Critical Role - C3E46 Night at the Ligament Manor

Episode Date: February 2, 2023

Bells Hells travel to the Fey Realm, where they meet Fearne's curious Nana Morri and learn more about Fearne's unconventional upbringing... 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 (Critical Role Theme Song)" by Peter Habib and Sam RiegelOriginal Music by Omar Fadel and Hexany Audio"Welcome to Marquet" Art Theme by Colm McGuinnessAdditional Music by Universal Production Music, Epidemic Sounds, and 5 AlarmCharacter 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!

Good day, Critters! Travis Willingham here, and I am excited to welcome you to the podcast version of our Critical Role show. If you would like to watch the stream as it airs, you can tune in on Thursdays at 7pm Pacific at twitch.tv slash criticalrole, or at youtube.com slash criticalrole. The video-on-demand versions are immediately available for our Twitch subscribers or on YouTube the following Mondays at 12 p.m. Pacific. Podcast episodes are right here on the Critical Role Podcast Network on Thursdays, one week after the initial broadcast. Now that we've got all that covered, let's get this adventure going.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to tonight's episode of Critical Role, where a bunch of us nerdy-ass voice actors sit around and play Dungeons & Dragons. We're here to take part in Dungeons & Dragons! Hmm. That was a start. Before we jump into tonight's episode, we do have some announcements to get through,

beginning with our first sponsor of tonight, Persona. Sam, go ahead. Yes, Persona, the awesome RPG video game series we all know and love and have also been voices in. With Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden available on modern platforms, you're going to be in for a ton of JRPG action. So to get into that spirit,

we're going to play the Persona Advertisement RPG and start. Okay, enter my name. S-A- I don't know how other games work. You're also- I got letters. You're just-

Definitely button mashing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm a button masher. Okay, first decision, let's do, let's talk about Persona. Good morning, Sat. Did you know that Persona, the award-winning franchise that all RPG fans can enjoy, has returned? With two iconic Persona titles remastered and ready to be rediscovered?

That's right, Sat. Enjoy both titles now, available digitally on Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Series XS, Xbox One, and more. Okay, this is a fun game. What's next? Ooh, let's have a fight. My Persona 3 Portable has improved graphics, gameplay, difficulty selection, and quick save functionality. This guy will never see my special move coming.

The Dark Hour strikes twice! Whoa, this girl is good. She'll be expecting my Persona 4, but she doesn't know that my Persona 4 Golden Key has otherworldly dungeons, monstrous shadows, and a dark serial murder case. Don't touch that dial! It's time for the Midnight Channel!

Impossible. My rainbow charisma shell is immune to this level of advertising attacks. Is that all you got? I told you not to underestimate my power. She's right to underestimate my power. The Persona games are way cooler than me. Okay, well this is getting sad, so let's wrap this up.

And I'll select website. Check them out at persona.atlas.com. And our last move. Thanks to Persona for supporting the show. Matt. Don't doubt yourself, it's going to be great. It's always good to remind yourself where you got started, you know? Wake up, you guys. Where you began. What are you thinking about?

Thanks, guys. Thank you for sponsoring us. This episode is also sponsored by our friends at Skillshare. You may know Skillshare for their classes in photography, film and video editing, and illustration, but did you know Skillshare had hundreds of career-focused classes, too? Did you? You do now.

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One, two, two, two, one. One, two, two, two, one. One, two, two, two, one. That was just quick. Yeah, one, two, two, two, one. Will get a one-2-1. 1-2-2-2-1. 1-2-2-2-1. It was better, right? It was just quick. Yeah, 1-2-2-2-1. Will get a one month free trial. Your day-to-day is filled with tasks and endless to-do lists.

Prioritize your self-care and wellness by using Skillshare as a way to invest in yourself, unwind, and relax. Go check out Skillshare for yourself now, and thanks to them for continuing to support our show! Yay! Skillshare! Skillshare is actually good.

Travis, go! I got it! Sure! That was a good one. Travis, go! I got it! Guys! The first three episodes of The Legend of Vox Machina season two are available right now! Yeah! Go watch them! And again, and again, and again, and again.

Plus, if you didn't catch it live, you can check out our watch party for episodes one through three, available right now on our Twitch and YouTube channels. Episodes four, five, and six of season two will drop on Prime Video Worldwide tomorrow, January 27th. Definitely, they got to watch one through three,

because that's a thing. Might as well watch them again if you've seen them. And we will host our next watch party for episodes four through six next Tuesday, January 31st at 7 p.m. Pacific. Yeah. Yeah! Thanks, thanks. Oh shit. So excited. p.m. Pacific. Yeah. Yeah! Thanks, thanks. So excited.

Laura. Yes? You're up? I'm up. Okay, we got stuff. All right, we got the first thing I'm going to talk about. Oh, you know our little vinyls. Well, now we got Bell's Hell's GV Vinyls. Add your sticker collection. Aren't they so cute? That's super great.

Oh, here, and take a... Distribute, distribute. Ashton. Thank you. A little Purim. A little Laudna Beebe. A little Fearne and a little Imogen. Oh my god. Oh, here's your SDG. There's a... Aren't they so cute?

Okay. There's also, oh, and artist Jenny Park did these. She's amazing. We also have just a Bells Hells black thing you can put on things. We also had this awesome Bells Hells pin. Awesome. That's beautiful.

And then the other thing, the last thing, and I'm super excited about this, you can tell. It's pretty. Why? Hold on, I got to find the other one. I don't know what happened to the other one. Oh my god, I got it. It's right here. We have slippers!

What? We have tree slippers! Look at the bottom! You got little bear paws on the bottom! Oh my god! They're so cute! I already have some at home. I've been wearing them for a long time

because they've been in production for forever. Ooh. Check them out. Artists, Jordan Torrance. I know, they're so comfy and wonderful. Can I say it? I want to say it. It's so dumb. They've been in production for forever. Check them out. Artists Jordan Torrance. I know, they're so comfy and wonderful. Can I say it? I want to say it. It's so dumb.

What? Why have bear feet when you can have... No! No! There's a pass on the pass. No! Peace! There it is.

Isn't that cute? I can't believe we didn't think of that sooner. I can't believe you let me say it out loud. I know! And by the way, the bear paw on the bottom is grippy. So you don't sniffy. It's got traction. That was the grippy thing, don't sniffy.

Dang, look at all this. Awesome. Got lots of stuff. Thank you, Laura. Liam, you're up. Dang, let's talk about comic books, Critical Role The Mighty Nein Origins, Not the Brave is available now! Woo! This thing is beautiful. Created in partnership with Dark Horse Comics

and written by Sam Maggs, with our very own Sam Riegel and Matthew Mercer. This fucking gorgeous book was made with artist William Kirkby, joined by cover colorist Mildred Lewis and interior colorist Erin Angelini, and of course, letterer Ariana Mayer. The color in this thing is gorgeous. The whole book is beautiful.

Look for it in your friendly local comic shops and bookstores now. Sam, you have to take this baby home. I am so excited I get to hold it and take it home! Yeah. I'll learn to read. I do believe that concludes our announcements, so I think now is the best time to go ahead and jump into tonight's episode of Critical Role.

Critical. Critical. It's Thursday night! One by one we climb until we reach the top Two by two we fall Will we meet our end or meet our destiny? Hold your breath and roll How do you want to do this?

It's Thursday night All ye critters come join us It's time to continue our plight There is magic and mystery Who knows what will happen? Ye might But one thing's for sure We never give up on the fight

From the healer to the renegade We all share the same goal Adding more allies, taking more chances Hold your breath and roll You can certainly try It's Thursday night All ye critters come join us It's time to continue our fight It's Thursday night All ye critters come join us It's time to continue our fight It's Thursday night

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. What a visual.

So, last we left off, Bell's Hells, after making it to the city of Eos, the City of Flowing Light, gathering some information, losing Ashton for a bit, regaining Ashton, who had one of their own separate adventures that is continuing to reveal itself. Interrogated member of the Ruby Vanguard that seems to be working alongside

or under this strange, ruinous endeavor that Ludinus, Otohan, and Liliana all seem to be tied up in. In going to the seminary, finally, had some conversations with the professor about the origins of FCG, learning a little more about themself,

while Fearne and Imogen went to find the professor that you've been searching for for quite some time, and one of the main reasons for coming here at the get-go. Upon speaking to the professor and learning a bit of information about the Grim Verity and some of the work they're doing and have been doing as well as what seems to be happening underneath Ludinus' interests.

Ludinus G'leth arrived within that office, took the remaining elements of the Omen Archive that had been long hidden, and seemingly robbed the professor of the Omen Archive that had been long hidden, and seemingly robbed the professor of the majority of their awareness and intellect for the time being. After a brief conversation and being left to your devices, as Ludinus just left with the pages he needed,

you called in the rest of your troop. You gathered the professor, called Plain Rider Ryn, You gathered the professor, called Planewriter Ryn, who you had befriended and allied your various plans with, and decided that your next order of business was to search one of these three machines, these keys you've heard them referred to as,

one of which exists in the Fey Realm. As such, you were transported by Planerider Wrynn to the Fey Realm. After wandering through the dark swamps of an area called the Herakal Fens, you eventually came to the exterior of the Ligament Manor, the home where Fearne spent most of her life

under her nana. This strange, alien, vine-covered, massive tree house that you walked up within and were greeted by a somewhat nightmarish, monstrous form of nana, both faces and all, as she invited you to have a cocktail at her tiki bar. At her tiki bar. At her tiki bar. Which is where we return.

Here, within the central space of this bisected, twisting tree, the numerous branches all filtering off, a bunch of vines tethered and pulling in different directions, looking at the interior of a hard-stretched and dark inked body that had been pulled apart and grown over.

You can see these little lanterns lit up and hung everywhere, bubbles and trinkets and collections and constructions just decorating this interior space. You hear the faint sound of music and you watch as Nana, her extended head withdraws a little bit into the shoulders as she turns around with a grin,

clasping her long spindly arms together and rocks over to the far right corner where you see a weirdly grown cluster of shaved wood that is knotted and planed off to form a bar top that sits in the far edge of that corner. There's some extremely out of place grass thatch that creates a canopy over it, where upon looking over in this shaded little pocket,

you can immediately see a half dozen sets of glowing green eyes that blink from within the shadows underneath the thatch top. As Nanna, as Mori approaches, they begin to blink off into the shadows and she moves behind. And once she's within the tiki bar, it looks rather small.

She encompasses and fills the entirety behind the actual bar, but as you approach and follow suit, it's a large bar, she's just a large woman. You get a better look. There are dozens of bat-like creatures that all nest up inside the canopy of this bar. As soon as you begin to get closer,

you can see a bunch of the eyes flicker on and glare out. You can hear the little sounds that throughout as you approach. They seem excited at the presence of guests as well. Mm, wow. You also see a number of snakes that slither through the woven branches that form the bar.

They come up and wrap around these sets of jugs that sit on into the side of the bar, these dark brown terracotta-looking jugs. She immediately puts some glasses, these big hefty glasses on top of the bar, begins mixing some things into a large bowl, cups it and shakes it while looking over at all of you

with her sunken dark sockets, little golden glow of eyes from deep within them, just smiling as she looks across. So tell me about your friends, bud. All right, all right. Oh my goodness, wait till you have her cocktails. You have no idea how good they are. All right, so where do we start?

Okay, this is Chetney, master craftsman. Works with wood, so great. This is Laudna, master craftsman. Works with wood so great. This is Laudna, the most beautiful. She died. We brought her back. And she's super powerful, crazy good with fire. This is FCG. Smile all day to you.

Trust me, I want to get in there, too. And he opens up. He was like an assassin robot. Ooh. Yeah. You look to her and look back, and her head is right there, right in front of you. You're like, and it recoils back. Oh gosh.

Adds a few spices that she chucks into the top of the bowl, closes it up, and keeps shaking as you continue. This is Imogen. She's a superhero. In her head, she hears, Hey, honey. As soon as you go into the head, you hear a response of seven or eight different voices go,

Hi, honey. Hi, hi, hi. Hi, Miss Courtney. Yes. Okay. This is Orym, who I've been traveling with for a very long time, and we've befriended each other. He's one of my best friends.

And this is Ashton. Hi, Nanna. It's a pleasure. May I call you Nanna? It's a pleasure. You're a lot. Nanna, too old. Nanna, look at his head. Look inside.

Isn't it gorgeous? She removes one hand from the bowl and is about to touch it and goes, Man. Oh yes, of course. She runs this long, crooked nail along the glass. You see a dull blue glow fall from the inside. When you place your hand against those plasma balls

and it follows, you feel this odd, tingling sensation within your head and for a split second, you begin to remember flashes of things that you don't recall and then they're gone again. She pulls away. Oh, an interesting fracture. Sorry. Mm-hmm. Could we talk later?

Okay, yeah. Drinks first. Is Nanna's whole second face out in the open? No, it's closed inside. It's closed, so it's hidden away, right? Yeah. Okay. It's in the way. You just have the one head and the dress is pulled closed with ropes and tethers.

What recipe are you mixing for us? Oh, this is a harrow call special. Harrow call special? What's a harrow call? It's where we are, little metal friend. Oh! That's where we are, yes, a harrowcall. The region, the name of the home, homestead.

Harrowcall fans, yeah. Oh, the harrowcall fans. I'm so excited for this drink. I'm very excited for this drink. She, after shaking it for it, pulls up this odd bowl, and you can see this little spout on the far end. She pulls this cork off.

SAM and LAURA, and goes in. Turns around and just filling each of these glasses, and there's one for each of you. It's a brackish liquid. It looks like it has some thicker elements floating towards the top,

and it definitely smells of a citrus swamp water. But she sets the bowl down and slides them all forward towards all of you. Can you hand one down to me? Yep, yep. Bottoms up. I call this the Moonlight Glycerin.

Enjoy. She takes the rest of the bowl and drinks from it. Cheers! Minus size. Cheers. Minus size. Minus size. Oh, I have my turn now. Strong.

It's got a vibe. It needs to be a little warmer. Just a bit. That's it. Some quality miming you got there. What's the sensation like as it hits our tongues? It's very sweet. It's very sweet.

The sugar hits you first, and then it begins to burn. But it's a warm burn. It's like a toasty, an interior blanket of a burn. Does it say alcohol, or does it say, what is this? Both. Okay. Awesome. Yes. It's getting it say what is this? Both. Okay. Awesome. Yes. It's giving what is this.

The light in the room begins to brighten slowly and significantly. Fuck. Just a hint. Do I have any effect? You would actually have an effect on this, yeah. Oh, did I taste it or just have an effect? I mean, you tasted it like you taste anything else.

Which is nothing. Which is nothing. Okay, cool. But you all, for the next eight hours, have a darkvision. Ooh! That's high! And that hit relatively instantly? Within about a minute or so,

because it's going to fade into it. This is amazing. Whoa, cool! Well, we have been on quite a journey This is amazing. Whoa! Cool! Well, we have been on quite a journey, and I feel like you might have some answers to some questions that we have. I am happy to answer them. I really missed you.

I missed you, too, Fenn. You watch as her arm reaches out and caresses her, but her hand almost palms the head from the side. Just the length of the fingers and the wideness of the hand across the thin, elongated arm wraps around her and then pulls away under the chin. Well. Well, I don't really even know where to start.

Well, let me get some proper music first. Oh, yes, of course. She shuffles out from behind the bar, and that soft music you were hearing a little when you arrived, the jazzy sound, she goes over, and there is this crystal bowl, or more actually, a platter that sits on top of a shelf unit

to the right of it. It's really intricately carved. You look at it, it looks carved, but it looks grown at the same time. Either it was carved to look natural or it grew to resemble a shelf. It's hard for, even with your experience, to understand which direction it came from.

But on top of it, there is a matching light blue, almost like a sea glass top. It's about that tall. It's almost like a cone with a handle on it. She takes it and plucks it, the music stops. She goes ahead and hums the tune for a second and then spins the top again. And as she does, music begins to emanate from it.

As opposed to the soft jazz, it becomes like a gentle swaying lute strum. She bobs her head to it and then waddles back over to the, now the outside of the tiki hut. She's joining the rest of you on the other side, which dwarfs the sitting space around you. She leans onto the bar and grabs the bowl with the other hand and takes a sip.

Continue, please. All right, okay. I don't know where to start, because I feel like this is a lot. It's a lot, and it's a lot that we learned today, even. That's right. It's been a long day, Nanna. Is it all right if I call you Nanna? I told you I'm Nanna to anyone who's friends of hers. Do we know, your real name, though, is Mori,

is that right? Morrigan. Mori for colloquial friendliness. Is there a last name or? Just Morrigan. Okay. Yeah, that's all, or? Just another name. Okay. Yeah, that's all she needs is just one name. Of course, yeah. So.

That's a lot. This is perfect. We should start at the beginning and then work towards the end. Okay. And then when you get to the end, stop. Yeah. So there was this animated furniture. Whoa, that beginning.

We go game by game and tell him what every single thing that happened. The extent of pretty much the entire furniture. We just send her a crit recap. Yeah. Just keep it more and more smashed. Our eyes just keep wider and wider. And we mostly skip the last Thursday of every month,

but sometimes we change that. Interesting. Wow. Scheduling, you know. Wow, that's live. As you're telling the story, the music playing, you hear these little pattering sounds as a creature

leaps up from behind the bar to the top of it. You see this scrawny, somewhat shaky-looking jackrabbit-type creature with these large, disproportionate ears that have markings on them that look like their eyes, but they're just markings in the fur, but then where you would see eyes, there are none. It's just the nose of a jack-o.

Is that really floppers? Or bumpers and floppers? This is peepers! Peepers? Peepers! You do. I was going to ask if other people saw that. Okay. Oh, give some scritch. As you scritch in, the ears flop down a bit, but you watch they blink themselves, like their eyes, and when somebody talks, both the ears move in their bit, but you watch they blink themselves like their eyes. When somebody talks, both the ears move in their direction.

It's odd because it looks like texture in the fur, but they also seem to be looking places. Oh my goodness. I love him. All right. He sits back on the bar. You can see the front legs are unnaturally long and thin and wispy, tiny little twigs. They fold and sit as the ears

up in the direction of Fearne as she keeps talking. Wait, you've mentioned floppers and bumpers. Oh my goodness, there's so... You have so many of my friends to meet, and I am so excited. How many buns do you have here? Oh goodness, so many. I have so excited. How many buns do you have here? Oh goodness, so many. I have a child.

What? What? What? I'm going to bring up Misfred. Oh. Jeez. God. Second time she's done that.

You're in prison. Look at my baby. As Peepers looks at it, and first off, Morrigan goes, Oh my goodness. Where did you pick that up? I just pulled him right out of some fire. Wow.

Just plucked him right out, and then he stayed with me. I already always knew you were gifted, isn't she? Why gifted? You hear a rumble from beneath the dress. Peepers looks over and smiles. The jackrabbit mouth curls open to a grin and you see these long teeth

and the teeth wiggle like fingers as it smiles. What? I feel like we're in a Vax comic book right now. Ungulating teeth. Did this shit come out of your brain? You don't know. A little bit of calm, a little bit of calm, dude. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is both.

This is a collaboration. I don't know what I expected, but I'm really, this is great, all of this is great. More to drink. So, we're trying to figure out some things about Ruidus and Ruidus Born. And we've heard that there's,

well, we've actually seen one because we saw the Nightmare King, the piece of glass that you had me take to him. Yes, yes. How did that work out, by the way? I made that to the specifications he requested. It worked. Cool. It worked.

You made it? I did. Oh, did we do that? Yes. Okay, okay. Was it very difficult to make? It took quite some time. It was a project, kind of on the side, as I did my hobbies day to day.

I figured you two would cross paths, I had a feeling. I could feel the quiver on the threads, so I'm glad that worked out. It's definitely, it was well-made. If I may ask or pry, is something like that very expensive? Like, what did you charge for it? I owed him a favor, anyway.

You owed him a favor. Don't really deal much in coins here, but. Sort of trade favors? Yes. You said that you did that as a hobby on the side. What do you fill most of your days and nights with? Watching. Watching what?

Others. Anybody in particular? Others? Anybody in particular? Or anybody particularly fun? Like a theater? I'm what you would call an observer. While I am not a master of fates, necessarily, that resides with the matron. I, when no one's looking, I can add a tangle or two to the skin, should I so choose.

I just like to see who's getting tangled. And keep an eye on my sweet third. Just random folks, or? Wherever they seem to be. Causing the biggest wrestles. Have you seen a group of people causing a... a tangle over the Apogee Solstice? Oh, there are so many.

I wish I could show you just how tangled it is right now. It's exciting. Do you know about the machines? The three keys? I know of them, though the details, I am not as engineering-minded as perhaps Ira is, since I know that was his project for a while.

But, yeah. Fearne and the rest of us are hoping to get a look at the one that's in your neck of the woods. Would you be able to point us in the right direction? It shouldn't be too hard to find, but yes. Yes, yes. I don't want to break up the family. No, no, no. No, it's fine.

It's definitely our goal is to. You all look rather tired and well-traveled. You need to at least stay the night. There's guests in my house, yes? Yes, let's stay the night, let's have a sleepover. Yes, yes, yes. Is there enough room for us here? Oh yes.

You don't want to impose that there's a motel or something nearby, we could also... There's room. What happened? What? What? What? No, you missed a thing. Ashley had a moment. You have to watch it. I did. You're not expecting Ira back anytime soon?

Are you close friends? Oh, I've not seen him in years. Oh. We've seen him here recently. A few times, yes. Did he ask anything, say anything? He mentioned that he knew you. I don't know what else I have.

What are you asking? What do you want to know? He's fucking around a lot with the keys. Excuse my language, miss. And just generally causing trouble. Yes, I knew he worked on the one here, and he then, kind of, you know, chaos agent, jumped over into the material. Takes a big sip of the bowl,

leans a little closer. Did he say anything about me? Well, he, well. I fucking knew it, Nanna. Oh, is this the hot goss? You know, I think this is the hot goss. There we go! The first round, really?

Okay. He said he could smell that, what did he say he could smell on you? Calloway. Yeah. Smell that. He said he could smell that. Oh, hooch. No, no, no. What is it? You never say. Calloway. Yeah. Smell that. He said he could smell that. Calloway. Oh, hooch.

No, no, no. What is it? You never say. With an H, with an H. Hooch. This good hooch. Smell that hooch. Hooch. Yeah, the hooch.

I mean, it's coming out of jugs. It could be thumb hooch, for all we know. Jugs of hooch. Yeah, with a hard H. Good save. You perverts. Smelly jugs of hooch. Oh my god. Good save. You perverts! Smelly jugs of hooch. Oh my god.

I think we're just trying to figure out... Well, okay. I'm going to be very honest with Nanna, all right? Oh, really? Insight check. I think I know that she can help us. How much do you know about Ruidus? Not much more than what is generally known. It's an odd little red thing in the Exandrian sky.

I've heard many superstitions that revolve around it over in that space, and it's just mysteriously popped in and out to the Fae for a past number of years. Right now, if you looked in the sky, could you see it? That's how you can find your way to this machine. Oh, is it under it or something? It's what keeps it here, I think. It's when Ira, well, Ira almost finished it.

Then they more or less fired him. Who? He stole the crown, right? Well, the Calloways stole the crown. Oh, right, right, right. With a little help. Are you saying the machine somehow pulls Ruidus from our home to yours somehow? It seems to carry a chunk of its essence

here at the very least. It's what your mother was complaining about, seeing. Like splitting a river. Not entirely certain specifics, but it's a bit odd. It's caused some ruckus in the surrounding regions. The Unseelie have been building up their defenses. There's the Shiverkeep where they've hidden this device.

They've, uh... The Shiver Keep? The Shiver Keep? The Shiver and Keep? The Shiver and Keep. Oh god, never, ever, ever be free of it. Nope. About as long as we love you.

Then let's begin. Then let's begin. Is that far away? It's a bit of travel, but you know, distance is a relative. Oh. So it's time. Oh yeah.

If what we heard from Fearne is correct. From our understanding, the solstice is approaching very quickly, and it seems what they're planning with these machines is fast approaching as well. We were hoping that if we succeed in what we're aiming for here, that maybe we'd be able to get your help

with our return. You're kind of pressed for time and are hoping not to stretch it out. Mm. It is quite stretchy around here, isn't it? Shiver just ran down our spine. Shiver and keep. Yeah. Yeah, so when we do go back to our realm,

we were hoping that you could help us maybe avoid losing time. Maybe you could even send us back before we left. Is that a thing that you can do? I can't send you anywhere, but I can guide you to one of the doorways that can bring you back to your home. Oh, okay.

So you can send us any when? No. But I can help focus the transition. Keep it less random. Okay. Okay, okay. That's helpful, because it's possible for time to shift quite a bit.

Oh, very. There are some that hundreds of years go by in the blink of an eye. Oh. That would be bad, right? I don't know, I mean, 400 to 500 like that. I'm here for it. It would take a lot of stress off

because whatever would have happened would have happened. Half a millennia. Do you know what these machines are for? They're a bit beyond my purview. I am not a mind for machines. They bore me. What I do know is that they've, well, it keeps the strange specter of Ruidus

over the Sunshadow Realm. The Sunshadow Realm? The Sun, Fearne, you know this. The Sunshadow is the overall region where the Unseelie essentially rule. It's the darker shaded area of the Faerom. So it's like you're on the cusp of the Sunshadow. You are within the Harrowcall Fens,

which is just in the outskirts of it. Gesundheit. I lost you. Thank you. Thank you. There's the Sablecast Grounds, which is within the Sunshadow. That's the smaller localized region, and then the Shiverkeep is within that. So. Honestly, if you have questions,

you're best to ask Ira. He's, after all, one of their designers, so... Maybe you'll have to have him join us or something. Could you get in contact with him? Yeah, is that an easy ask? Oh. He's tricky to reach at times. See, we had a flirtation many, many years back,

and it wouldn't have worked out. I'm far too much of a woman for a spindly thing like him. I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about it. Yeah, do you? Yes, yeah. So, feelings are a bit confusing. Sure. Complicated. I get it.

Well, the last time we saw him, he sort of stole the crown that was stolen. He double, he stole the stolen crown. So he stole the crown that was stolen. Yes. Yeah. The Moontide Crown. The Moontide Crown, yes, that one.

And he, and you know what? Never mind. What? No, tell us. It was a good buildup for something. It was, it was something good. He's been a bit rude, all things considered. I was going to tell her that he broke the lens you made.

Oh. It got broken. It got broken. Because of him. He had a passive voice. Yeah, that's true. But, if I may, when that lens was put in there, and that Jyn looked through.

And Orym as well. Did you know there's a city on the moon, on Druidus? No, I did not. Yep, there was a city. And a mesh, a divine mesh. Hmm. And there's someone called Predathos.

Not someone, a something. And. He eats gods. Eats gods. That's spooky. Yeah. Man. So, and. Imogen gets power from the moon.

I do. Well, so does Chetney, actually. No, no, no, that comes from within. The moon. Comes from within the moon. Mm, I smell the wolf on you. Yeah, you do, girl. Vibe's strong in these places.

Plus this hooch. Do you have any more? Oh, there's plenty more. That came from Little Wolf Boy. Same. Yep, that one. More, please. None of this Ruedas stuff seems to be your bag. What's your, what do you love to do

besides just watch people? Hobbies, interests. She starts mixing around, like, I like to craft things. She points around and you can see all the weird skeletons that are posed, all these odd taxidermied mixtures of creatures, all these weird paintings that are marked

with different caustic-looking liquids, like acid burned across leather and paper. There's just a bunch of weird crafts that are marked with different caustic-looking liquids, like acid burned across leather and paper. There's just a bunch of weird crafts that are all over the interior of this house. You get the sense that she's an artist of some kind. It's beautiful. It seems like it would have taken quite a while. Have you lived here a long time?

I stopped keeping count. She finishes making the next batch of the next drink. I have my own cup. Actually, I pull out a giant blue thimble to be filled up. I have my own cup, of course you do. Giant blue porcelain thimble. Reduce, reuse, recycle. These little taxidermy pieces,

they're so, oh my goodness, they're so built on. You see, Chutney and I, we're a bit crafty, ourself. In fact, do you want to? Should I? Do you want to meet one of my creations? By all means. Okay. He's a little brash.

Is he going to be alive right now? We'll find out. That's a good point. Was he in the first place? Please whip out a dead. Boom! Curled up in a ball, opens the door. Wake up!

Aye, sorry, I was having a little nap-sy. Pate. Yes? We're in a whole other dimension. Whoa. Yeah, I know. We're in the Fey Realm. Yeah. And I want you to meet someone very special. Yeah. You have to be polite.

Keep it in your pants. All right. This is Mori. Mori, this is Pâté. Hi. Oh my goodness, is Pate. Hi. Oh my goodness, look at this little man. Do you like him? What's going on? This is a little weird.

It's a big lady. She reaches out and clasps him. You should have hugged him. Yes. Her fingers immediately form into a cage around him. Oh! Oh my goodness. He watches her long fingers. Almost like if she puts her hands together,

more fingers extend than she originally had on her hands, and there is this elongated cage around Pâté. She pulls it in and looks at it, and he's like, Oh, this is a little nerve-wracking. Oh boy! You're fine! Da-da-da, can I get out of this? She goes, Oh, you would be such a fine addition to the collection.

Oh. You ask me my hobbies, I'm kind of a collector. Oh. But alas, you're not mine. She puts her fingers back together and then releases her hands, and it's just back to her hands, normal. And Pate, kind of,

and she looks generally shaken, and she scoots into your outfit. Good boy, good boy, yes. Well crafted, that is quite talented. Thank you. And what do you make, little wolf boy? Oh, anything that's made of wood. Really the first source material of all great artisans.

Sometimes they move on to other materials and lose their way, but wood, that's where it all starts. I can't help but notice the furniture around here is exquisite. Did you make it yourself? Oh no, this is the tree's gift to me. The tree's gift? If you listen, they can hear requests.

They can be your friends. Oh my god. They're all alive and beautiful and they feel and they think. That's incredible. Gifts? Did they take requests? I appreciate it. Maybe you should try it.

Wouldn't be as so heartless as to carve the wood myself. That's what I was about to say. Yeah, no, no. It's, yeah, more like sheer will. More or less, with a little respect and a little bit of imagination, you'd be surprised what can pop up. Right.

Are you a woodcarver, small, woven boy? Well, yeah. Yeah, I just cut right into that shit. I open my canopies, just like wooden earth metal. Sharp instruments everywhere. That's amazing! Yeah, well, you know, back where we're from,

the wood isn't quite as receptive. It's actually quite still. I love it, supple. They all have different characteristics, but you really got to put some work into it if you want to get artistry out. Well, before you leave, I'll have to give you some pliable materials to work with.

That would be incredible. I'd be very open. I could do a custom run, limited edition. Ah, the Fey Realm, one of five. That glint in your eye, that passion, that's one of the things I collect. Ooh, ooh, ooh. I feel a little weak when she does that. Well, I'm getting a bit tired.

It's time for her to finish the tour. The head recoils back into the shoulders as the dress opens, and their face goes, . Hi. Oh, yeah! They face the, Hi.

Hi, Nana. Hi. Chetney just nopes out in the back. A little disassociated. This is narrative-ish. It's kind of a... We take shifts. That's convenient.

I'm more of a night person. My nanny gets tired and takes over. She's more of a day person. We have an arrangement. I like it. That's really great. They're just lulling up in the high collar. Wow. Wow.

Naina, I have a question. You're a collector. Yeah. How long ago did you bring Fearne into the Fold? What was she like as a little girl? Mm-hmm. She was precocious, and she was gifted for a time for safekeeping.

She was gifted for a time? Oh, to you, to you? To keep her safe. Oh, yeah. From the... those that sought her blood and kin. So... was I a gift or was I a favor for something. It's been a while since I've thought about the specifics of it, but I

think I was just keeping an eye on you. I watched over your mother for a while as well. Oh. Okay. I mean, you're a protector. For things that I have a fancy for. So that wasn't in exchange for a favor or anything, right? Let me check.

Check. Again, now with the head tucked in, the dress pulled open, a curtain on each side, you see the massive, deep black and blue, fish-like eyes, the wide mouth with rows of teeth is grinning that creates half of the front torso. She begins to walk along and head up the stairs to one of the various branches.

As she does so, the voice goes, I'll look around. Feel free to show them. The man. Okay. All right, well, do you want to see my bedroom? We have the bedroom, we have the most beautiful garden. We also have a space where you guys can stay tonight.

I want to see your bedroom, for sure. You want to see my bedroom? Yes, of course. Yeah. Okay, let's go. All right. Okay. A bedroom is the window to the soul.

As we begin to walk. Also, I'm realizing we haven't actually filled y'all in on everything that we learned at the seminary. I definitely want to hear about this. I feel like we're all overdue for a chat. Yes. But we already know from metagaming. What's that?

It's Nanna's third face. Why don't you give us the tour, and then we'll say our good nights to Nanna, and then we can gather around. Okay. And make some decisions. Yeah, okay. We'll come up these stairs. Come up this branch.

You follow Fearne as she leads you up one of the spiraling, central, two winding pillars of the split tree. There are a number of branches that you see heading off in certain directions. One looks like it leads, like the direction where you saw Nanna, where you saw Moria walk off to

is one of the bigger branches, and it leads to this one branch that almost looks like it's an arm holding a large three-story cylindrical hut, almost, that itself has, it looks almost like a giant iron cage made of wood. I say iron cage because it has reinforced bars like you'd see on the outside of a, what do you call it?

The medieval cages where they put people in. Oh, Crows Nest. Crows Nest. Or Crows Cage, or yeah, yeah. Something like that. Looks like that, except for it is a thatch interior of it, and it's massive. You know this to be her collection. This is where she keeps her trophies.

So you point that out, but a little further up the tree, there is a cute little cubbyhole door. And you can show them what they see as you lead them into your room. Oh boy. Okay. So when we walk in, I know I got to make sure I don't get anything. Fearne's bedroom looks like

swaths of beautiful fabric. It's like a Marie Antoinette bed, and there's feathers everywhere. And if you look closely, the curtains are skin. Mm! And from creatures. Skin?

Yeah. But I painted on them, so they look beautiful. And there's more creatures on the ceiling. And when I'm sad, Nana can make them perform. Oh. And they sing songs. Wow. Yeah. It's like a tiki room.

And there's a big, big round window where Fearne can look out onto the world. But it's also, there's a cage of sorts outside of the window. A meshy situation. There's a cage of sorts outside of the window. A meshy situation. Like a metal cage or an arcane cage? Like a divine cage? No, I think it's just safety situation.

Is that to keep you in or to keep other things out? Probably both. But I imagine it's just to protect, you know? And either of you, what do we see when we look out this giant round window? Say again. What's the view? Say it from here.

So when you were approaching, the majority of the, this is the interior of the tree, the large canopy of twisted vines that tangle and surround it like a domed blanket of green and dark brown. When you look through the window, it's like the vines are thinned out, just visually. It's almost erasing some level of the tree cover visually from the window, and you can see instead

over the constantly swirling and tangling and shifting tops of the surrounding swamp and forest. It's just a beautiful aerial view of the wild expanse of the Harrowcall Fens that surround you. You can see the cloudy elements of the sky and the bright pink, with almost an orange hue it places,

almost a perpetual sunset light that pushes through. You can see where it grows shaded. On the right-hand side of it, it gets darker and darker. And in that distance from this height, you can actually see a heavy peak of these tall, thin, almost needle-thin teeth-type mountains that rise up on the horizon. And a little glowing red orb

that drifts at about the same height as the peaks of those mountains, but in front of them. In front of them? Yeah. Weird. Oh, that is weird. Yeah, our moon does not hover in front of the else. Like it's low, like it's low on the horizon.

Yeah, like it's right there. Like it's in, like it's low on the horizon. Yeah. Like it's right there. Like it's in, okay. Someone set the background props in the theater in the wrong number. If we had to guess, 10 miles, 30 miles, 300 miles? Hard to judge. Make a survival or perception check. Can I check as well?

If you like. Staring at it. That's a natural one. 16. 16. On the edge of the earth. Is that actually the shiverkeep? I believe so. Yeah, yeah, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it looks like it's maybe

15, 20 miles off. Looks can be everything. It's maybe 15, 20 miles off. Sheesh. Looks can be everything. You do recall, Mori, in an earlier note as you were conversing, mentioning that distances are relative. Yeah, yeah. Depending on the path you take. All right.

Shit, you said shit. Well, this is, yeah, this is. Shit, you said shit. Well. What are you going to do? This is, yeah, this is. Your room is just so cute, right? Isn't it so cute? I love it. I love what you've done. Oh, thank you.

What kind of skin is it? I think it was something very large. I can't remember what it was called, but I helped her skin it. And then, you know, we just, we did all the stuff where you take the skin and you make it last for a long time. And then I just started painting on it.

Love it. So it's just, you know. Yeah, it's all the artsy words then. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's all the artsy words then. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's really beautiful. Has it changed much since you left? How has it moved?

No, she kept everything as is. Amazing. Amazing. Is it a soft mattress or super firm? Get in the bed. Ah! Check out my fern's bed. I know. It's super soft. It's like a cloud.

A cloud of dust that came up off it. Of course! That came off of Chetney, though. It's also a little damp. Damp? Yeah, that's what bedbugs look like in the Feywild. Crazy. Being in the tropics. They've got little hats.

Hold on, we're pretty good. Well. Scrooge. Do you want, I can show you all where you can stay tonight. Yeah, is there a separate outbuilding or is it just all in here? Yes, there is. Okay.

What was that cage-like structure or room that we passed on the way up here? Yes, there is. Okay. What was that cage-like structure or room that we passed on the way up here? That is where Nanna keeps her collection. Can we see it? What kind of collection is it? Are we allowed to look? It's just anything. I'd love to see it. We could ask her.

Yeah, okay. Yeah, we could ask her. Oh, you finally get to, well, I mean, I'm just assuming that you can probably put some of the stuff that you've been collecting away so you don't have to carry it all the time. That's true.

Oh, we could keep that bust here. I bet it would be really nice. That's right, and then we don't have to carry it. We could give it to Nanna. Oh my gosh, she would love it. I like having it in there, but okay. She would love it. Oh well, that's a very fair point.

Yeah, we should give that to her as a present. Great conversation piece right next to the bar. Oh, sure. And you have to ask for permission? You don't seem to be someone that normally asks for permission to look at things. That's true, but I respect my elders. Insight check.

Wow! Well, it's her tower. It's kind of, I don't know, it's her thing. But we could go in. We could go try. Ever get into trouble when you were a kid? Get into trouble here? Yeah, all the time.

What did Nottah do? Nothing terrible. She would just get upset and tell me, you know, don't do that. You should have done this, but also be your own person. She's actually pretty great. I feel like. All good advice.

All very good advice. Was it from both nanas, or just one at a time? Both nanas. Tummy Nana's a little more strict. How do you feel aboutas. Tummy Nana's a little more strict. Tummy Nana. Tummy Nana's a little bit more strict. You know, it just depends on the day. You know, sometimes if Tummy Nana has had some bad food,

you don't want to be near her. Yeah. Makes sense. Yeah. Must be hard to digest bad news. Oh. Oh wow. This guy is really good. Yeah, show us then, if we can't go to the collection, why don't you show us where we're going to be staying?

It's all good. We can knock on the door and see if she'll let us in. Yeah, let's do it. All right. I really want to. So where are you heading? Yeah, there's the Undermuck, the collection, there's the garden. Where do you want to head? Let's go to the collection, the collection. There's the garden. Undermuck.

Where do you want to head? Let's go to the collection, if everybody wants to see it. Yeah. Okay. It's your tour. Yeah, let's do it. I don't know our name like Undermuck. I could live here.

Okay. You head back down and find that one solitary branch where she had walked her way up to. Now that you get closer to it, you can see there's tiny little portholes almost that are pushed through the thick wicker and thatch that make up the exterior of this large cylindrical structure, with the fingers at the bottom of it that hold it from the branch curling up and rooting into it and holding it in place. There is the one door, it's almost like a half-circle top to it

with its own porthole and window in the front with curtains on the inside closed. And there's a handle to hold it open. Are you saying there was an organic latticework? Is that what you're just going to say? Yeah, it's a structure that looks like it has a metal cage, but it's stretched, dark wooden planks

that are holding the sides of it. The interior of it is solid wicker thatch, building this almost three-story cylindrical pill-shaped structure that's just being held to underneath at the end of the branch, upward, like a lantern. Okay. You guys walk up the branch

to the base of where it sits. Hey, Nana. You guys walk up the branch to the base of where it sits. Hey, Nana. The first knock you get, the door opens, and you can see now the heads wrestled in there with a little face mask on it. It's just the material tucked in there while the face ones pulled open with these large goggles set onto there. Almost like a work face, but the goggle lenses are this big and there are gloves on. It's like,

Yes? I just wanted to show them your collection. Please. We have to make a group persuasion check. Please. And then we'll make a group persuasion check. Group persuasion. On you. I'll show you my wood! Natural 20. Oh shit! Nice. Dirty 20.

25 total. Okay. 16, I think, double checking. 14. 16. 16. 16. 16. Oh, wow. 16.

Oh! I rolled a 16 as well. For the modifier. 16 times four is? 64. Yep. I got 18 minus two, so 16 more. Actors.

Lauri pulls pulls the goggles off and sets them over one of the shoulders. Quickly, not long. It's not for lingering eyes. And on the inside, you step inside the chamber and it's shelves and shelves and shelves, just rows and rows of shelves that completely line the interior of the cylinder with a large spiral staircase that winds up.

It's almost dizzying when you walk in. As you look towards the peak, it almost feels like it's tilting and stretching in real time and the vertigo begins to kick in before you have to right yourself to look around. But there are, on all these shelves, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of glass jars, tiny little orbs,

what looks to be like wooden boxes and chests, little statuesques and figurines made from porcelain or clay. You can see what look to be like fleshy faces that are stretched across dried, petrified fruit. You glance up and can see long, dead, and dried fairies that are pinned to a piece of corkboard.

You can see manners of eyes and dried herbs. You can see whole, filleted bodies that have been tanned and colored and painted on that just dangle and flap with the breeze that's let in with the door opening. You can see hanging strips of some unknown organic material and at the end of each one, you can see a single face. As you look at the face, it sits there, loose.

It smiles at you. Aww. This is a curiosity's collection of nightmares. And it is just an endless array of things that each has a story, and you're not sure you want to know any of them. Oh!

This is what that shitty museum should have been. Where does it all come from? Look at this stuff. Isn't it neat? Uh-huh. It's magnificent. It's amazing. I know. Now you know where I got it from. Wow. Yeah.

Where does it all come from? Maybe someday, Fearne, your collection will be as vast as this. God, I hope so. Is there something you're particularly proud of, man? Oh, I'm proud of quite a few things. How do you come by all? Oh, they all come to me. Wow.

I don't like to travel too much. This is my thing. I'm at my most confident and capable right here. And individuals come to me asking for things, favors, boons, gifts, grants. And I take my price and place it here. Wow. You know, the time thing, it's really up to you, the time thing,

it's really up to you, the time thing. It's like, well. We actually, I mean, we're not even talking about, we had a thing we were going to, a gift. I mean, we were going to give a gift, actually. We had something for you, if you like. The smaller, steep head, like, meaning he goes,

What, a gift? And lifts up the things. Oh, you've awakened her. Settles back into the torsos. The other head is now conscious, goes, I'm sorry, I heard something about a gift. I wanted both of them to be awake for this, but that's okay.

I do hope you like it. I wanted both of them to be awake for this, but that's okay. I do hope you like it. I think you're going to love it. I'm going to need a little bit of space to get it. All right, hold on. There's going to be a thing. Should we add anything to it? Some skin or something? Oh, she'll do it. She'll do it.

Clearly, she's got enough skin. We could donate a tongue. Here, here. We're going to pull out the portable hole. So Ashton did have the hole. Yeah, why? Okay. Sorry. I know.

I'm going to bring out the statue and set it down right in front. She glances at it from behind, facing you and taking your face as you set it down. You want to turn it around towards her. Ready. As you turn it from you, the face eventually filters to a neutral,

smooth lack of any sort of detail. She stumbles forward, her head craning down. Interesting. As her head gets close to it, you watch the terrifying, flattened, nostril slit, sunken eye face of the upper head of Morrigan begin to form out of the statue. She looks it over and looks it over.

It's almost like the magic of the statue straining. It's trying to make the form, and then it picks up again, and then picks up again. It's like something about her presence that the magic is having a hard time grasping. She goes, Oh, cute.

I wonder. She opens the front of the dress again and begins to stand up to her fuller height to show the secondary face. The statue and the crack begins to run through it. She pulls away and goes, Oh, I know this magic.

It's always a pleasure to see its limits. This'll be fun. I'll fix it right up. It'll be a good little addition to the entryway and parlor. That's a place that's neat. I was so curious to see what was going to happen. She grabs it and puts it over to the side. Proud, I'm proud of a lot of things here.

Ooh, maybe the heart of the Lionguard. She turns around and sets up one of the steps to an upper shelf about 15 up. Please tell me it's a real heart. Oh, maybe, 15 up. Please tell me it's a real heart. Oh, baby, Kapisa. Baby Kapisa. What? It's a Disney shop. Oh, I don't know.

Ronan somewhere in the future's going, Ceyron? Oh, that's right. I remember auditioning for that years ago. She goes up and retrieves something and pulls it off of an intricately presentational shelf up there. Comes down and there is a beautiful, metallic,

locked jewelry box with a little pointed top with a gem-embedded handle. She pulls a jangling key ring with hundreds of keys on it and immediately plucks one. She knows exactly where it is and opens the lid, and there inside, there is a massive purple and black heart,

a wet, disembodied, fleshy heart going . Oh my god. Wow. Oh wow. It's about this big. Belonged to? This belonged to the central champion of the Lion Guard. Here in the Fey Realm, there is a long-famed,

legendary group of protectors of some of the Midlands between the various influences of the Fey. The courts themselves leave the wildlands in between as a neutral place for meetings, competition, and all sorts of revelry and dangers. The Lionguard were assigned as a flowing guardianship over these middlelands, and their champion helped out many years ago. To this day, he asked me to keep this as payment for the favor.

Wow. Like he's still up and moving about. As long as I have this, yes. Wow. Like he's still up and moving about. As long as I have this, yes. I was about to say, it is still beating, which means there's probably someone still walking around. That's so cool. That's incredible. Wow. And wherever he is right now, she pokes it a little bit,

because he just got some heartburn. I was going to ask. Wow. Puts the key rings back and brings it back up to the shelf. Comes back down. I'm going to peruse my collection while you rest. I think there might be a few things that could be helpful if you're indeed planning to go delve

into Unseelie territory. I have one of these keys. I have some ideas. planning to go delve into Unseelie territory after one of these keys. I have some ideas. You're so nice, thank you. Actually, Nann, if you do have a second. So I don't normally have any feeling. This bit is not really me.

It's just glass. I got a thing happen when you were poking around up there. You wouldn't happen to know why that is, or if this reminds you of anything, or? Not in particular. That is a very... It just never happened before. It wasn't bad. It was actually really very... That just never happened before.

It wasn't bad, it was actually really interesting, but it never happened before. She reaches out again and takes her finger and traces it along the side again. There's another weird blue flicker on the inside, and then there's a burst. In a split second, just about an inch outside of Ashton's head, you see this miniature disk

of dark black and purple clouds with speckles of light, like this tiny little galaxy that just apparates just outside of his head, and then shuts, and she pulls her finger back. Oh, no, no, no, no, I'm not touching that. I don't know what that is. I don't like it. Did you touch the...

What? Did she touch the what? I don't know, that was weird. Just that was a little, I don't know. That scared you? Like how it, what? It's odd, you look at her, and she has this expression like

a mistrust and surprise. Not fear, but she just burned herself on a stove. She's like, Apologize? I don't know. This is its own thing. I don't know. FCG and I have gotten burned in there as well. Yeah, I didn't think you'd be going in.

That's a dream. Ah, I didn't think you'd be going in. That's intriguing. What is it, what is it? I don't know that sensation. It is weird, and I wouldn't recommend going all the way. I could actually show you, do you want to see something weird? Always. Let's maybe not do this in here.

I'm going to step outside, and I'm going to rage, I'm going to just try and make a nice surge happen. Okay. Pop rocks. Pop rocks, let's see what happens. Pop rocks! That is a? Pop rock.

Oh, that'll be fun. Yeah, it's the time shift. The red and blue phase just pop off, and I'm trying to get one direction and the other, and it's all just popping back and forth. Right. She watches, and the other face, the center of it pushes out of the dress to watch.

Now both faces are watching Ashton give this brief display. Something really cool? I hit Hyper Rage, and I'm just going to fucking. Hyper rage? What's hyper rage? In one place, I'm just going to move in around four squares. Like flesh? 160 feet in one round. It gives you mega healing.

And then I'm out. This barbarian goes to 11. So yeah, in a small four square, I just move 180 feet in six seconds and drop. Ashton! What? What in the world? Okay, I'm good.

Cool! How long have you been able to do that? I don't know. What? Also, it happened when I did it a little while ago. Actually, I guess we were all busy punching things, and yeah, that was the thing. I just figured out how to do a while ago.

We should all go work in the kitchen more often. Sure. Yeah. Like Imogen said, they got stuck in there. Yeah. We got stuck in his brain. This is stupid. Oh my god. I love you. Hi. His brain. This is stupid. Oh my god. I love you. It's recently occurred to me that I should probably ask people about this.

I don't want people to get hurt in there. So I'm- It's strange. You seem smart. Of course. And it's... The best I can describe is whatever magic resides in that crystal feels very new, yet very old. As I start, if you ever think of anything that I'd appreciate it,

you're the first of a collection of clever people. I'm figuring I should poke a nose. I'll think on it. Look, right here. Oh, nice. And then we have. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Hmm.

Oh, wait, before we put the hall up, can I reach in there? Could you grab the... Oh, the bloody apron. Yeah, yeah. Where did I put that? Oh, the butcher's thing. Oh, yeah, hold on. I know where that is. I love that. I'm rolling in. She would love it. Yeah, yeah. Where did I put that? On the butcher's thing. Oh yeah, hold on, I know where that is.

I'm rolling in. She would love it. I may have reorganized everything, I'm sorry. It was just a mess. I throw it over to the side of the table. We have time to do organizing. Yes. Oh, I got it.

This is a particularly strange item. Tighten up. I'm crawling out. It always bleeds. She cranes in and looks, Interesting. Right? I feel like this is my aesthetic for the Fey Realm.

I mean, it's pretty good. It's a good look on you. I agree. Yeah, it's good. Hand is just coated in fresh blood. It's very cool. I come out with a little fancy pipe and I'm going to start lighting it up.

That's a good face. Folding up the stuff. Please continue showing them around. I'll get back to my nap. She puts the sleeping mask back on as the other face emerges from beneath. I'll keep looking for something that could be helpful. Yes, okay.

Okay. I really appreciate it. We should probably go to bed as well. Yes, let me take you to the Undermuck. Yeah. Okay. How does he act? Sounds comfortable. It is.

Is that the last part of the tour, or is that where we're sleeping tonight? That's where we're sleeping, I think. Yeah. Is that the last part of the tour, or is that where we're sleeping tonight? That's where we're sleeping, I think. Yeah, it's the last part of the tour. Cool. Yeah, the Undermuck was, technically the last part would be the garden. The garden.

Yeah, the garden's at the top, the Undermuck's in the bottom. That sounds appropriate. Yes. Where are we sleeping? Okay. Sleeping would be the garden. It would be the garden.

Let's go to the garden. All right. sleeping? Okay. Sleeping would be the garden. It would be the garden. Let's go to the garden. All right. Yeah. Okay. So you. Morning. Morning, morning mug. Brunch in the inner mug. You follow for an up the spiral of the central tree, passing more and more branch extensions.

The vine canopy cover begins to thin further and further, the higher you get. Well over 120, 130 feet, 150 feet towards the top. Eventually, you come to the apex of the last twisting branch before they splinter off into almost like a platform comprised of the heavily tangled branches. As you step out onto it,

you're above the woven network of long, thin trees that create the entirety of the fens around you. You're now with an even better view than what you saw the illusory image from the inside of Fearne's room displaying. Here, you look around you, this hidden heart of the treetop, a majestic garden that is a menagerie

of beautiful and alien plants and hedges and flowers that have been carefully cultivated to create a glowing display of strange, fey magic around you. There are dozens of floating arcane candles that drift through the air, bearing orange and blue flickering lights. They slowly move in wave-like patterns

in this ever so faint circle around the entirety of this wide garden. You can see hundreds and hundreds of pale glowing fireflies that move and weave around the space, through the bushes, through the air. You can see arches that just stand between different walkways that wind through the hedges

with these large fen flowers that tangle through. Not terribly unlike the ones that greeted you when you arrived here in the space, but these have more variety in their colors and look spotted. As you watch and approach them, you watch as in the space, but these have more variety in their colors and look spotted. As you watch and approach them, you watch as they follow you and you hear, Ooh.

Ah. They're gasping and oohing as you approach. Ooh. Ah. More or less. You begin to walk by them to see a series of contorted topiaries that resemble warped people comprised of thorny shrubs.

They're other people. They've been shaved and manipulated to look like people in mid-pain, various tortured poses. They're really people, aren't they? They look like they have pain. Can we get a little closer to those and just make sure they're just shrubs?

Sure, go ahead and make a nature or investigation check. Your turn. Fireflies. 17. 17. 17. I mean, you look at them, and they're definitely plants.

Oh. Definitely little plants with bushes and leaves and little berries. They're plants. Cool. They're very dense. No semblance of- They're very, very dense?

They're very dense. They're very dense plants. Theylance of? They're very, very dense? They're very dense. They're very dense plants. They're definitely people that were turned into plants. There's no shoes at the bottom of the roots or fragments of clothes, any jewelry on the? No jewelry, no shoes. They're extremely detailed. It's incredible that somebody could sculpt such detail out of a topiary, but yeah.

Yeah, they're incredible. Do they look like they're heading in a direction? Are they all like, No, they're all scattered to be their own beautiful, terrifying little art pieces in the middle of this garden. Fearne, what can you tell us about these? Oh, yes.

Is this your old coming date? This actually, hang on one second. I just wanted to make sure I didn't do anything. She's looking it up real quick in her mind. That was something I wanted to remember. Mind palaces can be a trick. Not always. Um, what did you, I'm sorry, what did you raise me?

What are these dead things? They're plant people. Are these really people that were turned into plants? No, I made these. Oh! Yeah. These are my design. And they're not people. Oh! Oh!

I feel like Hannibal Lecter says that. I don't even think you're proficient in nature. Well, I can. I'm not, but if I have some scissors. Oh, okay. You know, just. You do these by hand, not by magic? No, just snip away.

You know, you just snip it and you just make it in a beautiful pose. Fearne, did you know? You just snip it and you just make it make it in a beautiful pose. Fearne, did you turn? Insight check. Yeah, I did. Make a persuasion or perception based on the truth of your answer. Or deception.

Natural 20. Yeah. Thank you. For a total of? Wait, what? Insight, right? Er, er, er, er, 22. 29. Oh, you bitch! No!

But you rolled a national 20! But I did roll a national 20! She got a national 19, and she's fucking awesome. Well, the thing is, crit successes on ability checks technically, like, it's not like an automatic success. Wow. But it often gives you a little boost on it. But the difference between a 29 and a 22

is still pretty extensive. Yeah. Wow. It's a gut check. Yeah. They're definitely strange. They definitely give you the willies. And sometimes you may hear a little bit of a thumping noise.

Oh my god. Oh my god. What do they smell like? A thumping noise? I'm going to put my face next to one and take a look. From the fucking plant? Where of a thumping noise. Oh my god. Oh my god. What do they smell like? A thumping noise? I'm going to put my face next to one and take a picture. From the fucking plants? Where's the thumping coming from? Are we sleeping amongst these? Well, yes, but let's, here, there's a back house.

I have an amazing place for you guys to rest. About this time, you begin to hear a and you see a shadow suddenly come around from one of the hedges and start rushing towards all of you. Before it stops. Oh! Sweet pea? Burr?

What? You see a massive, rotund sun bear. Sun bear? With a wide underbite. An actual sun bear? An actual sun bear with an underbite and this long, fluffy poof of a beard

at the bottom of his chin, who's holding onto one of the arches and like, I just got to get my breath for a second. All right, all right, bring it in, bring it in, bring it in. Oh, fur. Hey, big boy. Wait, what is his name? This is Sweet Pea. Sweet Pea. Yeah.

This is one of my really good friends. Nice to meet you. Hi, Sweet Pea. Haven't had a lot of new guests around here. Oh, nice tongue. You're getting a tour. Fantastic. Let me see. What is this on your tongue? I mean, I know here. Oh, nice tongue. You're getting the tour. Fantastic. Let me see. What is this on my shoulder?

I mean, I know what I'm talking about. It's a bear with a big, old tongue. They're very unique. They look like a bear. Ooh, that's a big tongue. They're giant and they've got... And they walk like people. Like weird claws. Oh yes, yes, yes. Very distinct faces.

And this one is very roly-poly. Yeah. Very, very fat. Nice to have some new blood here in the manor. Nice to meet you. We got plenty of room in the garden for a few more topiaries. Oh! I knew it! I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

He's just joking, he's just joking. He's just joking. I saw you looking at him from a distance up close, so I figured it was kind of a joke. Uh-huh. We would make these together. Yeah. Oh, wow. They're great. Yeah. What's the thumping sound we're hearing?

Oh, that's a secret. Okay. Detect thought. I know. Are you? No, no, no. Yes, yes! I swear to you, don't you know what that not really means? I only have a fourth level left.

We're going low. He only rolled ones. Fourth level detect thoughts. Okay, the surface thought you get is, I want to get back to that bowl of oats. They interrupted me, but I don't want the flies to get to it. Reserve his current surface thoughts. Sure. Sure.

Yeah. So the thumping is just a secret? Oh, I keep to the garden. I don't really know what the thumping is. When it happens, I'm supposed to water them more. Interesting. Yeah. Is it in unison? It's one thumping sound for the entire garden area we're in, or are we hearing it out of sync in different places?

You're not really hearing it at the moment. Okay. If you get close to one of the bushes, you can kind of hear it. Sure, I'll do that. Okay. I'll side-lap. Does each bush have its own thump, I suppose, or is there just one unified? Stupid passive perception to find one in the area. can cut. Sure, I'll do that. Okay. I'll side-lap. Does each bush have its own thumb, I suppose, or is there just one unified? Stupid passive perception

to find one in your area. Which is really ridiculous. Boom. What is that? Boom. Does it sound like it's coming right from? Boom. It does. From a topiary person or just a?

That's a person. Hi. Sometimes with art, you shouldn't really analyze the process too much. It's just more about taking it in and it makes you feel something. They're not people. Interpretation of the mission. Yeah, I'm going to put my hand on Orym's shoulder.

In his head, he's going to hear, I mean, what do you think is worse, ending up as a flayed person in a collection room or a living topiary stuck in a certain spot forever? You hear, I'm not questioning it. We got shit to do. It's got to be rough to supply the raw material for art. This conversation's happening,

since you are reading Surface Thoughts, you also get from Sweet Pea about the thumping sound. I never quite really figured out why. I may ask her what thumping is, too. Now I'm curious. Okay. Not an inquisitive sort. You get the sense that Sweet Pea

is just happy to be here. Great. Fearne, you've mentioned Sweet Pea before, but did you guys grow up together? Did Sweet Pea look after you, or were you more like? Oh yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, just best of friends. I mean, you're meeting all the hits, you know?

She was real rambunctious, hard to keep up with, always running around, causing trouble, and then I'd get in trouble, and then we'd both get in trouble. Yeah. Hasn't changed much. Yeah, hasn't changed much. Not going to lie, I miss it.

Me too. But it's good to see you, Fearne. It's really good to see you, too. Aw, Fjord. Big old boy. He hugs her and looks back at y'all with his weird eyes. Uh-huh. So are they moving in, too?

Well, just for the night, just for a little bit, however long we're going to be here. Are you staying? Yeah. Okay. As long as we have you back. Okay. I think he's asking if you're staying forever.

Oh, well, I'm not staying forever, I don't think. I know. Well, we'll see. Aw. I know. Oh boy, look at your face. You can't say no to that, Fearne. You can. Well, we'll see. You might change your mind. Saunters back over to the edge of one of your might.

He's visually, physically pouting with his whole body as he walks over to one of the branches and goes and plucks a leaf from it. Starts chewing on it. You know, I hear sun bears have tongues almost as long as yours. I know. We should compare at some point. But he's a little sad right now.

I never heard of them talking, though. No. No, me neither. No. I've never heard flowers scream, either, though. I've never seen a person with a head on their stomach before, but you know, lots of things happen here. So many new discoveries.

Yeah, it's a little different. Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, also, where we've been is very different for me, you know? So are we. Same. Every day has been a new horizon. Just saying. So deep. Passion.

All I've been thinking. Oh, I've been thinking. Oh, I can see how the skin could be really, really disturbing if you had some, suddenly seeing it somewhere else now. That makes sense now. I was wondering why everyone was weird. It's basically leather. All right. It's leather.

It's leather. Yeah, I can see. I can see how that would be weird. Yeah. No. All right. That is weird. Sweet Pea has now returned from his pout session, goes, Yeah? I'm over it. Good boy.

Move on. Welcome, friends, for the night. If you need anything, just let me know. I'll be up here in the garden. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Sweet Pea. We're just going to go to the, our little, our little backyard.

Lardo. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Okay, right this way. Is this where we're sleeping? This is where you're going to sleep. Oh, my oach! Then wanders off, deeper back into the garden. Those must be some hell of a place. Damn good oats.

Your family's great, by the way. This is really amazing. This would be a wonderful place to grow up. It was. I had such a wonderful time here. Yeah. Yeah. I wish we could visit under more relaxed circumstances. Yeah. Yeah. I think the only thing this business is done,

we can have a little vacation. I'd really like that. A fake-ation? Yeah. A vacation! That's right. I feel better about the stomach fun. That would be amazing. Really? Well, where would you want a vacation?

Out here. All right, that's fair. Well, you haven't seen all the really amazing parts of this place. I haven't? Are you sure? No, this is just, I mean of the fey. Oh. Of this realm. Outside the house.

The house. You got some more people furniture hanging around? Uh-huh. Following Fearne through this elaborate garden, almost like a hedge maze built at the top of a tree tower that overlooks the entirety of the surrounding landscape. It's a very unique, plucked out of one space into another with just one crossing of a threshold

as you sift through the clouds of fireflies and the various singing flowers. It's very, almost like that sweet smell of rot that seems to emanate from some of these flowers as you pass, as they sing and hum. Like, Some of them harmonize, some of them create discord and sew it together and it shifts left and right. It's very odd.

But eventually, following Furnia knows directly how to get there, you come to one back section of this garden where there is this beautiful little purple wood vardo with some brass trim and a couple lanterns on it that flicker behind frosted glass. It's got a little double door on the side with wooden steps that lead up to it. It looks like it's about maybe 10 feet by eight feet. It's cute. It's not massive, but it looks well-made and sits in the middle of this garden like a centerpiece.

You ready? That's cute. Taliesin is super excited, too. Okay. Step inside. I'll shoot straight at that. Okay. Roll initiative.

You step inside, and the interior feels oddly larger than the exterior. While from the outside, it looked like it's that small space, the inside is about a 28-by-30-foot chamber. Whoa. It has three large beds with silken black linens covered in patches of heavy furs

that are thrown over them like blankets of different colors of bright reds with little spots of white in them. Some brown and black, almost wolf-looking furs that are laid out in other sections. They're all just these three massive guest beds, more or less, within here. There's this deep, deep blood red paint across the inside walls on the wood that's used to form the interior here. There are these long golden cables from end to end that have small little lanterns that hang from them

that have these little candles and that flicker and glow, giving this soft ambient light to the inside. It smells like a burning rose incense on the inside of this Vardo. There are tapestries across many of these walls. They all have a very, very similar art style. It's a lot of stark black and white art.

They're just long stripes, almost like tiger stripe patterns that form long tunnels and shifting tunnel work. And then as you look at it closely, you pull back and the overall design of each tapestry looks almost like a screaming face. And you take a moment to focus on it, and you're like, oh, that's upsetting.

And each one's unique and different, with different orientations, and there's about seven of them across all these walls. And once you take it in, you look around, oh, okay. Such a tranquil environment for sleeping. This is the guest house? Yes.

Did you do this? No. There seems to be a theme of pain and agony for sleeping. This is the guest house? Yes. Did you do this? No. There seems to be a theme of pain and agony and torture. Sometimes when I do sessions with people, I have them draw things as a window into their inner thoughts. Oh, really?

And sometimes fears and sometimes desires. I hope it's not desires. Well, who knows? Yeah, no, I didn't do these. Okay. Nanna already had these here, I think. Did you collect these or did Nanna make them? We should ask her.

I think she collected them. I don't think she made these. I hope not. You should check. Yeah. Great. Well? The beds are comfy. I'll go sit down on one of the beds. Pick one and flop.

Ah. Should we make some tea? Tea? What? For something? I don't know. Just a little night, night-night sleep attendee. For the night? Is there. Tea? What? Something, I don't know. Just a little night-night sleep attendee. For the night? Is there night here, twilight? We've been to three different dimensions today.

We should probably just go ahead. Oh my god, we have. Do we want to have a meal or something? I mean, fuck. I don't. I don't consume food, so I'm fine with just shut down for the night. But did you, have we told them?

So much has happened today. About your new? It's a secret. It's a secret. Oh shit. I'll surprise them. You're doing really bad about the secret. I can hear you whispering. Secret in front of us.

It's fine, it's fine. I do want to speak for FCG. I'll just, maybe I'll have a little gift for you all in the morning. How are you feeling? By the way? Not good. You need to sleep.

Truly terrible. All right. Well. All right, so we're in for the night. Cool, well, I guess if everyone's tired, I'll just tell you about the red alien beings in the morning. Cool.

What? I want to hear about this. Yes. What are you talking about? There's people called Rylora who live on the moon or something. Is that the shadow people you think you've seen in your dreams?

No, I don't think it's the shadow people, because those, I think, were Otohan's armies that she's accumulating. Has she read this? No, this was information from Professor Sumal before her brain was turned to mush. Yeah, apparently people who have the ability to see Pradothas or whatever in their dreams,

there's been multiple people who have seen the red storm in their dreams, like they're walking on the moon or something. They started getting visited by Rylora. Yeah. Right. The Exaltants. Right, that's what she's like. Rylora! The Exaltants.

Oh. Yeah. They've been visited in visions or in physical life? In dreams. In dreams. But the way Sumal described them is like creatures made of red energy who sometimes are friendly, sometimes are very much not. I can't help but think that sounds like that thing that just us.

That you brought out on the airships? Yeah, that I didn't know where it exactly came from. Right. Yeah. Huh. So anyway, I don't know what it exactly came from. Right. Yeah. Huh. So anyway, I don't know what any of that means, but. I'm sure it's a coincidence. Absolutely a coincidence. Yeah. In your dreams of walking on the moon,

you think in your dreams that you've been on Rutus? I mean, that's what seemed to be the... Yeah, it seems like it. The thoughts. Also, my mother and Otohan, so they both can do that, right? They both can go into dreams, but they have a way to

push themselves into other people's dreams, something that I cannot do. Yeah. Wait. Like, oh, oh, but... Okay, this is going to be a little stoned because I admit that drink hit hard. You're always a little stoned. Oh, but okay, this is going to be a little stoned because I admit that drink hit hard. You're always a little stoned. Oh, okay.

Now you're one up. Now you're one up. You'll never see it coming. You'll never see it coming. Yes. Maybe you can. I know you think you have a body when you go to the moon, but do you have a body when you go to the moon?

Clearly you don't because your body's here. So what's going, are you in somebody else's head up there? Are you entering their dreams? How are you up there? Or they enter in my dreams. Are you a big red energy person up on the moon? Am I? I was in a dream with you.

You look like you. All right. But that might have just been a dream in itself. Maybe there's something connecting to you. I don't know. Ashton, astral projection is also a very known thing. Like the out-of-body thing.

Right, I mean, that's what we did for you. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe? They said that, like with my mother, before she would go to sleep, they started playing violin music for her before she went to bed, because that's what calmed her, and there were certain smells that she loved.

So maybe if I can just figure out what sort of things are like that for me, maybe. Oh. I don't know, it might be something. So if you're soothed, you might be able to control it more? Maybe. Oh, that sounds right. You need a massage before bed or anything? Before you chug?

Well, I mean, I would happily volunteer for anyone that needed a little stress relief. My feet could use a little bit of work. You know what might soothe you or calm you in a dream? If you bend down there, I'd be happy to. Would be Laudna. Chisel for the tummy. No, yeah.

But I mean, I could bring her into your dream. We have talked about trying to do this. Right, and we have not done it. We could try. Maybe we, you know, I love, I know you love your tea and maybe the smell of things that remind you, reminiscent from home. Maybe that would be calming.

That's true. Maybe Orym could help, you know, make some herbs or flowers. Herbs or flowers? Um. Yeah. There were these flowers that grew in our fields.

They were really pale pink. Very, very full. Similar to a peony, if you know what I mean. I think so. Yeah. And I haven't seen them anywhere else in our travels, actually. Okay. He just holds his hand up by your hair

and pulls a small bloom out of his own hand, and it is not exactly as you remember it. It is skewed, the color is skewed slightly towards the color of your hair. Very similar. I've never made that one. Is that close? It's very, make a nature check for me

if you don't mind a little. Okay. It's a 13. 13's not bad. Not bad, yeah. It's not exact, but it seems to replicate a lot of what you remember. It smells very similar. Thank you, Orym.

Okay, and as the conversation goes on, he just starts absentmindedly making another one and another one and another one. I used to keep these in my room. Very beautiful. I'm going to go get some herbs. Hey.

I have some ideas. I have some. Well, I have cooking herbs, I don't really have. You do? I've got some stuff. Okay, I think we should get some lavender. I don't have lavender. I think we should get some blue lotus I don't have lavender. I think we should get some blue lotus because that helps with sleep.

Oh. And maybe some skullcap because that's how you do lucid dreaming. How's that? Oh. So make a little tea. Yeah. I mean, I don't, who knows? Maybe Ruedas can't reach here in the Fey Realm, though.

Maybe I wouldn't even have those kind of dreams here. It's literally right there. Yeah, but it's different here, right? Maybe it doesn't have the same power. Maybe I wouldn't have dreams here at all. Maybe you'll have more intense ones. Or maybe you'll be able to control them. Can I ask, before we go full Flatliners,

these red beings, what did the professors say? Did they know who they were? No, they said that once the exalted exaltants started pushing into their dreams more, the more the R'hllor would start to show up. And it was not something that was comforting. It was a very scary development, and they backed away from it

when the R'hllor started making more and more of their presence known. Okay. I might be wrong, but they also call them dust walkers. Was that right? The Crimson beings and their dream state beings. And I think Professor Sumal said that they're kind ones. Yeah. And mean ones.

So hopefully your pal is a kind one. Yeah. He's a little grouchy, didn't he? Oh, testy. Well, he's probably on edge. Yeah. He's a little grouchy, didn't he? A testy. Well, he's probably on edge. Yeah, he's a protector. He was protecting us. He's the third one.

Speaking of someone making their presence known, when did Mr. Deleath come into this whole thing? Oh gosh. Because. Gosh, yeah, you guys. That was a little alarming. No, yeah, it was. It was. He's very intimidating.

Yes, there were about seven locks on the door. We locked every single one, and when he came in, he just booped, unlocks them. Open. Open, inside with us. The worst part was is that the Omen Archive was right there on the table. And then as soon as they were unlocked,

Professor Sumal was pushing them off the table, but it was almost like he was so intimidating that I didn't... It was like he would know if we tried to grab it. I wanted to grab it. I felt like we were stuck. Yeah. Like we just watched and we didn't do anything, because we didn't know what to do.

After seeing what he did to Sumal, I think it was the wise decision not to intervene. Mm-hmm. Okay. I would've been incredibly distraught if he would've scrambled your brains. Yeah. Well, knowing what the Cerberus Assembly wants to do and knowing who he is, he's top of the food chain.

He's very old, very old. Oh, and Sumal had a theory that, I mean, this we know, or maybe it's a running theory, I don't know if it was hers, but that the flares are the ways for these beings to reach a person and hold onto the tether. Oh yeah, that's right. So maybe that's why it gets intense.

Maybe, so you have a tether. You could have a tether as well. Well. You were born under a flare. Yeah, but I think it's just not as strong. I don't think I have a friend that comes out and is like, Well, that's what Mister is.

That's what Mister is. Mister has a gun. My Shannon? Mister hangs off your shoulder, just holding it in the air. Yeah. I know, I know, I know. Oh, and another thing. Sorry, this is a big down-looper.

No, please, we're going to do everything. Sort of. Ludinus. I know, even though you heard it off. Varys is familiar with nightclub shock. Ludinus is not Ruidusborn. Oh, that's right. He was very jealous. Yeah, you could tell. Yeah, you could tell.

Anyway, I'm done. Probably mad because his name rhymes with Ruidus and just nothing. Oh my gosh, it's such a missed opportunity without what I'm sure. How do you feel about all this, Imogen? I mean, everything we've seen and everything you've shared with us,

these people that we're fucking with, they are trying to get ahold of you and we're running into it. Yeah. It's weird. They make some good points, right? I mean, are the gods that great?

Some of them. We don't know. We haven't met a god. Not going to say I'm a fan. It was fascinating talking to Taldis. Did Ludinus reveal anything? Share the same face? Just, you could tell he was...

He was very opposed to the divine. Didn't believe that people who'd received their powers from the gods should... He didn't think they were worthy. In a weird way, that makes me want to find out more about the gods. I mean, I don't know much. All I got is a coin and some advice, but maybe if we find out more about the gods,

we'll know why these folks are so anti. Maybe. I certainly don't like the idea that a lot of people could be wiped out with this one event. I don't like... I don't think he should have control over it. Just one person deciding the fate of so many? Certainly not that person.

What guarantee do we have that what he believes is what will happen? Even your man mentioned dipping her fingers and meddling a little bit with fate. And we know the Raving Queen ascended into godhood. It does make you question a lot of the entire structure and system of it all. What would happen if they were all gone?

Would new people rise to their stations, or? Would anything change? We'd actually be free. Would anything change? If Predathis devoured the gods, would he stop at the gods? Or would he devour the entire world? All I know is the folks who are doing these keys seem like real bad folks.

Mm-hmm. And so we should, and your mom's messed up with them. Seems like the only way to get to her is to at least make ourselves known. She's working with Ludinus, directly underneath him. He works with her a lot. He said, who knows if he's telling the truth. And you've talked to her and she wasn't like,

It's great, come on down. No, she's telling me to stay away. Yeah, I mean, something's going on. Besides, clever argument is not what makes a good or bad person. Everybody can make a fucking clever argument, whether or not they believe it or not. You see someone being a cruel piece of shit,

that's a bad person, no matter what they fucking believe. And I've seen some cruel pieces of shit around this thing. All I'm going to fucking say. I don't really need to debate it. I lost my father and my husband to these people. I'm not on board. And some of the gods are terrifying, and some of them have

put their thumbs on the scales for people for centuries, even in the last few decades. Who are they? Who are we to decide who lives or dies? God or mortal or otherwise? I don't think they have any good points. That poor person in the library, that was just mean. To that, right? It was today.

It was just fucking mean. What a day. What a long day. It's been a long day. We should sleep. Going to kill many more people ourselves in this process. Us? Yeah, it feels like we're going into battle, right? So in a way, we're also about to be arbiters deciding who lives or dies.

I'd like to say there's a difference, but I don't know if that's true. I've done a lot of bad things, and I don't feel bad about a lot of them. A few I do. You said that the Matron of Ravens, she was just a normal person before and then became a god? That's the story, yeah. From things I've read. There are a few I know. So anybody can do it. I mean, I guess if you try hard enough to, yeah.

Are you thinking about that for yourself? Is that something you want to do? Absolutely. Oh, okay. Professor. Professor leads to god. I'm Professor God. Professor God. Yes, Professor God. Interesting. That leads to God. I'm Professor God. Professor God. Yes, Professor God. That's major tenure.

I don't like major tenure. Just below God King. Professor God. I don't like making decisions, so. Chetney. The guy with no decisions. You've been married to God a little bit. Quiet.

That's my God a little bit. Oh, that's true. The God doesn't know what to make of me. No, he makes decisions. I don't like him. What do you make of all this? I mean, it's sending to godhead. It's cakewalk. Simply eat your Wheaties, take your vitamins,

don't swear, stave off masturbation. Boom! You don't do any of those things. I do all of them. I mean, you do all of them. I can get rid of all that shit. I don't want to be a god. But I also like how it's been the last 400 years,

so people trying to fuck all that up. Not a fan. Brought me to y'all. 400 years. Damn, you're so old, Chetney. Yeah, you should take advantage of that wisdom. I'm an open book. I know half this shit already. I'm just letting you guys figure it out for the first time.

I mean, he does have a fair point. How old is Ludinus compared to him? You're probably the closest. You mean Ludie? Oh, you know him by name? Old school pals. Oh, were you guys in a fraternity together? No, he didn't like it when I kept taking his girlfriends. Ludinus was talking about the Calamity

like he saw it with his own eyes. He likes to say that. Chetney, do you remember much about post-Calamity times when you were a young spry man? Oh yeah. Sadie Hawkins, 375. Yeah. You're mad fit, though. You should write a book. I am mad fit.

Do you remember the people having resentments? We were tired. Yeah. No! No, in fact, I remember being quite taken with all of it a long time ago, and from everything I heard, it sucked. Everything after the calamity was awful i mean they had to start over from scratch just wipe the slate clean it was something like a third of the world just

that doesn't sound good i'm not up for that why they all died all the gods were fighting on the face of the earth. They're huge, and we're, I mean, I'm already pretty tiny, but. I mean, I guess if anyone lived through that, they might have a chip on their shoulder. Yeah, I'm looking at one. Oh god, you were there, too. Why do we have so many old people?

I am a killing machine. You don't remember. Oh, that's right. Oh my gosh. Wait, I don't want to, once again, I don't want to speak to you. I want to go to sleep! Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

I don't want to go to sleep. Also, I also think it's just a little bit. I'm going to kill you! I think it's a little stupid to think that they're trying to just release Predathos. It seems so simple. It's some basic bitch shit. People like Ludinus,

people who have been around for that long, they want to use something like that, bring it under heel. Yeah, and he's not telling us his whole game plan. No, he's going to claim that thing. I think you're right. Of course I am, baby. Don't trust a dude.

I think people who want power, why would they let someone else take it? Does he want power? Yeah. Shut up and go to sleep. If it doesn't have power, why would they let someone else take it? It doesn't have power. Yeah. Shut up and go to sleep. Just tell me more. I feel like if we're role-playing that we're going to go to sleep, we feel like we really get to go to sleep and realize. I know. One more question.

Before we definitely go to sleep, do you want to dream tonight or not? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Definitely do it here. Come on, this is prime. Well, I don't even know if it'll work, but I mean, sure, I can try. It doesn't work.

I've never gotten to control when I dream before. Imogen. Dream. Dream. See, the worst part is if it works, it's not going to take credit, and if it doesn't work, it's not going to matter. It's like the hiccups, right? Like if you tell somebody to hiccup, then they part is if it works, it's now going to take credit, and if it doesn't work, it's not going to matter.

Kind of like the hiccups, right? If you tell somebody to hiccup, then they don't do it. Wait, can I have it? If you mind, I'm just going to do a thing really quickly. Are you ready? Uh-huh. Okay. So if it works, it's me now. It's my thing. If it happens, it's not you. I'm not going to fucking work. I'm going to steal your chisel and I'm going to fix this thing that's happening with my middle toe.

I'll work on your feet, just don't fuck up my chisel. It's perfect. Imogen is surrounded by 80 to 100 flowers. Oh, there's so many. Let's do this. Let's do this. Oh, I don't even know how to do this. I could really actually use a napkin and pot cup.

Okay, yeah. There is a handful of clusters in the garden, which has a wide array of different plants. What if I bamf myself into Otohan's head? What am I going to do? We'll be there. We'll be with you. Crush him up in front of my incense. I can snuggle up next to Imogen.

I give her a little scalp massage. You know. Just playing the scalp massage. I'm going to hit the Pearl of Power, restore a spell, cast Shared Dream. All right. Bing, bang, boom. Bing, bang, boom. I'm going to crash with you

just in case anything gets weird. I can knock you unconscious like a proper friend. Oh yeah. I'm always here for it. I might just kill you in your dream, but we'll figure it out. I'd like to see you drive. Happy traveling. You're casting Sure Dream. Hold my hand.

I'm going to wrap our arms, I'm going to twist our hands so that our red threads are touching each other. Okay, so you're bringing Laudna in with you. Yes, I can do that. Okay. As you all gather your materials and you your bedding

and prepare for a comfortable slash uncomfortable night of sleep, depending on how you gauge the atmosphere, you, Imogen, begin to close your eyes and concentrate on whatever imagery you wish to guide you into a night of dreamful sleep. As you feel Laudna's arm tethered to yours and you lay next to her, you gather the energies

within this particular incantation, FCG, and let the energy flow from you into both of them and complete the circuit with yourself. As the familiar sense into both of them and complete the circuit with yourself. As the familiar sense, the comfort, the warmth of the Vardo and your friend's proximity, begin to give in to that comfort, that warmth, and find yourself drifting, drifting into the darkness until a single tiny speck of glowing red pierces the shadow and beckons. That's where I take a break.

Oh! It's a nosebleed. Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! We'll go ahead and see what happens next here. When we come back from our break, hang tight. We'll see you in a few minutes. Oh, shit.

Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa. Thank you for listening to the Critical Role Podcast Network. This is Marisha Ray, Critical Role's resident creative director, with a quick reminder for you. We take the last Thursday of every month off from our typical Campaign 3 adventures. Some months we'll enjoy a short rest, and others we'll air a one-shot or just try something new. Since this year's podcast feed is on a one-week delay from our initial broadcasts, that means the first Thursday of the month may look a little different around here. To stay up to date on our latest programming happenings and when our shows will air on Twitch,

YouTube, and here on the Critical Role Podcast Network, check out our weekly programming schedule published to CritRole.com every Monday at 10 a.m. Pacific. And now that you're sufficiently reminded, let's get back to critrole.com every Monday at 10 a.m. Pacific. And now that you're sufficiently reminded, let's get back to the show. And welcome back. So, as we left off, in this dark, shattered expanse of the early early gentle wanderings

of this shadowed dream. You see that distant red glow and you get closer to it and closer. Oh, that's right, we're in the dream. Yeah. Shit, shit, shit. You glance to your right and to your left, and you see these two gentle, flanking orbs just emanating warm, familiar energy. Is that us?

Is that me? That's both of you. Oh, okay. Shut up and be patient. This is too much. Be patient. Okay. Patience, god damn it. Patience. You drift closer and closer, and at first, it looks like it's the red moon, but as you get nearer and nearer, it looks more like an opening,

like a circular gateway that leads to red light beyond it. Like a little window. And eventually, as you get close enough, it looks like it's about big enough for you to go through. I look back at my two little buddy orbs. I think we can talk. All right, so can we talk? I think so. I don't know.

Wait, we try talking. You hear them talking, though it is in this hysterical, wing feel to it. They're not quite as close as the rest, but it's there. I'm going to, if I can move or do things, I'm going to push this one forward closer to you, just so you can figure out who's who. Okay.

Imogen! Hi. Hi. This is awesome. You're a cute little orb. Oh my god, I've always wanted to be an orb. My phone, what happened? Oh, I just got a red circle on my watch! Whoa!

What's happening? Fuck off, Predathros. There's a flare. I look through the hole, and do I see, what can I see? You stood to a side there. You glance past the opening, and as you peer through,

you feel an extension of the forest that surrounds the tree, but it's bathed in a deep red light. Like there's just this ever-present underglow of fiery light, but no flames. And this feels like I'm in the same forest that we've been in, or is this a different place? It feels similar, but you don't know the landscape enough

to say it's directly familiar. I'm going to push through, and I'm going to go through the opening. Okay. Do you follow suit? Mm-hmm. Yes. You push through and you drift and you look down and beneath you

is just this endless rolling landscape of munches, munches? Munchkins. Munches! Mountains punching up. That's what I said, mountain punches merging. Munches! Munches! Seen. Mountain punches merging. Munches. Munches. Scenes. Mountains punching up through this ever-dangerous-looking cluster of brambles

and threatening-looking overgrown landscape. And you just float above it all, that same red glow just glowing from underneath. Can I reach out my hand and touch the orb next to me? You turn around to touch them, and you look back from where that window you came from, and you just see Ruidys right there in the sky, like you had just stepped out of it.

What? But it seems small. It seems about that size. It's like a portal. Can I look for the machine? There's a key around here. Make a perception check, if you'd like. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm, four. I'm just going to get rid of some of these dice in here. Because you know what? I think they're bouncing on each other and it's just, yeah. You don't see any ki. You don't see anything else beyond just the sprawling, twisted forest region beneath you. There's just that odd, glowing,

semi-ethereal Ruidus before you. But you're certainly within a dream. Is this, and they're still next to me? The orbs are, yeah. This isn't quite what I imagined it would be. Do y'all see the key anywhere? I think we're still in the Fey Realm. I think so, too.

Can we look? Yeah. Can we look? Both of you can make perception attacks with disadvantage. With disadvantage? After all, this isn't your dream. Oh, it's not our dream. Everybody do it.

Whoa. I rolled both our 13s. Ooh. Yeah, weird. I got a 15. 14. Um, 18. Okay.

50. Okay. No details. It feels blurry, like the forest floor is just beyond your clear periphery. It's just kind of, the details wash a bit within the light and the texture. But looking back at Ruidus,

it's a weird optical illusion where it looks like a solid object, but then almost at some angles, it looks like a hollow opening. Like it's an inverse gateway as opposed to a spherical object. Can I go back to the opening? Mm-hmm.

And I'm going to think, as I get close to it, I'm going to think of my mother. Okay. Of Liliana. You step towards it, and once, it looks like a spherical object you can touch. Once you think of your mother and put your hands to it, your hands go through like an optical illusion, and then your perspective shifts,

like the statues in the Haunted Mansion that are actually... Inverse. Yeah. Like the inverse faces, where you're like, oh, this is an opening. And you pull through again, and now instead of a black expanse where you started, you are now within a rapidly dust-filled,

red, familiar environment. Do you both follow? Yeah, of course. Oh shit. Mother? Mother? As you focus on her, I want you to make a d20 roll, adding your spell modifier.

Is there a way I can get close enough to guide her? To give her a boost? Yeah, you're present, I'll allow it. Okay. Guidance, guide. Okay, okay. Jesus. That's giant candy. For Gung!

23. 23. You concentrate, you remember best you can those old memories of her before she left that you hadn't thought of in so long, that you saw in your dreams recently. You remember the sound of her voice

when you contacted her. As you concentrate, you feel a direction of the storm pull towards you. Like those nights that you look up to the red moon and you feel this tug, this instinctual yearning. Do you follow it? Yeah. And you follow it?

Yeah, of course. I think back at Laudna. I wish I could hold your hand right now. I'm glad you're here, though. We'll be right near you. You push through this ever-growing dust storm, the wind getting louder and louder, until eventually you come to the precipice

of a pit. A wide, deep pit. There's sections of scaffolding. There's elements of platforms and cranes and structures built on the outskirts of this deep pit. What do you do? I head down into it. Okay.

You drift in over the edge, and you feel the gravity of the pit. Though you've been floating weightlessly, there's a draw downward, like some sort of an energetic flow, like the course of a river, but without water around you. You feel yourself being picked up

by some sort of a driving energy, and it carries you down into it at a speed that makes you briefly uncomfortable. The two of you get swept up with it as well, carrying you forward. You pass, as you go down into the pit, other platforms and rope and chain-based elevators, and this long, spiraling latticework of structures and ladders,

and you see shadows, shades quickly, You see shadows, shades, quickly. Like the imprint of people burned into space, but they're not material. Shades across these platforms. You plunge deeper and deeper. And that's where you see structures, old structures. We're in a city. This is the city.

When you move, it's not large enough to be a city. As you get down there, it's like a ruin. It's a ruin of something. You see towers that are being excavated. You see clusters of these shades around, mucking in the space around it. You see signs of

massive constructions moving through and carrying things and pulling them up and out. Imogen, this might be pulling you towards where your mother is. Yeah. North of Yos. Maybe. In the center of these ruins,

you can see these curved, pointed structures that all eventually seem to be intentionally built towards a point, a central location. There are buildings and domes and broken arches and stone decorations and things that look like what was once a robust, small townscape of detailed and beautiful construction that Velen was buried to time here lays partially bare

as the earth and dust around it has been pulled away. In the middle of it, you see one mighty tower that drives upward like a massive three-pronged fork that curls into itself at its apex. Here, along the base of it, you see the glimmer of a familiar structure. A telescope-looking device. Many more shades around.

Dozens and dozens of them wandering in and out of these ruins. Do they seem to notice us at all? No. Some are brighter than others. Most are just dark, but some of them have a faint red glow to them. Those are the Exalted.

Maybe. One of them, you see very clearly. A woman with deep lavender hair, braided in the back, long coat. She just walks through, inspecting things. She's awake. Can I go up next to her? You can, yeah.

It's fine. She looks older. Can I reach out and touch her head? Yeah. If I need you to do, she stops. Mother. You shouldn't be here. I can help you. You have to go.

Make a wisdom saving throw. Oh no! Oh no, five! Five. She raises her hand like this and looks towards you, and suddenly you feel like everything around you stretches and pulls away, like you're being dragged down an extended tunnel.

Miles and miles away, your mother's face becomes this pinpoint at the end of a long hallway, and you're gone. The two of you. I need you both to make wisdom saving throws. Oh boy. Roll low. Roll low.

Ooh. 19. Natural one. Ooh! 19. Natural one. Ooh! Delightful. You feel that pull as she begins to yank through the space. Uh-oh. Knowing the matter

of this spell and the connecting tissue that you are to it, you reach out and grab it. Feel yourself, too, being pulled back through it. Connected to it? Yeah. Okay. But we lost Laudna. They're both gone. Do I still see

a lavender-haired woman? You see a faint lavender coloration to one of these shades. You saw the one that Imogen was going towards and interacting with before you watch both her and FCG's energy just flicker out. What do I do? I'm going to attempt to telepathically,

to telepathically talk with Imogen. Imogen, okay. I'm still holding your hand in the Fae. Never stops. Can you hear me? You are unmoored somewhere in a dreamlike space. Fuck. Fuck.

What do you do? Fuck, what do I do? Can I just try and wake up? You can certainly try. Make constitution saving throw for me. Give it to him, Dianne. Aw. Cute. 20 total.

20 total. And trying to recall the physicality of your body, the sensation of being a whole being beyond just your consciousness and your flesh, but as one, you feel the cold power that's within your body, the power that was granted to you and the power that's inherently yours.

You grasp that cold and you shake yourself back to consciousness. As you do, you feel yourself torn from this space and it is harrowing, but you do wake up and come to consciousness. Are they still asleep? As both of you are pulled out of the dream by your mother, you both come to consciousness as well.

So you all wake up relatively at the same time. For the purposes of this, when you do sleep for the evening, you achieve a long rest, but you wake up with a point of exhaustion. Just her? Just her. Oh no. All right.

Shit. Why can't you dream better? I'm sorry. I didn't want to get lost in another dreamlike space. It's scary in there when you get lost there. But we saw some crazy stuff. Are you okay? No, I'm fine.

I mean. Was that your mother? Oh, wow. She looked really nice. Yeah, beautiful. A really sweet woman, handsome woman. Yeah. That was the... It's got to be the key.

I can go to someone when they're not asleep. Uh-huh. And talk to them? I can only imagine what that's like when they're asleep. Yeah. If you're that powerful, when they're awake. That means that, wait, that means that they're able to spy on us.

They're able to see what we're doing. Yeah, but she was aware you were there. It wasn't until I got up close to her. But there wasn't a lot of detail. It's not like we were overhearing conversations or anything. We just sensed their presence. But it is useful. I mean, you can

reach out to somebody, anyone. And we know where that key is. Yeah. Well, we saw it. In a pit. Yeah. It matches the description that we heard of the excavation site.

I wonder if the key here is similar. Is this the next morning? This is the middle of the evening. Middle of the night. The rest of you are probably resting still. All right. I get up and I do my usual routine, get a glass of cold water, bring it over to Imogen.

You need to have some of that, too. You were... It's very exhilarating, though. Mm-hmm. It's so different when y'all are there. Yeah? I mean, yeah, it's not terrifying. And that's not what your other dreams have looked like. No.

No. No. We may be different now. Do you think that has anything to do with the Faerun, or just because you're more powerful? I don't know. Wonder if you could go visit Ludinus like that, or go visit, I don't know, Thule. Probably.

Mess with them or convince them or distract them. Do something. Hurt them? Maybe. I wonder if you could hurt them. Influence them. Plant an idea in their head that they get. They wake up the next morning and they're like,

oh, I think I want to turn over a new leaf. Oh, I think I want some bagels. Yeah, maybe I'll be an accountant. Yeah, or that. We should sleep. Yes, we should. All right. How many people can you pull into the Dreamweather?

At least you two, maybe one more. But I don't know. You and two other people? Yes. I think, I don't know if you would want Chetney in your dreams ever. Why would would want Chetney in your dreams, ever. Why would I want Chetney in my dreams? I'm just saying, I'm just going down the list.

Ashton could be good, but unpredictable. Orym would be nice to bring along, just because he can see a lot. Yeah. I hear the wall, you hear, Listen to your heart! P-d-d-d-d-d-d. Orym would be really smart. Orym would just be fun. He'd have a fun dream.

Probably bounce on clouds like it's a trampoline or something. That'd be great. Just ignore Ruidus there and just go bounce on some clouds. Why not? You should use these dreams for something other than just being terrified.

Take control of them. Yeah. All right, let's go to sleep. All right. Okay. You all eventually return to a less focused, much needed evening's rest, given the day's previous events.

But you all get a long rest. I'm going to wake up a little early. Look at all those empty boxes. Oh, that's better. You wake up within the empty, somewhat chilly Vardo, here at the top of the tree, with a ligament manor. I'm going to wake up slightly earlier than everybody else

because I think I only need six hours of rest versus their eight. Is that right? Huh? Possibly, need six hours of rest versus their eight. Is that right? Huh? Possibly, yeah, for your rest mode. Yeah. And I'm going to do some baking. Okay.

Do you have ingredients stored inside of you as well? I raided a kitchen when we were. You did. Oh, that's right. And I got a recipe and I got an oven. So I'm going to be cooking. Okay. The rest of you wake up to the wonderful scent of something cooking,

fresh and localized. What do they smell? They smell my best attempt at an Eshteross. An eshteross. The recipe was cookies, right? Ginger maple cookies. Yeah, I'm going to make them biscuits, though.

Like little scones? Yeah, I'm going to have them in a little pink box. Little biscuits. Did you get some? Oh my god. Little biscuits for people. Oh, it's just like the pink box on Ted Lasso. Uh-huh. He's going full Ted Lasso.

Yeah. He's brought it full circle. Did you really bring anything in there? Ted Grasso. Oh my god. Ted Grasso. I put some cookies in here, but that was when we played last game, so they might be a little stale.

They've been sitting in there for quite some time. At the moment. Yeah, I want to try it. You have a boxing mechanism as well? Yeah, we're just going to say that, yeah, I also installed a boxing mechanism. Are those the cookies that I made or the cookies that got bought? These aren't yours.

Is it real gold? Is that worth checking for? Delightful. So I'll give one to Chetney, one to you, because you need, oh boy, you look like shit. You just look a little tired. I have dark circles under my everything. And I'll give one to you, too, Imogen.

Yeah, with these cookies, you get four temporary hit points. Aw. Wait, is that right? I can prepare enough of this food. I'm not even sure what we're getting ready. Eats the food and spends one more hit dice. Jesus, I can't read all this shit.

Did you give the exhausted dead lady a temporary hit point cookie? I think so, I'll read it later. But you get a boon. Okay. All righty. A boon cookie is what I'm going to put it, or a boon biscuit. Boon biscuit. There it is.

Boom biscuit. I like it. All righty. What are you up to now, Bells Hells? We got to go find that key. Yeah, we got to go. We got to do this shit. Good morning. Oh, hi, Fearne. How did everybody sleep? Naked. Surprisingly good.

Well, not now. Put some clothes on, Chet. This is the Fey Realm, though. There are no rules here. I don't want to offend the tree. Yeah. Yeah. With your wood? Well,'t want to offend the tree. Yeah. Yeah. With your wood?

Well, one's bigger than the other. Little morning wood. Can't really see anything through the shock of white hair. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Pah! Had a lot of jobs in my day. Just a shock of white hair and then a couple really low-hanging balls.

It's like a little storm cloud. Yeah, just a little mushroom forest. If you get biscuits. Yeah, you can always hear me running. Ugh! I get it. Dig-a-dig-a-dig-a-dig-a-dig-a-dig-a-dig-a-dig-a-dig. Listen, I wanted to ask Mori

if there were any natural enemies or things that we should look out for since you've been gone. Since you've been gone! Just in case there was anything that might try and attack us on the way over to the key. She'd probably find a path for us that might be a little faster than that. I seem to recall Nanna was going to go

do some research and stuff for us last night, if I. That's right, and she might have some stuff that could help us. Yeah. Yeah, we need some ice cream. Maybe some drink of the road. Let's do it. Dark Prison, Dark Prison for the Road. You get three temporary hit points

after you eat them. Did you? And how long does that last? I don't know. I don't know how temporary. Temporary hit points last until your next long rest, essentially. Okay.? I don't know. I don't know how temporary. Temporary hit points last until your next long rest, essentially. Okay. Whoa. And they don't stack?

They do not stack. Yeah, so if you get other temporary hit points, they replace the ones you currently have. Got it. You can't add them. Orym has been doing a plank one inch off the floor for the last two minutes. Says, Imogen, did it work? Did you three sync up?

We did. We did, and I went and saw my mother working on the key, and she saw me, and she bamfed me back to my body, and Laudna got stuck for a second. Good dream. All in the same dream? You saw one of the keys?

The one here? Oh, I think it was the one. In the desert. Yeah. But we know what they look like and maybe how to mess them up, sabotage them. Yeah. It also seemed like your mom was like,

had some boss energy. Like she was walking around being like, Mm, mm. She knows what she's doing. Yes. She looked brighter than everyone else. That might've just been because that's what I was aiming for. You dreamed your way back to Marquet?

Yeah. Yeah? That's pretty far. That's awesome. So you know, if we see the area in the clearing, you'll be able to pick it out, right? Yeah, we'll look for a big pit. A what? Big, giant pit. for a big pit. A what? Big, giant pit.

Pit. A pit? Like it's in the ground? Yeah. Yeah. So the telescope that's a key to the moon and the sky is at the bottom of a pit? Mm-hmm, in some ruins. That you saw in a dream where your consciousness went to another dimension.

Bat. Yeah, okay. I'm in, I'm on. That makes sense. We've also seen it and we have a good description of it, so maybe Plane Rider Wrynn could get us right there. Je bouffe. Anyway, did Mori find out anything for us? Do we know a location?

We can go ask her, yeah. Yeah. All right. All right, you gather your things and head out of the Vordo into a pretty much pitch-similar day here in the garden at the top of the forest. Being unfamiliar with the landscape, there isn't much of a day-night cycle here,

just a transition and shifting of colors across the sky and atmosphere above. You trek down the tree, shifting of colors across the sky and atmosphere above. You trek down the tree, passing the delightful sunbear, sweet Pew, waves as you all head downstairs. Hi, sweet pea. You leaving already? Yes.

Well, you're going to come back, right? Of course. Always. Okay. All right. Coming. Okay. Give you a big hug. It is a big, big, big hug. I love the bear jam, buddy. Gravel safe. Okay.

How did a bear get here, and how can he talk? I don't know. Do you think he used to be a person, too, just like the plants? I think he's still a person. I think that's the little root. I mean. That is a good point. I'm just fucking with you.

No, that is weird. No, I'm totally just fucking with you. What? If only we could hear what was going on inside his head. If we had some way of peering into the unknown. Yeah. Sure. Who knows? Give him another hug, Fearne. Okay.

He's like, okay. I'll take another. Okay, okay, okay. Maybe they can always talk. No, no, no! For the faith! I don't need to read his mind to know he's thinking he'll kill us all if we hurt her. Travel safe.

Okay. Bye, sweet pea. She's like, Earn made me like this, free me. That's how I say it. Oh, you'd want that. Huh. Or as the kids say, Bet.

Great Curse. Travis, the last couple days has been. Why do you keep trying to know? You have been spouting some awesome, some slang, some hip slang. Some hip slang. I've been out of date. On fleek.

You are on fleek, no cap. Oh, whoa. Whoa, that don't feel good. I don't even know what no cap means. We've been on the air for too long. We're in the Bob Bunker down here. Is the sun still there? Space is mine, Fearne, that's where you'll find mine.

Mori? As you descend the tree to prepare yourselves for the next leg of your journey, it was a unique experience coming up the tree to prepare yourselves for the next leg of your journey. It was a unique experience coming up the tree and eventually flowering out into the garden amongst the flowers, now traveling back into it, into the subterranean darkness of this,

or the sense of subterranean darkness within the canopies of this cloak of vines and branches around it. It almost feels like you're walking down this welcoming, warm, natural basement expanse. It doesn't feel like a tree. It feels like you're going deeper into the ground, if not for the large trunk that swirled

as you continued to climb further and further, passing the various branches, passing the collection, passing your tree, you eventually come back to the main entryway where the tiki bar and the art decor and a number of sitting spaces sits here before the rest of the branch tangles upward. Here you see Mori is having her morning cocktail and is currently wrapping a few things up

with rope and twine. It looks to the rest of you as you approach down the smaller top head, I should say, curling outward and arching to all of you. Oh, good morning, everyone. I hope you slept well. Like a baby. So good. Pretty good.

Such a charming home. I try. Especially the garden. Makes me lose. I have some gifts for you and your coming journeys. Found a few tidbits in my collection. She reaches down and grabs these bundles.

There's three of them wrapped in a nondescript peach ruddy leather, wrapped in ribbons, and hands them over to you, Fearne. Oh, thank you. They're heavy. These are Harrowcall Veils. These were made long ago for a particular friend, for a particular job. They ended up not needing them as they were a fool

and got themselves killed, but they'll be useful for you. They'll help you be unseen in certain shaded spaces of the Fey around. When not moving, you place them over yourself and hold very still, and it's likely you won't be seen. That's wonderful. Cool. But should they shift, its magic begins to stretch, so just be mindful. Oh. Fearne, I think you're quite old enough.

She turns around and pulls up this. Fjord. Oh my god, yeah. Friday. Goddamn it. Friday night. This incredibly well-made breastplate that looks almost like a bodice with dark carvings in it

and these leather pauldrons of these little leather frills that lap over each other on the shoulders. Yes, gah, gah. It looks very functional, but also very, very pretty. This is a gloomscale breastplate that I've just had in my collection from a long time ago. It belonged to a princess once.

She fell in battle and, well, she wasn't going to be using it anymore. For sure, no, you can't just leave it there. No. So I figure it'll do you quite the goodness and she hands it over to you. Oh, it's just beautiful. I'll do some spins.

Anybody else care for a goodbye cocktail? Yes, yes, please. I will definitely have a cocktail. That was amazing. I will have another. For sure. She completes another round for everybody. You gather your things and she begins to turn to you, Fearne. So I take a tear off again. I think so. Very well.

But we'll definitely come see you again, right? Yeah. Yeah. We'll come back. And is there anything we should know about where we're going? Well, you should know about where we're going? Well, you should. You should know that past the Sablecast grounds, likely, if we're oriented towards the red moon in the sky that you chase,

left of your destination, there should be a gateway where the brambles are thickest, like an egg that grows around, or a scar tissue that covers a wound. So follow where the bramble's not. And there should be a gate to your world there. That's the closest way home. Also, beware the festive tree blights.

They have a rusted sense of humor. If the ground grows wanting, be sure to pay it the iron tithe. of humor. If the ground grows wanting, be sure to pay it the iron tithe. And follow the moon you seek. The machine, the grounds that keep it, likely reside under its unnatural visage. The iron tithe, do you mean blood or coin? Or weapons.

These iron tithes. Or me. Rusty sense of humor, is that what you said? There was a reason we kept you here. Rusty? It's even lighter than iron. Rust. A rusty sense of humor?

You wear the what trees? The tree blights. You'll figure it out. You wear the tree blights, have a rusty sense of humor, and pay the iron tithe. If the ground grows wanting, pay the iron tithe. Farn. Tree blights. Yes.

What you going to ask about your parents? Oh, oh, I forgot. I forgot to tell you. I feel like there's so much I forgot to tell you. Oh, what did you not tell me, dear? Well, I saw my parents. Oh, wonderful. Yeah, which is weird

because I don't feel like I know them at all. Are they my parents? They are your parents, dear. Okay. It is just... they've been busy for a very long time for us. Yeah. Am I forgetting something? What?

What? Oh, yeah. Rosa Fever is what it sounded like. Yes, yes. You know what he said. Yes. Rosa Fever? Who's that? Who?

What was? I don't understand what favor I was or what gift. Mom told you to watch me, or why? The Unseelie are cruel, unrelenting, and have memories as long as time. They knew that they would go after the one thing they prized most, so they left it in my safekeeping.

They know better than to come to my manor. And a few have tried. And now they adorn my garden. Oh, wow. I always thought so. I feel confused a little bit. I thought so. I feel confused a little bit. What, why, why did I have to be hidden? When they took the crown, they knew they would be chased wherever they walked. And for a time, they stayed here with you as well.

But they had answers they sought out elsewhere. They sought out Ira eventually. And so they left you in my safekeeping, knowing that if, at the very least, they failed or were found, you'd be safe here. So I kept you. I can still keep you if you'd like.

I do like it here. You don't have to go. I don't. No. Your friends are extremely capable. But it's kind of fun. I feel like there's so much to explore. I've only been under this dome.

I've gotten into some shit. I think... I think I'm gonna go with them. But I'll come back. Because... This is where I'd like to retire. Well, apparently now you know how to find your way back to me. You know you're always welcome.

Whenever you're ready. Your room will always be here. I just love you a lot. Thank you for protecting me and taking care of me all those hundreds of years, however much it was. She pulls you in. I give both faces a kiss. Okay.

Make sure, hopefully, you're still feeding Bombers, and tell Dr. Nesbitt hello, and give Kathy a big hug for me, okay? I shall. Okay. I'll keep an eye from afar, and I can watch the threats. If you ever need anything, you can talk to her, right?

Mm-hmm. Very well. If you see Ira again, tell him he's an ass. Oh, I will. I'll beat his ass. The rest of you, is there anything else you need?

No, no, I mean, I think we have enough skin and we've got plenty of Veils, we're solid. If we are able to find the gateway bag, will your guidance be granted to us when we leave? Right, right.

Just one second. She darts off across the room and begins digging through a cabinet, eventually pulling out this dark glass jar. It looks like there's some sort of a paste, like a dark green-yellow paste. She walks over. Wasabi.

Before you pass through the gate, just smear a bit on your forehead and cheeks. Jizz? Cheeks. Wow. Wow. FCG is like, I hear what I want to hear. Where are your minds tonight?

Do not hit on my grandmother. I can't hear shit. I'm just talking in a full voice. We got to stop talking in a full voice. I just start caressing FCG's body, since he's so horny. Nott and Mori, we haven't really had the best experience

with the Unseelie. What little we've had, do you have any advice as we run off to? It depends on what you run into. There are wild nomads within the perimeters of the court that just hunt and tangle and deal. There are the soldiers of the court, regimented, cruel, dangerous.

There are the politicians and generals of the court. They are ominous. They are continuous. They are continuous. They are eternal. So, just be mindful. If they seem like they might be worth addressing, then address them with respect.

If they seem like they could use a gentle word, lift them a moment. Just like many other fae, they are driven by wind, though the darker wiles of the heart. Sometimes it's safer to dance than it is to fight. Sometimes it's easier to talk and flee than it is to bite and chew.

I hope that clears it up. She's obviously a little bit scared. Sounds like we should expect the unexpected. Go with the flow. When in... We should get moving. To the moon! Ah! All right. Yep.

Thank you, Nanna. I'm just going to go to the room. Thank you. We'll be watching. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Right. And if anything goes wrong, and you have nowhere to go,

you can always come back. You'll be safe here. All of you. You could stay with Fearne as long as you like. But not in the garden. You can stay in the garden if you like. Well, never mind. That was rhetorical, thank you.

Your hospitality is legendary, as is that ass. Thank you. We go. We go. We go. All right. You exit back out the front of the tree where you had arrived.

The vines pull back. You step out once more into the fens. Knowing the direction that you saw from the garden of where the glowing orb of Ruidus seemed to have apparated, you choose a direction and continue to push that way, glowing orb of Ruidus seem to have apparated. You choose a direction and continue to push that way, now deep into the swamps of the Fens once more. Who's leading this charge?

I will. Definitely the expert here. Definitely know where to go. I'm going to go with her and try to sense where the moon is, since I'm assuming we can't see it from under the canopy, right? It's going to be hard and try to sense where the moon is, since I'm assuming we can't see it from under the canopy, right? It's going to be hard to try to.

It's too thick from here. Yeah. Can I sense the moon? Can I feel the pull? I'll say you could make either a survival check with advantage to lead this through, and then you could make a singular roll and then add your charisma modifier. Okay.

Kicked. Advantage of 27. Ooh. Cocked. Sorry, it's this dice. Yes. Okay. 25.

25, 27, those are both incredible rolls, okay. Growing up in this space, you know this central region, especially around the manor itself, quite well. And you know some of the dangers and interesting challenges that can be existing out there beyond just the Twisting Swamp itself. You, after the dream that you had and traversing through this odd Ruidian gateway in this liminal space, you feel very faintly within you that little nugget of a pull, that same tug, and you let that guide you,

like a chain on your sternum, just gently pulling you ever so carefully. The two of you begin to guide the group through the dangers of the fen. I catch up behind the witches, just stick close, and eat my boon biscuit. Was that true? Yeah, that's true. How do they taste?

I am going to eat a boon biscuit as well. How do they taste? I can't taste them, so any suggestions for next time? For a first batch, not bad. Yeah. Notable. More sugar. More maple syrup. More.

Maybe a little more cinnamon and a little less ginger. Okay. There was no ginger in it, so that's an interesting... Yeah. Oh, maybe it's the... Maybe that's why. Tumeric? Tumeric? Maybe that's the turmeric.

Maybe I should have used ginger instead. Ginger is... He wrote it in the recipe. I know. I don't know what ginger is, though, so I was just grasping at stuff, but I'll try again. I wonder what it is you put in instead of. It was like little beads or seeds. Oh. Whatever those little beads or seeds was,

maybe don't put those in. Okay, all right. We're talking bacon. Orym is looking, listening, so that none of the sights or sounds of the Fae can get a jump on them, hopefully. Perception check, please. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. A natural 20 plus a nine,

so 29 to match my passive perception. Tree. So. Are you feeling better? As you follow behind these two that are leading the joint hike through this landscape, you hear I don't hear. You hear it. I'm fine.

This tiny little voice goes, Fenn! Fenn! Is it coming from the direction of where we came? It is. And you hear this, all of you begin to hear the sound of wings flapping before landing on a nearby branch.

No! No, no, no, okay, okay, no, no, guys, no. Dr. Nisbet. Oh, fun, it's No, no, no! with gray, dappled, white feathers, two small, jet black, beady eyes, and a thin, wide beak that stretches from end to end of their face, like a potu bird creature that is on the edge of the branch looking at her and putting its wing out and holding onto her cheeks. Oh, fucking jeez. You so wondrous. I heard you were passing by and I missed the opportunity to speak with you

and I'm so sorry. Thank you so much for just coming to say hello. We are going to, we're on a very important mission. Where are you going? We are going to the Ansele Court. Why? Because we're going to take something apart. That sounds dangerous. It is. Ooh, that sounds dangerous.

It is. Very, very dangerous. You're probably going to die. We might. Oh, it's exciting! It's so exciting, and then see what comes next. Right? Yeah. Can I help?

Well, absolutely, you can help. How? Do you know the way to the Unseelie Court? Oh, wait, absolutely, you can help. Help? Do you know the way to the Unseelie Court? Do you know where the? No? All right. Okay. Um. Well. You can, um, you can,

we could use your eyes, maybe, if you flew over, to find things? Sure. I can try it. Okay. Is there something that you have, like a strong skill set that you can offer? That instead of us guessing?

Companionship conversation. Yeah. I can tear apart a mean taffy mouse. Yeah. Sure, sure. Maybe the Unseelie Court is just a bunch of mice, in which case. Who are they?

I don't know. I've never seen them tear. Tasty. At this point, Mister crawls across your shoulder and goes. It's all right. Mister Nesbitt's like, what is this foul creature on your shoulder?

This is my son. What? Shit. There we go again. It's okay, I give one. Oh, well. I mean, I don't know, Thal's on his home turf, so I'll take that bet. Okay.

I'm sorry, I didn't realize this was, the seat was already occupied. There's two seats. So you come here, and I'll put Mister here and maybe you can help us. If not, fly home. Goes to land on your shoulder and Mister goes, and goes to deck this regiment.

Relax, relax! Takes off and lands back on the branch and goes, Well, guess we got off on the wrong foot. Okay, well, just fly behind us. I did not replace you, so don't even think about it. That's not what I heard. No, no, there's room for many to love. I can love a lot.

All right. I'll help you out. Okay. Because it's fun. Okay. All right. Does Mr. Nesbitt, Dr. Nesbitt, do they talk a lot? Yeah.

So if we're trying to be sneaky, is Dr. Nesbitt? Are we trying to speak sneaky? I wasn't aware that we were trying to be sneaky. When we get there. Only when we get there. Oh, well, that's fair. Only when we get there. All right. I could probably tell him to be quiet. What is your specialty, Doctor?

Yeah. Conversation. Companion. Oh, Doctor? Yeah. Conversation Companion. Oh, Doctor of Conversation. Doctor of Conversation. Yes. Yes. The best companion. Where do you get educated in such a particular field? Let's keep moving as we talk.

Yes, please. I read a lot of books on it while standing around with Nana. Homeschooled, okay. Yeah, yeah, homeschooled. Ooh, worm! Ha! That's my hair!

Oh, sorry! I said it was cute. Get off, get off! Shoot! It's a nice bird, I've seen. Dr. Nesbitt, do you know anything about undead giant... bird? What kind of a creature is that thing? A bird.

Have you ever heard of an un-dead bird that keeps coming back to life and has lived for a really long time? I have officially lost this conversation. Oh, that's right. Oh, you were somewhere. Oh, you weren't around. Look at that. You missed out on shit head. We were there right before.

Where before what? Shit hit the head. What shit? What head? His head. When? Oh, that's when you took off. From the bird. What shit? What head? His head. When? Oh, that's when you took off. From the bird. What bird? Dr. N? I'm not certain. There are a number of dead-like birds through history.

You know, I'm... I've read a lot of books in Nanna's library about all sorts of strange things. Don't know if I know of a dead bird. I haven it. Read about this Seelie Court. I'm sure I read about it, but it wasn't very interesting of a read.

I kind of forgot it. That's fair. Maybe he's controlled by something. Could be. Actually, we're trying to avoid a little bit of, we're trying to make this walk as easy as possible. So if you know anything we should be avoiding while we're going in this direction, I don't know how.

I don't go this far. This is all new for me, is it? You would say that. It's exciting. What's your favorite book you've ever read, Dr. Nesbitt? I tend to forget them all. We're still walking, by the way. Yes, definitely, yes. Please just walk.

You just stopped here for three hours. 50 feet from us, right? Continues to talk as you go on, like, I read a lot of books, I don't remember them. I tend to put them back. It's more of a way to pass the time. I recall some things, I imagine. Maybe I don't, maybe I do.

I don't know. Out of out of curiosity, if you just kept telling yourself that you do read all the time, you wouldn't actually have to do it, would you? That's true, but reading books makes you smarter, you see. You tell people how many books you've read, and it makes smarter, you see. You tell people how many books you've read and it makes you a smart person. Do you remember how many books you've read?

No, but I know it's many. Well, I thought one, two, three. Comes back around. Oh. That's true. All right. How close are we? Yeah, I never stopped listening for a minute.

I'm not done, death. I'm fascinated by this picture. The fens grow thicker and swampier this direction. What was just a spongy ground with elements of soft moisture becomes difficult to trudge muddy pits with elevated little islands of drier ground. The trees here do have beautiful variations

of blue and purple and bright green and yellow leaves shimmering. You do see other plants that give off pulsing glows. Every now and then you swear, you see one of them shift a few feet before stopping. Nesbitt continues whistling to himself like, . Ew, what's this?

It's another tree. I haven't seen this tree before. This is a new tree. That tree's new, too. He's in trouble. I didn't know. What about Danger? He's on my list. So many new things. Dr. Nesbitt. Yeah?

Here's the deal. What is the deal? I think I would like to keep you alive, so I think you should fly home. But what about adventure? Oh. You're alive, so I think you should fly home. What about adventure? Oh no. Well, I feel like we're going into the danger zone. On the highway, you could say.

Yeah. Right. Make a persuasion check. Okay. Persuasion check. Yeah, 28. 28. 28. Monster. Nope, that's a valid point.

Well, I'll wait for you at home. What? Good luck, Dundai! Bye, Doctor. Did he go in the right direction? Mostly. Okay. He'll find his way, probably. He was cute. I'm so excited to meet him again.

How long did you have him? Oh. Long time. He'll find its way, probably. How long did you have him? Oh, uh... Long time. I don't remember. He just showed up one day. He just showed up one day. Are you still little? Yeah. Aw. Yeah. They all showed up every once in a while, you know?

So, like, Sweet Pea just showed up one day, or did Nannamori make him run? No, they all just showed up one day. How's the ground looking? Still a little mad, like it wants a... Iron Tide. A tithe, yes. Make a nature check.

How's the ground looking? Should we fight it? I'll insist. Fight some blood. I stopped kicking the ground. Fight the ground. Okay, we fight it? I'll invite her. Fight some blood. Let's go. Fight the ground. Okay, so my skill checks are at disadvantage, right? I'm not rolling for real, just because. Correct. For first level of exhaustion. I think that's what it is.

E, ah. I'll find this here. Disadvantage and vulnerability checks. Yes. Yep. So I'll straight roll. Natural 20. Woo! Wow.

On a disadvantage? Well, because he gave me advantage, so. Oh, I see, I see. So it's a single win. Yeah, you're right. The ground definitely seems soft and shifting. Like every now and then when you step across, and you had this when you were deeper in the fens, but every now and then you feel the ground

rise in some places and fall in others. As you stop and listen, you can hear this like, . Every now and then you see some bubbles out of one of the wetter sections of the swamp. Seems normal. This is the indigestion grove. Thank god I brought my sword of cut dough.

Oh. Squawk! That's the commercial. Okay. Nana Mora, he said to pay attention and talk to the environment. Sorry, it looks pretty groundy at the moment. Thanks for being so groundy for us.

And letting us pass through. This is so nice. Yep. Thank you, Thank you. Thank you. Now that it's been the second day, can I try Hunter's Bane if it picks up larger specific signatures versus just blanket bay? larger specific signatures versus just blanket bay? Yeah, Hunter's Bane generally

just gets advantage on the perception checks to gather what's in the vicinity. Oh, 19. 19. In the immediate vicinity, no, but you do, we'll say that as a going check of you keeping your nose out for anything specifically fey-oriented. Like larger signatures against the backdrop

of just fey everywhere. Mm-hmm. As you continue for the next couple hours, the heavy canopy of the remainder of the fens begins to fall away. Then you do begin to see more of the sky peak, and you find yourself descending. This swamp is on a decline down into a valley.

From the crest to the decline, the water doesn't seem to be running either. It's staying at the angle of a not terribly steep, but notably steep incline. Right as you break past that canopy, you can begin to see that red orb. Closer? It's hard to say.

This is your first time really seeing it in person, other than the top of the tower. It feels like it's a little closer, and as you begin to move side to side, you get the sense that it is smaller. It is lower on the horizon. It's sitting above the far end of the valley. Yes. Yes.

You have a super high perception. You can see that throughout the forest that leads beyond this swamp, the thick, massive bramble twists that weave through and rise and fall. Just this textured, dangerous landscape of darkened forest and taken wilds. You can see little dots of light through it.

The sky itself here, more clouded and shadowed, while the pinks and purples of the other sky falls to almost like a continuous twilight here. There is that red orb, the faintest, the faintest little bit of a thread of light that drifts from beneath it. Ooh. It acts as a compass point

to the direction you are intentioned to travel. We got to get there. Yeah. Let's move. Let's move. Are you all moving slowly and stealthily, or are you moving with pace? Pace. Pace. I think they shout well.

Until we find something. Until we need to, yeah. Do we have anything to make us more stealthy? I can do that. We have three of those veils. But those are for when we just hold still. I can run one pass without a trace if we need to. So we can move faster, maybe, while we're still being stealthy?

That's only like 10 minutes, right? No, it's an hour. It's an hour. Oh, okay. So if you want to move fast being stealthy? That's only like 10 minutes, right? No, it's an hour. It's an hour. Oh, okay. So if you want to move fast and stealthy, I can make us super, super quiet. All right, I'm doing Merge with Stone. I'm just giving everyone the, making the train a little more agreeable to us.

Making the train. So just so you're aware, Pass Without a Trace gives you benefits to stealth, but you still have to travel slower. Ah, never mind. No, it's, yeah. There's a ranger ability that does let you travel faster while still stealth. Oh, that's what I was thinking.

I'm sorry. All right. Well, then maybe hold onto it. We'll save it when we need it. Yeah, exactly. Sucks your asthma. We move forward. With pace. With pace. I agree. need it. Yeah, exactly. Sucks your asthma. We move forward. With pace. With pace.

Okay. With pace. So you keep up a fair pace, trained on this light in the distance. The splashing and sloshing of your footfalls is far from quiet in this landscape. You do come as the hill begins to rise down. Yep. You do come to the base of the...

Doodle-doodle! You were high, Matt. I know, he said, come on the base. Okay. Uh-oh. This is what we deserve. Oh no. You hear the clopping of hooves,

numerous hooves, splashing in the surrounding swampscape, getting louder and louder, like galloping horses. Can we put our veils on? Yes. There's only three, right? We have to huddle up, I guess. They cover three medium-sized creatures each. Oh. Oh.

Oh. Oh. Then yeah, let's drop them off. Sorry, 400 years old, you pick up some shit. Can we put the veils over us? All right, let's huddle and veil. Again, once activated, they only last a short time. You can only activate them once per day. I don't think that's correct. Oh, then you can only activate them once a day?

Once a day? Oh, never mind, never mind. I don't know. Once a day? This seems like a good time to use them. Why the other one that paid attention to the item? Let's save them for when we're actually breaking into this place. I mean, once a day. Once a day? Oh, never mind, never mind. Once a day? I don't know, this seems like a good time to use them. Am I the only one that paid attention to the item? We're saving for when we're actually breaking into this place, right? But you have to hold still.

So there's things riding on our position right now. All right, do it. So it's a sensible time to use them. Someone's got to decide. I don't want to use them. We don't even know what the clip-clop is. Yeah, it might be good for people. What are we talking about?

I'm Liam, I want to get in a fight. Yeah, bring it on. Okay, okay. I is. Yeah, it might be good for people. What are we talking about? I'm Liam, I want to get in a fight. Yeah, bring it on. Okay, okay. I could hit something. It'd be nice. You see shapes surrounding in the nearby tree line, running past. Indeed, they look like horses. Just charging.

Two, three. Yeah, we'll duck behind trees at least. Make stealth checks. Wait, do I get advantage on stealth? Oh shit, I have disadvantage. Yeah, it's hard to conceal myself. All right. Okay.

Ashton. 13. 13. 15. 11. 11. Nine. One.. 13. 15. 11. 11. Nine.

One. Oh god. 15. 21. Good job, Chet. Very average. You all charge out and scatter to the sides as best you can.

You got a one? Natural. Natural one. As you all scatter out to find the best areas to hide in the space, you rush off and find this one cluster of plant matter and brush, and you hide up amongst it. I am grass.

As these large bulbs open, unseen by you, and you get to release this mist-like steam that begins to rain down from above onto you. Oh no. Make a constitution saving throw for me. Constitution saving throw! Robot's dead. Natural 20.

You take only four points of fire damage. Four points of fire damage. This extremely hot, scalding steam touches the surface of your metallic body and immediately begins to burn into it. You yelp out and the things, the galloping creatures circle back. Three of them begin to approach.

As they break out of the shadow of the nearby branches, you can see the horse creatures. They're just these massive, stallion-like beings, but at the front, you see the upper torso of a humanoid creature. Yay! What has begun? Oh, wow. Their skin, a pale gray coloration

with looks like tattooed marks up along their body and their shoulders, and unique swirls and designs. You see strips of hide armor on their bodies and their hair is this wild mass of tangled natural waves, all shades of black and dark brown. Their eyes are pupil-less, just all black sclera eyes.

They all have these longbows in hand, as well as other weapons attached around their waists, as they all ride out from different sides. Is he a Seelie? One of them. It's my door. See the product. Oh, it's for Izzy's feet. SAM and LAURA say, SAM and LAURA say,

SAM and LAURA say, Does anybody here speak Elven? Elven. Uh-uh. I have tongues. We know. It's just one long tongue. I get it. Or tongue.

But does anyone speak Elven? I don't know. No. Would I be able to? I love it, it's great. Can I activate tongues on myself? If you'd like to cast a spell. I would like to.

Does it have verbal and somatic components? It's verbal and M, what's that? Yeah, material. Material. So you have to speak and cast the spell. And they're looking at you, by the way. You're the one who made the noise, and they're all looking at you with their bows half cocked at the ready.

The one that's stepped forward is saying this towards you. Benat? Benat? I'll tongue myself. Okay, and you begin to cast the spell, speak the phrase, immediately launches a shot with the longbow at you for, that's going to be a 14 to hit. Miss.

Sinks into the ground to your right-hand side, locks the arrow. Ben Nott. You've just finished casting the spell. Uh-huh, hold up my hands. Ben Nott slowly shifts into, do not move. I won't. I don't, I into, do not move. I won't. I don't.

I'm okay. Nope, don't shoot. Are you speaking Elven? I don't think I can talk back. Let's see here. I can understand any spoken language it hears. When I speak, any creature that knows any language can understand me, too.

I can talk. Back. Yeah, I'm C-3PO, too. I can talk. Fuck. Yeah, I'm C3PO right now. Yeah, more or less. Ootah. I have over three million different languages. I'm sorry, we mean no harm. We. Oh.

How many is in your group? Source the perimeter. Fuckin'. Damn it! Amateur estate! I meant the royal weed, the royal weed. It's just me. I'm just, uh.

They found a few of the others. You guys did not roll good stealth checks. No. And at this point, they start, the three of them all, big old long bows, arrows knocked in them. How many of you stand forward? I'll stand in front. I will, with hands up.

Sure. The steam protrudes once more from the creature behind you and sets onto you, making another constitution save. Oh my god. It's probably a good day. Nobody touch letters. 16.

16, only one point of fire damage on you. Okay, Okay. Can I, I know you don't want me to move, but can I move? This thing hurts! Tides up. Oh. One of the others, as you're all standing up, one of them rides over,

reaches into a little pouch on its side and pulls out this piece of this long gray cording, this very tightly braided cord. Tie them all up. Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, four. We can't understand what's happening. Never mind. You just know what I'm saying. What are we doing?

They're going to tie you up. You do see him pull out a rope and go towards him. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. What? We can't talk to him. Please don't do this. We mean you no harm. Are we on your turf or something?

Is this, have we crossed into an area we shouldn't be? Yes, you shouldn't be here at all. None of you should be. Why? Because this is the land where the sun does not fall. These are our lands, and you're ours now. Can we, can you? We're taking you. Oh, can you just let us go back home

or pass through or go elsewhere? We didn't know. That's not how it works here. Oh no. Okay, maybe throw up Manny Morgan's name. Do you know Morrigan? What of Morrigan? She's our friend.

She is. All three of them, you all start to hear them laughing. She'll be very upset if you catch us. She doesn't like folks messing with us. Tell them she's our nana. What? Tell them she's our nana. She's our nana. What? Tell him she's our nana. She's our nana. Make an intimidation check. Oh.

Come on. Intimidation? 13. 13. All of them look at each other. All right, well, it's on. Are we fighting? I'm not sure we're going to. I mean, we're not going to go that far, right? All right, well, it's on. Are we fighting the Pops or what? We're not going to go with that.

There's too many of them for the three of us to carry. Wake in the tree. And one of them rides over. I'm waking up a tree. On, pulls into a pouch, and throws this scattering of light shots. Can I use a wish hand to try to catch whatever they're scattering and stop it from reaching?

As they throw it, I want to catch it in midair. I will say roll a d20 and add your dexterity saving throw. This is going to be essentially your initiative versus theirs in a non-initiative order, to see if you can make the addition. 14. 14. Mage hand darts forward

right as they open the pouch. You notice they're not throwing the pouch, they're just scattering it open. The Mage Hand reaches out into a cloud of dust that continues to fall along one of the large, pardon me, swamp trees as it filters into it. The tree then

uproots itself. Do we run? Yes, if they don't like us, this is not going to go well. We got to get out of here. Run! Oh god. All right. They're horses.

They are horses. They're horses. Yeah! Pass it down. Wait, you're a horse girl. What am I going to do? Ride one? Rag running.

Is there a way you're going to ask them where we're going? Okay, I'm going to say, I'm going to fucking cast... What can I get? Orym's going to step in front of Laudna right now. I'm going to cast... This is for three people.

I'm going to cast at 3rd-level command. Okay. Oh, we are on now. So you're casting at the 360- For three people. 60-foot range. You can just reach all three, especially with the one that stepped away. The tree is still in the process of pulling itself forth. As you do, you watch the wood split in places, in six or seven places, the wood splits

with little yellow eyes that peer through. What do you command them as I go ahead and make their, what's their wealth? Is that wisdom save, yes. Yes, one word. That's an eight, that's a six, and a seven, wow, they roll like shit. Great.

Don't. Just don't. For one round. Just don't. For one round, you want them to don't. Bleh. Okay. Don't. Okay. They all, some of them arrows. Whatever they were going to do, they don't do it.

For the next round, they won't do it. One was going to let us go. FCG, translate. I'll hold out my hand and I'm going to cast Minor Illusion. In my hand, you see a small little version of Morrigan's tree. It was really nice staying here. I'm sure her hospitality extends to this place. Can't say. It was nice staying here. I'm sure her hospitality extends to this place. Can't say it. Nice staying here.

Just fucking say what I say! It was nice staying here. I hope her hospitality pertains to this place, extends to this place. But when she comes looking for us, either of her heads, she's going to really love having some new statues for her garden. Oh, she's going to really love having some new statues for her garden.

Oh, that's good. The little one says that she'll love adding statues to her creepy garden. Well, they're currently not doing anything right now. Yeah. As they all stare, blinking, processing why they're listening. Like, they're just standing there. Let's get the fuck out of here.

Why are we talking to them? Six seconds. Even if we run, they're still horses. Through you translating, an additional intimidation check, but it is a much higher DC based on the previous failure and the current circumstances that are not in your favor. But if somehow, I will tell you,

if you roll a knight, if you get above a 22. Don't worry about it. Okay. I didn't translate well enough, I will tell you, if you roll a knight, if you get above a 22. Don't worry about it. Okay. I didn't translate well enough, I'm sorry. Run, run, run. Run! Run? I guess. I don't know. If we got six seconds.

Towards our goal. Well, you got three seconds because he was intimidating them through the process. Well, we got to do something. What are you doing? I think we're standing here twisting in the wind while they attack us. I know. That's what it feels like. Should we attack them?

Run! It's your call, do you run? Sure, let's run so we don't attack the centaurs for another half round. Yeah. They'll never catch us! I mean, they're frozen, so you can attack them. Do something.

Do we get a round on them? Go! How many total are there? If you wanted to attack them right now, you would have a round on them? Go! How many total are there? If you wanted to attack them right now, you would have a round on them. Do it! I'm going to use Seedling, and I'm going to Grasping Vine

and try to yank a bow out of the one that shot at Letters. I guess I'll set out an arrangement to show you where it is. Ooh! Oh! Oh, is this, are we getting a map? This map brought to you by WizKids Mini. The box mock and a box set is available for pre-order.

Find these and many more Critical Role miniatures at wizkids.io slash crminis and your local game store. Usually he's back by now. Yeah. I read that really fast. Amount of bullshit coming together for this one. Is he building one on the fly?

Rearranging it. Holy shit. This is Matt going, why the fuck are they fighting the centaurs? I know, I know. Well, we can't run, they're horses. Well, maybe we go to their home turf and we tell them, maybe they don't like the Unseelie.

Yeah, maybe they'll help us. Oh. Oh wow. Why is it great? Oh god. He just put that together. Oh wow, look at that plant Oh god. How he just put that together. Oh wow, look at that plant! What?

With the, with the. Ooh, that's got fiber optics on it. That's super, super red. Wow. That's probably the steam plant. Are they unseelie? We don't know. They might exist in the space in between, right?

Yeah, I think that's where we are. Maybe you should ask them if they're Unseelie. Yeah, yeah. This tree is now becoming this tree. Did he? Uh-oh. No, we didn't. Well, DM, clarify. Did he say that we were in their lands

that they mentioned the Unseelie? No, they just said the lands where the sun doesn't fall. Maybe they're the Lion Guard. That's what it was. Wasn't that the name of the Unseelie area? Except they're not a lion. So probably not. No, no, no, no. Yes, the sun.

Unshadow. The sunshadow. The sun doesn't fall. The sunshadow realm where the Unseelie rule is all we heard. Oh. They didn't say where the sun, but we can. Educated cast. Yes, exactly. Oh, then they could be bringing us

straight to where we want to go. And Mori, like, described, I can't remember all of them, politicians, knights? I think? What were the? I'm assuming, yeah. Oh boy. All right. Can you ask them if they're unseelie? Sure.

But right now, they're donting. Yeah. So you have one round while they are donting. We got to finish this now. Well, Orym's in front of Laudna, because I said he was. Then who fired the arrow at Letters? The closest one?

This one here, yeah. Okay, so the last thing I said was I was trying to use Seedling to grab his bow and yank it out of his hand. So dex. Are there more than three? That would be... No, just three. Now we can see. Dex. That's why they woke up a tree, because there's only three of them. Ah, that beats hand. Okay. Is it dex? There are more than three? No, just three. Now we can see.

Dex. That's why they woke up a tree, because there's only three of them. Oh, that beats it. Okay. Oh, and that giant tree, right? Yeah. Natural 60 on that one.

Yeah, that beats it. Okay. And what is that big thing back there? This is the plant that had been poofing out onto... Yeah, the steam that created an iridius around it. Okay. All right. All right. Staying put? Yeah, yes, I'm staying in front of the exhausted dead lady.

Okay, that finishes your go? Yep. Since we're actually rolling formal initiative here, you guys are just getting around in whatever order you want to, because you guys are figuring out what else you want to do. So, who's doing what? Are we doing this? I know, I think we're just so confused.

Yeah, what if we like, yeah. Or if they can help us. All right. Just ask them if they're unseelie. Are you unseelie? They can't talk back, they're donting. They can still do something. We can even let them capture us

and walk for a little bit and talk to them, and then we kill them. Are you Unseelie? If so, name twice. Name twice. Still, though. They stand there for a second. The one that dodged out of the way from you

is looking a bit confused and looks back at you. You'll fetch them a pretty coin. You'll fetch them a pretty coin. You'll fetch them a pretty coin. Fetch a pretty coin for them? That's what you gather is probably what they meant. Got it. I explain. I think they're at least working with the Unseelie.

Yeah. Bounty. Okay. Want to surrender and go in? I don't know, I don't know. We're surrendering? Heading straight into the Anseelie Court. It's one-line again. We don't know exactly which way we're going.

We don't know that the Anseelie Court is located where we're going. This is so dumb. Let's just kill them! Well, no, we do know that the Anseelie Court is located where we're going. Yeah, we are heading towards the Anseelie Court. Yes. At least their domain.

Their domain. Their domain. It could be the state of Delaware. Yeah. That is true. Maybe these guys are nice. They don't seem nice. I don't want to fight them, but- Because they're horses, is that why? Maybe.

Analysis paralysis, somebody do something. I'm a born killing machine. I mean, at this point, throw initiative on us and let us figure it out. I'm just going to attack the one that shot at me. Do it. Go for it. What are you attacking them with? A spiritual weapon.

All righty. Okay, okay, okay, okay. Here we go. This is happening. I'm going to Bane them. If we still have that one round. Everybody does. I'm giving everyone that one round.

I cannot believe this is happening. Can I do something else, or I used my one round to do the command and so I'm out on this? They all get wisdom saving throws for Bane. Charisma. Charisma. That's a failure. Lower.

That was going to be a 16? Just makes it. Okay, so this one does not get made right there. It does fall over, apparently. Okay. No. I'm going to go. No, you do, the command is for the next turn,

so we'll say you go at the very end of this. Okay. All right. I'm going to cast Entangle around their feet. Entangle around their feet? 20-foot radius? Was 30 something? It is 90 feet.

Natural one. And a 10, so only the one in the front succeeds. The other two are currently restrained or grappled. Was it a save against that? Correct. There would have been a d4 against it if he was back. Correct, but it was a natural 20. Oh, okay, never mind, yeah.

I'm spiritual weaponing him. Correct, so go ahead and roll for damage, or to hit on him. 18 to hit. 18 definitely hits. Restrained. Restrained. Restrained, you got it. Nice.

Nice. Both of them in the middle of the swamp, a bunch of, a burst of intense vines and roots just come out of the ground in that vicinity and start wrapping up around them. One of them pulls away, while two of them are now pulled into it and are being held in place and they're restrained.

That one is still free. What'd you roll for damage? Damage? Ooh, terrible. Are they all free restrained? Four points of damage. Yeah. Four points of damage. No, two of them are restrained. Well, we could run. Yeah. Which one's not restrained?

The one closest to us. And he is baned. He's baned and he just got hit with four huge points of damage. Okay. My spiritual weapon, by the way, appears like a giant stirrup. Oh my god.

That's ridiculous. Not a spur, a stirrup. Just stirrup? Oh, I meant to spur, but let's go with stirrup. Let's go with stirrup. Whack! Put your feet in this! That's fucking hilarious. All right, feet. Then it changes to a saddlebag.

And then rains. And then it just. I don't know. Just random horse tackle. He's hitting me with a feed bag. It's square. A bit. It is, let me double check.

Blinders. Yes, 20-foot square. Okay. 20-foot, 20-foot. I wouldn't have been able to reach all three of them then. 90 feet, 20-foot square. 90-foot range. 90-foot range, yeah, 20-foot square. Correct.

This is where. This is where there. This flower's going to go. Five, 10, 15, 20. So these two you could have gotten. This one was not restrained at the moment. So only one of them is restrained. But this area here remains.

Oh. So that's bad for us, too. True. You guys are traveling this direction. Oh, we're going that way. That's great. Okay, okay, okay, okay. We're going to run this direction on the map.

30 feet? 35 feet. Okay. Keep coming. The swamp is difficult terrain, by the way. So we can get up right up to? 530 gets you about there. Against centaurs.

So we can get right up against that centaur that's not in. I'm going to take out my scythe. I'm going to take out Turmoil and utter the word, Done! And it unleashes. You got it. And I'm going to swing it in the air and cast Shatter

right in between the centaur and the walking tree fuck. What's the radius on that one? 60 feet, 10-foot sphere. 10-foot sphere, you got it. Is that first one just five feet out of the radius? He's not quite there. So right there? Mm-hmm.

Anyone in that sphere, hopefully they... He could get all three of them. That would be lovely. Two on the other side. Great. But if he approached... I don't think they met, oh, constitution saving throw.

All right, the tree fails with a... That's a 12, right? It's a 14 saving throw. Yeah, so tree fails. 11 fails. so three fails. 11 fails. All three fail. 11, amazing. Wow. 16.

21 points of thunder damage to all three of them. Kicked it off. So as he pulls out the blade, you swipe into the air, and in the middle of that space, this weird swirl of electrical and storm energy just detonates outward like a localized explosion. All three of those, the tree and those two centaurs,

they all get rained upon by a bunch of impacting shards of force in the vicinity, and they all hold their ears in that process, at least those that have ears. All right. They all already look pretty hurt. Great. All right. That's my turn. All right, I'm going to fire up a rage

and see what happens. All righty. Oh yeah! I am a big rainbow of probability. You got it. I'm just going off like 4th of July in there. Okay. Fun.

Amazing. I'm going to walk up. I assume I can get right up to that guy in the front without, he's still five feet outside of the spell. 20, 25, 30, 40 can get you there. I have Earth Walk, so technically I might be able to, if this is Earth. Earth Walk means you ignore difficult terrain?

I'll say exactly what it is. It's a little weird, hold on. It says, Earth or Stone. I don't know if this would count as Earth or Stone. This is swamp, so. Okay. But you can still get to the guy up front. Yeah. He's five feet out from the,

he's right outside the Entangle spell? Correct, the Entangle spell's right on that guy. Okay, so, okay. Let's see what happens. I'm going to take the- He's just outside of the Writhing Vines. You're like,'s see what happens. I'm going to take the- You're just outside of the writhing vines. You're like, shit. All right, I'm going to just walk up,

just take one nice swing. Go for it. And see what happens. Fuck a bee. Fuck a bee. We're leaving that. Natural 20, this is going to go really poorly. Woo!

That command will open you up for a round. Let's do it. This is going to be a surprise round. Real bad. Oh boy, what am I going to do here? Ah, this poor guy's not going to do okay. I'm going to pump some terrible stuff into this, so I'm going to put a Chaos Burst in here as well,

since we're going this way. It's going to hurt so bad. So this is also going to have psychic damage. Great. Yeah, that's a... Sorry, that got in the way. It's currently 2d4, so pull that aside. Lots of numbers.

Yeah, I'm doing a lot. So this is the sum of this 2d6 plus 2d4. Okay. That's... It's been a while. That's... eight points of bludgeoning damage doubled, so 16, plus eight for the base,

so that's 24, plus, oh, this is so mean. Oh, 12 points of psychic damage. And just to make the point, I also, as I'm taking the hammer, I'm going to hit it right in the torso and I'm going to throw this motherfucker five feet back into the bramble.

You actually throw them about 15 feet as you wham and hit them, and they are lights out. Oh! Arcing in the air as their heavy, half-horse form immediately takes the brunt of it. Just going for a knockout, by the way. I figured.

Unless you're using lethal weapons and saying otherwise. I mean, hammer could be lethal, but you're saying knocking back, so. I didn't even use my crazy-ass shit. Correct, the vines then strap around the unconscious centaur on the ground. The other two are like,

and now that they're getting their bows at the ready, now that the spell's starting to wear off, you still have another attack? There's nowhere I can get anyway. Anybody who hasn't gone? We can chill this. You did the vine. There's no chill. You get your spell.

We'll chill their dead body. They can run away. I baned them. You baned them. Entangled. Entangled, and? I will, if I go at the end, I'm going to twin spell the two centaurs that are still standing. Yeah.

And they're going to hear just in their heads and just, I'm going to cast Dissonant Whispers. Got it. What's the save on that? That is a 17, wisdom. Wisdom. That is a natural one. And two natural ones in a row.

Whoa! Like Gilmore dice. He's looking out for you. Yeah, thanks, Gilmore. Thanks, Gilmore. So that is 10 points of psychic damage to each of them, and they have to use their full speed to run away from me.

Okay. But they're restrained. One of them is not. Correct. Must immediately use its reaction, if available, to move as far as its speed allows away from you. Okay. All righty, so, finishing that,

now we come to the top of the round. Now everybody roll initiative. Oh! Hey! Oh, there we go, see, now they're finally rolling decent. Tree, not so much. Okay, so. Two dice. Yeah, two dice. Three, not so much. Okay, so 25 to 20. 22.

Chet. 20 to 15. 19. 19. Nice. 17. Who got 19? Me and Orym. Orym's dexterity. 15 to 10. 12. 12?

Okay, so Orym. Do-ga-da-do-ga-da-do-ga-da-do. 10 to five? Six. All righty. Useless. And? Four. All right. Chetney, you're up first.

I race up towards the tree. All righty. Get within five feet, and I'm going to use my bonus action to reach around my back and you see flames dance up the blade of the scythe. Hell yeah. And I whip it around and I'm gonna take my first strike against the legs of this thing with some fire of Crimson Rite. You got it. Oh, I should roll that d6. Two.

Okay, I'll take that damage. 16 plus eight, 24 to hit. 24 definitely hits. Okay, and the second one. It's only 18 to hit. 18 also hits. 18 also hits, great. Okay, 2d6.

Plus four. That's 10, 14 plus two is 16 points of damage, plus it does, I think, a 1d8 for thunder. Yeah, so 16 plus five is 21 points. Okay. Total in the second one is eight plus four, 12, 14, and six. 20 points of damage. You got it. 41 points.

Carving through it with the scythe. Between the shatter spell and those two strikes, you can already see the tree is preparing itself. It's about to slam its arms in the ground, and then one of its legs splinters out. What you imagine a tree's knee would be is now wrecked, and it's barely holding itself on the second leg. He looks like some pretty healthy green wood, but is he on fire at all? No. The moisture here or something about this tree or the enchantment, the flames are not having the effect that you imagine and have seen other trees have. Good for you, lad, good for you. That's my turn.

Finishing his go, it's not the centaur's go. One of them is restrained. Okay, they're both going to take two strikes with their longbow, or this guy's actually going to take two strikes with their longbow. Or this guy's actually going to charge attack. You... It is difficult terrain through the entangled area, but you just have...

Do you think you need to run away from Imogen? Oh, right, no, you're totally right. Nice. So he just makes him so sad, but that turns, you're totally right. Nice. So he just makes you so sad, but that's okay. He turns off the board this way. This guy's restrained and can't. But he will try and break free of it

at the end of his turn. Oh god. And that's a... That's a 17. Does that beat your DC, 17? It does. He is no longer restrained into his turn. You like my cookies?

Ooh. Shit. But they can still take actions? They should have to move away from you? Yes, they just have to move away from me. They have to use their reaction to move away from me. Gotcha. Okay, cool. So they still get their attacks.

They're both taking longbow shots. It's going to be two on you, Ashton. Mm-hmm. It's going to be a 12 to hit. No. Oh, it was almost a 20, and an eight to hit. Aw. The one that did, let's pick one.

The one that's furthest away? I'm going to use my reaction to trigger Dreadful Misfortune. Okay. So, you have to make the attack roll against their own AC. Oh, that's cool. That's cocked.

Oh, that's amazing. Yep. Hey! So the first shot fires and it misses you. The second shot they fire, you focus and concentrate, and as they go to release it, the string snaps the wrong direction and the arrow sticks into their hand.

I'm like, fuck! So they have to take their own damage. Yeah, they take half damage. Half damage of their strike. Oh my god. That's cool. They take four points of piercing damage. No. Shit! Ah!

The other one is going to take two shots at you, because it's a longbow shot, and you're the one who ended up causing them to halt. I don't want to do that. Natural one, Jesus Christ. And natural 18, okay. So you do take one shot from the longbow for nine points of piercing damage.

One arrow managed to strike you in the hip area. Image, no! Thanks for the basket! Then now he breaks free of the Entangle, but that's the end of his turn. Now that brings us to Orym and FCG. Okay, if I can do it from where I'm standing, I'm going to use a bonus action, if I need to get closer, I will,

to use Seedling to send a second Grasping Vine up at the head of the tree and then zip myself up onto the top of it. You got it. That's a fail on his dexterity save, so yeah, you can totally do that. Okay. Stand on that little plateau,

and then I'm just going to start slashing away. At the tree? At the tree, yeah. Go for it. First one will be a goading attack. That is probably going to hit. Has the tree gone yet? 23. The tree hasn't gone yet, no.

We're going to get that thing on the ground before it even has time to think. So that's a 23 to hit. It's a goading attack. It has to beat a wisdom save of a 16. These guys are kind of... Nope, it was like 19, three. Three?

Okay, so it's goaded. We are. What's going on? So that is from Seedlings, three plus six is nine. And I'm just 10 for that hit, and I will take a second attack. That is a 13. 13 does not hit.

Okay, I'll Action Surge. Next one is a 19 to hit. Okay, that is okay. Okay, that is one plus six is seven, and the last slash is a 19 again, and that is an eight of slashing damage. What was the first hit again? It was...

The very first one? Yeah, the damage on it. I don't recall. Sorry, I'm not aware. I could just roll it again. Sure, let's roll it again. Let's roll it again. So it's two plus six is eight,

plus the superiority die is nine. Oh, it was 10. It was 10, but we'll go with nine. I'll take 10. Okay. I just jogged my memory. Nobody gets there eventually. And it's disadvantage against anybody. Else in the area, okay.

FCG, you're up. Ashton on deck. I'm up. With my bonus action, I'm going to move my Spirit Tree weapon. Are we trying to get this tree thing? I think so, yeah, yeah, yeah. Go to the tree, if it can make it over there, 20 feet. Can you move 20 feet easily over to the tree?

And it's going to just spur the shit out of its shin. Not some more enemy of trees, the spur. You mean the... Stirrups. The stirrups? The stirrups. Going to stir up the shin. Go for it, roll an attack card. That sounds like it fucking hurt.

Yeah, it actually does. Maybe they're bedazzled. 24! 24 definitely hits, go ahead and roll damage. Oh my god, he went up. Nine points of damage. Yeah! Oof, that tree is looking bludgeoned to fuck in just this round. And then I will also shoot a Sacred Flame at it.

A little thing will open up in my chest and spout a gout of flame at it. 16? That saves, so he gets half damage or no damage? No damage on Sacred Flame, it's all or nothing. So it does manage to, it gets hit by the stirrup and it's like. Pulls its leg up right as it's taking flight

and bursts beneath it, in effect, shielding it. It steps back down, but its knees are already so messed up, it splinters and. I will roll forward up to where Ashton is, at least. Maybe even further. Unfortunately, you'll only get 15 feet because of the difficult terrain.

I'm about to move anyway, so. All right, finishing FCG's go. Ashton, you only get 15 feet because of the difficult terrain. And I'm about to move anyway, so. All right, finishing FCG's go. Ashton, you're up. I'm going to run on over to the kids. I'm going to take a nice swipe at whatever leg is holding up that tree. So right there. Okay. And just a nice running gallop,

and I'm going to do this. As I know how things work, I'm going to do this, as I know how things work, I'm going to go reckless. So let's go for a shot. I also get a- Yeah, reckless! Yeah. Woo! Oh, and I also get a d4 on this one. Not that I'm ever going to take a big swing.

That's 21, so that's, it hits. Kids have enthusiasm about your work. Okay. Bloody hell, that hits. That's six, eight, 14 points of damage right there. Okay. Ashton, how do you want to do this? Yeah!

I'll take that for a throw! So as I'm running up to this tree, I'm bringing the hammer back and I'm going to try and just get it and split the wood like a piece of timber all the way up the leg. The tree's leg splinters and shatters from the impact and where the leg met the center of its trunk,

the trunk splits and the middle of it just divides halfway up before it tumbles. Jemba! Make an acrobatics check for me, if you don't mind. Yepers, natural 20. Natural 20 as it falls back. Actually, how close to, yeah. Onto the ground, under the spongy swamp top.

Sinking a foot into the ground. I'm going to tap you on the shoulder, under the spongy swamp top. Sinking a foot into the ground. Yep. I'm going to tap you on the shoulder, point at the next guy, and I'm going to take the rest of my run and see if I can get right up to that asshole. Let's do it. Okay. 15, 20, 25, 30, 30.

Yeah, you can get up to that guy. Meet me there, and I'm just going to, I'm going to second strike. Second strike, I'm literally just going to bludgeon straight on into the head. Let's, I'm just going to fucking get him. That's 20 to hit. That hits, go to roll damage.

Oh yeah, there we go. That's 17 points of bludgeoning damage. 17 points of damage, bludgeoning damage. Yeah, all at once. 17 points of damage. It's like a squirt of blood. You hit it right in the face. As you pull it back, its eyes are nearly crossed from the impact, its nose flattened and immediately bleeding

as it falls unconscious onto the ground. I'm just going to turn and look at the next guy. That's my show. That's my whole thing. That finishes your turn. All right, that brings us to Fearne. All right. Witches. Witches.

So two of them are unconscious on the ground, beat to shit. The tree is on the ground, no longer moving, and there's the one guy who is running away. Oh. Oh, well. Do it. Let's just do it.

Tell witnesses. Tell witnesses, but they're so cool. Oh god, just do it. I am going to hold. Feigned mercy. We're going to do it. Feigned mercy. They like horses. They try to fuck with us. Should we do it? They got arms. We're going to do like horses. They're trying to fuck with us.

Should we do it just as a tree? They got arms. They're not horses. Should we do a tree? Or should we do it? Once you have it. There would probably be a fidget. I can split my Eldritch Blasts. Once you have thumbs, it's fair game. I can do one. I can switch and I split my Scorching Earth.

You can be Fjord and once you have it. We want to do. Once there's thumbs. They're going to do a combo move, Matt. We want to do a combo move. Okay, yeah. The three of us linked up back to back. You do have straight initiative, so there's nobody has to do a combo move. Okay, yeah. The three of us linked up back to back. You do have straight initiative, so there's nobody else to do anything in between.

Right, yes. So whatever you want to do. This one, you're the threat. This one, you're the threat. Yes. Be richer, yep. Okay. Scorching Ray. Okay.

Eldritch Blast. Witch Bolt. Okay, so the three of you, we're full on Ghostbusters crossing the street? Yes! Okay. Are we splitting them? All three of us splitting them? Wait, is there an enemy?

There's only one guy. This is going to be like the one with the belt? Just the one guy left? The one guy left? He's 60 feet away, and then just his head goes. Well, then I know. I guess we'll just combine. He's 60 feet away.

Then I'll have to use Sorcery Point to double my distance to get him, but I'm fucking doing it. Let's do it. Worth it. My Eldritch Blast is 240 feet. I burned two fucking chaos points for this fight. Yolo.

Scorching Heat is 120 feet, yeah. So with the sorcery points spent, the three of you, go ahead and everyone roll your attacks with advantage, because you're doing this together. Ooh! With advantage. You can stick. And I can, you have attack right there.

Nice. First one. No additional damage on this one, but you all have advantage on this, because you're all focusing on one shot. 26. 17. 18, so that's 25.

And then I got a natural 19 and a natural 18. Okay, this is good. On my two Etch-Witch Blasts. This is good. If any of them had missed, they would have all missed. Oh! But you all had advantage to hit, and so now they all hit. Yes! And so now we can do additional damage on top of that.

So, go ahead and- This would be such overkill. This is such overkill. So go ahead and roll damage. This poor man is done. I don't want to get hit. When you're done, someone's just going to be able to, someone's just going to be that someone's captained a horse and cut off the feet of a man.

Eight. Whoa! Eight points for the first Scorching Ray. Okay, both of the other ones, too. Unless you're shooting them with things. But I don't want to kill them! You don't have to, you can pull back if you want to. Yeah, pull back with that electricity. Ta-ta-ta.

But are the other ones dead? No, they're unconscious. No, they're just unconscious. Check. Advantage again? What? No, you're not rolling the hit again or just damage? Well, because I have three Scorching Rays. Scorching Rays, three Scorching Rays.

She has roll four. Oh, I see. But I can hold those? If you want to just not shoot them, you can. Up to you. Let's see what the damage would be. Yeah. Oh, that's really good. Okay.

So that's 27 to hit. Yeah. Lord. And that's another eight. So it's 16. Yeah. Shit, I have another one. Keep running! Just out of my range. Don't miss. Okay.

Don't miss. 21. Okay, 21 points of fire damage from Fearne. No, no, no, 21 to hit. Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. So 16 plus whatever you roll here. Oh wow, okay, 11. You rolled an 11 on that one.

Yeah. 25? So 16 plus the last 27. 26 points of fire damage. Oh boy. Wow. So, all right, so that's you. 20 points of Eldritch Blast damage. Okay, so 46 points of damage. Oh boy. Wow. So, all right, so that's you. 20 points of Eldritch Blast damage. Okay, so 46 points of damage. Nine.

Why do I suck so bad? Nine. Oh, because which bolt hits over and over. Okay. Pretty good. All right, so 55 points of damage plus an additional d12, if someone wants to roll that on top of the whole thing. Go, I'm going to 10. Oh, is that a?

10, that's 10 additional. Okay. Wow! How do you want to do this? Describe the merging of these spells between the three of you and how it impacts your target. Each of you, one word at a time. Oh my god, yes, improv game.

Hey, bitches. Should we take this one out? Yeah! I keep forgetting we're bad people. Wait, wait! Can each of us, as it blasts from our hands, it shoots out and intertwines? Yes, so it braids? Yeah, so it braids. Oh, it's braiding!

It's braiding, it's braiding! It's like a ponytail! Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh! What if your fire ones are circling around Yeah, so it breaks. Oh, it's braiding. It's braiding, it's braiding! Like a ponytail! Yeah, yeah, yeah. What if your fire ones are circling around? The lightning in my Eldritch Blast is all necrotic, so I imagine it's taking your fire and making it black and dark and purpley.

Smoking terrible things. And my purple lightning flaring at him. I see what I'm seeing. You know the scene in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure when he rides a motorcycle? Yeah. You see this guy just and just squibs about 100 feet up that way.

There's just a detonation of three different forms of energy that just remove the top half of this centaur. That may have been overkill. That may have been a bit much, but let's go. Let's run. Wait, real quick, before we go anywhere, I've always wanted to see if centaurs have pockets. One second, and I'm going to run over

and at least the one guy in the front, I'm going to really quickly try and loot. Yeah. Okay. They have pouches. They have a pouch? They do, they have. Varsupial pouches. Everything in the Fade Realm has a Varsupial pouch.

It's true. They have a number of things in the world. Fearne has several. How are we? Are we clear? What's going on out there? What do they have? What do they have? He's telling you what you have.

Oh yeah, just making sure we're not being followed. Jeez. Check shit. This has been a scattered game. We are chaos. This has been a scattered game. We are chaos. This has been chaos. They each have quivers with arrows in there for their longbows.

What was longbows? Quips. Roughly anywhere between 25 to 20 arrows each. Some have been spent. They're also carrying snacks for the road, almost like fungus and mushrooms. They're hunters. Nothing.

Yeah, no, like, nothing to identify where they come from or anything like that, or... No, you can make a... Really? Make an arcana check. A little hammer and sugar cubes? I'll do an arcana check. Hey, Matt, when I did my... My...

Jesus Christ. Natural point. Sorcery point. For 20. Yeah? My shard went off. You sharded? That's right. You sharded. You used the shard for that? Okay, let's do it.

What's that mean? That means it's time for some chaos. 63. Wild magic? Wild magic. Okay, well. Yeehaw. For one thing, you rolled a natural 24 total of? 21.

21 on the arcana. Mm-hmm. Best that you can tell, with what base knowledge you're absorbing, being in the presence of the fey realm here, the look of their skin, the look of their equipment, they're definitely hunters of this realm of the Sun's Shadow.

You get the sense they're probably loosely affiliated with the court, while not directly. They probably are one of those outer nomadic communities that off and on works for, contracted work, or just gathers and finds things that they can then make profit off of or trade with the Unseelie directly, if it's useful to them. Like strangers from another realm

that don't look like they're from here. All right. As for your Bob magic, it's at 63. Why do you always roll in the 50s and 60s? It's crazy. She wants to. You all go, after you watch the guy explode, you go, yes, and you turn to Imogen,

and you go, yeah, and just fog out of your mouth and fills the space 20 feet around you. Whoa. Can she talk? Does it keep doing this as I open my mouth? It does, but it lasts for an hour, as long as you concentrate on it. Oh my god! Do we have fog?

Hey, we can sneak around! We can sneak around! You literally create a fog cloud, a spell centered on yourself, which means you can move with it. Yes! This is great! They can't find us!

Great fog cloud for an hour. Is she sneaky with pace? Or is it just fog, that's all she got? No, try and speak. Can you hear me? Yes. I can hear that. You can talk, but it's definitely

a lot of fog billowing out of it. It just keeps billowing out, by the way. Well, it's a good thing I can communicate with my brain. Like, if you close your mouth, one, the fog begins to dissipate, but also, like, it's uncontrollable. It just keeps coming out. Wow. It's got a hint

of turmeric to it as well. Yes. If they have nothing I want, then I'm just going to go through, and I'm just going to break all their arrows really quickly, so just in case they wake up, they're not a problem. Because we're seeing they were all knocked out. Yeah, the ones that are knocked out.

Two of them are knocked out. One's out. Two of them are knocked out. One's gone. Two of them are knocked out. The one that ran was? Glu. Yeah. So if they don't have anything, they can keep their snacks and an arrow each. You got it. Done. You break all but one arrow each,

and then gather your wits about yourselves, and then quickly follow your newly found blanket of diffusion around you, obfuscation, as you begin to continue to head now further out of the swamp. And now what you can see ahead, maybe about five or 600 feet before you, where the true exterior of the Bramble Forest

that connotates the beginning of this valley and the Sable Grounds unfolds ahead. And that's where we'll end tonight's episode. Oh! We'll pick up upon the- We got there at the end. We did. We did. We made it.

I finally got to use that little probability shift. That was fun. You did. That was cool. I've been looking forward to that forever. That one's a fun one. Yeah. So yeah, we'll pick up there next time as you guys are actually now entering

the Sablecast Grounds, which contains one of the keys. Oh shit. Whatever's around it. Oh my god. We have no idea how it's guarded or what to expect. Nope. Sorry for the chaos, Matt. Don't be sorry, we're all a little loopy. We're a little loopy.

Sit down while we sign off the show, Ashley Johnson. Say again? We're still broadcasting. Sorry! I'm here. We're going to have a talk. There's some big chaos energy tonight. Are you going to show that?

Oh, are we going to show it? Oh, we'll let her show it. That's what she's going to do. Show and tell to end the night. Wait, actually, should we put it there, maybe? My mom built this as Fearne's house. This was the inspo for Nana's. Ashley's mom made this. Isn't it so great?

It's so cute. It's a birdhouse. In you. I love it. It's so great. Covered in hands. Covered in hands. So beautiful. I'll bring it if you do a photo shoot with it. Yeah, we'll take a photo. Foresighted dive. Super, super cute.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I love that joke, Sam, by the way. Foresighted dive. Super, super cute. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's a good idea. Put it on. I love that joke, Sam, by the way. That makes me really happy. Just saying. I almost need a print of that. You can have that one. Thank you, that's all I want. Okay, well.

That wild ride of a final bit there will pick up there into this next Batch of Chaos next episode. Thank you for joining us and dealing with our chaos for the evening. Have a wonderful night. Love you very much. And is it Thursday yet?

Good night. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Critical Role. If you enjoyed the adventure, please leave a rating and review wherever you stream the Critical Role Podcast Network. Your story might inspire another listener to join the journey. Be sure to tune in to the next adventure. Until next time, this is Taliesin Jaffe. See you soon.