High Rollers DnD - High Rollers: Aerois | #23 - Ill Winds Blow (Part 1)

Episode Date: February 11, 2019

It's time for Sentry to meet the life-extending Guardian, Breeze! Thanks to our new sponsor Elderwood Academy! Head to http://bit.ly/highrollerselderwoodacademy and, in the order notes, enter "Happy Birthday High Rollers" to get a free set of miniature metal dice worth $25!  D&D Beyond is the official digital toolset for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. Create your FREE account now and start digitising your campaigns here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/ Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pickaxe. Hello everyone, welcome back to High Rollers, a Dungeons & Dragons podcast in the world of Erois, run by Dungeon Master Mark Sherlock-Humes, with me, Tom, playing Kilagad Kalad, the bard slash cleric. I am Chris Trott, I'm playing Lucius Viren, Elowen Elanastio, and I am a High Elf Sorcerer. Hi, I'm Rhiannon, I'm playing Sentry, I am a Guardian Paladin. Hi, I'm Katie, I'm playing Aayla, a Wild Elf Barbarian. And I'm Kim, I'm playing Nova, who is wild elf barbarian. And I'm Kim. I'm playing Nova, who is an air ganassi and she is a hexblade warlock.

Thanks to our long-term sponsor, D&D Beyond. Check the link in the description to make your free account and also head to dndbeyond.com slash discord to join their new server where you can discuss all things D&D and beyond. Also, this week we are sponsored by the lovely Elderwood Academy. They sent us a load of their products and they

quickly became a part of our standard equipment when playing D&D. I personally snagged the spellbook gaming box in which I keep all of my dice, pencils and minis in. Also, it looks like a spellbook which is pretty damn cool. All of their products are super customisable. Change the type of wood, leather, design, inlays

and more to get exactly what you want, exactly how you want it. And hey, we also have a special offer for new customers of Elderwood Academy. If you head to elderwoodacademy.com and in the order notes on checkout write Happy Birthday High Rollers, you'll gain a free set of miniature metal dice worth $25. So head there, get yourself some fancy new additions to the table and also get some metal dice for free. Anyway, on to the episode. After a victory and spell clash, the party make their way to finally meet the life-extending

guardian, Breeze. Welcome back. Welcome back to High Rollers. Mike's really enjoying his birthday. Love it. Very happy birthday. Recap for last week. A storm has come and passed over the small city of Caeli's Rest. Our travellers have arrived and found friendship with a group of wayward guardians,

battled Priest of Zephir in the search for answers, and even taken part in a magical duelling sport called Spellclash. In the Temple of Hesper, they fought against religious zealots of the sun god Palador to protect the priest who taught them about the mysterious Eterna. And whilst the priest and our travellers survived, the temple was burned and ruined, and a new power is rising in the city, a figure known as the Abates.

Now, most of our travellers race back to the mausoleum of Queen Caeli I to meet with a mysterious guardian who may know a way to extend the magical construct's lifespan and save one of their own. But in the burned-out remains of the Temple of Hesper, an air ganassi is sat on a half-scrubbed floor, stains and marks over her hands and clothes.

Nova, is there... We know why you left the group last week. You mentioned wanting to spend some time with Tiangong, wanting to help at the Temple of Hesper itself, but also maybe take a few quiet moments to yourself from the events. Hectic. Yes, the hectic events since you boarded the Sparrowblade.

Is there anything that you want to think about, anything you want to do whilst you are away from everyone else? I think she probably felt a little bit bad about what happened at the Temple of Hesper, which is why she wanted to go back and help, even if she can't replace the books, she can just scrub the floors. Yeah, the temple itself was quite ruined, so most of the interior is blackened. The stone survived, so the building itself is still there but the insides have been completely decimated by the fire um she's definitely

thinking a lot more about what dean simon said about um the was it the eternal triumvirate and um how uh a tanner take a symbiotic relationship with their host. So she's probably been thinking more about what this means is going on between her and Tiangong, which is why she pulled out of the spell clash, which you, thank you for explaining at the beginning last week, because she feels like she's borrowing Tiangong's power. So she doesn't want to use it for entertainment and for sport

because she feels that's disrespectful. So she's probably just processing all this information we've had about Eterna, about Night Frost, meeting the new guardians and thinking about the power problem. And she's probably just processing everything. I think maybe doing a monotonous tour is her way of like working through everything and putting it in order and like storing it away in her mind is there anything you want to get out of this time like is there

anything you want to do or is there anything you're you know do you want to try and speed to tiangong or is there anything you want to accomplish or just taking a moment to get away from everything nothing accomplished so much as just like almost trying to make amends a little bit for the fire that happened at the temple um but also she would be kind of like trying to reach out to tiangong and to affirm what she's learned um about how tiangong what she has is a tiny sliver of this bigger being and how kind of reaffirming what she said to Night Frost of she wants to reunify Tiangong to try and help the Eterner and to help Night Frost.

And maybe the way to do that is to reform Tiangong and figure out where the rest of the triumvirate is. So as you're thinking about these things, your hands worn, aching from scrubbing the stones, clearing out debris, you can feel that ever-present gentle hum of power from your sheath. There's a small dagger at your side,

a kind of comforting power that's always accompanied you ever since you found him. You kind of let these thoughts wander. And whilst there are no words, there is always this emotive response. You do get the sense that Tiangong's fragment or sliver or whatever it happens to be, is comforted by your thoughts of reforging it. There is a sense of comfort.

You feel that gentle tug, almost as if it's pulling you towards the north, towards Goldthrone, maybe beyond, in the hopes that maybe something's there. There's no communication. You feel that it is still either young or weak in its form and unable to communicate as you've seen Night Frost do. You get that sense of comfort and that sense of... kind of encouraging you forwards, as in there is more, more kind of you feel that sense that there's more out there to find and and on the right path yeah and you get the sense that if if tiangong

gets closer to like a fragment then there'd be a stronger reaction but depends on where it is and everything else um yeah and you spend the day clearing it out dean simon pops by occasionally but you can see he's never really without the Harvest Guard now. He doesn't seem bothered by the mess he makes arrangements and he is grateful to you

but without kind of keeping it thing he assures you you don't have to be there but he appreciates you being there but the conversation is passing and fleeting. It's kind of a, you can stay here if you want, I'm trying to deal with other things right now. And you can see that he's accompanied by the Harvest Guard

pretty much wherever he goes now. And so he comes back to the temple, heads off again, maybe comes back a bit later, heads off again. And it is around, the city is turning dark as the sun begins to dip down, when you feel that there's not really much more you can do. Most of the city is turning dark as the sun begins to dip down when you feel that there's not really much more you can do. Most of the debris is being cleared out. Lots of the flooring is grey and blackened,

but not covered in soot and ash as it once was. And you know that around about now would be when they're doing the spell clash match. I'll head over to the arena then. Yeah. when they're doing the Spellclash match. I'll head over to the arena then. The rest of you, as you emerge victorious from the magical dome of the Spellclash arena, you head out into the plaza

and you can see that there are gathered crowds and quite a few linger. And as they kind of lay their eyes over Lucius and Quill, a number of these civilians, ranging in ages, begin coming over and they, you know, they're like, hey, and they're pointing at you and cheering and they kind of come, Quill, and they want to try and shake hands or they're like, the painted prince, and they kind of like go over

and they're like talking excitedly like, oh, I can't believe your match was so close. We thought you were the comedy act. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. There's this kind of gathered crowd around you. But then it got really exciting. That little halfling fellow was dangerous. Were you scared? Bombarding you with questions. And Quill, we can't believe

you beat him so quickly. We thought he was the favourite for sure. We thought you were done for. Lucky Hulk. Okay. Ha ha ha ha. Meanwhile, whilst this is all going on, Lucius, you can hear in your mind this voice, this kind of ethereal voice. Master Lucius, the guardian has arrived.

I see him. He is wandering around the gardens. But I can hear that there is a growing crowd outside somewhere. I can hear many voices and gathered numbers. Thank you, everybody. It's very kind of you. Very lovely words We have signed my agreement Absolutely not No don't have a pen

I'm so sorry So that's like a general kind of like We have to go fight more battles in Spellclash Right away Right away Is there wind coming through? Maybe a breeze of some kind? Yes

It's supposed to night It's getting frosty Getting cold right? Is there wind coming through? Maybe a breeze of some kind? Yes. It's close to night. It's getting frosty. Getting cold, right? Bye. Are you kidding? Oh, I've got to go. Okay.

So the gathered crowd, I mean, it's quite a big crowd around you. Like if you want to try and, I mean, they're not blocking your path, let's say, but I think, like, to try and disengage yourself from the conversation, unless you want to try and kind of persuade them or something like that. Can I help? Yeah, I mean, sure. Like, what do you want to do? All right, back up!

Okay. Yeah, give me an intimidate check, I think. Oh, shit. You can use strength instead. Oh, okay. Physically imposing, I think. Oh, shit. You can use strength instead. Oh, okay. Physically imposing. Flex it. 20.

20. Yeah, like as Aila kind of starts barging forward, like shoving people, like Kev, the security guard, like shoving people aside, trying to get something. People do very quickly start backing off. Told you I'd be your security. Fine, got it. Good, let's get out of here quick. Grab the two of them and make your way.

Valor and Arvel haven't been included in the crowd, so they're kind of trottering along with Sentry at the side, who they don't seem to react to. The crowd doesn't seem as interested in as the two spell class champions. And as you begin making your way out of North Street, you catch kind of walking down the road towards you, and you see Nova coming from the Temple of Hesper,

which is further down the street uh yeah and nova you see these guys basically you can see a crowd gathered and then you see ayla basically shouting and shoving and pushing hey hey oh another fan hey listen no wait it's nova she's our long-term fan. Number one fan! We need to get away from here. There's crowds. They're following us. Are they following? They're not following. They're not following.

They're not following. We'll tell you all about it, but we need to get to the garden. When Valor sees you, she's like, oh my god, Nova, it was amazing. Quill fought this guy, and this guy was using big fists of earth, and he tried to grab Quill,

but then Quill paralyzed him, and then he fought loads of feather spells spells at him and it was really cool. And then Lucius, it was kind of funny because he was kind of running around for a little bit and he fought like a little halfling who was kind of like a dragon as well at the same time and then they fought but it was kind of funny to start with but then it got really serious and they were really like trying to pummel into each other it was really cool and she's just 100 miles a minute. Also, Breeze is here.

Oh my god! For the extended centuries of life. Hooray! Actually, it's more Tracker immediately because Tracker is really, really on the way out right now. What? So they're trying to save him. So we're going to talk to Breeze. Yeah, last time we saw him he kind of wasn't himself.

Oh, he was himself, just him from... Reset. He doesn't remember. He saw the Prime again as well. What? He saw the Prime. I've got some theories. I really went off on one in my own mind for a while.

Is this important to have right now or do y'all want to get moving? Also, should me and Valor come with you? The less people, the better. We already know how much Breeze doesn't trust anyone that's not a guardian we have to hang back all right well if that's i'm just gonna find this

out though you've just used everything you got oh yeah that's a good point uh you shouldn't have to fight arville has a crossbow he's not going to be reliable crossbows'm trying to be. I mean, we're going to be in the area anyway. I'm pretty quiet. Well, we all have to hang back anyway. We have to hide anyway. I can turn invisible. That's useful. Well, as long as we all stay very distant and hidden.

Respectfully. Yes, so Breeze doesn't catch wind of us. Sorry, very inappropriate. Oh, that was brilliant, Lucius! He smirks, but you can see he doesn't want to. He's just like... I'm going to write that one down. I'm writing that one down, Lucius. That was amazing.

Did I do it funny? Do we know what Breeze looks like at all? A guardian. A guardian, yes, but is he Smasher? Is he Sentry? Not sentry, sentry. Nightfrost, I know. Tracker? Yeah, Nightfrost we probably know, right?

Can you ask Nightfrost? Nightfrost? Yes, master. What does the guardian look like? Give me a visual description. He appears to be slender of build. Slender of build. And his armour is darkened. His armour is darkened.

Almost coloured in a way. Almost coloured in a way. He is not as armoured as Sentry. But he carries a staff and a cloaked hood. Staff. Magic. And a staff. Interesting. Sentry, would you know, based on that, what kind of guardian he is?

What sort of jobs he would have had before? I know that say that yeah no you do you wouldn't know okay like i said you know that there are guardians who cast magic you know guardians can fulfill any role that another humanoid can they can be druids they can be clerics they can be whatever um and you know that there were war war mages you know guardians but there were also mages that perform rituals or healing you know varied really what the guardian's role was depended on what they were built for so I reckon before we even get to the garden we stay behind

century like far behind just in case breeze is like really scouting the area okay we should find tracker first and get him down yes well that's masher who's holding him they're bringing him there though right were they not gonna bring him oh yeah they were all going to meet I mean I'm gonna leave this to you guys memory I'm pretty sure they said that they would meet us there we'll see am I wrong I don't know can I roll a history check I remember my history check leave this based on your notes and your memories right I've got four lines of notes from the last episode my brain is I can't see if I remember it. My history check. I'm going to leave this based on your notes and your memories.

Right, I've got four lines of notes from the last episode. My brain is all spell-clashed out. Most of which is Chauncey Goodfellow, oh, crap, Dragon Man. What a guy. What a guy. Very important. Chauncey Goodfellow.

Is it Brewillo? Yeah, Chauncey Brewillo, I think. So you've got it wrong. Yeah, I think it is. Chauncey. Chauncey Brew Willow, I think. So you've got it wrong. Yeah, I think it is. Chauncey? Chauncey? I was, when I was watching this last week, I was like, Chauncey, Chauncey.

Chauncey. Chauncey. It's pronounced up here. So what's the plan? I mean, none of us remember. Right now you are currently on North Street and you're heading, I mean, are you talking as you're walking or are you stood sort of outside the main arena? If you're talking while you're walking, you're making your currently on North Street and you're heading, I mean, are you talking as you're walking or are you stood sort of outside the main arena? If you're talking while you're walking, you're making your way down North Street.

So you have North Street, the Queen's Plaza, East Street, South Street. I mean, we need to head to the Queen's Plaza anyway. Queen's Plaza is where the mausoleum is, yes. How far is the Guardian's home to where we're going? You have to go through Queen's Plaza and then down pretty much all the way to the gate of South Street. So we have to go pretty much... You have to walk basically the whole city, basically.

It's like on the other side of the city. Well, didn't Tracker as well say, like in a previous, not last episode that I missed, but previously, that he wasn't sure about Breeze? Yeah. I think we should, I think we should scout it out. Except he's going into into was that Nova asking? no this is Kim

okay well Tom's answering he went into like a super memory loss state no no no I know what happened because I watched the stream last week

but I'm saying like a couple of weeks ago Tracker said that he didn't trust Bree so why would we take him there when he's in a compromised state there's no other choice

he's powered down anyway yeah we were basically taking him there when he's in a compromised state? There's no other choice. He's powered down anyway. We were basically taking him there. It's a last resort. It would be against his wishes, but for lack of anything else to do. Onwards. Okay. Sentry, take the lead.

We'll follow behind. Stealthy. So you have Sentry in front of you guys. So you're leaving some space between Century and you. Okay. So Century, you're the first to notice this, but as you enter the Queen's Plaza, this large, open, circular, market square almost,

with this huge kind of hill garden in the very middle of it, you can see that a large crowd has gathered around a small hastily built stage harvest guard and figures in dazzling armour engraved with symbols of the sun and flames are positioned all around watching various

travellers and citizens of the city and you can see that there is a wood stood on the wooden stage flanked by two armored looking knights um as well as malika dawnblast you see a woman uh her white robes cover her body but leave her arms and thighs exposed a metal breastplate covers her chest and armored boots rise up to her knees long flowing blonde hair with streaks of orange and red spills out of a short mitre with a golden symbol of Palidore at its front, and she holds

a tall crozier staff tipped with the same symbol. She's stood on the stage addressing a very large gathered crowd that's filled a portion of the Queen's Plaza. Think the kind of big open space of the Vatican in front of St. Paul's. I think it's in St. Paul's. Yeah. And you begin to hear this voice magically projected through magic. The actions

at the Temple of Hesper were the actions of a sad, misguided few. Actions that the Abbey and myself would never condone. Whilst many of us within the Abbey have strong views on ensuring that Savona is safe and that the hard work of its citizens is acknowledged, we would never wish any harm or ill will to the travellers and races that come here.

Sadly, many people have suffered terribly from the free movement and open borders our current king has encouraged. People have lost their homes, their land, their work, and it is easy for these individuals to be swayed by violence and others. Now that our dear abbot has passed on into the warmth of our heavenly protector, I intend to make sure that these dark stains are burned away and that Sivona is united as one. In fact, that is why I asked the other faith leaders to join me at the Abbey as our dear abbot passed, to talk about the future. I am overjoyed that Star Mourner Elanus and Rest Keeper Jasta, along with our mayor, joined me. Even now they are at the Abbey discussing ways to bring Sivona closer together.

Despite the terrible manner in which he was treated, it is my dearest hope that Dean Simon and caretaker Mason will join us too, and I offer them my humblest apologies and promise to ensure that such behavior does not happen again. You can see that there is a murmuring of the crowd as this woman speaks. But as she does, the crowd is gathered in an aura around her. They just stare up at her, mesmerized. And there's a few kind of claps.

You can see a few more vocal people like, yeah, cheering, kind of saying, praise be to Paladar! And you hear this kind of like growing kind of applause erupt around. But the crowd is so large that you see the guards are watching you mixture of harvest guard and these armored Knights this kind of as you wonder boss we all here yeah yeah you will hear yeah as you're making your way through the plaza you can't help but hear it it booms outwards the woman bows her head she offers a short prayer to Paladar.

It is my dearest blessing that the light of our great Lord descends upon you all, treats your lands and your hearts fairly. This is our land, but it is a bounty to be shared where it can. I thank you. And there's a clap and applause. And you can see that she then begins descending from the stage, flanked by these knights. You can see her whispering to Malika Dawnbless and a few others. But she sounds lovely. Maybe we've got it all wrong. I don't know.

Dark stains burned away. Yes, the dark stains are the select few that ruin the name. Sure. Dark stains in the Temple of Hesper, though, can't we? Yeah, the Ashbringers... Oh, we didn't think about it like that, yes. The Ashbringers had a different idea of what a Darkstain was, and happened to just be all of us. Yeah, but she said that she doesn't like them, so...

She said that, but Brookstones said a lot of different things as well. You're right. As a reminder, who has a passive perception above 14? I do, but... No, mine's 15 with my one eye. Yeah, so yeah. 15? Nope.

Nope, on this side? 13. 13? Nope. So just quill. You... Whilst you're saying that, just out the corner of your eye, you kind of cock your head,

and you catch a glimpse of this woman, this Abate she must be young she must be in her 30s as she's talking she looks over and clocks the group of you and she just looks over and just nods it goes back to her guards whispers something else and then you see her begin to head over towards how big How big is the crowd around us? Pretty big. If you wanted to try and disappear you easily could. Have you got fireball? She's seen us. She's coming over. She's coming over here? Wait.

How do I look? Well, as Quill now points this out, the rest of you can look around and you can see her very slowly, not in a hurried pace, but you can see her and these two knights making her way. I'm wondering if this has put Breeze off even coming. I hope not. How far is the mausoleum from this? So imagine the big plaza, which is a big open space. The mausoleum and its gardens are right in the middle. So it's like having a botanical garden on a hill in the middle of a big, massive square. Like a huge plaza, like this is, you know, streets wide.

Look, we don't need to leave. She can see where we're Like this is, you know, streets wide. Look, we don't need to leave. She can see where we're walking. If we walk there, she's going to just follow us. One of two things is going to happen. One, she's going to talk to us in front of this crowd of people under the disguise that she has.

She's disguised? No, but I mean, with kindness and generosity and friendship. She's a Brookstony. She's within about 10, 12 seconds of reaching you at this point. They're cool.

She's not going to do anything in front of all these people that she just addressed. True. Okay. So as you finish saying that, you see this woman approach, and you can see that a lot of eyes have turned around. And as she kind of stands before you, she's tall. She's maybe like six foot one, but you imagine that her heeled boots probably add at least a couple of inches to that. And she bows

her head. I believe that you are the ones responsible for protecting Dean Simon from my wayward followers. That's us. She like nods her head. I wanted to come and thank you. Thank you for dealing with it. It is a terrible shame that they misunderstood my intentions and used it for their own violent means. I am sad to hear that you had to kill them. I would have hoped to have preferred to have bring them to justice as a lesson. But, obviously, you must have been trapped in defending yourselves, I'm sure. Oh, yes, they said the whole place to place, and most of them actually didn't perish in their own flames. I believe that there is rumors of a small sect who believe that they can die in the flames in service of Palidor.

It is a terrible thing, something that I must deal with. But I wanted to come and meet you all. Could you tell me your names? I am the Painted Prince. Oh, how very quaint. I mean your real names. Yes. My name is Kilik Adkalar. Kilik Adkalar.

I have not had many chances to speak with your kind before, apart from those at the Way Spire. Are you not of the guild? Well, as you can see. Oh, does that prevent you from the services to your guild? Yes, it... they fly. I don't. Shame. And the rest of you?

How about you, my dear? She looks over towards Aayla. Aayla. Just Aayla, is it? Yep. Just Ayla is it? Yep Perhaps I'm mistaken, I believed that your kind had clan names But perhaps that is not always the case We do I just prefer not to discuss it

Oh, a shame It looks over Is it hot out here? Is it? Can I roll an insight check on that? Sure, yeah. Absolutely you can. Nah, five. That's an interesting roll.

Five. Five? I mean, she is being very polite, smiling. You don't see kind of any sense that she's hiding her emotions or she's trying to be deceptive in any way. She seems to just being quite genuine in everything that she's said so far. It's the best you can get a read on her. And you?

I'm just kind of like looking at the ground. There's no need to be shy, my dear. We're just travellers. Nova, don't tell her your real name. Nova, is it? Are you from Vortensar? I've read a little of the Ganassi city, but I've never heard too much about it.

Well, it would be hard to hear much about it, given that it was teleported hundreds of light years away and replaced with a different city. Wait, no, I've got it confused in my head. Ignore that. No, I think it kind of makes sense Nova in a panic switches it around. Nova's dyslexic.

Yeah. She's just like and you my name is virion smasher deception check that please please eight oh eight plus eleven eight plus eleven so nineteen eight plus three eleven eight plus three 11. 8 plus 11, so 19. 8 plus 3, 11. Oh, 8 plus 3. That's my plus 11. Wow, I'm impressed. Level 4.

She kind of, like, looks. She kind of looks her, almost. Or like, you know, like, oh, you know, I feel like she's been slighted. You don't trust the pretty lady. She's just like, oh, well, if you didn't wish to tell me your names, I suppose that you simply should have just said. I didn't wish to fight

some of your people. They weren't misguided. They were not my people. They believed in Palidor, and I believe that they served him dutifully, but clearly they've been twisted by their anger and their frustrations. I knew some of them, and I knew that they'd had hardships in the past. Certain farms lost. There's a flick of her eyes towards Ayla when she says it. Farms lost to raiders, to businesses lost to people from overseas. Temples lost to...

Extremists. I am so sad to hear about Dean Simon's temple. I know that he was not keen on people, but it is important for a library to be in the world. Nova really nervously puts her hand up. Yes, my dear. If you were really sad about what happened... She's so nervous at this point. If you were really sad about what happened... She's so nervous at this point. If you were really sad about what happened at the temple, why weren't you there today?

Or why didn't you send people from your temple to help with clearing up? I was there all day and I didn't see any paladin worshippers. It's quite simple my dear. Myself I have been desperately trying to speak with Dean Simon and the other faith leaders to make sure that something like this doesn't happen again. I'm afraid that my role means that I don't get to do menial manual tasks as much. You could have sent some of your worshippers. The ashbringer is... sorry. You could have sent some of your worshippers. Not the Ashbringers. Sorry. She looks. Oh, I tried. But Dean Simon wouldn't have them anywhere near it.

Understandable, of course. Dean Simon didn't say he saw you today. Really? I'm quite surprised. I didn't get to speak to him personally, but he did receive my messages and sent one back and rejected my offer of help. I just think if you were truly sad by what happened, you would save face and show how much you reject the actions of these so-called extremists by turning up yourself.

She gestures to the stage. I believe I did. And as I said, Dean Simon rejected my offer for help. But I understand your mistrust. It's understandable that travellers of your kind perhaps would look a bit disfavourably on me right now. You must be the Guardian. Are you known to the others that live in the city? I have made myself known. I'm Sentry, Guardian of Solvin. I'm standing really tall,

making sure that I'm bigger than her. Yeah, yeah. She's looking up at you slightly. There's no hint of intimidation, though. She's just like, I'm pleased. But I only wish to come and offer my thanks. What happened to Mason?

What happened to him? I believe that there were another few more of these misguided souls, but they were not as violent as the ones that you had to encounter, I'm afraid. They were aggressive, but after some stern words and making clear that he did not wish to attend, they left. And they have been punished for their indiscretions. These Ashbringers, terrible group. And they have been punished for their indiscretions. These ash bringers. Terrible group.

They were tasked with bringing select few to your place. I requested people from the Abbey. I did not know that they were a member of this cult. Are there any more of them? Why, it is my fear. It is something that I will be investigating. My worry is a poor Hesper man, I've got his name. Dean Simon.

Dean Simon was going to be brought against his will. What of the others? Star-Morner Alanis came peacefully. Rest-Keeper Jasnah came peacefully. The Mayor came peacefully. Restkeeper Jasnah came peacefully. The mayor came peacefully. I'm afraid that this is the act of individuals. If you are to imply that this was at my request, I am offended, quite frankly.

He's trying to piece together the truth. A lot of priests were being asked to go to your place. Perhaps you missed my speech earlier. I wanted them to come to say goodbye to the abbot as he was unwell but also to talk about the future. How did the abbot die? He's been sick for a few weeks now. Slow progress. We tried to heal him, but it did not seem to work. Can I roll another insight? Is that allowed? I'd say that your earlier check was you trying to, like,

read her body language, and it's just, she's either very, very skilled, or there's just nothing there. Like, she's not hiding anything. There's no, you're watching her eyes, and she's just looking at you when she answers. She's too pro for me. She's too, you's too just like genuine it seems to you she's just like yes it's very tragic and he died peacefully in his sleep at least he's been a friend of mine for a

long time i've been doing miss him thank you and i hope this is a sign of greater times for your happy. She just nods. It's like, I believe it will be. Now that these things have been made light, not much can hide in the light of Paladol. And she just nods and bows her head. And then the knights who have just been behind her, like these hulking,king like century-sized knights just nod their heads and she begins to make her way off i don't like her quill i thought it was best that i just kept my mouth you have 20 without

if it's not based on vision your passive perception is 20 don't you yeah yeah you hear her whisper to the knights when you and it's at a distance that you're like, she probably thinks I can't hear her. You hear her just say, like, look into where they are, where they're staying. So? That went well, I think. How did that go, everyone?

She reminds me of someone. Really? Smasher? No. The B word. Oh, Brookstone? Yes, I got it. I don't like her.

I mean, she seems genuine, but I just don't get why she didn't come to the temple. If she was that upset about a rival temple, well not a rival temple but... Nova, this is because you are too pure and good for this world and she is absolutely not. Most people suck. I just don't understand! Most people suck! If my worshippers burned down another temple, I would go and at least be there! Again, nice person.

Horrible person. But she seems... They're the ones who do seem nice. Was she lying? Most likely. Most likely. It's baffling. This is another Brookstone situation, isn't it?

We're being Brookstone. We're being Brookstone-ed pretty badly. We're being Brookstone-ed. I love how that's now a verb. I love it. It's the B word. Let's get out of this crowd. Let's focus on the tracker situation.

Well, the crown is still around, and you can still see this few guards here. If you want to try and get into the garden, I mean, there are guards patrolling it. You're not normally allowed in the gardens at night. You're going to have to sneak in. Can we? Malika's here isn't she? She was around yeah, do you wanna try and find her? Should we? I mean I could turn you invisible and you could sneak in

Could do that But we could ask Nightfrost where he is. Yes Master Eleonasto. Have you seen Breeze recently? Is he still there? He has eluded my sight for now, but he has not left the gardens, I am certain. I believe that he may be waiting, but... Is he hidden from this crowd? I believe so. Right. In which direction? He gives you a vague direction.

Like the opposite side? Not really. The crowd is kind of... It was such a big crowd. Yeah, I would say he probably would have moved to the opposite side of the gardens, away from the crowd. Can you see another way in, if we were to just pretend to leave and then come in a different way? Like, it was such a big crowd. Yeah, I would say he probably would have moved to the opposite side of the gardens, away from the crowd. Can you see, like, another way in? If we were to just pretend to leave and then come in a different way? What, into the garden?

Yes. Like, hop a wall or something. There's a fence the entire way around, Master Lucius. There are several guards positioned at various gates. The fence is approximately ten feet. But this is public grounds, right? Why are they guarding it? It's the evening. It's also, it's like

the resting place of one of the major queens of Savona. It's like, why is Buckingham Palace closed at night? Well, I just want to see the crown jewel. I just want to go see the funny hats at midnight. what's wrong with that it's kind of that deal so it's it's open to the public during the day but at night they're like

we don't want people sneaking in um you because also i think because you guys went in the mausoleum it looked like there was like like the mausoleum itself was very richly made there were things like beautiful kind of like tapestries and fabrics there was also like a staff on the wall like a golden magic looking staff you kind of think that maybe they're fabrics. There was also like a staff on the wall, like a golden magic-looking staff. You kind of think that maybe they're trying to protect that stuff as well. Nightfrost. Yes, Master. You have the ability to speak to people telepathically.

I can't speak with people around me yet. But they need to be in proximity to you. Ah, right. So I need to get in there. Are you trying to talk to him, breathe? Yeah, through Nightfrost. But I need to get in there. Are you trying to talk to him, Breeze? Yeah, through night frost. But I need to be there. You need to be in a rough proximity. So if I go to a wall nearby...

It depends on where he is, but yes. Close to you. Possibly. And then we try and find him. If you wish to try that. It's an option. You probably only heard the one side, didn't you? Yeah, you were wondering.

Like a rambling lunatic. When did he discover he could do that with Night Frost? Yesterday. Yeah. Since I've had him. I will let go of him. Yeah. Yesterday.

Yesterday. Cool. Pretty cool, right? Yeah. Yes. So cool. So, right, so what's happening? What's the plan?

Oh, I could potentially, I need to be close to Nightfrost, but he could reach out to Breeze and speak to him. It's worth a shot. Is Nightfrost able to make his way back to you alone? I'm sure he is. But don't we want him in there? You said you teleport in the Temple of Hesper. Teleport?

That's what you said. You said it last. No, he said that you did teleport in the Temple of Hesper. Teleport? That's what you said. You said it last... No, he said that you... Yeah, it's earlier. You did teleport in the Temple of Hesper. Oh, yeah. Because he had Night Frost on. I can teleport.

I think I need to know where I'm going. But if you're trying to get into the temple... Is this a solo mission like the cows? I mean, at the very least, if Halovah can make Sentry invisible, that's... Wait, too. Breeze won't like me. Yes, you should go in. I should be invisible as Nightfrost and reach out to Breeze, but then...

Nightfrost, can you do voices? I cannot, Master Lucius. Piss. No. How about we just have the faith that nothing's gonna happen? Faith would be good. I think we could use some faith right now. And if something does happen just shout real loud and we'll come in and risk getting arrested. I could send Echo to come get you.

Yeah. Yeah. Let's give it a try shall we? Okay. So what's the plan? So the guards around the temple, the garden... Yeah they're not like, it's not like a ring of guards, like, you know, an unbroken ring of men and women. It's so funny.

There is a ten-foot, there's a ten-foot-long fence that goes around the whole gardens with the mausoleum at the very middle. And then every so often, about like three or four points

around the plaza, there is a fence, like a gate. And there are two guards looking very bored. Is it like an Ocarina of Time when you break into Hyrule

Castle in the garden and they're all in a loop where they walk forward, walk back, walk forward? No, this is more like there are two guards on either side of each gate. There's a small wooden box for them to go into if it's raining and they're just stood there

looking really bored. They're probably idly chatting with each other century needs to become invisible okay I need to bring that knife Ross could you come back to me yes yes moving he does have to make a stealth check teleport in just listen in on the conversation okay but i need him to come to me so i can teleport in but these are harvest guard aren't they well yes these are yeah but i'll see like i feel like we figured would be weird no i know but but malika's on our side if we just tell her we're like we're kind of troublemakers at this point no we but we she's very much on our side and if we just tell her let Let's try this first. Okay. Actually no, we're breaking the law. Let's not! But no, um, okay, so. Okay, Shadow whips from underneath the fence, skirts along the ground, and rejoins Lucius's shadow.

Okay. Hello everyone. Hi! Is he here? I have returned. Hello. Hi, Night Frost! Did anyone spot you? I do not believe so.

Okay. Do you wish me to remain in shadow form, Master Lucius? For now, yes. What form do you need to be in for the misty step, the cloak? I believe so, yes. Can you cloak form, please? Badass. And can this teleport, can you do it to multiple people?

Just me. Okay. 30 feet. Spell misty step. 30 feet silvery mist, might see the silvery mist. We should do it in our cubby hole. Hopefully we can see. Or in a bush.

Or in a bush. Bush. That would entertain me far more. The center needs to be invisible. I can try and climb over. How long do you get? One hour. Oh.

Okay. And how do we... I'm literally, Nova's just been holding her hand out like, well, everyone's arguing, just like, uh, uh, uh. Uh, uh, uh, uh. Let's do it. Doop, woo! Where's your card?

So Sentry turns invisible, you cast a spell. I'm assuming that you would move away from the guards cast a spell I feel like yeah An alleyway. Well, you're not in the garden. Yeah, you're out in the main I was I say you can duck into like in between two buildings and Carson visibility and is that code visible? No cool You could hold him if you take if you hold him then he'll be invisible. Okay cool. Yeah. Nice. Does Tiangong give you like visual imagery or is it just feelings? Mostly feelings and and emotion and I think basically Tiangong is so splintered at the moment

I can't really have a conversation like you do with Nightfrost. Oh by the way! And I kind of cut my mouth to Night Frost. I'm like, Night Frost. Talking at Lucius's chest where the scarf is. Night Frost, I spoke with Tiangong and updated Tiangong about you and how I'm going to try and reform Tiangong so they can help you.

And I got a feeling of great comfort and I also got a sense of direction, so I think I know where the next bit is. So I just wanted to tell you, just, you know, update you. Thank you, Lady Nova. That is very kind of you. Do we all hear Nova saying this?

Absolutely, you do. Just whispering at us. So it's like, what, like a minute? Okay. You've got 59 more of those left. You should probably get going. Let's go climbing. So Sentry, do you just go off or are you going to wait for the others? I'm going to wait for Lucius.

Sentry, I'm going to try and teleport back to the place where we saw the tiny little hole that Breeze made. Okay, I'll try and get in there. That's quite far into the gardens. 30 feet will get you beyond the fence. And then that's pretty much it. You'll have to make your way there. Okay, I'm looking here, right, Sentry? I'm going to go beyond the fence and then that's pretty much it. You'll have to make your way there. Okay, I'm looking here, right, Sentry? I'm gonna go beyond the fence, just past it, 30 feet, that direction. Try and meet me there.

I'm looking in that direction. I know you can't see me doing it, but I'm looking in that direction. Try and assist Lucius in finding a place that's gonna keep him hidden. Yeah, survival check. Not the middle of the bush. You make a survival check for me.

Meanwhile, if you're gonna climb over, it's an athletics check for you, Breeze. Yes, please. Twelve. Twelve's enough to help him out a little bit. I'll give him a plus two bonus. I've got a twelve. Okay.

And so you're just trying to land yourself in a bush so you are hidden. Stealth check. You get a plus two bonus. How much do you get? Twelve. Natural twenty. Nice. So, invisibly means that they can't see you But they can smell you

But I mean where are you doing this? Are you going to find like an empty bit of fence? Like whereabouts? Between the two fences So I'd say that with that and the invisibility You hear Sentry like Clang, bong Literally like knocking against the iron fence

As she pulls herself over. Can I try and help her up with my strength? You'd have to go right up to the fence, and you'd be there at the fence doing this. If anybody came by, they'd see you doing this. Are there any guards within? There's not, but there are still civilians also walking around. I won't do that.

But Sentry climbs over it. You just hear a lot of noise as she's doing it. And then you hear a crash of crumpling onto a bush. I'll just be like, yeah, so I was cleaning the temple of Hesper and that was not how Would you not shut the fuck up down there? Oh man, that closes a window. People are trying to work! Sorry!

How did that work? Um, Lucius, what are you doing? So you're gonna misty Step, 30 feet. So you probably have to walk close to the gates, like nonchalantly, like, just follow. I wish it was daytime. And then you teleport in, okay.

And what'd you get on the stealth? Natural 20. You got a natural 20 with an extra plus two, so yeah. Lucius, like, in an instant, you wait almost for like somebody to turn around. You watch like a guy walking the other way, like a baker. When Nova speaks up. Yeah, and then he, like, looks up at the man yelling at her,

and then as that happens, you, like, whoosh, and teleport inside. And you appear not in a bush. Like, you actually manage to land perfectly in, like, the middle of a bunch of different foliages, so you're not in the middle of anything as well. But you've still got a ways before you reach where you were previously. Nightfrost can direct you to roughly where he last saw Breeze, but he doesn't know exactly where. So the two of you will have to wander.

You can't see Sentry. Lucius! Banging on my arm. Lucius! So, Night Frost is going to try and guide me back to where Breeze was. Okay. Stay really quiet. Okay. Go from bush to bush. So, can you both Breeze was. Okay. Stay really quiet. Okay.

Go from bush to bush. So, can you both make stealth checks? Century, you'll have advantage. This is more for the noise than anything else. Right. Why did we make the only person Breeze is looking for invisible? You've got advantage. Oh, yeah. 21.

18. Did you get past the guards? Okay. True. Okay. Cynic. So, you begin crawling through these gardens, and whilst during the day they had this peaceful quality to them,

these large tall trees, drooping willows, beautiful flowers, and these statues of this mage-like woman, at night there is an unease. There's a chill wind blowing through the town, and as you make your way, the trees form shadows that you're constantly checking. Is that Breeze? Is that Lucius?

Is that Sentry? You're never quite sure, and it becomes hard to tell if you're kind of moving in the same directions or at the same speeds with each other. Dark shadows and shapes begin looming around you as you weave through these gravel paths, soft crunching underfoot. Eventually, you make your way round towards the main steps leading into the mausoleum itself.

And you see, sat there, cross-legged, staff resting on his knees, there's a guardian, hood pulled down, but you can see the wooden, stone, metal frame of his arms and his legs. The stone and metal has been darkened, painted or maybe coated in something, and the wood itself is a very dark walnut wood, so he's very hard to see in the shadows. But he just sits there with this long, gnarled staff with a red gemstone in its very head.

And he just sits there quietly, head kind of slightly bowed, hood pulled low. He doesn't seem to have noticed you. I'm in the head. Mm-hmm. Tell Century that I'm going to hang back, and if she needs something, call for me.

Very well, Master Lucius. I'll see if she's nearby. Yes, she's not far. Century, in your head, you hear, Master Lucius says if you encounter trouble, he will not be far to call out for him. Good luck, Lady Century. Thank you.

Night Frost. Yes. Another request. Yes? Could you go tell the others that we're in position? The others are now too far. They are out of my range, Master Lucius. You want us to leave them there?

I can go there as my shadow form. And you risk being caught? Yes. And they would not be able to hear me, but I could appear before them and lead them here. Piss. Okay. Century, what are you doing? Yes And they would not be able to hear me But I could appear before them and lead them here Please Okay Just stay with me Century, what are you doing?

I'm gonna go up to Breeze Okay You know that you can end invisibility Like Nova has control of the spell That you could like do something to break the invisibility If you want to Or you can remain invisible Okay

So it's up to you I think I'll just break it Okay Yeah So you like get in front of him and then... Okay. There is a kind of moment where he seems startled. His hand snaps down to the staff

then he sees the guardian form. He's like, oh! Sorry, it was the only way we could get in. No, you almost scared me. You must be Sentry. Yeah, I am, yes. You breeze? Pulls his hood back and you see this bold, wooden, framed head, but he has almost like horns made of metal

that kind of curve around like tiefling's horns. They kind of extend from the front of his brow and curve around, but that looks newer. It's almost, it's not the same metal that he's made from, and you can see it's been bolted in, almost like he's done it himself, like he's created these tiefling horns. And he has two red eyes, like gemstone eyes like yours,

with a much more kind of stock face. He doesn't have the same faceplate that you have. He has a more normal guardian face, kind of hinged metal jaw, that sort of thing. He kind of pulls it back, like, Well, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. Scout and the others have spoken quite highly of thing. He kind of pulls it back, like, well, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. Scout and the others have spoken quite highly of you. It's a pleasure to meet you too.

I understand that you wanted to meet. I was curious to meet you as well. I've heard recently that Tracker has gotten worse. Yeah, yes, he has. That was something I wanted to ask you about. Of course. Well, I'm here to answer your questions, and if you don't mind, I have some questions for you as well. Yeah.

Go on, please. You may begin. So, I was told that you could extend Guardian life, or you knew a way of doing that. Mm-hm. Well, because Tracker's fallen worse. Yes. Is that something you could do for Tracker? Yes, yes, and it is something I have spoken to the others about.

And I know Tracker himself had some reservations the last time he and I spoke, but the others are very fond of him, and I said that it would always be his choice. But yes, it is something. It is something that I learned from my mentor, a guardian, who rescued me after some non-Guardians, well, they nearly killed me, but he rescued me, and I've learned a ritual, something that he discovered years ago now, 20, 30 years.

It was an experimental process, a process that would help restore Guardians' matrices, but different to the way that it was normally done. Something new. Something that wasn't lost during the sundry. He'd learned this ritual, he'd found it in an old ruin. And he realized that he could extend not only his life, but other Guardians' lives as well. And so he that he could extend not only his life, but other guardians' lives as well. And so he began reaching out to them, finding guardians nearing their lifespan,

and offering them this chance. And while I was nearing my own end, so I took it. I mean, I've existed for nearly 50 years now, Century. Well beyond what we normally would. 50 years? 50 Sentry. Well beyond what we normally would. 50 years? 50 more years. Wow. So yes, yes, I can, I can. And I can help Tracker, and I can help any Guardian that needs it.

It is not, we don't publicize it. We don't go around shouting and screaming about it because lots of people fear us. They fear what we're capable of. We don't age normally. If we can keep this process, essentially we can live forever. Many of the races are jealous of that, and we worry what may happen if this technique, this ritual, if it got out there. out there. So we do what we can. We find Guardians and speak to them and make sure that they're prepared, they understand what is required and what may come to them if they take this on board. Does that answer your question?

Yes, it does. So what is required? Before then, let me ask you a question. Okay. Do you care about Guardians, Sentry? I've heard from Scout that you've travelled with some non-Guardians, but, I mean, what was your role? What were you built for? I was built for protecting the royal lineage of Solvin. I was protector of the Queen and Queens after her. Do you feel companionship to your fellow Guardians?

I do. I do greatly. I served in the forces as well, and having a companionship with other guardians was detrimental to my purpose. He kind of stops for a moment. He's like, that's good. We need protectors. Our people are... I don't know if you've travelled much, but in my 50 years, Guardians are hunted by some of the non-Guardians. They hunt us for parts, for

magical research, because they fear us, because we represent a time that they don't remember. That scares me sometimes. I mean, even the others here in the city, they've been attacked, they've been tormented. This church of Palidor, I know, is out to get them. I can help them. In terms of what is required, your question that you asked, it is a transference of magical power. I don't know if you know this, but our matrixes, they are concentrated magic. I don't know if you know this, but our matrixes, they are concentrated magic. That's what gives us our sentience.

We are beings of magic, but that magic takes control of these physical forms, you see. Yeah. So the matrix, I call it fading when we begin to lose that sense of self. That's why some of us just become nothing and some of us turn feral. We lose that sense of who we are. So this ritual, it replenishes that magical energy. Okay. There's many ways, multiple ways that it can be done, but it is a transference of magical energy in essence. Okay, and transference from what? From where does it come from? Various sources.

It can come from objects, places even. There are some places so steeped in magic that it can be siphoned. There are some creatures that are magical as well. Magical beings are creations of magic, spirits, familiars, that sort of thing. Okay. The magic is in all things, there's magic everywhere, there is no end to the sources that it can be drained from, it can be taken from. Okay. And the Prime, I've been seeing a lot about the Prime. Yes. Especially in the last couple of days, Tracker had a very vivid, almost like a memory, almost like he was seeing the Prime. I've seen this.

I've seen it myself. The Golden Guardian sends messages to find the Prime. Yes. I've seen it myself, as have many Guardians. The ones that we help are near the end of their lifespan. They all report the same thing, a message to find the Prime. But from my experience, I don't know what it is, whether it is a cruel joke or a spirit or a faulty in our making. I don't believe there is a Prime.

Maybe it represents hope, the dream of an afterlife, but from what I've discovered, no such thing exists. And why it encourages us to find them when we are nearing our lifespan, I don't know. I'm afraid I can't help you there. Since conducting the ritual, since extending my life, I do not have those visions anymore. Tracker mentioned during his vision the glass city. I remember something along that line, but I looked and looked and I couldn't find such a place.

Okay. I'm sorry. I don't think, I think that with this technique, Tracker or any Guardian who's nearing their lifespan doesn't need to worry about the Prime. We don't need to rely on some mystical vision. We can make our own future. A future for our race. A proper future. We're dying out, Sentry. If we don't do something, every Guardian on Erois will fade away, will become relics. Corpses. I don't want that to happen.

No, me neither. Although I have seen more than I ever thought I would here. In Cali's Rest, there's... It's quite a town. There are many places like it. Well, if you'd like to assist, I've asked Scout and the others to bring Tracker to... There's a small ruin about an hour outside of the North Gates. Beneath it, there is a tunnel. And if you follow that tunnel, it will lead you to a crypt. I've been using it as a sort of base of operations. It's away from the non-guardians, a place to be quiet, to think and for us to help tracker but I would I prefer not to be around

non-guardians when we do it just because my experience with them has always been very bad. I hope you can understand. Yeah well my experience with them has always been very bad. I hope you can understand. Yeah, well, my experience with them has been very good for the most part, so it's unfortunate for you. I think perhaps a little bad luck. But yes, if you want to come and assist, we will welcome you. Okay.

Thank you, Breeze. He just nods. He's like, no, I'm here to help you. You're one of my kind. And he kind of stands up and he offers a hand. He takes nods. He's like, no, I'm here to help you. You're one of my kind. And he kind of stands up and he offers a hand. He takes your hand. He's just like, we need to look out for each other. He just nods. Very well. He bows, pulls his hood up, and then steps back.

His form kind of shimmers. Sounds invisible. Lucius. Lucius. Can I hear that? Yeah, can hear. You heard the whole conversation. Oh, oh, knife frost, tell her hello. Hello. Hi. He says hello. Um. How'd it go? I've got some funny feelings about Breeze. Oh, like good ones or bad ones? Very, very mixed feelings. Well, let's get you out of here first. Let's have a group chatty.

Yes, please. But you're not invisible anymore. No. So how do we get you out? I'm panicking a little bit. We don't have the other people to help us think about things. And really just calm us down. Honestly, I'm panicking.

No, I'm panicking now as well. How do I do that? Okay, it's fine. It's going to be fine. Send to it. Okay, send Echo. I'll send Echo. I'll send Echo.

Yes, send Echo. Okay, I'll send Echo. And then what? He's too late. He's gone. I mean, you know, he's just hovering around. Because you were holding him before, so now he's just, like, hovering up in the air. Echo, can you go get the others, please?

Whoop-boop. About like, I mean, it's probably taken, the whole conversation took maybe like five, ten minutes, 15 minutes at max. It's about 20 minutes. This little orb like floats over the fence. What's his stealth? Do you have his stats?

Oh, yeah. Roll a stealth check for him for me, actually. Hey, bud. What's his stealth? Do you have his stats? Roll a stealth check for him for me actually Hey bud! Let's see how well he rolls stealth first Hits the fence BING! Oh that's five So you guys see

Echo floats over the fence But then just kind of like floats along the plaza and just happily bobs along. And one of the guards is like a guard further down, like looks over and sees his little floating eye. And he's like, points at it. And they look curiously and they begin making like one of them begins making his way over as Echo just comes and finds all of you. And it just is like. Do we see the guards like following it?

You see the guard and he's like, oi, you lot, what's that thing? Good question. Oh, I hate that. Ooh, ooh, ooh. I'm just gonna call it. Is that yours? Yeah, it's a construct I made.

Well, you shouldn't be having it flying around the guardians, they're off limits. I lost control, I promise. Oh, I'm actually good at deception uh what's nine plus thirteen thirteen he's like he like looks at you he's like all right well look clear off you shouldn't be around this area anyway okay sorry sir like watches you go on He's like watching you leave. I just- I kinda cuddle Echo, like- Like I'm collecting a toy or something and I'm just like-

So Echo's beyond your telepathy range, so he's on his own intelligence now. And he's like- you feel him tugging you to the fence, like he's like- Weeeeeeeeeee! He's like pulling you like- You're like- Mmm! Mmm!

And he's quite light, you can hold him back. Give me a strength check. Because I just realized that Nova's not very strong. No, he's not. What's Nova's strength? She's seven. I think I can notice him. It might be in your thing, but.

Eleven. Nine. Nine. Nine. Okay. Three. Okay, so he's got a strength of three. Yeah.

Okay, so he's pretty weak. So yeah, you're probably fine. So you're like holding him back as he's like just play along now he settles down okay he's an intelligent creature he knows like he's like oh okay yeah we'll get back to her in a second does that mean they're in trouble does that mean trouble I'd say by the way like unless you're gonna try this- this guard will like, come on, move along, and he's like, ushering you out into the streets.

Okay, let's leave, we should get away from here anyway. Start trying to walk away. So... So you guys are just in this garden by yourself. Ikka's gone now. Yeah. Maybe we should try and- Sure, that means trouble.

Get to an exit point of some kind, or at least try and get somewhere. So while those two are doing this, you guys are out on the street. We're going to walk around. I don't... So we're out of, like, I guess... You're kind of like...

The plaza is public space, but you're kind of edged out of the alleyway that you were hiding in. And like, come on, get on your business, and like, sets you on the road, and is watching where you're going, like a policeman, like... Yeah. You can't stay. And like, come on, get on your business and like, set you on the road. And it's watching where you're going. Like a policeman, like, you can't stay here, mate, come on. Okay, I guess now we go into the other side.

You can walk around. Yeah, we just walk around. Just loop right into the... Echo, good or bad? One beep for good, two beeps for bad so good they're they're fine how's century how's lucius do we have to get them out i think that was a yes because that's good, right? How's my left eye? Is that the broken one?

Oop, oop. Okay. That's a good test. Well, they're fine. We just need to get them out. One boop, good. Two boops, bad. We've learned communicating with Echo.

We're training him. Roll over. Do they need our help in getting out? Okay, so they need our help getting out. Aww. We've learned communicating with Echo. We're training him. We're training him. Roll over. Do they need our help in getting out? Okay, so they need our help getting out. Oh, she's probably not invisible anymore. Oop. I mean, if I...

What are we going to do from right here? I got nothing. I got a hammer, dude. A hammer! We could distract the guards and get in. If I can touch her, I can make her invisible. That doesn't help at all. I mean, if you can just walk up to the fence,

it's just that you'll have to do it stealthily so that other people don't notice what you're doing. Unless you want to get called out for being suspicious. You made Century invisible, and when she touched Echo, Echo became invisible. Yes. So make Echo invisible. The reason that she can make Echo-

Because she values it. Yeah, it's because Echo counts as an object when she has it in one person. Echo can't carry Sentry as an object. No, I thought, okay, I thought it was anything in contact with Sentry. It's because Sentry counts as a carried object. Can you make you invisible? And you can go in and do something else magical? If we, I don't think getting more people in there is the idea.

No, that's not very magical. But if you were invisible getting out. Guess we'll just wait here until dawn. That's an idea. Okay, I'm going to come. I should point out, just as a thing, like Breeze would have reminded you, they're meeting Breeze at midnight.

So you've got like an hour or two hours or something. Are they within 120 feet? They're meeting Breeze at the mausoleum at midnight. At the temple. They're going to these temples at midnight. Okay. Wherever they're doing this ritual. How about we run out of space?

We don't do that, though. Like, ah, how did we get in here? I can... Maybe, maybe. Yeah, if you guys have come up with it, if you guys come up with a plan and you want to do it, just tell me. I mean, I've been where they are.

Are they within 120 feet? What's that? 120 feet. That's true. If you go up to the very edge of the fence and you luck out in that you're in the same area they are, yes. I can make things levitate. But you need to be, like, right up at the fence. What was your plan? Do you want to be like right up at the fence.

What was your plan? Do you want to just walk walk close to the fence drop your bag and oh no we have to pick all this stuff up linger. Yeah distract. Yeah, I'm bad at this. I got a hammer dude hammer. That's it. I could cast suggestion on a guard. I don't think we want to meddle with people. Shut up.

I can see you there like... Echo, can you send messages? Boop boop. That's bad. I could cast suggestion on a guard and get the guard to bring him out. What?

And then arrest them? No, just be like... But if that doesn't work, you've just told the guard that they're both in there. Yeah, I know, right? Yep. Meanwhile, let's try and stealth out. I reckon we can do this. We got in, right?

Yeah, exactly. Yes, we can get out. So you're going to try and stealth your way out. Okay, so there's two checks. Stealth checks and then galactic checks to climb over the fence. So stealth checks first. So disadvantage for you Rhiannon because you have heavy armor.

19. 11. 11, okay. And then athletics checks to climb the fence. 16. Okay, 16's enough. Lucius? Eight.

Wherever we are, can we see? Well, let's find out. Katie, why don't you roll a d6 for me? I haven't actually. I'll pick a number between one and six. If you roll the same number I'm thinking of, that's the same region of the gardens that they're in. Five.

That's a shame. My number changed. No, it didn't change. I'm not going to do that, Chris Trott. I know. So, Century and Lucius, you begin sneaking your way through. You quietly make your way through the gardens. Don't seem to alert anybody.

Make your way to a portion of the fence. And Century, you grab on. In fact, you both kind of leap up, grab onto the thing, so you can horn yourself over. Century, as you land on the other side, you, like, clang the fence. A loud, boom, kind of eru up Grab onto the thing so you can haul yourself over As you land on the other side you like clang the fence Loud boom kind of erupts out We hear that Lucius part of your like outfit gets caught

Like all the tassels The white tassels of the outfit Are caught on the thing You're like trying to get off of it How about panicking As you're trying to pull him off Like he's clearly still half on the fence. Two guards from a nearby gate point come down and they're like,

Oi! You lot, what are you doing? Stay right there! And they start advancing on you with these kind of like half-pikes. No need! He dropped his... I dropped my belongings on the fence! We're trying to get them off! I was just trying to get it back. How did you drop them on the fence? It's a ten foot iron fence! We were playing catch!

Deception. 13. 13. Oh, no, no, no, that's right, come on, get down from there. And one of them's like, you back off, Guardian. I'm just trying to help with this. And the other one's like, he looks up at you. He's like, I've got to get him down. How do I get down?

I can carry on helping if you want me to. No, you stay right there. And both of the guards now are basically trying to get Lucius off. But also manhandle him. Quill hears it with his passive perception. Yeah, that way. Like, you can see they're They're a little bit further, like, they're quite a four ways down and around,

but you hear Lucius like, and you. And then, and you. Yeah, that's definitely Lucius. Echo, echo. Boop, boop. Boop, boop.

Boop, boop. Boop, boop. So you begin making your way around. They eventually get Lucius down, but they are basically, like, putting your arm behind your back. They're like, right, you're coming with us to the local barracks. You as well, guardian. It's a misunderstanding, I swear.

We fell asleep. What do you mean you fell asleep? We fell asleep. I don't know, that was our earlier idea. Your earlier idea? What do you mean? You're coming, and then at this point, like, you come around and see them being led away towards the barracks. So it's Echoacks echo echo fly into the card not hard but like just he's not very strong i know

but i'm just gonna run after i so i'm gonna run after echo and be like oh no my toy okay so echo like watch out And starts flying forward. The guy like looks at it curiously as it kind of, he doesn't really like crash it. He just bumps into him. You then come sprawling afterwards. And I'm just like going to be like a big hot mess, like tripping up and like, Oh, I'm so sorry, officer. I just lost control of my toy.

I'm so sorry. I just decided. Fine. Get lost. We're dealing with something right now. And they're like, come on on you two. Oh, hi. Hi. Hi.

Echo just starts hovering near Sentry now. It's the ball we were trying to throw on the bed. Oh, it's the ball. Yeah, oh, he's come back. He's come back. Oh, you found it. Thank you. Oh, thank you for finding the toy.

They were helping me. They just like, they look at each other, shake their head and they're like, come with us. And there we go. To the barracks. I'm innocent! I don't know how we can do it. I could suggest.

I know two of them. Well, I'll give you five minutes of a break to figure out what you're going to do because it's time for a break Tom's dead

Tom's on top you can help Quill how how set yourself on fire we're going to take a five minute break and we'll be back in five

see where this goes hey everyone thanks for listening to this episode remember to check out D&D Beyond and join the D&D Beyond Discord by heading to dndbeyond.com slash discord. Also head to elderwoodacademy.com

and in the order notes on checkout write happy birthday High Rollers and you'll get a free set of miniature metal dice worth $25. We'll be back on Thursday for part two of this episode to see if Lucius and Sentry can get away from the guards and begin the ritual to save Tracker. We'll see you then!