Critical Role - Branching Paths | Critical Role Campaign 4, Episode 5 Part 1

Episode Date: November 13, 2025

Part 1 Decisions are made about how to keep Occtis safe from his family while the Soldiers embark on a hunt for friend and foe alike... New Episodes Release Weekly on Thursdays.Learn more about Campaign 4 at https://critrole.com/campaign4/   GET MORE CAMPAIGN 4 WITH BEACONWe're excited to bring you even MORE Campaign 4 with a Beacon membership! Get access to exclusive shows like our behind-the-scenes Critical Role Cooldown and ask the Campaign 4 cast your burning questions directly through our LIVE monthly Fireside Chats.You'll also receive NEW Beacon exclusive series, instant ad-free access to VODs & podcasts, live event pre-sales, merch discounts, & a private Discord.Start your 7-day free trial today at https://beacon.tv/join and get unparalleled access to everything Critical Role! OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN 4 CASTGAME MASTER Brennan Lee MulliganLaura Bailey as ThimbleLuis Carazo as Azune NayarRobbie Daymond as Kattigan ValeAabria Iyengar as Thaisha LloyTaliesin Jaffe as Bolaire LathaliaAshley Johnson as VaelusMatthew Mercer as Sir Julien DavinosWhitney Moore as TyrannyLiam O’Brien as Halandil "Hal" FangMarisha Ray as Murray Mag’NessonSam Riegel as Wicander "Wick" HalovarAlexander Ward as Occtis TachonisTravis Willingham as Teor Pridesire CREDITSProduced by Maxwell James, Steve Failows, & Kyle ShireSet Designed by Shaun EllisProduction Designer: Noxweiler BerfCharacter Art by Loren HontanillaEdited by Taylor Burke and Emily "Stevie" StevensonCritical Role Announcement Playhouse Editor: Vinny CelestiOpening Title Editor: Paul FoyderOpening Title Colorist: Peter KoocheradisWindow Effects by Christian BrownGraphic Design by Aaron Monroy & Jordyn TorrenceCountdown Graphic by Daniel Jiménez VillalbaMiniatures Painted by Payton Keo LacebalOpening Title Theme by Neal AcreeCampaign 4 Key art by Hannah FriederichsAdditional Art & Design by Hannah Friederichs Episode QC by Catherine Zimmerman & Paula FloresAssistant Editor: Gianna GencarellaPost Production Coordinators: M Swing & Bryn HubbardClosed Caption Editing by Margaret Dill, Nikki Kindelberger, Courtney Knewtson, Danielle Lackie, Eleanor Smith-Dufresne & Alice TsoiPost Production Supervisor: Tal Levitas Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Why, hello there. I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan, and welcome to Campaign 4 of Critical Role. Thank you for joining us on this journey as we explore Aramon, a world of fractured kingdoms, tumultuous rebellion, and sorcery that rises from the graveyard of the gods. You're listening to Part 1 of this adventure, with Part 2 arriving this upcoming Tuesday. Our episodes typically arrive on the Critical Role podcast, a week after our initial Thursday night streams on Beacon, YouTube, and Twitch. But if you'd rather listen to a full podcast episode of Campaign 4, right when it airs, without any ads, consider becoming a Beacon member.

You'll receive access to exclusive content, discounts at all our online Critical Role shops, pre-sales for live events, and so much more. Start your seven-day free trial today at Beacon.tv. Now, without further ado, let's begin this episode of Critical Role. Riding out from the gates of Dolmachyar Into the darkness, Teor Pride-Sire, Thimble, Categan Vale, Tyranny, and Wakander, Halivar. Begin a journey whose end at this point in time we cannot see. Fittingly, it is difficult for any of you to see past even the snouts of your horses, or in

Thimble's case, the dim light cast by the fluttering of your pixie wings, for rain falls from the sky overhead, close as you are to the storm rack here. Heading out into the darkness, the gates behind you. Time is of the essence. Somewhere out there, a man who put a knife in the back of your beloved friend is walking free, chasing down the deed to a strong home, a fort at some far edge of civilization, a treasure that he was willing to sell your friend's life for. And just ahead of him, you hope. is Tayor's brother, if they haven't gotten to him already.

Flying through the night, Thimble, what does it feel like to hold on to this purpose that you have set for yourself? It feels like Everything else is disappearing. And with that singular goal in front of me, I'm able to leave the grief behind. I'm able to believe in this purpose,

soul wholly. It feels like I'm, like I'm gonna make it right. I'm gonna make it right. Already, something deadly and burning within your heart is keeping you safe from something that in its own right might be even more terrifying. Teor, it's been a long time since you've seen your brother. As you ride out, does your mind drift to Kazimir,

the person who you're pursuing, or to your brother, whom your prey now themselves pursue? I think as I sit there in the rain, it begins to wash over me. Just how little I know about each of these men. My brother, I have not seen in years. The same is true for Kazimiv. And at one point, I would say that I knew them better than anyone. The idea that I have of my brother has evolved, grown,

and in some way committed himself to a cause so noble that even as I fear for his safety, I find jealousy almost swelling within me. The purpose that he found, the ability to shift fates that have affected all the people that I am traveling with. how little I knew about him, and for Casimir, what could have gotten to a man that shared a banner with us? What could have pulled him in this direction? What don't we know?

And as I sit in the light of Thimple's wings, I realize I know next to nothing. to nothing. Rain mats the fur on either side of the bridge of your snout, leaning into the darkness. Lost so much since the end of the war. And know so many people who seem to have faltered and fallen into losing even themselves. Weakander. At the last possible moment, riding up the ridge,

at this late hour, there's very few people on the road. But Dolmachiar is large enough that there's still a handful of stragglers, even in the wee hours of the morning. Some trundling a cart to get to some early farmer's market by dawn's first light, others that have been trudging through weary miles at the last moment you look. With the mountain peaks on either side,

this is the last place in the road that you will be able to see the lights of the Via Aurora in the city behind you. One more step of your horse, and that home will disappear. Do you gaze behind you at this place or not? Luckily, I'm sitting side-saddle so I can see I can see both ways right now.

And yes, I do glance back one last time. But it's cold, I'm wet, I'm distracted, I'm feeling things I haven't felt in a long time, if not ever, I'm feeling depressed, I think, unclear of what my goal is. But, buoyed by tyrannies yelling at me, I feel like answers lay ahead. And that even though my family might have

have misled me, the truth of the universe will present itself to me. And so I shift my gaze forward with hope and say a quick prayer as we cross the threshold. Regardless of what you've learned about the nature of your family's creed, There is always some comfort in ritual. Tyranny.

The same is posed to you. You venture forth now having advised boldness and decisive action. And now the reign of this world a world in which you were not born falls upon your brow. Do you look back at the city you now leave, or do your eyes stay fixed in the same direction as Wix? My eyes are on my tail that WIC is gripping,

so hard, and my ears are wet, and I do look back, realizing that every opportunity I have had to leave the house of the candestcent creed has been a really big party for me. I love to be out and I love to meet people and I love to see the goings on of the city around me. This time doesn't feel so good. And I'm realizing as I sort of like

shake some rain off of my little floppy ears that I am maybe a little bit more domesticated than I once thought I was. Doing the right thing, that's supposed to come with immediate rewards, right? Otherwise, what makes it the right thing? Certainly your material conditions having immediately deteriorated past the point of familiarity.

That can't be what good deeds are rewarded with. If that were the case, then people would be behaving selfishly all the time. Your ears slick to the side of your head, so soaked with rain, drooping down, matching the verticality of your horns, like a giant middle finger forward to the sky overhead. Kattegan, you're returning to Timony. What's on your mind is you make your way back to where you have so long dwelled? What's in my mind? Not a lot.

Yeah, Cadigan's in his body. He doesn't have much except for sensations. And he's watching his friend at the front of the back, leading everyone, and he's hung back. He's chewing on a little bit of root in his mouth. And the rain is back. is bringing him back to his senses from the drink in the city, and he's starting to come alive,

and his heart rate's starting to race, and he knows this feeling, and it's a feeling of a hunt. And he's starting to feel good and excited. And excited is rare and strange for him. And as he rides a little bit harder off to the left, a little rush in the bush, and a quail sort of comes out of the bush, and Wolf Frick just jumps out of the bush,

snatches it, runs along the bush, alongside him, he shakes it, and almost like a little smile, the way a dog can smile only after it's killed something. Back off in the brush. And for a moment, he's really excited because this is where he wants to be and he didn't know. And as he looks up front, everything feels dour, but he feels excited.

And he notices between the two of them that both of their water skins are empty, and he chuckles to himself. And he kicks his horse a little faster by them. And as he rides by, he pops off the top of both their water skins so the rain can lead in while it's running. And then just takes off. I think we're in good hands.

Cadigan. This is the very beginning of our soldiers table. And this is where big decisions and big roles happen. I'm going to need a survival check. An individual can volunteer to make it, but I would ask if we do a group check that everybody only roll if they have proficiency in survival. Okay.

Group check. I have a plus one. Proficiency? No. Not as good as it could. You are proficient. I do and I have a plus four. I do it.

I would leave it to him. You probably have a plus. I have a plus five and I'm proficient. Rollies between you two to figure out who's going to do. Or we just both roll. We both roll. He's done this. You guys can both roll.

So we'll roll a group check, which with a small group of only two. Reminder that Wolfrick is going to give you the help action here, which he is able to do. And you are going to roll as a group, which means that we take the higher of the two. Oh, great. Okay. But I will tell you, you are riding in the rain at the gate of a man

massive city. Tracks intermingle, wagon wheels, cut gouts into the road itself. Finding these tracks will be next to impossible in the night in the rain. The difficulty for finding all sets of tracks is going to be the highest difficulty that the game says, which is a 30. Finding one of them is going to be a 25, and finding some clue that lets you at least rule out some bad options will be a difficulty of 20. 30, 25, 20. We have guidance. Even if I did, I don't think I'm paying much attention.

We're gonna go ahead and roll because. We gotta roll like a 20. You gotta roll a grit in order to make this heaven. Why don't we just do it? Here we go. Don't have to. You get to. Oh, no. Oh, okay.

I'm not. And you're rolling with advantage, Kagan. Oh, that's right. Oh, you've got advantage. Okay, great. That was okay. That is good. With the plus four, it's 19.

19. Oh, I rolled. So bad. One away. Riding off into the rain cat again. Water. Hoof prints, boot prints, looking out.

When the trail goes cold, a determined hunter has to move from what he can see to what he knows. You will have to think of what the choices Sid would have made were. And then you'll have to think if those choices would have been knowable by those who pursue him with deadly intent.

And we'll get into that. What's the night's episode of Critical Role. It's Sting! It's Stee's! It's Steve! I forgot I do have guidance. I have guidance. Hey, and welcome to the Critical Role Announcement Playhouse.

We're back. Awesome. You can now bring your Daggerhart custom characters to custom miniatures. Big thanks for our friends at HeroForge. You can now purchase special licensed dagger heart collections focused on our fungrel, simia, and Ribbid Ancestries directly from the HeroForge website. This collaboration helps our fans tell their stories with the in the magical world of Daggerheart, allowing them to better represent the characters

they poured so much time, thought, and love into. From whole armor and outfit set to entire new species like tamarin, orangutan, and monkey simia, to multiple options for fungural mushroom caps, bring these Anstrestrestries, Ancestrestries, to HeroForge. It would not have been possible without this wonderful new collaborator collection partnership.

So please visit HeroForge.com slash collections to learn more today in a big Thank you to our friends at Herr Forge for partnering with us to make this happen. Laura Bailey, you're up. Hello. I have merch to tell you about. You remember, if you were OG, do you remember our original very first t-shirt that we did? Well, in celebration of our 10th anniversary and the start of Campaign 4. We did a Campaign 4 roll call t-shirt, you guys.

Look, look, look, look, look, look. Yes, yes, yes. Look, look, look. It's our everything. It's our everything hurt! Thank you, Jordan Torrens, for your fabulous design. The blue is all the characters, plus Mulligan, just like it was Mercer before, and then we've got our animal companions.

So this is for the US and Canada, and then guess what, for the EU and for the UK, we have a great one. Yeah, classic. So anyway, there's that. We also have critical role 10 year anniversary posters, which I will now reveal to you and the cast. Oh, those are so sick. I got a little sneakie.

Wait. This is really exciting. Ooh. Lux Machina. Oh my God. Bell's Hells. Whoa. That's the Mighty Nine.

I mean Mighty Nine. Oh. Shut up, I know. And Bell's Hells. And if, okay, so the artist, Tom Yielsen, you're amazing. Each of these posters is 13 by 18, printed on like a good solid card stock, here we go.

It's called McCoy Silk, look it up. And then if you collect all three, you guys, they go together and look it, look it. Wait, I think they're, no, yeah, they're right. Wow. Oh, wait, no, it's backwards. They're backwards. There we go.

The threads of fate line up. So cool. Oh, that's cool. Collect all three, frame them side by side for an epic tableau. You're welcome. Those are immediately getting framed. I know. I'm very excited.

You know, just for a second. This holiday season is upon us, and our holiday vinyl album, Criticroll Presents. Winter's Crest is here to ring in the holiday with you and your loved ones. If you haven't checked it out yet, featuring 11 festive tracks, this album is a journey of jubilee through all three Critic Role campaigns with our own takes on holiday classics, as well as all new tracks to ring in the holidays. This deluxe edition also comes signed by all of us with exclusive extras inside.

La la la la la la la la. It sounds better than this. Trust me. You can find it on the US Critical Rolls. It's fine on the US Critical Roll shop or Scanlan Shorthulk Music.com and listen to, Listen to this to warm up for our fourth annual Critmas can't miss sale starting the next Monday. Our biggest sale of the entire year, Laura, will run in all shops from November 10th through December 14th. And there you'll find dice, accessories, games, and apparel up to 60% off and time for the holidays.

Get all the Christmas deets at critrole.com slash critmus 2025. Ashley and Liam? Oh man, yeah, we got some news. If you're looking for some reading material this holiday season, our friends at Dark Horse Comics have you covered with their humble bundle of Critical Role comics. Collection includes all four volumes

of the prequel series Vox Machina Origins and the comic adaptation of The Mighty Nine. And the best part, in my humble opinion, is that every purchase supports the Critical Role Foundation.

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It's available until Saturday, November 15th at 11 a.m. Pacific, so be sure to grab yours at Humblebundle.com slash crit roll. Humbabumba. Humble bundle. Awesome. I think with that, back to you. I'm not I'm gonnae.

I'm gonna I'm gonna say I'm gonna say We return to the city of Dolmachyar, We return to the city of Dolmachar, where events have been compounding pretty, I'd say, fast and furious for these last several hours. It has been, I believe, just about two days since the execution of Theazi Fang, a noted war hero and beloved friend and family member and hated foe, of many of those gathered

here at this table, executed under the authority not of the Revolutionary Council of Dolmakyar and its proud heritage of being the birthplace of the war against the gods. No, the Ozzy Fang was executed by the authority of the Chamber of Lords' advisory, those members of the sundered houses, including the house Halevar, of which one Wicander Halevars just fled after arriving at Hal's doorstep, and a young Octus Tuchonis, eighth of the proud line of Taconas, one of the many

sundered houses who this reach seems to extend across the landscape. I'm having a good time. We're telling it's a magical story. It's literally what it is. Our last episode began

with a surprising moment where Octus, aware that his family was searching for him, perhaps for reasons unbeknownst to him, perhaps because he had sort of betrayed them, in a sense revealed conspiracy to save the Azei Fang, was brought under the protection of one Julian Devinos under orders from his father, General Raymond Devinos, right hand, to the great sundered house of Royce, the lady Aroness of Royce being herself, the ex-wife of the late The Azi Fingons. fang. Julian, taking Octus there, was also in the company of one valis of the mornvale, an elven warrior in search of an artifact stolen by this theazi fang. Boy, this guy seems to have

gotten around. This guy's a real jerk. This guy's a real jerk. Seems to have gotten his hands on the stone of Night Song, an ancient artifact and relic of the deceased goddess of life. If you're a goddess, you yourself some eight centuries old, having seen her in the flesh, one of the only people here that's ever seen a god. Or I should say one of two people at this table who's seen a god. For indeed in our last episode we discovered

that Boleir is not a man but a mask crafted. Thank you. Are we still talking about the game? Indeed, in the bowels of the Arcanade, Bollaire, his business erred out, his dirty laundry left out to dry in a letter left to one Murray Magnessen of the Penteverell. But what could have seen you to sort of come to each other as foes instead found the burgeoning of a friendship,

as indeed Azunee Nayar, the Brethren Hall, Murray Magnuson of the Penteveral, Boler of the Arcanot, and now Hallandil Fang of the newly named Hallowed Round all find themselves tied to a city that descends into darkness and despair. Revealing secrets forged fast friendship, and I'll tell you what forged that friendship even faster

was when the four of you went searching knowing that the lights had gone out at the Divinos Palazzo, where you knew Octus to be that Tisha had gone in pursuit. Arriving there, you found melted wax. Azne is speaking a word in an ancient language. Remember. The candle reconstituted and Hal heard the footsteps of a spectral fox. None other than pincush, and Octus's fox familiar.

You pursued it all the way to the loy estate. The home of Tisha's family since departed for the capital city of Dorongya. There with Octus's body, Sir Julian, the Lady Aranesa, the groundskeeper Rohor, and Phelis, all beholding. Our young gem-toothed Rapscallian wizard and the man who is in fact a mask crafted by halflings to perform a play so potent in its performative capability

that it could lay low a god, worked an act of magic as the stars aligned, and on a portent roll of a Nat 20, the Stone of Night Song was removed. And for the first time ever, to your knowledge, by mortal hands, was a death reversed, almost. And it is in that almost that we return to Octus Taconas.

Visions, General Raymond Devinos, dead. Necromantic force unleashed, shades, the summoning of those spirits of un-life, bent only on the destruction of living things to once again grasp that which is corroded by their very touch. Octus, Aranesa is speaking. Tisha is bleeding from a wound on her chest,

a glass rapier in Bollaire's hand, partially behind Lady Aranesa's, Julian, Aranesa's speaking, whatever has occurred here as something unknown to the enemies of the House of Royce, unknown to the enemies of all those who still believe in a free world, or as the Ozzy would have said, that can still hear the Falcons cry. You hear the voice, but it's blurry to you. you feel the weight of your own flesh. Your living body, when it rested, sought comfort and ease, but now you feel, not that you have lost your sense of touch, but that it has actually gone internal.

You feel as tendons move in your body. You feel bones twist against muscle, ligament, and sinew. The awareness of your body as a thing, which is all it is now. Someone's speaking to you. You realize you cannot become unaware of your breath, lest it stop. Now for you, breathing is either conscious or absent. Blood isn't flowing. Any part of you that you cannot command is so still that on some level it frightens you.

Like some part of you knows it is rotting. In this moment, a number of medical facts become obvious to you. You no longer require food or water. You do not feel tiredness in the same sense as you once did, but you also no longer feel energy, drive passion of that sort. Your body does not become restless, nor can it ever be restful. You are aware,

that you will not age, and it is very likely that the functions of your body, to drink wine with a friend, to perhaps one day, carry on the Taconas line, if that was ever something that you dreamed of, family, family, old age, to lie on a deathbed and look up at those around you that gave reverence or admiration to the life you led? Every indication is that that has passed from the realm of possibility. And yet people are still talking to you. Can you hear me? Are you okay? I think.

I'm, um, here. This is, um, strange. Um, sorry. Are you, are you okay? No, you died. So I'm still going through that. Also, back off of your sword, and I was slowly impaling myself on to interpose myself between the two of you. I, um, sorry, I, why are you, why, seeing the sword slide out of you again?

I, um, I, um. I die? Oh, you were like dead, dead. Your guts was all over the place. I mean, look at how much blood is over here. Okay, okay, there's like a body trail. Okay, okay, Marie. All right, sorry.

No. What did we miss? It's a little jumbled. But my, I'm so, Sorry. I, I, Julie and I, um, my, my, my family showed up. They killed everyone. As you're starting to admit that, I'm approaching Julian. If your hand is still outstretched with the sword in your hand, I'm very gently lowering it, and I whisper to you, give them a chance. You may not know it yet, but you are among friends.

I am. I am. I'll draw the blade back and just turn around and walk about 10 feet away and just fold my arms. The last sword vanishes. Turn to the... Yes. I haven't seen my family in years. I haven't seen them since I came to the Penteverell.

I, um, I don't know what they're doing, I don't know why. Um, I have no idea why they were here what they wanted. I don't know why they took, they took my heart. Do you know why they would have placed that stone inside of you? No. No, I don't. Who is holding the stone? Or is it still floating?

I think I had mage-hand and it kind of floating, I recall, so I think it's kind of, it's in my little basket weave of magical energy. Do I get any feeling from that to now the stone? Is there any sort of like? Give me any skill associated. and if you would like, you can also give me an insight. But if you give me insight, I'm going to also ask

for a wisdom saving throw. We're back. Do I want to do that? Do it, Goward. All right, I'm going to make an insight check and I'll make a wisdom saving throw. I have nothing in insight, let's go. Yeah.

All right. Amazing. The insight check. is a two, the wisdom saving throws is a 16. Great. You open your, you start to open yourself up to the stone, and then some part of you says, do not do this. I don't, I don't know why.

I probably shouldn't touch that. It feels like there's gotta be. Like this stone is your life essence, like your anchor now. Great. Sorry, this is a lot. This is a lot. Would Murray be educated enough to know

like what a philactory is? Look, the idea of like different talismans that creatures can put elements of their, give me Arcana and actually belay I'll ask for you to give Arcana as well in this moment because you're both observing this thing. And then, Veilis, I'll actually ask you for a religion check as well if you do your kind.

24. 24. 24. On a 24? No, 25. 25. 17 plus 8 is 25. Correct.

Thank you. Jesus. I don't know. 30. 20. On that 25 Arcana, give me some direction. What is the question that you are attempting to answer here? Or just the area of your interest.

Sure. Like knowing that there are liches or other ethical creatures who utilize flactories, is this similar to this? Is it like an una reverse of a flaktery? Yes, with the exception that this thing was not created for that intended purpose. I will say on a 25, this thing, the melted wax you saw in the Palazzo,

this was supposed to be burned or destroyed, you think. You think this artifact, this relic, was supposed to do something. And you think that on that 25, you hear distant rhythmic footsteps based on the remnant of that portent. There's a, and I think Vailas, on that dirty 20, you heard them as well and understand that rhythm to be anathema to you, particularly,

because those are the footfalls of creatures walking to the dark wood past the edge of death to become reincarnated. So in other words, it is the opposite of immortality. On this plane or coming from the stone like drums and Jamaji? You hear it

coming from the stone. It's a very drums and Jumanji kind of. You're like I think in this moment on that 25, on that dirty 20, a residual of the magic that happened here, which while you guys the mundane world is creeping back in,

Dangerous people are out to hurt and kill a lot of you. However, there is still a lingering feeling of the numinous. What Boulare and Murray just did is unbelievable. What, and it is itself only possible because of what Octus did that Tysha saw in the other realm, which was unbelievable, which only happened because Tisha interrupted whatever was supposed to happen. So a chain reaction of extreme intercessions into a very delicate arcane process has occurred here. So when you're thinking, is this a talismet? Is this where Octus's life force is?

No. It's not one to one because this thing was supposed to effectively be desecrated or destroyed. And instead, due to the actions of yourself, Belair, Tysha, Octus, a thing that was supposed to be sacrilegiously destructed to accomplish whatever the ends of Primus Taconas and the rest of Octus' family were, was prevented. Now, it has crew. You, in other words, look at Octus on that 25, which is a high, high bar to clear. You think what you have here is you would not have been able to construct the ritual capable of arriving, not with years of planning and resources. because you have a construction ritual to arrive here. Instead, what happened is you guys hijacked a machine

that a sorcerer's family has had in the works for years at the last possible second, and instead of driving it through the wall of whatever horrific purpose that Taconas had in mind, like safely landed a tank on a rooftop. You took something that should not have done this, but at the last possible minute, perfectly aligned to bring Octus back.

What you also, I think, recognize is Octus is not, this, even with an incredible Nat 20, resurrection defies the ability of any mortals living within Aramon. But creating an undead creature that is possessed of its own heart and mind has never been done before. And that's closer than anyone's ever gotten to a true resurrection in a long, long time.

So all of which is to say, you can rule out the, it's, his, talism, but you do think that there is a troubled, you think that Octus and this stone are interwoven, magically, permanently. You don't know that that means he should have it. You don't know that that means that it's good for him. And on that 20 religion valis, I'll just bring to you this other element here, which is, you know that the stone of Night Song is a relic of an effectively like Celestial Requiem of the goddess of life. She didn't wish for any of her children to die,

but even she could not prevent them from dying in injury or accident. So the Stone of Night Song was crafted as basically a relic to celestials that did have to guide the tragic elves that died through the shadow fell to the final halls of the goddess of life. Within that, on that, you just recognize that whatever these archinists have just done has prevented the destruction of a relic of your order, and you can also see that it is

tied purposefully, intimately, to the existence and continued animation of Young Octus. I'm gonna go up to the stone, and I am going to try to grab it with part of my, the fabric of my skirt. Mm-hmm. I think we should have a conversation. What are you doing?

What are you doing? This is what I came here for. Yeah. Well, the situation is to change. I understand this. I am not trying to take it away. Okay. But what I would like is for this to stay in my possession.

Well, this is going to be a conversation, then, isn't it? Let's have a conversation. I'll say something. What we have here, I don't know the word for, because the only word I can think of is miracle, but we don't have those, do we? We do now. I definitely don't want to be one.

Does anyone else are drumming? What? I hear drumming. What? It's like... Hey, no one hearing drums touches the stone. It's like a warm. Howl steps Tysha a few feet away from the group

and his hands. is resting on your hip, and in a voice that's very familiar from years of worry late at night years ago, a soothing voice. Let's be careful here. This danger is in our home. Yeah. In your home. We'll get it sorted.

Please be careful. And on that word careful, just a little reassurance passes into you as I cast a healing word. came to the wound that you gave yourself. Seeing people kind of move around and get pulled the side, my eyes haven't left Sir Julian who has stepped away, and I approach him. A couple of hand goes up and tells you to stop before you get too close.

I stop. And without closing in, I do move around. around so that you can see my face. I know you don't trust anybody here. I would like a moment of your time so that I can earn your trust, if I may. So be it. Come outside with me.

I think it's important that we make sure we weren't followed. He looks back towards Octus. Does he look like he's going to be here for a minute? I don't even know if Octus has stood up from the ground. I'm still sitting. Then a moment. I'll start to make my way away from the group,

and I'll wait to make sure that he's with me. He's with me. As the group is doing what they're doing, I'm looking right at you. That was very bold what you did just now. And I'm impressed. I saw you staring daggers at everybody. And I saw you speak to a very strong

feeling immediately, and I'm jealous, honestly, of that capacity to find such words for what you were feeling. Who are you? You don't recognize me at all. That's interesting. Should I? You should. You should. Or we met a long, long time ago. Then I'll speak to that in a moment, but first I need to know if you have a death wish, because as bold as what you did was, it was also incredibly foolish.

You had a number of them already turning on you, and all they needed to do was act, and you would have been done. So are you just reckless, or do you have a death wish? I haven't decided yet. I don't know if you're gonna have much time to decide, because the walls are closing in on us. And I know you don't trust anybody here,

but there's not time to earn it. Right now, trust has to be a choice, and the earning of it will follow. And to answer your question in a bid to perhaps begin to earn your trust, I have seen you. The first time I met you, I will never forget, because I was at the Ozzie's side

at the very end of the Falconer's Rebellion, and I remember everything very clearly as to how that all went down. And you don't remember me because your attention was never on me. And I wasn't the only one there. And I'm not coming here in this moment to do anything and extend a hand.

The past has a very interesting way of coming back to the present. It never goes away. But I'm learning that we should It didn't always be held prisoner by it. So I want to offer you something. An exchange of what I offer, I want you to give the people in there a chance.

Because we're all twisted in this fucked up thing together. And we're gonna need each other. My offer. When the past comes to find you, You have my word, that I will speak the story that you choose to tell. I'll speak the story that you choose to tell. That's not right. Congratulations after all these years to see my family brought well.

I hope it's everything that you... That's not right. No. You misunderstand me. I turn and walk back into the room. I follow. Asunay, I'd like you to give me a perception check if you'd be so kind.

Okay. Mm-hmm. That was. Uh, 13. Uh, 13. to Sir Julian back into the Loy Estate. You set it offhand because you had business with Sir Julian, but you look down a dark

and deserted street. I don't know if you can rule out that you were followed. Morning's around the corner. It's very late. As you reenter, As you re-enter, I will say as the final piece of this puzzle in that 25 Arcana-Chek-Murie, the last thing I'll say is you're far too educated to not understand that coincidence actually is real and does happen. But when it happens, it's still always interesting.

interesting. This isn't the first relic you've seen in the last day or two concerned with the relationship of the celestial and death. It's been a crazy 12 hours. The connection between the stone of Night Song, this thing which is unperturbed, that even holding it in your mage hand,

you still get an arcane sense of its heft, and you can just tell that if that were to sit in the palm of your hand, it would do some ancient dwarven thing in your heart that would just be a good stone. That's a good stone, the feeling of a good... I love a good rock. I love a good rock.

You can see that it's smooth, something that has been handled by centuries of elven clerics. In stark contrast to the reordered plates adorning the coffin, the box that you and Belair had studied, Olbalad, the Sister of Mist, who was herself a celestial related to Rowan, the trickster. That's something that these are

two artifacts would come into your periphery, two relics of the gods, so close in order to each other. What was Takonis up to and what was theazi up to? You don't have answers to these questions, but out of thin air you've grasped a second thread. Well, I want to start talking about practical next steps. Right. What are we going to do? Your family. You don't know why, you don't know what.

Are they going to come looking for you? I think under the umbrella that I have no fucking idea. I think they think I'm dead. So no. But if they figure out I'm not, Figure out I'm not. Yes. I wouldn't be so sure about that.

Besides, like you said, even if they assume that you're dead now, I don't foresee that assumption lasting until the sun rises. They've got little eyes and ears all over the city. Yeah. No, I mean, yeah, of course. You see the lady Erinessa speaks up.

How did you find us here in Tisha's home? Oh, good follow-up. It was crazy. Well, we went to your house, your big old mansion, sorry, sorry. As Julian has re-entered the chamber, immediately in just like... Sorry for your loss. And then we like, we saw like the ritual that was happening was clearly. And then we kind of like reverse engineered it, right?

You know, and then Hal managed to find this candle. Or no. Was it hell or was it Bel Air? It doesn't matter. Look. And then we heard little, little pitter-pattering of a little tiny footsteps. You seem so elated. Were you not at all left uncharmed

by the dead bodies everywhere? Oh no, that was crazy. It was clean. Sorry, yeah. It was clean. It was clean. Yeah, what he said. Although there was a sense of something really terrible in the air.

I will give you that for sure. But spotless. So the Toconis, all right. I already know that you're not there, Octus. Good, great. Okay, that at least points in a direction. So it was clean. What do you mean? There was no evidence of anything there, no blood, no bodies, nothing, except for the candle.

They work fast. There hasn't been enough time. That was where you went after it was clean. It was clean after you guys went to go. Yeah. We saw all the lights to went out. It was dark, which is obviously pretty unusual. All right.

So they know I'm not on the table anymore. Because they didn't have to clean out my body, which is such an odd thing to say. Well, maybe we should be bringing you underground. And we can make a cover story for that. Bodies disappear all the time. Boy. He has a name.

Sorry, what? He responded. Where are you off to? Um, I don't, I don't know why. We have to go. You can't stay here. I think you should come with me. I hate that the most.

What is happening? Oh, yes, okay, yes. I need to leave. I need to leave the city, I assume. August. What did you see? In regards to Wussie. When you first came to immediately after the stone was removed from you,

there was a babble of, of, Am I incorrect? No, you were muttering under your breath. I heard Barrow. Yeah. Do you need to go somewhere. You remember in this moment, yeah, you saw Taconas flags and banners waving under a black sky.

You saw a, you saw a, you saw a, you saw a lone orkish warrior standing somewhere and with the sign of the Barrow Guard. That's right. As I was waking up, I saw some things, some flashes of things, but I did, I very clearly saw an orc. Seems like some sort of warrior carrying a banner of the Barrow.

I don't know what that means. She's no longer looking at you. She is staring at how. The bureau guard, you say? Yeah. I mean, I know of them, but I don't recognize the person. I train many of their up and coming. Soldiers to whip them into shape. Okay. Okay.

Is this where you intend to go? I mean, that's the only lead I have, but if anyone else has an idea. Let me tell you this. Because maybe you saw my son. Your son. Oh. We don't know that. We don't know that.

War drums. War drums. What do you think, are you, Julian? Octus. Just so we're aware and very clear. Wherever you go now, I go. You have two shadows for now. Because wherever you walk, one day your family will return.

And I'll be waiting. We don't have to be friends. But I'm still. but I'm stuck to you now, boy. God, that does not sound good. Okay, yeah, great. I understand. Do you remember anything about the environment?

Because I don't think wherever you went, I don't think you were on this plane of existence. I would agree with that. I don't think I was. I thought this. You were very dead. Give me, you can give me, as you try to recall, what you saw. You can give me Arcana or you can give me

investigation. Can I get it? I guess. I'm just going to put my hand on you and realize how alive do you feel? I haven't. Are you allowed to ask? I have no pulse and I'm cold. Scale of 1 to 10. What is happening?

How alive do you? That would be a 14. 14. You begin to go back, trying to think of what you might have seen anywhere in the visions. Unfortunately, on a 14, you can't get a specific location, but what you are describing are sandstone, tall, not marble columns and not the granite of Dwarven make. This is something, if you had to guess, it's

It seems like pillars or plinths that look, for lack of a better word, like the type of stone that you would find east of the Dvalmar Pass. I don't, I don't, it's very, it's very fragmented. It's, but it looks like the kind of natural architecture that is east of here. Okay, that's Elvin. Those are the ancestral lands of the Taconas.

That's the ancient, the fallen Obridemian Empire to the east of the Codrosi Mountains. It's towards our old hole. Okay. It's also the direction that you guys just came from, back towards Venadus and the Eternal Night. Was I able to grab the stone, or is it still a thing? I think in the distraction here,

I have been keeping up. Damn, I was trying to get better. You can try if you like, but I will definitely counter with the command. I will try. I will grab it. I'm going to command. As you, go ahead, give me a wisdom saving throw. Fylus. Find it.

Can't get the phone out of the player. Oh, no, that's bad. That's 12. That's 12. This is your wisdom save? That's my wisdom save. Yeah. If you have a, not that I'm going to do it here, but do you have a...

Wait a minute. I have advantage to avoid or end the charmed condition. This is not a charm condition. No, you said command. Sorry. So I see it. I was going to, do you have an opinion on only sticking to the approved list of commands? Not that it's going to matter right now.

I will allow different one word commands, but they are subject to the vocabulary of the target. Very, very, very. Chrome. Chrome. Cromp at once! There was a word, if you don't mind. Here, and I'm gonna walk over and just take you aside. What?

What? It is my selfishness that allowed you into this city. And if it is your selfishness that harms this boy, I can do things to you. I am not going to harm him. I am going to keep him alive. He died under her care. So if he's gonna make it anywhere,

it's gonna be because of me. Do you understand? If you try and take that stone, if you abandon him. If I try to take that stone. Silence, I cast silence. I cast, not silence, I cast command. I am. Command sign.

Yeah. And that's the command spell. That's the command spell again. Command spell again. Give me another wisdom of silence. Okay. Yeah. Come on, come on, come on.

Oh, okay, Dirty 20. That is a success. I have ways of making your life very difficult, and I swear, I need you to swear that you will not abandon that one. I'm trying to trust you. You can trust me. Look at me with that fucking creepy mask.

mask. I swear to you, I will not abandon this boy. If you do, I'll find you. Good luck and keep him safe. What is, what, what, what do you care? I feel like this is going to wheel. You see, as you ask that question of Bollaire, you see, as you ask that question of Boulare, you see this that Aranesa looks to Octus. You saw in your vision as you crossed over from death, a warrior of the Barrow Guard. House de Vinos under the auspice of House Royce has taken a vanguard in the training

of the Barrow Guard and their protection of the realm. Right. Octus, our families were on opposite sides of the Shaper's Whore and the same side of my beloved Theasi's rebellion. I don't know who in my family is left alive. Our caravans were stopped at the DeValmar Pass, I do not know the state of the Golden Orchard.

I do not know we have been dwindling ever since the gates of Ferry were closed. I know. And it seems that your family decided that we had been nothing more than a name for a little too long. I'm so sorry. You do not need to apologize.

My grandfather, would not commit himself to the cause of the Falcons Rebellion. I have wondered what might have happened if I had been in his stead. Would I have acquiesced to the demands? I know that we stayed strong, preserved the dignity and station of our house, and it bought us this. I need to travel east because it is the only direction that has perhaps anything left

for me other than looking at the shadows behind me for the rest of a short life. You are the only thing that has the only thing that has happened in the last ten days. years that I am aware of that did not go according to the plans of your family. And so, with all of the elegance, grace, and dignity that my station affords me, may I cling to you in desperate hope that something good might happen. Of course, I owe you so much, and I... Yes, I'll do my best to help you find what you're looking for. Thank you.

I hope we find what we're looking for, and I hope that we find something to look for. And you see that she takes your hands in her hands and looks over at Julian and looks back at you. We've been calling ourselves to something. hundred houses for a long time. Since I can remember. I don't want to be broken anymore.

And she squeezes your hands, looks to Julian and says, I can say with certainty that we are being hunted right now, my dear Sir Julian. And I can say as well that Octus though you seem to have defied death itself, I doubt that you could defy capture or imprisonment. I agree.

Then, I see if she looks over to you, Valis. My lady. By some ancient bond of ancestry, my family blessed by the Faye and you of the Elven Folk, I offer you my trust given in desperate times, perhaps much lessened in its worth. but if you have made the oath to tend to Octus, I saw you withstanding the onslaught of many shades for a time in which any other mortal would have been struck low, and it would have been effortless for you to take the stone

and depart, I think you would have attempted to do so already if that were in your heart. So, and on a level, perhaps, that is crass to bring up, I think if we don't bring you, we're gonna die. And just to lay everything out in very black and white terms here. The current plan sounds like you are going to exactly. where the creepy stone told you in your vision to go. You're going to creepy stone wardrums.

Yes, yes, that's where we're going. Creepleand, yes. All right, great. No, I like this plan. And you're all going. So Julian, Octus, as you, Veilis is your name. I will go where you, yes. And I will go where you go. Tisha, you're going.

I mean, you have a whole thing here. I know family and stuff. I'm not asking you to do anything. I don't know what, I don't know what's going on. Yeah. A lot of people around you right now are treating you the way I've seen a lot of animals treat bait. What, Neil.

I will go if you want me to go with you. Al, what are you gonna? I mean, look, I, you're always looking out for me, and I appreciate it, and I, but you didn't, you didn't ask for any of this. And you have a family and you have, a guy you obviously love. It's like so clear and so like,

I don't know, I know. You have to make that, you, I'm not asking you to do anything. You have to make this decision. Yeah. I know. And also like, I am now like everything you don't want. You are. I'm like 100% dead now.

Maybe you're just mostly dead. Yeah. We've dealt with undead. We dealt with them in Venadus. This, you are not that. And you're still you. I have to remember to breathe. Okay. So do I.

You're family too. Because your blood family are the worst fucking people I have ever met. Oh, hey, look, I got a new dad. It's bad here. I'm with you. Okay. Is that okay?

For me, yeah. Are that good with you? It's good with me. And once again, I don't mean to like nitpick this whole plane. God damn it, Murray. What? What? I'm just wondering, all right.

All right, so we're going to go to where the creepiest stone. Are you coming to? What the hell? No, I got your fucking family to deal with back here. Here's a thing. They're, I think, I'm sorry. You're gonna throw a titty at him? What's your plan?

Honestly. Honestly? Honestly. I actually have a plan. Knock a motherfucker out. I have a plan. If I can take a moment and share based on what you just said, Lady Aranesa, and I'm assuming you're going with them as well, you're leaving or are you staying?

They will hunt me down. Here. Do you have hiking boots? Sorry. Whether you are going with them or not, you are leaving as well, and now we have all the witnesses to what happened are leaving. What do witnesses matter? Something has changed in the city. It's about power. It's not about truth. Exactly. So here, hear me out. Lady Aranesa, you said something earlier about the Shaper's War, and you recognize it. Some of the houses were fighting alongside the gods, and some of the rebel houses were fighting against them. And here, in Domakir, we have this mix of these houses. Halavar, Taconas fought for the gods, and Royce and Cormoray and Einfassen.

They fought against them. That was only 70 years ago. They're all acting independently, but they're all making moves at the same time. Cormoray is sinking their claws into the museum. Einfosson is taking over the Revolutionary Guard and the Arcane Marshals, and Taconas has come after the Pentevral. Yeah. They're not working together yet.

They're working in parallel, and 70 years ago is not that long ago. They still have each other's blood on their hands. The only way that we'll survive here in Domachiaire is if we find a way to create a wedge between them and have them turn on each other. There's evidence right now of one of the priestly houses, eliminating a rebel house.

All we need is to plant the seed of suspicion so that I'm Fossin and Cormoray think that they're next. So what you're suggesting is that some of you stay and be that wedge. I think you have a way to plant the seed that those of us that stay behind might then water. Okay, whatever, okay. I do you ever whispered campaign.

I do like this. You've never whispered a big. This is very clever. It's true. So what do you need me to do? Anything that you can do to implicate your family and suggest that now that House Royce is gone, that Einfossen and Quirmeray are meant to be next.

Interesting. Octus, do you have any personal item that we could keep for the moment on you? Something simple. Sure. Are you still on the ground, by the way? Yeah. You perfectly stand out.

I'm actually going to walk over and offer a hand yet. Thank you. I, it feels different now, I can't feel my legs. It's, yeah, I can give you something. Part of your fox, maybe. Something that will keep better, I think. Once he's not together, they will decompose. You have a signet ring.

I do. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Young man, it is a terrible thing to be singular, But it can eventually be beautiful, and one day I look forward to you returning and having a proper conversation of whatever it is you become. Everyone's using the creepiest shit to you. Yeah, I'm aware. I'm hearing it.

Erinessa turns to you, Azunay, and goes, I haven't seen you. You're right. but the reality is we can't know which cards the other houses are playing face up in which they are playing face down for me to walk to her on this einphasen and bring the story of what the Taconas have done I can only do if I were certain that he would be surprised by it Yeah, they might not are, you know. And all I can say is, I need to see who in my house yet lives.

I cannot imagine they must have struck knowing that we were coming here for Theazi's funeral. It has, look at how quick and violent it was. It was not glacial at all. It was not generations of planning. It was fast, and how long had Thiasi even had the Stone of Night's song? Thimble had mentioned that it was a short, short amount of time. So all of this reeks of a gambit.

It reeks of seeing opportunity and greed, compelling them to seize it while they could. This is not years of fruition and planning, but what that means is, blind spots. I need to find out who in my house yet lives. I cannot imagine that they have taken the golden orchard, even diminished as we are.

There is still strength to us. I need to travel east. And what we know is that this stone has a story. The Taconas know it, we don't. That's a problem. We know that there is something that Octus has seen to the east of here, which we must travel in that direction already.

We are accompanied by those that have insight, and we have one who, if you would do us the honor of traveling with us, my, and you see she holds out a hand to you and says, former sister-in-law? Yeah, let's just keep in. She says, if we travel with you, there are doors that only someone of your order can open,

and there are people who will see what Octus is now, that only your authority will persuade them not to destroy. Oh, God, I didn't even think of that. Yeah. I didn't want to say it because you're still processing this. There's going to be a lot. And you see that, she says, my goal is not to be gone from Dolmachyar for long, but by the time I return, I need to know who our friends are,

and more importantly, who our enemies are. I think that you are right. Greed destroys the world, but it also destroys itself. I hope that we can find these answers. Well, some of us can stay behind and keep an eye on things. Between the four of us, I think we know just about everyone in the city. It won't be safe here. You know that. You just got here too.

New Year, same old dance. Ozni, a little bit of gray light is creeping into the eastern horizon at the top of the mountains. Look, I know I just showed up in your life a day ago, and I blew the whole thing up, and I'm really sorry. And I'm sorry that she's coming with me, and I know that you don't want that.

And your family's so nice. And the kid, is that freezing? It's as cold as a corpse. Something's happening under the surface here in this city, outside of this city, and it's out of your control and out of mine. We'll make hay while the sun shining. All right, go. Go.

Okay. Keep an eye on her for me. All right. We'll have no real way to communicate. If things go, tits up. We'll just have to trust. Yeah. Indeed.

Thanks for coming to my funeral, everybody. You all right over there, Julian. I accompany my lady Aranesa. I accompany Octus and place my trust. Face my trust with those who also walk this path with us. So yes, I'm fine. I have a path to walk. As the eastern horizon grows gray,

Rohor, the caretaker, procures some steeds. And those of you bound for the East for mystery and shadows lengthening, make your way. Is there anything before you depart? Yeah. I would say, as we assemble our horses, I stop and turn to you.

I would just say, you never gave me a... Your name? A zoo name. A zoo name. And yours? We'll see when we return. Oh, we need pseudonyms. Oh, God.

And you see that, with that, Yeah. Oh, guys, what are you doing? I got you. I got you. I got you. I got you. I don't know each other.

I know we don't know each other that well, and I was very surprised to see you when I woke up and it didn't make any sense, but now I get it. I'm gonna take notes. Yeah, you still have a thesis, do at the end of the semester? No, I fucking don't. I'm dying. I don't have to do that in a real.

That's a great. Your professor gets an email, hey, I'm dead. Is it cool if I missed an intern. Resurrection is gone, but student loans are forever. I'm gonna keep very particular notes. I'm gonna bring everything back, because you're the only other wizard here, so we're gonna figure this out,

especially with whatever that stone is. I wanna know, because now it's hard. I think that's very smart. And no, I didn't interact with you much. I understand that I'm a rich kid who came into a school that you felt like was yours and I was invading your personal space and I understand that. Damn.

It still didn't feel good. Yeah, no, kind of nailed it though. But you are a talented kid. I hope you know that. Thanks. That's really weird to hear it coming from you, but I appreciate it. It's the only reason I didn't have your ass thrown out years ago. Well, great.

You may not have earned your spot when you came in. But you showed your worth, and you earned it over time. And I did respect that. Thanks. Many people, from your ilk, have issues looking at gift horse in the mouth, you were never like that. Well, I didn't really. Anyway, it doesn't matter.

Thank you. Don't die again. Yeah. Good night, all of you. How? Hell. Presses his thumb into Tisha's palm. If it is him, if it is our son,

and find him. and bring them home. Of course. Taisha holds your hand and doesn't let it go until her heart rate comes down to yours. You were always the calm one. Steady. There was a minute there.

If the plan had worked with Yazi, we would have been gone before. I could have even seen you. But there was a minute there. a minute there, I thought maybe I was gonna be able to stay, just a little longer. If I only get what we get, and we don't get upset. I'll stay with the girls.

Okay. I'll make sure our boys okay. I love you. Always. Oh, man, I died a virgin. It's the only note I've taken. It's the only that I've taken. That's terrible.

And on that note, I kiss my baby daddy. You hear me is taking a load off to the side of it. It's part of the wide shot as we pan out. But now, always hard. Shout out to Rigor Mortis. Oh, God. Death bale. No.

As so often happens, The cosmic and supernal hangs over the deeply absurd and foolish. And you see a stone possessed of the goddess of life hangs in the air before descending under Aranesa's nodding gaze into Valas's hand. I'm still here, okay? We're good. A mother and father vow to protect their children. The cosmic, the familial, the personal.

It's always all tied up together. And I will ask our seekers as you make your way towards the unknown to leave our table. And I'll ask, Take care, Seekers' Table, and I'll ask our schemers to stay for one second. We get into you nothing. No promises. They'll do fine. Ask them if you're fine.

Ask them if you're fine. Don't see you. Go on. No problem is it. I love you all. Just in time for you to leave. Possessed of this relic, our seeker's table makes their way away, and standing in the courtyard

as the sun begins to light to the eastern horizon, the four of you look at each other. Every single one of you has work in less than two hours. My circadian rhythm is going to be so thrown off. This is like the second sunrise I've seen. How are you so delicate? It's a little disturbing. I should just kind of do that thing

where I kind of prop up my boobs and my arms a little bit. They're all muscle. My delicate sensibilities. Everybody's places to be. Yes. I have to give a tour. That's going to go very well. I think I need a power nap.

You're gonna, and you're gonna be at the Pentebral today. I'm gonna have to, I feel like if anything. If I'm not there, it's gonna be even more alarming after everything that's happened, I think. But we need to meet again. We do. And again and again. I think you're exactly right, Asunei.

I think this has been a systematic and strategic dismantling. under the guise of safety for the common man. And they move fast. And when you move fast, sometimes you miss a few things. It's easier to excuse it if it feels like it's singular houses working on singular objectives, but even if these sundered houses hate each other

and have their grudges, those type of people. Power will always be an ally. They'll work together. Correct. They'll work together until they no longer need each other and then they will turn on each other. We just want to see if we can make that happen sooner. In the short term.

We all have our spheres of influence. Why don't we all put out birds? Yes. And we can find on our own. And then what about... The back room at our place. What if we start? I think that's an excellent idea.

We can't keep meeting at the museum. And I don't like it at my house anymore. No. I think we need like a third, nothing that's tied to any of our workplaces. We don't want to shit where we sleep. That room, no one knows about it. It's just a map.

What are you talking about? Whatever that place is, and that's the place. Well, we've been sipping wine and talking about art in the city for months. I didn't know that I was talking to an ancient godly mask. A bit of a surprise. There'll be more, inevitably. Could have told me.

I really couldn't. Would have kept your secret. A brother would have murdered me, literally. That's true. I also want to know why you love you. Valison. Yeah, I heard that. Things.

These ears, you see him? I made a very selfish decision. And that selfish decision was the chance that maybe she would take care of the Ozzy. Or at least get him into trouble enough that I could escape our little deal. Bullard? Mm-hmm.

I'm sorry that I feel compelled to say this, but did you have anything to do with his execution? No. And, et cetera. You can give me persuasion or deception, Buller. That's fine, it's a one. Yeah.

It's fine, it's a one. Yeah, that's fine. I wouldn't have let her in if I had. And honestly, I wasn't working that hard to be involved If he knew that I tried something, he would have taken care of me anyway. I had to be squeaky clean for a very long time. But in the end, that may actually work out to our advantage. We are building a theater, which means I need money, which means I can be bought. And when you can be bought, people who put their trust in there.

I think we need to build that theater beyond its corporeal station, if you know what I mean. Murray, as you talk about something being larger than its corporeal form, get a little pleasant resonance in one of your gem molars, thinking about what you saw as you were performing that act of magic. Like all of creation was on some kind of grid or plane. You could feel weight and heft. Could be the exhaustion. You've been up to sunrise two nights in a row. But there's just something about intersecting

vertices of space and time. These are getting a thought, something that you're going to have to spend time catching later in your own research. But the sun is rising. There's plenty to do. And the four of you, speaking of money, all gotta go and earn a living.

Yeah. You head out from this place as the sun begins to rise. And as it does, hell, you arrive back at your home. Shottie is still asleep upstairs somewhere. Blair, you arrive back at the museum just in time. You can see the carriage pulling up for the tour

you're about to give. Azune, the Brethren Hall, active. Some people can mutter about the lights being off in the Palazzo de Venus. Where did they all go? Marie Penteveral is a buzz, as the new dean, is going to give her inaugurial. inaugural speech today, how you look it on the windowsill.

There's a little nest on the second floor. You see a magpie looks down, hops to one side, it's a tiny little beak begins to poke out of an egg on your window sill. You know that she'd been there for some time, but you just get your mind the last couple weeks have been so busy. You see a tiny little beak,

start to chip away at an egg. Good morning, friend. The sun rises over a gray city. Tough, in trouble, defiant. doomed, hopeful, hurt. This little bird sees its home city for the first time. It has to believe that there is something here worth fighting for. Your story's just getting started.

The magpie flutters off to one side. as you look out at your city. And that's where we'll take our break. Magpie knows too much. Kill it. Kill it. What have you seen? When I first heard the word magpie, I thought it was food.

Ooh, I love a good magpie. Oh, yeah. Pumpkin pie, blueberry pie, magpie. It has to be very fresh mag. It has to be very fresh mag. What is it? What's the number of 32 blackbirds baked in a pie? Blackbirds baked on a pie? 4 and 20.

4 and 20. Wow. That's the connection to my name. Which was a really great diner. It was no longer existing. It was one of my favorite diners. And it went on business. Wow.

Some of the history. Thanks, Brandon. Hell yeah, gang. That was great. We'll take our break and then we'll jump in with the, we'll jump in with our soldiers. Back to the soul. Let's go. And that's where we'll leave our story for now.

Part two of this episode of Campaign 4 drops this Tuesday. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you soon for more Critical Role.