Critical Role - C3E25 A Taste of Tal'Dorei

Episode Date: July 7, 2022

Bells Hells explore Bassuras and the Paragon's Call stronghold while getting to know their new friend Dusk, whose past strangely intersects with one of their own... 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 Watch Critical Role Campaign 3 live Thursdays at 7pm PT on https://twitch.tv/criticalrole and https://youtube.com/criticalrole. To join our live and moderated community chat, watch the broadcast on our Twitch channel. "It's Thursday Night" written by Sam Riegel and Peter Habib Original Music by Omar Fadel and Hexany Audio "Welcome to Marquet" Art Theme by Colm McGuinness Additional Music by Universal Production Music, Epidemic Sounds, and 5 Alarm Character Art by Hannah Friederichs Twitch subscribers gain instant access to VODs of our shows like Critical Role, Exandria Unlimited, and 4-Sided Dive. But don't worry: Twitch broadcasts will be uploaded to YouTube about 36 hours after airing live, with audio-only podcast versions of select shows on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & Google Podcasts following a week after the initial air date. Twitch subscribers also gain access to our official custom emote set and subscriber badges and the ability to post links in Twitch chat!

Hello, bees! This is Laura Bailey, here to welcome you to the Critical Role podcast. If you'd like to tune into the show as it airs, you can watch Critical Role Thursdays at 7 p.m. Pacific on twitch.tv slash criticalrole and youtube.com slash criticalrole. Our lovely Twitch subscribers can view the episode on demand right away. Or you can find it on YouTube, Mondays at 12pm Pacific. And of course, for all you fantastic podcast listeners, Critical Role episodes hit feeds on Thursday mornings, a week after the episode first airs. With all that said, let's get into another episode of Critical Role. 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.

Happy to be back in Campaign 3, but very thankful for Brennan Lee Mulligan and all the amazing players from EXU Calamity. Super proud, super excited, and just sad that I missed you all for the month, but happy to see such an amazing story and be told. And Now as we come back in, we do have some announcements to get through, beginning with our first sponsor of the night, Quip. Sam? Sam? Oh, yes! I'm back for a return engagement, everybody. It's me, Ludomir Gillicuddy, here at the Quip Public Domain lounge, where the breath is fresh, the music is free from copyright proteccione. Beethoven wrote this song, but I can change it,

because he's dead and can't sue me. Thank you, sir, thank you, thank you so much. Hey pal, mind grabbing me one of Quip's new limited edition electric brushes from the old brush bar? No! Well, please? It has all the colors of the rainbow

and a matte metal handle that lets you brush loud and proud while helping the LGBTQ plus community. Quip's donating $5 to the Ali Forney Center, founded in 2002 to protect the lives of LGBTQ plus youth from homelessness with every limited edition Pride electric brush purchased. This is actually really cool. So why don't you run to the old brush bar and bring me back one? Okay, well, that's actually a really amazing promotion, but this is not an actual lounge. There is no such thing as a brush bar, and I am not a waiter. Mm, that reminds me of this Public Domain song.

Yeah. No, no, no, he said this guy's very rude. He claims he's not a waiter, but he looks like one to me. Yo, yo, yo, he should try Crook Clip's anti-cavity toothpaste. It's got really fun flavors like watermelon and mint. Thank you, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. I'm not rude! You're the one who's rude! This has been the whole time. Easy there, Mr. Mephistopheles. That song wasn't about you. That is not my name. My name is Matt.

It is M-A-T-T. M-A-T-T. Well, Master Chief, this next song is dedicated to you. I hate this. It had to be you. It had to be you. The waiter with the mane, who spells out his name and said I was rude.

All right, wrap it up, Regal. Okay, no problem, Mogwai. On behalf of Quip, it's Ludomigilicuddy reminding you to start getting rewards for brushing your teeth today at getquip.com slash criticalrole25 and save 25% when you use code CriticalRoll25. Good night! You're making me sweat.

And have good habits. Hail to the teeth, they're the ones that Quip keeps cleaning. Yeah! Good stuff. Oh wow. Oh wow. Ooh! My god.

Thank you, Sam. And thank you, Quip, and thank you for this amazing initiative that you're taking. I'm sorry that all of this. The lounge. There you go. My god. This episode is also sponsored by a brand new partner

to the show, Guardio, who develop solutions to help improve users' online experience, combat threats, and create a highly secure environment. The Guardio browser extension protects users as they browse online, keeping your valuable information, messages, and making info as safe as possible. Guardio detects threats before they reach your browser

and cause harm, unlike traditional solutions that only remove threats once they're on your device. Oh no. All you have to do is add the browser extension from Chrome slash Edge Store, for those who use Edge, and a free security scan will detect threats immediately. And each subscriber can add five family members for free. Enjoy 10% off your yearly or monthly plan right now

at guard.io slash Critical Role. Nice! Ooh! I like that. Penance. Yeah. Marisha, you got some stuff to talk about? I do.

You guys, the next episode, episode four, A Foresighted Dive, airs Tuesday, July 5th at 7 p.m. Pacific on Twitch and YouTube. And it's ladies night. It's ladies night. Oh, what a night. Hell yeah. It's great.

Sam, you got something to talk about? I do, I do. Hey guys, we have a new album coming out, but actually, for real, not this character. It's a real thing. It's a real thing. This is a real thing. Yes. Welcome to Tal'Dorei is our brand new,

Critical Role brand new album. Just released a full-length soundtrack titled Welcome to Tal'Dorei. The team crafted nearly an hour of immersive tracks that take you on a journey through the continent of Tal'Dorei. It's music to heighten the atmosphere of your games. This microphone does not work, by the way.

Nope. The 17 tracks are heighten the atmosphere of your games. This microphone does not work, by the way. Nope. The 17 tracks are written by a variety of composers, including members of the Hexany Hexany? Hexany. Hexany Audio roster, Omar Fadel and our good friend Colm McGuinness. Yeah! And we can't forget the gorgeous album art is by Kent Davis. What? It is out on all digital music platforms under Critical Role, so go buy it or stream it right now.

Yeah! Laura, it's ladies night. Oh, what a night. First up, I'm going to talk about some new merch that's surprising to any of you. What you got, what you got, what you got? I have, look it, we have got pins! Yay!

There are no shimmy pins, and it's all of the EXU fam. What? The original EXU fam. So yeah, we got our Dorian. Oh my goodness. We got our Darian. My boy. We got a... Fear of Rise. Fear of Rise.

Yeah! We got a Oryx. That's me, I'm small. A little Fern. And don't forget Opal. Oh yeah! How could you forget Opal? Okay, and in addition to these beauties, which you can go check out right now, we also have this back in stock. Oh! Oh, the old school.

It's like an updated version. It's a different material, but it's actually, I think, softer than the first one. That's impossible. I know. That person's pretty soft. We've been out of stock for it's actually, I think, softer than the first one. That's impossible! I know. This one's pretty soft. We've been out of stock for a while, and I'm very happy we have them back. I'm ordering it now. Check it out! And in addition to that, oh! In addition to that! What's that?

We have new dice, but these are special. Legend of Vax Machina dice. Oh, cool! So here, let me show you. They're beautiful, golden, and fabulous. Swirly. What? Yeah. The bag, I think, is really pretty because it looks like a little galaxy. Aw. Just the little things, you know. Anyway, love you guys. Check it out. They're in store. Perfect.

Oh, yeah! Oh! In addition to that, we also have this! Oh! Whoa! Oh! I know, it's our first night of- I've never seen anything like it! Wow! Our first night of Avalir tea, made especially for EXU Calamity.

Turn it upside down. Can I put it on? Sure, Ashley. Yes! Wow! You look so good in it. Sorry, Max. Anyway.

Sorry, not sorry. Sorry, not sorry. Marisha? Oh, oh yes! And then one more thing for me. Oh my gosh, you guys. Mm-hmm, Mm-hmm. You're about to see our brand new opening title.

What? So excited, set to our theme song. It's Thursday night. Big shout-out to Minnow Mountain, who helped us animate it and partnered with us. It's incredible. They're amazing. It's amazing.

Yeah, just, you know what? Just enjoy. That's all I'm going to say. Sounds good. Yeah, we could watch it right now, too. I believe that concludes our announcements. So let's go ahead and jump into tonight's episode of Critical Role.

Play it! 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?

We 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 allies taking more chances hold your breath and roll you can certainly try it's Thursday night all you critters come join us

it's time to continue our flight there is magic and mystery from darkness our friendship will rise. When one thing's for sure, we never give up on the fight. Oh, get ready. It's Thursday night. And welcome back.

So, last we left off, Bell's Hells had been hot on the trail of Armand Treshi after uncovering many of the misdeeds he had been attempting within the city of Drusar. With their alliance with Lord Eshteross, they had helped place a platinum band that had been enchanted upon his ring at a bell with the help of their airishari friend,

not airishari, oh, airishari friend there, but air elemental one. My brain totally, wow. What was his name? Dorian, it would be easier to just say his name, Dorian. Wow, gone for a month, my brain's already melted. That one there, yeah. That one there, yeah.

Yeah, that's great. Well, old machine. Way to come out strong, Matt. Fire. Sorry, I should have just started. If it works. Everybody dies. If it works. Everybody dies. Everybody dies. Tried and true. It worked before, it'll work again.

We got the giggle. I know. Man, I missed this. So yes, upon putting this ring upon Arman to keep tracking his whereabouts in the city, you left northward and returned a bit later to discover that he had left. He had fled the city, you left northward and returned a bit later to discover that he had left, he had fled the city southeast.

You agreed to help Eshteross in hunting him down, taking the orb that was affixed to the enchantment on this ring to when you were within proximity, you would know the direction he knew from you. You went ahead and took upon the skyship Excuse me. known as the Silver Sun

and read southeast across the skies of the Hellcatch Valley towards the city of Basuras, where it seemed Arman was laying low. Upon this trek, you did battle with a number of dangerous sky creatures. You helped defend a caravan that was being hunted by a wayward dustra, a massive squid-like creature digging through the dust.

And upon coming to the city itself at night, the skyship decided it shouldn't stick around, as this is not part of any sort of approved air patheth. Patheth, wow, I am done. You're doing great, Matt. You're going so great. You're at the beginning of the show. Nah, I'm calling it here.

Man. We're excited. Oh, indeed. Had to watch me slowly melt down in real time. Upon coming to the outskirts of Bassuras, the skyship leaves you behind within a day's journey, should you require it to return and pick you up. Here, you make contact with one of the many crawler gangs that run the region surrounding the city.

You begin to mark continuous shapes and colors of tattoo-based designs that mark the Gajahkandas, the ones that protect the main guardian laws of the city. Upon walking into the center, you found yourself to the Caravan Sarai, the Rahadenn, purchased a night's rest, and then emerged to seek out the directional blip of Arman's tracking signal in the orb that you carry.

Along the way, you heard a scuffle in a nearby alleyway and saw this individual dusk being harried by a number of ne'er-do-wells, cutthroats that were attempting to take what was theirs. You then stepped into this alleyway and came to their aid, beating down these individuals and leaving them behind as you made your first encounter and introduction with this character, Dusk.

Now, after having a brief bit of conversation, you decided to continue to pursue the directional draw of this arcane blip. Along the way, it seems, in the southern direction of the city of Basuras, there lay a particular tavern, referred to as A Taste of Tal'Dorei, that seemed to reside at least

in the similar space of the region. Laudna pulls out the little glowy orb. Mm-hmm. Has he moved? Best you could tell, it still seems the general same direction it was the night before you'd been traveling, so not any major shifts in movement yet, no.

I mean, we can take a quick moment, right? Just go grab a bite to eat. Everyone's got to eat. That's true. Very true. Taste of Tal'Dorei. I don't have to eat. Keep going.

Sorry, sorry, same place generally as Armand is? South side? We wouldn't be heading the opposite direction, right? Mm-mm. You said we've walked up, right? We've made our way towards it? We're heading in opposite direction, right? Mm-mm. You said we've walked up, right? We've made our way towards it? You're heading in that direction, and those of you that know of the location,

it's generally in the same direction you're traveling. You might be heading to the same place, for all we know. Mm. I mean, it sounds like a very esteemed location. Yeah. No better joint in the entirety of Vassaras. So you've been there? Yeah, I like to go and hang out occasionally.

It's nice when you have a local place that you can just be familiar with and people are familiar with you. Does everyone there know your name? Are they always glad you came? I don't know. I don't even always know. I feel like I'm learning so much about you so quickly. Do they have a dress code?

Are we underdressed or overdressed? We're overdressed. Do you need a jacket? You definitely don't need a jacket. You can get stuff there from the gift shop that'll let you fit in. I'm not even sure you need shoes. Clothes? Yeah. There's the gift shop.

Is this the type of place where the servers dress up to look like? Yes, it is! I feel like this is one of those things you just have to see. Yeah, that's true. You're absolutely right. No more about this.

You'll all see it for yourselves. Let's go. All right, as long as, you know, I don't want to put a damper on anyone's good time. I just would hate to have traveled all this way only for Treshi to get away because we're having a good time at a theme restaurant. You know what I mean? A second to rest would not be a terrible idea.

I hurt in a couple different ways, and I would definitely be willing to trade that hurt for a completely different kind of hurt. Just for a quick bite, a taste of Tal'Dorei. I'd also be curious to see if the restaurants on the south side of town and Treshi is, we'll see if the direction changes at all once we're in really close proximity, right?

So this is more of a scouting mission. If this is the place where everybody does know your name, maybe we can get some recon and intel about Treshi. Maybe someone there knows his name. That is true. Maybe he's a regular. That's a great thought. Letters. Well, let's at least head in that direction

and we'll play it by ear. Let's go. I do agree with Imogen. I don't want to lose him, but I'm very excited about seeing a gift shop. Dusk is gone. Dusk has left now. Already taken off towards... Very well. Walking. That I like, yeah.

Okay. Continuing your way in the southwestern side of the city. Very well. That I like, yeah. Okay. Continuing your way in the south-southwestern side of the city. South-west. I cannot win. A lot of syllables. Yep.

Just kidding. A very Dua Lipa of you, I respect that. Pressing down the streets, the bustling midday road of Bassuras presents itself to you. All manner of interesting figures walking past. You can see cobbled together armor pieces and bits of jagged metal placed in a defensive way

to signal to you at an immediate glance to do not touch and do not engage. As well, the other figures that are coming along with carts and beasts of burden that are pulling their way through the street, you can hear the squeaking of wooden wheels. She made me do it. I'm going to flick at you.

I'm going to flick at you. What does catch your attention within a short jaunt further is your first sight of an automaton here amongst the roadways. You see one person walking by and behind them, an eight foot tall, hulking-looking humanoid figure. The head itself seems to be somewhat

barely emerging from an egg-like torso with just a singular gem in the center where a face would be. These two large stone pillar-like arms swing side to side, while these three almost tripod-like legs clamber forward as it does. Each portion of its torso and its limbs

are mismatched in both materials and design. You watch as it stalks by. It has a weird hitch with every third step. It gives it an odd, almost like a limp presentation to it as it lumbers by. Is it accompanied by anyone? There is one figure that's walking before. You see an older woman with a wet headscarf,

looks like it was soaked recently, to help keep them cool, and wrapped around the face and around the neck, and it's causing a bunch of the cloth on their shoulders to darken with dampness. As they step to the left, you watch as it follows in lockstep with them. If I can catch up or intercede,

I'd love to just run up to the automaton and just say, smiley day to you. It just doesn't acknowledge you. Maybe he's shy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where are you headed? I lean down, I grab a rock and I chunk it. Oh, oh. Smaller.

Oh, don't, stop. Tink! It stops and you watch as the person who's walking ahead of it turns around a bit and gives you this glaring eye, or at least the direction of where you were. She keeps on walking forward. She keeps on walking forward.

Doesn't have those people skills that you do. No, doesn't. Did that one look like any of your siblings? Some of my siblings were able to ambulate in similar ways, but not exactly, no. They were a little smaller. Are you also looking over family?

Not as much, no. But you know what? I might see some folks here in town that I do recognize. So yes, in a way. Okay. That one was real big. Are any of your siblings on that scale? I mean, we all had to travel together, so we were lighter of foot

and able to move a little quicker and more nimble than that. But I've seen other ones that big before, especially around here. They make them from all kinds of parts and stuff. It's all scavenged and plucked together and whatever they can find. Okay, so we're looking for a guy

that's a dot on the radar thing. And we're looking for any other robots. And anybody else? I've interjected. I'm standing in front of the old lady and her. That's basically it. As you dart to cross the path, she stops and the automaton also stops

and lockstep with her. I completely ignore her, and I look at the robot. Okay. Smiley day to you. And I'm going to try to speak telepathically to him. Okay. You speak telepathically, you say smiley day to you?

Mm-hmm. I'm just staring him down. Okay. There's no response. The woman turns her head towards you. Can I help you? Oh, I was just, remarkable instrument you have there.

Yes. Does he do anything without your go-ahead? No. Right. He doesn't speak? No. Right. He's a worker, and he works well for me,

because I paid enough for him. Now, if you could please move aside. Thank you. Of course. Ask her how much! Who just burped? Down here. That's what I'm talking about. Holy shit.

I didn't recognize any of the workmanship or build, did I? I'll water it. I mean workmanship or build. Did I? I water it. I mean. Just looks generic or? It looks fairly generic. Nothing that catches your eye. I mean, you've seen a number of different automatons and automaton makes in the city,

mainly from the ends in the Sonian Row, but it varies based on whatever's coming through. And sometimes when the materials are limited, they cobble together what they can and come up with some very unique builds. Well, thanks for trying, but it does remind me, there's some folks here that I do want to, after we find our target,

there's some folks that I do want to talk to here. That's all right. All right. Sure. We can make that happen. It's lingering. Wish I could smell that burp. You don't. I wish I could. Someday. Someday.

FCG, we'll get you a sense of smell and you'll regret it. Scattered across the front of the dust and dirt before you, somebody steps upon the front brick walkway at the exterior of their doorway and empties a giant urn of liquid that scatters across the street in front of you. At about that time, you also hear about two or three blocks down the way,

this heavy metallic growling sound as you start seeing dust clouds kicked up. Intersecting with the main street that you're walking past, you see three skirmish crawlers scoop by and begin to vanish into the distant sounds of the city. You see other folks step out of the way as they scoot by, watch as they go,

take a minute to collect themselves and then continue on with the rest of their day. A short walk later, you watch as the buildings, many of which are a combination of old, weathered stonework that has been here a lot longer than you expected the city possibly to have been, as well as newer constructed structures that take all manner of dried, gathered wood

and smaller bits of sandstone and rock that have been masoned together to create ramshackle additions to the bare bones the city was built upon. One building stands out amongst the others. Between the colorful tarps and multitudes of long, thin cables that mark the intersections of the various walkways and roadways,

the dangling lanterns between them, the scattered bits of jagged metal that dangle on line after line, that jingle in the wind, like some sort of odd nightmarish chimes. Across the way, you see one massive, out-of-place building, built in a classic Tal'Dorei style,

almost Tudor-type construct. You can see the roofs are painted far more violently brown than any natural wood should be. The exterior is, you can see the cracks that have been patched time and time again, and then repainted over, a coloration that denotes not a natural build, but something that is trying to desperately

keep up with the age of time, like an older man trying to put on makeup to prevent from showing his wrinkles. On the outside of this, you can already hear music curling from the inside. It's almost like a jaunty violin with a faint drum, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. There's some hitching posts immediately out front

past a couple of tents. The front double doors, it is like a hinged double door that enters the front. You can just barely see from the interior a faint bit of flickering lantern light. Whatever sense of irony any of you may still hold, abandon it now, it will serve you not inside. Welcome to Taste Hotel Dore!

Wow. You step inside and as the doors swing open, behind you, immediately the smells catch you. The smells are a unique mingling of all sorts of baked breads and sweets, a mixture of cooked meats and rolled lettuce-based meat-packed dishes.

and rolled lettuce-based meat-packed dishes. You can see there is a bit of an incense brazier on the opposite end that is burning and filling this gentle smoke. It's a bunch of things that individually are good smells, but when they mix together, it creates this Sephora-like blast from all different directions. I hate it.

As soon as you step through, there are a smattering of tables of all different makes and designs, all round, but you can see from different carpenters, there is not a single thread of presentation to these tables, some with melted wax and candles in the center of it, tankards and a manner of decor

that is reminiscent of non-Marquesian make. You can see banners and tapestries that hang from the high central walls that themselves depict decently created pieces of art that some look like they're portions of maps. Others are landscapes that some of you may find somewhat familiar if you took long to look upon it.

But in the open way, there is a stairway that leads to a secondary balcony with a higher up table, where you imagine the more esteemed customers may stay for a meal, overlooking the rest of the chamber. Here, you can immediately tell the clientele, a bit sparse. Especially for first thing in the morning, no more than maybe seven individuals

that are currently here. There is one bartender across the way, but you do see three servers are racing around and conversing merrily with the individuals. One of which you see is a young woman dressed in fine armor and red silks, almost like a long robe with gold. You watch as she approaches

and serves a dish to a couple of customers and says, And that is how Tal'Dorei greets the greats of the world, and steps back and continues back into the far chamber to retrieve another meal, while somebody else, you could see this man with a big, bushy, dark beard, his sun-weathered skin wearing a large, haphazardly made bronze crown,

like a king's crown on his head, as he wields a large sword that he drags behind them. You can tell it's more for show than not. Slips up to another table and goes, And what, pray tell, do you wish to ask of King Drassig? No way! Oh my god! By that, I mean, what would you like to drink?

You see two gentlemen sitting at the table. That's so weird. I'm just going to have some water for me. What do you want? I would like just whatever beers you have on tap. Ha! Ha ha ha ha! May the darkness of my reign bring you the drinks you require.

He turns around and drags his sword back over to the bar. He begins to set his orders in there. You can see now, the music is not sourceless. There is a music box that is dangling from a rope that is wrapped across it in two different directions that sits slightly sifting from the wind as it occasionally blows in, that appears to be producing a louder sound than you expect,

though maybe not quite the most on-key at times. Occasionally, you watch as one of these servers has to walk up to it when the music stops and wind it for a second before it continues to emit its beautiful, atmospheric song choices. As you stand there watching, another door opens and the third server comes through, a tall goliath figure, half giant in blood,

wearing deep blues and whites, his face painted like a blue and white coloration, and himself wearing this tall crown of what looks to have been handcrafted clay, almost like icicles that point upward. There's some of them chipped and broken in places, and you can see it's been affixed with wire in one or two spaces.

Who turns to another table before looking at you. Ha! And who disturbs the realm of Erevon the Rimelord? Oh my god. Oh no! Oh yes! Oh, we, we, surrender! Then you shall surrender into my realm by the great mirror of ever-watching.

How many's in your potty? There's going to be one, two, three, four. Eight now. Eight. Eight. Erebon requires two more chairs! Grabs two more chairs and drags them behind over to a table. Sets them up. Orym, are these historical figures?

To a point. Are they accurate? No. Are you fine there? Yeah. Orym and I both are. Oh my goodness. Do they actually have those kinds of fruity drinks? What is it? What are the fruity drinks?

We do have fruity drinks. I do wish to order of the Tal'Dorei Great Rum Extravaganza. That's on! Mm. Oh my god. Do you all drink that where you're from? Is that your, like, the Asshari drink?

They bring that one in a fishbowl, right? I pretty much stick to keto. My lord, we do humbly request your cocktail menu as quickly as possible, thank you, my liege. Ah, well-mannered, this one. He might survive my frozen death still. No. Scary! Waters?

Ooh! Yeah, have a seat. And he goes in and pulls out the chairs. And you can see you're seated behind this massive, beautiful-looking mirror that has these intertwined, ivy carving around the exterior of it. It has this beautiful mid-forest aesthetic to it.

It's a little off-kilter, facing towards the wall slightly, but you're mostly before it and to the side. As Eravon turns back after you all have your seat, I decree that you will have your menu shortly, and turns around and heads back to the bar. You started talking differently. Why did you do that?

Oh, went in Tal'Dorei, you know. How are we supposed to talk here? I don't know. How do people talk where you come from? Kind of like this. I know, it seems like they're very bombastic. Yeah. Bombastic. Is everybody really loud in Tal'Dorei? I mean, I'm not a very good actor or orator,

so maybe that's just me. Or I'm the orator. I don't know if it feels pretty accurate to me. Is that what they sounded like in Whitestone? Mm-hmm. Wow. Wow. I mean, people don't go around with such enthusiasm

on a day-to-day basis, of course, but I feel like he's playing it up a little bit for the environment. But if you did walk around with enthusiasm, I'm just really curious, what would the vibe be? Maybe you'll see later. Do you see any knickknacks or design from where you're from, from Whitestone?

I look around. Is there any Whitestone representation? Make a perception check for me. Okay. What are my stats? They're a lot lower than Patia's. Oh, uh-huh. 23. 23? Two. Ooh, uh-huh. 23. 23.

22. 22, all right. Glancing around, you do see, of the many tapestries that are spaced around here, some of which that one has what looks like a triangular mountain with two hammers that cross over the front. You glance around and see one

that shows the crest of Emon. And then one you do see has a tree frame that carries up its roots and its branches reaching out with a sun above it. And you know this to be the crest of the Chamber of Whitestone. Fully accurate, or is it the Legoland version like everything else?

I, of your keen perception, you will notice that it is missing two of the stars. The coloration's off a bit, and it looks like it's been sun bleached to a point where the blue has now come to a faded teal. They haven't updated it in 75 years, but that's the Whitestone Crest right there. Huh.

I've heard of King Drasig, but who's our guy supposed to be? Oh yeah, was it some wizard or something? I genuinely fade out. Erebon demands you decide on what you have to drink before you are frozen for all eternity. Who are you and what have you done? I am Erebon, the Rimelord. Rimelord.

I am a great elemental deity that broke forth from the Realm of Ice and froze all of Tal'Dorei for many years before I was Is this true? sundered and sent back to my realm, but there I wait, plotting to bring you the finest in service here at A Taste of Tal'Dorei. That part is true. That part is true.

That part is true. That's impressive. It's great. Yeah. Is this the kind of place where they cook the food at the table? Or is that something, is that not this place? I think if you get some of the platters

and things that they'll do. If you look, there are stars next to the ones in the menu that have a presentation involved. Oh, presentation. Thank you. They're a little more pricey. They're worth it, trust me. We should do one of the presentations.

Yes. Perhaps for the whole table. Yes, yes, yes. Get four people together. In your head. Let's do one of those. I want one of the ones that come in the big trough bowls. Do you want a fire vibe or an ice vibe?

I'm a big fan of the ice vibe, although they got a few. We have a sample of platter that's the Chroma Conclave. Get a little bit of everything. Yeah, I mean, Tal'Dorei's a big place. Is there any Zephra or Ashari-themed drinks on this cocktail menu?

On the cocktail menu, there is what's called an Ashari Breezer. Ooh! Oh, what the fuck? It was literally in my head, too! That's what I was thinking. We'll take eight Ashari Breezers. Of course! What, what, what?. We'll take eight Ashari Breezers. Of course!

What, what, what? Cursed druid magic. To start. Okay, to start. I will have my revenge. Also a Tordach's Pepper Poppers, please. I'll see if we have any left. What is a disappearing Syngorn sausage? That's for our late night clientele.

For the dinner menu only. Cool, cool. How late are you open until each day? We don't close. Oh shit! We came at the wrong time! There's a more limited menu as you get later, but they do have special things on it.

Okay. I just glance back over at Imogen. Oh, yeah, in your head. Will you check the orb? Just under the table. What are you doing? Just, I need a little glare from the spotlights in here. I just need to see.

I should probably mention this. While she's doing that, I'm going to reach back and touch the mirror and see if it's double-sided, see if there's a reflection of my own finger up close. You know how you can tell if it's a double-sided mirror? Make a perception check. Oh. Gronk.

Gronk. 13. 13. I mean, it's hard to tell. It's a beautiful mirror. Of all the things that are here, this one, probably a lot of the money went into this. Whoever found it was very proud to put it on display.

It has a little bit of a smear on it, but it has this beautiful, twisting briar-like metallic sculpture frame to it. It's about six feet tall. Six feet of mirror. Yeah, and it's affixed to the wall there. Your uncertain is what the historical significance is of it with your limited understanding of Tal'Dorei history.

At the very least, it looks pretty. Okay. But you're uncertain if it's double-sided or not. Okay. I hope that you'll all allow me to treat you for this one. I really do appreciate you all coming to my aid. That's very kind of you. And this is nice because it gives us an opportunity to,

like, you know, you don't seem like you're in a hurry or anything, but you're looking for family? Well, it's kind of. I'm looking for people that helped me. Helped you? How? Well, through the Feywild. Through the Feywild?

Like in the Feywild? Mm-hmm. Or to get here? Both. They, you know, they show me around and then they help me find a way back here. I don't know if I made the right decision leaving or not, but you know, they were very kind to me.

Who are they? I have, and I pull out, I have a little locket and I open up and there's a picture. Of one person or two? Of two. Okay, what are they? Of... There are two figures. Well, they're a gently drawn, painted portrait,

both of them are unfamiliar to all of you, except for you. Lore, lore. There is two familiar portraits of the Calloway parents that birthed you. The Calloway parents? birthed you. The Calloway parents? Her parents? Mm-hmm. Oh! Oh.

Oh. Oh. How do you know them? From the Feywild. Do you know them? Yes. Yes, those are my parents. What? Wait, I are my parents. What?

Wait, I don't know. I don't understand. What do you mean you saw them in the Feywild? Yeah! They helped me get back to this other side. Recently? Well, time's a little fucky, but yeah. I mean, I've.

Yeah. I don't see it. Yeah, and I know that they're somewhere around here. They're here? I think so. Did you know that? They came through with you? We got separated. How? Here in town.

I don't know how faith bullshit works! But did you get pulled apart there or here? On the way, through the portal. Okay, wait, just some context. Were you running from something? Was it a very leisurely trip? Were you in a rush? Yeah, I mean, yes.

Okay, so I was there, and it was amazing, it was incredible, but it's really fucking scary over there. There's all sorts of politics and lights everywhere. It's beautiful and amazing. I just wanted to be there forever, but also, I don't know how much time has passed since I went there or since I've come back. So this really lovely couple took me under their wing

and showed me around and showed me how to get back. But I guess the portals are just unpredictable. Oh shit. They're your parents?! Yes, yes. May I see that a little closer? Yeah! Did they talk about their daughter? No!

They didn't say anything about having a daughter. Ooh. They told me that they felt like, you know, I... It's not important, but it's... Do you know where they are? I don't know where they are, and I've been looking for them, but... Maybe they just forgot.

Because it's been a very long time since I've seen them. Well, you don't seem like the kind of person that somebody would just forget. Well, I just... Do they look the same in the picture, older or younger than I remember them? These particular portraits are copies of portraits that you recalled at a young age. So these are them in their prime.

Well, this is Mama Birdie, and this is Papa Ollie. Birdie and Ollie. Birdie and Ollie. And they're very wonderful, but I haven't seen them in a very, very long time. Cool. a very, very long time. Go on.

Probably about, oh, maybe like 90 years. Oh! So something like that. Fearne, is that how they looked when you last saw them, or are they? It's hard to tell. Yes, but you know, this is a drawing, so they could look, did they look like this? Yeah, a little older.

Did you do this wonderful drawing, or did they give it to you? I got it from them. They gave you a drawing of themselves to remember them? To find them? Yeah, I tried. You were that close with them?

With them. How long were you in the Feywild that, do you know? Hmm. I feel like I have lived a thousand different lifetimes in there. Or maybe just one long one. Also, maybe we covered this and I missed it. Where were you before?

Yeah, maybe start at the top and take us through. It's all, no. I don't know. Time dilates weird, and memory is weird. And that's why the things, these things that I have on me, the sword, the portraits, and them, they're the only things that really feel real still.

You feel real. Does she feel real? Yeah, sure. You feel real. Yeah. That's good. Can I use my Hunter's Bane to look at Dusk with knowing that she's been in the Feywild that long

and just see if I notice anything about her, her clothes, her rapier, anything that sticks out as like, Fey? Make a perception check. I might not have picked it before. Woo! Where are those original dice? Shout out, Courtney Jacobson.

Fuck, that's a one. Oh my god. Hey! It's just fuck. It's as good as it's worth as it's rich. Oh, but I have advantage! That's true. Yay! That's true.

Oh, that's cock. That's cock. That's cock. I give you a 20. 14. 14. That's not bad. I mean, the weapon that Dusk carries definitely has a fey-centric design to it. It has a natural, a beautiful, but natural design.

The hilt flows, the crystals give this natural sense to it. You'd almost feel like it was pulled from the earth if you didn't see the finer details that were handcrafted. Yeah, there is a hint of fey essence to the way they present themselves. Design and clothing has some elements to the overall presentation of the smaller details.

Cool. Maybe you have been gone for like 100 years. Maybe we can do a little test or do a little survey to see what world events you remember, although you don't remember a lot. So maybe that's a bad idea. Do you remember being a little kid?

Do you have any little kid memories? Yeah, but also I don't really process them chronologically. Hard to remember. You know, um. Are you from the future? I totally understand. You do? It's just, it's kind of how time works, I guess, where we're from.

It's kind of... Well, I think, sorry, Fearne, but I think when people from here go there for a brief time, there's a little bit of soupiness, but maybe if you go for a long time, it's exponential. Like gumbo. Maybe I was there for a very long time. A heavy table hits the center of the table

and there you can see upon it, or a plate hits the center of the table and you can see a cluster of small dough balls as Eravon takes a deep breath and just breathes a gout of flame that sprays across and singes the exterior of it. Are there some pepper potters? It takes a lot for an ice being to breathe fire. that sprays across and singes the exterior of it. Oh, there's a pepper popper's head. Oh!

It takes a lot for an ice being to breathe fire. Shocking fire, bitch! Thank you. Now enjoy the Conclave Thordax Fire Peppers. And your breezers. Puts the drinks out there. Oh, it's blended. Please describe the presentation of the Ashari Breezer. Puts the drinks out there. Ooh, it's blended. Please describe the presentation of the Ashari Breezer. Yes.

There wasn't a star next to those. Hmm? Oh. It's just a cup. You ordered something that doesn't have a star. Maybe you could get a souvenir cup. Is it? Yes, it is. Can we get souvenir cups? There's a souvenir cup that we can get.

Does it have a flashy light cube in it? What's it look like? Because what do you say? What's it look like? There are souvenir tankards you can take with you on the way out. They, um... Do you have shopping? I will bring some if you'd like to see

at the end of your meal. Yeah, I've played it, right? But you as a DM, what do they look like? He hasn't presented them yet. Oh, I thought you said, here's all the Y'shaarj Breezers. Y'shaarj Breezers are the drinks. Yeah. Oh yeah.

But they don't come in? They don't come in collector's cups. It's just a drink. Right. Is it blue? Oh, she was asking for the coloration of the drink. I'm sorry. I was misunderstood in this scenario. Sit down.

There's umbrellas, or they're little hang gliders. Zip for the hang gliders in them. So for the Breezers, they're inside the small clay mugs, and at the very top, you can see it's a faint bluish green, almost like a Midori coloration to it.

It has a bit of fizz to it. You can see it's popping with some aerated... Oh, a parasaur. Yeah, it's been carbonated. He just killed me and brought me back to life. I thought he was like, it's just a small clay. It's a carpenter's cup. We'll be drinking it.

Zephyr doesn't warrant a fancy drink, okay. But it's beautiful. It is, it's beautiful and it's not quite as overt, but when you take a look, subtleties of it, quite nice. Okay. Wow. It looks really natural in your hands. I can tell it really speaks to where you're from.

No place like home, especially this place. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. A big bell at the bar begins ringing loudly, and the music from the music box immediately stops, and someone gets out a horn and goes, Here we go. Oh, yes. You watch, and everyone turns around,

kind of, not everyone, a few people turn around and look, and a number of them are like, Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Drink heavily. The barkeep behind you, you can see, is an orcish gentleman stands up at the top and goes, I've come to offer and see,

it looks like a great conflict comes to the Taste of Tal'Dorei. There's a show. A historical moment. There's a show, there's a show. And you see from behind one of the doorways that has a large piece of cloth that protects it, you see the individual dressed as Drasig

is putting on some armor and comes out with a sword that is plainly not sharp at all and goes, Aha! This realm is mine to rule. Boo! And I will, you, shush your mouth or be slain by the dark King, Waurindrasig.

No! Oh no! He's calling you out. Now kneel before me, and suddenly behind, do not kneel before him, you see the woman who was going for the first table goes, He is but an imposter! A terrible plague upon the free peoples of our land! The guy dresses war and turns and goes,

Zantaldore! As his beard loosely comes off, at one point he slaps it back onto his chin. Indeed, I will free the great peoples of this land, and you will be nothing but a dark echo in the annals of history. He goes, then show me your strength. He pulls his blade out and she goes

and pulls her blade out. You can see in a place. The orc on the counter gets down below and pulls out a quick fiddle from behind and starts like, starts fiddling along with it. It's the two of you going, Ting, ting, ting, ting, ting,

in a circle, just the most awkward, repetitive, non-dangerous swinging of blades in a big circle in the middle. Shit. A couple of crawler gang members in full regalia are like, Stab her in the throat! The guy's like, cut off his balls!

They're just like, ching, ching, cling. He knocks the blade out of her hand. Ah! It falls to the guy, and clang, clang, clang, clang, clang. Everyone's like, and someone goes, I've seen this before, and just has a big swig. On the ground, she looks and puts her eyes up,

and you watch as one of the baubles in the ceiling begins to glow a beam of light upon her face. The spotlight that kicks in around the nude day performance they're doing now, the melodrama at noon, looks up, Ah, but the great Prime Deity's give your blessings upon me so I might guide the free peoples to true freedom. As Kingdrasig pulls his blade up and then the fiddle stops

and another crank behind the counter begins to turn and you hear this crackling sound of voices going, and the squeaking of a ratchet as another sword is lowered on a rope from the ceiling, grabs the sword, looks at it, as King Drasic is slowly recoiling, pulling his blade back, going,

No! She pulls the blade from the rope, which takes a second to pull it free safely before turning around and very slowly bringing it to his throat and touching it there, and he goes, Oh! Oh! Oh, she got it. Oh, I touching it there and he goes, Oh!

Oh! Oh, she got it. I'll transfer suffering and take half the damage. Good on you. FCG is totally buying the whole thing. So am I. He slaps his hand to his neck and then pulls it away and there's a smattering of some sort of red condiment. He goes, Ah, it seems you were indeed the chosen king. He falls to the ground, and she looks at her blade

and looks down at him. I am no king. I am a sovereign. Oh god. There's this awkward pause. She stands up. Orym pulls Ashley down. You've seen this before? Oh yeah, they have not changed the script one iota. I almost missed this, actually.

Does it get better or worse with the rewatch? Oh, so much worse and so much better at the same time. I love the theater! They both stand up. They grab each other's hands and give a bow. You can see in their faces, they're just soulless at this point. This is probably the 600th time they've done this

and they know you don't care. They finish. They're fresh. They turn around and they go back to serving the tables they've been assigned as Erevon the Rhyme Lord goes back and checks his makeup in the mirror and comes back, Ah, what else do you need from the Rhyme Lord?

I checked the ball a little bit ago. Is the ball fine? Anything moving on it yet? No shifting, no. No shifting, okay. We still have time. So south of this place. Do you have any specials on the cocktail menu right now?

Something seasonal? My lord. Let me check. And he goes back to the bar and then comes back for a second. There is the Winter's Crest Mixer, if you would like something with a bit more of a holiday spice to it. I'm feeling festive.

How far off in the time frame of Winter's Crest are we at this point? Oh, you are in Cyanstar the 14th, so you are the equivalent of October. You're a few months away from that even being a thing. Earlier and earlier in the year. Winter's Crest crawl, yeah. Uh-huh.

It's always Winter's Crest somewhere. Is that what you want? Oh, yes, please. All right. Thank you. Darts off. As amazing as that was, I want to hear more about this parent connection. Yes, I do. Yes, I just.

Restaurant's very distracting. It's incredible, though. I really just love it here. He's probably going to run right through us, too. Yeah, yeah. I'm going That restaurant's very distracting. It's incredible, though. I really just love it here. He's probably going to run right through us, too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let me try one real quick. Well, I'll... I'll just do the word search here on the menu

to give you guys some privacy. Yeah. Ooh, crime time. What did you do with them? Do you know? I just have a lot of fleeting impressions of being so lost. I think I was probably before I went to the Feywild, too.

And then being found and having people to help me navigate that world. and having people to help me navigate that world. Because it's terrible and beautiful, right? Yeah. But what were they like? They were very sweet. Do you remember them at all?

A little bit. I was very young when they left, and they left me with my grandmother to keep me safe, but... With your grandmother? Mm-hmm. She lives there, and she's my best friend,

and I... They left because they had to do something very important. I don't know what it was, but I... I've been looking for them. So this feels like something. Yeah. Yeah, I know that you all have your business

to take care of, but maybe on the way, Yeah, I know that you all have your business to take care of, but maybe on the way, you know, but I mean, maybe on the way, you know, we can help each other find them. Well, you know, speaking of the business that we are on, to get you up to speed a little bit, the man we are chasing had some dubious dealings

with entities from the Fey Realm. That's right. had some dubious dealings with entities from the Fey Realm. That's right. He worked with this creepy and kind of svelte man called the Nightmare King. And um. He's a bit like a shoelace. Yes, yes, a little piece of Alfredo. And aancy suit.

And then we followed that trail and it led us to the Shademother. Yes, and they were all like, ooh, Shademother, we love you, we worship you. And she was this big half-woman, half-slug. Which part was the woman and which part was the slug? big half-woman, half-slug. Which part was the woman and which part was the slug? Excellent question. I should have specified the top half was the woman.

The back half was very sluggy. But by percentage, though, it was more like 20, 80. Yeah, a lot more bug than woman. This was really far away, too. We actually just rolled into town, so this happened a long ship ride back. Those gentlemen who were chasing you, Dusk, they were bad, right?

I assume so. All right. It's a fine assumption in this place. This is not the safest place that you can imagine. There's a lot of conflicting needs and affiliations. And they jumped you, right? Inside check. That's 25.

Yeah. That's spicy. Actually, I get an advantage. Oh, it was a one, which I get to reroll. It's another one. Oh, wow. But it was at advantage. I get to take the higher of the three robles, so it's 25. Yeah, they dump me.

Is that cute? Worth it! But the thing is, is that, I mean, around here, everybody's just desperate, you know? So the thing is, they might be bad in that they were trying to take my stuff, but I don't know. I might've done worse things to get by and to survive in this area.

I don't know. Not wrong. They seem to be trying to kill you, so I mean. Yeah, getting by is hard to do. Can I see that locket real quick? I just want to take a look at it. Mama. Mama Birdie. Oh yeah. Mm-hmm.

Yep. Yeah. Is this what they looked like when you saw them last? Yes, it is. That's awesome. Yeah. Okay. There you go. I can't believe I didn't see it. You look so much like them.

I just, this is so bizarre. I just, that we happened upon. Maybe they were looking for you. Maybe that's why they're in this area. So they're in this area? They're here? I think so. I've been asking around.

I've been here for a couple weeks. Wait, what makes you think that they're here? Because that's where we got dumped out together. We got separated, but I assume that it was in the same general area. You saw them boots on the ground here in Vassaras? It was when they were going through the portal. But how do you know the portal

didn't send them out somewhere in Tal'Dorei? Send people a lot of places in a lot of ways. They are not reliable at all. I just need to be a little bit optimistic here. Yeah, yeah, yes, yes, yes. Dump them here. They could be here. It's the closest thing,

and the fact that I just ran into you. What are the odds? This just feels serendipitous. I just think, I think, I think they're here. I think they're here, and I think we're going to find them. What were they, if you're not sure what they were looking for,

what were they up to or interested in? Like, were they, I don't know, collecting flora and fauna? Were they looking for, like, do they have any gold? Did they tell you where we might find them? Did they have a favorite type of food that we could go check at those restaurants? I mean, they said they were really important

in the courts. Oh yes, very, very, very important. In the courts? We're very, yes. Like, judicial court? No, the Seelie Court. My family is pretty, kind of a big deal. Oh!

You're fancy. What does that mean, like your royalty? Well, I mean, pretty much. Yeah. The Seelie Court? Yeah. You're a princess? That's a lot of politics.

Well, I don't know if I would be a princess, necessarily. What, you're a princess? No, no, no, no, no, no. I mean, my parents would call me that, but. Are you fucking serious? You're a princess? No, no, no, no, no, no. I mean, my parents would call me that, but. Are you fucking serious? You're a princess? I mean, I certainly could be. Are you Princess Fearne?

I certainly could be. You can call me that for sure. I didn't know they were like royalty royalty. I just know that they're. Now I feel bad for being fucking like shitty DeDorian. You know, we don't necessarily have a... Like a hierarchy, like king or queen?

No, not necessarily that. We're just a very well-known family. This feels so complicated. Yeah. Like an influencer. And my aunties work at the court. I checked you out. Thankfully, it has not shifted. Why would they leave the Fey Realm

if they're so important and high up in the echelons? Well, because I... Because they're the only honor. They were on a very, very, very important mission. You are? No, my parents were. They had to leave. That's why they had to leave me with my grandmother,

because they had something very, very, very important to do. In where? I don't know. But that was 90 years ago. Well, I... Maybe. And you met up with them. What if she was there? The mission? The mission! Yes!

How did you meet them? Do you remember? Do you have any siblings? Such an unreliable narrator. I'm sorry! Not that I know of. I wish I had answers, too. Sorry. You're very... I saw you do a little bit of magic. Where do you get your powers from?

I clocked the tattoo that you have. Mm-hmm. I have one that's similar to it. Oh shit. Is it covered or uncovered? It's uncovered. You can see part of it peeking out. Fuck yeah. Is it moon stuff?

It's waves that terminates in geometric shapes. Ooh! How close is it to you? Same, but different. That's cool. Do you remember getting it? Mm-mm. Do you? Do I remember getting mine? Yeah, of course. Is it a sign of the Ashari?

Or is it just a neat tattoo? I think. I don't know. I would say it's a coincidence, but we are running into a lot of coincidences. Did you choose to get yours, or was it part of a ritual or something? mean, I would say it's a coincidence, but we are running into a lot of coincidences. Did you choose to get yours or was it part of a ritual or something? No, I chose it. These waves, would they be from the Water Ashari? I mean, they're invisible because this is D&D.

Do they look like Water Ashari design to me? I mean, very well could be. You've had minimal interactions directly with Water or Shari, especially of the warrior rank that take a similar tattoo spread as to what you have, but it seems like it very well could fit into a similar pattern, yeah. Do they do anything? Is it like a...

Oh my god. No, they're just... Water, yeah. They don't do anything. They mean something, but they don't do anything. What I noticed about you was your sword work is exquisite. Thank you. It's a good-looking blade, too.

You know, I don't want to, Rhom. Calm down, Orym. Jesus. Do you want to touch it? Your arm or the sword? Touch it. Yes. Can I try the hat? Yeah. I'm going to rip off

your hat and throw it back at you. Ah! It's getting hot in here. Do you have hair right now, by the way? No. No. So bald. I don't want to speak for Imogen or volunteer you know, in any way, but

Imogen is very gifted, very capable at peering into one's minds and thoughts. I mean, I'm no slouch either, but. And fresh cut grass, too. But Imogen is just so talented. I mean, I'm equally as talented. He's also here.

And, you know. Oh well. I don't, but I don't know. You can elaborate from there. I don't want to spill. What a terrible thing one must devour to celebrate the defeat of one such as the Rime Lord for one's winter crest.

How dastardly such an event is in the echoes of memory and history. Oh, woe be unto the elemental kings, but vengeance one day shall be ours. As he puts his hand out, he sprinkles cinnamon across this bowl with a series of straws in it. It has a thick cream-based rum drink that has all manner of like,

It's going to be so gross after the breeze. It has red and blue and green little puff balls that look like they've been soaking a little bit and trying to get a little soggy. They just slosh around and he sprinkles the cinnamon on it. Then there's a little spray of I get a little soggy. I just slosh around and sprinkle some cinnamon on it. Then there's a little spray of sugar on top. It's like snowfall, but he just throws it. He just doesn't give a shit anymore and then walks away.

Hold him, Silver! You're killing it! Dust. Thank you kindly! I'll kill you last! Ha ha ha ha! I love you so much! Take this back before I kill myself. Oh! Okay, there are three things I miss about so much. Take this back before I kill myself. Oh. Okay, there are three things I miss about this town.

I'm actually admitting, there are three things I miss about this town. Aw. Aw. Okay. Yeah, I... Your gal pal really gassed you up there. And you here in your head,

yeah, I can look into your mind if you want something like that. But there's no guarantee. We've run into issues before. It could be complicated. Does anybody else hear that? She's saying something in your head. When she goes quiet like that, it's just you two.

Oh. Yeah. We can tell that she's talking to somebody because her eyes crossed while she was doing it. All right. All right. All right, no. That's canonically what happens. You do not have a flesh tongue and I do not cross my eyes, all right?

Oh, I beg to do it. Oh no, no, no. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I take a knife and I. I have a flesh tongue.. Yeah, the flesh. Oh my god, I hate this. Go, fire! Fixed.

Back beast. Ugh! Oh, it's the worst. No, you said it like a window seat. You should do it. She's a skilled practitioner. It might reveal something that could help you. But if it's traumatic, it could be traumatic.

I mean, as you well know. Mm-hmm. What happened to you? Same shit as always. It was weird. I remembered a bunch of shit I didn't like, and it fucked me up. Enjoy. Well, when you put it that way, I don't, maybe. No, no, no, no. They've got a big hole in their dome.

It's different. I have another thought outside of that, which could be viable. I have this ability for, I could potentially try to reach out and make a connection with them personally. And now that I've seen that locket, I know what they look like. I'm familiar with their names.

I might be able to sort of find them? Yes. Do they have to be close or can they be anywhere? It can be anywhere. I know it's harder if they're not on this plane. So if they're in the... Then maybe I wouldn't be able to, but... See, she's very capable.

She's very capable. She's very capable, she's so capable. I think we should try it. Could narrow things down. It doesn't hurt to try it. Yeah! I look at the orb. It's not moving. All right. I'm going to take a look around just to make sure no one's listening in.

Make a perception check. Just a second, keep going. Just Blair Witching. Why are you going to pretend? Please. I would love that so much. Please, yes. That is a 11. 11.

The handful of other patrons that are here seem to be, for the most part, disinterested in your troop at the moment, except for, you can see, two, the two somewhat early day drinker Crawling Gang members that were cheering on the battle so aggressively earlier, both just sitting next to each other

and looking over your table with a pet. A non-hidden curiosity, but that's about it. Did they have a nickname that they called you by? Or was it Fearne, Fearne? Princess. Princess. Holy shit. All right. And what about you? They didn't call me that, I'm just kidding.

Oh, all right, well, that's fine. They just called me Fearne. They just called me Fearne. Okay. Yeah, I will. Yeah, come on! I will close my eyes and I'm going to try to reach out to Birdie.

Okay. Oh my god. Okay. Let's take a turn. Hold on. Whoa. Well, this is happening. Okay. But you won't be able to hear them. Shh, shut up, shut up. I'll take anything. MATT and MATT Shut up, shut up.

I'll take anything. All I can hear are buzzes of thoughts as I start to open my mind up more. Mm-hmm. We're in a dinner theater. Birdie? I'm here with Fern and Dusk. They're both looking for you.

We're in Bossera. Are you close? We want to find you. Desperately. There's a long pause. SAM and LAURA say, and then responding, a voice goes, I'm sorry. Out of personal care and

mistrust and safety, who am I speaking with? Shit. That's the only other spells I got. I forgot to tell him who I was talking to. Did you hear me? I did! Oh my god. I forgot to tell them who I was talking to. I haven't done this for them. Did you hear? I did! Oh my gosh! But they didn't tell me where they were.

They were a little mistrustful of my voice, understandably. That's okay, that's all right. That makes sense, that makes sense. Is there something I can tell them so that they know that I'm- Something that you would know for them? Yeah. Um, um, um, okay, okay. Oh my goodness, this is so exciting.

Okay, say that Fern's window at Grandma's was the big round window. Okay. I'm trying to think of what else. They remember my bird, Dr. Nesbitt. Dr. Nesbitt, huh? All right, let me. Dust, do you have anything you want to tell her?

Oh my god, she's alive. Just that... The glade. The glade. Okay. I'm going to reach up. And, and, and, and, and, bumpers and flompers, those are all my buddies that are there.

Okay. I'll start with these. Okay, okay, okay, okay. All right. This is all. Those 90-year-old vets. I want to go there. I want to meet Bonkers, the rest I'm not really into.

This is Imogen Tamalt. I'm their friend. Fearne's been reminding me of her round window at Grandma's house and her bird, Dr. Nesbitt, while dusk has been mentioned in the glade. Immediately, the voice responds, Oh my goodness. Our Fearne. Our fern!

Did you hear that? You said bossers. We're a few days out from our next trek. We'll meet at Joe's. Joe's. Joe's. Come on, Joe's. They were so happy. She was so happy to hear.

She was? Yeah. And I think she was trying to call for your dad, I think. She said they're a few days out, but they wanted to meet here at Joe's? Does that sound familiar? Joe's? Does it sound familiar? Both of you make a history check. Joes.

No problem! Nope, nope. Three, four. Oh no! Oh, you have no idea who that is. You're going to have to ask around. We'll ask around for a Joes. I've never went to any fucking Joes.

This is incredible. That was amazing. Yeah. I just, I, I, I can't believe this. This is so wild. This is... Long time coming. Yeah.

I just got so nervous. It's been a while. Thank you. Can we get eight more Ashari Breezers over here, please? Yes, we have the toast! Yeah! Oh my god. And some of the trinket bear claws. As you shout this out,

Erevan's over the mirror again, applying some makeup that's sweated off the side of the cheek before snapping his little hand-cased clothes and spins. Right away, for I wish to treat my quarry before I crush them. Ah! Then heads off to the bar.

He's ready, committed. Committed to the bits. He's in, committed. Committed to the bits. He's in it. Look at the bar. Look at the bar. Not moving. All right. I thank you. Thank you so much.

I take your hands and I don't know how I can possibly thank you. Is there anything that I can do for you? No, you're fine. Are you sure? Yeah, I'm sure. But thank you. Your friend was really right.

You're amazing. It's incredible. Thank you. It's a good look, though. Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's very aerodynamic. I think it's a good look, though. Oh yeah. Yeah, it's very aerodynamic. You have a very perfectly shaped head. I think a little bit of purple fuzz coming into it.

Is it really? Is it coming already? Yeah, it's not bad. I can feel a little fuzz. Yeah. Okay. So mean. Go for fuzz. Go for Fuss. Just a cold stare.

Wow. I didn't see that one. Well, we got to find out where Jowe's is, right? Yeah, we should ask around. Maybe our waiter knows about Jowe's. Oh yeah! I would say if you're going to ask around, ask around in here. It's relatively safe.

You're not going to get into anything, but just in general, be a little bit more careful who you talk to out there. Do not, well,'re not going to get into anything, but just in general, be a little bit more careful who you talk to out there. Do not, well, you're going to anyway, but try not to seem like tourists. Until you get robbed. I'm going to run over to the bartender.

I take off the paper crown. In here is fine. No, in here is fine. The paper crown. This is, it suits you. All right, you rush over to the bar and there you see this, the orcish gentleman that emceed the battle earlier.

You see him, he's late 20s, a little bit of an early receding hairline, but the long hair comes to a nice series of curls at the shoulder, a very nice deep green tunic that's deep cut with the threads of this thick cording woven between that's pulled to a bow in the center. Big fluffy sleeves and all manner of jewelry

across the fingers. Looks up at you with these deep-set gray-green eyes and a very well-kept grin with a little bit of a dark lip coloration across it to emphasize the features, leans in. Hi, how can I help you? Hi, do you know of a place here called Joe's? Joe's. Joe's.

Or is there anybody that goes by that name that might have an establishment of some sort? Nothing rings a bell to me. Hold on. Deneau? Do you know of a Joss? Deneau? Then the waitress, dressed as Zahn Tal'Dorei, comes around the corner and goes,

Joss, you mean like over in the Ends, Joss? The Imah, Joss? Imahara Joss? Maybe. What is that? He's one of them tinkerer types. Works with a lot of the crawler gangs. Okay. In the Ends over there. Okay, in the Ends.

Imahara Joss? Imahara Joss. Imahara Joss? Okay. Okay. This is really promising. Oh, this is really promising. The music box that you have hanging from the ceiling,

is that for sale? No. Why not? Well, most of the decor here was carefully imported from Tal'Dorei. These are all genuine relics from across the seas of the Ozmyth. Everything you see here has been acquired

and carefully maintained as part of our historical collection so we could bring to you nothing but the most authentic Tal'Dorei experience. Well. Well. May I? May I propose a trade? I happen to have items from Tal'Dorei. Specifically.

Specifically. I pull in my fur. I pull out an old teacup that is chipped, but it has a portrait that says, where did it go? Sorry, this is taking so long.

It's a big buildup. Oh, there it is. It's a portrait of a woman, and underneath it, it reads, The Lady of Whitestone. This is... I purchased this for a very high amount from, I've never been there, but this is from a, it was from there.

Make a persuasion check. Oh yeah. 16. 16. Takes a glance at it. Describe to me how you acquired this, if you don't mind. How I really acquired it? Yeah. Uhcribe to me how you acquired this, if you don't mind. How I really acquired it? Yeah. Uh-huh.

This was taken when we went to Stillben and was around when we went with Opal and Dariax and I. In Kymal? No. Back in. Or Byroden. Back in.

Byroden? Is it Byroden? Byroden. There we go. Sorry, sorry, sorry. That's all good. Byroden. And I stole it from a gift shop. Okay, fair enough. It's all right. Beautiful.

Looks at Iggis. I have quite a discerning eye for relics. Well, then you would know. This is authentic. It is. How did you come upon such a thing? I happen to know someone who somebody gave it to me. It was a gift because it was for my birthday.

Well, the fact that you are willing to part with this for such a establishment as this means that you respect the arts and wish to support them. Thank you. I think that music box has been towards the end of its life, perhaps, and I've been looking to trade it out. I'll accept your bargain.

Okay. Should you bring any other final relics around here, there are other bargains to be had, except for the mirror. The mirror stays. Okay. What is the mirror? It is a mirror. Yeah, but where from? What is its significance?

This mirror was imported from the elven city of Syngorn and was said to once belong to one of the lake masters there that kept an eye upon the lights of Catha as it bestowed upon the magics to its people. Wow. A magical mirror. Have you ever tried to cast a spell into it? Yes, many times. It is just a mirror. Have you ever brought it out into the moonlight?

Yes, that was the first thing we tried. Oh. Oh, just checking. No, but good looking, I appreciate it. Your music box, and unwraps the rope from it and hands it to you. Thank you. You can see it's been scuffed, it's been knocked around. It definitely has a few stains on it,

probably from wayward ale tossing, but it seems to function. Okay, thank you so much. Of course, thank you. Takes in very carefully, lifts the teacup, and starts cleaning it off of a little wayward scarf or piece of material he wipes down the edge of the bar with. You have a genuine piece of a taste of Tal'Dorei.

What are you? What are you going to do with it? How did that happen? Well, I have a plan. I have a plan. A plan? Yes, I have a plan for it. Chetney. Yes?

Do you do engraving? Of course. Could I have you write to Mama Brody and Papa Olly on it? I mean, yes, just in common, plain font. Would you like more calligraphy and filigree? Yes. Clearly. Wait, is that longer? Is that an extra charge?

Not for you. Really? You're giving it to me for free? Yeah. Would you like anything in return? Let's just talk about it later. Just one section or the whole side of it? I go, this is all, go nuts. This is your artistic expression.

Do whatever you want. Comic Sans is an odd choice. It's just a flurry. It's just a flurry. At which point your final round of Ashari Breezers arrives to the table. Can we, can we, oh yes, yes. To seeking and to finding. Yes.

And Tal'Dorei! To Tal'Dorei! Indeed. Here are the cups you requested to look at. These are fine, but a bit pricey. You can see there are a manner of these clay-pressed tankards that look, by intentional design, semi-fragile, so you have to replace them fairly often

if you misuse them. But you can see on one side, it has sculpted what looks almost like a recreation of part of the architecture of the Taste of Tal'Dorei. That spirals up. You can see it becomes a cluster of off-brand dragon heads that look like the Conclave curling up one side.

And then on this. I've painted all weird. Yeah, it's not done. It's slapdashing quick, but it definitely has way too much iconography jammed into it. It looks a mess. You get a discount on the brews on tap, if you get it.

If I have that cup? I'll take one. How much? Six silver apiece. Okay. I'll take one, too. I've got you, I've got you. Two of those cups, please.

No, I'm going in for one, too. Three? Three of those cups, please. Four cups. Ah, just! Eight of those cups, please. No, I'm going in for one, too. Three of those cups, please. Four cups. Ah, just! Eight of those cups, please. Discerning customers, you will make fine victims to the Rimelord when I freeze your corpses and leave them in eternal winter. Thank you, you guys have been great today, by the way.

It's going to be a really slow afternoon and you've really picked it up, so. It's nothing really slow afternoon and you've really picked it up, so. It's nothing like the gratitude of a theater major. Uh-huh. All right, look at the orb. They care? Unmoved. So now we have two places to go. Okay, well, okay.

They said they were a few days out. They said they were a few days out. They said they were a few days out from their travels. He didn't say they were a few days away from here. He said they were a few days, I mean, I wasn't in your head. Is that what you said? We're a few days out from our travels. The intent, you gathered, was

it would take them a few days to- Got it. That's what I picked up. Okay. The insinuation was that before their travel returned through Viserys. Okay. Okay. FCG Imogen's really good with the mice. I know.

Maybe if you could do the same sort of thing that I could do. Well, I was trying to read the subtle jitters of your irises as they got closer and closer together, but it was distracting because of your bald head. I heard that slap. closer together, but it was distracting because of your bald head. I heard that slap. I think it's beautiful. Fresh cut grass.

I was wondering if you would maybe just accompany me for a quick stroll of the gift shop. Yes, I would love to. Thank you for asking me. Unless you're still, you know. No, no, no, let's go. Okay. I don't know, what do I do with these breezers? I'll take that. I can take that.

I need help! I can take that. I'll take that. I'm going to go up with mine. I'm not drinking mine. No, I got to finish that. I can't finish mine either. This is so much. No.

What? That's A lot of alcohol. It's noon. It's the sugar that gets you. Yeah. Going gift shop? Yeah. All right. Heading to the back left of the bar area of the tavern,

the singular tavern in the city, there is an open doorway that leads to a small, almost like a closet with an island in the center that has a walkabout. So you can just walk through in a loop and find your way back out into the tavern. As you enter inside, you can see all manner of bare cloaks that are not a little frayed at the edges,

but they look like they're relatively easy to make and give that classic Tal'Dorei Traveler aesthetic. It's got an animal tail on the collar. Right, right, exactly. You can see more of the collector's mugs are stacked up in the back. Two have fallen and shattered and been pushed off onto the side.

You can see other replicas of the same weapons of Xandhal Dorre and King Orendrassig that are for sale, smaller sized and priced a little high. What are you looking for specifically? I just, I really more just wanted an excuse to chat with you in private. Oh. Did I do something wrong?

No, no, not at all. We're walking along, Laudna's just patting the t-shirts and the prop swords as we go, just aimlessly poking. You see, Imogen and I had a little bit of... We're in a rough spot. Oh. A little tiny, tiny bit of a fallout.

Are you angry with her? No, she's really upset at me, and rightfully so. Why, what'd you do? Okay, you know how I have the woman, Delilah, who just talks in my head, and she was the one who murdered me, and she's just like, I'll get woman, Delilah, who just talks in my head, and she was the one who murdered me, and she's just like,

I'll get you. Yeah, that's pretty messed up, yeah. You know how, have you noticed Imogen acting a little intense or on edge? Of course. Well, she's been turned into different colors, and she lost her hair, and she has horrible nightmares.

Exactly. Yeah. That rock that she had, do you know? I think I saw her holding one, yes. She got really attached to it. And, you know, of course I didn't, I was just concerned about her and her well-being. Just her mental state here recently. And I was afraid that maybe the rock

had something to do with it. And I got this impulse in the back of my head that was just wanting me to reach out and touch it. And I thought maybe I could discern something about it. Maybe I could sense a bit more of its origins and its purpose. And next thing you know, my grip locked onto it.

I couldn't open my fist and I lost control of my body. I felt the searing heat going through my arm. Then it was over. I looked down and the rock had shattered and I could hear, more like feel Delilah in my mind, like she was more powerful or satisfied.

She said something about how it was very dangerous and how she's protected us from its dangers. And that was it, and the stone is broken. I actually still have the shards of it. And you think, okay, and you think she's upset with you because you broke her? She is upset at me. She was instantly in tears.

Oh no. She thought I had lied to her because I promised her that I wasn't going to take the rock. I just wanted to look at it, and so she thinks that I lied. Well, okay. And I don't know what to do. First of all, you've already done the first step,

which is just talking about it and getting it out there, right? Okay, yes. That's fantastic. Do you feel any better having told me? Um, I think I'm still processing it. Okay, okay. Because at some point, you know,

you'll probably need to have this conversation directly with her when she's ready to hear it. When she's on her toes, right? But I have a question for you. You said you reached out and it was an impulse to squeeze and an impulse to break it, fueled by some sort of voice in your head. Are you sure?

Just throwing it out there. There's no, are you jealous of Imogen in any way? No! I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm just saying, is there anything that she does that you wish you could do? Or that an ability that she has, or a heartbeat or something that she has

that you don't have, that you maybe subconsciously wanted to get back at her for. No, no, it's not like that. The only thing I want for Imogen is the same thing that I've always wanted for her, which is to have a life and a youth and to go out and to see the world free of any type of burden like I had to experience.

You want these things for her because you can't have them yourself. Yes, I just want her to live her best life and to protect her from something that might hurt her. And I just, that's what I thought I was doing. That's a very noble thing to want for someone. And it's very generous of you to want that for her. I mean, I'm so sorry that you're going through this

and I would love to facilitate a meeting of the minds if you'll be up for it, and maybe I could talk to her and tell her how stressed out you are. Oh boy, you just pulled out a clump of hair there. With your permission, I could try to arrange a neutral space, a safe space where you both could talk? Okay. Well, like you said, I want this to all be on her terms.

What should I do in the meantime? What if she never comes around? What if she doesn't want to be friends again? What if it's ruined? You know what I would say? I would say, let's find a time when you both are in a space where you can both communicate openly and freely,

but not just any willy-nilly time, right? Don't just go up to her and start talking about it. Make sure that she's in a place where she's happy and safe, she feels safe. So keep her happy. Well, I mean. And keep her safe. Oh boy. All right.

Maybe just work on yourself right now. Just calm yourself. Which one of these plastic swords do you think she'd want? These wooden swords. I don't know if they have plastic in them. Doesn't strike me as a replica sword. What about this oven mitt? An oven mitt?

Everyone can use that. It can hide her hands, you know, if she, or keep them warm. Sure. Does she cook? No, I don't think so you know, or keep them warm. Sure. Does she cook? No, I don't think so. Well, it's still nice. You can, yeah. It says T-O-T on it.

What do you think that means? Taste the tabb'dor. Oh! Oh no, give me your tots. Tino, come get some tots. It says tot holder right there. Oh my goodness, that's a tot holder. That's fantastic, that's great. I think she'll appreciate this.

I'll get her this pencil, too. Sure, but you can't buy her happiness and you can't buy her forgiveness. But do. Sure, but you can't buy her happiness and you can't buy her forgiveness. But do it anyway, because it can't hurt. Okay. All right. Hey, you did nothing wrong. This was fine.

It was a mistake, and you'll make up for it, and you'll be better for it on the other side. Okay. And I think you're a wonderful person. Well, former person. Thank you, Fresh Cut Grass. And I hope you weren't offended by what I said at the table. You are very gifted and talented as well.

Oh, no, no, no, no. You were trying to build her up to cover for your insecurities. Sure, I got it. No, I feel it. It's fine. Okay. We're good. Nope. Thank you.

Would you like a pencil as well? Yes, I would. All right. Two pencils in this potholder, please. For silver of purchasing later, you acquire the remainder of your knickknacks and rejoin the rest of your troop. I already have a giant foam hat and a scarf and a terrible thing

that looks like a sweatshirt, but a jerkin-style one. It's really ugly branding. It's peeling already. You can see the letters, the detail's peeling already. Would fantasy foam hat be burlap, you think? Oh god! Lightly. Shoot. A special.

Shoot. Hat. That's very bastardous right there, yep. Yep. I want to toss a quick thing in. During all of that, when they leave and everyone's drinking, did you come here with that clothes or did you just purchase it?

Oh, I just went to the other shop and grabbed some. While everyone is rabble-rousing, I'm going to catch Imogen's eye across the table and just covertly go, Yeah. Did I hear that in here? Yeah. You okay?

I mean... You seem a little discouraged. Well... There's, you know, Orym. Oh, no, I'm good, thanks. Can I be honest? This is so dumb. Laudna and I had sort of a bit of a falling out.

A couple of days ago? Because that's how long you've seemed a little withdrawn. Which is okay. I mean, you know you're private, but you can tell. You know, she just sort of did something that broke my trust. It's weird because the longer it goes after, it feels like almost it was a good thing that she did,

but I can't tell her that yet because... I don't know. Then as soon as we get here, Dusk shows up and all of a sudden, I'm hurting, and Laudna's just living it up with this new person, smiling and laughing like she doesn't even care that we had a fight. So, sorry, that was loud in your head, and I apologize.

It's cool, it's cool. And now I'm bald, but that's fine. your head and I apologize. It's cool, it's cool. And now I'm bald! But that's fine. I like it and stuff. So yeah, I guess I'm a little distraught, Orym. On that, I mean, we figured out the blue thing. I'm sure we'll figure out the head thing. You have really fabulous cheekbones,

so you're selling it, but I'm sure we'll fix it. Yeah. I mean, fuzz is already, there was no fuzz. I'm like, we're not talking, but I'm still touching my head and looking at it. We're just nodding across the table. There was no fuzz right away, and there's already fuzz,

so I think that's a good sign, because hair doesn't normally grow back that fast. Back to the point. Yeah. I could definitely be wrong. I haven't known you that long, but I watch you and Lana together and you guys are so close.

I feel like, you know, you get, I see you get down on yourself and I think maybe it's just coloring your thinking a little bit. I mean, when you have a falling out with a friend, I don't know, I think breathe through it. That dead lady's got a lot of love in her heart. I know.

She's got a really good heart. Also, I don't know if I can listen. This guy's acting much longer. Also, you saved that elf's life. I see you kicking yourself, but you saved their life. Also, you just did an amazing thing for Fear Fern. That was a good thing you did. She seemed really happy. Let that sink in.

Yeah. Thank you. Brought a smile to my face. I hope everything's all right with them. I hope that it's a happy reunion. You know, look through it, but, you know, when you're ready, talk to her.

I know. I know. I'm a little embarrassed, but yeah. She won't care, I don't think. And also, I'm the new guy, but my door's always open. Thank you. Hmm? The Rime Lord has to deal with the coming lunch rush,

so we need you to leave. We got to go? Yeah, well, you know, you just turn around. Turn over. Imogen, I got you. I was in the gift shop, and I saw this pot holder in Thought of You. It's a tot on it.

A tot holder? It's a tot. Yes. And this pencil, it's purple, like your once hair. I check the ball. Oh. The ball is the same. You're wearing one of everything.

You've got head to toe, outfitted. Always good to support the arts. Oh, I couldn't agree more. Shit, I got to go get some stuff. I'll be right back. Do you also stock up? No, fuck that. Okay.

Real quick, Orym bolts to the gift shop and buys two toy swords. Okay, you got it. That'll be two silver. You got it. Will you get a t-shirt or something? Because that's Tasted Tal. Do they make t-shirts?

Four silver. Do they have a set of Tasted Tal Dory cutlery? Oddly, no. Shit! Fuck, Imogen wanted a t-shirt. You have a set of Taste of Tal'Dorei cutlery? Oddly, no. Shit! Fuck, Imogen wanted a t-shirt. I'd like to get one of the size that says, how do you want this?

How do you want this t-shirt? That's going to make a difference. Ooh. Those are back ordered. But they find one that's hidden in the back, so yeah, you can come back. Yay! I bring back Imogen a t-shirt

that says Whitestone is for lovers. Wow. Gets darker and darker. Always. Why did I open myself to this? Are we capable of tracking down this, our mark today? I mean, does that count as a short rest out of curiosity?

Yeah, you guys have been. Fuck yes! Have some drinks, have some meals, have some conversations, enjoyed some fine performance arts. Yeah, you've had a short rest, so you can take that. The short rest is in the mid-jewel. Every time.

Yeah. I'll just take that. 22 points on two. Hell yeah, dude. Fuck, I have an ability or something. Okay. Where are you off to now? Ooh.

We've got to go find this fella. Right? Yeah. So we head towards that unless somebody's got another idea. We're off to avenge. Perhaps a little scouting first? Fearne, real quick, how do you spell Olly? L-L-O-L-L?

O-L-L-I-E. Oh. Yeah. Shit. That's okay, just give it some flair. Do short rests bring back sorcery points at all? Because I just took a short rest and it brought back one of my sorcery points, which seems odd.

I don't know if I hit a button by accident or if it's a thing. I'll double check. Because I don't see anything about it. Is birdie also an IE? Olly olly olly olly olly olly olly olly olly olly. As in by Y? Is it B-I-R-D-Y or IE? Birdie, like a bird.

Yeah, but how do you spell it? Oh, B-I-R-D-I-E. Fuck! It's okay. There's no X in there! Where would the X come from? It's a Y! You were getting them on a long rest.

That's what I thought. That's weird. Hack the planet. I must have hit a button. It must have been user error and not D&D Beyond, where you can sign up for free using the link dndbeyond.link slash critters. Fantastic.

You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to hit another short rest and see if it clears another one. Go for it. Yeah. Drum roll. Nope, it was a user error. Okay.

There you have it, folks. Ta-da! All righty. So where are we off to now? We're going to follow the blip. Follow the blip. Follow the blip. Okay. Finishing your brief excursion

to the wondrous singular tavern known as the Taste of Tal'Dorei, you step back out into now the hot midday air of the Hellcatch Valley. The nearly cloudless, bright blue sky above and the glaring heat of the sun now upon you almost immediately kick into a sweat beneath your layers of clothing and armor.

And the day drinking. And the day drinking. There's so much sugar. Chetney? Yes? Those two assholes from the bar are going to follow us. I would love for you to keep an eye on that. Oh, baby.

Wait, I'm carrying this music box. I'm trying to work while I walk. All right, you know, I feel like. No, no, I like the challenge. Not a problem. All right. Okay, roll a perception check for me with disadvantage. Come on, we're in the originals!

Oh shit, the disadvantage! Fuck me, 11. Keep an eye, feeling pretty solid. All right. So, and following this a little bit further, you wind through the streets and the loud sounds of arguments and heavy banter echoing past various offshoot roads and alleys.

You walk past large field and plains-based horses. You recognize some of the breeds as being imports, not too far away from the region of the Shadowstorm in the Talon Highlands. That's where they came from, as a family. Mm-hmm. Pushing beyond that, you do follow the blip on this. It begins to shift to the left. Oh.

Oh, oh, oh. You got movement. Is it moving? Is it moving? I back up. It returns to where it was. Oh. All right. What? Switch directions.

I think we're getting very close to the left. Looking in the direction of where that blip is coming from, you see what is called the Bank of Renewal. Bank of Renewal? Is what it's labeled as. There are a number of thick tapestries that are affixed between heavy poles that have Bank of Renewal.

Market, open market, enter and purchase all sorts of various presentational banners. Looking past them, there is a heavy wooded fence line that marks the inside of what is a bustling marketplace. You can see all manner of small tents and sitting arrangements, benches. There are carts that are set up with their own presentational front

with heavy cloths and signage placed in the front, decorative banners and streamers, that arc from place to place. This is, in some ways, it reminds you of the Caravan Sarai that you spent the first night in, but larger than the one particular location. It is a large central courtyard, but maybe four, say,

four dozen or so shops of different sizes that are just sitting out in the open. There are all manner of individuals that live here in the city and are traveling through, traders and such, that are just sitting out in the open. There are all manner of individuals that live here in the city and are traveling through, traders and such that are also bringing their carts along and are just perusing the wares around you. We are just hitting all of the best hits of this town.

Holy shit. Fantastic. This place is great. Sorry, rocking our cloaks, right? Aren't we all? Yes. It's been a hot minute. Yeah, it's been a hot minute. A very hot minute. What are we doing when we find him? What are we all? Yes. It's been a hot minute. Yeah, it's been a hot minute. A very hot minute.

What are we doing when we find him? What are we doing? Oh, yeah. Good question. Because we have to capture him. We can't kill him. With capturing? I have, and I'm going to pull out

the little trap orb that we got from the Green Seekers. Oh, right. I have one of those left. That's really good. That we never used. Brilliant. I forgot about that. Should we kill him and then put him in the orb? We can get him. Exactly.

He might recognize many of us, unless someone can either disguise ourself, or if we had someone who he wouldn't recognize. Do I recognize any of the gajacandas in here? They're all manner of gajacandas. Okay. Anybody might give a fuck if we start a little bit of a ruckus.

Make a perception check. Oh, I can do that, yeah. Oh, I can do that. You might be in here. That's right. Yep, that's a natural 20. Oh shit. Dang. What's a natural 20. Oh shit! What?

Perception, 21. Great. You can see that there are, at first glance, about six gajakandas that are armored and keeping an eye on the surrounding space. You also know, having lived here previously, that most of the unspoken laws that guide the city, the interior of the city,

speak out against crawler gang infighting, meaning faction versus faction, any sort of violence from one crawler gang to another crawler gang. That is entirely considered uncouth and is punishable by the Gajahkandas or the union of crawler gangs within the city limits. Most of the things are free for all.

All right. So a little bit of scuffle, as long as it isn't identifiable as that particular kind of violence, probably should, with enough reason and conversation without having an issue. Cool. Well, he's here close,

but we don't know how close or where. Yeah, see how sensitive it is when I move the ball. Okay, you know, he's somewhere. Once you're in 30 feet, it just loses the sensitivity and it just says you're nearby at that point. Plus this place is packed. Yes. So we don't want to do everything.

How do we find everything? Are there, Matt, are there buildings that are more than one story high here? No, and there are no focused buildings. Are there buildings that are more than one story high here? No. There are no focused buildings. It doesn't need to be a handful of small storage facilities. Most everything out here is mobile and can be set up and taken down quickly.

It's like a swap. Yeah. It's like a large flea market. Okay. Wait, who's got the hall? I do. Yeah, I'm going to put the music box in there. I want to have both hands available. Yes, of course.

That's a whole conversation. We have a whole. That's a whole conversation. How's your whole family? We're going to put the music box in there. Fearne has a whole thing. Wait, but how? Well, it's... This opens up to

a 10-foot deep, 10-foot in diameter hole. That's girthy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's girthy. You can put stuff in it. Yay. Yay, Cam. Then you can fold it back up, and it's this. Well, don't fucking put it away. I got to put the box in there. Wait, but how do we do it right here? Yeah, we don't want to do it in there. We't fucking put it away. I got to put the box in there.

Wait, but how do we do it right here? Yeah, we don't want to do it in here. We can't do it here. We got to wait. Give it to me. Coward. I can hold it. No, you can't look at it before I finish. Oh, okay, okay, okay.

I won't look at it. The hole is like a rolled up beach towel, right? Isn't it a fabric thing? Yeah. Maybe you have to place it on the ground. Yeah, you got to go. I've watched Looney Tunes. It's fine, it's fine, it's fine.

I've worked with Nott. Do you want to put it in my Yeah, you got to go. I've watched Looney Tunes. It's fine, it's fine, it's fine. I've worked with more. Do you want to put it in my body until you need it? Oh! Oh! Oh! That's how! Oh! Oh my god.

You can just store it in here for an hour or something. I don't trust you. Just move the tongue out of the way. Oh. That's fine, it's fine. I hate it so much. I's moving the tongue out of the way. Oh. It's fine, it's fine. I hate it so much. I got one hand, I'm good. No, no, no, no, no, we got it. We need to have your hands.

I hate that. Let's make a human shield real quick to hide it. Is there a head, Marius? You're going to make a circle up? Yes, you're going to huddle like someone's getting changed. Come on. It's so obvious at all. While we're huddling, I'm just looking around like,

oh god, who's watching us? Let's make a spectacle of ourselves. Okay, so you all huddle up in a circle and you place the material out into the ground. It unfolds and there is a darkened expanse in between you. Close your eyes. I put it in, drop, oh shit. You're like some spring.

Wait, can I put some stuff in there? Wait, wait, wait, can I put some stuff in there? Wait, wait, wait, can I put some stuff in there too? Okay, here, wait. It's going to break, they're plates, it rattles. SAM and LAURA, SAM and LAURA, SAM and LAURA, down, down. Pick it up, pick it up. Any more?

Fold it right back up. How many people were watching us do that? Glancing around, two people. They're just like. They go about their business. It's not a very crowded bazaar at the moment. All right. That's right, nothing worth dying over.

Never seen a pocket dimension before. Let's just scan around, see what we see. Should we split up? I think it's small enough that if we split up, if someone just makes some noise, we should be able to hear everybody, right? Show Dusk what Treshi looks like. Is there anything you can do?

Yeah. I can't really create images. I can. I can. He can. Oh. Yeah. Little face of Armaj, doesn't he? So you can see the long, dark hair,

the deeply tanned skin, well-kept facial hair, and the dwarven-esque features to them. He could be in disguise, though. He's got vitrine on his cheek. He might look a little different. Okay. Yes.

That's what we planned. That's a... Can you do your brain thing, too? Scan the crowd, maybe hear some chatter? I don't know how it works. I can try. But the more people that are around, the harder it is to distinguish.

Do a visual scan first. Can you be selective with it? Can you just stay in our heads? If I open it up, I open it up to everybody. You know, I can talk to you, but if I'm trying to read a thought, if I'm really opening it up, it's... Everything. Yeah.

Okay. Well, let's just start making our way. All righty. So are you keeping a loose cohesion? Are you spreading out a bit? I would split it to three groups that can all message each other. Yeah, that's smart.

You can message. I can message. I can send at least a vibe. And I can message. All right, so we have to. You're team captains. Okay. Oh goodness, should we bolt a parchment shears to see who picks first?

I'll go with you. There, that is done. Okay, okay. Sure. Do you want to be on my team? Yes, I do. I'll stick with you, too. All right. And Chetney, you're with Ashkahn.

It's an honor to have you aboard. I would say the same. Yeah, I'm very excited to have you. I think our chances of success are the greatest. I agree. Let's roll out. You dicks. Respect the autonomous. The alpha.

See you when you sleep. Okay, so who's helming the orb and guiding the initial? I guess I still have the orb, unless I want to hand it to us. Does anyone want to take this? No, you. I mean, is it still far away?

Or where? No, it's like distant. As you're walking through the bazaar, you can see the marker is shifting pretty quickly, which means you're getting fairly close. Okay, we'll continue distantly following Laudna's. We'll ping the group's heads as we go on. You got it.

Little north-north. You at the center line, following the GPS, and us spread out at a distance. Okay. Tense as you all splinter off into your groups, independently, but still following the positioning, you, Laudna, alongside Dusk, guide the pathway, watching it as it shifts and turns to the left.

It's going to be discreet. Yeah. Glancing down, it looks like it begins to move rapidly enough that you notice it's guiding you towards a large tent, like a multi-interior suspended tent of three different points that cascades outward on each side, and there is a large drapery

that blocks the interior. Now, as I can see, the River of Renewal is the title to it. The River of Renewal Tent. I don't recognize, there's nothing in my memory of this kicking around, is there? I mean, this whole area is just a central trade post in the middle of the town. A lot of traders come through here,

pawning off things, picking up things, or just looking for goods as they pass through. So you know of it. You haven't spent a whole lot of time here because you never really had much to trade, other than the few things you'd fence or steal. Is there more than one entrance to this tent? Or?

It looks like there might be a back entrance, but that's based towards the outer wall, the heavy wooden gate that encircles the courtyard. But it's probably accessible if you were to be careful about it. Do we hear anybody in there? Make a reception check. Nine.

Nine? You don't hear anything come out from the inside of it. How big is the tent? From end to end, from what you can see, it's probably about 40 feet across. So it's a decent size, but it's not a circus tent of massive proportions. Can I ask everyone,

what's the deal with your pocket ball thing? I will tell you in just a moment. But I'm going to lean against the wall, the back wall, next to the tent, and keep my distance from everybody else. Then I will open up my mind and try to hear his thoughts

or hear the thoughts of the people from the inside of the tent. Okay, all right. So as you- So is anybody around? How many people would be near me? Two people. If you push everyone else beyond your radius,

then it would be only two other people. Okay, then I'm fine. Okay. As you allow your mind to expand, you bring down the barriers that you're so used to reflexively keeping up for your own protection. In doing so, that muttering static that perpetually, aggressively simmers

at the outskirts of your perception begins to filter in. Through that wave, that rush of energy, both euphoric and energetic, but also loud, the two voices whisper through and find their way to your ears from beyond. There are two individuals, male and female. One of them is in the process of counting.

The other one seems to be bored. He's contemplating the slow morning. Do I recognize them? Neither of them, from what you can tell, no. What's the ball say? Shit. It's pointing in the direction of this tent. Outlook, Cloudy. Huh? Outlook, Cloudy. Outlook, Cloudy.

Ask again later. Give me a second, I'm kind of curious. Can I grab that? Yeah, pass it off to Ashton. Tracking the person? I'm going to start just trying to make my way to the back of the tent to see if it's still pointing at the tent.

It shifts pointing towards the inside of the tent. So it's definitely in there. Pretty directly. Me and Chet are going to walk around the back. Yep. I'm going to throw up a Locate Object and try to find the coin. So you put a ring on this person. The ring.

And you're tracking the ring. Shit. Yeah, that's what I call it. Son of a bitch! You get the sense that indeed this ring that you've been following is somewhere inside that tent. Okay. Oh, he pawned the ring.

Maybe, we don't know. Um. Might have. Ooh. We don't know. I'm bored of this, I'm going in. Should we want Dusk to go in first and see if she gets eyes on him before we reveal ourselves?

Walk in real quick. If you don't see anything, we're coming in. Okay. Let me walk on in. Okay, so you walk in and you walk in? No, no, no, I'm waiting. You walk in and both of you are going in the back. Yeah, we're going around in the back.

Initiative! But before Dusk goes in, I'm going to make eye contact with her. Tell me if anything goes weird. With your mind powers. Heather, tell me if anything goes weird. With your mind powers. Wow. I mean, that's kind of weird, right? Should I?

Oh, okay, right. Okay. You both square off to the back portion. You can see there is a thin slit to the back that leads into the interior. In the back, you can see there's a thin slit to the back that leads into the interior. In the back, you can see there's a few empty boxes and things used for the carrying and delivering of goods. You walk inside and you can see

there are three oil lanterns hanging from metal hooks that are driven into the three large mast-like pieces of wood that hold up the tent with ropes between them. Along these, beautiful bits of jewelry are hanging, all manner of gold chains and beautiful bits of decoration. You can see there are fine robes and travel garments as well

that are hanging on the far back wall. There are cases of gemstones that have been placed upon velvet and put under these mobile pieces of glass that are locked into place. This looks to be a shop of some kind. As you walk in, you can see there's a younger woman to the back with brown hair that's been sun bleached

to be more of a light auburn, and a beautiful, smooth brown skin who's looking down and counting something before glancing up and noticing your entry. Another man, a little bit older, similar features, but shorter, hair that flares out on the edges just beyond his ears, looks over towards you and sets down a satchel, clears his voice.

Welcome. How may we be of service to you? Oh, I'm in the market for some jewelry. Of course, of course, happy to help, yes. What are you looking for? Something to match maybe a gold chain, so anything like bangles or rings or... Oh, but of course, happy to present to you.

Anything new and exciting? We have a number of things that have come in recently. What sort of aesthetic are you trying to match? I want it to be like, if, do you know what glitter is? If there was a highly concentrated explosive device that could carry all of that in it, and then it went off on me.

Let me see what we can muster. Thank you. What did the ring look like? Oh, I will describe it in detail. A relatively simple platinum band with some lines and scrolling on it. It's detailed enough to remain masculine, but in doing so is also plain.

Understated would be the word. Okay. Where did this one come from? Make a perception check to see if you can locate the one that she is, in particular, describing. Oh. Hmm. Oh no.

I have no idea. So how many understated ones are there? You watch as he pulls out a little box and opens it up and begins to put out handfuls onto this pillow, and there are probably four dozen rings of all different kinds. I mean, there's some gold and some that are encrusted, but there's six that are all just simple platinum bands

of different widths and different designs. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Okay, any more detail about, like, you know? You know what? I'll take them all. How much is it? Well, these are a plethora of silver to platinum and gold. These...

What does it make sense of? Maybe ask him. Turns back and looks. Just the six ones. Maybe ask him if any came in recently. What was the most recent one that came in? You like things that are... I like, I want something new.

And which is the newest one of them? Do you suppose? Strange request, but... We're coming in. Are you coming in? No, I'm just excited! The most recent one was two mornings ago. And pulls out this beautiful little golden

twisted band that ends in this tiny little pinprick of a ruby. Looking close, it has these two small serpent heads that are really simple that bite into it. That sounds cool. That sounds awesome. But it's the wrong one. Varn. Huh? Ask, tell him,

oh, tell him you really like dwarven jewelry. Do you have anything sort of chonky, like dwarven made? Well, if you're looking for recently, there is also this one. It pulls up this thicker-looking, relatively simple platinum band with some lines scrawled into it. Looks very similar to the one that you were given

and descriptive enough to your mind. Um. Yeah, this one's weird. What did this one, when did this one come in? Oh, this came in about a week ago, I think. Is that right, Dumas? Yes, about a week ago. Hmm.

Mm-hmm. Four or five days. We've got everybody inside. Grapple cannon is loaded. Who, do you all know what the, was there some, did a dwarf actually give it to you? Like a craftsman himself? It is policy not to disclose our providers. You understand, professional reasons.

But I mean, you know. But it comes from a lineage where it would be consistent in quality. That seems a little vague to me. I mean, can't you give me any more? Let's just say the individual who sold this could afford the finest of jewelry. And parting with this means that the finest of jewelry

could once again be useless. Mm-hmm. Okay, all right. You should tell me about who gave you this ring. Suggestion. Yeah! Oh, go! That's the stuff.

There we go! Come on. Come on, come on. Jedi mind tricks. All right, here we go. You will tell. Hmm. What's the DC on this? This is super high level.

DC 18. Should be 16. Ooh, that's pretty high! Okay. As you focus intrinsically and I will say... Okay. There's not a somatic, just a material component,

which is easy enough to, I'll say make a sleight of hand check for me, if you don't mind. Because there are two figures in here. And the other is watching closely in this encounter. Come on. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Make it up for that one. 21. 21, okay.

So as you clasp the component for the spell or put your fingers around your focus and whisper forth the requested words to create the suggestion within the figure, you watch him look at you with this coy smile. His eyes go slack for a second and his jaw opens ever so faintly. Like for a brief moment, his brain just goes blank

and the smile curls up once more. Yes, it is a gentleman we see and hear from time to time named Armand Treshi. He's quite involved with one of the crawler gangs of the city. Probably, if I recall, based on his companions, where he is now. A smile.

Do you get all that? Yeah, which gang? Oh, which gang would that be? The Paragon's call. They are... Great. Oh, but, oh yeah. They are a bit...

Oh, right. A bit in a do yeah. They're a bit, um. Oh, right. A bit in a dogged state with the other crawlers. When are all of them not? Am I right? Anything else? Oh yeah, does he know where they meet? Where could I find more craftsmanship like this? Like, from, I want to know more.

Where do you think I could find this gentleman? The spell itself is beginning to, I'll say. Oh god. No, it's Concentration. Mm-hmm. Well, for this, you know, and it is still the same request. You okay? I'll let it go, yeah. The spell itself goes, well, if it is still the same request. You okay? I'll let it go, yeah. Himself goes, well, if it's with the call.

At this point, you're noticing over that the woman who's also in this place is looking like, with the eyes, like, what the f? You're just spilling the beans, that kind of expression of, what are you doing? There's the Seat of Disdain is the fortress that they call. Seat of Disdain, is the fortress that they call. Seat of Disdain. Seat of Disdain.

Seat of Disdain. Seat of Disdain. Seat of Disdain. Yeah, I will say, his presence here was more subdued. He was keeping to himself, which was unlike him, which means he's probably on the lam. So if he is hiding, that would likely be where. He'll catch Allie, am I right? Mm-hmm.

We are home to those who cannot find home elsewhere. Yeah. Yeah, we are. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Do you want the ring back? Yeah, get the ring, get the ring. Sure, depending on the price. How much is the ring back? Yeah, get the ring, get the ring. Sure, depending on the price. How much is the ring? Oh, for this, based on the exorbitant amount

that I paid for it initially, and the individual in the craftsmanship which it hails, I would put this at about 250 gold pieces. Oh, fuck that. Do they ever, do his clientele ever come back to repurchase the jewelry? Is it like a pawn shop in that way? It's not a pawn shop.

He's never going to come back for this, right? He very well might. It is part of our business. Oh, then maybe leave it here. All right, well, I would hate to deprive such a, somebody of such a treasure, so I'll leave it for now, but I'm thinking about it. I'm thinking about it. I'm thinking about it.

I'm going to browse around and then come back. Thank you. You can see the open energy seems to withdraw slightly and the glance of window shoppers comes over. Of course, yes. Well, you know where to find us. He puts all the rings back in the wooden box and shunts it beneath the countertop

and immediately goes back to his counting, but keeping an eye on you as you go. His compatriot is still going like, I didn't take anything. I promise, I'm just very indecisive. Come again. Sooner or later. So now we go to the Paragon's Call.

Ready? Two, one. Down the chamber! Where is he? Where is he? Where is he? You see he? Where is he? What? You see the woman has reached under the counter and has grabbed what looks to be a flintlock and is like. Oh no, no, no, sorry, sorry, sorry.

I don't think our quarry is here, eh? No. Oh, fresh cut grass. I think we got everything we need. We could go. Must be a malfunction. Ah, I see. Sorry, master. On the fridge again.

Sorry for the false alarm. Get out. Only because we want to. Let's go. All right. You gather up once more. Yes, Dusk. That was awesome.

Thank you! That was so scary! Very impressive. You did great. You did great. You're so moist. Yeah. It's also incredibly hot in this tent.

It's very hot. So should we seek out Seat of Distain? Yeah. Seems like we've got a little bit of time since Mom and Pop are going to be here. Fortress floated. Fortress? Yeah, didn't I hear the word fortress?

You did, yeah. Oh great, it's a fortress. Hey, didn't Paragon's Call have some interest in you? I mean, technically, yeah, although that was a while ago and very far away. I mean. Oh, yeah, they were like. The guy that beat the shit out of you. Yeah, it's like, do you ever want to go and?

It was a pretty even fight. It was down to the wire. He beat the shit out of you. It was down to the fucking wire. All right. Down to the wire. He said if you ever wanted to earn some real money, right? You'd look him up. Yeah.

Oh shit. Maybe you're looking him up. Infiltration time. What the fuck was his name? I'm looking him up. Sergeant Slaughter, I think it was. General Ratanish. General Ratanish. Yay! You got a promotion.

I like this plan. Oh boy. The trouble is going in on your own is tricky, and they're also going to know who I am. Well, yeah. Which means you can go in by yourself, maybe scout the place, and then... And they don't know me, I can go with you.

That's true. Also, he doesn't know that we're looking for him. He doesn't know that anyone's looking for him. He sold the ring, though. Maybe he needed some moolah. Maybe. As an alternate option, maybe, probably, we could also just stake out the place and wait until he takes a walk.

He was very protective over that ring. It was clearly of utmost value to him. The fact that he would sell it, I mean, he's the lord of a house, so I don't know. I just think we should go in cautiously. Sure, sure, I would agree. Take a look, and if it seems like sending me in is the best plan,

I will go in and take a look. But any time you start dealing with the Crawlers or any of the gangs, things get complicated. It's the only politics in this fucking town. And anything else goes, but this is the one place that you have to be very, very fucking careful. That's something that you're good at? I know the town. I grew up here.

Okay. Do we know where the Seat of Disdain is? You would know, actually. It's in the Westregs. Westregs. Do we think there's a chance that he caught wise? I would think you'd want to get it further away from him. If he did. I think he's probably just desperate for cash.

Yeah. You do recall that Eshteross mentioned that he left behind most, all of his stuff, because he left quickly and just took what was necessary. Would I remember that that's a safe house, too? That that's one of the things that... It's possible. You didn't have a lot of dealings with the call.

No, really not. In fact, you avoided most of the Crawler gangs from the time you were here. You just know where it is, and you know that that is the base of operations for the Paragon's Call. And it's a safe fortress. it's not like a castle. No. It's a well-defended, three-story stone building with defensible battlements,

in case there's any recurring, as history has proven, scuffles with other crawler gangs and other individuals that are seeking entry. Gotcha, gotcha. But. Let's go. As you muster the courage to pursue this new thread and where Treshi has seemingly clamped down for his own personal protection,

as well as the other unraveling threads of interesting serendipity and curiosity, we're going to go ahead and take a break. Yay! Holy shit! We'll be back here in just a few minutes interesting serendipity and curiosity. We're going to go ahead and take a break. We'll be back here in just a few minutes to pick up from there and see where the hell this group of assholes is off to. So we'll see you shortly. It's getting good.

Thank you for listening to Critical Role. To dive deeper into the lore and characters of the campaign, check out Foresighted Dive, our monthly talk show that features a roundtable discussion between four guests with a host chosen by rolling the dice. Foresighted Dive features questions curated by

our production team, evergreen fan submitted questions pulled from the Tower of Inquiry, and plenty of hijinks and party games as well. Watch Foresighted Dive the first Tuesday of every month at 7pm Pacific on twitch.tv slash Critical Role and youtube.com slash Critical Role with the VOD available on YouTube the very next day. And of course, each episode releases right here on the Critical Role Podcast Network one week after the initial broadcast. There'll be

plenty more to dive into later, but for right now, let's get back to the adventure. And welcome back. Brilliant. So, Bells Hells, after being in search of the whereabouts of Amon Treshi, the reason for you coming to Basurus under the employ of Lord Eshteross once more, Being in search of the whereabouts of Armand Treshi, the reason for you coming to Bassuras

under the employ of Lord Eshteross once more, you sought out the particular ring that held the enchantment of which you were seeking him and found the ring had seemingly been pawned in one of the local flea markets within the city. However, through some quick work and magical influence by your new companion Dusk, you found that the whereabouts of this Armon Treshi

may reside within a small fortress that is held by the Paragon's Call, known as the Seat of Disdain. You've gathered your things, gathered your thoughts, and with the guidance of Ashton and his history and knowledge of the city, his layout, you're heading in the direction, I believe, of this particular fortress.

Is there any preparations or any conversations you wish to work out or plot for in advance on your way? Nope, just give me a go. Perfect. Oh, we'll go great. Walk towards it. Should we... How do the Crawler Gangs work? Do they have certain territories within the city,

or is it just? I mean, in theory. In practice, it's more like there's a hierarchy less than territories, if that makes sense. I don't really know who's where these days, but the All Mindsburn are just running around. Gajahkandas are in charge. Fists of the Ruiner are just whatever the fuck

they want to be at any moment. Then Paragon's Call, I don't know, the last time I was here, they were large and intense. I don't know how they're doing these days. Yeah, and it caught your attention to see the Paragon's Call being presented in Jrusar as a legitimate defense force,

knowing where they came from. And that caught you a little odd. Yeah, they were not exactly what you would consider to be a legitimate group of people last time I was here. That was... I'm surprised to see them leave the city, let alone have a reputation. That's weird.

How long ago were you here? Oh man, it was double digits, at least. It was a very, very long time ago. It's been a very long time. All right. If they're trying to be legitimate, maybe they'll actually open the door and talk to people. Yeah, they will.

Oh god. Continuing onward, you watch as you push further towards the direction of this Seat of Disdain, whatever that may conjure in your mind upon approach. Which thing? Seat. Disdain.

Of disdain. Seat of Disdain. That was pretty stupid, but I respect it. Passing by the crowd as you go, weaving between the clusters of individuals that call this place home, keeping your hands close to your pockets and coin purses as you do,

you catch an interesting visual, fresh cut grass, of one individual who is currently moving forward on a wagon with all sorts of wares in the back of it stacked up. As opposed to a horse or an oxen or some of the beast of burden, there is an odd, almost beetle-like automaton with eight legs,

almost more arachnid-like, that has three different, unmatching pairs of legs that currently skitter and pull forward, leaving an odd scraping formation in the dust and sand behind it, pulling forward. In a lot of your journeys, you don't see a lot of out-in-the-open automatons, let alone those that are quirky in their presentation.

But it does give you a sense of home, if anything was, being surrounded by other such oddities as you find yourself to be. I'll say hi and just see if they have communication skills. Okay. Hello there, hi. Hi. Smiley day to you.

Hello. The person at the back of the cart. Smiley day. Oh, okay. It's so curious how they're so different. I agree. Do they not have souls? No, neither do I.

This is a question of debate in the group. I don't know if I agree with that. Well, I'm like them. And you're like you. No, you're not like them, FCG. Well, I'm just a bit more sophisticated in my design. You have thoughts. I hear them. I have a complicated set of inputs and outputs that have been designed into me.

I think we can agree that you're a rarity. FCG. Have you ever thought maybe you're like me? You were once alive. Ooh. And now, you're in a puppet. Whoa. Whoa. If I had a mind, it would be blown right now.

That could be true. What if I'm a shell, a husk of an old person or something? But now you're you. That's pretty cool. Exactly. I feel like it probably doesn't matter so much about what the shell is like, so much as what's in wherever...

Poke poke. I don't know. Yeah. Poke poke. What? Do you have a heart? Nope. I don't know. Okay. Aren't you curious about you? You're all forgetful about yourself as well.

No, I've got you guys, and I've got my stuff, and I have a couple of quests on the docket. Two? More than one? Yeah, two. Like the one with us and then the one for yourself. There are three of you. So I feel like it doesn't really matter as much all the time.

I let my past inform who I am, but I don't get too hung up about it. It's very mature and healthy of you. I must admit that I don't share that confidence. I would really like to know what I am and where I came from. What do you want to be? I'd like to be like you all.

I'd like to be able to smell and taste and dream and fart. That last one's not necessary, but it seems like you all really like to do it. It's fine. I mean, if you'd mentioned this before we left, we could have had Milo work that in. I don It seems like you all really like to do it. It's funny. It does provide a lot of relationship. If you'd mentioned this before we left, we could have had Milo work that in. I don't feel like you need a soul for do that.

Anything can do that. Not just the action of it, but the internal satisfaction, the cosmic satisfaction that you all seem to feel. It's true. Anyone who says they don't like it is lying. That's true. It's a really pleasurable experience.

It is. Bodily functions rule. like it is lying. That's true. It's a really pleasurable experience. It is. Bodily functions rule. Rub it in now. I mean. I'm just joking. I don't know, I bet like... See? It's all about what's in your mind, because when something really good happens in my body,

it happens up here, you know? I feel like you could probably work something out with that. Is this something? Is this something? Maybe, maybe. Okay. Mm-mm. I'll practice. I'll practice. Sometimes it's nice to.

You all hear the heavy impacts getting louder and louder. At first, they seemed somewhat distant, but you feel the vibrations, gentle at first, begin to grow with each heavy impact. You watch as in this one bit of open clearing that seems to lead and spread outward into a wider thoroughfare that eventually leads to the exterior of the large red walls,

the Carmine Curtain that signifies the exterior of the inner city of Bassuras. You watch as a massive cobbled metallic beam of gears and pulleys and odd metal bands and rods that work and scrape against each other, giving heavy grinding noises and the sound of sparks and metal pushing against metal. As coming around the corner, these massive, curled, almost spider-like limbs,

maybe three to four feet in width, begin to impact. As it pushes past, you can see what looks to be a crawler gang, fully armored, keeping a perimeter. As it moves beyond, you can see platforms, two of them, that are affixed atop of these legs. There's no central body or any sort of humanoid form to it. This looks to be a moving platform with,

at a quick glance, maybe five, six legs of different sizes and makes that move it slowly across the ground. You can see on the lower platform, there are about five other crawlers that are hanging on to cables and ropes, staring down and glowering over the rest of the crowd in the streets as they give a wide berth.

On the upper platform above that, you can see almost like a crow's nest scenario with one other crawler up there with a long spyglass and what looks to be some sort of a mounted long rifle, reminiscent of some of the ones that you've seen designed in Whitestone. Though this one is more of a unique Marquesian spin on its particular make.

But as they move past, it begins to take up speed and move with a rapidity that you weren't expecting. Not anywhere near as fast as the skirmish crawlers that you've seen within, but definitely this could move a large group of individuals quite a distance rather rapidly.

Can I orem a clock or zero in on what is powering this thing that's so big? Make a perception or arcana, your choice. I will do perception always. That is a 18. 18. Glancing amongst this particular structure, this massive automaton-like entity,

there are three different places within its body. One that's affixed underneath the main platform on the bottom, one that rests on top and to the right, and then one that sits catty-cornered to the underneath base of that crow's nest portion of its design. There's these metallic cages that hold within them these faint bluish-purple gems that crackle it and glow with arcane energy. Occasionally, you see them spark. They flare and bits of arcane sparks shower out and glitter to the ground and scatter a bit.

As they do, you can see waves of that same arcane energy flood through these little marketed, almost rune-like grooves that run through the entire network of metal plates and odd bits of scrap that are affixed to it. run through the entire network of metal plates and odd bits of scrap that are affixed to it. Most of the coloration of it ranges from gunmetal to shiny bits of silver that are maintained well in some areas, a majority of it in that brownish-red rust that has let the elements take over. Still functional, not being eaten away,

but definitely living within the aesthetic of Vassaris and the surrounding Hellcatch Valley. The funds aren't there to keep it looking pretty. Functional is really the main keyword, which is interesting because as it gets quite a distance away, you watch one of the legs suddenly shower out sparks as it buckles and the whole platform lists to one side and a bunch of them

almost slide off and catch themselves. One person leaps off onto the ground and goes, God fucking damn it, and kicks the edge of it, and shouts out to somebody else who throws down some sort of an odd leather bag, and they catch, throw over his shoulder, and start pulling through. You see them now trying to figure out how to fix it

and just cursing themselves as you see more arcane sparks fly out. The sense of awe and wonder that you had kept for this is diminished slightly as the crowd begins to go about the rest of their business. The silence that seemed to have captured the center of this open area of the city now giving way to the general energy you're used to.

Was there a group insignia anywhere on that? Make a perception check. I hate my perception. Is that just not? Okay. Yeah, you didn't make out enough. At the time it was going by, you didn't get a quick glance. You could rush up if you want to, to get a closer look.

It's not like it's a hidden detail, but it's far enough away where you'd have to make yourself known to do so. No. There's two options where that would be stupid. Do you think that was Paragon's call? I don't know, it didn't give the vibe. My immediate guess is all minds burn,

but I'd have to go over and check, and then there'd just be this person going over there to check, if that makes sense. Yeah. And I'm not really in the mood to have a conversation with those people. All right. However, not too far beyond where this display

found you in the middle of the city, you do see the midday burning plumes of black smoke that burn from the rooftop burn piles that connotate the top of the three-tiered stone fortress that is the Seat of Disdain. Glancing beyond, you can see there is a small wall that mimics the carmine curtain around the city. Only instead of a deep red sanguine coloration,

this has a painted sky blue that is streaked from the occasional monsoon rains and left to give this weathered, melting sense to the exterior coloration. Beyond these crennellated walls that end in these large, jagged bits of broken metal, as opposed to fine, metallic, you know, wrought iron pokers at the top,

it is just jagged bits of scrap that is aligned and set within the stone up top that, upon a close look, you can't tell which parts are rust and which parts are caked blood. of scrap that is aligned and set within the stone up top that, upon a close look, you can't tell which parts are rust and which parts are caked blood. And even just at a sideways glance, whatever it can't cut will definitely hurt if something were thrust or to fall upon it.

Beyond that, I'll allow that. Mm-hmm. The front gate that's nearest facing you to it is a tall wooden door that's been reinforced with iron fittings that are bolted inward and help reinforce it. So you can see the wood itself is rotting a little bit, but it's thick enough that it would take many, many years

before it actually became a nuisance. And the iron is just there to preserve it for as long as it can. Beyond the second and third tier of this fortress, which you can see is pretty standard rectangular design, nothing fancy, nothing visually distinguishing beyond it just being a functional fortress. You can see there are a number of

ammunition slits for arrows, crossbows, or ballista. You can see there are a few watching or lookout platforms that emerge, especially on the very top. There are four tall curved spires that raise upward, made out of the same cobbled metal, iron and steel combination to create these twisting horns almost that emerge from the top.

And there, there's the two burn piles, just the ever drifting black spires that continue upward into the sky before dissipating. If you didn't say already, There, there's the two burn piles, just the ever-drifting black spires that continue upward into the sky before dissipating. If you didn't say already, is this structure, is this building surrounded on all sides by more of the city, or is it up against one of the outer walls?

I can't remember location. Fair enough. It is not right up against the Carmine Wall. It's maybe a 10-minute walk from the exterior, but it is surrounded by city. But there is definitely its own large interior wall that also divides it from the city around it. But you could walk all the way around this thing, best we can tell from where we are now.

You could. What surrounds the place? Are there businesses, residences, other sketchy-looking buildings? I mean, a number of sketchy-looking buildings? A number of sketchy-looking buildings, but a number of just old-looking residential neighborhood sections as well. You can see the older natural stone structures,

the mud-masoned square buildings that are also themselves built upon older bits of ruin and rock. There are some that are just large cloth tents that are utilized as a mobile abode for those who may have been staked down for quite some time and are not being challenged on the portion of the city that they've carved out for themselves.

But the area surrounding it looks mostly residential, although it's hard to tell at a glance if anything carries other things internally. Okay, and we're within view of what looks to be the main entrance of it? You can see it about three blocks down the road from where you are. Can we see, are there any guards walking along the top?

Where we are? I'd say, go make a perception check for me. Guidance! Oh. Welcome to. Well, that's very kind of you. Case in the joint. Oh. 20 for me.

20 for me as well. Nice. Indeed, you see there are three figures up there that are just standing, stationary. One of them occasionally walks past and checks. With a 20 on each of you, you also see that between each of these large, curved spires that probably climb upwards

15 or feet from where the top of the building ends, you can see large, mounted weaponry. You're uncertain at this distance what kind of weaponry, but familiar with ballista and other stationary defensive munitions with your skyships and other experiences in the World of Bound. Looks like they have defense-ready weaponry.

So Chetney picks the lock and we just go straight through the front door. Straight through the front door. We didn't even notice. There's nobody watching. No reason to overthink this. They'll just reach out and touch you otherwise. So should we just knock and go in? Do all of us want to go in, or do we send?

I don't think any of us want to go in, right? Should we just wait and see who comes and goes? Let's just scout it for a bit. Yeah. Find a place to watch from, give it a day. Let's walk around, see if there's somewhere to sit. Some of us could go buzz around. That's true. Oh, that's right.

I can turn it. Well, I can't fly, though. Oh, well, you could be a rat or something. Imogen can fly. Oh, that's right. I might be a little bit noticeable, though. Because I'm... Well, work on that. I bet you could be a little bit noticeable, though, you know, because I'm... Work on that.

I bet you could be something with sticky feet, though. Ooh, you know what, though. Could dress you up. I am bald now. Aerodynamic? Well, no. I'm going to pick up some mud from the ground and just put it across my eyes, like Furiosa's. Yes!

Ooh, yes. Interestingly enough, in this proximity to the burn piles and some of the other industrial elements here, when you reach down in the dirt and you pull it up in your hand, there's a layer of dark soot also that mixes with it. As you smear it across, it gives a darker, almost like a slate gray texture and color to it.

And it burns. Oh god, oh my god. Do I look tougher? Do I look tougher? Oh god! Oh my god. Do I look tougher? Fiberglass. You look so tough. So tough. Like the ratty robe over top. It's a look. Yes.

Can you fly dusk or do any tricks? Can you teleport? Go invisible, change your appearance. Go in there, right? I mean, they don't know me. You could, but maybe you won't be able to get out. Oh. You'd have to go in with specific business, I feel like.

What's our excuse? Are we missionaries traveling to spread the word of the Wild Mother? Are we city surveyors looking for a location of a new elementary school? They literally have anti-siege weaponry attached to the roof of that compound. So it can support a good foundation

for an elementary school. But it is clear that Paragon's Call is also seeking to gain status, right? In other cities, so maybe someone could be a diplomat. Dignitary coming to offer or request security services. Exactly. That's a pretty good idea. Orym could pass that off, maybe.

I don't know that I want to walk into a heavily armed military fortress. Compound. Yeah, compound. Have you ever tried it before? No. Doesn't mean I should start now. Treshi left a few days ago to sell a ring. You guys don't want to just hole up

in a building across the street? I mean, yeah, we can do that for sure. No, not really. I mean, I could certainly go in as a little rat or a spider just to investigate. Okay, and the rest of us just sit tight and do a stakeout. Yeah, I do want to walk the perimeter, though,

and see if there's other doorways that he might be coming in and out of. I mean, there might be underground tunnels, for all we know. Sure. See if people come in and out of the building, how often, what it looks like at night. Yeah. Is there some sort of a neighboring building

or inn where we can? There are a number of neighboring buildings. In the Meaty Vicinity. Four stories, perhaps? Actually, no. There are no structures that are residential or open to the public that are any taller than maybe at most three stories in this region.

They just come a little bit above the wall, if anything. The towers that you see around here may come a little taller, but a lot of them are industrial exhausts. Specifically, there are a number of larger structures around here known as the Storm Cisterns, which you know, which are these massive, massive, metallic, in some cases,

almost oddly bent, like they had been grabbed and released by some godly entity. As such, they raise upward in odd angles. What should be non-functional, or at the very least, unsafe, but have stood for many, many years. At the top of each of these, you can see there's all manner of ladders and platforms

that rise upward. There are occasionally people that watch and patrol them because these cisterns collect all the monsoon water and maintain the water that keeps the city alive and the people around here, and little bits of greenery and growing in the vicinity viable. Yeah, the Gajahkhan take alive and the people around here, and little bits of greenery and growing in the vicinity viable.

Yeah, the Gajahkhan take care of the cisterns, but underneath the cisterns, that's where the youths go to do illicit drugs and drink beers. Huh. I bet we could hang out under the cisterns. Possibly. You've picked this up?

I'm just curious. Yeah. That was very fast. I've been here a couple of weeks. Wow. Very perspective. I just want to see the cisterns, see the sewers, I'm not going to lie. Actually, a sewer entrance is not a bad idea.

There are sewers in this city? I mean, shit's got to go somewhere. It's a bad idea. There's sewers in this city? I mean, shit's got to go somewhere. That's very true. Okay, we will go. Is there a sewer system here? Not in the classic sense. Oh man. Say no more.

Someone was dumping out a... Yeah, like a chamber pot. That's right. Certain areas of the city do have what are called dumping zones. There is one section on the eastern side of the cliffs outside of the skids there where certain individuals make a decent amount of money by picking up refuse and carting it

to the outside of the town and then dumping it all off the side of the ravine. So there's one large ravine side that is just a multicolored rainbow of all sorts of runoff, whether it be organic or not, that just lends this... Awful.

This awful pattern of mineral gathering and depositing. How many bodies do you think are down there? Imagine they're sludgy enough that you could not count. Well, I'm all for a rat. Sludgy. Dude! If you want to serve a ball. But how will you get out if somebody stomps on you? Well, I'll just figure it out.

The princess has got this, okay? Little risk ain't ever hurt anybody. Have you ever been to the City of Rats? The city does have rats. Oh yeah. Yeah. Tons of rats. It doesn't mean that we don't kill them. Just do a little, well, let's just hang out

and then maybe you can scamper in when people go in and out. Go in and out? Yeah. Well, did you want to do a perimeter walk all the way around first? Let's just keep doing this. I did want to walk around. Let's do a perimeter walk,

and if it looks like there's a little area that I can skitter through, maybe a little hole underneath the fence or something, I can do it. You might be more noticeable if it's the entire group of us doing an entire perimeter walk, though. Just putting that out there. Oh, that's true, that's true.

I'll stay behind. I've got work to do, anyway. I'll go on your walk. All right. I'll stay with Jett. Okay. Me, too. Do you want to? Oh, you'll be a rat. Well, not yet.

Well, I was going to say, what if you took that ring and wore it? That way, we have an orb that would bind you. We didn't get it because it was very expensive. We didn't buy the ring. No, because he might go back and try to purchase it if we thought maybe we would be able to. If he comes into money, he might.

I mean, it is very dear to him. Sure. You're a money. Okay. You all join me on the walkabout. Okay. Sure. All right, so the four I'll join you on your walkabout. Okay. Sure. All right, so the four of you are going on walkabout?

Sure. Yeah. All right, well, the rest of you stay behind and keep watch. The other four of you continue to run a perimeter. As you do, you notice that the wall itself does keep a pentagon shape around the exterior of the fortress. A little oblong on the southern side of it.

And there is a second gate on the opposite side of the wall. So there are two entrances in and out that are viable from a larger presentory standpoint. And they're both about 15 to 20 feet wide, you'd guess, at this glance. You do also see the patrols on the top occasionally switch out,

or at least you see one person leave and another person come up and take their place. Occasionally, someone peeks out beyond one of the watch balconies that protrudes on one of the lower levels and glances around. One person out there picks their nose for a second, flicks it, then walks back inside.

You do also notice, above this portion of the city, there are a number of the Hellcatch vultures, the scavengers, now at this high point in the day's sun, are circling in spaces. You can see them keeping watch for any discarded meal opportunities or any of these skittering vermin that make home here in the city.

There's probably a dozen or so of them that's just immediately above this vicinity, just slowly circling in groups. Okay, noted. Okay. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Okay. Noted. Okay. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Okay. Okay.

All right, so two entrances. Yeah, I feel like almost we should split the party. And one of us camp out at one and the other. We put one mind talker on one side, one mind talker on the other side. Mm-hmm. As we're walking, I'm looking for little holes or breaks in the fence anywhere

that I might be able to wiggle through. Make a perception or investigation check. Come on. Can you help her knowing what she's looking for? Keeping an eye out at the same time? Yeah, if you want to help her out with that. I'll give you advantage. Okay, that's a good idea.

That's exactly the same. SAM and LAURA and LAURA and LAURA and LAURA A perception? Okay, 10. Oh. It's a pretty solid wall. You can see there's a couple of areas here and there where visible cracks just have been formed over time,

whether it be shifting in the ground beneath it, attacks on the wall that have been partially repaired, or just general decay over time, but they've been patched. You do not see any specific openings that catch your attention that are merely visible. Yeah, not to naysay or doubt you, but I don't feel good about this but I don't feel good about this.

I don't feel good about this. I think we all should stick together and that we should wait until there's a good opportunity or make a good opportunity, but none of this sneaking off one at a time. Yeah, because Fearne, I mean, nothing's ever gone wrong by you sneaking off on your own. No.

Well, no. It's also these birds in the sky. They eat rats. They're not like... So maybe you could be like, if she was going to sneak off on her own, which she is not going to do, but maybe you could be like a... If she was going to sneak off on her own, which she is not going to do. But maybe you could be like a...

If you suggest it, she's going to do it. Instead. I mean, I could be a cat. I could be a capybara. I could be a spider. But I feel like... What about a quokka or something? I could be a quokka for sure. You know, maybe they would charm them.

Maybe they would charm them. It's unique, you know? Okay. Okay, I like the idea of splitting the party. Maybe we just take a minute. You woke up a quokka? Yeah. How do you spell it? Q-U-O-K-K-A.

You keep role-playing. We could just watch for a little bit. Yeah. But I kind of do like getting in there. I fucking love Quokkas! Oh. Oh yeah. Oh! That's just pretty cool.

That's got big fur and energy. But okay, here's a side question. Yes. Not a side question, above table. Yep. If, say, I were to be a creature and were to get attacked by something, would I turn back into me?

Yep. If you took enough damage to reduce the creature's form's hit points to zero, yes. That's right, okay, okay. Hit point of a kitten. Where we are, are there any sentries in view who are talking? Maybe the exact moment, no,

but occasionally they do converse. They're people, so they have to keep themselves engaged as well. I'm going to start reading the conversations of anyone that I see in view for our entire watch on this place to see if I can pick anything up because of the observant feet.

So you're going to read lips? Yeah. Okay, I have to roll a high perception because they're quite a distance from you. To read lips at 150 feet is overall challenging. But it's not impossible. It's the D&D we're talking about. So okay, if you take a moment as you're walking around

and taking a pass, go ahead and roll a perception check for me. 23. 23. You can see conversation, but it's too far for you to make out any specific words. Occasionally, you can see a large vowel or an expression that seems like they're engaged

in some sort of a joking banter, but it's too far to pick up anything specific. Oh, well. Are we in any particular real hurry? Do we have time to wait for a 24-hour period, see this? Or do we go with the direct approach and have your friend go on in there? Is there a privacy nearby

where I can just go somewhere just for a minute where I'm not seen? There are a number of nooks and crannies all throughout the city where you can not be seen. Just going to tuck by a nook and cranny for a second. Mm-hmm. Never see her again. I don't know if we're necessarily in a hurry. It's just that we need to get Armand

before he leaves town, if he hasn't already left town. Okay, well, so it seems like you guys are split between waiting us out and sneaking in or going in front door. Yeah, that's usual for us. I run over to them and I am now a... Quokka?

Are you going to be a Quokka? No, I'm going to be a Quokka. Real round butt, just real round. Roundest of butts. Just be so cute! Oh my god. I forgot everything we were talking about. You're the cutest thing I've ever seen in my entire life.

Oh my god, oh my gosh, oh my god. Scrooge, Scrooge, Scrooge, Scrooge. This is all we're doing today. You must never change back. Make the face again, make the face again. Dusk.exe has stopped working. I'm going to run in. I'm going to run in.

I'm going to run in. Who did that burn? Was that Fearne? Bye! I'm going to run in. All right, you go ahead and run on up to the front gates. Thank god. They're gates.

Oh. They're gates. You burrow. Oh, do they burrow? Yes. Even stone cold warriors are going to have some kind of heart for a Quokka. The gates will open. They got to open at some point. I'm just going to wait.

Okay. If you found out, just give them the... The one I am. Sorry. Is there any bit beneath the gate? There is about an inch and a half below the gate, in places, because at some points, the gathered dust and sand and dirt

rises up to it, and you can see those heavy patterns where the gates, when they swing open, they push past and leave these gate angels, if you will, in the ground. or the gates, when they swing open, they push past and leave these gate angels, if you will, in the ground. But to that point, there's very little space. Are we just looking at pictures of Quokka's mouth? Before I leave the group,

I give Dusk a little bit of a lick as an apology of, sorry. Okay, okay. I just have to share, because I searched if Quokkas burrow, and I couldn't find that answer, but I did find that, I guess, quokkas throw their babies

as a manage of self-defense. If they get scared by a predator, they throw their baby at it. Take my kids! And it pees down. No, they don't. No, they don't. What's the source?

What's the source? abc.net.australia. Oh no. That's a kid's. I can't be right. Vodka sacrifice a baby's in order to escape. I have never identified with a creature more in my entire life. Well, it's incredible because you consider

that they're throwing their children as a means of self-defense with the biggest smile. Yeah. Wow. Sorry, smile. Yeah. Wow. Sorry, good for you. These shapes really took off this episode. As you are sitting there, round, fuzzy butt, large smile at the base of the gate,

what do you do, Fearne? I'm going to try to just start, I'm looking around and just try to start scraping and burrowing where I see the biggest separation in the gate. Okay. Go ahead and roll athletics for me. Using the, I'll say for this creature,

just go ahead and roll. Okay, okay. Come on. Come on. Big natural 20. No. 11. 11, okay.

You begin to dig and dig and dig, and about five minutes go by, and you're making some decent progress, but it's going to take you a little longer, but you can do it. I'm going to do it. I'm going to commit it. I'm going to work so hard. While Fearne is just breaking a furry sweat,

though they can't sweat. Quokka is breaking a furry sweat. Fearne, as a Quokka, is panting due to the inability to sweat, and digging furiously. What are the rest of you doing? How's it going there, Fearne? Well, it's just, I'm working real hard

to just get under this gate. All right. The rest of you are just watching and waiting? Yeah, I tap Imogen's arm. You should maybe alert the rest of the group. Oh, well, I cannot do that. No? No, because if I do that, I will lose my mental connection with Fearne.

Plus, I can only do it if I establish it with somebody that's within view. Okay. It's been a while. Well, I'll cross my fingers instead. At about the 10-minute mark, you try and push through. Wait, hold on. Make a strength check for me.

She gets stuck under that damn door the same way she did on the other one. Yes. Ooh. Eight. She gets stuck under the door. Oh my god! Okay, I'm going to try to see if there are,

if there's anybody inside that I can just smile at. What? Is she okay? Try to charm her. She's charming. Little leg kicking. She's really charming. So the gate is about that thick,

and you dug underneath the majority of it, and your head just pokes out this way, but your midsection is just stuck, and you guys can see these little legs kicking in the area beneath. How you doing there? Just give me two more seconds. Okay, because I can always pretend you're my pet that got away.

Yeah. No one's paying attention to you yet, though you do see in this entry courtyard, you get a quick glance as you're staring out there, there are all manner of training dummies and weapon racks. You can see three unattended skirmish crawlers, the ones with the center wheel in the front and the large, clawed horse-like hooves in the back.

You can see there is a large area where a bonfire at night would largely be lipid. It's just been set up with flammables in preparation for the night. You can see there are about five guards that are in different places, just one person's over there with a whetstone, sharpening weapons.

Two others are over there snacking on what looks like some sort of dried meat, like a jerky, and conversing. There are two others that are just patrolling the interior of the courtyard. How far away is she? From you guys? Depends on how far away you've been watching her dig.

I mean, I don't know. Depends on, are you right against the wall or are you watching from across the road? I think we're across the road, probably. So like 25 feet. Okay, okay. I am going to use my telekinetic ability

and start digging the dirt out from around her and try to move the dirt. Okay. Starting to wiggle a little more. So close. As I got there, one of the guards patrolling nearby, doesn't notice you. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. Is it always like this? Pretty much. You come out the other side and you're now inside the courtyard. I did it. All right, well, you're cute and noticeable, so move fast. Okay, I'm going to skitter to where I think

the entrance of the building is. Okay, you can definitively see an entryway that leads into the fortress. It is out in the open across the courtyard. There are stacks of supplies and things along the way that you can dart to as you want to go. I will need you to make a stealth check as a rotund, not minuscule creature.

I'm not there, but is there sky above? Garbage. Garbage. Poco? Garbage. You give yourself a panic. I don't know. Eight. Oh god! Okay, cool. So. Okay, cool.

You need to stop rolling like dog shit. I know, I know! Make sure it's not. First, you wait for the guard to pass, who hasn't noticed you yet. You skitter across a good 15-foot range and get behind what looks to be a hay bale, but it's not hay.

It's some other dried grass that was brought from or farmed somewhere nearby in the Hellcatch. You get there, back up behind it, glance over, the next thing you can see what looks to be two barrels open, uncertain if there's anything within them, but they're set out in the open,

either to collect water or they contain something for quick access for the people within the courtyard. You rush over to it, and right as you're about to get to the shade behind them, you feel a hand grab you from the torso and lift you up, and a voice go, Oh goodness, what's this? Throw a baby at him! You feel your world

whip around up into the blue sky, and you see the dark exterior rim of a shaded face framed by the sky above. As your eyes focus a bit, you can see a tough-looking woman warrior, shoulders exposed with scars, muscular, has this bright white toothy grin and eyes that are green like jade.

Her skin is very suntanned, and her hair is almost like a bleached white that is a back braid to protect it that goes past the shoulders. She's wearing some leather armor on the shoulders. You can see a gold chain around the neck that carries a bird skull with a golden mask over the front of it.

She picks it up and goes, Oh my goodness, you're so cute. Who are you? I start shivering. Oh ho ho. I go. Oh my, I don't even know what you are, but you're adorable. Oh my god.

My cunts! My cunts! My cunts? My cunts? My cunt? I heard my cunts. Paging Mike Hunt. Is Mike Hunt here? All NPCs are now named David.

From here on out. Correct. We can't have nice things! We cannot. Because we just, we can't have nice things. My name's Butz. Mike Hunt, Harry Butz, get over here! The spelling in my head was different.

It always is. But let's just say, let's just say, McGunz has a rough time with his title. You hear Snickers nearby and he goes, Just call me Mick! Have you seen something like this? It's like,

What the heck is that? There's a problem with making shit up on the spot. Sometimes it's not a winner. You talk for 20,000 hours. Somewhere in the spirit of Pravahn's like, Ha! I think he's outranked, officially. He's okay for himself.

It's normal when I come from. Comes up and he's like, Oh, what is this? This is adorable. Oh my, how is this alive here? Did it escape? Was it some sort of exotic animal that escaped? I don't know, but it's mine now, I found it.

I'm going to call you... What should I call it? And the mech, Leen Simmer goes, Call it Kaelo, because it's ironic. It's like, no! I'm going to call it Fuzzbottom. Fuzz.

Come with me, Fuzzbottom. And puts you under the arm and cradles you like a baby and begins to carry you towards the fortress. I'll just nozzle into her. Okay. I love this. You see some of the other guards

stand up and look over, and she pulls you away from there, giving them a look of like, this is mine. Step off. The swishing of sights around you and blue sky suddenly goes to darkness as you're brought within the interior of the fortress. Is everything all right?

Yes, someone has now taken me as their pet. Right. Yeah, but I'm inside. Ooh, that's wonderful. you're the fortress. Is everything all right? Yes, someone has now taken me as their pet. Great. Yeah, but I'm inside. Ooh, that's wonderful. Okay. She's doing good. Are you sure? Yeah. We should really be used to this by now, I guess. That was a baller move. It really was.

You are carried from the hallway to a left turn, down another hallway, down a set of stairs, down another hallway, another left turn. I'm going to memorize this. Okay, so you're trying to keep this all in mind as you go. You can see you're passing by other arch doors, simple, you see another person step out and move past. These look to be subterranean barracks,

living quarters for various Paragon's Call individuals. I'm also looking around for Armand. Right. Roll a perception check for me. Okay. Do Quokka have good vision? The other party. Nope. Oh god damn it. Okay, am I adding my perception?

Yes. Okay, 14. Oh, okay. 14, not too bad. Okay, keeping that in mind. So the rest of the troop, you guys were probably staying back how far? Well, a block? Yeah. Are you talking about the group that's Team Fearne

or the other team? The other team. We were just finishing. So they're around the back, right? Yeah, so we're on the other side. We're in the front. Okay, so you're a couple hundred feet or so from the other troop. Anything we want to try

while we're just sitting here with our... I'm going to go to about 50 feet and be like... Oh god. To who? What are you? To, if I see them, to us. To us? Yeah. you? If I see them? Oh, to us. To us?

Yeah. Who's that person? That's Dusk. Do we need to get your opticals checked? Maybe. No, we were fixed recently. I message Dusk from afar. Oh.

Oh, Dusk. Dusk. You can do the thing, too. Nice. Oh, dusk! Oh, dusk. You can do the thing, too. Yes, once. Hi, I'm Lu. What's going on? Um, well, Fearne turned into a really cute quokka

and then swam across the street. And then a brood underneath, and then now she's caught, and she's getting a tour of the place and stuff. So I feel like we should probably meet up and everything and reconvene with all of the information that we have right now. Honestly, this is par for the course.

Yes! Sounds like it's going great. Let me check in with the others. Hold, please. Okay. Shh. Kill me, perfect. So, Jett, FCG. I guess Fearne is super adorable and he has been taken as one of the Paragon's Guard's pets

and is inside. I guess the question is, do we act and send someone in to rescue her or just see how this plays out? Maybe just see how this plays out, or do you want to? Do we know how long she could stay as a Ferrybottom? I could try to cast a spell on someone and have them go in and retrieve her.

How long have we seen Fearne last as a Fuzzbottom? At most, about an hour. I don't know. Is that how long it lasts? I mean, I don't know why we can't have two initiatives going on at the same time, because it sounds like she's going to do really good on the inside, but we could test

what an outward response would be to some kind of threat. What? Threat? Yeah. What would your suggestion be? I mean, cause a fucking ruckus and then disappear, but then everybody else can see what happens. See the response to that. Yeah, where do they come out of?

Where's the barracks? Sure, sure. Do they mount up quick? Actually, three hours now. Ooh! This is how you're going to have your dreadlock around to death. That's pretty fun. There is a middle ground where we just get

whomever of us is the most unthreatening on the outside to go in and try and retrieve their animal creature. They'll respond like they're, you know. Do you think the Paragon's Call is going to give up the cute animal? I don't know, but we'll at least see what their reaction to it is. I do have a spell that might convince them to, but.

Oh shit, I put Dusk on hold. Oh, duh! Oh, Dusk! Oh, hello. So, sorry. We're still debating. Okay. Keep holding.

Oh my god. So, I put her back on hold, it's fine. I kind of like this idea, though. Should we just do it? Or should we just consult the others? Do we have an idea yet? We were just banding about. Are you talking about the idea of pure chaos?

Yes. I mean, you got to kick an anthill every once in a while to see what happens, right? All right, who's going to do what? If you want to wait a little while, there's a middle ground. Let's give her a little more time to check the place out before we send it

into a total ruckus, but I'm not against this plan. Plus, distracting things towards the outside may cause a little less attention on the inside. Also may give her an opportunity to get the fuck out. Yep. Okay, let me uptake Dusk. Oh, Dus. Okay, let me uptake Dusk. Oh, Dusk! Hello!

All right, so we want to see how this plays out. We're going to keep watching the front. Worst case scenario, maybe it will cause a ruckus. Ruckus. This is horrifying. Sorry that my messages aren't as peaceful as Imogen's. All right, toodaloo! I like the, okay, all right.

Okay, so they're just going to hang out over there and see how this plays out. All right. That's probably for the best. So I guess maybe we can do the same, if you trust Fearne to be okay. Implicitly. Fearne is one of the most trustworthy people

I've ever come across. Meanwhile, while you are being brought through the hallway and keeping watch on the low-lit interior, the occasional tinder-burning brazier or oil-burning lantern hanging on the inside. Are quokkas low-light creatures? Let's find out.

I doubt it. I'm going to say no, just for the sake of it. They're out in the daytime. But what they are, Quokkas. But if they're not, someone will give them a fight. Continue to look it up, but in the interim, you are brought to a simple barracks chamber. The door opens and your captor.

They're nocturnal! They're nocturnal! All right, that does help. Okay. So to that point, you do not have disadvantage on your perception, which is good. You're brought into this chamber where there are three bunks set up,

cots within the room. There are a few footlockers arranged around the base underneath them. There's a couple of small weapon setups and some armor racks that are affixed to the nearby wall. But it's just a plain, simple underground barracks. You can see there are, it looks like, personal lockboxes

beyond the footlocker that sits at the base of the bed. But as you're brought in the chamber, the woman soldier who brought you in sets you down and goes, Oh my god, you're so cute. Let me see what I got for you. She rummages in the footlocker and pulls out a small satchel and opens it up

and says, and has tobacco. I go over and just pause and just sniff and try to just be real cute. Oh my goodness. You're just so fucking cute, I can't stand it. Oh, stop it! Stop it, you're too cute, it hurts my heart! Oh my goodness, okay, hold on.

I'm going to give you a pastry. Pulls in and pulls out a small, like dry bran muffin type thing and breaks it apart and hands you a piece. Oh goodness, just look at you. Okay, enjoy that. I've got to get back to my post, but don't go anywhere.

We're going to cuddle up tonight. Oh! If you're going to poop anywhere, poop on his bed. I'll just curl up in a little ball. Okay. Oh my god! Ah! Shh. Then leaves the room and closes the door behind you here.

Oh shit. I'll take a nap. Real tired. Thank you. Oh. Incredible. Okay, are there any windows in the room? Are there? No, it is a subterranean barracks chamber.

There is a singular door out, and it is currently, you assume, latched or locked of some kind. Okay. Fuck. Wait, can I talk to her? I can't remember this. Yes, that's right. We are connected.

Okay, so I'm just taking a little bit of lounging on the bed right now of my new owner. But I think she closed me in. I'm going to get up and just try to see if I can nudge open the door. Okay. Like, with my paw. It's not moving.

Is it going okay? Well, she's not injured. Miss Dinley Lytton here because of the torch sconce, but you have pretty decent vision and low light. Okay, is there any other doors, any other openings that maybe I could scuttle through? Make an investigation or perception check, your choice. Come on, come on, do one double-digit roll.

Come on. Can you guide yourself while you're a little? No, you cannot cast spells and beasts. Check Mike Hunt's personal belongings. 14. Yeah. 14. Glancing around the interior of the chamber, the only egress is the singular wooden door.

Fuck. Okay. I'm going to start scraping and crying. Oh. Go, go, go. Oh, that's scary. There we go, there we go. Oh! Come on, let's find that door. Okay. She's fine. There we go, there we go. Come on, let's find that door. Okay. She's trapped.

She's trapped, she's working her way out. Fearne, please keep us posted. I will, I will, for sure. You've only got a few more minutes left before I cannot talk to you anymore. Okay, everything's going to be fine, no stress. Keep scraping and keep scraping and keep scraping and keep scraping.

About two minutes pass, three minutes pass, four minutes pass, and right about then, you hear, and the door opens and you see a large, looming figure there with a sword, like, What the fu--" Oh. What is this?

What is this little one? He reaches over and grabs the scuff between his shoulders and picks you up a bit and lifts you in front. You can see now this rough-looking gentleman in his 30s. He has sunburnt patches of skin, fresh peeling that you can see in places, has this jagged mohawk that's more bushy at this point

that goes down to the back, is wearing a simple tunic over a stringy, but muscular body, but definitely more of, not as bulky as he is lanky. He has a short sword in his hand that he was about to stab whatever was right there and just holds it and is lanky, and he has a short sword in his hand that he was about to stab whatever was right there and just holds it and is holding you there,

grins with a smile that contains most of his teeth. He goes, Oh, you are just adorable. We might know. Closes the door, looks around and tucks you into his chest and walks a little further down the hallway, heads right down another hall. Peeking out, seeing if I can see anything else new.

Make another perception check for me. That's amazing. Quokka's going to get passed around. Oh dear. That's cool. Nine. Nine. Okay.

Perception, is it perception? I have high perception, but I can't use mine. No, no, it's your perception. I can use mine? Sorry, when a druid takes an animal form, they get to keep their mental statistics. Oh, great. You've been rolling way better than you thought.

I've been rolling way better than I thought. That's okay. That's fine, that's fine. We're here now. 16, my bad. Yes, 16. That is so much better. Yes, that's so much better. With a 16, you move past

and there's mainly just closed doors. On this lower floor, as he's pulling you beyond to the left, there is actually an open, not even a doorway, just a hall that leads into a larger, well-lit chamber to your immediate left. As you glance past and look, you see what looks to be a table. On this table, there are all manner of sheets of paper

that are stretched out and held, unfurled with different weights at the corners. You can see a number of chairs off to the sides. There are candles lit and glowing, as well as other lanterns in the vicinity. There are three figures in there, two of which look to be other Paragon's Call figures, though well armored and dressed.

And the 16, a third that you do recognize, you see a half-giant figure, the one that beat the shit out of Ashton at the ball. General Rataj. General Rataj. I start growling. You start growling. Oh, oh, oh, what is that? No, no, no, don't growl.

We're friends, it's fine. And he just keeps walking down the hall. Okay. Goes to the right, opens another door, and there's somebody in there snoring, goes, Ah, shit. I'm going to put you in my Foot Locker. A little bit of food. Just hang tight until my shift is over, and I'm going to put you in my Foot Locker. A little bit of food.

Just hang tight until my shift is over and I'm going to come get you. I'm going to start wiggling and I'm going to try to wiggle away from you. All right, I need you to make an athletics or acrobatics check, which will just be a straight roll. Okay.

Oh god, it's a natural one. You wiggle and wiggle and wiggle, but he has a firm grip on you and he's like, oh, you're not going anywhere. Goes in and opens. I'm going to bite him. Okay. I'll say just go ahead and roll an attack. Oh god, this is so stupid.

This is so stupid. This is so stupid. It's better than being a whole locker. Am I adding anything? This is great. No. Eight. Straight up eight?

Yeah. Okay, so you do bite, and you catch, but... I don't know if it's the patch of skin itself is pretty tough, or you just aren't used to having strong jaw muscles, but you're not breaking the skin enough to really do some damage.

You bite and you sink and he's like, Ah, ow! Son of a... You're going to learn madness. I'm going to try to spread my legs and arms so he doesn't put me in the box. Okay. What is happening? He opens the Foot Locker and is like,

No, you cannot. No, you're not supposed to! The person begins to rouse in the bed and is like, What is that sound? This is so ridiculous. Nothing, go back to sleep. He's like, What, did you bring a cat in here or something?

What's that you got? No, no, it's a... He stirs and pauses and goes, You know we're not supposed to have pets. Closes the footlocker and stands up. Fuck you, too. Slams the door on the guy who's napping. He walks back through the hallway, holding it out in front.

It's supposed to now a pet, it's now a rodent that he caught and is backtracking through and goes, seems like you want the kind to be nice anyway. Walks past, backtracking. Now across that room once more, where you see the figures in there. He's in you on down, now to the right,

to the right, up the stairs, and walks back out into the courtyard, holding you out in front. The woman that first caught you turns and goes, . Just has to swallow her pride in the moment. The person goes like, Found the rodent!

Open the gate. Two of them go by. Let the rodent. Open the gate. The two of them go by. Let's rush in. One of the guys goes, You said it to me, I'll chuck it over the wall. It's like, No. It's too cute. Open the gate.

Two of the gentlemen go over and start doing these heavy cranks. They're opening the gate. I can't hear you anymore. Oh shit. Is this the front gate or the back gate? This is the front gate. Okay. We're not there.

Just fucking go, well rush! But they are the front gate. It opens up ever so slightly, like about a foot wide, a foot and a half wide, before they stop and just takes you and chucks you at a 20-foot arc. Oh no! There we go.

I don't have to fall. I will say, I will say, just for the sake of this, make a dexterity saving throw. Okay. Please take damage. Oh my god. Did you say dexterity?

Yes. Okay, 13. You roll with it, and as your furry body hits, you don't impact with any rocks. You don't end up twisting the wrong way and actually hurting yourself. You just roll with it and getting dusty and stop coughing.

I turn around real quick, and before the doors close, I just smile at him. Yes. Shouldn't have bit me, asshole. He steps back as the gates open. Okay, I'm going to try to go find another. I just see, do we see this at the front? Yeah.

I skitter over there and try to find a spot to go back to me. Easily enough to do. You find a little pocket of shade off the side of the building and then you come back to your normal form. I message Dusk. Fearne. Fearne.

Is in the front. I repeat. We have Fearne. She's in the front. She's in the front. Oh my god. Laudna told you? Yeah. Yeah.

She was connecting. No, it's not. She was connecting. As we're walking towards the front. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. Hey, are you? Are you and Laudna

a thing? I'm sorry, what? Are you and Laudna a thing? A thing? A thing. Like, what do you mean? Like, romantically entangled. Um,

no? Okay. Okay, cool. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Good. Because I was getting some vibes and everything,

and they, you know. Yeah. I could see it. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, cool. Good talk. So, Laudna. I was wondering,

Imogen, you and your... Going somewhere. Thank you. Wait, are you, wait, what? What? What? Well. What? A potholder, really?

I should have gotten her the t-shirt, okay, and fresh cut grass. Talked me out of it. It's not potholders or t-shirts. You must have done something pretty fucked up if you are in potholder territory, right? I did something pretty fucked up if you are in potholder territory, right? I did something so fucked up. Okay, it's okay.

You know what, you didn't want it. Just come on. Come on. I don't want it. Here. I'm so... Just have a little, just come on. I don't want it. Don't you?

I just collapsed in Ashton. Okay, okay. Now, please. The worst. She's mad at me! Clearly. She's going to be fine. Because I'm a terrible friend. No, you're not a terrible friend.

I am, though. You're not a terrible friend. What do you cry, by the way? What is this shit? I'm sorry. Sometimes it comes out as a little black and hinky. Because, you know, It's just so scary. No, I like it. It's cool.

It's just I wanted to make sure it's not going to stain. I make no promises. Okay, do you want some friendly advice from someone who has literally pissed off everyone they've ever met? Okay. Okay. I don't need to know what happened. It's not for me to know.

It's your business. I broke her rock. Oh god, it was one of the shiny rocks, wasn't it? She loved it so much. Okay. That I killed it. Was it an accident? Yes. Okay. Does she. Was it an accident? Yes. Okay.

Does she know it was an accident? I don't think so. Okay. Well, this is so much more than I bargained for. Sorry, I'm against black snot, but you're sure? I'm sorry. It's seen worse. Really, it has. Are you sure? Oh, maybe not. Fuck. Okay, but.

Oh, so. Is the skirt the wipe? It's what it's there for. Okay. Maybe you should focus on an apology that's related to the offense, if that makes sense. Maybe let's focus on instead of... I should prostrate myself on the ground.

No. On top of a spiky rock. I mean. Let her step on me. I'm not going to tell you not to do that because that would be kind of cool, but no. I think maybe we've got to figure out a rock-based apology, if that makes sense. I said a spiky rock. Yeah, but like...

Like thematically? More than thematically, like an understanding of the offense, if that makes sense. An apology that actually speaks to what happened. Do I have to get a new rock? I mean, putting some energy into a new rock might not be a bad idea.

Okay. So maybe we need to find you a nice rock for Imogen. Do you think that would help? Would that feel a little better? I feel a little confused on the messaging. I'm working with what I got here. I can try and find your new rock.

I should've gotten the t-shirt for the FCG. I don't think the t-shirt would've. Wait, what's happening right now? Ah! We should focus on. Oh no, no, this sounds very important. I came at the tail end of it. Is a mission coming?

Wait, is a mission coming? The belly of the beast. Here, here, here. No, no, no, you're fine. Go for it, go for it. Is it water? The invention coming. The belly of the beast. Here, here. No, no, no. Just go for it, go for it. I don't want to. Oh. Oh, yeah. Did you see Treshi in there?

No, but I did see the guy that beat you up. Amazing. Didn't beat me up. And, well, just. Do you think you could sketch out a map of the inside? Yes, I could. Do we have paper? We have dirt.

I can draw it in the ground. Exactly. Okay. Everything can be solved with rocks, tiny rocks on the ground we can make a map with. Rocks solve everything. Dirt is just tiny rocks, and I broke a rock, so I got to get it tidy.

Are they coming back over here, by the way? I think they're almost here. I can see them coming. You can't check the rest of the room. What happened? Are you okay? Oh, totally fine. Totally fine. So I figured out the layout a little bit,

which I can draw out. I saw that- You shouldn't do that. Well, I know. It's my go-to, I guess, and I just, sometimes I just feel really comfortable in an animal shape. And it's just fun. To her credit, it worked like a charm.

Well, I don't know if it worked like a charm, because I don't know if I necessarily figured anything out. But I did see a big room. There were three guys in there. One of them was the one that Ashton fully beat up. I mean, it was close. I'll give him that. It was very close. It's just close on his end.

He was in there. There was another one. There was something on the table with, you know, things holding down the corners. I saw all different types of rooms with lots of beds and foot lockers and whew! I didn't really get a lot of information. That sounds like a total win. And you came out unscathed.

They took me out. They just were like, oh, it's a rodent, so just put you right out. Yeah, but that might not happen every time. I know, I know, I know. And I think I've definitely learned my lesson. You go on the face. Give us the same smile.

I go on the face? Okay. I'm sorry. I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to do that. I will try. I will try. I will try. I'm very sorry if it stressed you out. It's very brave of you.

Well, thank you. That's so nice of you to say. I think it's a little reckless, because it's a little fun. A little reckless. But, you know. Two for two, though. Yeah, you're allowed to blow off some steam.

You just got some news about your parents. Yeah, yes. That's serious. But how does this impact our plan for getting this guy out of there? You didn't hear anybody talking about Armand? I didn't. It does mean that we'll get recognized if we go in. Well, you guys might.

There's somebody who knows us. Oh, yeah. General Rutanish was in there, so maybe you guys could do the plan of, hey, I'm here to fight. Take you up on your offer.. Take you up on your offer. To take you up on your offer. Yeah. It'll be...

It could work. The only thing that's really a problem with it is then I'd actually have to take him up on the offer, or at least be serious enough to talk about it that he then wouldn't realize that. I mean, we're just trying to figure out if Treshi is in there, right? Yeah.

So normally with a fortress, where it's all shelled up and everyone's on the inside, you want to reverse that shit and get everyone on the outside. Mm. So start a fire. Start a fire, attack the fences, cause an explosion, kill somebody,

make them come get you. And then you go, Steal a crawler machine and slam it into the front gate. Yeah, it's a great idea. Oh my god, I really like that. I really want to steal a crawler machine. I didn't, and now I do. Or tip one over onto the gate.

I lived here for years. How did I never steal a crawler? You could do both. Sure. Should we wait till one of theirs leaves the gate and then ambush it? I don't know. I feel like there was a crawler that went by recently that was pretty worse for the wear.

I think another crawler would be the way to go. I think it's not about, they'll know there's infiltration if it's one of their own. Three people to one of their own back. We could be like, open up the gates. We're back from the crawl and they'll open up the gates. We're back from the crawl, and they'll open up the gates, and we'll go right in.

With those big crawlers, there was one person driving, one person on the second tier near the turreted gun, and a third that was a mechanic that hopped off, or just the two? You didn't really see who was driving, necessarily. You just saw clusters of probably a little over a half dozen individuals that were utilizing it between the two different platforms.

There was one person who was an engineer trying to do repairs that leapt down. That's much worse. You want to go get that one? There were a lot of people on it. There were a lot of people on it. A half dozen people is more than two. Yeah.

I guess he never stole a crawler before because it was difficult. That doesn't sound like me. One question on the lower level before I totally get rid of this idea. Is it an open air bottom level below the second deck? Is there lots of ventilation, or is it enclosed with small little windows to see out of?

The subterranean portion, you mean? No, on the crawlers above the legs. You said it's a double deck. Oh, on the crawlers? Oh, it's open air. Okay. It's like a platform dock with legs. Got it. It's primarily designed to move a lot of people, essentially. Just slice some throats.

Kick them off the side. You've lived here long enough to know that those are referred to as mammoth crawlers. Mammoth crawlers. And they're used specifically for moving a large number of crawler gang members from one place to another. Usually for warfare elements or parading around as a show of power and influence.

Is that one that passed us an hour ago long gone, yeah? I mean, it's been almost an hour, I'd say, since all that went down, but it's also a big fucking crawler, and probably not the only one. Definitely not the only one. All right, so we do this one of two ways. We do sneaky way, we do big boom way.

There's two booms. One, you set up something on the outside and everybody watches. How many people come outside of the inside of the fortress? Are we talking about two dozen people, three dozen, four dozen? If everybody comes out to see the problem, there's fucking 50 people inside.

That changes shit. Then you do the big gate attack. We don't even need to attack it. We just need the guy to come out, right? Yeah, if he's even in there. If he's not going to come out, if there's a big explosion, but a lot of other people will.

Maybe it's the combination of big distraction and a sneak, sneaking in while everyone's distracted. How you speaking my language? How about if we just sneak in and somebody starts a fire from the inside? Yeah, you want to empty the building out. I feel a little dodgy about burning and building them, but if you want to empty out the anthill.

When you were in there, did it look like earth and stone, or was it like all wood? I think it was... I think it was... What was it? I mean, the majority of the halls were just carved from the sandstone and rock and dirt that makes up most of the terrain here on this plateau

that's surrounded by the ravines. But there were wooden doorways, wooden furniture. You know, a decent amount of things that were added to the rooms and chambers that are wood, but the majority of the actual structure is stone. I say we get in there and start a fire. I like big boom from the outside. I agree.

I think all of these ideas are very solid and we can do all of them. On the outer wall? If we're not going to steal a crawler in this town, what are we even doing here? Why did we come to this place? I am so proud of you right now. I am so proud of you right now.

You can't win one in the... Oh, there's a circuit, right? You can't win one on the circuit, can you? No, that'd be insane. You can look into it. What about Joe's? Let's, you know... He's a tinker, right?

What's the circuit again? Maybe it's time for everyone to... Who can I talk to about Deathwish? Deathwish. Oh! Yeah, they mentioned that there's a competition. They're, I mean, it's run by the various Crawler gangs.

It's kind of how they settle disputes between them, since they don't take it to war unless they want to really take it to a murderous base far outside of town. It's more of their sport in dealing with conflict. So generally, various Crawler Gang leaders will be the ones to situate it. I used to know someone who worked there, too, didn't I?

There was somebody, I feel like somebody I, I don't know. There was a figure. Toss into the recipe, the Corgyne are also here or in the outskirts of the town. So if we don't want it to just be us trying to, I don't know, assault a fortress, we could staff up a little bit.

I'm just tossing that out there as a little parsley on the side. Werewolves to roll in with us? I'm just saying, we fuck shit up. The trick with this is we can't look affiliated with anybody. The minute it becomes group versus group, the things get very complicated,

so we have to make sure we don't. Plus, you're talking about hitting the outer wall with one of these big things. If there's a VIP in there, VIP's not going to run out into the courtyard at an attack. If anything, it's going to be the opposite. Soldiers will come out. VIPs will be moved in or out another entrance.

What if we do that? What if we have, no plan of mine is not going to include stealing a crawler. So if we have our crawler ready. I've got the fun part. Now give me the nutrition. We got the crawler that we've stolen at the ready. It's parked around the corner, ready to go. We got the crawler that we've stolen at the ready.

It's parked around the corner, ready to go. We cause a disturbance. We make it look like people are there to kill the VIP. What are they going to do? Are they going to batten down the hatches? No, they're going to put them in a crawler and escape out the back door. Then our crawler is going to catch

and it's like a crawler on crawler chase through the desert. Well, there might be a lot of merit to this inside-outside team if one team is a distraction, but if the other half needs to be on the inside before the distraction starts so they can see how people on the inside are reacting,

and if there is hidden entrances or back doors or the need for a fire. I look over everyone's shoulders, just in the off chance that Treshi has walked me. I know, that is exactly what I just thought. Pocket's the individual you were looking for. Pocket, thank you. Make a perception check.

Sorry, do I know your guess? Mm-hmm. That is 19. 19. Yeah. No sign of Trish. Comedically, that would've been perfect timing, but. It's one thing for now. Well, it seems we've got plans. There's a wealth of really good ideas.

Is there anything like, you know, one of of somebody maybe messages him or maybe Imogen gets in his head and is like, you need to come outside right now for some very important reason? I mean, there is a spell I keep mentioning. I could send one of his people in to go get him if I can cast a spell on them.

Wait. I can just convince a person to go do an, if I can cast a spell on them. Wait. I can just convince a person to go do an action for me. Like go in there, find Treshi, and tell him that he's needed outside. For how long? That's great. An hour. That feels so much less true. If it works. I mean.

We just got to find someone powerful enough that they can actually access him. It's so. Britannish. I mean. That's the thing. What if we go in, we talk to Britannish about joining. While we're doing that, you cast a spell on him. He goes and gets Armand.

I don't know, we get him out. Sure. What if? It feels a lot more logical and sensible. Spitballing, spitballing. What if you go in to talk to the general and Wolf Manchette is invisible with the little cage bead. Sure.

You keep the general and folks busy and you go find our target. But do remember, that cage bead doesn't keep them small. They turn into a giant, human-sized rolly ball of cage. Wow, I think that really changes the plan. So instead, you take the hole, and you roll them in the hole, and roll it up and get out.

Oh my god, wait. 10 minutes. You got 10 minutes to get the fuck out of the dodge. Okay. That's pretty good. So Ashton and I will be talking to Rhtanish. Push him in the hole. Gather it up. Ashton and I will be talking to Rhtanish

and mind melding him to go get Treshi. You're just there invisible until you're needed. When Treshi comes out, we nab him, we put him in the hole, and we bring him out to our awaiting getaway vehicle, correct? Or we just walk away. Or there's a vehicle waiting to spirit us away quickly.

Okay, I think I'm going to go with the Ribbit and Ashton's team. I think that's where I'm going to go. Everybody else? Which one, which what, which? Chaos or sensibility? It's chaos and chaos. Yeah, chaos or sensibility.

I like sensibility. A great idea, you know? That one sounds like the least amount of things going wrong. Keeping the general occupied for- I think you just talk him up. Pretend like you're taking him up on his offer. Chetney finds this guy, rolls him in a hole.

Invisible, walks him out. I can get in easy, invisible, but as soon as I do anything, like try and put him in a sphere, I become visible again. Oh. Then why does he have to act quickly? Something greater than that invisibility.

I mean, I'll be a goddamn werewolf, but you know. I can only open up so many throats. How often can you be invisible? I can be invisible for an hour once a day. Once a day. But when you do something, you un- Yeah, if I attack, I cast a spell. Yep.

I change. So we're settled. That's a little bit more true to your spell. Yep. Boop! So. I change my mind. So we're settled. That's a little bit more true to your game. So the only way to do it would be to... Again, this is a fortress. I like that we're trying to come up with an idea in the same day, but we've got days before your parents get here,

the Gorginae on the outskirts of the city. There's also Joes to go to, and we could surveil one of these gargantuan things walking around and rob that fucking thing. You know, it'll have to be hasty, but I'm also here for hasty. So, I am new here.

Welcome. But I will say that you all come up with a bunch of, you make a bunch of very, very good points, some better than others. I think what I'm hearing is that we go in with a group, with as many people as we can, either hidden or concealed,

or with a pretense for being there. We at least see if he's there, scope it out, compel somebody to tell us if he's there or to go get him for us. Then we get out, because there is no way that we are going to be able to storm a fortress. That's just my thought. Yeah, that's true, that's true.

Do the people that you, FCG, do the people that you mind meld, do they know? They, when the spell ends, they will know that they had been affected. Okay, so we have to save that to the very end. Why? They'll just quit afterwards, because it'll be a shame. So we have a couple days, I feel like.

So are we going to stake out tonight and just keep watching on the place? What else do we need to know? We don't even know if he's still here, right? Nope. I'm assuming he's still there. No, but we could stake it out, and between Imogen reading people's minds

and me reading anybody who's walking past conversations, we can maybe learn something instead of stealing a tank and driving it into the side of the pond. He went shopping, I might add. It's not like he's locked up. He's not a prisoner. We already know that he's out and about

going to pawn shops. It stands to reason he'll do it again. Okay, we also have Furioso over here. Who we could totally get dressed up and do a whole thing. And, you know, she could be one of the crawlers. And, hey, I'm here. Let me in. I don't know where that goes.

We can watch for a day or two. If that doesn't work, then we do the big one. Maybe we could do something to where we go to the pawn shop, the River of Renewal, and have them, maybe we can compel them, to send a message to Treshi saying, I'm about to sell your ring, but I know you were very attached to it.

Would you like to buy it before that? That's a great idea. That's too sensible. Maybe draw him out. Send a message how? Well, he knows where he's staying. It's not like it's a secret to that guy, right? So he could send a message. But I mean.

Or we could send a message. That's what I'm saying. Why do they have to send a message? That's a very good point. Or to make it believable, deliver a message that's on paper saying, you need to move this, but I wanted to give you one last shot at

reclaiming your goods. I have a serious buyer, but I wanted to give you one last shot at reclaiming your goods. I have a serious buyer, but I know you were very attached. If you're willing to pay me 25 gold more than what I sold it to you for, I would be willing. We're going to be clever. If we're going to actually do something like this,

then we're going to need some one of us to go in and actually buy something, get the name of the owner of the establishment and a sample of their handwriting in the form of a receipt. Oh my god. Plus, can we just like, um. Or we could just steal a car.

Or just. We're going to do that, too. It's just not part of this plan. Why? He just sold this thing a week ago. Why would he want to buy it back for more than what he paid? Because it's very dear to him. Is it? He just sold it. To a pawn shop. Because it's very dear to him, maybe he's hoping. Is it? He just sold it.

To a pawn shop. In the hopes. It's a duplicate of a ring that he's worn for years. His entire life, it's a family heirloom. Then why would he just sell it? Because he doesn't have anything else of value on him. Well, then how could he buy it back? How about this? Exactly.

It would be enough to draw him out. That's all I'm saying. Okay. Imogen, what if rather than upping the amount, say, I found a solution, I found a way for you to reclaim your goods. I use a Prestidigitation and I create a copy of the ring that I saw.

Can I just go up and? No, I don't think he'd buy it. We've already dealt with him thinking he had the ring in weird situations. I don't think he'd buy it. We've already dealt with him thinking he had the ring in weird situations. I don't think he'd believe that somebody just had the ring and would give it back to him. Well, I'm not going to give it back to him, but you know. How would you know it came from Treshi?

You would have had to find, you would have. Because I talked to the person. I talked to the shopkeep. I just go up and I tell them that I have this and I want more where this came from. Well, why don't we just stake out tonight and make decisions at dawn? Dear Mr. Treshi,

I have a proposition for you. I'd like to discuss it in person. I think I can get you your ring back. Please meet me at the River of Renewal. Sure. Can we send him a gift card to the River of Renewal to incentivize him? The owner's, what are the owner's names?

It's the Hero family, I think. I don't know if there's anyone to really talk to there. It's a loose collection, but if I recall, the family that runs it is probably not down to fuck with people. You should just put it on paper in an envelope to find a messenger to deliver. Yeah, we can do that right now. Yeah. Anyone got paper send that right now. Yeah.

Anyone got paper? I got paper. Are we really just going to write a random note? Sure. As opposed to actually trying to make a note that might be slightly more reasonable to? I think we're overthinking this. All right. I agree.

I just want to see if he's there or not. I agree. All right. Yeah. Theoretically, too, if we have a group of people who just watch here, and maybe a group of people who just watch here, and maybe a group of people on the other side, we don't even have to wait for him to get to the ring. Hmm? He's just going to leave the building.

He just has to leave the building. Yeah, that's true. We could stop him on the way. Exactly. Yeah. Maybe we should scope out some dark alleys. No scoping. Well, we may need to do something here. Both, we've managed both! We've got to do something here. I'm talking about both!

I'm writing the letter. Did we get that shopkeep's name? I can't remember. Liam said. Ashton has it. I genuinely do not. I know the owner of the river itself, but those are individual. You could just put manager of the river over there.

And just a question. Family-owned. Let's say he does leave. He starts heading of the dead. And just a question. Family-owned. Let's say he does leave. He starts heading towards the ring. We make a move on him. We knock him out, keep him alive. We're saying we're going to successfully extract a living human being out of this city

with a bunch of crawler gangs and paragons. Call just the eight of us. We don't want to staff up at all with a fortress and motorcycle Mad Max gangs coming after us, so we can get to an airship that's not here yet. We can just hide for a day. Oh yeah!

I mean, one way of getting out of the city quickly would be in some sort of vehicle. We could be rushing it just a titty bit. I would agree. It's a fortress! Okay, okay, okay. Fearne, guide us. What time is it? By this point, I'd say it's early to mid-afternoon.

Oh. I was going to say we could go to bed. Sleep on it, it's too early. I'm going to start walking back to the market renewal. One day, we could work out an exfil plan before we do anything. Well, because I can see it. Once we get them in the black hole,

we've got 10 minutes to figure out what the hell we want to do with him after that. Yeah, we should have this, I mean, we're trying to get him out of, we're behind enemy lines, right? Literally, we wouldn't even have to fight him. All we would have to do is push him into the hole, grab the hole, run, find a quiet place to pull him out,

tie him up, gag him, and then figure out a way to get him back out of the city. Yes. Push him. And if anyone tries to, anyone comes looking or tries, gag him, and then figure out a way to get him back out of the city. Yes. If anyone tries to, anyone comes looking and tries to find him, we just throw him back in the hole and fold it up and hide it. I'm all here for it, I'm just trying. As long as we can get away within 10 minutes.

Are you saying every eight minutes we open the hole and close it again? Oh no, oh my god, man. Yep. Shove him back down like a fucking whack-a-mole. I mean, I've done worse things in my life. I'm not going to say I haven't done better things. I feel like a bit of a bad person for this one.

He literally becomes an art print that you carry under your arm, and then we can just go from building to building through the entire city. So letter? Letter? Letter today, or are we? Imogen's gone.

Yeah, Imogen didn't want to. Oh great, okay. Well, I guess we're just going to spend the night here then. We're going to spend the night, we're going to figure out exactly what the letter should say, where we want him to meet us, and see if we can just set a little bit of a thing. Or a bit of a trap. We're just going to make a trap.

All right, that's all. We're going to make a trap. We have several options. You trek back to the Bank of Renewal, back to the River of Renewal. What are you looking for? I'm just going to walk on in to the River of Renewal. All right. Is there somebody at the front desk?

Indeed, the same two figures that were running it before, the gentleman who initially had the conversation from what you gathered in corresponding with the dusk, steps up, hello, hi, can I help you? I'm looking for a present. Of course, what sort of present can I find for you? Something that looks fabulous,

but doesn't cost too much money. Nope. Looks over to his associate, gives a nod, and pulls a small satchel out and begins pulling out these wooden drawers about that big and sets them out. These are generally more of the, would be considered costume jewelry,

but not quite as poor. They are presentory, but affordable for those of us on the squeezed copper. Right. Nothing too ostentatious. I want it to look believable. Understood, understood. And begins pulling out bracelets and dual finger cuff rings and singular rings that all,

you can see at first glance, are polished well, but a discerning eye would see a lot of these are bronze, brass, that are just polished and plated to look like they're worth more. Any particular preference that you'd like to pull from this? Sure, I'll look at that double finger knuckle brain thing.

Okay. It's like two fingers that are affixed with a single bar on top, and across that bar, there is what looks to be elemental writing on it. How much is this? For this, let's say three gold. Ooh, all right.

And if I wanted to be serious and get something real? Well, I mean, he leans you over to the glass case that has a number of the other pieces of jewelry and pulls out the same drawers from earlier with Dusk and begins to reveal the other rings and such. These go upwards more like 50 to 100 gold pieces or more, depending on what you're looking for. How about that little one with the ruby?

Oh, this one? This has to be a 65 gold piece. 65 gold. All right, yeah, I'll get that one. All right. I'll get that one. Wraps it up. Could I get a receipt, please? Certainly. Yes, yes, yes.

And what's your name, sir? Oh, Adon. Adon Hero. Adon Hero. Nice to meet you. What is your name? Adon Hero. Janney. Janney.

Make a deception check. Come on. Come on. Come on. 15. 15, he goes, Pleasure. Finishes writing up the receipt, folds it up. Takes it and tucks it into the case with the ring

and passes it over to you. Jenny. Thank you. Of course. Feel free to come by should you require anything else. Thank you very Of course. Feel free to come by should you require anything else. Thank you very much. Adam. All right, I head back. Okay, you return with the rest of the group.

All I'm saying is, a vehicle of some sort. Doesn't have to be a crawler. I have another seat. Oh, you got something. Orym looks so relieved to see that you just came. Holy shit. That's Adon Hero?

You talked to one of the heroes. Oh, wow. Okay, that'll do it. Over to the heroes. He's on one of the shops. They own the whole thing, yeah. That's the family that owns that whole bazaar. The whole, like, apparently that's their part of the shop.

I wouldn't know, but wow. Do we have a handwriting person here? I take a guess that Treshi would respond to that level of wealth and influence. Yeah, than just a random shopkeeper. That's a legitimate person you have there. They're not necessarily, you know. What do you need for copying,

forging a letter and signature and stuff like that? Just something that can look like this handwriting is all. Yeah. There are forgery kits, technically, but you'd have to be proficient to get the benefit on that one. What would a shithead use to try to do a forgery?

I mean, it would be just standard materials, ink and parchment, and then a hopeful skill check. And a performance check? It would depend on the type of forgery, and I would give a couple of options based on who's doing it. I'll take a whack at it. Oh! Good performance.

Okay. We'll just want, Good performance. Let's do it. Okay. We'll just want, like, three people could do it, and we could choose the best one. Oh, that's true. Yeah. Let's all try to. Let the rest of us judge. Let's go back and maybe we should just go back to our rooms and sit down and have a forgery contest.

Yeah. Sounds great. You know, I am thinking about what Chetney said. down and have a forgery contest. Yeah. Okay, let's go. Thinking about what Chetney said, if we want to go, maybe either seek out some Imahara Cho's or the Gorgine, so that maybe we have a place to stash Treshi

once we get him. You know, some allies. That's not, okay, when you put it that way, you kept saying hiring muscle as opposed to making friends. Staff up! Headcount! Allies!

Allies I can get behind. I mean, if this Imahara Joes is friends of, you friends of your parents. Yeah. I'm sure if I told them that we have somebody that we're keeping hostage, they'll be fine with keeping him. Their pride would swell.

Fuck, do you think they'd be fine with a hostage? I think so. It's been a long time since I've seen them, but I think they would be okay with that. Maybe we should talk to the werewolves. I'm just saying, I can't forge for shit, unless it's in wood. Just to, just to.

I'm just going to be doing this. Fair enough. Let's just go back to the hotel, because we're not going to do anything to that, right? Okay, we'll go back to the hotel. The Gorgina exist in the gloom jungles of Aeshanador, which is to the southeast of Bassuras, outside of the Hellcatch Valley.

Oh, okay. not close at all. It's still a journey to get there. You know how we can get there. Sorry, man. Well, I guess I better leave now. I'll commit to it. See you later, guys. Bye, guys. See you. Okay, hotel forgery contest. You're not far,

but still a ways to go. All right. Hotel forgery contest. Who are our competitors? What'd you say? It was a performance check? Dusk? No, it depends on who they are and what your angle of forgery is going to be. So it's Dusk and Imogen and anyone else?

I have nimble fingers. I'll go for it just because, you know, fuck it. Yeah, why not? Each attempt, because it is quality paper and ink, it'll cost you about, say, about a gold per attempt. Just to add some stakes to this beyond you guys just trying this forever. It's only taking one round anyway, so yeah.

Yeah. All right. All right. Let's all shield our eyes so we have exactly no biases know who's who. Exactly. No biases, because Imogen's is going to be the best. Let's be honest, she's the most capable. She's really good at writing. Don't try so hard.

Imogen, I was that supportive before. So for the attempts at this forgery, you have the option to either roll performance or roll a straight dexterity check. Those are your options. Okay. That'll be straight dexterity. That's a straight dex on my end.

All right. Go for it. I will focus dusk with a burst of guidance. Unless you have proficiency in a forgery kit. Plus my proficiency in a forgery kit. Plus a d4. No. Somebody better roll well.

I roll the fuck. I'm a maskill. Is it good? D-Fool. No. Somebody better roll well. I roll for five. I'm going to ask you. Is it good? It's bad. 13. Okay, we got 13. 10. All right. Seven.

Seven. Six. All right, so Dusk, Def- Oh yeah, what'd you get? I want a two, 23. 23, there we go. Oh! Look at this guy, look at this diplomat over here. So there's a series of dick butts, and then. Calligraphy.

Honestly, I was going to say, in part of your earlier training with the Air Ashari, there was definitely classes in calligraphy and some of the ancient writings of the Ashari tribes, specifically symbology and the various elements and the usage of their symbols, both in magic, as well as iconography used both on body art and signifying temples and such.

There's something specifically meditative about that process that when you begin to get into it, it comes naturally to you and you surprise yourself with the quality you're able to produce. Derek taught me to write on the air. Mm. I like that. So amongst your various tries,

we'll put a five gold out on supplies. This is multiple attempts each of you. This isn't like you did one. This is like wasting a bunch of paper and materials and eventually getting like, ah, fuck it! Sorry, I guess I'm just not good at this. No, no, no. So you're better than him.

Orym, do you have a proper deliverable note you'd feel confident sending that direction? That's as good as it's going to get, right? Great. Okay. Excellent work, Orym. So probably want to hire a runner. I feel like we could have Dusk do it.

Yeah. Oh! I could do that. Tomorrow, tomorrow morning. Bright and early. What time is it right now? That's right, now you're getting close to dusk. No, not intended, but yeah. Double entendre!

Oh! Should we skip to the next day? Is there something else we want to do tonight? That's what we want to ask. Should we all have separate rooms, or are you in the same room? Should I get a room? We kind of all have our...

We have a few rooms. We have a few rooms rented at the Raha Den, which is in the Sumigunda Strip on the north side of the city. We could definitely just crash on them. We always get a few rooms, but then we all stay in the same room. Convention rules. Yes.

Should we keep an eye on the... I mean, what if he's leaving tonight? Should we keep an eye? Somebody there all night? Watch party? We need to sleep. If he's leaving tonight, you're not going to see him leave, I don't think. I think he would leave quietly.

Must have been a good night's rest, and we'll deal with everything in the morning. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. You all are posting back up at the Ra'ha Den for a full night's rest with the letter in your pocket and at the ready. Can we talk about theatewild and stuff?

Can I stay in your room and then? Of course, I would love that so much. Okay. Okay. Okay. As you all post up in your individual or gathered group chambers for the night, a sense of comfort mingles with a rising anxiousness of the days ahead for a multitude of reasons.

The draw of what may or may not reside within that fortress to reveal the quarry that you have come here to gather. The truths being revealed and unique tethers that unexpectedly attach some backgrounds and pasts as one. A slight itchiness comes to your head through the night as you feel your hair beginning to return to you. Oh! And a wary bit of rest

comes to you as the occasional night predatory bird's caw keeps you staring out into the open sky. I almost forgot about Shithead. But nevertheless, taking watches, taking care, and preparing yourselves for the following day and days ahead, you plot, and at dawn, you plan. We'll end this episode there. We'll pick up next time, fresh in the morning,

to engage in whatever series of chaotic plots you're putting together here, which I'm all for it on all scales. The system of pulleys and levers. I am all about infiltration. I'm all about crawler explosions. I'm all about all of it. So just got a little bit of time to think amongst yourselves,

figure out what you want to do. And we'll come back next episode and see what you've put together. So anyway, thank you all for joining us. Happy to be back. We'll be back here next week to see what follows in the interim. We love you very much, and is it Thursday yet? Good night.

Good night. Thank you for listening to this episode of Critical Role. If you've enjoyed this ever-weaving story, please consider rating and reviewing our podcast. You might just inspire someone new to hop on the wagon for the journey. We have plenty more stories to tell. Stay tuned, and we'll see you next time.