers about that wide around. And I look at him and I say, never forget that.

He doesn't have a mind. He has my mind. Oh. We're in trouble. As you guys just came around the floor, no sign of any sort of instruction manual. The way that things have been pulled out of here, in the way the circle it was found, you get the feeling as you look about this place that in the escape, Quall was grabbing, and Drizvina were grabbing everything they could, didn't realize until they had left that the circle had fallen from their grasp and been left behind. and anything else they probably have pertaining to this experiment.

Well, we have a killing machine now. Well, okay. How do we get him out? Yeah. That's what I was just thinking. Will he go, can only creatures go in your locket thing? I don't know. Or probably only creatures.

There's only one way to find out. Okay, yeah, I pop drink it out. Farn it out. Is this a creature? He's not a creature. No. More than large in size. He's probably not bigger than that.

He's a construct. He's a construct. So no. Well, I mean, you'd have to try to find that. I walk up. He's not gonna hit me, is Ekelyth? I'll tell him not to. Okay.

Thanks. I tell him. Hey. What should I call? You don't have to say anything. Does he have a name? Spike. I like it.

Spike. Does he have a spike? Does he have a spike? Is he spiky at all? No, it's kind of bludgeony. It's not really. I don't know, I just like you. Hey, I don't ask me.

Do you, are you called something? Can he talk? No. No. It's an empty vessel. Don't name him, you're just going to get attached. Fastbender. Fastbender.

No. Why? Oh. Too hunky? Can he put his finger down and I hold the lock it up? Hey, Fastbender. Enter the locket. Fastbender.

Can he challenge to put his hand down. Puts the finger out. Touch the locket. Tink. Tink. Not a creature. No. No luck.

Good work. We can just walk him out of here. I guess we walk him out here. Cover him in blankets. Or cast a spell. Oh, if only had any. If only he had any spells. I actually, well, no.

What are you guys doing down there that is so loud? We met somebody who's even stronger and awesomer than you, but we still love you and we'll bring him out to meet you soon. Keyleth has a pet giant robot. I don't know what's a, I have a new friend. It's a thing I've been working on, but apparently someone else has done it first and never mind. It's a thing you can work.

Never mind, I'm not working on it anymore. You can do a pocket fisherman. It's passe and stupid, I don't want to hear about it. Uh, tell him. That's fine. I... Wait. Walk him out.

Oh no, he's not a creature. I can't make him. I mean, he is a creature. Just a particular enchantment based on this. You get the sense that as it is part of the realm of the Raven Queen is the living and the dead. This is not necessarily a living creature. It is a construct. The magic does not have an effect on it.

Oh, any magic. Well, that magic. Well, this particular life and death magic. I could try to make him invisible. Oh, that's good. That's actually a really good idea. Says creature. I mean, honestly, does.

You're out of your bubble. No more bubble. Scanlan, do you have a circlet right now? You had the ion stones. Do you have anything on your head? I'm fully attuned. Yeah, it requires attuned to wear. I know, but.

What is your circle? Is this something you're going to want to do in the long term? Well, my circle it, I'm a bit attached to it, and it's very nice and has a lot of benefits to it. So if we're going to go to the trouble of taking this thing out of here, one of us has to use it. What about your pampum or what did you call him? Pop-pop.

You think you pop-pop-pop-paw could do it, but I don't know if he would be very... I can wield so good. I can use him. Let's get him out of here. I can use him that. Right, we can try it. Bassbender might be something that we use sometimes and not all the time anyway, maybe. We could literally put him in our, can we get him into the bag of holding?

I doubt, yeah. It's kind of big, you know. Has to fit through the opening. Yeah, we don't have a big enough bag of holding. What? Oh no. Could we build Percival? Ooh, I have an invention idea.

Oh, no, please. I have one too, actually. Could you build a little gnome chair for either Scanlan or Pike or... On the back of this? Will hand on the back of it? But I think he moves rather slow. Yes, it would be so mad max, it would be on Thunderdown. You really am.

I don't get that reference, but I think you feel me. Tell him to run across the room. How fast is he? How fast can he run? Well, let's try it, I guess. Perhaps let's try this somewhere other than is not a basement filled his chemicals. We can try this in the mansion.

We can try them in the mansion. Let's get him to the mansion. Let's make them invisible and get him to the mansion. I'll try to turn invisible. I don't think it'll work though. You go, you cast this up for a second using your bardic flare, you wink and reach out and touch the golem in the golem's form.

Oh! Okay! Okay. Okay. That's great. All right. All right, let's get out of here then. Goose, go.

Goose. Is he making that noise? Do you tell the follow? I start, let's see how this works. Follow. Well, he's rather loud. As you guys come to the doorway and begin stepping through, he washes the door frame and goes, And it's just bent outward, like something bursting out of a tuna can. Shit.

Like rock in the outhouse. Hey, Vex. Do you have a pass without a trace handy? I, I, uh, let me see how many spells I have left. I think I do. We have a wonderful nice sleep. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can do pass without trace. I have a couple of things.

I couldn't possibly use my glove of storing, could I, to hold his hand? Try. Glove of what? What? Glove of storing. You know from your experience the glove of storing is usually for like handheld objects. Not right. No.

I'm going to cast pass without a trace on all of us, including the Gallum. And I tell the Gallum to walk quietly and stealth or attempt to as best as he can. He can't understand. You guys make your way up the stairs. You don't understand the relationship we have. As you make it up towards the top of the stair landing, you hear the crashing of the stairs landing, you hear the crashing of the stairs landing. crashing of wood behind you as the golem begins making its way up the staircase, destroying it in the process.

What? Why is it, why is it, no. He's wider than the stairs. Why is it going up the staircase? Because we're going up the staircase. Oh, we're going, oh, I thought we were outside the front door. No, this is all down in the basement. Oh, gotcha. You guys, you guys make your way up as it tears through the stairs. This is what happens to be lit. I mean, there is a stone, you know, a stoneworks incline that the stairs are built on, so it just destroys the wood, but it still manages to make its way up.

up into the house itself, breaking it through the banister. You don't even see it. You just see parts of the house just pf-b-b-b-h-h-h-h-h. It steps forward into the center of the room on one of the plates that you had marked. The thing was p-h-h-pink! And stops the middle of the air before a couple,

like, smoke sparks go pf-th-th. This thing is awesome. Another one. I feel like Quall didn't really think this through. How would you've got in a mouth at all? I bet he has a little bowl or a little bowl Are you still unclear about whether we should kill this dragon or not? We have a killing machine now.

Does it fly? It doesn't matter. We just got to catch it with his hand. That's true. He actually might be able to hold on to it, at least for a little bit. And to me, for the goal. The Golem's about like 12 feet tall, 10 to 12. The dragon's like 30 to 40.

So maybe not, the dragon could probably like fly away with it. The dragon would find him to be a very uncomfortable horse pill to swallow. However, him plus a bunch of other people could probably hold the dragon. Let's get back to the mansion. Let's get back to the mansion. Wait, can he get through the mansion door? We will tell him delicately to kneel and crawl.

I mean, it's a magic door. Scanlan, can you just make the door a little bigger to fit him? Why don't we just have him smash through it? Who cares? Okay, sure, let's go. We're talking about your mansion door. Can you do it? That's a magic door, I know.

Guys all look at Grod across the street, just kind of sitting clutching the blood axe almost in like a lotus position. Hey buddy. Have you been walking out? You guys glance up and see Grog smiling, as suddenly behind them, boom, the doorway just glows out and Wood gets just thrown out in the middle of the roadway,

splintered ruin, and there's a giant dome shape of the front of the house where brick and wood has just been blown out. You guys, the door is exploding. Move! No, no! No, he's not. I'll race across the street to them with the blood axe My hands. You get halfway across, pass them before, whack!

Something hits you really hard in the face, and you can already feel kind of the blood running in the back of your sinuses. And I say Grog, meet Fastbender. Fastbender, Grog. I don't understand what you're telling me about it. He's invisible, but he's a giant stone golem. Can I reach out with my hand and try and touch whatever it was that smashed me in the face? You reach out, and there's a solid, very solid surface in front of you.

And I say Fastbender, shake Grog's hand. Remember manners? You reach up, or as you kind of feeling out, all of a sudden, a giant forms, crasps you from behind and shakes your hand. Roll a strength check. Your arm gets torn off. Also, a new strength check, right?

Nothing? Nothing. Nothing. 19. 19. As the two hands, this invisible hand meets, the strength is overwhelming, and then as you focus, you take.

take over the handshake and force it to move to your own. You're stronger than the thing. Far stronger than it. Two-sent. What the fuck is grabbing my hand? Fastbender. Scanlon named him. Yeah, you keep saying it well, I don't know what it means. Let's get back to the mansion.

Get back to the mansion. I see you wearing the gauntlet squag. I've been wearing them. I, okay. You've an attuned to him. Yeah. I did. You have a nice glow about you.

You don't have hair up there. As you guys make your way back towards the classic Trickfoot Estate. With the somewhat muted behind you. They're not comfortable. The sun is just now starting to hit the sunset period of the day. The sky's going to from a blue to kind of a blue to kind of a little. lighter white to an orange color, dusk is upon you shortly. And with that, we're going to take a back from break.

Welcome back, everyone. So back from break, Voxymoc and made their way back to the real hands estate of the trick foot's. For the sake of brevity, you did manage to get the Fastbender Golem and because it's a 10 foot tall door, five foot wide, that leads into it. So I was able to Just barely squeeze in if you wanted to leave it there for the time being. Absolutely. Okay. Yes.

There it fits into it. Okay. I want to try some stuff. What do you want to try? Hang on, I'm tweeting out a week. That's a great. I would like to go down to the training area where I normally sleep. Boy, would you come with me?

Yep. I should train. I want to train too. Sit up. How big is the training area? Can we all be in the training area? Yeah, it's pretty big actually. It's the big as she wants it to be. It can be like a training hall.

Let's go practice. Let's have a group training sessions, you guys. Group workout? To the danger room. Wait, wait, before we go. What? I want to go, I want to go find my daughter. I've got to leave. Sorry, bye.

Wait, what? You're just leaving? Yeah, I gotta go, sorry. Just like that? Yeah. We gotta talk. Do you want help? Yeah, I do.

I'd like facts to come. Sure, buddy, sure. Sure, yes, yeah. We wait for you here. Talk, you can start the talk without. It'll be fast. Oh, okay. You'll be right back. I just like to throw in and say that I don't want to fight the dragon tomorrow. All right, let's go. I do want to and bye. Copy that. We'll train while you guys go. So where you're heading? Wait, wait, wait. I run back to the door really quick. Wait, his daughter is here? I run back to the door really quick. Hey, hey, wait, wait, wait, wait. Can you do that many things still?

thing still. Yeah? This is her pump-pum, pump-pup? I don't know. Blue the head back on. Yeah, it's her poppops. Okay, okay, okay. No, I chase after this camera. Okay. I do the mending on the Serenry's stature. And as doing so you you reaffirm the single piece form that was the small shrine setup for the Sarenrae shrine at home. And I want to try a few tricks with the golem, but throwing that Go ahead. Where you going? I'm going to where I dropped her off at the sewers.

Okay. And I'm hoping that he can track or something. Probably should have brought a ranger with you who's got really good to do. I don't know what you're doing. I don't know what you're doing. I can do magic. The sun is disappearing right behind the mountain and night time is coming. You lead Vax southward through Western.

Dodging around a few patrolling Goliath herd members, and eventually find your way to the alley where the entrance to the sewer, the protruding entrance existed where you left, Dranzel and Kaylee, and a number of the survivors that were in the ruined Temple of Arathas. Okay, Vax. Yeah. I know that you are an expert tracker, right?

I'm pretty good. I've watched my sister do it. Wait. You're not the one? You know that I'm... My name is Vax, right? Yes. Aren't you the tracker guy? Sort of. I don't know. Don't you move in the night and do things?

I do have really good eyes. Do you want me to have a look? Can we go in the sewer and see if we can find, figure out where they went? Let's have a look. They went down here and they went towards the city wall. That's all I know. Let's go.

Okay. All right. Drenzel closed it behind them. You go ahead and grab and make a strength check. Well, I can't lift anything. Could we do it together? Can I help them give them a vote? Oh, natural 20.

Yay! Yes! Bors of us! I'll say, between the two of you pulling Scammon Mose to the weight, you managed to... Come on, pull your weight, man! The great scrapes, and you manage to haul off at the side. It's still a very difficult process, but you do manage to muster enough strength in the two of you to pull it off.

Your forearms are like Popeye, motherfuckerucker. Yes, they are. All right. The years of use. Essentially the sewer immediately hits your nose. There is a metal ladder that leads down into the subterranean area. All right. Where do we go?

Well, let's see if she left any... My sister looks for traps. Do you need like... You really should have brought my sister, but I'm gonna check the traps. Okay. Make a survival check. Okay. Well, you know, is this pretty checking for traps or tracking?

You're tracking. No tracks. Is that what you said? I did. I said tracks. I'm not looking for traps. We're in the sewer. Yes, survival. Survival.

Do you need like an article of a clothing for a scent? Is that how you... Concentrating on the mud? That would be drinking. As you down inside the suit, there is a... There is a... a recess in the center of the floor where most of the various sludge runs through. There are bits of runoff from when the rain does pour through, and it rains fairly often here,

and this is part of Tal'Dorei, where bits of mud and compost that just kind of gets caught on the sides are you do manage to find a few spots that appear like footsteps, you don't know exactly who from, but some sort of humanoid-sized footsteps over an area that had some sort of I hold my foot over one. Is it smaller than mine, or is it about the same size? The one you see is about the same size. There was some humans with us. We were traveling with a bunch of people. Yeah? Okay.

Well, I mean, they would have washed away if they were old. It's probably pretty new. Okay. Let's follow them. You are the expert. I clearly am. Let's go. Shit! All right.

Yeah, I'll lead the way. Okay. You continue, both of you guys make stealth checks. Both of you guys make stealth checks? Yeah, okay. Seven. I'm just excited. I'm going to see my daughter. At 33.

So together. Splash. Splash. You guys continue finding your way, weaving through the southern area. Following the tracks, they vanish, and you'll see a couple footprints here, and then you've got to lose the tail. The scent is terrifying and getting worse, the further south you progress. You do head into one central chamber and both of you guys make perception checks. 19?

30. Okay. You both stop in as you immediately see in the center of this room what appears to be a large, bulbous form that is just amassed in the center. Oh, shit. You both stop. Quiet. Quiet. I'm always quiet.

He's not moving. Oh, okay. Okay. Did you send your daughter down to the center? to get attacked by a child of all the shit. Can we go around it? It's true there are a bunch of like slimes and stuff down there. We're in a larger chamber and it's in the middle.

Yeah, it's like a four-way, four different platforms or passages merged in the center here, and this apparently is where one of the drains leads down into it. And are there any of the footprints left anywhere? I mean, you do see bits of sludge around and there are a number of footprints that are all just scattered around, some smeared, some skidding. I reached down and I scoop Scanlan up in football pose again. Which way do you want to go? I can't tell which way.

Your daughter. Reach deep, man. Can I sense which direction the wall of the city is? Do I have any sort of... Make a survival check. Okay. Survival. I've never done this before. Thirteen.

13. Keeping track of where you were, kind of the direction I think. You gather it's probably that way. Oh, let's go that way. Let's go that way. As you carefully move past, you look and you see, you did encounter one of these entities before when you were tracking down the Rakhasa. This was a terrible, swollen creature with tendrils, a mouth. It feeds on red, refuse and rot, and this was a rather swollen and dangerous looking one. However, as you pass by and look, you see a series of wounds across its body and its lifeblood dripping out.

This one has been slain. Oh. I'm going to set you down, all right? I think your daughter done killed her. What? Bougatty, yeah. Sit down. How do you know that? It's dead. Oh. Oh, good. Survival check again.

Okay. So you follow the tracks. Are there any track marks? 12. I already asked that. The tracks vanish. You're not sure how to follow the direction. Is there any blood or ooze walking away from it?

Dripping away from this thing? I mean, it all kind of conceals in the general area. The central room, the middle area, is very clustered with slime and goop. There is no natural flow, and there hasn't been a very recent rainfall, so there isn't like a fresh, flow of water through here either. And where were they going? Where did you tell them to go? Out of town. Get out of town. Do I know where that is, which direction that is down here?

I mean, based on where you're going, you guys kind of can follow that path. And we'll say, for the sake of brevity, you eventually find your way to a portion of the sewer, dodging a few kind of shady looking areas, to where a final grate that leads out into the night, because it is night at this point in time. It's a large, like, 10-foot-tall, circular grate, If you look, the bars are actually bent open, and it leads outward. The liquid from the sewage now spills out into this small ravine on the very southern portion of Western and just leads out into...

Is it up like this or is it... No, it's up like this. It's vertical. And what do we see past the bedpours? You see the open plains, southwestern. No sign of tracks. Anyone huddled here for safety? I mean, looking around it, you can see a few footprints. Scouts of Prince, you make a survival check. 10. 12. Nothing that specifically catches your attention.

I think she got out of here, pal. But she's not here. That's true. She's better off. All right. All right. Sorry. We'll have goose chase. No, don't worry about it. You want to talk about it? No, no. No. I just don't know when I'll see her again, so. again, so I'll find her again. That's all. I believe that too. Yeah. Oh, and hey, thank you. Back at the Sphinx, your sister was unconscious, and you dove in to save me. That was very nice. I knew she would be taking care of,

and I wasn't sure about you. Because you loved me. You're very entertaining, and I will be sad to see you go. Well, I owe you one forever. And I hate to say it, but I feel terrible about it, but I think I might have killed a couple of civilians because I feel like I owe you some help. What do you mean? Well, I was in the big fight back.

back there, I could have hurt you or the civilians, but I decided to hurt the civilians because I, I've got to protect you because you protected me. Well, there's no right or wrong, but next time I'll be all right. You help people more in need than me, and I'll be all right. All right.

Next time. Next time. I don't know any of your fancy, you know, for the, well, I know Ranger like you. There is no ranger like me. This is stupid. We should go back. Through the sewers again? Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, we don't have big man with us, and I don't want to run into any of his third cousins or whatever, so yeah. All right. I'll lead the way. Might as well. Eventually, you guys make your way back. If you're not going to make the real survival to get back? No.

Lost forever in the sewers. A little round about, but they get the way. eventually. They return to the mansion, smelling awful. I was shit. Never make it out. They just die. No, no, too. All right, so you wanted to go ahead and do some exercises with Fastbender?

I do want to do some exercises with Fastbender. Who doesn't? Who doesn't want to do exercise? What? Ab's a stone that fast bender. P90X with Fastbender. Okay, he's not invisible anymore, right? We dropped that.

That's faded right now, yeah. Sure, okay. So. Oh, I get it. Makes so much sense. Shit. It's huge. Fuck.

How I get it. He's with us, got it. He's with us, yeah. I understand. Oh yeah, oh sorry. Grog, Fastbender. Fastbender, Grog. His name is Fastbender.

I call him Fluffy. Scanlon name. Fluffy it is. I'm terrible at naming things. I just go with whatever the first person shouts out. That's a lie because I said Spike. Well, you did say Spike.

And I don't know what I was the best. She goes with the second thing that everyone that shows out. See you late now. That's incredible. That's incredible. It's like an improv show. Salty McFucknots! Spike!

Not that one. Yeah. Give me that one. Okay, so first, first I say fast bender. Run. I want to see how fast he can go. Run is about the same speed you do. I mean as far as like it's bigger steps, but it gets about the same distance. Okay. And I say fast bender. Punch grog. He's used to this. Grog's fine with the air. Do you do anything? No, I'll totally take it.

Okay. This is how we train with Grog. It's fine. You're healed? You're healed up? Yeah. The golem pulls back. It swings at you with a giant fist.

That is a 19. Yeah, well I took off, you had to take off my braces of defense so that hits. Hits. All right. Whack, right square to the side. Side of the face and jaw, you take from the impact of its giant battering ram-like arm. Twenty-four points of lightning down.

Oh, shit. You're not raging, so it's not half. Tip for tat, bitch, and I swing back with the Titan-sohnacles and punch Fastbender in the face. Okay, go ahead and roll from an attack. Don't smudge the mustache, please. Do we know if we can heal him once we're damaging? We'll find out. 28.

That hits. So you do one plus the plus seven strength damage to it. With the eight points of... Of the four or the six, because it's my fist. Welcome to Mick Unplugged, the number one podcast for self-improvement and modern leadership. I'm Mick Hunt, your host, and I'm here to challenge your why and fuel your because. This is where leaders, entrepreneurs, and go-getters, come to level up. Each week, I bring you unfiltered conversations, game-changing strategies,

and the kind of motivation that transforms lives and legacies. I've learned from legends like Les Brown, Damon John, and Robert Irvine. And now, I'm bringing their lessons, along with mine, straight to you. From modern leadership tips to creating unstoppable momentum, this is the podcast that redefines what's possible. Hit play, subscribe, and join the millions. who've made Mick Unplug their go-to source for growth and greatness, because your next breakthrough is just one episode away. This is Mick Unplug, the voice and face of modern leadership entrepreneur and self-improvement. Let's get started.

Look, there are a lot of celebrity interview podcasts out there, but there's only one happy, sad, confused. I'm Josh Horowitz, and yeah, I'm the host of the show, so I'm a little biased, but truly happy, sad, confused is the place for nerdy and intimate conversation. conversations with all your favorite actors and filmmakers. From Andrew Garfield and Scarlett Johansson to Christopher Nolan, casting what ifs, backstage stories, and much more. Listen to HappySaid Confused on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Well, I was on the say your fist for this because you're not tab and brawler and we're saying because you're not on even ground with the other guy. You're doing, boom, one point of damage from the punch, plus seven for the strength. Oh, there you go. So eight points of damage from the crack as the fist hits. It does cause like a crack and where the impact hits a little bit. And say, okay, all right, enough hitting each other. Enough of that.

Well, hold on, we would just get warmed up. I mean, this is where the game starts. You know, it's like P-R-N-G, and then you really stop playing. Ping? Ping? You can... Pringles? There's some other questions. Other questions first.

Other questions first. I cast call lightning. Okay. I'm gonna get in the way of this, just for fun. Indoor's, but I just, it's fine. I just bring down a bolt of lightning on like a dummy and then see if I can also command Fassbender to punch a dummy.

Okay. Both lightning, heads a dummy, dummy, is shattered. as you command, Fastbender, Fastbender leaps forward with the dummies, and giant haymaker and just causes the dummy to explode into a bunch of fluff and cloth. So would we say that that would be like a bonus action what I just did? No. No, there's an action for each. I mean, you have to kind of like focus on it, yeah.

I mean, you can give it like, you have an action to give it a command, and it'll continue the command as it goes. So once it's set in its motion, it will continue that motion. Like, kill that thing. Kill that thing. Then theoretically, I can have a concentration spill up and be like, kill that thing, and they won't overlap. Let's see. You know, while he looks it up, let me just point out

that when I punched Percy in the face, there was zero points of hit point damage. You know, Rangers are already. Yes, I did punch me. I just want to check, by the way, Liam. Are you imagining the 80s-era X-Men danger room right now, too, with like the hoops and the bars? It's just right down to his night crawl are going flip, flip, fliboo.

It takes an action to focus and give it a new command. A new command. Once it does command, it will continue to do it until it's told otherwise where it completes whatever task it was given. It's not a concentration to keep up that command. So like keep fighting the dragon until it hits the ground. Would theoretically be one command that will keep going? Based on your experience with it so far, theoretically it should work. should work.

Whatever keylet wants, keylet gets. Thank you, beacon spells. Find out if you can talk. Ask you questions. Fastbender. Fastbender. Fastbender. Fastbender.

How many years old are you? Hold up. How old are you? No response. All right. This is good. We're finding out its intelligence level. Can you gesture to me with your fingers? and tell me how many years old you are.

I don't think he's listening. It may not be smart enough to know that. He's distracted. Yeah, it's no response. So it doesn't know anything, that's good. All right. Let's find out if it can, does it have any magical properties beyond punching?

Can it tell it to... Electroate something or... Use magic. Okay. Hey, Phaspender, cast a spell on... Percy. Death's eye. And then I die.

Disintegrate beam. And then you die a blue streak in your hair. It turns over, brings its hands up like this. Make a wisdom-saving throne. Oh, my God. Well, look, I wanted a live test subject. No, I'm with you. I'm with you.

Of course. That's my designation. Natural. Oh, no. You feel like... Hey, to Percy! No, no, it's happening. You've been to your explosions before, not like super close, but big enough where you feel like the...

The concussive wave from a distance, not enough to harm me, but just enough to kind of like send you off your balance for a moment. You feel that impact, and as you fall into your back foot, the time around you seems to be moving faster than you'd expect, and you find your motion sluggish. That's sluggish. That's sluggish. Oh, shit. Hard time. That's pretty cool. That's awesome.

You're in slow-mo. Percy, you're slow-mo. Percy, you're slow-mo. You're slow-mo, Percy. It's amazing. How do we fix him? Hit it'll wear off. Hit him?

Make another wisdom saving throw. How will he do Zingas now? Um, uh, wisdom where are we? Oh, 16. 16. No. Really? Oh, no.

Oh, no. All right, Faspender, can you drop this? You asked in the question as opposed to telling him to do it. Fastbender, drop the spell. Oh, sorry. In the form of the question. No apparent change in praise. Oh.

Oh, no. It'll wear off. How long? Okay. Fastbender, do you know any other spells? And if so, cast them at the dummy. this time. All of them? Looks at the dummy, looks back at you.

Okay. That's it. I go up to Fastbender and I cast stone shape on his chest and see if I can repair that crack. Hmm. Just here. Actually, yeah, before I do that, can I heal him, can I just do a level one cure wins to see if I can heal him first? Yeah. Sorry, what? Okay. Will you say something? Do I roll it? Just roll it? Just roll it right now? Come on, talk your way out of this one.

He's talking to a whale right now somewhere. Eight point. Tell us all about the nature of politics. Just think about, you're going to run it down. I think you're aging much slower than the rest of us. Okay. This is, hmm. Okay.

Torture is stuff like that forever. So, you go ahead and reach out and touch it, and the healing magic seeps up into the crack that grog left behind and the crack, Phrase shut. Ooh! All right. That's cool.

That's cool. For how much was the total? Eight points. Yeah, fuse is shut entirely. It's like there was no crack. So he gets healed by hearing. But admit it passes and you come back to your normal pace. Oh, man.

No, this is good. How was that? How did that feel? Was it frustrating? Yes. Good. Good. Good.

Can it? Thank you. That's all I need. Can it fly? Oh. Fastbender, can you? I don't think you can fly. Try, try, try.

Can you fly? Tell it. Fly, Fastener, fly. Fly! How high does it jump? Like, how high is it jumping? It's getting like six feet off the ground vertically. See if it can fly.

And then landing with a heavy impact each time, causing these. Ooh. I wonder if it can like earthquake. Okay. I am stone shape. I take a chunk of the wall and I stone shape like a boulder, and I hand it to him, and I say,

throw it at that target. Tiny little boulder? Yeah. It hits the target, the stone shatters across it. So he's aims pretty good. All right. Nice. Yeah. And then I go, fast bender, high five.

Yeah. You take two points of bludgeoning damage, and just unable to control its force. Yeah. You're my buddy, fast bender. I have a vital curiosity. Two last important things that I would recommend. Okay.

Perhaps Fastbender go into recharge mode or sleep mode, perhaps, so that it maybe can regain some of its magic ability, which it might burn through. And two, and I'm surprised that I'm the one to mention this, but we should double check to make sure that that thing isn't doing anything strange to your head. For the record, while this has happened, Mort, who's been following you guys around,

because it's not concentration, the circle that it was carried. The one that you previously had just to hit the ground. It's just lying there in the ground. I'm going to pick that up. Thank you. All right. It's very nice. Thank you.

It's very old. Okay, Fassbender. Rest. The eyes kind of go to a very, very dull glow. Its form tends to slightly hunch forward position it was at rest where you found it in the basement seems to have gone into some sort of a rest date. Okay. Take that off a bit, maybe.

But I like it. I don't know. Try taking it off, Kiki. It's my friend. It will be your friend in the morning. Okay. Take it off. I hope.

Speech for the circle. You go to pull it off your head. And it slides off. Oh! I want to throw something at you. It's like the fifth time today is no good. No. It's like a good horror movie.

All the fake outs. As you take it off your head. Your eyes start to bleed. Take it off. Seems all right. Do I look funny? More than normal? Oh, no, you don't look different.

You're a dick. I know. Well, you made a robot cuss a spell on me, an automaton, I suppose. You've earned it. That's fair. So while this is happening, you guys. Get out turn to pike.

and say like, look at what I got. These are cool. Yeah, bro. I don't even feel it. It's like nothing. No. You don't even feel that? No, nothing.

Wow. Well, look, the blood axe, right? I've known this weapon for many, many years. And I just wanted you to be here when I did this. Can you hear me? Did it say anything to you? No response? No, which is cool, right?

Okay, this is good, this is good, this is an improvement from your last weapon. Better. Can you like tell if it's just like evil? Yeah. Kiki? Yeah. How awful for it? You're pretty awful from what I'm slowly beginning to learn about you, Percy. What are you doing?

What spell do you have prepared that will help with this, if it is? This is drawing. Yeah, it's strange. That you have prepared. Never mind, I'm not that terrible. Yep. Oh, sorry? Oh, look at that.

That's just eight? Can I just, um. Yeah, there's like level one spell, the tech good and evil. If you have that prepared, I would detect foreign people entity. Identify? Identify is more of an arcane based. What do you think? Can I just?

That'd be either like Scanlan or any other arcane casters you would know. Can I just perception check it? Can I identify? I'm not there. I'm not there. Can you insight check it? Can I? You have to butter me up. I mean, it's hard to insight check something that's not living

from what you can tell. Didn't you guess I'm not? There's no communication, I think it just looks like an act. God damn, God damn. I'll learn that speller and I'll check it later. Oh, you can't tell anything. You can't tell anything. You can try?

No. It looks pretty normal. Yeah. And it's a good sign that it's not talking to you. Right. So we're already in a better place than we were before. Yeah. Okay.

And they look really cool. They do. Hey, wait, keep holding it for a second. Can I walk over to like the wall? Like just a wall? Yeah. Can I punch the wall? Sure.

I like to punch the wall. It's like the first game ever. I like to punch the wall. I can't punch the wall. Can I? Wait. Wait, that's damned. No, just image is stuff.

Oh, just damn it. 25. That was pretty funny. All right. So as your rear back, your fifth slams into the stonework here of your magnificent mansion. The stonework shatters eight up to 16 points of damage from a sheer punch against the wall. The stone sends a crack through that actually pierces up to the top of the rather large 25-foot ceiling here in the training area that was been crafted by Scanlan.

Stone tumbled and hit the ground. A bunch of it kind of plaster and pieces just kind of fall and hit the ground. hit the area around, you causing a small pile of wreckage. It's a pretty solid punch. So, I remember being little and Cavdak wouldn't punch the boulder, and it went like, and split half. Whoa, and you just did it with the house.

Now we're gonna be busting bowls big time. Can I swing the eggs? Yeah, and me? No, it's a dummy. Yeah. Try it. It's swinging the axe than a dummy. It sticks into it.

Oh, good swing. You're not as strong as him, for say. Vicious, vicious. Oh, wait. Shring 13, right? What's that? What's that? Shring 13, right?

Hold on, hold on. My strength? Your strength? It's 13. It's not because you haven't put the gauntlets off. Well, hold on. I had to take the gotlets above the ogre power of do you want the bank? Oh.

Now, I think you have to give them up for the boots, but it's your pick. It's a kite. You can be a monster. I want to be a monster. Yeah. All right. All righty. So your strength is back up to 19

with the Gauntilver of power. Beefy Pike is back. Yay! I also have, well, you're scaling back. Dorsmel Pooh. At this time it's past, you guys do return to the mansion. I'll go down and check on things downstairs. Just a minor thing.

On the walk back in the sewer, I would like to slowly, just in case some of these assholes want to fight a dragon tomorrow, I slowly started tuning to acidic damage instead of fire. Not a problem. You are currently resistant to acid damage. Okay. Didn't I get these braces of defense from you? Maybe. I don't really remember things like that. Oh, do you want them back? Bracers of defense, what do they do? It gives you a plus two to your AC if you wear no armor and are using no shield. I wear a armor so I can trade them for something cool.

I wear cold snap leather armor. Oh, snap. Does anybody not wear any armor? The only one who doesn't wear armor is you. Yeah. Yeah. Cool. They're worth like 6,000 gold.

So I guess. Fucking hand tomorrow will sell them for stuff. Oh, hold on. We'll buy things with them. Crogg, I don't trust your haggling sales. If we can ever find a store open in the city that's not destroyed. We can sell this. It's not much of an economy right now.

50. No. Make your way to another city. Give money away. Yeah. So it's like, it's night time. We should probably figure out if we're gonna find a fucking dragon in the morning. And we owe Zanroa Tuck one way or the other.

We're gonna go talk to him tonight? Well look, we need to sleep. Yeah, we need to heal up big time. Yeah, pretty tapped out. Yeah, but. I'm all right. Big man, what are we gonna do in the moment to get up?

We chit-chat. The dawn, we plan. You think you need to go talk to your cousin. Great conversations have been had at dawn. All have you know. A don't. That's true. Treaties have been signed.

Didn't stop. I'll also, don't we, weren't we at some point supposed to check the library for clues for the location of the next vestige? What library? Here, the Colvote Reserve. Yes. Yes, and we still haven't found Reginald's daughter.

That is a thing. Well, send a carefully worded letter. We can't roam the city for days trying to look at for some dead guy's daughter? Come on. Well, we don't have to. We know where she is. Oh, we do?

She's in prison. Oh, then it's worth it. Oh, she's in prison! Then we should go bust her out. We may just be able to get them to release her. We might be able to do that. It sounds like there were a lot of people in prison. If we could talk to them,

or we have to talk to them. Grog has to talk to them. Should we sleep first and go at dawn? I don't know if this can vote. What time is it? It's past dusk at this time, with the hours you guys traveling. I'd say it's probably close to 9 p.m.

You guys are gonna full rest. You gotta sleep soon if you're trying to get up pre-dawn. It's up to you. How long is it long rest? How long rest is six to eight hours? Six eight. So on the short end, you get up at three and walk over. Wake his ass up.

Yeah? Yeah. Let's go sleep now, wake up, go let the prisoners free, and then talk to Ceph. Zan, roll. All right, well, when are we going to talk amongst ourselves? That's true. We should do that now. Right now.

Short, short talk. I don't feel comfortable fighting a dragon on 24 hours noticed after almost getting my ass handed to me. All right, that's Percy's vote. Keyleth, what do you say? Can I pass and wait to hear it? and wait to hear other people's folks? Sure, Vax, what do you say? Much to my own chagrin, I am in perfect agreement

with Frederick von Wetzett-Face de Rolo de Watsett. Vex? Surprisingly good place. Hey there, guys. I stand by what I said before. I think we should let them go out and fight a dragon, and we try to rescue the city while they are distracted. Bad-ass hand smasher, the

first. That's you, Pike. That's me. Yeah. I'm having trouble. What are you thinking? I wouldn't care what we left now. I don't think we're ready. I think it would be foolish. I learned a lesson yesterday. And I'm anxious to die. Don't get me wrong. But I'd rather win if we planned a little better. Are there any big trees in the city? That's not a lot of people. We need to move a lot of people. How many people are, in theory, still left in the city? You have no idea. An entire fucking city. Can I? I think a lot. A lot of people have left and gone to Kaimel. A lot of people have left into the former basin,

which you already saw. And a lot of people are still within the city and currently being kind of ordered over and run or were by the horde, or the herd you don't know quite how many still remain. You've seen many jump between homes and a few that have just kind of Based on the size of the city and the number of people I've seen, what would be my extrapolation of a reasonable human being? I mean, triple digits, four digits? No, you're looking to like, four digits.

Low four digits. That'll do. A lot of people. Listen, we have this herd. It'll take hours. They will be our allies for exactly one day. In theory. In theory.

So if we do not use them to attack dragons, can we at least use them to do something? because they will no longer ever be our allies again after today. We could use them to go try to kill them dragon on their own. We could use them to try to kill something or someone else for us. We could use them to try to help clear the city, and if we convinced them that it was in their best interest. I'll amend my proposition to this.

I'm not sure what that word means. This? Yes. If we go and speak to Zadrull, and we can't change his mind on fighting this dragon, which I'm not entirely comfortable asking him to do, we at least get the innocents, the prisoners, and the hostages out of the city. We pretend like we're going to fight the dragon with him, and when shit goes down, we wait.

That's actually kind of what I was thinking. It's not a bad plan. We have the means to bail us out very quickly if things go wrong. And if I may, in case any of your consciences are in conflict, the herd is full of murderers and pillagers and rapists and child killers. The worst of the lot. And only when I was younger did I not know the difference between the ones. the difference between right and wrong.

Still working on that definition. But I can tell you, this group be the best lot in the world. And they mean nothing to me compared to the people in this room. Conversely, you were a part of that lot once, and you came out of it. Once, but are we trying to save a herd?

Are we trying to save a town? I think we're trying to save the world. That's bigger than a town, right? Right. A little. A little. Today we can save a town. You know, we're all gathered here together. So I'd like to take this opportunity with Wilhans' blessing to propose marriage to you,

Pike, Trickfoot. Would you make me the happiest gnome ever? I'm sorry, I just couldn't contain myself any longer. That just was so sudden. I know, I'm sorry. I've been thinking about it all night tonight. I went looking for Kaylee, she wasn't there. I'm sorry.

I just blurted it out. We're all together, and we're never all together like this. Can I roll stealth and hide right now? Can I roll stealth and hide right now? You can try to if you want to. 28, I'm gone. Scanlon, at least this could wait until after. I know, but we may die later tonight.

Only if we follow your example. That was the most impressive segue I've ever encountered. I was trying really hard here. It was a segue if I've ever, I don't know if that was a set-wise. You know what, don't answer now. Don't answer now. I know that you want to say yes, but please don't answer yet. Just think about it and we'll talk about it some of it.

I'll definitely have to think about it because. We can work on some sort of concoction if you need help sleeping after that information at this point. That would keep me up for hours. That's, yeah. Do we have any allure or root for that? Yeah. Oh my. Oh my. You ever have a vision quest with him?

Scanlan. You know what? I will think on it and I will give you an answer after some dragons are killed and yeah. Let me think on it, Scanlan. Let me think on it. All right. I think that went well.

Do you mean like permanent work? I think I was just really start... Yeah, no, no, I'm sorry. I didn't do that the way I had planted it in my head. I'm sorry. It's just I was overcome with just a lot of stress. You know, we're fighting dragons and bonding with Goliaths here and you're in my house and it's very, very stressful night for me.

I'm sorry. That was the weirdest coping mechanism I've ever heard of. Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry. Yeah, I'm sorry. It's okay. It's okay. Maybe you just feel that way because we could all die, so. For sure.

You just feel like you maybe just... You know what? I don't know. We'll table it. We'll table it. We'll table it. Okay. Where is Wilhand?

I think he's in the kitchen. Pop, pop. He's probably made a delicious meal. Scream for him. Oh, we should eat and then sleep. You guys make your way to the kitchen? Yeah. Let's finish this conversation over food.

There is a, what do you mind? I'm going back to my room. I'm not eating. Okay. Wait, we need to finish this conversation. He's already gone, you don't know where he is. Facts disappear. In the confusion.

You head back to the main dining area. There is a full meal prepared of very creative uses of chicken. Oh, okay. It's all, if he had more stuff, he really do well. Full hands done what he best. You're supposed to eat. with Williams Givens. That's creative.

Three chicken dish. The soup. Willhan is slumped in the corner on a stool with a bottle of wine that is most empty. Try the chicken sorbet. Put a drool, dribbling down there. Oh. Carcale.

Car tail. It's a real thing. I know it's disgusting. I let him have it. Disgusting. I go and whisper to Scanlan. Are you all right? Yeah.

fine. She didn't say no. She didn't. I sort of meant about Kaylee as well, though. Oh, yes. I just don't know where she is, so it's a bit stressful. That's all. She's safe, though, right? Just say yes. Yes. Of course she is. Yeah, I thought so. I'll grab a shitloaded chickens and start shoving him in my mouth. Is Wilhand here? He's passed out. He passed out the corner of the bottle of like wine. It's I go get a blanket and cover him. I walk over and I slide the bottle of ale out of his hand. Death grip on the bottle. All right, I leave the bottle of ale,

and I just take the stature of Saren Ray, and I put it in his other hand. Tuck him up. Cuttles it up with the blanket around it. There's a little bundle of old gnomish sleeping joy right now. Oh, buddy. Is Vax here? No.

Shit. I wanted to put like shaving cream in his hand and tickle his nose with a feather. Mm. Although I feel like we still need to finish this conversation. Shouldn't we all be present? What was left to finish? I'm gonna take a rest.

We're gonna try to convince them to delay. If they won't delay, then we say, all right, let's go fight. Yeah. And we send them into battle. Do we try to get us to any of us out? Then we don't really fight. Huh?

Well, we see how they do, and we try to rescue people. Maybe it's a time to split up. Maybe some of us help fight the dragons while others help evacuate. No. I'm not separating from you when we go fight a giant fucking dragon. I may run to try and quietly by myself grab a few things from the library that we may need to get to meet the next vestiges. You're going tonight? Possibly in the morning. I'll go with you. You do recall based on your previous scrying spell.

It was ruined and most... and most of it had been picked over. It was ruined, and one picked over. Allura was escaping with what appeared to be a couple of tomes under her arms before escaping the S-bar. Oh, no, I'll write that. I mean, it doesn't mean that there's not something still potentially there, but I'm sure Allura got a lot

of the good stuff. She's not stupid. No, that's fair. But we, it's not, I mean, still check it out. So it's plan. We go to sleep. I don't have a plan, but while they're all digging about for about an hour of just sort of staring at the wall.

I start talking to the air and say, you know, I've never put much stock in faith. And for the life of me, I questioned so much why my sister took that broom and I can't figure out another reason for her to have done it other than fate for I would not be standing here nor would anyone else in my family.

So, you weren't my first choice, but I'm over there, and I'm ready. I will come to you as soon as I am able. I don't know how any of this works. I'm coming. Whatever we need to do. I don't know what I believe, but I made a promise and I'm sticking to it, and I'm coming to you. So just hang on. Minutes of silence pass. No response.

Nothing. As you get to your bed, you look on a single black one. and a single black feather is currently set on the pillow before you. All right, the rest of you're going to sleep for the evening? Yes. As we're walking to sleep, I'll grab Scanlan real quick. Okay.

What did you say? I just grab Scanlan real quick once it's... Okay. So I have to tell you something. You don't have to answer now. It's not an answer for that. No, it's fine. I was impetuous and silly and...

I know, and I'm unbeliefing. I'm unbally. and I don't know sometimes. I get hand it around you. It's okay. I'm very smooth with everybody else. I don't know what it is. It's just, it's fine.

It's okay. I just, I have to confess something to you. When you gave me that letter. Yes. And you told me not to read it until you die. Yes. I read it immediately after you left. Because I just, curiosity gets the best of me sometimes and I can't.

You can't. You can't like a priest or something. I know, but that, what does that even mean? I don't know. I go back. There was personal stuff in there. I know, but what I know, it was very personal and, and I just, I, I just wanted to tell you that everything that you said in that letter,

I promised to you. to you. You do? That I will, I give you my word. That everything that you said in that letter, I promise to you I will do. Really? If you die, which I am hoping that you never do.

Well, we've almost died a few times very recently. I know, and I just, we've had so many close calls and I just feel like I, I just needed to tell you so you've had some comfort. in your person, in your body, that you knew that if... I know, you sound like me. You're stammering and babbling like I was. You do make me a little nervous and I'm not really sure why,

and I need to reconcile. You should just marry then. Well, I don't know. I don't know either. It's a very strange relationship. I'm so confused. Maybe we should just sleep together and see what happens. Okay, fine.

I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. It was just a joke. A joke about that stuff with me. I know. I'm being careless. I just, I think that drink that Wilhand gave me is settling

and it's moving about. Making me say things. I don't even know what's going on right now. I don't actually think we should sleep together. I just want to tell you that I... Thank you for clarifying. Okay. Anyway, I...

Scanlan is not how I thought tonight was going to go. I feel betrayed. I feel betrayed. I feel let out. I feel so horny right now. You've grown those forearms for a reason. So just go take care of business. Oh, come on, bye.

That's filled reincorporation right there. Call back. Call back. Call back. Listen, everything I said in that letter I meant. and regardless of whether or not you totally betrayed me by reading it. I'm so sorry. I'm glad that you at least understood the sentiment, I hope,

and appreciated my honesty and the fact that you are taking that vow? If I die. Yes, I am taking that vow. Yes, I understand. Well, then that's fine. Okay. That's all I need. And I just, I was trying to be funny and-

No, I know, I didn't know why I proposed. That's stupid. I do love you so much. I love you. And a part of my heart does, I do love somebody else very much. I'm sorry? But I, my feelings are growing for you a little bit

in a weird way and I'm not sure what it is. But we'll figure it out. I'm confused. I think we both are. Anyway, thank you for telling me the truth after you sort of lied to me, so. But I never told you I did not read. No, I know, but all right. Anyway, thank you for this.

Sort of, I guess I have to go to my room and think about this while I stare at my picture in the mirror above my bed. Which is, what's your picture? It's just a mirror. It's cool. But listen, I do love you. I will always love you, even in death. And thank you for telling me that.

I hope it doesn't come to that, but if it does, that makes me feel a little bit better about things. Okay. Well, I love you. Sleep tight. I give him a hug and a kiss on his cheeks. Okay. I just sort of kick the dirt a little bit. And then I walk away and I click my heels.

Little jump and click. Okay. Back of my head hurts. And anything else before the evening's rest comes? All right. Sleep finds you all, some easier than others. Till a measured period of time, I believe. Yeah. Grog, sprung awake, gather the folks in the pre-dawn hour of the following morning.

You gather your stuff, exit the mansion, start making your way towards the MaGrave's house. Anyone on the street? Make perception check. Plus zero. You guys exit Will Hens Place, and there is across, Cross Street that this Wilhands home is nearby. There's like a building sandwiching at each side, and the one just south of it is on the corner of that cross street. Across the way, as you guys exit the room, or exit the front of the building, you see two figures stand up.

Arms crossed, the same individuals you saw earlier. Of Wilhans police? The same people I saw outside of the house earlier. All right, fuck this shit. I turn and I walked towards those two people. Okay. You approach, you recognize them. They're the same two people that were watching you

while you guys were resting directly after the battle with Kevdak in the center of the square, the two that were assigned to keep an eye on you. Hello. What are your two names? Which are there? Viscan. Mortar. What do you want? Funny, I feel like I've seen you about in the last few hours watching us.

Keeping an eye, yeah? Yeah. Why? Because he killed our leader. It takes a while to see what strength is a man who's killed your leader. If he's a murderer, but he's an honorable man, or if he's a piece of shit that you should wipe off of faith.

Take some bit of watching to get that. Sure you're still out. Don't you have a new leader now? They can't look at each other. Maybe. Would you like to walk with us? We're going for a little morning stroll. What else to do? I'm kind of wiped a little bit of sleep if you're one in the corner of the eye.

Lead them. Head to the Morgreve's house. Okay. I put my old school circlet back on, by the way, but I have the other circlet with me. Okay. So you've been reattuned to the original circlet. Guys, walking through the town as you do, there is a bit of business in the morning. There are some of the street lanterns that you're doing. Street lanterns have been lit, where previously at this hour they would be greatly diminished.

There is movement. You see some of the herd that are now wandering back and forth, armoring up, gathering weapons. You know this. This is the morning before siege. This is the pre-dawn meditation before the herd takes its next. Yeah. Warpaint being applied. Breakfasts being enjoyed. People preparing themselves for the frenzy of battle. This is the pre-war ritual of the herd of storms. As you make your way southward across the once battlefield, return town square outside the Margraves home to the front doors, the door is open. And you see there are two individuals sitting out the front, one of which is a Goliath, just kind of keeping watch.

To the right of them on the other side is what appears to be a kind of gruff-looking female, humanoid. Just kind of sitting there, arms crossed, watching as you guys approach. I'll make our contact with both of them. I seek an audience with Zanroar. As you're spitting, you get in.

We go in. As you guys walk into the house, you see the interior of the margarine's in the boat. Across the way, there is a haphazard throne that's been built from lumber and carts and things that were kind of pulled from resource within the town. You can see this is probably where Kevdak sat once they had taken the home, the estate. I grab my ear apiece and very lightly say, Vax, keep your eyes about you. Are you all entering with Grog? Sure. Okay.

Should we leave a couple outside or anything or no? No. Okay. You guys all enter into the fore area. The throne is across the way. There's a long hallway that leads to the back of the estate. And in the very back you can see the throne. There are some low sconces in the walls that give the flicker of light.

In the center, there is a round table, which is currently set. There are some weapons, some daggers, a few javelins kind of tossed onto it. It looks like some fruit that's partially eaten. And there on the table you see Zanroll. Already armored up, arms kind of splayed across the side, looking down at the table, looking down to the weapons before him. Behind him, you see his wife, the lady, the other pregnant Goliath that is currently behind kind of rubbing one of his shoulders and kind of talking to him into his ear. They both look up and see as you approach, which point Zainerr kind of whispers to her for a second. What does he say? He says, we have company. They both kind of sit down. back as he goes upright as you approach.

Glad to see you have the sense. Take my summons. So, now's the day where we prepare. I wouldn't miss it for the world. First and foremost, Grog. Take that shit off. It's really freaking out most of our people. It is pretty sweet, though, isn't it?

It's confusing to say the least, eh? We all have our preparations to make before battle. Don't worry about it. Dewee Sir and I suppose. You've fallen in some strange patterns since we last met, sir. You have no idea. The rest of you, can we expect your attendance in this glorious fight? Wherever Grog goes, we go as well. Good. Good. I suppose we could ask the same of your herd, leader Zanroar.

We're prepared now. Hmm. Now we've met around with the remaining herd. We've spread the tail of Kevdak's fall. Demanded solidarity under my arms and yours. And our plan to show our strength and independence from his reign by cutting down the black dragon of Gat Shadow. And many are easily swayed by words of bloodshed and glory.

Others, the hesitation in their eyes worries me. A green beard had set us down a path of ruin coming here. We conquer and move as a people. This lie without Roman, laudan over a broken city, living under the thumb of a drake. This is not our life. Since Greenbeard's age and selfishness had caught up to him, Dach's lust for the fear of others, swayed his judgment into more self-indulgent territory. And while we all quelled rebellion, gathered gold and goods, well, I parlayed with that beast.

My uncle stayed with an ear. He points back to the throne behind him. Taking his drink and his women, breaking those who could not defend themselves out of idle boredom. I could see it. Regret. He had listened to the old man and let us in to ruin, but the only thing stronger than Kevdak's might was his pride. So we stayed. He could not admit he was wrong. He abandoned reason and foresight. When I question him, our actions here in the city, our future, he beat me and threw me in the chains. So learning from the mistakes here, when this dragon is done, we leave. We have no place in the city. You speak of pride, of listening to reason.

Might be smart to listen to reason in this instance as well. That dragon is ancient and very large. It's quite possible he'll wipe out all of us, and the town included. It might be smart to swallow our pride for the day, come back when we have preparations made, and we can take the dragon down. Please understand. A dragon has claimed quite the tithe from our people. We've provided what we can, but we could scavenge.

But even in the coffers of this town that we could acquire a drawing thin. The reason that we were preparing for this attack, even before you arrived, was because we were at the end of our rope. Many of the people made away from this town with their goods before we came, and many still have escaped our grasp while we took over. So the paltry sums that we could gather in the time. that we did held rain over Western. The dragon's not gonna be happy

that each package dwindles with each passing couple of days. Either we take this element of surprise and fight it on our own terms, or we wait for it to come to us angry on it. And if we leave now, the herd may survive, but I haven't heard of a dragon that when crossed lets that vengeance fly. And I'll be honest with you.

We kind of leave a trail behind us. As you know. Now do. It is a wide wake, my friend. At this point, the door slams open behind you guys. You see, a muscular man walks in. Skin, sun-scarred and calloused, his long black hair clustered in wild, unkept clumps. A wild elf. Tress, who accompanied you to the square. Not but earlier the day before.

Walks in behind him. Ivan. Ivan, your timing is good, we speak on. At which point this man steps forward at the table, kind of pushing you guys aside, looking directly at Zanroar. We do not recognize you, Zanroar. Kevdak was the Thunderlord who conquered the River Ma. And now he's dead. You take his title unearned and intend to lead us into suicide against a dragon that even Kevdak feared. We will not stand for this. The River Marr picking up and leaving. Now, we return to our

fence to lead our people. You can all die for your own reasons. Zandwar leans forward very serious, a grave look on his face. Are you saying you're abandoning the hurt? Which point you can see there's like tension in his muscles. You can see Trest's currently reaching back for a weapon. And Ivan not breaking the sweat, leans forward in his to his face, a squared, chiseled jaw, going, Yeah. I guess that's what I'm saying. I heard of storms is no more if you're going to lead us in death.

We'd rather live on. Back to the lives we had before you came in and mocked it up. Close the doors, Zanwar says. The door, shuts behind. Zainwar looks to you. What do you say? Grog Strung Jar, Slayer of Kevdak. You who raises Mart against the dragon.

Your play. The rest of you, those who travel this world are far outside of our people. Where does your allegiance lie? Well, certainly not with the cowards who are abandoning you in the face of a tough fight. Ivan turns to you now, eyes red with fury. Who are you calling a coward little man?

Watch where you turn your gaze. It may be the last movement your head makes attached to your body. Make an intimidation check. Ten. Oh, boy, not good. I'm dead. He stole staring at Scanlan.

Spits right in your face. That's not very nice. No. It's not. Neither is calling me a coward. Well, I'm just a guest here, so I don't want to spill anyone's blood in someone else's throne room. So I'll be the bigger man and take a step back. As you take a step back, he stands back up, turns to Zanroar.

Zanroar, open the door, let us go. Live our lives, and you can run into whatever fires you want. The last thing you need is a civil war this morning. What do you say? How many people do you have with you? Turns to you. And you are. Maxalia.

We take 18 with us. west of the fence. Let us be. It's not fair to drag them into this chaos. Just, may I say something? I realize you want to go and protect your people. But even if you run, you guys will eventually come across a dragon

that will kill all of your people. So what if... We fight together because there's strength and numbers. Maybe we should just let them leave. Make a persuasion, Shag. With the disadvantage. Why? Because you're a tiny gnome talking up to a very burly man who's...

Yeah, but I have a gnome cunning. Right. Go ahead and make your role. So I have advantage on Charismas. I know this isn't Charismas? On Charisma? Curismas? Curis. I do.

Let's see specifically... Some kind of advantage on all intelligence, wisdom, and charisma. Saves. Saves. Versus magic. Yeah. That's not really going to help with that, unfortunately. All right, so persuasion?

This is persuasion. A little persuasion. Oh, that's a good one, but it's a 29. Nine? He laughs. It's interesting, Zanroar. I walk into here and suddenly all the tiny people are talking for you. Trust, let's go.

I'm my head, taller. Talk to me. I can't got time for this shit anymore. Make time. Lay down. Those dragons are going to find you and me and everyone in this room, whether we fight them now or later.

The only stupid thing we can do is separate ourselves from each other. Yeah, keep twitching, Twitchy. I don't want to fight this dragon today either. But stupider than that is splitting this group of powerful motherfuckers apart. I'd rather walk away from here. I'd rather take everyone out of this city

and build our strength and come back and hobble this beast. But the stupidest thing you could do right now is separate yourself from the herd. You make yourself weaker. You don't have them to protect you while you're in the fields alone, while that dragon belches shit on you from above.

You're strong. strong. These fucking guys are strong. We need to be smart. Your strength is shit compared to that dragon. Shit. And your tiny people are gonna do better? Oye. Our tiny people are pretty fucking. We've already killed dragons. I'm getting pretty sick and tired of being caught. Listen, I don't want to... Kill dragons! I pull out my necklace with the tooth on it.

Paul's a porin looks it over. Buy that in any caravan. Passes through. Killed a white dragon, motherfucker. Spitted his feet. Oye. I addressed Zanro. Forget it. Guys, why are we trying to convince this asshole

to fight with us? Let's just let him leave. He's a coward. Zanroar, if he doesn't have your allegiance in this room, he will not have your allegiance on the battlefield. Let them go. Only big men talk big words that only fail on the battlefield. He has nothing to represent any of his claims. Let him go. The only difference

between you and us is that we want to actually kill this thing. You want to be a prick. Zanroar. It's not worth losing any of your men before we fight this dragon. Just let them go. You're already losing 18. Open the door. The door slowly opens behind. them. All right, Ivan, you want to leave? Go. Take your people. But you better go now.

Because when we're done cutting that dragon down, we're going to come after you. Deserters. Or, you can come to this fight with us. Yes, these dragon slaves. He who fell from the sky and cut the uncutable down, and gloriously bathe in the blood of that blood Beast, take back the spoils that we fed it.

You can do what you please. I have no interest in looting over you. Looks about the rest of you. Forgot your arms. Am I back for this? Aye. Aye. Tress kind of puts her hand to the side.

Ivan looks to her. We'll take our chances with the wild. Terns around and walks, exit the room. Yvonne starts swine out, I want to trip him. Just stick my foot out. Oh, my God. All right, okay. Where's a bit started over less?

Yeah. Go to make a strength trick. Oh, she's super strong. You have the gauntlet. Plus four to your roll is where it would be. Whoa. 12. Catches himself.

Sorry, I'm so small. You probably just didn't see me. They both exit out the door. Have fun melting an ass. They're gone. Door closes. Dick. Sorry about that. How many do you have left after they left? 18. Looking at about 25 strong.

They have more wounded, but they're not going to be of use in this battle. 25. How... 25 strong people. Yes, yes, yes. Does that include your wife? No, she's not. And she turns out, I will fight in this. You are not going to keep me from the glory.

He goes, she will fight with us. 25 strong we have. Injured, you are no good to us. Neither are the prisoners or hostages that were kept by this herd. You said you've made preparations. What sort of preparations you have in mind? Well, the creature sleeps at the top of Gatchara. We've quite an ally in this city that seems to know a secret byway to get to this side of that cavern.

I figure that way we can go ahead and take the fight to it, where it sleeps, when it's not ready. Can't fly if it's stuck in a cave. Very true. Have you seen this cave? Only from afar. We have some scouts than making the way up there right now. I report back with Helm, the size of the cave. You should know soon. If I'm not mistaken, I recall hearing that no scouts that have been sent thus far have returned. Is that correct?

That is correct. And you have faith that these that you sent will? It's better than not. Do you have any interest in a tactical ambush? I'm all he is. What have you got? When's it due for its next pickup? Tomorrow morning, just after dawn. Wait 24 hours. Pike and I can take time in Scanlan to heal some of your wounded.

Gain a couple more to the fight. We set a trap in the morning. Conant's trap? Something that explodes it. Something big. Something that traps it. Something heavy. Something, even in theory, that we could convince it to take back to a slayer. If we still want to go with that, we could load the next parcel with something. Or someone. Would three days be better than one person?

A month would be better than a week. We don't have that. One thing, dragons. Three days would always be better than one. Dragons and Kabdak shared one common trait. Arrogance. In your previous dealings with this dragon, does it ever speak down to you? Oh. It's the only way he knows how to speak. A cold-minded beast.

Aye. Can't wait to sever its head from its neck. Perhaps if we tame your lust for blood for a day, we can control all the variables that we have by setting this trap. If we go to that cave, I, we will find war sooner, but we know less. And the reason you're the Thunderlord now is there is a better brain in that skull than there ever was in your father's. Let's use that to our advantage. Make a persuasion check. You want to Ed?

Yeah. I mean, don't eat. Um, 19. 19. Takes a moment. Pretty high. We'll take your day. Set what you need.

We'll go ahead and call the troops off the day. He'll are wounded. Let's make this such a majestic death for this terrible creature. Zanroar. I think Percy just had an idea. But Vexalia knows a lot about dragons. She might be good to educate the troops. Also, as Grog mentioned, we have people who

could be very valuable allies that your people have imprisoned. It would behoove you to release them so that they can join our side. Conversely, any other type of magical enhancements that you can use to arm up against acid? Acid. For any and all of your troops, it's definitely suggested.

Talk to our speakers. They should be able to amount up what we can. Acid, you say? Yes. Okay. We'll do that. You're what he's the prisoners? I wouldn't like one of you to at least go with him, but hey, we can do that.

All right. Let's begin our planning. For tomorrow, we kill its dragon. We totally planned at dawn. Episode title. On that note, we're going to end the next episode. Welcome to Mick Unplugged, the number one podcast for self-improvement and moderate. leadership. I'm Mick Hunt, your host, and I'm here to challenge your why and fuel your

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