Critical Role - C3E103 Cages

Episode Date: August 15, 2024

Bells Hells seek a way to cut Delilah's puppet strings once and for all... BEACON  We’re excited to bring you even MORE with a Beacon membership! Start your 7-day free trial today at https://beacon.tv/join and get unparalleled access to the shows you love completely ad-free! You’ll receive NEW Beacon exclusive series, instant access to VODs & podcasts, live event pre-sales, merch discounts, & a private Discord. YOUTUBE MEMBERS / TWITCH SUBSCRIBERSTwitch Subscribers and YouTube Members gain instant access to VODs of our shows, moderated live chats, and custom emojis & badges:  https://www.youtube.com/criticalrole/join  https://www.twitch.tv/criticalrole     "It's Thursday Night (Critical Role Theme Song)" by Peter Habib and Sam RiegelOriginal Music by Omar Fadel, Hexany Audio, Ghiya Rushidat, Karam Salem, Neal Acree, and Colm R. McGuinness"Welcome to Marquet" Art Theme by Colm McGuinnessAdditional Music by Universal Production Music, Epidemic Sounds, and 5 AlarmCharacter Art by Hannah FriederichsAnimated Introduction by Kamille Areopagita, Kevin Areopagita, Mark Adams and Peggy Shi Due to the improv nature of Critical Role and other RPG content on our channels, some themes and situations that occur in-game may be difficult for some to handle. If certain episodes or scenes become uncomfortable, we strongly suggest taking a break or skipping that particular episode.Your health and well-being is important to us and Psycom has a great list of international mental health resources, in case it’s useful: http://bit.ly/PsycomResources

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. We're Dungeons & Dragons! Just like that. Before we jump into our episode tonight, we do have some announcements to get through, beginning with our sponsor for this evening's festivities, SteamWorld Heist 2! Sam, tell us about it. The sequel to the critically acclaimed indie video game SteamWorld Heist 2 is a hilarious turn-based tactical game that uses a unique ricochet gameplay mechanic

that's kind of like playing billiards with guns. Pew pew, you ricochet shots off walls and ceilings. It's super fun. So while I tell you more, I'm going to challenge my fellow castmates to shoot me with Nerf guns. But the trick is you have to ricochet off of stuff that Robbie holds. I've been dreaming of this.

Why do you have one now? Because I'm next to Robbie and I'm terrified. You could also do a double ricochet for more points. Oh! Oh god. You don't have to battle it. I don't have to battle. I don't think that's how this works.

That's not how any of this works. Okay, whoever can ricochet the most and hit me wins. You tell me. I guess Taliesin's first. That's a nice, steady hand. Fucking A. A little bit more of an angle. Here we go. A little bit more of an angle.

A little bit more of an angle. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait till I start talking. Yeah, just a little bit more of an angle. We're all doing it at once? More of an angle, more of an angle. No, me first. Wait, wait! Get ready wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait till I start talking. Yeah, just a little bit more. We're all doing it at once? More of an angle, more of an angle. No, me first. Wait, wait.

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Through an intense turn-based gunfight where bullets ricochet with deadly precision. A turn-based tactical strategy. Nope. I'm trying to. You'll explore the great sea, find crew, upgrade abilities, go on heists, and find clues. Boom!

In my cancer! Oh, wow! Atula is wrong. A turn-based strategy game, you'll explore the great sea, find crew, upgrade abilities, go on a hike. Face it at him, face it at him. Shh, and find clues to what's causing steam bots to corrode. Right in the tits!

I'm getting good at this. This is a handcrafted beautiful 2D world with characters that seem familiar and batshit crazy. No! Did it get you? I want to get one, I want to get one. All right. Keep reading.

We're going to be all professional? It's got to be almost correct. And the music! Weirdly, I don't think these are accurate. And the music! The music composed by Steam Power Giraffe, you'll be humming these tunes for days. Steam. Okay, I'm wrapping it up.

SteamWorld Heist 2 is out now across all console and PC platforms, plus get a 10% discount on Steam until August 15th. You got a welt forming on your mouth. Aim, plot, and plunder at bit.ly slash SteamWorldHeist2. Oh, and don't forget to check out our SteamWorldHeist2 Everything Is Content. Oh!

My hand! You read this part. Protect you now. I'm going to protect you. Don't forget to check out our SteamWorldHeist2 Everything Is Content on Monday, August 12th featuring Taliesin Jaffe and Ashley Johnson on Twitch, YouTube, and Beacon.

What is happening? Turn it more, turn it more, turn it more! Featuring Taliesin Jaffe and Ashley Johnson on Twitch, YouTube, and Beacon. What is happening? Give me more! Give me more! Featuring Taliesin Jaffe! All right, let's graduate to D20s. On Twitch, YouTube, Beacon.tv at 7 p.m. PST. Thank you, Thunderful, for sponsoring this episode. Matt, back to you Thank you, Thunderful, for sponsoring this episode. Matt, back to you. Wow. Okay, we all good?

Ah! All right. Cease fire, cease fire. Weapons down. Dry shot, dry shot. You did this to yourself, Sam. I didn't know it was going to hurt that much. I want to get shot with one.

We didn't test it beforehand. Same to you. I break, I break, I break. There's a belt on your face! Look at your face! Oh my god. Oh,. I break. I break. It's a belt on your face! Look at your face! Oh my god. Oh, damn! Oh, so funny.

You're beautiful mullers. I almost blacked out and I laughed so hard. My brain almost receded. That's what the game's like. I would say they took your filter away, too, but you never had one. Yeah. All of our UK viewers are fucking Americans.

Yeah. Yep, yep. A lot wrong. Thank you so much for sponsoring us. Marisha, you're up. Fucking head. Ugh! The first episode of Moonward,

amidst role-playing story, dropped yesterday! Yes, it did, Moonward! Yeah! Yes! It's so cool, you guys. This is a four-part miniseries A Mitztraw playing story dropped yesterday! Yes, it did! Move away! It's so cool, you guys! This is a four-part miniseries that is led by Zen, one of the co-creators of Mitzt, who creates the music, the sound, the atmosphere. It's all live while also guiding the story. They've got so many gadgets and guitars. It's crazy. You've got to watch it. They're joined by their fellow Midscrater, Sarah Weil and Matt Rowan, alongside Liam O'Brien and myself. We kick things off

with a crew of unlikely associates that decided to mount an unsanctioned rescue mission to Midstfallen Moon, discovering powerful forces that seek to stop them. Turns out the moon's valuable, so people have vested interests. Go check it out on YouTube, Twitch, and Beacon, and MITS.co. Plus, if you're a Beacon or Fold member, you can watch the first two episodes right now. Eh, B-B-B-Beacon.

Spaffidalism. But wait, there's more. The remaining three episodes of the story will air on our new MITS'd YouTube channel. What? Uh-huh, youtube.com slash MITS'd podcast. Also on Twitch, Beacon, and MITS.co every Wednesday. So go check it out.

Give the MITS'd YouTube channel a follow. It's greatly appreciated. Support these indie creators, y'all. Yay! Yes. Yes. Liam, you're up next. Oh, I'm actually very excited to talk about this. In celebration of Critical Role's 10th

anniversary next year in 2025, we have a new anthology coming this March with our friends at Penguin Random House. I have been wading through it for months at this point and loving it. Stories Untold includes ten original short stories that feature the perspectives of ten characters who fought alongside and against Vox Machina. Ooh. It is such excellent writing. This collection is going to feature a foreword written by me with stories by 10 contributors,

including Aabria Iyengar, Sam Maggs, Martin Cahill, and just a whole host of incredible writers. Been reading for months. Stories Untold will be, oh, wait, wait, wait. Back it up. I want to call out the cover art is by Adrian Ibarra Lugo. It's gorgeous.

Now I can move forward. Stories Untold will be available in hardcover, e-book, audiobook formats. You can preorder your copies now wherever books are sold or head to criticalrolebooks.com for all the details. I really have taken a lot of joy of seeing all of Matt's characters just fleshed out further and watching them come to life and see what they were doing while Vox Machina was running around doing other shit. It's just a really great project, and I can't wait for you guys to do it. Yay! Awesome.

Super, super freaking exciting. I want to say real fast a quick thank you to all of those who came out and played games with us at Gen Con this last weekend. So great. of those who came out and played games with us at Gen Con this last weekend. We had from For the Queen, Daggerheart, Candela Obscura, Till the Last Gasp, and Queen by Midnight. It was amazing to see so many of you out there together to tell and share stories around the table. Every year, it's just so fun to watch the community come together, and I'm just very proud. Yeah! So you can stay up to date on all things Darrington Press

via our newsletter, our social media, or at DarringtonPress.com. I think that concludes our announcements. So let's just go ahead and jump into tonight's episode of Critical Role. Critical Role. No. Critical. Critical.

It's Thursday night. One by one we climb until we reach the top. Two by two we fall. Will we meet our end Or meet our destiny Hold your breath and roll How do you want to do this? It's Thursday night All ye critters come join us

It's time to continue our flight There is magic and mystery Who knows what will happen Be my There is magic and mystery, who knows what will happen, he might But one thing's for sure, we never give up on the fight From the healer to the renegade, we all share the same goal Adding more allies, taking more more chances hold your breath and roll you can certainly try it's thursday night all ye critters come join us it's time to continue

there is magic and mystery from darkness Our friendship will rise But one thing's for sure We never give up on the fight Oh, get ready It's Thursday night Bye! And welcome back. So, last we left off, Bells Hells, after trekking deep into the ruins of Aeor, along with their guide, Essek Thalyss, you encountered the strange demonic entity

that was keeping the vanguard at bay, Dominox, defeating it by pushing it through a gate into the abyss of its origin with the aid of Ludinus Delef, who then gave you a vision through a relic that he had discovered not too far beyond that of the Fall of Eor, an era of Exandrian history spoken of,

but largely lost in its details, as it was, it seems, one of the darkest moments for the Pantheon. With the intent of showing this to the world to erode the faith of the people of Exandria, and in the hopes of finding a point of understanding with your group, the invitation was given to join the vanguard

and see the world the way he does. After much debate and some heated discussion, he left the offer in your hands and left an offer in Delilah's as well, tossing a relic of enticing power towards Laudna, tossing a relic of enticing power towards Laudna, the words having hold in her heart, Delilah fought her way to the surface and wrestled control of Laudna.

The rest of you were forced to do battle with your friend in what may be her darkest moment, but you managed to defeat Delilah, sending her back for the time being as but a shard of shadow within Laudna's spirit, likely rapidly growing back. At this moment, satisfied with what you've learned, Essek took your group via teleport to a place of safety,

the abode of his partner, Cate of Wittogast. Here in this humble abode within the Dwendalian city of Rexxentrum, you had a moment to breathe, a moment to absorb, though still more likely to come. In the midst of these conversations, debating what you've seen, what you've witnessed, what you've discussed, and what's to be done next,

it was considered that this soul-anchored gem, now empty and bereft of its intended target, might have a secondary use to turn the tides of poor Laudna's fate. After talking with Essek about it and him looking to research its possibilities, he seemed to come to you with a bit of hope that it is indeed possible, though challenging.

After coming up from his study, his laboratory to all of you, saying that it could be done, but needs to be done quickly, likely before Delilah can begin to recover her former power in this subdued state, time is of the essence. I begin to draw you all back to the laboratory here in this late, late hour, as you stand exhausted,

but hopefully driven to see this through. Then so, here, as you all begin to follow Essek back into the laboratory where you arrived, you see him now, number of books even further scattered amongst the laboratory interior, but you see he's taking some time to organize some of the stacks into more solid towers. Has a number of strange instruments

laid out across one of the tables, and it runs over quickly to start sketching out a larger runic circle than the teleportation one that brought you all here in the first place. In the quiet as you all stand there, as it begins the initial process, you all can look and talk amongst yourselves.

Just for bookkeeping, we've been talking a lot here. Would you say we've short-rested while eating cookies and discussing? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Hit dice again. I have none, but I still take the bells and whistles. I get back.

Oh yeah, that's great. Oh yeah! Sometimes. Sometimes a short rest gets you, brother. All right. Laudna. Are you nervous? I'm terrified.

I'm very thrilled that it seems we have found a way to potentially do this sooner rather than later, without it being by Ludinus's hand. I don't know. I think the thing that I'm most concerned about is who I'll be without her, if, if anyone knows.

I mean, it's her magic that's keeping me alive. Yeah. If this goes poorly, it won't go poorly. I trust you all. Essek, Laudna is a really unique woman. Do you think that there's a way forward here that will keep her with us? That is what I'm trying to do. You tell me. It is a risk, like all great and experimental magics are.

If this Delilah is indeed a tether that keeps you here, then this ritual would keep you two tethered, but she would be bound within this anchor. Likely at your disposal. Do you love the sound of that? In failure, the anchor becomes useless and she likely returns at her leisure, vengeful.

If we fail entirely, there is always a chance that it does sever your tie, and both of you will be lost. So, knowing the risks involved, is it something you are still wishing to do? It needs to be done. Very well. Oddly. I hope for either the best case or the worst case, because the middle option of her returning,

well, that is the worst case. Well then, let us do our best. She begins hastily scribbling and expanding this, looking over to a book for reference, and then trying to copy and then erasing one of the serious scrawl runes and then redoing it with more care. Just so we're clear, the options are

you can separate and she comes back, or you both die? Mm-hmm. Well, if they separate, they both die. What we're trying to do is find a way that they remain together, but... You have control? She is no more than a source of power for you.

Can you feel her right now? Is she awake? She's weak, but she's in there. Is she listening? Do I get a sense that she knows she's listening? Make an insight check. Actually, insight or perception, your choice. Fucking heart is pounding. Perception.

Your choice, Nissa. Drinking this coffee is not helping. Ooh, icky. Nine. You are uncertain. You can just feel the faintest little thrum of her power, that cold core of shadow energy that's always lived in you

since you woke up on the outskirts. So you know she's there, but that's all you know. Well, first I must prepare the Soul Anchor. I would like aid from anyone here who has some experience with runic magics, arcane scripts. Yeah, I've got a natural vibe for it. A vibe?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I work with blood mostly, but I also just have a nose I got a nose for this stuff. To be honest, with your particular interest in blood magic, I might more recall you for the next step. No. Since the, once the preparation of the anchor is complete, we will need to embed it within Laudna.

Ooh! Ooh! Dr. J! Surgery! I have some religious training, if that would help, or are you talking about magic stuff? This is specifically arcana-based magic, so... I don't know if any. I've got zero zealots.

I mean, I have a little. I'm going to go scrub in. Did you say texts or? Texts? Not that well-versed. I can read Primordial. It depends on what the texts are in. Yeah, we can both try.

All right, then the two of you, come with me. Okay. I'm going to inspire you. Oh, I feel so inspired. All right. I'm also going to inspire you. Oh, I feel so inspired. All right. I'm also going to inspire you. Oh, you want to do that? You can back the picture on that. Yes.

That's what we think you promised. Sorry, mine's a little bigger. You can have it. Yes, indeed. Oh! I'm a grower. A little circle spire over here? Yeah, yeah. All right, so you... Cube no more.

You both, as you walk with Essek, because he glides over to one of the laboratory tables and sets the purple stone in the center of it, flicks his wrist like this, and you watch the instruments glide up in the air and then hold in place at different sections and float there. He takes one from the air

and begins to magically chisel into it and change some of the runic elements of it. He pulls up a tome here and says, Are either of you decent with copying text? I've got beautiful handwriting. I've got three hoof fingers. I'll go with you on this one. I'll take this one. Kind of preps a few. But I'm an artist.

So yes, I'm beautiful at this. Preps a few paths along the facets of this crystal and then hands you this instrument. And it's this elongated brass instrument with a coil around it, and you can see it has its own kind of runic text among it. As you hold it, it feels warm to your fingers within a few moments, and at the edge,

you can see there's this spectral chisel that seems to shift with your imagination. Oh, cool. Wow. Moving the book up, he goes, I will give you the order of these runes and where to place them. I need you to be as precise as you can

with their inscription. I'm going to just stand behind you and just encourage you and tell you when you're doing it wrong. Oh, great. Just like my dad. So. Oh man.

Love you, Bob. I don't think I'm going to hear anything after that. You can choose either an arcana check or a straight dexterity check. Oh, not sleight of hand? Now, mind you, this would be just actual manual dexterity or your knowledge of arcana.

You do have your jack of All Trades bonus to all of your stuff that you're not proficient with, I believe. That's great. As a bard, so. Definitely need dex. Dex over Arcana? Yeah.

Even with Jack of All Trades? Well, let me check. Jack of All Trades doesn't go to straight dex. It just goes to the ability checks, right? Well, it goes to ability checks. But not to the base dex score. These aren't saving throws. These are just the plus checks, right? Well, it goes to ability checks. I'll double check. But not to the base dex score. These aren't saving throws. These are just the plus mods, right?

I mean, if we just need deaf fingers, I've got that. I'm plus... Plus four on dex. I'm sure he has way more than that. Yeah, probably. Here we go. We are arcane. Jack of all trades,

you can add half your proficiency bonus to any ability check you make that doesn can add half your proficiency bonus to any ability check you make that doesn't already include your proficiency bonus. That would include a dexterity check. Oh, okay. Oh, sweet. Can we stack a Guidance on top of that? You can very well. I'll Guidance. Is a plus five

just a plus two then? Plus five, so it's rounded down, right? Rounded down. Yeah, so it'd be a plus two. So it's a six. It's a six. That's solid. And a Guidance. And a Guidance and a Bardic. And you're helping with this, so that would be advantage on the roll.

Oh, okay. So many good things. That's good, that's good. Don't roll two ones, basically. So you watch, as you place it down, you can see, as Essek is both guiding this, Essek is also funneling magic from one of these other instruments

into the back of this. As it does, you can see that little spectral chisel at the end begins to become solid, where you place it, it almost glides into the stone itself and carves through. So he's running a lot of things of this and letting you guide the intricacy of it so you can concentrate on the rest of it around you.

And with your, how are you helping him? Behind, as I watch him guide the instrument around, every time he almost makes a mark, I'm like, This isn't helping, actually. I think that's right. Okay. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Is this better? Are you sure you want to do that?

Okay, good. Yes. Yes. Uh-huh. Ah! No, it's good, it's good. Thank you, thank you, I think I've got it. All right, so. So stressed. Yeah, yeah. So go ahead and roll.

I'm not even close to that card. Backseat up-ponying. You go ahead and roll a dexterity check for it, with advantage. With advantage. You get to add your six to that. And add a bunch of dex. That's great, already great, already great. Okay, take the first one.

Advantage dex, 21, plus the two, 23. Should I use this? It's what it's for, right? And then also you have her guidance. So do you want to save? 24, 30, am I there yet? So then a d4. And a d4.

Yeah! Whoa! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! To 32. Okay, 25 was the DC. Okay, okay, okay. That's really high. That's really high. This is a challenging ritual.

25 is the DC? I'm writing stuff with the magic pen with my mind. Guiding every step of the way. As the sweat beads down the sides of your face over the next 20, 25 minutes. With this? Yes. Okay. Essek gliding over, almost like a shattered puppeteer

in an odd reflection of how you've always imagined Delilah existing around Laudna, but this time it's a hopeful image. The sounds of the arcane device is grinding through the stone, burning through the smell of what almost has a wet metallic scent at times. Others, it has a soft sun ray on dust sort of a scent. As these things mingle through and the sounds happen,

the rest of you wait in quiet silence, the tension building, whispering amongst yourselves and hoping this goes well. At a certain moment. This is so much effort and I didn't want to. Laudna. You guys have already been through so much with me. I didn't. Well, why don't we stop now?

My stomach hurts. This is a lot. Why would you stop now? Ah. My stomach hurts. Genetical poo. Don't let what she's saying stress you out. I know, it's like a small, like once every, I have to climb down a tree once every month. Just get up and dust bowl down your bum. Owl pellets, boom.

Dust. I'm going to stand behind Laudna and rub her arms. Okay. One of them falls off. That's okay. Get that back. After nearly half an hour or so,

the instruments go quiet, and you look down upon the stone in which the work, the scrolling, has been completed. Did we? Is it? It looks, to be perfectly honest, like very fine work. Toy, that's great! That's amazing. You know, as a kid in all those penmanship classes, I was always like, why are we doing this?

I'll never need this in the real world. And here we are! This is the place. This is where it comes into being. I felt the same about Matt. All right, so. We did it. We did it. Well done. The first step of many is complete. Cheddars. Chetney. Cheddars! Chetney. Cheddars!

You had it. Cheddars! Blood nutters. Serious ritual. Blood nutter cheddars. Blood nutter cheddars. You are quite well versed in the gorier aspects of existence. This might be a bit intense.

I start taking off my clothes, getting down to my- Wait, wait. Nobody asked me. No one. Listen, listen. When it comes down to blood, it's better to be in your prime element. I'm just getting down to my skivvies. As it gestures up into the far wall and a bunch of books fall off

as a rolling table that is acting as a temporary gurney shifts over to the center. Laudna. Are you still all right with this? It has to be done. This can't happen again. I will ask you to lay here, please.

It feels like when you're going in for surgery and you can see all the tools being unwrapped and you're like, Are you going to use me? Is there any, like, a curtain or a pillow or anything in this room? She might need some lumbar support. No, there are definitely curtains.

I'm just going to Maychant and rip it off the wall and make sure the table's covered so she's comfortable. You got it. She'll be back, she'll be back. I was not found. All right, so I am not a surgeon by any means, so I have to rely on your specialty of-

Dr. Cheddars. Oh boy. Wait, you're the one that he's doing the surgery? He's doing the? Unless you have a better. He's really good with fine work. I mean, we've seen his carvings. He's great at metal. He's a master craftsman.

Steady hands. That's right. Do you need an assistant? I don't know yet. If I start crying out in panic, that means I need help. Okay. Chet, Guidance. And to remind everyone here in panic, that means I need help. Okay. Chet, guidance. And to remind everyone here. Guidance, guidance. Yeah. Yes.

I'm ready. Steady as she goes. So an interesting point of question here, too. This is a multistage ritual. Each person can contribute to the ritual once. Oh! Oh, can I? Have we already fulfilled our duties?

You have fulfilled your duties. So she'll have to guide people? Is that considered adding to the ritual? I'll say you can continue to guide people, but that will be your addition to this. So if you want to be something. Buffing is good enough. So narratively, if you wanted to help somebody,

but from an actual mechanical standpoint, your benefit to this ritual is what you're doing. That's good, okay. So don't be afraid to also narrate how you're guiding each person, if you'd like to as well. I say guidance! Fart.

I mean, I'm just trying to figure out what would be the best use of me. It's hard because we don't know all the steps yet. Yeah. We don't. Yeah, we don't know what it is. Because also, if I did an Aura of Life, I mean, maybe Laudna could be resistant to necrotic damage.

Maybe that would help. You want to just save until later in the ritual? Yeah, let me just wait. Can I just think about it? If you want to think about it, yes. But I'll say that will probably hold off on the perpetual guiding if you want to save it for something else.

Okay, Guidance. Guidance, Guidance, Guidance. Guidance, Guid Okay, Guidance. You're going to do it. Guidance, Guidance, Guidance. Guidance, Guidance, Guidance. Guidance, Guidance, Guidance. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's the best, yeah. All right.

Take a chair and I just move it loudly across the floor. Like, step up on there. I take one of my sharpest chisel. Oh. I drag it across my hand and then flames come off of it. Got to sanitize these things. Yes, yes, sure, yes.

Don't worry, you won't feel, you're going to feel a lot. Yeah, so off of that, am I going to be conscious awake this whole time? We need you present for this ritual. All right. You're going to be conscious awake this whole time. We need you present for this ritual. All right. However, just a moment,

and he starts going in through some of his, looks like a case of various alchemical compounds. This was gifted to me by a friend a while back. He blows all this dust off of it and opens it up, and there's just a bunch of vials and things put around there. You can see the little label on it that says Bernardo on the bottom.

Hey! And just goes through and pulls out a pouch and pulls out this mulch-type material and says, The placement of this stone will have to be behind the sternum. All right. So if you want to apply this around where the mark of decision would be,

it should numb the space to pain. I don't need it. Okay, excellent. Very well. Puts it back and closes the case and slips it underneath the table. I have dogs leap from my chest from time to time. Want a stick to bite on or anything? I'll have a stick to bite on. Do you have a stick? A wooden spoon? Reaches over and grabs what looks to be a wooden, heavy- heavy tome bookmark with a crook at the end

that holds onto the edge of the book itself. Here you are. Okay. The rest of you may wish to avert your eyes or not, but he goes and takes the same chalk he's been using and moves aside a little bit of your outfit and marks right beneath where the sternum is to where the incision will be.

I will be conducting a binding ritual of this to your essence as it is being placed within. Take care and wait for my signal for each point of its attachment. Sure. Are we going above the xiphoid process and cracking the breastplate, or are we going under? I do not think we need to break any bones to do this. I would prefer to go under.

Okay. What have they had to do? Well, you tell me what is best for you, I suppose. I mean, does that thing open up a bunch? Have we seen a bunch of barn door action happen when you go crazy? Yeah, you have. That's what I was thinking.

Imagine it's more magic. It might be more malleable than we think. We could just drop an elbow in there and get that thing. Pretty brutal. What can you show me? I rip a dog from my chest, I guess. That's what I was like, watch out! See, that's what I was talking about.

Yeah, I just got to start screeching his little head. He's a good boy. And your chest just goes like, afterwards? See, that's what I'm saying. I don't think it's going to be that big of a problem. Can you keep that open? Can I? Can I?

Give it a try? You are used to changing your physicality to terrify people. Do it again. Think of a problem. Can you keep that open? Can I? Can I? Give it a try? You are used to changing your physicality to terrify people. Do it again. That's true. Hold that still, bitch. All right, all right, all right. I lay down and I just take my finger and I give myself an autopsy cut.

Oh fuck! Give him the why? Give it the why and then peel back. Got it! Actually, I'll be too. Take a split and shove in a little. Do we it! Actually, I want to be, too, take out a split and shove in a little. Do we want to have the machine ready to go? Do we want to have some?

Some doorstep. Do we want to burn a match? Yeah, the harness and maybe burn something for this, just in case, or at least be ready to? Or like? Well, I don't know what that is, but to settle the matter. Do you want to hold a hand, Laudna, or you want? I'll be, maybe, maybe. Also, do we have permission to stare at your chest

for this whole procedure? They've seen so much. Okay, good. Yes, they've seen a lot. Her cracked chest is just sitting open, by the way. We shot something together. We've seen those bones. All right. Essek, by the way, is now four feet back

as you do all of this, and he's just like, Right. I lay down on the table. I'll get my materials. He shifts his hand around and some other instruments lock into place above. You're going to be great. Yeah.

I'll, um. He grabs the tome. I'll see you all on the other side. You will. You're all very capable. You especially, so I wouldn't trust anyone else. Oh, should I step down from you? No, no, no, just, just.

All right. Because I'm really petty. Ah! Ah! Ah! Oh, I'm so sorry! No, just, just. All right. It's time to be petty. Ah, ah, ah-choo! Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm sure it's fine. I'm sure it's fine. Ritual works.

Just wipe your lungs a little bit. Wipe your heart. Dab, don't wipe. Dab, dab, don't wipe. Oh god. It's very slow. You got to dab it. You got to keep an eye on him, though.

He might carve RTA inside. That wouldn't even leave. I'm ready. Orsata. As he begins muttering the incantation under his breath, you see the tips of his fingers begin to glow. As he does, you can see from the instruments begin to weave a silken thread of arcane energy

that also begins to weave between his fingers. He winds it, spins it like a skein, almost, around his fingertips, just focused on the crystal as he slowly hands it over to you. He just continues the incantation and gives you a nod. As you begin to bring it there, you see that one of the threads sticks to the crystal. The crystal glows ever so faintly, and the thread faints in the air like this little hairline element of gossamer, unmoved by air or breath.

He continues the incantation as you see the cracked open ribcage of Laudna there waiting. And as you look towards it, you can see the thread that went into the crystal begins to slowly find purchase up and under the ribcage to guide you. I'm going to take the wood chisel while I'm holding the soul anchor,

and I'm going to draw a small incision along the inside of her organs and just collect some of her black, ichorish blood. I'm going to smear it on the soul anchor and cast a blood maledict just to get it to ignite, and it'll take on a strangely lightly blue, softly glowing flame on the outside of it off of her blood in my hands as we try to push it in.

Very cool. So you all watch tensely as Chetney begins to find place within her innards to both fit this where it is, but also each of these silver threads, another one begins to emerge from the skein, thread through this stone and then find a back of part of the ribcage as well. It's this slow, arcane stitching

of this stone within the cage that's splayed to when the final thread is pulled, it will knot itself together, like finishing sewing together a carve and a piece of cloth. This is a slow, arduous process. As you are laying there, the incantation's turning into just a droning sound in the background.

Focusing down, you can feel the . She doesn't like this. You hear a whisper in the back of your mind. What are you doing? Just turning the tides a little bit. You need me. You're absolutely correct.

And you need me. Chetney, I need you to roll a medicine check for me. No problem. And I need you to add, because of your Hemocraft, you can add your spell modifier to it, your Hemocraft modifier to it. Okay.

Burn is ongoing. Guidance. Guidance, guidance. So go ahead and roll a d4. Oh, I roll a d4? Yeah. Okay. It's more fun that way. Yeah, okay. Oh.

That's an 18. Wait, wait. Plus? Plus... Two. 20? 20? The DC was fucking 20. Oh!

This is so, I'm so stressed. You did the right thing. You did the right thing. Yes, because if you hadn't, we would have failed that. You did the right thing. Oh, because if you hadn't, we would have failed that. You did the right thing. Oh my god. Let's pass out.

Slowly and carefully, as these arcane threads begin to weave through the bones and flesh, you can feel them cold at first, and the blue flame begins to create a warmth as the crystal begins to be placed within. It's at first a burning sensation, but then it becomes a warmth

that you haven't felt in a long time. And you have flashes of memory back to childhood of what it felt to be one, to have that flicker of life that you don't really appreciate until it's gone. Just see Laudna grip her hand a little bit. It feels a little tingly.

As the threads continue weaving through and the incantation continues, you watch as the arcane skein that Essek has crafted begins to tug and pull away. And as it does, it's almost like a cat's cradle. What you saw was a clustered series of threads begins to tug and pull away. As it does, it's almost like a cat's cradle. What you saw was a clustered series of threads pulls back into a woven network of intricate shapes and runes,

like a geometric spider's web that pulls back. As it tugs, you see the ribs begin to close up. A successful placement of the stone within. At that moment, the rest of you begin to watch as the blue within. At that moment, the rest of you begin to watch as the blue flame begins to darken, as shadow begins to drift out of the open wound and into the air,

a familiar dark shadow. As this is pressing forward, as it keeps muttering, and you can see he's not stopping the incantation, his eyes are going wide and looking around at the rest of you. The shadows beginning to swirl around, and you can see little bits of purple energy and flame

flicking around the side of her neck. You can feel her now climbing out of the shadowed basement that she's been locked in these past few hours and is now starting to push towards the surface. Kind of sputters a little bit, and you see a little bit of that black ichor of blood cough up out of her mouth. What do you do?

I'm going to burn a couple rages. I'm going to start concentrating and seeing if I can, I'm going to try and tap into something useful. I don't know if it'll work or not, but. Okay, so go ahead and let's burn a rage. Yeah. Yes. As I sit and start breathing,

very slowly trying to control this energy, which I never try and control this energy, I focus and there's a shift and a few odd things happen. Eventually, after going a little gray and a little red and phasing, little rainbow sparkles, little shocks start to hit as I hit the probability point. I was wondering if it's possible just to add as a bonus

for the rest of this for anyone who's got something for this to mark Delilah with Mark of the Messy End. Sure, I'd like to. I will say your rage will drop in a moment. Yeah. Because you don't have anything holding it, so if you have something you want to contribute now, which would be that? That would be that. Okay.

So I am, there is, suddenly, there's just sparks, little sparks trying to contain the smoke and push it in different directions and tear it apart. What does Mark of the Messian do? It means that, basically, crits, or however you deem to use this, are now 18, 19, and 20 for the next six seconds. Against her? Yep.

So what I'll do is, for this, I'll say, regardless of the DC, whatever the next contributing roll is, if it's an 18, 19, or 20, it is a success. Okay. Regardless of the DC. That's total, not the die roll. Okay.

Cool. I look over at Orym. Just make eye contact with him. Seedling. I place my hand on the hilt and I walk over and raise my hand up to your shoulder. If it goes wrong. It's not going to come to that. You are surrounded by people who care for you

and you have more love in your heart than Delilah has ever had in her long, cursed history. And flowers start to grow out of Orym's hand. Little red poppies again start to spread out on small, tendrilled vines and wrap around Laudna's neck and spiral around her arm and down her body, beautifying the table that she lies on. They glow with a subtle black light

and Orym will hex Delilah and give her disadvantage. Actually, I think if we try to do anything to her, I think wisdom is what she'd go with. I'm thinking controlling stuff. Yeah. She's at disadvantage for wisdom now. Okay.

So both of your contributions here, we need a roll to contribute to this. I'll say between both of these, to combine both of these abilities to try and keep her at bay and lock her in, this is going to be a contested roll of wills. So I need one of you to roll a wisdom check. Very average.

So that's a d20 plus. Guidance? Now, because you're both helping in this, in theory, this would be with advantage. Okay. With Guidance. With Guidance, yes. And it's just my wisdom modifier added to whatever I roll?

Correct. 18, 19, 20. And the nashor's going to add another 24. So there's a lot of good ways this could go. There's a lot of bad. Uh-huh. Oh, you're lot of good ways this could go. There's a lot of bad. Uh-huh. Oh, you're doing good. Spoiled.

So I got 21. What'd you roll? Plus two. 18. Rolled an 18. So that's a success on my end, plus two. So in- Crit on the- Correct. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So here's the thing. Because of what you had applied to this, it is considered a crit. So regardless of the DC, it's a success. So you watch as Essek is seeing, you lean forward as you're concentrating, and you all watch as these sparks fling off. They emerge in multitudes of odd colors,

and then as they shift to combine with whatever the shadow is, they shift into a grayish mist with almost silverish specks throughout, and begin to, in many ways, resemble some of the magic you've seen Essek control and manipulate since you went to Aeor with him. His eyes even go wide more

and briefly make eye contact with you with a, we'll talk about this later, head tilt. As you, holding Seadleague before you, all these vines begin to reach out and swirl and trap. As they begin to grasp for the shadow, it's almost like the vines become shadow in their own right. As they begin to grasp for the shadow, it's almost like the vines become shadow in their own right. As they begin to swallow the shadow

that is emerging from Laudna, they solidify into blackened vines that hold it there, locking it like a dead plant over a wall. As this happens, you all feel this wave of warmth in the room, sourcelessly. There's no windows here. It's a basement laboratory, but you feel a warm gust of wind that feels oddly welcoming, and you feel a familiar presence that you felt once before.

As the shadow gets locked in, you hear within your mind a scream. I will not be stopped! I will not be stopped! And you feel like the force trying to keep through. You're trying to hold her back, but you all begin to see Laudna's eyes beginning to flutter and lull back. You can feel Essek getting a little more nervous,

but as he pulls the final thread closed on the binding of this soul anchor into her chest and the final bit of the skein drifts inside. He closes the book and says, We're almost done. The incantation's complete. Now, I need to initiate the actual anchor. And he puts his hand over the area

on the chest that's been closed, at which point her back arches upward and you can see you're now in the middle of a fight. You're no longer present in the room. You withdraw back into shadow and in this darkened space, you can see the faintest flicker of blue flame and darkness around you.

You just float there in this cold space. Then out of nowhere, she reaches for you and you see Delilah, her hands around your throat and she's just strangling you, strangling you, pushing and holding towards you, her eyes locked on you. Her fingers begin to pull upward, like her arms divide. There's now hands on your throat, but a second form of hands rip off of the first set

and begin to try and claw for your mouth. What can we see? You just see Laudna, her back arching on this table, and Essek trying to hold his hand there as he keeps his eyes closed and begins muttering a secondary incantation. Can we help? How do you want to contribute to this? Can I put my hands on either side of Laudna's head

and I'm going to try to force my thoughts down into her mind as well? Yes, you may. And I'm going to see Delilah, try to talk to her. You do? Delilah? Yeah. As you push down into the space, you see the low flickers of blue flame and shadow around.

And from your perspective, you get a glance at the horizon and you've been here once before. You see the shadowed outline of the building cityscape of a once dead Whitestone, just barely cast in grays and blacks around you. You see up above in the expanse, the extending growth of the leafless tree branches as the blackened sun tree

that you once burned together now grows once more in the darkness, now splintered at four different places, pushing past the burns that kept it at bay. And you see there the two fractured spirits of Laudna and Delilah Briarwood entangled in fighting. I'm going to run to her. You float up next.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see a welcoming light, a bright lavender spark arrives. Imogen. I'm going to come up behind Laudna and just send my energy through her and hold onto Delilah's hands, try to give Laudna my strength, and I'm going to look Delilah in the eyes.

There's only two ways for this to end You can't have her Either you go into that anchor Or you end We're not making another choice I've endured far worse than this I know you have This will give you a chance to fight another day.

Go ahead and make a charisma check for me. Come on, come on. Yeah, guidance? I mean, can I? Yeah. This is your contribution as opposed to a direct roll. No, she's good. Just a charisma, not a persuasion, just a charisma. Goddamn it. Correct.

In this instance here, she's, there is no convincing her. She knows she's on the cusp of being in prison. God, I'm so fucking scared. Now. Is there any way I can help? That's what I was going to say. The only other person that has a contributing

to this ritual is you, Laudna. How are you wanting to contribute to this? Okay, so I put my hands over top of Imogen's. I feel her ghostly spirit almost intertwines with mine. I feel her ghostly spirit almost intertwines with mine. I'm going to look at Delilah. As she's choking me, I'm just going to give a little smile.

These years of being your puppet, it ends today one way or another. I think it's your turn. And I'm going to cast Void Puppet. Ooh, shit, this is a move! Oh, what a choice! So you see every person who was hanging on that tree with me that day, their spirits erupt out

from Laudna's back and loop around, and you see their spirits stretch and almost begin spaghettification, and go and attach to Delilah's back as if they are puppet strings, as my grip on her tighten. And she, so this gives me and hopefully Imogen in her role

advantage on intimidation charisma checks and gives Delilah disadvantage. Oh shit. On a saving throw, the exact wording is, if I target her with a spell, she has disadvantage on it, but. You're correct.

So for this, the effective benefit is you are giving Imogen advantage on her charisma roll. Okay. It's huge. Huge. Should it be 20 damage? Should I just have Jor-el? No. Aw. Should it be 29 before? I just have to roll. No.

Oh. How'd you do it? I don't know. Okay, 21. Plus? It was a 15 plus one for Guidance, and then plus five. Okay.

As you're staring into her eyes, you hold onto her hands. All these spirits emerge and thin out into these strings that attach to the back of Delilah Briarwood. And from the distant shadow of Whitestone Specter, hundreds of other threads emerge. Until she has a network of every person

that fell in that city, pulling her from behind. There is a burning hatred in her eyes. A purple flame that grows brighter and more intense. You feel as if you had flesh in this moment, it would be burned away with the piercing volume of hate behind them. As she opens her mouth to speak, and every single one of those threads pulls her away. As she gets pulled silently into the shadow behind, Essek presses his hands down onto Laudna's chest, finishes the incantation.

Her entire body from the inside begins to glow a vibrant purple glow, to the point where the ribcage itself is the only darkened spot. The rest of her flesh is now alight like a lantern from the inside. Where her back is arched, her eyes and mouth fire out that same purple light,

and that blackened shadow gets cast off like a torch to the darkness. As you pull your hands back, the light diminishes. Laudna's body relaxes and Essek is pulled back and is just floating in the air, looking down, his eyes scattered around, looking for any sign of success. Did it work?

It's been there. What? That's a bit unfair. Laudna? Matilda? She's there. Who's there? Who? Delilah. Delilah. She's there, but she's...

She's yours. Ooh! Puzzle the bitch! Got her! Got her! You look inward for a second, and what you see is that burning hatred and that screaming, shadowed face,

quiet as it blasts against and rails against this ancient Aeorian crystal that holds her, her flames, her shadow, drifting out like a sieve into the bone-like ribcage. her shadow drifting out like a sieve into the bone-like ribcage that contains her for as long as you walk this realm. And you look down upon this inside yourself, inside your spirit. She is entirely yours.

Look at my hands. Do they look any different? Not particularly. I'm going to attempt to conjure Pate because he's been gone for a minute. As you go to conjure him, you feel where once you had to borrow energy from this darkness inside you as a request, as a sharer.

Now you siphon it from this crystal and you watch that purple flame and her hated expression dim as you draw from her as you please. And as you do, the shadow swirls in your hand. Oh, why? What happened, little fuckado? Is this bad or normal bad?

Where are we? We did. Who the fuck are you? Oh, no, that's right. I draw my weapon. Hey! No, no, no! It's Delilah, is it? No, no, no! That didn't come out of the green.

No, no, no,'t come out of the green! No, no, no! Yay! I will attack Pate. Go ahead and roll an attack. No, stop, wait! That's 19 to hit. It hits? Okay. Okay, go ahead and roll damage.

Bring it, Pate! Nine plus seven, 16. 16 points of damage. All right, and you added your divine? I did not. Next you're d8. Another four, 20. Okay, he's like,

. Immediately, just scatters. I have smited Delilah. Yay! Oh, Brace, you're so brave. You're so good at this play, really. Thank you. It was pâté.

Yes, I made Delilah into pâté. Do you feel, does she still feel cold? Yeah, do I feel warm? Tell me. Her hands are cold. But you felt her hands before. These are distinctively less clammy than usual. You are! Still growing.

They're very much like room temperature. Yeah, you're just cold, but not like... What the fuck? Can I look down at her chest? Yeah, can you see, like? My blouse is still undone. Please! That's a Master Craftsman touch. You tell me.

I imagine if you look faintly, maybe there's a dull, like you know when you were a kid and you'd shine a flashlight through your hand in the dark and You can be like, I see the veins, yeah. There is indeed a... I'm going to go with the flashlight.

Oh god. I just learned something about boys. No! Oh no. The bat wig. Oh yeah. Please tell me you weren't shining flashlights through your bowl.

Absolutely. Anything you can imagine. If it stretches, flashlights. A lot of us grew up before the internet. We had a lot of time to pass. I never have, but now I don't know if that's going to happen. The power goes out at some point.

Your phone has a flashlight on it. Some of us never stopped. The power goes out at some point. Three, two, one. Shit. Your phone has a flashlight on it. Yeah. Yeah, it does. Yeah, some of us never stopped. If I had a nitpick, I could be into it. No, but in... It's hard to describe. There's a particular wall lamp out of a rib cage and mist that comes to mind for me,

but it is that kind of scenario where you can see the darkened shape of her ribcage only because the light that peeks through it, that faint purple glow of the Soul Anchor, indeed is visible. Oh yeah, Boney Stark. Boney Stark! Boney Stark!

I love it! I love it! Can I, um... Oh my god. Like, look inward? Yeah. Do I still feel a faint beating heartbeat? Is she looking through my eyes?

Is she more or less cut off? Make an insight check. She can't see shit anymore. Yeah, specifically thinking of Imogen being like, I hate that she watches us. Guidance. Natural 20. Oh! Oh my god. Bless fucking you. Oh my god. I want to hear it. Ooh! There you go.

Bless fucking Lord. Oh my god. Sick. All flammy. Flammy dice. Dang! Ugh! Yeah. You take a moment to take stock of where she resides within your essence. She can only see what you want her to see.

Okay. So I can, if I'm like, yo, tell me about the Cerberus Assembly, I can be like, ding, ding, ding, ding, like tapping on the aquarium, but she's not accessing me at all times. Correct. Mind you, she would need some real,

particular convincing to want to help you in any way, shape, or form now. You've essentially entrapped your patron. Damn! You are enemy number one. Damn! You can pull her power, but she doesn't have to help. That could have come in handy a while ago. That's the move.

Boy, you just got to bribe her on occasion, maybe with a sandwich or something. That's great. Yeah, she's... She won't be watching us anymore. I just kiss her. I kiss her. Can we get back together now? Yay! Yay!

Okay! I just hang my head. Chew down. How do you feel? I feel amazing. It's... So different? Different, but...

But in a nostalgic way, like in an old way, more like myself. Like a sense of clarity. It's like, you know, walking through life with a fog in your head all the time. Looking at Laudna, is there any subtle difference, like a little more blood in her cheeks? I was trying to figure out if she's like... Yes. There's a little more color to her.

She's still Laudna. She's still undead. She's still wrecked. Yes. She is still what she is, and she is still bound by the spell that keeps her here. She and Delilah are still irrevocably tethered, but the dynamic has changed.

It's nice. Feeling like I have control. Thank you, thank you all. You've done it not once, but twice. This one feels better. Forever in your tent. No, no, no.

You look down because you feel Chet's hands around your ankle, and I'm taking one of my finishing chisels and I'm just carving into your ankle. I'm taking one of my finishing chisels and I'm just carving into your ankle. C, P, O. I do it on all of my best works. Just tough it out. O, P. C-poop?

C-pop. C-poop. C-poop. Oh, there's an extra O. There we go. Ah. You're in good company now. You know, only you, There's a reason. There we go. Ah! You're in good company now. You know, only you,

only you would I allow to do that. I know. Some cult shit just happened. You're welcome. It's really fun to be out here. I feel weird if I carve Seapop into your ankle. I don't know why I would do that. Wow. We should get do that. Wow.

We should get some rest. Yes. I would like that very much as well. Oh yeah. I feel like shit. Well, uh... And he glides down into this heavy leather chair that's creaky and well overused.

Come here. heavy leather chair that's creaky and well overused. Not every day you get to be part of such a moment. Thank you, Essek. Happy to have been of service. I still have a lot of service to make up for in this lifetime. We should celebrate. You're right. Who knows what the aftermath is tomorrow

from what happened earlier today? We're fucking exhausted. We're in a big city. We just scored a win for once. We should celebrate you. Celebrate us. Are you thinking like a house party or like a go out and get ready sort of thing or?

What do you recommend, Essek? Dorian's like, can I wear my shoes next? House party, are we getting? Are you jealous because Laudna had her tits out or something? Yeah. I was going to tell him. Well, I suppose now is as good a time as any for a bender. Yeah.

Yes, well, as far as- We can always sleep and then bender tomorrow. I understand. I'm not talking to a rager, I just mean commemorating the moment. It's been a second since we've had a win. Real positive. I believe I have a few things I could unlock for the occasion.

Oh yes. Yeah, and he does this with his hands and you watch a bunch of the books and scattered instruments go back to their places. Wow. Jealous. That was intentional. Yes, it was.

A little bit of cleanup. Let's step out of a place quite as work and memory-oriented. Follow me. He puts his robe back on and glides up to the main room. Was he naked this whole time? No, no. Him and Chet.

Grace, do you know how to celebrate? The true arcana needs to be done. Do celebrations happen in the Hells? In his enchanting suit. Celebrations happen all the time in the Hells, yes. We know how to party. Yeah, I'm sure. Oh, good. Okay.

Yes. I have some questions for you. Sure. Did you want to invite any of your friends over, like, abs? I'm just saying, like. Abs? Which one's abs?

Abs. Which one is abs? Oh, that one! It's been a while. I'm saying, like, if you wanted to invite any friends over, you totally could. Do you have friends? A handful. They're currently away on important business.

Sure, sure, sure. I wish they could be here, believe me. But I'm currently awaiting to hear back. Okay. So if they manage to show up in the next hour or two, I'm sure they'd be happy to join, but it's out of my hands. I mean, this is your place. I don't know why I would be.

But I believe I do have some wine, perhaps a few things in a cabinet. What would Caleb have here, you think? Uh. Well. A few bottles of Lionette wine. Everything in the tower, but here there's a full pantry of Lionette wine. I don't think he's taking anybody into the tower.

Yeah, okay, that's fine. I mean, he has a basic array of liquor, but he has a ton of wine. Fireball. Just big old red-barreled fireball. All the German names are fireball. Yeah. Super dusty.

It's great. A tap of fireball? Kolb, Schlager, Jägermeister, fireball. It's called Wittogaster. Yeah, Wittogaster. What is his name? I'm just erasing it from my memories. Yeah, I imagine Beau would for sure,

just like every Christmas or birthday, or like Winter's Crest, she just drops crates of Lionel wine. One side's all like Caleb's booze, and then Essek's got Zima. Yeah. Somewhere can be Zima. He would be that guy. Thank you, I need to remind you, I don't drink. I just thank you. Essek's got Zima. Yeah. Somewhere can be Zima. He would be that guy. He's doing the,

thank you, I need to remind you I don't drink. I just thank you for another. Whatever it is, yes. Why would I buy it when I can get it for free? But indeed, in this late evening hour, Essek procures a few bottles of wine, a few partially drinking bottles of brackish liquor, puts some glasses and mugs out for you all,

and there is a breakfast nook table that can fit you all in a crowded way around if you wish to take a minute and celebrate. Toast. Toast. to take a minute and celebrate. Toast. Toast. To new beginnings. I'm miming, I have a cup. To new beginnings.

To new beginnings. Wow. Before the end. I got a real cup. I don't have to mime. To a bunch of losers winning. Yes, yes. To finishing strong. Hell yes. Hell yes. To being in control of our destiny.

Yes. Here, here. Cheers. Bottoms up. Cheers, bottoms up. It's nice to meet you all. Oh. To be friends. This is still really weird. I've got to be honest. It's been like

four or six hours since we met. Hey, so. This is why we have our traditional greeting, which is the, so I think it's time for a round of what the fuck is up with you? Oh. Me, you.

Oh, this is her special day. I don't want to interrupt. But sure, go ahead. So you're from the Hells. I'm not from the Hells. I'm not from the Hells. I've been there many times. Where are you from? Originally, or?

Yeah, give us the real one. Any way you want to answer it. It's your zip code. My family originated. Neighbor of the beach. Yeah. That's his area code. I don't know how worldly you are, but there's...

On the continent of Wildemount, there's an empire and there's a dynasty. We're in the empire. I know that, but I don't know where you're from. I don't know anything about you. We were just in another place entirely six hours ago when I met you. Fair.

My family originally came from the Dynasty part of the continent, and then we lived for a time in the Empire part, and now I sort of, I rove about, but I think my true home now is the Hells. How'd you find your calling? Are you a religious person? I never have been, but definitely not. Sometimes the gods speak to you

in a moment of great need or great triumph or great trauma, and I'm happy to say that my lord reached out to me at a low moment and brought me up again. So your lord was like, hey, I can help you right now? I mean, it wasn't like a conversation like that, but I received a vision that

I was meant for a greater purpose, and it gave me a goal to set myself to. That's nice. Yeah. Started, but this wasn't your first religious calling, if I recall. We had a little talk about, I want to say, the platinum dragon, I think, before going. I was also aligned with another god

before I learned the truth, as we all have learned now, that the prime deities are... The name Betrayer God, I think, is a misnomer. I think they're all... The primes are just as misguided. And I learned that the hard way, and I shifted my alliances. Whoa. Yeah.

You got the juicy inside deets? I mean, I fell on hard times. I was a devotee of the Platinum Dragon, and I was a... I served his church, and I worked at a temple. I was promoted up the ranks quite high, actually. I was in charge of security and protection of a temple in a place called Zadash.

And one day, the temple was attacked by two deceitful people. You fucking dick. Yes, a horrible goblin and a nightmarish Tiefling. You dick. I let them in. They deceived me to gain entry, and I failed in my duties to protect the temple.

How did you fail? What happened? They destroyed the temple. They destroyed it? They destroyed it. So it's gone? Such digs. It's gone? It's not gone.

I mean, they set fire to it. They desecrated it. It was horrible. How did they. They desecrated it. It was horrible. How did they do to desecrate it? They painted... I was actually confused when I got here to this home, because I saw there's dicks on the wall.

There's literally a dick over his shoulder carved into the wall. They painted dicks on the wall? Yes. Maybe it's a... I guess it's a popular thing if it carved into the wall. They painted dicks on the wall? They painted dicks, yes. Maybe it's a, I guess it's a popular thing if it's here, too, but. They painted dicks on the wall, and I was blamed for that. No. Yeah, well, I failed to protect it.

That's terrible. Were they caught, apprehended? I know they're at large, and I will find them. I hope you do. And that was the experience that bent you towards the Lord of the Hells? No, no, I mean that started a downfall of sorts. I was expelled from the church,

excommunicated, I guess you could say. Because they thought you were drawing the digs? No, no, because I failed. Maybe the tiefling and the goblin that you spoke with, maybe they worked for the Lord of Hells. Maybe their whole purpose was to get you away from the planet dragon. No. Oh, like he sent them as a test?

Oh, like the devil works in mysterious ways, sort of. Whoa. Oh, interesting. They acted with such reckless abandon, it doesn't seem like my lord has very clear motives and drives and they were animals, really. The worst people on the planet. They must have been incredibly powerful and stout. I mean, you're stacked, you've got armor

and you're too bald flail. They must've just been absolute warlords. Yeah. Yes, they were. Wow. Wow. Well, I'm sorry you went through that. Flailing balls were not enough.

I was removed from my post, disgraced. I lost. My family lost a lot as well. They were. Where's your family now? Are you still? I don't know, because they blamed me as well. Oh.

I don't. We don't speak anymore. So your family is still very heavily into the platinum dragon? I don't believe so. They were also disgraced and were sort of removed. That's awful. So Asmodeus is like a rebound?

A rebound? No, no, no. He is the one true god. A rebound of multiple. For you. Of all. He showed me, as he will show all of you, that there is no such thing as objective truth. that there is no such thing as objective truth. There is only power and victory.

And as we saw in that TV show that we just all watched together. The only thing that matters, there are those who matter and those who don't, and he matters. And through his guidance and his power, we can find purpose. And what purpose have you been put to?

Let's say before the skies went crazy, what was a day in the life of Brayus like six months ago? Are we going to drink or just talk? Oh, we're drinking while this is happening. We've been taking shots. We're just shooting at that. As the herald of Lord of the Blind. Take a shot first, take a shot.

Okay. Let's take a shot first, take a shot. Okay, take a shot. Oh jeez. As the Herald of the Lord of Lies, it is my honor-bound, oath-bound duty to find followers for my lord and spread Word of his power. To do that, it's a little tricky, because, if I'm being honest, which I always am.

Inserna. There's a lot of people who don't really love my god. I mean, do you love him? Do you love your god, or are you like, I respect the shit out of him? More the second, yeah. Yeah, because I feel like with what we watched, I don't know if I'm a fan.

Again, I feel like we didn't watch the same thing. He wanted the family to be together forever. He respected his brethren, his kin, and they chose a bunch of mortal fuck-ups over each other. So you didn't see any nuance in that story? Like, there was just, like, there was no complicated relationships there,

things that were kind of going on? Sure, it was complicated, but they chose mortals over their own family, and then in the next breath, they destroyed an entire city, yes, of mortals. This is how it was. No, I'm with you. Oh.

That's insane. That's insane. Yeah. Why are you letting this be you? Holy fuck. Are Brace and Vax destined to be together? Oh no. They destroyed,

they killed thousands and thousands of mortals. Oh, more than, yeah, no. They destroyed, they killed thousands and thousands of mortals. Oh, more than, yeah. Yes. Way more. So, which led me to the conclusion that they didn't respect their own family because they chose mortals over their family, but then they didn't respect the mortals either,

so what do they care about? Themselves, and that's sort of it. But my guy did not just care about himself. He wanted to be with his family, and that's all we ever want. Your guy totally lied to everyone. So did they! No.

I fell asleep in the movie, so. Aw. I mean. It was a three-parter. I feel like he raises a fair argument with this, although it is the most interesting, it is the most complex view of black and white morality I've ever heard, which is kind of impressive. I just think it's, isn't it quite a coincidence

that everything that is good in the world also seems to help the Prime Deities? What a fucking coincidence that is. Well, I will say as a toast to an old friend of mine named Sally, who used to say there are two kinds of people in the world. Yeah, Sally. People who believe there's two kinds of people

in the world and those who don't. Mm-hmm. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Mm-hmm. I'll drink to that. believe there's two kinds of people in the world and those who don't. Uh-huh. Mm-hmm. I'll drink to that. I'll drink to that, too. Ah, I am into this view. This is very interesting. I'm excited that you're with us.

Am I with you? Yeah, you haven't achieved your objective. We got a shared interest here, right? We have to kill Ludmus. Yep. We have to save the gods. Yep. We have to acquire the power of the Factotum Factotum

and use it to destroy the Prime Deities. Oh. Yeah, why not? That's where we'd be. And find the tiefling and the goblin in Murgatown. I'm into that. Yeah. Most of that is all in the same ballpark. It seems like we can at least go a certain length. It depends on the priority,

what order you go in. And honestly, God, we need the help. I mean, let's not kid ourselves that we could use all the help we can get right now. Yeah, just like in the movie, right? The part that I stayed awake for was, despite differences, you work together and then something happens at the end.

It's going to be tricky with some of the higher-ups we work with, but that's always been true of us. What's going to be tricky? Well, we have to figure out what we're doing next. True. We're probably going to need to talk to some folks and Updates. You're an interesting new friend.

We have Hells in our name, though. It's honestly very fitting. When you told me that, I got really excited. Yes. He works in mysterious ways. But if it helps things, you know, I'm a pragmatist here. We could lie about who I follow.

I thought you don't lie. Well, that might've been a fib. I think that pragmatism is the overlap here. And I don't know if we're going to settle a right or wrong. Are the gods worth destroying or letting survive? Are they all damnable or any of them have any redeeming qualities? We're not, but what lewdness has in mind

is dangerous for above and below. So we have to be pragmatic. And if you help me, I guarantee you the gates of the Hells will open and you can all celebrate with me at my side. That sounds really fun. And Fearne, because she's so good. I have so many questions for you.

Me too. I mean, you are fascinating. Thank you so much, you are too. Top three people I've ever met. What? Can you count any higher than six? Everyone else counts in tens, but my number system is sixes.

You know, one thing that I really wanted to ask Ludinus before he was like, call me later, bamfed away, was he's had all this time to commune with Brodalthos and build things. I've heard of people in the past going and visiting the gods and talking with them, just in the way that we were having a very nightly,

communication is key, right? Communication is everything. So why, I just wonder, I just wonder if he has gone and just talked to the gods. Maybe we, this is going to sound batshit, but. Today? It's going to sound batshit today? Maybe we go and talk to the gods and just be like, look, here's the deal.

There are people with very big plans and they want to eat you or zap you with a big god laser. I mean, I remember FCG communing with the Changebringer, but I don't remember. I don't know. They have stories. I don't know if they're true. We might not have to look too far.

Wildmother was here. Right now? I don't feel her right now, but I did. When you were on the table, Laudna. We had a little matron vision before, but it wasn't anything we were looking for. Felt like an accident. I don't know what to make it,

but they're paying attention and they're with us when they want to be. The Wild Mother came to you? 20 minutes ago, when Laudna was on the table. You mean three sixes and two minutes ago? Wow. I mean, that seems like an arbitrary direction to make. That was so fast.

That was so fast. Why can't you do moves like that when we're in combat? It's my fault. Oh my god. Why are you like this? Everything starts with three sixes. I don't know what it means, but while I have the feeling that she wanted you on your feet again.

Who? Just a feeling. If I have to deal with one more crazy bitch watching us when we're trying to bone, I'm going to be real fucking pissed. True. Sorry, I'll stop. I've been... That's a troll. That's a troll.

You finally covered it. It's true. I'll agree. If that's a thread you want to pull on, if you would like to try to reach out to the Wild Mother, I can try to help you, advise you. I've reached out to gods before. I have religious training and temple experience.

I can help. I'm not all bad. I imagine she has a temple in this city. I mean, if we wanted to, Essek, I imagine she has a temple in this city. Tricky, tricky. Got to be, right? Uh! I'm not particularly versed on the religious aspirations of Rexxentrum.

Don't get to walk the streets too often. Because you float on them? Uh-huh. Why? That's a joke. I like that one. Thank you very much. I could look into it for you. Wait, is it because you're still a war criminal

and people don't like you? Who said he's a war criminal? You said he's did bad things in the past. I think he told us that. Yes, he just said he did bad things. He did bad things. He didn't say he's a war criminal, though, Laudna. He just said he did bad things.

Oh, I'm extrapolating. Extremely presumptuous of you. He didn't give back exact change in a shop once. No. Well, there's a greeting card on your mantle and it's written to my favorite war criminal, signed Beauregard. Oh, yeah.

I don't know, that tracks. Yeah, that's exactly. She would say that. Yeah. I mean, I make no secret, I have complicated feelings about the gods and always have, and I feel like, with the clearest head I've had in a long time,

that however this works out, it's going to be, it's their decision. It's however they decide to take, however they decide to justify themselves. I think it's going to come down to people, and they either justify themselves, leave, or end. Wait, the gods justify themselves? Yeah, this is, honestly, what else is this about

other than why are you here? I have to agree. It's their turn to explain to us why we need them. Well, they did leave, though, didn't they? Not enough. They caused horrific pain and suffering on a terrible scale. Then they left. They barred themselves.

It's not enough for some, but it was their own chosen penance, I guess. Blue Beauty, you also hate the gods? I don't like the nickname, but I wouldn't say hate. But I do agree with Ashton. The last time I conferred with a god, they cared very little about the feelings of anyone around us.

Which god was this? A goddess. Spider Queen. Well, that kind of tracks. Why? It's another of the Betrayers. I'm just going to say, if there's one thing I, I mean, there's a lot of things I do not like in this world,

and one of them is when powerful people get to decide how they are punished. That's a funny turn of phrase. People. You view them as people. Now I do. Like us. I didn't before, and now I do, and honestly, it makes me even a little angrier.

I feel the same. It is strange. I honestly watched and honestly, it makes me even a little angrier. I feel the same. It is strange. I honestly watched all that and, I don't know, I was kind of endeared by them a bit, just in the way of like, oh, they were just travelers looking for a home and are absolute fuck-ups as well. But on the flip side of that, they seemed willing to burn this all to the ground

and potentially start anew, so maybe they can just start anew elsewhere without burning it all to the ground? Can they? Would they, without their power? Is there a way for us to ever know? Asking them would be a start. We saw it today.

If we're capable of it, if you are capable of it, shouldn't the gods be, to risk it all? That's, in my darker moments, that's what I want, is I want to see them pray to us. I want to see them ask us what we want. You'd rather die than stay in control by someone else. Yes. Yes.

Yeah, but the gods and lewdness are different topics. Oh yeah, lewdness is a fucking problem. What a fucking... You can think anything you want about the gods. It has nothing to do with the uncertainty of lewdness' plan and the potential destruction that that elf is going to unleash. There's no guarantee, there's no scroll, there's no script,

there's no god's promise that will tell us that he isn't about to unleash a calamity as bad as or worse than what history saw. We don't know. That's where I'm at, too. I don't think Ludinus has the right to decide for everyone else. Yeah. The gods do. None of them. I certainly also don't trust anyone who comes to you with a complicated question and then tells you that there's only two answers.

That is some narcissistic bullshit, and that's a trick. I'm telling you, if Ludinus had sent people to your home and taken your brother and your father and countless others, how philosophical would you be about it, Dorian? And he's done that on a very large scale,

far beyond me and my home. Think what you want about the gods. We have plenty of sins on our heads to deal with. Just like them. Our great-great-grandparents. Our sins are human. Our sins are small. Our sins are...

We don't get to decide how we're punished. We don't get to decide what our consequences are. They're consequences. In my book, it makes him a god, too. Because no one, I guess I just don't trust anyone who doesn't have to answer to anybody. Yeah, I mean, you're saying you don't want the gods to decide our fates,

to control our fates, but Ludinus is taking up that very same mantle and deciding for everyone on Exandria. Well? All across the flat circle of it. That long story, you don't even want to. Cuckoo.

The other part of it is, I haven't heard Ludinus give a good reason why we should do it. I mean, I understand not wanting to be controlled by someone else, and if the gods are the people with the control, that's one thing. But let's say you wipe the slate. They're gone.

And let's say Predathos doesn't eat everything else. He consumes the gods, he moves on to some other place and leaves all of us mortals down here to our lonesome. You're talking about resetting the power structure of Exandria from zero. So governments, power dynamics, nations, continents, all of those things are going to be turned upside down. Well. And don't forget about

everything that was here before the gods, the fey, the demons, all of that was here. Exactly. It'll be a mad scramble. And at least in my 400 years, that usually means people die. Lots of people. People are dying anyway. I suspect there is a step two that he has up his sleeve.

Yeah. Once all the gods are gone, we were sitting in a place full of magic that could kill gods. Could it kill a god eater? Is he going to let the god eater do his dirty work and then turn on it? He's wanting conduits, right? He's wanting us,

Ruedas-born, Exalted, whatever, to take that on. After it's done, I mean... He disposes with the weapon. I think so. Or he holds on to it, right? Or he holds on to it. He doesn't share it. Plus, another massive factor is,

we know the Rylorans are wanting to rejoin for their rightful place in Exandria. That's quite a shakeup as well. Yeah, the Weavemine, like, are they the new? Are they the new power structure? Are they the new gods? Ugh. We should have asked him how he felt about them.

We should have. I feel like there's so much I wanted to ask. I feel like, I don't know, my thought is maybe it would just go back to the way it was. Little gods, little thoughts, little powers. Answerable. I don't know. It's chaos. The idea of demons having free reign.

Only thing keeping them back is the Primes, right? That's what they say. There are a number of forces in this world that keep such evils at bay. Some faiths and temples are exemplary forces and examples, yes, but there are places where the darker tears to the abyss are kept outside of the Pantheon's watch.

Even the Dynasty itself, Luxon follower or not, have had their responsibilities over generations at keeping such darkness from spilling into our realm. What does Predathos mean for the Luxon? If it even exists. Who knows? But whatever the Dunamantic power source is, it is quite divergent from divine power sources.

And if indeed the Predathos seems to be an entity that feasts on divine power, then I do not think it would be as interested in the Luxon. But that is just a theory. Alt. Alt names for yes, for. Okay. Alts. Alt names for, yes, for? No, I think alts. I mean, if the Primes are mainstream,

I'd prefer to call the Betrayer Gods Indie Alt. Oh, Indie Gods. Yeah, like Alt God. Wouldn't you rather be into Alt than Taylor Swift? How dare you? Wouldn't you rather be into Alt than Taylor Swift? How dare you? Cancer. Do not call that community on us. Talk about summoning and then go back to Flat Earth.

Back to Flat Earth, please. My character, my character, not me. There will be a blip in this episode and no one will know why. Yeah. Unfollow. Unfollow. Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do. The lunch shutdown. and no one will know why. Yeah. Unfollow. Yeah. On the follow.

The one shut down. Loftiest Age of Arcandum wizards that ever lived. T-Swift. T-Swift. She is so bad. Told you. I'm bad. Oh, now I got bad blood. Wow.

Really? Okay. I got a daughter. You do? I got a daughter. You do? I got a... If we want to end on a slightly, or I don't know how everyone feels, but I have a dumb party game that I've been meaning to play with everybody.

Another dumb party. Oh, a really good dumb party game. That's not what the fuck is up with that. No. I pull out my pipe. Technically, I have the pipe. Shit, I went for it, and I, what the fuck happened out my pipe. Technically, I have the pipe. Shit, I went for it, and I... The fuck happened to my pipe?

This pipe? Ah, I've been drinking. And I didn't update my notes. Oh, I'm drinking. I'll do that. What do you say we roll for who smokes it? What's the pipe do? I don't partake.

I don't partake. This, when you smoke from this pipe, it reveals your most heroic moment. Wait, wait, is this from the tree? Yeah. This pipe. Essek, hold on. Whether you partake or not, this is from an ancient tree. There are no other pipes like this pipe.

It's an OG strain, baby. Oldest time. I know your academic brain has got to be curious as fuck. Make a persuasion check. Yeah! It's from San Fernando Valley. It can only be used once an evening, so we can only do it once. And it tells you.

Only one person can do it? Your most heroic moment to come, or that you've done? The most heroic thing you've done. My persuasions is zero. That does not surprise me. Fuck. Inspiration. No, I want to see this.

I give you the power of the Lord of Lies. What is that? A d6? Only one person a day. Which is why I've been waiting for a good drinking night to see who wants to fuck around. I will engage in whatever the chances might be.

God, it's a good way to get to know somebody. How do we decide who has to do it? D10. Oh, a D10, that's smart. One through nine. I was just going to say, spin the bottle. Yeah, spin the bottle, but with a D10, because's smart. One through nine. I was just going to say spin the bottle. Yeah, spin the bottle with a d10, because we don't have a bottle.

That would be fun. He's thirsty. My man is in a drought. Feed that plant. There was some pent-up horniness going on, wasn't there? Seven minutes in the hell. The horns are straight. It's got to be six.

I love it. Oh god. Six, six, six, six. All right. So who wants to roll the d10, then? I mean, it's Taliesin's. I know this is Taliesin's. All right. Excuse me.

Does that mean we're all a number? One, two, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, zero is a reroll. Okay. Roll it out in the front. Wait, what number was that? Yep, I'll let you know. That's a five, so one, two, three, four.

Oh, it is Brace! All right, my backstory is not that thought out, guys. I don't know if I know where it is. It's a very weird, best of a pressure. Ah, there it is. You got it, that's right. I'm also going to say that your notion of what is heroic definitely, I feel like, has an effect on this.

So it doesn't have to be objectively heroic. It's what, in your mind, is heroic. Or if you don't think of anything heroic, subconsciously, what your barometer of morality would tell you is the most heroic. This was going to, boy. Start with your parents' name. Pass. Heroic. Yeah.

You just fucked your life up, didn't we? I really don't know the answer to this. I've lived my life, my most recent life in service of my lord. Probably hiding in the closet. Yeah, hiding in the closet. Did you try to fight the horrible people that assaulted the temple?

That wasn't me. Or have you done something in service of your lord? Yeah, I mean. You're a bard, really good performer. I mean, the smoke is actually going to act it out in front of us. Was that fight with the? I mean, maybe it was when I killed Stanley.

Who is that Stanley? This is Stanley. So I'm into this, what do we see? Okay. I'm into it. Do you just say this out loud instead of smoking the pipe? Oh, do I have to smoke the pipe first?

Somebody said it. Wait, what does this pipe do? I don't know. You smoke the pipe and then we basically get like a 3D visual little story of our most heroic moment. Okay, okay. Cool, cool, cool. I can do that.

You're going to swim your brain? I will smoke the pipe. You don't have a lighter. What are you doing? Oh yeah, yeah. Shake! Or this is true. I will flim, I'll hold it over the bowl.

It's a bubbler. Not a bomb, man. A carpool? A carpool? Drop the vigor, don't drop the vigor. Try to get him. I don't know what it's shaped like. It's just, it's shaped like.

It's just this. It's like a Gandalf pipe. It's a Gandalf pipe. Sure. Okay, Glyph, light reality. Gandalf pipe. That's a trombone. That's not a pipe, that's a trombone.

Hold it, hold it, hold it! Okay, okay, I'm so glad. It hasn't been cleaned in a while, has it? Yeah. Blame this fucker. That water is dirty as fuck. What the fuck was? I'm very familiar with sticky black tar substances.

It seemed fine to me. We've been smoking you. Whoa, could you turn your body into a bomb? Oh my god. Because you can make holes and stuff. Probably could in case of an emergency. Oh, for reals. Essek goes,

Anyway. This is what happens when you hit us with three massive battles in one day. Yeah, we're a little bit of a loopy. Oh, I know. Loopy loopies. You see, Essek says, he looks a little overwhelmed, but also he smiles a little bit. He's like,

You gave us liquor. Ah, it's been a bit since this house has been quite so raucous. Looks over to you as the smoke that you coughed up around just spread out of the chamber and it begins to form into shapes that are animated. What do we see? Oh my god. I'm so into this. We're going to witness you

skinning Stanley. Yes, I guess you see, dark shit, man. Bruh. How much of this, it's just the moment or it's everything leading up? It's the narrative of it. I think it's very licensure, man.

Yeah. You see Brayas and a very handsome human man You see Brayus and a very handsome human man waging battle against dark figures that you can't really make out. As the battle rages on, Stanley, or the handsome young man,

raises a dagger and stabs Brayas in the back and holds up a shining symbol of the Dawnfather. Brayas falls to his knees, but then climbs back up with pure willpower and wipes the blood off of himself and is able to smite Stanley and takes Stanley's blood and paints a large portrait

of Asmodeus being stabbed in the back by the Dawnfather. Oh. And with the blood splatter all over the wall. That's an interesting interpretation. And then painstakingly skins Stanley and takes his skin and flesh and bones and then painstakingly skins Stanley and takes his skin and flesh and bones and makes it into a cup. Wow. Last name Krupp.

Stanley. Wow. It's a Stanley Krupp. It's about 15 minutes into this vision. Uh-huh. When you're partway into the early flaying, as it goes, I'm going to just get some more cookies. No, no, no, this is the best part.

How did you get the eye to do that? That's crazy. Then the vision will end with Brayus praying to the image he has made and praying and praying, but gets nothing back. Well, the art was lovely. I admire the craftsmanship. It was a very artistic choice for that, an artistic death.

I think it was very crafty and resourceful. I honestly want to swap some tips. Like art tips? Like, yeah. Okay. What did Asmodeus say about your art? It's beautiful. I'm sure he admired it greatly.

Like I said, he doesn't speak to me like that, but I receive visions and nudges, subtle nudges and directions. Affirmations. Huh? Affirmations. Thank you. That's what I wanted to.

But you've never spoken with the Lord of Hells. Do you feel closer to the Lord of Hells than you do the Platinum Dragon? Do you feel like you've gotten more communication? Of course, of course, yeah. Well, I don't know about more communication, but more validation. More validation.

I haven't really spoken to the god, ever. But you're sure that... I am the Herald of the Lord of Lies. I am the voice of the Lord of Deception, and I will serve him to my dying day. How were you made the herald? Is this a choice that you made, or... Was that the choice that the Lord made?

Probably well earned. Earned. Dedication. Yes. Sacrifice. Acts of worship and devotion. Acts of cruelty when needed. Power. Why a cup? Massive insight check. I have disadvantage on anything.

I don't know why I bother. I have a migraine. Why am I doing that? That was a double hand abandon on the roll. Why a cup after? To drink the blood of my enemies. Is there? I just get very thirsty.

As long as you see visions and you feel connected, as long as you're seeing the visions, then that's how you communicate with the gods. I mean, imagine a world where you worshiped a god and couldn't see them and know their presence or hear their prayers. I wouldn't call them visions as much as sort of imaginings.

Oh, like dreams, maybe? Well, we live in a- Like daydream sort of fantasies. Our gods are so real. I've never sworn allegiance, and I've felt their presence, and seen it and acted upon my friends, and it's direct and clear.

Is this not your experience? He is locked away in the Hells, and it must be hard for him to reach out. Technically a god of deceit as well, so there's probably some complications there. There could be, one of you could be sent by him. I could have received many words from many people, just don't know it because they're lies.

You know, it's really complicated. Lie stuff is complicated. Lie stuff is complicated. That does sound complicated. Yeah, and that was very disturbing, and at some point, you should probably talk to someone, but you're very creative and talented. Maybe you can ask good old Tevin if,

Tevin, Tevin. Maybe you can ask Tevin how he normally speaks to his followers, and that way, you know. I'm sure I'm the herald of the King of Hells. Oh, you were told, you were just like, I'm sure of it. Got it.

Maybe we just leave it. Maybe we just leave it alone. Yeah, for were told. You were just like, I'm sure of it. I'm, okay. Got it. Maybe we just leave it. Maybe we just leave it alone. Yeah, for a minute. Yeah, we'll just, we'll take six. Faith is a personal affair. Yeah. You said you were a bard. Is the art, is that part of your artistry

that makes you a? Yes, that's how I perform acts of great devotion. Like those live painters that you'll see in the streets? Yes, yes, and I don't just paint evil shit, too. I can paint anything if you want, if you have any requests, I can paint. Yes, yes.

Is this something you picked up in Jorhas? You said you were from the Dynasty. Where did you grow up? Well, we moved out of the Dynasty when I was younger. In such a... Thank god. Because I am useless. No, mine's pretty bad.

Well, 16. 16, you can roll a persuasion or deception, your choice. I don't have to say. 33. Gosh, you're pretty. Probably going to have a really shit deception. There's going to be a lot of gosh, you're pretty getting in real trouble.

Understood, yes. There are a number of people who are translocated as children. Well. You're from our dynasty as well? Yes. Though I've not been there in some time. Particularly of Den Thalys.

Oh. Does that name sound familiar to you? It's one of the Dens, sure. All right. So what are you doing? I don't know enough to actually have a comment on that. Top six Dens. Top six Dens.

You have a home in the Hells? A home in the Hells? Where do you reside? Apartment. I mean, the Hells are a chaotic, powerful place. Sure. I'm told.

But obviously, you've never been. Well, to be invited to the Hells is a big honor. That you have not received yet. But how did you know about Ludinus if he's only been speaking to you in daydreams? I... This is a celebration! Question for you, Essek.

Yes. These portraits that are on the wall of you and your friends, did you have these commissioned? Were they made by you, or? He glances past. Vrayus, around the wall, there is a fantastic portrait that contains a blue-skinned tiefling, and he immediately waves his hand,

and a curtain goes over, and he's like, Um, yes, I had them commissioned, or my partner did, yes. Well, as fellow artists, and I certainly don't mean to. Watch the horn. Oh yeah, sorry, sorry. I don't mean to. Wash the horn. Oh yeah, sorry, sorry. I don't mean to ask something of you

on your first night with us, but we're celebrating and this is fun, and you seem to create your art so quickly. What about a portrait of us together? As new friends, is that something you feel like you could do? You don't have to kill us to do it, though, right? No, no, no, I don't have to paint with blood.

It's my favorite medium, but I'm not going to. I don't have to kill us to do it, though, right? No, no, no, I don't have to paint with blood. It's my favorite medium, but I'm not going to. Me, too. I don't have to. I think there's still a lot on the table in the laboratory. Our absolutely worst at the moment really brings it together. We could do a fun one, though, where a slice of life, where we're loud.

I'm okay with this. I'm excited. Make a pose. Yeah! All right, all right. But you've got to be in it. Can you paint yourself in after the fact? I'll add myself. You know what? I'll sneak myself in. Perfect.

All right, I'll spend some time. I do have art supplies, so I'll take out a canvas. And I'm just doing a lot of this. A lot of throwing splatter everywhere. It's really messy and I don't know how this turns out. Yeah, go ahead and you can roll a performance check if you'd like. I will inspire myself.

Or you can choose just the dexterity check, you call it. No, no, performance for sure. Not great. Wait, performance? Oh yeah, that's good. 20. 20. It's one of those things where, at an immediate glance,

as you look at it, it looks scattered and unfocused. That's only because you're looking at the dark spots. Yeah, back from it. But as soon as you focus on the lighter, the absence of shadow, where you can see where all the forms are, it's very evocative and it pops once you can focus on the depth of shadow, where you can see where all the forms are. Very evocative, and it pops once you can focus on the depth of what's there.

You have to cross your eyes, it's 3D. Yeah, yeah. Everyone's painted in a gothy version of yourself. I'm not. There's nothing gothier than you. I look perfect. But everyone else has a little bit of an edge to them. And you just painted this on Essek's wall?

No, no, I have. I've brought a canvas paper and stuff. Yeah, parchment. I'm into it. I like this. Have you ever thought about maybe becoming an artist? Selling your work? Oh, I don't know about that. I do this in devotion to my lord.

I wouldn't imagine receiving monetary compensation, I do this in devotion to my lord. I wouldn't imagine receiving monetary compensation, but if I did, how much do you think something like this would be worth? I don't know. It's gorgeous. I would pay it. Yeah, it's amazing. Yeah? Yeah.

It's beautiful. I'm sure your god would be very proud of this work. Oh. Yeah, oh, it's just... Yes! You said it was a gallery, and it was a limited offering? Ooh. Yeah. I mean, rich people love this type of thing,

especially if you do it live at a gala, you know? Yeah. This is dark, but if it is blood, it'd probably go for a lot in the right circles. God, that makes me unhappy. The wealthy are insufferable in their interests. Oh. Cheers. All right.

Well, shall I leave this one with you to put on your wall, or in a place of great honor? Essek's like, ooh! I actually know we want to keep this! This is for us! I think this is important for you all to keep to commemorate this, and it doesn't really go with anything here.

I mean, it doesn't match the decor. Black and white goes with everything. But it'll go really well with a bed. Yeah. We'll put it down. We'll figure it out. Someday we'll have a place for it. Yeah, we have places for this.

Definitely. Yeah. Chetney can probably make a nice frame. I can do some nice matting around it. Chet, can you make a wooden scroll case to keep it safe so it doesn't get crushed in the back of the building? Or a frame? I mean, why are these questions? Of course I can.

Basic shit. I mean, if you want a relief of yourself, I could do that. That's something I could do. But yes, I could make a bitch-ass frame or a little scroll case, sure. Oh god, I'm doing the thing I said I'd never do. I'm traveling with fucking artists. How the fuck did this happen?

We could do a little vlog. So many of you. We really could, yeah. I mean, I could supply the blood. This is just what I wanted. Thank you all for making me feel welcome. Your brother died three days ago. Yeah, oh god. She said thank you.

As you're in the dark in morning hours, sharing a final cheer and cup before the rest of exhaustion and sleep takes you with what remnants of the darkened morning still remain, we're going to go to break. We'll be back here in a few minutes. The sun's coming up, we've got to get to bed

before our sleep schedule is fucked. The sun starts to burn you. Oh no! We'll be back in a few minutes. We'll see you in a second. Boop! And welcome back. So.

Last we left off, you all went to rest throughout the handful of chambers within Essek's abode here in the capital city of Rexxentrum, looking to get a full night's sleep after a very long day. In the midst of your evening's rest. No. Are you serious?

You're lying. He's lying. He's fucking with us. You continue to rest. No. Are you serious? You're lying. He's lying. He's fucking with us. You continue to rest. No! That's so unnecessary! You don't have to jubilant at the break. You don't have to do that. 10 years of this, we're starting to

wise into your games. You're right. I should just destroy you all. Gelidon descends. Yep. Part three. Oh man, that felt nice to hear that. I'll find you, Cross-Campaign!

You can just spell your residents through your characters. Yes, long rest, baby. Get your long rest, friends. That was needed. Other than a point of exhaustion still. Oh, bummer. That's worth it. Are we taking long rest? Was that what you said?

It happened. Oh. Sometimes it's worth it. Are we taking a long rest? Was that what you said? Yes, it happened. Oh. It happens. Sometimes it's worth it. During the long rest, can I go and I'll take the new Demon Shell armor cloak that we found down in Aeor. Do we get rooms, individual rooms in Essek's house? Oh yeah.

Not individual rooms, it's not that big. I can just take a couch anywhere, actually, yeah. And I will attune to the new demon shell. Two guest bedroom. Okay. I'm going to need a private room with Laudna for a little bit. Oh, that's fair. Fair.

I can stay in the stables. Fair. We're having make-up sex. Yep. I get it. Make-up sex. As you attune to the cloak. Can we RP that? Chetney. Look, he's doing it again. I know. The thing where, no.

Now this feels legit, though. As you attune to the cloak, you wear it over your shoulders and it settles against your shoulders like a mantle and falls down the back. My muscular shoulders. Yeah, you're rippling. Wow. As you feel the magical enchantment

tether itself to your being. Oh, that's nice. The cloak shifts and draws tighter, almost uncomfortably so for a moment. Once a cloak begins to wrap around your arm and around your torso, snaking around you, almost like a python that's grabbing

and twisting and squeezing, not to the point where it hurts, but just enough where it's uncomfortable and worrying. Your fight or flight begin to kick in. As you look around with a panicky reaction, you hear all the scales as they slither around your body. Eventually, it comes to a stop and you look down

and the burgundy-scaled texture is now entirely wrapped around your body from high neck to wrist, like an odd reddish rust-colored bodysuit made up of scaled armor. How will you be naked all the time? Oh shit! Werewolf process.

I know! I know! But does it expand? Never seen a reptilian werewolf? Does it expand when you turn a reptilian werewolf? Does it expand when you turn into a wolf? You're going to be like Omar in a turtleneck. That's true.

It's going to be a full venom engrossing egg. And it's visible, right? Like a burgundy, scaled. Oh man, I lost my mind on a turtleneck. Aw. Okay, all right. That's cool. Are we going to get done with the talks now? I don't know, I was saying at the break,

it feels like this is going to turn into this. Oh! So I'm assuming that. Okay, cool. If I touch it with my fingers or if I stand up and do some jumping jacks, do I notice anything? No sound.

No sound? The scales of the armor are quiet. They feel almost like a second skin. Dang! Ripple farts. See what happens. Does it stay in there? Oh yeah, does a bubble go up? Oh no, it doesn't block farts.

Just traps it in there and travels up? Yeah. Oh! Oh! Got to squeezy that out. That's great. Okay, cool. Scooby. David.

What? Can I use my Hunter's Bane and just, do I get any weird vibes from the suit that I felt attached to my body? Yeah, go ahead and make a perception check. I'm sure. That would have been clever to do before you put it on. No, we don't do that. 15.

15, you have advantage, technically. Oh, I'll take it. I'm sure it'll be much better, even worse. Okay. There is a slight fiendish essence to this armor. I mean, it's called Demon Shell Armor. Yeah. I stole somebody's prom cloak.

More or less. Prom cloak. So yeah, you are now wearing around you, very form-fittingly, fiendish essence. To what ends that might mean, who knows? Dude, amazing. But it's with you all the time now, right? Yeah, I mean, my other clothes will go over it if I choose to wear other clothes.

I might just rock out with my demon cloak out. Like a Tron figure. Do we see the outline? Where it's just like stacking it in where it needs to. Can we see it? Yeah. Yeah, I'll walk around a little bit for those that haven't gone upstairs to make up. What color is it?

It's a burgundy. Do you have the bag of holding over your shoulder? I don't have anything on, but just the suit. Where's that bag? It's over by my clothes in the corner. It's so tight. I'll post up on Essex Mantle, what color is the fireplace in Essex Place?

What color is the fireplace? Does it burn normal colors, or does it have like? Oh, the fire. Y'all throw the little pine cones in there to make a different flame. No, no, no, you do that with skill, not pinecones. Okay. Fucking pedestrian shoes.

I use pinecones! I'm sorry. It cost a couple copper where I come from. Yeah, a standard fireplace flame. Hey, y'all. New vibe coming out. Wow. You notice a little boop right here.

Do you? I mean, how far? Is that comfortable? This is just for my own personal knowledge. Is it like your wang is just shaking around and it's coated? No, no, it's tight. No, I know, but. Like you have a dance belt? Is it coating your skin or is it cupping you?

Well, let's give it a look. I do a cartwheel in front of the fire. Okay. So it's surprisingly, it does look like, I guess this way you can describe it. Like a wetsuit. That Aquaman scale-man bodysuit. It has that kind of a texture,

but it's a rusty red burgundy coloration. And my muscles look a little bigger. Wow. Well, we just want to know if we can see the outline of his penis. Yeah, faintly. Okay. Okay. But it's cut. You can see a little bigger. Wow. Well, we just want to know if we can see the outline of his penis. Yeah. Like faintly. Okay. Okay, but it's cut. But is it down one leg?

Or is it right? I always go to the left. Okay. It doesn't hang as low as I was expecting. If I get stuck with it to the right, it's a bad day. So everything feels off. It's not like Batman Damned, you know? It's just barely out of frame. Yeah, Batman Damned.

It's Kevin Vertigo. It's a coming. Two different shoes, you know what I'm saying? No. You ever try wearing two different shoes? Me? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes. What do you mean?

Like different pairs? Wait, why? Yeah, if you have non-matching shoes and try and spend a whole day in those bitches, mm-mm. It's going to throw off your alignment. Have you ever done it? Yeah. I'm not here. She came down. I guess she got bored.

Oh, I thought this was the morning. I thought this was the next morning. I guess she got bored. Give her a little bit. She's rusty. Came down from the water. Yeah, it looks good, right? It's a vibe. Yeah, I think it's good.

You don't feel it? I kind of do, actually. Fuck. Is it adhesive? No, it feels like armor. Does it have that thing where if you move your hand backwards against it, it's rough, but the other way is a smooth texture?

Oh, that's weird, I don't like that. Draw 69 onto your arm. Yeah, yeah. He's like a magic skill. Just going to be going up and down for a bit. Yeah. Sorry, can't stop. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Why don't you go get hit? Somebody hit me or something. Oh yeah, for sure, I'm going to punch him as hard as I can on his shoulder. Okay, roll attack. It's not on my face! Yeah, no, I'm just giving him a little. A frog in the arm.

It hit me in the neck. Oh yeah, it's terrible. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. It's classic terrible. Unarmed strike? Yeah, unarmed strike. Oh, plus eight. Yeah, I'm strong.

Just a 10. Just a 10? Yeah. Okay. He misses. Or he hits you, just doesn't matter. It hits me. I was about to say, actually.

Oh. Does it make any noise, speak, anything happen? I mean, yeah, it feels like an impact and it has a metallic impact on it. It just doesn't, normally, heavily scaled melee, that layer has a lot of sound when it shifts and moves. This has, faintly so, but it still has a lot of sound when it shifts and moves. This has extremely faintly so, but it still has metallic impact.

So you don't get advantage on stealth checks or anything, but it doesn't give you disadvantage on it. Definitely not done with this yet. Does it go down to the wrist? Like down to here? Yeah. Wrist and ankle, basically? Yep. Like a wetsuit? It's like you're in moonshots.

Can it be peeled back a little bit? Does it give or is it on there? No, it's on there. So it's literally super glued down? It's like a second skin. Oh. Yeah, baby. Marius! I have a theory it won't come off.

I know this may be demon shell armor, so hopefully you don't object. You object too much? I don't like it, but if it makes you stronger in battle, I will. Okay, thanks. I will see to it. What do you do if you have to take a leak in a hurry?

You just have the buttons. I don't know. Maybe if I focus really hard, the scales will. Yeah. Try. Try, but not here. All right. Try, but maybe not here. Where's the, Essek, where's the pisser? Glides down the stairs.

Oh, if you're looking, it's out the back to the side. There's a... Back's good enough. I'll just go out the back door. Release. Standing in a patch of green beans. It just fills the suit. Oh no! I'm pissing my suit!

Oh no! What? What if I got a shit? Oh no. Wait, can you get it off? Do you will an opening? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, thank god. Ew.

Oh! Fucking gross. We could use that somehow. Essek! Essek, where's your pool? Or fountain, or anything? If you need the washroom, it's on the second floor. Aw, shit.

You're going to dribble all the way up. I'll try and climb the outside. Roll that bug check. That was worth it. Natural 20! Yeah! For a 29. With grace and a bloom,

you climb the exterior of the household. Just at the high point to look over the hedge. Sorry, sorry, sorry! An older woman who's pruning her hedges going, you haven't reclosed the suit, by the way, so you're just flapping there, and she's like, runs inside. Ma'am!

You swing yourself up. Good. Now I'm perfectly happy to go to bed. I'm just going to go find a room and pass the fuck out. You're all great. I thought this was the morning! Oh, this is the morning. I thought we were like, I thought we were still awake.

Nevermind, I'm fine with this. No worries, yeah. Sorry, in my mind, that was like a in the morning when to show off everybody. Yeah, because you had to. So we got a long rest. Got a long rest, you guys. Yes!

And just, how do paladins work? Can I choose new spells every day or I'm done forever? No, for paladins, you have... I don't know how it works. I think you choose what you've got when you level. Sorry, it's been a minute since we had a paladin. I want to make sure I don't focus. You've got new characters. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Prepared, that means I can unprepare. Yeah. Okay, guys. Sorry, it's been a minute since we had a paladin group. I want to make sure I don't focus on. You've gotten characters. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Prepared. That means I can unprepare. Yeah. Okay, yeah. Okay, I'm good. Yeah. Yeah, it's just like the other divinely prepared elements where you pick in the morning. Yeah, you're right. Yep. Okay. Prepares.

Prepares. Imogen and I definitely sleep in. Mm-hmm. Eventually stumble downstairs. Before we do anything, I have this amulet that I keep forgetting about that I would like to identify. I stole it off of a dead body in Aeor.

I apologize. I was in a really weird headspace, but can it help us? Everything we've owned, basically, we've stolen off a dead body. That's true. That's kind of how we work. That's true, that's true. It's ecologically sound. Okay, so you are identifying it?

Well, I can't identify it. There's an identifier in the house. There is, in one fern. Either fern or Essek. Yeah, I could give it a go. Unless, Essek, you want to do it. Well, they said before they go downstairs. Oh, no, no, no.

No, I'm coming downstairs. Oh, I should come downstairs. Got it, got it, I see, I see. Look at that, you're not eating it. She needs to rehydrate. Fuck yeah. I know, I know. I don't have any, you know, desire to have a suit? Do you desire to suck at it? No!

It's very pretty. That's really nice. It might get some good wear. Yeah. Sorry, I was looking it up. I'm going to find it. Give me a second. I had forgotten that you had grabbed that. This is so nice to see you just holding a magical item and no one's having a panic attack.

Nah, everything's great. Everything. Everything's normal. Aeor? Oh, that's right. Like four games ago. I remember, I remember. We just haven't had a minute.

Oh, Aeor. Maybe we just identify it to the... Maybe it's just nice. It might just be nice, but... But always worth checking, because especially it's just nice. It might just be nice, but. But always worth checking, because especially it's Aeor, which means that it's really old and fancy. Yeah.

It holds the key to defeating lewdness. It is an Amulet of False Life, I believe. Oh! An Amulet of... False Life, I believe? Oh! An Amulet of False Life? Yeah, that's useful. I think I'd, wait. Nothing but benign items over here.

Sorry, I'd forgotten that you had that and I'm trying to figure out where I'd put the information on that. It's fine. Maybe you should show off some merch. Nope, I think I have an idea behind it. Mm. We have dice.

Do we? Oh yeah. And ours, you can read. We have tankards. Amulet of Cursed Life. Ooh! Cursed Life! Go on. Indeed. life. Go on. So you identify it. Actually, Essek can do it. That way you can keep your spell slide.

Okay. Thank you. Essek takes a look at it for a second as he finishes eating his breakfast at the table. All right, well, if this is, someone is wearing this and they cast a spell of a certain level of power, the spell is canceled and swallowed by the amulet.

If somebody within five feet of it casts a spell. Within five feet, you don't even need to be wearing it. While it's being worn. Wait. You or a person within five feet casts a fifth-level spell next to it. The eminent swallows it and the spell is canceled. So it's like a counter-spell on a chain?

Up to fifth level? Up to fifth level. But do you control that or does it just happen automatically? It just happens the next time. So it wouldn't be great for a spellcaster, but it could be great for a martial person who doesn't want to be hit with a heavy spell.

That could be a use for it, I see, perhaps. But when it does so, it cannot do so for another day. Okay. But when it does so, it cannot do so for another day. Okay. And also, all dead bodies within 200 feet of it are immediately risen as skeletons and zombies and begin to attack the wearer. I love it. Begin to attack the wearer?

If you could put that shit on an arrow and be like. Yeah. So the point is you have to make somebody, you have to give it, you have to slip it on somebody else. Trick a mage into wearing it. If one of us could go invisible

and put that in the pocket of somebody we were fighting, that would be... But they have to be wearing it or they have to be holding it? It is not a tournament, no. Oh! The ultimate. That's cool. Activates it just any 5th-level spell?

We did five feet of it. Above 5th-level or up to five? Up to 5th-level. It doesn't need a trigger word before 5th-level or up to five? Up to 5th-level. It doesn't need a trigger word before that. It's just the first one of the day. Yeah. Whoa. Super dangerous in this world. You're not attuned to it,

so it is meant to be placed on the spellcaster. Or I like to wait for my melee fighter who's going into... Somebody casts a 1st-level spell, it absorbs the 1st-level spell, it raises all dead bodies within 200 feet of it. 5th-level spell. Damn! So up to 5 first-level spell, it absorbs the first-level spell, and raises all dead bodies within 200 feet of it. Fifth-level spell. That is so fucked up.

So up. So up. So up. This is the person who has the gem, or is it the person who casts the spell who gets the chakras? The person who has the amulet. Okay.

Yeah, so it's something that you plant on somebody. How has that not been triggered by us? You've been carrying that around? It has to be. Well, yeah. It has to be. Well. Yeah. It has to be worn when it absorbs it. Intentionally worn. Yes. You can't put it in somebody's pocket.

So you have to gift it to somebody and say, you would look just so beautiful in this necklace. Right. That's fucked up. When it is worn, then it absorbs the spell, and then it comes after whoever is wearing it. Wow. Hmm. Wow. Yeah, you'd have to trick somebody. You couldn't put it in their pocket, right?

You can't plant it on someone's pocket. In theory, you could force it around somebody's neck afterward, but you'd have to put it on them. Oh, cast a spell, get it on their neck, zombies come and chase whoever you put it on. That's a series of unfortunate events. Well, you could also psychically force them

to put it on. Yeah, yeah. That's pretty cool. That's our Rube Goldberg for another day. That's nice to know. What a fascinating little adventure. Mage hand it onto somebody and then throw a fifth-level spell or something. Or a first level. It could.

The majesty of carefully and discreetly slipping jewelry onto an individual without them knowing why is a time-honored tradition for assassinations. Not that I know anything about that. That's a delightful thought. Essek, you are cool. Yeah, I appreciate that. So did the woman, the pretty lady that I swiped this off of, is that how she died?

I do not know. Maybe? It's a bit late for me to ask how. Didn't she die? She was like, her hand reaching out? She was like, oh, wow. It's improbable. Oh, that's right. Which is wild. Sheesh. So to recap, Ludinus has a movie ball

with very potent information. Which he plans on blasting out to everyone. Could be happening already, and we don't even know it. Next steps, checking in with higher powers. I don't mean gods, I mean. Keyleth. Yeah. Letting them know what we discovered in Aeor.

I can take you back to the encampment where we first met. That might not be a bad idea. Oh, this is interesting. I pull out a rock and I lift it up. Mr. Widogast, we're at your house with Essek. He's cool.

A lot to talk about. Heading to see Keyleth, we think. You okay? I'm sure Essek can talk to him whenever he wants. But I did it. Yeah. To which, a moment later, you hear, Yeah, I'm a bit sore, recovering from a very long day.

Now, do you mind? He is a good man. Don't touch anything that's mine. Uh-oh. Message over, right? He's a good man. I guess, pardon me. Insurgent.

I guess before we also are heading out, I guess before we also are heading out, that thing I did yesterday, I've never really done anything quite like that before, and it got particularly weird even for me. I don't know if you have anything here to prod into this, but if you want to, I don't know, if you want to take a look, either here or otherwise, in what's going on in my head, you're the first person who I've ever met

who seems to have the slightest idea of what the fuck this is. He starts picking up plates from everyone's finished breakfast and gliding towards the kitchen, like, If we might take a moment in the laboratory, I wouldn't be against having one more look with a less distracted mind, I would say.

I am okay with that, if everyone else is okay with that. Take your time. Yep. Places him into the washing bin. Leads you down to the laboratory again. And pulls on a few lanterns on the side. Pulls a chair up with Mage Hand and goes, I'd just have a seat if you could. Yeah.

And you say you achieved this through some injury from some sort of dunamantic liquid infusion? I got, it's still a little scattered. It's hard to remember exactly what happened. There was an object. We were in a robbery and I fell out of a window and a friend of mine who's a little bit of, he's very creative,

they patched me back up out of whatever was around and possibly whatever hit me and I was already, there was already a lot going on. I'm made of bits and pieces already. I think a lot of you seem to be, about to make it work, which is curious, if a little dangerous. And you see him flicks the side of the glass

with his finger, and a little dunamatic spark goes off the side as it does, like echoes in, almost like mirrors facing themselves. So they just echo further and further and arc away into shadow, at which point you feel the vibration a little bit and the left eye begins to flicker closed slightly. He puts his hands up and his fingertips begin to glow,

not unlike how he was controlling the threads of the ritual, but this time, that silver gossamer thread is now almost like serpents of energy that begin to press into the glass side of your skull. As they do, they refract. They pierce the first layer and spread and refract, and then those pierce and refract again, and it's just this endless fractal space within your head.

You watch as he peers in, and as he begins to pull one hand back to try and withdraw them, you see the reflections go like doors closing behind. As they pull back to the final one, hits the side of your skull, it's almost like the glass side of your head

as a window would shatter, but it stays solid, but colors shatter out like window pieces around him and stop in the middle air as he pulls back and stops in midair as well for a second. Well, this is new. I have been... Huh. You are something very new.

That felt, that was interesting. Indeed. I've never encountered a being of living dunamis, but there is a part of you that interacts with its energy in a very unique and fresh way. It is extremely exciting. I'm happy to be exciting, honestly. I'm happy to know even the word for this is fucking great. And yeah, even yesterday, it just felt like it was,

I don't know, it just feels less and less containable, I guess. It does have to contain if you do not understand it, but there is something... A lot of Dunamis works within controlled patterns, whether it be through the entropic dissolution of energy of space and time, or the geometric building of forces upon itself, and the primordial,

fundamental ways that the world and the spaces beyond us all interact, but what you have is something... It is havoc with pattern. That's the only way I can describe it. It shouldn't work. You are a conundrum. Pattern is the only way I can describe it. It shouldn't work. You are a conundrum. That I've been told.

It shouldn't work and a mess, yeah. In the best way. Thank you. Thanks. Yeah. I guess I will take whatever advice, be with whatever study, and if, I don't know if you have a book or something I can read. There aren't much in the way of books intentionally.

It's meant to be kept, it's meant to be kept from being disseminated to the minds of those who would wish to abuse it. And where I come from, it is a very sacred art form of arcane practice. What I can offer to you, as I would like more time when all of this is done, and should we all still be here, to study more of this essence that you are,

reaches into his component pouch, kind of rummages for a second, and then pulls out this small little dark marble and says, This is a focal point for a number of Dunamantic magics. It is a place where these reverberations begin and can return to. If ever there are times where you feel out of control, a place where these reverberations begin and can return to. If ever there are times where you feel out of control, where you're afraid of what you could be,

and you want to focus that cloud of possibility into something that you can control, use this. Just look at it, and remember, from that, you can return. Do I get a sense of, what does it look like other than? It looks like a black marble. All right. Okay. You'll know when you need to center yourself.

I appreciate that, thank you. Yeah, yeah. I'm sure we'll have many more conversations in time, if you'll allow me. I am sick of not knowing myself. I've had enough. Fair enough. I'll start getting everyone together

and get you to your next destination. Step back upstairs to meet up with the rest of you, gather in the chambers. He goes and hides. He gathers the rest of his travel materials and puts on his heavier robe, casts a quick incantation and takes on the form of Seth once more,

his illusory self. That's right. I almost forgot. I never do. This guy. Hey. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. This is how we first met him. What does he look like?

Chin beard, chinstrap beard. Blonde hair. He just looks like a dude. He's a dude. What does he look like? Chin beard, chinstrap beard. Blonde hair. Yeah. He's a regular guy. He just looks like a dude. He looks weird. Like old khaki pants or that kind of Seth?

Or a weed dealer Seth with a hemp necklace? You mean like Nickelback Seth? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, we're talking about that. That dealer Seth. Yeah. Corderoids. The shoe fits? Chain wallet.

Oh yeah, yeah. Bleach tips. Sure. Shit's coming back, man. Chain wallet? I know. Damn. Please cast a spell. Jinko jeans.

Oh my god. Very well, let's gather around and we'll return you to the West Side Encampment. To the Hellcatch, friends. He goes ahead. West Side? He goes ahead and pulls his incantation maneuvers together, and as he does, he begins to carve into space

the various teleportation runes that begin to encircle the rest of you. And within a moment's clap of his hands, you feel the. SAM and LAURA, You all emerge onto another continent.

In this space, it is still night, earlier to later evening. And the ground itself around you is broken and craggy. The immediate smell of smoke and fires surround you. As your eyes focus in, you can see the walls have toppled and crumbled, towers destroyed. You can see flames burning and flickering

in war-torn piles of ruin around you. You can see shapes moving and skittering or climbing and gathering on the outskirts of what was once the West Side encampment. What do you do? Instantly, I don't know. Ready our spell. What kind of forms do we see crawling around out there?

Make a perception check. Mage armor just. We've been in all my place before? But it's called the Hellcatch Valley. Honestly, so thematic since you've joined us. Thank you. 30, as you're having this conversation, you look in multiple directions

and you see beyond this, it almost feels like an impact crater. It's about 15 feet from end to end here in the ground and blown up sides of it. Outside the encampment, you mean? Outside of where you are right now. You only see about 30 feet from you, what looks to be about 10 armored soldiers

wearing some of them what looks like vanguard attire, but some that are definitively Ryloran. You also look past that and see climbing up over some of the piles and pushing through the rubble, look to be two enlarged and armored Vidalches. There's a large weird insectoid creature that some of you battled while you were up in Ruidus.

A very Starship Troopers vibe as it skitters up and starts pulling back stone and you hear someone going, No, no! It pierces them and lifts them up and throws them to the ground. This is where Keyleth was? I'm going to instantly send out a message to Keyleth.

It's cast sending. Okay, what do you say? We're at the West Side Encampment. Are you safe? That's how you say it. Yeah. Yes, many of us are. We managed to get many out. We fell back to Vasselheim.

They're in Vasselheim. And Essek did not come with us, correct? No, Essek did come with you. He teleported with you all. I didn't roll for my staff. I didn't roll to recharge that. You should do that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's been me. This is bad. This is really, really bad. Shit! We should get out of here. You see this dragon-like feet being. Not Glomglad. Is it? Yeah.

Is it Glomglad? It's Glomglad. Oh shit! I really quick cast Merge with Stone. I'm giving us Pass Without a Trace right now. Okay. Maybe we just ask him, maybe we just ask Dad for help.

That's crazy, right? We're not going to do that. No, no, no. Thing is your father? No. Riding it. Riding. I was confused too.

If there's something. We should leave? Are there survivors that we can see? There are, as you glance around immediately, especially with your perception check, there are what you thought were just broken parts of rock, you can see now, are bodies. There are soldiers who are present here

who have fallen and they're being gathered and pulled out of the rubble. So you said there's a crater. That's what you're all standing in right now. And that wasn't previously there. No. We need to take cover and we need to get the fuck out of here right now. Some of the nearby stones off to the side

begin to shift and move as you see the teeth of a slither begin to emerge about three feet from where you're standing. Three feet? Well, you had to get us out of here. I've got the staff, unless... Vassalam. Vassalam. And he's going to cast Teleport once again.

No. An unseen force attempts to disrupt this spell, but fails to do so. Oh! Yay! As someone goes, wait, over there, they're casting! And a failed attempt at Counterspelling? Counterspelling the teleport,

you all immediately arrive somewhere else, landing the smell of ruin in blood and fiendish victory still lingering through your nose. As you all emerge, your feet sinking into some cold and somewhat damp earth. The temperature is immediately chiller. We were barely gone. Keyleth's alive.

Here? She's here? She is. She said they retreated to Vasselheim. Is that where we are? Yeah. You take stock of where you're standing, and here in the night sky above you, you can see the stars,

not unlike the sky that you had just seen in the Hellcatch. You can see, however, the tangled web of glowing, multicolored ley lines are extremely dense here. They are gathered in a knotted nexus above where you stand, and you can feel that buzzing pressure of wild, condensed, magical possibility

that sits in this space. In this space where you stand, you're surrounded by tall pine trees that all carry a dusted white of a recent snowfall. The ground itself is covered in snow and chunks of ice with exposed earth and mud where it looks like casual footfalls, hunters or those who travel have walked through.

And just beyond the tree line from where you stand, about maybe 20 or so feet, you can see the outside of a stone wall, a very, very tall stone wall. Just a stone wall perimeter, or is there a gate anywhere to the left or the right? From where you're standing, you can't see anything. It's mostly just dense trees,

but as you step towards the wall and break the tree line, you see that there anything. It's mostly just dense trees, but as you step towards the wall and break the tree line, you see that there is a large double gate, like 45-foot-tall, thin double gate, heavily reinforced off to the left, about 50 or so feet. There are a few individuals that look like they're waiting in a very short line with a number of armored guardians

that sit at the front gate. Let's head that way. I always heard that Vasselheim was like the city of the gods. If this is what we wanted us to commune, this would be the place, right? We're also going to be on high alert because when we were here, not here,

but on this continent, they were pretty heavy forces from here. This is going to be difficult, I think. I'm taking out some paint, and I'm just going to redo this symbol into a... Lawbearer? I'm going to go Dawnfather, like a big sun, like a... Lawbearer? I'm going to go Dawnfather,

like a big sun, like a black sun. Cool. Something. Okay, cool. Yeah. That's convincing. Make a... Make a performance check. Okay. Cocked?

Performance or deception, I'd say, for this one. Which one do you prefer? Okay. Well, I'll take deception, then. I was about to say, because in that instance, since you're trying to pass this off as a different symbol, I'll say, for this one. Whichever you prefer. Okay. Well, I'll take deception, then. I was about to say, because in that instance, since you're trying to pass this off as a different symbol, I'll say I'll let this fall under deception, if you'd like it. Okay.

Technically speaking, you can buy yourself that. For my guidance? 23. Okay. Wow. It actually, like, clean lines. It looks, at a passing glance, an intentional bit of script and design on the armor. Not bad.

I can never just draw a circle without a thing. That's really impressive. You have to practice. Just do it in one fluid movement. Fuck. I'll teach you later. Do you always go to Four Continents every day? Yep. Kind of.

Not every day, but many days. Are we just going to approach the gate, or should we try to phone a friend again? We are currently also stealthed to all heck, so it's up to us. Last time we were here, that was when we came upon the town who had been oppressed by a bunch of soldiers and acolytes from the Dawnfather. Keyleth's here, is that what you said? Is that why we're here?

Keyleth's here, along with some of the survivors. Is there a way we can let her know? So we could get in? I can, yeah, I can send her another. So I will cast Sending again to say, we've landed outside the city. Where can we find you? Can't talk much right now.

In a council meeting, you should come within the sanctuary. The Platinum Sanctuary. I redo it. Platinum Sanctuary. Okay, so you relay. Yes. To the so you relay. Yes. To the gates, then.

The gates. They're in a council meeting. She said. I don't want to waste our spell. No, no, no. Let's go. You see Essek's like, I've only been to the outskirts of this city. I have not actually been within,

so I'm both terrified and extremely curious. Is it scary in there? I don't know, I've not actually been within, so I'm both terrified and extremely curious. Is it scary in there? I don't know, I've not been within. I've just, I've only delivered individuals to and from for the voice and the rest of the gathering of powers. So. Might be now or never.

I suppose so. If you're ever confused, just say, I'll prey on it, and then they'll usually leave you alone. Divine people are simple. Right, understood. I'll prey on it. Aren't you divine? Yeah, but we don't do that sort of thing. We do things.

You get closer to the gates and you can see the line of folk here. They all look to be anxious refugees, people that are seeking entry. You can see there are remnants of a number of tents and ramshackle homesteads that likely were built and abandoned recently as likely an influx of refugees in the face of the apogee solstice

meant that they had to be careful who was letting it out quickly. As some of the people look like they're probably from outskirts of the region of Authansia, some of them wearing whatever scraps they could to fight off the cold weather with maybe not a lot of time to hit the road and come here, undernourished, eager to enter.

You see some of the bastions of Vasselheim, the patchwork put together hides and armored figures that have some elements of uniform, but most of it is cobbled from what is useful and marks each member of that group for their own persona, arriving and speaking to each of these refugees with empathy but diligence, asking them questions. You also notice that there is a strange burning smell

that lingers through the air here, different from the recent smells of warfare that briefly greeted you when you arrived in the Hellcatch but a moment ago. A different sort of burn, an older, weirder burn. Like a sulfuric burn? No. Not bodies?

Maybe a little bit. I get unlimited sendings. Sulfuric burn? No. Like? Not bodies. Oh, wait. Maybe a little bit. I get unlimited sendings. But a different. Maybe a little bit? Smelling bodies. Sorry. Unlimited? It's the closest you can point to, but it doesn't smell like a burning dead body, necessarily.

But it's the closest you can point to, but it doesn't smell like a burning dead body, necessarily. Unfortunately, a smell you are familiar with. Like funeral pyre. Smells like something burning. Well, thought out. You can make a perception check if you'd like to. Can I do a general, I mean, we're at the front gate, so. Yeah. We're going to know

in a minute now. Can I put out a 60-foot ping for fey fiends or undead? Sure, yeah. So go ahead and roll. What did you say to roll for? Perception. Why not? 19. 19.

You don't sense anything nearby beyond yourself. You smell strongly of fiend with your new armor. Oh. You're still getting used to it. Like, it almost sets off where it's like, it takes you a moment to Yeah, to feedback. To get used to that layer

on top of what you're used to sensing, which also means that you might show up as fiendish to others, also seeking. Oh, especially here. Yeah, yeah, you got to explain it when you go through the TSA, it's okay. Juice to our worries, juice to the TSA, it's okay. Juice timers, juice timers. I have a card.

What'd you roll? 17. 17. This is a smell you know. It generally is the burning of something that was once living, but long past its living era. This is the burning of fetid flesh, the burning of ancient flesh. This is the burning of

risen and re-slain bodies. So a little bit, once again, like Chetney smelling his own BO. Like, I recognize that undead smell. Hey. Yes. That is smell of bodies, but like earthened bodies.

Wondering if they had some sort of an undead uprising. Uprising? Yeah. We need to catch up and fast. All right. Let's rip the bandage off. Orym starts towards the gate. You are good talkers. You look pretty. Me? Thank you.

Yes. As you walk towards the guard, there are about five people, or five groups of people waiting there, and as you push past, a couple people go, hey, hey, hey, we've been here a minute. I don't want to push past, buddy. Okay, so you want to wait?

I just got close. We have urgent business. We do, we do have urgent business. We push past. They get one look at you and do not argue. One of the bastion guards looks up. Can I help you? Yeah, we've been sent by the voice of the Tempest.

We're supposed to meet her at the sanctuary. She was expecting us. Roll persuasion. So before we even approached, after getting that ping, I cover myself with scarves. Did you give me guidance to talk to anybody? No. Guidance?

Did you? No. I did just right now. No. I'm going to say no. 16. 16, that's not bad. Okay. Very well. It's a bit crowded.

I do not know where the Tempest is, but I know that she arrived very recently. Many did at her and others' behest. Maybe just point us to the sanctuary? Oh, that's right. Sorry, it's 21. My bad. Thank you. You did great. You did great. It's very pretty.

Also, give me some candy. I don't know. Might I also say your hair looks gorgeous. Thank you. Perfect. Looks you over a bit, scans through, still like... I show my chest a little wider and Of course.

just give him a nod. We obey the law. Shit, I'm flailing here. I'm flailing. Shut up. In his head, he just hears, shut up. May justice be done. Please. Shut up.

We're rusty with the honor and the justice. May we go in? It's Naomi. Yes, you are here on important business. My apologies, I'll be right with you. Gives a whistle up and the gates begin to open up slightly on one side. Points the Heavenstair Mountain back that way,

the center to the north side of the city. The sanctuary, you can see, is along the stair to its top. You can see the flames within the torches from here. He points over and you can see, as you glance in, this is a majestic sprawl of a city. It is awe-inspiring. It has this rolling expanse of buildings and structures, but they carry a deep, humble, old-world feel

woven in with layers of battlements and defensible walls that just ring inward. Incredible towering temples scattered throughout of unique shape and design here. The moonlight of Catha and the glow of the Nexus beams and ominous of the ley lines above shaping the outline of this ever-changing and shifting skyline from layer to layer as it pushes inward, up to the rising mountain of the Heaven Stair.

You can see up each side of the mountain, there are plateaus that rise up at the different sections of city. Atop one, towards the center point of this mountain as it rises up, you can see a temple where a bright interior warm glow that he points to. Says, that is the sanctuary you seek. Bit of a walk, but good luck. Is the city safe? I couldn't help but smell the fire on the air. Safe.

No, yes. We had an issue with the dark bloom, but it's been dealt with. Do we know what that is? Yeah, it is a dark bloom. That's what he says. As he points back, and you see what he's pointing to at the mountain back and you see what he's pointing to at the mountain and you realize the mountain

you're looking at is actually two things. The mountain shape where it is exists, but you can see it through what looks like an archway, a massive stone archway. Then as you refocus yourself, it's a towering humanoid shape of rough stone. Then you realize this is standing hundreds

and hundreds of feet tall in the center of this city. It's an incredibly gargantuan humanoid elemental titan, a stone earth titan, a great primordial entity from the ancient days of Exandria, still looming, its forearms swung side to side, and throughout many pockets or cavern-like holes

of its towering structure, you can see little glimmers of torchlight, like it itself has become a smaller city within the city. Wow. It's moved in. It's in the city? It's in the walls of the city and above it. Whoa. That's so cool. Wait, do they move it in?

How do they move it in? It stopped outside of the city and above it. That's so cool. Wait, do they move it in? How do they move it in? They moved it? They stopped outside of the city, right? I assume they built around it. Yeah, they probably expanded. And now there's torchlight and stuff coming out of different. That's safe.

I want to go to there. Here we go. Is it still frozen in the pose that it was? Mid-stride. Yeah. Oh, come on, that's so cool. Rad. You also notice on the closest battlements

as you step in, amongst the burning smell, some of the shapes of swinging in the wind what look to be these small miniature towers or poles that hang from them, these cages. What looks to be gibbets, these human-sized metal cages that are occupied with...

Vanguard. With your high passive perception, indeed, you do see people emb glazing and vanguard colors hanging within. Lava dead. Very dead. They are slumped in and dangling from within the cage. And wait, what did you say?

The dark bloom? The what bloom? You mentioned the dark bloom. But we don't know what that is. Indeed. No. And then, just from our previous time, do we see any of those face-plated, armored Judicators wandering the streets or up on the walls

or in any sort of posts that we can see? From where you stand now, no. But also, you've just entered the city. Yeah, okay. None at the gates, though, none like? None at the gates that you can see. Okay. That's interesting.

So. Shall we head to the sanctuary? Yeah, we can say to her curiosity about that thing later. Let's get to the sanctuary. As we're walking to the sanctuary, can I just take Essek's hand as we're walking and say in his head,

Thank you. I didn't get a chance to say it earlier, but what you've done for us is immeasurable. Takes a minute and responds in kind. I wish I could say it was purely altruistic, but... I'm still working to burn the rest of the guilt off my soul. So thank you all for being the bastions of goodness that you are. In the face of acknowledging how complicated each one of us is. Well, I don't know what you did in your past, but I can't say I'm not grateful it brought you here. Whatever little bit can help. I'll let Royu hear.

Whatever little bit can help. As you step through the winding streets, and you can see this outer region that encompasses this towering titan element. A lot of it does feel like a freshly built expansion to the city. That in recent years, as it's a slow influx of populace, it's had to make space for that. And as you step beneath this towering entity,

you can see the numerous chains and pulleys and resource elevators that pull materials and people up into it. You can hear, even in this evening hour, the hammering of metal and cracking and chiseling of stone. Whatever this is, maybe a massive sculpture, but some of you with some historical knowledge, especially you who know very well what this is, maybe a massive sculpture. But some of you with some historical knowledge,

especially you who know very well what this is. Listen to the stories. Indeed, and can share that knowledge with the group as you pass by. The Whispered Ones plot, but 30 years before, a newborn god from the stolen rights of the Matron of Ravens rose up to become the only god on this plane and was foiled and sealed away

by a heroic group of figures known as Vox Machina, of which the voice of the Tempest once belonged. This towering entity, drawn from a long dead chasm beneath the ground, risen through necromantic power, unimaginable to walk once more, and then left here once more, lifeless, as a reminder of dark times

and the hope that lies even at the edge of darkness. As you walk beneath these arms and legs, you can see gardens planted along its many shelves, where winter flowers bloom. A number of snowdrops seem to coil up alongside its legs. You can see miners carrying materials from within. It's become part of the landscape. Continuing inward, you can take note

of the various bastions that are keeping a close watch and try as you might, a few times you are clocked and followed, but most upon seeing your definitive Ashari attire, tend to splinter off shortly thereafter. You begin to smell the haze of smoke getting stronger, and as you pass within a further interior region, you step into an area known as the Dusk Meadow. Dusk Meadow? Dusk Meadow.

This sector of the city looms with less consistent light. A sector of the city looms with less consistent light. The street side lanterns and torches and braziers that keep the evening an easy to live and see and experience space here falls more solemn and quiet. There is a perpetual stillness to this space, and those that walk through here seem to walk with a quickness.

You're hard-pressed to not have your eyes catch an incredible structure along your path. What looks to be a massive Gothic cathedral that looms over the rest of this region. Its tall, pointed spires, its architecture, reminiscent of one such temple of much more modest means, where some of you had had a brief vision

with the Matron of Ravens. The air of this space definitely carries her scent, her energy, and as you all walk past, up towards its peaks, dozens of ravens scatter and call out to the night. Orym lags for a few feet and just stares, ogling the place, smelling the bodies on the air. Shakes his head and catches up with the group.

The smell is getting stronger. It's as you're about to leave this district to the next, you see these pits where you can see the charred remains of numerous undead have been burned and left to rest. You can see there are a few bastions undead have been burned and left to rest. And you can see there are a few bastions that just keep watch at the exterior.

One of them nods as you pass by. I'll actually go over to one of the bastions, the guards. Sorry, we've just arrived. Well, What happened? This is a recent thing called the Darkbloom that had occurred when the solstice came and all of this. He points up towards the tangled ley lines

that are all gathered here. We keep many of the dead of the city throughout history through the endless catacombs beneath Vasselheim. And many of them awakened all at once. My god. The mage must have been pissed. Hmm. Well, Ravenscrest has been busy with their funeral rites a second time. They all came from below. I know a little bit of the history. Was there any activity up there?

I point towards the titan's form. Oh, gods preserve us now, thank goodness. That would be a nightmare. You see in his eyes, there's a little bit of recollection as this older soldier, this bastion of the city, seems to recall a time where perhaps he may have seen it walk. Anyway, it seems the tides have come to a close

in recent week, and for now, many of us rest. But we still keep vigil and watch, just in case. Should anything that shouldn't be walking walk, please come tell someone immediately. Of course. So this didn't happen all at once. This was a wave, which just kept happening? Well, it takes a little bit of time

for thousands of our ancestral dead to climb through the caverns. We have them sealed for now. So perhaps in time, we can deal with the rest, but there's no confirmation of how many have risen. That's a whole other video game level. Yeah, yeah. That is, yeah.

Who is down there? Save your game before you see it. They haven't been stopped, they're just down there? For now. That line's well and easy. Okay. Has anyone spoken of the cause, or? Best that we know is numerous strange magics

have come unraveled in the face of the solstice while others with less than altruistic plans have used it to their dark ends. I myself am not really of a, any kind of gestures to his armor, of a high enough station to know the true ends and means of such mysteries, but what I know is

the city is shaken. Thank you. Of course. You continue past the Dusk Meadow into the outer region of the Silver Talon's Reach. You're briefly passing through the quad roads outer region of the Silver Talon's Reach. You briefly pass into the quad roads and you pick up amongst the populace of the city, very much huddled in mass in spaces where food is being passed out

by bastions and other volunteers. There are hurt soldiers from the city and beyond. You have visions of wounded individuals wearing the armor of Marquet, of Ank'Harel. You see figures wearing the symbols of what looks even like the Dwendalian Empire. You see figures that definitively bear the look of a less grayed, snow-dappled region.

Here, the people of Vasselheim becomes more worldly, and what you gather to mean a number of people who fled from your previous encampment and possibly others. Here, you see the site of recovering wounded. Have we left the gibbets behind this far in, or is it still a presence? Every now and then, it's still a presence.

Passing through these crowds, you head into the Silver Talon's Reach, and in this district, you see all manner of humble huts and tents and abodes that all carry symbols of the platinum dragon. You see the altars left to the street as well as the majestic temples that themselves are very open and wide

where folks are gathered to pray. You sense the fear of the populace. These times are tenuous for everyone in Exandria, but this is a city where those who question tomorrow put their hands in the faith that's guided them so far. And so where some of the streets may be less busy, places of worship are deeply crowded. And you can hear the echoes of psalms

and group prayers drifting from street corner to street corner. Eventually, you come to the base of a massive silver gate. To where beyond that, an endless stair of hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of steps that climb up along the now rising base of the Heavenstair Mountain. In case you weren't exhausted before, Ashton. Yeah, everybody ready for leg day?

Is there an elevator or something? I'm going to use a sorcery point, and I'm just going to It's always leg day. raise up, just like Essek does. Raise, rise up. Raise, rise up. Feel the embrace of havoc.

Okay. I'm going to just transform my body a little bit. You watch as a... I got a chinstrap here. Yeah, just a chinstrap here, and I'm going to just look like another Seth. Describe to me how your form,

if at all, visually shifts as you take this step into your form of havoc. Just a subtle, it's almost like static electricity. So my hair and my dress flare out a little bit more, and my eyes again glow white. And my whole body, the lightning marks up my body, instead of just glowing, they flicker, almost as it's surging up.

Very good. Yeah. As you approach the gates from the exterior, you can, I mean, it is heavily guarded, and there are soldiers and warriors from all across Exandria here. You can see them stoically keeping watch over the perimeter. At the gates at this point,

it looks like about seven or eight bastions take note of your approach with purpose as you step up. Two of them to the spear front approach. You are not allowed near the sanctuary at this time. There is counsel still in order. We've been called. Understood. Sorry. No.

We're expected. We're here. One within expects us. If you could get word to the voice of the Tempest who's here from Tal'Dorei. One of the soldiers that rushes over, you can see is wearing Marquesian armor, specifically from the

wilders that guard Jrusar. And you can see this figure steps forward and gives a nod and says, Is this one? You may enter. You can see this figure steps forward and gives a nod. Is this one? Uh. You may enter. They open the gates slightly to permit you all through. Though you haven't spent a lot of time

with the various soldiers that have been part of the encampment that was attacked, some of you have very, you especially have good memories for faces, and you recognize a few. Some bandaged, some just a little worse for wear, some just looking tired, make eye contact with you as you all pass and give a nod of acknowledgment.

We are very memorable. You are very memorable, but you are all also being walked and accompanied by very high up members of multiple different political councils there at that encampment. So there was a respect scattered for those of where there is recognition, though others still seem to eye you all with a,

from curiosity, to a careful eye placed upon you as you walk. As you walk through the gates, indeed, about 20 or so soldiers begin to ascend the steps behind you. You're uncertain if it's an escort or a precaution, but you begin to ascend the stair here in the chilled night air. The temperature is quite cold at this point,

and thankfully, you still have your Eiselcross attire with you, and so you've probably bundled up with your cloaks and furs. As you step up through the stair, you can't help but be taken by the incredible view that begins to spread out below you. You can see the incredible expansiveness of the Dawn Cradle, the city,

the beginning of mortal civilization here on Exandria. The first city built under the guidance of the gods. Here, beyond the multitudes of walls and expansive civilization, beyond that, you can see the timberland that fills the valley that surrounds before the mountainous regions climb up and surround it, like a curtain swallowing the horizon.

You can see the shapes of the evening birds occasionally coasting through the darkened sky, the faintest shift of the ley line, threats. You swear you can feel them from and rotated. If you just watch close enough or long enough. Beautiful as it is ominous. What's our height level in relation

to the titan's eye level? First, 100 or so steps, and you've also been, like, this part of the city comes at an incline because it begins to become the mountainous region. You're still about waist high. It is a very big entity, but you can see all the hundreds and thousands of little flickers of life and light throughout the city beneath you. From this height, you can see all the hundreds and thousands of little flickers of life and light

throughout the city beneath you. From this height, before the mountain breaks off your view of part of the districts, you can see one region of the city that is overgrown with lush forest and trees that rise above the walls. You can see one massive tree that rises above the walls. You can see one massive tree that rises above the rest.

And you have heard tale of this location. It's the Abundant Terrace, a locale that Keyleth has made pilgrimages to over the years. While you've not been one to escort her there, you have heard the name before, and this is the region where the Wild Mother, the main temple of the Wildmother, holds influence.

Are we passing it or moving through it? You see it down below. As you're heading up the stair and you have a view of the city before the mountain fully cuts off your perspective of the other side of the city, you see it there. Is there still a massive tree there? Yeah.

I throw out a silent prayer to the Wild Mother and thank her for being with us to help our friend turn into Christ. I wish I had an apple. Is he hoping something will manifest? I was just, I'm just, I can't help but look at one of those temples and not think about exactly what I just saw. Oh, yeah.

It's hard to not just see that this whole city is a city. This is a temple, it's a hubris. They're building this thing that if it woke up, they're living in it. It's just madness. You're going there? Oh, I want to, too. As you continue up the stair,

it begins to wind at a slight curve as other soldiers walk past and give a nod, looking past you to the soldier escort behind for acknowledgment before continuing downward. As it curves upward, you become to the base of this incredible structure. You can see it has rising points of beautifully smooth stone,

like Cerulean gem or polished marble sections of it that almost push out like sails to the front that come to extended points. You can see heavy, tall pillars that mark archways that enter within it. Both look like a Sydney Opera House rising rooftop art piece that is expansive and mighty, built upon a Grecian forum of tall pillars that arch over

and an endless series of smoothed, reflective marble tiles that denote the interior of it. There are even more soldiers gathered around, and what you can see are banners risen up and gathered on the outside. There are small tents built in the exterior. It looks to be a garden or a terrace that sprawls around it with all manner of small trees

and bushes. You can see on these banners, there's the crown and owl of the Dondalian Empire. You can see the crest of the Tal'Dorei Council. You can see the symbol of Ank'Harel. You can see the symbol of the Clovis Concord, the Menagerie Coast. Essek freezes up and falls back a bit.

Friends, I think this is where our journey ends. You catch his eye line to a banner, and what you see on the banner, this grayish tint to it, and it looks to be a dodecahedron symbol with a figure eight drawn through it. He ties his things up to the house. Yeah, he can't ever go back.

Has it caught up with you? On occasion, it does. Well, I do not think this will be the last time we meet, but for now, it has been an honor and a pleasure. We'll see you again. Go forward, do it. If we wanted to reach out, how would we do that? You're clever.

I think you'll find a way. Besides, this one can talk to my boyfriend, so. Got him on speed dial. Thank you. Thank you, Essek. Thank you. Thank you. It's been a fun day. Oh, what a day.

Most day ever. Wow. Just a day with Essek? Yeah. It's just been a day. Most interesting day of the war. Like two days with Essek, doesn't it? Couple days. Yeah, couple days. We slept two days, three days. Essek looks to you and says,

Be careful, you're a heartbreaker. And turns around. Ooh! And begins to glide down the stairs. Other soldiers crowd up a bit. He gives a hand motion, and they all separate and let him pass as he descends back down the stairs.

I'm telling his boyfriend. Heartbreaker over here. You can look at the menu, as long as you order from home. Yes. You also know Caleb's part of elections, so. Yes. Sure. Wow. Oh, right, right.

Albs. Yeah. Dude. Throw it that way, come on. As you begin to step within the sanctuary, you can already hear the echoing sound of raised voices. Not shouting, but definitive, strong arguments. Not shouting, but definitive, strong arguments. The echoing at this distance is so scattered

that you can't quite make out the words, but many faces turn as you enter. The crowd is dense at a certain point. You have to begin pushing through the crowd. Some figures move past, holding their nose up to you. Others. But you know there is an important intent

in arriving at this place to the Tempest's voice. Yeah, roughly how many people are here? important intent in arriving at this place to the Tempest voice. Roughly how many people are here? Is it like a Senate meeting in Britain, where there's like? You don't have enough perspective from where you're standing. The crowd is high. It's like stepping into the outside of a concert.

So you can see heads, and you know there's something happening beyond, and you can hear it, but you're not quite able to push. Yeah, so you're pushing through the crowd. A heavy hand. I say, who's guiding this, by the way? Who's pushing through first? I'm pretty short.

You should be. You're the one that knows now. I mean, I'm flying, or hovering at least, and glowing. I'll tell you what. I'm fine. I lead the way from Fearne's shoulder. Got it. So that I can be spotted. I'll tell you what. I'm fine. I lead the way from Fearne's shoulder. Got it. So that I can be spotted. I'll be behind them. Okay, great. You're pushing through the crowd,

and some soldiers are starting to look at each other. People are starting to have that concerned look of like, who are these people pushing through? Fearne, a heavy hand grabs your shoulder. Whoa. I see this, and I put my hand on the weapon, just in case. Fingers grab it, he's like,

Excuse me, just who do you think you are? You glance around and see this tall, incredibly muscular, older-looking half-giant, tattoos on his body, massive black, gray-streaked beard. Oh my god. He's holding you there and says, Were you embodied? on his body, massive black, gray streaked beard. Just holding you there and says, Will you embody?

We work directly for the voice of the Tempest out of Zephrah. What happened? Hold on. You say you know the voice? No! Do we have a problem here, friend? It's a script. Do we? Is this a square? Do we?

I don't know, do we? I've been looking for a fight over. Me too. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Hi, hi. We're supposed to be here. How are you? Um, I'm okay.

My name is Professor Emperor. Professor Emperor. Fearne Cowardice. It's like a ventricle. Yeah. Professor Emperor. We're here to see the voice of the Tempest.

See, the problem is, I happen to be very close friends with the voice of Tempest, and I don't know who you are. I was told to throw out anybody who we don't know. We have an appointment. Well, we met her at West Side. He's pushing Fearne out of the crowd. Wait, wait, wait!

This was a personal bodyguard of hers. A voice goes, Wait! He says, Well, do you know them, Pikey? SAM and LAURA, and you're just, We're gone. And for those of you that were in the brief visit in Whitestone, you see Pike Trickfoot in full Everlight.

Oh, there's someone, we know her. We know her. Grog, I know them. It's okay. He's like, I didn't know that. Justrog, I know them. It's okay. I didn't know that. Just tell me if we're having guests next time. Good day. Good day, good day.

He's got a little gut. Aww. Belly. Good day, of course. Muscle belly. Belly. He wears it well. Are you like Fat Thor? Are you like? No.

I know, he's just got like. Just a little beer belly. Yeah, you see, like the point where the belt of Dwarven, you know, Fortitude on his belt, like there's a little like overlap. It's solid under there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like a weight belt that like was bought,

you know, 30 years ago. He's so fancy, you can still get that. Oh yeah! Just a little peeking out the damn bottom. There's just power. I guess what the power is. Tom Tom. Well, if you're friends of Pike, you're friends of mine.

And Pike goes like, Uh, Keyleth said that she was expecting you. They're in a bit of a discussion right now. Grog, could you? And he goes, right away, Move it!

And pushes people aside. The voice looms out a little bit and the chatter in the room echoes through, stops for a second. And as you see the crowd, there is a, lowered in the middle of this massive forum chamber, there are a number of chairs and places,

and you can see there are, what was a forum room meant to maybe facilitate? A few dozen people conversing is deeply overcrowded now. There are multiple soldiers and associates and representatives and people from all over. You see there is an elven figure in long silver and blue robes that seems to be sitting on the highest of the thrones here,

probably a representative of the sanctuary itself. You see, in a long red sleeveless robe that dangles past their chair, the incredibly intimidating Earthbreaker groom that you had met previously, sitting arms on the side of his particular chair.

Right, he was just the same. You see this incredibly dressed half-elven woman with a massive cluster of white and golden hair that falls past her shoulders below in abundant leaf-covered robes, who looks to be sitting upon a particular throne that iconography-wise resembles the Wild Mother. You can see there are numerous seats here

that are placed to represent various Pantheon temple heads. They are all filled currently, and then throughout them are numerous other seats. You see, for the matron's representation here, You see, for the matron's representation here, not a single seat, but three. You see three women in dark black veils that cover their faces in robes

that all sit as a trio. You see, sitting in a number of the other chairs, a very tall, gender-fluid-looking figure with darker skin, long black hair, and simple attire with eyes that burn like coals. Oh shit. You see a figure dressed in white and silver, intricate robes with shoulder armor

that curl upward at the edge. You see her with a crown that has three curved ibex-like horns that curve back behind and a darker lavender skin of what looks to be a dark elf figure and a number of guards at her sides that wear a chitinous, like insectoid, dark metal armor that looks terrifying as it does unique.

You see Allura and Kima, who you have met previously, sitting amongst the crowd that make eye contact with you, and you can see an elation come over their face. And a number of other figures that you don't recognize. You do recognize those two. You see a dwarven woman in royal attire, or at least you recognize them. Those of you who are in the Wildemount split crew

recognize Queen Furnast and King Talviel of Uthodurn are also present at this council. This is a gathering of Exandria. Wow. Present. Everyone is here. And as Grog has pushed past the crowd and gave an opening in that one moment, all of Exandria

looks to you. And that's where we're going to end. Oh! Shit! Oh shit! Oh shit! Shit! What?

What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What?

What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? Oh, I love him so much he hasn't learned shit! Oh my god. Nope. Oh, he's so dumb. He's so dumb. He can write a little now. Yeah, he can. Yeah, Pike's been teaching him.

He distinguished. He just, a big, big grandpa. He's had security. Yeah. I really thought he was going to respond to Professor Emperor. I did, too. I was like, well, let me give him a long title so that he'll be able to.

He was a little confused by it at the moment. Good boy. What a good boy! Wowzer. He was doing his job. He was given a task, yeah. Yeah. So much happened in this game!

So much happened. This has been a big first day for me. Yeah, dude, you got thrown into the deep end. In this game, in this 24 hours. Wow. We don't know what happened here. No. And boy, do we know some stuff they're not going to like.

Yeah. Boy. Anyway, yeah. Oh boy. Well, we'll see where this gathering continues next time. But until then, thank you so much for joining us. We'll see where this gathering continues next time. But until then, thank you so much for joining us. We love you very much, and it's a Thursday. Oh man, what a day!