Critical Role - On the Scent | Critical Role | Campaign 4, Episode 7 Part 1

Episode Date: November 27, 2025

Part 1 The Soldiers arrive in the Kingdom of Timmony, where local customs are bending against the religious influence of the Candescent Creed... 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 TorrenceCountdown Graphic 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Why, hello there. I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan, and welcome to Campaign 4 of Critical Role. Thank you for joining us on this journey as we explore Aramon, a world of fractured kingdoms, tumultuous rebellion, and sorcery that rises from the graveyard of the gods. You're listening to Part 1 of this adventure, with Part 2 arriving this upcoming Tuesday. Our episodes typically arrive on the Critical Role podcast, a week after our initial Thursday night streams on Beacon, YouTube, and Twitch. But if you'd rather listen to a full podcast episode of Campaign 4, right when it airs, without any ads, consider becoming a Beacon member.

You'll receive access to exclusive content, discounts at all our online Critical Role shops, pre-sales for live events, and so much more. Start your seven-day free trial today at Beacon.tv. Now, without further ado, let's begin this episode of Critical Role. In the great hall of the Pentevereal, fanning out through many seats are assembled students, researchers, faculty, staff, hush noises, paper fluttering, familiars, getting into their places in the rafters.

A dwarven woman. ascends a small series of steps to a lectern, looking out over the Great Hall. Here, where some of the greatest lessons in the Peneverell's history have been given. Dean Cora Keppelin Vicerich, her platinum blonde hair sculpted as stonework around her head and rolls and beautiful array.

Red lipstick, well-done face, gowns, rough, like a governess, looks out. Today at my inauguration as Dean of the Penteverell, it occurs to me to speak words of acknowledgement, kindness, and admiration for Dean Olippity's Tall Barrel. The applause goes up. His term as the fourth dean of the Penteverell will always be remembered as when the beginning

of a truly great era found its nascency. And as the fifth dean of the Pentevril, let's talk about the number five. We move. In the back, where do we see Murray up to here at the Great Hall? Murray's like, I can't hear. I want to be able to use this against her later. Sorry, excuse me, sorry, sorry.

Excuse me. Highly irregular. That's my seat, sorry, move. There's open seats in the back. Shut up. Across town at the Arcanod, walking through beautiful marble halls, a Boler, Lethalia, walks as the Lord Temidei Wernst

speaks to the Lady Amaria Dason Cormoray, saying, It's absolutely stunning, of course. I mean, the building itself is exemplary. She keeps her eyes ever-trained on you, Boler, marveling at Shea's blade, the last of the pariah blades, hanging in its place of honor here in the heart of the Loy Wing.

The sword that killed the first God to die in Aramon. Stunning, isn't it? Remarkably mundane. Well, I suppose that was the whole point of it, really. Bringing something mundane to something celestial, something beyond. One was inevitably going to triumph over the other. This is fake, of course. What?

Oh yes, we wouldn't leave anything that expensive and that rare. where anybody could touch it, break it. Oh. Well, it's just this beautiful exhibit all around it. It just seemed so real. Well, it's very close to real, but there's only one way to know if you could actually tell the difference

and for someone of your standing. How interesting. Would you like to see the real one? I very much would, Master Lothalia. It's the least I can do after making you come back, after everything ridiculous that went on last night. And she walks away, she smiles, nodding to you. Go ahead and give me a persuasion check,

if you'd be so kind. Hmm. Uh, oh, really? Uh, nine. Walking beside you, she says, your kindness in this regard. is deeply appreciated. The Pariah Blades,

you said Celestial. Were they capable of harming Celestials or only the gods themselves? No one really knows. I have my own theories, and I do put them forward. By all means, Master Lothalia put them forward. There's so much we don't know

about, despite it only being 80, 90 years, not that long ago, there were battles that were barely seen, few survivors, and we have so little information about what actually happened. So much we don't know. It's a marvel you've recovered all of the blades. Well, helps that we are funded by the family that made them.

Delightful. But yes, there's something about the weight of reality. I believe the weight of reality can crush most things. Well, it seems that much of the real has been gathered here in this place. Thank you. I would love to see some of this. And you have some of the other divine, or I should say, undivine weaponry here, yes? Oh, they vary quite a bit in make and form.

Each god, and god has had their own weakness, as it were, the thing that undid them. Mysteries abound. Always. And we've still no understanding of how the trickster died. That's the trouble with that one. It was a very, very large piece of destruction. We know where it happened. It was one of the sacred theaters, and there were no survivors.

It took everything. It's just a crater where that theater used to be. No record, no survivors, and the few people that made whatever weapon that was. Died very early in the war. Sacred theaters. Have you ever met Hallandiel Fang? Yes, a few times. Why?

We move from the Arcanade. Back to the Pentevril. In the wizardly practice of numerology, the number five constitutes a very powerful number, prime. And as fifth dean of the Pentevral, I would like to thank our noble representatives of the five sundered houses. Today we are announcing the Cormoray Scholarship

for Arcane Service that will enable us to teach even more eager pupils than we ever have in the history. of the Penteverell. Shut, shut up. Don't tell me to shut up. Let's go. You see that, she says,

five deans, five architects of the Penteverell, like fingers on a hand. Oh, gods. You see her eyes dark to you, and you get a message cantrip in your head that says, keep it to yourself. Keep it to yourself, Murray. I want to see you in my office after all this is done.

I'm sure we do. Old ways are dying. We represent nothing, if not the triumph of the new. She leaves the lectern, my office. Five fingers. And we will return. return elsewhere in Aramon on tonight's episode of Critical Role.

Hey friends, welcome to the Critical Role Announcement Playhouse. Ashley, you're up. Hello, it's me. I'm Ron Berger. Hello, I know. All right you guys, our last charity auction went through the

roof the TGIT 90s one shot raised over $80,000 for NCWIT all thanks to you and it actually went so well all right we're gonna have another auction oh oh oh so mark your calendars for December 10th because critical role with help from our friends at eBay will be hosting the 10 year anniversary auction! This time, proceeds will benefit all of our partnered charities. And you can learn more about each of them at critroll.com slash foundation,

and there will be more surprises and details coming up. But in the meantime, expect auction items like limited run and discontinued items, signed merch, and one-of-a-kind items like, All right, I'm gonna be honest with you because I'm having a hard time with this and I've really been contemplating if I want to do this or not.

You're gonna, you're gonna do it? You're gonna do it? I'm gonna do it. So, items like my dice tray from campaign three. Okay. I know. I still don't know if I wanna give this away.

It's for charity. I know that's what I keep saying, but. You're a better woman and I. I know. So I think, I think, this will probably be on the list. So, stay tuned. It's going to be a lot of fun, and you're not going to want to miss this. And folks, the first three episodes of the Mighty Nine are out right now on Prime Video.

So if you missed our live launch party, you can now find. the VOD on Beacon right now or Prime Video next week. But for those interested in more behind-the-scenes content, we are super excited to announce mid-season and finale talkback shows titled Inside the Mighty Nine. These are our 60-minute episodes that will be available on Prime Video starting December 3rd, along with an extended 90-minute version

that'll be exclusive to Beacon. These videos will explore the creative process behind adapting campaign to animation. And it's truly been a labor of love from all of us, and we're so excited for you all to finally see this series. Cannot wait. Laura, you're up.

Oh, no, and I have the hiccups. You know the hiccups? This will help. In case you missed it. Our fourth annual Christmas can't miss sales running strong and Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend is around the corner. So, guess what?

There might be some additional savings on already marked down items. Black Friday through Cyber Monday. But stock is limited, so if you have your eye on something, don't take too long because, you know, they could sell out. And that's it. You go through it. I did it.

I didn't have to hold up anything. I think that's the reason. I had a good job already. But with the hiccops. That's true, you do good. Also, get rid of my hiccups. Hey, look that. I was trying to be nice.

Thank you, Black Friday. Oh no. The magic of Black Friday. The any award-winning campaign setting, Dungeons of Drakhanime is coming to Dagger. Yay! Yay! Created by The Wonderful Dungeon Dudes and Ghostfire Gaming, Dungeons on Drakhanheim is a dark, fantasy,

cosmic horror sandbox campaign where adventurers explore a city devastated by a mysterious meteor shower and haunted by horrifying monsters. It's really cool over it. It's great, guys. The Daggerheart rule set us a perfect fit for Drakhanheim's core themes of hope and fear, offering a fresh way to explore the cursed city. So learn more and back it on Kickstarter at ghostfiregaming.com slash draconheart. Seriously, check it out. It's awesome. I think that concludes our announcements.

So it's Gordon Shumachan to Aramann. Back to you. We're going to be able to be able to be. Hello, and welcome to tonight's, episode of Critical Role. I don't know why anyone's laughing because I'll tell you what's deadly serious. The combat, we just had it, the Rafe Tree.

Folks, our soldiers' table is on a mission for vengeance, searching for a man named Casimir Gavondale. Once a brother of the torn banner fighting on the rebel's side of the Falconer's Rebellion, now seemingly having turned over

the beloved Fiazzi Fang, boon companion of one thimble, over to the sundered houses to meet his death at the end of the hangman's rope. We have traveled north in pursuit of the treacherous Casimir Gavindale, but also, perhaps more closely,

in need of rescuing one of his potential victims, that being Sid, Telsidimir Pride Sire, Teyore's younger brother, Pursuing his tracks out from Dolmachiar after the events of Theazi Fang's funeral and having put together the pieces of what went wrong in the attempt to save the Ozzy's life, which was proven impossible to do. We instead see here in these moments where your footsteps have led you, following Sid out of Dolmachiar. He and Kazimir are splitting up, finding the gnomish archinous. albid morn, a father of some long-lost heroes of the Falconer's Rebellion, who parted

with a very capable, enchanted toy sword, and against his knowledge, also parted with a knife, a beloved handle of lapis, lazuli, and ivory. The handle returned, but the blade itself unknowingly kept in the possession of one Cadigan Vale. Your footsteps led you down from the fireworks and goat-protected walls of Albid's sort of observatory, where he keeps an eye on the magical happenings of the storm rack, but also on travelings of the road, the banner of the king headed south, just as Casimir Gavendale. That worm heads north. The son of a bitch. That son of a bitch. You killed our friend, and he was your friend. My friend, that's the worst kind of killing, my friend.

Traveling north, Sid made his way through the forest, but on foot versus Casimir's carriages and through the dense forest against Casimir traveling on the King's Road, you have to wonder if Sid, even if he makes it out of the DeHopshiny Wood, won't have a trap waiting for him on the other end of the forest. and indeed it was that premonition within a crystal that Thimble saw.

You, or was it either at the Hags Lake? No, that was when you gave your memory away. More sad stuff. A lot happened last episode. You made your way to Hawthorne's Glade found at the edge by Hawthorne herself and some of her Glade's finest warriors.

Notification. No, no, that was just a Sprite. That was a Sprite. That was a little. Barry. You were saved in the nick of time by none other than Wukander Hala Vars. Unlakely. Unlikely summoning of the light. Wings of light surrounding. We both have wings. We're basically the same. And you made an impression on Hawthorne. You made more than an impression on Shuffa, a shambling mound, who appears to, with no central nervous system, still

be possessed of a religious conviction in your sacredness. You saw the glade of fairies that have fled danger and in some cases it seems persecution, perhaps even at the hands of the candescent creed, if that grasshopper fay can be believed. You also met Sallow, a hag who betrayed the secrecy of the to tell you that, yes, Sid not only was here, but had been sent to his death at the wraith's tree. A terrible plan, but one that the Faye had made to keep their glade safe by feeding those mortals

that had found their glade to the wraith, such that more undead would patrol the woods at night and keep people far from this place. You made quick work of the wraith animated within the tree and even sending it back to the underworld with a divine smite. The tree began to summon it back before Thimble could douse it in Cadigan's oil

and set it to light as the zombies disanimate all around you. It is to this moment we return as fire fills the forest around you. Flickering fire as the tree goes up. It is bright as day here in the dark forest. This tree sputters, and though you do not actually believe it to be fundamentally supernatural, the oil of the dead tree pops and screams as the wood splits in the flame.

the steam escapes and hisses with these loud, shrill cries. As you are surrounded by, in Terry's case, a kind of comforting hellfire. Looking around, seeing the most freshly dead are indeed closest to the tree, you can breathe a sigh of relief that Sid's body is nowhere to be found. So he made it.

As far as we can tell, I think so. I ran up to Wick. Oh my, you're so cool. You're so cool. What? Did you know you could do that? I did not. No, I did not.

But I don't even know what that was. It could be that monster blood or whatever in me. I don't even know if that's... That's good or whatever. It sounds really good to me. I don't know. Did you say monster blood? The angel.

Yes, the angel thing. It was, yes. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. It remains to be seen. But if your brother isn't here, have we? Are any of the zombies fresh enough to be looted? Fucking. Listen.

Old trick. Listen. What a absolutely marvelous question. Go ahead and give me an investigation check. You're so polite too with it. There was no doubt. That's a 22. 22, hell yes.

I would like you to go ahead and please, on a 22, we'll call it for every five, starting at 10 and for every 5 above, we'll go 2D10, so give me 6D10. Oh my gosh. Roll 6010 for me. What? I'm so happy. I don't even know what this is doing, but it feels really good.

Go ahead. You're rolling your demise. That's what she said. Okay, wait. Okay, six, see you ten. That's good. Okay, four, five. Don't know what you're doing. One more. That's really good. Six. Okay, okay, okay.

And what am I trying to do? Oh, oh, okay. Go ahead. You're trying to get high or low? Go ahead. Do it right now. Go ahead. Oh, you're trying to get high.

trying to get high. 38. That's what he said. You find 38 gold pieces in several different denominations scattered throughout those people here.

I'll even go ahead and say it's probably like we'll call it 31 gold pieces that's seven and then call it like you know 56 silver pieces and then call it Canadian Loon.

Call it 100. 104 copper pieces. So, you know, over, but this is, by the way, Thimble, this is gonna be 20 minutes, because each of these poachers, these are poachers and smugglers. As you look at those assembled and gathering out here, the terrible calculation of the Faye,

who are themselves, some of them are good, but not all of them, and even some of them that are not good, didn't approve of this plan. But, you know, Hawthorne is a spirit of wild nature, maybe neither good nor evil. She sent a lot of people here to die. But you do look out here and see there's no like neighborhood school children. There's a lot of people that for one reason or other than wanted to take deep into the adoption, knowing how dangerous it was. You see a lot of people trying to find new smuggling tracks to get into and out of Domachar. But again, that describes

a lot of people you're friends with. There's a lot of poachers, people that are coming here, knowing it's a magical forest. You see that there's some people here also. You got a 22 go ahead and roll a D-100 for me. Yeah, is anybody carrying some sawed-off sater horns from our homie back in the blade that we can return? Um. Punk ass.

90. Oh, 90. One second. You're dead. Uh, zombie fair. Hell, yes. Um, on a particularly, large, fearsome-looking hunter.

First you see this hunter looks sort of like Wilderness Man. He's got like a couple of what looks like pelts around his shoulder from small animals, from the sort of oil saying to the pelts, you think it's probably like either otter or beaver or some kind of like some, or maybe some kind of like water rat kind of pelts. You see he's got, and then you see the tools

that he carries on them are pretty ferocious looking, and you smell a stench of cold iron. You grew up close enough to humans that you don't have a particular vulnerability to cold iron, but the fairies that grew up way far away in fairy are harmed by cold iron. He was hunting them. You see a pair of horns on his belt.

You also see, the horns don't seem to have any magical property other than that they are of the poor, that they are a horrifying visage of this man's evil work. You do, however, see that there are two small vials on his belt. Each of which appears to be some kind of potion. As you open the kind of,

he has a sort of thick leather harness that as you open it up the belt, almost like a bandalier, many of them are empty, but two are actually buttoned and undoing the clasps on them, light spread. out. You see two thick glass vials with a slightly luminous. It almost looks like it's one color, then you realize it's two. It's kind of a helixing or lava lamping, even though that's not a verb. Gold and like a pearlescent silvery white. Give me a nature check if you'd be so kind of.

Yes. You're good at that, right? Yes. Okay. Unique. Not right now. I'm not good at. at it, but nine. Anyone else that wants to take a crack at it can, especially if you have proficiency in nature? Let's go, Caddy. Come on, come on. Let's go.

You've seen. Strangely enough, it's pretty poor. Here we go. Why is your nature so shit? I rolled, oh, was that a 13? Did you roll the one? That's a 13. I did not.

That's all for a 14. That was the one that you rolled. Yeah, that was the one. 14. 14. I think on scent alone, as Wolfrick is kind of here with you, you don't have a deeper insight, but you know that whatever that is, it is probably a potion made on the fly,

which makes you think it's pretty close to being some kind of biological fluid of a magical creature, blood, tears, something like that. Drink it. This fucking asshole. Sorry. Who is, you can see. I like gold to Tayor.

You can see that, oh, you give the gold to tear under the armpits. Yeah. Where's he? Where does he go? I have my supial pouches. So you mark down these two mystery potions. You don't know exactly what they do. But I will say that for whatever it's worth,

this guy had them on his belt. So in terms of if they do something, he clearly wanted quick access to them. Right? Right. And I think that you see this horrify who you see he's sort of as a lumpen, angry-looking face, even in death, partially rotted through the, he's probably been a zombie for at least a year at this point

with the rot that's, you know, even animated through on death. These guys still slowly decompose. But you don't sense that this guy was pleasant to be around, even when fully alive and unrotting. I'm just going to take my pin. Sword and stab it in his eye. Ooh. You see, a little bit of putrescent filth oozes down his face. It is for this man that this policy was adopted by Hawthorne's Glade.

And perhaps some of the dead here would blame the fairies, but maybe in some way some blame should be reserved for men like this that make those choices necessary. Is he dead? He's dead. Does he look like this? What are the eyes? How did you know?

How did you know? How could you have known? Wow. It is dead of night. And as the tree, the tree will be burning for some time. And you also can't guarantee, frankly, is a rain forest, so the death of these trees means that they are largely waterlogged still.

You don't think there's a real chance of a fire spreading out through here. But I think that you can feel Thimble like reaching out through the forest here. Something really horrifying and dangerous has died in this forest. You guys have, insofar as Chasing Sid, have rid the world of a deep and profound

evil, but also made this forest more accessible for whoever wants to access it. And the last piece of your looting is the two corroded bronze halves of that holy symbol that the wraith held, which you can see are withered, desiccated. It looks like that bronze symbol must have, you know, aged some like centuries or whatever in the time. that it, like, fell to the ground. But you have that as well, if you wish to carry it, though none would blame you if you did not. Do you want to take it?

I wouldn't mind just because it's a relic of an old time. Pick up the two abs and fly it over to him. Do you recognize it? Do I recognize it? Give me a religion check. And we were a subject before. Last time, it's a symbol of, you know it simply as a symbol of,

Tonsul, who was the shaper of the sun. Yeah. I'll hold onto it just because. I feel like my child when I'm trying to spell names. It's just like going here. Yeah, I'll hold onto it. What did you land on? I'm not telling me. And even though it's not seen in my character design,

there are nifty ass pouches under the underarms of my. Oh. Oh. So you definitely do have pouches. Definitely planned in advance and just blocked by the arm. It's very anti-fetched. Type theft. That's right.

There's all sorts of shit under that cape, y'all. Character Design 101. Hide shit with capes. Are there any freshies around? I'd like to just pop off a finger. I'm kind of hungry. Wow. What?

You eat people? She wants to pop off a fresh. I'm dead. You eat people. He's dead. A little Nathan hot dog out there. Let's go. I did not know that you did this.

I don't do it. I mean, I don't do it when we're back at your family's house, but it is something that I can and will do. From time to time. Am I a little hungry? Yeah, we've been fighting. So I'd like to find one.

That's desecrating a dead body. The last thing I'll say in terms, as you swallow this finger, there's obviously tons of other stuff here, loot-wise, none of which is as good as your current. You can basically cycling through a bunch of mundane weapons that none of which are worth equipping. If there is a random dagger, I'll take one, just to have an extra dagger.

By all means, yes. You can grab, there's hunting knives, there's a lot of daggers out here. but nothing you find is really a worthy make that would be worth, you know, unless you don't have one. What kind of finger do you take? Middle finger. Uh-huh. Yeah. You get the most meat off of the bone? Bradgers think it's funny. Can I also ask, while we're doing that sort of searching of the bodies, I would be trying to canvas in this battlefield and with a fire and all those things, any sort of science of SID, a flex of fur, or any kind of equipment that he might have dropped in order to flee quickly.

Under the sputtering of this massive bonfire and this wraith tree, which is sort of a funny thing to watch because it is a sacrilege of a sacrilege. It's not that you're watching something that's pleasant or good, but there is a weird feeling of, I think tyranny, watching this tree burn,

you feel a sort of demonic pleasure. This is sort of sacred to demons, the destruction of something worthy of destruction. I feel like it's sort of like when just a regular person and looks at a campfire and you think, oh, I am connected to every person who has ever watched a fire and been sort of mesmerized it.

And even the smells of kind of rotting flesh and moss and seeing this like horrifying thing get taken down, I don't know, I'm feeling oddly tender. I'm feeling kind of sweet. And I've moved on to viscera. I love it. As you're fucking good. I love it.

You are not surrounded by aesthetics this pleasant back in Dolmachiar. You can absolutely make an attempt right now. In the dark of night under the light of the wraith tree, it will be made with disadvantage. But I don't know if you guys want to camp out at the burning wraith tree. I mean, this house is clear.

I mean, it's nighttime, though. How deep into the night is it? Is it a time to sleep? You guys got here a little bit after sunset. Okay. So it's early night. You guys could try to push through. You're not too far.

But like... There are more undead than just around the wraith tree. It's not like this was the... Yeah. There's a... You sense that this was a very, like, a center of activity, but none of you have a... have like an inventory of every undead or even just monster.

Yeah. You know? I think Cadigan would warn them that that that's a possibility. that it might be more sporadic, but yeah, for sure. So we'll keep going. Yeah. All right. Go ahead, give me a survival check to net.

We'll call it a DC-10 just to keep navigating through the night to get out of here. But if you can hit a DC-15 or higher, and you'll be rolling with disadvantage, because you are doing it at night. So, but Wolf-Rick can cancel that out so you can roll straight. Okay.

And I'll, I have dark vision, so maybe I can help well. Usen. Even with light added, it's still just the added of like moving to the woods with a flashlight versus being able to make, get an actual lay of the land. And we both get your role? And shadows a movie. Yeah. You have Dark Vision too, you said.

Oh. Duky, bro. Miserable failure. Well, I don't know if yours is as miserable as mine is. Mine is a one. Oh, yours is almost as miserable as mine. No, just kidding. Mine is almost as miserable.

Seven. Okay. I'm sorry, I roll the one, so I have a fine. It's not a competition, kids. We both are. But it's a critical failure. Either way, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. On a seven, we fall short of that DC-10.

Moving through the woods, I think you guys get... I think you guys get well and truly lost. Mm-hmm. It's bad. Moving through... through the woods away from the wraith tree. It's also just like you get further out. It's like cracking.

The red light stays behind you forever. It messes with your own light. The fire sputtering makes the shadows move. No sign of Sid anywhere. So the Sid's trail has gone totally, totally cold. How long into the night do you travel before you collapse and just try to sleep somewhere? I think once we go beyond the immediate light of the burning tree, I would also try and kick on my divine.

just to sweep for any new, undead, fe, celestial, creamed. You continue to move forward. You're sweeping for undead and fay. How long do you travel before you either, like, collapse? I think a few hours. I can always go up into the trees and see if we can maybe camp out high to stay away from the shamblers. When we're talking about being lost in the woods, are we talking about having lost all sense of direction? Like, we wouldn't even know.

Without the sky, who knows what was going to say. I can go above the trees and look for the moon. Doesn't that help at all? There's no moon in this world. We got three moons. Take that. And they're all haunted. They're all haunted. No, there is about a single moon in this world, but the

you could fly up if you would like. If you want to head up. if you want to head out. Yeah, I mean, I already rolled like shit though, so. Hopefully there's nothing. I was gonna say you, I think flying up, you just see that it's overcast,

which is often is in this part of the world rainforest. As you guys are moving along, I think that your choice is either just park it in the dark or if you want to not sleep, you guys could just try to push through till morning or there's at least gonna be some light, but I'll probably be a constitution save associated with that. We also like it more last.

Yeah. Can it be possibly at more lost? I told you guys we should. It was kind of nice at the wraith tree. It was kind of vibey. I don't know. There was food there. I think in this case you are correct.

Thank you. God, it's so nice to be acknowledged. Should we pitch camp here? You've got a little fingernail on your chair. We could. What do you, what do you thinking? I don't know, I want to keep moving, but moving where? We should make camp. Yes.

Hi. How high up the, or is the canopy? Can we tell? In this part of the forest, canopy, actually, because there's so many, like, conifer trees around here, branches start maybe, like, sometimes as low as, like, three or four feet off the ground, and then shoot up for another, like, 80 or 90,

you know, some of these trees are truly giants, right? But if you're looking for a deciduous tree, that actually is going to give you like somewhere to build, like a hammock or something easier. There are some where the canopy would be like 40 or 50 feet up, but you'd have to scale up a massive tree to go do that. I am generally adverse to being up in trees. You have fair heights?

Well, you're getting stuck in a tree, but in... Has that happened to you? When I was a wee cub, small child. Did they have to send for the fire brigade? We did. It was very embarrassing. I'm not opposed to going up. Let's go up.

Hell yeah. Up in the tree. Just flap your wings. Yeah, you want to stay on the ground where the zombies can eat you? No. But won't we fall? We'll tie you to them, Branch. We'll tie you in. All right.

I said we trust him. I mean, I got these hooves, so I'm pretty good at climbing, although not as good as that one. Surely you've climbed a great number of trees in the city, yes, as a boy. Have you seen how soft his hands are? I have, they're like mush.

I was not allowed to climb trees. Ah. First time for everything. You all get up into the tree. It's like scaling the tree and building something, like puttings a plank out that you can like lie down. You can feel the wind moving the tree under you. You're like tying ropes around yourself

so you don't fall out and crash to your death. You are able to rest far from the ground. You only get the benefit of a short rest. Oh, God, this GM suck. He does. I'm gonna roll my last hit die. Can I, well, are we taking a snooze? We're taking a short snooze.

I just clock, thimble, and her wings are sort of shivering in the wind, and I go, hey, come here, come here. I've been told that my ears are really soft. If you want to just snuggle under it, you're about that size, you don't have to, but they're really- You can't eat while I'm sleeping?

No, of course not, I eat dead bodies. Oh. Okay. And like, you know, his food and stuff. But anyways, you can snuggle on in. It's warm. I land on her shoulder. and kind of feel her ear.

Oh. Hey! I grab a hold of your ear bar. Oh, my earring. I have one too! Oh my gosh, it's just like mine! What? What? We have the same earring!

That's so cool! Wow, I mean, I guess you could hold on to it. It's like a... be like a roller coaster and feel like. Yeah. I'm gonna climb up and like... Wiggle in. Yeah. at the end of our snooze.

All right. Did we just become best friends? Yes! With a sort of safety bar so that you don't fall out of the tree as well, even though you can fly. You wake up the following morning. And Cadigan, I think, you know, first, you're first up. And you can actually hear for the first time the distant noise of like, a finch or some kind of, maybe like a robin,

coming back into a part of the forest that you realized when you were coming here from Hawthorne's Glade had had no insect life, no bird song. Just here, like a brave little songbird has come back to explore this part of the forest and feel that you have made the right call in terms of getting off the forest floor.

Now that the sun comes in, you actually see joining the cloud line because you can kind of peer through the canopy this high up, a little bit of smoke from the smoldering wraith tree, now joining the dull gray morning light. And your journey can continue. Traveling North, again, SIDS,

you guys have gotten well and truly lost, go ahead and give me another survival check to try to, at least, Sid's trail has gone cold, cold, that would be a very, we would need a DC-20 survival check to encounter his tracks again. But DC-10 will get you headed back in the right direction, and you are no longer rolling with disadvantage. Yeah. Since we're taking front on this,

I will guide you. Yes. Doin. Okay. Sure. Whoa. Oh, no. Can you go? What is?

Why? Oh, guys, we're getting cooked here. Rolling advantage with Wolf-Rick. Oh, with it with Wolf-Rick. That's right. Can I? That's better. On the advantage from Wolf-Rick, it's an 18.

18, great. That's way better than my 11. Amazing. I would just put this one, but proficient. Oh. You head north, as you guys are traveling at a pretty fast, there's no need to be stealthy. You burned a tree down last night.

Anyone within miles would have been like something going on over there. You guys head out, and while the sun still hangs low in the sky, the cloud cover changes overhead from the sort of deep, stormy, dark gray of the mountains to something much lighter. The clouds here are still gray, but much closer to white, you know, like a light, light gray as a sort of misting drizzle starts to come down over you that doesn't even really soak your clothing. Your own body heat kind of evaporates the mist as it clings to you. And you guys look down, cresting over a ridge. There's still some trees around.

There's some forest moving down. But you get your first sight of the end of the forest and rolling pasture. low stone farmers' walls, and often the distance from sort of high up as the mountains begin to slope down, you see the Kingdom of Timony peeling out before you. And this is probably like early afternoon

by the time you arrive here, so you have some ability to travel even further in. Go ahead and give me a group perception check if you'd be so kind. 17. 13. 13. 16.

7. 7. 4. Great. 13 is the median roll there. Can we start over? These darts are not good. You looked down and see Timony.

The landscape that you move to now in this place is a land of gray stone and drifting mist. The trees are lush and full of life, but you see that the ground is rocky and hard in all directions. As you look out, you see that there are little white dots of sheep moving over pastures everywhere. Even over the distance, you see, like, as a small dot,

like a small herding dog, kind of moving sheep over a pasture. Timony is a land with a lot of woods for hunting and pastures for grazing and cattle and sheep. And it is a country that has a lot of poor areas because you can't grow shit here. There's a lot of, even looking out, you're like, are there any orchards?

Is there anything that would sort of spell abundance or plenty, big things of wheat. No, some small gardens, maybe a sort of shelf of someone growing, you know, like a hearty kind of like underground vegetable like turnips or something like that, but for the most part, it is a gray landscape and you look out and see some tattered penance and on a 13, you can't see anyone traveling on it, but you see far distance sort of on the horizon, that King's Highway, once again, that you come out just south of. T'or, when I was talking to Sudry?

Subri. Subri. Subri. She mentioned seeing Sid in, in, chained behind carriages. Oh, shit. That's right. We might have lost some time getting lost, but...

Did she happen to say anything about the carriage itself? She said she saw feathers, crow feathers. Fuck. It's gotta be them. The people here, they're skittish but kind, for the most part. I spent some time here recently. We gotta get down to the King's Road. Could be worth speaking to some of the Croft.

to see if they've seen anything. Yeah, people close to the road, at least. Is there anyone that you know here? No's a broad word. If he was in fact chained behind the carriage, it might not be safe to assume they did him the courtesy of letting him walk. So we may have to double our speed and try and catch up with them. This is not good.

No. We should go. how in the recent contract that I fulfilled maybe in the weeks before how close are these communities to where I was working like sort of I assume was close because we had some undead problems yes give me two skill checks here I'll ask for give me any two skill checks that you feel you would be applying to see what you learned in your work in this region yeah I mean I think I think recognizing recognizing communities via the type of work that they do would be one so I think that would require perception if I'm unfamiliar with this specific space give me give me perception as one of them okay oh pretty good 16 plus four is 20 30 20 how yeah perception and then I would say this it just has to feel right so So I would say, even though it's not my best,

maybe like insight. Yes, go ahead and give me an insight. Okay. And 14 plus 2, 16. Yeah, not bad. Dirty 20 Perception, you look down, trying to figure out where you move from here. You're out of the woods and into the place that you have come for.

On Journey 20 Perception, you know that you are in, the thief you are in here is Vallow. Vallow is the first, it's the farthest southeast in Timony, and it's the fee that is just south of Gormelay, which is where you're headed. So this is the place you have to go through. I think on a 20 perception you look around and you see a couple markers.

As you guys head down through the trees, you see a couple things on a 20 that you would expect to see here. There are a couple very old trees that have rope-type around them the rope has moss growing on it it's thick cable tied around trees many many many many many times and you can see that there are a number of little red threads some of which have dropped some of which was like grown into the moss on the rope that have small little pewter or tin charms on

them the charms all always have two letters for a lot of the crofters in timony that get married they would come up and leave these tied to these fairy trees at the edge of the woods to basically ask for luck in their marriage. You see that a little bit further away from those trees that you can tell have kind of been abandoned. You see there are some fence posts. The fence posts appear to have these long. sort of threads on them that have cowbells tied to either end of them. It's not a perfect solution by any means, but you see that a lot of the, the sort of rope, these like thinner, thinner cords will have fences with natural geography that slope down towards a fixed point, and the thread will go across that because they don't expect the

things coming out of the woods to be worried about traps. Basically, where is natural gravity going to make a shambling thing come and hit a thing to make a cowbell go off on the hillside for us to hear that we all need to run or get out of here. That's what you see on that perception check. On the insight check looking down, you see this is like so deep into these little Crofter villages up here. There's hardly even roads. It's like little footpaths essentially for where people would go. Down at the base, you see there is a small It looks like a freshly sort of constructed chapel. Now at the base of the hill.

And you can see at some of these cowbells, there are also hanging scrolls that are capped in these sort of scroll cases that have a symbol of the candescent creed on them. Oh. Hey, that's your people, isn't it? Yes. Yes, maybe they'll have food for us.

And also, I think we might have inadvertently helped them. These people have been besieged. I've done some work here, but nothing to the extent of what we did last night. Yeah. Beceached by the undead? Absolutely. I fly away while they're talking

and go over to the tree with the charms. Mm-hmm. I didn't want to interrupt. You take a look at all the little charms. You see each one of these little charms It's just a tiny, small imprint. Many of them are in the shape either of a paw or a hound's head that have just small,

little etched or poked letters in them. And I'm hoping for a little one with tea. A little one with a tea? I think you find one. Just saw it off. This is a gift for me. This is a gift for us. Because you are.

Your marriage is now blessed. Don't you feel like you should conduct some sort of ritual as you take it and give them your luck? Shimmie and give a little fairy dust and spit on it. There you go. And I hook the tea onto my belt. The old shake and spit. I've seen it many times.

I bet you have. On that 16 insight, I think you just look down and see Getting down farther away, you, I think, get a feeling of you just see a tree further down that looks like a much older tree that has a weird shape to its trunk, and you realize that one of those ropes was cut off. And all those charms removed from this tree that's a little bit closer to the village. That's behind the fences, essentially. On that insight, you maybe think. Serapy. I did do it. Let's make it quick, but go have a talk. See what they've seen. We could use some eyes.

You head down into this tiny little, it's like smaller than a hamlet. It's a thorpe. It's like three little structures close together, and that's downtown, baby. You know, that's the, that's. This is hopping. Yeah.

And you see that there is a small chapel. It looks like it's been built here. It is sort of a wood frame that appears to have, like, cob, like sort of clay and mud packed with straw as the bricks in it. And this has been given, like, a sort of whitewash with some kind of, like, fulksy, sort of, like, thick, clumpy, chalky white paint. So it's like a little white building.

One room, you see, there are some benches in it. They don't even have backs to them. And there in a sort of humble brown cassock, you see there is an older rotund man who's sort of sweeping the floor, a little broom, looks up, just a little bulbous red nose, a human man, looks up and says, oh, hello, welcome. Hello, the light is all.

Uh, uh, oh. No, no, no need to be nervous. It is I, Wakander, Halevar. I'm here to check in on one of our outposts. It's all right, it's all right. He collapses, grabs your hands. grabs your hands. Yes, yes, yes, it's all right, yes, yes.

Please, no. It's all right. Stop. I am. Dry me. Did she say, Thank you. You see.

She says, I am, I am your acolyte, your humble servant. What are you doing here? What are you doing? What are you doing? Please, please, please, please, be at rest, be at ease. My friends and I are on a journey to check on the goings on of the Candace and Creed and all of our operations in this area of the world.

We just wanted to make sure that you have everything that you need, all the resources you need. It is all right. It is all, it's okay. Here, have a sip, have a sip. I'll take out my little chalice and get some water from a water skin. No, it doesn't, it's just.

He takes a sip of the water and is just staggered and blown away. Just like, he, he takes a sip of the water. I have everything I need for the light is all. And all we need is the light. And all in the light, yes. Can you tell me, good so. Is this a test?

No, no, there's no. Yes, it is a test and I'll hit like a nearby pew. Oh, sure. It's really shaken. Still, I'm still looking at it. Right, this is a test. We want to make sure that all, everything is on the up and up here. Ah!

What's your name? I demand it. Follamoyne. That's a really cool name. Follamoyne. Oh, yes. Falamore. I am not the lux of this chapel.

This area has several chapels that the Lux travels between. I am merely an acolyte. I am studying. I know I am old. And that I know that... Radians will find you old timer. It's all right. It's all right.

Please. I know what our operations are out here, but just... So I... So I know that you know, what are we doing out here? The creed? Yes, yes, yes. All these new chapels that have popped up and the luxe.

What is he off to do right now? Well, I believe that the luxe is, has headed over to Ardarin, to meet with, there was a call for all of the Luxes in Valo to move to Ardron, because there's a... We, there's something they were, are we expecting you? I would keep that on the down low if you could. But see, that could be why they're moving there. But every secret is a shadow.

The light can. You're right. That test passed, yes. Good job. Yes. But wait, also the knowledge of the light cannot be shared be shared with those who are not ready for it. Oh, you're not ready.

It's a sub-primer. Does your community have a shepherd? Oh, yes, our Lux has a journeyed to Audren quickly yesterday. They departed quite quickly a messenger.

With anyone else or just alone? By themselves. We are a two-person operation. Right. They were called. Oh, there suddenly? Yes.

Yes. By a missive, by a letter? Do you have any sort of record of that? A courier here. One of the knights of the Earl, the Earl of Vallow. That's where we are. That's where we are, the Earl of the Vallow. Sure, sure.

But we are busy here tending to the people of this place. We are tending to their wounds, providing them guidance and counsel. We are keeping in our watchful eye on the terrible cursed forest with the spirits of

death and madness in the wild. I'll fly closer to him. You know why they were attacking? Because you cut down all the fairy charms. Wait, you, you are a, you are. So sad. But, but, yes, yes, she, but. It's all right, we are, we are.

What's in your stupid creed anyway? All sorts of things, what are you specifically asking? Do you not like fairies? Do you not like pixies? I, I, I don't have anything wrong with fairies, but there are some texts that mention those of being worthy of, of being anointed, and I don't, I don't,

believe that fairies are among those, but you suck. What I think Sister Thimble means to say is that our readings and teachings have not covered that part of the creed. Look this temple! And I'll fly out. You see, you see he goes, Her is part of the test to destroy that fairy? No, no, no, let her go. She's...

I'm a pixie! What? Foul word! She's not right in the head, obviously. We are here to cure. Even those who are cast in shadow can be shown the life. So many of us are on our way, but we're not just quite there yet. And I just use a little thaumaturgy to just rumble.

He goes, he's the creature. Are you a fairy as well? No, I'm a demon baby. Ah! He's gonna throw punch. We gotta scream these people better. What's happening? I thought.

With a natural three, he falls down hard in a way. hard in a way that as an older person, you do not think is good. Okay, I would like to help him up. He goes, ah. It's okay. I'm part of the light, ever bright, ever right. Just you're okay.

We're all learning. My lord, wait, this, you truck with demons and fairies. This is a trick. I abjure you. While she's helping him up, and Thimble leaves as I'm gonna follow her out, but as I do, I'm just, as I'm walking by

to Wick, I'm gonna say, these people are simple and their beliefs are pure. Don't mess with this man any longer. And I'm gonna leave. All right. He looks at you. I'm gonna need a persuasion check from you, which you have advantage with because of who you are,

but you have disadvantaged with because of everything that's been happening. So just a straight roll? Straight roll. Okay, I will cast friends. Okay. which I can do at will. I will cast friends and say to this man,

please, please, be at ease. We are all in this together, and we must all raise our friends and our foes to the light. We mean you no harm and we will not overstay our welcome. All we need is some food and possibly a horse, if you have one, and we'll be getting on a couple horses

and we'll be on our way. I have no... Do I roll for this? Yes, go ahead. Give me a persuasion. With advantage with friends? Unfortunately, advantage is always canceled out by disadvantage no matter of having to.

Okay, well that's fine. I still got a dirty 20. You see, he looks and says, said, if I had a horse, my lord, it would be yours, but the chapel has none. We tend to the people on foot. Food I have. and we'll be glad to share with you. Let me to the rectory,

and you see he gestures to just another area of this one room. As long as it's not porridge. It's really nice. Anything but porridge, please. Bread? And you see he walks off, he comes back with a loaf of bread,

and that's it. Not even some butter or jelly. We love charity, don't we? We do. Your audience. Thank you so much. Thank you, bless you, thank you. You speak with the warmth of the light.

The beam has reached me, and I'm on fire, baby. Oh, my. He just smiles and says, Oh, good. He goes, so the light has guided even a demon? Yes. You see, he just starts weeping looking at you. All is possible.

All is possible. Maybe you should give him a hug. A nice hug, a nice hug. Would you like a hug? Okay, we'll bring him. Gives you a hug. You see, he gives you a hug. You see, feeling weeping into your shoulder.

And you see, he goes, I know that I am almost, I know that I do not have a long career of service ahead of me, but if you would consider allowing me allowing me to take my test, to keep my vigil, to join the creed as a bringer of light. I would be so honored. I will send word of your request, and perhaps you can join the luminous.

But you've done a great thing today. Thank you for telling us what you have and providing us with this bread. And is there anything else we need from this guy? I'm out. I follow the Thimble out. Yeah, you do. Okay. I'm a deep curtsy.

Yes. May the beam reach you. Yes, thank you. May the beam reach you. You see that he goes and immediately goes in devout prayer. Cadigan, you step outside with Thimble. Yeah. Are you, do you stay clear? I'm flying and I'm gathering up little rocks as you come out.

Just flying down to the ground and gathering as many. What's you doing? I'm going to pelt that mother. when he comes outside. Wait, what motherfucker? Whick! Oh. I thought you met the old man.

It's not his fault. Sounds good to me. You know, when I asked him if they had a shepherd in town, I was being literal. And I'm scanning up in the hills for a literal shepherd if this is a farming community, someone who would be outside and be seeing the goings on. No role necessary.

You absolutely. see. There are like so many sheep around here grazing. You see that there are two of these sort of like big sort of like bounding sort of sheep dogs that are running shaggy black fur with a kind of warm caramel brown chest to them run after these sheep. You see not too far away, there is a, yeah, as like the shepherd's crook. It's got a little sort of like woolen, that has sort of wool-lined hat on his head walking along. Just right, pretty much right outside of the town.

And you see he whistles off to his dogs that sort of move the sheep back towards away from like a dangerous sort of ridge edge back towards where the grass is. He looks up at you. Hi. I'll jog over to him. And Wolfrick goes by my son.

and he was just salivating to go play with the other dogs. I'm like, in a minute. Hello, friend. You see, he looks up at you. And you see his eyes dart over to the wolf with you. The fact that wolf is wearing armor certainly like cools his thing for a second.

Do you know you're looking with the great white shark? He goes, he goes, He goes, oh, Traveler, how may I serve you in your companion? Put your mind at ease. He's well trained. Your flock is safe. Well, if you've managed to train a wolf, then you are a remarkable man indeed. How are your people?

Safe? Well. safe for the most part. Many of us have moved off the southern slope across the creek, but are you traveling here under the Earl's Call? I know that there are rangers that have been helping us patrol for the edge of the forest. I'm part of no trooper guild.

Simple man, though I am traveling with some friends, so to speak. You have tattoos? They're a motley crew, but so far goodhearted. I've only known them for a few days. I'll make this brief. I know there's work to be done. Any strange goings on? He sort of shrugs. You see that

He sort of shrugs to you and just, I was strange, yes, forest, more dangerous than it's ever been. We, um, I don't know if you've met with the acolyte and the chapel, but they've, spit over my shoulder. Give me a persuasion check as you spit over your shoulder. Oh, my gosh. Come on. Oh, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.

Are you visible in this moment? 18, yeah, I'm kind of flying a little bit behind. As you go 18, you see he goes, Pixie, he takes his hat off, puts it over his chest. I fly forward. You see that he smiles and says, oh, well, I, uh, I'm very, uh, you see, he just, he starts, gets a little misty-eyed and says, it's an honor. We, ever since this, ever since they started walking out of the forest,

it felt like nothing good would ever come out of there again. But I remember, I remember the fair folk. I remember going up there when I was was a youth after the midsummer's fair and leaving bottles up at the Forest Edge and waking up in the morning to find acorns and herbs and the bottles all empty. It's nice to see a man of culture. Oh, he goes, pleasure, my friend.

I'd shake your hand, but it's full of rocks. I'd shake your hand, but it's full of rocks. I'd shake your hand, but my. Mine's full of hat. I'm Tasker. It's a pleasure to meet you. I love that Tasker. This is Thimble.

Oh, Thimble? I'm Cadigan. You see, he says, well, if any help I can be to you, I'd be happy to. The Creed placed those scrolls up. They did help us put up the fences, which have been very useful. Hopefully, they'll be less undead bothering you. in you in the future.

She's right. Have the fair folk. This fair folk. Well, you see. And that scruffy looking. You see, he says, he says, well, one who walks in the company of wolves and fairies is fair enough on his own.

You see, he gets on one knee and bows to you. He goes, I appreciate it very much. Is it safe to go into the woods again? I would be on edge still. Keep your defenses up, but if in the next few nights you don't hear the sounds in the dark, it could be worth venturing into during the day, but be cautious, but we may have,

we may have helped you have a few brighter nights. We heard birds. You see, he smiles and says, well, I'll need to, I'll need to get back there into the woods as soon as I can. I appreciate you. I've been, there are plants that only grow up in the woods that I need to get, so how can I be of service to you?

We'll get right to the point, wait. I'll leave this to you. I have rocks to throw, and I'm going to go camp out over the chapel. Have you noticed any on the roads from a vantage, any sort of caravan, any one perhaps? One of the Earl's Knights came through. riding through the villages along the forest, calling the Luxes back to Ardarin.

But you see, Elixen says, there's been some activity. I believe the king has left, we have word, that the king has headed south for meeting with the orcs of Kahad, the Revolution Council and beyond. I hear only what passes through on the road, but what news are you looking for in particular? Any word of lionfolk?

Oh. The Ticone is traveling with the crows. What she said from that way. He goes, lionfolk. Yes. Please, please tell me more. Please tell me more. One, a village or two, down the road, towards Ardarin.

I've heard a rumor that we've just heard it last night. A lion folk can come out of the woods miraculously survived. And we don't have too many of the Nama that come through here. When was this? Yesterday, he appealed to the sanctuary of a chapel built in that town to sleep. He was exhausted, been traveling on foot for days, and in the depth of his slumber awoke to find that the lux of that chapel had informed the Earl's Knights, and he was arrested. Arrested? Where would they have taken him?

I would, he says, the carriage. Uh, I was being, what did that? He said, um, I know this is a lot, I'm sorry, but, a direction, any sort of help. Well, in a small town like this, this is the most exciting thing most exciting thing that's going to happen all year. So we've all been talking about it. You see, he says

there was an argument between the Lux and the Earl's Knight. I believe that the knight was to take him to Ardoran and was shown something by the Lux to send the carriage straight to the Baron of Slope. which, Slocke is up in Gormelay. I just got a new Baron. Slope in Gormelay.

Tasker, you are a good man. Thank you. He smiles. He says, were you traveling through the forest on your way here? We were. Fools or heroes, maybe both. You see, he says,

did you see any rubyfold on your way through the woods? Rubyfold is, you would know it's a medicinal plant. Oh, I think that I would know that. Do I need to roll for it or if I clocked it? Yeah, might as well. No, I can't read it, it's bad. Only an eight, I guess it was dark.

You didn't see hardly any up there. You saw almost none. Okay. But enough. No, none. No, none. I'll almost have died in the forest. I don't know.

But if you do venture back in, stay close to the edge of the meadow. For the time being, but you might be all right. I'm sorry, I wish I could give you more. No, no, no. It's good to know. If you didn't see any, then I'll know how to search best my wife, Wendy.

She's taken with her. He's taken with a cough that is lingering. Might be something worse, we'll see. Then I would say any venture into the forest would be worth it. I hate to thank your kindness with curtness, but. No. On your, I don't know your business,

but you travel in the wake of a ferry. and he looks up at this sort of gray mist. I don't know who in Timony feels like the light has ever looked out for us, but sun doesn't shine here that much. And you see that he nods to you and walks off. From the top of the chapel, I. You threw him at top of the chapel.

Give me a perception check with advantage. Come on, more. Come on. 19. Nice. As he goes off, you see he walks off towards his dogs and his sheep, that little charm you cut off has a T and a W on it.

Oh. Tasker and Wendy. You stole their wedding gift. And now she's coughing to death. Wow. Wow. I thank you. Is that just information for Laura,

all that you know? Oh, you can give me a perception check as well if you'd like. I would. See if you notice it, too. No, I know. You guys head off. For those who are you still in the chapel? Yes, I'll take my bread, share it.

Oh, I'm full. Thank you, though. Great. You have it. I'll thank our host for. his time and then I'll make fun here. I'll exit first. Thank you. As Wick exits, he's bombarded with a bunch of rocks thrown out his head. Don't thimble.

I've seen this before. Shit! Ow! What? Why? I, no. I found me. It's not me. I didn't write the thing. Also, honestly, we're supposed to be like mean and condescending. I thought we were putting on the whole show. He is me!

He is condescending. I thought we were supposed to be making you sound like you were some force to be reckoned with on the road. It seems, yes, I guess so, yes, you're right. Stop being so kind. It's my nature, I'm sorry. I can try to bush it up a bit. Oh, I think we got really good information, though.

You don't need to butch it up. Let me just say, can you just keep throwing those rocks? It's so funny. Hey, no, and also, and also. Shield. Shield. We're trying to find Theor's brother. We can't be undoing every single thing

that his family has been doing. Does he hate, do you hate fairies? Not inherently, no, it is, no, of course not. It's just, it is one of the- You just believe that we are not worthy of your stupid- One of the seven shining tenets, ow. One of the seven shining tenets is seek out the dim soul, the shadow, the demon, and snuff it out like a dying ember.

However. You want to snuff out, demons? I'm just saying that's what was written. It's maybe not literal, right? It's- You seem to take it as literal. Well, right. So he, that's, I was trying to-

I was trying to- I was trying to- From me inside. That's the only way I'll ever forgive you. I- Well, that seems like a tall order. Take them out. Why don't we focus on finding Sid first?

And then we can- and take down the candescent creed in a way that is smart for us to do, so nobody gets snuffed out. And I don't think that you need to, I don't think you need to butch it up. I think that you just need to make, make sure people are talking about you in a way that you are. Be as nice as you want to be.

How long does she'll stay up? Very long. With that, I will run down for my convo with The Shepherd and relay all of the information I got from him to Tehran on the squad. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, we gotta go. We do. Wait, are you saying that the lux of this place was somehow in league with...

Not this village, another one down the way. Perhaps we don't know for certain. So he was taken to Gormelay. I believe so. We had to go. Fast. How? How fast? I mean, we could... Well, I can't fly.

Should we... Should we... Should we buy some horses? I don't think there are any. There are no horses. I think maybe a palm meal or something. I'm getting blisters. You could walk for a bit.

You could walk for a bit and find some horses. But like, let's actually, if you guys want to keep an eye peeled for horses, we can let the dice decide. Yeah, I think we would abandon. How long of a trick is it to Gormelay from here? I mean, we are behind. Yeah, we are like a whole day behind.

So we would, I think we throw a caution to the wind a little bit, spend some call trying. We have gained a day. Because they had, he had a two-day lead on us. And if he was just snatched up, yes, Yesterday. We are, we are, we are, we are gaining on them. Yeah. Um, go, yeah, you realize for sure,

Sid did not have your speed getting through the forest, but did push through to a level of exhaustion, sleeping by himself in the woods with monsters. He just wasn't gonna risk it, so he just let himself get dehydrated and delirious, just getting out of there as fast as he could, and then conked out and slept long enough for the fuzz to find him. Yeah.

You, looking out at this, we'll go ahead and roll as you guys are heading in the right direction. First of all, let's see if you guys know offhand where Slok is. You know where Gormela is. Go ahead and give me, we'll call it a DC-15 history. Cadigan, you can roll with advantage because you've spent time in 10-minute. We're all rolling? All rolling. Just a DC-15 history check.

Oh, man. Can I roll with the advantage because I'm proficient? No. The proficiency is already a mechanical bonus. I love it. What we got here? 19 for a dirty 20. 19 for a dirty 20. Only with the advantage. For dirty 20, Cadigan. Slocke is way towards the southern border of Gormale, which means it's quite a bit closer. And Slocke is a barony within Gormale that is

I mean, talk about destitute. It's like clinging to the side of the Kavrosi mountains. Like as bad as this place is, at least it adjoins a forest with a lot of water. So it's a good grazing here. Sloak is one of the saddest places

you've traveled through in Timony. It is a fucking narrow spit of land. You knew the lady Sloak was, like, there was, stop it. She was the widow of the old Baron Sloke. So the Baroness Slope, but you had just heard a rumor about her on a, like, so 15, you know exactly where Slocke is.

On a 20, you had realized something in your head. She, a few years ago when you were traveling through here, what was it? The Baroness Slocke had just gotten remarried in her old age. And you remember hearing, I mean, it was in a tavern. Like you didn't, you wrote it off as just being fucking, But someone asked who she'd gotten married to and someone said a member of one of the sundered houses.

Oh, wow. And suddenly you go on a dirty 20, new baron of Slocke. Is there anyone you know that's just recently come into title? Yeah, as I'm hooffing it, I tell them all this. I'm not one, I'm not shown politics, but. Who do we know anybody that would have just coming into town? You know someone that just inherited a castle.

This Casimir fellow? Well, yeah, right? Casimir. He had the title. So he's the Baron. That's who Sid is being delivered to. Oh. So. This is a tangled web.

That's great, because we're looking for both of them, right? So two birds, one stone. Yeah. But you just made the world's biggest asshole in charge of one of the shittiest places I know. Well, at least you have a shit stain in the city. That's the best log line ever. The world's biggest asshole just became in charge of the world's biggest asshole just became in charge of one of the shittiest places on here.

Coming summer, 2027. Hell yeah. So, Kattegan, you know exactly how to get to where you're going. Okay. I think on that on that dirty 20 history, there's a couple ways you can get there. Fastest, most reliable, you will get horses. is the king's way. Kingsway is exactly as dangerous as it was

when you were just coming out of Dolmont Yard. It's got the king's forces on it. It's got all of these regional earls and barons and lords and shit like that. And you heard this thing from Tholomoyne about something about the luxes and keeping an eye out for someone coming. The creed is active in these parts,

and they'll be the most active on the, Kingsway because that's going to be traveling from large city to large city. You also, there are a lot, as you get deeper into Timony, away from, like, the woods and shit like that, there will be more actual roads and, like, not paved roads, but there'll be dirt roads connecting communities, and there'll be ferries going up rivers, and there'll be other things like that. So there'll be other way. If you want to try to buy way it, you can definitely do that.

It'll slow you down, but it'll maybe keep eyes off of you. And the last thing I'll say on that dirty 20 history check is that you know, Valo is one of the sort of areas with Intimony that has the grant of passage, which means typically you are okay as a traveler to cut through people's pastures and grazing lands. So it's way safer than wilderness. And if you want to just hoof it through these like long tracts of sheep and cattle land, you can do that. And it's legal. No one's going to give you a hard time. They're going to say these are wander. these are travelers, they're allowed to pass through here.

I'll give him the rundown, and then I'll just go to Taylor. Your brother, your call. So it's grazing land, which means it's fairly, like, clear, right? So long line of sight. Yes. But slower? A little bit slower than the king's highway. Slower than the king's up the road.

More faster and more dangerous. This feels like peaks in valleys, like rolling hills, kind of semi-mountainous terrain too. So it'd be like backpacking through like, like Northern Europe, sort of, okay. Do we have an idea of how far ahead of us he is now? If he got nabbed yesterday morning. But he's a carriage.

But he's in a carriage. We're on fucking foot. He was walking behind it, so I mean, again, unless they're dragging his ass. We can always hoof it off the road until we find horses and then we'll make faster time. It's just a matter if we want to take the ferry upstream or if we want to.

I would, I would, I would, Puff it on the road till we find horses and then maybe we could either go by the by road or through the pastures. You guys are about 50 miles from Slok right now. In a straight line, if you get lucky, like, crossing rivers and creeks and stuff, you could make it there by like end of day tomorrow on foot if you push hard. But you think in a carriage, you think in a carriage, yeah, this would be like collapsing at the end of the day marching, right? In a carriage, 50 miles, horse drawn, he'll probably get there much sooner than that, but not much sooner if they're not pushing their animals. Yeah, yeah. We have to try and find a horse

or something to speed us up and slow them down. Because once they get there, we're fucked. Yeah, there's not a load of entertainment in Slok, if you know what I mean. Yeah, and just numbers. Can we push it hard? on the Kings Road until we try and find some horse. It's just a matter if we get stopped because of him.

We do have this chancer's egg. If we take the Kings Road, this is a place where the Creed is active, and so if we can get our stories straight, then I see no reason why we shouldn't have an easier time because of your radiance. Sure, yes. We should have a, we should have clear passage

if, if you can exercise some of that authority. Butch it up, like you said. Okay, this is my time to shine. Yeah. I have a question for once we get to Sloke. What would you be doing if we weren't here? Would you be confronting Kazimir directly? What is your plan?

Because we can assist in that, but here's what I don't want. I don't want to leave it up to this guy, um, not, not knowing where he's, what he's going to do because he's, kind of unpredictable, and that's coming from a demon. I say this with full knowledge of how much Theazi meant to dimble. I believe Casimir would be the priority. My brother knew what he got into. But if we were to tell him that we focused our efforts on him

instead of bringing Casimir to some form of justice, I think he might kill all of us. So I think we would try and locate Casimir first, unless freeing my brother and adding someone to our ranks would be advantageous to us. Okay. Are we gonna sneak in to his? I don't think we can know that until we are there.

But to your point about on the Kings Road, we also have these Chanter's eggs, the blue, the yellow, the rainbow, the mystery, the sick egg, and the unseen. I don't know what the blue unseen means, but if I need to disappear, or if you need to disappear, you can do it by your fucking self. I have the stuff.

The south one. The blue one. You don't need the stealth one. That's what I wrote down. Yeah. The blue one. Yeah. And I'm, I have both the yellow and the rainbow inserted, so I have them.

In your internal. In nature's purse. If you sit down hard, you can activate that. The yellow one caused a sickness. The rainbow is a mystery, but whatever it is, it's something that'll cause a big enough distraction that we can do what we need to do. All right. To the Kings Road. You ready to be a big boss man?

So you guys keep an inventory tabs, I don't need to have an inventory page. I think it never hurts. Okay, okay. Okay, no, you're doing okay. Hell yeah, you guys head off to the Kings Road. Traveling along these pathways, it is fast, man. Like all roads lead to, you can, you're like very quickly,

we're just communicating telepathically. I'm sorry, I'm listening, I'm listening. No, you're looking at it, you're like. Like old comrade community. there may have been some disagreement with that, I'm thinking, we'll get there. You're choice. On the paths you guys are getting,

it's just a few, you're few miles away from Arderin, maybe like, you know, like 15 or 20 miles away from Ardarin. Which is a, this is the capital of this fief. But even within that, it's compared to Dolmachiar. It's like, there's a castle and there's some buildings, but there's maybe like a few thousand people who live here and that's it, right? Approaching it on the road,

you see that as the farmer's roads get into an actual dirt track that has two sets of wagon wheels for like carriages, wagons to be able to pass each other in both directions, which is sort of the upgrade from these little Crofters villages you've been in, you begin to see these small little shrines that you're passing by that are neither

sort of these fairy shrines or the candescent creed, but you see that there is some druidic writing on them, which I don't think anyone here can speak, but what you see is there are small little stone shrines that have a statue of a dog at the front of it, a statue of a hound that has reached down, and there is a stone, sort of, of granite trough, like a bird bath set low,

that has fresh water in it. And as you pass some of them, you see there's usually about two or three dogs just sleeping in them. Some of the dogs have like a small collar that will have like a chest or something, almost like those St. Bernard's that have a barrel, like a small chest around them.

So the dogs will either be snoozing, and you can see that it looks like there are some plates or bowls a corner that are left, that appeared to have, like, food that has been actually set out for these dogs, appears to have some, like, either some slop or other things like that that have been set out for them to eat. And you just passed by some of them. There were dog symbols on the tree, too, with all the little charms. Yeah. Do we know what that's about? Do they... Give me a skill check if you'd like. Like a history or a...

Yeah, give me a history check. Call it a DC-15 history check. What does your dog like to eat? Oh, a natural 20. Natural 20. Oh, shit. Oh, I'll answer your question after that natural 20. So on a natural 20 history check, Fiazzi loved traveling through Attimini.

You guys traveled through here on your last trip up to the Mornvale to get that stone of nights on. And the, like a lot of places, After the Shaper's War, Argosia was this larger country that fought in the Shaper's War. It had pro-god forces and anti-God forces. When the gods fell, a lot of places embraced druidicism as a way to find answers and find meaning. And a lot of the druids of Timony, in their earliest ability to commune with animals, This place has always been a shepherd's place and has always worked with dogs.

And a lot of how they got people to embrace druidicism here as another way to practice medicine, as another way to tend to communities and heal people as a way to reconnect with fairies, which druids have a lot of connection with the fair folk as well, was the ability to, that people could speak with dogs and do medicine on people's dog, like literally ask dogs, what is wrong? And so, Timmany didn't exist as a country after the Shaper's War. It was part of Argosia.

On that Nat 20, I think on a Nat 20 history check, you know that the War of Axe and Vine, which happened during people's lives, right? Like, not that, like, about, you know, well, let's answer it, let's give an actual answer. The War of Axe and Vine ended in the year 45. It's currently the year 71. So this is only 26 years ago, right?

The, that war was, the Warbacks and Vine happened in many places all over. It was actually many, sort of an aggregate term for a lot of wars and conflicts that were happening. Timony was founded in that war by King. Hold on one second. I know everything about him. King, Timit and Kimmy. How do you? We talked a lot, me and Vyazia.

King Augustus Valian, who's called by many of the people that like him, King Gus, created, is the current king of Timony and the first king of Timony, which fought against Argosia and became its own country. So Timony's always going to have been a region,

but it became its own kingdom. after King Gus won a war against Argosia. Wow, Nat 20 History Check. What you would know about him is his banner, three red hounds on a white field. And he sort of established, like invited a druidic circle deep into his court to help advise him. And a lot of these shrines were built like 20 or more years ago

because there were so many druids and like folk healers and sages and witches and things like that around that could speak to dogs that they made these shrines as part of the grant of passage. So communities keep these as waypoints for dogs that are traveling on business.

All of these dogs with like carrying messages there are basically like little dog hostels where they are honored as part of the druidic faith of this land. That's so cute. Wow. Amplification of the dog bowl outside a restaurant. Yeah.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, it's like the, the, the, so a lot of the folks you see are just sleeping here because they've got a long way to travel with these messages that they're hearing earlier there. Look at all these good boys. Good thing we got some druids in this group, right? Oh!

Let the tree. Um, uh, so, um. Oh, sorry, I interrupted you guys were talking. What does your dog eat? I'm like, would he want to sample some of this stuff or? Me. My dog eats me. All right.

Is he hungry? Is there meat in the both? Yeah. How nice of you? Give me a persuasion. You're welcome. Give me a persuasion check from Wolfram. Oh, from Wolfram.

For persuasion? Well, it's cock, but it was good. It was good. Wait, what is his persuasion? Whatever his charisma is. Whatever, Wolfram has charisma? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, Wolfrey's got charisma.

You get pure charisma. I don't, I don't even know how to check. This is all new for me. Wilfrick's got charisma, uniqueness, nerve. Boy, where could I click on it? We'll probably just call that a minus one to whatever. I rolled a 14. Okay.

Wolfert steps up, the dogs all wake up. As a wolf approaches. Yeah, yeah, massive. And sort of snarl at Wilfrick's approach. No response. This is like the alpha energy doesn't feel the need to snarl back. Yeah. As Wolfrick approaches and just starts eating the food,

the dogs snarl a little bit more and then just hunger down, claring at Wolfrick as he eats. but he eats his full but doesn't eat it's full but doesn't eat it at all yeah um he's a he's a gentleman he's wearing a nice suit um you guys depart uh you guys depart continue to see these signs yeah there's a lot you can just see it's almost like you know if you like if you travel in a country you begin to see certain like architectural or design things come up it's like seeing the saltier in scotland or seeing other things around where just it's a recurring or the triskel in ireland shapes that come over again and again. You just see there are a lot of dog statues everywhere.

It's just part of this country's, especially like a newer country. It was a thing that's like, even though it's always been really important to the region when they became their own kingdom, it became a thing that everyone could rally around as being like a central part of their culture or their heritage. Um, um, you, we are going to roll a really important role. Oh, God. I love it. Whoa, what? You guys are going to the Kingsway. I told you, that was the riskiest point. You did this.

I did. Are we all rolling for us? Oh, no, no, no. No, no. Actually, who's feeling lucky? I am. Travis feeling lucky, great. You're the one who made the choice.

Travis, you said you're looking for horses. I think horse, horses feels like 16 or higher to me. And I also said there was danger on this road. I think danger, let's make danger a little bit more than the range of horses. I think danger feels like one through seven, but I think you really don't want to get a three or lower. Come on, one through seven.

What are you rolling? What is this skill? Just a D20? I just, I want to keep it honest. I don't want to punish you guys. I said there was risk and risk means variability. Sure. So here we go.

It's a 10. Okay, that's in the middle. That's no horses and no danger. We just stand here, idling. You guys get your way out of the village all the way to Ardalen. Are you traveling openly with your garb? Yes. Okay.

You are. I was told to butcher up. That was what you were told. I'm going to throw an egg. The mystery. Tyranny and Thimble and Teor hoods up or hoods down? Hoods down.

I'm C.C., baby. I'm walking right alongside. Okay. Actually, a little behind. I don't know if it makes much of a difference for me, but sure, I'll take my hood on my little tank top and pull it up. Or it's like, are you traveling, or like, are you traveling,

What is it? Are you traveling on someone's person in someone else's home? I was going to go hoods up. Oh, okay. And I think it's just our natural disposition. Tell me if you feel differently to like give you space.

So it's either on the other side of the road or distance in front of or behind. Without, you know, you guys see horses. You never see four and all of them are someone's plow horse, someone's working animal. You don't see any stable. Even as you get to Arderin, this place is, you know,

it's the throne of some regional earl, but fundamentally it's, you know, you don't see a place that's doing business selling horses. You see a place where people keep their horses. Does Wolfram travel next to you the whole time, or is he... He can go wherever he'd please. He just does whatever he wants, but he will, but he does obey commands, so he can be put wherever.

So is he traveling near you? Yeah, I mean, I think. I think he's in the group currently. Then I'm gonna just ride down on Wolfrick, like he's a giant steed. Incredible. Yeah. Love it.

That's so funny. Gorgeous. Should we try to commandeer a horse of some sort? Do you mean steal one? I don't like to steal, but you told me to be assertive and we could demand one. I think that you can use your authority to maybe not demand, because be true to yourself, but I think that people would be happy to give you a horse.

because you are in charge, right? I think you're in charge. Do you guys think so? Are you saying these are mostly like working horses, like not riding horses? I think what I think was the point is that there's not a rideable horse on the way. Yeah, again, you're seeing lots of horses,

but you're seeing a horse with a knight on top of it, riding something. You know what I mean? Sure. You're not seeing spares. Are we just moseying down the highway? Are we like going at a nice place? I think you are approaching Arderin

as you do. I think it is getting a little bit later in the day as you get to Ardarin. This is a, we'd call this, I think for those of you who have spent time in Dolmachia, we call this a large town. Maybe they call it a city in Timony. This is a large town.

It's got a castle moat around it. The castle has a stone component and then sort of like, it's almost like a mott and bailey. It's like a wood part that comes out that has a palisade. Plenty of knights around here. a lot of other shepherds and peasants. The city, as you get to it, right, Ardarin,

it has big byways, like wide thoroughfares. There's not a street in here that is not 50% sheep or cattle. As you're moving through it, that's what's moving through here. You see quite a large, like up on a hill, there's an avatoir. There's a place where they're, like, processing these cattle that are coming in. Shearing wool. smell. It is a big center. There's a lot of people here. There are definitely taverns. The smell,

that sort of woollen lanolin smell with a lot of meat and a lot of that very grassy manure smell is everywhere throughout this place. As you're moving through it, you are not seeing any horse that is not dear to someone's profession, whether that is some knights with shields on they're back in weapons stowed, riding up towards the castle to report something, or whether it is a horse that is drawing a cart. Nobody's got like a horse for sale, horse for sale, ding, ding, ding. So the question is, are you, as the sun's getting a little bit lower, time is still of the essence you want to keep traveling on the road as it gets into evening time.

But if you do, you'll be leaving this, you're getting to the city an interesting time. You still have some hours of travel possible to you. Would another night's worth of travel get us there? Or how far do we have to go? We only got a short rest last night too. So we're going on not even a long rest right now. Yeah. Because you didn't go straight, you went off to get to the road.

You'll travel faster. But it's still about, yeah, it's about 50 miles. I mean, I have money. We could buy something. We could go to a tower. and see if, I mean, how do you feel? Do you need to have a full night's sleep? Do you want to keep going?

Can you rent a carriage or something to take everyone? You got money? Could try. These carts don't look very comfortable. Well? If I'm being honest, but I could probably sleep in the back while you guys drive through the night.

Why don't you buy a driver? And then everybody can sleep. That's a very good idea. Money bags? Sure, sure. I could try. Uh, hell yeah. Sun is setting an arderin. There's wagons going in all directions.

There's some, definitely this wagon's headed north. That's the capital of Timney, of course. Have to send tribute to the king. So what I would ask is this. The first thing we're gonna do is we're gonna make a group stealth check. And because you guys are hoofing it, you're trying to move fast,

this will be made with disadvantage. We're gonna be fine. Yeah, fine. Is this a vital roll? Oh, I don't know. I'm pawing, actually, I take offense at hoofing. Okay, we're pawing. I don't.

That's for me. For one of us, I think. I think for one of us I can undo this disadvantage. Okay. I rolled real low on my disadvantage. When a creature you can see within 60 feet of you is about to roll a D20 with advantage or disadvantage, you can take a reaction, so I only get one reaction.

so I only get one reaction. So somebody I can undo their disadvantage. I'll just mutter a little prayer, and I'll grant you just a straight roll. A straight roll. All right, does that mean I get to take my higher one because I rolled an 18? You will not be able to take your higher one.

You will instead have a fresh roll. I'll roll straight. Oh, shit. Or I could use the egg. Oh, 13. 15. 15. 15. Okay, we got a 15 here.

What did we get for our stealth here? I rolled two natural 20s. Hey! Oh, okay. Back to back. Are you serious? A one in 400 chance? What the fuck.

Wow, you are. Holy! That's awesome. We're bright light. Okay. Oh, we don't know how. A natural 20. We got a, what, 15?

15. 14. 14. 14. What did we get thimble? 12. 12. 16. So wait, with disadvantage, 16, what do we get over here again?

14, I've got a plus six. So these are our two lowest. 16 of the top three is the lowest, and with a natural 20, you guys are not doing anything to disguise yourselves. And yet, I think WIC on that Nat 20, as you move through this place, there is nothing as there is nothing as, for lack of a better word,

diffusive of attention and scrutiny as walking with purpose like you belong. There is no skulking. We're just moving through here. And what you see, I think, on that Nat 20 is Ardarin is crawling with the Candacian creed. That's good and bad. Such that, and I think as you're traveling,

because you've been going through the woods, you look a little bit dirtier, you've been sleeping. You slept in a tree last night. You're not walking with a fucking radiance of whatever. You're just walking. And as you look out, you look more like someone traveling. You see there's plenty of white robes walking around. Plenty of people with tattoos of filament.

You see, there is one person as you walk towards the north of the city. You're not looking to stay here long. You just see one person standing up going. Brothers, sisters, listen to me. The light reaches all of us. Those that put the light before themselves walk in the light. Those that put themselves above the light cast a shadow on us all. Those that would put themselves above the light, we name them, don't we, don't we?

And you see that there are people who are looking up, a small crowd has gathered, and are smiling and cheering. Don't we! We name them, tyrant! We name them tyrant! Anyone who would put themselves above the light puts themselves above us all, for we are all children and servants of the light.

We know their names, those who put themselves above their brothers and sisters. We know that they do not mean us well. Would you serve each other or serve darkness? And people go, ah, and start to cheer. And you hear someone say, tyrant, tyrant, tyrant king. Whoa.

Whoa. Oh, uh-oh. Uh-oh. It's a little uprising going on here. That's all you, dude. And you see a, poor gas. A small, yeah. It's just nice dogs.

It's a nice gathering. This sort of gathering, there is a gathering here. Looking out through this, you begin to, as you move forward, I'll also ask now, with that Nat 20, I'll allow this next role with advantage. Ooh. Got to honor two Nat 20s.

This is gonna be a group investigation. Mm-hmm. With advantage, you said. Ooh. Pretty bad. If someone hits a Nat 20 on disadvantage, you kind of gotta get a dirty 20 30 20 11 16 16 23 12 12 getting north of the city you pass by these sort of crowds of the candestine creed you see that there are a I think on that high group investigation you guys see a number of wagons and you see that actually here there are many like hay carts and broader wagons heading north.

Hay is a commodity in a place that doesn't get to grow a lot of long grass, so you see a lot of this hay is like either from the few regions in Timonee that can grow it, or it's from further south, and it's moving up the road. You see that there are plenty of drivers that appear to be just headed north.

On that high investigation, there are lots of wagons that are headed out. You see a couple of them have a good sign for you, which is lanterns on the front. Lanterns on the oxen or the horses that are drawing them. A night baby. Is this me?

I do, I do this? Yeah, you do this. Hello, hi, hi there, you. Hi, ho. Oh, hello there, sir. Oh, a brother of the creed. Yes, of course. Big brother, yes.

Super important brother. All right. And in fact, one who needs, needs, nay, demands something of you. I want you to give us a ride. Yes. All right. Go ahead and give me intimidate.

Check off your clothes. That's a one. Oh, no. That's not one. That's a nat one. You see that he goes, uh-huh. And spits in your face. He looks at you and says,

He looks at you and says, I'm Gus's man, through and through. Fuck you and fuck your creed. And he, let's try a different one. Maybe a different strategy also. Maybe you should try. You don't have to be, sure.

Really? A demon? Maybe Tayor should talk to somebody. We can say this cart's burned. Do you a different one? Do another one. You do another one. see this guy say, I'm Gus's man through and through and head off on the road.

Perhaps we'll have a little, that's disgusting. Yeah. Which, would you? What? I'll handle it. You see, you see, after a few minutes, another cart pulls along, another cart pulls along, heading north.

This one has actually much more covered and you see has what looks like some hard scrabble, like barrels of apples and other food in it and things like that. that you can see is mostly empty, maybe someone actually returning from market here in the big town. You see there's an older woman. She's got like a wide sort of thatched hat

on to keep the drizzle off her face. Looks up as you're approaching. Any lanterns on this one? Yes. May I trouble you for just a moment? Oh, easy, easy. I'm sorry, some of my traveling companions and I have, we are in need of an express journey, Northwark.

We can, of course, pay you for your troubles, and I will shake the bag of money, eh? Oh, travel. I have no seats in the back to speak of, and there's no. I'd be poor accommodation for you and your friends. It's not a carriage by any means. It's just a cart. We don't mind riding atop

and perhaps providing some extra security and some peace of mind for your travels. You see, she looks out and says, go ahead and give me persuasion. Yeah, and I'll also put four gold in her hand. She sees four gold. Go ahead and roll with advantage. Ah, persuasion.

Oh, yes. What if we pay you even more? Can we pay you more to ride? Oh, Kattingen, thank you for that guidance. That's... I regret taking that initiate. initiate. It's just a flat 10. Flat 10 with a D4 or no? Oh, I didn't roll a D4 for the guidance, but I-

Guidance! Guidance! Call it DC 12. Plus three, so 13. Such a great play from me. Such a great play from Cadigan. Cadigan, what do you say in this moment? Because you can see that like an armor, it's just all a little too strange for this

woman, she's about to get sort of scared off and try to beg off because, because shining armor, lion man, fairy, demon, it's all, like you're saying, you keep telling these guys, it's simple folk here. So with that little guidance, what does Kattyen say? Yeah. Money talks, don't overcomplicate it. Yes, of course. She looks and says, oh, four gold is far too much, sir. It's not, I can't. I, I, I, I, you can't put the price on your troubles. It is, please, the least we can do. It's also so you can ride faster than you normally would. And you see as you give that little bit of like, oh, that's why they're paying me extra. You see as she goes, oh, all right. Well, they've had their water and an apple each,

so hop in? Before we climb in, I'd like to take my, just the corner of my apron. And I wipe the mucous trail from the spit off of just the side of Wicks collar. And I say, Hey, you don't have to be mean. Just. Yeah. Well, be yourself. I thought that was the, that was the, was to be, was to be butch it up, was to be. Right.

Like Teo. I see what you. I see. Oh, strong. Don't ever try to be like Taylor. Only Tear can be like Teor. You can be kind and still be a leader. In fact, that's what you're supposed to be.

That's your job. Right. Okay. While also knowing that your family, is putting the hammer down in many different ways, so I think the cover is that you agree, but you don't have to be that. Please don't get spit on anymore.

I'll try not to. Only deor is de'o. This you will hear every morning and night. Only day or is deor. Every morning when we were traveling. My God, get in the fucking car. You see that the older, the older woman turns around and says, feel free to lie down.

We sold most of the apples off, but for gold, you couldn't possibly eat enough apples to make up for the, so feel free to lie down, have as many apples as you'd like. Is there a place where I'll have gone too far? Should I, should I, uh... Oh, yeah, we're going to, um, Sloak. Sloak! Oh, well then I'll, I'll stop at my home. I live in Gormelay, but so I'll stop before we, uh...

And you'll continue the rest of the way on foot then. Um, you see, she says, uh, sleep well, and we'll keep, keep moving through the night. Um, and you see that she, uh, she gets the horses moving again, and you trundle off. Uh, great. Everybody here can take a long rest. Oh, can I do the great weapon mastery then? Or the weapon mastery switch it over to. Yes, you can switch your weapon mastery,

one of your weapon mastery is over to Nick. Yes, yes, yes. Amazing, I don't know what that is. That's not it, that's a character change. Don't go ahead, change. The horse is. The horses head off trundling through the night. I'll let you sleep in the back of this carriage.

Is it a two horse carriage? Four horse carriage. Oh. Got some serious horse power. At least four. You journey through the night, trundling along pretty quickly. After about, going into the night, it is still early hours of darkness.

You know, she's traveling like, what, like around eight or nine miles an hour or something like that? So it's a few hours into the night, and you get off the King's Highway and start traveling along through villages, going into Gormaleigh, heading further and further up in altitude. You pass a little area that seems to actually

have some rows of these like black barked apple trees, so it's like these black trees, dark green leaves, red apples, all throughout, and you get higher than that still, and those trees kind of, you know, start to thin out. But the wagon stops, and she sort of pokes her head in the back and says, all of you can rest and then continue your way.

Are you headed to, are you servants of the new baron? What have you heard about him? Not much. we thought that, well, you know, well, it's not, it's the barony just north of here, but we had thought that there would be a young baron, Triconis, but it seems not. It seems that it would be the Baron Gavondale.

So, just wonder if, we wonder if he is a decent man or a good man. He's a real shit. Dang. Well, thank you. In that case, for letting us know. I'll let my sister hear that maybe time to pull her head inside. The old lady's sloak was temperamental, but fair, more or less.

Let her know. Thank you. I have nowhere inside. I have no room for you to stay, but you may stay in the wagon for as long as you like. That's very kind, I feel. Thank you. You guys finish your rest in there. As you do, I would like a perception check

for anyone else that night. Perception, yeah, difficulty of 20. Oh yeah, guidance. To me or to you? To you. Okay.

Does Dark Vision help? 23. 23. Hmm? That helps. Thimble. Everyone else, keep asleep, slumbering. 21.

Thimble, you look out across a little stream, you see a shrine, the other side of the stream. You see there's a shape, sleeping, canine shape, sleeping in the shrine, it's night. You look out, there's a hound that for a second, you think is a statue, until you realize it is a fully awake and alert dog looking across the dark sea. It must be, you know, a few hundred feet away.

There's no way that, even with dark vision, they would be able to see you guys here, but you just see a shape gazing out across the stream towards you. I think on that 23, you even feel like you make eye contact for a moment. I'm gonna fly down and kick cat again in the nose. Good morning.

Bimble. And all your travels through this area. And I'm gonna ask myself the same question in my travels with Diasia as we were coming through. Do I know anything about that kind of a large dog or anything that like spark? And I'm gonna tell you about it too. 23?

They can't all be good boys. He didn't see, he seemed medicine. And he saw us. You would recognize that. You would recognize that. as a, on a 23 perception, you just saw in the dim light of, sort of the shrine's like near a little tavern over there. It's like some sputtering embers or candlelight,

even this late hour. It's like wee hours of the morning. Looked huge. You remember there was a, they have a lot of different hounds and herders and things like that. You recognize that as a rock's mastiff named the Timmons Rock. They're enormous guard dogs. They're kept specifically for that purpose.

You've even heard that some people keep them. They're a rare breed. Some people keep them to kill wolves. Sure do. You better keep wolf-work away from that thing. They are usually guarding important people though. Rear to see one out in a far-off boony of the kingdom like this. Yeah, it's quite a creature.

But they're guarding a tavern? After you kick Cadigan in the nose to point out, you look back, not there again. No, don't you say it! Don't you say it! And that's where we're going to go ahead and take our break. What's a dog doing? What's a dog doing? We're in trouble.

Danger, danger. He saw us, he saw us. Mm-hmm. And we'll pick up with the mysterious events in the night after we conclude this break. And that's where we'll leave our story for now. Part two of this episode of Campaign 4 drops this Tuesday. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you soon for more Critical Role. Thank you.