High Rollers DnD - High Rollers: Aerois | #43 - Secrets of the Galecrown (Part 1)

Episode Date: August 19, 2019

Apologies for some mic crackling this episode! It's fixed in the next one! A few days construction remains but the Sky Prince calls a meeting regarding the Elenasto Fiasco! Support the High Rollers and get early access to podcast episodes (and more) on our Patreon: www.patreon.com/HighRollers Thanks to our sponsors D&D Beyond and NordVPN! NordVPN allow you to browse securely and protect your data online! Get three years and an extra month free for 75% off with the code HRDND here: www.nordvpn.com/hrdnd D&D Beyond is the official digital toolset for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. Create your FREE account now and start digitising your campaigns here: www.dndbeyond.com/ Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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That's why Bumble is changing how you start conversations. You can now make the first move or not. With opening moves, you simply choose a question to be automatically sent to your matches. Then sit back and let your matches start the chat. Download Bumble and try it for yourself. 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 Keelakad Kalal the bard slash cleric I am Chris Trott I'm playing Lucius Vue and Elowin Elinastio 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 an Air Ganassi and she is a

Hexblade Warlock Thanks to our regular sponsor D&D Beyond the official Dungeons and Dragons toolset create your free account and speed up your campaigns today we're also sponsored by nord vpn the perfect shield for your online adventures get 75 off a three-year plan and one month three when you use the code hrdnd you can check them out with the links in the episode description anyway on to the episode the sky prince calls a meeting regarding the el anasto fiasco.

Welcome back to Arois. A recap on what happened last time. A week has passed in the sky city of Gusthaven, and the hectic lives of our heroes finally have some time to wind down as plans and preparations are made. Whilst half the group research and investigate their past, their plans or their fears, Lucius finalises designs for the airship

he has commissioned and works with Lily and Sprocket Shipwriting Company to begin construction. The Storm Chaser is underway with only a few decisions left to make. Century, Quill and Nova delved into the Empyrean archives and researched a number of topics,

discovering clues about Solvin, the City of Glass and Hadar, a mysterious force in the dark beyond. The party feels a desire to investigate the City of Glass and Sentry's home of Solvin after they have concluded matters here in Gustaven. A crew is also gathered for the Stormchaser. Lucius takes his role as Captain and assigns Nova as Engineer

and Quill as Quartermaster, with a number of extra NPC hires fulfilling the other positions. Great NPC hires as well. Yes, mainly led by Oriamarius, who was Rhiannon's temporary character

to take the position of first mate who is on her way to the sky city of Gusthaven. And that is where we begin this week. Just to make it clear

no, Katie's not here. She's not feeling very well. I wasn't going to I thought it would be pretty obvious but I guess yeah, it would make sense. For audio listeners.

Audio listeners only. Audio listeners. Katie's not here. She's not feeling very well. So there you go. Audio listeners. Audio listeners. You don't need to say that.

Just that audio is listening. Eye viewers. Hello, listeners. All the podcast audio listeners. Hello, watching viewers. Eye viewers. Hi. listeners hello watching viewers hi viewers hi so um you are currently all staying as guests amongst another noble elven house house viranore who uh lucius has also commissioned to construct

a secret base um in the basement of his old family estate um that is now a ruin um with house viranore being entitled to build on the land above, basically. This will take some time, so construction is underway. And in the meantime, you have been invited to their estate as guests. You know, having completed this business transaction, you are staying with them temporarily. It is a very traditional Elven noble home. It is white stone, gleaming penance of blue with

what's that the compass like an architect's kind of compass I don't what's called extant I don't think that I think that's a navigation thing but no I just basically masonry tools as the house emblem an inverted V with an inverted with a normal V behind it The house itself is kept in very good condition. It is not as glamorous as the El Anasto estate would have been. This is not as rich a noble family. They have fewer servants. They have fewer grounds to build on.

But it is very homely. And mainly over the last week, whilst you have been hiring the Stormchaser crew, doing your research, doing all of that, you have mainly been looked after a woman called Adela Virenor. Yes, Chris Trott slash Lucius.

Did we pick up those messenger... You did. Yes. Have you added them to your inventory? Is it in your inventory? I think I did that. Because I told you to put it in your inventory. Yeah, we have to attune to them as well. Yes.

They are attuned. Messenger rings. Yes. Yeah. So I guess they count as one of the three attunements. Yes.

They do. Okay. They do. That's cool. But we can now communicate over like five miles. Five miles of telepathic

communication. That's pretty cool. Yes. That's pretty sweet. It's one of those items where as a DM you guys are all talking out of character anyway might as well dm you guys are all talking out of character anyway

might as well just let you communicate as you want to theater whispering yeah i am whispering this so the bad npc man doesn't hear me yeah yeah but i guess we have to say when we're doing telepathic communication rather than you just let me know and say like this, this is all telepathic. So, yeah, Adela Virenor, who has been kind of facilitating your stay. She is one of three elven sisters who runs House Virenor. She's a tall, high elf woman with long, luxurious hair kept neat with a slender band over her head, long bangs and a high ponytail. She manages the administration, social elements, and generally acts as the face of the house. She is the one who you would have initially approached with the deal and who has

facilitated it. There are two other sisters, Nira Viranor and Karina Viranor, who handle the architecture, like the designs and the plans, the blueprints, and then the other one who handles all the building, what manages the labor, that sort of thing. Neera and what, sorry? Karina. So Neera is focused on the construction. She's a skilled mason and carpenter with some magical abilities, and she organizes all of the other laborers. Yeah.

And then Karina is the architect who designs all of the buildings and makes plans. And yeah, and you have been staying with them for about a week now while they are working on the construction. It will take significant time for them to build an estate and then the secret basement kind of like level as well. It's actually going to take longer than the airship just because building places in Gusthaven is significantly more resources. They have to ship in stone from the lowlands, whereas things like the airship materials are generally used because they build more ships here

than they build houses. They have to clear the land and stuff as well. Yes. They also have to clear up the debris of the previous Elinasto estate. I feel like construction is missing the trick of they have the fae. Imagine surrounding an area with fae wild,

constructing it it and then porting it back times differently yes that's true there are dangers with planar magic planar magic is banned in Eros

it's illegal but also the Feywild shifts so you might build it in the Feywild and then hope it pops back into the same place

but it pops like two miles it's a 200 year construction cathedral here we go to the sea to the same place but it pops like two miles it's a 200 year construction cathedral here we go to the sea to the bloody sea yeah exactly

also there's the problem of the Feywild's time dilation is random as well so you can enter the Feywild or in I guess in Erois's case

you could go to a Feywild planet you can spend a day there and it can be a day back on Erois it can be a month back on Erois it can be a day back on Erois, it can be a month back on Erois, it can be a year back on Erois. Oh my god, okay.

Imagine trying to explain that to a client. Yeah. It'll be built in a minute. Takes some time. And we don't know where. Cool. So all in all, not that. Bad idea. So there you go. Not a bad idea, but terrible idea.

So yeah, so at the moment it is Not that. Bad idea. So there you go. Not a bad idea, but terrible idea. So, yeah. So at the moment, you are all gathered. Ayla and Smeak are with you, as always. Are there any things you would like to do? Anything you wish to discuss as you no doubt have breakfast brought to you? Is generous? Okay, so what's the plan now?

We've got however many days until the airship is done. We've got a load of time until the hideout is done. I guess, is that what we're calling it? Hideout? I don't know. I guess so. I know we're in the place that it's being built, but we should get used to the concept of keeping that secret. So we need a name for it. The hideout.

Perfect. We'll just call it that in the open. Yes. That works fine. Our secret base. Secret hidey hole. Underneath my old estate. Yeah.

I'm joking. We can work on that. We can work on it. But what do we want to do in the time we have left? Do we want to... There's stuff to wrap up in Gusthaven, is what I mean. We don't know where Moonstar is. Do we want to look for Moonstar?

Do we want to talk to the Sky Prince again? Do we want to just have a nice and easy, relaxed couple of days? I'll just sleep through it all. Good. Good, so... Good. So we're just going to, for the next three hours, just roleplay sleeping.

Well, as you are finishing the breakfast, it's almost like destiny comes calling anyway. There is a kind of like a loud... Not a commotion, but there is the sound of somebody coming home. You can hear kind of like this very elegant feminine voice kind of calling through like, yes, yes, darlings, thank you very much.

Where are our guests? Where are our guests? Oh, they're in the breakfast room, my lady. Very good, very good. And then you're kind of not bursting through the door, but dramatically opening it with a flare is Adela V Erin or very tall as I said she wears very elegant clothing high ponytail but then bangs in the front or secured with a very neat bejeweled headband long ears made up and she's just like darlings darlings so good to see you up I have some important news for you, Lucius. Oh, before that, just want to say your hospitality here is exquisite.

And we're having a wonderful time. I'm glad. Well, we must look after our business clients after all, seeing as we will have a very close relationship, I believe. I do hope so. I believe so as well. Well, with those regards, I come bearing. Well, I suppose it's up to you to decide whether it's good or bad news.

I just returned from Galecrown, the palace. Sky Prince Aradan and Eloise wish to speak with you. There have been some developments, I believe. Perfect. I was hoping to sleep. Development in... Well, I'm not... Well, a lady doesn't like to gossip,

but I am to obviously... We all know what happened to Lucius's family. But I understand that there was also some confusion about Lucius' death, with it being reported to the Sky Prince at some point. Perfect. And apparently there have been some developments in that. Okay. Okay.

But this is just what I hear among the courtiers and the attendants. You don't like to gossip? Of course not. A lady never gossips, my dear Quill. Okay. If it's urgent or... They have requested that you come and speak with them at the earliest possible convenience.

Right. I believe that the Sky Prince worries a little. He worries about you. Well, he has a lot on his plate. He does. He does. Although, well, he... Strange. The Sky Prince is a funny one. For someone so young, he has a lot on his plate. He does. He does. Although, well, he... Strange. The Sky Prince is a funny one. For someone so young, he seems remarkably accomplished at getting things done.

There's still a few problems, but... Strange. Just feels like he would struggle a bit more. I don't think we should put that down. No, no, no. Sounds like good qualities to me. Absolutely, of course. Anyway, I guess... Well, I don't... You don put that down. No, no, no. Sounds like good qualities to me. Absolutely, of course. Anyway, I guess...

Well, I don't... You don't have to tag along. I can handle this one. I'm ready to go. Yeah, I'll come with you. I wouldn't mind going. I've seen the room where the person was, you know, scrying from. Or, no, the person sent the people to attack us from.

Yeah, no, that's two different things no i know maybe it's not well i i'm just saying if i see any anything that make like clicks my dear did you you've been attacked while you've been here in gustaven um yes yes actually i didn't realize should this is something i should be worried about. Should we be informing our guards? Ooh, maybe. It's probably worth doing so, but I don't imagine it will happen anytime soon. I mean, they came out of nowhere, so... Gustaven is huge. Yeah.

We could be anywhere. All right. It was the Wind Barons. Oh, now I've heard that name being bandied around, but, I mean, they're just meant to be sky pirates flying around out in the mountains, ra cargo ships that sort of thing they're not here are they oh yeah like we so we were visiting someone and then when we were talking they teleported in a bomb and it blew up and then they teleported in and they

attacked us and Quill lost his jaw and fire they teleported a bomb into where you were. Yeah. Tracy. What? Just, you are currently staying in my family's house. Oh. Obviously there is some concern that if that were to be repeated... I believe they had reason to assume where we were going to be. Right.

There's no reason for them to assume we're here. No, no. We certainly have not been speaking of it. The only reason that, well, the prince it wasn't that I was specifically requested to inform Lucius or Lord Elanasto, rather that I heard him speaking to the other nobles, informing them that if they see

Lord Elanasto, to inform them. So we should be going out the back door then? Well, it's up to you. You don't have to treat this as a clandestine destination. I'm assuming that, well, you've been going to the airship docks and off to the library. People do not assume that... People do not know you are here.

You have been no doubt seen by many folks coming and going already. There's no sense in us trying to pretend otherwise now. Just act normal. Act normal. How comfortable are you and your sisters with our arrangement? the arrangement with Lord Elinasto seems perfectly understandable the Elinasto family have always been a very good family here in Gusthaven and well we're sad that the family is obviously no more but if we can assist Lucius in some way,

and we're glad to do so, having an esteemed house like El Anasto's working with a minor house like ours is very beneficial to us. We're going to telepathically talk to Quill while she's speaking and say, they're not fully aware that we're using it for secret means, just the fact that we're having an underground storage facility.

Oh, okay. So let's not put on anything. Fine, I won't say anything. Okay, outside of telepathy, shall we all head down then? You can go alone if you want to. This will

be the first time you've spoken to him. I don't want to burden you all. You're all just having your brekkie at the moment. I'm finished. Yes, but you could get indigestion and whatnot. I've got very good metabolism and also walking after a meal is very good for you. Well, good.

Good. Let's get going then, I assume. Okay. Yeah. Okay. I think so. Tom, what does Ayla want to do? Follow. He wants to follow. I have given Tom control of Aayla for this week because I've got a lot to manage. That's great. She crushes Smeek with a hammer.

Does she? Nah, I'll let her do that when she comes back. I won't make that judgment call. Yeah, don't take that away from Katie. It's no better of a time. Smeek just follows Ayla, who follows the rest of you.

Okay. Staying strangely silent. Eerie. Eerily silent. He's a bomb. So you just want to make your way to Galecrown, the palace

of Gustaven? Yes. Okay. And considering we have been roaming around without any sort of disguising. I mean, you have changed your appearance.

I also got attacked when I had that appearance changed. You did. You got attacked by the wind barons and things, but most of the common folk, like, probably wouldn't immediately go, oh, that's Lord Lucius El Anasto, because you do look significantly different. Okay, sure.

However, your companions are very striking. I'm a bird with a storm eye. What are you going to do? I'm blue. You're blue. You're a big robot. Hi. Alas, I'm not Lucius.

You are all very identifiable. I think actually the one who blends in probably the best is Nova, because there are the occasional Ganassi travellers moving around. She's dressed in a way that is very scholarly and kind of travelly she's not a bird man with one wing and one you know and a weird i'm gonna cloak over my wing i mean it's still clearly you have one wing yeah the other companion is a guardian who are very rare and then ayla stands probably a good sort of like four inches taller than everybody ripped and jacked as

fuck um with a tiny annoying goblin with a tiny annoying goblin following her behind it does not take long to travel from azure bright plaza to gale crown gale crown sits at the edge of three different districts but all three have access um to the. Wide, tall gates lead up a kind of spiraling narrow pathway that leads to the top of Galecrown itself. Where Gusthaven would have once been part of the land, it would have before it was risen up

into the sky, it would have been built into a kind of mountainous region and Galecrown almost would have been like a citadel built into the mountain. So part of the mountain still remains behind it. So you kind of have to wind your way up to the top. I didn't even know there was like a mountain on. It's not super tall.

It's almost like a peak of it almost. And then the rest of Gustaven is kind of angled and it kind of juts down and then it forms into an island base. And it spreads out quite wide. You can see the Sky sky lake kind of drifting nearby attached by the various bridges uh but gale crown sits as a kind of pride and pinnacle and at the very top you can see this kind of spider's web of metal rods and spheres that kind of spreads out over the top of the the city itself and then casts the globe of weather that keeps the environment of gust havenven the way it is.

It doesn't take you long. You make your way up to the first gates where there are guards. They search you, but upon revealing your identification of the marks that you were given, they let you pass instructing you to head up to the palace. The palace itself is busy in the mornings. There are generally

a public forum held every morning where the public get to discuss and ask things and raise issues. And that quickly begins filtering through as you see commoners, merchants, traders, all coming and going. There are various knights, royal knights and royal wands, official wizards in the employ of the palace that move around. And upon delivering yourselves to the front you are led to a small side room an elegant little suite with long couches silver trays of fruit and glasses of wine all are laid out for you and sat in sign is an elderly elven mage he recognizes elois one of the royal staves one of the official magical magistrates of the city.

He kind of rises with a crick of his back and is like, Lord Elinasto, you have changed your appearance since last I saw you, but... Yes, for security reasons. That's a very wise decision, I feel. And your companions are all well? You all well? Well enough. We've only been attacked once, but... Yes, I spoke with the night captain, and I'm obviously shocked and appalled to hear of what happened. I wish it could have been prevented,

but I'm glad that you all came out of it mostly unharmed. Mostly. You're the member of your house, I believe. Your nanny, I think you called her? Norfey, yes. She is all right? think you called her? Norfey, yes. She is all right? She's well? She's very well, yes. Good, good.

Adept at survival. Yes, yes. Well, I believe the prince is just finishing up some business. Then he wishes to speak with you himself. But we have some news regarding investigations into the alleged scrying of your death, actually, Lord Elinesto.

There's been some developments. We might also have some useful information to return. Myself and the Sky Prince would be very pleased to hear it. But we should wait for His Majesty. We should wait. It doesn't take long before the doors open and before anybody, any human enters, there is a fluttering of feathers and wings as a owl, a bright silvery white owl with a sparkling gem in the middle of its head, swoops in and lands on the back of a chair. And it's a white owl.

Yeah, white silvery owl. Lucius, you'd recognize these. These are kind of a common animal here in Gustaven. It's called a star owl. They're quite rare. They're very expensive to keep, but they're generally raised with a mix of ethereum kind of blended into like feed and things like that,

and they evolve as they grow. In which case I would do a very Lucius gasp. Yeah. And it's like it kind of just perks on the back of a chair. And its head just swivels around. This is a rare sight, everybody. Yes. Star owl.

And then in following behind the owl shortly afterwards, you see the Sky Prince himself. Sky Prince Aridan Irison Poloni Starsorrow. A very regal... Whoa. Aridan. It's kind of like Lucius Varianion eloine alanasto yeah he has his two parents names in there aradan irison peloni star sorrow you've met him before i know but but

i don't think we had the full name last time he enters wearing his royal robes of deep blue and silver um he uh has a very large sword sheath at his side um and a crown upon his head he has dark hair unlike lucius he has very dark almost not quite black but dark brown hair falls to you know down below his shoulders um i guess it's like lucius now but it's cut short yes lucius is cut short whereas aradans is down low um apparently jaffa mod accidentally ran an ant when it wasn't supposed to okay so if you missed it for the last five minutes the party have just made their way to the palace of of gale crown they've met up with eloise who is a uh royal stave which is a kind of magical magistrate or magician um and now they are meeting with the sky

prince not much for further developments um he enters uh he kind of smirks a little bit when he sees the owl kind of perched on the chair and he kind of calls over he's like malachi come down you should not be up there and the owl kind of like looks around then hops down and then bounces over towards the sky prince and then flies up onto his shoulder uh and you can see he kind of like the sky prince lets out a weary kind of he begins taking the sword off of his belt, putting it to the side and nods and says, my apologies for keeping you. The forum went on a little longer than I expected. We've been having some troubles of late down in the chains. It's been weighing on my mind a little.

So I wanted to meet with some of the locals, some of the merchants and such and discuss matters. Lucius. Prince Aroden. I'm glad to see that you are well. some of the merchants and such and discuss matters. Lucius. Prince Aradan. I'm glad to see that you are well. I learnt of the attack. I'm glad that you're all right. I'm glad that you and all of your companions are well. Well, we've actually got quite good at surviving recently,

since the crash. You've clearly, everything you've been through, I know it is tragic, but it has at least strengthened your resolve, I imagine. Yes, I feel wonderful. He kind of, like, looks embarrassed for a moment. He's like, I hope you understand my intentions. And I am not taking it out on you.

I was trying to joke, Lowlandia style. Forgive me, jokes I have very rare of lately. Sorry, Lord Aradan, it was not the time. No, no, no, no, no, please. A little bit of mirth is a good thing now and then. Eloise, I know you were waiting for me, but please don't keep these good people in suspense any longer. Let's let them know what we know,

and then we can decide on our next steps. Of course, Your Majesty. You will remember when we last spoke we mentioned that a mage had been hired to scry upon your whereabouts to learn of it and the mage in question she reported that you were dead amongst the crash of theblade. We have been looking for this mage since your arrival. Hired by the Magronas, if I'm not mistaken. Indeed.

That is what we believe, anyway. The mage in question vanished shortly after Lucius's arrival here in Gusthaven. Not long after you and I became acquainted and I became acquainted and I took you to the estate,

she returned to her quarters and then vanished and has not been seen since. We have conducted an investigation into the city, but so far we have not been able to locate her. We think she may have gone down into the chains, a wretched little place that hangs beneath the city itself, full of exiles who refuse to leave and people that have not got authorization to remain in the city

the other matter is that upon our request Anastasia Magrona has returned to Gusthaven and is now currently under house arrest she is the last person she was the one who hired the mage in question to perform the scrying and then gave us the reported information on your death. She claims that she simply hired the mage

that she'd worked before, was told the events of the scrying, and then gave us the report. She is as confused as the rest of us, apparently, but we are keeping her under house arrest in her estate for the time being. Yes, I'm not one to accuse of her being guilty. It could well just be the scryer.

Indeed. The scryer's name in particular is let me see here Adela Venethor. A minor mage of a not particularly significant house. She worked here in the palace. She has performed many magical duties over her time.

She worked briefly as a wand, but before some health concerns forced her to take a job here in the palace itself, performing scryings, sendings, things like that. And it seems nothing's out of the ordinary in terms of her behaviour. It seems she's always been good. She has been acting... Witness reports state that she's been acting strangely of late. She would have periods of very manic depression, followed by elated highs of laughter and

mirth and energy. Her duties had not suffered. She'd been performing those as normal. But her disappearance is perhaps the most strange. She returned to her quarters and then she was seen leaving and has not been seen since.

Okay. What was her name again? Adela Venethor. And that's not Adela V seen since. Okay. What was her name again? Adela Venethor. And that's not Adela Virenor. Okay. This is, if you wish the spelling, A-D-A-E-L-A Venethor. V-E-N-E-T-H-O-R. Okay.

I was just making sure that I didn't just immediately say like, Oh, God, no. Double middle-barred name. Yeah. Proud name. I was just making sure that I didn't just immediately say like oh god no double middle barred name yeah it is not uncommon for folks to share similar names especially on an island like Gusthaven and

what would just a mage that scrys on someone's death what would they have to gain from Lucius's death? We don't know, unfortunately. I wish that we could say. Clearly there is some sort of conspiracy. Whether it was someone aiming to gain the El Anasto assets, which they did gain but have now been paid back in compensation to Lord El Anasto.

Whether it was the fear that Lord Elanasto knew something that they didn't want other people to know, perhaps. Perhaps this mage is merely a pawn of a greater conspiracy. Or whether they are perhaps the ones behind it all, I cannot say. Until we find her, we will not have any answers. I wanted to give you the information so you are aware of it, so you know that we are doing our best to investigate the matter. The Watch and the City Guard are on high alert.

They've been told to do what they can. And as I said, Anastasia Magrona has been confined to house arrest. I assume you've tried magical truths. Well, we have not. Using enchantments of that nature, we are not always very keen to do so. This is somewhat of an invasion of privacy. We have no reasonable doubts that Anastasia is lying to us.

If we were presented with evidence that she is withholding information, that she is lying to us, then we do have magical means to try and compel truths. But they are not always successful. It depends on the will of the person. That's understandable. Likewise, there are ways of reading thoughts, but again, it is not... Anastasia is an accomplished mage. She has... She's as brilliant as your father was. The two of them have been business rivals for a long time. I imagine that she would not be, she would not befoul such magics

easily. On a slightly different matter, or maybe not, with the wind barrows, have you had any more? You can see Prince Aradan draws his brow. He's like, the eternal thorn in my side. We do know the Windbearers have been plaguing the trade routes in and out of Gusthaven for some time. They've even gone so far as to attack a few lowland villages we were scheduled to pass over, normally that we trade with. Stealing supplies, it's not known to the public but i trust

you with this information and you can see alois kind of glances at the sky prince at this and it gives him a look as in say are you sure you want to tell them and you see sky prince aradan's like they have been gaining a stronger presence here in the city we know that they have been fighting with other citizens in the chains they have been raiding We know that they have been fighting with other citizens in the chains. They have been raiding warehouse docks. They have been accosting merchants. My fear is that they have begun to worm their way into the noble houses as well.

They are very well funded. They have knowledge of our systems, our governments, our patrols. They are a terrible threat to Gusthaven, and I'm simply reaching my end of what to do with them. They do not have a base of operations. They seem to be scattered all over the place with different ships. We've tried capturing some of their lower members,

including those that attacked you in the tower and the ones that you captured at the warehouse, but they compartmentalize their information. They don't really meet their superiors. Everything is handled magically. They receive messages, sending spells by a strangely voiced controller, I guess. I think that may be connected. Yes.

controller, I guess. I think that may be connected. Yes. So Hesper gave me back my vision and allowed me to see more than anyone normally can. When we were attacked in the house,

I was able to see who sent the people to attack us. And it was in a library-like room, but the person who was sending them was totally disguised. Definitely a man, disguised his voice, covered in a cloak, had a mask, but I don't know where to go from there. That is up to what we've learnt from the prisoners we've captured.

You see Lois kind of looks at you, he's like, this is a truly spectacular magic you possess. You were not looking at the present, this was not a scrying. It was moments before, I just ask a question of anyone and I can, assuming there's an answer to it, I can see it. Truly remarkable. assuming there's an answer to it, I can see it. Truly remarkable.

So, yes, I'm glad that we have you here to help enlighten us. I mean, I do not know such magics, and I'm not sure if the other magistrates would accept that word, upon your word alone, but I'm willing to trust you. Well, it's something that we can act on at the very least certainly a library i mean there are many many of the nobles have private libraries the empyrean archives the the palace has a library here but i i'm afraid i'd need more information i think the best lead i could have is to see the libraries myself maybe i can recognize it from the vision and then i'd be able to see the libraries myself. Maybe I can recognise it from the vision,

and then I'd be able to see where they were sent from. Certainly. Have you visited the Empyrean archives in the main city itself? Oh, my gosh, it's the best. Oh, yes, it's a very large collection, but to the point at hand, did you recognise it? I assume I didn't. You didn't explore the whole thing, but you spent a lot of time there. You don't know if they might have... They might have some secret rooms that you didn't explore the whole thing but you spent a lot of time there you don't know if they might have they might have some secret rooms that you didn't go in

but the public library didn't seem familiar because it was like polished white stone and things like that the vision I had but I guess even like the way the vampire was I guess wasn't even similar no you think from the architecture alone the white stone the

shape of the room didn't match the Empyrean archives. The Empyrean archives were very square and straight, dark stone interiors. I think it was like a circular library, white stone room. Yeah. There were other details, but someone just can't remember it. It was so long ago. What's to say that it's a public library at all? What if there is a wealth of, say, a noble house?

Yes, many of the noble houses have them. That could be utilising this library and their wealth to have security as well. Yeah, I mean, if the Magronas are under house arrest, we could just see that. We could go to any of the noble houses and just say, hey, let's look at your library. Forgive me, Quillock, is it not? I do not know if perhaps the details aren't full, but the El Anastos and Magronas have had a long history of trouble.

Perhaps if you do go there, you would certainly be advised to do so discreetly. I fear that if they knew that you were assisting Lucius, they would not be violent, but they would be resistant to you being in their presence, I imagine. But she's under house arrest for an investigation regarding Lucius. She is, yes, but unfortunately her house also includes her sons, and they still have business that they're allowed to conduct.

Like I said, we can give you access. I just worry that they will be very hostile towards you. It's private grounds. I suppose Belenor's going to be there as well. Yes, well, with his mother under house arrest, the running of the family has mainly fallen to Democles, a grown-up, but Belenor is still engaging in much of the business as well. He is more of a fighter and

a sportsman these days. What rock is the noble house made out of? Well, the same as all of Gusthaven. I mean, we only have so much stone to go around, but they're all built from the original stones from the original city, and it's the same as the palace construction. White, sparkling

stone. Okay. Just to cross things off and I'm not insinuating anything but could I have a look at the palace's library? Of course.

At the assistant library? Yes, of course. I'd be more than welcome to take you there. Okay. Should I, I could take you myself while the others take other matters, or if you wish to all travel together, I understand. Before we take up more of your time, and yes, what do you reckon? Do we take Eloise with us? Can't hurt.

Sure. I think that would help our case, at least, to say that we came from here. Yes, of course. I mean, yes, absolutely. Lord Elinasto, you are a member of the royal family you are a member of the noble families you have access to the palace regardless you do not need my permission or the prince's permission to enter I'm not Lucius right now I think that whilst your disguise may prevent the common folk from knowing who you are most of

the palace here have known you since you were a boy. I think that it would be difficult to hide your appearance entirely. Yes, I am quite fashionable, even with this attire. But you're right. I mean more the color of your eyes is somewhat difficult to disguise. Yes. If that is all, I can meet you at the library, or we can go now if you wish.

Print my liege. He's like, unfortunately, there is just too much of the city I need to attend to. If you'll forgive me, I must take my leave. Absolutely not. Just a very, very quick one. Of course, of course. When I went back to my estate,

we had a very strange person approach us in a mask with a moon crescent. The moon star. The moon star, yes. And you can see Alois kind of tightens. He's like a vigilante troublemaker going about her own justice.

You know anything? Because they seem to know quite a lot. Well, they have been sighted at numerous events and locations around the city. They are frustrating. Sometimes they appear to do good. They find these wind barons. They have helped us take down several of them in warehouses and the like.

And other times they have struck out as honest, good, working noble houses. People that are simply trying to get by. Merchants, trading ships that bring vital supplies. I think that their personal, whatever personal grudge or whatever personal mission they're on is blinding them.

They're lashing out at who they think is guilty rather than who is. A dangerous woman. You should be careful. Especially if she gets any inclination that you may be involved with the wind barons. Yes, she was definitely suspect that I was alive, that's for sure. No doubt, perhaps. My worry is that she may think that you are some sort of charlatan trying to take your family's fortune. I think she used those exact words, actually.

She's fortune. I think she used those exact words, actually. Yes. She's dangerous. She's eluded capture and she's taken down many Windbarren agents, even a few guards. I don't suppose there's any surefire way of getting her to approach us. She mentioned something that at least caught my attention, that she was apparently the champion of Siaska, and that sounds like the kind of thing I would like to talk to her about. I'm afraid that this is news to me. I've not heard her referred to as such,

and the cathedral and the church would certainly have nothing to do with a criminal. Okay. I'm afraid that she's a mystery to us. Okay. Well, we lured her once just try again next time anyway we can at least go see the Magronas very well I will have to take my leave

my deepest apologies but sorry Sky Prince thank you for your time no thank you and he takes the sword hitches it to his belt come Malachi and he kind of scratches the owl and then he gives you a bow and then leaves. I love Malachi. Yeah. I want Star Owl.

One of these days, that'll be us. He's pretty cute. We could sell the airship. No. We haven't got it yet. We haven't even got it yet. Yes, I must admit, Marcel and Esther, I'm somewhat concerned. After receiving your compensation

and the money from your father's letter. You have spent a large amount of it on this airship. I worry that you are in the throes of grief. Are you sure this is wise? Yes. Honestly, I have a higher calling now and with my companions we have a lot to take care of, and a lot of places to go. I can't be stuck on Gusthaven.

No, you will always. Your family line has existed for hundreds of years. Take the time you need. Go about your business as you need, but you are always a son of Gustafen. It would be a shame to lose the Elinasto line forever. Thank you, I appreciate that. But yes, I'm safe so long as these fine people in my life are here to protect me and they don't die again.

Very well. Well, where do you wish to head? I can take you where you need to go. I think the library here, or the study, or whatever it is, would be a good start, just to cross it off. Of course. Yes. And then lunch. And then lunch.

Well, I will leave you to have lunch as you wish. I do have other duties to attend. Follow me, and Elois takes you through the palace, leads you through to a large, very well decorated, very full palace

library. Gold railings cover across these kind of oak mahogany bookshelves filled with very pristine looking tomes. They look, Nova, to your keen eye. These are very much copies of books that have no doubt been made from the Empyrean archives, copied, made into new books, and then brought here to look very pretty

and nice. Most of them don't look like they've been opened or touched. But there are a few people working. You can see that there's mainly scribes. Maybe there's a couple of the staves and wands who are going over things like arcane spell books and things like that here as well. There is, Quill, for your keen eyes, with your massive perception and massive investigation. My huge past, present and future. My huge, throbbing perception. There's a couple of things you notice. There's a couple of things you notice.

First of all, there is definitely a similar style to this library as the one you saw, but it's not the same place. You can tell that. Looking around, it's similar in design, but not the same place. Eloise leads you around, takes you into the various different wings, shows you upstairs. This is weird. I'm not sure I like being here last time i was here i was a child oh as lucius is saying that quill you you you're sure that passing a section of wall

just a plain piece of stone wall which actually strikes out in the library because most of it's covered in paintings tapestries bookshelves there's just this large kind of unadorned section of wall and you see the thin outline with your perception you can see there is a secret door there gorgeous i can see like with my giant perception i can also just see into the room apparently no you can see that there is a thin a thin line that indicates that there is a door there okay but eloise doesnise doesn't. He just leads you past it like, I'm afraid that is all there is to see. Can I just be skulking around, sulkily pulling out tomes and putting them back in

and just being a bit judgy? Yeah. I've never seen you so unhappy around books before. It's a show library. Are they fake? People want to look posh and learned. Ugh, look, this tome hasn't even been read. It is less that they wish to look learned, Mistress Nova,

more that we would prefer not to trek all the way to the Empyrean Archive. It's just... Read these books! I can assure you most of these books have been read over time. Just not here. It just pains me. All these books are not being read. He kind of grins and smirks. I'm twitching.

The noble sons and daughters of Gusthaven these days do tend to focus more on ethereum and sports and the like. There is less interest in history and... Foolish. Foolish! Well, perhaps that is something you and I can agree upon. I am a man of history and research myself. Skyjousting, ethereum, and now

wind barrows. See where it leads you. Ignorance. Ignorance. I'm just like fondling books. What's? See where it leads you. Yeah, that's it. Ignorance. Ignorance. I'm just, like, fondling books. What's wrong, Quill? How many days has it been since? It's been a week.

It's been a week, so my charges... Yes. I just need to roll a d2, apparently. What would I do for that? So d4, 1 and 2, 3 and 4 is... So 1. 1 plus 1. So I get 2 charges on my eye

He gets two charges back on his eye That's a weird sentence Are we nearby the door? Well, Alois kind of leads you past it Just like as he's kind of giving you the tour of the library But you could just make your way back there I think we're just nearby Like in the nearby wing or whatever

Next to it Alois Yes I think we're just nearby, like in the nearby wing or whatever, next to it. Elois? Yes? You will have to forgive me. We've met several, several people that we have trusted with every bit of information we've been given from them, and they have no doubt turned around and done some other thing to betray us. And I believe the same of you.

You've helped us countless times while we've been in Gusthaven. It's not disrespect that we want. I'm not... I'm not disrespecting, not at all. You have to understand our... I can understand. You have spent a significant amount of time amongst the lowlands, yes? I understand that that is a dangerous

place. One I would certainly not wish to spend too much time in. We just need to be sure. Could I... I'm trying to think of a way to say, I want a cast zone of truth, but like,

how would I even approach it with that? You just want to be sure, I guess. The spiel they gave about invasion of privacy that's true i mean have you read the terms of service i mean i'm leaving this to you man i'm not helping you out here this is a role-playing thing like this is on you buddy i just we just want to be sure that everything that is told of us is the absolute truth. Could I, in here, in the palace, you are free to decline,

cast a spell that will allow that to be the case. He looks a little bit hurt, almost. But he kind of retains a composure. But you can definitely see that there is a small bit of wounded. He's like, I apologize, Master Quillik. If I've given you some reason to doubt me or to distrust me. Not at all. It's

more the company we kept prior to arriving here. We are rubbish at meeting people and trusting them. And then it turns out they're just going to kill everyone you love. Yeah. I mean... It's for like our own, I guess.

I do understand. You do not need to use a spell. You could ask me if you have a question and I will give you my best answer. It's up to you. If you trust, I'll trust with you. Well, I've known Elvis, he's known me since I've existed. And not once has he done a wrong to me or my family.

My loyalty is to the people of Gustaven. I have served the nobility and the Sky Prince for all of my years. I have nothing to hide. Grossly disrespectful for a man in his position to ask... I do understand your plight, Al. Okay, well, as an aside from that,

what is your opinion, obviously very high, but what is your opinion of the current Sky Prince? His Majesty, Aradan, he kind of takes a moment and you see him looking around. He waits for the library to grow quiet and people to separate and he speaks in hushed tones. Prince Aradan is he. He's a very well-meaning boy. Prince Aradan is a very well-meaning boy. He is full of hope and dreams. He grew up on stories of knights and slaying heroes who fought in the war.

But he is idealistic. He perhaps... He has become very enamored, as many young elves have with the ethereum industry and what it can provide to the lowlands and things but in his gaps of judgment I feel that he has lost

the faith of a lot of people he looks outwards too much perhaps there is also of a lot of people here. He looks outwards too much, perhaps. There is also... You speak of trust. Perhaps I should trust you, and that will encourage you to trust me.

Absolutely. The Sky Prince receives funds from somewhere beyond Gusthaven. There is money coming into this palace that it's not from the taxes, it's not from our trading. Every time there is a problem and our budgets and our economy will not stretch, a new building needs to be built for new visitors

or a new family wishes to live in Gusthaven. There's no budget, there's no money, there's no gold for it. Is that not a breach of policy? It is. The Accords, the Survival Accords, were built specifically to keep the Sky Cities functioning. Lucius knows this. Every High Elf has taught these Accords.

There is only so much food we can grow here. There is only so much space for us to live. But every time an airship of 20 refugees comes up from the lowlands looking for a new, better life, and the councils and the magistrates tell the Sky Prince that there is no money to fund them, to feed them, somehow the Sky Prince finds that money. Well, at the very least, he's not lining his pockets with it. No, but it makes me wonder, Lord Evanasto.

He's getting it from somewhere. Yeah. And these Wind Barons have become a problem since he took office. Why would the Wind Barers be connected with him when he's trying to do good by the people who trust him? I don't know. All I know is that there is money here that there should not be.

Who knows about this income? And is there anyone investigating it? It is difficult. The Sky Prince is our foremost authority. He is our liege. We all swear fealty to the Sky Prince. To investigate him would be a public embarrassment, an offence.

Something that no High Elf, loyal High Elf, would wish to cause. The trust with... But I know of it. I've learnt of it through the people I work with. I believe Anastasia knows of it. She's always been quite clever. But I'm afraid that I don't imagine anybody else does. And I trust you with this information because it could perhaps all be tied to Lord Elinaster here.

Do you keep a very close company? Are there certain people that he tends to hang around with more than often? No, he keeps to himself quite often. The knight, the commander, the captain, she was quite close to him, Belira. She served his father. They grew up together. She's always been very protective of him. Okay, interesting.

And then there was, well, the noble families as well. Lucius' father, Anastasia, Silverian of the Aetherians. All of the noble families know the Sky Prince quite well. It's quite a web we're weaving, by the looks of things. Yeah. I guess on that, how well do you know this entire library, or the entire palace itself?

I have spent many years here, but I was not always a stave, Quillock. I was a warden, I was a wand for a long time. My duty was to patrol the streets of Gustaven. I fought in many battles. I once defeated a small cadre of wyverns that tried to attack the streets of Gustaven. I fought in many battles. I once defeated a small cadre of wyverns that tried to attack the city. My specialty is in defensive magic, abjuration. Okay.

But, I mean, I am a student of history, but as young Nova has pointed out, these books are mainly copies. I prefer the real thing. I spend more of my time at the Empyrean Archive. Yes. Right. Well, since we're trusting each other,

do you know anything about, and I'm like, I guess we're walking back. You can lead him there, yeah? Yeah. Do you know anything about what could be behind here? He looks around, he's like, no, it's just a wall, I believe. Is it not? Well, I mean, I can see the gaps.

He kind of gets close to the wall. And he, like, begins peering. And then as you lead his hand, like, you point to this thin seam. You see him get super close to it. And he begins running like a fingernail. He's like, I see Askew, you're right. There's a groove here. Do you know of any way to open it? Or indeed, what could

possibly be behind it? I did not know this was even here until you pointed it down, Master Quirrell. I mean, if you're willing to investigate with us. Yes, I do not know how to open it, and unfortunately my specialities in magic, I do not know how to open it, and unfortunately my specialities in magic, I can lock

things, but... Ooh! I could get in through the cracks. What? Through that? Ah, yes. There are many spells that can change your appearance and form. Turn to liquid or gas. Similar forms, yes? Yes!

Perhaps that may be a way of entering. I could maybe find a latch on the other side or something. Well, let me evacuate the library first. We do not know who is here. I can have the staves and wands leave and then have it sealed off temporarily. Okay. We need to be careful, Eloise.

We don't know what's behind this door. Yeah. Maybe it's best we go in first. Very well. Let me go and get rid of them. See if you can find a way inside. I'll deal with the guards temporarily. Okay. While he's doing that, I'll start ritual casting to take magic. Okay. Yeah.

Yeah, so Eloise leaves you. You're on like an upper floor of the library and then the main floor of the library is downstairs. He makes his way and begins winding his way downstairs and you see him like calling over various attendants like, could you head off and fetch this thing for me? Also, convene with a cat. He's basically finding excuses to get rid of everybody,

and they slowly begin filtering out, and you're left up on the top. By the end, he's just like, could you... Fuck off. I'm really thirsty. Just go away. It's a private party. Can I cast

divine sense yes so divine sense is detect good and evil and that's like creatures isn't it it's like you find

like if there's celestial fiends undead within how 60 feet 60 feet no you don't sense anything like that

you don't sense any creatures or any life forms of any nature 65 feet though yeah it's very finite wall of demons since any creatures or any life forms of that nature. It's actually five feet, though. Yeah. It is very finite.

Wall of demons. Yeah. Yeah. So, ten minutes. I mean, like, if you're waiting for Quill, then Eloise is going to filter everybody out and get the doors shut and then return. If you want to do something while he's away, now's the time to do it,

while Quill is chanting and mumbling. Ho, ho, ho, ho. I want to see the magic. Let me see. Doing it really loudly. Sorry. I mean, you are having to speak out loud. I mean, the people downstairs are like,

you gave me something to do. I can't. Eloise. Why is he casting a spell? Open the secret door. I think I'm not very good at this but what if

this has some sort of physical trap not just magical we should probably check for that

okay Quill can you keep it down please I'm sorry can I just be looking at the books

just like I don't know see if there's a book that says like don't open this. What, the Guide to Opening Books? Make an investigation check.

By Aaron Plumbus. A. Plumbus. Six. There are many books here. You do not find one called How to Open the Secret Door. I just get distracted by them when I start reading them. Forget what I'm doing. That's not much I can do.

I don't really want to trigger anything accidentally. Mm. So, I might have a look around the area and see if there's anything that could help open the door, like, uh, pulling on a candlestick. Okay, yeah, investigation check, yeah.

Investigation check for sure. Investigation check for sure. All right, then. Just going around slapping everything. Eight. Looking around, there's a few, not like sconces, but there's like glowing crystals set into the wall. You press those. They don't seem to do anything. You try pulling books, nearby bookshelves.

Nothing opens. You can't find a nearby bookshelves, nothing opens. You can't find a triggering mechanism for this door. It seems flush with the wall. It's exceptionally well hidden. It's only because Quill has literally got, like, a Batman Arkham Asylum vision all the time that he can see this secret door. Like, it is incredibly well concealed.

When I see a crime I see the hologram of the things that are happening. That was so cool. Basically that's what your eye does. When you look in the past it reconstructs the scene. Man. It's pretty cool. Very cool. Kill man.

Bird man. Smeak's been like, I guess Ayla's been looking after Smeek, but sure, like you want Smeek, if you ask Smeek something to do something, what do you want to ask Smeek to do? Do you want to ask Smeek to look around? Yes. Ah!

He doesn't understand you because he doesn't speak. I'm going to telepathically talk. Well, did you put the earring on Smeek or do you have the earring? I never took it back. So he does understand. So what do you say to him? What do you ask? Secret door here.

Be careful. It could be trapped. But see if you can find some other way that it could open. So you point at the door and you're like, secret door, find a way. Secret door. It could be a button or something to open it. A hidden one. Come on, use your creative mind.

Like the landscapes you paint. You got a three. So he like goes up to the door. Looks around. Don't- BAAA! Sneak! Just starts bashing on it. Sneak! Ayla, can you pull? Sneak? Ayla, can you pull Smeak? Why am I roleplaying Ayla?

Because it's funny. She pulls him back. Oh, boo. But then holds her hammer and kind of looks at Lucius like... Want me to shut him up? Goblin has a point. My eyes go black and I say, yes, it's time to kill Smeak.

Oh, God. I haven't released the t-shirt yet. Goblin has a point. My eyes go black and I say, yes, it's time to kill Smeak. God. I haven't released the t-shirt yet. Smeak can't die until the t-shirt is out. He's got NPC protection. Literal plot armor. Goddamn merch armor. Yeah, merch armor.

Merch armor. I mean, I can't do anything during this entire time anyway, so I guess I'm just going to do what else Lucius could do in this situation. I mean, I can't do anything during this entire time anyway, so... I've done my best. I don't know what else Lucius could do in this situation. I'm just going to start flexing, getting ready to gash us myself. Okay. Quill, you can't really say much while you're ritually, can you? Yeah, he can stop and answer questions and stuff, yeah.

You should really try and remember what the person that you saw was like what were they wearing he had a staff right big staff yes yes and he had a mask of some kind what was it what was it look like what did it look like quill um it was hooded right he had a he had a hood he had a mask he reached out with his hand at one point color was his clothing that clothing? That sort of thing. Did he wear a glove? He didn't wear a glove. I don't think he wore a glove. I don't think you ever actually said if he was wearing a glove. I don't think I said that. He had robes.

The people he was sending was just... They were the ones that attacked us. Yeah. His voice was masked. He had a mask. He had a staff. It was metal. It was a metal staff i roll like an intelligence check or something no history my own history i want to look through it this is based on your memory oh this is go through the story yet i mean are you waiting for elois or you just you

can just go now like we did say that we could first. Yeah. You can begin to hear him making his way back the doors. You hear the heavy doors of the library. Wait until Quill has detected any sort of unsavory magic. Alright. So you wait. Quill, you complete it as Elois returns to you.

So, yes. You do detect that there is some magic upon the door. Abjuration magic. Abjuration. Elois is 14, is it not? You don't know the spell

because detect magic doesn't reveal the spell, but this door has been... Some sort of abjuration magic has been placed upon it. What kind of abjuration magic could be used? Are you asking this in character? Yeah. To do what? Well, I can see some abjuration magic on the door.

Oh. There are several spells in particular. The most basic is an arcane lock. I use this to secure my chamber door, the chambers to the sky prints, for example. sort of gesture or something to open it. Right. But it can be undone by certain spells. Do you know them? They're not really my forte. Dispel magic?

Dispelling it would temporarily prevent the enchantment. Would there be any side effects of dispelling it? No. There are also other spells. It is not simply an arcane lock. One could cast a Glyph of Warding, which would... Anybody who tries to open it without preventing a passcode would be

affected by a spell or an explosion. There are others as well. A very powerful spell called Symbol, which is a very powerful spell called Symbol, which is a very powerful version of a Glyph of Warning. Is that an alarm spell? Alarm is also another one, yes.

Alarm generally is placed upon a door, a window, or an area. It can be placed on any of them. Would someone risk having something explosive and harming? I certainly would hope not. There are people that pass through by this wall every day. I assume it's either an alarm or some sort of protection to stop it opening. It can't be a gesture of some form. If people are walking past here all the time,

anything would be the wrong gesture. And they dab, and that's it, it's open. What's a dab? Abracadabra. I don't know. No, it's a new thing in Eros. Okay, I mean, we could try dispelling it. I think if you were to go in there, you might set it off.

Then again, I don't know if a gaseous form can set off a trap like that. Plus, if it is a magical trap or a magical door and you get inside there'll be very little way to open it for us aside from this what do you want me to do I mean I think we should risk it let's just get to secret door in a library maybe it has really secret tomes behind it. It probably does. There could be more traps, though. Super secret box. Do it. I think...

Do it. Do it. Either way... Make it happen. Either way, it's going to be the same result, so you may as well. If you can actually get into this... So dispel the gas?

Dispel gas. If it is indeed an alarm or an arcing lock, it would only activate... It would only prevent somebody from opening it or would activate a pot of grenade. If a gas can seep in through a gap, then I don't believe it would trigger it. Technically it wouldn't open.

But then you would be in there on your own and unable to let us in. If you can find a way to open it from the inside. That was my thought. Yeah. Emergency exit or something. If you're willing to try. You can always come back out.

How many times... The other option is dispelling it would have the same effect. I can do both. Try dispelling it first. Try to dispel. Let's do it. Then everyone can come with me. Okay, so you cast Dispel Magic.

On the door. I guess I would use Tiangong. So where is it that Quill sees? The whole door. The secret door is covered by a magic, an abjuration spell. So I'll probably use Tiangong and just wave them. I don't know, like a tricorder. So you begin doing that, and you channel the energy through Tiangong,

and you feel this kind of pulse, and Quill, with your detect magic, the abjuration spell vanishes. I mean, it's gone. However, I have just thought we've just made a wall non-magical. So now how do we get through a non-magical wall? There is a secret door. There is a secret.

There are grooves. What if the magic was what opens the wall? I allow you to walk through it. I mean, that's good. So now how do we open it? Push it. There's no magic here, so sure. I guess I'll put a hand to it.

Yeah, so you put your hand on it and you can, you need to make a strength check to try and... I mean, I'm literally just putting my hand on it and just nudging gently. So nudging gently, there seems to be no change, but you do think that somebody with strength could probably push this out. Century, Aayla.

I'll give it a go. By an effort. Okay, yeah, make a strength check. Strength check time. Boom. Boom, boom, boom. It doesn't help. You don't even really need to push that hard.

It's heavy. Yeah, you, boom. It doesn't help. You don't even really need to push that hard. It's heavy. Yeah, you can raise your shield. It's not that the stone door is heavy. It's just that it's clearly... It's not normally opened physically because it kind of scrapes against the stone. It's quite heavy. You can see big, heavy hinges on the inside begin to open

as it leads into a stone corridor with stairs leading down. Okay. You see Eloise just like, by the stars. The thing that this was right here under our noses. We need to be on high alert here. Yes. Eloise, do you want to be, do you want to come with us? Or?

I can provide some assistance, but I think that it may be best if I remain at the back and then I can prevent if anything comes from behind us perhaps or if anybody disturbs us it's easier for me to perhaps convince them what we're doing is important. We need to close this behind us. Yeah

Sentry I think if you stay at the front with your shield. Sure thing Will can you still detect magic? I guess I'm still doing it, aren't I? Yeah, I think it lasts either an hour or ten minutes. Ten minutes. I think it's ten minutes, yeah. So quick, you go up front and let's go.

See if you can detect anything. Okay, well, unless there's any physical traps, but I doubt it. It's a dangerous, terrifying... Bear trap. Famous last words. I'll go behind Sentry and peek over your shoulder. Okay.

Like old times. Not like old times. Let's close the door. Aayla will help. Okay. Yeah, I mean, with a bunch of you, it's fine. Like, closing it is

actually easier than opening it, because you kind of nestle it back into position and you just have to kind of push until it's flush with the wall. Aayla's is at the back

and you begin making your way down the stairs. So you said that sentry's at the front. I'm just behind her. Just behind, just like my detect magic looking around yeah okay i uh use the messenger ring to say just as a note remind me that when we're doing our secret hideout that we use a different system of entrance and exit yeah that's a heavy door we do need to figure out a proper entrance to that place. Yeah. Does the messenger

ring? Does it message everybody? Yes. It's not in every... You can choose to basically be like, I just want to talk to Nova privately, but generally it's a broadcast. It's like a comm badge. Yeah. Do we have to press it?

No. You do not have to press it. Okay. Okay. So you begin making your way down the stairs So we have Sentry Quill What's the order after that? I'll go after that Why do you care so much Mark?

Lucius Nerva Nerva Ayla Smeek Yeah having someone strong at the back is useful as well Okay And you have detect magic going don't you Quill?

Yeah I guess like another 8 The stairs The stairs take you down about 20-30 feet half like 15 feet from where you leave there is a glyph on the step. Oh okay. Trots Mike has died. Trots Mike has died. Cool. There we go it's's about break time, so we'll take a break and then we'll fix the mic. Another trap. You've found another glitch.

God damn, this place is hell. That explodes. Oh, yeah. It also gives me time to do a quick map. Oh, cool. Awesome. Map time.

I didn't quite expect this straight away. So, see you in a bit. Map time. Hey, everyone. Thanks for listening to this episode. Remember to check out

D&D Beyond and NordVPN with the links in the episode description. You can also support the podcast on our Patreon page, patreon.com slash highrollers, giving you early access to podcast episodes and more. We'll see you on Thursday for part two of this episode when we continue our investigation in the secret room of the Gale Crown Palace.

We'll see you then. Thank you.