High Rollers DnD - High Rollers: Aerois #82 | The Shifting Straits (Part 1)

Episode Date: August 10, 2020

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Terms and conditions apply. Hello, welcome back to High Rollers, the Dungeons & Dragons podcast in the world of Erois. We're sponsored by D&D Beyond, the ultimate digital Dungeons & Dragons toolkit that takes all the confusing rules of D&D and compresses it into an awesome online package. Perfect for D&D newcomers and veterans. Use the link in the podcast description to try out D&D Beyond for free. Last time on Erois. After losing in a battle of wits and treachery to the demon prince Graz, our party made a desperate escape from Azaghrat, the pleasure planet. Aided by matron mother Ilhares and her Lolth worshippers,

the party infiltrated the astral port where their ship was docked. And with careful planning and clever tactics, they dispatched the guards, freed their ship, and made their way back out into the vastness of astral space, ready to complete their journey home to the material world of Erois. Two main obstacles stand in their way, however. A region of astral plane called the Shifting Straits, and the powerful Sunship that protects Erois from all invaders. The dangers of both are still unknown. Finally, Nova used the spell Dream to contact Val contact valor the young girl the party protected when

their adventure adventures first began and it was revealed to be the daughter of callous valkyrian the enemy uh their enemy valor implored nova to come and free her and take her back to eros just as the dream ended and that is literally where we begin this week. The low, powerful rumble of the twin-star longbows' infernal engines churns in the background. The sleek metal and crystalline walls pulse with arcane power as the ship makes its way through astral space, heading in the known, what is believed to be, the location of Erois. You guys do have a couple of days,

so if there is anything you want to do, anything you need to do, this is the time to do it. So just let me know what you want to do. Cool. I got one. I got a few, actually. I got like 20. I got like 400 things I. I got like 20. I got like 400

things I want to do right now. But if we're getting close to Paladar territory, I want to ritual cast divination. I mean, it doesn't matter if I ritual cast or not. We've got long rest in between, but it means I don't use spell slots. Ritual cast divination to contact

him specifically because it says I can contact a god with it. Okay. I'm not going to say no, but I believe the intention is being a cleric, you normally contact your god, but if it doesn't specifically stay,

then yeah, in theory. It puts you in contact with a god or a god's servant. It doesn't say your god. Okay. Okay, sure. So I want to contact the god or a god's servant. So it doesn't say your god. Okay. Okay, sure. So I want to contact the god of the nine hells. And a couple of things.

First of all, are you going to cast this, like, with the still two days to go? Are you going to wait until you're a bit closer? And also, it says here that incense and a sacrificial offering appropriate to your religion together worth at least 25 gold, which the spell consumes. So you tell me what that is going to be and mark off the 25 GP. Which you thought of.

Yeah, I mean, Hesper, he created the bird people, me, Arakokra. So I suppose for each divination, I mark off a limb. But you're not, Hesper, he created the bird people. Me, Arakokra. So I suppose for each divination, I... But you're not contacting Hesper. Oh, I'm contact... Oh, good point. Oh, no, appropriate to my religion. That's weird. You said my religion was sacrifice. Oh, God, what's Paladar, the god of light?

Well, I've got... I don't know if any of this would help, but I have one white wooden loot worth 35 gold, a bestiary of astral beasts worth 25, a book of religious scriptures and prayers of the Huntress, 25, and that book for the noble family of Lunaria. Yeah, it's Huntress, though, so I don't know if any of those... Alador loves hunting. Help.

Right? You decide. You tell me. What is your sacrifice appropriate? What's Paladol all about? Paladol's all about modron ships. I know that much. We saw him on a modron ship.

I think. Technology, then? He's the sun god technically um burn something that can be warm like hold on a minute i've literally got hold on if we set fire to something at the point This shouldn't just be on Kim to remember. You guys can make religion checks. You might have your own theory. If Quill is like, he's all about technology,

you can just make that assumption. Yeah, I know the symbol is the gauntlet hand with fire. Can I do a religion check? You may do a religion check. Yeah, of course. There's a couple of things I can tell you otherwise. Well, I'm pretty sure I've got a good idea of Palidor. Palidor, I mean, you would know the very basics that are taught across Eros. You know, you hearken back to your days studying to be a messenger in the Arakokan spires.

And you were taught, you know, everybody receives a basic tuition about the gods. Well, I suppose they were taught to you as being everybody receives a basic tuition about the gods. Well, I suppose they were taught to you as being gods. You now know that that's not necessarily true. Paladar is depicted as, normally depicted as quite a young man with blazing skin,

sort of skin that is permanently on fire. Normally sort of portrayed in a number of different skin tones and and you know body shapes but generally the consistent thing is that they are constantly on fire uh they provide warmth and light fire to the world of arois um but they are there is also a militant aspect to palador where they are a kind of god of protection uh they are a god of war as well um when you need strength you can call on palador's strength you know the the flame of courage and that sort of thing um all of these

things uh work to uh what you were taught about palador and then obviously quill and ayla specifically saw the sunship and the figure you saw there they seemed older than you had perhaps seen them as depicted in tapestries and things like that, more haggard, more weary. They had the kind of flaming aura. But yeah. I mean, years of defending a row is from

Starbane boys will do that to you, I suppose. Probably could. That's what the cradle does. Yeah, cradle does. Yeah. Cradle helps as well. Okay. So stuff I can burn. Stuff to burn.

Let's see. Earn, burn, burn. What's the scroll? That would certainly meet the criteria of at least being 25 gold. Can you imagine? Just pieces of it. Eight grand. Just pieces of it. Paladar didn't care about that one.

Well. The spell scroll is looking up. Go on. Yes. If you use a spell scroll, do you need to use ingredients as well? No. If it's a spell scroll, you don't. Neat. I have a divination scroll too. There you go. You could spend that.

As well. Anyway, so... Anyone else? I'd like to think that while Quill is rummaging around asking everybody about what to burn, he just stumbles across the scroll. I've got the scroll. I could just use this. I could use this as a sacrifice.

Nice. Yeah. I mean, this as a sacrifice. Nice. Yeah. I mean, yeah, if you just want to use the scroll and you want to use it while you're still two days out. I mean, it would work, wouldn't it? I think it just doesn't have a distance or anything, so. You don't know. Just because it's not in the rules

doesn't mean that there are not more esoteric elements to spells like this. It does say specifically in the spell, you ask a single question concerning a specific goal, event or activity to occur within seven days. The GM offers a truthful reply. The reply might be a short phrase, a cryptic rhyme or an omen. So it's not a conversation. or an omen. So it's not a conversation. You get to ask a question and the god will answer it

or provide some sort of omen or similar. Okay. I've already got the question, if that helps. Or at least the first question. And that would be what can we do to identify ourselves as friendly

upon our return to Aroas? Is that what you are asking? So you pull out the scroll, you unravel it, recite the ancient words, trace the runes, watching them kind of glow brightly in orange light, and then that's the question you send out towards Paladar? I start with Dear Paladidor and then end it with Bird Boy that you saw flying back to Aroas at one time. Okay.

He remembers. How can we identify... What was the question exactly? How can we identify ourselves as friendly upon our return to Aroas? Okay. Your count. You cast your mind

out with the spell and in a trance-like state you await an answer. And your mind and your body are filled with an intense heat, a warmth that spreads through you.

Not painful, but incredibly bright and overwhelming your senses. You feel the warmth spread over your body, the light almost blinding white, and you can see the shape of a humanoid man kind of stood in front of you and you hear this crackling voice like embers

of a dying fire kind of speaking out to you restore the mind of the guardian the protector bathe your ship in its essence and I will know

that you are to be trusted what the hell restore the mind of the guardian What the hell? Restore the mind of the guardian. A cryptic rhyme, a short phrase, or an omen? Oh! Oh! Oh! Restore the mind of the guardian and bathe your ship in its essence. I mean, we've already done that.

Sentry's mind has been restored. If it is Sentry, right, like the Prime. I think it's basically coating the ship in Prime essence. That's up for you to decide. He might not. Is there another Guardian that needs his mind restored

that Sentry could help along the way? I'm just thinking. Like, she has the power to restore the minds of Guardians now with the Matrix. It might not be Sentry, I'm just thinking like she has the power to restore the minds of guardians now with the matrix is it it might not be sentry it might be something else this is not Ayla speaking by the way she's too dumb

she's too dumb for that Ayla's like somewhere else this is pure Katie well that's the answer you get anybody else that's Tom's done a thing for a bit. Anybody else? Go on, Sentry.

Sentry, put your hand up. I would like to commune with the Matrix in a similar vein to what Quill did, but ask three questions to Root. So let's have a look at commune. So this is a power that you have with the Matrix, the Prime Matrix, allows that you have with the the matrix the

prime matrix allows you to speak with the primes of the past um communion you contact your deity or a divine proxy in this case the prime is the equivalent uh and you ask up to three questions that can be answered with a yes or a no uh you ask a question before the spell ends you receive a correct answer for each question um i think as well like it does say that you can you might get a short phrase or something like that as well yeah short phrases and answer instead um yep okay if you cast this spell multiple times but you don't need to worry about that because this takes charges and i think it uses quite a lot of them doesn't it for the prime matrix yeah so the century you find a quiet moment aboard the ship.

And you sit down, close your eyes, and you feel that golden sphere of light and energy within your chest. And you somehow know that you can cast your mind into that sphere. And it is like plunging into a deep, endless amber pool that stretches out to infinity with a horizon and a sky above you. There is nothing but this endless, infinite amber water. When you dive into it, you can feel that amongst the eddies and the currents, into it you can feel that amongst the eddies and the currents voices memories history the lives of thousands tens of thousands of other guardians beings like you that once had purposes that once friends, allies, enemies just swirl around you but in it there are

essences that are brighter that are stronger, currents that you can feel more strongly and as you swim towards them, the familiar presence, not an image not a body but a presence that you recognize it's like being in an old

forest beneath a large oak its boughs kind of hanging down its scent filling the air and you know that this is root prime your, the Prime before you. What questions do you ask? Um, can I ask it, um, do you know the Sunship? The voice that comes back is like a, it's like the branches swaying

in the wind. It's an old voice. Yes. Yes. Um, is there a way I can ask you to speak with it? My essence is now with you, Sentinel Prime. I am here. I cannot go beyond. Okay.

Okay. How can I contact it? The Guardians are the protectors of Aroas. We help those who are in need. Remember this purpose and Palador will know

who you are thank you root you are doing well sentinel prime remember till all are one you feel your consciousness kind of rise back up to the surface Remember, till all are one. You feel your consciousness kind of rise back up to the surface as your consciousness rejoins the rest of the world.

And you feel that the spell has been successful. Cool. Awesome. Till all, one. Anything else? I suppose there's any shops where I could buy shield on the way, is there? No, no, there isn't. You are on a astral spaceship in the middle of astral space heading towards,

you're on the outer edges. You're not even close to a habited system anymore you are now on the very fringes of astral space making your way towards your walk time there's like a loot room where Thalia's been just like throwing stuff

that she's no collected no Thalia doesn't use shield neither does Kyrie neither did Bim Neva what are you looking for? Secret shield fetish. What? I see you rummaging. You've been stuck in your own mind.

You want a shield. Like centuries. I know. It's really cool, isn't it? I really want one. It's cool. I do want one of those. You're not going on the front line, are you? What? Uh... I don't know. What? Shields.

I like shields. I mean, sentries are so cool, I want one. Because then I could, you know... I could go on the front line and you could stand behind me and we can cast spells and it'll be awesome. I'm not too... No, I don't want to stand too close to

the big baddies. I quite like my distance. However, have you considered that, you know, you don't need to get one. You could just make one because you're Nova. I'm sure we could piece together things from this ship and some scrap

and we could make one. I could try, but something's telling me I'm not allowed to do that, like, you know, with the time. If you wanted to take pieces of this ship apart to try and make a shield,

this ship that you don't own, you can absolutely try that. If you want to do that, you can definitely try and make it. She doesn't even go back there. Definitely not important. Yeah, definitely. I'll be completely happy with you tearing her

pride and joy apart. Yeah, definitely. It'll be fine. Probably a load of data pads that she can't read anymore. Like, Kim's not around. Just glue all of them data pads that she can't read anymore. Like, him's not around. Just glue all of them data pads together. Jesus. Tom, I would

love to see you going into battle with just a load of iPads strapped to your arm. Yeah. The most frail shield. Put the torch on. Right. Anything? Can I go and talk to Talia, please?

You definitely can, yeah. You find her. Since you escaped as a Grat, Talia has been withdrawn. Quiet. Sticks mainly to the cockpit. Doesn't seem to go back to her room. Sleeps in the cockpit.

There is a kind of um you don't smell any alcohol normally when you've come in and seen her drinking but this time you don't find anything you just see her kind of staring out into the misty purple expanse that is astral space and there are no stars like the area you're looking out into there's almost nothing it's just endless mists and she's just looking around when you enter she doesn't turn around or anything like that um you just hear her kind of faint

is there a problem something need doing i'm afraid we're still a few days away oh no it's all good i'm just bringing you some uh hot chocolate fresh from Sentry's Kitchen hey here you go

I thought we were all out but yes thank you thank you dear thank you she kind of takes it and just puts it to the side she doesn't drink from it it's very kind of you Nova thank you is there anything else I'm just going to awkwardly like kind of sit in one of the chairs

and do an awkward lean. So how are you doing, Thalia? Oh my goodness, my dear, please. This is... Really? Really? Just come out and say it. Yes, I mean, obviously, I'm

very sad. I'm very sad. I'm very sad about everything, honestly. That ring was really my last hope. It was the last thing I really hedged my bets on. I guess there's just... I have to accept what is and what I cannot change now. I've got a job to do,

which is to see you and your companions get home, and I intend to do it. Can I ask what you would have wished for if you got your wish? I suspect you know... Well, I suspect you know a part of it. I can make an educated guess. It's a complicated story, honestly, sweetheart.

It's... I don't know if I'm ready to tell the full story. I don't know if I am ready to tell it. Not fully. Okay. Well, how about I say some things and you just, like, nod your head or shake your head um your snakes can join in as well yeah the little snakes kind of writhe and kind of softly hiss

like a gentle purring and she kind of smiles and she picks up the the drink all right sure go for All right, sure. Go for it. So I think that you came from an important family. And something happened. And something that made you the fabliest person that you are now. And you left your family because you were sad about what they might think of you, and... Okay, maybe not that bit, but... Keep going. You miss them,

and you want to go back to who you were, and if you do, I might have a solution maybe well i can tell you that you got five out of six in terms of your solution if you're referring to your companions who I've seen are very capable magic users, I am sad to say that I'm not sure if it will do anything. I know a lot of people in this multiverse, Nova, and some of them are quite skilled themselves, and they could not help me. I believe that.

Only a being. As powerful. As the one who did this. Is capable of undoing it. Which is why I wanted Gratz's ring. It wasn't just a. Spell that did this to me. It was somebody quite powerful.

I mean, certainly if you and your companions want to try, I won't say no. But I don't really have any high hopes that it will do anything. I mean, we can always try, and well, if it's a god you need, we seem to have several, you know, on dial. Maybe we could figure something out when we get back to Orois. That would certainly be... That is perhaps the only hope I have left I mean obviously

your friend Quillek has some divine connection to some being I did hope that perhaps that being may be somebody that I can beseech for help but

I am happy to let Quillek try, or you try, or Lucius try, but I'm not going to get my hopes up about it, if you'll forgive me. I've tried too many times with a lot of very different people to fix my problem. What will you do when we get to

Arois? Will you stay with us for a bit? Honestly, my dear, I don't know. Find somebody that can help me, but I imagine that a new world, a world where perhaps a creature like me, people may

not even know what I am. I don't know. I certainly have no objections to helping you and your companions, but I would like to maybe try and find some answers to my problem.

I'd like that if you stayed with us for a bit. And I'm sure we could find someone to help problem. I'd like that if you stayed with us for a bit. And I'm sure we could find someone to help you. I'm certain you would. She kind of gives you a sly grin. And if you can find someone to help me, I will be very glad to return the favor. I just want to say, I know you're sad. i know lots of things have happened and i know that we kind of you know we screwed up with gruts but you call your condition a problem and i can't comment

on that but i want you to know that you're badass like you're so cool and like watching you fight and watching you do the thing with your eyes that's amazing and like i know you're so cool, and, like, watching you fight and watching you do the thing with your eyes, that's amazing. And, like, I know you're not happy with it, but I just want you to know that I think it's the coolest thing ever. You can stop, my dear. I have no issues with how I look, the abilities that I have. I mean, I think I even said it to you when we first met. I know that I am a badass.

You don't need to tell me that. The problem is, it's not just about me. It goes bigger than that, I'm afraid. And you say all these things, but Nova, you don't know me. You don't know who I've been. The things that I've done, the person that I was. When what happened happened for many, many years, well, let's just say that I was not too different from our dear friend, Sax Ravis.

I was selfish. I was cruel, manipulative, secretive, violent, and not in a fun, badass way, I mean in a cruel, villain way. Because I was angry, because I was sad, because I was spiteful. But centuries will give you a different perspective on things. Watching the galaxy become, watching the multiverse be controlled by people like Valkyrie will change your perspective on things. You know, I met Kairi a few decades ago.

I helped her. a few decades ago. I helped her. I rescued her from some thugs she was trying to avoid and she'd clearly not found her own place in the world. But you know the sad truth, Nova? I didn't save her because I wanted to help her. I saved her because I thought

it might make myself feel better. But I'm glad that she has a safe space now. That she has somewhere that she can call home. But don't make the mistake of thinking that I'm some hero, because I'm not.

I'm really not. No, but if we hadn't met you, we'd probably be arrested on Elysium. Oh, there were plenty of pilots in that disgusting bar where we met. You would have found someone. One of them had oxygen as an option. I don't think we would have survived as long as we have with you.

Well, I can't say that their company would have been as pleasurable, but still. Still, enough. This is too much for me. This is a bit too much melancholy and self-pitying. If you want to try any spells or rituals, do let me know, but I'm not. Yes, well, anyway well anyway anyway my dear she kind of smiles and you can see the fate the armor comes back on right like you kind of have this moment of vulnerability and then she's back into i'm the captain i've got a job to do kind of mindset um and she doesn't

brush you away but it's very clearly like she puts'm done now, like, kind of vibes down. Shuts off. I'll go talk to Quill, and I'm sure we can try. At least try, right? You know? Oh, believe me, my dear, I'm more than willing to try anything, as I have proven time and time again throughout this galaxy. And she kind of gives you a wink.

I just want to say thanks. And i know you know you're a badass but it might have just been nice to hear it from someone else because you are anyway going now bye i think maybe as you're leaving you just hear a very kind of a very very faint thank you A very, very faint thank you. Crack the egg. Crack the egg. The door to the cockpit. Lucius is there

against the wall. Nova! Hatchisalia! Do you need this door on this little hatch thingy here? Yes, Lucius. I definitely wouldn't remove that hatch unless you like. Do you

need to breathe? Yes. Then I wouldn't remove that door. I back away. Yes. Good man. Good man. Seriously, Nova, keep an eye on him. I don't want him taking any of the ship apart, please.

No, he thinks I can make a shield out of bits of the ship, but I'm not sure I can. Absolutely not. Maybe this floor panel. No. No, Lucius, leave it. Big cat. No.

And are you here? Okay, I'm leaving it. Okay. Okay. Anything else from anyone it's no good for me well and you want to try a greater restoration or something like that yeah I guess I'd fill quillen on like on the details and like you know press that I'm not entirely sure it's gonna work because it seems to be something bigger at play here, but YOLO, let's try it. My first clerical client.

Voluntary clerical client, anyway. Cressra doesn't count. Yeah. Well, you go and see Thalia, and she kind of just shrugs, gestures vaguely at herself. Cool. I have three options. You want to try something? and she kind of just shrugs, gestures vaguely at herself. Cool.

Well, you want to try something? Okay, three things could work. One, remove curse. So you cast remove curse? Yeah. Let's have a look and see if there's any components. No components? No.

Okay. So you, let's see see all curses affecting one creature or object and if the object is cursed i'm just trying to see if you get any information on the curse okay so you channel the arcane energy you feel the power of hespa kind of swell you reach out you touch uh thalia

um who just stares at you very unexpectedly and blankly and you watch as the magic, as you touch it, all that magic that you gathered to try and break the enchantment just breaks away. It just vanishes into the air. Okay, boy, this is a toughie, huh? Okay, no, that's okay, that's okay.

That was just a weak little spell. Trust me, I'm good at this. I'm good at this. Hey, Nova? I'm sure you are. Yo! Do we have a hundred gold to spare a hundred yes roger roger we do cool okay uh throw it this way boom great restoration literally just throw a hundred gold pieces at quill it is technically diamond dust worth a

hundred gold but we'll hand wave it and say sure nova has a hundred gold of diamond dust um that she takes out and just not yeah exactly um sure and yeah you cast greater restoration you feel the same process you kind of of take the diamond dust in your hands. Do you, like, blow it at Thalia? Like, what does Quill do with the actual spell? Like, what does this look like when you cast it? Instead of blowing it, I kind of, like, almost gently, with gentle gusts,

kind of enshroud her with wind and spectral feathers and the diamond dust and all the components and then it's like a Power Rangers transformation scene and she comes back and she's not snaky anymore. Well that bit doesn't happen but the rest of it, the way you described it, it's fine. But what I will say, because this is a 5th level spell, I'll give you some more information on this as well.

Make a Arcana check for me. Okay. Well. I'm meant to be the boy meant to be the boy so when you summon the spell very similar thing happens but this time rather than just it kind of dissipating you do feel that as you as the magic coalesces around thalia you begin to see um nova doesn't see this thalia doesn't see this but quill through your magic through the power of hespa you do however see that there are these tiny uh invisible like vines that are wrapped all around thalia's limbs and up her neck

um very faint shimmering lines of magic and as your spell tries to break the enchantment you see that these things are these little invisible lines are so heavily enchanted so powerfully magically that your spell just collapses against them it's like throwing glass at a wall it just breaks apart into the air and you can tell that that whatever created this curse this effect that has transformed thalia into a into a medusa into a you know a gorgon creature was powerful was very very powerful um probably arch probably fey in nature judging by the pattern of vines and thorns and things like that um oh okay uh wow um very very powerful okay look i have one last try the chances are slim i could try asking my god an intervention if you will of divine nature mr quillick please if this is

you are more than welcome to try but if this is going to deny you some power that you're later going to need uh i don't wish you to waste it on me uh we're two days out very well if you wish to try by all means okay divine intervention oh wait you can't use this feature again for seven days I think that's if it's successful I think it's if it's successful you can't use it for seven days

oh yeah I think if it fails you can use it the next day yeah trot remembers sure I'll try that so I need to roll a percentile dice and number needs to be less than my cleric level, which is 10, so 10% chance of succeeding. It needs to be 9 or lower, so it's 9% chance. Oh, God, okay.

Three, two, one, go. Worked that once? 57. 57. So you reach out, trying to feel Hpa's light and knowledge and power but that connection that distance between you and arois you know that it's difficult to summon that vast amount of energy needed to break this enchantment from such a great distance hespa's power is thin weakened spread too much across herois itself there's not enough there for you to draw on to break whatever ability this is whatever curse this takes the form of

and for nova and thalia you just see nothing you just see quill and then nothing happens. Oh, okay. Should I... Does this take a long time, or...? Look, okay, here's how it works being Kalec's clerical client. If I can't do what you ask me to, I owe you one

free Eye of the Storm charge. There you go. So when we get back to Aros, and when I get them back, I owe you one free Eye of the Storm. When we're back in Aros, I can find out where. What do you mean? Oh, my eye.

Look, I can use the... I owe you one question for free that I can guarantee to answer. I don't have any questions. I know what this is. I know what caused it. I know why it's here. But you could ask who could lift the curse. I'm assuming a god or something like that.

Or a creature like Grats. I would give you a specific answer. Oh, wait! Wait, wait, wait! Tian Gong? Yes? Could you lift the curse if you were more if you were more together you wait for a while and you can feel the presence in your blade this this weapon that you form this symbiosis with take some time to answer as it seems to be thinking. They seem to

contemplate and they come back yes, no. What do you mean yes, no? Yes, no. You've never said yes, no before? Yes, no.

You've never said yes, no before? Yes, no. Maybe? It's yes, no, maybe. Yes. Yeah! There we go, we kind of learned a third word here. Oh, we're doing it, we're doing it.

That's thinking in binary. So Tiangong might be able to lift it, but they're not sure. More shards, more power. Hopefully next time I manage to put them together, we'll get more words in there. Nothing has massively changed. Have you sensed any shards whilst we've been travelling?

Not since Zax Ravis' one. Well. Tiangong, is there a way to reform you without finding physical shards? Yes.

Does it involve transferring energy into you? Yes. Oh. Does it have to be life energy? No. Magical? I mean, Nova has to ask the question.

It's all in Nova's brain, right? Does it have to be magical energy? Yes. Could I cast a spell into you? This is the problem with only having three now, I guess, answers. Yes. So if I cast a spell

right now on you, that would help? Yes. Yes. That seems too easy. Yes. Yes. So right now, if I just cast

Blight on you, that would work? Yes. You're not really casting the spell but you can transfer the energy that this relationship and it's because you form a relationship right? Like Tiangong is giving you the

knowledge of conjuring this magic and is kind of shaping how it works but that energy is still coming from you. Like it's still your source of energy just without tiangong you don't have the knowledge of how to do any of it um it would be absorbing that energy from you it would take a spell slot but you wouldn't actually cast the spell you're not gonna you know cast blight on an object um okay um guys i'm about to do something really reckless

no okay lucas was trying to wrench the back of a chair earlier, so I can't be much more reckless than him. You don't need it, Quill. Be careful! Wait, wait, wait, I'm coming, I'm coming. I'll just pick up the hammer and drag

it towards Nova and stand ready. I mean, you all stand ready, and Nova, you summon the energy and, yeah, it just... You feel that spell slot, so the marker spell slot off, because you channel the energy and it just... You just feel

that energy kind of pulled from you. Can I... How far out are we? Have we got a few days to go? Like, are we... Like like can i get a long rest yeah you got like two days and stuff here's the thing when you try and communicate like yeah tiangong will respond with yes what if this is having an effect it must be micro decimal like it must be such a small effect that you don't notice any changes like you you can spend hours churning spell slots into tiangong but it has almost no visible kind of impact um and eventually yeah like you just

realize that like yeah this isn't even one percent like you could spend a whole day doing it and you know maths you know you don't even have an idea of how much this has affected it but nova being the smart person that she is if you could find the source of incredible amounts of magical energy like incredible amounts that could restore tiangong fully even sequester wouldn't be enough sequester is just a seventh level spell it's not that powerful we're talking like the energy to create something really on sentry's chest the world engine honestly something like the prime matrix or the world engine or the sunship or the cradle sunsh cradle stuff we are talking like immense levels of magical power because also

the other thing that I think Nova would work out sure this other thing that I think Nova would calculate is that the energy you feed into Tiangong as a spell slot they probably expend by communicating

with you. It's like you're not providing enough to actually make a difference. This new sentience is costing them power to use. It drains their own energy to answer your questions, even simply like this.

Yeah. So we all go to sleep. It was just standing there with the hammer. What did you do? When are you doing it? Nothing happens. I don't know. It's fine. It's not going to happen.

I just thought... I thought I was onto something, but it's not going to work. I know. I'm not smart enough to give you any advice, so I'm just going to put the hammer down. But, you know, if you want to do something reckless again, just give me a shout. It's fine. I'll be there.

Always. Yeah. Always. Always and forever. Okay. Will do. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Unless there is anything specific that anybody wants to do uh another day passes for century lucius and ayla though um it's there's no night on the astral plane but you do have a kind of routine sleeping habits now where everybody kind of tries to sleep at the same times you know people try and kind of be up and about and do things just to help the time pass quickly.

And Aayla, Lucius and Sentry, you become very rapidly alert. Lucius and Aayla, because you only need to be kind of like in your trance for four hours. So you kind of spend the rest of the evening in quiet kind of downtime. Sentry, you know, you're in the same position where you're only kind of shut down for a brief period of time to regain energy you hear uh sort of shouts and cries coming from within the ship uh you hear banging somebody rapidly running down the ship uh you hear big cats start to snarl um and growl uh and the sound of of kind of get out of my way what are you doing i'm going to immediately run out is it retra it is yeah you can see that uh hair all wild the the kind of like brown lightly red hair kind of has gone wild the tattoos are

kind of glowing with fiery embers um they've managed to the acts that they they took from the drow in one hand and he's looking around wildly uh you can see just drenched in sweat like covered in it eyes quite wild and he is squaring off with big cat but it doesn't look like he's aggressive it looks like he feels threatened but big cat is also like what the fuck are you doing like i'm gonna get angry because you're freaking me out um and there's this standoff and the three of you kind of see this happening retro wheels around but he he it's like he doesn't quite see all of you there he's's like, what's going on? Where am I? Rethra?

Rethra, calm down. I don't want to fight anymore. He's just looking around like... He seems to like... Take a moment. The theater. I was back in the theater. They were making me fight again. How did I get there? How am I back?

It's a bad dream. It's a dream, Rath. You're not there. You're with us. No, we don't dream. Elves don't dream. I was there. I was there! And he looks at you and he's grabbing you by the collar. He's like, You don't understand! Easy. We fight again.

Nobody's making you fight, Rathra. The axe kind of falls to the ground. He, like, grabs his head and kind of slinks down. I wasn't there, was I? Oh, God. By the gods, by the divines, I wasn't there. You can hear, like, his breathing starts really, like, rapidly increasing. You can see him, like, rocking back and forward as his breathing is getting faster and faster stay calm it's okay

it's it's bound to have had a lasting effect on you you were there for so long yeah i know words i don't. But we're here now. And it wasn't real. It's not real. You're with us. A bunch of people who are going to keep you safe now. You're going to keep us safe too. We're not fighting.

We're just going home. We don't have a home. Alfheim's gone. there's no Alfheim anymore I didn't even know Alfheim existed recently my home is Erois Erois Erois

I tried to make us fight there I tried to make us fight but lots of us abandoned that's why I quit They tried to make us fight there. They tried to make us fight, but... Lots of us abandoned. That's why I quit. That's why I stopped serving in the Valkyrian army. They wanted us to attack our own, other elves.

And you can see his breathing kind of calms down and starts taking these big, deep gulps of air. It's not,'s not me. Not me. My past life. The rebirth. The memories. They're all still there.

God, what's mine and what's not mine? I don't know anymore. We'll figure it out. But all you need to know for now is that you're safe and that we're going home to a place that you can have a home you're not going to need to fight people yeah

yeah can you hey hey can you just sit here for a bit just sit I just don't want to talk I need somebody else here just in case in case in case the memory would come back. Sure.

Thanks. I'll be here. Thank you. Okay. You don't have to talk, but I could tell you about our ship. We have a ship, by the way, on Aroas. Anything. Tell me anything.

Tell me where you're from. Tell me about Aroas. I'll tell you all about it. And I'll spend probably the next well however long until everyone else is awake just telling telling rathra about arois what we've gone through so far and how we met and telling him about uh the ship and that we've got a crew waiting for us and that it's a safe place and that he can stay with us and i'll just i'll spend that time i'll also probably sit and try and calm down big cat at the same time yeah i i think yeah once big cat knows that like there's not a threat he kind of naturally chills out but he'll he'll sit

with you like he he's always liked ayla you've always made the effort to kind of like bond with big cat so he kind of sits with you and Rethra seems to find the presence. Like now that he's not in fight or flight mode, he actually quite likes, you know, having Big Cat there and he pets him and strokes him. But yeah, Aayla's not the best conversationalist. I think you would agree that she is not the best, but just having someone talk to him,

having somebody tell him about stuff that gives him something to focus on does help you can still see that there are still signs that this is not something that a one conversation is going to fix that there are still you know you still catch him like glancing around the corners of his eyes like his hand still goes near the axe you know making sure it's within reach and stuff like that. But having somebody there helps. And I think that you find that this is maybe some sort of routine for like night times,

making sure that you keep an eye on him might be a wise idea for the future if these kind of things keep happening. Yeah, I think she'd probably make a point of doing that. When I notice that he's like, I just need someone to sit here, I'm just going to kind of glance at Century and just do a little nod and then just back away slowly.

Yeah, sure. And leave him to it. You can just go back to the cabins where you've been sleeping and stuff like that. Does Sentry kind of follow? Yeah, I'll give Aayla a little nod and then slowly walk back to the cabin. Okay, sure. Sorry, Lucius, what were you going to say?

It's just a very obvious attempt to be subtle. Kind of like when you miss a train and you jog and then you build back to a walk again as if you intended that the whole time just like hands clasped behind his back just like looking around and then he tries a hatch on the way it's like yeah and then go back into a room yeah sure sure sure. Sure. Yeah.

The next day, unless there's, again, unless there's spells you want to cast or things you want to do, passes in the similar function. Go on, Quill. Just one question. So one of the tasks was to alert Palador. In casting that spell, the divination spell, is Palador aware of that

or was it like his godliness is what responded to me is it like sending to a god i would say the other thing you don't know is is you know you don't know whether palador knows the identity of who cast the spell you kind of throw a question out to this divine being

it's not like caller id where he's like quillick ad kalar arachochloric of hesper i remember that guy it's not like caller ID where he's like Quillik Adkalar, Arrok of Hesper has his message for you. Yeah. So I will tell you, you don't think that he is going to know that you were the one who cast that spell. You got your answer to your question,

whether you were like, hey, it's me. I used that spell. Do you know me? Like that's not how it's going to work. That's why I asked the question in that way, because he won't recognize the twin star

unless I'm standing on top of it dying. There's no way he's going to know. Yeah. I was just wondering if that spell is enough of an alert. No! I'm not going to...

Are you sure going, you lunatic? I will leave that to your best discretion Quillek, whether you believe that that is enough I mean I think the answer we got is good enough an answer, if we've got it right anyway, like he doesn't know that the Prime has been restored or that their mind is back

to normal, so I suppose it makes sense that he would say restore the mind of the guardian. I guess. Maybe. I'm not answering. I will not give that question an answer. Instead, unless there is anything,

a day passes and Thalia calls you all to the cockpit on the end of the second day, beginning of the third day uh she just gestures out the main viewport of the twin star longbow this sleek narrow astral vessel that you've been traveling along before you astral space seems to morph into something else. The purple misty hue changes to a subtle blue and white. The fabric of reality seems to refract and bend like a thousand mirrors were drifting ahead of you. Looking closely, you can see the shape of enormous chunks of ice, partially hidden by the blue hue of the astral mist and the rime and the frost across its surfaces.

Millions of these ice shapes, all floating in different shapes and sizes, in random patterns spreads out before you seemingly forever I think that this is the shifting straights Bim referred to

I can't read his notes they're in Infernal, but the last time we spoke, he said that this was something that kept Erois a secret. I think that we have to go through it. Okay. Infernal Nova, can you do that?

I was going to say, Mark, in the time that we had, could I have cast Comprehend Languages and gone through Bim's notes and made notes on my own knowing that this is what we were going towards? Like, just as a... What's the word? I won't even bother showing you the Infernal one

because you can read it with comprehend languages and I'm just going to give this to Kim did you write the entire thing in infernal I have an infernal font I downloaded oh

sorry Kim should be the only one that can see that but if it's shown up for all of you, whoops. I can't see it. Okay. But yeah, so Nova is pouring through Bim's notes and has a collection, but yeah, the rest of you, I mean, what do you guys do or say or feel seeing this site before you?

Do you have any questions? Is it not clear what it's like? I don't like this at all this is this is quite overwhelming if no one else with all the technology that we've witnessed can't penetrate through well it's just i'm afraid that if you want to get home this is the way. This is... I've looked on the... According to the magic sensors, this stretches on

impossibly far. It would take us days to try and navigate it, and even then it might just continue. It stretches even into uncharted space. So we might not be the only ones who tried this before. I think Bim's notes

mentioned the Valkyrian Empire flying through the straits, but on the highest security level. So I imagine we could possibly find a path, but there might be bad guys there we also need to identify

a path as well this is seemingly impossible to navigate shall I read I'll read Bim's notes out for you if you want and then we can see if anyone has any bright ideas okay so

Bim wrote, The Straits, yes, quite a mystery, but deadly and dangerous. A few ships have entered and returned, but barely, talking of giant icy shapes that smashed their other ships to pieces. Valkyrian files on the Straits' highest security level. Scholars believe the Straits may be the expulsion of when the Genesis Well first erupted and the first divines emerged. Intense heat, intense cold, light and pressure all exploded, changing many of our own stars and worlds.

Ancient history, mostly destroyed by Kallus, suggests that these frozen fragments were once scattered evenly across the plains, or would drift between them. Did Siaska pull all of them here to hide the missing world? So it sounds to me like Siaska is responsible for all these fragments being here. Like a second cradle. Yeah.

I don't know who this Siaska is, but this is certainly a defense i mean i'm a pretty good pilot but i'm going to need help to navigate this i the twin stars quick as long as i can react in time i can probably avoid some of these things smashing us to pieces but it's going to be it's going to require all of us working together I feel yep I can co-pilot again unless maybe I should check my notes that we got like maybe if there's anything in there

like it says Valkyrian files higher security we got a whole bunch of files didn't we you got the layouts for the Tassadar ships you got like the blueprints intel on Valkyrian outposts guard rotations patrolling You got the layouts for the Tassadar ships. You got the blueprints. Intel, on-valkyrie, outposts, guard rotations, patrol in the air.

Okay, fine. Nothing about this area. Can we use the cannons to blast the path through? We could, essentially. My worry there is if we hit some of the larger ones, we'll create smaller ones, which could just be just as deadly if they smash into us at a high velocity. And if we destroy the smaller ones, might cause i don't know i mean these things look fragile i wonder if noise or magical force might even be enough to break some of them apart

it's certainly an option i think if if need be and we have to start blasting away to clear a path that's certainly something we can do, but, I mean, who knows what it might cause. It would be good, almost, to create some sort of barrier in the front of the ship that could shove out of the way, you know, like a big thing. Wall of ice? You know when you clear

snow? Like, yeah, I guess a wall? Like, just... As a point, some of these shapes are colossal. They dwarf the twin star. They're like small moons. They are enormous. Some of them are as big as the twin star. Some of them are maybe a bit bigger.

Some of them are smaller. It's like several of these bigger ones have broken up and turned into smaller chunks. All different shapes and sizes. Some are long and thin. Some are almost perfectly spherical. Some of them are jagged, like asteroid shapes, all made from this thick sort of blue and white frost and rime.

Oh, Quill, could you use your eye to chart a path? I used them all in Azaghrat, unfortunately. It hasn't been that long since then. Three days. So you've got a few days left. Yeah. I'm trying to figure out... There must be a way to identify a correct path.

Yes, and out of character I will tell you that yeah, there's 100% you can use skill checks and stuff to do that. There's no point trying to worry about that and be like, oh, how are we going to do that? Tharny's like, yes, I think that yes, whatever magic we have available to us, consider what

abilities you have, consider what skills that you are especially good at. having somebody who is knowledgeable of pathways or can help spot dangers that sort of thing um well honestly alia if need be the turrets you and kairi perhaps clearing something that's in our way that's certainly going to do something um i just worry about what consequences it may have is the only issue but it will certainly help us clear a path i don't know how deep this place is i mean it could be a few hours it could be i mean it looks like it stretches on for hours

we have to try something we We've got this far. There's no turning back. There's no other destination. There's no other route. It's through here or you don't go home. Well, we have Quill navigating. We'll have Aayla on a turret. Let's fall back.

We've got Nova in the engines. I'll be present. I think your wall of cold idea is a good idea like if we need just to to shove or like you know shove things out the way that could that could maybe even just even just setting something in a tailspin you know or giving us a nudge away from something or is uh blocking your vision to actually pilot? I do need to... Yes, don't block my vision, please. I will need to see.

You can cover important parts of the ship that shouldn't be hit. The other thing is we just don't know what will happen until we get in there. Also, I have to go outside to cast this spell well i mean it is possible to survive for some time it might well that's up to the spell description but if need be i mean it's not impossible to survive for a brief period of time in astral space um hold your breath. You'll get a bit chilly. And if you stay out for too long, you'll get very, very cold. But it is possible to survive at least for a brief period of time.

I can create a hemispherical dome with a radius of up to 10 feet, or I can create 10 10- square panels well and answer me about well unless there's any objections would Elko be useful could I use Elko as an assistant maybe help push some small small I know you tell me if I mean maybe yeah if you can summon elko outside of the ship and uh there's not really anything for elko to move on like you know can it fly i don't know if it can fly i don't think you can could i maybe like just stand him on the ship i just plunk him on there yeah you could stand the only thing is obviously any rapid twists and turns might see

poor alco tumbling off but uh anyway i don't want to have any analysis paralysis so unless there are any objections thalia begins piloting the ship into the shifting straits. Yeah, I'll go pilot. I could do with some help in engineering if anyone feels at a loose end. Maybe Rathra can help? A lot of this stuff is pretty new to me,

but I can certainly try, yeah. Nova can do a lot of this stuff. It's more the heavy lifting that she might need a hand with yeah look at my noodles I can try yeah sure he kind of nods and follows Nova

I'll try casting this wall so that it doesn't obscure at least the cockpit something like that a barrier at the front which attaches to maybe the wing to wing. Well, how long does the wall of ice last? Ten minutes.

Do you want to do that right now, just as you're heading into the first bit? If it looks like we're colliding or about to collide into something, I'll conjure it as a failsafe, so I'm going to be in the cockpit looking alert. So in the cockpit we currently i think so in the cockpit we

currently have thalia obviously quill co-pilot and then lucius kind of like chewy standing behind them all um what's century doing century are you staying in the cockpit as well um yeah yeah i'll stay in the cockpit and then we have kairi and Ayla in the turrets, and then Nova and Rethra in the engineering, and big cats asleep in the lounge. All right. So the twin star longbow begins the quite rapid journey into the shifting straights. And as you get within the field, you very quickly become aware of just how massive these things are

and how quickly they are moving once you are inside them. Thalia does her best to constantly be on the move and avoiding them as they go, but there are going to be some obstacles. But before we get into any of that, there is a kind of magical crackle as a message. Thalia kind of glances down the magical console of the Twin Star, presses a few crystals and swipes a few sensors. And a crackling voice comes over through the ship. Unknown vessel, this is VSF Kalista. Be warned that there is...

We are attempting... Any assistance will be... Captain, I've sent the message... By the Emperor. Look! And then it goes dead. VSF Kalista? Kalistra. Kalistra.

Okay, Valkyrian ship. But... Kalista? Kalistra. Kalistra. Kalistra. Okay, Valkyrian ship, but... That doesn't sound very good. Are they near? Can they see us? I don't think so. I mean, it didn't even seem like they could recognise us, and there's nothing showing up on my instruments that they're anywhere nearby.

And then you see Thalia kind of has to swerve. It's like a giant piece of ice kind of smashes into another one. And all these different splinters come flying out. She very rapidly spins the twin star, causing it to kind of shake all about to the side, taking it into a tailspin. But then she writes the ship as she pulls up into a long corridor with ice on both sides. And then she kind of looks and she's like, damn it, that maneuver.

Quill, can you, I can't see where we just came from. I think that that's knocked us a little bit off course. And you can see now, it is just, you are in this labyrinth of icy asteroids and corridors as everything just swarms in around you. What would you like to do, Quill? What could I do to get us back on the right path to figure out our orientation? Because navigation isn't a a thing but what sort of check would that be if i did a navigation thing a

navigation well do you have any proficiency in in navigators tools i do indeed i've got well i've got card oh wait is that cartographer's tools cartography yeah i'd say cartography it gives you like a you have an an understanding of tracking landmarks and things like that. So I'd say this would be wisdom plus proficiency. Wisdom plus proficiency. Okay, so that plus two, 23. Nice.

Okay, so as a point, you don't repeat that check ever again so quill you kind of spend some time and looking at the map and things like that you can say yep okay thalia i think i know where we are now uh you can make the point exactly you kind of call out the bearings but you notice that as you fly deeper into this these shifting straights this labyrinth of ice um things begin moving a lot faster and nova inside the engine room you begin to see that the power of the engines is fluctuating rapidly uh there's almost moments where one engine cuts out completely and another one flares you begin to hear the building of power within the conduits you can hear hisses um

rumbles something rattling around the lights all of you notice that the lights in the whole ship kind of blink in and out ayla your entire turret just goes dead for a second and then it comes back on and is trying to lock on to something that isn't there. Stuff is happening all over the ship that you don't recognize. Energy. Ghost signals. Disruption.

It's more than just ice. I don't say any of that. One of the engines, Nova, is powering up to boost but the other one is not firing okay uh what do you do well if i if i try and power up the second no because i don't want to do i want to boost no i probably don't want to boost do i because i'll boost straight into a friggin thing um can i try and discharge the engine that's trying to boost and maybe sounds like a great arcana check an arcana check okay

operate the magitek uh arcana is a plus six for me where the hell are my dice my digi dice digi oh geez that is a 10 a flat 10 so you nova as you're frantically trying to discharge you do absolutely discharge the energy from the engine this causes the engines to ignite both you hear this thunderous roar as the ship lurches forward uh thalia kind of lets out a thing as you can, one of these giant glaciers barreling. Almost you're about to smash into it. Those of you in the cockpit, what do you do? Quill, you are currently piloting.

So I'm going to throw this to either Sentry or Lucius first. Okay. If they do anything. Wall of Ice. Okay. So you're just going to conjure the Wall of Ice to try and, what, like deflect the ship away or like kind of nudge you so that you're going to go in a different direction. are you using it what i'm going to do is create a triangle so that it kind

of helps uh push against and kind of you know yeah so instead of smashing dead into something it will kind of deflect you at an angle hopefully push push it away, yeah. And because it's a point, it's easy enough for it to do that and not just slam into it. Wall of Ice is a 6th level spell? It is. Okay, perfect. So you, those of you in the cockpit and Aayla, you up in

the turret, you see this kind of cone of ice form around the front of the ship. Just as you're about to slam into one of these huge frosty rocks the cone helps divert you away and the ship ends up kind of swooping up and around it and you can see up ahead there is this thin

narrow corridor of ice two big chunks are slowly closing together kind of narrowing further and further closer to each other meanwhile Nova you notice that in the ship, down in the corridor into the main lounge, a vent erupts.

A giant gout of gases begins venting into the ship. Part of the infernal engine, this red-orangey cloud of mist, begins erupting into it. It's chaos. What is everyone doing? Yeah, everyone can act like. Just tell me what you want to do. Dispel. Hey, Lucius.

Good job on the wall of ice. This button is a shield. You can use that as well if you need it. Oh. Okay. Do we need to know? No, not yet. Can we twist the thing so it's thinner? Mayday! Mayday! There's a vent blasting in the hallway!

I need help! Do you want to send Rethra to do it? You can make a persuasion check to kind of tell Rethra what to do. So it's just venting gas into... It's like in the main lounge where you guys normally meet for dinner and things like that, a piece of the crystalline wall has erupted and this metal has bent out of place crystalline wall has erupted and like this metal has bent out of place and this giant gout of orange gas that seems very toxic uh big cat is like

hacking and popping um he's like stumbling around i mean it looks like maybe it can be like bent or pushed back in place but you're gonna need to tell rethra what to do and how to do it. So it'll be a persuasion check. Instead, can I ask Rethra to help me? Because I don't have to breathe, but I need strength so if I could get... You can make an apparition to make an advantage. Go on. If you want to call on me, then...

Yeah, you can just call Aayla as well. You can just say, like, Aayla, come help. Strength of 20, baby. Strength of 20. Anyone strong? I need you to help me, but you can't breathe this stuff in. That's my cue. I'll go and try and help.

I will, just before I go to do it, hold my breath, but also rage to try and make sure that I really go for it. So with Nova pointing the way, you're going to rage. You have advantage. Athletics check for me. Athletics check. Oh, goody. It's a minus two for Kim.

No, no, it's for Ayla. Ayla's doing the strength stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, that's good. That's a 20. 20? Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, that's good. That's 20. 20? Okay. Not natural, but 20. No, so you manage to press this plate, this metal.

You kind of grab it with both hands, holding your breath as this noxious gas is being blasted in your face, and you kind of twist it and push it back in place, holding it in place for Nova to come in and magically seal it with her magitek tools, kind of fusing the pipe together and the gas stops leaking into the main lounge. But you do hear something beeping and going off in the engine room, Nova, as this happens.

Meanwhile, Quillek, Sentry, and Lucius, and Thalia, you see this narrowing corridor of ice. Thalia can attempt to make a piloting check, but she's going to need somebody to basically help her do that and guide her. Or one of you can do something else if you guys want to try and do something on your own. But you can see, like, it's the classic,

you're flying, and if you don't get there quick enough, this thing's going to crush the ship as it arrives. Hmm. I can panic really well. All right, Lucius panics level seven panic sure i'm like gripping both their chairs in between what do we do we're going to get crushed quill uh i can make a check yeah you're gonna portent so you're gonna portent. Yeah, you're going to portent? So you're going to portent Thalia's piloting check? I'm going to let Sentry go for something.

I guess. Sentry got something? I don't know. Rhianna's making a face. I'm just trying to think of what I can do, because all my spells and stuff are good for combat, and that's about it. I mean, just tell me, and I'll find a way to make it work,

but there might be risks. I was thinking of, could I cast a moonbeam horizontally as a way to use the energy to stop the ice from converging? Well, no, what you could do is you could still keep it vertical, but if you put it at the point where they're about to meet, you could try and hope that the radiant energy melts enough of the ice to allow you to kind of get through rapidly. That's cool.

Yeah, sure. So it won't automatically succeed, but it will give Thalia advantage on her piloting check because it's basically giving you a bigger window to try and skim the ship through. Awesome. I'll do that. It's only a second level spell, right?

If you want to cast it at a high level, it might just... I mean up to you what do you want to do i'll do it a third level third level okay so you don't thalia doesn't need to make a pilot check because the moon beam is wide enough and it deals enough damage that it just shaves off enough of these kind of edges of ice that thalia twists the twin star vertically and it just scrapes along the sides as these ice giants smash into each other and the ship flies out the other end. You kind of feel the rush

as it goes past. Nova, as you rush back to the engineering with Aayla and Rethra you notice that the life support system of the ship, the oxygen in the entire ship part of the closing the vent and the redistribution of power has vented system of the ship, the oxygen in the entire ship, part of the closing the vent and the redistribution of power has vented most of the oxygen.

And you're going to need to fix that. The rest of you notice, like, the air's getting kind of thin as you breathe. But before we go on our break, Quillek. Yeah? Looking out. You still are within the shifting straights.

You can still see more of these things around you. But you glance, and for a second, in the distance, you see one of these giant pieces of ice, and it seems massive. It seems to stretch on almost like a shelf, a continent. And embedded into it, you can see a Valkyrian battleship. Like, it's crashed, and then it's been covered over in frost and rime and then another giant chunk passes past the cockpit and when you look that whole ice shelf is vanished oh man that's the coolest shit shit mark i love that and you get the sense something is here in these this ice labyrinth

with you yeah there is something watching you that's what we're gonna take a break is it it's okay five minute break five minute break no we just found a PSF Nostromo I mean Kalistra yeah what yeah are there any lockers anywhere

I just had a 20 minute oh man let's take a five minute break and then when we come back we can find out what's happening.