Critical Role - C2E79 Through the Trees

Episode Date: October 3, 2019

The Mighty Nein follow the trail of the Cult of the Angel of Irons in hope of beating them to their prize in the Lotusden...Watch Critical Role live Thursdays at 7pm PT on https://www.twitch.tv/criticalrole

Once upon a time, a group of curious storytellers breathed life into epic tales set in the wide fantasy world of Exandria. This is Liam O'Brien, here to welcome you to Critical Role. We'll dive into the story in just a moment, but first, a few notes. This is the audio-only version of our broadcast that streams Thursdays at 7pm Pacificm. Pacific over on twitch.tv slash criticalrole and youtube.com slash criticalrole. If you subscribe to our Twitch channel, you can watch the video on demand immediately after the broadcast.

And it's also available Mondays at 12 p.m. Pacific on YouTube. And of course, for all you wonderful podcast listeners, freshly minted episodes release right here on the Critical Role Podcast Network one week after our broadcast on Thursdays. With all that said, let's get into the story. Hello, everyone, and welcome to tonight's episode of Critical Role, where a bunch of us nerdy-ass voice actors sit around and play Dungeons & Dragons. Like that. So, before we jump into tonight's game,

we're going to go ahead and have some announcements, beginning with our fantastic two sponsors tonight. Up first, a new sponsor. You may have seen them talk about their upcoming game on social media, but it is Big Band Entertainment and Paranoia. Paranoia. That's what we wanted to think.

And do we have any? Oh. Is that you? Yeah, that's me. Oh. Shh, quiet, man. There could be recording devices in here, all right? I've got super secret info,

but the government might be watching, so I'm going to use protection. Okay, keep this between us, but our sponsor tonight is a new video game from Big Ben Interactive called Paranoia Happiness is Mandatory, inspired by classic CRPG games and the original cult RPG. In the game, you create and lead a team of four troubleshooters who take commands from an all-knowing paranoid AI called a friend computer in a retro-futuristic world filled with deadly tech.

Now I've been awake for 44 straight hours playing it, studying it, hunting for hidden messages and secret subtext. Maybe it's a lack of sleep or the medically dangerous amounts of Rockstar energy drink I've consumed, but I was able to verify dozens of conspiracy theories in this interactive, addictive game. Here's a list of few. Would you be surprised to learn that Marilyn Monroe

is not only alive, but she's a vampire, and she wrote Old Town Road as a mind control experiment for the CIA. Have you heard that if you Naruto run backwards while listening to I and the Walrus, the lyrics say Taylor Swift was on the grassy knoll. I learned that truth from Paranoia the game. And did you know that the K-pop band BTS

is made entirely out of wood? That Finland is actually in New Mexico? That the Large Hadron Collider is a sizzler for the Illuminati? All facts! But remember, you didn't hear them here. You didn't hear them in the game Paranoia. Happiness is mandatory.

We'll actually be play... This is making noise. I thought it was someone tapping me. We'll actually be playing the game on this channel closer to the release date, but do not tell the man. Okay, check out the game for yourself and learn more at critrole.com slash paranoia. Thanks for supporting the show.

I've got to burn this iPad before the men in black show up. The cigarette, the cigarette, the cigarette! He grabbed one of the cigarettes! Everywhere. So much spittle. So much spittle. So much spittle. Okay. Rockstar Energy Drink. Not actually a sponsor of the show.

No, no. We have a very good Nylor Sizzler. All right. Thank you, Sam. Thank you, Big Ben. Paranoia. And Paranoia, which I'm actually really excited to find games. I've loved the RPG since I was very young, and I'm excited to find games. I've loved the RPG since I was very young,

and I'm excited for this game. When his lips turn that purple, I get worried. Yeah, it's really scary. He really wasn't breathing. He was foaming at the mouthful. That was some method acting. Yeah, well done. Also, we have our second returning sponsor since the beginning of the campaign, D&D Beyond.

D&D Beyond! Thank you so much for your continued support of the show. For those who haven't had a chance to check it out, and this is your first time hearing about it, go check it out at dndbeyond.com, or at specifically dndbeyond.link slash Critical Role. Yeah, awesome tool to check it out

if you haven't checked it out yet. That is some lucid, rational representation of D&D Beyond. Well, comparatively. It's still pretty slippery. Risha, you have some things to mention. Oh yeah, oh golly gee. Oh hello.

In case you missed it, yesterday we shared our big old giant honkin' fall programming schedule. Woo! It's a fatty. It's a big one. Yeah, highlights, of course, Undeadwood. Oh man.

Four-part miniseries featuring Brian Foster as the Marshal. And then, of course, Pub Draw is returning. You can watch us all fail at drawing again. Actually, some of us are pretty good. Yeah, it's not down too bad. Also, a show that is turning out phenomenally well in post,

the more edits that I get back of it, mini primetime with Will Friedle. He is a treasure, and I'm so glad we have the key to unlock him. And a ton of everything is content stuff, like a lot, like a lot of stuff. So really, if you want to know all the full details, go to critrole.com.

Critrole. Critrole. Check out all the good things we have coming up. Yeah, you guys have been busy. All been real busy. It's been a long time since we've done Critrole. Critrole. Critrole. Back in the day. Sam means you.

Yes, so Laura and Travis are off to New York Comic Con next week, and we're hosting a very special one-shot on October 3rd at 7 p.m. Pacific, GMed by me, Sam Riegel. Tonight, we're excited to share to you guys that our sponsor for this one-shot is the one and only Wendy's. I can guarantee that it will be ridiculous.

We'll be sharing more about this sponsored one-shot next Thursday, so keep an eye out for more details. Huge thanks to our friends at Wendy's for their support. I can honestly say I've had two more Frosties this week than I have in the last 25 years, and they're fucking great. I can honestly say I'm actually really bummed that we're going to be in New York and missing it.

Yeah, it's going to be a ridiculous one. Shaping up. Yeah. It's going to be good. You don't want to mess with that. And referring to New York Comic Con, our very own Brian W. Foster will be moderating a panel called Roleplaying a Human, with some familiar names and faces,

such as Mika Burton, Clint McElroy, Rachel Miner, Brian Pessain, Joestar, and Dan Telfer on Thursday, October 3rd, at 1230 p.m. in room 1A21. So if you're going to be at New York Comic Con, highly recommend you check it out. A lot of good people on that panel. The person moderating it's cool, too, I guess. Sounds like it. And have fun.

It should be fun. Laura, you have some updates as well? Well, I do. I don't know if you guys are aware, but we have some cool stuff in our store. Ho, ho, ho! And as of today, we have, oh. Oh. Oh, what's that?

Is it Thursday yet? Wrap for our fabulous tankards. Yes. We also have, and I have Pass Through Fire, a tribute to the lovely Keyleth. That's fire. Also, for the tanker.

Also, we have a freaking, this is so stupid, a map, Matt, of the gameverse for You're getting a Yeehaw gameverse. Yeehaw Game Ranch. Well, okay. If you'll cut to that, you can see it, all you lovely folks at home. It feels, actually, it's ridiculously beautiful. Matt, don't let your hand fall into the void

of the chambers. Oh! So you can use that. So you can follow along the adventures at home? I'm not sure. No, you can use that thing as a game pad, as a mouse pad. No, yeah, you totally could. Your cat can take maps on it.

You can roll your dice on it. That was designed by Atkaora, and then our beautiful reps, the calligrapher on that is Chris Gladys, and he's amazing. He's done some other stuff for us as well. Also, it's not on the sheet, but we have some awesome David Mack portraits

that are in the store that went on sale, I think, when we weren't playing. And so if you didn't get the limited edition David Mack poster that we did, we wanted to make some of the portraits available and they're so fucking beautiful. So yeah, check them out. Cool.

If you all just want to get Grog, it's okay. You don't have to get everybody else. You can, check them out. Cool. If you all just want to get Grog, it's okay, you don't have to get everybody else. It's fine. Let's get rolling. There you go. All right. Well, that being said, I think it's time for us to go ahead and jump into tonight's episode of Critical Role. The adventure begins

They were always beside you Your nerdy best friends And the DM to guide you And they rise from the flames For the battles ahead Villains beware Cause you're about to be dead They got magic and flair

They got falchions and cunning They don't see over there There's a monster incoming Inspiration is waiting Rise up, don't think twice Put your fate in your hands Take a chance, roll the dice Roll the dice Roll the dice, critical roll, critical roll, critical roll, critical roll

Can you answer the call? Digging deep in your soul As the legend unfolds, now it's your turn To roll Our turn to roll! Wow! Do tell, Laura, do tell. Really. Every now and then, you get a glimpse of what I have to deal with every Thursday. Just a glimpse. Just a glimpse.

Just a little peek beneath the curtain. Anal sprinkles. Sounds like a terrible culinary treat. Worst eating extra ever. Anyway. 32 flavors. Oh. Sorry.

So last time, the Mighty Nein had been traversing their way across the lands of Xhorhas, returning to the actual empire where it all began in search of information regarding where this beacon is currently being held, but the empire still holds, and seeking information about this Obann figure who has both taken your friend Yasha

as a companion for the time being alongside his journey, as well as awakening with your aid unintentionally, a terrible entity, a champion of Torog, known as the Laughing Hand. Upon keeping your eyes on them magically from a distance, you've been able to follow some of their exploits while researching information about them

and some elements of what they might be trying to do. With this newfound information and discovering that they had attacked researching information about them and some elements of what they might be trying to do. With this newfound information and discovering that they had attacked what looked to be the Archive of the Cobalt Soul in Zadash, and gathering this information, you decided to follow them towards the Lotusden Greenwood on the south of Xhorhas.

You made an additional deal for rapid transportation with your sponsor, Shadowhand Essek, Thalyss, who agreed begrudgingly for the very last time to do this. Last, last time. You can't say no. Wow, he's just racking up the dead points with you guys. He's going to make you do some fun stuff down the road. There, nestled within the darkened shadow

of a city street in Zadash, you use the transportation circle to send yourself to Rosohna, the city of once known as Gwathranas, you flicking off some of the local townsguard before rushing off. Eat it, copper! We return with you all appearing beneath Lucid Bastion, the familiar space

beneath the main central palace of the Kryn Dynasty. You arrive, are recognized, and no issue seems to come of the guards who are now getting fairly comfortable with your perpetual in and out. Yes, but there are horses this time. That's true. Oh boy. You did have horses, and you did jump multiple times through a bunch of other archives of the Cobalt Soul

without approval or fair warning, and acquired knowledge of a number of their teleportation sigils, which should be useful down the road, though also being, for the time, being banned in most of them. But as you arrive in Rosohna, emerging from the teleportation sigil,

the day is yours. What would you like to do, Mighty Nein? Essek? Yeah, we need to just, right? I mean, just go as fast as we can. Yeah. To Essek! Yaaah!

And high-wolf. You guys start trotting through the halls, which the halls are pretty prone to echoing anyway, but as you make your way out of the subterranean teleportation chamber through the halls of the Lucid Bastion, you draw attention from everywhere. Are there any horses in the city?

There are horses, yeah. Not as often as, let's say, heavy trade cities. A lot of the horses are either done for, are brought on trade paths between Rosohna and other cities, or are frontline as part of the military, though it's not as big of a horse nation as the Empire is. Anyway, you are drawing attention both from the inside of the Bastion and onto the streets

as a group of already sore thumb looking figures come barreling through the center of the ever midnight town of Rosohna, heads turning, heading towards the ever-present beacon of your giant, glowing roof tree, heading through the firmaments. You approach, and as you ride, waiting outside, you see arms probably crossed

Fair bet. From the slight shape of the front of the cloak and mantle, you see Essek just there, staring at the ground, and then up at you as you all approach. It's you. You make your way over towards him. Looks so good. He looks over.

Hello? Super sorry about this again. As you can see, we've come a very long way on horseback. We've just arrived. Impressive, I suppose. We are in a bit of a hurry. And I know that we are wearing out our welcome, but we need to get to the Lotus Den. Very. The Laughing Hand is about, and you know, the people that we are wearing out are welcome, but we need to get to the Lotus Den.

Very. The Laughing Hand is about, and do you know the people that we talked about who we accidentally got loose up, I don't remember where, but it was, I think, in the north somewhere, and then they have figured out how to open up somebody else's casket stuff,

and then they're going to awaken somebody else, and it's going to be even worse, because there's already three of them, and if there's four, then they're going to awaken somebody else, and it's going to be even worse, because there's already three of them, and if there's four, then they're going to be so much more powerful, and now he's got a skull, and he's going to find a heart. We have to beat him. The heart of a very, very, very bad creature

that they want to awaken. And it's closer to the Dynasty than the Empire. This could directly impact your people. Yeah, it's a demon assassin. Super bad. Part of a demon assassin. It's a group of people that were letting

all the bad things out, you know? Skull of a demon assassin. He seems to be part of a cult called the Angel Lions. Which we already told you about, I think. Yes, you have informed me of this, and I have already agreed you are not needing to convince me any further. Okay, I was just wondering, you know,

it's super important, that's why we, you know, ask for help. Do you have a place to put your horses? Consider them a gift. In exchange for your continued assistance. Yeah, these are Empire horses. In exchange for your continued assistance. Yeah, these are Empire horses. Rarity in these parts, they may know something. His rocky held exterior cracks a little with a smile and goes,

Well, I do not consider this payment a favor for a favor, and I'm certain I will call these favors in at some time in the future. But for now, just go ahead and hitch them to the exterior of your home, and we'll be on our way. It seems like a plan. Yeah. Great, let's do that. All right. We do so.

You hitch him to the side there. You gather up around him. So where to, then? We're just doing this out on the street? Do we go inside? Do you know where the Lotus Den is? I do, yes. You do? Have you been there?

I've not been there, but I've studied the vicinity of Jorahas. How big is it? It's fairly large. You saw it, right? I mean, I saw where they were. Maybe you could show an image. Maybe that would narrow down some of the geography

of where we're headed, maybe? I could try to draw what I saw. Oh, okay, then. Well, maybe, I don't know. Make a nature or survival check, your choice. 19. 19, okay. Remembering back to the vision you had when they were traveling, and thinking of the time of day

that it would have been here, and where the sun was in the sky, you can ascertain they were probably heading south. Whoa, I'm so smart. I think they were heading south. So we should probably go towards the south of the Lotus Den, right? Were they in the forest or were they?

They were entering the forest, right? Or were they in the forest? I can't remember. Well, they were entering and then. They were like, I feel like it was swampy-ish where they were coming from, and they were getting to more dense foliage or something. Essek, on this map, do you know if the area

right above the Lotus Den, sort of represented here, is that Swampland? That is largely marsh before it goes into the Fevergulf, yes. Should we try the middle? Or should we try the southernmost point and work up? No, I think we should go where they were, the swamp. Just south of it, though. And they were making their way here. Yeah. I think we should go where they were, the swamp. Just south of it, though. They were making their way here. Yeah. I think we should be south of them.

Well, they were looking at them. If they're traveling southward towards the den, through a swamp area, then I think you're onto that, with the northern side. Okay. Let's do that. Yeah, let's do that. Do we want to take a pee break real quick while we're here at the Xhorhaus,

check in on the plants, you know? Make sure that no one's broken in, any disturbances. Yeah, no, I feel like there's a bit of urgency here. All right, get around. I mean, it's good to be at the Xhorhaus. But it's like super fast, we have to beat them. We just have to hope Dairon's here. We have to beat them to this leg.

I will cast Message and point inside the house and say, Tyrande, are you in there? No response. She's not home. Let's go. All right. We're ready. His hands emerge from inside the cloak. You guys gather in a circle, familiar joining of hands. He focuses, and I need someone to roll a d100 for me.

I'll do it. Okay. The wizard. That's a 92. 92, all righty. That's good, that's good. Yeah, so without issue, you all find the entirety of the scene, of the city around you, fade to darkness,

and you're all drawn in that same instantaneous forceful gravitational sucking sensation from the center of your torso, like your sternum is trying to burrow its way out of your chest, not out of pain, but just a forceful tug. And as you are dragged along with it, but a moment later, your feet find purchase once more on hard ground,

but not as hard as you began this journey. Your feet into marsh, about a foot, I'm sorry, about an inch or two into the mud. Your feet descend and suck in. The water seeps in a bit through any of the cracks of your lower part of your boots, immediately soggy in the base. I'm glad I'm wearing my old boots

and not my new boots. Would this be considered difficult terrain? Not this deep. Okay. But were it to turn into a deeper swamp, possibly. All right. All right. What time of day is it again? It is.

What time of day is it? Hey Caleb, what time of day is it again? It is. What time of day is it? Hey Caleb, what time of day is it? I'd say it's early afternoon, I'd say. Because you traveled, because it was, let's see, you got to the... So wherever you peg it, Caleb would know. He knows the hour. No, I know, I'm trying to think.

So you journeyed to Zadash, you arrived, pretty much beelined to the Archive, researched for hours, so it'd be mid-afternoon. Okay. Three, three-ish, that kind of thing? Four or five, pushing towards dusk in the next few hours. It's 438.

That's very specific. Do we have any way, by magical means or otherwise, of tracking or tracing where our former friend, now enemy, murderous assassin Yasha might be? Is there a locate spell? I have a locate object spell. You know her weapon? Her weapon, yeah, Magician's Shave.

I could cast that, it's a concentration, and if she's within a thousand feet of us, I will know. Could you do it to the heart, possibly, or no? I don't know enough about it. I just know it's a heart. But I guess I would know it's a heart not inside a body, potentially, but it could be inside a body, I don't know.

If it actually is a heart, and not something that's represented as a heart. That's true, it could be like a giant jewel or something. Like the heart of the... The sea? The ruby of the sea. Oh, yes. You are thinking about the other thing.

I imagine the hope is to get the heart before they do, so that they can't get their friend together. Not necessarily to find them. Right. Yeah. So what should I do? You should find the thing that we know, her sword. And just hope that we stay clear of her?

Hope it doesn't trigger at all. Okay. I don't think she's within a thousand feet of us anyway. I'm looking around. A thousand feet is pretty far. As you look around, the one thing you do notice is emerging from the nearby marsh, and it is various degrees of some hillsides

that protrude from the somewhat damp, swampy marsh floor. The sound of buzzing insects surrounds the vicinity. Later in the day, that hot, orangey light is coming through the broken, clouded sky. It's not hot, but it is humid and just a little muggy and uncomfortable. You do notice on one of the nearby rocks while you guys were conversing,

Essek has made his way over there and is drawing his teleportation circle on the rock and is just not even caring or listening to what you guys are doing. Can I get a beat on his mood or his attitude towards us since we met up with him? Make an insight check. Okay.

How do I do this again? Ooh. I told you I'd look it up. That is a 26. Fucking cool, I say. Good insight. Ooh, whispers. This might be my first whisper of the campaign.

Guys, whispers aren't sponsored by anything, but you guys should go to the Crit Roll store and buy our merch. And also, what was my sponsor today? Paranoia! Happiness is magic. Happiness is mandatory. You should buy that game when it comes out and keep a look at the channel,

because we might plan it, play it soon. I don't know. All righty. Because we might plant it, play it soon, I don't know. All righty. Every time you lift that monstrous metal beast. Just as a base knight, aside from the buzzing insects, are there bird, animal noises? Does the forest sound like it moves quite a bit,

or is it actually quite still? Well, the area that you're in right now, there's occasionally sparse trees, maybe a few dozen yards apart each. The tree line of the Lotus Den is a little further south from you, maybe about a 10-minute walk. You can see where the actual Lotus Den greenwood begins, and it is a dense forest.

So we bamfed behind the group, or we tried to bamf in, we were trying to bamf ahead of the group, right? Yeah, middle of the Lotus Den, right? Yeah. Or did we bamf behind where they had already gone? He was told you wanted to bamf onto the northern side of the forest.

Okay. Okay, so we bamfed behind them. Yeah. Are there any trees, or is it like a swamp with vines? Can I pull some Tarzan shit? Can I climb to something for a better vantage point? You can go to one of the lower trees here. The higher trees are in the actual Lotus Den, but you guys, it's a quick jump to go in there

if you wanted to, it's up to you. Let's just go in, right? Yes! Can we see any footprints or anywhere? I'm going to cast Locate Object on Yasha's sword. Just so we're all on the same page, yes. They started at the top of the green wood and we bamfed to the same area.

Yeah. Not in the middle. I thought we were bamfing to the middle. We thought we were going to be more ahead of them. Yeah, I thought that's what we were doing, but if- Because they're moving south and we were trying to cut them off so we could get to this one beforehand. South side of the Lodastank, right? I mean, that's what I thought the plan south and we were trying to cut them off so we could get to the south. South side of the water stand, right?

I mean, that's what I thought the plan was, too, was to be ahead of them. Yeah, and then we were going to intercept. These are invisible things that we don't understand. Is that what we did? But we bamfed to the north side. The person who's responsible for teleporting you followed the instructions he was given,

which was teleport you to the north side of the forest. That is done. That's fine. That is done. Yeah, we'll track him. It's fine. If you wanted to go somewhere more specific, you should have pointed it out to him. Sorry, misunderstandings happen between drow elves and tieflings and humans, so that's what happened.

Oh yeah, maybe it's like a colloquialism. Yeah, maybe. We can do some tracking. It's great. Yeah, okay. Caduceus, you're a good tracker, right? A what? I have a pretty decent survival. Well can do some tracking, that's great. Yeah, okay, so I'm going to cast. Caduceus, you're a good tracker, right? A what? I have a pretty decent survival. Well, aside from that, Caduceus, are you getting any sort of feeling from him?

Essek hasn't left yet. If you want to file a complaint or ask for something else to help, he's about to jump through a teleportation circle. That feels rude, right? I'm the rude one, and I feel like that feels rude. What, to ask him to do it again? Yeah. I would ask him

to do it again, I want it to be in the middle. Hey, Essek! You got any more of those? Like, how many times can you do that? I'm so sorry. I feel like we didn't communicate clearly when we pointed to the middle of the forest. That's where we wanted to go, not here, there. Could we do that?

Biggest assholes. He stands up straight from, he was slightly hunched position over the rock, finishing the final scribblings across its surface before he turns, holding his iridescent blue chalk in his fingertips, he just spins and goes. That stuff is expensive. It's pretty. It's expensive. It's very pricey.

Like, do you think, like, worth one horse pricey or worth one? He's going to kill us. He's going to flip us off as he jumps into that circle. You want to grab him? No, no, I said gravity. He's got gravity on his head. Oh.

Oh no, I mean, we're just fine where we are. I think what my companions are trying to request, we weren't clear enough, which is foolish of us, because the stakes are so high right now. But we actually wish to go forward pointed out on the map. Oh, I just, just delicately. And I walk forward to Essek and place my hand on his forearm and say it's on me.

I should have been a little more involved in the planning of this moment, and I apologize very much. One of the two of you make a persuasion check with advantage, or you can each make one separately. It's up to you, because you are helping each other. Fjord and me? Yes. Since you are both the two that are trying to, trying to persuade him on this.

I'm going to just pat Caleb on the back of his arm. Guidance. Guidance. People can see that. Yeah, it's not like pet, it's saying a phrase and a gesture. The Traveler loves you so much. Okay, so it's on me. I had advantage.

Is that all right? Is your persuasion as amazing as mine? Pretty good, it's not as good as Fjord's is, but it's close. Let's both roll. And what did you give me? Ooh! What did you, me? Ooh! What did you roll? Four total of?

Plus four. 26. 25. Ooh, 22. Roll a d4, you have to roll a d4. It's going to be four. It was four. It's four.

26 and a natural 20? Amazing. Why can we always roll like this? 22, 22. The chalk descends back beneath the cloak. He looks at the two of you and looks across towards the group and goes, Very well, though this is expending the limits of my

prominent abilities for the day. Come gather, are you going to do this or not? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you want to hang out with us until you can regain your spells and stuff? Yeah. You can, I mean. I, there would be nothing I would love more than to not be around you all

for the remainder of this day. So let's try this again, shall we? Okay. I give his forearm just a little squeeze. And then let it go. Okay, yeah. He pulls in a way, just like in a... Go ahead and roll a d100 for me.

Oh boy. Oh god. Oh god. Should someone else roll the d100? No. This is good. We're fine. 91. Yay! Okay. Pass your math. Some lucky rolls today. All right.

You don't want to be in the middle. So. The familiar sensation, this time as opposed to being pulled into a void and then pushed out to the other side, this feels almost like reality kind of static shifts. And you guys are suddenly shunted miles and miles to the south. As soon as you all stop,

there's a brief moment of momentum and your stomach spins and feels sick just momentarily as you all touch down onto even, say, spongier ground. It's still marshland in this part of the forest, but as opposed to being just a thick, watery swamp, it's just damp, undergrowth and general dense,

gross forest floor. Around you, you can hear the echoing calls of strange birds permeating what is a very thick canopy of dangling vines, tangled branches, and thick, thick, deep green leaves. You can see faint, low hints of mist that just slightly drift over, large, heavy roots that protrude from underneath

and twist and knot between each other as the different trees that push in the space around you. You realize as you land that few of you from underneath and twist and knot between each other as the different trees that push in the space around you. You realize as you land that few of you may have been a little close for comfort to something solid, but you safely manage to make your way here without issue. You occasionally hear a little bit of a strange monster

just like, whoop, whoop, whoop, in the distance, and other creatures. This is a very lively, very lived in green. This is way creepier than the other place we bumped to. Okay, so the air smells of fresh vegetation, recent rainfall, occasionally waves of a putrid musk or sweet flower scent whiffs through the air. It's a very lively, natural place

where civilization seems to have not really got a foothold, or if it has, it's been heavily reclaimed over time, as Essek looks around. Well, now I have formally visited the Lotus Den, I would not wish to return. Good luck. Essek? Thank you. Do you know of any ruins around here or anything?

Have you heard of anything? I have no idea. Okay. Hey, Essek. Yes? Are you mad at us? Mad is not the right word. I would say,

ready to leave. Aw. At least you didn't say disappointed. I feel like disappointed is the absolute worst thing. That's like three small words that somehow come onto the one big feeling. Hey, man. Having forgotten that we owe you a favor and that you wanted to talk to us about needing something,

so hey, you're at the top of our list as soon as this is done. A number of favors I have not forgotten. Mm. Neither have we. But in all honesty, be careful, be safe, do not be stupid, and goodbye. You watch as he finishes casting that spell

he was subtly signing in the air, and you watch him just fly through the canopy as he goes through, not rocketing out like Superman, but drifts up with a fair bit of speed. Some of the branches snap and fall from where he was, and there's a brief little bit of light that peeks through where he pushed his way through the treeline.

Wow. Now, I hate to be a negative Nottie here, but part of the reason I was sort of pro-North End of the Forest is now we're here, and we don't know if we are ahead of them or behind them, and there's no mathematical way of figuring that out. Well, I could scry on that again. First of all, you should have spoken up sooner.

Yes. Second of all, we have not spoken to Caduceus yet, who sometimes you are able to have a feeling between you and your... I can do that. I also, we looking for ruins, you think? We're looking for the heart. Well, where would you put a heart

if you were trying to keep it safe? I don't know, perhaps at the base of a tree or ruin, like you said, ruins, maybe some sort of a geological marker? Well, I usually like to start by asking the locals. I'm going to take a few steps away from the group. Warming it up. Can we talk to animals or plants or both? Oh yeah.

Hey, everybody. Don't mean to intrude, obviously, there's a lot going on here, but we're going to be walking around for probably the next couple days. There's some other people wandering through the swamp forest right now that are, yeah, they're bad business,

they're probably going to do a lot of damage, possibly a fire, who knows. right now that are, yeah, they're bad business, they're probably gonna do a lot of damage, possibly a fire, who knows. But we're trying to take care of that. If there's any ruins around, if you've seen any, like, tall man-made structures slowly collapsing anywhere around here, we'd really appreciate a helping hand. We'll try our best to stay out of everybody's way,

especially if there's any birds, hey, up there. If you've seen anything, we'd love to just get in and out with as little hassle as possible. Thanks, that'd be great. So you're just talking to the nature around you? Yeah. Yeah? As he finishes the conversation, there's a slight pause and you watch a

little fly just lands on his face. Hey. Takes off. Follow that fly. What? Side note, as soon as Reindeer Games starts talking to the trees, Caleb goes into meditative state and starts doing arcane recovery.

How are you? You're taking a short rest. Taking a short rest. You guys are taking a short rest? I am. Which direction was that fly headed? Make a perception check. If I need to, but I'm trying to pull in some arcane mojo. Where'd I put my d20s? There's my d20s. Ah, that's 23.

Great, you watch the fly go. Even by a flag. Who ate it? A little toad, about maybe like a walk over the toad and look down. Not cool, man. That was not cool. I don't suppose that you feel like helping.

Yeah, I thought not. Wow. Go on, get out. Oh god. Dread's like, leaping off. Are we following the frog that turned him? No, he's no help to him. All right.

Well. Are we taking a brief short rest, then? I mean. While we do, is there anything else you've got in there? Oh yeah, that was a quick round of wine. We could put this in here for an hour. No, we don't want to sit, but I mean.

It's getting dark. If we don't hear anything moving, largely, through the trees of immense size, perhaps we should try your spell to see if we can locate her sword? Yeah. I'll do the old classic, climb a tree. Yeah, they're tall trees, right?

I'll go through the climb a tree thing first. Okay, go ahead and make an athletics check for me. Want to race up there? Guidance. The Traveler loves you so much, Beau. Athletics or acrobatics, your choice. You want a round two? You want a rematch? All right, all right, all right. Ready, and... All right.

Go! Fuck. Plus, and... All right. Go! Fuck. Plus four, you got guided. What is that? 23. Plus a d4. Plus a d4, Beau. Plus a d4, I got guided. Ah, terrible. 19. All right, so as you both leap up on two different trees about 12 feet from each other, Beau jumping and grabbing

and leaping and spinning, you just skittering up the side, using your dagger to weigh yourself across the weird moss-covered bark. It's a little slipperier than you expected from just the atmosphere here, the bit of vegetative growth that's begun to grow up and hold onto the side of these trees and their bark, but you do manage to skitter up there.

Nott does get there a little bit before you do. Woo! fuck! Best two out of three next time. All right, deal. Best you can peek up. The downside of Nott is Nott is a bit shorter than you, and you get a little bit of a better view past the broken parts of the canopy.

Can I put Nott on my shoulders? Yeah. With that, it's not a it's not like a beautiful view. This isn't the tallest tree of the entire forest that gives you a view. You're just able to see through elements of the canopy that otherwise would not be visible. And peeking out southward, you can see

where the top of the Lotus Den, Greedwood, you know, the kind of roll, it looks almost like rolling hills, but made of deep, deep green, almost, in some cases, gray-type branches and leaves. You can see in the distance, the sky's getting, starting to get, pushing towards the sunset. Like dusk is maybe an hour, hour and a half off.

And it's beautiful in its weirdly alien landscape. Any smoke, any clearings? Make a perception check for me. Wiggling trees, I mean. I don't guide you too far away. Don't worry, I got this. Where'd you say perception, babe? Yeah. Yes.

19. Better than me. 12. You look about. There are a few birds that, like a small cluster of some sort of large bird, little woods like south-southwest of you. The wind picks up in one area,

and you can see the gentle sway of the canopy, but it's a large area, not a singular path. After a few minutes, not much of a specific sign of nearby movement that would be a symbol. But we have a general direction of the thick of the forest? You guys are in the center, more or less, of the load of screen wood.

You are, who knows what, really where you are and which way is a direction other than where you go. Anybody have any questions they want to ask, or should I just? Commune. I'm going to commune and see what I get. I think that's smart. I'm going to ask the Traveler, too.

All right. She points us in a direction. Well. What are we looking for? Well, let's see what I can do. Any evil things to look out for? Yep. Not really. What's today's water number? A lot of...

She said, should we go north or south? That I can ask. Yes or no question, sir? Yes. Should we go south? So I am cast in Commune. Okay. So you are suffused in nature, though maybe not the most benevolent space, per se,

but the smell is familiar, and based on where you grew up in the Savalirwood, there was a familiarity coexisting with a dangerous bit of unbridled wild. So you close your eyes, you focus, you light your incense, you begin to concentrate on your deity, and within a short time, the sensation of your physical body begins to fade

and you begin to discorporate into a warmer space, a familiar space, a space of connection. There you can sense her presence, awaiting your questions. The object we seek, Sartre, is it to the south of us? You hear a breeze blow. The breeze is warm, and it seems to,

based on where you were sitting, blow in a southwestern direction. Is it in a temple or a building? Is it protected by something built by civilization. This time, you sense an absence of stone, an absence of mortar, an absence of humanoid mind and hands. Instead, just natural imprisonment methods. The others who seek this subject, are they ahead of us? The wind blows once more in the southwestern direction, but it is cold and stronger.

You gather, yes. It's to the southwest, south-southwest. They are ahead of us. They're ahead of us? There's no building. It's guarded by some other mechanism, I couldn't say. They're ahead of us still. Glad we jumped this far ahead.

South-southwest, nothing manmade. What could that be, roots, trees, amber? Could be a magic tree. Could be a briar, could be a swamp. Don't know. I mean, this entire forest feels like an imprisonment device. No offense.

Yeah, I mean, you're great. Yeah, no, I love the- I don't think they can understand you. I wouldn't really. We're about to lose the light. Should we move as long as we can? Yeah. Should we try and locate now or in tomorrow, Jester?

What would you? Did she say how far ahead of us they were? No, no. Well, I can try to locate. We can travel for a little bit, and then I can cast Locate Object and see if I can get a bead on them. Yeah, how far is the range for that?

A thousand feet. Why don't we walk? How long does it last? 10 minutes. Why don't we walk for 25 minutes and then do it or something? At the end of once we think we're close to bedding down for the night.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because this place is probably going to get very dangerous when the sun gets down. Yeah, and it'll get dark very quickly in this forest. Should we be trying, do you remember if they were moving urgently, walking, were they jogging? They seemed like they were walking with a purpose, but it didn't seem like they were going very quickly.

It's like, you know, they were trying to find it. So they couldn't be moving quickly. I don't think they knew exactly where it was. I've been told by the inclination that we should at least be trying to make up ground, but it would be loud. Well, we're not going to make any ground if we just talk about it. Let's keep walking.

Let's go. Yeah, and eventually they'll show signs of where they've been through. So we just keep an eye out for broken twigs. Yeah, we should maybe spread out. Ooh, fire line, yes, good call. Okay. Okay. So you guys are keeping a fire line? What does the fire line order?

No. Do you want to do 10 feet between each other? 10 feet between sounds great. Sure. Caleb snaps out of his meditation, realizing that everyone is moving and does not regain anything, realizes that we're on the move.

I think I should be. What order should you guys like to be in? That's second to last. Pretty good. Oh, we're walking in the fire line? Fire line. Oh, okay, cool. All right, about how far apart? 10 feet. 10 feet, all right.

I'll say one of you can make a perception check and one of you can make a survival check with advantage because you are doing it as a group. I'll allow that. I'll make survival. I'll say one of you can make a perception check and one of you can make a survival check with advantage because you are doing it as a group. I'll make survival. I'll make perception. All right, helming this, we have Caduceus and Jester. Go ahead. With advantage. With advantage, because everyone is helping with this one. I don't have advantage on that?

You do, you do. 24. Ooh. 25. Ooh! Nice. The rolls tonight. We should have guided each other. We're going to need that later. Next time. It's basically the Troy Abed handshake.

Yeah. Yeah. No, I have no idea. I don't know how to do this. I don't know what you're doing. Go on, Laura, let's do it. Okay. Okay. Okay.

Caduceus, you're the first to mention, about 30 minutes into this travel, as you guys are just starting to think it's the cusp of when you should probably stop searching or at least begin to, if you were planning to bed down for the night, start looking for a safe place to go, you begin to notice what looks to be a bit of a swath of branch and vine

that appears to have been cut. You glance over towards it and pick up one, and the cut is recent. You can see the vine itself, the interior nutrients of the matter is still freshly bleeding, this slightly milky material, and looking about on the floor,

as you point this out to Jester, you notice there are a few sets of footprints. They would have faded pretty quickly, too. Mm-hmm. Just like this. You gather with your survival roll, at least in the last day. Okay, okay, last day.

Do demons sleep? Do people who are mind controlled get tired? Are they like, it's dark. Maybe that's why Laughing Hand is crazy. Maybe they don't let him sleep. We've seen Yasha be tired, though. But not while she's at this orange thing in her back. When you saw her, did she look sunken high and tired?

She looked as if she'd been crying a lot, I don't know. Her face was very pale. Sleeping is... You've got to sleep. Plus, she's got that makeup, you know, covers dark circles. I'm just curious, because we could try and sneak up on their camp,

if we think that they might stop for a camp. But I don't know. Generally, I feel like. And then what? Do you have enough? Ambush. Wait, that's actually a good point. And you, too. Wait, what?

If we are behind them. We can ambush them. Well, we could ambush them. We could try and go around them and try and pass them in the night, but if we are ambushing them, didn't you say someone had something on their hip? Sneak in, be invisible and super stealthy,

and then you can just go and take the skull from him. That way, we don't even need to get to the heart first, we just need to get the skull and get away. Because it's just about stopping the ritual, right? Right. But this only makes sense if crazed demon people in search of skulls sleep. I have another idea as well that we could do.

We're still locking Flower. Yeah. Right. In addition to this, we could try to just take the skull and Yasha. If you're able to run in and give her a hug and pull her out, we could go. Yasha's in. We could deal with that after the fact.

We could take her against her will. She hates us and wants to kill us. She's evil. Her imprisonment isn't tangible, it's in her head. But what if we were able to separate her from these things? I don't know if we have that kind of power yet. Do you have that power? To take her away or to clear her mind?

To clear her mind. I do not know, but we have a better chance of that if we get her away from them than if she is with them. Have you ever tried to tame a wild or caged rat? Imagine that, but Yasha's size, trying to come at us. I have watched you make someone vanish and reappear somewhere else. Or turn into a turtle. Caleb, I can do that, but I can only do it quickly

if somebody is willing to come with me. If they are not, then there's a very real possibility that I could go and hug her, and then she would chop my head off. That would be bad, so we're clear. Probably, I mean, I don't know. I think Caduceus could still bring me back, but only if he could get to me.

I really like your head on your body. Not sure I really want to experiment with that just yet, but I like the intention of the plan, I just don't think. You said your head was attractive. I think that if we're going to get her out of this, we're going to have to be careful, and that doesn't sound careful, that sounds...

You have to... Going toe to toe does not seem like a very good idea to me. It didn't go very well the last time. We don't want to go toe to toe. We want to sneak in before they awake, and then just steal it, and they'll run away. No toes. Slow them down while we get stronger.

No toes! We can get stronger. No capes! This is a... We have to find them first for any of these plans. Even the Ember plans. Should I cast it? Do you think it's a little early? What do you think? Still too early.

Let's follow these tracks. Stealthfully. If the footprints start looking fresher, we need to, I'm going to, you know? Because I'm assuming they'll, like, they look more and more fresh the more we follow them. Well, and I'm good at investigating. That feels like an investigating thing, right?

That would probably be one aspect of it, yeah. So, recent-ness. Yes, because you're not trying to find the tracks, you're just trying to discern how. So can I actually do that with one of the tracks that I see now? Go ahead and roll an investigation. I'll give you a d4 for that. So can I actually do that with one of the tracks that I see now? Go ahead and roll an investigation check.

I'll give you a d4 for that. If I see you doing that. Oh my goodness. I roll terrible on investigation checks. Except this time. No. This time, too. It teases me.

You've got a high boost, right? It teases me every time I do. It's okay, it's not what you're known for. 15. It's not the entire basis of my fucking class or anything. You're more known for kicking ass than less for taking naps.

All of us, some of us went to college and we don't use that shit either, so it's a 10. I'm going to fix that. That's a plus six to my investigation. So, looking about the tracks that Jester pointed out and you guys are following as you go through, and here the trees come anywhere from 10 to four feet from each other at times, sometimes they spread out a bit.

At this place, this particular place, you can see where the heavy gash marks there are from what you imagine are either Yasha's blade or the Laughing Hand's arm occasionally scraping past one of the trees, freshly gouging from the side, and you can see bits of heavy branch and clusters of leaves and bits of brush have been cut and laid to the side as they move forward.

You can't really tell in hours how fresh they are. It's hard to discern, necessarily. You do very much see two sets of humanoid footprints and one much larger, heavier footfall-based set of footprints. Do the footprints seem tired? Hard to tell. Is there a firm print and then a draggy toe?

And then a firm print and a draggy toe. An empty five-hour energy drink bottle. I don't want to destroy the world anymore. You don't know. Okay. We keep on pushing on. Push on, push on. Yeah, I don't think we need a fire line anymore now that we're following a trail.

Okay, so what is your marching order? Two by two, two by two. Two by two. Who's in the front? I will be. Nott and two. Who's in the front? I will be. Nott and who? Who's in the front with Nott? I, oh, you want to?

I'll join Nott. Okay. All right. I'll go in the middle. Next to Nott. Middle next to Caleb. All righty, and that puts Beau and Caduceus in the back. Right there is perfect. You got it, all righty. Greens, blues, pinks.

There you go. So, pushing onward for the next hour or so, the little bit of light that's peeking through the broken bits of upper tree canopy begins to turn to a bright orange, to a red, to a purple. I'm going to cast Locate Object just to be safe. Okay, you cast Locate Object on?

Yasha's sword. Okay. Does not pick up anything. Cool, I just want to be safe. No worries. So we can speed up and not be stealthy. At about that hour point, you do come across what looks to be a small

pseudo-clearing, I would say. There appears to be an area where-clearing, I would say. There appears to be an area where some of the trees are a little more sparse. The ground gets less swampy and mucky and a little harder at this point. You notice it first. Yeah. With Beauregard up second as you're in the next in line.

But you, Jester as well, actually, because it's very fun, yeah. Jester would probably be noticing it at the same time as you. You do see two figures lying against the base of a tree. Conscious? Dark and shadow, they're not moving.

Your Locate Object is not? My Locate Object isn't doing anything? It's an hour later. Nothing yet? Oh. Do we want to bed down here, maybe, and have a place to sleep if we have to, and a place to retreat to before?

There's people asleep against the draft. Are they asleep, or are they? Would you like my cat to take a look? Yes. Can we see them? Yes, yes, jungle cat. Launch the jungle cat. Mm-hmm. Frumpkin is there, next to me.

Go take a look, okay, quietly. I'm keeping an eye all around for anything. I'm trying to, it feels ambushy. Okay. Yeah, it's a suffering pod situation. I don't like it. Frumpkin, roll a stealth check for Frumpkin for me, please. Can I guide Frumpkin?

Yeah, you can. I feel like it's a little bit better. for Frumpkin for me, please. Can I guide Frumpkin? Yeah, you can. It's all right. It takes a round to happen, so. Seven. It's always a longer walk. We all wave down, take a knee, so we lower our profile. You all get low, and at this point,

the roots in the forest floor is constantly changing up and down based on proximity to the trees, so there are some ridges and heavy roots where you can get down a little bit and walk in. And then for perspective here, the trees here resemble the sequence in Lord of the Rings where they hide from the Nazgul, that big old tree with the forest is a lot of that

size and style of it. So half the forest floor here is just roots with bits of compost decomposing between where leaves have fallen. Just for fun, I'm going to do Eyes of the Grey really quick. Okay. And I'm going to cast Detect Magic really quick. Okay, you cast both of those.

No undead sense. Nothing magical beyond what you all have on your persons. Frumpkin stealth was? Massive eight. Frumpkin stealth was? Massive eight. Frumpkin continues out to about 40, 50 or so feet from where you guys are carefully setting towards these two bodies. Right as Frumpkin gets about 10 feet from it,

he notices that they're not moving. They are dead. They are two bodies. One that appears to look to be halfling, kind of female, ruddy skin, kind of a tangled mess of dark hair with leathers and looks like a backpack. The other figure looks to be dragonborn,

kind of a lithe, thin dragonborn, tall and lanky, copper-scaled. They're both not next to each other, they're both about six or seven feet from one another. At a glance, they both have a couple of very, very heavy gash wounds across their torso and abdomen. I say, as I'm staring into nothing, dead bodies one moment, and if Frumpkin's still in range, I tell Frumpkin to very carefully bite each one.

And he looks back at you like, Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll remember this. No reaction? Yeah, dead bodies. Let's go check them out. Yeah. Keep an eye out. Keep an eye out for traps.

Are they at the edge of the clearing? Like, it's them, it's the bodies, and then a larger clearing beyond them? Or they're clearing and then dead bodies? It's a clearing. It's a clearing by comparison to how dense most of the area here is. Maybe about 15, 20 or so feet right now

between trees here, which creates this bowl. You can see now as you get closer, there are some stones set up like there was once, some sort of a small fire set up that has since been completely put out. Just dirt and other bits of rock have been thrown in to put out whatever embers there are. As you get close, you can feel a little bit of faint heat.

So this fire was not too long ago. Are the tracks around here chaotic and spread out as if there was a bit of a tango? Make a perception check with disadvantage because it's getting dark. God, the Traveler loves you so much. I'm going to go over and inspect the bodies and look for traps around them.

Make an investigation check. Glove goes out. The area lights up a bit. 17. 17. I'm supposed to look for tracks about how chaotic it was around? There was a bit of a scuffle. It doesn't look like there was an extended fight,

but it looks like there was, not around and in the direction of where that tree and where the bodies are, there was some heavy movement. Apparently, putting the piece together, and as you all see, you can imagine that whoever these figures were, they were set upon by those you track. You can imagine that whoever these figures were, they were set upon by those you track.

Just because we're clocking those, can I find the larger prints specifically and see which direction they left in and ask Nott to join me in keeping an eye out on whatever direction that might be? Yep. The direction changes a little bit from the southwest direction that you were traveling

and actually it's slightly more south from this point in time, and that's where the tracks continue on. You help me keep an eye out. I'm looking for traps right now, friend. Just to help me keep an eye out? Mm-hmm. Okay. Hey, anybody in the forest,

where this is some kind of ambush, or if anybody's coming up, I would appreciate a little noise or something, if you guys feel like just letting us know. That'd be great. Make a persuasion check. All right. Suede the Swamp.

Six. Six. All right. Was that a Guidance tap? That was a Guidance tap. That's not going to do anything. Seven. No traps, but looking through, looks like one of them was slashed and impaled

and was thrown against the tree, and you could see the tree above them now. There's a bit of a crack where the impact was and a smear of blood where the body came to rest. Were there pockets picked or? Pockets unpicked. Flying in and get all the body came to rest. And were there pockets picked, or? Pockets unpicked. Why am I going to get all this shit, of course? How long dead do these bodies seem?

Opponents, actually. I make a medicine check. Can I help? You may. Yeah, take a little advantage of that. Oh, I have really good medicine, okay. Do it. Well, I rolled one, so you roll a straight roll as well. Mine was shit, so roll well. Nine for me. Nine?

That's cocked. That's cocked. Unfortunately. 18. Okay. The bodies have been dead maybe between six to three hours. Ooh. Okay, we're a few hours behind them. Looking through the pockets with Nott,

does it look, while she looks for valuables and goods, I want to look for things, does it look like there were guides? Does it look like they were rolling with these people? Looking through equipment, you find a number of arrows, a shortbow on the halfling, as well as pelts, knives. These were both hunters. They're game hunters. Yeah.

Wrong place, wrong time. Yeah. Okay. They look like they're dressed for stealth and for traveling this terrain, but they live here and know it well. They would have been really good guides. Maybe they know about ruins! Can you talk to them? Yeah, I can talk to them.

Yeah, but we know what ruins are. Well, maybe they know of something. Where the heart is. If you want to, you can take the shortbow. Two shortbows, three daggers. There's about, I'd say, probably 35 gold and 26 silver between the two of them, along with a handful of copper.

Take the gold, anything else shiny? No, I guess not, because they're hunters. There's some charms and keepsakes. There's some fashioned carved bone pieces that are made into small orbs that are all tied together in this long leather tether that hangs from the side of the armor. Yeah, these are people that travel

and seem to carry an element of their persona and maybe the people they care about with them as they travel through. So the sun is down. How close are we pushing into exhaustion? I mean, if you were to continue on without sleep tonight, you would all gain a point of exhaustion. Yeah.

And have burned through a bunch of spells. So what time, yes, what time roughly is it? Well, not roughly, precisely, fuck it. I'm sorry, I picked a feat. You did. I'd say about now it's close to 830-ish. That's not bad, not bad. I have a question.

Does anybody have a jewel or anything that's worth 50 gold? Like a decently expensive one? I do. I do. I do. That you would be willing to let me borrow? Yeah, whatever. Eventually destroy? Would you use it for a magic spell

and dispel it forever? I mean, I have a spell that I never use anymore, so you could have a diamond if you care for it. I have this pearl necklace. I probably need a one thing, so if you're not going to. I mean, pearls, you just need 50 gold, right? Yeah. Maybe save the diamond

and take the pearl, because pearl, no one... I have one diamond worth of gold. It's a single gem, and I have not used it since Felowind. Or thereabouts. If you don't mind, Caleb. There you are. Thank you. You don't use it, you just keep it. That'd be awesome. You're pretty great.

I'm not going to use it, like, I don't need it for a spell right now, I need it for a spell a little bit later. Make it just rain. Because I have it prepared, and then I realize I can't actually do it. I'm going to trust you. Anybody have any questions they want to ask these guys?

We know when this happened, roughly. We know which direction they went. The only information we can get is... Once we know who it was. We know when this happened, roughly. We know which direction they went. The only information we can get is, we know who it was. If they know where the heart is. Do they know where the heart is? And do they know what it is? And it's the heart of...

A demon. The Thorabir. Grazdwing. The Razdun? The Kravun. Joriel. Yeah. Joriel. Cadogast. Cadogast. Just if they know where this natural structure is that we're trying to find. Yeah.

All right, I'm going to cast Speak With Dead on which one? Are we going to bed down here? Let's take the half-light. Okay. Yeah, I might. All right, so you take and arrange the body of Bits. The face is now facing forward. Prepare your ritual, close your eyes,

focus on the Wild Mother to breathe life once more into this shell, so that it may impart its knowledge so it can be avenged. As you open your eyes and let the bit of a prayer escape your mouth, you can watch as the mist on the ground that's been growing a little more dense as the temperature drops closer to night begins to swirl and become almost a funnel,

like a reverse slow-moving tornado. As it slowly curls upward, it leans and then fills the mouth of the body. The bit of mist vanishes into its jaw, and then as the chest begins to puff up with air, the eyes look towards you. The party that killed you were searching for them to stop them.

They seek the heart of Joriel, a heart of a demon that is buried somewhere to the south of us, or encased somewhere to the south of us. Do you know where we would find this? I know not of the heart you speak of. Only what they asked us. What did they ask you?

We were approached by a handsome man and a hooded woman. They requested knowledge of the Wraithroot Tree. We told them how to reach it, but warned them of to reach it, but warned them of the curse at sight, recommending they leave it be. Then we heard laughter. That was all.

That's creepy. What the fuck are you doing? You got me. You got me. You got me on my chest. You got me on my chest part. What is the curse of the Wraithwood Tree? Wraithroot. The Wraithroot sits as the center of the Moldered Grove,

a region of leafless deadwoods. Beware the bark that bites. The bark that bites? The bark that bites. Stay bark that bites? The bark that bites. Stay away from the fucking tree! The moldered groves? The moldered groves. Beware the bark that bites.

Its bark is worse than its bite. It's dead. Don't make jokes about it, it will kill you. It hates puns. Doesn't like pole fishing. How far away and in what direction is this tree? How would we get there? He watches one of the arms, which is partially ruined, gets the muscle tissue just exposed, the bone open, and the arm

points in a southward direction from where you are currently. About to de-stravel. De-stravel. We should go home. Right. Last question. We think we know, possibly,

how to protect ourselves from them. Is there anything that you can say that would protect us? Any advice to shield us from what we're about to face? Was that your fifth question? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Don't go. The mist emerges from the mouth

and slowly spills down the front of the chest and then merges with the rest of the surrounding fog. Okay, so we're doing that. I mean, we can just keep going. Yeah. Might. We're less than a day behind them. We're like three hours to six hours behind them

and we could get ahead of them. And then what? Ambush. Stop them before they get there. At least watch them go in. I don't know how we would get ahead of them. How are you two doing? I... I'm almost out of everything.

Does a short rest get you anything? No. No. But we can get closer and then rest. Or, you know, you spellcasters can take a nap and we can keep on, some of us can keep on and find them. Yeah, I feel great. Can you carry me while I sleep?

Okay. I would love to catch them as much as the next person, but if we get there and we're weak, and we're half at our best, it's for nothing. We are not going to fight them, though, right? We're not trying to fight them. If we have a say. I don't want to fight them.

Can we even, are we strong enough to even run if we have to? I don't have the ability to take us out of here in the way that we are accustomed to. I have used all of my... So we couldn't even run if we... Could you make a double? If I had enough time, yeah. Or if I could do it in advance, yeah.

I don't think that's part of this, though. We'll come upon them quickly. It's unpredictable. There's no way to control the situation like that. We should rest. We're walking. The four of you can rest. Me and Beau can go find them. We could scout a little if we wanted, I guess.

In my own selves. That's sad of us. That's lunacy. I don't know the meaning of the word, really, though. It's a bad idea. Has to do with the moon. The loon. That's also, this forest is going to be very dangerous in the evening. Yeah.

Have you seen Beau's arms? Here's the thing. What arms, for that matter? I've seen both of their arms. They are very healthily on display. This group of people have snapped away like that. So if they get to their quarry, they are gone. Most likely they are gone.

Or they'll wake it up. They probably need some time. Maybe they'll do it right there. Maybe. If they get there tonight, while we're snoozing, they could be gone by the time we wake up. That's what I'm saying. Also, one last thing.

The last time Obann needed access to something, he waited for us. He needed us to open it. Yeah, but he doesn't know we're even around. This time he's got Yasha. He needed Yasha. He needed Yasha. Did we need Yasha to get in there?

I think he needed Yasha for his overall piece of his puzzle. His overall plan, but we don't know. We don't know enough of what he's doing. It's not like this is going to be an easy walk up. This is going to be, I have a funny feeling that they're not going to, I don't think they're going to just waltz

into this thing either. I think it's dangerous. I could scry again. I mean, only if we're going to just waltz into this thing, either. I think it's dangerous. I could scry again. I mean, only if we're going to sleep. But we've already done it once today, so maybe I can't again. If you scry and they're moving instead of resting, will that shape your thoughts, Laura?

Of course. If they're resting? If they're moving, we have to keep moving. Might as well scry, then. You might as well scry! Just so you know, a scry can, if a scry fails, it's resisted, then they can't be scryed on again for 24 hours. But if it succeeded,

there's no reason why you couldn't scry it. I'm actually going to try and use Divine Intervention to see if they're going to bed down for the night. Oh yeah, do that before. You're going to attempt a divine intervention? All right, go for it. Come on, baby. Come on! Fuck no. Damn it!

What do you have to get? How does it work? You focus quietly and take a deep breath, and as you do, another fly chokes you up for a minute. So it's got to be the zero? There is no same box. 10 and a zero, or the zero. Or a zero and anything. Okay, I'm going to try it, too.

Okay. Come on. Double guns. Balooie, do it, Balooie! Shake away that roll. Nope. Damn it. Okay. Once it succeeds, you can't use it for a week.

Okay. All right, I'm going to try to scry. Okay. So you stop here in the to try to scry. Okay. So you stop here in the same area where the bodies were found. You haven't left from this spot. Using the little clearing here, you begin to set up your scrying ritual.

You focus. Takes about 10 minutes to cast. You set up everything nervously, sitting colder and colder, and as you sit down, the mist is obfuscating about a foot or so of the ground. So as you're setting up, you're having to shoo away the mist a bit and set it up

before it begins to filter back in. You sit down and you guys watch as Jester, you can only really see about her elbows up as she sits in the middle of this mist that's just drifted around her. Cold and weirdly beautiful as she closes her eyes and for a second, you swear you see the mist move around her, like something just shifted around her.

It makes you think for a moment. It's cold, it's dark, and in that moment, there's that sense of desperation and loneliness as you focus on the spell. As the mist curls in around you, like a cloak encircling you, you feel the Traveler there once more and say, Not too far.

What? Suddenly, you feel your vision pulled as his hand rests on your cheek and turns your head this way. And as your head turns this way, it's almost like you're looking from one window to another. As you look into this other pane of glass through it, you can see in a familiar darkened wood like this,

in the shadows, a very, very faint bit of crackling firelight. Oh! You see in the space what looks to be a very, very low-lit fire in the center of stones. Sitting across it on two rotting logs that have been lumped there. You can see Obann in his true form, red demon skin and wings folded,

sitting there looking at the fire, putting his hand in it and letting it curl around his fingers. Yasha, just sitting there looking into the flames, he reaches down and pulls up a bottle of wine, just takes a drink of it, looks to her. You may have some. And holds it out.

She reaches out without even looking and takes it and drinks from the bottle and hands it back. As he retrieves it, he says, You knew the Seat of Darkness within you only needed the right guide to germinate into something beautiful. Don't forget, you were the one to find me, Orphan Maker. For this, I will always be grateful,

and you will always be my favorite. He glances around the nearby wood to see if maybe another heard him. We draw close to completing our found family, becoming her will manifest, striking from the Lightless Realms and breaking her chains one by one. You remind me of her,

a vision of her intent. Walking towards destiny. I'm proud of you. And he reaches out to touch her chin. There's a small spark of blue lightning that sparks from under her chin to his hand and he pulls back as she recoils a bit to one side. You see him look at his fingers and look at her, furious, and in a moment, his eyes glow orange

and you see behind her, from beneath the hair, the orange glow emanate and she winces for a second before her face going slack once more. He now takes her chin in his hand without a fight and looks her in the eyes and says, Stubborn as you may be, you are mine. You belong to her. Where we shall walk, no cloud or storm can touch us.

As he pulls his hand away, you hear a slight little and looks over his shoulder a bit. Keep a perimeter watch. Who knows what else is lingering in this forest. We're so close, I can taste it. He sits down and starts drinking his wine a bit more. They both quietly look into the fire a bit longer

as the Laughing Hand begins to lumber off into the darkness. Was the satchel still on his waist? Did it look like? Make a perception check. Come on, come on, this is key. Come on. This is key. Well, with disadvantage, because it is, well, you have dark convulsions, don't you?

Yeah, so you're fine, you're fine. Okay. Well, with disadvantage, because it is, well, you have dark conviction, don't you? Yeah, so you're fine, you're fine. Okay. Goddamn it, perception. Eh! 14. 14. Within the fire, it was some very terribly hidden thing he was trying to keep from anybody.

Yeah, it was still hanging from his belt. Okay. Shit. Come on, that's it! Does she relay all of that? All of it. All everything. I like to imagine as I'm scrying,

if I'm hearing anything, I'm just repeating what I'm hearing out loud. Like, duh-duh-duh-duh-duh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Translating. Clearly Yasha is definitely evil and not under the control of the spell. That was my assertion as well.

We have to keep going. Poor Yasha. They're close. But with what intention? Are we trying to get close enough to have you? Sneak in. Invisible? Get the skull. Grabbing the sack is one option. I will take a drink right now.

It looks like the Laughing Hand. Scary. The Laughing Hand runs free. He runs patrol. We don't need to. Probably he does not need to sleep. He doesn't need to sleep. And the others two do. He's insane already.

He might be wondering who knows how much ground he covers in the middle of the night, but maybe stalking him, trying to attack him when he's far enough away from the camp. You mean the one that can't die? walking him, trying to attack him when he's far enough away from the camp. You mean the one that can't die? We just got to get the skull, though, like you said. And if he's just walking a perimeter,

openings in that perimeter. Yeah. If he's the only one. You just have to be the most silent and unseen you've ever been. And remember, we have no spells to help you with. This is nothing. I got this. I'm going with you. What?

I think this is a terrible idea. Yeah, I'm not going to let her go alone. I do as well. No, no, no, no, let's think this out first. Let's think this out first. Create a distraction, we can... No distractions, no nothing, no nothing. We make no noise.

If you make noise, the Laughing Hand will be alerted, and then everything goes to shit. You have to know where he's going, and sneak in in the big hole in his perimeter, and go in and steal the thing, and then run back out immediately. I think she's right. I think.

What if it's not a magic, some sort of magic spell on the bag itself that won't alert him to it being disturbed immediately the way we used to do? Well, and it might, in which case, I think we all need to be nearby, but I think Jester's right. I think maybe this is going to take

a little bit of observation in watching the Laughing Hand and watching its path and seeing if it is a specific patrol path. We're down so much right now. Yeah, okay, so we all know the option of letting Nott somehow go in unseen, undetected, and pulling, hopefully, the object off of his hip and retreating.

However, even if they're close, they still have to get to the tree that seems to have a fucking curse on it, and it might slow them down a bit. If Nott is detected, we're going to try and rally to her in a half-state, if not worse. We could just follow them and try and catch up to them tomorrow after a rest, where we're all in our best form.

And then what? If we do that, and I'm not saying we don't, Fjord, but if we do that, we run the risk, potentially, of this extra being, this Kedogast. Yeah, fucking him. From joining them. So I'm not saying no, I'm just putting that on the table. One more option. Yeah. I'm supremely confident in my abilities,

especially if I have a few more gulps of booze, but we could continue on tonight. And get there. And get there. First. And try and get to the heart first. We will take on the cursed tree in a half state. So that's the thing. We don't have to touch the bark that bites.

Allowing them to catch up to us tomorrow morning. Here's our three options that I think that I have, that we've laid out. Right? Hang on, hang on, let's let, because there's pros and cons to both. There's pros and cons to both. I love this game so much.

Wait, what do you mean there's a fourth? What's your fourth? Talk it out. We call Essek here and Essek here. I sensed he had more to give, I think. Yeah. He gives a little red bead, he's like, here, hug this, and a delayed blast fireball that wipes you all out.

I like this, I like this. I think the idea of getting there before them and securing their goal before them is probably less of a challenge than them altogether, especially with this one woken up. I can fly three of us there. You can, can you fly right now? Can you? Fly?

You can fly? I can fly. Oh, you can fly. I can fly. And you can carry, and I can make some of us fly now in order to do that. But it will literally, I will have just some first levels left, I'll have one fourth level, and I've got some shit. I've got some shit.

But it won't be dealing with our friend Yasha and this Laughing Hand and Redman from Wu-Tang. That's true. Did you say Wu-Tang? Yeah. I heard from Wu-Tang, and I just wanted to know if the RZA or if, you know, anyone else would be joining us.

We need a long rest if this is where we're getting into. Use some signatures on this sword. All right, okay. I am down to bring the motherfucking ruckus. So if we want to do this. I like getting there. I am voting for grabbing that prey out from under them right now. I like that plan. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You said one plan that you'd like getting there. I am voting for grabbing that prayer from under them right now. I like that one.

Wait, wait, off their hip or going in? You said one plan that you'd like to then. I understand. What I prefer is getting there before them while they rest. Even though, yeah, right now. Okay, I'm just going to, I love you, Caleb, and I always agree with you, but if we go there and get the heart,

they're three to six hours ahead of us now. Yeah. They're going to sleep for? Eight hours. Eight hours, right? So we have to make up the up to six hours that we've already spent. But we'll be flying. We'll be flying eight buses.

And then keep going and acquire the thing. They're going to wake up and start making their way to us. And once we acquire the thing and we walk out the door and they're standing right there, we have nothing left. are going to wake up and start making their way to us. Once we acquire the thing and we walk out the door and they're standing right there, we have nothing left! No escape, no spells, no nothing. Excuse me, though.

If we allow me to rest for an hour right now, I could take us out of this place for good. I'm tapped in that respect, but if we rest for an hour, I can do that. Then we fly the rest of the way, grab what they want, and we're gone, and they lose the ability. How long do you need to prepare that button?

I'm out. One minute? Uh, let me verify, so I'm not sure. As a ritual, though, it would be 11 minutes. If it's one minute. Teleportation zero? Is that what you're thinking? I'm thinking of various spells at one time.

One minute normally, so as a ritual. Oh no, if I rest, sorry. If I rest, I can do it in one minute. Without a rest. Well, I don't know, can teleportation be done as a ritual? I'm thinking of Leomund's Tiny Hut. So it is...

It is... Randy and Beyondvonne. It's one minute if I have it, so I need to rest an hour to be able to do it in one minute. Okay. That's a good, that's the closest thing to a good plan. Rest for an hour. We turn into flying things, we fly around them,

and then try to what? Fly down and find it? We don't, but we know we're looking for a tree or something. We are looking for a remarkable tree to the south. In the dark. One normal day. Beauregard and Nott will fly on you. Fjord, Caduceus, and I will just fly, and we will get there ahead of them.

All right, let's work out our options. I really want to talk about our options. I think we know what the options are. So we have option one. Tell me what we're doing in an hour, and I'll start meditating. All right, let's work out our options. I really want to talk about our options. I think we know what the options are. So we have option one. Tell me what we're doing in an hour, and I'll start meditating. Yeah, that's cool.

Option one, we sleep now. We know we're full and healthy and rested, but maybe face them also full and rested. Or we don't face them at all, they get ahead of us. They get ahead of us and they're gone, and they leave. They're gone, and they leave. Lots of downsides. A lot of downsides to that one, but our caster's arrested.

Number two, Nott and I do a little recon mission. We head to the woods, we watch the patrol of this guy, slapping hand. We get in, we get out. Super general on this one. Search it in, get out, search it cool. We're assuming the demon sleeps. Which it doesn't.

No, no, I think we just, no, I'm not fucking assuming anyone sleeps. Yeah, that changes it. If the demon sleeps, better plan. If he's awake and just sipping fucking Malone. Assuming that they also don't do anything to protect themselves while they sleep. No, I'm just hoping the demon never finds out.

But that's also a hope and not a promise. It's a lot of hopes. So there's a lot of hopes to that one. Third option, do what Caleb said. Third option, we go now, we don't sleep. They don't know they're even being followed. Get out and deal with the cursed tree and probably some creepy shit

and maybe bad guys in the middle of the night at this cursed tree. I think that's the only option we can do, though. Yeah, we all understand that the first option is far safer with less risk to all of us, yes. But, but higher risk of failure. The goal of the whole reason we fucking came here. Just so we're saying it out loud, failure is what?

They get what they came for and they bring back something that, what, we've decided is our mission to present? Then there are four people. I know I'm just saying it out loud, failure is what? They get what they came for and they bring back something that, what, we've decided is our mission to present? Then there are four people. I know I'm just saying it out loud, right? Because we could all die trying to prevent this one thing instead of doing something that's safe, maybe losing it, being stronger, coming back with more allies, living to fight another day.

I'm just saying. Still meditating. Caleb will be able to bamf us out. Also, I'll make sure I have at least one revivify, so that if one of us goes down, then I can, you know? To be fair, also, yeah, I mean, there's not a lot of, I've got a little bit of healing.

There's not a lot I can do. I've got some first-levels. To be fair, there's not a lot you can do. If we go, if we fly, if we get to the Waithe Root, the Rufus Wainwright tree. Uh-huh. You would. We find the object, we get it.

Bamf out. We do not get Yasha in that scenario. We do not get. But we save her for another day. We get not Yasha later, when we're better prepared. I appreciate Caleb's sentiment, and I'm going to say this comfortably, because he can't hear me because he's deep in meditation.

I think Yasha trying to scoop her out is a bad plan. I think it's a bad plan right now. I think he can hear everything you're saying, like meditation. I think it's a lot like trying to review, like, I can't hear a word we're saying. Meditation just moves you through. It's a lot like trying to. You can't hear a word we're saying. You hear what it says.

Caleb, you're a fucking animal! Sorry! What, are you jerking off a giant tree root? What is that? It's a four-naught I can multitask. I like the plan of going in and trying to get, because they don't know that we're following them. They don't know we're here. They don't know that they need to rush.

They're going to take their time. They're going to move at a reasonable pace. They're going to sleep. They're not in a rush. Well, Yasha might need to sleep. Maybe that's why. No! Sleep!

Till Rufus rain rides! But if we roll a now, we roll a now, teleport out. I mean, it is certainly more of the adventure of what we're talking about. And then immediately get that skull into the... The heart. Just as long as we're all in agreement,

we are at great risk going forward instead of resting. Yes. And not being able to do this at a day. I don't see that as a real option, though. I agree. I think we technically have two options. Either getting the case off of the Laughing Hand or going ahead and getting the heart.

I don't think resting is an option. All right. Then let's do it. How are you feeling? Are you all right? I will not abandon this group, but I do feel like it's quite the risk. He has ulcers.

I'll also say that we're not exhausted yet. We wouldn't be exhausted till tomorrow. Yeah. We pushed into the knife, and hopefully the flight, I'm meditating. It's like 930 right now. We can go till at least like... Then let's do this.

I have a party until 7 o'clock. Yeah! Decided? Decided! All right. Break! If it starts to go bad, we can teleport out. Wait for 55 minutes now while he's meditating.

In here. Wait, we can fly Caleb while he's meditating, maybe? All right, well, all short rest. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, short rest. All right, so take your short rest here. Gather yourselves, make sure you have your healing potions distributed amongst who's supposed to have them.

Thank you for the reminder, that's not foreboding at all. No, not at all. Is there anything else we can do to prepare? Is there anything else we can do to prepare us not spellcasters? What do we do? Do we have any set plays? What if we see them?

Okay, how are we getting out of here? He's casting a spell. But what if we walk out of the Wainwright tree and they're there waiting for us? Are we even going to walk out? As soon as we get this thing, we just bamf. What if they walk in on us while we're down there fiddling and diddling with something?

Well, then we're dead. We have trouble. We're going to die. Distraction, well, well. That's probably where that came from. Where will we put this heart? In a bag of holding? We can put it in one of the bags, yeah. Okay, in the bag of holding of the haversack?

Yeah. We're going to put maybe the string around the tree to protect us? We can, limited range. Limited range, all right. Well, maybe we could just put, if we get there early, we could put just a physical- Backtrack a little bit, yeah.

Well, just like a tripwire with some tin cans on it or something. Yeah, we could do something. I knew I was keeping all those canned anchovies for a reason. Thank god. Fucking reeks in here. I thought it was my armor.

We're just becoming ninja hobos. That's fine. Okay. You ready yet, Kay? An hour has passed. All right. An hour passed. All right, sure. Yeah, if you guys have anything else you want to do to prepare, then yes, the short rest comes to a close.

Caleb slams his book closed in front of him and you have regained your spell slot. I heard some of that, not much of it. Another thing we could do when we're there is I could throw up the dome while we're there and then you would have the dome to run. Not me, I would be stuck inside of it, but you could run into it and out of it

in case shit goes down. That did work very well with the white dragon. It worked so well. But we wouldn't have you in there to help us. Not necessarily so, thanks to our man Essek. Oh. What do you mean? You can put up the dome and not be in it?

He's shown me how to realize other versions of myself. He polished your dough? That's really smart. That is not what I meant. But wait, I think what he's, didn't he say as soon as your other version cast a spell, they disappeared, right? We'll find out.

Oh good, yes, let's find out. In the middle of it. Caleb would know, he would know if he was told, but I don't remember. I thought I heard that as soon as it cast a spell, it's find out. In the middle of it. Caleb would know, he would know if he was told, but I don't remember. I thought I heard that as soon as it casts a spell, it's gone. Does it, but that's, but it still gets to cast a spell. Yeah, so if it casts at their level spell, it's gone gone?

Yeah, it vanishes once the spell's completed. If it's a concentration spell, it stays around to maintain the concentration until it gets killed or... That's a great benefit. So that thing could cast the dome? No, no, no, I'm saying I would cast the dome and sit within it.

And then there'd be a lot. You guys would have this great buffer between you and our enemies. You could run into and out of. I could have most of our teleportation circle drawn, and you guys could pop in, pop out, if we thought that they were going to descend upon us, and I could also help from within by using Dunamancy.

To a limited extent, but still. Sure. I like it. That's a good option. Let's fly. Like an eagle. Into the future. To the tree. To the tree. I like me go. You go to the future. To the tree. To the tree. I'll let me go. You are too good.

I have to pee. Are we taking a break? I guess we shall then. As you guys prepare yourselves for this plot you've hatched to rush off into the night in hopes of beating your adversaries to the very target they seek. We're going to go ahead and take a break with our follow-up show.

So we'll return here shortly to pick up where this adventure is leading off. We do have our Wyrmwood giveaway before we leave there. This is, if you guys haven't seen their awesome Kickstarter campaign, this particular awesome dice vault, or this is a hero vault specifically, which I think can be for dice or your hero,

is drawn by our amazing Devon Rue on the front there. The art for this Kickstarter campaign contains art by Devon and Crystal Sully, both amazing artists in the community. Definitely check it out if you haven't yet. This awesome piece of, what type of wood is this? It doesn't tell me, but it's so pretty on the inside for all your dice.

It is pretty wood that is not here, but I guarantee you it feels nice, it looks nice, smells nice, it's great. Goes to one lucky winner in the chat tonight. The word, FjordNight, is follow, F-O-L-L-O-W. Put it in once, more than once we disqualified. Once again, U.S. and Canada only, excluding Quebec. We'll be back here with the winner shortly. See you in a minute.

So much for that. Hello, Critters. This is Ashley Johnson, president of the Critical Role Foundation, our 501c3 non-profit organization with a mission that might sound familiar. To leave the world better

than we found it. We partner with other nonprofits to raise funds supporting causes that mean a lot to us. And we allocate 10% of all donations to an emergency relief fund that allows us to provide immediate assistance in the case of natural disasters or other unexpected emergencies that require quick action. To learn more about the Critical Role Foundation and to donate, visit criticalrolefoundation.org. And welcome back. So before we jump into the game, we do have our winner of the Wyrmwood giveaway. The winner is Carnival Elite.

Carnival Elite! With a key. Carnival Elite, you are the winner. We'll go ahead and send that to you ASAP. Congratulations. 120 feet. All righty, friends. I don't need to be sweating like this.

I just got off the bridge. Oh, fuck. I'm going to get it. Laura, do you have to pee again? Maybe we should take another break. I got to pee, don't we? Think about some more? I can't understand either of you.

Best to take a break. So. All right, Bert. Thank you. It'll be fine. It'll be fine, it'll be fine. So, your rest complete. The night now darkens the entire sky above. You can hear the heavy sound of crickets

and other nocturnal creatures coming to life, out hunting, wandering amongst the upper parts of the trees, the lower parts of the forest, and the sky above. Mighty Nein, what would you like to do? Well, I guess we should turn into Big Eagles then or something, yeah? Well, that is what you you like to do? Well, I guess we should turn into Big Eagles then or something, yeah? Well, that is what you're going to do. Caduceus, Fjord, and I are just going to fly.

Are we ready? Is there such a thing as a giant owl? Yeah, of course there is. We don't know where we're going yet, right? We have to find this thing. We know the direction and the direction. In the middle of the night. We have to move quickly.

Is it a full moon? No, I'd say it's probably waning, maybe. But I think the dead body we talked to said it was in a small clearing, right? I think it's going to be visible. There's a big tree and a bunch of trees, cool. Well, also, once we see their firelight from the sky, then we know we go past that.

Good call. You're very smart. All right, here we go. Owl's a little. Break! Caleb pulls out a raven's feather and mutters a few arcane words, and suddenly Caduceus, Fjord, and Caleb start to hover slightly above the ground. So you're casting Fly at fifth level?

Yeah. No. Four, hm? Fly is a third level spell. Third level? Fourth level, it can do an additional. Shit. Oh no, the calculus is ruined. Yeah, get up. Where's Polymorph? Wait, wait, wait.

Polymorph is not enough to carry everybody. Okay, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Not if you're a giant something? Cast it on. I can. You will hold onto me. Also, I can carry. I can hold on. Who am I carrying?

Caduceus. Just Caduceus. What about Beau? And Beau. And Beau. Can you carry Caduceus and Beau? What if you cast it on Caduceus and I about Beau? And Beau. And Beau. Can you carry Caduceus and Beau? What if you cast it on Caduceus and I carry Beau and Nott? Because I feel like I could do that easier than...

Yeah, that's true. So me and Caduceus. And then Nott. Maybe Cad can carry Nott. If you fly, then I can fly with you. You will ride with me. You will fly. You will carry these two. Fjord and Beau.

Correct. You got it. Can you carry us? Yeah, I can carry both of you. As a giant owl, yeah, for sure. Okay. Confirmed. As a giant owl? Yeah, you won't be traveling at maximum speed,

but you can, you know. You'll be doing fine. I say it's allowed. Better than walking. Yeah. Definitely will be above all of the totally creepy things in the trees. Okay.

I'm riding up front. It's the two feet were side by side. I know, I'm riding up front, though. But there's no, it's not. I'll try to carry you in a way that is comfortable for you, okay? Oh, we're not right in our back. No, I just told you. Oh, in her clothes.

Don't look at me anymore, I'm mad at you now. Okay. The fuck did I do? Just to remind you, you guys are traveling polymorph and fly, correct? All righty. Polymorph lasts for. Yeah. Correct. All righty. Polymorph lasts for an hour. Right, fly lasts for 10 minutes.

10 minutes only? Why don't you just polymorph? Super important. Super important. I could. Holy fuck. The plan is falling apart and we haven't even gotten out of camp. I'm just double checking.

Holy fuck me, Ruddig. That would have been... No, we can still do it. I can Polymorph, I can. And I can do Giant Eagle, and I could, we wouldn't go as fast as I would like, but I can take Caduceus and Nott. Yeah.

And you'll take these two. Yeah. But it means a slower speed, but still faster than walking. You want to do Giant eagle or giant owl? Eagle. You're going to be an eagle? Mm-hmm.

Should I be an eagle, too? Is that better? Can one of those see in the dark? Well, owls are really good at seeing in the dark. Can you check your fucking stats? Yeah. I know what real owls are. All righty.

It's a burrow owl. Owl. I would like to think the people who are riding are doing most of the looking out. How do I find it again? I already put it in there. I do have darkvision. You did put a giant owl in there. Where's all your creatures?

I don't know. So you guys are polymorphing, you said. Caleb, you're the giant eagle. Owls have darkvision. Owls have darkvision. Owls have darkvision! Giant eagle. But I'm going to do eagle, because I feel like an eagle has a better chance

of carrying Caduceus and not. Owls are just as strong. Yeah, if they're both giant. Yeah. If they're both giant and semantics? Eagle is strength 16, what about owl? I don't know if there's giant owl stats. 13, so eagle is categorically stronger than an owl is.

Okay, okay, but owls have night vision. He is a giant reindeer man, so I'm going to be... I don't weigh a ton, but I am big, so. He cannot see in the dark either. Can an eagle see in the dark? Can he see in the dark? He can see as well as any other creature that doesn't the dark either. Can an eagle see in the dark? You can see as well as any other creature that doesn't have darkvision. But an owl has darkvision. The owl will lead.

You will lead and scout. Goblin, you have darkvision? Hello. Yes, I do. I do as well. Where did you find the stats for the giant owl? I have goggles, I'm good. I'm always liking the darkvision. Nevermind. Never go to the desert without it.

Sam did it for me. You do have advantage on wisdom perception. Checks to see, which means it counter in the dark. Never mind. Never go to the desert without it. Sam did it for me. You do have advantage on wisdom perception. Checks to see, which means it counteracts the disadvantage. It'll be just a straight roll for you in the dark perception. Okay. Owls are stealthy. They are. So do it.

All right, so the giant eagle, which is the larger of the two, I'll say. Yeah. That'd be you. You are carrying? Caduceus and Nott. Caduceus and Nott, all right, Nott. Oh, they got little sticky things. Look at that! Where did you get that shit? Had it for a while.

That's so clever. Craft store. There we go, got him riding up there. Oh my god. Fly like a bee. All right, and then Fjord and Beau on the owl train, right? I'm on the left foot.

Is that okay with you, if I'm on the left foot? I mean, it feels a little like the driver's seat, but it's fine. I'll take the passenger claw. It depends on the country, huh? If we're in the UK, you are good. Oh, we are in Xhorhas. Yeah, I'll take the right.

Okay, both of you need to shut up. Sorry. Once we start moving. I need toorahas. Yeah, I'll take the right. Okay, both of you need to shut up. Sorry. Once we start moving. I need to be stealthy, so shut up. Stealthy, so shut up. What the fuck did I do? All right, Fjord, Beau, Caduceus, we have to be on the lookout. Keep your eyes peeled, give us some guidance and stuff.

I can't see anything. So here's my question. Are you guys moving at maximum speed, or are you moving stealthily? You can make a stealth check either way, but if you're moving full speed, it's disadvantage on stealth checks. Speed.

But we're making, we're in the air. At a rolling high, above the canopy of trees. We got to get there, man. We're also, I assume, not going to make it, we're going to do a little bit of curve around where we think they are. It's also nighttime. No, we need to go over their camp site, don't we?

We have no idea where they are. We don't know, but we can see smoke. We'll be able to see smoke and firelight. Like, if we were doing plan B with the Laughing Hand, then I would say the goal would be stealth, but since we're doing plan C, which is trying to get to the tree, I think the goal is speed, right?

But we definitely want to not. What are they going to fucking do? They're going to see two birds over them. Yeah. I don't give a shit. In the dark, we're moving way faster than them. I think we should duck. We haven't.

I think we should go as quickly as possible, yeah. But we'll make a berth around them. I don't want you. I don't want to fly directly overhead. If I see the campfire, I'm not going to go directly overhead. Of course, if we see the campfire, yeah. Okay. Okay. We suck at this.

We're amazing. Five years down. You guys transformed. Yeah, and also, this is Caleb's transmuter ability to not use his spell slot. He can polymorph himself once a day. That's right. Yeah. You are correct. All righty. Up to level one, which the eagle is within.

That's pretty great. So transforming into a giant eagle and a giant owl. The owl, which is stealthier, the eagle, which is a little stronger, you can move a little faster. But you will have to, either you're going to move ahead of the owl, or you'll stay in tandem with it.

I'll take point, but I'm not going to move ahead. So traveling through and overhead, you both grab your respective party members and pushing through the canopy of the forest. A little difficult at first, finding areas to squeeze through. Even this opening here, there's a lot of branches that are all reaching out and creating a net,

but you break through and smash across them, sending splinters of various bits of wood and bark flying as you both emerge into the night sky over the Lotus Den Greenwood. The moon high up, a little bit of white light that's beginning to trickle across the slightly shifting forest with the breezes that occasionally push through.

You are above the space, looking in the general direction of which you were attending to travel. So. You both go into a slight dive and pick up, using the wind to your advantage, and try and continue pace. Are you going stealthily or speed? Do we see the fire light from above?

Make a perception check, each of you. Disadvantage for you. Everybody, I mean, I'm just flying. One of the last things I said was, I'm just flying my right. Gotcha, then yes, then you can try it from your space. Perception? Perception. Nobody can guide me. Two people get a try. I rolled 20.

I rolled 22. 22 total. 20 total. Well, as a group check for this, two people are helming the perspective on here. It's okay. So 19 and, which is a total of? 22. 22, okay. Continuing forward, for the first 20 minutes or so

of your journey in that direction, you do not see any sign of any glow or flame. Speed. Because you roll high doesn't mean you're near enough to see anything, or that it magically apparates through the tree branches above. It is deep within the Lotus Den beneath you.

So you do not see anything. Okay. Then we fly in the direction that we know it is. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And keep an eye out for the other tree. Full speed? Strange trees. Full speed. Full speed for a bit, and then, like,

you know, if it feels like we're going too far, then I say slow down so we can look a little bit better. Okay. Well, put it this way, it was between, they're about three to six hours ahead of you. You're not entirely certain how far this location is. A day's travel. A day's travel. Right, okay, so we were given a little bit. So you'll be able to catch, to get ahead of them,

but you will not, within the hour that you have transformed, be able to make a day's worth of traveling. Right. So you will gain some movement, hopefully enough, but you're uncertain at this time if it's where it'll be. A half an hour. Full speed. 40 minutes, 50 minutes.

As it gets close to when I'm going to, then I'll land and cast it again. If you guys want to, right before you begin to land, make an additional series of perception checks. Who's helming this? Two of you can make it, or one of you can make some advantage. Okay, I've got night vision.

Yeah, I can't help you. Yeah, you have disadvantage when you move. Whole load of shit. Yeah. Yeah, 11. 11, okay. As you begin to descend towards the treeline, knowing that the loss of your Polymorph Transformation

is imminent, you glance ahead in the direction you've been traveling this entire time, and you, unfortunately, even in the dark of night, can't make out enough detail that tells you where the transition would be to the... Oh, wait, my perception, sorry, it's different for a giant owl. It was actually...

Oh, that's right. Yeah, it was a 14, 15, sorry. A 15. That's much better. Owls, owls, yo. That's why I did it. That makes a difference. As you begin to just hit the top of the treeline, looking up ahead, you can see it's a ways off still,

but the way the bit of moonlight is hitting the canopy, you can see where the texture begins to change for just a small pocket a ways away, where the canopy seems to dip. You can see what looks to be a few 100, 200, you don't know how many, but thin spire-like tops of leafless trees. Okay.

Oh gosh, okay, okay, okay. All right. Still a ways travel from you. But good to know. But you now have an orientation of direction. We have ways travel from you. But good to know. But you now have an orientation of direction. Okay. You don't have to recast, you just can sustain this? No, I need to go again. I just didn't have to spend a spell slot the last time,

but this time I do and I will. Okay, same. So you both land. Yeah. And you cast again. Finally. All right, emerging. You head back up through the canopy

where you landed originally into the sky and traveling that direction again, growing closer and closer, full speed or stealth? Do we see firelight? Make a perception check, if you'd like. Am I doing an advantage? Is anybody helping? What is going on? I'll help you.

Fjord will help you. Cut, cut, or dice. Shouting loudly to the owl across the way. Oh, it was like about you. 16, no, 17. Thank you. 17, okay. They're on the same thing. Yeah.

Continuing on, you don't really notice any sort of firelight. Okay. Even the scry, it was low. So you, unfortunately, aren't able to make out any sort of details as you're looking down, continuing forward. Coasting above, the wind blowing past

your stealthy owl feathers. There's you glancing down below as well. There are other birds and other large evening flying creatures that you can see are looking ahead and a few of them begin to turn and notice the size of you and the clustering of the two large flying creatures and seem to veer off. Other large flying creatures?

Mm-hmm. What do we get, do I get any sense of what these Other large flying creatures? Mm-hmm. What do we get, do I get any sense of what these other large flying creatures might be? Too far away to make out any specific detail. Okay. Just so you can see in the distance, other things that fly, other hunters, other nocturnal predators.

Somewhere. Your first nemesis. As an eagle, I'm going to start looking for any abnormal tree, anything larger than the rest, anything that stands out as we fly forward. Continuing onward? I head pointed out the spires when we landed. Yeah. So we can go. Okay.

For the next hour of travel at full speed, you're not going to be able to get to it. You're still going to be a ways off from it, but it's getting closer. And now that she's pointed out to you and you guys are getting onward, you do begin to make out that element of that transition in the canopy ahead.

You travel for the next hour or so. It's cocked. Cocked again. How do you do that three times in a row? That's ridiculous. All right. You continue onward towards the end of the second hour as your polymorph begins to threaten. Gradually begins to.

Oh god. You begin to descend once more, looking for a gap in the canopy around so we can safely land. Keeping an eye out for laughing hands. Campfires, campfires. Campfires, campfires, anything scary. Make one more perception check, I'll land.

You want me to roll with you? Yes. Natural 20. What the fuck? Are you serious? Why can't you roll like that? I don't know! 19 for me. 22 for me.

Okay. That was the total? 22 is the total. Okay, great. So as you're coming down into the canopy and looking out, you're probably about, you'd gather on foot another hour, hour and a half of travel before you reach the edge

of this grove. Yeah. Just as you're coming down to the canopy, Fjord, you look down, you can see a faint little glow. Under us? Under you. Oh! Fly up, fly up!

I keep going, I keep going! You have about a minute before it passes. I'm going to fly up and try to get away from the thing. Okay, as you pull up and pull up a bit, you look and the canopy is too dense here. Make a perception check to see if you can find a place safe to land where the canopy isn't completely cluttered here. Yeah, but now about.

Oh, that was so cocked. That was so cocked. Ultra cocked. Ultra cocked. Oh boy. It doesn't look good. I can't really tell what it is. I can't quite see it. That's a natural one, y'all.

It is just dense, clustered trees and branches. There is nowhere to land, other than the place you just were. You can't find a place. You can try and just dive into it and take it, or you can try and push on. Caduceus, this is so fun, isn't it? Oh, we're having a great time.

Put distance between us and that thing. I'm going to just try to get as far away from that as I can and get low on top of the canopies and just hope that we can grab onto something if I break before I see something. Woo! Okay, you technically will know precisely the second that it's about to go,

because you have a perfect sense of time. That is absolutely right, yeah. Okay, just checking. I just have the gaslight on, and I'm like, ooh! That's exactly what it feels like. You're not quite sure. But actually, I'm the eagle, I'm not Caleb,

so that's kind of iffy, whether it would be. Yeah, I mean, a moth chews on drapes, so. I think when it's... Giant eagles are not. But does it have the keen mind feat that Caleb does? I'll say. To know when it would end. Well, as casters, you know when it's going to end.

It isn't like you wonder. Oh, I can feel it. But it's like you're in the last 30 seconds. Okay. You cast. Do I try and land safely or safer now, or just continue to push on until it runs out, what are you doing?

That's four rounds, you're going to move far in four rounds, I'm just saying. I'm going to push on until the last six seconds, then I'm going to try to find a landing. Yeah, Caleb actually eggs her on with his eyes as an eagle. Okay. Put on my goggles. I'm going to hunker down.

You can see now, both birds are going into a dive and coasting right over the top. As you guys are holding on, you can feel, you can feel, yeah, friends just. Like higher bowels are starting to scrape the bottoms of your feet and whip past you. Fuck! Fuck!

You did roll a one, unfortunately, and you cannot find any place that looks safe to land. You're either going to have to push into one of the canopies or you're just going to lose control as you're all moving at maximum speed flying. I'm going to wait for the last 10 seconds and push down at the canopy. And then just jump out of the airplane

at the last minute and you'll be fine? And just push down at the canopy. Yeah, I'm going to start to slow in the last 10 seconds, but yeah, I'm going to try to push it as far. I'm pushing it right to the edge. You jump up. Okay. Right down. I'm pushing it right to the edge. Right before the elevator hits, you jump up. Okay.

All right. And right as you do, you get to the very, very edge. You slow a bit. You slow a bit. Yeah, I know. Both of you lose your forms. Caleb reaches into his coat, pulls out a piece of feathery down,

and casts Feather Fall on everybody except Fjord. No, no, get Fjord, get Fjord. No, too late. Too late, everybody except Fjord, there's only so many people I can get. Yeah, that's fine. He's beefy cake now. I'll cast Feather Fall on him.

Yay! Okay. So, you all appear, and it takes six seconds to cast a spell. Oh shit, that's fine. Well, it's a reaction though, right? Feather Fall's a reaction, so no, it is a lot quicker. Oh my god!

Spell yeah. That's correct. No! As you guys are toppling, even at the slower speed, in order to try and slow down at the speed you were careening at, you're still moving at a pretty decent pace, before all of a sudden, you all begin to tumble in the air.

Two Feather Falls are released, and you all begin to gently hit boughs and branches. You don't take any damage. Can we see each other? Go ahead, we can't see. I'm holding up this and be like. You guys are hitting, like, moving through the trees and tumbling down.

You're not taking damage, which is the good news. Yeah. But you're like, We're trying to stealthily fall. Yeah, you know when parachuters come into trees? Yeah. It doesn't kill them instantly. They don't all of a sudden come out of it

horribly thrashed unless they did a really bad, but it's not fun and it's not quiet. We look super stupid right now. Are we falling at 15 miles an hour like parachuters? Yeah, it's 60 feet a second or something like that. Or no, no, 60 feet around, 60 a parachute. So it's 10 feet a second. Yeah. 50 feet per round.

Yeah, it's landing a parachute. So you guys are through the boughs and the branches. I need everyone to go ahead and make an acrobatics check for me, please. Oh! Well done. That dice is gone.

Yes! Are we busted yet? You don't know. 15. 15? I could've given myself a... I did, I gave it to myself. Fucking guidance. 19. 19? 15. 15? 14.

14! Highest. Okay. None of you take a heavy branch to the chest. Man. You pop, pop, pop, getting hit, and around eventually coast to the point where you break through the bottom part of the canopy before coming to a rest on your feet.

It's still a hard landing, like a oof, you still impact. You have to tumble a bit and then catch yourself skidding to a halt. A couple of you bump into a tree, hard with a shoulder. It's probably going to bruise, but not enough to actually physically damage yourself, but you all come to stop, scattered a bit amongst the base of the forest. Can I spin on my heel and turn in the direction

that I saw the campfire and just look? Yeah, listen. I'm listening for laughter. All right, go ahead and make perception checks, the two of you. I'm going to cast Pass Without a Trace on everyone right now. Yes, thank you. Natural 19.

21. Yeah, son! 21. You listen carefully and look out there. Nothing. I saw them. We saw the camera. You listen as they all land. Getting louder?

Book it, book it, book it, book it. Book it, stealthy. Are you guys going stealthily, or are you moving quickly? Stealthy, book it, book it. Book it, stealthy. So are you guys going stealthily, or are you moving quickly? Stealthy, stealthy, stealthy. Okay, so it's slower speed. That's pretty slow speed. So everyone go ahead and make a standard stealth check.

Plus 10, you guys. Did they hear us, did they hear us? He had to have had an answer, right? Roll. Maybe. Blessing of the Trickster. I was, oh. Blessing of the Trickster. So you get advantage on your stealth roll.

25. You dick. Plus 10? That's your problem. Go ahead. Better get your ass in gear. I rolled a three, but plus nine for my stealth, which is 12, plus 10, so 22. That's actually not terrible. It's not bad, but I haven't rolled above a six

pretty much all game. I know. I rolled a 17 on that perception check. That was not for me. It was not my perception check. Keep going. Well, I rolled an 18, so 30. 41.

35. 25. All right. Yeah, 40. So you guys are carefully, quietly moving through in the direction of where the forest was. Oh god. Oh god, she made me take it.

No. You hear branches break and shatter. You hear a nearby smaller tree topples over amongst others. The heavy sound cracking as you hear shifting laughs that fade. Your ears come. Everybody comes.

Then silence. You guys stopping or are you continuing to move? We're being quiet. Keep going. Shit, bitches. We're waiting to hide. Just wait. We're going to lay out.

We're hiding. You're hiding? Yeah. All right. You see wandering about 15 feet off through the forest, the hulking shape of the Laughing Hand slashes through this large cluster of tangled net-like vines that just all of a sudden flap onto the ground. With each step, you hear four or five weird, swirling laughs. Can I, in this moment of quick breath,

can I use Divine Sense to keep tabs on him, it, that thing? Oh my god, yes. Yes, Divine Sense is, what's the range on that? 60 feet, Celestial Fiend undead within 60 feet. All right, yeah, you immediately blip as you focus. For the first time since you were given this blessing from the Wild Mother, you close your eyes and you feel this searing, burning sensation

to the immediate right of where the Laughing Hand is, and a second one about 50 feet behind you. What is that? Is that open? There. There's something behind us about 50 feet. You see the Laughing Hand turn around and look back from where it came from.

It begins marching in the direction you guys were traveling. In the direction of where you are, you can see, following in the path of the Laughing Hand, Obann and Yasha also now continuing their trek. Oh! Wait, are they heading back to their camp? No. They're there.

We're headed. We're walking with them now? Yes. This is the worst thing that could have happened. Oh shit. Why? You know when you say goodbye to someone too soon? Uh-huh.

Oh god, I'm really warm. Okay, okay. But if we'd started running, Obann was in the direction we were heading, right? So, no. Obann was behind you guys. Okay, so. The Laughing Hand was a little bit ahead, he was now marking the direction.

And it looks like Yasha and Obann were slowly catching up to him. So we see them now, we see Obann and Yasha now? You guys don't see them. You notice and glance over your shoulder and see about 50 feet behind. We need to give, we should give a berth, like a wide berth, but we need to mirror them to this thing. We need to watch and see what happens.

Can you just grab the skull of all the guys Maybe we should go to plan two. Yeah, I think we should go to plan two. What, is here a plan? We're not going to get there before them, though. Fuck no. Okay. So we got to go to plan two. We just, yeah, we just pace alongside of them for a bit, knock into the plan, and then we can just like,

like dive right in. But they're awake and walking now. This isn't like sneaking up on someone who's asleep. It's like a moving train mission. Like jump on it and go. Can demons see things that are invisible? Anybody know? Anybody know? Anybody know?

Do you know? Do you read books? Have I read anything in a book that's the demons? You could make a religion check, if you'd like. Can I do that? Sure. Fires. I love that you did that. I need you here! 11, super low.

Bullshit for me, too. 17. That's a big ass. That's great. 12. Okay. In your studies with different celestial and or fiendish entities that have a modicum of power and station over lesser versions of themselves, some of them can and often do see things

that have been cloaked for the sense of personal preservation. Both in devilish and demonic circles, lesser entities are always looking to undercut each other, to rise up in station, especially when it comes to devils as well, so some do. Not all of them do. Super concrete info.

You just fucking going to us? Die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die. I mean. Obann lands up in a tree and looks around. Oh shit. Looks up at where all the branches have broken. Oh shit. Still be drunk.

Follows the eyeline of where they broke and the impact in the dirt where you guys were. Start casting your teleportation. I don't think so. Yeah, do it and then just run up and grab the skull and run away. Orphan Maker. I need points in the direction of where you guys are.

Where we are? Of where you guys landed. You guys have probably moved and hit off to the side, but you can see now they're piecing together. What did he say? What? What did he say? If he sends Orphan Maker, you go. He just said Orphan Maker. If he sends Orphan Maker, then he's by himself.

Yeah, but he's in the air. He's on a tree, but I can go, sure, I can climb a tree. Oh god, what? What? What? Invisible climbing and stealing? Sure. Chug. Do it, do it, do it.

This is such a bad idea. I could not believe you just suggested this. I'll go invisi- I didn't want to do this. I wanted to play it safe. But guess what? We're here now. How far away is he?

You still got past the other trees. Will that last even if I walk away from him? Recognize the opportunity. No. Great. If you're within 30 feet, 60 feet, 30 feet. I'm not going to be that far, I mean that close. How far is his tree from us? His tree, he's probably about 45 feet up in the tree.

About 40 feet up the tree. How far is the base of the tree from where we are? The base of the tree from where you guys are right now, I'd say about 60 or so feet. Whoa. Okay, okay. That's where the Laughing Hand is? You're trying to go after the Laughing Hand, right? No, he's trying to go after Obann,

in the top of a tree. Wait, why? Why Obann? To get the heart and soul of the skull. Obann has the skull, not Laughing Hand. Obann's got the skull. Oh, it's Obann. I thought it was Laughing Hand. You can still hear the Laughing Hand is ahead of you guys and is circling,

looking around and waiting for the other two to touch up. I have a quick spatial question. Yes. How far away is the Laughing Hand? Obann is like 60 feet away. Let's pull the map. Oh! Today is the day! Dwarven Forge! Oh fuck!

This combat, is it combat? God, I hope not, is powered by Dwarven Forge. I hope they do not power this combat. Check out the latest and greatest. Three pieces of Dwarven Forge on there. Check out the latest and greatest at dwarvenforge.com. I am not okay with this. I know this is a terrible idea,

but Marisha and I have been whispering all night about how Not with my spells that I don't have. About being horny for combat. Yeah, we've had a dry start. Whoa, that tree is really hot. These trees are all going to die, but. So, you guys. Give it to me.

We'll say for the purposes of this. How did you know we would land here? Well, no, I have a series of things I can adjust based on where it happened. He has so many things back on the map. I have a bunch of maps based on what happened tonight that can be repurposed depending on where it happened. So.

Improvisation. You guys will say, I've all found your ways to hide in this vicinity. You can tell me where specifically you would have gone to hide if you want to. It depends on where they are. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Also, where did we land? Where's our impact craters?

Okay. Yeah, this seems right. They came from this direction? This is really, there's only these trees. Obann is up in here. Oh god. Fucker. Where's Yasha? The Laughing Hand is a ways over in this space somewhere.

Oh god, I'm going to cry. Ahead of us, ahead of us. He's so big. Great. And Yasha's over here. Oh, Yasha! Oh, Yasha! Anime yell, Yasha!

So what are you guys doing? Crying. Crying. I'm literally crying, crouching down. All right, Nott. Is that all the cover there is? Okay, I think this could fucking work. You go after Obann. Yeah. I mean, all this is distraught.

You're fucked. 100%. As soon, try, because we don't want him to move, right? As soon as you snap, he's probably going to feel that you took the shit, right? Scream fucking bloody murder, and then we go. No. Then you have to just run, and then we have to run. Let's try and find a rendezvous point

and get the fuck out. No! Yeah! That's a terrible plan! Yeah! That's a terrible plan! Ride or die. Ride or die, man. What if Caleb just does? The latter part seems like a fairly obvious outcome

at this point. Well, he's got to just get the skull. I'm going invisible and I'm going to start rocking around the skull. Yasha gets down on her knee and starts inspecting the impact, looking up as they're all, Obann is glancing and looking down. What are you doing?

Invisible, and I'm going to start clocking around counterclockwise. Okay, go ahead and roll a stealth check. I'm still within your- You can't guide you, you're too far away. Well, I mean, I'm still within your- Passed a lot of trace right now. Trace range, but I'm going to walk out of it.

You will be leaving it, so you do not get the benefit as you continue to stealth, so just roll. Natural 20. Oh! Not at all. Good. You're going with it, going with it. Yes! All right. Queen. You have to seize it, going with it. Yes, queen.

You have to seize the opportunities presented to you, Tarv. Behind Yasha, in this direction. Fuck, Travis is the one who told Nott to go up there for the first life. You're going to climb the tree? I'm going to get a, yeah, I don't know how much movement I can use on this while still being stealthy, so.

It's slow, slow going. It's like, slow going. It's like, it's the careful footing. I'll still keep creeping on the bonus action. Creeping up. Yasha turns around and looks up towards Obann and says, it looks like they went this way. And points in the direction where a lot of you ran to hide.

Oh boy. Oh man. Just let it happen. It's just like in Sound of Music, when everyone's staying fucking cool, discovers the Von Trapps. Maybe it's wrong, maybe she'll let it happen. Just like in Sound of Music, when Rollin went fucking cool, discovers the Von Trapps. Maybe it's Roll. Maybe she'll let us go. Just let her keep doing it. Let her keep doing it.

Hopefully she's Roll. You keep going on, you keep sticking. Against to run in this direction, like a jog in the direction of where the Laughing Hand is essentially, and heading that way. You're going to try and climb the tree? Not just try to climb the tree. Oh wait, spider climb's a spell.

I'm going to try to climb the tree. Yeah, spider climb will break your concentration. Yes, I will climb the tree, stealthily. Make an athletics check, or acrobatics with disadvantage, I'll say, because you remember you do this stealthily and carefully. Athletics could be a careful climb. Acrobatics is going to be a lot of leaping

from place to place and it would be really hard to stealth through that. Terrible. Nine. You get about 10 feet up on the tree and there's no handhold. You're just like, I don't know where to go. I'm 10 feet up the tree, how many more feet

till I get to Obann, one canobal? 30 feet. 30 feet. 30. 30 feet? Yeah. Yeah. That five feet makes a difference. 30 feet. Okay, and can I see that thing hanging off his belt?

From this current perspective, make a perception check with disadvantage, because he's up in the tree, you just know he's there, you don't have a good. Terrible. Two threes. Yeah, you have no visual range whatsoever. All you know is he's up there, and you can hear his conversations with Yasha,

but from this perspective on the side of the tree, you can't even see him. Yeah, because you could do a little mage hand if you just see it, right? Mage hand. Okay, I'm going to sit and wait for a couple seconds and just see if there's any other changes in the scenario.

Yep. He, yeah, I was rolling to see when he began to notice anything else, and so when Yasha's moving forward, and with you taking your sweet time down there to try and figure this out, a little too long, and he begins to dart and land on the ground next to Yasha.

They both continue their walk forward, but you can see now there's paranoia in his eyes, and starting to see the tracks on the ground, and he's looking around, and right now, where Fjord and Caduceus are hiding, they're like 10 feet away from you, just walking by. If they're walking by, I'm going to turn invisible. Okay. The second that I even feel

like they can see anywhere where I am, I'm going to turn invisible. Okay, so you vanish for one round. Yeah. While hiding. I will slowly start to climb down that tree and follow Obann. Okay.

You are moving stealthily. Stealthily, but with dash or whatever. Okay, yeah, bonus action. So you're moving normal speed. Yeah. Because you move half speed going stealthily, but then the dash going forward. Okay, well, they're also dashing

because they're not trying to be stealthy. They're trying to go for time. Sure, sure. So you are not keeping pace with them. Okay. They are moving away. That's fine. They are moving away from us, though? They looked around. You guys are in your radius.

You rolled some pretty decent stealth checks. So even as they're looking around, they don't make out your location, and they move from search to now try and find out whatever these creatures are that they're assuming are ahead of them, and they go into a fast jog in the direction of Laughing Hand. That's okay. And move on.

That's okay. Whoa. Okay. You. We know where they are, they don't know where we are. That's an advantage. I'm going to creepily be right next to Fjord without him knowing and just be like, Hey, Fjord!

Fjord! Should I keep going? No, stay with us. Stay close. But I can keep after them and see their movements. No, it's better when they split up together. It's more dangerous to stay close. But I can keep after them and see their movements. No, it's better when they split up together. It's more dangerous to stay close. And they know.

They know now. There's no surprise. We need to, we need to. I had them. I had them. You did. So close. Being so Soto-O'oche, can we wait until they are, let's call it 50 to 60 feet before we try to whisper?

Yeah. Okay. And you do hear at the edge of that visual range as you're waiting, you hear a bond give an order. It's like, Hand, keep her nose to the air. It can't be too far, whoever they are. And then they continue forward in the direction of the grove. Fuck!

It could have gone way worse. I thought I was feet away from doing that! It's weird trying to talk to you when I don't know where you are. We should try and follow them. They're moving at a quicker pace. We should match pace. And then what? I pace. And then what?

If we agree. I agree. And then what? The longer that we try and follow them, the longer, the more likely the chances are that we're going to fucking fail, and they're going to notice us. So, and I'm fine with that, but I just think we should have a plan.

Well, we are either starting a fight with them before they reach their destination, or waiting for them to complete their plans, which might turn them from three to four. Mm-hmm. All right, we can't get there before them. We can't fly there. We can't rest.

The only option we have is to go at pace with them, and when we're com- Wait for a moment. Not wait for a moment, create a moment. We need to send two of us in front, or three of us in front of them, and three behind to make some sort of a distraction. When they turn around to face the ones behind them, the ones who are flanked in front can go and strike or do whatever.

Also, remember that this- Run up and grab this guy. Assuming that he's not going to just fly immediately. Remember, the tree has defenses. The corpse, its advice was to not go, so if the tree has an adder of defense, something that would weaken them first, that could serve as a little bit of a buffer for us.

The way that they fought us. Question for you, Jester. Right now, I could send Obann back to his home. Are you able to do that as well right now? No, I don't have anything that powerful anymore. I used up all my powerful stuff with being an owl. Can you send Yasha back to her home? No, Yasha is of this world, but Obann is not.

If I am lucky, I could take Obann off of the playing field. He could resist it, but. Yeah, what if he succeeds? Well, then. Do I have to be close to him for something like that? I need to be about 50 or 60 feet away from him. So, I actually don't hate this plan, though. Thank you!

Because who can make an image as well? I can invoke Duplicity. I can make a major image. I can make a major image. I can make a silent image. He knows who we are, he's going to be looking for us. If you're invisible, but if Caleb makes an image of you being there, he might not suspect that any of us are missing.

Unless he can see through all the invisibility or the image or any of that stuff, but we don't really know that. So. But ideally, when the back team makes some sort of a distraction and they spin to find out what it is, that's when we strike. So what I'm saying is, we line up,

we give them that Avengers lineup with Nott included, but it's an illusion Nott, An invisible Nott is sneaking up, and while he's doing his bad guy monologue, because bad guys love monologuing, and we're like, yo, we're going to fight you. Your road ends here with us, and you're doing that, but there's an illusion Nott the whole time, but the real Nott is sneaking up and stealing his shit.

I just realized how confusing my name is in all of these conversations. You just know. That's a great pick. Great pick for a name. Okay, let's assume that that terrible idea works. How do we get Nott and the rest of us out of here immediately? One minute for the thing that Caleb does.

Longer. Longer. Longer. 10. Right. If I had it prepared, I don't have it prepared. I thought you had it prepared. That's the point. No, we're talking about the teleport circle. Teleport, not the hut?

Uh, that's one minute then, yeah. If we or I were able to swipe the skull? Skull? Yeah. Then I would assume they would send some folks after me. So all I have to do is run around for 59 seconds until you guys can get ready. Dodge three people, one of which can fly. Yeah, I'm super fast, have you seen me?

Have you seen them? I'm invisible sometimes, too. But invisible Nott would be stealing the ship, right? Oh my god, what would that be? Maybe illusion Nott could be the one trickseeing. This is assuming they can't see right through all of us. I could also make just you fly. Would you be able to fly faster than Obann?

Their movement and footfalls, by the way, are gone. Gone, yeah. They moved on ahead. All right, we're going to keep following. At about 80 feet behind. Maybe something's going to present itself. 80 to 100 feet. Okay, to keep pace behind them, you're going to have to be at the same jog pace.

I'm afraid. Which means stealth checks would be disadvantaged. When the moment presents itself, it might be an emergency and we won't have the jump on them. That's all I'm presenting right now, is if the moment, if something happens as we're trying to keep pace with them,

and it's going to take one of us to snap a stick and for that fucker to turn around and look at us. What if we keep pace, and then how far away can you make your major image? 120 feet. What if we keep pace, and then how far away can you make your major image? 120 feet. What if we keep pace behind them, and then you throw without wheel drop stealthily, you throw out the image in front of them,

and then Nott, you run up from behind? And grab it, and then come back and run. No flanking involved. We use the image to flank, and then we just... Run! Yeah. Just fucking do it. And you need a minute in a one stationary place. No, you need 10 seconds.

So we're still... A minute in a stationary place. So if we're stationary, we should get to the outside of this tree. I would assume they're going to get to the outside of it and assess it, right? They'll stop for a second. We're not going to beat them to that.

No, I know. No, but you can make the image come out of the tree or something. That's what I mean. If they get to the tree and they it and assess it, right? They'll stop for a second. We're not going to beat them to that. No, I know. No, but you can make the image come out of the tree or something. That's what I mean, if they get to the tree and they stop and assess it, he takes a minute to prepare. We wait, we conjure, we string our, we fucking go for it. Right, do it, if it's true, go. But we wait until we get to the tree. But what I'm saying is,

we could still be hours from the tree, and the longer that we pace them, the longer that we're tracking them, the more opportunities with each footfall we have to alerting them. Distance-wise, because you have gotten close enough to see, you're probably about an hour travel from the edge of the Grove.

Do we think we can stalk behind them for an hour without making our impressions now? At 100 feet? I think that five of us can be 300 feet behind, and only one of us needs to be within 100 feet, making sure that they're... How long does it pass? It's 10 minutes or? 10 minutes.

And I can't keep doing it. I know, I know, because we fucking came out here. Emptying will have no spell. Wait, what? Mm-hmm. I think we have Element of Surprise sooner rather than later, but that's just me. Do you want to do it now? I think we do it sooner. sooner rather than later, but that's just me. Do you want to do it now?

I think we do it sooner. Take them before they get there. Let's do it. I think. Ride or die. I think the minute you throw out the major image, Caleb starts casting. You prep it.

We try and distract them for as long as we can. Nott goes in. 10 rounds is a long time to distract. 10 rounds is an insanely long time, but hopefully the Major Image can do the most of the heavy lifting, right? Assuming they don't just, instead of talking, immediately charge.

Turn around. Turn around and charge and murder us. What if? Is there any other way that we can get away from them quickly? They're faster than us. I miss being a druid. What are you talking about?

Are you able to turn into an owl again, or that's done? I'm done. I literally have jacked. Oh shit. I have the ability to revive you guys if you die. If one of you. One person. I can run real fast. That's all I got.

That's assuming that the laughter doesn't take you. Plus I could potentially try to, you know, command them to halt. Improvise with, yeah. Are you guys, so you've been moving to try and keep pace with them while you've been having this conversation, right? Yeah.

So we probably should roll for stealth. So we should roll we roll for stealth. So we should roll a disadvantage for stealth? Okay, you're not keeping pace if you're moving stealthily. Right. Either you move stealthily and the gap continues because they're not moving stealthily,

or you keep pace and then roll stealthy disadvantage. We're keeping pace. We're keeping pace, but far enough back that we would have to be real dumb for them to hear us. Where are you keeping pace then? What are the distance you want to keep? Of like 300 feet. What? 200 feet?

I think 100 feet. 100 feet's still within spellcasting. This is true. 100 feet is still within earshot. Yeah. Is it? 200 feet. This studio is 100 feet. I can hear from the other side of the studio

if someone does something. All right, 300 feet. 300 feet, all right. You guys jog up to try and keep what you assume is about a 300-foot distance from them without visual range on them, just pushing in that direction. Everyone make stealth checks on disadvantage, please.

Disadvantage. 17. That's cocked, right? That is cocked. Yeah. Rip almost 20. We don't have pass without a trace. Nope. It's not cocked, you're good. It's not cocked, right? No, that corner's not cocked. Okay, okay, okay. It's disadvantage, right?

You rolled a one? Oh, but it's disadvantage. It's a straight roll for you, because you have advantage. It's a group, though. Do we still have pass without a trace? No. Only for 10 minutes. It's going to be gone probably after 20. Okay. Natural 20. Well, that's good, be gone probably. After 20. Okay. Natural 20.

Well, that's good, that balances Caleb. They cancel each other out. Maybe, I don't know about that. That's insane. I don't know. You don't get to manage, right? You guys push on for about 15 or 20 minutes or so to where you just catch up with them,

probably about 200 feet of them, to where you can begin to hear their movement. They're shifting, and they're jogging, snapping of twigs and moving over a brush and the slashing of bits of heavy foliage that get in the way. At that point, you hear all the footfalls stop for a second, and you guys stop.

You can just barely make out through the little bit of moonlight that's coming through the trees, Obann hand up like this and goes, I heard something. You have to now. Now? Do it! And hunt them, we're going. Him and Yasha continue to move on in the direction while the hand turns around. We don't want to fuck

with the hand, we don't want to fuck with the hand! Now turns around and glances around loosely in the direction you guys are. Fuck, we've got to get past the hand turns around. We don't want to fuck with the hand! Now turns around and glances around loosely in the direction you guys are. Fuck, we've got to get past the hand now. We've got to get past the hand. He's just moving. Slap it in the ass! He's zagging through the brush.

I couldn't leave him a demon to play with. He's separated, though. He could. And then we keep going? Yeah. Yeah, do it. You see the tree now nearby, it takes the blade and like, I'll reach my hand out and I'll summon

the Star Razor Sword and I'll reach up and point and my eyes roll back and I'll say, Balgura. And I'll summon a greater demon. Okay. As your eyes roll back and the energy flows into your eyes, well, first off, just a reminder, you need to look at

the components of the spell. Ooh, boy, what does that mean? What a great way to introduce this concept. Visual PSM. Previously, looking it up afterward, one of the challenges of summoning demons, if you look at the components of the spell. Or spellcasting.

Have I ever had to look at the components of the spell? You were supposed to be, you just didn't. So now you're on the clock. Summoning a greater demon requires a vial of blood from a humanoid killed within the past 24 hours. Can you take my blood right now? Well, I mean, we were just by some dead humanoids. If he knew that he needed it,

you could have gotten blood from a dead humanoid. We did have one. You did come across a freshly killed humanoid. Roll an intelligence check for me, Fjord. See if you would have remembered. I'm saying, just from a religious standpoint, to have thought about that in advance. Well, I mean, if Travis would remember.

22. 22? Okay, that's good. Yes, I will allow it. I will say in the time that you'd come across these bodies, knowing the danger that you were facing and the components required for the spell, just as an optional precaution, you took a vial of semi-coagulated blood

from the corpses that were left behind. That's good. Kind of stealthily without the rest of your party knowing. Well, I hope I can look through all the rest of my spells and figure out what components they need. Hey! Components in the middle of this? Yeah. Cool. Yeah, man.

I can help you. The sword wasn't ever an arcane focus or whatever? Physical components. The ones that you can't get around. Yeah, the ones that... You can use a focus for some, but if it's a big spell, then it's like you have to have a thing.

Do I use the Traveler symbol for a focus on some of them? I do. All of these things have fucking components. Components use the Traveler symbol for a focus on some of them? I do. All of these things have fucking components. Components only if they're worth something. This isn't worth something. Actually, this is a... Because you could have a component bag.

Like you have a component bag. I do, too. Right. Sure. But then it's like special items. We're so fucked. Next time we're in a town, we're just going to stock up on the weirdest shit. No, I need spider legs!

I've made a point of getting weird shit since the beginning of this campaign. An undead eyeball encased in a gem worth at least 150 gold? If it's got a coin value, for certain you have to have that shit. An undead eyeball encased in a gem? Yep. Worth 150? I mean, where would you find that?

Hold on. Okay, he's saying hold on, hold on. We did a Hamburger Helper episode on this. I know what that's going to be. One was about, you can have a focus for some things. It doesn't have a cost. But then it depends on the other, yeah. Don't know how to play.

It's really not a good play. Okay. Eyeball the other, yeah. Don't know how to play. Play no more. Okay. Eyeball, eyeball, eyeball. Jeremy Crawford tweeted as a response. To create the circle in the Summon, Lesser or Greater Demon spell, you need the blood mentioned in the spell's description. A focus cannot substitute the material of the blood. Wait, did Jeremy Crawford just tweet that?

No, this was November 27th, 2017, I searched it. Wow. So, it does require the material component cost for that. We're saying we have. But you have it because you rolled high enough intelligence, I'm saying that you had the, you took the measure to do so in advance. Okay.

D&D, love them on it. We're going to break that down after the show, because I'm confused and curious, but we'll, after the show. Sure. It does state in the spell's description that it consumes the blood spell, but anyway, we'll, after the show. It does state in the spell's description that it consumes the blood spell, but anyway, we'll go with that afterward. It's fine.

You were able to use the spell in this instance. As you close your eyes, concentrating on the vengeance that you had subtly promised to these two that you found dead and slaughtered in the center of the Lotus Den, you expend the vial of blood that you took from their corpses, and in doing so, this darkened circle appears,

where it was previously red energy summoned these demon forward. This has a dull, vibrant green verdant color to it. As the circle swirls, as opposed to these jagged arcane ruins, they're almost like curved elvish. As the bulgura emerges, its skin is actually green and black, and where you saw once with these jagged elements here, it seems to have

almost a fey quality to its appearance. It is not the demon that you had seen previously summoned by Fjord. As it lands, you see the Laughing Hand glance over in the direction of Fjord originally, the big toothy grin curving across its face. As it begins to lumber towards you, to close the distance, the bulgura appears to its side

and it turns towards it. Round two. Fight. It's going to turn on the Balgura. Ooh! It turns at it and immediately just goes and starts hacking away. Let's go ahead and see how this combat plays out.

What are you guys doing? Sneaking around, sneaking around. All right. So you're going stealthily. Yes. That means you'll move with a dash 60 feet in a turn for the base of you. So it'll take you about four or five rounds before you can even really catch up to where it is

since you're about 200 to 300 feet back. This is a heads up. So the Laughing Hand is now going to go to the Balgura. Should we run wide? Should we run wide and fast? I mean, it's a Laughing Hand fighting a Balgora and we're going to be running away from where the melee is and swinging wide to try and catch up

and run their parallel. Roll initiative for the Balgora. Okay. 15. 15, okay. Balgora goes first. Hey, let's just run. Let's just run. You guys are just running wide?

Running wide? We're trying to step lightly as we're running. No, we're running wide. It's one or the other, it's binary. Okay, so you guys are going into a run now. Yep. Continuing off to the side, an angle to not immediately follow in the path

of Obann and Yasha. All right, so I can be dashing through this area. It's not the best terrain at a strong speed. So we'll say because it is heavily forested, it is considered difficult terrain, so you're at a half speed for a lot of this. So that balances out. It'll take you about three rounds to get past him.

Nevertheless, Barlgurla goes first. Well, you guys are running. Barlgurla can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components. He will cast Invisibility on himself. Ooh. Okay. That's his action. That's his action. Is he going to try and move away?

He will loudly, loudly run in the opposite direction of where he sees the group running. You got it. His first couple of footfalls, he goes in and takes a swing in the direction, as he sees it van vanish as it heads that direction and swing with its large, wide blade arm with disadvantage because it isn't visible, to 18.

Bam, bam, bam, hits. Okay. That is 21 points of slashing damage. Okay. And the bulgar needs to make a concentration check. Yeah. Roll a constitution saving throw. Constitution saving throw.

This is our big first fight in four episodes and none of us are in it. 18. 18? Yeah, maintains concentration. Okay, so it lumbers off. It's now the Laughing Hand's turn. What's the movement speed on the Bulgara? 40 feet. That's the speed of the Laughing Hand.

He catches up to where it thinks it may be, and is going to swing wide in the general vicinity of where it is. It's going to make two melee attacks with the blade arm. Disadvantage. That is going to be a 14 to hit. Misses. Misses. With the blade arm. Disadvantage. That is going to be a 14 to hit. Misses. Misses.

Goes wide. That's going to attempt to do a slam attack on it. With disadvantage. That is going to be a 20 to hit. That does hit. Okay, so the bulgur now takes 14 points of bludgeoning damage. Okay. And needs to make another Constitution saving throw. So the bulgur now takes 14 points of bludgeoning damage.

Okay. And needs to make another concentration saving throw. That is a 17. 17, okay, so it maintains concentration, it's still invisible. You guys move wide, another full range of movement. Beau and Nott are ahead of the group because of your speed that you're traveling, unless you want to stay in pace with the rest of them?

Nope. Okay, you guys are cruising out in that direction. Bulgur takes his turn. The Bulgur will move 40 feet, again, away from the group, trying to draw the Laughing Hand as far away as possible, and it will use this spell he can use once a day. He could do Invisibility twice a day,

this one's once a day. He will use Phantasmal Force. Oh yes. To, I've never used this before. It's Concentration, so he's going to lose Invisibility, which is fine, but it's an Intelligence saving throw for the Laughing Hand. Okay, first make a wisdom saving throw

for the Bulgara now. Oh, for the laughter. Just while we're at Hand. Okay, first make a wisdom saving throw for the bulgur right now. Oh, for the laughter. Just while we're at it. Okay. Because now the laughter's starting to burble out from in its body. 18. Yeah, it's fine. All right, so continue with your spell.

You've used Phantasmal Force. What does it make, what do you make? You can make the Laughing Hand, if it's successful, you can make the Laughing Hand, if it's successful, you can make the Laughing Hand imagine anything, like see something and believe it is real, whatever you want it to be. Like that he's on fire. That he's on fire or that he sees the Mighty Nein or.

Uh-huh, uh-huh, yeah, yeah, there's, yeah. He sees a big ass laughing mouth that is zooming in on top of him and starting to bite with rows and rows of teeth. It's a phantasmal force, you said? Phantasmal force. Intelligence save, do you know what your spell save thing is for this bold guy?

It is, it is, it is, it's DC 13. 14. 14. 14, but that's intelligence save. It is. That guy might be really dumb. I assume so. It would do psychic damage. You craft an illusion that takes root in the mind of a creature you can see.

Doesn't say anything about knowing language. 60 feet. It's a level two illusion. How did you get access to Phantasmal Force? It says once a day you can cast Entangle or Phantasmal Force. Oh, you're not casting it, the bulgura is. Yeah, sorry. Sorry, that's where I got confused. Okay, so yeah, intelligent saving throw?

20. Damn. Wow, that's a smart hand. And the bulgura is no longer invisible. That's right. It lost. Yeah. It does get attack opportunity against it as it runs past. With disadvantage, because it was invisible at the start of it, that is a 19. Hits.

So it does take 14 points of slashing damage from the blade arm. The bulgura continues to run that direction. All right. The Laughing Hand, for its turn, as it slashes away, it looks down at the ground for a second, and a laughter goes,

begins to echo from the shadows. The second I start hearing that, were we within 120 feet still? You're about, yeah. I'm just going to use my last action, since we're 120 feet, to cast a Ball of Silence around the Laughing Hand. Okay.

That's okay. Sure. So the, it is stationary. Yeah, just right where he's standing. Okay, so the laughter goes quiet, but from the shadows, you see three shadowy hounds that you had previously seen it summon when you first fought it begin to emerge and begin to scatter

in the direction of your troop as you're running. Forgot about those guys. Yep, yep, yep. Damn, I thought that might have stopped the spell. It's not a spell. No. It's just a feature. That's fine. It's an ability, sorry. It's all right.

So the Shadowhounds are now running your direction. You can just barely see the movement through the darkness as they're darting between trees and you hear the getting louder and louder as you guys are running, arcing around the side and the hounds are trying to keep up and keep pace with you all.

They're coming after us? Yes. They know where we are? How do they even know where we are? Because you guys are running. We're running, we're making sound. You're not stealthy, you guys are full-on sprinting at the edge around, away from him.

So you are very visible and very audible. How close are they? At this point now, if you guys went on the edge, I'd say about, he went this way, about 100 feet from you. 100 feet? Yeah. Okay. So just be aware that that's coming.

How many? Three. Three. All right, so the Laughing Hand is going to go ahead. How many? The bulgur is taking its turn. It is. He will use his full 40 feet of movement to run, and he will use his running leap, which is an additional 40 feet, so 80 feet total.

Well, I guess if he runs and dashes and does his leap, is that just 80, or is it also 40, 40, and 40? Holy shit, what did you just say? He has a thing called running leap, so Balgaro's long jump is up to 40 feet when it has a running start. So it would be 40 and then he could jump another 40 for 80 feet total movement, or is that like the dash?

Okay, so he'll do that and bang his chest. Come on. Roll an intimidation check for the Balgura. Hey, buddy. Okay. Don't stress. What would intimidation is, what, charisma? Yeah.

Come on. Doesn't that have awesome intimidation? Try to grapple instead, Hopper. I'll just grapple instead. 13. 13? All right, so the bulgur runs 80 feet away, leaps and lands and turns and beats its chest.

The hounds that circled off to the side in the silence that encapsulated and stopped its laughter. The Laughing Hand looks at the vulgara, looks at the direction the hounds are going, smiles, and goes and gives chase after the hounds. But you guys are, so let's go out and get another map here. Oh god! Oh shit, Fog of War, motherfucker!

What can't be said about Dwarven Forge that hasn't already been said? It's Dwarfy. It's Fjordgy. He was low on hit points. You can check out more at DwarvenForge.com. We're going to run a distraction to you guys to the point where he's not between you

and the path you're traveling. Don't be sad. Oh yeah. Shit. I'll put that book if you don't mind. Yeah, of course. Thank you. Oh my gosh. So. Oh my god. You guys are all running on this end here. Where's our Yashi?

You're still invisible, right? Yeah. So you're ahead here, probably, a little ways above Beauregard, a little bit further ahead. We'll say you guys have all caught up about there. With, oh, it's not Yasha, sorry. Jester and Caleb, all keeping in pace there.

All righty. So. We got this, guys. Yes, and here we go. Always the cheerleader. Are Obann and Yasha anywhere on this map? Where are they? You don't see them.

They are just ahead. Yeah. So we're just being pursued by the Laughing Hand. They were already hundreds of feet ahead. They were 300 feet behind them. We were running in the dark going like, what do we do, do we do this, do we do that? So if we run and we catch up with them.

Yeah, they heard you guys make a noise. They gave Laughing Hand his order and then they ran ahead. You guys waited for a moment, Laughing Hand came forward and stalked the space again and that's when you summoned. So they're not super ahead of you, but at the moment right now, as you're focused on running,

you do not see them. But you did arc around this way and so you're on a side path. Nevertheless, let's go ahead and roll initiative. Oh shit. I'm going to barf. I know, I'm not okay. Oh boy.

My character's literally shaking so hard, I can't help myself. We're not going to kill it with the hand. We just got to stop it. Thank god we have all of our spells. All right. Slow it down something. So, 25 to 20. Critics.

20 to 15. 15. 19. Just laying this off. Wow. I'm going to roll my 19. Oh, cool, cool, cool. I rolled two ones. All right.

The fuck is going on? You were having a rough night, okay? A month. So that brings us to? Yeah, it's been a while. 10 to 15? 10 to 15? 10.

Caduceus. Fuck, man. What? 10 to five. 10. Caduceus. Fuck, man. But 10 to five. Not bad. Eight. Seven. Jesus. All right.

What's the play here, Dan? Do we stay and fight? Jester, you're up first. Run as fast as we can? He's faster. I'm running. You're running. Double speed. If we run, we catch up. We're bringing everyone into the fight. We're bringing. Double speed. If we run and catch up,

we're bringing everyone into the side. We're bringing everyone into one, but if we stop, we are focusing on Laughing Hand and the dolls. We are accurately leaning into his distraction and fighting the Laughing Hand and letting them get a head start. There's no good, none of this is good. There's nothing good.

Yeah. No. Essek! Because this area is thick forest, it is largely considered difficult terrain, so the movement is a little slow. Remember, he can jump. But you guys are double speeding forward. So that's your double movement there, Jester.

That's your go. Laughing Hand. How far away was he from us? Is he? He is over this way. Okay, okay. Okay. Oh man. Also, there's still a creature chasing him, I assume. Yeah. There are three

Shadowhounds heading this way. Jesus. Nope. So Laughing Hand takes his turn, runs, jumps. All right, so that brings us to Nott. Double dash run forward. Okay. So 20. Both of these are good.

Puts you about there there as you're pushing through the rough terrain and having to jump over bits of bushes and roots and the harshness and difficult floor of the Lotusden Greenwood itself. I only can run 30 feet? 30 feet. Well, 35 feet? 35 feet total, but then it's half speed

and I'm saying as part of that, it puts you at about 15 feet per movement. You can use your bonus action to dash and go an additional 15. Oh, yeah, of course. So there you go, it gets you to there. All right. It's now the hound's turn. They do not suffer issues with the rough terrain.

They get, not quite, but they're lapping at the heels of Caleb, Caduceus, and Fjord. What's the range from us? I'd say they're about 20 or so feet behind you guys. That brings us to Caduceus, with Caleb on deck. What are you doing, buddy? Yeah, we got to fight them. We at least have to fight the hounds.

I'm, fuck, man. Try and fight and run. Fight while we run. Are we double speeding here? I suppose I'm keeping pace with everybody. Fuck, why am I next? That's so fucked. You need one minute to do what? To teleport us away.

Mm-hmm. Sorry. How close are they at this point? How close are the hounds? About 20 feet behind you. About 20 feet behind me, and they are way faster than I am, I can tell. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

They're not held by the difficulty of this forest terrain. Shit, so even at double speed, they're going to catch up to you. They're going to catch up to me next round. Now mind you, you fought them before, and you know they weren't extremely powerful. They were, you know, fairly annoying.

Did I even turn them against their master or anything? What are you doing, Caduceus? What you doing? I'm going to... Ride and fight, ride and fight. I know how I feel, but would we consider the Laughing Hand a monster? He's considered a creature. A monster, yeah.

I'm going to cast Bane on the three of them since they're right there and it hardly matters. You could get the cold sweats. Bane on all three of them, you got it. They actually do have a save against it, I should mention. Oh, right, so wisdom? Charisma. Charisma, oh, they're terrible at that.

Fail. They're so cute. Fail 16? Nope. Fail, all three of them are baned. Okay, I'm going to take my full movement in whatever direction seems like the easiest bit of cover. There will be it. Hell. Yeah.

That finishes your turn, Caduceus? I think it does. Caleb, you're up. That's my, if I was doing my full movement and used my bonus action to do the movement, that's as far as I would go. You can't use your bonus action to move. Oh, that's only a rogue? Only rogues can do that, yeah. Got it.

I would like to run on a diagonal this way. Five, 10, 15, 15. 25, 30. It's rough terrain, you will move half speed. Okay have 10, 15. 25, 30. It's rough terrain, you move half speed. Okay, got it. Yeah. Because you're having to jump over all the shit that's been growing and filling in the bottom of this forest.

All running and tripping and falling. Yep. Pull out not my spell book, but the other book, and I start casting and muttering arcane words and cast Banishment on the Laughing Hand. On the Laughing Hand? Yeah. Okay. Come on, work. Should have cast Blast. Oh my god, if that works.

Save. What is it? What is that, is it a? 17. 17 wisdom? It's a will save. It is charisma. Charisma. Ooh. Remember, he had high, really. He had high uncertainty. Natural 19. Plus 11. Done.

Damn! Sorry. Done, sorry. It's fine. Plus 11, is that what you said? No, I said plus a lot. Plus a lot. Plus a lot. He's got super high charisma. All right, Fjord, you're up. Who would have thought that? Ha ha ha ha ha 11, like, I don't know.

He's the funny guy in a party. Charisma isn't always appearance. Sometimes it's just force of terrible personality and presence. Force of will. I will both ha, hm. They use pack tactics, too. I do remember that.

I will run in that diagonal by 10, 15. 15 in there. Cool, and I can't see the squares. Am I about 30 feet from the hand? I'd say you're about 30, 35 feet from him, yeah. Okay, if I'm 30, fuck it. I'm going to try and cast Charm Monster on the hand

and the hound that is nearest to him. Oh, interesting. Make him your friend. Okay. Go on, go on. Charm monster. Roll low, Matt. Is it wisdom save? Yeah. Yeah, 17. Roll a one.

That is a nine, that's a failure. For the hand? For the hand. Yes. Whoa. Game changer. Game changer. Okay. I mean, look at the game changer. Game changer. Okay. Let me look at the specifics here.

Lordy. I have to pee again. So badly, so badly. We're not taking another break, Laura. I casted it. It's chaos. This is empty. I casted it because of the chaos. It lasts for one hour.

It is concentration. One hour? Game changer. It's concentration. One hour? Game changer. It's concentration, though, so we have to protect Fjord. From the other hounds. It does so with advantage if your companions are fighting it. We haven't fought it.

You're in control. We haven't fought it! I fought off a spell from me. It's been fighting a bulgur that was summoned by you. Yeah. It's fighting it. Yeah. That's still a 1400. Yes!

Shit, okay. That's going to die. Okay. Thank god. I don't know what to do with this. Okay, so the creature for the next hour is Charm to Bayou. Yes!

Here. Do not do anything harmful to it. Here. Here, here, here. Go ahead and make a d20 check, adding your spell modifier, which is your charisma bonus. Okay, you're very charming. Well, why? Fjord is incredibly charming. There's a reason for this. Can I guide him?

There's a reason for this. No, I know, I can't touch him right now. There's a reason? Oh god, nine. You've been rolling so well all game. Wait god, it's a nine. You've been rolling so well all game. Wait, plus your charisma? Yeah. Plus your charisma modifier? That's a four plus five.

Oh, hilariously, you've had some fucking luck tonight. Okay, so. Okay, that's okay. So the spell continues through. The charm is successful. Oh, what was that? What was that? It might have been an attempt to, yeah. It gets some sort of bonus and it didn't get it.

Does it get legendary resistance? It does have legendary resistance, necessarily. You have a bonus action, what are you doing with your action? Necessarily. With a bonus action? You don't know, you don't know. Regardless, the spell works.

Yeah. Tell him to call up his house. Yeah, I mean, can I say, don't attack my friends. Call off your wards. All right, so as you stand there putting your hands forward and say that, the Laughing Hand comes barreling up towards you.

And it's just staring right down at you. It stands at about, roughly, you're guessing at this about 10 to 12 feet tall. Vain sweat drop. That saved our bacon. The hounds, which are falling, run past you and then curve back around to join the hand. What?

We can, this is an hour? I'm going to stay right here, and I'm going to turn to the group and go, you have an hour. Go. Are you not coming with us? Wait. This is an opportunity. For what?

Comedy and assault. For two things. You hit it, it breaks. Nobody attack it. Can it talk? It's not a control spell. No, it's a charm marker. Are you guys still running, or are you staying put?

Yes, I'm still running. I'm just talking to him before we break. Everyone else is still running. Yeah, okay. Are you running with the rest of the group, or are you staying put? Just ask him to stay. And you tell it to run away

in the opposite direction as fast as it can. I don't think it obeys you, it's just friendly to you. Yeah, it's just friendly, it's not dominated. Yeah. Can you ask it its name? Its name is Gannix. I don't want it to talk to me, that's how that shit happens.

It goes like. His name is Gannix. I don't want it to talk to me. That's how that shit happens. It was like. His name is Gannix. I guess we can. What are you doing, guys? Just go. I'm running. Let's go. Let's go. Fuck it. I'm going to stay. You're staying?

Why? Okay, okay, I'm running. Don't stay. I'm going to walk after them as they are darting and I'll watch what the hand is doing. Is he staying with me or is he staying where he is? No, he's traveling with you guys. As they're all running, and if you're running with them.

He's coming with us, let's go. It's up to you. He's coming with us. Yeah, good boy, don't trip and fall. Okay, you can tell him to. You're bringing him with us? It's not a dominate. No, but I think you can ask him to do stuff. Tell him, fuck Obann, Obann's a piece of shit.

And nobody atta- Fight Obann with us. No, I think we're wrong. You would understand, charming a creature means the creature treats you as a friend and your intent as a friend. That doesn't mean that it follows all of your commands and it doesn't mean that it hates anybody else that it sees as an ally.

So why don't we just tell him that we need him to go on a mission? I need him to come. Ask him as a favor. Yeah. To go check something out. To go check it out or to come with us and protect us. That's not going to last. If he gets bonked in the head, it's done. Well, we just got to get in and out in under an hour.

Or if your companions do anything harmful to it. It doesn't say anything about his companions. No, but he won't attack his friends. Yeah. No, I don't want him to. Just protect us. If other creatures attack him, he's still charmed. It doesn't break his charm. It's if any of you guys or you do anything.

So we can say, hey, don't let your other friends hurt your new friends. He won't, that might get weird, and again, it's an hour. I'm just bringing it with us for now. We got it, we got it, we got it. We got it, we got it. We got this, we got this. Keep going, we're going. I need to see where we're going.

Yeah, okay. You guys continue, you've arced off to the side and you're circling around the path. I just think once Obann sees him, he's going to be able to overpower whatever it is you're doing to him. That's a fair point. I saw what he did to Yasha.

It's pretty powerful. I'm going to stay 150 feet behind you guys. Just ask him if you're going back. Just 150 feet behind you guys. Do you need to be near it to prefer it to work? He'll figure that out as he walks. I'm going to stay 150 feet behind you guys. Just ask him if you're heading back. Just 150 feet behind you guys. Do you need to be near it for it to work? He'll figure that out as he walks. Also, Fjord, maybe he doesn't need his dogs anymore.

Maybe you don't need your dogs anymore. Are you trying to convince him to get rid of his dog? Negative persuasion check. I'm definitely tapping you. Guidance, you got guidance. You've got guidance. 21 with Guidance. As you're running, it looks back at you,

you can see the grin on its chin, and you see it in its secondary mouth open up here and. As it does, it raises its non-blade hand and does this motion, and you watch as the hounds running just vanish into smoke and shadow and then dissipate as the fog and mist slowly coalesces. No talking, let's go!

We're running, I'm here to take it! No we're not, he's standing there! No, no, keep running, keep running, keep running, I stop, keep running, just keep running. Just keep running! I'll turn around to him and I'll say, what my friends and I are doing is very important. I saw you keeping a perimeter earlier

and it was expertly done. You and I will do the same. Form a wide circle that stay at least within bare eyeshot of where we end up. No one gets in. You're the first line of defense. And just cuts the arm through one of the nearby trees. The tree

slams into the ground. That's okay, I'm always going to forgive that. It's okay. It continues running off in the direction, following your instructions. Okay. All right, and I'll try and catch up to the group. Okay. You guys are running, and as you're running,

you could hear the laughing hand with the distant, weird, phasing chuckles. I think as we come up, we should get stealthy again. They're going to think that nobody could get through the laughing hand. He's not back yet. They're fighting to think that nobody could get through the Laughing Hand. He's not back yet. They're fighting in the distance. They're not going to be thinking that we're getting to them. What if he leads the charge?

The Laughing Hand? We're behind him, yeah. He's not going to attack his friends. That's what I'm saying. But he could maybe be a nice guy. They'll think they're hearing him. Uh-huh. And not us. Uh-huh. I give it're laying down.

Let's do this for ourselves. Another cartoon. Yeah, just use the tools at our disposal. Who's leading this journey through the middle of the forest, by the way? Fjord, Fjord, Fjord. I've been running this whole time. But you're invisible, so you're not guiding anybody.

I was in front, and Beau was probably in front. All right, so Beau and Jester. I could try and banish him. I could send him away if he thinks it's a good idea. Yes, you tell him it's a good idea, and I send him away. That's a good idea. Laughing Hand is currently out of earshot of you, by the way.

He has been told to rush off and is now giving a wide perimeter. I think we've got an hour to get in and out, okay? Let's go. Laughing Hand's not coming back in an hour. It's dealt with already. Are we going to sit back and diddle around with the Laughing Hand, or are we going to go

catch up to our quarry? We're running while we're talking. Yeah, we're running. Every step we take, with every word we speak, we are getting 50, 100 feet away from him, so you want to turn around and go all the way back? He's with us. No, he's not. He's keeping a perimeter.

He is walking all the way around. He is doing, basically, you guys are moving this direction. Yeah. He is running, he's doing an opposite, opposite of what you guys did to Laughing Hand. Well, do it. No, we're good, we're good. Let's just go. It doesn't matter. It's not like Obann wouldn't have been able

to go find him and get him again. Sorry, I didn't mean to stab you in the throat. He's got one banishment. Let's use it wisely. Yeah, plus if he resists it or whatever, it's coming from me is one thing, but if we resist it, then it breaks, and then we're all good. It's an attack.

It counts as an attack if he dies. He's out of the picture. You guys are continuing forward, fast pace. I need Jester and Beau to go ahead and make a survival check to try and guide the rest of the party through this forest at a decent pace. Let me not be shitty. Pretty good. Pretty good.

25. I would've tapped you, too. 18. Oh, you're tapping me? Well, if you're close enough. Well, I'm keeping up. You couldn't keep up with Beau. Okay, never mind, Beau's too fast. Yeah, he's too far ahead of you.

18, 25. 18, 25, okay. You guys are making keeping point on this, helping guide through what seems to be the paths of least resistance. At times, you manage to gain some speed, at times it still pulls you back, but you're able to keep a fairly decent travel forward. Thankfully, the jungle here is very dense

and the canopy as well, there are many vines and many tangled brush, which means it's difficult for a flying creature to continue to move through unless it breaks through the canopy, like you guys did before. You don't know, but you're moving as fast as you can in that direction.

You continue on for 20 minutes, 30 minutes. Perception checks for two of you towards the front. The front would be probably actually Nott and Beauregard. You guys are the ones furthest out. Your perception sucks, doesn't it? No, only if you're. Yeah. Yes. I'll help you.

I would say that your invisibility has not worn off. Sure. But I'll take your help. Damn, man. I think mine is better than yours. These helms. Shut up for a second. And went away.

Yeah. Good, good, good. That was a vain plan. What'd you get, Merche? 14. Yeah. Still not rolling great. I helped her.

Oh, it's 14. Okay. Oh. Oh! Oh my god! Oh my god! I'm laughing! I'm laughing! I'll have any word to put this in time. I'm 14, okay. Oh! Oh! You might get some, I don't have any word to put this for time being.

I have a nothing hand. That's fine. If Harvey doesn't want combat, I'm ready. So. We're not. I can't do anything. I know, but I see why. Continuing on forward, you don't see anything.

You push on 40 minutes. 50 minutes. Listening for anything as well. At about the 45 minute mark or so, you begin to see the trees change. You begin to see the atmosphere of the Lotus Den shift around you. You can see bits of rotted vegetation along the floor

that contains trapped gases, to where when you step on some of these patches, it releases this hissing sound that sounds like a death moan or slow whispers. For a first moment, it freaks you out. You can move forward and these little patches of weird trapped gas are amongst a bunch of broken ground and rocks,

like a shattered quarry, and the trees, the leaves rapidly begin to just vanish. You see just barren, petrified trees. There are extended branches, extremely crooked, and building and knotting around each other to form what looks to be almost like a series of chained together trees that are holding this dense canopy where the branches grow smaller branches,

they grow smaller branches, they grow smaller. You see this capillary-type system where the dark canopy where leaves normally cover is replaced with just a bramble mess of overgrown branches. Can I get a beat as we're running on the scent of the gas that we're stepping on? Is it sulfurous? Make a nature check. Is it noxious?

Okay. Nature? Mm-hmm. 14. 14. It doesn't appear to be sulfurous. It seems to be some sort of a rotting vegetation byproduct. Okay. Whatever's corrupting or causing this section

of the forest to be the way it is, it's part of the decaying process that happens beneath the surface, probably in the roots, or something below the actual trees themselves that is causing this to rise up and then some places become trapped. Okay. So pushing on forward,

trying the best you can to push through the terrain. Thankfully, the heavy bits of completely grown over So pushing on forward, trying the best you can to push through the terrain. Thankfully, the heavy bits of completely grown over and moss-covered rock begin to subside as now it's just slippery shale and cracked ground. The bits of moisture and marsh that occasionally greeted you through this forest is nowhere to be seen, and you are just rushing rapidly

through this darkened, lightless, for the humans as well, and fear bog, lightless region of dead trees. Hey, Caduceus. Yeah? Does any of this remind you of the Blooming Grove and the rot that you've discovered on the grave? We didn't have rot, we had overtaking. It's different, I assume it's different.

It is, this is just, this seems to be a dead portion of the forest. The Savalirwood is a heavy corruption. It's still lush, but the leaves have turned purple-gray, and it is a very vibrant, angry growth of something that is sinister in the nature of the actual forest. This is just a dead section. I also can't see that well. I'm traveling by moon.

We're still on a quick move here, too, right? Yeah, you're still running. You're still making your way through best you can in that direction. Not touching any trees. Yeah, nothing. You hit about the 50, little left past the 50-minute mark,

make a perception check. Once again, Nott and Beauregard. Yeah, you hit about the 50, little left past the 50 minute mark, make a perception check. Once again, Nott and Beauregard. I'll help you again. Okay. So you have one negative to your perception, right? Am I close to them yet? Can I guide her? No.

Would I be able to guide her? Am I close at all, or are they super far ahead? They're too far ahead of you. Great, 15. 15? I helped her. He helped me. Oh, got you. As you come apart, ahead of the group,

you push through a couple of additional trees and look over the edge, and you can see one tree that looms taller than the rest. It's not massive at its base, it's thin, but it's twisted and spiraled upward, and it looks like a series of dead vines have choked it and then just died on its body to the point where it looks like a mass of striations and rope

that gather into this thick, tall, leafless tree. All of its hundreds and hundreds of branches all seem to reach out like smaller arms and fingers. It is notably a paler, starch blanch white color against the other trees that are just dead and a little more gray without the coloration of the rest of the forest. The air is noticeably colder as you get closer towards it

and as you glance past, you see the tree, and at the base of it, you can see both Yasha and Obann. Yasha jogging, just catching up, and Obann currently inspecting the base of the tree. How far back are we from the tree? I'll give you a little hint. Oh! Oh, Dwarven! He hasn't gotten it.

He hasn't gotten it yet. Okay. Guys. Can I just tell you about DwarvenForge.com? So in 10 minutes, it's going to break. It's a fantastic company that makes a fine product. And if you don't go to that fucking website, I'll kill you. It's getting late, guys. Wow.

Tensions are rising. We're under a lot of stress. You can do a lot in 10 minutes, though. You can do a lot in 10 minutes. This is approximately the location of the tree. And where you see is Obann and... What is that stuff on there? Is that sesame seeds?

This is just the broken shale elements there. Anthrax. How did you do that? It's asbestos. I'm enjoying the experimentation with various other textured terrain things added on top of the map. Asbestos with layering is great.

He took shavings from our old apartment. There you go. Wow, that's a throwback. Yes! Five years worth of dandruff. And not. The rest of you are traveling when you're on a budget.

About 40 or so feet behind them. You're on a budget. Actually, you guys probably be on this side because you're not too far from each other, but that's the view you have currently. I, of course, immediately relay this to the rest of the team. So you wait for them to catch up?

Yeah, I stop, see it, look at Nott, be like, can you go invisible? Of course I can. What the fuck, what the fuck? Are we going to stick to the plan? Me invisible go swipe the thing? I think so. Do it still.

Not anymore. O'Conlan flies up about 10 or so feet. Oh, jeez. And is now inspecting the base of the tree a little further up. We're going to take her some shit out. I mean, I'm going to go invisible now. And be a distraction. Okay, so you go invisible.

Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. There you go. Can I run up behind that one? Okay, so you guys are now caught up to Beauregard, so you're all essentially back in space here. He's looking at the fucking tree! Okay, and so Jester's going to move up behind here. In the absence of a plan, I'm going to start moving up the side.

Okay. And I'm going to mirror Nott's movement, knowing that she's going invisible, and flank on the other side. Okay, you're going to make stealth check? Yep. I'll tap you before you leave. Thank you.

Oh yeah, and I'll touch you as well for blessing of the trickster. Which gives me advantage. Double tap. Full advantage on stealth checks. Thank you. Double tap? Hell yeah. I'll allow that.

Caleb silently holds up a piece of chalk and looks at Fjord. What, what, what? Prep it. I'll start drawing. Yeah. What are you drawing? A teleportation circle.

Okay, where are you going to start drawing it? I will back up 10 feet behind that tree. Right here? The Caduceus, I'll go behind Caduceus, back five more feet, and start to draw on the ground. Okay. Yeah. I will use the chalk. All right, and you're beginning to build the circle.

This might not go off, but I'm spending the components, the chalk on it. Correct, correct. Okay, Caduceus, Fjord. 29 for stealth for Beau to flank, to mirror Nott. Yeah. You got it. Eyes of the Grave, just for fun. And I'm going to prep Invoke Duplicity.

Okay. I'm 25 stealth, all right. You got it. I'm going to prep her to appear behind this tree to step out from behind us as soon as I want her to. Not yet. All right, Fjord, Caduceus. I'm going to use another Divine Sense

just to focus my sense on where they are. The range of that is 60 feet? It is 60. You're too far to sense anything. Fair enough, I won't. Would I know that I'm not close enough? You know what, it's new. You're starting to figure it out. You're figuring it to sense anything. Fair enough, I won't. Would I know that I'm not close enough? You know what, it's new. You're starting to figure it out.

You're figuring it out. Okay. I will also move to the... Where's Nott? I will move to the right. You don't know. Closer to the direction Nott went and hide behind that tree. Fucking metagame.

You make a stealth check? DM I will also roll Frumpkin out to chase Jester's feet. Did you give me Blessing of the Trickster? It was for her. Before I start drawing. Okay, that's fine. That's poor Frumpkin, Minnie. The legs are so fragile. What is going on with my cats?

I don't know, man. Goddamn it! I know, we should've ordered them in bulk. Maybe if the Minnie was better, Frumpkin would do a better job of doing it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Matt, you don't use this one. Stop it, Laura Bailey. I'll use your pupper.

That's fine. Dogs? Puppers? Fucking dogs? Are you kidding me? 17. 17? We love dogs. All righty. Don't! You do! I love cats!

For those who are moving a bond, not be seen yet, so you have to roll a stealth check as well. All right. Good. The cat's moving with Jester, you said? Yes. 24. 24, got it. Caduceus, what are you doing?

I'm staying behind the tree, and I'm going to be ready to try and hit people with heal or otherwise if things go shitty. Very smart. You got it. All right. At this point, Obann is now up to the side of the tree. It's a little far to see the details, but it looks like he finds a portion of the tree

and begins to fit his hand into it. Fucker, he's fucking found it. He's found it already. Uh-huh. Finger fucking the tree. It's in the tree? Yes, he's fucking found it. He's found it already. Uh-huh. Finger fuck in the tree. It's in the tree? Yes, it's in the tree. I thought it was down in a dungeon or something. I don't know.

No, we didn't know confirmation of that. We got to get to him fast. Yasha is going to stop and turn and keep an eye behind him now. It's looking outward. Doesn't see anybody right now because you're all hidden behind things, but it's keeping a watch.

Okay, we're going to stick with the plan until? Everyone gets another round of actions. Closer. Okay. As fast as I can by being stealth. I have to check again? You do, yes. A ton.

32. Portation circle. 32? Mm-hmm. All right. To mark your second round. Yes, and Frumpkin is sticking with Jester. You got it. That's it.

That's it. I'm just curious, because we all get one more round, right? After this round, it's go time, right? And then, so not? I don't know what go time means. We didn't stop to make a plan. You guys didn't stop to make a point,

so you're all doing your own thing. You're still going with the plan if you don't kick the bag. There's no communication here. Yeah, no, I know. I'm going to be making hold sign at you anyway. I'm invoking duplicity behind the thing. We already did that last round. Oh, okay, so she's there.

She's there. The plan that we had before was someone was going to make a distraction while I go swipe this thing. I can't do that anymore. As far as I know, that's what I'm doing. I saw Caduceus do a hold swipe. We've never had a fight that has lasted 10 rounds. Should I, I mean.

There is no teleportation circle happening. Yeah, we have to wait a few rounds if the teleportation circle is going to happen. Maybe a bottle cast? One minute is fine. Slow on over. Should I, I mean. We've never had a fight, ever.

Should I bring Jester my duplicate out and just go for it? But it's already been one round. We're on round two. What if he gets it? We need eight more rounds. We need eight more rounds. You know where Beau is.

Beau, are you getting closer or are you just? I am mirroring your movements to. You don't know where I'm at? Well, I know she's invisible and I know she's creeping up. She can see them leaves moving. I'm going to keep creeping up knowing that that was the plan that we made before we even made it.

I can go out and cast Spiritual Weapon from her and try to bash Obann over the head and get him. I am trying to signal everyone to wait because I see where the teleportation circle is at. Can he hold the circle, by the way? Yeah. Once he hold the circle, by the way? Yeah. When he completes casting the spell? Yeah, but he can wait for the final.

You can draw it. I can, I can. Yeah. I'd say I'll allow it. I've said that many times. Yeah, I'll allow it. I'm doubtful that we will have the time to draw the lines. Everyone know to wait.

Fair, fair, fair. I'm getting ready to drop this fucking teleportation circle and join the fray, but right now I'm drawing. Yeah, you're the bill. Art faster. So, you're moving around this way? Yep, I'm going to keep, yep, go wide.

Make another stealth check? You better stealth good. You have advantage because you have Blessing of the Trickster still. Maybe. You stealth good, Marisha Ray. Should've rolled right. Blessing of the Trickster still. Maybe. You stealthed good, Marisha Ray. Should've rolled right. Blessing of the Trickster.

Don't do it wrong, do it right. I've been rolling so bad for a while. Don't do it right. Is it advantage or disadvantage? Advantage, advantage, advantage. 20, 21. Okay, okay. 21.

Plus 10. Not noticed yet? Is Blessing of the Trickster in action? Yeah, for an hour, it uses it for an hour. Supposed it in action? Yeah. All right, so you wouldn't have been able to do both last shots, so now you create your debuff to plus 10.

All right, Fjord, Caduceus, anything? I'm trying to do the... I'm just watching Caduceus, I guess. I'm holding. Okay, you're holding. Shit. You now see Obann is now up to the shoulder in this tree and it's like, you can hear him loosely in pain.

Mm, mm. Then you watch the tree shudder and suddenly he gets pushed out of the tree for a second, his arm, this weird mist drifting off of it, as he floats back about five feet or so. The tree now, its roots don't pull out of the ground aggressively.

You watch them drift up like they're nothing, and the tree comes to life. Its many branches become many arms. You see where that knot hole where Obann put his arm remains, but you can see there's this ghostly teeth on the inside. No eyes, but the Wraithroot tree is now animated. Oh, the tree is the guy.

Is he assassin? Well. He put the heart in already. Oh, the tree is the guy. Is he assassin? Or is the tree the guy? Oh shit! Shit! He put the heart in! No, he's trying to get it out. He's trying to get it out. Now he has to fight the tree.

Which could be great. The bark that bites. Okay, got it. Yeah. Be cool, be cool. The bark that bites. We can let this play out for a while. Maybe. I'm happy to let this play out for a while. Maybe. I'm happy to let this. Is he holding anything visibly?

You don't know, you want to look at it. That's right, I'm drawing. Can I see anything? Can we see if he's got anything in his hand? If you want to take your turn, try and take a look at it. So Yasha turns around and draws Skingorgen. Now looks up at the tree.

So, now we're going to roll initiative because even though there is a combat happening, even if you are not directly in it. Oh yeah. Let's let them do this. Wet dice, wet dice, wet dice. Ew, gross. Let them fight.

So gross. Oh them fight. Thank you. So gross. Oh no, really? I mean, I have a couple interesting things if things go south. You always do, buddy. Things will go south. Yeah, it was just, I mean, maybe this'll waken them up a bit.

I don't know. When possible, please. 25 to 20. 24. Woo! And is this the beginning of round three for me on my drawing? This would be, yes. Okay. All right, 25 to 20, 24. Woo! And is this the beginning of round three for me? This would be, yes. Okay.

All right, 25 to 20, or just not? All right, 20 to 15? 19. Whoa, whoa, whoa. What is that? No, no, no, no, 19. 19, 18 for me. Oh shit, half-pops again.

Beau and Caleb is 19? 19. For my drawing. Your drawing is 18. All right, and then Jester. And I like to do drawings. My name is Caleb. Jester and Yasha. Well, hello, my name is Caleb.

15 to 10? 13. All right. I know, I'm not okay. There's so many things I can do when I'm drawing. 10 to five? Yeah, that'd be a little bit hard. What is it?

What just happened? A three, Caduceus rolled a three. Fjord, what'd you roll? I rolled a 13. A 13? You rolled a three? I rolled a two, and then I added one, and that makes three.

I mean, to be fair, a cleric with a low initiative is great. Nott, you're up first. I will move closer and use my action. Maybe... Come on. We only have three. Yeah, I guess that's fine. Yeah, I'm invisible, it's fine.

I'm invisible, it's fine. Because it's fun. We're not going to let them know that we're here, though. Because they are in a misted forest. Bless you. Oh boy. And I have, I'm so happy that these get used. First, this is not ready.

No, I know, but time is of the essence. We got to get this fucking skull. I'll move up. Seven more rounds. And I will use my action to perceive, to see if I can perceive the bag in Obann's... Roll a perception check. 19. 19.

It is still attached to the side of his belt. It's not loosely attached. It's affixed pretty well, because it's an important thing. Double-locked or anything, or just like tied? It's just not attached, it's affixed pretty well because it's an important thing. Double locked or anything? No, it's just not tied to it loosely, you know, jumping around there. It's strapped with leather straps. And he's 30 feet above me, 20 feet above me, 80 feet above me?

He's right now about 50 feet above you. Sleight of hand, that motherfucker. Can't do it yet. Wait until he's on the ground. You fail, he knows. Okay, okay. That's right. Okay. But he is fighting a ground. You fail, he knows. Okay, okay. That's right. Okay. That's fair.

But he is fighting a tree. All right, so. Nott, is that your turn? That is my turn. Whoa, Caleb, you're up next. Caleb? I'm drawing. Third round. I'm drawing. Beauregard? I am going to...

18 seconds of drawing. Are you in fourth round? I'm going to hold my action. Can I hold my turn? So boring'm going to hold my action. Can I hold my turn? So boring. You can hold your action. I can hold my action, but I can't hold my move. Correct.

Can people feel when you put a hex on them? Yeah. Yeah, I'd say so. Yeah, you can try to get them to move. Like most spells, there's not a lot of spells that happen. I just want to move just around a little bit, just here, here. Crouch, hide, hold my action.

Okay. Wait for Nott. So you're still stealthed. Still stealthed. Okay. Holding your action until what? Until either shit hits the fan, or shit hits the fan. Okay, you got it. I'm so not okay.

That brings us to Jester and Yasha. Yasha is going to rush up, skin gorger out. She is going to spend her action to her wings emerge. The giant, necrotic, fleshless, fallen Aasimar wings emerge. The giant, necrotic, fleshless, fallen aesimar wings emerge. She roars angrily and goes into a rage,

and that's her turn. Yes! Jester, what are you doing? She must be stopped. I'm hanging out. Okay, you're just waiting? Yeah, I'm waiting until. All right. Can you buff anybody? I can't really buff.

No, because I have my ethnicity up. The wraith root tree. Oh boy. Now its roots, it's weird. The roots almost go slack, like they're weird wooden tentacles, and drifts through Yasha. What? No.

It becomes incorporeal for a moment. Oh boy. Respect your fellow tree. Drifts around this direction and is going to make attacks on Yasha, who is raging. That definitely hits. Both hit. Yasha takes...

30 points of bludgeoning damage reduced to 15 because she is raging. Okay. So she... It's a big motherfucker tree. Yep, I'm keeping track of her hit points. All right, that finishes the Wraithroot tree. That brings it to Fjord.

I do nothing. You do nothing, you wait. Obann's turn. Obann is going to drift. Take that, whatever that was that fell. I'll deal with you later. Some lollipops. Huh?

Isn't your demon ogre still alive? He's way the fuck back there. Way far away. He didn't fall? He's not pretty. Obann's going to drift down and attempt to place its arm into the maw once more. He's still trying to get.

He's trying to get the heart. He's still trying to get at its nads. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Puts the arm in a second time and it's now going to be. It's copping a feel. He has to make a constitution. He succeeds.

Take your time, Matt, take your time. Get it right. Ooh, okay. Kill that fucking demon. With that pissed off ghost tree. He winces in pain once more and he's going to attempt to contested strength. I'm sorry, it's a DC.

Come on, Truett. Never mind. It's a DC. Come on, Gruut. Come on, giving tree. Fuck you. Did it? His hand emerges, what looks like clutching some sort of a dull, glowing blue stone.

That was easy. Good for him. The trees still stand. Okay, good. It's not dead? Okay. But that's his action, is to pull it from the mouth. You can see outside of the mouth, all this mist. It's a tree.

You held your action, right? No, I didn't hold mine. He's going to go. He has enough movement to get 20 more feet up, so that'll put him at 30 feet off the ground. 30 feet, he's only 30 feet up. He's only 30 feet off the ground. Piece of shit.

What's your range? All right, so he's now holding it, his hand's backing away, and he goes, and he's looking down at Yasha. We did it! We did it! Looks up to the sky. We did it! That ends his turn.

That brings us to... The tree doesn't get to reaction attack against him? Immediately. So you have six rounds left? Six rounds? Six rounds. Seven, six? What did you do on three? Seven.

How many feet away is all this happening at? Looking at this, you're probably about 70 to 90 feet from here. Okay. Fuck, I'm still seeing him drawing, and I'm holding, I'm just... Okay. Actually, just for fun, I was going to do,

I tried to do this earlier, I'm just going to do a, try and detect undead, just to see if, I was going to do an Eyes of the Grave. Okay. Actually, yeah. Very, very strong undead presence from that tree. Gotcha. And from the object. What's the range on that?

60 feet. You probably have to get closer, actually, to do that. But nothing other than the tree? Okay, so I can tell the tree's undead. I'm just seeing if there's anything else around. That's fine. All right, Nott, you're up. Just try to untie it. Just try to untie it back.

I'm going to move right under him. Okay. Yes, come on. I mean, I got to do this, right? They're going to baff out of here. Yes, you do. This is it. You've got to do it. Yeah.

Okay, I will cast Mage Hand. So your invisibility drops. Sure, yeah, yeah. Nott appears. Hopefully Obann is looking up at the sky at this moment. Oh yeah. In his joy. He is looking up. He's holding something with one hand.

Does he have a weapon? Of course he has a fucking weapon! Right now, he doesn't. Does he have a weapon? No, he does have a... Saints Row pillow bat. Yeah. He does have a longsword that he has sheathed. Oh, okay, so he's got one hand for it.

Yeah, he wasn't even trying to fight it. He was just going directly for... And then bonus action with Mage Hand, I will try to untie that bag. Okay, and go ahead and make a... Take that bag, Gomer. I don't know what I'm... It's a Thief's Tools check,

so add your dexterity modifier plus your proficiency bonus. Fuck. Terrible. Fuck. Terrible. Fuck. 12. 12. The mage hand reaches up. Fuck. And it's not moving the leather straps.

You don't have a good angle on it, looking from underneath, and you're not quite sure how to mess with it from the side, and it's not doing anything. Obannu's looking up, glances down and looks right towards you. Hello! This look of absolute surprise hits his face.

Uh-huh. Does it feel like shit's hitting the fan? Yes. Oh, for sure, yeah. It certainly feels that way. When I was holding my turn for. Yes. So, what's your action? I can't really do much.

I'm pretty slow. I'm a monk all the way over here. I'm a monk in the BFE. Did you use all your movement? You can't spend movement on your action. It's just action. If you wanted to dash to get closer as you're held action, that would be your thing.

I'll do that! Retreat. All right. Going forward, you have to declare what your action is as you're holding it, just as a heads up. I'll do that! The tree is also running. Going forward, you have to declare what your action is as you're holding it, just as a heads up. I do declare. All right. Oh my god, man.

Five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, right? You might be our friend at this moment. The movement's 45? The tree will probably attack every time. 15 now? You don't have a heart? Is it? Oh shit, oh shit.

You can get all the way up to Yasha if you want to. I can move all the way up to Yasha? If you want to, or you can move. I move all the way up to Yasha. Okay. And I go, Hi. She looks over at Nott, the wings unfurled, the wind and the mist gathered around her,

her hair blowing slightly and she goes, Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. All righty. Obann Yasha Tree. I'm sorry, it's what Beau would do. Well, Beau and Caleb, you're up.

Caleb, you mark off a fourth round. Fuck, no. Is that what you're, was that your held action or what are you doing now? I was holding my action until the shit hit the fan, it was Nott's turn, the shit hit the fan, and now it's our turn. It's back at the top of the round.

You go first. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. Come on, Empire Twin, do it. I am hoping that maybe if I go toe-to-toe with Yasha and square off against Yasha, maybe Obann will see that as a distraction and Nott can continue her plan and I'm going to square off and pop pop against Yasha.

Go for it. Roll confidently in your actions, go. Do it! Two attacks, two attacks. I'm rolling both attacks. There's no playbook here. No playbook, no playbook. Oh, okay. First roll sucks, it's a 12.

Misses. Second roll is better, 25. That hits. Second attack does damage. I'm going to use my staffy poo. Okay, 11 damage. 11 damage. Crack it, it hits her in the side.

Her body barely shifts. The rage itself absorbing the blow. Stunning strike. 20. Yep. Or 18, sorry. She resists the stun. Do I still have my bonus?

You still have your bonus action, yeah. Flurry of Blows. Flurry of Blows, go for it. So I can roll an act two. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. I rolled a natural 19 on the first one, so 29. Yep. That is a six on the dice,

so 12 total, stunning strike. All right. Come on. 16? No. She's got high constitution savings, she's a barbarian. I thought it was a whiz.

Nope, Stunning Strike. Stunning Strike, she is a barbarian. Second one. Second one is 19 to hit. 19 does hit. Seven damage. Seven damage, all right. These hits are like.

She's just shrugging them off. And... Stunning Strike, again, one more time. This is a bad idea, I'm burning through all my points. 20. Yeah. Sorry, rolled a 13. Oh boy.

It's my turn. All right, that finishes Beau's go. Caleb, you do anything? You can block it off a fourth turn? No. I don't see this as feasible. I shove the chalk back into my pocket. You don't see this, by the way. Just so you know, you're hidden back here.

The tree line is blocking everything, but it's up to you. If you hear the sound of this fighting and you do what you want to do, go for it. That is what I'm going to do. I'm going to shove the chalk away. I'm going to abandon the teleportation circle. I'm going to move it a diagonal this way to see what the fuck is going on.

I know how long I have to draw this circle, and I don't believe it's going to happen. Okay. So I'm going this way. Do I see the fight happening? You do. I cast, I pull out molasses on my hand and drag it and cast Slow on Obann and Yasha only.

Obann and Yasha only? Only. Okay. That is a what save? 17. Dexterity, right? I don't think that's correct. I think it is. For Slow or is it wisdom? Where is it?

Where is it? Wisdom. It is wisdom, okay, gotcha. 17. So, Aban. Aban is a 20, he succeeds. Damn it! Yasha, 21. Really high, sorry.

All right, it's fine, I'm out. I've given up on the teleportation circle. I don't think it's going to happen. Okay. Six rounds was a gap. Doesn't matter, and the cat is with Jester still. Too late now. It is too late. Your exit's out.

Yeah. Oh boy, all right, Jester, you're in your shop. Oh boy. When your jam says, oh boy. That's Team K, is what that is. Yeah. I'm going to have my duplicate move out from behind the tree. All righty. And holding the 50 gold diamond in my hand,

I'm going to have my duplicate pull out what looks like another heart. And she's going to walk forward and cast Insight Greed. What does that mean? Ooh. So she's going to make it look like she's holding the heart.

She's going to say, I have it. Or she's not going to say shit. She's just going to hold it up and walk forward. So Incite Greed is a wisdom save of 17 of any creatures that I choose within 30 feet of the spellcaster, who is Duplicate Jester. Oh boy. So she moves ahead.

She moves as far forward as she can to get them within range. I don't know if Obann will be within range. Obann will not be in range, unfortunately. But the tree and in range, unfortunately. But the tree and Yasha, potentially. You can move her 30 feet, right? Yeah, I can move her up, yeah, 30 feet away from me,

up to 120 feet. So they have to make a wisdom saving throw. If they fail, then all they can do is try to come towards the heart. Okay. You will miss Obann in this, just so towards the heart. Okay. You will miss Obann in this, just so you're aware. Okay. Yeah. So Yasha makes her save.

Wisdom. Ooh, that's a fail. All right. So Yasha, who is blade in hand, about to turn on Beauregard, looks back towards you and suddenly, and just one hand goes out, reaching towards the heart in illusory Jester's hand.

Nice. You got it. What about the tree? Oh, you're affecting the tree as well, that's right. Tree. 15, I believe that's a fail as well. Yeah. The tree also looks down towards you, the creaking sound of its wood twisting as it glances downward,

and it looks like it's also looking towards the illusion. Great. Yes, yes, great. All right, Yasha, for her turn, is going to go ahead and move up. Does she leave my combat range? She does. Sentinel.

All right, go for it. Ooh. Ooh-wee. Ooh. Ooh-ee. 27. Good roll. 27, that hits. My god, you're coming back. She's distracted. She's super on 12 damage.

12 damage, all right. Yasha is also no longer charmed by the spell. Let's see. It breaks the charm. It breaks the charm? It breaks the charm? It doesn't say anything about attacking. It says, while charmed in this way, a creature nothing, blah blah.

Charmed by you until the spell ends or until you or your companions do anything harmful to it. There it is. So Yasha, as Yasha goes to run towards it, turns back and looks right at you, even more furious. Charm spells, man. It's a bitch. It doesn't say that on this description.

D&D BL? Yeah, I would have said it. It says, when you cast a spell, present the gem, choose any number of creature within range, succeed on a wisdom saving throw, it'll be charmed by you. It does say that. Anything fucking harmful to it, got it.

Sorry. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. But she stays there. And she fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. She stays there and she needs a turn. All righty. Sorry. It's okay. Okay, now we've just taken the tree out of the play.

Yasha dropped the charm before she had taken all of her actions. So she's going to turn on you. So we took the tree out of the play? Reckless. We took the tree out of the play, which is the one thing that Fighting them is not fighting us? That's going to be.

Well, not fighting us, it's not fighting them. It's not fighting everything. It's kind of opened up. 23 to hit. Yeah. And 18 to hit? No. Okay, 18 misses.

You suffer 13 points of slashing damage from the skin gorger, attack Miyasha, and because of her necrotic shroud, you take an additional 10 points of necrotic damage. So 23 total? Correct. Fuck, man. That's 61, right? All righty. Fuck.

It is now the wraith's turn. The wraith is going to spend its turn moving towards and trying to grab the gem from the illusory jester and does nothing, which frustrates the fuck out of it. It makes another wisdom saving throw. Well, yeah, and it's just looking at it now, and it's trying to reach for it and fuck, it'll do anything, so it just stays there.

Fjord, you're up. I will move 30 feet out from behind the tree and advance towards Obann and Yasha. I will, what is the distance from me to that group? That group? You're looking about like 80 or so feet to Obann and 70 or so feet to Yasha.

That does not do much. Who's got the whip? I do. I will with my bonus action, I will speak the command word to the Star Razor With my bonus action, I will speak the command word to the Star Razor and say, Ghalas Vahr, and cause it to emit this blue glow.

He watches the runes along his sword, bringing the light up with this blue radiant glow that now begins to project off of the sword out to a range. It's now this glowing beacon of blue radiant energy. And I will fire two blasts of Eldritch Blast at Obann. At Obann, all righty. Thank you. That is a 16 and a 23.

16 misses, but the 23 hits. That is 11 points of Eldritch Blast damage. All righty. 11 points to Obann, you got it. That finish your turn, Fjord? Yes, it does. Does he drop the heart and the skull? No.

Okay. It is now Obann's turn. Obann, having this, sees the fiddling within, goes, oh shit, looks around. You see him glancing around for any sign of the Laughing Hand. He goes, oh, we'll find him later. He's going to go ahead and swoop down towards Yasha.

He's going to go ahead and reach out and say, come on up, we have work to do. Damn it. And he's going to go ahead and attempt to plane shift. There's only two of us that can stop this. And I still only have two spell slots. Do you have any plane shifts? Yeah. Count a spell.

You have one? What's the range on counter spell? Let's find out. 60 feet, I'm too far away. Okay, counter spell. You have one? What's the range on counter spell? Let's find out. 60. 60 feet, I'm too far away. Five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 55, 60, 70 feet away. He's out of range. All right. He goes out and grabs Yasha and the two.

I can't, because she's stationary from Sentinel, nothing, that doesn't matter. It doesn't change at all. You know what, it's for the best. We would have died if they would have stayed. Yeah. So fuck it. Oh. Some bad rolls.

No, that's okay, that's actually okay for us. This is the best it could be, honestly. Yeah, we need to get. We would have died. 100%, we need to get the fuck out of here. That would have been just a fucking murder. We still have a pit stop tree now. We still have a giant tree, and then we have to hide so that the Laughing Hand doesn't find us.

No, Caleb can do the spell, right? You have enough time now, you can do a teleportation. Maybe we go ahead and kill the Laughing Hand while we're here. Can we kill the Laughing Hand while we're here? He keeps talking about his pact. We're tapped. And his chain. I think he went to the Laughing Hand.

I don't, I think they left. No, he Planeshifted. If he Planeshifted, he's on another plane. I don't think we can take the Laughing Hand. We are tapped. We have nothing. Remember, saves and damage. We will all be working for the Laughing Hand

before the end of that fight. We got to safely try and get out of here. Yeah. That is not a, that is not. Can we teleport the Laughing Hand back to... With what? Xhorhas? Well, what's the next step of the combat action? What's going on? What's the tree doing? The tree is just staring at Jester's spell.

Yeah. But we'll come around to that. So Nott, you're up. You watched Obann vanish with Yasha. It's okay. Damn it. Are we trying to kill this tree? No, no, no. No, no, no.

We just need to get away. No one cares about the tree. I will disengage and run as far back towards Caleb as possible. Okay. I mean, unless the Obann grabbed a gallbladder and didn't actually get the heart. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. All right. I mean, the Laughing Hand's our friend still. No, he's not. No, not anymore. It's breaking in. One hour. He's already. It's been an hour? He's about an hour and a half away. You got about three minutes.

And then he's going to realize he got messed with by us. Boy. But he's also on the outside perimeter. We just need to not waste time. We just need to go back to the teleportation circle and finish it and go. All right. Beau, Caleb? I'll start making my way over to the circle.

I think I used all my movement to get there, so one thing of movement and I will start to draw. All right. So another minute beginning in the circle. Oh, we start over. Well, I mean, I've drawn on the ground, right? Do another minute beginning in the circle. Oh, we start over. Well, I mean, I've drawn on the ground, right? Do we pick up where we left off, or do we start over? Realistically, no.

Do I have enough chalk to do it? As you walk away, the sigil vanishes for a second. Do I have enough chalk to do it? We'll say yes, you do. Okay, all right. But you don't get to just continue the spell you were in the process of doing before. You have to do it over again. You got it?

All right. Oh boy, guys. Is the tree pissed off at me? Do I get a sense that he's mad? The tree is currently focused on Jester's duplicate. Then run away, just get away from me. How does it feel about our relationship right now? I'm going to disengage and wait for the,

step of the wind. Do I need to disengage? Am I in his melee range? No, he's not in front of you. No, I'm not going to spend a ki point, I'm just going to run. I'm going to, the meaning? I'm going to gouge my eyes out with my staff.

Careful with that pencil. I know, that's how every accident has ever happened. Yeah. Don't do that. I am very conscious. Don't do it, I'm fucking... How's your husband? It's not even a sharp pencil. It doesn't have to be.

It's definitely do some damage. It's all good, my mom had to wear it. Oh, sharp objects. No, give me back my shit, don't patronize me. Get a decent, go! My journal. Fucking A. It's all good.

Oh god. All right, so. Okay. While this thing is distracted for up to the minute that you concentrated on the spell, we'll give you just enough time to prepare the circle. So as you guys go and gather near Caleb, the tree is still focused on the illusion that you stayed within the range to maintain.

Nice. Right as that begins to fade and the tree turns on the very edge, you can see it running, lumbering out of the side of the darkness. Laughing hand. Round three. You finish the circle.

You can stay on the perimeter. You guys all rush in. Yep. Rosanna. All right. You all vanish back to the core of the Dynasty. Unsatisfying. I don't know, I'm okay.

Feels bad. You're okay? This is as close to a win as we were going to get, which is no one's dead. No, we could have got fucking one roll away from getting that thing. He rolled really high and tried to pull it out of the tree. I didn't know how long it'd take him, I'm sorry. That was pretty quick.

He did. You got it in all round! All things considered, this is as good as it could have went. Sweet! Emile, he fucking begged to differ. Not as good as it could have fucking went. Good as it could have went would have been us with the shield. Fucking winning! I agree with what he's saying!

This is the best losing. This is the best losing we could have had. Yeah, well. It's true. That is correct. I'm okay with a good loss. I'm okay with a good loss. But it was definitely a loss. It was definitely a loss.

Humans are pissed off. You know what? We're not dead. We have a short amount of time to make an impact and definitely lost. The humans are pissed off! Yes! But you know what? We're not dead. We have a short amount of time to make an impact and we lost! We got 80 years to make our mark on this world! It's gone! I only have 30! 29, no.

Well, shit. That was so stressful. Ah! Goddamn it. I was ready, but we don't work on that. I did still have Turn Undead and Blight. Oh, nice. We had a lot of spell slots left. We could've fought.

I have my auto Turn Undeads. Caleb wanted to fight. Yeah, we know. That's why he fucking abandoned the teleportation circle and doomed us all two times. We had all those rounds that never fucking happened. It's all good, guys. We're alive. Everyone made mistakes, except for me.

I feel pretty confident about my choices. I'm just breaking a pencil into tiny shards over here. I know. Those are small pieces. Yeah. Well, guys, I mean. We're alive. You're alive! You're alive, and we'll continue this in a couple weeks. Fuck! No, it's fine, man. Goddamn it! I know it's frustrating.

I'm sorry. You have to wear your sword, finally, and make it glow. Hey! You used the wrong sword. Lightsaber up, lightsaber down. Damn right. Mighty Nein hasn't had a victory in some time. Yeah, Mighty Nein is like, fucking sucks. The big no.

Big no. Just a big fucking no. Going to keep fucking shattering fucking pencils over here. Everyone loves a loser. We're good. There were many TPK moments in that, though, so. You guys, You guys made some clever fucking things that avoided some serious challenges here. Remember, the idea was to get there before they did

and get out undetected. We were in their shit the whole time and we lived. That's okay. Actually, if we had gotten here before them, I deeply believe we could have pulled this off. Yeah, if we got here before, it just didn't happen that way. I still feel like we should have pulled it off

when we had the chance, man. We should have swiped his shit before we even got here. I think the Laughing Hand and the Three Hounds would have shown up in one round. When we can always guarantee a victory? When we dine on Wendy's food next week. Next week. Tune in next week for whatever the fuck that is going to be.

You always win with Wendy's. Yes. Wow. Oh man. It's so insane. Don't even know. It's so insane. Mm. Well. Let the humbling begin.

Yeah. The humbling is here. The humbling is here. The humbling is here. But we'll continue the next leg of this venture in a couple weeks. Until then, I love you guys. We love you very much, and is it Thursday yet? Good night. It's Wendy's Thursday. Good night!

Thank you so much for joining us on this adventure. To help new listeners discover the show, please give us a rating and review on whatever podcasting app you're listening on. Until next time, is it Thursday yet?