Critical Role - Road of Dreams | Critical Role | Campaign 4, Episode 32 Part 1

Episode Date: September 3, 2026

Part 1   The Seekers rest before they travel the fey Miller's Road, but strange visions plague each of them in turn...   New Episodes Release Weekly on Thursdays. Learn more about Campaign 4 at https://critrole.com/campaign4/     GET MORE CAMPAIGN 4 WITH BEACON We'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 CAST GAME MASTER Brennan Lee Mulligan Laura Bailey as Thimble Luis Carazo as Azune Nayar Robbie Daymond as Kattigan Vale Aabria Iyengar as Thaisha Lloy Taliesin Jaffe as Bolaire Lathalia Ashley Johnson as Vaelus Matthew Mercer as Sir Julien Davinos Whitney Moore as Tyranny Liam O’Brien as Halandil "Hal" Fang Marisha Ray as Murray Mag’Nesson Sam Riegel as Wicander "Wick" Halovar Alexander Ward as Occtis Tachonis Travis Willingham as Teor Pridesire   CREDITS Produced by Maxwell James, Steve Failows, & Kyle Shire Set Designed by Shaun Ellis Production Designer: Noxweiler Berf Character Art by Loren Hontanilla Edited by Taylor Burke and Emily "Stevie" Stevenson Critical Role Announcement Playhouse Editor: Vinny Celesti Opening Title Editor: Paul Foyder Opening Title Colorist: Peter Koocheradis Window Effects by Christian Brown Graphic Design by Aaron Monroy & Jordyn Torrence Dol-Makjar art by Daniel Jiménez Villalba Miniatures Painted by Payton Keo Lacebal Opening Title Theme by Neal Acree Campaign 4 Key art by Hannah Friederichs Additional Art & Design by Hannah Friederichs   Episode QC by Catherine Zimmerman & Paula Flores Assistant Editor: Gianna Gencarella Post Production Coordinators: M Swing & Bryn Hubbard Closed Caption Editing by Margaret Dill, Nikki Kindelberger, Courtney Knewtson, Danielle Lackie, Eleanor Smith-Dufresne & Alice Tsoi Post Production Supervisor: Tal Levitas   HEALTH & WELL-BEING Due to the improv nature of Critical Role and other RPG content on our channels, some themes and situations that occur in-game may be difficult for some to handle. If certain episodes or scenes become uncomfortable, we strongly suggest taking a break or skipping that particular episode. Your health and well-being is important to us and Psycom has a great list of international mental health resources, in case it’s useful: http://bit.ly/PsycomResources Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 network 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 Roel 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. Hello and welcome to your brand new Seekers' Table here in Aramon. We are so delighted to bring you back

at a moment where adventure is set to begin anew. They told me to talk like this. The whole time. The whole time. Even for the table talk. If I'm doing bits, I'm doing them like this. Welcome back to Aramon, folks. Where as we begin the next chapter

of our grand adventure together. Having brought together vast heroes from across the world of Aramon, who successfully banded together to oppose the villainy of the sundered houses, storm Obramus Manor to rescue Mara the wing, the ally of the late Fiazzi Fang, now trapped in Julian de Vinos's shadow. This soul remanded to the custody of Julian's own absence of light that travels along with.

We saw the opening night of Cothairai, Hallandiel Fang's play, and the creation of a new form of celestial as abridged. The lost afterlives was forged, and you all gathered together with many possible adventures on your mind, a return to the golden orchard, which has fallen, and the lady Erinessa, the house of Royce and de Vinos,

you with your sister's soul gem in the hand. The meeting to take place between the and the professor, a member of this shadowy organization, the cloak that seemed to be behind the research to rescue these lost afterlives, and the pursuit of Primus Taconas and his family as they seek the sea door, perhaps an entrance to this fabled sea of lacrosis.

And whatever foul plot awaits in the underworld with the raising of the white banners, You are victorious, but imperiled, heroic, but in some ways more broken than ever before. Classic adventure shit on tonight's episode of Critical Role. Hello everyone and welcome to the Critical Role Announcement Playhouse. Nothing's changed, don't worry about it.

Before we jump into Aramon tonight, we have some quick announcement to get through. Hey. Travis, you got some announcements. Oh, yes. We know that you all have been asking, and we are excited to share that Beacon, our critical role membership service, is finally available for your couch and your commute. The brand new Beacon TV app is officially released on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV,

and Roku. Plus, we have updated our iOS and Android mobile apps so you can download videos for offline viewing. Finally, we know that's a big video. been a huge ask from everyone. So to celebrate, we are offering discounts to new members from now through September 30th. You can use code Bring a Party to get one month free or use code Your Party 20 to get 20% off an annual subscription.

You'll also receive instant access to all of our content, including big exclusives like after show cool downs, early access to live show tickets, 10% off that sweet sweet sweet merch, and it is definitely and always the best way to directly support the CR cast and crew for just $599 a month. So go to a beacon.tv slash join for all the info and grab yourself the best seat at the table. Oh.

Thank you, Tramon. Heart and signal. You did it. I did. Well done. Also. I always want to do that. This one?

But now this is also that's big? No, this has been a thing, but it's... This is nine a month. So go to a beacon.tv slash join for all the info and grab yourself the best seat at the table. Oh. Thank you. Heart remote. You did it.

I did. Well done. Also. I always want to do that. This one? But now this is also a big? No, this has been a thing, but it's. It's still a thing.

Also. Oh, T.T. Our first expansion for Daggerhart. Hope and Fear is now available for purchase. Dagger Harbour open fear has tons of new options for players, like new ancestries, new communities, and even four whole new classes, the assassin, the brawler, the witch, and the warlock.

Plus four new cases. campaign frames, new adversaries and environments at the wazoo, and a new mechanic called Transformation Cards, letting you play out your fantasies as ghosts, swear wolves, vampires, demigods, and more. So get Daggerheart, hope, and fear, in your friendly local game store and the Critical Role shops today. Yeah, let's go.

That was a good announcement theater. That was good, we got some stuff announced. It's great. Yeah, it was. Sam was inverted. You were. It was impressive. I thought you were going in, didn't you? I did.

It picked me up so easily. like a piece of balsa wood. Isn't it great? He holds you and you just feel like a little thing. I'm so tiny. On that note, let's go and jump back into Aramon. Matt said something that could have been like four different jokes. I didn't quite hear it.

It sounded like the sea of Get Laid. Lovely. Cadigan. Oh, fuck. Cadigan, we return to our adventure. But I would love you to describe what we see for indeed, though we left our heroes sleeping in the newfound fairy cave on the shores of Lake Nahami, a fey moon crystal erupting from the ground where the stone of Night Song had shattered. That's not where we're going to start right now. We're going to start somewhere else. Katagan, could you describe the cottage that you shared with your family? Yeah, okay. It's been in my head for a long time.

I don't think you actually set out looking for a veil, but that's where they landed. It's just a quiet valley, a clearing. It's natural, but it makes you feel like it was put there for a reason. It's one of my favorite places in the woods is like a person-person. So that's where this cottage is in my head. It's simple. It's built by hand, not only by cat.

but by him and his wife. The structure was probably him, the brute force, and anything beautiful in the house came from Esme, his wife. Capable and strong, thatched roof, humble, set up for a future family, because when they set out from the torn banner, Esme was pregnant. and they found this spot that felt like...

Mariana, sorry, it was pregnant. Mariana, yes. Please, fix it. Sorry. Mariana was pregnant with Esme. And they found this spot that felt like it was isolated, like the woods can do. And it's beautiful and it's humble.

And it's just filled with love. And that's what it was made to hold. And it did for a while. noise of songbirds nearby, some wrens and chickadees, a couple of jays. You see there's a little sort of red cardinal that alights on a pine cone

that has been stuffed with some sort of smaller seeds as a little rustic bird feeder to fill the veil with bird song here. And you can hear humming from inside of Marianna in the kitchen moving to and for it. You see that she's right now got a basin of water and is washing some of the clothes here.

You know, work never ceases when you live off the land like this. But you can hear from a distant sort of corner of the cottage that there is a, Esme sort of playing with a small kit of toys and there's some like loose child, like thick yarn embroidery, something that will later become like a fine skill of actually like mending and repairing clothing. But you hear Marianna's voice saying, Cadigan? Cadigan?

Yes, Love. Darling, do you think we should bring in some of that elk from the river cooler? I think it might be time to eat some of that. Because it's been a couple of weeks. All right. Because I thought Richard and his new partner on the next Vale over. I know they're traveling through.

It might be nice if they stop for the night to be able to offer them a stew or something. We're having guests. They don't come by the veil often. It's nice to have company everyone's coming. I love company. I'll get it. I'll be right back. She puts down what she's doing for a second

and says, I know you don't love company. But it's, I think it's a really wonderful thing for us to stay in touch with the few, I don't know if you can call them neighbors, but those who live nearby, it's good for us to, it's good for the, it's good for Esme, it's good for us. If you say so, I'll give her a kiss before I had out. She gives you a kiss back.

You see, Asmay looks up and says, do you need help? Well, you want to help? I want to help. Well, you can always help me if you like. She walks down and walking out, your home extends far beyond just the cottage. It's the, because there are places where meat is kept out of the ways of wildlife where they can get it

and there's all sorts of stuff. Describe from me the walk down to the river. Where do you guys get your water from? Where do you have the cool water to keep things cold? Yeah, nearby, running stream, not seasonal. There's gonna be a river, bed with heavy stones, runs cold most of it because it's fed from the snow water up top. Yeah. And not far from the house, maybe quarter mile at most, pretty close to running water.

Yeah. You go to the running water and you see that this thing must have worked like a charm because there's enormous wolf prints nearby that you can see they must have come and investigated here. But there, sure enough, having been kept in the cool, you see there's a completely a bag tied up, watertight, and you can see that there's some meat that you've been kept here, kept cold. Yeah, I have my eyes on these wolf prints because we don't keep much livestock. Mostly it's hunting. Like, we have a small garden that helps round out our diet or whatever.

And this is potentially something I've been clocking as an issue because I see large prints and then also two small prints right next to it. So it's concerning when I clock it. but we just continue on the chores. Yeah. Esme's sort of skipping and says, he says, Dad, were you always from here?

Oh, no. No, we moved to it when you were living a little. Why did you pick here? What do you think we picked here? Well, I know that Rajad is coming by and that also Eric said that there was another big, like, you know, there's like places where they have like houses

on top of each other, like your house would be on someone else's house and under someone else's house? Yeah, sure, sure. Well, the world's a very big place. I mean, it seems like this is our world, but your daddy's seen some things. And someday when you're a little bit older, I'll show you. I wanna see.

Oh, you like that? I do. You wanna see? Yeah. Maybe someday. Well, but for now, let's get some food for mom. Come on. Retrieving your food from where it's kept cold,

you walk back into the cottage. She says, would you mind preparing that, dear? Sure, hey, shoes. You see, Esme goes on the counter. She walks in, you see that, she sits taking shoes off. She looks up and says, as someone is approaching the cottage, who goes, good morning, Esme. And you see that as we look up and says,

Good morning, Primus. And you see Primus Taconas walks in, through the front door. He's got a Hunter's shirt on. Bronny and barrel-chested. He's got a long bow over his shoulder. He takes the long bow off and he goes, Cat, I was checking the trap line out there

and seems like these, I think that the rabbits have already moved on from those blueberries up on the ridge. There's none left up there. I don't know if it's foxes or whatever else, but something's chased the night of there. You see he walks over and gives Mariana a kiss on the side of her face.

Marianna gives him a little kiss, and he turns around to sit at the table as he takes out a little wooden project and starts working at it. All right, I suppose we should keep an eye on it. You found the game's been thin, more than just the rabbits and foxes. Yes, I'd say much more than the,

much more so than the rabbits and foxes. The, I mean, there might be wolves nearby. I gotta ask above table. How do I, how do I know this man? Why is he in my home and kissing my wife? I don't know this man. You see Marianna turns to you and as she turns around blood is gushing out of her eyes. She goes, you don't think there could be wolves nearby, do you? Wolves nearby. There's wolves nearby. What's happening? Dad or not right? This isn't right. This isn't right. What's not right? See Primus puts a hand on your shoulder and says,

Are you all right, old friend? Get off of me. You swat his hand away. You see, he says, I think there might be wolves nearby. Mariana, get back. And you see that he puts a hand on Marianna's chest. Don't you fucking touch you.

You see, he goes, it's happening. Look, look at him. And you feel yourself changing. You look down and claws are beginning to grow. to grow from your hands. And as you feel yourself shifting, go ahead and give me a wisdom-saving throw. 12th.

You begin to wretch as you move to all fours. And you can feel as you wretch, as you wretch, whiskey so potent that it makes your eyes burn as you belch it forth onto the floor of the cottage, mixed with blood, begins to pour out of your throat. As Primus goes to grab Esme and says, Esme, darling, don't get close to him!

And pulls him away. And you see, he takes both of the girls and puts them back up against as you are changing into a wolf on the floor of the cottage. Does it hurt? It hurts bad. On that 12, you can't stop retching. And this stink of whiskey and blood.

is just billowing out from your open craw as your boots split, and your spine elongates as you turn into something on the floor of this cottage. Is there any sense that this isn't real, that this is a dream? Give me an intelligence saving throw. Uh, 17. 18. Katagan, this is not real. I'd like to try to wake myself up.

That moment, that moment in between, I'm gonna try to wake myself up. as you attempt to wake yourself up, give me, this will be the last saving through I asked for. It's gonna be DC 20 Constitution saved to wake up. Not gonna work. Eight. You know that this is a dream and you're trying to wake up.

You see you, in attempting to wake up, try to like open your mouth and as you do so, your jaw extends, Esme screams. And you see Primus says, I won't let it hurt you, takes a knife, slits Marianna's throat. Can I try to charge it, Primus, B-Strike with Wilfork stats? Yes, you can.

Go ahead and give me an attack roll. Okay. Five. This is impotent rage. This is seven. It feels so horrible. This is like a real nightmare. This is horrible.

You leap forward. With that high intelligence saving throw, I'm going to give you one moment of lucid. You can't wake yourself up, but you have a moment of being lucid, where it's almost like in that way when you're dreaming and your waking mind goes like, oh, this is what I'm trying to figure out. Or being like, oh, like that moment, you don't even open your eyes, but you go, this is, don't forget this when you wake up. Don't forget this when you wake up. Away from the dream, what is heaviest on Cadigan's mind as you are trapped in this nightmare. of losing my wife and daughter again in front of me. I didn't see it happen, and I only have a, it's your mind creates the worst when you don't know what happened.

So yeah, actually seeing what it could have been like is horrifying. You leap forward to attack on that seven, you crash forward and are standing on the waters of the stream. The wolf prince are your prince. You look out, the sun is beginning to set, And as it does so, you see the edge of the horizon, the lake down where the stream feeds into it.

There's a seam of light, almost like when the sun is setting and the sky is stormy so that there's just one thin, gray, misty line of sunlight where the earth and sky are both dark, violet gray as you stand and begin and begin to move. You have that moment of lucidity. You've lost them again. Primus Toconis. He's the one who destroyed your life. You picked the most beautiful cottage in the most remote corner of Aramon where you would know only peace. And one of the most powerful men in the world for reasons you cannot explain took them from you. In that brief moment of lucidity,

Octus and Vailas, just see Cattigan in the corner of the fairy cave, twitch a little bit in uneasy sleep. I would like everybody here, if you'd be so kind. Who has gone to, who here has already passed out? Cadigan is asleep. I think Julian. I think Julian found whatever part of the cave had the most light.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Probably right under the moon crystal. This like giant gleaming crystal. Yeah. Underneath to produce as little shadow as possible. Only then can he rest. Did you come in? Or are you?

I hesitated, but I think came inside eventually. Okay. Then I will, and you're staying awake? Until I... I'll meditate for a couple of hours. It helps. Okay. But I'll be awake. Then I'm gonna fall asleep on your knee.

Don't move your legs too much. It'll wake me up. It's okay. I can't lose circulation anymore, so I'll be here. Okay. Thimbales, you circle up on Octus's knee, your newfound bracer's armor. You...

I'm gonna test it. You look into the caver. You look into the cavern. What few fair folk called Dolmachiar home have felt drawn to this place? The many that you saw at the theater have come out into the Tintasi wood. Most of them are quite small, fellow pixies and sprites.

You see Tammalo, who's a full human-sized clashing. She's sort of the antlered Faye, has a purple blanket on the ground and is giving readings to Faye that have come here to this place. And you see there are a couple of these spindly little, almost like root fairies. You see they look like weird little fungal dandelions.

They have this like little spindly root legs. They're kind of naked and just have like twig bodies. And then their heads are these big puffs of like colored beards and they have small little conical brown and orange and red caps and small little pickaxes and things like that and are moving out into the root and expanding it out in all directions, making little hiding holes for fairies here

that you can see come covered in soot and dirt from the city, many of them sick or ailing, being in places filled with cold iron, and have discovered this little moon cavern and are kind of expanding it out. Sorry? That's the exact noise they're making. It's extremely whimsical and magical up in here.

It's fun. Disturb. I don't know why I did that. Baller's mask is, I believe, on the person of Cadigan. I don't know if you're wearing. I think I'm just, you have me. I don't think I'm being worn. So I am in my, I'm in my theater.

Dormant in your theater. Yeah, and I'm just, well, I'm in there. So I am, it's as close to sleep as I get. Yeah. Um, the, your human companion's sleeping, Thimble, you fall asleep as well. I fall asleep. Staring at Julian, like as my eyes are closing,

I'm just staring at Julian. There's like a little, there's like a little line of shadow that you can't get away, just from where the shoulder and arms like round up from the floor. And Thimble, you drift off to sleep. As you're drifting away, you're a fairy. You're a fairy sleeping in this fairy cavern

surrounded by Fay Magic. What is on your mind and heart as you begin to drift off to sleep? I am, oh man, I'm like a storm all mixed up. I don't know. I'm so sad about Tejur and Sid, and at the same time I feel so incredibly hopeful in a way that I haven't for the last few weeks

since everything happened because I don't know. I feel like I'm still connected to him in some way. And also knowing that Faz isn't lost in the underworld that he's somehow connected to us. I just want to find a way to make, I want to bring him back. Fimble, falling asleep while making a wish in a cavern this magical, it's a very potent thing. You're on Octus' knee.

Ferries always have explosive dreams. It's almost like you're made of dreams. It makes sense if you didn't dream. The crystal glowing in the distance, which is the last thing sees you're looking at the shadow, with the crystal right over Julian. You close your eyes and you, suddenly all you can see is the crystal.

And the crystal is sort of floating in space, stars, and you see a person. pathway that looks like it's made of glass until you realize it's actually made of water, just suspended and still looks like glass, just this clear, perfect, crystalline ribbon of water stretching away. And you see off in the distance this crystal glowing and it begins to wh-w-w-w-beat like a heart. Give me a perception check if you'd be so kind. Whoa, that was so aggressive. Holy thing.

21. On a 21, is there anything that you would want to see in this place? The crystal is glowing. I think I just want to kind of fly low to the ground and touch the water with my fingers as I want to see if I can get up to the crystal. I want to go towards the light. You trace a finger and the water

illuminates with green and golden sparks that flash forward and you begin to hear behind you and the creaking of wheels. You look behind and see wheels of a chariot casting off green sparks and you see a massive golden harness chariot drawn by two lions that roar as they approach. You see one gray and one black, roaring at the top of their lungs,

as the chariot races towards you. Get it! You want to go get it? No, I just want to tell them to get it. Get it! They rush towards you and you can see that the little road you're on kind of Mobius strip, so you realize they're charging forward on the underside

of the ribbon of water that you are on as they look past you and they're running and look and go and rush off towards the crystal light. On that 21 perception, they start heading towards this beating heart of joy and hope. You do feel that there is some presence behind you. And I think you become aware that Octus is nearby

and cannot make his way here without you. I gotta find Octus. Go ahead and give me investigation. I rolled a one. You go to look for Octus. Oh, no, Octus. You go down and you sort of trailed your fingers through the water

and you get this sudden feeling of, you see a sort of shadowy shape on the underside of the water. If you were to fly through it on that road that the two lions and the chariot were traveling, you think he might be over there. I'm going to go then that way. You push right through, and as you do,

you approach a shadowy shape, and two green eyes come into focus. Are they the same green as Octus's eyes? They are a different green. Oh, no. They are green you recognize from having fought the night of Saromai, and you look and see Dame Gaia Saramai

staring at you. A thin ribbon of bowing. bright, clear water is all that separates fairy from death, and you have just crossed over. We return to the cavern. We return to our cavern as we do so. Octus and Vales, you are our last two that are, I think, conscious in this moment.

you're a last two that are sort of like, you guys don't technically sleep. But normally you guys take a little bit of time to speak, you know, have your little like no sleep crew. In this moment, what do you guys do as the rest of your companions ripped off to sleep? I think, Octus, you look down and see Thimble twitching in her sleep here in this magical cavern on your knee.

Making sure not to move my leg, kind of sitting on my knees. Oh, that's awful. starts rummaging through my coat and my pockets and is going to pull out some ingredients to do a little retcon from the end of last session. When I said I resummed PIN, I didn't, because it takes a long time. So I'm gonna do that now.

Great. So I'm gonna start casting as a ritual, find familiar. I'm gonna pull out my incense and take an hour and 10 minutes. to just focus on this while you're on my leg, burning this incense and doing the things I need to do to bring pin back, and not speaking to Veilis. Okay.

Unless they speak to me. I have found a spot sort of leaned up against the wall, but I want to stay very close to Julian. Just to make sure nothing in the night goes thump around him in the shadows. Feeling all of the things. I do have a question. There was something in my inventory that wasn't there

because I was thinking of lighting the embers of Arrask in the cave just next to Julian to keep that light there, but it wasn't there. I don't know if that was a mistake. I just found it. You should have the embers of Arrask, yeah. So I'm going to light those up in the sensor

and sort of keep it close to Julian, so he'll stay alight at night. Beautiful. The embers burn. As you're rummaging through your stuff as well, you do also see you have those two druidic charms in there that you have never worn, that you received in the Schengarten, the Otter's charm and the spring charm.

Yes. And I think you hold these two charms gifted to you by Druid, by Druids on the night you met Hanon. I will take them out and just sort of run my thumb across them. I love that. Do you want to attune to them? Yeah, I will. You see that there's one bracelet

that has some small dried flowers, daisies, beautiful small spring flowers across it. And the other is a leather bracer with some riverstone be. beads on it. The stones have been bored through. They are so smoothed and rounded. They're cool and silky to the touch. And one central stone has a figure embossed in it of an otter swimming. Is there one of these charms that you focus on first? The spring charm. You begin to focus on your spring charm. Fyellis, you don't sleep. And for the first time in centuries, you begin to feel drowsy as you are attuning to this artifact.

It's a very unusual biological sensation for an elf. As you are focusing on this spring charm, you hear distant laughter, feel certain lightness, and there's that feeling, I think, of drowsiness that feels almost physically euphoric, long, hard day in the first moments back in your bed. Do you give in to that feeling? Yes.

Yes. Phelis, you are in a dunning meadow. Absolutely gorgeous. As this spring charm becomes attuned to you to let you know what this magical item does, While wearing this amulet, you can take a magic action to regain 2D4 plus two hit points. Once you use, this property can't be used again

until the next dawn. In addition, you have advantage on saving throws to avoid or end the poisoned condition while you wear this amulet. Drifting off into slumber, you have not experienced sleep like this. Normally your trances are always a reflection on potent memories,

but this is a brand new glade you've never seen before. It's something beautiful and magical. You look around you and hear wildlife. Earlier today, you shattered the Stone of Night Song. When you look down at your body, let me ask you, because you've worn the same clerical garb, the funereal garb of your order for almost 70 years, when you look at yourself in this dream,

what do you look like? When I look down, I am barefoot, feet in the grass, in the dirt, and just covered in white linen. Beautiful. You walk, feel the cool earth, like the heat of the top of the grass soaking up the sun that as your foot depresses, reaches the cool earth underneath. And I curl my toes in.

Curl your toes in. Give me a perception check. Where's my? What happened your page? There is. I just panicked, it all looked the same. I don't know what just happened. She just closed it for a.

I did. I don't need this. Second. Okay. I'll stand to everything. Oh, that's not so great. Okay. No way.

First up, too. 13. Oh, I need that. 13. There's something clinking, clattering around, and the branch is making a big, you hear some nightingales that are warbling and singing nearby as though there's some big predator near or something like that, making a little bit of a ruckus. And you can hear a sort of like, help, help, off in the forest.

Well, absolutely, I will go over to investigate. That sounds like a talking bird. You walk over and see there is just a fucking mess of a scarecrow made of like, made of garbage and ratty old feathers. It looks like all the refuse of Dolmachiar is here. You see there's a bunch of wet garbage in the middle of a massive wooden rib cage. Like the refuse at the bottom of Lake Nahami is here. And you see its arms are folded up,

kind of concealing its face as it's like tied up in strings going, I'm going to walk up and try to untangle him. As you untangle this being, You take that action, and the being goes, ah, thank you, thank you, ah! And flumps to the ground, boom. And he says, huh, I can't believe I almost missed.

And gets up and looks out just a few feet away from this. You see there's a beautiful little trodden path through the woods. And you see this figure, a big mess goes, ah, my head's stuck in my chest. Can you help me? Sure. I'll pull his head out of his chest.

You reach in and quite shattered into many pieces. It's kind of sticky with something that you realize as you pull your hands back is blood. You pull this head out that is a bloody skull that has chunks of, of a helm that you recognize as Hannon's birdhound. Oh, fuck. His cracked and broken helm is sort of pieced

in Telson's face. I'm so much fun. This cracked and broken mask there. Am I already? I'm going to take the head and place it on the top of this. Caregirl's body. Ah, that's much better. Thank you.

What did you miss? Oh, the path, points. I was trying to fly, but my wings are made of garbage. I think I'm very good. You see that he holds up a wing that just sort of tattered refuse and broken feathers. Me, I knew this. No, I don't know why I thought I had healing.

Maybe I do. It's a fucking dream. Give me an intelligence. Give me an intelligence saving threats. Okay. Fucking bitch. Okay. You heard of here first.

God, that's so bad. Intelligence. These are all nightmares. Eight. Bayless, you go to cast a healing spell, but you do have. Oh, here it is. It's literally right in front of his face. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

So sorry. No, no, it's okay. It's just rest. You go and you go to cast, to use your lay-on-hands feature and discover, even as you are dreaming for the first time in centuries, Bayless, you know on that failed saving throw. You are immune to magical sleep. So even as you dream, you are lucid. And when the spell does not come in dreams, you know.

know that you have permanently lost your magic. It will be gone when you wake up. You are in dream right now, and your magic is gone. In that case, like to cast guidance on this creature to show him the path. You go and no magic comes at all. Fuck.

As you do so, he goes, are you trying to guide me? That's very sweet. Do I know you? I think so. What is your name? How did I thought I knew? Was I good in life? I think you were very good. Wow, that's good news. I think I might have been out there for too long. No, you're trying to show me down the path? Yes. Of course you can't guide me down the path. You've never been. Do you believe in the path? What do you believe in? yet. Yet. Well, there's a whole world of faith in that one little word. Yet. I like your hope.

I'm sorry if I owed you anything or made any promises to you before all this. I don't think I can keep promises much anymore. Do I feel, does this feel like a bit of Hannan or is this, do I, can I, Does this just feel like this is something my mind is doing? Give me an investigation check. Oh, okay. That's not bad. 16. Shannon was, like, proud and noble and very, like, of a high status. And this ruined old creature doesn't really feel like him.

But it has his mask. Maybe people aren't like their souls. You can't be sure. But on a 16, it doesn't feel right yet. Yet. Okay. He looks to you and says, I have to head down the path sooner or later,

but are you lost? Are you going that way? I think so. I'll travel with you for a little while. May I walk with you for a little? It puts out a broken old raggedy wing arm. Please. And you begin to journey.

I'll ask for one more perception check. You can do this one actually with advantage. Okay. Ooh, great. Okay, um, uh, 26. Distantly, you hear the crying voices of your family that pierce through the dream. Instantly run to it.

Where do you go? Dream vanishes. You are on an endless pain of glass that splashes like water as you are running. You are running through night sky towards that thin seam of gray, misty light at the horizon with darkness above and below in all directions.

Underneath you, matching your footprints is Maywin, your sister, who's running on the underside of this plane of water. So her head is pointed in the opposite direction as she's running towards the same gray light as you. Can I plunge my hand through and try to grab her? As she does the exact same thing in your hands, meet and stop each other at the water.

She goes, Where are you? I don't know. Come with me. Please. And you see that she goes to put her head up against the water. I do the same. And you are just, weeping, your tears each falling to meet

in the middle of the pain of water as she goes. Sorry, I will. You're going to move from here to, we're gonna move from here, away from Phala. This game sucks. That we're like this sweetly, yeah. We are going to move from here. To Julian.

No. No! You know what I saw this? Oh boy. Man, sleeping sucks here. Pry and hop's sleep. Um, uh, Julian.

Um, um, trudging over a war-torn landscape, broken spears in all directions, smoke and fire throughout. Um, You hear distantly like the shouts in a kind of tenetis, like the fog of war here. Valley back, fall back, fall back!

You look in your hand and see that the sword you're holding is just made of teeth. And just stitched and glued together with blood, this long rapier made of teeth, and you can feel blood pouring out of a toothless mouth. Up on the hillside overhead, hanging from these massive scaffolds built of swords and spears the size of giants, are several thousand swaying corpses hanging from nooses. Do I feel a direction I'm impulsive to follow? As you look off in the distance. Jesus Christ.

A thunder crashes. And all of the corpses behind them, a mountain range is fully on fire, so all of the swaying corpses are in silhouette as the fire rages behind them. And you can see in midst up ahead, Fiazzi's body, in total silhouette with the raging, fiery inferno landscape behind him,

dead swaying in the wind. that's your one. It's the one corpse you recognize here. I approach it. Walking forward, you look, give me a perception check. That's going to be an 11. You do not notice until the very last moment,

the small footsteps that follow you. As you turn around, you see, approaching you in your footsteps is a tall, Uh, sorry, Perching you is a tall, eared, long-legged hair that you can see has two, uh... Like a loose hair. Lose hair. Get really twin-pexy with it, yeah. Um, uh, you, you turn around, uh, and see this hair who has two sort of almost like fairy-sized arrows, like crossbow bolts through each eye.

They're just bleeding down into its face. And you see that the hair looks up at you and says, this place is horrible. War is horrible. Are we safe here? Maybe we should go to greener pastures. This seems a not at all nice place to be. Generally, they're not.

If you need to leave, leave. Well, I am trying to help you. I look back up to the corpse of the Ozzie. You're trying to rob that one? He's like three up, like three. I don't know what you call it, shelves. Up. What's he got that you need?

Closure. Overrated, all right. Well, I'll tell you, there's dreams about being happy, having a good time. I'm going to take my sort of teeth. Can I try and throw it to cut his rope? Yeah, go for it. Give me an attack roll. I toss it and catch it by the backs.

The blade is forward and try and vault it. towards the rope. Mm-hmm. That's gonna be a 19. 19 is a hit. Go ahead and roll your normal rebbeard damage. That will be 13 points of piercing damage. Boom!

The gallows snaps and Fiazzi's body, Foom! Falls to the ground, boom! And rolls over and disappears behind a small ledge, like over the next hill. I go rush towards it to follow. You see the hair abounds and says, all right, but just thanks to you.

through, there's people who care about you as he follows behind. And vaulting over, you see it, the Ozzy's body right there. And you see that where he has fallen completely dead and lifeless, his hand has fallen into the edge of a patch of flowering vines. And you see that,

that he's, the patch of vines is almost in the shape of like a human body, these like blooming roses. And you see that his hand is actually, just the way it's naturally fallen is holding a gauntlet. And you see he's holding your father's gauntlet. Is the rest of the rope that was cut still attached? Yeah. I'm going to kick the gauntlet out of his grasp.

Grab the rope and lift him over my shoulder and start dragging him back to the hair. You dragged the Ozzy Fang's body. Give me an athletics check. 21. His body gets so heavy that the earth is cracking underneath it and pure will, you move through,

and you pull it back over the hill as the hair looks down and says, you're a very strong-willed man. Go in the pastures, then? Oh, yeah, oh, yeah, of course. Follow me. Greener passages, we'll get you some teeth. And you see that he begins to bound off.

Give me a perception check and an intelligence saving throw. You can make the intelligence savings throw with advantage. Perception, match 19 for a 21. Hell yeah. And then intelligence saving throw, 14, no bonus. Oh, I get that with advantage, you said. 14. 14. 14.

You look and see that the hair is bounding off towards a large hole in the ground. He goes, I dug this earlier. Safe pastures on the other side of this hole. It's a dark hole. I look around at the fiery war-torn surrounding is, and a dark hole seems welcoming. So I adjust the body kind of glancing over

towards the face of the Ozzie behind me and approach the edge. Julian, do you feel in this moment, as you go to the hole, suddenly you pitch and begin falling? In this moment, with that twice a 21 perception, you are falling through a vast, like, rabbit Warren. You see a couple of different sites immediately that I will describe to you here.

There is a wolf drowning in a crystal lake. There is a grieving mourner. You see a woman sort of in like white, almost like mourners garb, funereal garb. You see distantly a thin sort of collection of green sparks that are surrounded on all sides by shadows. And then you also finally see a massive structure

that feels like safety. What you see is on that plane of water, a massive colorful amphitheater. You see like an image of the hallowed round in celebration, in like, Faye jubilation. But seated on that plane of water, mirror reflection on the underside, you see a structure that I would actually like Taliesin to tell me what the theater looks like. Right now, so the theater is dark. It is mostly shadow. The few rows of seats drift off into darkness in both sides, including the back there.

It doesn't seem to be an end to it, just this little sliver that is barely lit. The theater itself, the stage, is lit, but difficult to see the edges of. Right now, there is a play being performed. In very simple flats, have been painted with a very cubist vibe. And this is true of everything in this.

particular performance of the ballroom at the museum. And there is a waltz being played that is hard to tack down. And there in this crowd of actors, which are just undefinable people, wearing masks, simple masks with again very cubist designs of of, well, at the very least, everybody at this table, and perhaps some people that we left behind. Boler dances. Boler is wearing just a peasant shirt,

black leather pants, boots, gloves, no wig, and no body. The mask just floats with the body. And he is dancing with a very nice stage production version of himself in his normal clothing, wearing a very simple mask that is not as clearly just a stage mask designed to mimic himself. And it's a complicated dance

where he's being thrown around. And in one corner, there is the actors, there are actors playing tyranny and Wakandor where tyranny is just throwing Wakandor around. Valis and Julian dance very, very slowly, always never letting their heads look at each other. Octus and, I'm sorry, so not Veilus and Julian.

Veilus and Julian are just watching. Octus, yeah, Octus dances by himself quietly in a quarter corner. Cattigan and Azune clearly are mocking everybody. Teor dances alone as if he were dancing with somebody. And red ribbon slowly, pours out of his jacket, leaving a trail of theater blood, and thimble dances around everything, while Murray works a giant calliope machine that is the music. It is disturbing and sad.

In the very front row of the audience, we see there are three figures that are the only audience members thus far of this show. One of which they are sort of dressed. I want you to picture the way that the Mad Hatter and the March Hare are dressed, that kind of style. There is, in a beautiful cream and orange crushed suit, is a sort of humanoid chameleon that's clapping. There is a little one-foot-tall baller with a little bowler hat in its hands,

just sort of looking up at the larger bolair dancing. And in this incredible black silk number, there is a black cat beast folk looking around being like, we gotta get the fuck out of here. And it's trippy as hell what's going on in this theater. Julian, flashing through these visions of a rabbit, sort of like rabbit war and tumbling, that theater feels much like safety,

but you do see these other visions of potential crisis. I will allow you on these high roles you've been making. Where does Julian choose to fall to? I think Julian begins to stumble past the wolf. uncaringly. Mm-hmm. And then a few more steps, he looks over to the ribbon bleeding Tayor. Mm-hmm.

And that twinge of guilt for abandonment of a stranger pulls him to turn and whip back to that drowning wolf. Mm-hmm. You reach down. Um, Kattegan, uh, you've leapt to towards Primus as fast as you can and are suddenly lost in this lake. Having missed your shot, Primus has once again destroyed your family. Where does Cadigan go in his mind as that happens?

He's still in the body of the wolf sort of drowning in this. In this lake, yeah. Yeah, it's, it feels like time stops, so nothing's more sad than it is. exhausted dog trying to swim with no edge to grab onto. So he's just sort of peddling through this lake, and in his mind's eyes, he sees a faceless hunter that he knows to be himself hurling bolts at him that he dodges as he dog paddles through the lake. As you dog paddle, Julian, give me another athletics check, if you would be so kind. I'm going to spend, if I can

Yes, absolutely. My last hit dice that I had been saving to go ahead in a tactical mind to add a D10 to this. Go for it. That's a 10. So that would turn a 7 to a 17. Cadigan,

those bolts are coming towards you. And as they are hitting you, I think, Julian, you are suddenly standing on the... Right now, you are standing on the... floor of a tavern. And Cattigan, you are no longer a wolf. But what you see is those bolts that were getting hurled at you as they sail through the air, clatter into shot glasses and smash on the ground into glass. Julian, you pull Cadigan up. Cadigan, as you're looking around.

Did I feel Julian pull at me? You feel Julian lucidity. returns to you. As you guys are in this tavern, you see that everyone here, they are not true beastful. They have like human hands. They have like soft hands made of flesh. But all of them have wolf heads on them. They all apparently are sort of like speaking as wolves and talking back and one another drinking heavily. But you come to in this moment and go eye to eye with Julian. I'm going to try to elbow back at whatever is like grabbing at me. And I'm going to try to try to start licking at the whiskey on the bar through the broken glass of the shot glasses.

I just want the booze, I want this to go away, I don't want anyone to touch me in particular. Go ahead and give me a roll off for athletics. 18 on the dice plus 10, 28. I lost. As you see that he just begins to You drink up that liquor off the bar as fast as you can. I'm cutting, I'm cutting my tongue and my face

as I'm drinking at the little shards of broken glass. Behind you, you still got the Ozzy's corpse on this rope. The hair bounds in beside you. He goes, I think you're gonna pull them off that way. What would you recommend, friend? I don't know. Is there anything you can say to him? There's better liquor

where I'm walking. I can hear it's cloudy, it's hazy. It feels like when someone when you're so drunk someone's trying to take care of you and it's cloudy. But it's working. I'm starting to come through a little bit. Hey! Hey!

What is going on? Doghead people everywhere? Wolfhead people everywhere. What's happening? What is this? Both of you make a perception check for me. Dirty 20. It's a natural 20. Woo!

Both of you look up in this moment and see above the door to the tavern, through the window under the torchlight, the name of the tavern written on a swinging sign is just the name Primusus. You see above the door, with all these wolf-headed people in the room drinking, You see a beautiful woman and a gorgeous young girl

whose heads are stuffed and mounted like taxidermy with the names Marianna Vale and Esme Vale. And I think, Julian, you recognize the names. And in this moment on that Dirty 20, understand the significance of the dream you are standing in. So I think at that point to answer your question, Julian kind of clasps a hand out, his gotleted arm onto your shoulder.

It's itself, like covered in soot and blood, the sight of a battlefield, unexperienced from your perspective, still wearing on his face, because we're a place we should not be. Let's get out of here. And I go ahead and start pulling him towards the exit. I can't help linger on the mounted heads,

but something about being in the presence of another soldier is really grounding. So I'm just gonna disconnect from the scene and I'm gonna follow you and out the door. You follow. You see that the hair has now sat himself on Theazi's chest as like a sled

as you're dragging him behind you. And you both head out and see this wooden sign with Primus Taconas in his necromanic Lord Regalia holding an ale carved into the sign of this tavern. I turn to the sign and say, Let's go. cutting it and Julian, you walk off into Dreamland. I'd like you both to add a permanent plus two

to your wisdom. Okay. It's not an ability score that I believe you guys use regularly. No, that brings me baseline. Baseline. Really scared if we hadn't enrolled 2.20s one or four out could have happened. You're a scary man.

You guys see each other in the hatred of that sign. and walk off into dreams. As you do, Julian, you saw other visions in this place. Is there any particular direction you walk towards? I think still dragging the body behind me with a heavy physicality. I think with Primus on the mind, I'm going to walk towards the green flame flicker.

Yeah. The shadow that were around it. Thimble. We return to you staring at Dame Gaia Saramai. Vail, sort of like that funereal cloth, which is just wet with blood, stuck to her ruined jaw, serpent eyes, these beautiful slitted eyes gazing at you. Sarah, my blade in hand, a blade that only came into

Octus' possession because you killed its former bearer. You are surrounded by shadows on all side, on this other side of the ribbon bridge. Is she angry? or does she look helpful in the... A 15. I know for the six or nine. I had to see the dot.

I had to look for the dot. No, that is important. On a 15, she looks, on a 15, she does not look, she looks menacing but not hostile, if that makes sense. Like, she looks capable of violence, but not aggressive. Okay. I'm gonna immediately cast as much light from my body as I can to like shove the shadows away from me.

Mm-hmm. The shadows move back from here. She looks at you and goes, and telepathically in your mind, you hear her voice go, loves you. Doesn't he? For him as well.

I saw one and the same. Can you help be real again? I'll pull you through. She reaches. I guess I'm not, I'm teeny. I'm gonna grab a finger. You grab that. And try to,

pull her through, boom. You hear the distant roaring of lions from that chariot off towards the crystal. And as you begin to pull her, you get back up through the water, and you suddenly see that as she's about to breach the water, that swirling vortex of shadow begins to coil like a viper poised to strike underneath her,

aiming for the crystal behind you. No, no, no, no, no, no. Please, please, please. Why is it fair that you should live and I should die? Do you continue to pull? No, not if she's even for the crystal. Do you let go of her hand? Yeah.

You see, she is crouched now on the other side of this thin pane of water looking at you and goes, and just screams aloud as you can. I destroy every tiny shred of your form. Well, that's why I'm not gonna help you. As this happens, Octus, I think you are about to be finished. He is, as he's been sitting there, he's been collecting all the smoke from the incense.

And sort of moving his hands in a way that it's sort of starting to coalesce. And it's becoming the form of pin. He's like sewing this smoke into the incense. form of pincushion. And every time he's finished with a piece, it's, it's, it's, he's complete, complete that's there, and he's just going through and then it, as soon as the smoke coal, it just pops and pin into existence

and lands in front of him. Uh, incredible. All right, your turn. Don't go anywhere. Watch her, Igoni, like. Four hours. It's gonna go into a meditative state. As you go into a meditative state,

you hear two voices speaking to you at the same time as you begin to meditate. And what I would love here is Thimble. You feel Octus' presence drawn near, and you can see that deemes Hermite does as well. And you see that she goes,

My Lord Taconas, I am ready to serve. Please come to my side. No, no, no, Octus, up here. We're gonna roll off persuasion. And Octus is going to appear at whichever side has the higher roll. Oh, that's looking terrible. And I'm gonna roll in front of the board.

Oh, good. Look for the dot. Here we go. Oh, my hands are sweaty. Yohan, okay. She only adds a plus two. I only add a plus three. She gets a 19 plus plus 21.

19, 19. That was crazy. Hell yeah. Octus, you begin to feel drowsy and sunerous, dreamful. It feels this like soporific. kind of haze and you look around, and you can hear Dame Gaia in your mind being like,

and you hear Thimble, and what does Thimble say to Octus as you feel his spirit drawn near? Octus, stay with me. Come to the light. Octus, you are standing on the bridge and your dead form stands a hair's breadth

on the side of fairy over death. Oh. Hi. Hi. Where are we? This, I'm not sure. Okay.

But it's creepy as fuck. And she's down there, and she wants to come up. And she's going to ruin everything, Octus. Turning and seeing Sarah Mai just right at the... Her feet are exactly where your feet are, as she looks down. Each of you are looking down the lengths of your body and at each other's faces sort of craned down.

Ah, yeah. She's really mad. Yes. In your mind, you hear. Yes. I'm sorry. It's, I can only bring you out for short periods of time, and I will bring you back out.

But we are in a place where you can't be seen at the moment. And I know it is bad where you are, and I understand. I've been there, ought into it, and I will figure it out. I promised. Are you saying this in your head or out loud? I'm singing out loud, but I'm saying it out loud. I promised I would.

You just hear Thimble every time that she speaks. I'm working on it. It has been only a number of hours back in the real. She tried to come through. She was gonna ruin the crystal. We can speak about this later. You, what, I heard both of you. What, did you, did you need me?

Um, yes? I thought your soul was lost. She says you're lost. Well, I don't fully know what happened to it. You don't have a soul. It's complicated. It unraveled when I came back. What does he feel like? Does he feel glowing? Does he feel like he has a soul? Do I sense an aura?

Can me an insect check. Or cast detect soul if you got it. Oh, yeah. Um, okay. Ooh, okay. What am I rolling? Inside. Inside. Inside. 16. Uh, it looks like Octus in front of you. But you don't know what a soul looks like.

I never knew. I don't know. This is the first time I've dreamt since I died. Really? Yeah, I don't sleep anymore. What does it feel like? That feels weird. Feels like I'm dreaming. Let's walk towards the crystal.

Maybe the crystal has your soul. Come on. I'll cease to exist, but sure, let's go towards the light. Will you really? I don't know any of this is. Do I do? Where are we? Give me your intelligence saving throw.

And give me an investigation check. Both of them? Yeah, give me both. Intelligence saving throw. 10. 10. 10. Fuck, I suck. Eight.

Listen, whatever this place is, maybe this is the Crystal's house. and this is where it lives. This is just where we're supposed to be right now. Okay, that's disconcerting. It looks down at Gai. I will bring you back. You see that in your mind there is only silence.

She lowers her gaze in a look of almost shame or contrition and nods. I am not. I am not my family. I'm not going to abuse you. But I can only do so much until I can do more. She just screamed in my face. Does she seem like she's faking it for Octus? Give me inside check.

Why can't I roll well in dreams? That's Cocktus fun. That's cocked again. I got to aim for the. Okay, insight. 18. No, 19. 19. Not her death. On a 19 insight, she screamed at you.

She was extremely violent seeming and there's a menacing thing here. I think on a 19 insight, your question is, is she faking it? And you're sort of, the answer is no, she's not faking it, but emotions that are this raw and violent and almost like primordial? It's like, in other words, it's like,

if someone is angry at you because they are tilted and gone and they're so out of balance that they can't have their feet on the ground, it's like, in other words, there's a whole universe of options between, are you mad at me for a good reason? And are you faking being mad at me? There's a whole triangle up here of, Are you mad at me for bad reason or no reason at all?

It was more like, is she faking being, like, reserved to Octus and, like, that she's going to hurt him if he brings her out? On a 19, you don't feel genuine menace towards Octus. This place feels strange. I've never been anywhere like this before. Can I make... Yeah, you can give me intelligence saving throw

and an investigation check? All I know is she seems really... upset. And Octus, if that's what it's like on the other side. So an intelligence and an investigation? Yeah, Intelligent Saving Throw in investigation. So an intelligence saving throw is going to be a 20. Hell yeah. And my investigation is going to be a 10.

I rolled a three. Great. You are completely aware that this place is a dreamscape and is and is illusory. However, you become aware that the magic of this place, like fairy dream magic, is like, yeah, it's the source of illusions. It's like that illusion's not real,

and it just won that battle for us. That illusion's not real, and it just got us past the guards. So this realm, while you are here in dreams, what would normally just be a passing little figment of the mind if you were traveling on the road, here in the presence of the crystal, just as we saw with that like bonus to those wisdom scores,

there is a brief moment where what you do in dreams has potential real magical significance. So rather than this just being like a, oh, I guess that we like had a real trippy, we shouldn't have had the fucking fruit leather at the theater. That was bad. Like now we're having a fever dream. It's more that this is happening in the presence of that moon crystal.

And there's some ability to win. some real magic from it. Okay, we have to be careful while we're here. I think we could accidentally do something that actually matters in the real world. Really? Maybe.

I don't know how this works. This is very magic. And I think now I'm kind of the farthest thing from fairy that exists. If you're here, that's a good thing. If you're here, you're fairy. If you're here, you're fairy. Maybe we should have you touch the crystal,

and then you'll become real. That's, there's so many. Let's go touch the crystal. I'm gonna fly to worship. Do you fly towards a crystal, and do you bring Octus with you? I start following. As you follow Gai's steps are exactly yours touching through the water.

As you fly forward, Octus totally surrounded with the magic of fairy. You approach this massive moon crystal. You see flitting around it, you were not present for this, but Bayless would recognize them as these nightingales, these fairies of death, these things that flit around. Ferrys have touched the world of the dead,

and as you approach the crystal, you can feel it reaching out to you. Any hit point damage that you would have healed on like a long rest is healed instantly in this moment as you are filled with fairy light. And you can see all these little spirits that you see are like these sort of nightingale shapes that have the sort of bird little beak tweeting around as they go and call,

but you see that actually within the beaks there, they are like the helms of small, little winged fairies flying throughout all throughout the crystal. And you see that one of them alights in front of you. You are in a place. place of in-betweens. I can help you go home if you have dreamed too deeply

in wish to wake. This crystal is newborn, and it was hewn from this earth by the shattering of a great thing. Yeah, that great thing used to be in my chest. You see, this little fairy flies up and gives you a kiss on each cheek. Thank you.

Welcome. Malcolm? Do you know where his unravelled soul could have gone? Oh, you unravelled it? Uh, maybe. It was, I don't remember fully what happened, nor even if I did, I don't know if I could tell you. I can take a look for it. Do you want me to?

Sure. Okay. But be careful, there's shadows on the other side. Mm-hmm. Oh, I understand. The other side is very dangerous. We here are at a crossroads. The world of mortals is quite near, and so is fairy, and so is death.

Obsidia and Tiochruzoo, quite nearby, and Aramon as well. It's a little higgledy, piggledy. Thankfully, there was a dragon who helped put it all together. There was a dragon? Yeah? I've never seen a dragon. Neither have I. On an investigative, I rolled investigation,

I did just hit an at 20. You see that this fairy flies into the crystal. See? This all seems very convenient. You see that the fairy flies back out and goes, into the crystal and I took a look. And your soul is scattered and unraveled. across oblivion, utterly destroyed and fragmented

to all corners of reality. It is as unmade as anything could be. Congratulations. Thank you. I'm glad I did a good job. What does that mean? Oh, had it been even a solitary fragment left in the shattering of the stone

that led to this beating heart you would have been destroyed. Oh. So the good news is you get to keep being dead. Good. Okay. But lots of things are dead. That's not sad. No, and it's nice to have concrete information. So we can't put it back in him?

You see, says, Um, no, but we can get you some strawberries. That sounds lovely. Strawberries are really yummy. You'll have to tell me. Do we perceive you guys in this moment cross paths as you come together. Octus doesn't have a soul anymore. Yes, we know this.

Well, it's gone forever. And he can't taste strawberries. That's one last thing to have to worry about. Yeah, I mean, what are you doing? My weight. I look over towards where the, the morning dressed figure was to greener pastures. Does it look like a body to me that he's dragging?

You see that he is dragging Theazi's body behind him. Unbeaten feet toward the morning woman. Yeah. I'm following as well. Oh. I'm gonna land on your shoulder, Julian. Julian, you should let the body go. Why?

Well, because it's not It's not really... It's not right to drag a body around. I've been carrying him on my back for a ten years. What's any difference now? Well, I did say that there's some way to change. Let him keep dragging. Hey! Bad lady, wake up!

As you begin to head off onto that plane of water, you... Fimble... What do you mean, wake up? As you guys begin to head off, Thimble, I think as you been to drag Fiazzi, Octus, having heard the news, you see that that tiny little fairy goes, Sister, I want to tell you something.

There's someone who wants to talk to you. Just real quick, just us. And brings you up and flies up, flying higher than that sort of plane of walking towards the real heart of this crystal, glowing within In it, you hear a voice speak out and go. The thimble of the golden orchard. Yeah.

More blossom was born of fairy greater than perhaps any of her kin could have imagined. You planted the seed and you see the top of the crystal touches the root of the cherry tree over it. And you see the cherry tree above you as you look up. It is suddenly, just for you, bright daylight. and you see a cherry tree that contains the world. It stretches like eegdrasl or a tree of myth,

where its branches touch endless sky, boundless worlds of falling cherry blossoms. You see vast cities on its branches. And you see there is this enormous figure who's got this thick red beard and two sort of like sprouts of red hair, hair, almost like horns coming off each side of his head. He's like bald here.

Massive muscles in these long elven ears. You see he's got tattoos of knotwork that stretch out along the lines of his cheeks and across his arms. And you see that he is covered with flower around his hands. He has like white flower around his hands. This deep apron of like rich green. And you see him look out and go,

marvelous to be honed. daughter of fairy. Do I know him? Give me a nature check. He feels familiar. 14. This is like, you have something like several dozen brothers and sisters

and no mom or dad because you were all born from blossoms in the golden orchard. This is the first time you've ever looked at someone and you feel like this sort of This person loves you and knows who you are and wanted you to be here. And it might not occur to thimble to say, Dad, but there's something in this that feels like a person who is so proud of everything you've done.

What are you baking? Not for me to bake, daughter of fairy, merely to mill, to others. You planted the seed and I've done very well. This little one, and you see the little nightingale fairy lands on his finger, told me you are looking for a soul. Yes, kind of two, actually. But one's been unraveled, and the other one stuck to a shadow. You're from the orchard. Did you ever see, Tirchruzlu?

Did you ever see fairy, truly, the kingdom of hearth? I went through the door once. It was so long ago. Hundreds of years. I can't even remember what it looked like. I had just been born. Harth, the home of fairies true, of gardens, and of kitchens of workshops and homes.

Is there anything so far gone that it cannot be mended? And you see he looks off in the distance and from this tree that really only you seem to be able to see in this moment. He looks and sees Octus. He looks back at you. All craft is a working of love. And I see that there is love here. If you say that all things can be mended, I believe you. He draws you close and suddenly his enormous form and yours are of the same size and he embraces you in this massive hug.

as we meet our first archfay of the campaign as he holds you close and kisses you on the side of your cheek. Grief and sorrow on the trail ahead of you. And you know more than your fair share. It is unfair to ask you to be a light to others. But would you shirk that duty if I asked it of you? Who have known you, as long as you are quick of wit and survive the day.

dangers ahead. Always. Tomorrow comes. A simple turning of the craft of Sylvan creatures. A wish, a little bit of pixie dust. Three times whittershins around the cherry tree and the road will show itself to you. Walk it to any place you have been before.

But should you try to take the road far than your mortal eyes have seen, then it will be unsafe. Do you understand? Yes. Farewell, child of fairy. And with that thimble, you exit this place and follow your friends.

And Valis, we return to you, your companions chasing after you. And in this, place, you see your sister weeping. You hear a voice. You hear voices behind you. You hear a voice that sounds like Cadigan's,

but you hear another voice reaching out to you in darkness. As the voice reaches out to you in darkness, you can see May when underneath you asking, why have you done this thing? your voice is behind you of people searching for you. There is another voice ahead that is also searching for you, calling out, Sister, Phelis, sister. And you recognize the voice of the sister matriarch, Kyra,

of the Sisters of Salandri. Catigan, you look up ahead and can see this sort of shattered bird helm right behind Vailas as up ahead. And you see the bird helm is just kind of like floating on the water behind her. As you hear this voice, Vailis, this voice calls out, Sister Vaila, I sense you in memory of something stranger nearby. Come to my voice. Can you hear me? Phelis, do you seek out that voice, or do you stay put as your companions come behind you? Um, oh no. I'm gonna stay quiet. As all of you approach, you begin to hear this voice echoing out as well.

Sister, Phelis, and Sue. How goes your mission? Have you retrieved the stone? All of you are now hearing this. She sounds pissed. Who is that? I always talk you as more of an only child type. Close.

To call out and say, I have retrieved the stone. As you alight rushing through this place, you hear her go. Are you now returning to the Abbey? Can I see who's talking? You guys see a shape is approaching you in the water. wearing a kind of elaborated form of Vailas's habit, her funereal clerical garb,

you see carrying what looks like a fine chain that arrays into like a hanging cluster of sensors that sort of loop into these fine gold chains. Her skin is unnatural. white, paper white. And you see that her eyelashes are actually luminously white, glowing white slightly, creating this sort of unsettling look around her eyes. The whites of her eyes are actually the only piece of color

you can see where they are slightly bloodshot. And then these intense, deep black sclera and pupils. As she walks forward, this sort of shimmering platinum blonde hair that moves down behind her. You see that she steps towards you and is walking across the water here. Is she on the top of the water? Which side is she on?

She is on the top of the water. Okay. I said she's so nice. I did not know. You see if she had purchased her voice goes from a whisper to Moravee. I did not know that you possessed this gift. Phyllis.

What are you talking about? The land of dreams, borders, fairy. It is the closest that we can come in this time in which the doors are closed. But our kind do not sleep, and so it is closed to most of our... You, however, are here. With companions.

I'm gonna fly next to your ear. She's alive. She's here. She's for real. She's not in the past, is she? No. No? Yes, you're right. Everything you're saying is right.

This means she's here. But part of her might be. Is that head still nearby? The floating... Yeah, the helm. Can I reach for it? Yeah, absolutely. What the fuck is this?

Is that... That's Hanon's? The name you've said, Hanon. Have you come into contact with an elf by that name? He is an enemy of our order, sister. Where is the stone, sister? Gone from your grasp or from this world? I destroyed it.

You have done this purposefully. Yes. This is that, sister, this is all, this is all wrong. All wrong? I would think so. You have destroyed a holy artifact of your goddess, salandry, one of the last pieces of her magic in our world. What could have compelled you to do this, sister?

So many souls have been free to go home. Souls free to go home? Were you able to, in its destruction, curry the souls of our fallen people to their resting place in fairy? Not yet. Action of this priceless relic. You have bought nothing? It's action. So, Andre, was wrong. She did not love us. She cursed us. She was very wrong. And we have to make it right. I have walked this world for 3,000 years. You are but a child and a fool.

She produces a small wooden ring from her habit. Do you know what this is, Sister Vales? It is a ring forged from the Arden tree, a life-giving tree, ripped from our beautiful land with the destruction of the most holy. It still keeps its power to give life By wearing this gift, you need not food nor water. It replenishes you. You need not breathe air should poison smoke from war-torn lands surround you. I'm going to cut you open and put this ring inside you. Cut off your limbs and cut out your eyes and cut out your tongue. I'm going to drop you with a heavy rock.

to the bottom of the ocean. I'm gonna fly over and try to steal the ring from her hand. Roll initiative. Everybody. Oh, oh. Everybody roll. Sorry. We're good.

She's being mean. No, no. Okay. She's in. Julian being weighed down by the body of the Ozzie just now catches up to the rest of the troop and is like, what's going on? Oh shit. You fly forward.

Who got here? I got above a 20 on their initiative. I got a 20 exactly. 20 exactly as well. Okay, I got 18. 18, okay, cool, cool, cool. So, Vailas and Octus, you see Thimble is racing forward. Did anyone here get above a 16? No, okay.

So Vailas and Octus, you can act before Thimble acts this moment as you see her dart forward. Yes, what are we doing? I turn to her and say, It is very easy for me to rip a hole between these worlds and let death into this place. Are you sure you want to be here still? Hell yeah, if this is an intimidation.

Yeah, give me intimidation. That is a 14, unfortunately. She does not even make eye contact with you as you give that intimidation. I will use that moment to then cast Ooh. Ooh. Ooh.

Very fun. Okay. We're gonna go ahead and cast Shadowblade. Making a blade of Shadow in my hand and I rush forward following Thimble into the fight against her. Hell yeah. Shadow Blade rushing after Thimble. Vailas, any action from you? Yeah.

Uh-huh. Okay, so, which is cool because I don't think anything. I have... Okay. Okay, let me just, we'll try this, because this is not gonna work. Mm-hmm. Oh yeah.

Vow of enmity. Yeah. You go to pronounce your vow of enmity, and as a reaction, as you go to pronounce it, that magic fails you as she says, it is not yours. You have forsaken your vows. Please no curse upon my head.

Can I get to her? Because I still have my action. Yes, you can get to her. I'll make an attack roll against her. Go for it. Um. Yeah, I will get the censor in place, and I will just say, it was a habit.

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Force of habit. Force of habit. You guys take your attack rolls. That's 21 to hit. That's 21 to hit. Wow, she's getting hit.

Can I use like a sleight of hand then to try to try to. You give me slight of hand. Okay. 21 to hit, go ahead and roll damage. And same for you. Ashley, you can give me an attack roll here as well. Yes. 24.

Hell yeah. That's going to be Eight points of psychic damage. Eight points of psychic damage. You slash, with that psychic damage, you see her image here in Dream is totally disrupted. That psychic energy moves through. Give me your attacks here.

Okay, so that hits. The first one was 22? Yeah. Okay, great. And this, wait. You can just like whack her upside the head right here. Okay, wait, so I'll. Go for it.

All your second attack, yeah. Oh yeah, that's great. Naturally teen plus eight. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So roll damage for both attacks. Okay, okay. So this will be, this for you, I believe, is A. And you also have those embers in there as well.

Yes, that's up. Okay, five. With this damage, let me know what you roll here. Yeah. Oh, so. It should be 2D10 plus 2D6 plus 10. Okay, 2D10. So that was 15, so 20. for both of the hits of the sensor

and then the embers. Is the 2D6, yeah. That's terrible. Oh, wait. It's just 1d6 each time. On my damage dice still considers threes. Oh. Because of...

That one, I believe that fighting style. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes. So then those are both... So then that would be six total. Cool. Yeah, great weapon fight. With embers.

So 26. Okay, 26, 26 plus six from you. Eight. Eight. That allows you to roll with advantage on that check. So you can roll again. You can roll again, take the higher of the two. I don't remember what the first one was.

Oh, 24. 24. The 24 is the higher. 24 is the highest. She has a plus 12 to her perception, which is what she rolls against sleight of hand. So she's gonna roll right here. 10 plus 12 is 22.

You grab the ring all three. of you as you rush forward to attack, again a permanent plus two to your wisdom. Oh, what? Rushing forward. Um, uh, boom, as you rush forward. Um, as you grab that ring,

she calls out, I am coming for you, Phelis. I am coming for you. You grab the ring and thimble as you can see the water begin to crack and strain. You pull this ring out of her hand and begin to pull it apart and apart and apart and it grows and grows and grows and all five of you fall,

if you fall directly into this massive ring, which is Boler's theater. You are seated in the front row. Boler, your dance has just been interrupted by something. You can't quite be sure of what's happening. Belair is sort of caught like a child whose parents came home to all of their clothing pulled out of their dressers. I'm sorry, this is a rehearsal.

No one's supposed to be in here. You see that the cat, the chameleon, and the little tiny Boler all clap. I wave away the cast to leave in all the props and all the sets to leave. And the phantasmal baller steps through me and now I look normal to the rest of you. Give me intelligence saving through it right away

and an investigation check. Happily. Intelligent saving throw? Yeah. That's awful. That's a six. And then what was the other one? Investigation.

Oh boy. Much better. That's 22. On a 22, all of your friends who are clapping here, you see there's still Fiazzi's body with the little hair on it. You've got Hanon's mask with you. You see that now the full sort of bird monster. Hannon appears in this moment. And looking on a 22 investigation,

everybody here standing in the theater has from their wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, waist, heads, strings stretching up infinitely into the stormy sky overhead. Boller? I checked myself. You got him too. What the fuck is this? Is the theater, right?

It is. It's my theater. It's, uh, what is? It's really pretty. I talk to the, is the mad hat or a tiny version of me, the little hat? You see that the chameleon has the big hat. You're holding a little bowler, a little bowler hat, and you see that the tiny little Boler looks at you

and goes, I'm Boler. Oh, are you? And I step down and explain this, Belair. You see that Bolerer goes, and looks around, and you see he goes, no strings, but then points down at little sort of puppet legs, and you see his legs are kicking up and he can't get up from his seat.

You see that the cat, who's all dressed here, puts a hand on your shoulder and says, mate, we go to get out of here. I don't know how. Talk to them. They just came from outside. Maybe they can get you out. We are in an in-between place.

Yes, I want a big, freaky group dream. They're not. They're not real, you're not real. You're real. You're real. Wait, do the thing again where you're not you, where you're just floating head. Tell me something only you would know.

You miss. He's looking at the blade in his hand and the strings. Back to the blade in his hand and the strings going. Mm-hmm. You wish that you could smell flowers. It doesn't come through right. You told me that once. I step forward and everything, I go almost like a,

just a little breeze of script papers float off as I'm back to just the simple peasant shirt and the mask without the wig. This is cool, Ballair. I don't know how to get out of here. And I don't know what this place is going to do. Well, we fell through a giant ring. You cut your strings, Octus.

You cut your strings and you see Octus vanishes and the sword clatters to the ground. There was just a writhing black shadow blade laying on the ground. I'm gonna grab it. Yeah, you grab it? I turn to my three little figments. Yeah. Explain yourselves, what did you do?

You see that figment goes, Master Bolia, it was the wizard's sword. We didn't do anything. It was not our fault. I'm gonna cut Thimble strings. Thimble vanishes. In the cave. Dave, Octus, you are fully meditating, and you see Thimble enter full and restful sleep on your,

okay. You have cut Thimble strings, Thimble is freed. Julian. Julian, your strings are. You come for my strings, and I reach for, what I presume is no blade since I threw it earlier. Yeah. An instinct she had reached to grab for nothing.

Look back to you to try and deflect, and it's too late, and you see that look of like, no! You see that as you cut, you cut the strings, the hair on Fiazzi's body, goes, thank you for that, I appreciate it. Gotta go put him back and bites into the rope and begins to hop with Fiazzi's body out of the theater.

Caddachin, valis, Boler. Hannan is here as well. Oh, poor Hannon. I'm just gonna go to town. I'm just gonna cut, I mean I'm gonna say Boler for last. I am immediately, my Blake, goes up for a block. Yeah.

Kee-h-h-h-H-Hig-Hig-Higlis. Do you, do you, you have Cadigan, Boler, these three little figments, and Hannon. Well, I'm gonna do, Cadigan, Hannan, and myself. I, before this shit starts, I'm going to stop this for a moment. Hell ya.

Cattigan, do you put up a fight? Right before you think, I go, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. And I would like to try to use Wolfrix and I's Silent Link, where physically, if we're within 300 feet, which I would assume would be the parameter of where we would be sleeping,

that we can feel each other's presence. And I'm going to reach out to see if I can feel if Wolfrick is near physically. Wolfrick is near physically. The real world, Wilfric is near physically. Do it. It's done. Cadigan is gone.

It's just you and Bolair here in the theater, the three little figments and Hannan. You can feel distantly a scream from Gaia Saramai vanishing, by the way. I am walking point towards these three figments. Yeah. And I am ignoring you for the moment.

Unless you are coming towards me, I'm ignoring you for the moment. I am going to grab Hannon or the mantle. Yeah. So he has strings attached to him as well? Yeah, as well. All right, I'm gonna cut the strings and then cut mine. As you do, there's a moment where you are falling. through darkness, and you see that that mask, two eyes look out of it at you.

The first time you've seen eyes in the mask, they just go, thank you. Maybe it's time for me to be something new. You are more brave. That's hope, and it's what we do to show we love the world. And you see that Hannan heads off on the path into the old forest, and you are once again back in trance in the cave. Belair, the sword clatters to the ground. It's you and three figments.

You see that all of them look as you advance on them. You see that the chameleon says, Master, Belayer, we're here. And you see the little one goes, I'm Bolayer! And you see that the cat goes, the cat goes, look, mate, none of us have done nothing wrong. I want to get out just like you.

But why don't you go back the way you came now? You see that the cat gets up and goes, look, let me try. You see, he won't stand. up and as he turns, you see he, as he shifts, he suddenly is paper thin, like he was drawn on a flipbook. And you see he goes, I'm gonna try and stab the pages

as it leaves with the rapier to catch it. It goes through the pages and he goes, Oh, wait, listen. Have you ever had a dream before? Have you ever had a dream when you weren't on somebody? I've pretended. You've always been here on the stage. Come up the Voms, come up to the Thai seat.

Look out with me. You can get out of your story. You can get out. And I cut my blade, my strings. Yes. You cut your fucking strings. He goes, no, the flipbook, as you see the little tiny Boler grabs his tail

and the chameleon grabs him as they like, try to grab you, but it's too late. Boom, you are gone. As you look out, falling, see that endless ocean in the void, that just pain of water. You look out and see that one misty slit, the gray horizon. That, I'm sorry.

For sure, and you're right. You are right. That one part with the storm underneath and the endless void, the sky above, the endless void underneath, and you look and go, where is that light coming from? That horizon. It's the only source of light in this endless void.

You see latches, the seam of light coming from the that is all that a simple mask could ask for. And with that, That morning comes in a world of the real. As Belair, that horizon gives you a permanent plus two to your wisdom. The adventure begins. What are you gonna do to us that we all need

that much wisdom? Yeah, that's where my memory. The adventure begins. As you all awaken and we'll see the road waiting three turns around the tree After the...