High Rollers DnD - High Rollers: Aerois | #23 - Ill Winds Blow (Part 2)

Episode Date: February 14, 2019

We now know what Breeze needs for his ritual, can we finally save the fading Tracker? 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. Breeze has told us what is required for his ritual. Let's see if we can finally save Tracker. Hello, welcome back to High Rollers. The party have just been arrested for trying to break into or out of the mausoleum gardens.

They're not quite sure which. I can't handle how funny she's finding this. gardens, they're not quite sure which. Lucius and Sentry are both being ushered away by a pair of guards, a pair of harvest guards, as Nova and Echo have just rounded the corner and collided into them, followed by Ayla and Quill behind despairingly. Mummy and Daddy. Yeah. And so, yeah, I mean, these guys are going to march you off to the Harvest Guard barracks for questioning and possibly fine, but you're not sure how long that'll take. So what do you want to do?

Look, look, I'm very, very wealthy, as you can see. I wouldn't possibly be having a need of doing anything untoward in the gardens. So how about we just make this easier on each other, you know? And just give you some of the good stuff I mean gold and We just separate our ways and we'll just you know, I let she's like Phil. Do you hear this? I do hear that Steve. I Think this man is trying to bribe two members of the harvest guards. That's a serious crime Steve I know it is Phil

I mean what kind of I mean it would need to be a rather large sum, I think, for us to forgo our godly vows. I agree. Steve, Phil, you seem like very reasonable men. You do. Yes. We are. And Central can see through souls. I can. Your souls, they look very good. Yeah, tasty.

But what sum would you mean? Be very respectful, for some, I assume. We think for a second. They eye you up. They look, they actually look at like centuries battle axe. No sign of blood. Don't imagine they were up to anything too bad in there. What were you trying to get in there for anyway? You and a guardian. I was trying to get a lovely flower for my high elven wife.

He was, he's got quite a big crush on her. But they only grow in the gardens. Exactly. At night. They're beautiful. And then they die in the morning. They like whisper something to each other. Okay. Tell you what. The fine would probably be 15 gold.

So you can pay... I can't afford that. That's going to be all my savings for my... So much money. Shouldn't be breaking into the gardens then, should you? Can I thought, Turgy, the sound of the fence rattling 30 feet behind them? The rat like a like something hitting against it like yeah yeah I mean they'll glance over okay Huh is there any more of you in there?

No can I form a turgy like someone rustling through the leaves now? Can I form a turgy Like someone rustling Through the leaves now Fine One of them's like Shut up You're lying And now you're

He's just Grumbles He's like right Alright Phil stay here with him Alright One of them Trots over towards the fence You can see him

Trying to peer through We'll give you Twelve gold right now You don't have to share it With Steve Steve's my best mate. I'm so sorry. I'd share everything with him.

We've been harvest guards together since we were kids. 20 gold? No, it can be 30 gold now. No! God, I'm so bad at this. I've never been arrested before. Look, 15 gold each. We'll let it slide. Could I thaumaturgy to make it sound like the guy that's at the fence now

looking through? Thaumaturgy is not minor illusion. It can't replicate voices. You can make vague sounds with it. All right. Or you can boost your own voice, but you can't. I can do that.

Yeah, you can't. It's not minor illusion. Minor illusion you can create. I can apparently do ominous whispers. You can do ominous whispers, but they are not discernible as an individual's voice. So could I have a whisper?

It's a lyric whispering voice. So not even like a whisper that a whisper that sound is just a whisper but it's someone saying like hey come here or something like that i mean yeah but yeah you can do that it's from the from where the guy that's looking through the fences right now what's your spell saving throw um Um... It's a... Oh, this is barred, so 12. Okay, he's still... He's like, huh? He looks over, he's like, Did you say something, Steve? I didn't say anything, Phil!

Dammit. That's just me. That's just two of us. Okay, then we'll get on our way. The honest, honest, I'll have his guard. Steven. Is it Steven? Or is it just Steve? I never asked. He's always just Steve. Is it Stephen? Or is it just Steve?

I never asked. He's always just Steve. Is it? You never asked your... Never mind. It's what he introduced himself as. Why should I? Oh, you're Phil. Sorry.

I'm Phil. My apologies. You two look very similar. Are you related? No, people have said that about us, yes. We're just good friends. Nice. Are there any windows or doors within 30 feet of me?

30 feet? No. You'd have to on to the other side of the street because you're right by the fence side it's about 60 i mean we're in the gardens no can i just be counting out 30 gold while all this yeah it's okay it sounds like centuries got it okay century like pulls out like some coins yeah so yeah. This is mine. So 45 in total. Alright. Consider it fine paid and written up. It is yours.

But if we find out that anything else is going on in there, I'm looking for you. What like a cult of fire worshippers? Why would you say that? Look's like... Look, it's... Now I need to... I'm going to determine randomly... Why? If Steve or Phil are members of the Ashbringers. What? Oh my god!

Because this is like a very... You can't just go around throwing that out because this town, there's a lot of people that... This is a split town. So when you say Ashbringers, you mean Paladol? Well yeah, like Paladol, but the part of Paladol that is very like anti-former and stuff like that. Oh shit.

You're fine. It's been a very difficult day for us. Oh no, my ball is going away, help! He just looks, he's like, you need to be careful who you say that stuff to. I know. I don't like what they're up to either. But there's a lot of people here that see eye to eye

with those sorts of people. Terrifying. Yeah. He just nods. He's like, all right, go on, off you go. Thanks, sir. Thank you, officer! Phil. Thank you.

Thank you, Phil. Nods. Steve! Say hi to Steve. Do you see something over there? He's like, I swear I could hear rustling around here, but I can't see anything. Gonna breathe. It's been too long, mate. We need to get off shift. Yeah. Yep. We've had enough. OK.

Bye, have a beer and some sleep. Bye! We'll see when you get to Vlad. Oh, yeah. Bye! They don't cheerily are glad. Yeah. Bye. They don't cheerily wave goodbye. They're like, fucking leave. We don't want anyone to know that you bribed us. Like, go on.

Good. Well. Great. We did it. How was it? Okay. I'm going to be honest. I am a little bit pessimistic about the whole thing. I mean it sounds fantastic but it's one of those it sounds too good to be true situations.

Right. And I'm just a bit wary. Are you being Brookstoned? I don't know, I don't think so. But that's how we might be because we didn't know where Brookstone and he was. We didn't know where the Abbotess and she is. Yeah. We don't know. I don't think so. But that's how we might be because we didn't know with Brookstone and he was. We didn't know with the Abbotess and she is.

We don't know that yet. I understand. Yeah. So he's performing a ritual in about an hour from now just outside the North Gates on Tracker. So he said that

I can come and be a part of it, but the ritual uses a magic energy of some sort. It harvests magic energy to add lifespan to the guardians matrixes. So breeze has been alive for 50 years, which is more than double my own lifespan. And it's amazing. It works. I think according to him,

according to him, it works. Can you tell his age? Not really, no. He just looks like another Guardian. So he just said it. He just said it. This is why I said it's one of those too-good-to-be-true things. We'd love for it to be true.

I would. Has he done this on other Guardians? He said that he has, and he said that it works. So where are they? Why haven't we heard of other guardians living beyond 50 years? He doesn't like people that aren't guardians either. He's had bad experiences with non-guardians. Keep in mind that until you came to Kelly's Rest, most of you had never met a guardian.

They're very rare. It's not common for you to meet them in the first place And if you see one at a distance, there's no there's no way of aging them It's not like a human who you can physically say. Oh, they look about blah blah blah damn girl you old So they take a lot. He takes a lot of magic and he puts it in your matrix Yes, and then extend your life. Your matrix is magic. Yes. It's a concentrated form of magic can I just like acid splash you and do the same job? It's probably some form of spell that converts the energy from your magic or whatever magic into magic that is compatible with Sentry's matrix.

A matrix is compatible with a matrix? Why are we murdering guardians and taking their life for his own life? I'm just being really, really, really negative at this point, but I'm just saying. I'm just saying. This is why I needed to talk to you guys about it, because I know you guys have very good observations about these kinds of things. Well, this isn't a one-time-or-nothing deal, is it?

How about you go and observe how it works on Tracker and if it's successful then go ahead with it. I'm worried about Sentry. Exactly like what Ayla said, what if I go to observe and either he, I don't know, absorbs Tracker's magic to extend my life or takes my magic to extend Tracker's life or he maybe has some other means of taking it. Like, what if he's a really bad person and we don't know?

And he kills all the other guardians. I mean, I'm sure he's not. That was one option. I mean, I'm not saying that's true, but. Now I'm worrying about that. Well, I don't really like the idea of sending Sentry on her own to some ritual that we don't know what's happening. I don't like that he doesn't like anyone else being there.

Yeah, why doesn't he like non-guardians? Because according to him, non-guardians have hunted guardians before and taken parts and killed many of them. He's had a traumatic past then. Yeah. Which is understandable. I mean, we've had our fair share of

unfavorable opinions. Most people hate me. It's fine. Look at the Ashbringers. We don't hate you. They don't like others. You don't. Yep.

Exactly. The Ashbringers have a very similar opinion about... Where does he get this magic from? Is it a specific kind of magic? Did he say where he got it? No. He said he learnt it from... Someone taught it to him, a mentor. But did he say where he takes the magic from?

He said he can take it from different forms, from cities, from magical items. What if he can take it from magical people? What if he takes magical? I mean, Lucius was able to connect with an echo before. He was able to connect to you at one point. Yes, but not all of them. No. Just a certain few.

This is why I'm worried. What if he performs a ritual and suddenly somebody dies or something because their magic's been taken or... This is going to go ahead right anyway. Yeah. So how about you turn up but you don't get seen. You forget to turn up but we observe. Observe from a distance. Yes. Scout's going to be with him.

Yes. Tracker's going. Some of the other guardians to be with him. Tracker's going. Some of the other guardians will be with him. So there's going to be multiple guardians there regardless. But if they all get, you know, absorbed, they'll all become... Well, that's what I mean. And then there goes Tracker's purpose. Even if Tracker's life is extended, then his family are gone, then... How long have they known Breeze?

I don't... I can't't remember i don't know um a little while it's been passing through quite a bit yeah but they don't have a particularly strong opinion of him but if he's been trying to gain their trust this whole time to do this maybe it's a lot of effort. But it hasn't worked on Tracker. Yeah. If he is trying to gain their trust. But now we're at the point where Tracker can't make decisions for himself,

so his family have done it for him. So he doesn't have to fight it anymore, and he can do it now. Where is he planning on absorbing the magic from for this ritual? I don't know. There's a lot of unanswered questions. The only questions can be answered by going and seeing for ourselves. But not being a part of it.

But we put the other guardians at risk. Maybe I could go invisible and see and... What if they use that magic? What if it's all just the magic in an area? I like how Lucius talks himself out of things. Like, we should do this. But what if this? It's very funny. I find it very funny.

Well, I can leave Echo with you guys again and go and observe. If something happens to me, Echo can let you guys know something's gone wrong. We can jump in if needed. Could you vouch for one of us to accompany you? I could try. If he truly cares about you,

then he would respect your wishes. But then it would mean putting... Well, in that case, it should be me, because I got no magic. But it's more that I'm curious to see this ritual. Yes, but you have a lot of magic. You also have Tiangong. You have a dagger.

Tiangong. Yeah. If he's going to draw magic from anywhere, it would be an Eterna. True. Same as Nightfrost. Then we've got Starbane II. Breezes? Breezes, Starbane II?

Just one Tiangong away. It seems like a bit of a leap. I mean... But what if? True. All of these theories are a bit of a leap because he's withholding a lot of information right now. We're running out of time. It's an hour away. How far is this place?

It's just beyond the North Gate. Okay. Well, we don't get anywhere by not doing anything and talking about it. So let's do something. Let's go. Let's see. Let's see. see. Well, an hour will count as a short rest because you're just walking. So you can have a short rest if you desperately need, if you gain anything back. I know Kim does. Not really. Primarily. You'll get your spell slot back.

Yeet. For invisibility. Okay. So you're going to head towards the north gate. Yeah. Okay. Yeah we are. Okay Does it take you long to make your way along North Street and you journey about an hour? Outside of the North Gate following the Golden Road that leads to gold throne There are a few late-night merchants coming and going but at midnight most of it is faded away The guards check you as you leave,

kind of keep an eye on you. But soon that falls away and the city begins to kind of fade into the background as you see the countryside riding out before you. The sky is perfectly clear, there are no clouds. And you see the multicoloured hue of the cradle,

this barrier that protects Orois overhead, and the twinkling of the cradle, this barrier that protects Oroes overhead, and the twinkling of the many, many stars beyond it, all giving their bright luminosity down, casting the world in a shade of black, grey, and silver. About an hour outside of the town, you find the ruins Breeze mentioned. A crumbled old ruin perhaps maybe a watchtower or a keep you find Scout and Chipper carrying a conscious

but somewhat fatigued and confused tracker Scout is holding up his arm best as he can from his smaller position, Chipper kind of has an arm you know, underneath tracker so he's kind of carrying him. And Scout

is pulling up what appears to be a trapdoor built into the earth, like a hidden trapdoor. He pulls it up. He's like, oh, you guys made it! Did you speak with Breeze? Yeah, we did, yeah. Great! We're going to go meeting him out

Chipper and I are going to take him down there He's kind of with it But you can tell he's drained We've never seen him like this before You can see that he's looking around But Tracker just seems Almost like asleep or half asleep Has he been like this all day?

Yeah, he woke up And he didn't remember the stuff that we saw he just says that he it's like everything's dark or he's underwater or something he can't really see good or hear good okay we're worried that maybe this is kind of the last last few stages yeah how long have you known Breeze? A few months, maybe. He would come by every now and then, sit with us, talk with us. Yeah.

Okay. And has he recently gained any magical items that you know of? I don't think so, no. We've seen him with his staff before. I don't know if that's it, but he told us that there is some sort of magic transfer or something.

I didn't really understand it, though. I don't know much about magic. Are you sure it's okay for you guys to be here? I mean, I know he doesn't like non-guardians, so... We're going to hand back and stay hidden. Yeah, that's fine. I'm sure if you guys stay be here? I mean, I know he doesn't like non-guardians, so... We're going to hand back and stay hidden. Yeah, that's fine. I'm sure if you guys stay here or something, or... Yeah, but you're going to come, Century, right? I've been invited to come and have a look.

Oh, that's great. That's great. We'd like to have you there, so... Okay. Okay. Be really, really, really careful. I will. Quill, um... I'm sure it's going to be fine. Lucius?

Would you be able to use detect magic while the ritual's going on? I can use it, but I'll be out here. How far into this tunnel is it? Did he say it was wild underground? Do you know? I think it leads back into the city. It goes underneath the temple of Killara, the goddess of death. It's an old crypt, he said. They used to use it for preparing the bodies of the royal family and stuff. That's a fair distance to be away from us.

We can't... We'd have to go... Observe? How far is your detect magic? From what I can see, it's... There has to be a way that you could vouch for one of us to... I just... I'm sure if it's one of you guys, I mean, I'll vouch for you too.

Are there any other temple entrances to that particular crypt in the city? I don't know. I mean, maybe I guess through the temple itself? Seems like traveling an hour outside the city to travel an hour back inside the city is a bit suspicious. It's a bit odd. I figured that it was just because traveling an hour outside the city to travel an hour back inside the city.

It's a bit suspicious. It's a bit odd. I figured that it was just because, uh, I think maybe, like, you'd have to go through the temple itself. I know Breeze doesn't like, uh, non-guardians, so this way seems probably quiet. Have you seen this ritual before? Nope. We could go to the temple and find our way in that way. Nope. We could go to the temple and find our way in that way. Could I come with you, Sentry?

If you two were to vouch for me, I promise I won't interfere. I just want to observe. I don't mind. Yeah, go with them. I'll keep an eye on you. If anything happens, if anything starts happening that is unusual,

then I'm here to help you as well. We'll get out if there's something going on that... I don't think anything that strange is going to happen. We've just had some unfortunate situations in the past. We can't help and be a little bit suspicious. No, that's okay. Yeah, it makes sense to be wary, but... What have we just... Well, I can tell Breeze really cares about Guardians. I don't think he's going to hurt any of us or track her.

I mean, I'm not going to interfere or anything. I'm here for your sentry. I just want to see what the ritual is and see if I recognize it or how it happens. Would you be okay with leaving Tiangong in our care while you go in? Unfortunately, I don't think I could do any magic or anything if someone... What if it accidentally gets caught up in the whole magical transference? Could we not just follow behind in this tunnel at a distance? We could.

I'm worried we won't. I'm worried we won't find an entrance. As long as you don't spook Breeze, you know, just hang back. All right, we'll hang back in the tunnels. Okay. I kind of get it. You know, sometimes we've been, you know, people aren't always nice to us and from the stuff he's told us, I mean, a bunch of non-guardians almost killed him a couple of times, used him for sport and stuff, so, um, yeah, I kind of understand

it a little bit, but I'm sure if you just stay out, you know, don't, just stay hidden, you know? Okay, we'll stay on some behind, just like the gardens. Yeah, sure. Alright, Chip, are you okay with Tracker? He just like the gardens yeah sure all right chip are you okay with tracker he's like yeah I got him Scott it's fine where are we you're gonna you're gonna see that breeze guy yeah that's right tracker we're gonna see him I don't know it's like we're just gonna talk to him okay we don't have to do anything if you don't like it all right it's kind of

hard to see though you You just hear him sort of muttering to himself. You descend down into the tunnels. They are very smooth, probably not carved by hand, but carved by magic. Perfectly smooth, and the stone and earth that it cuts through, stone and earth that it cuts through. There are veins of twinkling crystal. It's almost like stars themselves. Every 50 feet or so carved into the tunnel is an archway and on the archway there are symbols and pictograms that show the journey of death being led by Kalara into the afterlife. being led by Calara into the afterlife. A small lantern hangs from each one with a magical light softly glowing inside that casts the tunnel into a silvery light

as you begin making your way down. As the tunnel begins to close closer, you can see up ahead that there is a larger, more yellow, fiery-like light, maybe about 200 feet or so further away the tunnel it takes you about yeah another hour to kind of make your way through this tunnel back towards the city and you begin to see carved reliefs of a hooded woman wearing breastplate with a mantle of flowers

carrying a lantern carved into the sides of the the corridors and things like that uh at what point do you guys stop following century and nova uh oh oh do we stop following century nova yeah she said that you wanted to hang back well could i in the journey be ritual casting tech magic as well? Sure. Yeah. Ten minutes. So I guess by the time it's the last ten minutes, yeah. Yeah.

It's only what's within visual range, right? 30 feet of me. Just within 30 feet you get a sense of any magic. Yeah. By the same token, could I cast ritual cast identify? Identify is on a specific thing. you'd have to have an object right so i can't cast it and touch something no i think it's you cast it then and then i have to have it there yeah i believe so you can't hold spells like so the quill's casting it because it's ritual

casting doesn't he just activates he looks around he's like okay and i believe it lasts like a minute i think it lasts 10 10 minutes so he's just been walking the rest of the 10 minutes with it yeah you can absolutely do that you get very faint pings off each lantern there's a very tiny amount of light the magical light

it's not like a natural flame it appears to be a natural magical light from the lanterns themselves but yeah so you want to get within about 30 feet of where you can see

the tunnel kind of ends and begins to open up into this about 30 feet of where you can see that the tunnel kind of ends and begins to Open up into this into this crypt. Yeah, so I suppose I can see sentry With the detect magic and tracker and scouts you would see the usual like you'd see Nova's. Yeah. Yeah Can I before we say that when you do look trackers Matrix is dimmer.

Much dimmer than Sentry's and the others. Yeah. That's literally drain magic. Before we split up, can I turn to Quill and say, I trust you with this. If anything happens... Okay. Give them back to me. If anything happens to me, the next piece of Tiangong I think is north of Goldthrone. I can't take Tiangong from you.

I'll hold out Tiangong. It's just for now. I mean, me? it's just for now i mean it's just for now if if magic if this whole thing requires magic i can't risk that for tiangong okay i mean hopefully this is just a precaution sure um hopefully this is nothing but lucius was right well we can rush in and hopefully you're a good catch. Yeah. Definitely really good at sports. Good. Okay, I'll take that. Are you sure you don't want me to go in?

I don't have anything. If you don't have anything, though... I got a hammer. I just wonder if it's worth giving to another magic user or... Put it this way. It's up to you. If something happens, we need you coming and whacking. Quill can come in to give me Tiangong.

I'm assuming you have this conversation quite quietly. Yeah, so I'll just give you Tiangong. You're holding on to Tiangong. Here's my magic dagger. I know it's not. So normally, Kim, there's no restrictions when you're casting magic, even if you're parted from your Hexblade weapon, but because we've made this special thing with Tiangong, you can cast Cantrips without him as long as he's within a certain distance.

But any of your other big spells, I think you have to be holding him. Just because the way... It's not how the class works, but I think for our story that we're building with your character, because she didn't have magic before she got him, it makes sense that she needs him there to fuel her spells. It's kind of like your arcane focus kind of thing.

Yeah. So it's the same for Lucius. If he loses arcane focus, he can't do stuff. No. Nothing? Oh, I have a crossbow. Okay. And if I'm still able to do my cantrips,

I've got good old Eldritch Blaster. You've got Crossbow. That's good enough until we can get Tiangong back. Okay. I'm going to try and keep Nightfrost in your mind at any point, so... Oh, okay. Yep. Best thing.

Okay. Feel free to talk as if I'm next to you or we're next to you. I just look up and I go, Hi, Nightfrost, in my head. Hi, Nightfrost. Yeah, head. Hi, Nightfrost. Yeah, as long as he's within range, you communicate telepathically. I think you have to speak out loud for him to hear that. I think Lucius is the only one that can hear him in the mind.

Just kind of whisper. Hi, Nightfrost. Hello, Lady Nova. Nightfrost, just keep us connected. I will try my best. Thank you. Yeah, I think we're going to say about 100 feet range for Night Frost's telepathy.

As long as you're within 100 feet of you, you can communicate with others. He can speak to them and stuff. But the other people have to speak out loud, but he communicates to them telepathically. Okay. So, you are, so Sentry, you're going to go in first

and you're with Tracker, Chipper and Scout, and Scout and then Nova you're gonna go in with them okay do you want to have Nova come in behind you or next to you she'll come next to me okay so the two of you make your way into the actual main crypt you can see that the crypt beneath the temple of Claraara must primarily be used for the preparation of bodies before they are burnt or before they are buried. There is a large stone platform in the middle of four columns, and statues of Calara herself gaze at it from three alcoves on each side. alcoves on each side. At the front of the chamber you can see that there are carvings and reliefs that depict the journey of death and ultimately with Kalara, mural of Kalara, lifting a body up beyond the cradle into the afterlife. Sat on the main slab in between these four columns you see Breeze who looks up

and you can see that before him there is a big cloth covering some sort of object underneath it. He looks up and he sees Nova. He's like, Sentry, you didn't tell me that you would be bringing a non-guardian here. I know, I'm sorry, but this is my friend Nova. She's the most, she's the kindest, most gentle person I know. And she just wants to observe the ritual.

She's just really interested. And she, she won't do anything to hurt anyone. Is it okay if she watches? He kind of sighs and he looks at Nova. I promise I won't interfere. I'm here as an observer and as support to Sentry. I understand. Nova, was it?

Yeah. You must understand. When I... You've come to care for Sentry? Yes. And you know Guardians' lifespan is limited? Yes. We are hunted in certain parts of Erois,

and we are treated very poorly. I myself have suffered at the hands of non-guardians. This ritual allows us to extend our life. That can make us immortal. That means that we do not age, that we can only be killed through violence. There are many non-guardians who fear this. God-fearing, the ones that worship gods find it abhorrent. The ones that are envious, that wish to have their own immortality.

I must ask you to keep what you see here secret. This is a ritual for a guardian. If Sentry trusts you, and you care for Sentry and her well-being, and of Tracker and Scout and Chipper and myself and any other guardian in Erois, you must understand what this ritual is and what it is for. Without it,

15 years is all we get. When we do not die, there is no afterlife for us. We simply cease. There is endless darkness. We lose who we are. Do you understand? I do.

And I promise with every fiber of my being that I will keep a respect for what you allow me to see today and I will protect Sentry and I would never let Guardians, Sentry, or anyone else in this room be hunted for something so callous, and I promise, if you could honor me today to let me watch,

I will keep this secret. I'll keep it safe. Very well. Very well. Come forward. I'll lay Tracker. Very well. Very well. Come forward. I'll lay Tracker down here on the ritual. And Chipper and Scout bring him over, and Scout's like, what's this?

And he points at the cloth. This is going to be our source of magic, Scout. Set Tracker down. And Tracker kind of sits down. He sees, he looks at Tracker. Tracker, this is Breeze. Do you remember me? Yeah, sort of.

Have you thought about the offer? Do you wish to end here, Tracker? You are nearing the end now, you know that, yes? Yeah. Do you wish to continue? Do you wish for your journey, for your purpose to stop here? Tracker looks. He looks at Scout. He looks at Chipper. No. All right.

Then I can extend your life. Is that what you want? Yes. Okay then. All right. He stands up. He puts his staff in front of him on the ground, slams it, and a ritual circle, a pre-carved circle glows in a dark red color. You see that whatever is under the cloth twitches for a second. Can I look under the cloth? So he holds a hand out it's like breeze reaches down pulls it back and you see bound is a human man maybe about mid-twenties, alive, his eyes darting around, but his body seems rigid. You can see he's wearing a pretty simple-looking tunic, but you recognize the base layers, because

the last time you saw these clothes, they were under the armor of the zealots, the ash bringers that came to the temple of Hesper. And you see emblazoned on his arm, a tattoo of the closed fist that they all had as a holy symbol. Breeze points down. He looks at Nova, seeing, trying to gauge a reaction. And he points down.

This man is called Wilden Baker. He is from Kayleigh's Rest. He's a sorcerer. He has some magical potential. I caught him about to attack a young centaur whilst her home was being vandalised. It was an ambush he had planned to draw her out of her home. And then he intended to kill her with his magic, in service of this god that they follow.

I have since learned that he has been involved in threats and beatings and other atrocities throughout the city. His magical power is being wasted, but through it, he can give Tracker another 20, 25 years of life. A guardian who has done a service to the city, who has helped the people, defended it from monsters, slayed them, provided business. He looks up and he looks at the guardians. This ritual will kill this man, but it will add life to Tracker. And he looks that is the cost it is not a nice cost

but it is the cost you can see the human man is terrified you can see his like trousers are soiled he's wet he just looks scared. I think Nova just looks openly shocked. Like there's no hiding it. She's shocked.

But I think in her head, she's like, she doesn't know what to say because she made a promise to Sentry and to Breeze to not interfere. But at the same time, see tracker is you can see scout and chip are looking down at him they're looking at this man and they're not looking at you or sentry they're just looking at this figure and then they look up at breeze and they look at tracker and you can see that they're conflicted too oh this is a terrible cost, but it's hard to look at. There is nothing to weigh in my mind. This man has caused nothing but pain and suffering.

He does not deserve the years he has been given. Why should this organic man have these years of cruelty when one of us, one of our kind, must end because we have lost the means to replenish ourselves? No. This is a fair trade. This is beyond fair. This is right, what I do here. He has a life- He has a lifetime to... Breeze slams the staff, and the circle begins to glow,

and the man starts wincing, and you can see the veins beginning to sort of pulse and bulge. And Scout is like, I don't know. I don't know about this. And you can see Scout puts his hands up to his little head, his little eyes, his extra eyes kind of blinking, and he doesn't seem to know what to do. I'm going to grab Century's hand and just be like...

Quill, you'll detect magic if you're just outside, like back. Yeah. Very edges of it. Very strong necromantic presence. Necromantic? Cool. Necromancy. Very strong necromancy. I don't suppose I can hear any of it. Very strong necromantic presence. Necromantic? Cool. Necromancy. Very strong necromancy. I don't suppose I can hear any of this. Echoing.

It's muffled and distorted. You can vaguely hear it. Tiangong, do you have a connection with Nova? You don't. You have no response to it. Tiangong? It's within 100 feet. Can you check in on Nova, please, and Sentry? Night Frost? Night Frost here? Night Frost. It's within 100 feet.

Can you check in on Nova, please, and Sentry? Lady Nova, what is happening? The others wish to know. I'll look at Sentry. He watches as his eyes are beginning to bulge. Can we, please stop? He looks. Please. I knew he just shakes his head

He's just like I knew that this would be the case You should not have brought The non-guardian here, Sentry She's clouding What you think is right No, it's You're seeing too much

Of your friends in this villain I'm not saying anything About the human sacrifice I know, I know No, but I literally I'll say that out loud Oh, you say that out loud I'm not saying anything

About the human sacrifice. Sacrifice is the nature of life. I guess I'm wrong. Yeah, like, yeah. So Night Frost is then like, ah, Lady Nova has just claimed that there is a human sacrifice in this place. We're going in there, right?

Are we? Are we? Are we not? Ask Nightfrost if Nova wants us. The man's skin begins to turn ashen grey, and you begin to see the veins pulsing, but Tracker begins to see this kind of swelling of power, this red glow in his matrix. Like a heartbeat.

Can I try and interrupt it in any way? Okay, what do you want to do? How can i try and interrupt it in any way okay what do you want to do like what do you want to do how do you try and do it you can take the man off the table like hey give me a strength check as you reach and reach down to just throw this man out of the way oh 13 enough you pull him out let's say you're going to take half the damage that he would have taken so you take 4 necrotic damage as you reach down

these tendrils of red lightning lash up from the circle gripping your arms you grab him as you pull him free but the lightning arcs up and you feel it drooping your light force. Breeze is like, Sentry, what are you doing? You throw the body to the side

and the man is just like, as he gets thrown to the side and Tracker just, his eyes go dark again and the Matrix, the fading disc, he's like, I never should have allowed you to come here. Would you like to see where you guys are?

Yeah! Okay. A pre-prepared battle map. My favourite. I should have allowed you to come here. Would you like to see where you guys are? Yeah! Oh, okay. A pre-prepared battle map, my favorite. So. Oh boy. It doesn't have to be a fight. I'm sorry I didn't have time to paint the columns. Yeah, I will do. I didn't have time to paint the columns.

That's okay. It doesn't have to be a fight. I mean, I'm not saying that it is a fight. I'm not saying it is a fight, but let's just put stuff down, shall we? Come on, Sentry, we can use deployment space. So Sentry, if you want to put yourself on this here. I'm still next to Sentry, so I'm a Sentry.

Not really got any miniatures for Scout and, so these guys will be Scout and Chipper. So you said that... And the rest of you put yourselves out here. Trackers. I know I'm not there, but Trackers Essence. He like dimmed again. So does that mean the guy who was on the table

is now back to full health? No. You can see he is very bad. Well, these guys can see that he is very bad. So what's happened is he's been drained, but it hasn't transferred. The ritual hasn't completed. It was starting to, and it just didn't complete, yeah.

So at this point, Breeze just shakes his head. It's like, I never should have allowed you to be here. Through disrupting the ritual, you've killed one of our own. You've killed Tracker. And you can see that Tracker is just stone. I cannot finish this now. The transfer only works one time. I'm sorry. It goes against everything that I've been told to do.

My entire purpose is to protect. I can't watch harm come to another person like this. I can't. I'm so sorry. Death is natural. It's one of the most natural things it happens to everybody no not to us it was never meant to happen to us we could have lived forever we can live forever century why should we live forever when everybody else has to die because we are better than they are we're just because we are greater we have much more potential than they do there There it is. We can be so much more than this. And he gestures down to the man. It is cruel and twisted. They do not deserve this place.

They do not deserve any of this. And what gives you the right to say you deserve to take what he has? He's got a whole lifetime to learn and to change and to become a better person change these non-guardians cannot change they are dominated by their greed and everything else you want to say something no she doesn't she's just hiding in her hood right now i think that's not nova would legit be doing she would just like she's just like I think that's not Nova would legit be doing. She would just like, she doesn't know what to do. Kim's just hiding within her hood, not knowing what to say.

He just snaps his eyes up and he just is like, no, no, my master was right. There are too many of you who are too weak-willed to do what needs to be done. You can't go taking people's lives. It's not up to you to say who deserves to live and to die. It's... it's not right, Breeze. I would... living forever, it would be an amazing gift, but...

why do that at such a cost? Why? The cost? He looks down at the man, negligible, and just turns. He's like, I'm sorry. You seem very, you would have been a great addition to my master's cause, Sentry. But now that you've seen this, I can't let you leave. I don't want to.

And then he brings the staff, and from behind the three columns, the three statues, three small echoes. Each echo pulsing with magical power. I'd love if we can get the map cam up. If we can't, it's okay. But yeah, if we can, I'd prefer the side one potentially. And with that, let's roll some initiative. Oh, piss balls. My hands are so sweaty.

Oh, that's a good initiative. Oh, piss balls. My hands are so sweaty. Oh, that's a good initiative. Wow, well done. Oh, my God. I rolled a two. I don't like this. I don't like this either. I don't want him to die. I don't want I don't want Breeze to kill

I don't want Breeze to be mad, bro. Tony Stark. Century. Why can't people just be nice? I got seven. Nova. Five. Don't worry, don't worry. Fourteen. Aayla. Six. Six. Perfect. Don't worry, don't worry. Fourteen. Ayla. Six.

Six. Perfect. So it looks like Scout is just cradling Tracker. You're not quite sure if he's going to be much use in this fight or he's going to need to be snapped out of it if nothing else. He's like holding, like talking to him. And Chipper doesn't even know what he's just like. He's not a combat model.

You can tell that he's not a guardian designed for combat. So at the top of the round, these three echoes, Nova and Sentry, from these echoes, from their central eye, beams, two beams each. So six beams. So let's do two against Nova. So that is a, that one and a, I just do the same one again, I guess so. And then Century, it's one of those and one of those.

So let's do these in order and then I'll do the next one. So Kim, can you make two wisdom saving throws please 18 on the first one first one wow that's gone forever uh seven on the second one okay so on the one, the same two kind of purple beams hit you by this echo and you just feel this intense fear wash over you and you need to get away from it as quickly as possible. You're currently frightened. Sentry, I need you to make

a dexterity saving throw for me and then a wisdom saving throw, please. Ten for the dex. Okay. 23 for the wisdom. Okay, so the the wisdom pass but the first one this beam of frost uh kind of erupts out of the echo um you take six points of cold damage and then you feel it try to daze your mind but it doesn't take place and then the third echo will do one beam at you each one against uh nova and then one against uh So Nova, can you make a deck saving throw for me, please? And can you make

a strength saving throw for me, please, Sentry? Natural 20 plus 3. Natural 20, so I need to roll 13. 13, that's enough. You feel this beam try and take telekinetic hold and try and throw you against the wall, but you manage to dig your heels in and press against this telekinetic force

as these beams are like all around you. After there go Quill or Sentry. Sentry? He's in the room. Yeah, makes sense. I'm going to raise up my shield

and I think I'm just going to ready an action that if Breeze tries to attack me, I'll use my battleaxe. Okay, so you're hitting back if he tries to attack you. Okay. Quill? So I can hear...

Yes. Yeah, and you said you're about 30 feet down the tunnel, so... Okay. I don't hear that. I'm, like, going to... So basically imagine that the edge of this and the edge of the map That's where you can get to on your if you move you can move to the very edge Like that. Yeah, we can get map cam

Possibly or back and you're working with a three-quarter. Thanks. Yeah, thanks Okay, so I can see from here Not much to be honest So I can see from here, not much, to be honest. Well, so Scout is technically like cradling Tracker over here and Chipper is kind of like, I don't know what's going on. But you would, yeah, I'd say like, because don't forget this all happens in the same six seconds. So you round the corner as these beams from these corrupted echoes

are like striking your friends. And you can see Sentry bring up her shield and axe. I don't think I've got line on any of the things. I'm probably just crouching in terror. Um... Crying. Um, you can see this one. Yeah... You can see this echo here. This one you can't.

Kind of hovering about there. Oh, that matters anyway, I've got like one spell slot. Ugh. Uh... I will, in that case, do a Sacred Flame. 60 feet, yeah, Sacred Flame on this one. This one there? And Sacred flame is a deck saving throw? Yes.

What's the DC? 13. 13, it fails, I only got an 11. Cool, I do eight damage. Eight damage. With a D8. So we'll do A, B, and C for the echoes. So the sacred flame engulfs the echo

and you can see it sizzles and the gemstone begins to crack, but it still, and then it turns down on you. And Breeze just looks over, he's like, ah, I thought you might bring more. I'm not prepared for that. Lucius. I'm gonna move up next to Quill

and cast Acid Splash on the same Echo. Okay. So that is a straight up pow. 18 plus five. That's a hit. 23. And then I'll do a d6, which is a 5. I've only got cantrips. Yeah, that's actually enough to destroy that echo. The acid melts it away. They're echoes, they're not very strong.

The acid melts it away completely and it just and you see Breeze just kind of wince a little bit and he looks over he's just like oh yes the priest and the sorcerer I watched their match earlier um we're spent why would you say that he looks and he's like I know Aayla okay so I I have slightly more movement yes about. I'm just about here, but I'm going to just dash. Yeah. To just behind Sentry. I can't do anything else this turn. I'm just getting closer. Okay. You can't go that far.

I can. I have 35. And she dashed. Oh, a dash as well. Yep. Nova. Reese is last in the initiative. I've got a three.

I guess I'm just going to... Because I'm frightened, I have to actively move away so frightened Right creature has disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls while the source of its fear is within line of sight Which this one and you can't willingly move clue and you can't willing me closer to the source of the fear Which is like every but do I have no no it's that one this one. Do I have to run away? No, it's this one. No, it's that one. It's this one. Do I have to run away? No. No? No. You just can't go closer.

And you have disadvantage. Oh, no. It was a big hot mess of confusion and sadness. What's she doing? You've got six seconds. Come on. I'm going to move that way. So you go like five, ten, fifteen.

Yeah, twenty. Right over here. Through the ritual circle. Can I move like out this way or is that? You can go there, 30 feet. And then I guess seeing Quill, can I dash towards Quill? Yeah, you can just dash towards him. Do you want to move? Yeah, dash towards Quill. 30 feet towards Quill. You absolutely can. Lovely. I'm just going to be screaming a weird sound

yeah they're right okay begin kind of cooler in my head rushing away okay just got to search up a little something here

on D&D Beyond tell us what it is we might be able to find it quicker. How does finger of death work? Sorry. Don't, don't. Why is he making a smile? Mark, please.

Oh no. He's a necromancer, isn't he? So he's a necromancer. Oh no. That was a joke. Oh no. Oh no. Oh.

Finger of death a human. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, and he's just like, I'll deal with the humans first, and then I'll deal with you. And he rushes over, chasing after Nova. As you're running towards kill, he like, and the cloak comes flying off, and you now see this dark guardian form, these curved horns. It all begins to radiate this dark red magic as he clutches the sword. As he's running, the quarterstaff in his hand changes into a long sword. It like... With the red gemstone becoming the pommel and then

curving into a blade. He reaches up, points a finger towards Kim. Constitution saving throw, please, Kim. I'm not Kim, I'm Nova. Nova. Six! Why you do these? I just stood there.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, You watch as he reaches out, this streak of red lightning erupts from his hand. It catches Nova as she's mid-run, kind of yanking on.

And you begin to see her blue skin turning pale, her veins bulging, dehydration throughout her whole body as her form is blighted. You take 39 points of necropic damage. Oh, I'm still alive! Really? God! How much health do you have? 41. Echoes keep sentrying the other fighter busy for the time being.

At the top of the round, the Echoes, Nova and Sentry are going to get hit by two beams each. I just imagine that in doing that, I've just fallen to my knees in front of Quill. I mean. Yeah. So, first things first,

can you both make strength saving throws for me? Me? Yes, you and Sentry. Sorry. He said both the fighters for the Echoes. 18. Yeah, but you said Nova out loud, so I didn't realize. So what was it? Strength saving throws. 12. 12. 18. 18. Strength saving throws. 12. 12.

18. 18. So Sentry, you pass, but Ayla, you are picked up and you are hurled 30 feet. 5, 10, 11, 20. He basically throws you into this column. You're going to take 3d6 damage for a total of nine as this beam like throws you across the room. Smash. For a total of nine as this beam like room throws you across the room Smash the cavern shapes as stone and dust begins falling down from the ceiling as a less full Slams into this pillar century you managed to resist this beam once again, then can you both make wisdom saving throws for me? Please sorry my DD be honest crushed. Oh shit

Refresh the page I am trying I Got 20. What was that? Wisdom saving three. You're fine, Century. Nice. I rolled a 16. You're fine.

Unless you've got heavy negatives to wisdom, which I don't think you do. If it were the most, it'd be one. It'd be one, yeah. So you're fine. So you fill these other beams. Your one seems to strike you and try to instill you with fear,

but you shake it off, knowing the seriousness of the situation. Ayla, yours try to instill you with fear but you shake it off knowing the seriousness of the situation. Aayla, yours tries to daze you with a blinding light but you manage to shrug it off for the time being. That's both of their beams. Sentry.

I'm going to... Can I dash backwards towards the guys at the back? Yeah, absolutely. Just move yourself where you need to go. How long is my dash? How far is it? It's the way. 30 feet. So that's your normal movement. Okay.

That's your normal movement. Yeah, do you want to dash or do you want to just normal move? This is your normal movement. I'm going to dash and be closer to the guys. Okay. Do you want to be here? Yeah, that's good.

So you're just basically getting five feet of all of them. Yeah. She's not down. She's not down. She's just extremely low health. Yeah, I'm just. So you're just basically getting five feet of all of them. Yeah. She's not down. She's not down. She's just extremely low health. Yeah, I'm just on my knees crying. Mm-hmm.

Yep. So you run over there to them. Quill? Two health. Right, I am going to hand Nova Tiangong, and in the same movement, Huo Yun. Good touch. So come on, roll an eight again. One.

So you get four health. Grats. Thanks. Clerics. Cool. Six. Lucius. A fucking spell slot.

Got it, that's all I got. I appreciate it. Lucius. Neva! I'm gonna go over and pour a potion of healing. Do you have one? Yes, last one. Mark it off. Do you have one? Yes. The last one.

Actually I've got two! Yeah, we bought them! Okay. So healing regular potion? Neva, stay with us, please! Um, that's going to be seven, eight, nine. Lucius, I don't feel so good. I'm going to like, get her behind me.

You can't really move her in your turn. I'll get in front of her. Yeah, you can move in front of her though you brute okay uh ayla uh i'm going to rage yeah i would like to rage please i'm pretty angry right now um super angry look super angry okay so... I'm going to try and take out these little shits. So I'm going to go to this one and give it a whack. This little echo bobbing. And you can see it's not like echo. This one's metal is twisted,

almost like big thick spikes around this dark red central orb. That's fun. Oh, that was almost a natural 20, and it was a two, so no, I don't hit it. No, this thing weaves out of the way, whoosh, flies up towards the air. As you try and strike it, Nova. Can I go around this?

Yes, you do. Can I hide around this pillar, wait so that he can't? Yes, you can, absolutely. And hopefully the other echo can't either. Yes, you do. Can I hide around this pillar? Wait so that he can't. Yes, you can, absolutely. And hopefully the other echo can't either. He failed, sorry. Yes. One point of lightning damage. One point of lightning damage.

What are the other guardians doing? So Scout is cradling Tracker and looking down, and he's trying to shake him awake. Chipper is just pressed up against the thing and doesn't know what to do. He's's just like freaking out um you can try and give them orders you can try and like help them but if they're left to their own initiative they're just kind of panicking shout what shout at scout yeah should i just say scout snap out of it sure give me a you can make it as an intimidate or a persuasion. I'll let you choose.

Ten. Ten. Okay. He's kind of like coming around. He's like, something's wrong. I don't know. He's like looking around. He seems to be snapping out of it.

It's probably going to take a bit more to get him fully back on board. So after Ayla, it is Breeze's go. What about Nova's go? Oh, yeah. Sorry, Nova. Yeah, I literally said your name and then... Breeze's go. What about Nova's go? Oh yeah, sorry, Nova. Yeah, I literally said your name and then. Thing you said. Nova has a go. Go on.

Can I glug a potion of healing, please? You're gonna need such a big potion. Seven? I know, right? If I'm alive to have one. Can we add potion we rules to Eros? Yeah. Because we drank a lot.

Sure. Oh, I have two potions Yeah. Because we drank a lot. Sure. Oh, I have two potions. Yeah, we both have two. Make sure you mark them off. Yeah, because you bought them at Rose Meadows, remember? I thought I had one. Yeah. I have two.

Can I glug this like, no. No. Can I? So that's my bonus action or action? Yeah, for drinking your own potion bonus action, yeah. Oh. Okay. Drinking your own, but you fed someone else's.

It's an action, yeah. Six seconds. One, two, three. I'm going to drink. I'm going to... Sure. Yep. I'm just going to clutch Tiangong to me. Okay.

And just be like, ow. Okay. Go for it. Plus six. You got disadvantage because the the thing of your fear is still within range. No, uh, that's a six seven eight. Six seven eight. No, it's not. Breeze kind of brings the sword up and deflects the blast away. He kind of just smashes it to the side. Do you get any saving throws for that?

Eldritch Blast? No. Oh, for the fear. Yeah. Until start of its next go. So it has gone, actually. So the first one would have hit. The fear would have gone by now.

Oh, so I'm not frightened anymore? No. Oh. So what was the first one you rolled? 22. Yeah, that hits. Okay. So 1d10.

Good shout. Yeah, most of their effects are until the start of the next turn. Just now? Yep. Nice. One! Woo! One point of damage.

So he still kind of, like, slices it, but parts of it still smash into his arms. I imagine it would just be, like, a fear reflex. It's just like, ugh! And can I move backwards please i mean yes the tunnel begins to get narrower i just want to move i don't want to move like i just want to move like i just like like here yeah yeah so you start just backing off into the um yeah sure you do that uh now it's breezes go and he will be he moves up towards Lucius it's like so noble he will try and slice you with a sword with one hand and then the other hand fires a beam towards Nova basically he's moved past so Lucius that is a 19

to hit you you want to do disadvantage on. So, Lucius, that is a 19 to hit you. Can I react? You want to do disadvantage on his attack against Lucius? Yes, please. Yeah, that's going to do it. That was a 2-7 to hit. So you throw your shield or the axe in the way, deflecting his blade. Nice.

But as you do, his hand shoots through and a green light shoots out of his finger towards Nova. That is going gonna be a, that's gonna be a 18 to hit. Can I use shield? You can if you have a spell slot on a reaction to do it. I have two spell shields.

Spell slots. Spell slots. That's that. So you can use shield. And that makes me a plus five, so yeah, I would like to use shield, please. Okay, and that lasts until the end of your next turn. Yep. Okay, so this, you throw the shield up and this green light launches off it and just

is like grunts. Can I direct it back at his eyes? No. One of the echoes... ...flow over here. And get in your face century and Lucius one beam each of you Lucius can you make a deck saving throw for me century can make a strength saving the centuries in like melee range and he's casting beyond her so I didn't didn't seem to so what is practiced in the art of war magic. Cute.

Dex for you, strength for you. Strength save? That's 20 plus four, 24. Easy. Four? So this, from the corrupted echo, 15 points of cold damage. And the second beam tries to grip you again with that telekinetic force to throw you away,

but it doesn't seem to take effect. Ayla, two beams against you. That's a dex saving throw and a wisdom saving throw. Six for the dex, natural one. So, 16 cold damage,

and then you are now also dazed until the start of its next go. Your speed is halved and you have disadvantage on attack rolls. This blinding light flashes and you're like, you're kind of swinging your hammer blindly, unable to see where exactly it is. Sentry.

Oh. I don't want to hit breeze yet. Please hit breeze. Yeah. Well, what would Sentry do? He's almost killed Nova and he's attacking them mercilessly. Yeah, let's do it. I'm just like... Yeah, I get it.

Yeah. Cool. I'll cast Thunder and Smite on him then, please. Okay, so you cast Thunder and Smite on the axe. You will need to, because the echo is kind of here, you'll have to... Go around. Yeah, which would mean leaving Lucius. Okay. Yeah.

Yeah, let's just do it. Okay, so you move around. Is she not moving the same space as the echo? No, technically you can't move into another creature's space. It's tiny. It is tiny, but it still technically operates. It's small, I think. Or is it tiny?

All righty. Rock and roll. Come on, Sentry. Let's go. Anemoi modifier. Plus four, isn't it? Yeah, 16. It should be more than plus four for your attack roll. It should be Plus 4, isn't it? Yeah, 16. It should be more than plus 4 for your attack roll.

It should be, if you go on Actions... Oh yeah, attack roll... Plus 6, oh yeah, so that'll be 18. 18 to hit Breeze? Yep. Just hits him. Yes! You can see the lightning quick, he goes to parry it, but you just managed to catch him.

Your honed warrior's sense senses pushing through his defense. Make your attack roll. So this is your normal damage plus the thunderous might damage. Cool, so that'll be d8 plus 4 and then 2d6. That's the normal damage. Okay. So 10. Okay, so 10. And then 2d6. For 9. Another 9. That's a lot of damage. Also, you killed him. He's dead. Let's go home.

Does he have to make a strength saving throw or anything for thunderous smite? Yes, strength saving throw. Otherwise he'll be pushed two feet away. And what's the DC on that? So I got 15. Okay, so he's not pushed back. You slam into him, this wave of thunderous force erupts outwards and he kind of grips the sword as the orc two clashing and he's just like

i'm not going to be bested here she kind of shoves back on it not push back um but you can see that the blow has definitely gone through in his form okay uh lucius oh no sorry quill uh oh um i uh i'm going to i didn't use advantage on my strength. Did I have a strength one? I don't think it's advantage on strength saves, it's on ability checks. Gain advantage on strength checks and saving checks. Oh, there you go. I'm going to shrink my barrier ring.

I don't think I had that. Plus two AC. Plus two AC. And... So I'm not holding the... the shield, am I? No. It's hovering above.

It's the whole point of the barrier ring, yeah. In that case, I've got no spells. I'm gonna bring the Thunderstone pistol out. Okay. Oh no, wait, it's not the Thunderstone one, it's the Arcana one, isn't it? Yeah. The Arcana pistol.

It's the same attack bonuses. Uh, and I'm gonna shoot... at... Breeze, I suppose. Okay. Um... Attack roll. Only plus two. Yep.

Twenty. The twenty? Yeah. Okay. It's not an actual twenty. No, but it hits him though. It seems like in the moment where he's defending against the thunderous smite, you pull out the arcane pistol from Deimos,

you know, pull back the... cock the small thunderstone cap, take aim... Hup!stone cap take aim it doesn't have the same amount of recoil but it's still a you know you're not used to firing with it nice d10 10 12 damage 12 damage moly so you hear this and a huge chunk probably one of his eyes shatters oh i know how that feels this and a huge chunk probably one of his eyes shattered oh you'll pay for that I already have before you've still got my broken half of his face he stares at you Oh take this side Lucius I'm going to disengage. That's your action and then you spend your movement.

5, 10, 15, 20, 25. Fuck. She's trying to get cover from him. Bonus action. You still have bonus action, yeah. Potion. Yep, so you're going to drink the last one. That is 810 hit points. I'm rolling very high on potions today.

Bloody hell. Nova then. Is Breeze wearing metal? I mean, he has metal as part of him. Can I heat it? You can try. The other option is, first of all, I'd like to put a Hexblade Curse on him. Is that bonus action?

Bonus action. Okay. And it gives two to damage rollsxblade Curse on him. Is that bonus action? Bonus action. Okay. And it gives two to damage rolls. Only for you though. Like is the metal visible on him? Yeah, it's the same as Sentry. Like he has like metal built into his frame.

I'm gonna try it. Okay. I'm gonna cast Heat Metal on him. Okay, yeah. He will take damage from it. Yeah, it worked on the Wyvern. There are certain elements with Breeze that aren't necessarily the same. So yeah, roll damage for me is normal. And then is it plus two to that from the Hexblade Curse? Plus two to damage rolls, it says. Yeah, I guess it would be. Yeah. Eight, six, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve.

Well, it's two eights, isn't it? Sixteen. Is it two eights or is it an eight? Yeah, because with the add two. Oh, with the plus two, yeah, so sixteen. Okay, yeah. So you watch as it does affect his form. I'm going to reduce the damage a little bit

because there's some things you don't know. It begins to burn and glow hot and he's like, irritating. And he just turns and looks at you. Can I move a little bit further as well? Yeah, the tunnel starts curving, but you can start moving along it. I kind of want to go like... Away. There.

Yeah. So like, are you moving 30 feet away? I'm curving across the way. I kind of want to go like... Away. There. Yeah. So like, are you moving 30 feet away or are you moving... So I'm curving, I'm curving like across and away. How many, how far in feet are you moving away? 30. 30. Okay.

Okay. So you're about 30, 40, 45 feet away from him at the moment. Yeah. Just for your own spell range as well as his. Okay. On his his turn he will attempt to hit sentry um yeah he'll attempt to hit sentry with his sword strike and then with one hand he's going to fire out towards quill nova or lucius i mean lucius is a bit of cover he did also yeah so he'll fire a beam at Quill.

He's taking the bullet now. I'm not a healer, but at least stop Nova getting hit. 23 to hit you, Sentry. Eye for an eye. You're going to take only four points of slashing damage as the sword carves into you. And then he fires something towards Quill. Another sickening green beam.

Can I do a react on that one? You can't because you're not within five feet of Quill. You have to be within five feet of Quill. You have to be within five feet of Quill. Chop his arm off. 20 to hit you, Quill. Yeah. Okay.

Can you make a constitution saving throw for me, please, as well? Uh, eight. Okay, you take 14 poison damage and you are now poisoned. Poisoned? So you have disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls. 14 and poison okay okay okay okay okay. He's just like looks around he's just like grunts for a second. The echo will try and move away from sentry you get an attack opportunity if you want sentry and move next to Quill. Yep so make an attack roll normal attack roll. That is a nine. Nine, yeah, misses.

Quill and Nova, you're going to get one beam each. Nova, deck save. Quill, that is a wisdom saving throw, please. Ayla, two more beams at you as well. That's another deck save and another strength save. And a beautiful cartage. Fourteen. Fourteen. Twenty-one.

Twenty-one, you're both fine. Huh? 12 on dex. 12 on dex. And 10 on strength. I'm rolling like absolute shit. Yeah, man, that's really bad. Take another 12 points of cold damage. I might actually. And it picks you up and throws you against the wall again. What? I'm not so hot. Are you taking half damage on this bludgeoning damage? Because when you're thrown in the wall, you're raging, so you only take five total. That's already halved, because the rage reduces it.

I'm on single digits now. You just took five more, though. Oh, wait. Okay, don't worry. Yeah. So the ray of cold, you take full damage. It then grabs you with its telekinetic ray, slams you against the wall. You take five more. That's already halved.

Okay, so Aayla is looking pretty bad. We then go to Sentry. I've done shit all. You've had bad rolls. Had bad rolls. I'm going to do Ensnaring Strike on him. Okay. At second level. Okay.

So... Okay. Yo. Let me see. That's the one that instakills, right? It restrains him and takes 1d6 of piercing damage at the start of each attack. Let me see. That's the one that Insta kills, right? It restrains him and takes 1d6 of piercing damage at the start of each of his turns.

And then he dies. He has to make a strength saving check against his spell DC. And then we get 4,000 XP. Okay. So I believe you need to hit him as normal. Yeah. That's Garbo. That's a 9 again. That's not not enough he parries it with the blade

as he blocks the that the battle axe right remember the the the entanglement strike the cape stays on the battle axe okay it's only till you hit it again okay um so yeah he brings up the sword to parry and he can feel you know you feel the reverberations through your arm as he deflects it and he seems stronger than you perhaps first thought. He definitely has some strength to him. Quill. I have to reload the pistol to use it again, don't I? I believe you do, yeah.

In that case, I am going to... No, the arcane pistol has four shots reload. Does it? Mm-hmm. Can I double shoot it for a bonus action? No. Bam. it can i double shoot it for a bonus no damn um okay in that case i am just gonna do that um

yeah i'm gonna oh there's a little drone in front and you also have disadvantage because of the poison oh geez we're being here i am gonna shoot at him again. Okay. Disadvantage. Did I miss my turn? I feel like I haven't gone in ages. I think you might have. I haven't hit... I thought I did, but you can take a go after this. It doesn't hit. I rolled like a 3, plus 2, so 5. In that case, I'm going to back up.

Okay, the little tiny echo is going to try and slam you as you move away. 21 to hit. What do you mean slam me? It's a drone. You take one bludgeoning damage. I'm dead. So as you turn, thinking it's not a threat,

it smashes into your head. Jeez. Hesper. As you try and like, you turn thinking it's not a threat and it smashes into your head. Eugh! Jeez! Yep. Hesper! I've been inspired by a good... Ah, but you still move away. Yeah. So you go after Nova.

So Ayla, take a go now. And then you'll get another go. I mean, you still would have had disadvantage on these attack rolls anyway. Because it was the last turn you had the daze. Right. So disadvantage on these ones, but then the proper turn you don't have disadvantage. I'm actually just going to try and get further up here. So you're just going to run.

So he'll do the same thing. He'll try and slam you. Wait, no, I'm away from him because he slammed me. Before, if you had taken your turn before, you would have been like here. Well, if I'm here, then I'm going to hit it before I... Okay, yeah, so you were here on your previous turn so make an attack this thing okay so now would be your lost so it wouldn't hit anyway with

this advance okay wait 13 yeah yeah so Dex saving throw oh yeah do that as well. Failed. Eight plus four. That's enough to destroy it. So it wouldn't throw me, so I wouldn't have taken... You wouldn't have taken that last point of damage. So I wouldn't have taken any of that damage because I took 16 plus five. So you get, yeah, take those hit points back. Okay. Because I missed my turn.

Yeah. Because I would have destroyed it. Yep, that's my fault. So I get 21 back. It's not like I'm trying to run a bunch of stuff. No, I know, I know. But yeah, so you didn't take the damage. You destroyed the thing. I think it was 19 damage, because it was 14 and 5.

Yeah. 14 and 5. Is it just one echo left then? Yeah, the one in front of us. Yeah. TJ, we're just going to try and wrap this combat up, and then we'll try and rush through the ending. I'd like to try and finish this, if we can.

Whose go is it? So that was Quill's go, then it would go to Lucius, then Ayla, then Nova. I'm going to Firebolt that Echo. Okay. That's a two. It's a fail. Yeah, that's my go.

All right, cool. That's your go. So then it goes to Ayla. Now it's Ayla's a two. It's a fail. Yeah. That's my go. All right, cool. That's your go. So then it goes to Ayla. Now it's Ayla's proper go. So you're going to rush ahead. So I'm going to dash. Yeah, I'm actually just going to duck in here. Okay. So I think that, yeah, I wouldn't.

I'm going to duck in here so that he can't see me. Nice. Okay, so you duck in there. So that in here. Okay. So I think that, yeah, I wouldn't. I'm gonna duck in here so that he can't see me. Nice. Okay, so you duck in there. So that, yeah. Okay, so you tuck in and you can see this large statue of Kalara next to you. So I can't get to him on this turn. Okay. Then it goes to Nova. Can I Eldritch Blast the little, the echo in front of me? The echo, yeah, absolutely.

But also do the heat metal on Breeze. So roll the damage. Breeze boots, so I'll do Breeze first. Plus two. Six, 12, 14 on Breeze. And then Eldritch Blast, sorry I got the wrong dice. 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 to hit. 23 to hit?

Yeah, hits. Two points of damage. Two points of damage. Better than one. Well, is it? Yes, it's double one, isn't it? Wait, it's only, I'm confused. Extremely positive outlook. It's double one in it. Wait, it's only, I'm confused. Extremely positive outlook.

It's double one. We're having two whole goes of one. I got bonus action, right? Left. Is heat metal bonus? I think it's a bonus. I think you have to use a bonus action on your turn to do the damage.

Okay. Ignore me then. Okay. So on Breeze's go... He's going to quit? You know I'm considering it. Pretty low on hit points. Just going to leave us alone?

Come in peace? Misunderstanding? Okay, he's going to try something first and then depending on how it goes he might bug out. Bug out. He lifts up a hand and you see the free hand that he's been casting his spells with

begins to crackle with red energy. And he's going to reach out, and he tries to grab Sentry with it. No. That is going to be 19. That just hits. Sentry's going to take five. Six necrotic. He regenerates a small amount of health as it touches,

but I think that that's still too much of a risk for him. So he grabs you, you feel this life force drain out, and he just looks around, he's just like, we'll meet again. Pulls in something in his pocket, drinks a potion, his form turns into a mist, and he floats up into the ceiling of the crypt and then begins filtering through the natural rock,

like seams in the stone. Pretty gross. Yeah. He's going to bug out, I think, because he was pretty close. Is that fine? Is the echo still going? The echo is still going, and it is in fact the echo's go, and it will target Quill and Nova each.

I catch the wrong thing. So both of you make strength saving throws, please. Oh, I'm really good at that. It's going to come back. 18 plus. 18. 18 plus. So Quill, you managed to hold off this telekinetic force.

Nova, you feel it grab you. It throws you basically 30 feet into the room and into a wall, slamming you in for 15 points of bludgeoning damage. That's a lot. I'm rolling really well on 3d6. Idle champion's dice. Yeah. They're killers.

Are you still conscious? Yes. Okay, so you throw him back in, bam, slam into the ground with a skidding thud as you fly in, BAM, slam into the ground with a Skidding Thud as you fly in Sentry. I'm just gonna try and get rid of this last echo, I think. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Let me remove this from the board, please. It's harshing my aura. I'll just hit with a regular attack.

19. That hits. And 1d8 plus 4. And it is 11. And the Enscaring Strike. 11 is just destroyed. And 1d8 plus 4. And it is 11. And the ensnaring strike. 11 is destroyed. It's got tiny hit points. Go on. So you watch as this lasts.

You cleave it in two. And as it hits, it just bursts into like a red mist that seems to be inside it. Just as it lays scattered around the ground. You look over at the scene. The man, the human man human man is alive although he looks very drained um very unwell but tracker is just lifeless um and you can see scout is just kind of holding him and that's where we're gonna win today's yeah man breeze was not a nice man we were brookstoned you bro Brookstoned us, Mark.

I mean, double Brookstoned. He didn't reveal the kind of squishy nature. He knew it was shit. He knew it was bad. He didn't lie. Pretty bad guy that you saved. Pretty bad guy. Should've just let it happen, to be honest. Anyway, thank you very much. I'm sorry to keep you late, TJ, but we'll be back next week for more High Rollers.

And thank you to our new spot, well, our wonderful sponsor for today, Elderwood. Yeah, sure. So, things and stuff from Elderwood. So, there were some questions, I forgot to do this after the break. We don't know exactly how long the code will last for, so if you want to order something, do it today. It may be around for a week, but we don't know exactly, so do that now. Is there a minimum spend? As far as I know, no.

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