Critical Role - Make Merry | Critical Role | Campaign 4, Episode 11 Part 2

Episode Date: January 27, 2026

Part 2 The Seekers reckon with the swift changes coming to Dol-Makjar while the Soldiers ponder stone, blood, and blade... New Episodes Release Weekly on Thursdays.Learn more about Campaign 4 at https://critrole.com/campaign4/   GET MORE CAMPAIGN 4 WITH BEACONWe're excited to bring you even MORE Campaign 4 with a Beacon membership! Get access to exclusive shows like our behind-the-scenes Critical Role Cooldown and ask the Campaign 4 cast your burning questions directly through our LIVE monthly Fireside Chats.You'll also receive NEW Beacon exclusive series, instant ad-free access to VODs & podcasts, live event pre-sales, merch discounts, & a private Discord.Start your 7-day free trial today at https://beacon.tv/join and get unparalleled access to everything Critical Role! OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN 4 CASTGAME MASTER Brennan Lee MulliganLaura Bailey as ThimbleLuis Carazo as Azune NayarRobbie Daymond as Kattigan ValeAabria Iyengar as Thaisha LloyTaliesin Jaffe as Bolaire LathaliaAshley Johnson as VaelusMatthew Mercer as Sir Julien DavinosWhitney Moore as TyrannyLiam O’Brien as Halandil "Hal" FangMarisha Ray as Murray Mag’NessonSam Riegel as Wicander "Wick" HalovarAlexander Ward as Occtis TachonisTravis Willingham as Teor Pridesire CREDITSProduced by Maxwell James, Steve Failows, & Kyle ShireSet Designed by Shaun EllisProduction Designer: Noxweiler BerfCharacter Art by Loren HontanillaEdited by Taylor Burke and Emily "Stevie" StevensonCritical Role Announcement Playhouse Editor: Vinny CelestiOpening Title Editor: Paul FoyderOpening Title Colorist: Peter KoocheradisWindow Effects by Christian BrownGraphic Design by Aaron Monroy & Jordyn TorrenceDol-Makjar art by Daniel Jiménez VillalbaMiniatures Painted by Payton Keo LacebalOpening Title Theme by Neal AcreeCampaign 4 Key art by Hannah FriederichsAdditional Art & Design by Hannah Friederichs Episode QC by Catherine Zimmerman & Paula FloresAssistant Editor: Gianna GencarellaPost Production Coordinators: M Swing & Bryn HubbardClosed Caption Editing by Margaret Dill, Nikki Kindelberger, Courtney Knewtson, Danielle Lackie, Eleanor Smith-Dufresne & Alice TsoiPost Production Supervisor: Tal Levitas HEALTH & WELL-BEINGDue to the improv nature of Critical Role and other RPG content on our channels, some themes and situations that occur in-game may be difficult for some to handle. If certain episodes or scenes become uncomfortable, we strongly suggest taking a break or skipping that particular episode.Your health and well-being is important to us and Psycom has a great list of international mental health resources, in case it’s useful: http://bit.ly/PsycomResources  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello again, it's Brennan Lee Mulligan, and you're listening to Part 2 of this episode of Critical Role. If you haven't checked out part one yet, pause this now and head over there first. What are you doing? Otherwise, let's jump right back into this adventure and the world of Aramon. Sips up. Well, one of those was much nicer than the other. Folks, welcome back to this episode of Critical Role. We are here in the Dungeons of Castle, Delani, where we have just seen in a beautiful. A beautiful contraposto holding sort of ornament before him, dressed in regal robes, a statue of a Nama,

a lionfolk warrior that you recognize your brother, a perfect statue of him. You look over at an altar covered in ropes and chains and you see pulleys hanging from the wall, as though to bind, and manipulate their captives into shape. In a corner, you see a chest filled with what first looked like soiled rags, but you realize are actually uncleaned finery of lords and people who dwell here in the castle.

After all, they don't make statues of former rebel soldiers. They make statues of lords and ladies. Dress them up, bind him to the table, turn them. to stone. Throw them on the cart. Can I race over from where I am to the statue? You see this horse with a now badly singed cart. Looks pretty alarmed. You look up and do see a large Kahadi wolfhound,

a statue of one on the back of the cart, two other figures. And you look down and see here in this place, you're the unmistakable thing. a capable visage of your brother. A little leaner, maybe. Been running on his own through the woods for about a week before they caught him. The look on the face of this statue is distant.

There's something strange about the expression. Give me an insight check. Can I help him? Yeah. 14. He looks mournful as the other statues here, too. Sort of pushed and like, forced against their will into these poses

that would make them seem plausible in transverse. Statue-esque. But his eyes, on that 14, there's something in his eyes, like he's searching for something. It looks oddly familiar to you. You don't know why you see yourself in this expression, but it's a face, and you realize, I think, on a 14, that he inherited that face from your face.

father, there was a look that your father would get. A middle distance, almost like you weren't looking at something physically present in the space, but even though it seemed somehow distracted, it was like he was more present in those moments, more thoughtful, more aware somehow. He's like he knew something. Where were the statues? Can we see where the ropes and pulleys were?

Scattered around the bodies of the dead. It smells insane here. blood, like the smell of iron and damp stone. You can see that the basilisk, that its corpse is now, its head has already turned to stone as like stalactites sort of, or stalagmites are like growing out of its skull, anchoring into the ground. But you can see that its tongue is still wet and lolling out.

There is like some parts of it, but its body that appear to be like, in a way that perhaps right you was reasonable, somewhat immune to petrification. although other parts of it are not. So you see it's there, like, yeah. It's weird sort of twitching tongue. Can I call out to Cadigan and just say,

like, Categan, I need the blood, the organs of whatever that creature is. Can you collect them for me, please? Yeah. And I'll run over to the pile of goop that is the departed basilisk. Yeah, go ahead. And Wolfrick will give you the help action here. Give me a survival. check to see how much you can harvest.

Need a DC-10 to get something. We have not come across these. You guide yourself? You guide yourself? I can't, doink. Survival. Mm-hmm. Uh, 15, and then guidance,

16, 17. Cattigan, you begin to pull through and see that this thing is basically producing some kind of bile in its stomach that's keeping the lower part of its body. Like, its skin is like fusing to the cavern floor, but you get a knife in, and carve into its tongue, scraping against the parts of its jaw that have already become stone, harvest the tongue out of it,

and that basically opens its mouth up enough for you to get in and pull viscera. And you can write all this down. You get a basilisk heart, a pair of basilisk kidneys, and maybe most critically you're able to pull its stomach out, which is the thing producing that sort of petrification-resistant bile. Okay. I wonder if it would reverse the effect. We have to be careful with it.

We should take it to someone who knows these things. We cannot waste such a precious resource on a guess. Thimble, and I'll pull out the parchment that I grabbed off of the table. We can get that. This was over on that platform. Do you know what to make a bit? What language that is? Do I recognize any of the symbols? Do I recognize it either, also?

I think you guys have traveled enough through Dwarven lands to the east of Dulmachar to know the Dwarven alphabet when you see it. Yes. But I don't know Dwarven. Do I recognize any of the arcane symbols? Give me an Rekana check. May I as well?

Yeah. 16? 30-20. Where was that? Ooh. On a 16, you recognize the sort of language above. as Obridae as like an older language that shares some, like there's some celestial ruins. Like some of the ruins look similar to things

that you've seen on Candace and Creed stuff before. But that is also the same culture and civilization that the Taconas are from as well. So it might just be like a shared alphabet having to do with Celestial. Are there any more pages that were in the book? Root, go ahead, give me an investigation check. 23.

On a 23, you rerout in the pages. The things you find, there's plenty down here. It looks like they've been working down here feverishly for about two days. And you see that there are a lot of bags in a corner where essentially these guys came down to work and left their own like marching packs and stuff. It would take more than an hour to search through

every single person's pack here. But you can kind of discount the guards packs and focus on like what looks like either the guard captain or this knight of Saramai. on what feels to you like a pretty thorough search of at least what matters, you see there are a bunch of potions stored near the cages. Two of them appear to be a kind of well wrapped,

beautifully administered. They're not really in bottles, they're like in flasks that have like some brass work on them and look quite nice. You can't see it. what the liquid is inside them, but they appear to be written, once again, an old obradai. And then there are four that look much jankier.

There are four, and these four are out, and they were very visible and in a very clear place within hands reach near the cages. They're bad ones. They're probably anti-petrification. I think Wick, you are a light on the correct, as you look at them, there is a, they have almost like Cadigan, it's like a one-to-one of like rendered bile. But I think looking at that, the way that they're

out so fast on that correct guess, I think that you ascertain they wouldn't need to be out if they could reverse it. Does that make sense? They're here in that one round that you have. Oh, God. Yeah. Right. It's like an anti-venom. You need to take it quick, which means that you think it can't reverse the actual state of petrification once it's set in. In terms of pages, there's, there are many different effects on the fallen night of Saramai before we get into like his person. But before that, you see there are, there appears to be a page amongst those sort of of the poses, which are sketched out basically to explain. sculpture to a group of guards.

So shitty. But there's a weird phrase written on a scrap of parchment that was in Ceramai's bag. One of them is written in a fine script, and it says, say this precisely. And then in quotations, warrior. Warrior, reach your senses, tell me true. Do the dead draw near.

And then in that bag, you find sort of a less, that's sort of the limit of the arcane, weird, freaky shit you're finding here. You find a couple quick missives, almost like the quickly folded ones handed off by a carrier between, that all seem to come from the Lord Dosit to this, night of Saromai. On that investigation check,

it's all quick, it's almost like they've been traveling together, so it's like one of them's in the tavern and one of them is like down in another part of the village taking care of business and just like run this to so-and-so and give him this to me. You're not able to therefore really put together a theory of the case, but the proper nouns that come up in these messages are a place called

Hounsport in Gannalier, which you recognize as a northern region in timidine. He makes reference to someone called Trimus, which to your knowledge probably is a member of the Taconas family, just based on her name, and in Houndsport, a Captain Lantry Ferris of the spurring. The last thing you find there is in what looks like a little bit of a finer letter that is actually in a small thing that is a longer letter that Saramai might have been traveling with since Dolmakyar, or since maybe the Duvalmar Pass if they met up in other places, just is a long letter in a really kind of like

glowing praise from the Lord Dosit. It's like a letter to this night of Saramai like saying, I am so proud of how far you've come and amazed that we will have this journey together. You have always served our family honorably and nobly. And, uh, uh, uh, uh, I hope that we will find our bearing together as we travel on this mission to the Bay of Garethai. Do I know where that is? Give me archa or probably history actually. Whoa, 19.

You know the Bay of Garethai. You were there not long ago. The Bay of Garethai is the farther, the northernmost part of the Sea of Imlay, where the sea, reaches into the barrow dell of the dead goddess of life. It is a place that you came very close to on your way to go steal the Stone of Nightsong with the Ozzy. The bay is covered at almost even within like 20 miles of where the Barrowdale, you know, 20 nautical leagues of where

the Barrowdale actually begins. The sea is so choked with mist. that even seeing from one end of the ship to the other becomes impossible. And a lot of people that sail in that part of the world talk about hearing ships call, make distress calls from the mist that cannot be found upon searching. We need to get out of here. Did we search the night yet?

But these racers, to hear, you have to get them off of him. These were, these were, These were Royce bracers. Somebody died for him to have these. Yes, of course. And I'll move to collect the bracers, the sword, any other objects that seem like they have.

Money. Money. Yeah. Yeah, you see there's a good, there's a patch of about 60 gold pieces over in their effects. The sword is absolutely a recognized cerebral sarahe blade. It's got a serpent pommel,

and it has some effects of his house on it. Shield is extremely finely crafted, but non-magical. And then there are the bracers, which are obviously enchanted. He used those to pick up... ...to pick up Sid. Increase his strength. I wonder if you can do the same.

We have to get out of here. We will need... the cover and disguise. I'm still arctus. Do we look at that chest yet, though? Which chest? You said there was a chest, right? The chest is what contains literally these,

like, rotting, like, they're not costing, but essentially there's like, stolen noble finery here that's like that they're waiting to, like, dress people with, yeah. If we need to make a quick getaway out this ramp here, we could hide under the statues and dress is gone. Well, let me ask you something.

Wick. You were hanging out with that dog, and you let me go ahead and almost get fucking stoned. So I'm assuming you're a dog person now, and I'd like to use disguise self and turn myself into a dog. Well, bark, bark. I wasn't, I wasn't hanging out with the dog. I was trying to set. I was trying to set. Can I understand you. I'm a fucking dog. I was trying to set an alarm. By the way, has the alarm gone off? No, the alarm is not gone off. I was trying, I wasn't choosing to be with a dog over you at all. Where is this coming from?

Also, I can only be one foot shorter, so I'm a hound. I'm a big, I'm a big ass pink dog. Um, all right, all right. Let's table this for now. I'll try and move to collect some of the guards and adornments of things, so I can sort of piece together along with the hood that I might be able to lead the. You three can.

I'll finish mucking through the guts and at the bottom of the stomach, there's a little duodenum there. I'll pull out one of the empty tinctures I have in my bandolier, and I'm just gonna try to squeeze out a tincture's worth of bile into this, into this tincture and then throw the rest

of the slop and Wolfrix pack. Great. For food? Yeah. I'd like to also eat Sarah my other ear that you blast it off. You, demons.

No, a dog still. A doggy. A little doggy. The basilisk is successfully harvested. Anyone that wants you can give me a nature or archa check here? In regards to. Specifically, like, I actually think,

maybe actually just catting. Give me a nature check. here as you're harvesting this. Yeah, let's do it. Big dice. Great. 18? Harvesting this, I think that you can tell from the antidote.

This antidote is extremely basic. Whatever this bile is, basically can be left pretty close to unprocessed and served as an antidote. I think you, looking at having the actual duodenum, looking at having these actual organs with you feel pretty confident that if you found a, let's not even say like legendary, let's just say like a skilled alchemist, a skilled alchemist, a skilled artifice or someone familiar with magical objects or magical, it's sad to refer to your brother as a magical object, but that's technically what he is right now. So I think that like any people, place that has either a dealing with enchanted objects

or that has a, some success with alchemy would be able to take these and you're pretty sure makes me that could reverse this. While Teor is loading up, getting ready to take off, I'm just gonna walk by him with Wolfrick and slap him on the shoulder and go, rough, fine. And then I'll slap the tincture of bile in his hand.

Cool. I'll pick it. Yeah, you hold that, something. You've got a bunch of other fun stuff from the basilists that may become, that may be worth something, but fundamentally the thing that's gonna be able to potentially reverse this you're holding in your hand.

With that, you have a bunch of gear. Sort of, I would like a group deception check. The difficulty of a passing disguise is only 10. meaning you can walk down a street and everyone will think, oh, there goes some Tacana's cards. Should I roll since I would just be like cutting amongst a cut? I don't think you should roll, yeah.

I would like to use one of my luck points to re-roll. You got it. Go for it. Stop. Oh no. What do we get here for the subject? Dirty 20. Dirty 20. Of course, natural 20. Natural 20.

Now. Nine. Nine. Fourteen. 14 from the talk. Our median role is a dirty. Our median role is a dirty 20. I think Cadigan and Teor,

this is not the first time you've run this scam. Yeah. So it's a lot of rather than like trying to fully undress one of these guys, it's like leave your own stuff on, take the tabards, take the stuff that's recognizable, a paltron, a helm, something like that. And

cover yourself. People will notice you walking with a weird gate more than they will notice that your breaches are not the exact right color. You get the gear on, you look for all the world like Tacona's cards. Are you going to remain a dog? I'd actually like to turn my attention to thimble

and say, hey, that was so cool that you one-shot of that guy back there. And I just want you to know that when my contract ends with WIC, I'd like to work for you. Or if he cancels it at any time. You seem really loyal, like a dog. And I assume human form. You're under contract?

Yeah, did I not say that? Yeah, I've said that. She's under contract with my family, yes. Right. Well, with you. I mean, I didn't engage it. Are you going to be a guard as well? Yeah, I assume human form.

and guard, dart-shaped. You assume, is there any particular form that you assume, are you assuming a generic but believable Taconas guard? Maybe, oh, maybe you can be the captain, the one that was gonna drive. Yeah, I mean, I could do that. I mean, it didn't go so well.

Last time I impersonated a- Right, well. This knight here said that Octus should be dead. Yeah, okay. That's why it didn't work. I'll do it. Yeah, I'm gonna do that. Can I wear his bracelets for a little while?

Not the knight. I meant the captain, the one that- Oh, the captain. All right, yeah. The night seems a little more questionable. Like it might be getting yourself- I gotta work on my accents. It's really, well, whatever.

You know, I took classes with Hal and I could- Talk to me right now. All right, all right. Okay, I'm gonna be the knight. I mean, no, I'm gonna be the guard, the guard. Incredible. You are relieving this knight of Saramai of his blade and the Royce Bracers.

Yes. Okay. Not detecting anything else, no pendants rings, anything else on. Nothing that you can see of that kind. You see he is of a lesser house. It looks like for him, you see that he saw it to get these Royce bracers and took it,

and it was probably a kind enough, the kindness enough to him for him to even have an enchanted blade of his house. Cool. Sid is on the ground. Do you guys, in other words. Can you lift him with the bracers? That's what he used to pick up the statue before.

I mean, I can try, but I think also if all of us get together, we can probably get under there. Like 2,000 pounds. I mean, I can try. try and put the bracers on, but I think you have to attune to that. But if he's 2,000 pounds, how is this horse going to carry all these statues? That's a fucking horse.

They're awesome. Yeah. The real. The real. I love it. Yeah, I was going to say, too, it's real. That's like a real glass, half full, glass half empty. It's looking at a horse in a cart and being like,

you're either person that thinks horses rule or you're a person that's like, wheels are an incredible shape. The wheel. Is that how I sound in your head? No, and that's what I sound in my head. I'm on Team Wheels, man. I'm on Team Wheels. Wheels are fucking, for anyone,

I wish you all would stop talking shit about wheels. Gotta invent a new kind. Are you seriously concerned about that though? They were gonna do it, I'm sure it's fine. Yeah, I'll listen, I'll sense the struggle here and I'll set Wolfrick on a harness and I'll have him grab with his teeth and I'll help bear some of the load.

I'll bear some of the load up the, yeah. I can help as well. Okay. Okay. Am I think? What way? I mean, I can help lift. Oh, you wouldn't lift?

Yes? Yeah? Make a muscle. Right now, make a muscle. He did get pretty strong all of a sudden during that. I feel tougher or something else. Why am I protecting him? Yeah, no, he's a weakling little dumb, idiot, baby, and I hate him.

We should go. Disguised as the captain, you look down and see this, sort of like, shaved sides of her head, black Taconis armor. You see a, a Dwarven warrior. She has like sort of this deep black eye shadow, sort of like, you know, covering around and tuft of spiky hair, sort of warhammer at her side, gazing out scorched and singed with some Taconas armor.

And you look at her face and adopt her visage, look just like her, and you see there is a massive closed, sort of slanted like 40-fetched-gangle cellar door, but like massive for this cart to be able to move up this ramp and out up at the end of this long hallway. Very much like the one we saw in the courtyard when we were crossing. Yes, but to your knowledge, this,

I think spatially this can't be the same one. That's good. Maybe it's farther away. It could be on the outside. You guys head up. You get to the doors and see that they are locked from the inside. there's a lock and there is a key hanging from the chain right next to this lock. That's lucky.

Just before we leave, I'm going to, I don't know if this is a smart idea. Do it. I'm gonna pick up one of the torches and fly over to Ceramia, Ceramai's body and drop it down. And I'm gonna use Druid to make you catch more.

That smells so good. You begin to burn his body past the point where it will be possible to raise again in the service of the House of Taconas. Sick. Good call. Moving up the ramp, you guys get to the exterior door. The cart moves up and you arrive

seeing the lock hanging from a chain, the horse moving. I am going to make a Constitution save in front of the cart. You just don't want a one, two, or three. That's not one. No way. Are you sure that it's what we don't want? You have more luck points. You can make me re-roll that.

Re-roll. Is that how that works? That's a two. Don't wait! What's happening to us? What's it happening to us? I have one more. Can you make him do it again?

No, I think it only. It does once per roll, right? I believe it's only once per roll, but let's double, triple check that if you can. I'm gonna use a desperate measure. I love it. It's a desperate. I mean, but.

You fun little catchy roll? Surely I won't roll the ones to two, but actually, you know what? Oh, it's proficiency bonus, which is I've got it plus two. Oh, okay. You can spend the points. Also, when you roll for a D20 test, you can spend one luck point to give yourself advantage.

when a creature rolls each one attack against you. So unfortunately, you don't spend it, so it's still the Nat one. Moving up, you can see that the cart was singed, and you can see there's some damage to a wheel and axle. You don't think this cart will be able to survive a very long trek. This is probably like got a shelf life in it

of maybe somewhere in the city. Sorry, that was my fault, I burned it. I'm sorry. You did well. Did I? Yes. We went on a scouting mission on the way to check out the city and ended up at the hospital. Did we encounter or see any little shops where there's an arcana symbol or on that route?

Would it come to mind? Nothing would come to. I mean, the closest you got to was that place that you went where they were selling like. buckets with honey on the inside of the rim to catch fairies. Okay. You know who would know about enchanted items. Who? Baller.

Who's that? The creepy guy with the mask. He throws great parties. At the funeral? Yeah. Oh, total blur. We also have 60 gold pieces and there were carriages in the city. They were owned by other people, but I'm sure we could pay them for the drums.

We have more than that, actually. If you add that to the group funds, We have 220. And it's still nighttime. Yeah. So we might be able to get somewhere without being noticed too much with all of these strenfews.

All right. The hospital was not a place where we could hide out or lay low, right? I don't think so. No. There's a lot of Taconas activity there. Glad vibes too. Can I look in the chest of the finery

and see if we can put a, like, a big cape or something over the cart? Over the cart. Yes, very easily. One or two big fur capes makes this look, and the cart is pretty humble itself. So you end up with like a, it looks like they were going to move this out of this dungeon. The Taconas aren't traveling with a one horse cart. But like this is the only thing that could fit down into the cellars. So they're moving this on up out of here for some other purpose. But you're able to cover them up with cloak. So it won't look like you're absconding with four stone statues.

Arriving up at the top, there's the lock, you have your cart covered, you have money, and you have mentioned Boler, who you certainly, I think you may have heard him speak of the museum having a protocol to deal with art or things of that nature that come by and end up being actually petrified beings. So. In this moment, now having my brother petrified

in the back of this cart, can I use this opportunity to level up? Yeah. Oh. And I'll use the detect magic spell just to feel out if there's any incantation on this doorway, the lock, anything that would trigger anything that we're not seen with the naked eye

before we turn the key. You cast detect magic. your senses move out, your eyes go wide, and you realize you're making the face, Sid's making. It's the same face you make when you use your paladin divine sensibility. It's a face to read the aura of this world.

Now you have reached into a spell here that calls upon the ability to detect magic, which is a more refined version. Divine sense is something in two, for paladins. It senses the presence of Faye, fiends, undead, nearby. But Detection Magic allows you to actually read

with sort of a fine precision, exactly what different archinists, occultists, will workers are trying to do. And you look in these statues and see even the hound are all making a version of this face. Light fills your vision, and what you can see.

see your light coming from your eyes reflects off of a radiation that your friends cannot see in this moment, but you suddenly can. Every one of the beings in that wagon is petrified in a state of heightened supernatural awareness. Sid as Stone is using his divine sense. it is casting out from his eyes as though he was using it in the moment he was petrified and was stuck in that position.

And though you do not know their names or their stories, what you recognize is that that same ability to cast out and sense the presence of fiend or fay and of the undead is emanating from the eyes of every statue in that cart, meaning everyone in that cart was a paladin who was captured by the Chaconas and brought down here and turned to stone. You're using them as some sort of like early warning system

for some sort of Faye invasion? Also to pose them. It feels like they're using them to smuggle something. Why would you bring paladins down with that ability? Pose them and finery of rich people. Because if you put it there, speaking as a rich person myself, if you have a palace or a place that you're particularly proud of, proud of, you might want to decorate it with lovely statues.

And what a benefit if those statues could also point out dark creatures or, no offense, weird Faye trying to get in or something? I said no offense. Mm-hmm. You grab that book with all the drawings? Yeah. Yeah, I grabbed that.

We just can't read it. Yeah. You grab the book with the drawings. As Teor explains that, you also look at those notes that Dosset wrote to Sarahe, who's name, you never bothered to learn, but he addresses him as Sir Aniko. Sort of refers to him and says, you see he mentions something,

this language you've heard about like how, it says something like how lucky we were on this whole Gavendale affair to have lucked into another one. And suddenly you realize that another one might not just refer to Sid. Another paladin? Who else? Oh, you? Yeah. Oh. Oh. We, we...

So they were looking for you? They were looking for palli. They did say earlier something about two birds, one stone. That's right. Yeah, that must have been why they took him, right? He got mixed up in the whole the Aussie thing, and then they realized he was a paladin, and he was a paladin, had a different use for him.

Oh, so they're looking for you. I mean, I don't see how I wasn't in Dolmachiar. I wasn't in the city. I haven't been around the Aussie for years, and I don't, I don't know. Anything strange happened to you in the city? No. No, I came.

We had missed his execution. We met with everyone, and we came after Sid. unless I'm missing something. Does your brother have the same sort of light powers that you do? I think this might be some news to you. It is. I mean, not that I am aware of.

It's, again, been many, many years since I have seen him, but certainly I was showing none of this, much less my brother. It also occurs to your thing at this moment's hair, as you're like, could they be certain? searching for me.

You don't know when these other knights and warriors got got. It's possible that another one is something that they're referring to, that they were referring to sit. In other words, they had a cart full of these guys already. Also, the quote is,

Warrior, tell me true, do the dead draw near? Which is what you would say to a paladin in order to tell them to activate their site. So we should, we've got the statues in the cart, right? Yeah. I mean, that's what. Say it out loud.

Warrior, tell me true, did the dead draw near. You see, and now to all of you, visible light emerges from the eyes of these stone statues. Yep, they're centuries. Mother fuck. That's cool and shit. We don't so fuck you! God, your shit is so evil and so fucked.

Can I fly up and check for traps on the door? Goodmean investigation. And having, okay. It's just every once in a while. There you go. Oh, God, that poncho was comfy. That's nice.

It looks like bacon. Having, have I ever been around the Taconas homestead? Do they have a headquarters that I would know of? Yes. You have been to Obermiss Manor in Dolmachyar, which is their place in Dolmachyar. Their ancestral lands like yours are sundered. They are in the Eternal Night in one of the Barodels,

but the Taconas actually have a unique honor or shame amongst the world, which is that their lands are the only place on Aramon where two Barodels overlap. The site of destruction of the goddess of the forge and the storm rack overlapped with the Eternal Night and created one of the most magically hostile and ruinous and destroyed places on the place planet, which is their ancestral seat of power.

And that's horrible. And the place that I'm familiar with, do I remember seeing any similar statues or anything around their current headquarters? Give me history, Chuck. I rolled an eight on the tracks. It seems pretty simple here. You do think that probably the odds are in your, even on an eight, the odds are in your favor, because this isn't their home turf,

they're on the move, and they've only been here for a day and a half, you know. I only rolled an eight. I haven't used my inspiration yet, though. You're heroic inspiration? Uh-huh. For just to know if they have statues.

What else we're gonna use it for? Anything else, we are getting out of this. All right. Eight. Eight. I mean, they definitely have statues, but nothing like this. I think on an eight you go,

yeah, they got statues. We all got statues. We all got statues. But my God, I feel like I remember when they were putting them in. They were getting work done. They were building statues. Yeah. I mean, everyone has a statue at their house.

I assume you do too. So many. Of course. We have a Fay and a fiend here when those statues activated with the visible light out of their eyes. Did anything happen to either of them? Did they illuminate?

Did they react? Did anything? I think that that actually, rather than giving you a dramatic answer, the lack of dramatic answer to that is troubling in that no. In other words, you're like, okay, so if these guys like lit up, then that would tell me the full story of what's going on here. But as to what this would be for, like, okay, you have a sentry

that can detect something and then do what? And then doesn't, though. Yeah, not tell you, not have the ability to tell you. But it was about the dead. Yeah. It says, do the dead draw near? Maybe it's just a specific. Just undead? Maybe. What's the deal with the fancy poses?

I mean, is it some sort of. Just so they look cool. I'm trying by the lock. Just so they look cool. Yeah. You think? Yeah. Unless House Royce has fallen and

they're going to post them in the... The gate ahead of you, simple lock key right next to it. What do you do? Unlock it. Unlocking it, you look out the gate as the gate, as you push it slightly open, it opens for you, as you see a group of about 10 Taconas guards open the gate looking around,

and you see they go, Captain, everything all right? Absolutely. All right. We heard some, we heard a little bit of a. Move. Yeah, move. They get the card out, and you see they say, Lord Dossit is readying the carriages at the main gate.

You guys are outside the castle walls. You are looking at a backseller, you're at the very edge of, you're at the very, very edge of Tyree's Lee. This is like the place that here's the city, and you can see one or two buildings by the castle, a steep ridge, the back of the castle kind of has a steep drop out towards the farmland,

and then you see wide open roads under moonlight. Is it possible to peel away without drawing attention to ourselves? Your house? Thank you. My pleasure. I'm civilized. Is it possible to draw away without trying to answer yourself? I think you're looking at the Taconas.

You see that this one Toconis guy says, The Lord Doe Soap ready's the carriage is the main gate of the castle. Okay. We'll meet him there. The main gate that he gestures to is further into the city. You see this road kind of went. bending its way away.

But also you don't know where there would be like a carriage or other places out. So they're directing you towards Lord Dosa and probably the Lady Univir as well. Yeah, I think it's just getting away from this structure. I see we don't want to interact with them. Yeah. No, we're just gonna get away from the castle

and into the city. And our fucking carts cook though, too. That's, maybe we can get a new wheel. Do you guys make your way into the city as to not arouse suspicion from the guards towards the main gates of the castle. But then, like, instead of making towards Lord Dosset, we'd like, me, me.

We're looking out for also any stable or we can peel in, too. I love that. Go ahead, anyone who wants to and give me a luck check. Roll a D20. I want you to see if you can roll a six or higher. Here we go. You? Okay, seven till.

17. Tireney, solar, probably. Incredible. You? You? You. What's all right now. Very, very fast.

Use the hand. You had in that case, but, ba, ba. You had further into Ty Bree's Lee. As you do, the cart squeaking on a partially burnt axle, horse sort of moving along. The castle is enormous, so you're following the walls, you're rounding, there will be a minute going,

around the watchtowers before you get to the main gate. And there are a couple roads from the city, well lit with candles. As you walk up, because you are disguised sort of as Taconas guards without, you know, I think the lionfolk here you have the helm down low, some kind of like, hood up. Hood up, yeah.

To mask the main. Walking out, and I'll actually ask just for, disguised as the captain even so, give me either persuasion or deception with the advantage. Great. 18 plus seven. 25. You see the guards say, I see all the statues loaded up. Do they require additional aid downstairs?

No. No. Oh. And you see that flat no is the perfect. I think Tierney, as you're looking at, they're like, Octus body rolling, or I'm gonna have a flat no. The flat no stops the conversation and you feel some like slithering demonic voice from far off in either being like, as you keep a lie to a single word

that makes the interlocutor who's speaking to you just go, I guess there's no more conversation here and shut up and go about their business. They close the door behind you guys. You take off and on that very high luck check as you begin to pull into the city a shape pulls up alongside you in the dark, padding beside you.

The Dame Morgan says, says, congratulations on your newfound employment. The Tacitus tabards seem a little ill-fitting, but I hope that your new jobs are treating you well. Where are we headed? Do you know where we can get a new carriage wheel? Ah, well, I think first and foremost,

seeing as you've helped yourself to one of the Lord's carriages, we should examine what sort of goods you intend to bring to the candle feast. And you see that she looks around and says, Groveland. And you see the big sheepdog comes out and says, run of too many for whom I died and lived and would die again. Let the shadows come to our aid and let the city welcome us home,

victorious kin, the land's people. And you see, shadows cover you again, and you guys can pull right up into the city and vanish. Fuck. Oh, me. That's my dog. That's my dog. You see that she, you begin to travel off with her,

or I should have said, Fel Tower, the dog that she's traveling with. So you see this big Argosian shepherd walking alongside you, and you pull off, getting into just sort of an alley, you see that the Dame Morgan looks and says, Well, met, friends. How's your day's business gone? Very exciting by the looks of it. Scary. It was so scary.

It was so scared. You see that Hawkins sort of emerges out of the darkness and looks out and says, blood, are you injured? All of us were. You see, he looks at you and says, Oh, God, you've had a soul through the gut. Yes, a few times. Lift my shirt.

Get your shirt. Oh, should we go to find a chamber somewhere? Lift it now! Oh, okay. And you see, he goes, and he is going to lay on hands you back to full. Wow. He's laying on tongue.

Oh my God. Tyranny is fuming at that, by the way. This guy and dogs just really forgot about his demon friends. Good boy, good, good boy. Wow, that feels... I'm not a boy. I'm a man. Good man.

Thank you. I may not be a Hugh man, but I am. I am a man still. We undertook a great ordeal. They were experimenting of people turning others into stone. We found my brother, but. Do you take, she looks and says, Stone, what do you pull that?

I believe one of the hounds. You see that Fel Tower looks up and goes, Groveland, my brother. And you see he looks up at the wolf, at the wolfhound up on top. He looks like a different kind of, he's using brother here in night terminology. But you see, looks up and says,

What have they done to him? Is he dead? You see, Margaine looks up and says, I thought I smelled something foul on the road here, following that envoy. Wherever the ceremony go, their poison follows, and yet there was some poison strangers still. The creature that did this is it still at large, loose in the castle?

We killed it, a basilisk, but we managed to harvest pieces of its corpse. Yeah, we got the raw materials, but not the knowledge. You see, she nods and says, you see she turns to Hawkins. You see, Fel Tower says, this pharaoh might then be reversed in some manner. And you see, she says, in time, yes.

Please tell me, what did you see occurring and were there any of the toll keep, any of the actual Earl's men-at-arms, advisors? This was occurring within Castle Deloni? Yeah, huh? It was the night of Sarahemi. You saw only vassals of the house of Tacunas. Down in the dungeon, yes.

You see she turns to Hawkins, and Hawkins looks back at her. Even these extremely helpful hounds you can see are, that is not the answer they wanted. Oh, we got plenty of notes. Yeah, we show them this. And all the letters. You see, she says, I smell Triconis on there for certain. What does his lordship know,

our dear friend, the Earl of Gourmalay? He's converted to your creed, Lord Halevon. I think we knew that. And perhaps, perhaps it means he's turned over a good leaf. Probably not, though. Yeah, he made a grand show of it. a grand show of it. Are you worried he's been corrupted by outside influence? The Earl of Gormelay is a sovereign lord of the land of his house, the tallkeeps.

Gormelay has been in his family for generations, and without evidence, I will not speak a word against him here. Perhaps it is possible that our dear brother Groveland fell a foul of the Taconas, who used a dungeon of the Earl of Gormelay, without his knowledge. And perhaps he did not know that there was a basilisk in his dungeon, turning knights to stone, without evidence who could say. And yet. I'm sorry. This is none of your concern. You are travelers in this land. Your brother has been armed. Did you find him? Yes. Show him, this that true. Very well. If I may, I do think it's our concern. At least mine, if my family is involved,

I'd like to get to the bottom of it, and your brother was involved. I'm sure you would obviously like to rescue him and restore him first, but make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else like him or other paladins. I agree. I think what he's meaning is that there is a sickness now, not just in your land, but in the land.

this home of the Earl of Gormulay. It is spreading, unseen. What I mean to say is you have done a heroic thing rescuing these warriors. You see that Hawkins looks down and says, I recognize some of these statues as Knights of Vallow, a region further to the south of here. I don't know their names, but I can tell by their crest.

And you see that he says, brave and true, the orders they belong. to. This is a terrible thing we have witnessed. You look at Morgaine, who she nods and says, you've done the right thing by bringing these to safety. I cannot imagine what it would be if we had lost Groveland or you, your brother. But if we were to go to the middle of candle feast

and say, look what we have discovered, what we would have is a cart full of statues. And if we were to accuse anyone of anything, what would they say? How terrible, we had no idea. Therefore, and it's quite possible that you need to still evade while you can. Are there any alive that saw you?

No. By the way, you see that a fell tower looks around. Is anyone is going to lay on hands anyone else that is still injured back to full? Oh. Oh, I mentioned. Yeah, you see that Fel Tower would be like, perhaps it would be better if you just stood on my tongue.

Oh, God. She doesn't like to stand on party parts. You see, you guys, all right. And you see, Morgaine says, Morgaine says, what exit of Castle Deloni did you emerge from? We came from a cellar door. There were 10 guards outside that did see us pie. that did see us pass.

Near the cellar that faces the western edge of the city. Correct. All right. And we were told to meet at the main gate to the city, so we are expected along with, I assume, this cargo. So when we go missing, they will be looking for us. You see how... We don't think they made us, yeah.

You see Hawkins says, it's a good thing that we found our traveling friends here, but there's no one on the main gate right now. I'm getting nervous. You see that Morgan says, Hawkins, you return to keep an eye on the main gate. I don't think that Tuchanus will try to move that quickly. but if a short walk down a set of stairs

can reveal to them that these statues are missing and that maybe some of their companions are no longer with us? Yeah. Yes. Ah, well, congratulations to you on all emerging in one shape. It was all her.

Was there most important. No. You know, all sorts of intriguing mystery, I get all that, but you bathe us in shadow and helped this out and seem to have great great magical powers. He got the ability to mend a car. You see that Morgaine sort of cocks her head.

You can see her asking herself, can I do that? And you see the Taltau says, many gifts are given to the hands of the king, faithful hearts and magic true of the land into its people. We don't have hands. We may know someone down in Del Marquiat who's able to help.

bring these people back, but it's a long journey. Do you want us to take everyone with us, or? You see that she looks and says, No, I don't think so, only because there may be other answers here and more. You see, she looks and Feltower sort of nods and says, we couldn't take the middle of road to Timmons Rock, speak to the Druids of the seven times.

You see that, she looks and says, I think that wise, we have to take the Middle Road to Tumann's Rock. friends here in Tybris Lee. What we're going to do is this. You are extraordinary. You have quite literally rescued one of our brothers from whatever fate awaited him at the hands of the Taconas. If we can revive him or reverse this state, then we will have some answers, at least to what we seek. And certainly his word as to what happened to him will be quite something. So, yes, Feltaire, the mills road to Timmons Rock, but we will I'll not ask you to make that journey.

If you have a means by which to save your brother, then you should take it. Let us take this cart then to, where to the granary? You see Feltower nods and says, there are carriages there, peasant's carriages, covered. If there is some kindness in terms of recompense that the House of Hail of Ar could leave,

for the commandeering of such a carriage, then I think you would be well on your way. Of course. Yes. She and Feltower Fallen beside you. That you already has arrived at a granary there, and you see that there are a number of characters. Again, there's like festival music playing around,

and people are laughing. It's a busy, busy night. People are laughing. and singing, you see in that square sort of, the granary is like behind the old granary, which is now at the hospital, so they've built a new one, so the other one sort of went defunct. And you see that there's your deluxe,

just like out laughing and singing. You see that they've made this sort of makeshift like harvest throne covered in candles, and you see that the Lord still dressed in Funereal Black is seated on the throne, and people are coming, and he's like pouring, like a glass of wine, like celebrating everybody, there and you see that there's a big sort of festival atmosphere here in the night.

Dame Morgan leads you over to these carriages, covers them up. She sort of like makes this, you see, walks up the back of the granary, speaks to someone in hushed tones, they look over. You see, as this sort of like person who's just like keeping the exterior of the building at night, everyone's gone home. As they turn to look at you, she says, better if you not look. Better not remember any faces of what you've seen here. And you see the person sort of cast their eyes down.

She walks over to the cart and shows there's a two horse carriage here that it looks like you guys could travel in. Great. So we move sit over? Mm-hmm. Are we leaving all the other statues? Yeah, they're gonna take them.

You see, yeah, she looks, da-ta-ta-ta-ta, she looks out and says, these are strong and sturdy horses and a carriage as well. Whatever you can leave will be welcome. These are kind and loyal people that know they are acting in service to their king, and that you, as travelers in our land, have aided in rescue a member of the king's hounds.

But if they were to sell these at market, it would fetch something like 250 gold pieces, the carriage in both horses. You need not leave that if you do not have that, but I merely wish to let you know what this act of service on the part of these farmers and millers means. I don't haggle.

We give them what they deserve, yes. Yes, absolutely. With your permission, can I spend some of the party's funds? Why are you looking at me? I'm looking at all of you. I look at you because he never makes eye contact. She's mad at me and he's very tall. Do it. Yes.

Spend the money. I like that. I'll spend a hundred of party funds and 150 of my own. Incredible. Okay, for all. Putting your money forward, you sort of hand this to Morgan. You see she looks down and says, my word, a man of principle,

my Lord Havava. And you see that she takes the money over to these people who look at this, look around, like, oh, very thankful, and she nods. And she walks over with Fel Tower. As you guys have loaded Sid onto this new carriage, She looks at this other, she looks basically at the three statues remaining in here.

Feltower looks over and goes, I'll see to Hawkins, see if the Tacinas still don't know that they've been had. To all of you, I do not know by what might or magic you have seen these things done, but you have my respect and a good deal of puzzlement. How did you do it? Remarkable.

Blunt force. Ah, blunt force. Often what the sinister types least expect. They're slithering ways. Sometimes they don't expect a nice bite to the ankle or a shot to the jaw. So good on you. And a great deal of luck, I would say.

Yeah. Well, we can all use a bit of that. To all of you. Thank you for your service. And to you. A happy candle feast, my lord. Oh, thank you. That's happy indeed.

Feltower takes off into the night. Mungain looks and says, I think that would be a good time to remove your tablets. Yeah. Anonymous travelers headed south towards Valo. If anyone asks, there's always goods that need to be moved to Dolmachia, it's a hungry city.

Did you hear about House Royce? Yes, from the Black Rabbits on the road. Right, right, right. You see, she says, I have heard nothing else. The House of Royce has been much diminished for some time, as have all of the Fairfolk of Timony. It is not our wish nor the wish of our king that it should be so, but times are cruel. Hope is not a condition of the world, but one of the soul. I have not

yet seen anything fall so far that it has gone past the point of recall. One life ends, but the world asks us back in a new name and a new guise, in a new life, time and time again, not lose hope. Safe travels, my friends. What a stroke of fortune to admit you. She smiles, turns, and with the cart leading this one horse cart, she leads it around the corner off towards what you see to be some actual human knights that as she approaches, she goes up to speak to them. And you see there are a couple of royal knights up there,

some of the kingsmen who are here at the town that she sort of reveals herself to and begins to speak in this cloak-covered wagon next to her. The night is yours, my friends. What do you do? Let's go. Open up. Yeah.

And we're heading toward. Don't walk ya. Don't mock you are. I mean, Boler or Murray is, those are the two people that I would trust the most with this. I feel like the knowledge between them. We're going back into the belly of it all. I'm no strategist, but I think there might be somebody else that could handle this.

And I don't want to put your brother at risk, but. I'm open to suggestions. Oh. It's a good idea, and we can do it, I promise. But what do we chase? I mean, didn't you read some stuff in these notes? Sure, but... The bay, I think any local alchemist can help us with Thiel's brother.

I mean, maybe. Do we need to go back into the belly of the beast, where we just fleed from? But Hocktus? I mean, he could be in danger. He could be... Oh. We're all in danger. Make no mistake.

We started with the hunt, but our fear that getting closer and closer to being the prey. So we hunt down the Taconas. What's the end goal there? You think we're going to take on the entire house? house? Break it to you, but we already started. It's not my call to make. It's your brother's life. I just don't want to risk our house. There's a long journey. Do we know how far we would be from this Hound's Port or any of us familiar with the geography from where we are? Houndsport. The Bay of Garathie. The Bay of Garithi is much far up. The Bay of Garitha to... So that's...

The interesting thing, right, is you can reach the Bay of Garethai from taking a ship from Houndsport, but it's so far away that there are probably multiple ways to reach it. I think. Is Houndsport much, much closer? Hounsport is much, much closer. How close we talking? Do we know? How close we talking. Houndsport from where you are. You're about how halfway to Hound's Port from Dolmock Yard. So in other words, it's probably, same distance.

Same distance. It's probably about, it's probably about, you know, 80 to 100 miles to Hounsport, depending on the road you take, and probably another 80 to like 100 miles back to. And what would be looking for when we got there? Captain Lantysparis. Lanchi Ferris. Lanchi Ferris.

Like a remount my own fucking hand ready. What are you talking about? From those names to all of those names that you found in their thimble were people in the employ of the Taconas, meaning, and I say this, in full transparency, that there's no wrong choice here. Everything you do will come with the price,

everything you do will lead us from one onto another. There's no wrong choice here. But to be clear about what you seek if you go to Hounsport, you do not have the names of friends. You have the names of enemies. You have the names of people in the employ of the Tukanas, people that they speak of with trust and understanding that they will get things done.

And I haven't spent any time in Houndsport with the ASE. No, I think when you guys went up to Garthai, you went up through Royce lands to the east of the Tvomar Pass. Yes. Are you tired? Yes, I'm incredibly tired. I would have a little nap.

We had time. We got the woods, a camp, a chat, and we figure out what our next steps are. Oh, that would be smart, yes. Don't think your brother's going anywhere? No. Not a hotel, then, or...

Oh, fuck. I'm back in dog mode. Ha! Ha! Making your way out of the city in the carriage is pretty easy. And again, you guys have vanished. Everybody who knew you is either back in Slope or has essentially absconded to,

or like all the Taconas that you walked into the castle invisibly. Everyone that could make you is dead on the ground in that. Yeah. In that room. Now, does being dead put someone out of reach of the Taconas? Maybe not. But you have toned.

No one saw you come in this wagon or take a little farm road out of Tybury's Lee. As you begin to leave to get to somewhere safer to rest, think, Wick, you look out and see this beautiful candle feast festival just happening around you. The people of the Condescent Creed celebrating seems like a really joyful night. People seem moved and impassioned and alive and happy

that the Lord has converted here in this way. There is an electric feeling in the air of passion and meaning and togetherness and community. You see the Lux moving throughout that town square and I think you just see that begin to fade as the carriage pulls away. Making your race somewhat outside of the city, you find a copse of trees that you can pull aside from.

This is all completely open farmland. There's hounds and knights and things around. You can find a little place to pull aside and begin to rest if you so desire. And the night sort of envelopes you soft and cool. your quest is a success. You have done, as you set out on this road, to do. It is something that you have discovered

how much vaster and broader the problems of the world are, all of which is to say, this story will conclude in this chapter where you all say it does. I don't want to rush you towards an ending, but I just want to put out there that any scenes that you want,

any things that need saying, any decisions that need making, we are very much in that. that world now. Slumber party, four more hours. Let's go. We either go forward to somewhere we've never been and we were where we will only be hunting.

When we try and retrace our steps back to Dolmachiar. How appearing as ourselves without any sort of disguise in Dolmachiar are, how's the heat on you both in particular? And I guess us. I think it's bad for all of us, maybe with the exception of Cadigan. And myself, I am not from there. Of Dolmachia? No. No, but my family wanted you dead.

Sure, but I'm sure there are lots of lionfolk around. I don't think anybody gives a fuck about me. I'm just a little pixie. You though, you're pretty recognizable. Famous face. Did you have to leave town? because you had a death threat on you, right? I mean, not necessarily.

We just sort of assumed that it was coming soon. You honestly, maybe you should talk to your mom or see if how much, how in trouble you are. Because if it's not at all, great for us, we can continue in Demoakiar. And if it is, I'm pretty sure I'm in trouble. Well, yeah, but they're not gonna kill you, right?

I don't know. I hope not. Everyone else has certainly tried. But yes, to your point, I mean, we could at least go and talk, maybe not to close family, but there's other Halevars there that I could maybe speak with. I have a sister, I have a brother.

Would they be honest with you? Possibly. I think you raise a fair point. You are being sought after, and therefore you are as well. If the hunt for my brother has also enveloped me at this point, and if Thimble, as the Ozzie second, is on a list of some kind, then that... But she's impossible to detect, pretty much. It may mean the gates to the city would be more clear.

close to us than we would like to think. But you, you bastard, you are unknown everywhere you go. I know. Are you trying to get rid of me again? Well, I think you would have done it yourself if we gave you enough time, but I wonder if there might be wisdom in splitting. Yeah.

My brother needs to go back to Donoakiar. He needs Bollerer, or. Murray. Murray, but for us to take him there would incur danger not just to him but to ourselves. They might also be looking for a group, a single traveler of unknown origin might have more success. Even if it meant us staying on the outskirts of the city and then rendezvousing with you again. Oh, no.

You're eating my mind. You got some kind of trick. No. I've known you for a long time. Yeah. Gattigan's already sort of parsing through the ins and outs of navigating the countryside, thinking about what it would take to get back to Dolma Ghiar,

a place that potentially he is not like or not belong, but like a decade and a half ago, when Teor was indebted to him, he feels like, that debt the other way hasn't been paid back. So yeah, he's cooking through the ways of whether not this is feasible or not. You'd have to take the road. Yeah.

With Sid? Yeah. Yeah. You're talking about sending him back all on his own. Where will we go? Perhaps not the entire way on his own, but I think once we arrive at the city. Maybe we split up there.

Yeah. Or let him. go for a bit. I have to check on it. And you also are... It is much easier for you to infiltrate the city. But I think this is now something that we have admittedly earned quite a reputation around. Yeah.

Well, leave it and not. I don't exactly want to leave, but I do feel like I'd have the best chance of getting back to the Marquis. I'm detected. I mean, like I said, I don't know any gives a fuck about me. Talk about me. Simple traveler with a car. I got a wolf. Yeah. No. No, keep to the woods. He's a good boy.

Listen. I'll do it if you want. I like a solo adventure. A little walk in the woods. You talk her down. I got a piss. And I actually do have to piss. Well, I don't like being alone. I don't, where would we go?

Without him. He's the strongest one of us. the strongest one of us, no offense. I don't know. I mean, I'm mostly, I don't wanna be separated from Thimble. She's the one that has been stabbing everyone. All right, listen, I guess I hurt you somehow. I'm sorry that I stayed back with the dog, but I was trying to protect us or I thought I was.

All right, dude. I'm just saying she is actually the one who has been protecting us. And if there is any heat on your family, To which I am bound, unless you fire me, then we need some protection if. Yes. I'm not going anywhere without you two, unless you want me to.

Well, yeah. You have shown yourself to be much more true than your family. Truth. And you got wings. And fire. I'm sorry if I've been a burden to everyone. I know I keep dying.

but um... You're getting tougher, I can already see it on you. I don't know about that. So you fell a couple times. We all stumble and fall. I almost turned into a paperweight. True. Um, I know I'm not much of a soldier,

but, um, I feel like I have a purpose now, a mission, a goal, and that, uh, that makes a big difference. What's your mission? You want to take down your family? I mean, yes. I'm, yes. Bad boy now. Maybe the demons rubbing off on the angel.

All right. I'm back, baby, tyranny. It's a demon form, my guy. I love that, I love that, done. What if you could, what if you could reclaim your family? Or has the rot spread to every corner? I don't know where it's spread.

It seems like it's most place If the source of the rot is one or two people, maybe we could get rid of them or take them into custody or whatever you people do and reform it from the inside. Fimble has been displaced. I am an outsider. You are uniquely placed to affect real change.

You can move in ways that we cannot. And we will be here to support you. to support you, but the danger to you is very real. And I think we know now that this conflict is far larger than any of us thought. That's true. You saw the candle feast and how happy everyone was. Real change was being made in that hospital.

If you have anyone in your family that you feel you can trust, I think it's worth looking into. I'm happy to try. I don't know. Yes, I did, Kendall Feast was one of my favorite holidays, and seeing everyone happy like that made me sentimental for a moment, but honestly it made me kind of feel disgusted. All these people are living a lie as I was,

and I can't stand for it anymore. And I would like to go back and see what can be done to restore. I don't know. I even care about my family's name anymore. I just wanna undo some of the bad that we've done. I know I can't do that on my own, but. Maybe you should join our rebellion.

The fang, fang, fang, fang falcon. Fagin, Falkin. You got it. Is that us now? Are we a rebellion? In a small clearing in the distance where Cadagant went to relieve himself, you hear the tink of flint and steel and a small fire.

starts to light up, casting a dim glow, maybe 30 feet or so away from the party. Cadigan's starting a campfire. I think we should go back, all of us. I think so too. Check on our friends, your friends, not mine really, to see if there's someone I can talk to, to get help for your brother, and for you, Tyranny,

to see if there's a way to be a way to. to separate you from this. Separate me, why? Well, you keep bringing it up that I've, you're somehow bound to me and don't seem to like it very much and so I, you know, there's a way. No, you don't have to apologize, it's true. My feelings got hurt because you left me for the dog

and I'm sorry, I am here with you. Wick, I don't want to be. If it makes you feel better, the dog left me for nothing. That does make me feel better, thank you. I don't want to, hang out with my family or your family. I like what we're doing. It seems like you are developing an actual brain for yourself. No offense, but... That's very offensive. It is... I mean, I don't think that you questioned anything that your

family did before you saw it firsthand. And by the way, you said that you did nothing, but I see you try over and over to do the right thing by your own moral code. And that's who I want to be hanging out with. Now I'm gonna cry. I'm gonna fly towards the campfire. Hey, sounds like we're all going back to Dull Machiar. Oh. Guess you're not gonna be rid of us that soon.

Well, I'm trying to get rid of you. Just giving you options. I like you. Why did you leave before? Oh, you have to be more specific. I've left a lot. After the battle. Oh.

Oh, we're taking it way back. He's just disappeared. I have to ask Taylor about that. I just not always time for me to go. Nothing personal. Nothing against the cause. I thought the Ozzy was great. Hey, it was my best back in the city.

But that's tough to love it. Wolfrick sort of saunter's over and kind of full face from Bousel's thimble. You know, that way that only dogs know when we're not feeling quite right. I'm gonna land on his snout and just lay my head down into, in between his eyes. Screech.

Yeah, he'll settle down next to the campfire. And Cat again will pull out some bits and bobs that aren't particularly discernible and start sort of whittling them and working them and enjoying a fire as it continues to grow. Come on then. It's gonna get warmer. Teor will take a moment as they all head towards the campfire to spend the first real time with Sid. Looking at the statue, looking over the details of it, examining his face, his neck, his arms, any detail of the statue that might stand out to him.

And in the pose that he sees, he notices an open hand. And Thayer will take out the small wooden lion's head and place it in his brother's hand and clasp his own over it. And like he and Sid and their father did so many nights, he will say, the stars remember before the gods rose. and fell before the wars began. Our ancestors roared beneath the same stars you see now.

They still watch, still listen. And when you doubt yourself, look up. Their strength still runs in your veins. As you walk away from the carriage, you look up at the stars, your brother's body, weighs 2,000 pounds, and he's never looked lighter. You didn't get to see him in Dolmachyar,

but whatever life was like there was not treating him well. He looks hungry of that wooden lion's head back. And you think about the fact of what it took all of you to lift and drag this stone statue onto this. And I think you remember only two years apart. There was just a very short amount of time

where you were much bigger than your brother. But I think you remember a night just like this under different stars carrying your brother's body bad gash on his knee, chasing you down a hill, which he was too young to do as he sniffles and cries and looking up like, he was gonna be in trouble for following you out somewhere. And think about carrying him back to your dad

and your dad telling you that night, seeing how exhausted you were from having carried him so far because he couldn't walk, he'd hurt himself too bad, and talking about strength in that moment, which to him always felt like you were sharing some little secret when he talked to you about the star. Talk to you about these ideas that always felt like, if we're not allowed to talk about the gods anymore,

then why do we still talk about the world? Like there's so much magic hidden somewhere else in it that we just can't see. Walking to the campfire, you hear your father's voice. Their strength still runs in your veins. Stars remember. You've been walking for many years. for many years trying to keep something alive and stay strong while the people around you look

hungrier and hungrier. Do you feel strong walking to the campfire? No. In fact, I feel weaker and more unsure of my footing than I ever have. These years away have led to avoid that I am desperately searching. to fill with answers. And I will not get them this night, but hopefully soon. You sit by the fire. It's getting nice and warm, crackling up.

Come here for a minute. Min, it's... It's a tyranny. Oh. Me? Hey, you. Come here. Okay. Hey, hey. Are we a good?

I'm sorry that I... I'm sorry that I talk shit about your dog. I didn't mean to. Oh, he's... I was so afraid of you. He's a dog. It's all right. Okay. He doesn't know.

Okay. Okay. Are you all right? I don't know. There's a lot of conversations happening about love and connection and pain. And I think I'm having a different reaction than I should be.

You just think too much? Yeah. Yeah, maybe I think too much. Maybe. I don't know. I'm not you. Hey, you like stuff. Yeah.

Yeah, I like stuff. I feel like you like stuff. Yeah, I do. I do like stuff. Yeah, I know you like stuff. You like stuff. Like stuff like that old man's knife. Come on, man.

I mean, I said I was sorry. I didn't know what I was doing. I know. I did get after you a bit, didn't I? No, it's okay. I truly don't know why I did that. It was so weird. You don't have to defer.

I think I did it because I knew I was going to hurt his feeling. hurt his feelings. I think I knew way I would hurt him and that's why he did it. Oh. That's why you did it? I don't know. Yeah. Well, can I ask you a question? Yeah.

Like a real question. I hope so. Yeah. How'd you feel after you did it? Oh, fuck. I mean, it didn't feel good when you yelled at me. Oh, wait. So, you felt good when you did it, but you didn't feel good when you Got the consequences of your actions.

No, I felt good. I felt good knowing that I had hurt someone. Okay. So why did you feel bad when you got ill that? Because it's somebody that I care about, I think? I don't know.

I don't know why I felt the way I did. I think it has something to do with me being a fucking demon. That's funny, isn't it, though? Who you are, And what you do can be two different things, can't they? How you think of yourself, and how you behave,

aren't necessarily always the same. Are you saying that there is a way to fight my nature? Because Mr. Wick over here has already really been on a journey to try to save me, and I don't know if that's possible. I'm not trying to save you. I don't know you well enough to save you. You just go save yourself. Let me ask you something.

If you had it to do over again, no one that I'd yell at you, no one that you'd heard the old man, would you take the knife again? How old are you? Six months? I mean, how old am I? I'm older than humans.

I come from the massive, swirling archetypal energy. I've been around, but I have been in this form for about six months. Yeah. It's tough stuff walking around six months old. Yeah. You don't know shit. No.

That's all right. But I think what you may be just figured out is what you do matters a little bit more than who you think you are. I'm sorry I yelled at you. And I'm sorry I took the knife away from you. That's not a good lesson. It's not a good lesson to teach a kid

because that's what you are. So I'm gonna try to teach you the right lesson. And out of his pocket, he's gonna pull that thing that he was futzing with. And what you'll see is the tang and the blade of the cursed knife that she stole from Elbin and a new handle fashioned from the bone that he took from the hounds off from.

Oh yeah. Etched and carved, rubbed with rose petal and elder berries. And it's this really rich pink hue that sort of matches tyrannies and tire everything. And he's gonna hold it and he's gonna say, now I made this for you. I'm not an artist, but I got a craftsman stash.

And I'm gonna give it back to you for one reason, one reason only. You took it and your choices have weight. So tonight you're gonna carry that weight. I don't know what the fuck this thing is. I'll never have much of a knife of magic, but it belongs to you, and it's not right that I have it. I'm gonna flip it around in my hand,

hold it by the blade, hand out the handle to her. You gonna take it? God, this is so fucking cool. Cattigan. What? Thank you. Your faith in me really means a lot. I'm very afraid of you, and I think you're really cool.

And I feel the weight of this dagger. It is white hot in my hands with the pain of this man that I caused. Yeah. And I'm... I really don't want to let you down. But I think I would have taken the knife again. Well, here's a thing. When you think about kids,

they always miss the lesson the first time. It's yours. Thank you. I'd like to bond with this weapon. You, even sitting here at a campfire, the magic of a campfire is that you can sit at it and in one instant be the most connected to the people around the fire with you that you've ever been.

And in the next moment, Go to the most solitary and soulful place within your own heart and mind that you can possibly reach and never be far away from the people you love and care about. Sitting here in the fire, crackling, you think of the fires of the realm which birthed you, gaze at this knife and begin to get lost in it.

As you attuned to it, you look into the blade, You are a demon that has only worn this form for a time, but the stuff with which you are made is older than time itself. Deep in a riving pit of entropy and destruction, the substance that made you was waiting for this world to be born so you could come and ruin it. You look at this knife, you're so drawn to it.

You were shaped by the hand of the shadow of suffering, an ancient demon whose voice you've heard this very night. And there's something in this knife. You are drawn to it. And it has to do with pain. You're certain of it. That's what you're here to do. Contract with a mortal family of sorcerers. Be damned, you are here to hurt the world. You look in that knife and you start to attune to it. And you see, a mother's hand, some pumpkins and squash from a little mountainside garden,

roasted and seasoned and covered in honey, fresh seeds. Here, the babbling of a nearby baby. This thing roasted to a point of softness and you can see her cutting through with a knife, each cut going into something, making it a small and perfect size to a small and perfect size to go into a little child's hand.

Every little motion of the knife is a prayer, hoping that a thing she loves more than life itself will take a little morsel of food and get a little stronger, a little bigger, a little more ready for a world she can't predict. This knife has been an instrument of love for more times. and you can count

and you get lost in that memory. Where does tyranny go in this memory and what crosses her mind as she looks? This is the first gift that tyranny has ever received in earnest. And it was born of understanding of shortcomings and flaws. And as she looks down at the knife,

all she feels is searing, jealousy of humanity. You're a demon born of pain, so perhaps it's fitting that you can't stop looking at this knife that's hurting you. There is a secret. Something in here is eluding you. It's taunting you.

The lessons of the creed might be a lie, but there's something true in this knife. And for all of the ancientness the energy suffusing your being, it is beyond your grasp. You attuned to this knife, but its final form alludes you. For indeed, in another world, another time,

an object like this might have been referred to as a vestige of divergence. But here, you're just a demon holding a kitchen knife that you stole from a little old known. It sounds so sick. Something in this knife can grow along with your understanding of this world. But it's a world you don't understand yet.

So your feet, for which I mean your hooves, get warm by the fire. As you gaze into a knife, you have much to learn. The knife's magic rest at your fingertips. There's something here, but you won't find it tonight. Well, looks like you like it. Slam her on the bat. Ah, good, good, good.

And I was like, I always have to move my body before bed. I'll see you guys in a bit, and I'll walk off into the forest. I'm gonna tuck the knife into my apron and not share this moment quite yet. I have a lot. I'll let to think about. Cattigan's true to his word. And he walks out to settle his nervous system.

And after this moment with tyranny, he has to break away from connection. And he just finds a quiet spot about 20 feet from a tree and just starts pulling darts out of his butt, straight out of his butt, where he keeps him a human purse. purse. And he's just winging darts at an open spot on a tree. And it's bad. I can't hit shit, just like tonight. And he's feeling inadequate and angry. And he's throwing the darts

harder and the harder that he throws, the worse he gets. And this frustration builds and grows until he's just out of darts and he's got one left in his hand and he can't do it. Slams his club down, slams the dart down. And he's just frustrated by his inadequacy and also feeling connected to these people for the first time in a long time. And I think that connection is making him question himself. There's no comfort here. He's lost in his own skin, so he has to move his body,

and he starts to move his body again, and he just catches himself, doing everything he can to warm up and feel inside of himself. And he's doing push-ups, he's jumping, he's moving his body, and as he moves, he starts to forget about the people that he's with, and he's alone with himself and tapping into his own body. And this is when I will choose to level it. Oh, lovely.

By myself. I love that. And it is unhealthy. And it is sad. Yeah. And maybe even a little bit pathetic. But his body grows stronger and his skills sharpened. And he picks up that last dart.

And he locks it into his adilatel. And he picks a different tree 40 yards away. Or sorry, 40 feet away instead of 20. and he throws it, and he's aiming for the tiniest knot in the tree, smack in the middle, and I will take sharpshooter as my feature. Hell yes. And it takes the chef feet.

You. Running after the wheel and all the time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Damn. That's like hell. Yeah. Dart right into the center of the tree. Wolfrick, I think, looks up at you.

Wolfrick didn't have to see how dangerous Slocke was, but Wolfrick saw how dangerous tonight was and is looking up at you. You bullseye that tree. And I think you realize in this moment, you were totally lost in concentration. But Wolfrick also watched the entire process of you carving that bone and looks up at you,

with, I think, a wide expression, looking to see if you will say or remark on anything that has happened tonight, how close you came to death, what it meant for you to carve the handle of that knife. You know we can do better. It's been you and I for a long time. Do better.

The fights in all the years, just do it. And the quiver on his hip starts to glow. This found relic, from a battle a long time ago, one of our first. The runes on it starts a glow. And in that moment, the faint outline of the red bolt that would never manifest and never come into being sizzles to life. And his quiver has an extra arrow in it, an extra bolt for the first time.

And you could tell that energy from the one that we lost in the cave, that thing that was meant to be a moment for us to excel together that we failed at. That energy has dissipated, and now there are two arrows and Wolferk's quiver. And for the first time, Kattegan, Jess St.m. Really feels. And what he feels is pride, a little bit of hope.

He walks back to the fire and he pets his fucking dog. I'm lolling out. Having rested on the decision to return to Dolmokyar, to seek an answer with, at least Arcanus, you know can handle this problem and know can be relied on for good faith and close counsel. One by one, I think you drift off to rest hidden here, either on the campfire or in the carriage.

But is there anything you do? do, I suppose I'll ask who first seeks rest from this one by one as you guys take your last rest before you will head out on the perilous journey back into the belly of the beast. I don't mind taking first watch. First watch or first rest? Rest. One by one we go to sleep. I can rest. I think you head back to the...

You either sleep by the fire or you go into the carriage, get some privacy. I think I would go back and sleep against the wheel of the carriage. You lean up against the wheel, knowing that your brother is inside, find rest, almost died today. Came very close. As you begin to rest, going into this long rest, that death save failure begins to diminish in some part of you that, you part of you that sort of went, no one gets this lucky, no one survives this many battles. Something's gotta go bad at a certain point. That starts to fade away here in the wagon.

What are the last thoughts as you let go of that closeness to death as you fade off into sleep? I think he begins to think that maybe there are more forces at work that are looking out for Tabor, that perhaps It wasn't just blind luck or devotion that saw him through all of those battles. Maybe there is a greater calling for him, and that if he can open his eyes to the light, maybe it will light his path. You drift off to sleep. Wolfrick will trot over to the other wheel.

Curl down, cat again,'ll nuzzle up against Wolfrick and start to fade off too. Hey, let somebody else keep watch for fucking once. Can I ask you a question? Of course. Our first night we slept in the wild, why don't we sleep in those trees? You think zombies can't climb fucking trees? Sometimes it's best to keep the illusion of safety at the forefront.

Sure, sure. It's always been good about that. Watching out for everybody else, when are you gonna start taking care of yourself, old friend? Oh, there's still a lot of time left. I have a feeling we are just getting started. The two old soldiers drift off to sleep, thimble, wake, tyranny, your left of the campfire.

It's settling down into just embers. Ready? For bed? Yeah, yes, I think so. Wherever Wick orients himself, I curl up at the bottom, even though it's just dirt. I think I lay out whatever robes or whatever we have to make the ground soft, as soft as it can be, and then sort of seeing Cat again,

seeing Teor, how they sleep. I'm just gonna get up and kick the robes aside and try to sleep right on the dirt. Just to see if I can do it. Okay, okay. I'm gonna get up and I'm gonna take that and I'm just gonna go just under your head, how about. Okay, just, it's okay, don't be a hero.

Emboldened by this show of care from Cadigan, and tyranny kind of like peeks her head up from Wicks dirty ass, muddy ass velvet slippers. And just goes, hey, you did really good and you're being really brave. Over the last few days you've been, I realize I've been ignoring you sometimes and other times maybe worrying about you too much

and thank you for just letting me be me and figure this all out and letting me be sort of scared and not really a great leader and not really a great soldier. But it's only been a couple days and you've already decided to lead a full-fledged revolt on your family, man. I think that you're doing a good job. I felt very vulnerable around you

and it may be really realized that I miss Arma so much, and I think she's out there somewhere. And I can find her. Yeah, we should get her. We should get her. Let's get Arma. Good night. You drift off to sleep.

Wait, is you drift off to sleep? Do you do anything for candle feast? Oh, well, you know, it is custom on candle feast to give someone else a candle. and we don't really have any. So instead, I'll give tyranny my cane for the night. If you get scared of the dog, it lights up. Do I have to turn it on?

You just sort of say light and it comes on. Sorry, sorry, sorry. There's no off, you just have to wait an hour. I hide it under my dress. You hide it under stuff, sit there. This is your first candle feast that you're not celebrating. But in a way, as I drift off to sleep, I realized that all of these various people

who've tried to kill me over the last couple of days have somehow peered into my soul and been able to see that deep down, I'm pretty lonely. But looking around the camp, up fire. I think for the first time, even since before this all started, I don't feel lonely. And maybe they were wrong. You dropped to sleep and the last person left keeping watch as the embers of the fire died down as thimble.

I have been watching their conversation without them even remembering that I was around and thinking about the early days between me and Thiasi, just figuring out our partnership and how we worked together and it just feels very reminiscent. And I'm jealous of them, having all of it ahead of them. But I'm gonna fly over as soon as they fall asleep and step up close to Wick's ear as he's sleeping. As he's sleeping.

Also for a total dick anymore. I'm mostly sorry I threw rocks at you. You're such a dick. I'm gonna go find a little patch of flowers growing and lay down in the center of it and think about the golden orchard and think about Octus and think about Thaz and think about all of the everybody who's potentially gone now.

I think you look over and see in the back of the carriage those braces. You recognize them as callowans. Unless I'm much mistaken, I don't think anyone, I think the people had grabbed them but not claimed them, but you see them resting there in the back of the carriage. Terrible things at work. It's too much loss. It's pointed.

It's the point of it, right? Don't wait for you to process one loss, kick you in the stomach over and over again, and make you feel dizzy with loss. Rolling down a hill doesn't seem to stop. Keep you off balance. Despair becomes the only numbing agent. The only thing to let you feel like

maybe the little bit of power I have is to just stop feeling how frightening and horrible this is. But then I think of Dame Orgain, and I drift off to sleep, thinking about her eyes. her hope and her promise. It's never too far gone. When morning comes, you strike out on the road for Dolmachiar.

And that's all for this episode of Critical Role and a smashing conclusion to our first outing with our soldiers table. The Fang Falcons. The Fang Falcons. F.F. F.F. We wake up in the morning and wicks. like tattooing. Are we not?

Are we not? I thought we're doing fantastic. Next we see you. You'll be on the road back to Dolmachiar, but incredible. You got your revenge on Casimir Gavin Dale. You've rescued your brother, although in less than ideal circumstances. And more questions than answers is math. I know.

You have, there's statues more than just he and this. What could that be? There's a whole circle that's got like, almost like a Ving Vesir, and there's a word here that's barely readable. You can't read about before we start shooting again. That's true, I didn't even think to scan that. That's the only copy of that that exists.

No, those are stakes, baby. No, those are stinks, baby. What a joy for religion and honor. What a thrilling adventure with many more to come. And I'll ask, as I must, is it Thursday? Yeah. Thanks for listening to this episode of Critical Role. If you're enjoying this story,

consider leaving a review on your podcast platform of choice. We're always looking for new critters to share our adventures with, and your review may help a new batch of wayward souls find their way to Aramon, Exandria, and beyond. Or if you want to hear what the cast discussed after the episode, head to beacon.tv and check out our exclusive show Critical Roll Cooldown. You'll be right there at the table immediately after we say, is it Thursday yet, and experience our cast's post-show reactions.

We'll see you next time.