Critical Role - Call of the Wild Hearts | Age of Umbra: Sallowlands | Episode 4 Part 1

Episode Date: August 6, 2026

After escaping the Tower of Oxudos, the travelers continue across the Sallowlands, where they encounter a thriving community devoted to a new spreading faith...   DAGGERHEART: HOPE & FEAR Explore new Daggerheart content seen in Sallowlands with the first expansion for Daggerheart! Hope & Fear comes out August 25th and features new classes (Witch, Warlock, Assassin, Brawler), transformation cards, adversaries, campaign frames, and much more. Visit https://www.daggerheart.com/pre-order to learn more, or head directly to Critical Role shops to place your pre-order! US: https://shop.critrole.com UK: https://shop.critrole.co.uk EU: https://shop.critrole.eu AU: https://shop.critrole.com.au CA: https://canada.critrole.com   AGE OF UMBRA: SALLOWLANDS A group of outcasts and survivors brave blasted lands in search of answers in Age of Umbra: Sallowlands. This 6-part Daggerheart mini-series features Game Master Matthew Mercer and players Laura Bailey, Jennifer English, Abubakar Salim, Vico Ortiz, and Zachery Renauldo. They’ll form an unlikely band of companions, who venture off the beaten path in search of answers in the Sallowlands, a new region of the Halcyon Domain filled with cracked badlands, dangers, and awe-inspiring secrets. What fragile hopes dare they cling to in this story of desperation and survival? Learn more at https://critrole.com/umbra   CREDITS See full cast and crew credits at https://critrole.com/sallowlands-credits/     Starring: Game Master Matthew Mercer | @matthewmercervo Jennifer English as Dillywin Hellekin | @jenniferjenglish Abubakar Salim as Mercy | @abubakarsalim Laura Bailey as Sister | @laurabaileyvo Zachery Renauldo as Alphonse | @zachthebold Vico Ortiz as Cagauma | @puertoricaninja   Art by: Key Art by Daniel Jiménez Villalba | @Danieljimenezvillalba Character Art by Strange House | @strange_house Sallowlands Map by Marco Bernardini Miniatures Painted by Keo Lacebal, Angela Basset, and Erik Lonnquist Main Theme Song by Omar Fadel Set Design by Shaun Ellis Set Fabrication and Production Design by Noxweiler Berf   HEALTH & WELL-BEING 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello, wayward adventurers. I'm Laura Bailey, and you're listening to the podcast version of Age of Umbra Salo Lans, a dagger-heart mini-series of danger, dread, as well as delight and hope in the darkness. If this is your first entry point to dagger heart, you can find tons more resources on how to play and free downloads on daggerheart.com. Plus, you can pick up the game itself and tons of accessories at friendly local game stores and critical role shops. You're listening to part one of the episode right now, and Part 2 will arrive this upcoming Tuesday. Want instant and add free access to this full episode? Consider becoming a Beacon member, where you can watch bonus content, like the cast discussing each episode in Critical Role Cooldown, receive Critical Role shop discounts, including on Daggerheart, and much more. Sign up now at Beacon.tv.

Now, let us return to our wayward band of Wanderers. Hello and welcome to tonight's episode of Age of Umbra. Our Daggerheart Hope and Fear pre-orders are closing very soon, so please make sure to secure your copy and get early access to the PDF ahead of the game's launch on August 25th. This action-pack expansion of Daggerheart has tons to offer GMs and players, including transformation cards like Mercy's reanimated from this series, new classes like Sisters Witch as well, and Mercy's Brawler, new community cards, equipment, adversaries,

and even four new campaign frames to inspire your next stories. So pre-order your copy of Daggerheart Hope and Fear on Critical Role. shops or at friendly local game stores. And if you want to get the lore drop behind Age of Umbra, check out our next lorekeeper ledger releasing August 3rd, which is all about the Sallowlands. Now, these monthly Beacon exclusive newsletters and articles are written by our lorekeepers and give you insight into the world and how the show is made.

This one is lovingly crafted by lorekeeper Jared Deereau. Please sign up for Beacon for $6 a month, $599 technically, but you know what I mean, and see all of our monthly release ledgers at Beacon.com slash LKL. Laura Bailey, you have some announcements. Oh, hey, there. It's convenient. Yeah. Available right now in the critical shops are our brand new Dagger Heart domain pins.

Crafted from hard enamel. With a polished silver metal finish, each pin represents one of Dagger Heart's domains, including the brand new Dread domain. Right there, I have it. Dread domain introduced in the Hope and Fear expansion. They're sold individually, so you can, you know, Pick your favorite, pair the two domains that define your character, or collect them all and wear your story wherever you go. And don't forget, the dagger heart logo pin.

Hey, look it. Also available right now in a polished gold finish. It's a subtle way to celebrate your next dagger heart adventure. Also, our friends at botch dice have just released four brand new official dagger heart hope and fear dice class sets inspired by the assassin, brawler, witch, and warlock classes from the Hope and Fear Expansion. Each nine-dye RPG set is made in the USA and features bold printed graphics,

colors and motifs that capture the spirit of each class. Yes. Every set also includes two specialty Daggerheart D-12s, a metallic gold hope dye, the first of its kind from botched dice. Slick. And an opalescent purple fear dye, another botch first.

Check them out right now at botchdice.com slash daggerheart. Thank you so much, Laura. Oh, thank you, Matt. Of course. If you need me, I'll be right over here. Creepy. And with that, let's go ahead and jump into tonight's episode

of Age of Umbra. Hello, friends, and welcome back to the Age of Umbra. Last we left off, this troop of wayward souls trekking south across the dust desert sallow lands towards the mysterious city that had apparated, it seems not but months ago, a glorious metropolis of magic and promise that draws the attention of all those in the realm and beyond.

Along this path, you encountered some dangerous entities. You made some trade deals. You brought under your wing a surviving templar of the Tower of Oxidose, of the Twilight Exemplars, and managed to convince one of the archons of the tower to allow you a knight of safety under their sacred pyre. Within the tower's society, You encountered elements of protected community

as well as aggressive judgment of perceived heresy. You began to pull on these threads, ask questions, find an underground safe house of a group of individuals working to release the community and the society from the perceived reigns of a manipulative, version of the religion that exists today. And through these moments, you began to enact a means of escape,

seeking paths to leave in the morning and as soon as possible once the sun meets you. You convinced Bowen to possibly come join you all. And as you began to plot what to do next within your chambers, it seemed that the Archon had reached a point of mistrust that could no longer be whether. As such, you were requested aggressively

to lay down your arms and receive judgment, and you fought your way free. You felled a number of them, left broken in bleeding, others slain defensively, as they left you very little opportunity, but to defend yourselves as you rushed to find a way out. One of you nearly thrown out the window. Others battered within an inch of your life. Some past an inch of their unlife. But with that and Bowen's aid, you managed to

push through their numbers, rush down into a long-latched, sunken and drowned crypt, where you had a vision of a once-ancient tunnel. Breaking through, you rode this lightless slide in the the dark before breaching the outside of a cliff face and plunging another 70 or so feet down below. Most of you grabbing on to mercy as you unveiled once more the wings of the glider that you had traded from Steeg's company earlier. And most of you held on. Unfortunately, Bowen, Young Bowen and Kagwama did not. And both of them plunged heavily into the dust and sands below. However, it seems you all managed to survive to differing degrees as you gather yourselves breathing hard, heavy with sweat and exhaustion, Bowen climbing himself out from his

completely legs in the air impact, and you barely pushing from the crater that you left behind in the sand as you all make eye contact and hear the shouts and the signs of torch, light and movement of the tower above and the battlements that are not too far from where you've landed. Can we see what side of the pillar we popped out of? Are we... From what you can tell, it was the eastern side. You can see the other pyre flame of Oathwell as kind of the guiding light and can barely make up the shape of the city, so you kind of glance around and find two orienting points from where you are, and you gather you probably left like an east-south southeast side of the pillar.

That's good. Can we be seen from where we are by those above? It is very dark, you're uncertain. We don't have anything lit up. No, that's good. No, the torches are done. Can we see anywhere around that we could find cover in case they look down and try to find us?

You can certainly try. If you wouldn't mind making an instinct roll for me. If you can make it with disadvantage from the lack of light. Wait, with a disadvantage? Disadvantage because the lack of light here Wait, you could help. I haven't got any hope.

Oh, never one. Otherwise I absolutely would. Okay, well, I rolled with hope. Sweet. That's good. Um. When you started off that way. I know you get all the wins. But let's see, I rolled six on the dice,

minus six for my design. So one. Oh, nice. You glance out into the desert expanse, the wind kind of sending bursts of dust, blocking the view in places, and all you can see is the plain and the dark horizon. That little flickering light of the pyre and the shape of the city to its right leading into a southern way. And no other details of the landscape before you give you any solace or direction. Can I try? Can I happen to have to have a lot of mind?

some experience sailing and maybe I can look to the stars and find something. I can't see shit. Oh, we need to rest so badly. And it is 13. Wait, once a second. I'll give it my experience too once in a Yeah, and you take away hope. You spent a hope to do that. You spent a hope? Yeah, that's right. I took away hope and I have no hope and I roll with fear. Oh, no. Yeah, it's great. We're doing great right now.

So 13 plus 15, and then do I have any in these guys? Is it instinct? Yeah. 17. 17. That's great. That's great. With disadvantage because it is nighttime. It's 11.

Roll six. Wait, no, no, roll six. You might only give you. Oh, sorry. What is wrong with you? It's all good. It's all good. It's all good.

I feel. I feel bad. Sometimes you gotta own it, you know? That's all good. It's a three. Okay. Okay. So whatever that, 14, thank you.

I did so much math, so smoothly and bright. So you look up to the stars, but like many, the majority of the nights here, the sky is obscured with roiling dark clouds, and those stars guide you, but you do see a brief break and a little bit of light kind of like moonlight carves through from just an instant, and you can see what looks to be some shape, almost like a large broken rock or a ruin. You're not certain, but it's about 500 or so feet from here,

and you can take a sprint for it and hope that it might help you in this regard. It's about that time that you hear a boon. Yeah, yeah, that's a go go, go and go, go and go. Can you walk? I think so. And it kind of looks up for a minute at the tower and just looks back at you through the eyes.

You're just going, what have we done? And he just goes into a sprint following you. Oh, let's go! We got this. Everyone sprints past you. Keep taking the direction. As your group continues to charge, you're too distant to hear any voices at this point,

but you can hear those horns going off and you can see torchlight moving from the battlement towers and the outskirts of the base of the pillar the Tower of Oxidose, and you understand that there's likely a search party seeking where you may have gone. Can I, like, use my staff to kind of break up the path, our footprints in the sand, so that they have a hard time falling, if they somehow see.

Of course, make a finesse roll for me if you don't love it. Keep getting that hope. Yes, yes, yes, I see you. I see you. Describe to me, sister, how you manage to glance to glance behind us, taking the back seat of the rest of your troops travel, erase all signs of your journey forward.

You just see the sister doing like a dance behind everyone as she's following behind, using her long robes and her staff to kind of create different paths. Almost looks like snakes have traveled here. There's sand dunes that look like she's marked. It's just, we are gone. There are drifting trails. You can't tell if it's a trick of the lack of light

or an actual emanation of her innate power. But as she dances and glides and the sands shift, the dust's push, you see almost like shadowed tendrils, almost drift like an echo off of each movement, expanding the radial impact you have to the point where you leave trails in some places and dunes rise where you once were. You are altering the land without even consciously

focusing on it specifically as you move forward, and you can't help but kind of glance back and be reminded that, The sister comes from indeed an ancient power beyond the reach of the veiled gods from long ago. You push towards this shape that Gwama had seen out there, keeping your eyes peeled, dilly darting around the outskirts, keeping your weapons strong just in case. Badgers like, trying his best to kind of keep it out. And this, he's nocturnal beast. He is a pretty good deal. He actually gets there first and turns back. As you get close, you do see, amongst some rocky outcroppings and small.

stone hills that protrude from the surrounding sands, there is a ruin, a hollowed structure of stone that is mostly crumbled and lost, eroded. As you kind of rush up to where it might be, there's definitely areas and nooks and crannies here to hide should you want to. Though it is unique that something this old and this honestly eroded would have It's likely been underwater not less than a century before. Can I send Badger to check the entire ruins out and just check that there's not any bad things there? Sure, just go ahead and make an action roll for me, please.

An action roll, I add my agility? Not for Badger, it's just a badger. Not for Badger, okay, but that's a 21 with hope. Yay! Okay, thank that hope. Thank you. It's because Laura's dice. Nice.

Badger glides around and there's broken pieces of stone mostly covered with heavy sand there are little mounds and valleys between from like the sand

that is pushed around and then badger comes back flies to you you hear as it comes to us right so I think these dead people under the sun. Say that again, I missed you.

Dead people. That's it? Just dead people. Nobody's? None moving. Dead people. Recently dead. Don't think so. Must you're born. That you hear.

Oh, right. But you translate. Yeah, yeah. So, not recently dead. No. He said. Okay. Right, I think we're okay. Matt, can I check to see if this is coming,

this ruin is actually coming out of the ground then? Like, if it's not, like, if it doesn't logically make sense that it would be here, like, if it's this decayed or anything like that, if it's ascending like the city that just appeared out of the world. Yeah, go ahead and make a knowledge rule for me, if you don't mind too. 16 with help. Nice. You kind of begin to walk around.

One, you do see there are elements of long, desiccated corpses, like skeletal bits that are themselves weathered hard with sandblasted time. The stonework itself also quite old and weathered, but it looks like it's been settled here for quite a long time as well, which is interesting. Are there any markings, any words, anything on the ruins as much. Whatever there may have been has been long worn off by just dust storm after dust storm.

Hmm. I don't think it's safe to stay this close. I don't either. Even though you did a great job covering our tracks, they can see where the water ascended out of the tower. I think we can break for the night, but not here. How long should we be walking? I am feeling rather weathered down after

Osam. Yes, Badger? Badger goes, I've, Miss Dilwin. And kind of like looks over down and you see one of the corpses, the skeletons. Oh, great, all right. Let's go.

Sits up sand pouring out of the inside of its skull and outside of its rib cage. Oh, right. Just being waiting for her. One arm kind of like, begins to try and pull its way, and the other one start. shifting long at rest, now suddenly aware of presence.

We move. Let's go, let's go, let's go. Because if we make noise fighting them, we gotta go. All right, so thankfully they're just beginning to emerge. That gives you an opportunity to rush out. I will not spend a fear. Oh my gosh.

And instead let you all charge out, and this moment of reactionary sprint, you continue heading, southward, southeast, and you get to decide now which direction you begin to travel. Can I use my bright eyes feature? Do you need to rest in the fucking place, everyone? Don't worry about it. I'm going to use my glowy eyes.

Glowy eyes to see, now I've got the sand out of them, to see where we should go. Which direction? So you might have to use that ability right now, just you being a maternal-aligned entity and being used to traveling at night often, you have the paths that you're taking. There's really two ways you can go. There is the burning sacred pyre of Othwell, which is the community that sits on the floor of the silo lands,

heading more of a southeast. It's a little out of the way the direction you're going, but there at least is a sacred pyre if you can manage to find safety and acceptance within the walls of Othwell. Or you continue to go straight south towards what are the thread bears. The thread bears are the craggy hills and mountains

that consume the southern side of the sallow lands that now surround where this mysterious city has appeared and kind of consumed the core center of the thread bears. Has Dilley been to the thread bears before? I'd say you've avoided it largely because the, the roving bands of the feral call, the somewhat violent beast folk community

that is known for its brutality calls that, a absection of that region home at Hookborough. So you, I mean, you tell me, would you have ventured in there? We might find more welcoming through them, though, then well, well, yeah. That's the relationship between. I've been to Ophwell before. They didn't like me there.

They said I couldn't go back. I'd rather stay far away from humanity for the time being. Yeah, I believe rumors will spread quickly and a lot of folks might not trust us, unfortunately, after what happened. So... Threadbears, it is. Threadbear.

I am... I ain't been there before. I ain't been there before, but I like exploring, so we could give it a go. There it is. Maybe we can keep an eye open for a safe place to rest before we get too deep into. Yes, yes, please.

Certainly. All righty, so in trekking through the evening towards the thread bears to the near direct south of where you are, I'm gonna go ahead and put an eight on this traversal counter. That would be your arrival at the thread bears. And this could be through the night to the next morning. Whenever you decide you want to stop and rest,

it's up to you. Real quick, is there lightning around the new, like the three volcanoes or around the new town or anything like that? You do, like there are, it's interesting. In the distance, the clouds shift through and the winds pick up and there are like moments where you can't really see the city and something passes.

a shadow, a storm, just at this point of night with so much cloud cover, the horizon is just black. And then occasionally, or it's black, and then where the lights are, occasionally vanish when something passes between. You can see the three burning coal-like points of the active volcanoes that now exist on the southern side of the thread bears.

You can see the faint, ghostly green flicker that seems to halo, this spire of a magnificent mountain before it vanishes into the clouds above. You can see from this distance the curtain of glittery lights that represent the evening of a cityscape, vibrant with lanterns, candles, or whatever lights their air. It is a bustling. How are there so many people there? What is that happening? Jeez. And there's like ruins from an ancient civilization? What was before the old world? The oldest world? Like I don't... Is this cyclical? Is this like something that happens? Bowen, who's just kind of been quiet on his own, just kind of sitting there. I mean, I do know that there's some aspects in the study that about Back in the old world, this wasn't a lake at first.

I think there's some, let me go through my notes. And he starts going through his books and, or like things that he kind of had at the ready. Walking around, he has like a small prayer book and starts like pushing through and just glancing through. See exhaustion around his head. He's like, I can't recall it all, but I know there was a great battle. There was a, there was a,

I don't know his name. Like a demagogue-type figure that rose up and the ordinance pre-god king in the early parts of its lineage, they, with the old gods help, struck him down and those he was stealing from the faith. And where the battle took, this lake, was made to bury the remnants of who he was and to make sure he'd be forgotten.

So this could very well be things from that time uncovered when the water went away. Right. We'll keep that in mind for when we get to the new town. Fantastic. Oh man, oh geez, okay. Well, we're on our way. I'd like to try to be extra vigilant while we're trying to,

other people might be trying to stay in the right direction by looking at certain pillars or landmarks. I wanna make sure, I'm wondering if I can use my experience of something's off to make sure to see, or at least stay away from or be aware of any monsters of the night or anything that could be chasing us or hunting us or before we, did what we did on Oxidose, like if that outlaw is still after me or something,

I just want to make sure we're not being followed. Absolutely. Do you want my experience of bright eyes? Can I use two experiences? I mean, if you're helping, you can do that. Yeah. Because then you could have your experience, but it would cost you a hope to use your experience and hope to use. So two hope for me?

Yeah, if you want to do that. Okay. Um, sure. You know what? Better safe than sorry. Yeah. You're marking off hope? You both have to mark hope?

Yeah, both have to mark. Oh, okay. All right. Cool. So I'll get plus four to this role then. Yes. Great. Plus the D6. Yeah, plus D6. Oh, great. Oh, I see what you're saying.

And then what kind of rule? For this, this would be instinct. And you can offer ones as well. If you're like, I want to try and apply this trait to this role and then just logic to me how you want to apply that. Oh, 15, with fear. 15 with fear. You notice it, and then

and it attacks you with the fear you just ruled. Oh, great, thank you. Well, there is one, a couple things you noticed that rule. You see, for numerous reasons, your eyes keep wandering back to the sacred pyre of Oathwell, and you do see lines of torchlight moving from it. Far, far, far away, but it looks like there is mobilization of a number of figures heading southward.

Not likely to cross your path, unless you want to intersect, but you are aware of, there is a lot of motion happening throughout this land, and there is a large contingent of figures who are embarking on a journey similar to yours from that space. Another question. Would I know the relationship between the Tower of Oaksidos and Oathwell enough? You would.

There is definite contention. Okay. Perfect. The question is good. Yeah. Yeah. They have operated, in the old world, there was unification between them, and they do follow the same veiled gods, but their methods and means have become more isolated in the century since Othwell in particular has taken to heavy obsession over the Sarah Hart Sanctum and the recovery of the relics within, since many of their, ilk stem from those that fled from it.

However, the things that were lost and the things that are promised within the sanctum itself are of religious use and import to both communities. And so while Othwell has a historical claim on it, the tower, over time, has felt that they deserve and could more properly make use use of the powerful contents deep within its vaults. And so sometimes they've worked together,

and more recently, they have not. And there's been moments of conflict, then peace called, and then ever-rising tension. Yeah. Well, if Oathwell is sending people to go check out this new city and Oxidose isn't, then that could be a big point of contention. Okay.

Any monsters? You glance out in different points. You swear you see like plumes of dust that start out of nowhere. And remember you've seen the desert sands shift before, and you've always made sure to avoid or stop whenever such things occur. And you can't tell if it's tricks of the lack of light

or there is things moving in the distance, but there's always things moving in the distance. There is no real safety here in this shallow lands. But in your immediate vicinity, you do not see anything actively stalking you. This part of the plane is pretty open, not pretty straight. You have another mile or so before it begins to get more broken. And before what you think you see to be with that role,

there is one chasm that begins to break around that point that kind of spirals through part of this region. And that could be both a place to hide for safety. It could also be a place where other things hide. So the call is about. to you. As we're making our way through the desert, kind of in a low voice is not to grab others' attention.

I think you should all know as we had to the threadbearers. Threadbearers. Threadbearers. I've heard rumor that the Pharaoh call are sending missionaries. I don't know for what or for what call or where, but it coincides with the new city showing up. Mitionaries. Described in robes spreading a good word.

I thought the feral call were wild. Some people see them as the true evolutionary line to adapting to the wastes. I don't know if there's any truth in that, but I think it's connected in some way. Maybe they'll be nicer to us than we expect, but

We are a bunch of weirdos, maybe we'll fit right in. That's true. I'm just glad we're not heading to Oathwell. There's a chasm up ahead. I don't know if I want to be on the low ground, but it could give us some security through the night. Could I send Badger to check it out? It's like a mile up ahead, the chasm? Yeah. As we get closer.

Sure. You send Badger ahead to go ahead and scope this out. While Badger's off ahead, there's some silent travel before Bowen kind of. There's a very good chance I knew some of those men. Some were cruel, but some were just following orders. I mean, all of them are blinded by a dying of faith, using it to keep order and comfort for the elite of the tower. They often cut down and never didn't fit within the rigid rules.

So I've always dreamed of what it would be like to be free from that. And now the time here, it doesn't feel like I thought it would yet. I have nowhere to go but south, so I kind of looks over his shoulder back towards the tower. Wherever we go, I have to trust this was the right call. And with that, he like puts his grip into his tabric and tears it off and kind of just throws it in the sand. My father used to say, in the old world before the umbra, people would die for causes that men would would fight for their leaders and other men. And that maybe if we were unified under one great enemy,

we would have no more conflict like that, for we are mortals. But when it is ingrained at us to fight, to think differently, what you saw back there, to see your fellow man die, that is not Umbra. that is the way things have been since the dawn of time I think maybe these two can attest to it

Oh child he speaks true I I genuinely do appreciate your candle I'm sorry for how it happened I'm not sorry that you're with us now maybe there are answers here at the city for me as well It's nice to have you here, son.

Glad to hear. And he keeps walking. Go ahead and make an action roll for Badger to inspect this space to see if there is an imminent danger or possible safety within. That's another 21 with hope. Twenty-one with hope, fantastic. Big.

The magic floor. Badger eventually comes back as you meet kind of halfway upon the track, and we're trying to see, like, right, so it goes real deep, but looks like there's some shelf... some shelves that are easy enough to climb onto with some interior caverns. I saw one that looks fairly open, very empty, and it's difficult to see from the surface, so it might be a good place to hunker down.

Did you see any monsters? Oh, I saw plenty of monsters, not in the cave, though, like down below and on the other side. But not in the one that you saw it? Not right now, not then. Great. Not then. You see Badger going, not then. Is there a monster there now?

I hope not, Badger. I hope not, too. He's found a place for us to rest. We should go. Good. Yes. Were there monsters? He said rotten, not right now.

That's reassuring. We can send him back and forth. That's how he does. Is there any kind of scrub on the ground, any kind of anything that I can keep an eye out for as we're walking so I can, you know, you know. As you continue to move forward, like most of this is just

blasted. You do find periods of heavy broken rock, and you get more and more of kind of the craggy landscape as you get closer to this chasm, areas where some sort of seismic upheaval has caused the land to break and shift. You do find that there are elements of long, dead rush, in some facets that look almost like an old coral, things that give you whispers the ghost of the lake that once was here. I can search for. Are you trying to search for which in particular? Useful items, useful ingredients?

Sure. Things that I know will help heal or hurt or anything. Go ahead and make either an instinct or knowledgeable for me. Okay. And as an underborn, and I haven't ever used this, I get advantage in low light or heavy shadow on hide, investigate, and perceive details. Just definitely apply to that, yeah.

I'd like to follow Sister as she does this to observe. 11 with, oh wait, advantage, I'm an idiot. That's okay. 11 plus 5 is 16, 19. No, that's a lie. Wait, what did I roll? Listen. Shut up. 8, 11, 16. 16 with hope. 16 with hope, fantastic.

Great. I follow you. follow you and I observe and I want to use my instinct to attempt at also gathering some things that could help heal later down the line. Even though I might

not have, I don't have any hope to spend for anything else, but I'm going to do my best, just watch and observe and like a sweet little pupil. Okay. So we'll say like you won't even have to roll because she's already done so well. You just kind of observe in this, so you kind of together as a unit. I'll walk through. I'll tell you

what I find. A lot of this dried plant matter is long from useful. You do find, as you get very close to the chasm, one, there is a slight pool of water from recent rain that is gathered, and you could probably gather, or assume at this point that it seeps slow enough that there is some actual growth on the outside. Like this tiny little five-foot oasis here at the edge,

where some element of stone, within the nearby dust and dirt seems to be maintaining this tiny little ecosystem. You find some very, very nice thrustle bush, which is like a very pointy leaf plant that is used to deal with disinfecting. It's also used as a way of bolstering the immune system, making someone feel more awake. if it's prepared properly. So these are all various healing agents that could be applied and used into a healing potion

or something you want to try and construct there. So I got some of that. Would I know how to prepare it properly? Make a tea out of it. Can certainly try. You also find one uniquely black plant that sits here, a plant that you've heard of, but you haven't seen.

seen in person. This, the leaves are more like skeletal branches than they are in actual like continued pieces. They're like little black hands that kind of reach out like that everywhere. This is referred to as the nightmare weed. And this is a plant that is often used to help facilitate rituals of omen, to look into the unexpected or unknown pasts of creatures that hide the truth. If repaired properly into a particular type of beverage that is given or taken, you can utilize it to peer into the truth of another.

Oh. Oh. But that would be a downtime action to attempt to craft. To make the TV. Okay. Okay. As we're walking, I'm gonna say, I'm gonna walk alongside Mercy real quick. Mercy, from where do you hail?

I cannot remember. I awoken. My sister was home. You have no recollection before that. I look forward as we kind of start scoping out this cavern. It's not an everyday thing for something to reawaken in the sallow lands and to have a good heart. When we make it to the city, if that too is not a true promise, where will you go? I go where Dilly go.

How do you know Dilly? On my journeys across these lands, I was met with. with violence. It was the gift of the rhythm of violence that allowed me to meet Dillie. For you see, Dilly is treated as a creature such as myself, whereas I physically repulse people. does it with words. Well put. And that is how we connected to people who had pure intentions

who just wanted to be loved and yet were never seen further than the surface. So I go where Dilly goes. I think one day people will realize you have to look through the exterior of what they think

is bad or wrong in order to figure out how to survive and adapt. I think you are a walking example of that. To myself, I want to say you fought well back there, and I'm glad to have you at my side. I'll keep walking towards hopefully no monsters. As we keep walking, I want to take a lot of. a look at some of these corals.

Since I was born by the sea, I want to see of my instinct, perhaps, awakens some sort of story behind these. Your instinct is fairly high. You don't have to work those. Oh, bless. But I wouldn't want to hope. It doesn't mean.

It's fine, whatever. I'll take what I can get. Looking upon here, these are the skeletons of underwater life. And it's, there are, Coral often is a salty sea type entity, but this connotates either this lake was itself a saltwater lake or perhaps this is a freshwater form of coral,

which is unique. But they are places of vibrant life and ecology. You almost can imagine at the size, you see just like the top part of it. It looks almost like an emerging brain from the sand. And you can almost envision at a time in which it was beautifully colorful and all the different types of life that called it home.

And like a lot of things here, this is the sad, haunted echo of vibrance. The part of you wishes that you could have seen it before it was gone. It's about here you get to the edge of the chasm. As Badger leads you, there is, it is a winding, and like spiraling chasm that at this point where you're coming to it, it kind of opened about a quarter

to a half mile to the east of you and then spirals out and around for another mile, mile and a half. Splinter elements come off of it, but it is just a black abyss below from just an initial peak over. You, because of your underborn heritage, can see a bit down below, and it's probably about a good 70 to 100 feet

to its bottom. And you can see down there, there is brush of some kind. You see the texture of leaf and branch, it seems, some subterranean bit of life that has grown deep below. You also see a number of the number of small bird-like entities that are hanging under and sleeping on some of the outcroppings all throughout. And as soon as you make out one, you make out hundreds of them. This chasm is filled. All just quietly resting, clustered together under these little shelves.

What are they? Does Diddy know? Make a knowledge roll for me, do they? Can I add my, um, no, I'm going to save it. Oh, it's a crit. Nice. You know exactly these things. I got a big old bag over here. So take that. Hear that stress. Need to do that.

These are peregrine stalkers. They are not just like pack hunting predator birds. They are cloud hunting predator birds. They, it's one thing to be attacked by a handful, but they hunt in the hunt. hunt in the hundreds. They do have a general sense of avoiding groups of people, but solitary walkers are easy pickings. They are cowardly predators in the sense that they prefer to strike when it is an overwhelming victory. And you know that they've adapted over time to not trust more than a handful of people at once will not defend themselves in a violent way. And they are still

just birds. So you think it may be best that nobody wander off on their own when they're awake. Or wake them. Nobody goes off on their own, okay? These guys are not nice. We all stick together, all right? Heard. Yes, chef. Um, do, from where Badger saw the cavern, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, Just thinking if we have the option of like climbing down from the top just straight into the cavern, is that possible? Or do we not have the information of like how the length between the cavern and like the top of just like the normal ground we are on? Right.

You don't know, you cannot see the bottom. Yeah. Especially since this brush from your very low light perspective tends to occupy where that would be. Yeah. And you could climb down. It would be very peril. the use of a rope would help, but the actual rock shelf of the inside of this chasm

is fairly sheer. So it's doable, if dangerous. I'm not typically one to sneak anywhere, but I, unless anyone else has other ideas, I think we should sneak, hide around, make sure not to bump into anything, get into the cavern, and hope that it's not someone No one's home.

Sounds good. Yeah. I trust Badger. Badger will help. You all follow the path and it's a slight like three shelf drop about four or five feet each. So you kind of lumber off and land, help each other down. You get to the final shelf and it turns around and there is a like four foot by five foot opening that immediately opens up into this cave that cozily can fit all of you. of you.

Cool. And coasily in the sense that you're all going to be hard pressed to not sleep with some part of you touching somebody else, but it'll work. I miss those sheets. I never have to. I haven't slept on a sheet in so long, and I was really looking forward for it. This will do. This will do. I want to use, I haven't used this yet, as we enter into this small cave.

I will detach one of the tubes from my gun as this crimson blood kind of drips out just a bit from it as it hits the ground. I wanna use my grim psychometry, if I saw that right. And I wanna inspect the location and it will let me see, hopefully, the last moment of violence that took place here. As I see you do that, I'm gonna reach in my peck

and get a little vial out and just catch some of the blood. I think I'm out of words. I don't know. I need that. So do I. I have more if you want. Yeah, and as it drops, I'll make a circle in the sand and put my hand on it as I try to connect with the past of this place. Got to make your spot casting.

Awesome. Sick. Finally. 20, no, 22 with hope. 22 with hope? Fantastic. Awesome. Cool. Everyone's doing great.

As I feel myself, I feel myself the same way I feel when I move into this ethereal place in that blink of a moment before when I like dissipate myself and reappear on the other side of an enemy or a wall, I'm kind of reaching into that same area that I don't even really think I know myself what it is as I literally hear my eardrums thump in my heart race as my vision begins to blur trying to connect with the last time this place has seen blood. Your focus seems to drift like you're about to lose your balance. you feel that instinct of your body about to tumble and you want to catch yourself, adjust, but there's no physical connection to adjust.

You just tumble. And as you tumble back, you feel the light shift again, and there is daylight beyond. It's hazy, it's fuzzy. It's like an early morning mist has shrouded your vision. Someone has spread Vaseline on the lens of life. And as the light comes through in this slightly filtered way, you see two figures enter themselves a little obscured,

hooded, carrying pouches over their shoulder, weapons at their side, and they both kind of quietly rush in and sit down, and wait. They both kind of chuckle and start going through the pack and pulling things out excitedly, like they are inspecting spoils of some kind. As they begin to expect, they stop and listen. Or them tell us that they to be quiet.

goes out to search and look, and their body falls off the edge of the cliff. The other person panics, grabs the bag that they were looking at, and waits and waits, you hear footfalls coming. And suddenly a handful of armored figures come in, blades ready, and just start repeatedly stabbing this second figure. They managed to fight their way off,

and before they get to the end, one final blow, strikes them in the back, and they themselves tumble off the cliff, following their partner, as they do, the satchel itself tumbling off with them. The pools of blood that remain here, you watch as the armored figures kind of kick dirt over them. Look each other, frustrated, glancing over the edge, and then exit. And you've come back to this presence, and you glance and down, and you can see now what you didn't see before is the kind of pale gray, brown of the dust here has a dark spot right in the center where your companions are setting up camp. I, yeah, you'll see like a couple of tears fall out of the empty eye sockets of the skull as I bring myself back to,

and I will turn to you all. The good news is that this is no monster's home, but what you're standing on, Someone's burial mound. Goodness. I'll reach my hands down and place them on the ground. I just want to connect with the fungus underneath and see if I can rise it up knowing that death happened here. If I can create a soft surface in this cavern for us. The bottom of the chasm seems to be able to carry life vibrantly

by comparison to the rest of this blasted landscape. This stone floor is challenged to do the same, but with the presence of a sister, you invoke the dormant microbes, the fungal threads that wait for the spark of permission to blossom, and the dormant life's blood that has long since dried for a moment begins to thicken.

And from that thickness, You watch as spores turn into fungus. Describe to me what this fungal bed looks like. It's thin white threads, almost feather-like. Start to come up out of the ground and interlace, covering everything in a soft white, almost feathery appearance. Hmm. More comfortable space indeed to sleep on.

This is quite nice. So death. Death, new things may rise. How did you know there was blood here? Every now and again, I can connect to something that is out there. I'm not entirely sure what it is myself. Throughout the years in the silo lands, more and more I've become intertwined with its roots. What it was, what it is, get

visions. It's not deep. It's not long and ancient. But if there was blood spilled, I can find how it got there. Mr. Skullman, how did you come to be this way? When I think back to what I was, I'm not sure myself, but I was a lot like all of you. I was. I was different. I had a family. I had a community. I fought for other things. I fought for the old world. I fought for the hope that one day

the stories that they spoke of endless water and green in life, that virtue and honor was among men, that we looked to gods and beings for not hope. hope of survival, but for the hope of enlightenment and enrichment, to find more about how to be alive than it is to endure. But the old world, the old world is what birthed the new, and I left it behind after it took everything from me. I do not blame you for your prayers, for your hopes,

for those that look to the skies and hope one day they see the veils. God's descending back from wherever they left. But I was born from this world. I have lived alongside the Umbra. I don't know another way of life, and I do not want to hear more stories. What I was, who I was, is just there to mark that everyone believes there's going to be an end to this suffering. For me, I just believe it is our way of life.

Kagwama, if I were you, I would take that relic that you hold. Was I there to hear the relic? I'm sorry. I actually don't know. Do I know you have the relic on you? You said that to us, right? I mentioned it, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like, I saw through the ether. I was everywhere at once. Keep it away from me, walks to a short. Um, I have never once looked upon the miracles of these items. and saw that it brought back the old world. I think you've mistaken me.

What you said might not be too far, away from what I believe. While I have memories of the old world, I was but two when the umbra hit. What I seek is peace. What I seek is a content life. filled with love, and I have experienced love within the umbra.

What I believe in is in love. What keeps me going is Asha. She believed that there was a relic that could uplift this umbra that surrounds us. And if one day I can help in making that happen, so that I can join her in the afterlife. Then I will.

I don't believe in these veiled gods. I don't believe in these prophets. But what I hope is that they will perhaps guide me in utilizing this relic in a way that is caring. But every time I travel and I try to use it or show it to someone. They have ill intent. So I seek someone

who has that hope with me. We might not be too far off. I wish I could agree with you, Kagwama. But your story is not one I haven't heard a thousand times before. The only hope that we can have is that one day people will realize that no matter how much we suffer, the return of the veil gods or the old world,

whatever you want to call it, was not worth the suffering. And this, what we experience now, this is what we live by. And there is no relic to save us, no God to come back. Because if they do, they better ask me.

They better ask me if it was worth it. They better beg me for their mercy. That's kind of... I, for one, want to see it. Me too. Sounds great. Sorry. Relic? I don't see it, though.

You know, not because I just am curious. Well, I was hoping that perhaps, since you've been around longer than I have, have, have, I may have awoken a memory and you found this as a delver. I'll walk outside. I'll take watch. I'll head out of the cave. Can you see the lute bag that fell down below? Is the lute there? I was gonna grab it afterwards because you made such a nice moss bed. I will grab it at the end though. I'll grab it out of the way out.

You make this nice bed and I just start hacking away. Is it in the good? No, it's like out, it fell on the cliff. Oh, I thought you said that's what the mound was. Like the dark mound inside. The dark mound is where their blood was spilled where they were stabbed. Oh yeah. The lute bag fell off. off the cliff. Yeah, it's way down.

Oh, we're on top of the cliff. Yeah, you're at the top of it. It's like a cavern. I see. I thought I was seeing it from the bottom. Oh, okay. No worries. Cool. So they fell inwards.

Yes. Okay. I'll start scoping. Yeah, I'll go outside and take a look down. Don't be alone, though. Oh, yeah. Just. Oh, I'll come.

Thanks, Mercy. Yeah. Fair. Okay, Grandma pulls out from their satchel this. very small dagger. It's almost like a mail cutter, very thin blade, intricate, delicate, delicate leaves on the handle.

And right at the base, there's this glimmering teal stone. And as they handed it over to you, They say, it's interesting because when you said, through death, new things rise, it says so there too on the blade. I'm ancient. Perhaps they took my little saying in the Poena. Make a knowledge roll for me.

And I don't have any hope right now. I am honest. I've got, I've got, um, um, um, um, um, You smell like, could that help you in any way? No, but like a general odor of knowledge. What about dust to dust? Could that one work? Because it's like it says through death.

I mean, this feels like it's a remnant of something having to do with death. Sure. If you want to spend a hope to go ahead and apply that, that would allow. I'm outside holding Mercy's leg as the birds are trying to take you away. I'm like, oh, ha! You're talking a dagger inside?

13, with hope. With hope. You have no concept of where this dagger may come from. It is, in its simplicity, there is also incredible craft to it. With the leaves and the nature aspect of it. What you can tell is it's It's been cleaned many times. You do feel a kinship to its age.

This is definitively a very old relic. And whatever power it holds has been around for a very long time as to whether or not it's capable of achieving the hopes that Kugama is placed upon it. Who can say? Does it feel magical at all? It certainly feels magical. The craft of it, the gem within it, the way it's designed, it is built in a way that it is to maintain and almost reflectively build an enchantment within itself, meaning it is meant to hold its ability indefinitely. This is a very, very well-crafted artifact. Oshah, Oshah said that it is a very well-crafted.

It is meant to be used as a form of sacrifice. Read as such. Did you clean it? I have, but I haven't used it yet. Perhaps you should. But what should I sacrifice? You get the sense looking at this, that this is a dagger not for sacrificing something for oneself.

This is a dagger for sacrificing one itself. Do you think if I were to use it on me? If I were to you sacrifice my own life, would my soul rise anew? This is old magic, Aguama. Before the Umbra, it's a new. It is possible. Perhaps in a moment of great need, you should be brave. Kalama takes it.

Would it just be mine, though? No other soul. Perhaps you can use it so you are not taken. Sashes it back. I really wouldn't want to. Join the umbra. But Oshah is in the umbra, and I wouldn't want to sacrifice myself if she's not there on the other side. But if times were dire, perhaps I should be brave.

Did she rise again? No, I unfortunately had to destroy her body. Worse comes to worse, I will destroy yours as well. I promise you that. Thank you. Do you still have some of that? It's just, I wouldn't want to join the Umbra. It brings me so much sorrow. I'll try to keep that from happening.

Thank you. All right. Anyone looking to take a long rest here? Yes. Yes. We have been. We have been chatting it up. The person's been taking by the purse.

You can't swear. You two are searching for? Are they, oh my gosh. I mean, do we want to do that? What, the satchel thing? I mean, how far down is it? I mean, it's about 70 feet to the top of this, Triton.

I'm good, you know, falling 70 feet down, you know. So I'm gonna head back in. Yeah. I was like, you are? That's awesome. I said you're gonna throw her up down. Kind of look at the broken bird. I'm like, no.

As much as it piques my curiosity, if we want to, we'll try in the morning. Yeah, yeah, exactly. We'll at least have a better idea of what's around. Cool. All right, so for a long rest, you have your downtime actions at your disposal, so you can make two. There's so many things I want to do, though.

You can tend to all your wounds, so you can heal all your wounds, you can clear all your stress, and repair all your armor, You can prepare. I'm gonna prepare if anyone asks for someone. If you're paying two hope. And you can work on a project if you'd like to. I'm gonna clear my stress.

Also, you can keep watch. If someone chooses too. That is also one of the moves. I want to be able to make a health potion so I wouldn't be able to make a nightmare reed or weed. Well, nightmare weed is what the plant is. Nightmare weed tea. Yeah, you can choose to try and make one of the

the other. It's a good health potion. Mm-hmm. Do it. Does anyone take me watch? Somebody should. Well, I've cleared my arm on stress, so I don't realize you need to. I have an actual action. I can take it. Sure?

Yeah, because I can trance as an elf, now that I can say that. Where I can take three downtime actions. Wow. Oh, great. Okay, yeah. I should have been an elf. Yeah, I have other stuff to do. So I'm going to give you, I'm going to go.

I'm gonna go over, you need this more than anyone. You kept getting surrounded. And I'm gonna give you three hope to three more hits. Oh, amazing. Nice. Does Bowen get downtime actions or no? Bowen does not. It's only for the PCs. But I can clear his health. Yeah, Bowen's health will clear for the evenings.

That's just part of my things I can do, so I think I still get to make a health. Yeah, that's just... If you do prepare, I'll join you, but I'll, I won't. I won't get hope, I'll just be like. No, no, you do you think. You both get me. No, I'm just gonna hang out with her because I'd like to talk to her anymore.

Oh, I see, yeah. More of a conversation than actually helping you. Yeah, got it, okay. So you gain a hope for the prepare. I've cleared my armor and my HP, still have stress. But I have zero hope, so I can, can I, are you doing? Oh, I can't. That's only one of two actions.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I did it, it's right. It's frustrating. It's all good. I felt like we had some hope in those speeches earlier, but it's fine. We'll move. Okay.

Yeah. Do I have to roll or anything to make this health potion, since I've got a little vial of blood? You just go ahead and work on the evening to craft it. And with that, you create a health potion. Oh, very nice. I'm gonna take it and pass it to you. Oh, thank you.

Since you were responsible for this after all. Quite helpful, thank you. I would also like, if you don't mind, to roll your keeping watch. by. Yeah. It's 1D12, correct? 1D12, correct.

I feel so much better than I have. Can I say the number out loud and discuss with the class? Sure. Okay, I rolled a 10. I'm feeling. Oh, yeah, definitely. That's great. We will keep my number at a 10.

Fair. Can you say after we know, after we say, we're choosing this? Can we just know what you roll? No. Oh. No, I can tell you, it's a six. Okay.

That's, I seriously thought that's what I was going to roll, and we're going to have to make a hard decision. So that the evening goes without incidents so far. When I want you all drift off to sleep, Dylan, describe to me what we see in the deep evening of your home village. We see old, gnarled trees, lots of others that look just like me.

And you see a little, a smaller version of me. I'm really small. And I've been towed off. So I'm sent without food to a little tree stump just outside. I'm not scared because I'm friends with all the animals there.

As you sit there, clutching your ears, bent forward, stewing in the sadness and shame, you feel The forest shift around you. An unfamiliar shadowed creep as it begins to swell and engulf the horizons. Your village is carved out of sight and the critters vanish as you continue in fear,

holding tight the oppressive darkness of this wood as it begins to swallow The sky and all around the vines twist and knot and gather where the trees vaguely maintain gaps, you see dark shapes rushing past, encircling, surrounding, you hear a small horn. Faster. You grab your ears and you scream back in your village

and everyone's gone. You stand in the middle of the streets, The building's empty. The fire's still crackling, and you're alone. And in the distance, you hear this metallic ringing sound. Like it's louder and louder, a quake of a gong. Louder and louder and louder and till. No phones.

You settle here in the plainest of salt flats, a flicker of ember and a campfire ahead. You can taste the dry leather chalk that the winds have blown through every part of your face for hours, but here alone in the shadow, the singular circle of a full moon atop like a spotlight. You glance up to it, a rare sight, and you glance down ahead to see the outline of a shape, a figure, walking towards you. Do you mind describing Mary? for me.

Oh, geez. Um, a bright, energetic woman with a tight, energetic woman with a tight bun and the outfit that she would wear every day to collect all of these relics. And to organize them, her freckles would always deepen throughout the long days that she would spend running back and forth after they would make a pilgrimage to the Sour Heart Sanctum,

and she's there, and she's holding this log that she'd always show me of these different things that they would break back, and even from the outline itself, I can tell she wears a smile. She steps towards you out into the moonlight, I love, I linger for you, you know. I feel myself wanting to say something and not believing myself if it's real in the moment, too.

I don't pray anymore, but I ask someone out there for 30 more seconds to say hide, to tell you the things that I wanted to. Don't give me false hope that this is that time. I'm just a ghost with an anchor. And she looks down, and you look down into your hands, and you see the bundle of her ashes that you carry. And you look back up into her face, now closer. You carry the sorrow of too many.

It's a way to unearned, Alphonse. They took everything. They took you from me. They took Valia. How do I just move on? How do I not just look back? Where do you go? With one step.

and then another, and then another. You have to, because our memory only persists as long as you do. I will persist. I will. And when you find the time and you find the place, lay me to rest so that you can continue without my way for me, let me rest.

I will see you again one day. And she shifts into the shadow, out of the moonlight, and is gone. Don't go. I want to yell, but I just can't. You glanced down to where the ashes were, and instead there rests in your palm, a small crystal sphere, hovering within it, locked, suspended, a bony finger. Boney finger. Sister. Your mind drifts to times before. The beautiful lands of the old world. From memories of yours and stories beyond, the imagination fills the gaps. It's almost cartoon-like, the colors as they are. You can see the russar and its vibrant glory, and you see

the shadow in the distance, rising from the hills, the red-swathed armors of a beroped people rising, themselves speaking against the words of the ordinance, a central figure swathed in red. Their hair longer than the horizon itself, like a halo of darkness that encompasses and commands their people. They rise with smiles of confidence, of purpose, before the very heavens come down upon them. The ground cracks and explodes. There the rock is thrown asunder, the sky is black

with dust and cloud, and though, Those bearing red are wiped from history. Through the dust you see the faces of the veiled gods themselves obscured in mask and shadow, looking down from upon their seats in the heavens, smelling the ruin of their judgment. And there the open chasm fills with beautiful water, the cities of the people that claimed it forever lost and barren. and there green grows renewed.

The cycle beginning once again of nature reclaiming the folly of man and those who win erasing those, they wish none to remember. You watch as the tower and the sanctum rise in the islands. And you remember this was the beginning of your time to glance upon this lake.

This lake, Elytros, the perimeter of your home, the home that you now fight to restore. You feel the distant tethers of the dying sisters. But you know that somewhere here, somewhere to the south, this city, the answer remains. The rest of you find a dark night of still sleep. but the morning does come to a new day where I get five fear and get to roll a D4 and out.

Only a one, okay. Rejuvenated. The day is yours. We should move. You see Mercy sort of stretch. His new arm that grew from the battle that was had is now sort of smoothed over. and has gone quite shiny.

As he looks, I'm gonna look sort of out to the cliff. Do I see any sense of direction now that it's clear or even, do I see the, I mean, I assume you told us about the, maybe we told us about the satchel, maybe. Yeah, yeah, I probably would have, when we went outside, but yeah, probably taking a quick glance to see. Like, if it's clear or like, yeah.

We don't want to spend half a day The Peregrine stalkers are all gone now, which is comforting or not. You don't know, but they're not at least visibly present. Go ahead and make an instinct roll for me if you don't mind. I'm going to add waste if you want. You want to spend a hope and I'll add waste wanderer. Okay. If you want to. If you want to. If you want to, you don't have to. I'm going to try. I'll put it out and I'll spend a hope to give you advantage. To be like, they're buried there. Okay. Is that cool? Absolutely, yeah. You saw exactly where the trajectory of the falls were, and that would be the best plans of it.

That is 18, plus one. Plus one, 19. With hope? Great. That's a fantastic role. With a 19 with hope, you glance over and you have no real concept of how long ago this happened. Right. And where the brush, now you can see out. These indeed are like tree tops. There is a forest growing at the base of this chasm, which is unique and kind of terrifying. What exists and lives down there?

No signs of any bodies, but you do see on one little piece of rock jagged, rock outcropping, a leather strap that is long withered and dried out from cycles of weather, protected by the winds, and a partially spilled sack that remains still having tumbled long ago. That sounds like a quick in and out to me. I mean, we don't have to dig for it.

It's right there. Well, this strap is, no, it's slightly poured out. It's like slightly poured out, but it still has some weight to it. I mean, it's right. It's about 30 feet below. We've got rope, and I've got very high agility, and I'm great at tree climbing. Okay.

I've got my advantage on that. I think it's worth it. I think you should be quick. Yeah, for sure. Should we have to be fast? Should we tie a rope around you just in case he's? Smart. Smart.

All right. Yeah, I've got advantage on roles that involve balancing and climbing. This is exactly what you're good at. This is what I'm making, guys. So with the rope affixed to you, you go ahead, and with the rest of your friends holding it, you begin to climb down and kind of, more or less, this is more comfortable than you expected to be.

From cliff point to cliff point, it's kind of fun. That would make a roll. With advantage. Do you have the remnants of the folding glider anymore? No, that's like... The other hundred stuff out. Okay, I'll hold on to this. Can I keep eyes on the cliff side and the trees

to make sure nothing is like moving when we see her moving? Sure, yeah. You don't have to roll for it. Okay. 17 with fear. Got it. You got an advantage though, don't you? Yeah, that's with my advantage.

Yeah. Which is great. Sure enough. Easy, you get down there and you see the satchel, and you reach over it and you take the strap and you lift. And as you pull, it tips a little more, and two things fall out of it down below, unfortunately. So two things that were in the sack are gone with the fear roll, but you do succeed

to retrieve the rest of its contents. Will you back up? Back up. With that, you can see, there is. I know, right? I know, you're like, what did we lose? That's a couple possibilities, it's fine. Another parachute.

You finally within there a round glass orb with a stopper, in it, like a rubberish stopper. That represents a stamina potion. Yeah. We get to bring that along there. Oh, that didn't help at all. Don't stab yourself. Why stuff that fun? And you also find a wound, almost like a ball of twine, but it's very, very thin thread, with a massive golden needle jammed in the middle. And you glance at it. It's not thread. It's like a wire, but a very flexible wire. And you kind of pluck the needle out of it and almost

magnetically attracts itself to your armor. This is a self-sewing thread. To heal armor? You can use this thread to clear either a hit point or two armor slots. Wow. That's cool. So it's used when you do it.

Yeah. He's got, I've got, I've got six stress. Is that a standard amount of stress? Or does anyone else have less stress than that? What you mean for stamina, for the stamina person? Yeah, I was like, oh, if. I think it's whoever uses stress to do there. abilities. You use a lot of stress.

You use a lot of stress. I'm going to give it to my bus front. Oh, nice. Thank you. With your stuff gathered. Yeah. All right. You climb your way back out of the chasm and follow it to the east. You can move around it safely as opposed to having to traverse the open space beyond. Here in the bright central day, you see there's a bit of roiling dark cloud that's starting to blow in. It looks like a storm may or may not pass

either across your path or north of you. Hard to tell from this space, but you have about a, the most of a day's worth of travel before you hit the edge of the thread bears. Can I use my instinct to see perhaps I can avoid this storm because I don't like storms.

We can give it a shot. Go ahead and roll an instinct for me. It is, 10 plus 12 is 22. Sorry, but yeah. What was that? No, yeah, 22, but it was with fear. Okay.

No, that's- 24. 24. 24 with fear. So you're trying to see the best path to try and avoid the direction of this storm. It can be done. It might add a little more time to your journey because it does look like it's blowing

in the direction of the direction of the storm. the thread bears, maybe the city itself. So the choice is up to you. You could hope to maybe beat it, or you could head back and add a little more time to your journey and definitely avoid it. Let's push on, let's push on. Great.

Try to have a chipper step, I feel a little bit more. Okay. So you just push on for expediency's sake. Oh. If you're clear, spend a fear. You get, you know, That is a success. That does help move your journey a little further forward. As you continue on foot, keeping it out, you can see now nearby the cloud of the peregrine.

Stalkers kind of shifting around. They seem to come close and then just kind of buzz overhead and then find a different trajectory. Your number is a little intimidating for the rather relatively small birds. And as you kind of watch them fly by, it's just enough time for you not to notice that your feet are sinking a little in the sand. and you turn around to watch as there is like a sinkhole or something is opening below as the sands starting to all come towards a central area here. You start pulling back to try and get your feet out of it

as this shifting pit begins to pull you in. Everyone needs to make an agility reaction roll for me, please. Nine. 16. Oh, and I will add these two. 11, because let's try. Am I allowed to ask, like, is this hard, like, would the DC bear higher?

Can I evaluate looking at how fast we're sinking down that this would be a higher DC? Am I allowed to ask that? It looks fairly difficult. Okay, I'll say that. It's moving quickly. If you weren't so distracted by the birds, catching and the fear of that,

you don't realize until you're already like, almost knee-deep and quickly beginning to pull you in. 12. 12. 25. Damn. 11. All right. Both Mercy and Dilwyn kind of, you back,

out of it rapidly. While the three of you, there's just too much pull on it, you get one leg kind of free before the other one sinks in deeper, and the three of you first off need to mark a stress. And you are now being pulled into the center. You are considered restrained at the moment. We've got rope. We're going to tie some rope around Mercyy. Yeah. And and big old boy. And throw it down to our friends. All right. So you go ahead and throw the rope down. You all are there. So you are all considered restrained until another PC succeeds in action role to free them. Okay.

And for each failed roll, your target marks another stress. Oh no. So you reach out and you kind of hold onto the rope, and it's keeping you from receding completely into it, but it is still kind of slowly pulling you towards the center. You're uncertain if this is a natural, like, collapse of an underground formation or if there's something waiting on the bottom. But regardless, it's still slowly pulling you in.

So who's going to attempt to free them? I am. All right. Right. Strength. Go ahead and make a strength. Yes. Okay.

15. 15 is it with? Hope. Great. That is indeed a success. Which one do you want to free from this? I will get Alphonse first. Oh, thank you.

No, no. No. No. I have an idea. So, yeah. So I'll get a idea. So I'll get all, so as I kind of, you know, the rope kind of hits you and I pull, I yank you out. Yeah.

And as I kind of yank you out, I kind of look towards the other two. And I guess, I mean, sorry, did you have rope or didn't you? Yeah, I do. So this is, so the idea was to send them both, you know, we could try and both attempt at the same time. I'm surprised by your strength of you just hauling me out of this. And I scramble for a second and I look around and unbound my thing of rope. Yeah, I... What are you going to go for?

And we go at the same time. I'm going to go after sister. I'm not as strong. And I think the shell might add. Right. Like I'll pass. Yeah, I'll go, yeah. Because I think the thinking here is that if we're able to both get them out,

like the turn is lessened, if that makes any sense. Like doing it at the same time. Let's go. Can I aid them in their attempt to give them? I'm gonna flip my staff around and shoot down into the sand to clear it out around my feet. It kind of like opens up a pocket that begins to fill in quickly, but you have a brief window where this actually is the most optimal time to pull it free. So I'm rolling a D6 to add onto that, or I'm rolling my own roll for her. You're on your own roll for example.

And I'm giving you a D6 because I'm getting you a hand. With what trade are you having to help? What trade are you using to help? Um, agility? Can I say I use my agility to maneuver? I guess I'd be more finesse. Um, okay. Um, okay, I was like, I'm about to be like a prayer, guys. I was like, oh my God, I had no, yeah, can I use my, my, I just, I don't think I can, I'll use my finesse to tie a knot, like a loop at the end of the rope. Um, and I will try to aim for the same. staff so if that if can hook onto it in some way that you can yeah we can get it

can I can I help as well using an advantage because I think I've got to be able to use my are you going to go guama and you're going for me tail I want to use my tail to help and then I'm actually so what you can do if you want to you're going to fix your rope to your tail and you can be the grapple anchor yeah yeah I'm cool awesome I'm also going to use my once-a-day ability to use reborn to use what is the you have a sailor experience right oh yeah yeah I don't have any hope, though, unfortunately. That's what I use it. Okay, beautiful, yeah, go for it, yes.

What is it called? It's a sailing plus two, yeah. Yeah, I go, there was a body of water here once. Because I don't mind rolling back for myself, but I don't like rolling bad for other people. No, let's go for it. Thank God I did. Okay.

Yeah, plus five. Oh, you got a five, thank you. Okay. What did you roll? A one. That's fine. That's fine. It's fine.

Didn't need it. Thirteen altogether. Yeah. With fear. Right? That is still a success though. And I got a 17. With hope.

Hope, great. All right. So with that, you reach out, grab and I go. I'm like, as you're going to the sand. As you get pulled to the edges,

finally get to the edge where the sand sinking comes to a halt, slows down, and you watch as two massive pincers, like, pipsch, and you see like a couple of little little, kind of insectoid tendrils kind of reach out to look before it shifts back in and kind of like shakes and you watch as it shakes the land around you begins to shift in the sand begins to settle back in and you back up even further to not be caught in an attempt to hide its proximity here. Thank you. Thank you. You are all so brave. It's fine. You should move and I kind of keep going in the direction away from whatever the fuck this thing is. Absolutely. I'm going to use the rocks around and place an arrow pointing towards the sand trap

so that any other people that walk in this direction know. Fair enough. Okay. This is this treasure. Maybe and an X. X and an arrow, don't do that. Every treasure map of scenes. That's what the treasure is.

That's great. Oh, no, we've doomed more people. You're welcome. What are you said? Nothing, yeah, I'm just hoping that as we're looking back, we don't fall into another one. I'm just like, that was terrible. Who wants to helm the next leg of this journey heading towards the thread bears and the city beyond? I would.

All right. What would you like to utilize and how would you like to helm this part of the journey? I think, as we're kind of, these are like sand dunes, right? Yeah, sand is bits of like broken rock that kind of push. rock that kind of push through and occasional like chasm sinks and elements that kind of fall. It's like a desert badlands sort of find. Right. I think I think I'm going to try and find after that event you know kind of go ahead and look for better footing or like you know if I'm seeing all these rocks like looking for the like as close to the stone or to the floor as we can so it isn't too deep and I think I'm going to because I'm so used to move

like I was wild born and kind of used to the idea of, because I am barefooted and feeling my, like, you know, as we walk through, I'm trying to almost create a path that we can all follow that helps us move without anything coming up from the floor or like little scorpions or whatever. Do you know what I mean? It's like, it's just finding the easiest way around, almost like walking, you know, when you walk around a pool, like a, like a, like a beach,

and it's quite rocky and you're trying to find the right way of walking with you. about stabbing your foot with like something sharp. Yeah, yeah. I guess I'm kind of using that as a way of thinking that, oh yeah, moving through the forest floor, it's like that, I'm trying to almost call that here. Great, you wanna use like an instinct or agility for this? I think it would be agility.

Go for it. Yeah. And maneuver, basically. 13 with fear. 13 with fear. That is still a success. Barely. How the fuck did we go from like clear to like that fall? We took a drive.

We rusted. Long rest, baby. Indeed, you managed to push forward and the ground itself is traversed quite safely as you move forward. That brings this down to a four on there. While the ground is safe, the landscape before you grows darker as the roiling of clouds begin to from overhead.

I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. The temperature drops, and you continue to push forward. Forward. A crack of thunder in the distance. Before they can no longer keep what they hold at bay, and the rain begins to fall.

But it's an odd color to this rain. Oh shit. Why did we expect it to be normal rain? I know, it's not. As it comes down, it has a chemical smell to it. And as you push forward, your skin begins to itch. This is whatever found its way in these clouds has a corrosive property. And this acidic rain continues to fall, pockmarking your defenses, the longer you remain.

remain. So you all need to make a group action role to find shelter to ride this out. Could I at least have Dilly like hold on to me as we go because my head is like a built-in umbrella? And I would take damage, but Dilly wouldn't. We can certainly try. This would be part of the group action role narratively. So who wants to helm this attempt to find shelter? If someone wants to use me as a helmet as well, I can... Perhaps you can be a mushroom turn. for a little bit. I think you should. Yeah, I was gonna say, like, how many jutty bits are there?

Oh, they're in all different directions, but to find ones that actually have enough room? No, but for me to traverse, can I leap from one to another? They are quite far apart. There might be like a couple that are clustered together that you could leap from one to the other, but otherwise, it's open expanse.

You are kind of out in the open until you find someplace that can keep you at bay. Well, I think I've learned from you, your maneuver of finding different paths and using my agility to hop about to try and see where we can go and to find a place. So I'm going to do that along with my waste wonder. All right. So the rest of you are also helping with this group action rolls. So I need all the rest of you to make agility reaction roles to see whether or not you contribute to this. I got quit. Oh, nice, nice. I'm alright to use my advantage because it's leaping. You can, but you're the last one to roll.

Everyone else is seeing what they can contribute, and then you're the last role to actually be. Okay, should I discount that roll I just did? Yeah, don't do it. Okay, good. 16 with fear? Oh, it is no. Oh, 16.

Okay, beautiful. That's great, though. 15. 15. 15, all right. 14. 14. All of you are on it.

You, as a troop, realize how dangerous this can be. As you can feel like the, you can see elements of your protectives, your cloaks are starting to burn away. This is a deeply terrifying prospect. So you all start charging, and you're following Dillie, who's leaping from one point, keeping an eye out looking for some place. Go ahead and make this final roll for me, Dillman. You got this.

Yeah, yeah. I kind of want to do it, put your dice on you. Thanks. What does that mean? Do what she rolls first? Okay, cool. Because you don't, you'd spend it after. Okay, beautiful.

All right. Okay. Gizente. 19 with hope. With hope. Take that hope. Yeah. That's with an additional plus four

from the rest of your troop here. Actually, plus five because of your crit. You all succeeded on those reaction rules. Oh, nice. So 24 with hope on that. Dylan, describe to me what you find to keep you all safe for the storm's passage. I see this like craggy rock

that kind of looks like a wave. and it's big enough and it's huge and it kind of towers over and beneath it is just this dry, sandy area and it looks safe and it looks not warm but it's enough to keep us covered. Indeed. You all stay under there. That ticks it down too.

You only have two more to complete this journey and as you settle in there you all only mark one armor slot. Oh, man. Yeah. That's good. That's good. Thank God.

It would have been worse if you had. Oh, Jesus. I said rain. You wait for a bit, gather yourselves, clean off what you have that seems to still have some sort of a corrosive touch to it. And wait about 30, 40 minutes or so before slowly it passes. And you continue your journey.

The thread bears grow closer in sight, And the closer you get now that the clouds pass, you had a question, Lurie? Did that count as a short rest? No. I mean, if you want to take one, you can. No, man. No, I just didn't know how long a short rest count was.

So like, if it was a short rest, I could get some of that help, that armor back while we sat there. I was more so pissed off at him for even suggesting the idea, to be honest. I mean, if you want, if you need to take. Is a short rest just an hour? It's in that neighborhood of a half an hour to an hour. If you want to make this a short rest, you can.

We can make a health potion, we could heal our armor. You know what I'm saying? I know what you were saying, girl. Okay. Okay. Clear some. I'll get more fear, okay. Look, he's gonna get fear regardless.

Yeah, that's true. Yeah. Yeah. Are we doing it? Yeah. I mean, we're just here for 30 minutes anyway. We want to use the time for a minute. Yeah, go for it.

Let's take it. Hell yeah. Oh, man, all right. So, gosh. Fuck, man. Yeah, no armor left. I also had no armor left, but. Yeah, see.

All righty. That's fine. Is anyone else preparing? I'll prepare with you. Thanks, babes. Is anybody keeping watch? I will keep watch. Oh shit, fuck.

Should I prepare or should I make a health potion or should I prepare hope? Because I have none. Prepare with us. I have no help either. I can prepare with you if we'd like. And we got two. Yeah, yeah.

All right. I have no hope, but I will keep watch. Oh, my God. Thanks. You're gonna get two things you can do, right? Don't keep watch. Just don't keep watch. I don't keep watch.

Okay, I will do that. Then you get two hope too. Amazing. All right, I prepare with you and I keep watch. All right, go ahead and roll a D12 for me, please. I'm rolling the purple because the purple's a good friend of mine. You know what? Actually, I'm gonna take whatever you take, whatever you got.

Did you roll a one? I've rolled a two. Okay. So, so did I. Look guys. As you also then, I'm sorry. So first, For those that are preparing, describe to me

what the vibe is in this shadowed space. As the clouds begin to leave and the rain begins to fade. I think I come to you, Dilley, and I sort of like saddle up to you and sort of lean in. I think you can feel that maybe I've, we've done this before,

where I've sort of come to you with, with something on my mind. And I sort of lean towards you and I say, I was a monster. I heard so many people in that room. And I know what you'll say. But the more that this thing grows, I feel more savage.

No, mercy. No. You protected us, that's all. We've respected us, that's all. I can smell it. You smell like kindness. You smell like love. And I think the reason why you get more angry

is because you care more. It's because you're more scared. Anger doesn't come from nothing. It comes from something. I don't care more. You're welcome, mercy. Diddy, snuggles in, shivering from the right. All right, you both get your hope.

I'm sitting across from sister. Did you take the hope? Did we? I did, yes. I think at this point I'm like wrapping my hand around these bird skulls and other kind of skulls around my kind of horns, and I'm kind of ripping them off as the acid rain has taken away a little bit of like the twine. And they're also making noise, and I'm kind of sick of it. So I'm taking them off, not the worst.

worst thing I've felt out here in the Salo lands. Kind of weather you get in the woods. Not a lot of rain, unfortunately. Although if it was like this, maybe it's for the best. What was the rain like before? Blue.

Well, clear. Not green. Did it burn as bad? No, no. It's hydrated and... Felt clean. Hmm.

Well, I'm glad we have, uh... Actually, I don't think I'm glad for anything. You've had a hard life, I'll know you don't think the suffering has any purpose. But perhaps, without it, we would never realize how good things can be. I try to keep that mindset. I do. But just, you see too many things after a while. And you wonder what it's all for.

I have seen a great many things of yours. Lifetimes of my sisters before I even existed. Things rise and fall and rise again. Do you think this too is a cycle? Of course. And on the other end? But we are seeing things that I haven't before. My brethren are dying in a way that they have not before.

a stillness that did not exist. And for that, if you all go, if you're not here to see the end of the cycle, what is that to you? Is that nature? Is that life? Or is this too something that's new? Things will persist without us.

Other life exists without us, but we want to live. Corona has been like listening in a little bit, a little scared, jumps in. Alphonse, I know that you and I don't necessarily always see each other eye to eye, and perhaps it was indiscreet of me, but last night I, I heard you, I whisper, don't go. Don't go. I don't care to know what it was. I just want you to know that I empathize with that feeling.

Thank you, Kagawa. I'll turn to face out the rain. I'd like you to roll a D4 for me if you don't mind. That's cocked. Respect the cock. Two. Two. And you glance outside just as this shadow, The shadow begins to rise like a smaller cloud in the sound. All of you glance over as this buzzing

against to fill the air around you. You glance over and watch as a mass of beetles begins to swarm and swirl in your direction. The last thing you see before you realize what's coming towards you is each one of them looks less like a beetle. They look like a small blackened skull with wings and legs.

as they right towards you. And we're going to go to break. No. You all here in a few minutes. That's a wrap for part one of this podcast episode. Part two will land here the Tuesday after this episode at 5 a.m. Pacific, and we'll pick up this story right where we left off. Until next time, keep the Umbra at Bay,

and we'll be back for more of this adventure before you know it.