Critical Role - Exandria Unlimited Episode 6: The Gift Among the Green

Episode Date: August 5, 2021

Finally arriving at Niirdal-Poc, the surprised adventurers discover something more ancient and thriving than the simple ruins of a lost city...Watch Exandria Unlimited Thursdays at 7pm PT on https://twitch.tv/criticalrole and https://youtube.com/criticalrole.

This is Liam O'Brien, and I am thrilled to welcome you to Exandria Unlimited on the Critical Role Podcast Network. As a reminder, Exandria Unlimited airs Thursdays at 7pm Pacific on Twitch and YouTube. If you'd like to watch the VOD, it's available immediately for Twitch channel subscribers and is uploaded to YouTube on Mondays at noon. Exandria Unlimited is, of course, also available in podcast form on Thursdays, a week after the original broadcast, right here on the Critical Role Podcast Network. Now, I think Exandria has waited long enough. Let's roll. Hi, welcome to episode six of Exandria Unlimited.

I am your DM, Aabria Iyengar. Putting it together slowly but surely. And with me are, are we going with the odd lot? Hot cross butt? It doesn't matter. Why don't you just introduce yourselves and we can get into the chaos. Let's start with Robbie.

Let's do start with Robbie. Hello. My name is Robbie Damon and I am playing Dorian Storm, the Ergenasi Bard, here to entertain you and potentially betray and murder you all. Yes.

Fives. Thank you for that gift. Inspiration. I am Liam O'Brien. I'm playing Orm of the Ereshari, a halfling. Not really a bard, but tonight I will be serving up hot cross buns. Yay.

Hooray. Hooray. Hello. Ashley Johnson here playingne Calloway, our faun slash satyr druid, who is just questionable in all things. We're not sure. Hello! I am Anjali Bhimani.

The size of my enthusiasm is rivaled only by the size of my hair. I am playing Fy'ra Rai, the fire genasi monk with a heart of gold and tattoos to match. Hell yeah. They're gold, get it? Hi, I'm Matthew Mercer. I play Dariaxavian, the dwarf sorcerer, and he has always been and will continue to be a problem. Yes.

Hi, I'm Amy Carrero. I play Opal, Hexblade Warlock, and tonight she might succeed in vomiting up her twin. Oh, wow. Wow. Always makes me think of my drag requiting. It was her twin. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. They found teeth and a spinal cord. It was my twin. How? Wow. Always makes me think of my Greek wedding. It was her twin.

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. They found teeth and a spinal cord. It was my twin. Spanakopita? Sorry. Sorry. It always makes me think of that. High on the list of movies I have not seen. It always makes me think of that.

I think generally. No, it always makes me think of that. You know, they did the bebopsy? And it was. Inside her neck was her twin. Oh man, I got to watch this. Spanakopita? Amazing. And it was. Inside her neck was her twin. Spanakopita? Amazing.

On that note, a perfect segue. Good for me. Handling it. All right, these episodes are pre-tips, and we're going to throw it to our very good friend, Cozy Matt, in the future for some announcements. Take it away, Cozy Matt! Thank you, Abrea.

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Thank you so much for joining us live on Twitch and YouTube. To join our live and moderated community chat, please head on over to our Twitch channel. And back to you, Brienne. Wow, Matt, so cozy. And what was that outfit? It matched the nails, the makeup, and did you make that yourself? Oh my God. Wow.

You are powerful in your abilities to create outfits. What a look. I mean, you can do anything with food. Yeah, right. are powerful in your abilities to create outfits. What a look. I mean, you can do anything with food. Yeah, right. Can we get a tutorial? Honestly, ooh. I would love that. These skills. So multi-talented.

That's great. Cool. Cool game, y'all. Yep, now that we've broken Matt's spirit I think we're ready to begin tonight's episode of Exandria Unlimited Thank you. The Six of you have spent weeks traversing the jungles of the Rife and Mist Peninsula. You've had dreams and experiences and bits of temptation along the way.

But you've come through it, and you reached what very well could have been your goal. You found some of that runic writing, a ruin in the jungle. But you were pushed, asked, begged by the Wild Mother herself to keep going forward, to seek some deeper truth. And now more time has passed. And,

Firerai, please make a survival check for me. 16. Roll a d6. Four. The way's been cleared for you, and after four more days of travel, the terrain begins to shift. It gets rockier, hilly with basalt and porphyry

sort of jutting out of the ground at strange angles. And you know what? Let me get a group perception check as you walk. All righty. Yeah! Six. Oh, buddy. Rolled a two and a three.

Five. Okay. Five. There we go. Seven. Dirty 20. All right. Okay, two of us.

Yeah, mine's dirty, too. Dirty, dirty 20. My dirty genasi with their dirty 20s. You have noticed that the terrain is starting to, even as it's getting rockier and a different kind of difficult terrain to traverse, you've been sloping downward now for about two days. And you know you're close.

And you begin to hear the sounds of water collecting into little rivulets and streams that you follow as you walk. Little brother. How are you feeling? Good. Better. Good. No, uh...

Quite sure what that means, but no, nothing like that. I was aiming down, not up. Sure. Yes. Right. There's a different look in your eyes since you had that fitful sleep the other night. It was a look of... It was a look of, it was a look of recognition.

Just feel, I feel like the way is a bit more clear. You can feel it too, can't you? The wind, it feels like it's pushing us forward. It's the first time we've had any direction in this whole journey, and I'm glad you're here with us. and I'm glad you're here with us. I'm sorry for my behavior before.

There is no need to apologize. You have always been, you have always been... You have always been strong-willed. Well, I'm just grateful you're with us. And thank you. Are we having a private conversation? Yeah, did we overhear that? You can decide that. I don't know. Probably. I wasn't paying attention.

Oh, that's fair. You guys are right next to your Dariax, but everyone else. Did you not see the cone of silence? Yeah, I'm literally staring at both of you and just. Nothing. I'm hungry. I'm Liam. Hi. It's hard to tell sometimes.

How long have we been traveling at this point? A total, since leaving Byroden, it's probably been about three and a half weeks. And then since leaving our last? It's been like two and a half months. No, I'm saying the ruins, or the runes. Oh, the ruins? Yeah. Four days. Oh, four days, okay.

The dex. Oh, four days, okay. Dariax. Yeah? When you made your writing, rubbing, rub writing. I didn't have to do that. When I rubbed my writing, yeah. Did you see all runes of the same type? I'm really good at copying, so probably,

but I did a good job, right? I think as good as any of us could have done. So yeah, maybe. Just one? No, I drew a lot of them. But just one language? It felt like it to me. See, we're good. Yeah.

So no other language to compare it to to translate what the first language is? We saw what it was, even though we couldn't read it. A laundry list, yes? Sure, yeah. Supplies. Okay. I pat her on the shoulder. Hey, Fy'ra, do you know anything about a purple lady?

Does that ring a bell? I will need more context than that. Okay, well, my sister was saying, who's inhabiting my body, I guess, too, was saying that she kept seeing a purple lady? I just, I don't know. A lady in purple or a purple lady? That's a good question.

Wait, I'm so sorry. What did you just say? Your sister is inhabiting your body? Yeah, it's really weird. And she doesn't even know where her body is. Can you imagine being that irresponsible about your possessions? Hi.

Oh, one second. She taps the pendant. Dad! Make a charisma saving throw for me. I've had a few benders that ended similarly, I guess. Eventually figured it out. Is it somebody? Six. What?

Is the lady all purple or is she, what are you busy doing? What do you doing? What do you need? Is the lady in purple wearing purple, or is her skin purple? I don't know. I just am aware of purple. I mean, do you see her?

I'm inside you! With what eyes? Stop saying that! Ew! Okay, so you don't know if she's made of purple. You just know she's maybe wearing a purple outfit. Just probably the latter. I don't know. Okay, bye. There's another half of that conversation?

Yes. Have you not been seeing her have these conversations the entire trip? These one-sided conversations? We talked to ourself a little bit. No, no, no, I don't talk to myself. I'm talking to my sister, Ted, who left her body somewhere unknown. She says that maybe she was wearing purple.

Is there any significance to... Hold on. Did she seem evil? I'm going to walk over to Dariax and say, What are the odds that Ted is real? I mean, odds are about as good as wanting to trust somebody who wears all purple. Hello? That's a good point.

I'm sorry, she's not responding. Ted! Well, it seems that the connection's bad um she said that she kept seeing okay so i had this dream a couple nights four nights ago whenever we left after our test after i wrestled the croc um i had this dream where i was talking to my sister who then was like i'm in your body and i'm like stop and but then she also told me she's like do you see the purple lady and i'm like what purple lady and I'm like, stop. But then she also told me, she was like, do you see the purple lady? And I'm like, what purple lady? And she was like, that purple lady by the fire. And that's it.

I don't know. Do you know anybody who wears a lot of purple? Doesn't seem like much to go on. I know. You know what? Squad history check. Oh, finally. 18. Oh! Okay.

30, 20. Okay. I know, finally. 13. All right. 10. 19. 21. Oh my god. Okay. We'll start here. Fy'ra, you

kind of rifling through everything you know about deities and magical, purple is a color associated with magic a lot. So that could mean a plethora of beings and deities and fey, and there's not a lot to go on there. You need more information. However, everyone, except maybe Fearne, you know, I'll give it to you all.

You do remember a squad of people that were clad in all purple, the elves from Syngorn. Squad in all purple. The Purple Man Group out of Chimel. Thank you. Ted, I know you're listening. Was that the lady I gave attitude to that one time? You feel stress,

but no response. Anyone have any food or something? I'm really stressed out. Ted, just let me know, okay? Bye. I did give attitude to this lady once, an elf. Remember that she was like, after we saw Evil You, and then you were like,

don't take it out on her, you're projecting. And I'm like, I'm not projecting, but I totally was projecting. The warden of the gates. The ones we left behind. Yes. Maratha? I have it written down.

I don't know if this is correct. Yo, inspiration, because you wrote the name down. I said it correctly. Okay. I do remember her. She was very... Oh yeah, Marata Elsinore. Niselor. What is it?

Because I was nervous to say it. No, you're good. And a question mark next to it. M-I-S-E-L-O-R. She was wearing purple. Could have made, is there a way for her to be spying on us? The ways of magic are powerful,

but more in your wealth of knowledge than mine, perhaps. Oh, I have no wealth of knowledge. It is very possible, I think. I thought it was more of a navy myself, but I'll go with the group. I mean, also. Can I use the gift to see if I need to

protect them from this purple lady? Yeah. Roll disadvantage. Which one is it, insight or perception? Oh, they're both the same. It doesn't matter. Oh, but that, plus that, okay, it's 19. With a 19, you're walking, and now the actual canopy overhead as you've been walking

has broken up a little bit more, and there's big rays of sun kind of poking through. And as you walk into one, your vision disappears as it's trying to adjust to a big flash of light. And in that moment, your eyes, the inward ones, turn not just to yourself, but to Opal. And you see a set of eyes behind Opal.

Purple. She's being watched right now. Stay close. What's wrong? You will be fine. Okay. Do I have to say magic or? You will be fine. Okay. What does that mean? Is she okay?

I feel okay. Everything is fine. We should keep moving, though. How's the path look ahead? Is it getting denser and denser? Is there a defined path that we're supposed to be taking at this point? So you're walking forward

and it's actually, everything is going more to stone and rockiness and less of that heavy green canopy. Go ahead and make a survival check for me. All right. Hell yeah, five. Amazing. Oh yeah, he's not giving up on those dice. Yeah, that's what he's telling us.

Not going to give up on those dice. I'm the best. Sailing it. I will give it You Hear More Water. No. Is anyone thirsty or got to pee? I got both. I could do both of those things. Yeah, yeah. I could be thirsty

and have to pee. Oh, easy, if you hydrate a lot. Mm-hmm. Move quickly. Kind of a cycle. Water, I'm hearing some. Is it like a river water? Is it like a waterfall? Is it like a...

You rolled a five. Every spring, yeah, you're right. Yeah, I was kidding. No, no, no, it's valid. That's valid. I'm assuming it's a gorgeous waterfall and it's somewhere. Amazing. Follow me, and I go a different direction. Towards the sound of the water,

but not where he is pointed. Yeah, respect. I will swallow my pride and follow her. Respect. You curve around in a different direction, and you walk maybe 30 more feet, and realize that you guys were at the edge of a cliff. And yeah, there is a massive water,

well, it's not massive, it's like a 12 foot waterfall, a couple of feet off to the side. And you are looking down now into this huge basin. And at the center of the basin where it slopes down, kind of looking from here, maybe 30 or 40 feet, you see the massive, 100-foot-high walls of gray-green of a citadel, but not the ruins of one.

A fully formed city, massive, with a low fog roiling around its edges at the center. For clarity, the waterfall, you said, is only 12 feet. Yeah. This city, are we seeing over the tops of all buildings in this city? No, sorry, I can explain that. Yeah, it's about 100 yards in, you see the beginning of this city, and it rises up.

So it looks like if you were on the level land, you've been walking in a slope for a while, that the whole thing would probably be right around the canopy top. But where you are now, where the tree line falls away, you can see from top to tip is about 100 feet high. Do we know what this city is? Is it on the map?

I just take a deep breath in. We have arrived. Where? Who? Welcome to Nirnaldpack. You knew we were going here? Specifically. I thought this was supposed to be a ruin, not a fully functional city.

Anyone that would like to can make a history check. Yeah. Having heard the name. You don't need to! You've been here. Bad guy! Ah! Decline.

Ah, respect. Because I would have no idea. Inspiration for not taking part. 15? 19. Oh, go with him. Yeah, 13. I feel the same. I feel pretty cloistered. I don't think I know.

Oh, okay. For my 15 and 19, that name rings a bell when you learn about ancient civilizations across the long span of Tal'Dorei's history. There was a civilization that was old when the Calamity hit, that was lost forever ago, called Nirdal Pak.

Say it again. Nirdal Pak. Nirdal. Nirdal. And so for all our knowledge, it no longer exists, so it's surprising to see that it does. You would expect to see ruins. Okay.

Easy analog is like ancient Egypt. Like if you rocked up on the Pyramid of Giza and homies were just like, oh, what's up? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And on that note, is this abandoned or do we see anything movement life of any kind? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And on that note, is this abandoned or do we see anything, movement, life of anything? Give me a perception check.

Damn, we're curious. There's a low fog, I would hope so. I've been building to this shit for a second. If you're like, anyway. All right, let's go to the river. Let's go to the waterfall. Yeah. I think that's beautiful.

It's a 14. I am looking at the waterfall with a zero. Oh my god! What? It's so pretty, though. It's like, I actually feel thirsty. I'm just filling up my wine skin. Oh, where'd that wall come from?

Oh, right! I have expected you to just dive off the cliff. Yeah, I'm just skinny dipping right now. Yeah. Explodes out of the clothing. Goes. Dirty 20. Okay. 12. All right.

Just Fearne, as you look down, you see that it's not just water sort of pouring off of these little waterfalls that are ringing the basin, but a low-lying fog that you've been easily ignoring as you've been walking kind of seeps off the edges and pools into this basin too.

But you look deeper into it and you see, yeah, there's movement in the fog around the edges of these walls. And you see faintly that there are people slipping in and out of these nigh-imperceptible gates that blend into the curved gray-green architecture. There seems to be people going in and out of the fog.

Indeed there are. You've been here before? Uh-huh. What is this place? Seems so old, but. Information. Why is this, why? Why not?

I haven't heard much about this place, but I haven't heard that it's still going. It is not available to the vision of everyone. Come, we will go there and you will learn more. Hmm? Lead the way. Just checking. Is it just like a 12-foot drop?

Is there any, like, do I know of any easy way down other than that? Or is it just the 12-foot drop? It's just a 12-foot drop. Okay, great. So I'm just going to turn around and kind of like free climb down. Cool.

And then I look up and I think about the folks behind me and I take my rope and I toss it up to one of them and I say, secure this! And then I jump down. Nice. Yeah, I'm not going to make you roll for it. You absolutely do that. It's 12 feet, so it's not. I can do that in these heels.

Yeah. Yeah, you can. That is the definition of dope monk shit. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, you can. That is the definition of dope monk shit. Absolutely. Yeah. 100%. I kind of want to jump in. I'm already in. I'm skinny dipping. Oh, great! Jump in. I wasn't joking.

I rolled a zero. I don't give a shit about this town right now. Did you just go? I just went like, wha! Amazing. Just a butt-naked dwarf diving off into it. about this town right now. Did you just go? I just went like, Whaa! Amazing. Just a butt-naked dwarf diving off into it. Perfect. Yeah. You can tell the deafness in which he disrobes mid-leap

that he's done this before. Amazing. Well, you got to give me an acrobatics or athletics check to see how we do on that. I respect that. I will take the 14 on acrobatics. Okay. Mr. Mercer, can you paint me a word picture of what this looks like,

as everyone just sees you, like, boop, off the edge. Indeed. So while they're having this intense conversation about the unveiling of this rich history of this ancient city that still exists in the wonderment and the questions and the pride and the curiosity, in the background, you just see this streak of flesh

as in an instant, Dariax just goes, Last one in's a rotten bird something! And then just runs and leaps off the edge 12 feet down into the water. Not really caring how deep it might be, but goes into a full cannonball. This is a naked cannonball? Yeah. Okay.

Well, I'll say mostly naked. By the time he gets off the cliff, he still has one leg in the pants, but he'll deal with it later. Respect. Yeah, you dive in, and the water is warm at the top, and quickly, this is incredibly deep. And the temperature drops as you go

like four, five, 12 feet under the water. And you can come up and yeah, you're part of this slow moving river that just sort of circumnavigates. Does the river go into the city? You see points at which it does go in. But you've got a lazy river situation. It's going around.

But he's lazy rivering his way into the city. Possibly. I'm fighting the current because I still want to get my clothes. I'm just enjoying the drop for a second. Hey! Dorian, can you throw my stuff down? I didn't think this through.

Has Naked Fern jumped in as well? Yeah, I gave you my clothes. I'm mothering everyone's clothes together. I've got it. All right, cool. Your cloak works so well for the glitter shit. Mr. takes a little poop and he puts it in your hand. We're handing you stuff.

Oh my god. I'll bundle it all in my cake. Synchronize. Don't forget the rope. I'll one hand slide it down the thing with all of their sopping clothes, set it gently by the shore until they're done. I definitely think Opal would also jump in,

but she'd take off her jacket and fashion it into some sort of hair protector because she does not want to get it wet. But it's a 12-foot drop, so she probably gets it wet, but she's trying. Well, let me get a dive-in roll from you, either athletics or acrobatics. Okay.

Oh, natural 20. Oh, snap! So maybe her hair doesn't get wet. Your turban game is so strong, your hair does not get wet. No. Absolutely not. This is power gaming for me.

You didn't want your hair to get wet, and you did it. Did it! Yeah! Not even the back, not even the baby hair. And the baby hairs stayed down in all defiance of logic. Oh god, I love this game. I want this game to be real. I love the power of imagination.

Me too! So much. I got an 18. Yeah, okay, so what does it look like? Paint me word pictures, both of you. Okay, I think Fearne just takes just a big old mirthful leap and just jumps right in and just flopping around,

nothing fancy, and just floating on her back and just fully just out there for the world, just having a blast. Mister's like a little iceberg of just the top of his head out of the water and he he's like blowing up bubbles. And if you're near him, it's a warm spot. And you're not super sure if it's because he's a fire elemental or just actively peeing. Oh, God.

Of course. Yeah. Opal takes her sateen jacket off. And she, you know, makes it look like a very nice protected you know like hair covering and then she does a thing that like a lot of girls do and they're like no don't push me in no no don't push me in don't make me sing

don't make me sing don't make me dance don't make me dance but like it's kind of sad no one pushed her in yeah don't push me in looks around no one's there one pushed her in. Yeah! Don't push me in, looks around. No one's there to push her in. So then she just goes, okay.

Hold on, there's a chance. Orym? Are you already down? No, not yet. She's like, don't do it. No, Orym is actually casually watching Dorian carry all the stuff, including the boxed up crown, down, down, down, down, down, just to make sure that everything's copacetic. All right.

And she's watching him do that and be like, okay. And so then, with no one there to push her in, she just like, falls that way. Like Little Mermaid's in it. Yeah, just like that. Yeah! At least.

Yeah. And then once they're all down, Orym will flash a smile at Dorian and give him a totally friendly thumbs up, and then he disappears from view, and you hear. And because of the boots, he hits the edge and leaps 30 feet straight out from the edge of the cliff

into the center of whatever this water is. Nice! Hopefully does not slap the water. He does not, 17. Oh. Yeah! Yeah, that's right. Well done, Orym! Nancy, nice to see you having a little fun.

I gotta be me. Okay, so you two, I'm assuming, are walking on the ground beside this lazy river, yes? Mm-hmm. Okay. You sure you guys don't want to come in? I'd rather, I'm enjoying watching you. They are like children. It's pretty warm. It's a mystery.

Dorian, let me take some. Sometimes it is. Sure. And I'll give her half of the clothes. And my robe. Yes, and definitely not the crown. I'll hold onto that. Which I clock. Sure. Definitely clock.

Yep. I'll put these under my arm. The test that you all were given, you passed with flying colors, no? Mm-hmm. This is why you are here. The jungle wants you to see things. It is time for you to see them. Yes.

And as you're walking beside them, walking through the lazy river, you remember that this place is a citadel. It is a fortress. And there are these massive vertical slits throughout the big curved architecture. And you know that there are guards here if you want to do anything about that.

If not, they can for sure just keep floating down the river and I won't do anything bad or scary to them about it. I am actually going to move ahead a little bit to where those slits are and gesture to the guards and give them a sign that we know, that I and the guards know, as a sign of recognition that I am bringing friends.

Okay. So you walk up and as, like, just getting into view, perception check. 16. With a 16, you walk up and you hear just a little and a little cloud of dust gets kicked up like three feet in front of your left foot. And you see a small black,

perfect circle of basalt on the ground. And you are able to follow the trajectory up and you see a sling-holding soldier in the window and that's who you need to signal. Excellent. I will reach up. I will pass my signal to him. It is I, Fy'ra Rai. Give me a, because we got to see,

there's always a chance that this one doesn't know you. Give me a persuasion check. Oh, phew. Okay, 16. With a 16, you see a single flame emit and burns in the window in this gray gold. It's a very desaturated light. You recognize it as you've been inside the city walls for quite some time and you know that it's a hold.

All right. My friends, tread your water. Hold back for a moment. All right. Shout out to everyone doing it. Yes. I love how everyone actually does it. I'm just like, this works.

It's roughly the same. I do clap. I swim with my wrists. This moment of grace. Like, they're all so graceful for the first time since I've met them in perfect synchronization. I'm very impressed. In ballet. There you go. Very proud of them. Water ballet.

Butt-ass naked in the water. I look up and I say, Soldier. What more do you need? You don't hear a response. The easy assumption is that they're going to double check, so they don't necessarily recognize you. I'm not a patient woman.

And after about five minutes, the light goes out and you see that down, if you follow it, straight down to the bottom, where the ground meets this massive gray-green wall, part of the wall slides away, and the gate is open to you. Excellent. Come, my friends.

It is time to come on land. All right. Those of you in the water, you actually see as you float up and get closer that there are little channels cut into this lazy river around that go into grading, that push the water into the city, but you can't float directly in there.

Or you could if you really want to, but it's going to be hard. I walk out and do one of those dog shakes where I start with my head and then wiggle the tail. Get a little cute. I've already got everybody's stuff laid out for them on the back. Aw, you're so nice. Thanks, Dad. Thank you.

Thanks, buddy. Dad vibes. There you are. All right, check, check. Over here. Yep. are. All right, check, check. Oh, here. Yep. Now, my friends, this is a friendly city,

but it is a place you must respect. Hmm? No, how do you say, snarkiness? Careful, gentle. Treat them as you would a respected elder, and all will be well. Hmm?

Okay. You got it. As you pass through the gate, you go inside and you walk through what feels like 40 feet of tunneling before you're able to break into the city proper. And you are inside the ancient stronghold of Nirdalpak. And the fog is inside this place too, but it's sort of,

it's lighter and wispier and sort of permutates everything. And there are lanterns all over and they all glow with the same greenish, goldish, grayish light that doesn't quite burn. Doesn't make sense. And you pass through on this very well-cobbled, well-maintained city path. And you pass these massive buildings of that same gray-green.

It's not cobblestone. It's covered over with a concrete in this strange color that your eye sort of slips by naturally. And all these stories, all these buildings are multi-story with like little carved terraces and you see tiny gardens and people tending them. And the people inside it, you see lots of humans and half-elves, yes, but also gnomes and halflings and even more

interesting races. You see hobgoblins and goblins and people with the faces of cats and elephants and birds. This place is wild and different, and everyone walks through the mists silently,

but very serenely. And they give you a little look and a little nod as to acknowledge, yes, you are new and we know everyone here. But the city is massive, 15,000 people moving about their daily life. Yeah. Can I ask a question? Absolutely. This might be

a perception question. No, you're good. But does the city feel distinctly ancient or does it have, the architecture of the city, could it exist in the world at large now? Like, is it modern or is it ancient, I suppose? It is ancient. However, it's like the architecture is extraordinarily different.

Like most of Tal'Dorei is very like medieval Western European coded. And this has a lot of like curves to it and arches. And it's that strangeness of the lack of cobblestone and visible stonage, that everything is covered over and smoothed over with this gray-green concrete. So there is something distinctly old about it because you see there's something in its simplicity

that feels ancient, but it's very distinct and unique from Tal'Dorei writ large, farther north. And would the average person living in Tal'Dorei see goblins on a daily basis? Absolutely not. Not, okay. They are rare. So it'd be like a, and also are they dressed like anciently?

I don't know if that makes sense. No, you're good. Is it like stepping into like a storybook kind of or something that you'd read in a history book? It does feel like stepping into a history book vibe. Like the clothing is like way more simply cut and a little rougher to it, but very sleek, very timeless in that this is a place

that was robbed of the natural flow of time. Okay. Oh my god, did you see the cat face? It's not polite. Oh, sorry. Wait, are you from here? No, I'm not from here, but strangely now, I feel that I'm of here here, but strangely now,

I feel that I'm of here. Does that make sense? I think so. Yeah. I will tell you a story when I take you to someone special. Who? Who? You'll see.

And now she's giddy like a schoolgirl, like no one has ever seen her like this. I'm just excited to take these guys where we're going. Orym, have you ever heard of anything like this before? Barely. I've heard the name muttered around me a few times, but it's a place from the past. This doesn't make any sense to me.

Something like this shouldn't exist. It's a big world. Can I hear them? Perception check. No, I cannot hear them. Maybe I can. It's a 13. I'm going to say no,

and we let them have this little quiet moment. Anyone hungry? Yes. Yeah. We'll say no, and we'll let them have this little quiet moment. Oh, go ahead. Anyone hungry? Yes. Yeah. What do you got? Oh, no, I just meant, like, maybe you could take us somewhere fun.

Yeah, maybe we should eat somewhere. What isn't pie? Yeah, like, what's the food of... I have a quick stop. Okay. And so I'm going to navigate quickly, like, again, excited through the streets. And as we're going by, we're seeing houses and we're seeing these homes,

these lovely enclosed areas. And I come to, we come to a smaller one than the rest. Seems a little bit less ornate, less impressive. And I gently rap on the door. And you hear a voice call out, but not in common. Just, Karat?

Fy'ra Rai'aka! And you hear as the door immediately slams open and you're face to face with a tall, sort of older Earth genasi. Hello, my friend. Hello, how are you? Fear- Oh!

Others? My goodness. What do you say? My name is Elam. Are these your friends? They are. More than friends. We are close.

And this is their first time to Nirdal Park. Well, you don't get very many new people. Please, do you? Okay. Come in, come in. Please come in. It's very kind of you. I whisper to Fearne like, Have you ever seen her this excited?

No. It's kind of nice. I know it is nice. I didn't know she had it in her. I mean it. It's great. And as you turn, this woman sweeps by and you smell the scent of her on her clothes and on her hair is very wet, very fertile soil. It's that smell.

As she turns in and you're in the center of her house, it is too decorated, is what I would say. Just very plush rugs that go all the way to the edges of this fairly small living room. There's art all over the walls. Lots of little carved statues of purple porphyry all over little tables with lamps and blankets everywhere

and really overfilled plush pillows of vibrant, but sort of, vibrancy here is a little strange. So it's all a little muted, but your eyes are quickly adjusting to what passes for color here in these beautiful, dark burgundies and purples and blues everywhere. And you can weave through this very crushed living room

as she leads you up the stairs and out to a little patio. You always were the finest hostess. Thank you. Thank you. I'm so happy to see you. I'm so glad that you're safe. You are out there, you know. It's a whole. It is surprisingly friendly,

except for a few encounters. My friends and I have traveled very far. Yes. Might we avail ourselves of perhaps one of your fine meals? Do you have? Yes, you all have time. You will stay here.

Stay here. Hold on. Hold on. You didn't. I have to show. Hold on. And she disappears out through the door and leaves you on this little patio

where you're overlooking this little terraced garden with little sprouts. Looking out, you can see other tall buildings and just about every one of these homes has a little terraced garden that has different kinds of farms. Some of them are flowers. Some of them are very clearly food.

Some of them are big, strange-looking mushrooms and fungi and ornamental things. And everyone's just sort of decided what to do clearly food. Some of them are big, strange-looking mushrooms and fungi and ornamental things, and everyone's just decided what to do with their own space, but this is very much a microgreens, little garden situation. And then the door opens just a crack behind you,

and a big, extremely furry, curly, dark-furred dog wanders out. It is good to see you, my furry, curly, dark furred dog wanders out. It is good to see you, my friend, as well. He hops up. He is at your full height when he stands up on his hind legs and gives you some really sloppy, not...

It's such a musty breath, licks, and is just attacking you with licks and chewing on the edges of your hair. Don't get burned, my friend. Don't get burned. We remember that happened last time. I can't help it. I just go over and just get on the ground with him

and just give him all the scrisches and loves. Hello, hello! He's got a little collar around his neck, but the tag on it is in that runic language. It's not in common. What is this animal's name? This is Goo-Gol. Yeah.

Goo-Gol? Goo-Gol. Goo-Gol. Goo-Gol. Goo-Gol. Goo-Gol. Goo-Gol. Goo-Gol. And as you say his name, every time he's just like, A goo-goo-goo-goo.

Yeah. A little goo goo. Hey! Goo goo. He's just sort of drooling onto the ground over his head as he's just like, tummy time for all of you. And you hear that woman, just pet him for a little bit. I am whipping something together.

You have to warn people before you show up. You know I would not ask if it was just for me. Yes, you would. That's a lie. You are a liar. Have you seen the Tetrarchs yet? We have not, but my friends needed some sustenance before another surprise. You hear footsteps sprint up the stairs again

and she peeks back through the door. Wait, you? You came here before the Tesserarchs? I did. You like me more. I will make you something special. I will actually use, I will use fire. I was going to do a salad,

but now I'm going to cook something. Okay, okay. Nice. Jannar is the best cook in all of Nir Dhal Pak. And believe me, I have tried many, many people's cooking here. I'm so ready. Really excited. I'm out of crumbs. And you see he's been reaching into his pouch

with leftover pie edges that he's just barely scraping out, super stale. My friend, whatever you do, don't let her know you've been eating that. She will be offended on your own behalf. Throws the bag across the room like it's on fire. My apologies. Fugall's going to get up and just start getting in there.

Yep. That's fine. Oh, wait, no! Wait, no, you got it. Who has the crown now? Oh, yeah. He does have the crown. I put it back with your things. Yeah! Yeah! So I'm going to grab the bag, because the last thing we need is a dog of that size. Oh yeah. You do have the crown. I put it back with your things. Yeah.

Yeah! So I'm going to grab the bag, because the last thing you need is a dog of that size. Oh my god. Hold on. We're going to make that a check. Oh, I rolled good. Go ahead and make a,

just call it a dexterity check for me. All righty. You got in there real quick. I'm going to use my inspiration. Maybe a good call. You got to there real quick. I'm going to use my inspiration. Maybe you could call. You got to beat an 18. Is it with advantage with inspiration or is it reroll to take the second roll?

I'm trying to remember. You can pick the better roll. Okay, I won't take the natural one. Oh god. Oh gosh. Sir, do you need some other dice? No, it's my Gilmore dice. I'm going to use it forever. I refuse.

Because I am Gilmore now. It's true. Ten. Yeah. You go in and dive behind Gugal, but you can tell he's already worrying on something wrapped up in brown leather and cloth, and he's chewing on it and pulling it out. Gugal?

Go, buddy. Hey, hey. Need that crown and is chewing on it. Gugal, go, buddy. Hey, hey, need that crown. He's got it under the fabric in his mouth. And you see him immediately slink down and you're like, oh, we doing this? Fine, we're playing. Gugal, leave it. Oh no.

He's got it. He's going to sprint. What do you guys want to do about this? Can I cast Druidcraft and maybe fashion some sort of food or something that he might want? I don't know. Is that how Druidcraft works? I don't know. I know you're reading that spell. It says a harmless.

Well, I could do a harmless sensory effect. So how about I. Tastes a scent. Tastes a scent. Tastes a scent. How about I just like grab one of the microgreens, but make it smell and taste like something he would want to eat? What do you think he would want to eat? It's a dog.

I don't know, another animal. I'm saying you can't tell me to tell you what the best thing is. You have to make a choice. Okay. So I grab one of the microgreens from the garden. Yep. And I, somehow I use this cantrip and I make it smell like the most delicious liverwurst jerky that a dog would like. Or one of those bully sticks, just disgusting.

Smells so gross. Just a funky ass. And just kind of like, be like, I think it's like cow ass. And just be like, Google. I think it's like cow penis. Yes, it is. What? Correct, correct. They're so disgusting. This is true.

So a cow penis treat. And I like kind of- Like I used to make. All right, make an animal handling check for me. Oh shit. As you're holding up, you see him just being like, as he's looking at a little plant,

which he's already learned is not food for him, but it smells like livery bulldick. So that'll be a 14. Okay, I'll roll against that. And he's still got it in his mouth and he gets a little closer to you and sniffs it, but then he looks at all of you and sees the intensity on your eyes with what he has.

And he crashes even lower and goes, and backs away from you. We're about to create the big bad, aren't we? Yeah. I'm going to sprint over to him and I'm going to grab him by the collar and I'm going to see if I can forcibly just pull it out of his mouth. Okay. Let's call that a... Do you want to, are you trying to like...

I'm going to, he's got a collar on, right? He does have a collar on, yes. I'm going to grab him by the collar with one hand and with my left hand, I'm going to put my hand over his muzzle. And this is a dog handling technique that is not the nicest. And I'm going to take his upper jaw

and pinch it into the top of his teeth to try to get him to release it. Yeah, okay. You can either call that animal handling and I'll give you advantage. Yeah, let's go. He's big though, right? Yeah. Strength? I don't know, animal handling?

All right. Let's call it animal handling with advantage. Okay. Because if it becomes a strength thing, he's going to start. That is a one. Okay. That's why advantage is important.

Oh, 19 with animal handling, that's 20. Oh yeah. I'll run against it. Yeah. And you're able, you hear him just sort of like, he doesn't quite whimper. You're not hurting him. He just doesn't, you're not playing right.

So that is the sound he's making, like, as you get his mouth open and you're actually able to reach it. Well, you've got his mouth open and you're holding onto his collar. Are you going to let go of one of those two things in order to get the thing out? No, he would release it or it would go lax enough

for someone to grab one or the other. Well, it's kind of a hoop, so you got like a hoop thing. It's sort of sitting gently in his mouth. I just want someone else to have to get in there, too. I'll grab it. I have more opportunities to make this go bad. I'll grab it, but I'll use like two fingers and the cloth,

so I'd try not to touch the actual crown. Okay, yeah. I'm not going to make you roll for it. You reach in and you grab it and you get it out of his mouth. And he's just sort of like tongue-lawing like, I'll go ahead and grab it. Get the bag, get the bag! I got the bag, got the bag.

Give him the bully stick. Oh! There you go. And he goes and bites it and it's just smell. Oh no! He's like. Oh, damn it. I thought it was a fucking bully stuff. Just the fart smell. I would, if I've still got his collar,

I'm going to just try to gently pet him to get him to hopefully appease me. And did I hear you right when you said that his collar had a rune as a tag? Yeah. Yeah. All right, so I clocked that. I'm going to flip his collar around and look at the rune on his tag and show the group.

I say, did you see this? This isn't some obscure marking. If they're using this as a tag, that's his name. They know how to read these symbols. That's right. Well, that's great. Let me just ask your friend after they're done making food, if they know what that rune on the big ash hole was. Yeah. That is surprisingly smart, Dar's great. Let me just ask your friend after they're done making food, if they know what that rune on the big ash hole was.

Yeah. That is surprisingly smart, Dariax. Yeah, boy, you're rubbing. Very true. Maybe very true. Good boy. Let him go. He is looking at you like you are a betrayer god.

Sorry, Beau. He just walks off to the side, curls up, sniffs at the thing that smells amazing, licks it again. You just hear. Sorry, buddy. And just flumps down in the corner. Come here, come here, come here. You get over here right now.

He does the little couple steps to crawl. Kind of just does the dog crawl over to you. I get on all fours and I just start wiggling. Kill you. The animal handling check for me. This is so cute. This is why you never played D&D with children and animals. Are they both throwing that cat gif?

Yeah. Yeah. How'd you roll? Does he do it back? 19. Yeah! He does it back immediately, comes over. And you see him drop his funk as he gives both of you a dirty look. And yeah, he's playing with you. It's okay. It needed to be done.

It needed to be done. You were right. So this is like your second home, or a place you call a pseudo home? I don't know where I am. So I'm just wondering if, like, how? How? How?

Perhaps I will fill you in a little bit more before we reach the Tetrax, hm? Sure. And before we reach what was that? Tiddy Trax. Hate. Hatred. The tetrarchs.

With such confidence. The titty tracks. The tetrarchs are the rulers of this particular place. These are not obviously ancient ruins, but this city was lost a long, long time ago. It was necessary for their own survival to conceal themselves from the outside eye.

But occasionally, they would open one eye to see if perhaps there were any worthy visitors, they would open one eye to see if perhaps there were any worthy visitors, worthy of seeing, worthy of visiting, worthy of the other gifts they may bestow on them. Knowledge, friendship, kindness. And they've remained hidden using the mists we're seeing, or is it more than that? There are certain things I cannot explain to you. remain hidden using the mists we're seeing, or is it more than that?

There are certain things I cannot explain to you. One can only feel. All I can say is that this place is known to the beings it wants to be known to. Okay. All right. Don't follow, but respect it. I came here when I... when I heard of my sister's death. Oh. I lost my way.

I lost my purpose. And somehow I was guided here. Here is where I found myself, thanks to them. I will tell you more when we meet another friend. Orym, with your passive perception, you hear whispers in a language that you don't understand coming from almost over your head. Because remember, this is a multi-story building,

so there's a whole little outcropping on this patio. Do they have a tone to them? It is soft and very high-pitched. There's someone quiet or someone young. Okay, so young, got it, okay. And no alarm or anything to it, right? Nope. Okay. Well.

So this city was, if it was lost, how was it found? Was it? Do you remember your experience in the jungle? With the goddess? Mm-hmm. She allowed us to come here. She allowed me ages ago, and now she has allowed you.

So we didn't find it per se, we were let in. As I say, the place is known to those it wishes to be known to. That's amazing. It's VIP. We're VIP. You proved yourselves to be worthy of heart, of purpose, of kindness. And perhaps they have other ideas for you, too.

Yeah, sense of humor, probably. You all smell this frying, sizzling vegetables. And then you all hear a shout as that smell turns a little acrid. Oh no. She's started burning the food a little bit. Oh no! Roll low. You can hear it, and then you start to smell it, like,

uh-oh. So I'm going to get up and, excuse me for a moment, please rest. And I'm going to go check on her. Yeah. You come down and you see that she's got this massive fry surface going and she is just, there's some fry bread growing and you can see little black spots going

where she's like, got too hot too fucking fast. What are you doing? No! Why are you here? I'm here to see if you need help. Do you need help? No, I'm nervous. I've never, you're the last person from outside the walls that this whole neighborhood

has seen and I don't, what if they don't like the food? I don't think you have to worry about the food. They will love your hospitality. Man, that sounds, smells really good. What is he saying? He's saying it smells delicious. Oh, they don't know better, then. Okay, I'm less worried now.

And you see her pop a big bubble of dough as it goes back down and continues to fry. Yeah, no. Funky. Sourdough. There is something special about them indeed, and I do wish to bring them to the Tetrarchs. How have things been since I have left?

You see a little wash of concern on her face and she quickly fights it down. Well, there are rumors that bad omens were seen. well, there are rumors that bad omens were seen. They haven't said anything officially out loud, but Rhodas is out and a dark moon is a dark o loud, but Rudis is out, and a dark moon is a dark omen. No specifics, nothing more?

Nothing official has been said. And you said what is out? Notis is out? Rudis. Rudis. Which you'll know is the second one. Yeah, yeah. Ruudus. Ruudus. I'll say it right. It's fine. I have an accent, have you not noticed?

I do, too, and I'm not. I've noticed this completely unplaceable accent is mine. I'm matching it for reasons unknown. I am from another world! O-O-M. That's not unknown! No. All right. this is fine.

Okay. But you haven't. But everyone here has been safe. No rumblings among the Tetrarchy. That is not quite true. One of the Tetrarchs has gone south over the Banesfall. Over the Banesfall.

The Banesfall Plateau to the south. To see if maybe the Iron Authority is a thing to be concerned about. But once again, I don't know anything. So you'll have to talk to the Tetrarchs. Of course. And if you're down here, I'm going to make you work, and she puts a massive spoon in your hand.

Excellent. Those vegetables, do not let them burn like I've let this fucking bread burn. Excellent. And I'm like, I'll just like heave into it. Yeah.

I love this work. And she's got those like Teflon hands where she's just like reaching onto the griddle and like pulling bread off. Which just reminds me of home. Yeah.

And she tears it up and she's like, okay, I'm going to give them the bread and then I'll make a better bread. Don't tell them. And yeah, she's going to peer up the stairs

and leave you down to do a little more work. While she comes back up with this massive like shallow basket piled high with torn fried bread. Hello. Oh, is he being a good boy? The best boy.

Almost the worst boy. No, no, no, no. But Captain the best boy. Okay. I don't know what that means. I don't either. Thank you. Yeah, please. Oh, him the best boy. Okay. Okay. I don't know what that means. I don't either. Thank you. Yeah, please. Oh, okay. Go ahead. Go ahead. Thank you very much. It's appreciated.

So you traveled from what part of? Oh boy, all over. All over, yeah. Pretty far north. In Gwesa? Emon? Emon. I don't know. Oh, wow.

Are you immortal? Are you like 100 years old? You don't look it. I just was wondering. Like, do people age here? Is that rude? Simple. No, I am not immortal. Oh.

I think our friend thinks that because the city is ancient and hidden, perhaps its inhabitants are also ancient, hidden, and immortal. Is that what you're saying? Well, elves get very old, but I think that is true everywhere? Yes, it is.

Yeah. You're an Earth genasi, it is. Yeah. You're an Earth genasi, correct? I am. You're an air genasi, yes? Yes, I beg your pardon. I've actually never met one before. Not one, that sounds wrong. You know what I mean. I know what you mean.

Fy'ra and I had much the same reaction when she was first here, but there's actually a sizable genasi population here. Really? Yes. Air genasi as well? Yes. Oh, sweet boy. How long have you been without your people? A while.

A year. But it's nice to see you all living here together, everyone. a year, but it's nice to see you all living here together, everyone. It's beautiful, really. We are a little removed from time and long before the Calamity, our people, the planes touched. We roamed everywhere across Exandria.

Some still do. Dariax, the paper? Yeah, the rubrics. Oh, right, right. Hold on just a second. What are you getting at? His fingers are greasy and just leaving tracks on him. She looks horrified as he does that. You are very dirty.

He's got crumbled bits of the fur on his chin beard. All right, all right. Is the world outside the Wall so barbaric that you do not have a thing for your hands, for cloth to? That's just him. Oh, okay. Thank you. There you go. This is delicious, by the way. Thank you so much.

Oh, this is the bread! There's more food than, okay. Thank you. There you go. This is delicious, by the way. Thank you so much. Oh, this is the bread. There's more food than, okay. I love this place. Thank you so much for taking us here. You're welcome! Still starting. Yeah. You can bring that up whenever you think it's ready,

but don't make me look bad. Never fill up on the bread. Why? Keep going. What is this paper? We have to ask you, do you recognize this symbol? And I hand her the paper.

So which one is this? Is this the writings from? This is the OG one rubbing from the ash hole. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, she looks at it and says, yes, it says Place of Burning. Sorry, it doesn't translate quite right. And she begins to speak this,

does anyone here speak Celestial? Nope. Nope. No, I didn't think so, but I wanted to double check. Barely speak Common. Vibes. Wait, so it just says Place of Burning? No, I'm very sorry. That is a rough understanding.

Okay, so you've never seen, you don't see symbols like this, I assume, because you've brought this out for me. Our language, this writing, is older. Older than the language of the gods. And it is very much, the drawing of it is also half of the meaning. Okay. So the visual is a place, a gate. And the word of it, the speaking of it, is burning flow and energy.

So a place of burning? Where did you see this? Like a book? A place that was burning. Yeah, I mean, it seems so. It was a problem. It was a large chunk of the earth bulged into the sky where it hadn't before, as a large chunk of the earth bulged into the sky where it hadn't before, and the place was covered in ash,

and you could barely see or breathe, and we found that symbol at the heart of it all. Was it carved by someone? Or did it erupt on its own? I mean, from what we saw, it just kind of happened. Well, it was already there when we got there. Like, the symbol was there. Right, but the mountain wasn't.

No, no, no. That was weird. That erupted from the earth. Craziest thing. Earthquake, mesa. Yeah. These gardens are beautiful, by the way. This whole place is great. I've been camping out the wrong spots at Tal'Dorei,

let me tell you. Tal'Dorei. Come up with the... Tal'Dorei? been camping out the wrong spots at Tal'Dorei, let me tell you. Come up with the... Tal'Dorei? Tal'Dorei. What's Tal'Dorei? Was it Tal'Dorei? It's a... Wow, this is a bigger question now that I think about it. What is a Tal'Dorei? It's the biggest city.

From our corner of the world, where we live and here are considered Tal'Dorei. Oh, I was confused. I've come up with a vat of vegetables. Yeah. Sit in town. So what do you mean? Like, is that north or south of Hwessar?

We're on Tal'Dorei. It's the continent. Yeah. Names change. This is what I mean. How old are you? I am, okay, I don't like, I am 45 and I'm very sensitive about it. Oh.

You look way younger. You look way younger. Thank you. Just saying. Thank you. You, and she begins to start serving and she'll serve you first and she just dumps this big melange of nightshade veggies, tomatoey, dark green potatoes and onions onto a big piece of the bread and just hands it to you.

You're nice, you're making me uncomfortable. You're very pretty in my bones. No, you look great! Thank you, thank you, thank you. What about the skincare routine? I barely have skin, it's kind of like a rock. Don't worry about that. Whatever it is, it don't crack. All right, you next!

Extra high. The names change over time. We live and die, as I'm assuming everyone else does, throughout the world, but in the time before, during the Calamity, when we dropped off of the face of Tal'Dorei. What was it called then? Gwessar. That's not our word.

There are elves to the north that called it that. Oh yeah, we met them there in purple. Okay. Are they? I mean, I gave one of them attitude. It was fine. I don't. There is some subtext I feel like I am missing in translation. Tell us about, why would they just,

why would they just erupt and then have the signal? Like, what is it supposed to be saying to the people that see the signal? In place of burning. Like, what does that mean to you? Don't go in? Yeah, is it a warning? Is it more of a statement?

Is it a symbol of power that could bring places of burning forward? Like, here I am. Did you tell them that I am a scholar or something? I did not, but I will say, I think this may be a question for Umijji. Yeah. This is a little above my terri-

Is the word for a terrace? I don't know, the flavor of this meal says you're some kind of a wizard to me. Oh, thank you. I brought you here, my friends, for sustenance, but for knowledge, we will be moving somewhere else. Got it. They have a larger purpose,

but they needed the greatest sustenance that could be offered to them to complete their task. Oh, so delish. You all are very sweet. But you were very helpful. Thank you for telling us about the symbol. Yes, I'm sorry. I could not be a little more helpful for you.

I think this is a pretty big shock to the system. It's good that we take it in gradually. Yeah. And your hospitality will be remembered. Thank you. If you do not have other accommodations, I'm assuming you're here for a while, given how long it probably took you to get here,

you are most welcome in my house. Aw. That is very kind of you. That is very nice of you. Thank you. Now, what are any of your names? Oh! I am the worst host and you are the best host. Oh, thank you.

I'm not going to disagree with you. Dariax. Hey, Dariax. This is young Opa. Hi. Like the stone? Yeah, I like the stone. Oh, that's a lovely necklace. Thank you.

Dorian Storm. Hello. Dorian Storm. Yes. Fearerai. Dorian Storm. Very cool, isn't it? It's pretty cool. Thank you.

I'm a musician, so. It's more of a stage name, really, but. Oh, okay, that's fine. What is your real name? You cannot come into my house and eat my food without me knowing your name. Yeah, what is your real name? I don't know. We've been calling you by a fake name this whole time?

For all intents and purposes. It is. She just begins shoveling food in her face, having inadvertently caused the thing. It's Dorian Storm. That's who I am. That is who I am. You said a stage name. Yes, it's a stage name. What's the I am. That is who I am. You said his stage name.

Yes, it's his stage name. What's the offstage name? The offstage name? You have an offstage name? Yeah. I left it behind when I left home, and we'll still call you Dorian. Yeah, we'll still call you Dorian.

He will tell you something embarrassing about everybody. Really? Yeah. My real name's not Opal. Deception check. Can I do that to myself to tell if she's lying to me or not? That's an insight. An insight? All right. Yeah. Do I roll, too?

Yep. Okay. If you're lying, yeah. I'm not! Then persuasion for you. Insight as 19. Ooh. 16. But this is my persuasion.

I'm telling the truth. I'll tell you something embarrassing. First name, oh, you're telling the truth. Oh yeah, okay. Hold on. If we're doing uncomfortable truths, I will bring alcohol, yes? Yes! Is the word?

Yes. Yes. Yes. Oh, applause. Please keep your wits about you, because we still do need to go to the test ground. Yes, yes. Oh, applause. Please keep your wits about you, because we still do need to go to the test ground. Yes, yes, wits.

You are a buzzkill! I always have been. These are really important people, right? Heads of the city, whatever? The titty racks. The titty racks. What? Before we see the titty racks, I'm going to need at least two shots.

So yeah, I'm down. Okay. All right. The best of the dinosaurs. The titty racks. She comes back with this big, bulbous. Tending her arms just a little closer in. I'm down. All right. The best of the dinosaurs. She comes back with this like big bulbous. Her arms just a little closer in. Like clay pot. And pours out like a very milky,

basically tastes like sake. Don't know why that's in my head. I can't imagine why. Yeah. Pour some out for all of you. Dariax like doesn't hand her his cup, he hands the bowl and she's like trying to move it. He's like trying to guide the bowl

all right fine fine no we'll cop then I guess like this one sorry continue with your truths that I am learning now so we all have drinks is that right now

we all have them yep all right a promise is a promise first name only okay and I get one deep dark secret about each of you. Even you.

Even you? Me? Deal? Okay. All right. I have no secrets. I have so many secrets, but I could lie. My real first name, and you must promise to continue to call me Dorian. Of course.

Is... Bronte. And my mother calls me Bron. It's not the worst. That makes more sense as a name. I don't understand why this is a problem. Yeah, that's a nice name. First name only.

And since you're so keen to talk, you first. What is your dark and dirty secret? Ooh, yes. Don't know about dark and dirty. There's not much about me that is dark and dirty. That's not true. This one, I believe. Find something fun.

There was that one time with my sister. My sister, Fy'ra Kai. Always getting herself into trouble. And getting me into trouble with our parents, too. When we were much younger, not even here, not on Tal'Dorei, but back home. It was just slightly before we left. We were climbing. Climbing this, I don't know

how to say it in common, but climbing this fiery outcropping back home. And she was more agile than me. Yes, I know. I know, it is surprising, but she was always better than me at so many things. She was climbing this outcropping and suddenly she lost her footing. And she fell and I tried to catch her. And when I caught her, she knocked me over along with her and I broke my arm.

We went back to my parents and I was gritting my teeth. And she was sobbing, sobbing because she knew she would be the one to get in trouble. So when we went back to my parents, I told them immediately that I had been climbing a fiery outcropping and I fell and broke my arm.

You lied. I lied. My little sister received no punishment. I, on the other hand, I definitely did. The dark secret about that is I think she never actually forgave me for that. She hated that I took the credit and the responsibility for something that she had done.

Anytime I tried to protect her after that, she would not let me, including when we came to this plane. And despite the protections, the magic and the magic, and the love that my mother had given us, she would not let the best protection stay with her, which was me.

Well, I kind of understand her. I kind of understand where she's coming from. This is why I understand your sister. Well, Fee, only you can turn a drinking game into a parable. That! What? No, I agree with you.

Yeah. Thought you were going to say spicier things. And she takes a shot of her drink and goes, Tatarak Umedi stayed with me before she left for the south. Really? None of you know what that means, but I know you know what that means. I mean.

Thank you, thank you! No idea. Oh. Drink more. Some things transcend language. Yeah. Okay, someone else go. What is your name?

After finishing his drink. My name is Orym. Orym of the Arishari. I don't have a last name, although I sort of do. Sort of. Didn't really have a dad in life. I did have a dad, but he just rolled on. His name, last name name was Tarantel.

So I sort of have a last name. We don't really, I don't really use it. But if you want saltier, I might have checked out Dariax's butt out in the swimming hole, and it wasn't half bad. Who's the dea- Thank you very much.

Appreciate that. Worked hard to get that apple popping. And she happily refills your drink at whatever level it's at currently. Thank you. Good, that's a good answer. You, a beautiful, what are you? Oh, I'm a faun.

Oh, lovely. My name is Fearne. Fearne. Who's that? Oh, this is Mister. Hello, Mister. We met him in a fire crater, and I pulled him out of the ground.

And he's my monkey now. Yeah. Did that translate right? It did, from everything I can understand. Sure. I have not been with them for all of their travels. Is there any of that fry bread? Do the thing, make it here.

Maybe he can eat something. Show her, show her, yeah. Take a little piece of the fry bread and throw in the air so he can. What do you want him to do? Yeah, do you want him to just like, yeah. And he just, uh, I'm going to make you roll for it. Okay. This is a coordinated effort,

so give me an acrobatics check. Okay. This is a coordinated effort, so give me an acrobatics check. Okay. Oh no, that is not very good. That's a six. He has performance anxiety. You toss the bread and he gives that belt a little too soon, and it just goes in the air, and then the bread just lands in his open mouth. He's like,

Oh, that's really cute, though. This is the first time he's had to perform for somebody. Oh, you still have to perform? That's terrifying. I like it. You are very nice, mister. Yeah. Boy, I don't know if I have any secrets. I'm a bit of an open book, but

I guess I haven't seen my parents in a really long time. They left probably 50 years ago, I guess. And you asked me if I'm immortal. Huh? She looks like she's 20. How old are you? Oh, we live a very long time. And you asked me if I'm immortal. Huh? She looks like she's 20. How old are you? Oh, we live a very long time. And you asked me if I'm immortal. Rude. How old are you again? I'm 112.

But we live, you know, fauns live for... Right, right, right. I don't know, I think hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. Amazing. You know. Oh yeah, like you do. Just be, live forever, be a cute little faun

with a little fur and a little fire boy. Totally normal, yes. Yeah. So nothing embarrassing, nothing at faun school, nothing you've done that made you blush underneath your fur, ever. She did poop in front of all of us. I know.

Maybe that doesn't make her blush. It doesn't make me blush. Let me think about it. I can't think of anything embarrassing. Dairy X? I don't know anything embarrassing about you. No, I mean you. What's your secret?

Oh. I mean, like you, I'm a pretty open book. Not a lot of hidden shades in the past of old Dariax. I would like to roll an insight check, please. Yeah, go for it. Not a lot of hidden shades in the past of old Dariax. I would like to roll an insight check, please. Yeah, go for it. I only got a 10. That's all right. He got... He got a 10.

All right, you're good. He just looks at you. Okay. Okay. Okay. Here, let's just say, when I mentioned that me and Tharlistar dated for a while in Kymal, maybe it was, we didn't like, it wasn't like a, we weren't... She doesn't know who I am. I was just a big fan of her work.

Oh. No. You don't know her at all? Well, I mean, I'd go see her perform and stuff, but every time I try and say hi, I just kind of froze up. It's the only time that's really happened. I usually don't have anything to stop me to an honest detriment, not most of the time,

but for some reason, it just kept freezing me. I don't know. So I lied, sorry. Kind of embarrassing. Anyway, Opal, what's going on with you? You got some, well, you ate your sister, right. We already went over that. What?

I didn't eat her. She just found her way in without asking. I have an embarrassing story. So Ted's real name is actually Theodora. That's pretty. That's not a story about you. Was it? Was it Ted? Oh, you keep going.

I don't know what's happening. I'm just happy to be here. For one, yeah, a story about you, about Opal, sans Ted, something about Opal. I've never done anything without Ted. I've never done anything without Ted. I've never done anything without Ted, except leave home and join you guys. But even that I'm not doing alone.

So I don't know. I changed my name too, actually. Do all of you have live names? Why is that? Because you will wait for it. My mom left before I could even know who she was. But she named me

Georgina. Georgina and Theodora. So I made my dad change my name to Opal because I hated it and I hated her. So, cheers. That one was sad and I don't like it. I'll still always call you Opal. Thanks. I'll call you Dorian.

Thank you. Until I call you Bronn. Oh, so. All right, Georgie Porgy. Oh! Oh. Oh. That's rude.

I, yeah. This is the tensest our group has ever gotten. That's not true. That's not true! Okay. All right, all right. Fy'ra is just trying to read the room and decide whether she opens her mouth again

to say something else and share something else, but she feels like perhaps it's become a little bit more tense than fun. So she lets it go. Gennar is going to make eye contact with you and just give you a little nod. Okay, that's enough of hospitality from me. You need to go speak to people who understand

mountains with runes on them. And then you can come back here and drink my alcohol and be weird at each other, as much as you want. Right? Plenty of that. Sounds great. Titty racks? What are you saying? Opal, this joke will not be funny to the Tetrarchs.

Be respectful. What are you saying, Tetrarch funny? Okay. What's a titty rack? You don't want to know. No, you don't tell me how I want. What is aitty Rack? It's a rack, but it's extra funny because it's... It's like a double rack.

Double rack. Titty Rack. It's a redundancy a little bit. Wordplay. Oh! Titty Rack. Okay. She thought it was funny. Yeah, I think it's funny. But I'm drunk, so follow me. Come on.

Or are you going to take them? I will take them. I'll stay here. Yes, no. And clean the house. I will take them and leave it, leave what you can for later, and I will do it when we come. See, this is what happens. I throw a little fit and then she does everything for me.

So we're going to see the most powerful beings in this ancient mystical city a little bit tipsy? Like I said. Powerful beings? No better way to. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Not, they're just the leaders. They're just people. What's wrong? Just remember, please. Powerful beings.

Respectful. Respect the Titty Rags. Always. We cannot, you can call them whatever you want, but. So are they elected leaders of this place? Oh. So, oh, I can give, okay, here's the thing that I know and I can tell you. So long ago, when we were more than just Nir al-Pak,

this was the capital city, but not the only city here. The Kunira Tetrarchy was five cities, all one to the north, one to the south, one to the east, to the west. And we were at the center. And actually, the night is falling. So maybe we can see. And she kind of leans and walks a couple steps

through the garden to get from the overhang to look up into the night sky. And before she can point, she just screams and you see her reach down, grab a clot of dirt and throw it up. And you hear it connects with something and you hear giggles as children scream. She goes, those fucking children always.

How long were you hanging? Doesn't matter. You don't, all of that can be explained by a different Tetrarch, but we were a powerful, widespread civilization that is only here now. But the Cunyirah, we have four leaders, Tetrarchs, one at each of the cities on the peripheral, and they would come here

whenever they needed to make group decisions. Everything else was held by one of them, but they're all here now because we're all that's left. You did mention that someone had gone south. Which of the tetrarchs has left? Umagi. What? She's gone to go see if perhaps the Iron Authority is...

Once again, none of this is official, so don't go running your mouths. But I came here to see her. I was taking them to see her. I'm sorry, she's been gone now for a week. That's fine, right? We can just go ahead and head to the Iron Authority then, whatever that is. No, don't, no.

No. What's the Iron Authority? Oh god, oh. It's a whole, to the south in E, there are others, much like Taldurei, to the north, and your civil society, the societies to the south that know only war, that follow the, do you still call them betrayer gods? Yeah.

That's a phrase that's used. Okay. Much more in their thrall. Would not recommend it unless you're looking to start or finish a war. So she has put herself in danger. You two have that in common. We must go quickly to see the other tech tracks. I must know more.

Okay. Okay. Oh, okay, goodbye. Thank you. Of course. We will be back. We'll see you later. And she grabs you by the shoulders and kisses you on the forehead, and then leads you out to the front door.

She'll give a quick little snuggle to Google. Google has just been eating all of the bits of food that have fallen off because there's not a lot of plates. So he has put himself in a food coma, just getting the leavings, and has just fallen asleep. He deserves it. And as you guys get back out onto the streets,

it's that last couple minutes of twilight before it goes fully dark and the fog has gotten much thicker and the air is sort of pushed through with this hazy gray golden glow and you lead them toward it in its direction until you finally reach the main plaza of Nir-al-Pak and standing at the center of it is this

massive 40-foot high statue of a feline humanoid with like a really serene face looking into her own clutched hand holding that that gray gold light that seems to be diffused out and everywhere. And there's this shattered halo of light around it. And from her back springs, four large feathery wings. You recognize this as a statue of the Observer. I do. And before I say anything, I look up. I put my hands to my chest and I go to the gift to see if I can see anything about Tetraco Meiji.

Make a wisdom saving throw for me. Fuck, yeah, no. Mm-mm. Yeah. You can't seem to still your heart and your mind enough to look inward, but Dariax, I need you to make a charisma saving throw. Yeah, totally. Yeah, why not? Nine.

You feel suddenly, not sickened, but dizzy and overwhelmed. And both of you close your eyes in unison, you going to look and trying to calm your mind. And Dariax, as you lean over, eyes turn to you and you see that pendant that you wear, that compass, is glowing with the same gray gold light. And that's where we're going to take our break.

Ooh! Ay-gay! Yeah! The plot thickens! Intrigue! Ha-ha! All right, we will return in a couple minutes. Stay tuned.

I never know what to do here. I hope you leave this in the cut, just my full panic confusion. Goodbye! We'll be back! Greetings, adventurer. This is Liam O'Brien. If you'd like to support the show, consider checking out our sweet, sweet Exandria Unlimited merch in the Critical

Role shops. Links to all of our regional online stores can be found at critrole.com. We're back. And you made it, finally, to the truth that the ruins that you were seeking was actually the city of Nirdalpac, buried, hidden, secret, within the center of the Rife in Mist Peninsula. You made your way through, you found a friend, and now the six of you stand in front of a massive statue known as the Observer, as Dariax has a bit of a moment. Dariax, let's do this one more time. And I get a charisma saving throw from you.

Another one, okay. Yeah. That's marginally better. That's a 15. You feel yourself swoon, but you're able to hold your consciousness within you as you look up and you cannot help but see this face staring at the light within its hand,

tilts down ever so slightly and regards you. Hello. Are you okay? Hey, maybe. Her hand opens, releasing that light, and you see that that shattered halo, none of you see this, you see that shattered halo fill itself back in,

valences of light, the same thing replicated on the pendant that you wear around your neck. You seem surprised to see me. Yeah, there's been a lot of people in my head recently. It's a thing. I don't know what to tell you about all of that, but I want you to know

that I like what you're doing, and you will continue to have my favor, should you need it. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. Who are you? And her mouth opens, and there's a disconnect, because you see the lips forming words, but the sound you hear is,

I observe. Okay. A little creepy, but I appreciate the outreach. The gift is strong with many, yourself included. Okay. Gift? My chosen are coming. They will explain more. I just thought I didn't want to let this opportunity

slide by without introducing myself. No, I appreciate that. It's been a lot, a lot kind of goes this way. So direct approach is very helpful. Thank you, observer. And she reaches up and grabs that light again, shattering the halo and pulling you back to yourself. And you see her now frozen in that statue pose.

Who's this? She is the Observer. One who sees all and helps others to see. But for some reason now, I can't. We must go to... Are you okay? She's also pretty nice. She...

She spoke to you. I mean, briefly. It's a little weird. Just the kind of process in it. Where are these? The Death Flags. Yes, thank you. I wasn't going to say it again because that would be rude. Still processing it. Where are these? The death tracks. Yes, thank you.

I wasn't going to say it again, because that would be rude. Very wise of you, my friend. I can also pay attention. We move quickly. Cool. So you know that this main civic hall is actually just on the far side of the plaza.

It faces this massive statue. So you are essentially where you need to be, that like this main sort of civic hall is actually just on the far side of the plaza like it faces this massive statue so you are essentially where you need to be and you see this like massive edifice once again of that same smooth gray green concrete like a like a massive snifter of brandy sort of standing bulbous in the town plaza but But in front of it are two massive, purple, porphyry statues of four-legged creatures that look like a panther on steroids, with three faces, one looking up, one looking down, and one looking out and away from the doors.

And over the top, that same runic writing. Let me lead, and over the top, that same runic writing. Let me lead, and please do not speak until I gesture it is okay, or until you are asked to. Deal. Yeah, you got it. Oh boy. I lead them inside. You push inside, and there's this massive,

reflecting pool of shallow water that's lit with a gentle red flame. And at the far end of the pool, that's about 40 feet in this massive hallway that opens up to gardens on the inside of the doors, you see a tall, elephantine person with symbols of the crescent moon

and a smaller redder moon at the center of their forehead in long flowing white robes, calmly regarding you and gives you a nod immediately. I bow and come forward. Follow. I come forward and walk up to them and I kneel down before them, holding my wrist and my hand before my forehead.

And then I rise. It is good to see you, Detractor Scourge. You were well missed, Fy'ra Rai. And company? Yes. For many reasons. The jungle has seen fit to bring my friends to you,

and I have brought them as well. Interesting. Portents and omens. But you are here now? I have heard rumblings. Is Umijji here? They turn their head to the side and you see them playing idly with a tusk

that's been carved in this really ornate scrimshaw and finished in silver filigree. And eventually, you've been here for so little time, and yet you've heard the most interesting things here. She is not. and yet you've heard the most interesting things here. She is not. She has gone south.

Damn it! Peace. Is she in danger? I wish that I could tell you that she was not, but I do not lie. Not about this. You know as well as I do that where she goes, danger follows. You know the gift shows me where I am needed.

That is the only reason I need it, is to know where I am needed, That is the only reason I need it, is to know where I am needed, so I never have to fail someone I love again. The gift led you to them, and you led them here. I did. Then take that as enough of a sign and be at peace.

I am sorry. You are right, of course, wise one. My name is Tetrarch Thraskur. I am one of the four leaders of what remains of the Cunyirah Tetrarchy. These, my companions, have come here on a very important journey. Dorian Storm, Orym of the Air Ashari, Fearne, Dariax, and Opa.

There is something greater I have not yet seen, but they are here to ask your help. And Thras'kur's eyes sort of linger on both Dariax and Opal, and then Opal, you sort of catch their eye and you watch as two dark eyes both Dariax and Opal, and then Opal, you catch their eye and you watch as two dark eyes begin to fill impossibly with stars and galaxies.

And you feel a faint prickle across your skin as magic seems to flow over you as they regard you. Interesting. magic seems to flow over you as they regard you. Interesting. We're not allowed to talk. What did she say? Oh, but you're allowed to. I apologize. I am told that I am severe.

You are allowed to talk. Okay, I was going to ask, how did you get that cool silver stuff on the... It's really cool. Thank you. There is little for us to do here, but to reflect and decorate and create ourselves into that which we would be. So I just did this.

Is you're a little weirdly proud of their horns or their tusks. That sounds like a dream. I'm going to lean over to Dorian while this is happening and be like, See, a lot of us have surnames too, but only yours got said. That's called branding.

You're doing great. Would you all come and talk with me upstairs where there's a little more air? Of course. Totally. Please. Is there anything you need? Food? Yeah. We're playful. No, we're good. Totally. Please. Is there anything you need? Food? Yeah. We're playful.

No, we're good. We're good. We have been well-fed. I had to stop to see her. Okay, that's why you know. All right. Oh. Don't tell her I said something. I mean, I'm going to.

Fine, I deserve it. You are as severe as I am. And they turn and file out of the hall and start sweeping up a set of very dark stairs, once again, lit with these pale red flames. And they lead you up to the roof, which is this massive flat space covered in blank, once again, that like blankets and pillows

and this interesting contraption in the center of, was essentially like a 40 by 80 foot flat space of mirrors and a single lens pointed up towards the sky. A sky that you look up and see is full of stars and you haven't seen the stars in so long. It is always easier to breathe easy here. I mean, someone could have told me that my roots were growing in. Mm-hmm. I mean, someone could have told me that my roots were growing in.

I feel like that's something you should have mentioned. Sorry. Your hair looks lousy. Thanks, I just haven't seen a mirror in a long time, so it's just like, ah! But you know, here we are. Actually. And they walk over to the contraption and you see them lift a panel of ornate brass

and they actually slide a mirror free and offer it to you. Oh, thanks. You look like shit. You've been in the jungle for weeks. I cannot overstate. Does she still have her satin head wrap? No, I can take it off. Well, I mean. I don't know what I was protecting.

Your hair looks great because it never got wet. I'm saying the rest of you is a little ragged. I feel like I've aged. It's Ted. She's sucking the beauty out of me. She has some things going on with her sister. But more for the moment, I believe that your runes are something

you want to speak to the Tetrarch about. Yes. Before you put the mirror away, do you just pocket the mirror? Yep. But only out of custom. Yeah. Oh, oh! Oh, so sorry.

I didn't, I know this isn't a gift. I just, I don't know. And they reach out to take it back. And in that moment where both your hands and their hands are touching the mirror, you feel a little shimmer of energy. And you look down at the mirror and you see your face, but different.

Your hair has gone to white, and one of your eyes is blue, and one of your eyes is brown. Oh. I think this mirror is a bad one, but thanks so much. Did you touch that? Sorry. It's fine. I think you should get it adjusted.

I don't, you know, sometimes mirrors aren't the best. Show the ruins. Sometimes mirrors show you more than you expect to see. I pull out the scribblings from the large obelisk that we found a short time ago, as well as the original ruin that we found at the top of the mountain. I look over at Fearne, and I'm like,

So we all traveled. We were little ways north of here on Gwessar. And this giant mountain kind of sort of appeared out of nowhere and it was creating ash and fire. And my friend Fearne here and her passively functional monkey interacted with the elemental fire there to a strange degree, but it was specifically like kind of a writing that none of us could understand. And a friend of ours, I call him a friend because it's

fun. We just met him. His name is Sean Gilmore, a fabulous individual. If you ever find yourself in Emon, look him up. He's great. But he sent us here to see if maybe we could figure out what this symbology means, and if it's dangerous, if it's something we need to figure out what its nature is. Fearne, if you need to talk on this at all, and I hand the papers over and quickly back up and... Yeah, that was great.

In that moment where you hand off the papers, where both your hand is touching the parchment, as is theirs, you feel a little ripple of energy, and your pendant flashes with that same light that you see now from the balcony permeates every other part of the city that is lit up even at night, except for up here,

where a few small flames burn red. I quickly take my hanging pendant and tuck it into my little chain shirt. Do you have anything to add? He did a very good job. But yeah, essentially this mountain just shot up out of the ground and in the middle was this rune, and we're just trying to figure out what it all means.

What does that have to do with all of this? Oh, well, I pulled him out of the ground. With your own hands? Well, yes. Incredible. The Dark Trasgur, the only other time I have heard of anything like this happening, even remotely close, was when my parents fought long ago. The only other time I have heard of anything like this happening, even remotely close,

was when my parents fought long ago. Yes. It worries me now. This symbol, the one you said is on the mountain that rose up, it is a marker of a place too full of energy, ripe for creation, for potential. What do you think magic is? How do you understand it?

Well, I've heard it discussed as being the raw potential of the world around us. Yes. Yes, exactly. It is undifferentiated. It is not divine. It is not something wrought by man. It is not nature.

It is whatever it needs to be. It is simply power. The decision, the deciding makes it a thing. And they reach down and pick up one of the little oil lamps. The power of this candle

is nothing against the thought that I have to put it out. So what is a thought against something that turns and burns in the world all of this place all of Exandria holds potential holds energy

grabs it takes it makes it and gives it but it is the decision of you reaching into a place full and ripe and deciding to bring something into being that is the power that some call of the gods, that some call the arcane. It is power and it is beautiful. And for you to know that, to have seen it up close,

I understand now why you are here. You are incredible. All of you. What would you have me do with this symbol? Well, the place in the world where we come from, which has been more or less at peace for a little while, anyway. What is a little while? A few decades.

Go on. Very little while. But the city that we all joined together in has been having trouble with that kind of raw potential. And this symbol that we've come to ask you about is another instance of it not too far from the city. I don't know if it's a pattern. I don't know if they're connected, but it has folks up there worried.

And so we've been sent down to see if we could come back with any kind of solution or aid. The simple, shortest answer is the rune is proof that something is deciding what it will be. That doesn't mean that it is too late to change its course.

I will provide you with whatever information you need for those up there to react to it, however you may. What sort of thing could will a mountain into being? Is it going to get worse? What is worse? More? Yes.

But what is worse? More? Yes. But what is worse? I'm more dangerous and probably burn a lot of people to death. That may it be. Okay. We cannot allow that to happen again. Will you bend the focus of your life to stop it? I go where the gift tells me.

The gift is nothing without your intuition and decision behind it, Firerai. You focus so much on what that source of power would tell you or have of you. But you, you are the conduit for it. It is simply energy. You focus it with your intention. So what is it that you want?

That is what you have always been led to, whether or not you knew it. I want to stop this from ever happening again. And if this is where my friends are going, I want to go with them. I want to stop this from ever happening again. And if this is where my friends are going, I want to go with them. I want to go with them. Who am I to stop you from any choice you would make? The course that you're on,

it will end, one way or another with glory or tears, death or fire. It's the deciding from moment to moment that will determine how things really end. I call bullshit. Opal. No. Go on.

You say that we can control magic, that power is just energy, and do whatever you want with it. Well, some of us just don't have magic that's our own. So I call bullshit. I think we're just at the whim of whoever controls the power. So who do you think controls you, then?

Not me. How old are you? 19. And you have everything figured out? I mean, I have that figured out. What did you see in the mirror? Someone that needs some sleep, and also one of my eyes have changed color,

which I'm not thrilled about. It's probably the stress. Do we notice that? No. That wasn't the main thing. She looks completely the same. She needs some sleep. She's not wrong. Yeah, I need sleep.

And I just, I don't know. I just think you're coming from a place of privilege as someone who has power coming out of your titty racks. Oh, titty racks. Sorry, I know that's rude. Sometimes I get rude. I am the leader of a city. I know, sorry. That was lost.

Look, I'm sorry. Thousands of years. You're right. I'm being so disrespectful. I just. I don't care about your disrespect. I want you to learn the lesson without me spelling it out for you. Spell it out. Spell it out. The person you saw in the mirror.

Your mother. The person you saw in the mirror. Your mother. Yes? I mean, I don't know. I think that's what she looks like. I don't know. You remember. It's hard to remember, but you remember. Mm-hmm.

And you are conflicted. Speak it. What are you afraid of? I'll never have my own life. Every choice you make, I keep going back to it. I apologize. Your life is your own because you have chosen every step that you've taken

that has led you from wherever you began to these people, to here. Sweet child. And the tetrarch comes over to you and hesitates just before embracing you. Just trying to consent check. Okay. And wraps you up and holds you to,

now that you're in physical proximity, they are seven feet tall and completely wrap you up and holds you to, now that you're in physical proximity, they are seven feet tall and completely wrap you up and just hold you in this moment. You feel divided between you and the one that resides within, but you are special because you are part, half, whole in yourself,

but you are more, just as your mother was, a rarity in this world. Georgina. You and your sister will always walk this world together, but where you go is your choice, your choosing,

and she follows you, becomes a part of you and she follows you, becomes a part of you because she loves you, and that is her choice and her choosing. Okay. I'm sorry. Your road isn't easy. Thanks for the hug. And they slowly release you and kind of set you back on your feet and kind of wipe your eye.

You are, all of you, even you, at the precipice of becoming, becoming great or terrible things, the world constantly changes. And that's not the gods. That's the men that walk upon the earth.

And you are those people that will change the fate of the world. I see omens and portents in the stars, in the moon, and in all of your eyes. omens and portents in the stars, in the moon, and in all of your eyes. I will give you all the information you need to take back to Sean Gilmore, to do whatever you will do

with the runes and the mesa, this place of burning and potential. But you have to decide what you will do, what you will become. And the last I will say is this. Power is neither good nor evil. It simply is. And they regard you

and look towards your pack. Can I hide it? My eyes see much. But like the observer that came before us, that blessed us with this gift, this wild, chaotic intuition, magic, it's not for me to tell you what to do, simply to encourage you to do whatever it is tell you what to do, simply to encourage you

to do whatever it is in your nature to do. You have not spoken. So wise. Why did your friend, Emeji, leave? She headed south. We were told, intuited, that something terrible was coming.

Something terrible? Yes. She went to see if those that reside to the south had plans. And she went alone. She works well alone. But are you concerned for? I can't help but wonder.

We were sent to this path. We encountered you, and we were meant for such great things why you would like to send us back to where we came perhaps we were sent here to help your friend something I had not considered do you want to help her? I don't know her.

But we are good at helping people. But I'm afraid I've, perhaps I've made too many decisions for this group as it is, but I just couldn't shake the thought. No, no, that's why you're our leader. What doesn't make sense is, you know, Alam said that that symbol meant a place of burning,

which is kind of like a duh. Yes. So, and then we encountered this big rune or thing, and there was all this writing and it sounded like a grocery list. So it feels like there's just, there's nothing meaningful about the writing, just it's sort of like a label, like this is what this is.

Yeah, no shit. It's on fire. It's a burning place. So what does Sean Gilmore need the translator for? I mean, it sounds like it's just, you know, kind of redundant. I could be wrong. It's my two cents. And you see that the Tetrarch is looking at you, not unkindly, as you sort of like voice your truth. And they reach into their robes and pull out a small bit of charcoal to write.

And they lean down and onto just the sort of blank, concrete surface of this roof, begin to draw a symbol. Now Orym and Dariax both touched that massive sheet of runic writing and were able to intuit it, yes? I never got. Oh no, it was Dorian. That's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Perfect. And as the Tetrarch finishes, you see a symbol that, especially from this vantage point at this high place in the city, you can kind of glance off to the side and see it looks a little bit like the shape of the city. And both of you can read it.

And you know that this is the name, Nirdalpak. It is also the shape of the thing. It is a picture of the place and the word itself. And you see the Tetrarch lean down and put their hand over the symbol and it flares with light and every lamp across the city goes out. The shape of the thing holds power too, and your friend likely did not understand that. To touch a place of burning

is to interact with the potential of it and to learn what it is and what it could be and decide what it will be next. That makes sense. If you expected instructions on how to fix it, then you, young one, are very quickly learning the truth of the world. There are no easy answers. There are no simple solves.

And you probably, somewhere within you, know what is best, the right path to take. Dittrak, if this place of burning is of the fire, and I am of the fire. Yes. Is this why I have been led to them? To, to shield them,

to, to take the fire away, to do something. And you can just see she's starting to turn into a teenager. You can lose all the normal sense of Fy'ra's composure. She just doesn't know what to do again. And she's reverting back to ages ago when everything went down. And the Tetrarch very quickly removes their hand from the symbol and the lights come back up

and they rush over to you and grab you by the hands. And my tattoo starts to flare. Yeah. An important gift. All of them important. But what is it that you want? You seek to protect, but what is it that you want?

And their pressure on your hands begins to hurt. Take one point of bludgeoning damage as they are squeezing a little harder than intended. That's great. Oops, I forgot to do this last time, but that's okay. I never healed from the last episode. Oh god, it's been like four days. Everyone, please take a long rest.

There we go. My shoulder, it still hurts. Okay, now my hand does. Okay. Please roll a wisdom saving throw. 15. In this moment, I want to ask you, the player, what do you care about most?

What does Fy'ra Rai want most? To see our family again. And as your eyes shut, wincing a little bit from the pain, you are pushed bodily back into that space where you interact between your instincts, your instincts that have led you and kept you safe this entire time, and that little bit of nudge from the gift.

And you see points of light, the five people surrounding you that you have chosen to protect. But there is that well, that gravitational pull, up, north, west, far away, where your family lies, where your sister stands, alive, waiting for you, looking for you,

calling out for you. Ah! No. She... She... She... She lives. You would not have kept looking, kept wondering,

if you truly believed she was gone. I... I... How? How? When I saw the spot flare, do I have a sense of how near it is to where they are going? Opposite direction.

Fuck me. Well, you see that their attention is split going off of what, Jesus Christ, off of what Dorian said. That's farther to the south at the very edge of the continent. But going back north towards the scar of the Cinder King and everything you deal with,

you are even more north of that and west of that. She is even more north of that and west of that. She is even more north of that and west of that. Yeah. I am transported by her. Yeah. So it's like. Yes, it's a magical like. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And it's definitely not in the direction that Umeji has gone in. It's north of her. No, opposite direction. I think she's just, I'm just, she's paralyzed with indecision suddenly and says nothing and just looks. I have sworn to protect them. And you have.

You led them here, to the answers that they sought, to the next choice that they will make. You have not failed them. You will not failed them. You will not fail them. Someone is watching Opal. We encountered them in the forest. I have kept watch over her until now.

But someone else has been following her with their eyes and nothing else. One of the elves of Syngorn, I believe. I understand. May I? I don't. The thing that you are, you and your sister together. Power.

Potential that you haven't realized because you have a lot of rejection energy. Yeah, see, he knows. Why? If someone else saw it, if someone else saw it, if someone else seeks it. Why would they want that? Why don't you?

I just want to be my own person. What makes you think that you're not? Everyone carries so much with them all of the time. Their past. The things that they ran from. It's not the same. But okay. Who's watching me and why?

I told you before, I don't have all of the answers, but I can help. And they reach their hand out, and you feel an energy, like a very cold egg, the albumen running over you. And then you feel a sense, a breath, a gasp, a moment of peace from deep within you as Ted finally relaxes.

That will prevent any scrying. For now. Protect each other. Thank you, wise one. I'm not so wise. Just in charge. My sister lives. My sister lives. My sister lives. What is your name?

Orym. Of the Air Ashari. Yes, that's it. And you see them look over their shoulder and a young acolyte, another one of these clerics, clearly covered in regalia of the two moons, Catha and Ruidus. I'll say it right eventually.

I've been meaning to ask, too. What is the composition of the two moons, Catha and Ruidus. I'll say it right eventually. I have a meaning to ask, too. What is the composition of the two moons? Are they next to each other? Do they look anything like his tattoo, by coincidence? Yeah. Okay. You look up and you see that it is a massive sort of upturned crescent, and then just above it, a little off from the orientation of your tattoo,

which is a little more stylized. But that bloody, ruddy, tiny moon full above it. And do you want to do anything? Say again. Nothing. The acolyte comes over and hands a small package to the Tetrarch, who then turns and opens it and unfolds it and offers it to you, a seed.

The world is wild, and many things, coincidences, they cannot be explained. But I knew when this came on the breeze, that this was for you. So accept it. If they're offering it, then yes, I'll accept it. And it's just's just this massive, dark green

peach pit of a seed. Thank you, thank you. You're welcome. Sorry, I don't mean to be disrespectful. What am I meant to do with this? I'm sorry. I don't mean to be disrespectful. What am I meant to do with this? You are an Ashariya, are you not? I am. Then make it grow.

All right. What do you do? I'll tuck it away. Okay. And they turn and look at you all. Are you okay? That was Robbie Damon sighing. Oh shit!

Sorry, it was so dramatic. Are you waiting with bated breath watching the scene? It was the audience. Sorry. Sorry, it was so dramatic. Are you Alistair waiting with bated breath watching the scene? It was the audience. Sorry, sorry. Above table, I guess. You're good, you're good. My bad. I was in the moment. I got lost in the sauce. I apologize.

Is there anything else you would ask of me? Is there anything else I can do for you? Is there anything we can do for you in exchange for your help? You mentioned one of the Tetrarchs, your friend? Umaiji. Is there anything we can do to assist her? She is her did self across the Bane's Fall Plateau.

You can go help her if you want. I am not here to tell you what to do. And no, nothing is required. I told you what I feel you already knew. I believe in returning one good turn with another. Then I do have a request. If something is coming, if this place is meant for change,

growth, destruction, discovery, whatever it is, please remember it. Carry it with you. I don't want, after all this time, for this to end here and now,

forgotten. You've so long lived. Please, carry us with you. Always. That's all I would ask. I'm going to look at the stars for myself for the future and the past I observe

and I remember you may stay with me you may move on out up away it's you who must decide You may move on, out, up, away.

It's you who must decide what happens next. But I will treasure the time I have spent with you for as long as I have. And they move towards that device, kind of reseat the mirror back into place and begin gazing down into it and quickly lose themselves to gazing upward at the stars. We shall go.

Which way? Follow me. And I lead them back down the stairs. Actually, I get about halfway down the stairs and I say, Just down that way, I do have one more question. And I run back up, and I quietly speak behind the tetrarch. Tetrarch, my apologies.

None required. There is one of our party. I fear they may be drawn south for the wrong reasons. I cannot let them go, but I cannot hold them back. What do I do? You are wise to fear for them. They are losing themselves to the thrall of something

great and terrible. But you cannot choose for them. I know. I tried that once. And where does it land you? But you cannot choose for them. I know. I tried that once. And where does it land you? Back in the same place again. So what have you learned?

It is a fool's errand. But I cannot help but try. Thank you. I bow and try. Thank you. And I bow and leave. Be safe. And they go back to gazing at the stars. I'll meet up with you guys and shall we head back to Elan?

Yeah, no, that was intense. It was a lot. Yeah, they're that was intense. It was a lot. Yeah, they're an intense person. Do you know what that seed is? I've never seen one quite like that. I've seen quite a few. I reckon you have as well. Yeah.

That's cool. It just came here and then they gave it to you. Have to find a good place for it. Those are special. Maybe back north. GM, they said their name was, sorry, just so I have it for the future, their name was?

Their title is Tetrarch. Tetrarch, right. Yeah, and their name is Thras'kul. Thras'kul, thank you. I need everyone to make a perception check with disadvantage. Disadvantage? Yeah, it's dark and it's foggy.

Fruity! You. Ooh. Oh fuck. Fruit hole. You fell for it. Oh man. Eight. 11. Five. 14. Thank god.

Two. Nice. I'm actually thinking about other things. We both have. Yeah. TPK. Yeah. Wait, what's that?

Total party kill. Oh, yeah. Reliable party killer, right? Oh, yeah. The story is, you believe you see a swirl of fog and some movement in it around you. And that's confirmed when you see Opal's hand suddenly moves to her neck

as a tiny little dart, fletched in purple, sticking out. I need you to make a constitution saving throw. Are you in the city? Damn! So are we going north? Are we going south? Are we going back to the Fiery Mountains? You have one round,

but you feel yourself suddenly swooning and everything gets really slow and blurred and stretched out as you reach for and grab the little dart. What do you do? I have... I have a poison thing that I bought. What's a poison thing that you bought? Wait, remember? Amazing.

Hold on. We're going to use our full vocabulary. We've got, I got a potion of healing, but first I would like to know, is it poison? Or I guess it doesn't matter, does it? I mean, make a, let's do a self-diagnosis, medicine check. Why not? Oh shit. Six.

It certainly feels like something poisonous is happening, but you don't feel sick, you just feel, I mean, yeah. There's something. Okay, I'm going to hold onto my potion, and I guess I will just look around to see if I could see where it came from, or if there's any kind of clue as to who just threw that dart at me. Okay.

So you're going to spend your turn this round looking around. Well, yeah. Otherwise, I'm just going to fucking do an Eldritch Blast on an unseen... I need you to tell me exactly what you do. And I need you to make that decision. Ah! Did I clock this? Did you say I clocked this?

You saw motion. Okay. Like in the sort of, like the fog moved a little bit. But I didn't necessarily see her get poked or did I? If she's not going to alert the group oh no i want to alert the group okay okay so i'm gonna say we're all waiting for it we're like what is it going i was so she's not gonna say anything coach put me in i thought we were having a conversation like so we're going up i swear i could have sworn that you said that like

something happened with dorian while the thing- Dorian saw motion. Oh, Dorian saw motion. Okay, so I'll look at this thing and I'll be like, guys, I think something just hit me. So I'll say that. Okay. And then do I have to spend my whole action looking around

or can I look around as the thing that I do without an action? I mean, be specific of what you're trying to- Do I know who did it? Do I know where, can I look around as the thing that I do without an action? I mean, be specific of what you're trying to do. Do I know who did it? Can I see the creature or a person that? So if you're looking for the thing, the looking is the action. The action? Well, fuck this. I'm just trying to figure out

what you're doing because I'm about to do something fun and I'm trying to make sure you have your, you feel self-actualized before I knock you the fuck out. I don't even know what that means! That's my opening to any confrontation going forward. I'm just giving you a moment to self-actualize before I knock you the fuck out. Yeah.

Okay, okay. You told me as a Tetrarch to be blunt. Okay, all right, all right. Are you talking about the game? Yeah! Let's go! I'm sorry I'm taking so much time to do this. No, you're golden! I've now alerted the group,

and I am going to use my action to hide behind something. I don't know what's around, but I like to. Huh? How do you alert us? I fucking tell you! What she just said. What she just said. Yeah. She said she's guys, I think I just said. Guys, I think I have a thing. What am I missing here?

No, you're good! Oh, that was good, that was good. You're good. You're good. Caleb, shit. Oh, that was good. You're good. Caleb is, Caleb. Shit. Oh! Oh, ew! Hopefully he's drowned. Three years.

I miss him already. Orym whips around and is looking eyeline, trying to see anybody in their periphery. Likewise. And I'm going to, yeah, okay. The group. Oh my gosh. Okay. You got him. What's happening?

I am going to just go up to Opal and just try to just kind of look around and try to protect her. She's actively running away from you to go try to hide behind something. Are you willing to be like wrapped up? I'm willing to be, yeah. I think that she's, like you said,

pretty foggy and disoriented. So I think her natural reaction is to say something and then find a place where she can no longer be hit by the dark. And if that, you know, Fern is offering protection, I will take it. Fern, you wrap her up. Yeah.

What do you do in this heartbeat? Staff out, staff expanded, and looking around, and also, like, using the staff to explore, including my eyes. Okay. In the movement, I noticed which direction it was coming from. Yeah, it was

right over your shoulder and probably 20 feet behind you. Yeah, and between me and that is Orym. So you're interposed between, you are between Opal and whatever motion is in the fog. I'm picturing the closest person is Orm to me. Love that. So I'm going to run over to him. I'm going to grab him on the shoulder.

I'm going to say, find them and cast Invisibility on Orm. Whoa! Whoa! Dope! Dope! Cool. All right. Dariax, what do you do? I'm going to go ahead and be like, shit, I'm going to go ahead and go cast Bless.

I'm going to go ahead and Bless Dorian. I'm going to Bless Fearne. And I'm about to go ahead and be like, shit, I'm going to go ahead and cast Bless. I'm going to go ahead and Bless Dorian. I'm going to Bless Fearne, and I'm about to go ahead and Bless Orym, but you vanish and I can't see. Fuck! I get so bad at invisibility. No, it's okay. It's good. So I'll cast it on you.

What? Bless is? Plus a d4 to attack rolls and saving throws. Oh! Nice. And in the moment where you run over to Orym, Sorry, what I really need is for a stealth. you feel a gust of wind behind you as something makes a beeline in Opal's direction.

And I... What's your armor class? 17. You get hit very, very hard in the ribs and you're going to take four points of bludgeoning damage as something absolutely just drills into your ribcage, trying to get to Opal around you. So I need you to make a strength saving throw.

Oh, those are not good for me. Okay, okay, come on, come on, come on, come on. Oof. 12. You take the hit and wince, and in that heartbeat of you tensing up, you feel yourself pushed bodily away from Opal. Opal, you're grabbed, and in this groggy moment,

you look around and you don't see anyone, but you feel arms and a shoulder and yourself going up and over someone's shoulder as you lose consciousness. Fuck. Okay. So I can't do anything? Not yet. Okay. You I can't do anything? Not yet. Okay. And so we see this.

Can we see what is happening? You don't see any person. You just see, you saw a fern get hit and pushed away. And then Opal gets picked up and is flopped over this invisible point in space, like five feet in the air. So we can, but we can make out? Yeah. Yes, okay.

So I'm going to say you have an opportunity to attack as it moves through the center of the group. Thank you. So please make an attack roll with disadvantage because you don't see anyone. All right. I'm going to give Orym one, too. Oh man.

Why? Why disadvantage? 18 plus, oh, still a 19. I keep forgetting I'm strong. Oh no, you're kind of away. Never mind. Okay, 19 with disadvantage? Yeah. You're able to swing out and you connect with someone. Mm-hmm.

Yeah, roll damage. able to swing out and you connect with someone. Mm-hmm. Can I? Yeah, roll damage. That's not my damage. What's your damage? What's your fucking damage? 12 plus three, nine. Have that number go backwards. Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.

Wait, no, that is not right. It is nine. Nine points of damage? Nine points of damage. Amazing. Sweet. All right. You connect with something

as it scoops up Opal and continues through the darkness and keeps going out and away. You're invisible, and I need everyone to roll initiative. This is a chase sequence. Whoa! So it's going to go a little different. That's fine.

No, no, no, no. Okay, okay, okay. Including me? Yep. All right. Oh no. All right. Dang.

Okay, anyone, 25 to 20? 22. Ooh, okay, okay, okay. 19 to 15. 16. Real low. Ooh, okay. Real low. With advantage, roll low. Oh no.

Can I use my inspiration from last game? Yeah, that's it. That's it, it's over. I forgot about inspiration. Well, didn't help that much, but I'll take it. 14 to 10. 14. Nice. I was counting on you, buddy.

Okay, so these, nine to five? Eight. Wait, you both got eight? No, no, no, I want to take that back and use my original number, because I don't want to use my inspiration on this shit. Okay, what was your original number? One.

You know what, that's... Perfect. That's thematically perfect. Yeah, I love that. I feel like that's perfect. Yeah, yeah. Any bonus to your initiative, or? What's that? Do you have a bonus to your initiative? I don't think so.

What's the little box say for initiative? Oh yeah, plus two. Hey! Three! Have you been doing that wrong the whole time? Yeah! Five! Yeah, yeah, yeah! You learn something new every day.

That's a three, baby. Good news is, you're not alone. Amazing. All right. Womp womp squad, who got a one to a four? Three? Three. I rolled a one, too. Yikes!

So who has the higher dex between the two of you? No, mine's a plus two. Mine's a plus two. Yes. My dex total is 14. So total with the plus two? Well, just my total dex. Oh, the number number. 15. Okay. So you're before me.

Okay. I'm picking my nose over there like, wait, what's going on? Yeah. Where'd Opal go? Why are you punching? What's going on? Ooh, I look cheap.

You got six darts sticking out of your neck. Yeah. Where's Opal? Why, Maureen? I'm very tired. It's like Will Ferrell in that. Yes. Yes. That's exactly what I was thinking. Where is Vore?

Oh boy, this is not good. Okay, so. It's fine. Yeah, all right. Rules for a chase. These are going to go a little bit differently. So on your turn, you have your move and you have one action. There's no bonus actions here.

There's no reactions. Okay. And at the end of your turn, you're going to roll a d20 for a complication for the next person in the mission. Oh fuck! Okay. Oh, wow. Okay, so. All right, so first up is Dorian.

Move. Dorian, you see a slumped-over opal just limply moving into the night. What do you want to do about it? Take off after her at full speed. Okay. And I don't have... Okay, how far away am I from floating Opal?

Once I will go the full 30 feet. Is she far away? I mean, this person was moving there full speed, too, so right now you've maintained the 20 feet apart. We maintain that 20 feet apart. Okay, I am going to use my handaxe, throwable, that has a 20-foot range, and I'm going to wing that thing at the center mass

of whatever I think has got Opal. Okay, make an attack roll with disadvantage. Add a d4. Yeah, you're plus! Plus! Ooh, okay, with disadvantage. Hey! And then a d4.

One, two, three, four, 17, plus four, and four is 21. 21 absolutely hits. Yes. Cool. And that is 1d6 plus two, five, seven. Beautiful. Nice. Way to go, baby. So I whip that thing out.

It's my flute axe. I've never thrown it before, but I imagine that when I wing it, it kind of makes like a beautiful it almost plays a melody as it soars through the air. That's so cool. Amazing. Smacks into whatever's got her. Yep. So you hit into its,

you don't know what part of this thing's body, but it's stuck there, floating in the air. Oh shit. As it keeps going. Oh fuck. As it takes the damage and keeps moving. Oh boo, my flute! Don't forget the flute!

Do you have a name for your axe? How dare you ask me something like that? I do not. Dariax has a name for your axe and this is done. I'm sure it's just Derry. Nice, no name. I'm excited. Okay, and you do the roll of d20 for me.

Oh yes. You said this complicates things for the person behind me? Yep. So the roll of d20 for me. Oh yes. You said this complicates things for the person behind me? Yep. So is it lower d20 or higher better? Guess we'll find out. Fuck! No, it won't. 10. We've heard nothing! Oh my god.

Amazing. So you take off behind the person. The next one up is actually our mysterious figure, so you've complicated it for a bad guy. Nice. Who you actually see, because you're tracking both Opal's body and your axe floating in the air. As you see it, try to suddenly turn

and head down an alley, and it's going to skid out and slam against the wall. I need you... No, you're... He's passed out. Yeah, you're going to take two points of bludgeoning damage as your body rocks into a building. Oh shit.

As they turn a corner and continue to run. So this person has now wrapped around a corner, and they're moving their full speed. And what you see them do, because you are the closest in this line, you actually see them flash into being, a flurry of purple robes as they pull off a ring and slide it back on again to recast invisibility,

a greater invisibility, as your axe and opal disappear from sight. Oh no. Oh goddammit. So they're around the corner? Yep. But you can hear footsteps, by the way. This is not a silent chase. Okay, next up is Fy'ra.

Yeah. And Fearne, you're on deck. I am hauling ass because I can't, they are not within my line of sight. I need to get them in my line of sight. So I have 40 movement. Yep. So I am hauling ass. How far around the corner do I get and what do I see? You get around the corner and you turn

and you can hear footsteps splashing through. What you imagine is this fog that's congealing into puddles. But I can't see the axe, I can't see Opal. You don't see the axe or Opal. Right. I blast my hands together, I slam them on the floor,

and I cast Thunder Wave and see if that does a damn thing. I want to add one bit of information that I did unfortunately forget to mention. So you also have the option as an action to take a dash action, which is your speed again. Without using my Step of the Wind? That counts as your action.

So Step of the Wind would count as my action. But that's normally a bonus action. That's why I was like, ugh. Yeah, you get one thing to do. You can take the dash action up to three times plus your constitution modifier. After that, I'm going to have you start rolling for exhaustion. After a certain level of exhaustion, you drop out.

But I don't really have a sense of how far ahead of me they are. Correct. Fuck. All right, in that case, Spruce Underweight. So do you double your movement? I'm going to double my movement and I'm just going to catch up and keep up. Catch up with what?

I'm going in the direction that I'm hearing. Okay, so you're able to close the distance and you hear footsteps, but you can't quite see what's around you to locate it. But you hear footsteps right in front of you. This way, everyone, this way! I just start calling back to everyone so they have a sense of where we are in the fog.

Perfect, roll a d20. 11. All right, a d20. 11. All right, this one goes to 11. Yep, you're good. Nothing happens. Fearne, you're up. Okay, so. High is good. We can't see them.

We can't see her at all. Okay, so what I'm going. But I'm calling, so you know I'm in the, run towards me because I'm closer to them. Okay. I am going to start running and I'm going. What's your movement speed? 35. Perfect.

Feet, obviously, not. Just very stressed right now. Okay. You're good, you're good. I am going to jump into Wild Shape. Okay. Yeah, baby! Into a Direwolf, which gives me a little bit more speed. Amazing. Yes! Love it.

Thought you were going to say hippopotamus for sure. Yeah. Weirdo! Maybe one day. So then if that's my action, then I just... So you move and your action was to transform. Got it. Okay. Perfect. And then I'm just booking it.

Beautiful. And because of hopping into a dire wolf, I have keen hearing and smell, so I'm hoping that I can- Beautiful. Oh yeah, the moment you transform. What does your dire wolf look like? Paint me a word picture. Okay, so the dire wolf is

sort of silvery, and the face is just this beautiful, just black fur, and with a silver stripe on his, on their back, my back, I guess. fur and with a silver stripe on his, on their back, my back, I guess. And the eyes are greenish and little mossy bits on the end of the tail. Yes!

Okay. So I'm just nose ready and eyes ready and just trying to smell for Opal and trying to- I'll have you roll it now. Go ahead and make a perception check. Okay. With your keen senses. And you tell me, is this primarily hearing or smell?

There's no real difference between it. That's for flavor. Smell. Cool. Okay. 17. Cool. Okay. 17. Nice. Hey, Opal, what perfume are you wearing today? Oh, she's wearing, like, I would imagine, like a cedar, or no, like a sandalwood.

Yeah. Something, yeah. This smell of really fake, terrible cedar wood. Just hits you right in the nose and you snap your head. Love a patchouli. Probably just a little bit to the right and a little bit past where you see Fy'ra standing. And yeah, you know exactly where.

Keep on booking it. Yep, perfect. All right, so with the rest. So does she get past me? Or like, do we? No, 35 feet of movement does not beat 40 feet of movement. Oh, I thought she changed into the dire wolf and ran. Yeah, but the dire wolf doesn't also then move. The transformation was the action.

I think probably next turn I will have birds. Yep, they're my speed of a bird. Yo, here's the thing. Sexual dimorphism in animals is such an important thing that you can turn into a male animal if it's cooler. If you want to turn into a peacock, you don't have to turn into a peahen because you're feminine. Those birds suck.

Be the cool one that's pretty. Every animal is a sweet boy. Yeah, exactly. Be sweet boy. There are a lot of dude animals that suck in the animal kingdom. True. I would rather be a lioness than a lion.

I would choose a female praying mantis. Not even in the animal kingdom. Eat the head. Eat the head. Eat the head. So anyway, we could talk about gender and what wild shape is at literally any other time. But the rest of you that are just beginning to take off, you're still in this central plaza.

And then all of a sudden you hear a low rumble in a creek and you look over and the remnants of a magical spell being cast glimmer purple as they wash over those two massive porphyry statues of the three-headed meat beast, call it a Bandersnatch, as they slowly begin to come to life under an animate object spell. As someone else in this fight andersnatch as they slowly begin to come to life

under an animate object spell. As someone else in this fight who defies being seen right now has taken their action. And there are now two more combatants in the fray. But that was their turn. Next up is Orym. Opal, you're after. And then Dariax at the end. So logical to think then that there's two statues come to life

here in the square with us and perhaps a caster in the area. Correct. Well, I'm still invisible. Yeah. So Orim will grip the shield tight and try to hear anything in addition to the statues he can in the area.

So your attention is primarily back with the statues and the caster? Yeah, I'm staying, as soon as that happened, like he was ready to start screaming around the corner, but as soon as he hears that, he just hunkers down and listens as acutely as he can. And the shield, newly dubbed Sentinel shield, kind of tunes his senses.

Heck yeah. So can I attempt to hear someone here? Yes, please make a perception check with advantage because that's how your shield works. That's how the shield works. He tunes his senses. Heck yeah. So can I attempt to hear someone here? Please make a perception check with advantage because that's how your shield works. That's how the shield works. That is a 22. With a 22, you get quiet and listen,

and it takes a little extra time to tune out all of the commotion and Fy'ra's screaming, and what sounds like the snarl of a large beast around the corner. And then you hear it, footfalls, not speeding up in pursuit and headed in your direction, but slinking back through puddles, ducking into the alley next to that large building.

And I'll immediately start running at that sound. Love it. I don't know if I can get there. If I can, I'm going to try to stab at the air. All right, take a swing at the dark. I'm going to use a superiority die to do a feinting attack, which will give me advantage on the attack,

which I'm guessing would just make it a straight roll. Straight roll. Or invisible. Come on, come on, come on. Balls. That is a 10 to hit. Unfortunately, swing out and miss. Action surge going again. Yeah! Go!

Re-rolling my halfling natural one for a 20. Woo! Yeah! Bam, bam, bam! There you go! Sir! Halfling on fire! You swing out with that first swing and you feel yourself catch a little bit of fabric and the little tug as you missed a body,

but now you have a sense of what it is. You've pulled this thing just a little bit off of its feet and you swing out again and you catch something. I would say, because I'm using a fainting attack to mess with them, as soon as, after the first attack, which whiffs, I hear where they are and then go

and then swing around because I'm trying to make them dodge out of the way. So here's the fake and then I swing around to catch them on this side and that is a six. six damage. Ooh, beautiful. Twice. I didn't think my friend was going to get hit that fast.

Well played. Tight, tight, tight. And because he took an action, did he just reveal himself? My invisibility's gone. It's gone. Yeah. Okay. Sweet. As soon as you do a thing.

Okay. And you pull it back and you see blood on your blade and you hear, ah! You little mongrel. Oh, fuck. Oh shit. I don't like that. Stagger back into the darkness. Opal, you're up. Okay, question.

Do I see the person that's carrying me since we're both invisible now? That's a very good question. Yeah. Shoot, make an arcana check for me. Okay. Things I didn't consider before. 17.

Yeah. Yeah, you know what? You absolutely do. Okay, oh man, I'm going to take a fucking risk and I hope it's worth it. Oh, you're falling unconscious here, though, right? What? Can I not do it?

Can I not cast a spell? You're unconscious. So what the fuck do I do? What's my turn for? I need you to make a constitution saving throw to shake off this spell. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I was about to fight the rules. Yeah, I know, it's okay, it's okay.

The rules. 17. I saw you, yeah, boo. Yeah. All right. With a 17, I'll say that you feel that wave of sleep, and then you feel something in you pushing your consciousness away from that fog, pushing you clear and trying to interpose itself within you.

Oh, ugh. Okay. You're welcome! Oh, okay, it's you. I'm going to cast Word of Radiance. Okay. But before I cast that, above tabletop, does that actually, does that damage the person if they're holding me?

Yeah. Okay, great. So I'm going to do that. I'm going to cast Word of Radiance, and I'm assuming, do I have to roll for that? I'm going to make you roll with disadvantage because you're awake, but the source of your magic is now trying to body the effect that's putting you to sleep.

So your magic's not as effective right now as other things. Okay. Oh, so what did you, oh, that was a 13, was the lowest one, 15, so 13. Okay. So you go to cast. What does Word of Radiance look like as you begin to cast it?

I think in this case, she wants to A, call attention to herself because she's invisible, so I'm assuming that that breaks the invisibility, if it's just a radiant source of light. Technically, you're a thing being carried. The rules for this, I have bullshitted in a direction. I know. Yes, if this spell goes off,

you can be seen. Okay. So yeah, it would just look like a big, loud, neon pink burst of light that would hopefully singe the person that is also holding me into letting me go. Now I'm going to give you a choice. Okay. Because this would have missed.

Okay. But it's a point-blank attack. Okay. So what's more important to you in this moment? The damage or the visibility? Oh. But the damage is not guaranteed to let me go, right? You don't know. You don't know.

I think the, then, fuck it, the damage. Okay, go ahead and roll the damage. But no one sees anything. Okay, go ahead and roll the damage, but no one sees anything. Okay. The damage is five. All right. You hear a really gruff, low voice go, why aren't you asleep? And keeps moving forward.

Oh god. All right, Dariax, you're up. Oh, ah, yeah. That's what you get for a natural one, son. I know. I see everyone in my mind, like, what's going on? Where's Opal? And I see that you turn into a wolf

and go around the corner, you go around the corner. Yeah, and I go running with my nice, trunk-like, squat dwarven legs that only carry me 25 feet. Do I get around the corner at least, or do I not make it? I'm going to let you get around the corner so you can see down.

You're just like, you kind of do the like, and you can like, yeah, stare down the barrel of this alleyway. Oh God. A little risky business. Yeah. Your pants are gone for some reason,

but you're wearing a button down. Weirdly, on brand for him. Kind of. Kind of. All right, well, in looking at this view, I see a wolf. I see you. You, do I, you're down in a different alley or the same alley?

I'm where you ran away from. Well, Mind Palace. I'm behind you probably at this point, in a different direction. I'm not paying attention to you. And do I'm behind you probably at this point. Okay. I'm not paying attention to you. And do I see that flash of light? Nope.

Nope. You see my hair on fire, so you know where I am. Yeah, but no idea where Opal is. Yeah. Um. Shit. I am going to go ahead

and use my hat of disguise to turn myself to look like Opal. Woo! Yeah! Oh my god. And go running in a different direction. Just going like, Oh my god! We're trying to get it!

I don't know, let's just be a decoy. Oh my god, I're trying to get me! I don't know, it's just me and Deacor. If you don't have inspiration, please take it. Okay, I'll take it. My god. That's my turn. Oh, we're playing dumb dwarves! Amazing. Can I roll a 20 to see the next complication? Oh yes, please.

Oh yeah, I didn't have you roll a complication. Eh, that's fine, I'll let it go. I mean, I'm doing pretty bad. That's on me. That's an eight. Eh, that's fine. I'll let it go. I mean, I'm doing pretty bad. That's on me. That's an eight. Ooh, yes, a thing. Ba-da-ba-da-ba. Oh, hold on.

Bra. As you go tearing down in a different direction from where this chase is happening, you're looking over your shoulder like, Oh no, where am I? And you completely bash into just a random person in the street who's just like, oh my god, and just begins cussing and swearing

and you get entangled with them. Please make a strength saving throw. You got it. Actually, no, no, no. It's going to be athletics or acrobatics check. Oh, I got it. That would be an 11. With an 11, this person is grabbing onto you

to try to be like, what do you do? And trying to pull themselves up and you're able to extricate yourself as Opal. Don't touch me, stranger! Ew! That's my character. Beautiful. Really good. Okay.

You do a great Opal. Yeah. All right, all right, all right. Yeah, we're back up to the top. Dorian, you're up. And the reason I gave that to you and not the next person is because it doesn't make sense because we're not running in the same direction. Fair enough.

You broke the rules. I broke them because I keep forgetting what they are. She used the rules. I don't know how to play D&D. You broke them. Okay. So from what I can see, have the ladies surpassed me?

Are they closer to Opal at this point? Like with their movement speed? They both have movement speeds a little bit faster than you, so they're a little bit ahead of you. So they're gaining on me. Can I, and- They are past you.

And right, and Orym's engagement back behind us. You have no idea what Orym's doing. He never came around the corner. Okay, so he's still back there. Do you want to go look? Do you want to look as an action? If I could see him, I would have a reason to, but if I can't see him, I'm going to keep up with the chase.

You can look as an action. No, don't do it. Aren't you worried? I am worried. That's where my instincts are, but all right. Yeah, okay. I'm going to stop. I have ultimate faith in the ladies, so I'm going to stop.

That was your first problem. I don't know, I got a dire wolf, but you guys are sprinting and you got fire hair. That's true, we're speedy. All right, so I'm thinking maybe they have this handled. But Aabria wants it so bad. Oh no, it's okay. That's true, we're speedy. All right, so I'm thinking maybe they have this handled. But Aabria wants it so bad. Oh no, it's okay. I've got stuff for all of you.

I'm going to. My puppos are coming up. No. That's good. I'm going to, okay, yeah. I'm going to wonder, he was invisible, so I wouldn't, fuck, I'm overthinking this. He was invisible, so I would naturally be thinking

Orym is on the chase with us, like being a badass, doing his thing. I'll give you a freebie. Make a perception check. Okay. You get what I'm getting at. Yeah, for sure, I get you. My gut says I want to go,

but I don't have a reason to. I got you, baby boy. Perception is 14. You have heard everyone else coming up. You can hear their footfalls before they show up, and you've counted it out. First, Fy'ra ran up, and then you heard Fearne, and you even heard Dariax as he came around the corner

and then muppeted out in a different direction, and you never heard Orym's footsteps. Okay, thanks for giving me a read. You're welcome, I got you. Okay, I'm going to yell at the ladies, save Opal and get my axe back! And I'm going to run back around the corner, full movement speed, 30 feet.

Does that put me enough to peek around the corner and see what's going down? Oh yeah, you come back down and before you even use your full movement, you see my beautiful surprise for you. Two massive, 10-foot tall, three-headed meat beasts. And do I see Orm fighting nothingness? Fighting the air as well?

There's a little, there's something happening in the alley. You hear it, you don't see it necessarily. Ah, shit. All right. Do I have enough movement speed to get to the meat beasts? Yeah, but he's kind of ducked into it. Meat beasts. Do I have enough movement speed to get to the meat beast? Yeah, but he's ducked into it. Meat beast. Do I have enough movement speed to get to the meat beast?

Yeah, I want you to have that. Oh fuck. Are they clearly bad? Are we literally seeking our meat beast's good? No! All right. Do you think Orym cast big, cool meat beast? No, I don't.

And he's otherwise engaged. Everything is fucked! I'm going to run in between the two meat beasts. I'm going to run right smack in the middle of them and I'm going to cast, I'm going to cast... Fuck. Level two thunder wave. Good call. Yeah.

All right. And that's a, yeah, 12 con save. Only the one on the right makes it. Okay. Okay. Three, d, eight. Ocho, I never rolled the eights. Ooh, get in here.

Fuck you guys. Five, six, seven, eight. Beautiful. Okay. And the one that makes it takes half? That is correct. And the one that didn't save gets pushed 10 feet, wait, no.

Yes, 10 feet away from me. Sweet. So the one, you kind of ran in between them before they had fully moved out and away from the frame of this big building. So the one that you push actually slams into the side of the building just a little bit. And you see this nub tail that's kind of carved onto its butt, hits it and chips

and shatters and falls off. So it's missing 12% of its donk off of that. Continue some more. I'm sorry. Donk? Thunderclap that booty? That's all I'm going to say. Yeah!

Inspiration for a little nonsense. All right, roll a d20. Uh-oh. Oh fuck. Who did I make this heart for? What do you use in the other direction? 19. Okay, nothing happens for my sweet, invisible friend who is going to take off and then use the dash action

to go even farther. All right. Damn. That's the one that's holding me? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, next up is Fy'ra Rai. All right, so here's what I want to do. Tell us.

I don't know how we feel. And then you're going to tell me what is possible. Since she's so close to me now, she's so close, I actually want to see if I, I mean, you're huge, right? Yeah. Lord. I want to see if I can jump on her back and we can- That's a consent thing that has nothing to do with me. What's your speed as a wolf?

Yeah! Her speed is 50, so I want to see if that would take a full action or if that is- To mount a dire, yeah. Mm-hmm. Oh, good idea, though. Is that worth it? Because I only have an action and movement.

Yes. Fuck. Think of the imagery. Yeah, I am thinking of the imagery, and I'm trying to decide what's fucking sexier. Let me ask you this. If I hop on the dire wolf's back, can I? You do not get to use your movement in her stead. That's not how that works,

if that's what you're about to ask. Good try, though. Love it. You could fart your movement into her. Can I? Yeah. You could do a little toot. If I move, okay, math. If I move my normal amount,

she will still catch up to me, so I can jump on her then. If I run and hold. You're going to run and hold your action? Yeah, I can probably jump on her, because I don't know if we're going to catch up to the dude or not. Once again, this is a consent thing,

and you don't speak Dairiwulf, so this will be fun to see how it works out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is that what your plan is? So I'm going to bust a move forward. Cool. And as I bust a move, my full speed, which is 40 feet, I am going to, again, perception,

seeing if there's any, like, can I see anything? Opal, the thingy. Are you using your action to look, or are you holding your action to jump on? Fuck me. Yeah. Yeah. Let's welcome my fucking chase. Oh, and on top of that. This chase is rowdy.

Yeah, I'm trying to be. As you run down, you actually see that there are barrels and things, so I actually need you to make a dexterity, no, we'll call it acrobatics check, to navigate around it as you're continuing down. That's a 24, we're okay. Yeah, you're fine. Yay! She's parkouring off things.

She's climbing over the barrels, jumping off things. Some guy's like, my cabbages, as you parkour over a big bunch of things. I hear this galloping behind me, and I just know it's my girlfriend. So I'm going to hold and look back behind her and say, May I? And that's all.

Beautiful. Okay, well, go ahead and roll a d20 for me. 18. Oh, plus. Yeah, 18. No, there's nothing at. There's no plus. Fearne, you're up. Okay, okay. You hear, May I? Okay.

Mother May I? I look up at Fearne, I'm on the walk. and try to A loaf of consent. I try to just make my path a little bit over to her. Yeah, for sure.

Yeah. Swinging out a step to make sure that you're literally telegraphing. Getting a little bit over to her, sort of. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Swinging out a step to make sure that you're, like, literally telegraphing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, like, getting a little closer, like, yeah, you gotta jump on. Let's go. Okay. Okay.

Good to go. On. Let's do a dumb roll, anyway. Give me another acrobatics check, which I'm sure you're terrible at, because you're gut-bill monk. Yeah, I'm 23. Okay, it's really pretty. It's very cool. Great, yeah. Great. at because you're gut-blown monk. Yeah, I'm 23. Okay, it's really pretty.

It's very cool. Wow. Great. Yeah. Great. What does it look like? You tell me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I said, may I? And as she runs by me, I just run two steps to catch up with her, swing one leg over,

just grab a little bit of a tuft of her fur, and I pat her on the side and I go, Ride! Whoa! Yeah! It's like kind of not great CG Legolas in Lord of the Rings, where you grab the other horse and he swings over. No! I'm plotting, bro!

I can't believe you didn't have to use cables! And I'm wearing high-heeled boots! I'm wearing these, goddammit! That's sexy! My medicine is way better than that. Yeah, right? Me too, me too. It's way better. I'm just being a dick. Oh my gosh.

Okay. I do have a question. Yes. So my Wildfire Spirit... Where'd it go, where'd it go, where'd it go, where'd it go? Um, um, um, um. Would that be considered to command the Wildfire Spirit? Is that an action on my turn right now? Technically, your Wildfire Spirit goes just after. Oh, to command Mister into being a Wildfire Spirit,

we'll take your action. We'll take my action, okay. Oh, I have an idea, but I need two moves on a turn. Okay. I'm going to keep running towards the Palo Santo sandalwood smell to my girl. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And just keep trying to book it.

Okay. So using a dash for your action? What's your action going to be? It's 50 feet. My action is if I'm somewhat close, I do want to try to take a bite attack. You're not going to get close enough because this person used their dash

to get even farther away. Okay, dash, dash, dash. They moved more than, yeah. Yeah, okay, I'll dash. Dash. You dash? Dash, dash! My Michiganders come in. Come on, Dasher! moved more than, yeah. Yeah, okay, I'll dash. Dash. You dash! Dash, dash! My Michiganders come in. Come on, Dasher!

Dasher, instead of saying ride, I say dash! Dash! Yeah, yeah. That's enough avatar for one day. Yeah, go ahead. I'll dash. All right, so you dash. Go ahead and give me a perception check as you get closer.

Okay. Not going to count this as part of it because you are just breathing in through your nose and you can catch that, you can catch a good whiff of that. That's a natural one. Oh! Yee! Amazing.

So in the heat of this, I mean, you know that you've gone so far, like what couldn't you catch? But you don't have a strong sense, especially now that this alley is more full of boxes and maybe they climbed up on something. You don't have a strong beat on where they are, but you know you have to be in proximity

just by how much you can move in a round. Okay. But that's your action. That's my action. Yeah. That's my turn. Roll a d20. Okay. They're taking the warlock to Isengard. Oh no. That's a one. Oh, beautiful.ard. Oh no. That's a one.

Oh, beautiful. Buddies! Thank you! Who's after me? I'm sorry. Oh no, those are my buddies around the corner. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, that's a good thing! Yeah! Yeah! We did our part, guys! We did it, boys! We did our part, Elise!

Colonel Elise! Colonel Elise! Yes! So my big boys, it is difficult to reign. However, they're in melee with a thing to bite, so it's not really going to affect them as they turn. And you ran to them. And they're both going to take big ol' attacks at you. Shit.

But isn't one of them out of melee range now if he got knocked back? Okay, it's going to walk the 10 feet back over. Even with difficult terrain, it had more than 20 feet of movement. It scooches back over. All right. The lowest one is an 18.

Yeah. Both. Sweet. Oh, oh god. Yeah. Both. Sweet. Oh, oh god. Uh-oh. Oh boy. I'm afeard. We're going to take 16 points. Ooh!

Of piercing damage. My god! As these heads descend on you, three on each. Snap, snap, snap. Fuck! And they just absolutely cover you. Yeah, I got it. You hear the crunch and movement and I don't know if you're too cool

to make an ouch sound. No! Shit got real around the corner. Was that from one meat beast? No, it was both of them. Both meat beasts. It was combined. Okay. I am super fucked up!

You're fine, this is fine. This is a bad idea! My boys go and they roll. You're fine. Next up is Orym. Opal, you're on deck. I do hear the sound of my friend, so I curse at the darkness and wheel around

and come running back. If I can get to one, if I see one engaged with him. No. If I see, yeah, if I see the one, if either of them that are engaged, whichever one I can get to. Are you leaving melee range? Yeah, that's fine, I'll risk it.

Okay, cool. Does a 21 hit you? It does indeed. Meanwhile, you're just like, hit a wall somewhere. Yeah. You turn and run away and you feel a hand just grab around the meat of your tricep and a sudden burst of blinding pain

as an Inflict Wounds catches you. Great, that's great. For 11 points of your power damage. Great. I roll very low. Oh boy. Dirty babies. And I run into the fray and run up to one of the beasts

with its fangs into my friend and I'm gonna use another superiority die and do a goading attack. I'm gonna try to stab it in the eye and draw its eye around me. Yeah. Make an attack. I didn't roll, that guy should've taken,

whoever that invisible person should've taken more damage. I didn't roll. Oh yeah should have taken, whoever that invisible person should have taken more damage. I didn't roll. Oh yeah, roll the extra damage. You're already dying. Go ahead, go ahead, go ahead. Just one. Just one. Not nothing. They're a caster. They're probably not made of hit points. Okay.

So for that attack to the beast, I rolled a 19. Hits. Okay, and that's good. It's kind of hard to miss. Six plus. 12 points of damage, and it is at disadvantage if it tries to attack Dorian. Amazing. Because it is now pissed at me.

Okay. Do you want to describe what that attack is? Yeah, I run up and kick off of Dorian's knee and then just go and stick it in the eye and land. You crush and punch in this thing's eyes that are unblinking, but it makes this sort of gravelly howl as something that knows that it's roughly beast shape

reacts in the way that you would expect it to. It shakes one of its heads violently and snaps and you drop back down to the ground. As that head follows you down, it looks at you. And then the next head turns to you, and the third. And that low grumble that's more like construction than like an animal snarl fills your chest and makes you vibrate as this thing

has turned its entire intention onto you. Here, boy. Beautiful. End of the turn. Okay, roll a d20 for me. Nine. All right, a gift for Opal. Thank you. Oh, no, no for Opal. Thank you.

Oh no, no, no, it's... I know, I know. Just go bad. Goddamn it. Go bad, Robbie. I know. Go bad. I came in to help and I feel like I fucked it all up. No, not at all.

They would've come after me on my side. What can I see without looking? Without taking an action of looking, what can I see? What can I see without looking? What can I see without looking? Without taking an action of looking, what can I see? What can I see without looking? What can I see without looking? I just love that sentence. It was so metaphysical. Do you want to face?

Which way am I laid, I guess, I suppose. You're up over the booty meat. You're looking back and you can actually see, probably eight feet away from you, you see a massive dire wolf with Fy'ra. I would love to cast Misty Step so I can teleport to the back of the dire wolf. You can certainly try.

Once again, you feel, actually, now this is the complication. I usually make an arcana check. Okay. Natural 20, baby! Yeah! Yeah! Not that that's helpful now!

Grab my axe. No, it absolutely is. Oh, okay. Because I was going to put your magic to sleep. Oh, thank god. You feel Ted deep within you. She's interposed herself between this magical effect in you so you can stay awake. Okay. And she is struggling.

You feel inside you as she takes a knee so close to falling to whatever this magical effect is, and she holds onto it a little longer, reaching down into the ground to do that connection between the two of you and preserving it so you can cast Misty Step. Yes. Okay, do I have to roll for that? Or is it just automatic?

It just happens. Yes! Okay, so I have Misty for that? Or is it just automatic? It just happens. Yes! Okay, so I have Misty stepped onto the back of the direwolf, which I'm assuming is large enough to handle both me and Fy'ra Rai. You're a tidbit. You're great. You can make your mark. You are, in fact, a tidbit. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And now am I not invisible anymore? Because I've lost contact with this. Okay! Now who's chasing whom? Yes! Lost contact with this. Yes. Okay! Now who's chasing whom? Yes. What? Yes! Amazing. Okay, all right. Go ahead and roll a d20 for me.

Fuck me up. Yeah! Fuck me up. That's a 10. Okay. That's a 10. Nobody? Okay. Okay, so Dory, you're continuing in a direction. At this point, after I hit the person, pushed off,

I look back and gauge what's going on. What do I see? You're down a different corridor. So you see boxes and barrels. You can hear the sounds of crushing and colliding and just monstrous things happening around the corner from you, where you can hear a fern growling and bigger, snarlier, more terrifying rumbles in the ground

back in the plaza from whence you came. Okay, I'm going to go ahead and run back towards, I guess, the more dangerous sound of the plaza while shouting, in my best opal impression, Great, guys, they took the decoy! The plan's working! Honestly, kind of brilliant.

Oh my god. And rushing, using my movement to run back into the plaza towards her. Did you copy her entire outfit? Oh yeah. Like down to the heels that I'm assuming you're wearing? Oh yeah. Cool. Okay, so it's that same stupid 10

where you're coming around a corner and I need you to make a dexterity save to avoid clipping the side as you move back in the direction, so. As you run back. That is a 16. You are actually legitimately incredible in heals. You're good. Yeah!

All that time is Tharla's Star. All that practice on Tharla's Star practice. You learned a thing or two. And you come back through. Wasn't a crush, but I was keeping an eye on her. I just liked her skill. And announce that they took the decoy. Go ahead and make a deception check.

All right. And I'm not going to make this part of your turn, just how someone else is going to take it. Like my other spellcaster, who went, what? That is a 21. Oh my god. Whoop, whoop! Noted.

Okay, so you ran back and yelled. What do you want to do for your action? Heading back towards the plaza? Do I see anything? Yeah, you're at the edge of the plaza. Okay. You can see, you know what? I wouldn't call it a fight,

because that would assume that it was fair. No. You see two giant beasts, and then Orym and Dorian standing between them sort of interacting with it. I guess it looks like Orym and Dorian standing between them sort of interacting with it. I guess it looks like Orym's fighting. It looks like Dorian is getting his full ass handed to him. Oh shit, how far from me is Dorian? Oh, you have to cross the plaza.

It's like their full movement. Can't help you now. Then I'm going to use the rest of my action to just dash and get up close, kind of get within, see if I can interpose myself between Dorian and whatever the nearest creature is and be like, no, I'm your target.

Ah! I love it. Amazing. Roll a d20 for me. Okay. 12. All right, nothing, no bad effect. Dorian, you're up.

This is going great for you. Not going according to plan. What are you talking about? My plan was to attack you with big ol' pop-ups. That's true. How big are these stone guys? How tall? 10 feet. 10 feet. You big bullies.

You big bullies! I am 30% of their size. Oh, buddy! Hey! Where's Guga? We need him. And is disengaging my action? Yes, it is.

And affords them an opportunity strike? No, a disengage prevents an opportunity attack. Oh, nice. That's the whole point of it. But it's your action. Aw. But you'll still have your movement. Right. Yeah.

Don't worry, you got a healer in heals next to you. A healer. A healer! A healer in heals! I'm so fucked, I can't do anything. Do what you gotta do. I gotta help myself. I'm going to cast Cure Wounds on myself.

So do you disengage or do you cast Cure Wounds? Oh my god. What did they hit me for last time? 17? 16. Fuck you. I am going to disengage. Good call.

And I am going to use my movement speed to get as far away from the encounter as I can. Maybe make my way to Dariax. Is he close enough? Yeah, I'm going to say that you have an opportunity to cross Dariax as you're running. Then I'm not going to go as far away as I can. I'm just going to get to Dariax? Is he close enough? Yeah, I'm going to say that you have an opportunity to cross Dariax as you're running. I'm not going to go as far away as I can. I'm just going to get to Dariax and I'm going to give Orym sort of a wistful look

as I leave, because I feel fucking bad about bailing. And that ends my turn. Okay, roll a d20. One, two, three. 16. Okay. Ty, it's fine. Just pointing out once again, you're running towards Opal. Oh yeah! out once again, you're running towards Opal.

Oh. Oh yeah! That's right, you're running towards Opal. Good call, good call. How did you get away? What? How did you get away from being kidnapped? They hadn't blasted my s- I'm the one that kidnapped Opal was kidnapped.

You are Opal, what? What? What? Oh! Oh! All right, there we go. Ah! Brilliant! Thanks for reminding me. So good.

So our main invisible baddie, now one opal lighter, is going to turn around and looks and sees you. Hi, bitch. And you hear a little. Oh fuck. Stay down this time. And you do the little. Oh fuck. Stay down this time. Wait, can I cast Shield?

No, you do not have reactions. Why not? Because I said at the beginning. It's a change. It's a change. Dang it. Fuck. Okay, what do I do? Make a dexterity saving throw. Come on, girl.

With disadvantage, because you don't see it. Come here. Oh, well, thank god. I don't know what that means. It was a 20. Oh no. 18. Nice.

I shouldn't have celebrated so quickly. But I feel good now. No, I was saying that could have been roll that. It could have been roll that. You hear that little dart sound, and I'm going to assume you just duck behind Fy'ra. Oh god. No, it doesn't hit you, instead.

That thing doesn't bend, it's not wanted. Because I was also going to say, I have the deflect missiles for a friend thing. Oh, I'm eating it. That's right, which is a reaction which you can't use. Damn it! But it doesn't matter because you rolled an 18! The rules of the chase. You killed it!

And you hear footsteps as this person continues to run away. Away. Away. Away from us? Ooh, and a one. Yeah, away. Away. Away. Away from us? Ooh. In a one. Yeah, away from y'all. Oh. Great. Hmm.

So. Hold on. Syrah, you're up. One second. Where's my tab? There it is. We let her go? Do we fight? She's about to say something happens. Okay. So the footsteps carry away, and now you're at the end of the alleyway.

And even though it's late, it's not the dead of night, it spills out into a street where you see people are walking back and forth and wagons are being pulled. So there's now cross traffic is your complication. We've heard everything. We've got Opal. Mm-hmm. I'm just going to say,

let him go, go back to the others instead of pursuing him through the people because I don't want to fuck with the people. Okay, works for me. So can I hold everything and just speak for now and not use my movement and not use, because I'm on the back of a dire wolf. She's going to move faster than I am. And that will allow, if you want to use a reaction just speak for now and not use my movement and not use, because I'm on the back of a dire wolf.

She's going to move faster than I am. And that will allow, if you want to use a reaction or something later, you've held your potential in reserve to do something. I'm going to hold on to my potential. Yeah, good job. Roll a d20. 14, although it's on top of other dice.

Totally fine, Fearne, you're up. No complication. Okay, so. Yes, I listen. Sort of huffing and growling and bloodthirsty. Turn around and start booking it back. Yes! Okay. thirsty, turn around and start booking it back. Yes!

To our people, because we got to, we got to. Ooh, this is tough! Mm-hmm. Um, um, um, um, um, yes. So my question is, do you officially give up the chase? Oh. Ooh, I don't want to, you guys, I don't want to!

Give me a perception check. Yes. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. 19. You still smell him. You could catch him. He's not that far. And you can pick his scent out of the dozens of people in the street.

If you run away now, you'll never know why she was targeted. Booking it towards him. Yeah. Going towards the smell. Yeah, baby. Chase rules still up, let's go! Yep, yep, yep, yep. Let's continue. Going, going, baby. Chase rules still up, let's go! Yep, yep, yep, yep. Let's continue. Going, going, going. With a 19.

Yeah. You can catch up entirely. And you sort of slide out into the street, just dire wolf drift. And even though there are people around, you know exactly where this person is. You can smell the sweat and anxiety on him. You can attack.

Okay. Who wants it? Who wants it? Okay. You are blessed. You get to add a d4. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. I mean, that was pretty high. Okay. Okay. That would be... Let me pull out my move.

25. Absolutely hits. What do you think this is? It's a guy. He's a guy. He's a guy made of flesh. Okay, so what I would like to do. So what are you hitting with?

Is this a chomp? Is this a swipe? It's, I'm trying to just grab and knock him prone and just get at his throat above him. So this is more of a grapple than an attack. I'm going to attack. I want to kill this guy.

No, no, no, I don't want to! What do you want? Okay, okay. It's a grapple, it's a grapple. I'm not telling you to pick, I'm just saying like. It's a grapple, it's a grapple. Are you sure? You know, I'll just do a chomp? You know, I'll just do a chomp.

You know, I'll just do a chomp. I'm going to do a chomp. I'm going to do a chomp. Yeah! Happy! Sorry, sorry. That was a wrong comment. Why are you apologizing? No! Okay, okay, okay.

This pleases me to no end. Make it count. Okay, okay. That is math in the moment. Holy moly. 10 points of damage. Okay. Yes. Describe what the attack looks like.

Okay, so with my ladies on my back, I just want to take a leap in the air to where I think he is, and just grab him at the back of his head and just grab him at the back of his head with my mouth and my teeth and pull him down. Oh yeah. And just face Maul, just on the face.

I like that a lot. And I want to reward me, you letting me goad you into doing a charm. And you leap out for that, where you can hear the ragged breathing as this person's out of breath and was just carrying another person. So you know exactly where his head is and you grab it.

And in your spin to grab and tackle and slam him down, you hear a crunch. And I know you only said you did 10 points of damage, but you heard a neck snap. Ooh! I'm just going to stay over him and just drooling, just above his face, just like, just waiting. The other two of you don't see anything yet

because the magical artifact is still doing its job, but you can see in that point of interaction, like looking down over Dyer of Fearne's shoulders, blood as it sort of like pools up and away from the invisible source and runs and drips free. And you hear sounds, a whimper of pain and gurgling, and then nothing at all.

Uh-huh. I'm going to take my actions now. Yeah, what do you want to do? Go ahead. I leap off her back and I just smack her on the back to let her know, it's okay, I get it, whatever. Don't worry about it. Well done. I tell you all of these things with two slaps on the back to let her know, it's okay, I get it, whatever. Don't worry about it. Well done. You hang on. I tell you all of these things with two slaps on the back.

Yeah! Vibes! I got you, girl! Nonverbal communication is important. And I dash back. I use all my everything to dash back to the direction of the other battle. Okay, sweet.

Yeah, you have a ton of movement, and with a full dash, you're able to get right up in the mix. Right up in the mix. So am I around the corner? No, if you want to, you can get all the way back to where the fight proper is happening with Orym, with one of the Bandersnacks. I would like to be out of melee.

Yeah, you can get as far as you want. So you can see that maybe 15 or 20 feet away from that are Opal, actually. Right. Opal and Dorian, and then Orym is in the way. How'd you get here? Well, actually, and I would like to get somewhere close enough that at least the meat puppets

can see me. Yeah, they can see you. Meat statues, what are they? Meat guys? Meat things? They're not meat! They are porphyry stones, so extra hard. We've been calling them meatbeats. Yeah, meatbeats. The musculature of it would suggest that.

The porphyry musc-meatbeats, whatever. Yeah, sweet. The musc-meatbeats. It's a good album. Yeah, so I just want to be close enough that they see me, too, as a potential target to pull focus. Okay. I'm going to say that at this point, the chase is over. Excellent.

And we're in normal initiative now. So. Wait, so did I need to use my? Okay, never mind. I mean, you still would have had to dash to get all the way over there. Right, but that's an action and a... That's everything. That's a movement.

Is that my movement, my action, and my bonus action if the chase is over? Since the chase is over from here. From here, okay. Yeah. So I will allow it, that you're in normal initiative rolls now. So you used your movement. Are you using Step of the Wind

to give yourself extra movement? Oh yeah, I see what that is. Okay, so that is, fuck me. So that is using, how does this work? Why won't it show me? Who's ever played a bunk before? Who could know? It is a dash action. It's a bonus action.

Okay, great, great, great! So yes, I'm going to spend one key point to use dash as my bonus action. There you go, and now you still have your action left. Still have my action, yeah. Can I hit him? Yeah, I am going to. You slide past Dorian and other Opal.

Okay, and how much space do I have between, where is he in between the meat things, beasts? Directly in melee with the one on the left and the one on the right is about 10 feet away. And I am how close? How much? Where do you want to be? Like, you can't be in melee with both of them. You have to pick left or right.

Right. I will pick. Orym's on the left guy. Sorry? Orym's on the left guy. I will pick the one that is engaging. Orym's on the left guy. Sorry? Orym's on the left guy. I will pick the one that is engaging with Orym, and I will, I'm going to go into three-point hero stance, and I'm going to punch the ground.

And as the ground happens, you see this eruption of lava come from the stones in the ground and snake up as I cast Lava Whip. Yeah! Whoa! Lava Whip? Whip!

Lava Whip Whip! It's not a cool whip! No, it's a lava whip! There's nothing cool about a lava whip. So, creature that I can see within 30 feet, it must make a dexterity saving throw. Oh good, these are not dexterous. It got a natural one.

Boom! The creature takes It's like Dexterity saving throw. Oh good, these are not dexterous. It got a natural one. Boom! The creature takes 3d10 bludgeoning damage. The creature takes 3d10 bludgeoning damage. Yeah. And I am going to attempt to knock it prone as well. Well, I shouldn't say attempt, it's not prone. Okay.

3d10, 10. No one knows what a 10 is shaped like, you're good. Five, 10, four. So 19, and I, so I, it basically wraps up around it and yanks it off its feet. Okay. It is prone. Yankity yank. All right. Don't talk back.

Don't talk back. Don't talk back. That got me because I was like, how do I explain? I can't talk back. So yeah, this whip of lava comes up and slashes through. You actually sheer off half of its right side and its back leg. So it doesn't just damage it, it cleaves it. So now the left guy is a tripod.

And from that, it snakes around that back leg and pulls it out from under, and this thing clatters down into the ground and breaks the stone under your feet. But it's down in a much more manageable height for you, too. Love it. Beautiful. This thing is hurt. Excellent.

It's having a bad time. I am angry. You, Laura Bailey, and B. Dave all have the same action economy bargaining spirit in you. I would have. And I affect it so much. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Can I bargain? Yes!

I love it so much. What can I do with my action? Vibes. All right. Hell yeah. So my leftmost guy is going to spend half of his, he's prone, so he's going to spend half of his movement getting up, and he would love, love, love to do a chomp at the one that absolutely wrecked his entire life.

However, that Goating Strike. Well, it can, but it would be at disadvantage. Yeah. Can also eat me. Yeah. It's going eat me. Yeah. It's going to, with a natural 19. Yeah, that hits. It does a chomp right down into you.

It can barely stand on both of its legs as it just sort of, all three faces descend on you. That's going to do nine points of piercing damage. All right. Please make a strength saving throw. That's not a d20. That is a five. Aren't you blessed?

Nope. Didn't you get inspiration? Didn't you get blessed or something? Nope. Sorry, we're trying to bargain. No, you're good. I love bargaining. This is fine for me,

because you're going to want to, as two different heads get you in a grapple. You are lifted up off of the ground and you're now between two dogs' teeth and they're going to play Tech of War next round. Okay. All right. That's fine. That's fine. Okay, the one on the right that has,

it's missing a little bit of its donk, but is otherwise unaffected, is going to run forward and yeah, it's going to attack. Ooh, opal. Which one? Where are you right now, by the way? Did you get into melee range with the left guy? I don't think I did

because I was using my ranged 30-foot. Okay, so you're still back with the movies over here? I would say I'm at least 25 feet away. Okay, you're the biggest threat, so it's going to come for you, then. Okay. Does a 19 hit? Yes.

Okay. Three angry, angry mouths descend on you, and they do seven points of piercing damage. I need you to make a strength saving throw. What a flesh wound. 23. It tries to grab you and worry into you, but you're able to slip your body out.

Okay, that's it. Next up is Orym. All right, well, I'll use a bonus action to do, what is it, second wind, and regain 12 points. Slick. Whoa. Nice. Whoa.

Good call, good call. Nifty. And then I'm just going to take a swing at the one that I did the most damage to that she just beat the shit out of. Because I'm grappled, but I can still swing, right? Yes, absolutely. I would have two grapples to beat.

I'm not going to mess with that. That hits. That is a 23 to hit. Oh my god, absolutely. Boom. And that is nine points of damage. Dragged across the face of one of the two faces. Don't describe it now.

How do you want to do this? Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! So I reach out and just drag the blade across the eyes of one of them and see it reel back in pain and see both of them reel in pain a bit

and swing the blade around in my hand and just try to jam as hard as I can into the face of the other one, even though it's stone, even though it's holding me. Yeah. And then hopefully get lower to the ground. Oh, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! As this thing, the thing that you knock out of it, like you don't hit a brain,

you've just sort of destroyed the magic holding it together. And the amount of damage that you've done, like you push in and then you feel it give away as it crumbles. And you sort of just slide to the ground on this pile of gravel as this thing just sort of, it unmakes itself around you and under you, and you just scoot down and scooch. I'll say you slide like 10 feet towards your friends. Just like, whee! Cool. I will use my movement to walk it off, walk it off. There you go. Walk it off. Vibes. And put

Fjallrae between myself and the remaining creature. Perfect. Love it. For the moment. Okay. Before Opal's up, the real Opal. Fake Opal, Dariax. Yeah? Please make a dexterity saving throw with disadvantage.

Totally. All right, let's do this. That's not good. That's a little better, but it's disadvantage, not good. I'm going to go ahead and use my Favored by the Gods sorcerer ability to go ahead and add 15. You... You're hit by this.

However, however, that weird sateen jacket that she wears, You're hit by this. However. However? That weird sateen jacket that she wears, it's a little open on the sleeve as you see a tiny dart with purple fletching buries itself into the sleeve, but actually misses the flesh of your arm by just millimeters. Nice. Ah! What a nightmare.

Sweet. All right, Opal, you're up. Okay, so I really want to help, but I also want to know why he's chasing me, why he wanted to kidnap me. So I'm going to step off of the dire wolf, and because I can see what? Oh, before, because I could see like the trickle of blood on the whatever, I can sort of guesstimate like where.

Oh, you have a very strong sense of like the fact that dire ferns teeth aren't all the way shut. Oh, that whatever she's biting, she's got right in the center of her mouth. Okay, great. So I'm just going to guesstimate that it's his chest and I'm going to just kind of straddle him, not sit on him, but kind of straddle

and pull out my two daggers and like go right up to its throat and hopefully, or maybe ask, because I don't know if it can talk, but he can talk, but ask why are you chasing me? Can you tell me? Make an intimidation check.

I mean, I could be intimidating. Yeah, I believe that. That's a plus five. Okay, so that is a 14. You lean in and your voice just drips with anger and rage and confusion and the emotions of all of your weeks of travel and all of your weird conversations

that you're having today and everything that's inside you right now. Just not having control over what happens to me. And you lean in and get really close to that dagger and realize you don't hear anything. Fuck. And the blood flow in that mouth, like in Fearne's mouth right now, it's not flowing.

It was a puncture and it stopped. So it's dead? He's dead. Okay. I apologize. No, no! That was great! You're the only witness! Great.

That's not true. That's not true. Oh, I guess, yeah. Not true. You're good. So you did great. You're the only witness! Great. That's not true. That's not true. That's not true. I guess, yeah. It's not true. You're good. So, so. You did great. You did good. I did what I wanted. You did great. I did what I said I was going to do.

Whatever, I'll do what I want. Do what I want. Do what I want, whatever, whatever. You aimed it. But I feel like Rope is still so fucking full of rage that she's going to take one of her daggers and fucking pierce it into that person's chest and just slide down, just because she's so angry.

Amazing. And can I try to do a thing that may not be possible? Whatever ring he was wearing that made him invisible, can I steal it? You know what? You didn't see a ring. I didn't see him pull it on and off. That would be in the front of him and you were over his shoulder. So you actually don't know why.

Okay, but do I have any movement? I guess I do have some movement. Yeah, you still have your full movement. Did you do the stab? I did do the stab. Gross, I love it. And I just fucking, it just feels so good. I mean, I think she's just blind with rage, actually. I don And just, I mean, I think she's just blind with rage. Actually.

I don't think it feels good. I think she's just blind with rage. And, um, and then I guess what I'll do is get back on Fern and, and hope because I can't get us, I can't get to them faster than, right.

Then I can, or how far are you? You're pretty far, pretty far. So I can't get to them faster than she can. So I'll just hop back on her and hope that we can make it as far as possible. Love that.

Filet by Opal. Yeah. It just feels so good. It's so good. Black and white commercial. Disconcerting. That perfume actually smells like sandalwood. Yes, it does. Perfect. Sandalwood with a little blood.

Yeah, just a little blood. Just notes. I like the visual of Opal with her pink outfit and your iridescent hair and just dark blood going. Yeah, oh, for sure. It's like, maybe it was a two-hander. Here's the problem is spray implies pressure. There is no longer blood pressure.

So what you get instead is as you rip through, you just feel globs of congealing blood, much thicker and more viscous than you'd ever expect, just wells up in your hand as you pull through. Yeah. Now you got to do this. Oh yeah, just like this. Or not. Or not.

I feel more and more concerned about your description. I feel like I'm going You know what? This is so gross. I'm getting more and more concerned with every description. I'm throwing the Lord of the Lies. You know what? This is so gross. I'm sorry, make just- Pulls it out, what? Now I want you to roll to find the ring because you're freaking me out.

I like this. I'm just real, I'm picking up everything you're putting down right now. She pulls it out. There's all this blood globbing. Give me an investigation check. Oh, 19, plus? You said investigation? Yeah, it's going to be with disadvantage because he's invisible. Oh, 19! Wait, wait, plus? You said investigation? Yeah, it's going to be with disadvantage

because he's invisible. Oh, well, I mean, I rolled a 19 plus three, so that's 22. Did you roll with disadvantage? No. You added that in the end! Okay, it's assumed that stuff interacting with a body requires, yeah, a 17's still good. It's still good.

So you pull through and realizing that there has to be some sort of thing that was making him invisible. Once you cut the body, you had a really good sense of the anatomy. Yes. And you're able to trace back up across the torso, down the arms.

I'll let you get that ring. You pull it free and there's just a corpse of a man with his head just lost. What does he look like and what is he wearing? Can I ask? You don't know what his head looks like because it's inside Fearne's fucking mouth. That's fine.

Yep. Yikes. And he's wearing all purple robes. Do I recognize that from the Elven counter? Okay. Those bitches. Sweet. Now I got the ring. And then I hop back on her and hope that we'll make it back faster than I could.

Dariax! Oh, right, okay. So Dorian's right in front of me looking... Fucked. Fucked, okay. Fine, you're fine. I'm fine. And I watch one of these living, multi-headed statues crumble, but the other one still standing

and ravaging around. I'm like, all right. and I watch one of these living, multi-headed statues crumble, but the other one still standing and ravaging around. I'm like, All right. Okay, I'll get you! Help me, Ted! You're wrong for that! I'm going to go ahead and use-

It's uncanny, it's like a mirror. Yeah, isn't it? It's so good. He's going to use two sorcery points to use Quicken's spell, Metamagic, to turn his Cure Wounds into a bonus action. Oh yeah. So he's going to cast Cure Wounds at level two to you.

Yep. Just go ahead and go out and touch your shoulder and heal you for, nice, 14 points. Smack! Back into game. Amazing. Oh, poor guy. Don't mention it.

And then with my action, be like, and also fuck this guy! And I'm going to cast Sacred Flame as my action. Yeah! So he has to make a dexterity saving throw. I got a five. That's a fail, and he takes one whole radiant damage. No!

Oh god! No! Pew! Pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew! Wait, wait. Mm-hmm. Why not? I'm going to use my third sorcery point.

Yeah! To use Empowered Spell, where I can spend a sorcery point to reroll up to three damage dice. Please, yes! Please kill this mova. Eight points of radiant damage. Yeah! yes! Please kill this moabug. Eight points of rage. Yeah!

That's a much better number! Nice. Call your shot. Where'd you hit it? All right, so after healing him, I look over and see it, and really focused on it for the first time, I went, and just released the bolt. I'm going to say, yeah.

It's got several heads. I'm not even going to go for a head. Is there anything in the genital area? Yes. I cannot imagine a enlightened, civilized culture that doesn't add some situation down to the bottom yet. That situation is now on radiant flame. Hey!

And he just giggles to himself. Burned its junk. Amazing. Yay! And he just giggles to himself. Burned its junk. Amazing. All right, back up to the top, Dorian. Wow, I feel better. Thank you. I imagine. I think I'm going to avoid a fist fight

with the giant flaming cock rock man from now on. Yeah. All right. I am going to keep my distance and I'm going to cast Dissonant Whispers, level one, at the remaining rock guy with the flaming penis. Okay. And that is 12 wisdom saving. Okay. And that is 12 wisdom saving. Okay.

Surprising literally no one, it's not very wise in that it's rocks that move. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Do I be mean? This is not technically a creature. Oh, oh good for you. This is a construct. Oh, okay. Nah, I'm going to let you have it.

Go ahead. I can understand the language. All right. Get it. Oh, 13. Beautiful. For psychic damage. And it must immediately use its reaction, if available, to move as far away as speed allows from me.

Perfect. Yeah. And its back is up against the wall of this building. And what visions did you put in its head? Why is it so scared of you right now? I think that was the strange part, is that all of the mean and nasty things that I tried to put in his mind, I felt like there was nothing there,

but it was like a receiver and it was going somewhere else. So its reactions weren't, it didn't feel like a creature. It felt like it was just an amplifier or something bouncing that reception somewhere else. So I don't know why it's scared. Its fear seems to be coming from somewhere else. I love that.

Make an arcana check for me. No, no, no, no, no. Make, just give me a roll with your spell attack. Like the one I just did? Like, yeah. Act like you're casting a spell right now. Okay. So what's your spell attack modifier?

I don't have a single non-saving. No, it's okay. The modifier? Yeah. Plus two. Is the modifier. It's with your proficiency, though, also. So there should be a little number over your spell. There's save DC. Yeah, tap magic.

Oh, I only have save, so it's 12. I don't have any. Spell tag modifier doesn't include the proficiency bonus, I don't think. Oh, okay. All right, go ahead and roll add plus two. What do I roll? I'm sorry. No, you're good.

Just give me a d20 roll plus two. Plus two, okay. 19 plus two, 21. Yeah, there we go. We got there anyway. Didn't matter. Didn't matter. And you push through and you notice this weird feedback. The fact that it's bouncing off of the inside where a mind would be, but is not.

But Dissonant Whispers has to go somewhere. It has to reach something. You cause something fear. And you feel that the source of that fear, you feel it bounce off and away, not reflected back at you, but into the alley beside you at something retreating. And you get a little glimpse of the fear that you caused.

You didn't put new fear there, but you get a reflection back of what she fears. And you feel that she's panicked, that all might be lost if she can't get her hands on the girl. And now you have a mental bead on the other assailant as she's retreating. All right. Okay.

Anything with your bonus action and movement? I haven't moved. You haven't? Oh, I feel better. I'm going to go, do I have to pass by our surviving guy to get to her? Or to whatever that is? No, it's moving back and away from you, so it's not in melee range.

Let the chase continue. I'm going to go after her. Yeah, yeah, full movement speed, straight at her. Okay, okay. Yes! You head out into the darkness and take off behind her. We're getting a kiss later from Opal. Which one? Maybe that! Yes!

Put a medal on! Amazing. One half doesn't have the other! Fy'ra, you're up. Okay, so remaining Duder is up against the wall. Yeah, he's backed up, scrunched against it and trying to push back and you actually see the building is splintering and giving way as this thing is trying to push itself back

into the civic center. And I see Dorian run down the corridor as well. Yeah, you see him turn and he moves off to the side and starts running around the building. I should save the building, but I want to chase the baddie. You know what building this is, right? And you know who's on the roof.

Fuck me, yeah, I'm going after it. So I am going to, fuck, and he's made of stone, so fire probably doesn't do anything. Are you saying fire doesn't do anything? Yeah, to stone. You absolutely shit-wrecked the other one with the lava whip. What are you talking about? That was lava, lava whip is bludgeoning damage.

Remember we decided that. He's a hot boy, though. All right. Fireworks. Let's do it, great. Then in that case, I'm going to trust and move up to this dude, hands straight out, and blast them with Burning Hands. Boogie.

Which is dexterity. Once again, not dexterous. Does a 10 make it? Nope! Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. I get to do, because I'm the level I am, a lot more damage than I did before. Let's go. Yeah, baby.

Which is really not that much. Okay. It's still 13. Oh my god. That's not nothing. This thing is shattering apart, splitting at the seams, and you can see the fire of your burning hands moving into the crevices of it, filling it up. And porphyry is a stone that looks like

you can see other rocks inside it. So it's already this interesting mix and collage of a thing. And now there's bits of bright flame within it, too. It's still up but barely it is hurting okay so that was my action uh huh let's see what I can do as a bonus action

uh I actually have an unarmed strike as a bonus action you gonna punch a rock? I'm gonna fucking grab my staff that's not unarmed according to my Punch a rock? Huh? You going to punch a rock? I'm going to fucking grab my staff. That's not unarmed.

According to my monkness, using the martial arts. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, you're good. I forgot. My monkness. That's what I said. It's not highness, it's monkness. My holy monkness. Holy monkness. Get it. So that's 17 plus four plus six. I'm pretty sure.

It's a million to hit, yes, good. And that's another d6. Five. Oh my god. This thing is up, but oh god, barely. Now I'm pissed. Die! Yes!

Just yet, and the mirror in her head leans down to your eye level and snaps at you. And as its mouth opens, it reminds you for half a heartbeat of Mister with that flame burning inside of it. But you know that that fire that you put there is tearing it apart. It's not fueling it.

These are the death snarls of a construct about to return to oblivion. Can I yell anymore at my friends since I haven't talked to them today? Yeah, you're good. You can talk. This moment, I'll be like, Follow Dorian! I have this!

Okay. Fearne, you're up. Okay. You got a guy in your mouth. So, um. And a bloodied Opal. And just Opal is a full nightmare on your back. Yeah, I feel like, you know, my maw on the face,

I'm just, like, a corner of my eye just watching Opal. Yeah! Nice blood, yep. Okay. Trying to see where everything is. So Opal and I, are we in an alleyway? You've actually appeared, like you've popped back out to another side of the street.

You moved through the alley. That's right, we were with people. So people can see us now. Yeah, it's a, you know what? Alley's pretty clear, they're like, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do. Look right back off into the fog. Nothing.

No snitch energy in this city. No. Doesn't he hear? Not me, couldn't be me. Maybe hearing Fy'ra? Oh, 100%. Okay. Not even going to make you roll for it. Do we spot Dorian anywhere?

I'm going to say you're going to have to use movement to get back into the plaza. Dinger. Okay. I... Oh boy, oh boy. Okay, so what I would like to do, I think in dire wolf mode, I want to, just like a proud boy

with his new toy that he killed, I want to drag the body, like just still keep his head, lift him up, and then drag him into the alley and sort of just go towards Fy'ra, because here's the thing about Wild Shape that I don't quite understand yet. Yeah, for sure.

Intelligence-wise, do you take on whatever creature you? It's really nice. You actually get to pick whatever's higher. So if you're not very smart, you can use the better stats between the two. Okay, so mine is a little bit better. Yeah. Okay, so I'll still- There was all that confusion in campaign two

because we're all like, great, I'm smart. Nope, no, you're not. You're not a druid. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Oh, that's the thing about a druid. Yeah, druids get to retain their intelligence. Okay, so I'll take us into the alleyway just to get the body out of the- Very kind of you.

Leave it in the alleyway just to get the body out of the. Very kind of you. Leave it in the alleyway and then how close are we to? What's your dire wolf movement? 50 feet. You can get all the way back through the alley and halfway through the plaza. How close are we to Fy'ra? Fy'ra would have had to move to get up in melee range. So I'm going to say you're probably another 40 feet away

to get all the way up to her. In addition. Oh, hold on. Rula cool is my biggest one. And I don't care about tactical stuff because there's not a fucking map here. Do you want to be there? Be there.

Just be there. Yeah, let's be there. Let's go Just be there. Yeah, let's be there. Let's go. Let's be there. Let's be there. You pick up speed and you cross the plaza. You get right next to Fy'ra, who's standing at the base of this massive beast

that's a little bit bigger than you as it's shattering apart and snarling. What do you want to do? Okay. Finally dropping the head of the guy at Fy'ra's feet. Like, look what I brought you. You galloping full speed through the alleys with a body in your hand?

Yes, baby! See? And that's why rule of cool is important. Rule of cool! Oh god! Come on! We rode a tire! Well, come on! Yeah, man! Let us have our gifts! Let us have our toys! Yeah, okay. Really? And then take a bite attack on the creature.

Yeah, hit that hot boy with your Teefus. Yeah, a little Teefus bite. That's pretty good. Okay, so pack tactics. If I'm within five feet, I have advantage on an attack roll. Yeah, you do. That's pretty good.

Come on. Okay, so that would be 16. Oh yeah, absolutely hits. Okay, class. The big stone thing. It's in our class, it's so low. Okay. Those baby teeth dice.

I know baby teeth. I don't like that you called them that. Wait, wait, that makes me uncomfy. They're made out of human teeth. They're like this big. Wait, what? No. Oh god. I was going to go home. We're like, bye!

We're hanging out late. I'll leave in the middle. That is 12 points of damage. How do you want to do this? Yee! Okay, so drop the head and then, or drop the body, rather. Hold on, you get to specify how much.

You were running at full speed with meat? Oh yeah. Did you come back with the whole body? Yes. Okay. That was the plan. Hold on. I'm going to make a constitution save for a corpse. Wait, I need a picture of this.

You plan to survive contact with the meat flailing corpse in your hand. I rolled very low for the constitution save of the body. And with the rummage, I think it just hit, it hit. And then you felt it get like 130 pounds lighter and you, bleh, and it's just the head. It's just the head. It's just the head.

Okay. Ew, I love it. So just slinking shoulder blades out, getting up to this creature and then just taking a running leap into the throat. Another throat bite at whatever this, you know. She's got taste. Yeah, tasty.

You staying on for this? I think I've hopped off for this. I've hopped off. Yeah, probably a good call. Because what you feel as, like, all of a sudden, all of the muscles under her fur tense up in this predatory moment, and you're like, this isn't where I put it. That's time to go. Yep.

I'd also just like to point out, the power of suggestion is so strong, and you're so gory right now that I looked over at you and the flowers on your dress, I looked at them and I was like, she's got blood. She's going for blood. She's going for blood.

No. And Fy'ra, you see the shadow come over you as this massive dire wolf eclipses you from the bits of that weird gray gold light as it leaves around you, as you sink down and pounce up on it. Your entire body flings onto this thing

that's only a little bit bigger than you, but paws wrap around with that human memory of what grabbing and tackling and holding is, and you're clawing at it with your back paws and ripping it apart under your feet. And as you scrabble up, you're ripping the other heads away, just locked in on the throat of the main head. And then your body suddenly, you feel a snap,

your second one for the night, as you drop back down onto the rubble with Fy'ra behind you so you didn't fall and hit her. I just turn around and look at her and. And you drop this large, burning, nearly molten rock out of your mouth as you had ripped the throat out of this beast and it returns back into a pile of gravel.

Bye. Yeah. Heck yeah. You did that. Well done. Bye. Yeah. Heck yeah. You did that. Well done. Woo! Okay. All right. Orym, you're up. That's it? That thing's dead. I start booking after Dorian,

who has chased after an invisible person. I will use my movement to get probably around the corner. What do I see as far as Dorian? You see Dorian just sprinting into the fog, but you don't necessarily, like you see wisps of fog where a person has moved through, but you don't see a person.

All right, fuck it. I'm just going to streamline this move. I'm going to use my action to dash and then get up to pace with Dorian and just run with him after whoever this person is. And that's the end of my turn. All right. Opal, what do you do?

How far am I from them? If I'm standing next to the dire wolf, how far am I from these two? You have to go out around the building around the corner. I'm saying, I guess the distance, will I catch up to them? What's your movement speed?

30. And you did a full dash. Yeah, I went 60 feet. Yeah, you're going to have to use your full movement to catch up, and that'll be your- Not even halfway there. No, you can, if you sprint, and if you use your movement and the dash action,

you can catch up to them. How about this? What if I, okay, so here's what I want to do. I'm going to grab the fucking head because I'm so angry. So I'm going to grab my hair. You have to walk up to go grab the head. Sure. Yes. I'm going to grab the head

and then I'm going to use my full movement and then Misty Step again. And that's 60 feet, right? I'm going to say you're going to have to use your movement to get, because you're going to, what you're proposing. I thought it was next to the head. Well, what you're proposing is a blind Misty Step into an alley you happen to see. Closer to, oh, okay, okay.

So then what I'll do then is that I'll use the dash action. No, no, no. I'm just saying, use your movement to get eyes down the alleyway, and then you can Misty Step to catch up. Does that make sense? Yeah, but if I hold my Misty Step, could I do a cantrip as a bonus action? If you hold, you're holding everything.

No, no, sorry. So let's say that I don't do the Misty Step, and I use my full movement plus a dash, could I still use a cantrip as my bonus action? Yeah, only if the cantrip is a bonus action spell. Let me check. Are we in chase rules now again? I was going to resolve something

at the end of this round. So the answer is not quite yet, but maybe. Oh fuck, well, Misty Step is a bonus action. Here's what I want to do, and you'll tell me if it's possible, Step is a bonus action. Here's what I want to do, and you'll tell me if it's possible, okay? I'm going to tell you what I want to do. I'm going to pull one of, I want to pull Fiat and I. Here's what I want to do. I mean, you got to do it.

Yeah. I want to get close enough to this invisible creature where I could cast Druidcraft on it so that maybe there's something that will make out its shape, like maybe a small cloud with rain or something that we can make out what its shape is. Oh, the bending you're doing, like the juice you are extracting from your tattoo.

That's what I would like to do. Hilarious. Now, rule is written, this is not like an offensive cantrip. It does little dumps. No, that's fine, yeah. However, if you are going to spend the entirety of your turn to try to get in

and line up a shot of druidcraft that doesn't do damage on someone you can't see, I will allow you to make that attempt. Okay, I'm going to make the attempt. I love stuff. I'm going to make the attempt. And I have the head in my hand. You've grabbed the head. I want this person to see me with this fucking head in my hand. You've grabbed the head. I want this person to see me

with this fucking head in my hand. Yeah, but so you run. Run. So movement dash, you're now caught with Orym and Dorian. Yep. And now you're going to try to line up a, what do you want it to look like if you can cast something that will outline?

What outline? I mean, what's something that could outline? Because the fog's not really doing it. I mean, the fog, you're just seeing like, good, that's a fucking description. Yeah. You're seeing fog move as a person moves through it, but it's not really giving you a clear outline.

Would rain do it? Or would, like, I can't think of another weather event that could do that. Uh-huh. A sandstorm? It's a cantrip! Okay, fine. Just like a small cloud.

Ah! Small cloud, but it's a rain. You could make a little flower or something, like a little mushroom just, boop, up on her head. Oh, well, let's do that. Yeah, that's a stupid thing. I'll allow that. All right, let's do that. Yes! A flower.

Sorry, this is taking so fucking long. No, you do not apologize. This takes as long as it needs to take. You know what? I want it to look like a dart. Even though it doesn't cause damage, I want it to look like one of their fucking darts. I like that. A little anoki mushroom dart.

Yeah. All right, I need you to make a spell attack roll at disadvantage. Oh no. Oh, two. Aw, dang it! Worthy endeavor. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

What was the good? I mean, come on, what is it, Cool's Rules? Yeah. Cool's Rules. Cool's Rules? Cool's Rules. It's like the shitty reboot of Blue's Clues, yeah. God, Cool's Rules. Cool's Rules. So you attempt to throw a, you know what?

Cool's Rules. And she's so mad, you know what? Cool's rules. And she's so mad, you know, it helps. She's so mad. Yeah. And I don't care about a stupid mushroom. Yeah. So yeah, do you yell anything to get her attention? Yeah, I go, Hey!

In the most intimidating voice I could muster. Yeah, I guess that'll do it. She's not going to turn for hey. Do better! How about this? Oh, I mean, if I really want to insult someone, I guess that'll do it. She's not going to turn for hay. Do better! How about this? Oh, I mean, if I really want to insult someone, I use the C word, but I won't do that on this family show. See you next Thursday, let's go! No, I'd be like,

hey, see you next Thursday! But I've actually said the whole thing, the real thing. Oh my god. But I say it in Elvish, because I speak Elvish. There you go. Bye! And with that, you see that little stupid enoki mushroom in her right shoulder. You see it turn.

Yeah, it sounds better in Elvish. And I'm just dripping with blood and then there's also blood coming off the thing and I'm just like, what do you want? Okay. That's it. All right, I liked that a lot. Dereots! Yay!

Nice block. Cool, it's weird. What do you want to do, Other Opal? Other Opal watches Original Opal run by, covered in blood, holding a severed head. It takes a moment to process. I love the, whoa! So I'm trying to catch up,

following after Dorian runs off, and following his lead, and Orym just darts by, too, and his little dwarvish lady's trying to keep up. Opal rushes by, it's like, Uh! Oh, they're not real, Opal! Went crazy!

And just tries to catch up around the corner to see what's even happening. Other not-real opal went crazy! Just tries to catch up around the corner to see what's even happening. Yeah, you see Orym, Dorian, and just a Kill Bill nightmare, holding a severed head, shouting into the darkness. And because she's turned around, you can see just the very tip of a little purple enoki mushroom.

That's it. I will say, with my passive perception, I probably don't even see the mushroom. Yeah, that's fair. I was going to give that to you, but. No, I appreciate that. With the mist? Yeah. Nah. Yeah, they're just shouting and staring in the darkness.

Not that there's anything I can do about it. I go, everyone okay? Just glance around and look at the three of them, see how they're all looking. Do you use your dash I can do about it. I go, everyone okay? Just glance around and look at the three of them, see how they're all looking. Do you use your dash to catch all the way up to them? Or are you farther back?

No, I'd be further back. I'll just use my dash to catch up to them. That's my whole turn. Group chase. Yep. Group chase. You're right, a group chase would begin. However, I held off on this last person's action to go at the very, very end.

And you hear a voice, loud, and if you speak Elvish, you understand it. If you don't, she says, I will take away everything you hold dear. You don't deserve it. And then she casts Dimension Door and disappears. Aw, man! Counterspell!

Yeah! Oh shit. You pull out a piece of thread. Wrong guy. And wrap it around your fingers. Was that our quarry did that? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mostly because it's like, I don't know,

two in the morning and you guys can go home. I'm not going to let you fight her. Not yet. Come on, I don't have, two in the morning and you guys can go home. I'm not going to let you fight her. Not yet. I want to fight her. I don't have anywhere to be until 8 AM. Come on. Oh, we've got time then. We have time.

But yes, you are out of initiative and you're standing, staring down this street. You feel the pressure and you can hear the vacuum as air rushes to fill a space where a person, though you couldn't see them, once was. Wow. Great. What the hell was that about?

Are they all gone? I think so. What are you holding? Oh. I think she's like, you know when you're shaking and all of the adrenaline is just coursing through your body and I don't think she understands what just happened. Opal, Opal, Opal. Yeah?

Bring the head, come on, let's find the others. What head? Come on, and I just put my hand, she's higher than me, on her forearm, and just guide her shell-shocked self along down the aisle. What head, Nancy? Oh my god! I just push her forearm higher

and raise the head up until I feel the vision. Oh. Let's go figure this out. Drop the head. Ooh, okay. Oh, then you grab it. And you carry the head back into this plaza that's now beginning to fill with people

that have responded to the clashes and bangs and people that were still in the Civic Center late into the night are now fleeing around the sides and gathering and looking at these massive piles of rubble where two large, beautiful statues once stood. Is the building structural integrity? Like, it's not, I know it was built. It's not amazing, but it's not,

there's no threat of imminent collapse. Once it broke down, the pressure subsided. I'm going to go ahead and drop the disguise of Opal, but walk up to Opal. I like two Opals. Just seeing her through all this and just put my hand on the shoulder and be like, You okay? You okay, Opal? Yeah. Yeah, I'm good.

Yeah, let me get you some water. Opal, something within you, sort of as the adrenaline begins to leave, you feel Ted finally relax and slump down. For the sake of now until we discuss it next, you no longer have access to your magic as Ted has been put to sleep. Gotcha. Ooh.

Does she realize that or she just feels the relaxation? You can feel it, especially now that you've lived through a world in which you felt her holding that back from you intentionally. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, for sure. You can feel the negative space, the lack of it. You feel so ordinary now. And you're alone finally.

Yeah. And it's on that note, in that quiet, lonely moment that we're going to wrap for tonight. Oh. That's it. You did it. You survived. I was trying to steal you and you resisted. I'm very proud of you. Thanks, guys.

Hell yeah. Because we have a very fast bloodthirsty direwolf on our side. Yes. We have a very near-to-block, have like our side. Yes! Woo! Fearne for the win, baby. Blanket and some hot cocoa I could put around her. Yeah! Like she'd run a marathon. Okay.

Just a little deer. Yeah. Man. What do we want to do? Time is funny, and we're telling a story, so things can exist out of order if we need them to. And I don't want to take this away from you or elide it to a note that you leave to the group

that I read in a poor imitation of your excellent voice. So when did you leave the group? So after I make sure that everyone is calm and okay, I feel somehow in me another pull, another pull in this space. Now I can feel her and me another pull. Another pull in this space. Now I can feel her and I feel the throbbing in my arm. And it is clearer than ever that no matter how much I want to stay with you all,

I have to go. I have to go to her because she needs me more than you do, because you have proven yourself so incredibly worthy. So we say quick goodbyes, but I know that it's urgent. And as I am leaving, I go to leave, and I look up, and I turn to Dorian, and I walk directly up to your face, and I take your head in my hands,

and I pull it so that your forehead is to mine. I know you know, little brother. I know you remember. You made a choice once. You thought you were unrecognized, unloved. Something drove you to a terrible choice and you were willing to risk anything because you thought it was better to be alone.

I am here to tell you, it is never better to be alone. Stay with your family. Not all family is blood. Much family is chosen. I cannot protect you again. Only you can do it this time. Stay in the light. Yes. You can it this time. Stay in the light. Yes.

You can have this conversation. I'm not stopping this. Keep going. Thank you, and don't worry. I would do anything for my friends. I believe you. Keep them safe. Especially that very confused, but gifted dwarf.

I did not expect the Observer to speak to him, but now I know. There is something extremely special about him. I hope you find your sister. I know I will. And if you all need me, more than I am needed somewhere else, I suspect the gift will bring me to you again.

But I will not hope that you are in that much danger, ever. I think you should call yourselves the Chosen Ones. Because I choose you. In my heart. Goodbye." And she turns around and stalks off. Make a wisdom saving throw for me. 16 plus to 18.

Fy'ra, you were brought so far into their orbit the first time, and then back again, and you've led them for weeks and across countless miles through danger and discomfort to get back here. And though you feel the pull,

that thrill of duty and dread and excitement and fear and wonder at the truth that your sister is alive and out there. You know in your heart that this isn't the end. You were brought to them. They were chosen, but so were you. And this isn't the end of your time with them. And you know more than anything else with the wisdom that sort that is dawning on you, that gives you a sense of perspective, almost like you're looking down from the skies,

that this next part they must do alone. And then when the time is right again, you will return, come back together for some great and terrible purpose. And in that knowledge, you slink back through the fog and are quickly lost to darkness, out of Neerdal Pak, through the jungles, and towards her, your sister, alive and waiting.

And that's where we'll end for today. alive and waiting. And that's where we'll end our day. Thank you so much for joining us! Thank you so much! It was great! You guys are amazing! You're amazing! You're amazing! You flipped a crocodile over its back!

Oh my god! You beheaded people with dire wolf teeth! Played two different beautiful women! Stop! Come on! Too much. Oh man. You're phenomenal, and I don't have words to say

how much of a pleasure it's been to get to run a game for you and tell a story with you. And I'm not going to cry because I'm a bad bitch. I'm already crying, it's fine. No, it's fine, it's fine. Bad bitches can cry? I'm just, what? Bad bitches can cry?

Okay, well, I just got some splatter from a guy in my eye, I'm fine. Head juice. Yeah, yeah. Head juice. Head juice. Now I'm just going to cry because that sounds so gross. It's so gross. Okay. All right.

Well, that's it for tonight. And until we meet again, stay safe, be good. And is it Thursday yet? See you next Thursday! A liminal darkness. A place between places. Where she has been alone for so long, waiting for that little bit of glimmering light that is her sister. And yet, she hears the echoes, footfalls, impossibly loud, slow, methodical, approach her. And swirling into her field of vision,

a woman wreathed with purple energy, smiling, grinning, baring her teeth at her. I've been looking for you for so long. And I'm so close. And I will burn the world apart to have you. And Ted screams. This is Liam O'Brien And Ted screams. choice. Who knows, maybe your review might just lead a new critter to embarking on this wild ride.

There are unlimited stories to be told, and we can't wait to keep telling them. Until next time, is it Thursday yet?