High Rollers DnD - The Moral Choice | Altheya: The Dragon Empire #117 (Part 2)

Episode Date: September 10, 2026

Xantheus and Ophelia learn more about the Diadem's deadly tattoos which leads to a discussion on morals! Can't wait for Part 2 of each episode? Join our Patreon to get early access EVERY week (+ a few other bonuses)! www.patreon.com/HighRollers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ _______________ Boost your Charisma with some HR merch! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://highrollersdnd.teemill.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Add official High Rollers Minis to your TTRPG collection here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://only-games.co/collections/high-rollers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bless your table with the Clever Toad Dice Set: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://dispeldice.com/collections/high-rollers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Enhance your bath time experience with the official Altheya themed DiceBombs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://geekyclean.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.highrollersdnd.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for all the latest HR News! Love the podcast? Give us a glittering 5 star review! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/high-rollers-dnd/id1401508198?see-all=reviews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound, TCT Adventures (Solasta: Crown of the Magisters), Monument Studios and Jolene Khor! Check out Jolene Khor and all her wonderful work on High Rollers on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/artist/1WX3ICiTmf4GpHwImnQMs6⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠v Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Hi, I'm Chris Damaris. Please subscribe to our podcast. And then I draw my sword to attack them. Put the sword down! Put the sword down! Get them! Get them! Do it! Now it's your turn, listener. Subscribe to Tales from the Stinky Dragon wherever you listen to podcast today. Welcome back to Althea, the Dragon Empire Part 2. Our heroes continue their investigation of the Opal Lounge. I'm dealing with the myriad of problems and consequences and puzzles that are before them to continue on. the mysterious Calzanis and the deal that seems to have been made with Mr. Emerald and the diadem, the matter of the cursed tattoos with Farrier and Alejandro,

as well as discovering more useful things and money in Peridot's office. However, you join us as Alejandro screams. The magical tattoo, the first stage of its trapped design having been triggered. and then the screaming stops abruptly. But Alejandro just stares blankly, just staring at the floor with wide eyes, panting, sweating, he looks exhausted, and you can see that definitely something has permanently changed within him.

That's just what happened. You can't hear in the room, can you? Do we close and talk? You can't hear you. Outside the room, anybody in the room can talk normally. I thought you left because of loot. I was... If you're in the room.

Partially, yeah, yeah. Well, I just... Seems like I just triggered the tattoo, and that's the effect of it to see such a high level of magic in action. It's... It's going to require a lot of work. But...

You asked me a question. I did. Break. Death Ward. Death Ward. Reading the exact wording of this spell. Yes. I am going to say,

say that as rules as written, as the spell, what it will do is it will negate the effect, but it does not remove the tattoo. So, if the tattoo is triggered, whilst death

or if the killing effect of the tattoo of the tattoo is triggered, whilst the death is activated, that trigger will not kill the person. But the tattoo remains and its effects remain. So if that tattoo were triggered again

if they did not have death ward on them for that next time that would kill them so until the tattoo is removed they can that trigger can be triggered and they get but if they have death ward it will basically negate one trigger

as in the just the insta-kill part of it the paid and the screaming and all of that is completely a separate effect and that is a different thing now you do know because you cast identify that the holder of the folks can choose which of those three triggers to activate. So they can jump straight to kill,

or they can go pain, then kill, or they can compel someone to answer questions. But they obviously sounds like you believe that they have to be physically in the presence of persons. But they can just trigger the kill instantly. What if it stops the death, but all of their organs are still teleported elsewhere? Well, this is what I was thinking about.

The wording of deathboard is that it negates the effect. and the effect is the whole package. So I'm going to say that Death Ward will basically, it buys you a time. Now, what you don't know is if the person with the control foci knows if the effect has been negated. You don't know if they're going to be like, should have got the green glow, I've got the red glow.

I'll give it six seconds. Try again. You know, you don't know that. Yeah. It could also be that they've, won't know, and Mr. Emerald will just believe that Farrier is dead. But should he ever learn that Farrier is alive or something like that, he can just trigger it again. We've got a lot of agents around if one of them spots him.

That could be enough for him to then trigger it again. That's probably pretty easy to do as well. So unless you're going to cast Death Ward twice a day or three times a day for the rest of Farrier's life. So Death Ward is an action. It has to be touched. Fourth level. A fourth level, it lasts for eight hours.

And it's not concentration. So, like, I could, I mean, I will, with my last level five spell slot, I will be casting it on Farrier. Casting it on Farrow will also, casting Death Ward will not trigger the tattoo because it's not affecting the tattoo itself. It's like, you know, it's like casting haste on them or, like, you know, these agents clearly have spells cast on them all the time. Alejandro.

Do you say that, is you saying that as Antheus? Sure, yes. I didn't actually mean to do that then. Did you see anything? Did you... What happened? I saw so many things there. So many things in the shadows and things. Right.

You heard so much. It hurt so much. I will try to remove this from you. But... Yeah. I need to do this. to help the people I love. You, okay.

Like the screaming and stuff, it's a rough watch, I imagine. Pretty rough watch. You can, you know, it sounds like Xenthus is justifying it to himself, but this man is clearly not very well now. Do you think you could help us at all with finding out where these tattoos came from? Tattoes, where they came from.

Maybe I don't know. You said that you would remove it, please. Please, I don't want to suffer that again. We just need the information you have. What do you want to know? Where did you... Do you know where you went? Did you take anyone to get these tattoos done?

Were you involved? At all. I took them sometimes, yes. But the place moves, it changes. They don't keep it in the same place. It moves every time. They only the facets know. And then we are told to take them.

Is it a rotation? Are there places that regularly change from one another? Is it random every time? I don't know. I've only been to a few. Which ones have you been to? There is a cellar in Bunbright. Beneath a wine merchant.

There is, uh, there is there is there. She starts crying. A bathhouse. in mist rivers those are the only two I've been to and you can see his body is like shaking and trembling do you know who applies the tattoos who can cast this kind of magic on someone

I don't know the names they are specialists brought in by the facets and the upper levels of the diadem special mages I think but I don't know them I don't know their names. I don't know where you would find them. Great. Okay. You're doing great. Just...

What information we withholding from us earlier? I knew about the traps on the door, on the desk. There is a deal between Emerald and a client. It is happening in a few days. But Perdo was the only one who really knew. as ciphers messages, codes between her and Emerald. We found those. Do you know

what experiments were being done on Farrier? No. I knew that something was happening. I knew that this Calzanis said that he wanted to make it part of the deal with Emerald. For the boy, dragon-born boy, to go there. But I didn't know.

I didn't know. Are you here? Yes. Any questions? There is a mirror. Peridot uses it to contact Emerald. Do you know how it works? I know how some of it works, but not all of it.

Only she knew how to contact Emerald, but she taught us how to use the other part of it. Tell us what you know. Everything. There is four stones. The first one, you touch it and say illuminate. It makes lights. The second, you touch it and say masquerade. And it makes your reflection look how you wanted to look. The third one, you say glimpse

and you can see places around the lounge. She used it to look in on you when you first came here. you first came here. When you asked for the pared or sling, they use it to check on people. And the fourth one is how you contact Emerald, but I don't know the word to use it. She never told us. We were entrusted. I didn't want to be. I just wanted to make a bit of extra gold. I wanted to be someone important. I said that if I did all of this, He just starts muttering, starts talking about regrets and things that, you know, everything else. Well, you did choose to work for the diadem, so there could have been better avenues for you.

Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Good. Satisfy Xanthius. Hmm. What are you thinking? I don't know. I think I need to cast a spell on Farrier. That's for sure. That will preserve him for a little bit longer, I hope.

From the tattoo. Yes. You have broken this one. This one is broken. I know broken when I see it. Perhaps it would be better. We've sorted. We can fix break.

We can unbreak. Right? You're going to remove the tattoo now. Not now. I don't know how to remove it. There's a, well, a spell might do it. Might is an interesting word. This is extraordinarily high-level magic and extremely tailored, very specific.

A greater restoration might break through. A death ward might preserve. It won't stop the pain, but there are ways to remove that we can try, but not right now. If I was broken physically, but not like this, I would not wish to continue living like this after that pain. Perhaps a mercy can be granted. If he were a dynastian and he was this damaged,

I would grant him mercy. I don't think it's our choice to make. Very well. One more question, Alejandro. Questions? Questions? There's so many questions. Questions, questions, yes.

Do you know anything about the upcoming ball? The Osseon ball? Are the diadem going to be involved with that in any way? I like the balls. I like to go into balls. So pretty, so nice. So many... Please be succinct as best as you can.

I mean, he starts muttering. He's not answering. He's, like, lost in, you know, he's clearly just so much pain has just made him retreat into his own mind. And he's, you've got a few answers out of him, but yeah. Yeah. Like, I mean, how, you know, you can definitely bring him back to the current, you know, where he is, but it's going to, you know, you're going to have to properly, like,

you know, shock him out of it, basically. So it'd be like an intimidate check or something like that. Otherwise, he's just going to keep muttering. This is important, Alejandro, please speak to me. Now on an intimidate check. Okay. Well, how are you intimidating? I'm going to grab him by the shoulders.

Okay. And just make it so like I'm the only thing he can see. Okay, give me an intimidate role. 21. Ooh. His eyes like snapped to yours. And you see this intense fear and his eyes going around as he's brought back to reality and the kind of situation he's in.

A ball. Ossian, ball. No. No, we don't mess with the Ossians. There's a deal, there's a pact. The diadem and the Ossians don't mess with each other. What pact? Pact, I don't know.

Something that the leadership, the ones above the facets, the hidden ones. All I know is Emerald said that we're never to mess with the Ossians. We're not to get involved with them. They won't mess with us, we don't mess with them. I am somewhat comforted by their response, but the fact that the diadem are in contact with Osceus does not give me much... I don't know, I don't know! I don't know! Just start shouting, I don't know, I don't know.

Yeah, Philead would just get up and just turn around. Zedathias, well, that's everything I'd want to know. I don't know. What do we do with him? He's not... well, I... As Rix has said, he is broken. As Rowan said, broken things could probably be mended, but... That depends. If we free him now, then he's already going to die anyway. Unless we are willing to spend our resources on healing him and fixing his problem...

Let me go, let me go. I want to go. I want to go home. Again, this is a problem that he has caused for himself. No one forced him to work for the diadem. I want to go home. I can only protect Faria. That's the only... I only have one spell slot. Um... Then we shall do that. I can end this now. Now?

Hold on here. What once again in a situation of choosing death for someone else? Why are we not doing the right thing? I'm protecting Farrier, and it's the only choice I have. I can't stop the tattoo from affecting him. Like Frick said, maybe... You did start it happening, Santhius. That was not Dancius's fault.

He's only trying to get up. for what's happening. I'm trying to remove the tattoos from... You called him a guinea pig. I was hoping it was gonna tell me information. I don't like where this is going and Rome's gonna walk out. Rome works out.

I want to go home. I want to go home. I want to go home. Too gruff. Walks across the hall. Dad. Walks across the lounge into the office. I will inform gruff.

Yeah, I figured you. Of what's happening. I don't want to put any responsibility on you, I don't like where this is going. Yep, I'll get up, sigh. You will probably have time before I get there, though. A few seconds. Well, it's more.

I'm deferring to Ophelia, the Princess of Death's judgment here. Yeah, just wipe your hands free. No, no, it's just like... Not my problem anymore. Free of any consequences and responsibility. If anyone's going to do it willingly, I know Ophelia will.

But I'm not going to... You know, I know there's a problem I've caused, so I know I'm going to be there to see it through, I suppose. Sure. You don't want to shield your eyes from what might happen, right? Same with Rexeneff. What's happening with a feeling? You've got like 12 seconds, 13 seconds,

half a minute maybe? I mean, he was going to kill us in combat anyway. Potentially? You're trying to run, actually. he was going to die anyway. Well, as you know, and as you have been very adequately role-playing as well, it is a lot harder for you to be emotional and care about these things. Like, your heart just isn't what it once was.

Maybe not fully heartless, but certainly to somebody who you don't, like your friends probably still have affectionately something for, but not to the same degree, but to somebody you don't know, like, why should you care about this man? Yeah, Ophelia will take up Veracity. Okay. Anything else you need to know? And I'll end his suffering.

See what the dice roll was? Okay. How much time has passed? I mean, this is all, like, you know, by the time Roman walked across, they probably just had that. I'm going to leave it to you to let me know when I'm in this. I think if... If Afeela is acting quite quickly, if it's literally like, is there anything else you want to know?

And then she acts, you're probably. probably not going to get there in time. If there's a delay, maybe you're... Well, that's the thing. I want to turn to Fricks and ask, like, what Bricks thinks as well. Okay, well, Bricks will say, if you cannot fix what you have broken, then I would do the kind... If it were up to me, I would do the kindest thing,

which is to grant a swift, peaceful death, a mercy. But you broke him. If you cannot fix him, then Geth is the kindest solution. Is my thought. That is what, as a dynastian, I think. If you had not saved me on the Azar step, I would have likely taken my own life. And I think because of that delay,

because you can tell that Xanthus is pained. And I can't imagine Ophelia would just suddenly be like, you've got Veracity out, but you can see Xanthius, like, is hesitating. And I think that conversation with Rix, the door opens as maybe Ophelia has got the blade out and is like stood behind, like, would you be behind him to like slit the throat kind of thing?

Like, you are stood there, blade out, Ricks is like stood to the side. Graff, yeah, you open the door. I imagine Rowan and Daisy maybe closely behind. I don't know. Rowan sounds like Rowan would probably be behind it. It depends of Rowan told Daisy because I was probably...

I said it out loud. I'm in the armory probably is like, I'll say it. I imagine you said it out loud. Yeah, so you would have heard. I'd follow Graf to make sure Graff's not doing it alone. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, I probably would follow it in that case. Okay, so yeah, Gruff opens the door. What is happening? Mercy. I told you not to come in here. What is happening? I'm fixing what I broke. I'm learning about the spell.

so that I can take it, remove it, of anyone that doesn't want this tattoo on them. Faria is also stood with Graff and Roman. I accidentally... The tattoo, the spell, triggered. And I saw the effect it has. And while I learned so much, I also... I'm trying to find a way to stop that from happening to anyone else ever again. But what's happened to him,

we were trying to be merciful. Is there not a way to fix him? It only caused the pain to come back again. He would be living in pain and misery until this problem is permanently fixed and there is no guarantee for how long that will take. And there's no, you know for a fact, there are no magics that can heal him.

There's a greater restoration might remember. the tattoo. Then we try that. Does anyone, is anyone able to cast that? Yes, you're looking at him. Can you cast it right now? No. I can only protect someone from the death that this will cause,

only one person, and I'm not casting it on him. Too fucking right, you're not. I'm not saying that Farrier is not the priority here. I am not saying that farrier, but what I'm saying is why can we not afford the same kindness to Alejandro? You can only cast this spell once, right? I can only... It will grant a measure of protection for eight hours. Um...

And I can only do that once. Right now. Uh... Look, I don't like Alejandro. He's arrogant. and he's a manipulator and he's done terrible, terrible things. So you use this spell to protect me. But maybe he's lucky.

Maybe Emerald doesn't find out for 12 hours. Maybe he doesn't find out for 16 hours. I don't know. It could be anywhere between, it could be any time now until tomorrow. And that's my point. Maybe he's got time. Maybe. If there's any chance that he has some time, we should give it to him. But then he,

dies, Rowan saw it as well in the most horrific way. Rowan? It was awful. But there's still a chance that it wouldn't happen. There are people we know, this spell that you're going to use, will other people know it? Great restoration. It's a very, very powerful healing spell.

And we know a green dragon. Death ward is, um, I'm, I guess a tougher sort of find, isn't it? Not necessarily. Powerful cleric. Or somebody who can use powerful divine magic as an inquisitor. Hmm.

Seems the kind of thing that systemality might know. This is my point with you both. I see what you are attempting to do. I see your solution. to the questions, but you both don't seem to trust that other people can help and there are other options There are other avenues that can be investigated. We know people powerful people who can potentially help But you want to go straight to the end. Would have done the same for us if we were fighting if we were

He was just as ready to kill us as we are him. He's vulnerable right now. He's vulnerable right now. And so are we. We are weak. We need a rest. We need to leave. Exactly. We need to get out of here quickly and I'm not willing to carry a member of the diadem across all of Kelskaris to find a way to help him. What's happened to you, Sister Ophelia? Nothing. There's an edge to you now. Well, she does speak with some measure of logic though. We can't leave this place with him over our shoulder. We can't get him spotted.

You can't get him spotted. He's heard everything that you've talked about. He's aware of everything. If he is found, someone tells Emerald, farrier doesn't get as long as we'd like. That is why, perhaps. We have to take him with us.

We can't leave him. There's not an option sentence. If Emerald is as careful as his reputation seems to imply, the moment he finds out the moment he finds out, that this safe house has been compromised, he's triggering every tattoo he can find, to burn this place to the ground. That includes Farrier, it includes Alejandro.

We were offering him a swifter alternative to the pain that this tattoo will cause. Maybe we can buy him time, but if it triggers and he's screaming as his soul is torn away from him, then that's the death you've given him. It's not. It's the death that the death. The diadem have given him. We haven't given him anything.

Mercy. We can also take him to someone who can help. Maybe there's a range on it, you know, if I use the room of hearth and home. Impossibly long range, unless we plan to take him to the Faye Wild. Well, there is Blackwing? In Ashlandrest. We, I don't know if we have the time. I...

I know that... We have friends in the city. You are all very kind. people. I know that. But kindness sometimes just cannot be an option. We're dealing with the diadem. They will not give us the same mercy if they find us here. Sometimes doing the right thing is not the best part. But also, just because they do it doesn't mean we do it. Make you know better than them. Look, I want to survive. I want this thing off of me. But I didn't want to be part of this. I don't want to be part of them.

And if you're just going to fall to the same tactics, I mean, you've changed a lot. The kid who came to this city with me wouldn't be talking like this. My best friend wouldn't have done this to me. I'm trying to forgive you, but it's very difficult. I'm trying to do the right thing here, not the good thing. I don't care if I have to sink to their lows.

Wait a minute. Maybe that will win. Forgive me. If it wasn't for you, this wouldn't have happened to me. I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have this. If it wasn't for you, you brought me to the city.

Because you had some mission from your father that you were so desperate to succeed on. Yeah, they gave me an opportunity to bring you here, but you wanted that crown steal. You took it. Did I put you in the debt to the diadem? No, you didn't. You made choices that led to this.

If you, Why did you have to take that thing? If you hadn't tried to take it, none of this would have happened. You wouldn't be here, I wouldn't be here. Well, we are now. So either we work together, or you just leave again. I won this tattoo gone, and you promised you told me you would get rid of it, that you could get rid of it.

Well, I found a way, and it cost this. Oh, okay. I'm going to cast Ethford on him. On Farrier? On Farrier. What does it look, think? It's a circle of ruin is not massively dissimilar to those that surround the crown steel,

but it's encompassing the tattoo. I mean, obviously it's not being cast on the tattoo itself. No, it's around it. Similar to basically what you have with your castle around your dress. It's creating a barrier, a shield. A ward? Yeah. So it's, yeah, runes that sort of fall down from my arms and onto his, onto his...

To his back. To his back. To his skin, eventually into the tactic. You see it sort of like fade into his skin, yeah, into his body. This will preserve you once if that effect happens. But I'll need to keep casting it for any time they trigger it. But what about removing it? That's a separate issue, one that requires greater restoration.

to restoration. Right. Which you think you can do. I can do that. Okay. Thank you. Look, this mess with Alejandro, I'll leave that to you guys. I'll say one thing.

The diadem do what's easy. They do what's convenient. They do what benefits them. Last time I checked in all the stories, heroes do more than that. And he walks away. Maybe Zanthius isn't a hero. I think that is quite clear that Aphelia and Xanthius do not fit under that umbrella at this point.

I believe the term is anti-hero. Yeah, there's a Venn diagram. You're not on there. Hey, we're killing the right people. I'm going to ready in action. I'm not going to say what... Do you want to write it down and say and give it to me? You could write it down, yeah. Above the table, I have no fucking clue what to do right now. That's that...

Daisy's gonna drop. Good old moral quandary. Daisy's dropping the Daisy chain. Uh-huh. And reactivating it with only gruff and rowing. Why does this keep happening? I wonder why. Why does that keep happening?

Sure. Yeah, I mean, you can freely do that, so at will, alright? The good guys chat. Well, maybe be a good guy. Wait a bit there. There was just ruin and gruff. Yeah, I know technically we roll for the duration, but I'm not worried about him for this sake. I don't, I, I took them out of this, this,

they can't hear me, but gruff and ruin, I don't, we need to take him with us, right? Don't worry about that. Can we, can we carry him? Maybe. I can, I can maybe get him a certain distance away, but I don't know what to do. My pen.

Do we just leave? Do we go with him? I don't feel like they're listening anymore, so I don't want to say anything else. Um, we can disguise, right? We can keep him under her. We've got darling. Where's darling? Darling can help.

Darling is upstairs. You haven't gone to like check on anything upstairs for a while. There's outfits in the next room. There's an outfit full of There's Peridot's outfits. They were designed for a half-human, well, she was a dwarf, dwarf human. She wasn't. She's short, she's like four-foot something,

like, and she's also very busty and curvy as well. The clothes are not gonna fit, Andrea. I couldn't. There was some guards in the hallway that their bodies are still there, right? There's one, he's missing his boots, because of jarmin too. Boots are not the concern, but we could get like a...

I could get the armor in the guards uniform, yeah. I can make a visual illusion that can move with him, but on any close inspection, we'll be good enough to just guess. It'll be something. Of here? Yes. Santhius, I'm sorry I've put you in this position. I did imply I did not stop you from taking him into this room.

I just didn't think whatever would happen would leave him in this condition. Nobody knew what I would do. Do? No, but it's something I had to find out. And I understand that. I'm not questioning that. I'm just questioning the wisdom of what we do with. Yes, right.

If you polymorph someone with tattoo, their stack block changes. Does it affect the polymorph? No, it's the same as if they had equipment, it would meld into it. They would still have the tattoo. But if the- The death is triggered?

Yeah. Is it on the shapeshifted? Stant block? It would still be the same creature. It's the same creature. Okay. Stant block changes, but still the same part of it.

But it would be a good idea to transport him, turn him into something, move him, but easier. I guess at the same time, does polymorph bypass power death? The answer is no. We've found a loophole. The answer is no, it doesn't.

You live. There's a squirrel now. It would mean we'd have to disguise him. You could just make him a tiny thing. So I can make him small. Yeah, you can make him small and carry him. At this point,

Like it's very clear he's not resisting He can't resist. At least not right now. Like he's only just suffered that pain. You definitely, like when I, I should make it clear as well, there is a part of him that will wait. Like this is fundamentally hurt him in an incredibly deep mental way.

But he will sort of recover in time. Like, you know, like any extreme trauma. At the moment, he's like not really there. Like he's. His extreme trauma. Yeah. And this is like he's in that moment right after it. like such an inordinate amount of pain

that his body couldn't even make him unconscious to. Like he had to endure the whole thing. Yeah. So right now, but like in time, he will be functional again. He's not right now. But you don't, you know, it's probably going to last a good few hours of that stick. Okay, cool. Just to make that clear.

I'll suggest the polymorph as an option to disguise and contain him. I think that's a good idea. I mean, I'm looking around. And then he can deal with the consequences after? Do we take him to the estate? Yeah. I don't think he's a threat right now. If the diadem have a deal with Osseus,

when we take him to Osseon territory, do they have jurisdiction to do anything to him? Is this in the daisy chain or is this out loud? I'm saying this in the daisy chain. Okay. Just to be clear, because of Fidia are received... Well, we didn't... I didn't know that. I didn't know that.

I didn't know that. I've been in it for a little more. You both have bad wisdom. Like, this guy definitely doesn't know. What's your insight and perception? Gruff was sort of speaking outside of it. Yeah. It's plus four.

Perception 14. I feel like Daisy and Rowan have been pretty quiet in general. Yeah, I'm going to say with a passive way. And has like a deep mouth. Because it's such a tense moment as well. But like I said, yeah, Gruff is currently talking while the Daisy is going, so it's like a conversation. I'm just waiting for a command from anyone.

They have a deal with Osseus to not do anything? Yeah, these guys weren't in the room. I wasn't in the room. Apparently so. The diadem are not going to take part in this ball. But I don't think that we have the authority to go into the Ossean embassy. I think only one person does,

and she's currently looking at him like she's going to pull, you know, across the throat at any minute. It's either that or we take them to Burnbright district to the estate. I think Lady Verithira's the best option right now. I agree. I say we do that. We also need to rest. Either way, and I say there's two both, I will not let them harm him.

It would be crossing a line that I don't think that either of them really want to, but I think they'll regret it if they do it. I haven't seen the what you've been doing in this room, so I don't know. It's just funny to me, because I'm looking at Rianan, and I'm like, Rihanna wants to kill this guy. I know she does. I think Aphelia is also just like, yeah, no, I want to kill this guy. Like, fuck this guy.

Is it actually like a want to kill, or is it, like, K? It's just an indifference. His job is done, like, he's gonna die anyway. But is there not that element of, like, he was attacking us, like he's our enemy. Yeah, like, he kind of deserves it. He would do the same to us if we were in the situation. So it's not really a want, but it's like,

like absolutely no pity or mercy. She feels justified. Yeah. Also, glitter almost killed you in a different way. And that's very, yeah. Oh, no, glitter and ophelia like this. Oh, it's the best. Yeah, the best.

They're gonna see you up there. That's it. That's the top. That's the immortal toxic. That's the toxic Uri immortal ship forever now. I love it. It is. We're joined at the hip bone.

We should, I'll say it out loud. I mean, last Christmas, you gave you Yeah. Very nasty. Yeah. She just ate it. Don't eat that anymore. We should get out of here either way because we've spent quite a lot of time here and we should probably go.

So it's probably been a brand out. I don't think there's anything else that we can gain from the room. I think we've got everything that was there. Santhius, sister, Ophelia. You know by now my first and most important tenets. important tenant. Protect the weak, the vulnerable and the infirm. Alejandro, right now, I think you can agree, is all of these things. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I put you in this position. I didn't understand what would happen. I cannot allow you to kill him.

Fine. I was trying to Protect him from a very gruesome death, but I tried to stop you coming in here. While there is still hope, we must still try. The longer we stand here the last time that he might have. Guys, just real quick in the chain. What's a really slow but small creature? A worm? That's pretty slow, yeah. But then I have to hold it.

That was pretty sticky. You just put it in a pocket. Just so you guys know. Yes. I'm not going to tell you the result. I have here 2D12, the range of which I'm going to ignore any result below an 8. Okay.

Because this will then give me a time period of 8 to 24 hours. Oh, you look nice. This will then indicate how long until Mr. Emerald knows the full extent of what's happened here. Oh. How very interesting. That is such a DM answer. So minimum 8. So neutral.

of eight. Okay. You know what? I think we've got 24. Keep in mind that time will count down from the moment you attacked. Okay. So you've had an hour or one. Yeah. Okay. Well, I got 13 and I think you got basically the same as me. Interesting. Let's assume eight. I think Ophelia would say to Graff, before she leaves the room, she would just say, it's hard to walk. walk in your shadow when I'm the one who's casting it. And then she'll just walk out of the room. That's a dirty. That's a lying.

Yeah, where'd you go? Are you just gonna head out? I just walk into the foyer and just stand up shy. Just wait, yeah. Farrier is out there. You see, he's like helping himself to a big whiskey, pulled up a truck. Don't drink that.

You're not in the room. He knows which ones are the good ones. And he just looks. He sees you come out, and I think to him, And that's like, okay, they've made their decision. And he just nods his head in your direction. What about the rest of you in the room?

Santhius, this is on me. Absolutely not on you. No, if this does go wrong and what happens to him is this like you say, it is on me. I think we all share that burden, Griffith. It shouldn't be entirely on you. I'm the one who got you in the end.

I don't think he should be any of us because none of us Put this tattoo on him. We have to try. Okay, but... Okay. How are we moving him then? Whoa, what's that?

My car's pulling. I'm looking right at you. I'm going to say I'm not even going to roll the wisdom saving through. He's not really in a place to exist right now. So, yeah, you polymorph him into... A snail. It becomes a snail. Alejandro the snail.

because you didn't want to touch the swymie. Well, at least there's a little bit there that I can... Yeah, okay. It says a tattoo on the shell. He's like one of those big snails, though. Like, one of the... Oh, look at the African snail. Yeah, yeah.

Okay, you're kind of cute, actually. Does it have the tattoo on the shell? No. Like Turbo. Yeah. I was thinking Turbo's way. I can remember the name of it, though. Name brain.

What a movie to bring up. The film. no one has watched. I get an absolute flop. I need to Google this. It's bad, Kim. It's about a sale. It's like the B movie.

The concept of it is so stupid. Anyway. He doesn't have one race. Oh. You're a spoiler on a shelf. Well, you're moving at such speed we end. The spoiler keeps him on the ground. Come on the shelf.

It's terrible. I can't think of my mind. I think that that laughter is all the tension just being released. It's just being released, yeah. Yeah, all the tension is being released. My palms are so sway. Are we good?

Are we good? We are good. You're right. Yes, you're good. Good stick into your morals. That fucking line. That's tough. That was a dope line.

It's tough. you know, Farrier and Ophelia delivered a couple of these before it's just like pipe bombs, yeah. See you later. Thomas, you okay? Yes, I'm a, can... Fireball, this room. Yeah, just fireball.

Careful, not on me. Careful on just me. The mask I had that changed me into a green dragonborn. Did I have to attune to that? It's an hour-long process to apply it. It's saying you have to do during a short rest.

Yeah, I'm just trying to think something, even if it's just finding some kind of cloak or something in the wardrobe to give to Farrier. There's a cloak, but it's short. Yeah. It's all designed for Peridot. I mean, Farrier has been seen around, like, these streets. Like, he comes and goes to the Opal Lounge.

Yeah, I know. But if he's seen leaving the place and then never heard of again after the attack, then, especially in attack. I mean, it would be better for it to believe that he was, like, killed in the other. attack here for sure. Faria, take your boots off, put it next to Peridone's. Sprinkle some dust

there. Oh, in in inilic. Okay, it was worth of fucking try. I mean, I've got, I can grab a cloak. We have, like, some cloaks and things like that. Alejandra's crawling up me. So we're trying to get to the

Burn Bright district. If we can get to Lady Veri Thierra, Maybe we can put out word for systemality. I have a scroll of sending. Okay. Perhaps you can ask system... I feel like systemality might be someone who knows...

She might be able to help both of them. What's the spell? Greater restoration. No, no, no, the one you cast on Faria just now. Death ward. Systemality might know that. Or at least know how. Great with rituals as well.

Systemality. It's true. Is she in Kelskar? She's definitely in Kelskka. Oh yeah, of course. And then to me... As a point as well for like, you know, the future things. Like if you...

Whatever you go after next, you know, whether it's the embassy or if you go looking into this Kalsana Steele or whatever, like the NPCs that you've made friends with and things like, like the sisters, you know, you can be like, hey, come and help us. Like, you know, can you come and give us a hand? You know, you can recruit them as like allied NPCs, basically.

Okay. Well, yeah, I do actually. have a scroll of sending. I cannot remember where from. I mean, that's kind of what Obsidius did. So, like, Obsidius was like, I'm not, I can't, shut up, go away. Well, he didn't say that, but he was like,

I can't really help, and also, it's gonna take me time to get to Kel Scaro's, so. I think he just didn't want. Yeah. No, he does. Travel via plants, beach. I mean, he could teleport, but he has other shit to do. He could get here if you want to do.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, in that case, if we are just going straight from here to Burnbright and Emburice's estate, then is that the plan? Just straight line it, V-line it. What I can do is give one of you the snail of Alejandro. Okay. And I could Dimension Door Farrier a safe distance away.

I can dimension door to me and someone else. as well, a distance away if we didn't want to spot people leaving. Get those. Daisy, you take Alejandro. Okay. Or maybe I take Alejandro. I'm a little worried about the distance and me casting that spell. That's true.

Daisy, you take Faria. Okay. Let's meet her lady embristers. Do you remember that pastry stop? 500 feet away towards Burnbright on the... I know every pastry shop. in the area. Maybe two. That's like your thieves can't.

It's just just, just knowing pastry shop. Which one? The one with the really good chocolate buns or the one with the just, eh, ones? They're all pretty good. There was one that was definitely better. I eat stale pastries from the back, hold it. This is true, I don't see why I ask you things. Okay, I'll back street though.

Yes, like the street at the back. Back street's back. All right. All right. So, is that what you're doing? Yeah. You're going to mention door, pair of you.

I would like a car sending as well on. Yeah, Rowan and I will go to that. Okay. And I get to stay with the awkward kids. Let's do the Dimension Door. This is going to be a fun. The two of you, Dimension Door, choosing a side street close to the pastry shop,

leading back towards where you stayed, that little brief hotel that you booked. When you arrive, there is clearly commotion outside. You can see Agent... You should pick the just okay one! You see Agent Darling Oh. And Malcolm Tooms

currently talking with a small squadron of maybe like four Worm Guard officers and they are having a conversation in front of the Opel Lounge and it looks like a very tense conversation.

Oh. You know, the Worm Guard are being quite forceful, very sort of like authoritative. And Tooms is like charming and it's like, you know, blah blah, blah, chatting away to them, but it does look quite tense. I will in the daisy chain to Gruff,

say, I will tell Gruff that. So that you've got a warning that they're on high alert outside. Okay. Xanthias, your sending spell. Yes, so sending to Malady with the message, require urgent ritual assistance removing tattoos from diadem agents. Meet us at Emberus's estate in Burnbright, one word. One word.

I know that you said bye bye at the end. I said, love you, bye bye. I've got four words left. With a hyphen, does that make it one word? Love you. If I hyphenate the entire message. entire message. You could just give one by. What if it's a really long one? Bye! I'm only counting

12 words thus far. Fucking what? Require urgent ritual assistance, removing tattoos from diadem agents. Either way, I was counting like 21. Me at Emberissa Estate. I think you did one hand twice which is 10. That's 13. That's 13. 9, 10, 11,

12, 13. Yeah. Why got so many? Whoa. Oh, you could write. How do I'm not doing this? How many fingers do you have? Are you so many big words at the start? Is it a 12? You have 12, that. Cions, an explosion.

No, no, okay. Although, there was. I don't know if I need to ask anything else. You don't have to use the 25. B.T. Dubs. How's tricks? You good? You are?

JK.J.K. I'm just going to assume that none of that makes it has the message. You, a few seconds go by. Xanthius, pleasure to hear from you. Always happy to help. We shall meet you there. I trust you will provide components as required.

Now I will. Okay. Okay. Okay. Well, Mallie's not gonna pay 500 gold diamond dust of her own pocket for some agent. She doesn't fucking know. Very true. So you better cough up the good.

Death Ward? Not for the Death Ward, but if you wanted... The Death Ward has no concern. He just said ritual assistance. Yeah. Okay, yeah. Also, it doesn't know that it's gonna be great a restoration, but it's basically like, she ain't pain for shit. It could skip to a gestura.

Gristerization. No, I want you to say that again. If it could go off at any time, a death ward is a death warrant. still valuable to do. Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. So you send that message. Yes. Graff, you receive that communication from Daisy.

All right, so apparently there's a little worm guard upstairs. Oh, good. Perhaps we leave by this buck door. Are there, how do you know? How do you think? Daisy, again? Don't be in twat, and then you'll be in the chain. Somehow I felt, I heard that message, even though I'm not in the daisy chain.

Are there any... The back entrance? I'm not there. Okay. All I have is that. Okay, well... If only there was a mirror, like a vanity. I'll ask you to look at it.

You're in the room with us. No, I'm not. He'd dimensioned to it. Oh, you dimensioned to it at the same time. Yeah, yeah. Alejandro, Farrier, and... And I wasn't there for that conversation. I didn't know that conversation.

Nope. Nope. You're the only one who knows of it? I don't think Sister Feet is talking to me right now. At all. Feetna knows to check on, like he said, it was just to check on the upper rooms, right? You don't know.

That's what he said. You haven't tried it. Could be that there's like an outdoor, Scry crystal, like a CCTV. Basically, it's magical CCTV, is what they have. Could be that there's one, but. The door opens to the passage at the top and just guards right there.

Oh. I'll give up. You got me. I did it all. I think let's just go. Let's just run. Yeah, so I'll start investigating the back. To go up the back way.

Fireplace secret entrance. Bricks fell down it. Yep. So, yeah, you can basically, because you can open it from the inside. Bricks would need to go with us when right, yeah. Bricks is with you. So the fore-of-you with Ricks,

make your way up to the back pass away. You can open it from the inside without a problem. It seems to be on a lot. timer so it'll close behind you. What I will need though is as you get to the top, like, who's at the front, who's taking lead, and are you taking any precautions? Because this is like a

stone door, it didn't make a lot of noise. Rick's will be able to tell you that it doesn't make noise when it opens, but it is a big stone secret door that will slide open, basically. And actually, no, Rick smashed it down. Oh, yes, but a big hole in the wall. Yeah. And then I forgot

that you wouldn't be able to, like, because I think we described Farrier as closing it. Yeah, but we'll wreck on that and say that actually, no, like there was no way to really close it after that. Okay, okay, well, just before we get to the top of the stairs and be very stupid and there's wormguard all over the place looking at a big hole in the wall, can we look up the stairs to see if anyone is... Did you remember when Alejandro tried to run away and was screaming, they're killing me, they're killing it. Yeah, and yeah, he did a bit of that. Nothing really came of it. No. But as you open,

because the fireplace bit was closed, and I think as you go up to it, Gruff, and it's thick stone, but as Gruff goes up to it with your passive perception, you can hear that there are voices, like, seemingly searching around that area. Because there is a big hole in a staircase living down.

I just turn and go. And it's like, you get the impression that they're, like, coming down and, like, investigating. I would hurriedly, like, just gesture with my hand. What's that face, Thomas? I'm wondering if I get Aphelia to stab me. What? Like, an attack happened here.

We survived. To be fair, do you not look terrible? I'm going to spend a point of fate to determine how long in rounds these guards are investigating for. Well, I'm just in my rapid mind palace right now. We can't go out the front, we can't go at the back. What are you doing?

I want an immediate decision right now. Now what are you doing? Going upstairs. This room, we can't be in this room. Which stairs? Back into the Opal Lounge? Into the alleyway or up until the Opal Lounge. Yeah, are you going back?

He's heading out. You've got that way or that way? That door there. Into the Opintern. Into the Opal Lounge. Okay, graph everyone following? Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. I would like stealth checks from all of you. Yeah. Because as you reach the secret door that leads out of the of this back towards the Opal Lounge, you hear the fireplace. Do you slide. I rolled one round.

So the guards of like, obviously while you've been doing this, as they've now arrived, they found this hole, they've come down the stairs, they're like, gosh, you hear like a, Sergeant, got a secret entrance down here.

Amazing. Yeah. The thing is, even if we did try that play, I think if we're found in this room and then it's just like, yeah, it's not good. No, you're clearly the best.

bad guys here. There's a lot of bodies. There's a lot of bodies. 18. 18 stout. I fate it, please. Oh, okay, sure. Thank you. I rolled up before I said I would, but yeah.

I had a disadvantage on stealth, so nine. Nine. Yeah, you're wearing, I'm a Barbie. You don't get just for that, it will be on your, based on your equipment. Yeah, didn't you take? Oh, because the scarrarabom, yeah. 25.

25. Nine, you said for Afea, I got a roll for Ricks. Oh, sure, who also... No, because they're Claripase counts as natural armour, so they just have a flat, no modifying roll. Good for them. 15, okay. Nice.

15. As you all rush out. Afia, you're the last one to leave the room, because it's a part of you that just can't bring yourself to care too much, so, like, panic, like, why should you rather? You've done nothing wrong. you as you step through that secret passageway that leads back out the guards the worm guard making their way down we got sight we got a scene in here sir I said who's that who goes there you in the red as they

catch your red you know gorgeous uh you know um actually know you're currently wearing the It's best out of it. So they catch like the, and you've not taken off your mask either. Nope. Uh-oh. So they see someone, they see like what looks to be like some sort of guild eye merchant,

but they see you and they call out like, you stop, the name of the worm guard, the name of the emperor, stop, as they do catch sight of you. They don't hear or notice the rest of you. So you go rushing up the stairs, like fleeing. Which way, when you come out of the secret door, do you go left or right?

Can we close the door? Because it... You can. I'm trying to remember if it also auto locks. You don't know? We don't know. We haven't tried it. I will also need a decision on whether you go left or right.

I can't remember which way was the block entrance. I went up, because I went up after Darling, so I would go... Same way. Yeah, same way. Yeah. You would be going left. Yeah, the right is... I guess like Zamptius doesn't...

He never went out that way. Yeah. Well, he said left already. Yeah. But I think, I know that one of the... Now that you've chosen, I'll tell you. It was the right side. It was.

But you turn around, you can shut the secret door. You do not hear, like, it's closed, but there's obviously going to be a way to open it from the inside. But you go rushing. You go rushing up the left-hand side. You, you know, go past the unconscious guard. Actually, no, Darling has taken that guard somewhere. That guard is not present. The one that she knocked out is not currently there.

Not the dead guard. The dead guard probably is still there. He's on the other side. He's on the other side. But you go rushing up, you bring yourself up into the Opal Lounge. There is no sign of any of the other staff who are present. What you can hear is what sounds like raised voices coming from the main entrance. And you just, maybe you hear like a, like a, for the last time,

Mr. Tooms, this is an investigation. We have had reports of fighting, of screaming. Apparently a man was being murdered in this vicinity. I need you to step aside. You and your companion. This is official wormguard business. You hear this kind of coming out. Whatever Tooms has done to store this is coming to an end.

You hear that coming from the main entrance. What do you guys do? Well, probably in a whispered as we're running, kind of thing. Rowan and Daisy came in from a balcony upstairs. There might be a way that we can just get upstairs onto the balcony and... We came in from the roof, my dude.

There was a roof terrace. A roof terrace, yeah, yeah. If we go upstairs, we can maybe find a way from there outside of this place. We can't go through the front and we're definitely not going back that way. Go. Okay, so that's the...

So you guys go running up the stairs, you know, Vricks kind of, stomping behind you. You guys make your way up. the stairs into the sort of thin corridor of bedrooms, the hotel bedrooms. You race past those, come up and then begin making your way up onto the open roof terrace. As you bust outside, I'm going to spend a point of fate to have a Griffin Cavalry Worm Guard patrolling.

Fuck! Yes, know that they exist. I'm going to make a perception check to see if he spots you. Let's have another round of stealth rolls. Okay, yeah. Are the guards still like tussling and pulling at my dress and stuff? No, no, no, they saw you. They caught you fleeing through the secret door.

And if I had forgotten that you were disguised, otherwise they were going to be able to like remember and identify what you were wearing. But because you're disguised, they don't actually, they just see a guild by citizen run. Okay. So if you remove your disguise, you're going to be, look completely different. But for now, that's, that was what that check was for.

Cool. This is to actively see. if you manage to like stop yourselves before you rush out onto the terrace so like take you know hide before this Griffin cavalry sees you I don't I can't tell if that's good or bad mine's bad all right I'm just gonna Vrix's is also bad okay 18 plus 11 okay thank you Sam we will carry on anyways

yes eight I got 18 plus stealth one 19. 19. I don't think that's gonna save. Natural 20 and an 18. Oh. Okay, so 18. 11.

Gruff letting the side down. Gruff, well, Frick's also lets a side down with a six. However, I'm saying to report that unfortunately I rolled a Nat 20. Oh. Shit. You all, I imagine that Zen Theos and Phoebe, you kind of hold yourselves back for a second, but Gruff and Vrix, you go barreling out, out onto the terrace. uh, Ricks accidentally crashes into one of the tables, sending it scattering,

and you hear the flapping of wings and a, Oi, you down there, stay where you are, and you see a bright beam as a lantern, because it is, this is late at night, as a lantern just illuminates, you know, this is like helicopter spotlight. Yeah, yeah, yeah. As all four of you are spotted. Fuck.

Oh, shit. What do you can see? You hear a, there's like a few, like, you guys have a few seconds, but I will tell you that like you hear a loud whistle. I'm kind of like a police, old police whistle. Like, I have them, they're up here on the roof. So Gruff and Frix have been spotted. Everyone's been spotted.

Do we, yeah, it was like. Like as them looking like them. Yeah, well, Xanthius also looks like Zathias. It's only one. Right. Yeah. I would say Daisy and Rowan, you guys absolutely see this happening. Like you see this happening where they are.

What do we do, Daisy? I don't know. You watch as the four worm guard literally shove Toms and Darling out the way, and they just storm inside. You just like, Tumes just like shakes his head, darling like shrugs, like, I can't do anything. Like, you know, we can't get to them kind of thing. Are you guys doing anything? Okay.

I don't have, I don't, I don't, I don't have any, gruff would, uh, I would. Ricks, we're the only thing. Looks at the three of you. No. No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Picks up the table. I have.

Why do I always do this? So silly. So silly. I have a job to do. Throws the table at the grubes at the grubes. and goes running to like jump and like try and grab them, basically give you a chance to make a run for it whilst Rix is basically taking all the attention.

Nat 20. Oh my God. Fucking beams this guard with the table. The Griffin like swerves to the side, like having just been hit by like basically a patio table. The Griffin creans and that gives Ricks enough times to literally run. and like grab on

and like with her weight like bring it down and it's gonna buy you a chance to like make her run for it if that's what you want to do. I think we have to right? Yeah. Do I have time to cast a quick spell

or is that too many liberties? I think that's quite a lot of liberties. I mean you've got two points of you to bait. Two. Yeah. Because I just feel like the next course of action is we're going to jump off a roof right? Yeah.

And Sister Ophelia the gruff nose is not looking great. So I'm going to cast, could I spend a point of fate to cast cure wounds at level three on sister ophelia? I mean, I would say if it's cure wounds on ophelia, it's not, it just means that you won't be able to dash,

so you'll be lagging behind everybody. But you can do that, yeah? Yeah. Oh, I rode quite nicely. It did. Cool. 8, 16, 40. Jeez.

Jesus Christ. Double three? I rolled 8, 8, 7. Fuck it, quail! Cast the healing spell on sister Ophelia. What are the three of you? Which direction, like, you know that they're roughly out the front, but you have heard them, like, run inside.

You know that they're coming up behind you. Ricks has, like, pulled this Gryffin Cavary off to one side. So are you just gonna, like, literally jump off the roof, land in the plaza, and just book it? I mean, just as a flavor, If I use my wings, they don't give off light. It's not like a super obvious. I believe that they glow, but we'll say that it's like,

you can do it in the way. It's not like I'm a beacon that's just, okay, because I think I will, yeah, use that to, well, throw myself off the edge, but also use that to fly. You know, fly in, yeah. Okay, so what about Graff and Ophelia? You guys just gonna jump and run? That's all I can do, I don't have anything.

Yeah, Affili will jump off the edge, your spider climb. Oh, of course, you can just spider climb down. Didn't need that healing spell. In that case... Just what Gruff would have done. Yeah, yeah. In that case, I need an acrobatics check from Gruff.

It's the only one. Afeuio, you're fine, you can spider climb. I feel like, Ophelia, as Gruff was healing, using the healing magic, Ophelia probably would have, like, had a flinch minute because she thought the light from the Griffin would be coming back on her again. This is kind of like moment of like,

eh. Fate it? Yeah, fate it. Okay. Two left, yeah. 10, you take eight points of bludgeoning damage and fall prone, which is going to slow your escape even more, unable to dash and having to stand up from prone.

It is lucky that Vricks is grappling this griffin. Like the griffin is clawing at the shell, the guard is like, I got one of them's trying, and it's like thumping with a halber trying to get Vricks off. But Vricks just starts screaming, justice, death to the diadem, villains of Kelskaris, they shall not suffer, they will, I've Ricks, the unbroken,

will not let them continue their business, their wicked business, and is just like screaming mad shit, basically, just like drawing all to this focus. And you get the sense, like, trying to make it look like whatever happened in the Opel lounge, Ricks did by themselves, like, or like at least, you know, obviously that's not going to fly now

that they've seen with you guys, but she's very clearly just like, like just trying to like punch this griffin and like get its wings and like basically stop it from pivoting and coming after you guys but you will watch yeah gruff you like twist your ankle badly and you're now like hobbling and limping along tombs and darling see you as you guys land darling immediately like runs up like helps pick you up gruff um tombs you can see that with his cane he can't walk very fast, but he looks at the group of you. He pulls out a pocket watch out of his pocket.

And he's just, he clicks it three times. When he clicks it the first time, time seems to stop in a bubble. Even Rowan and Daisy, you freeze for a few seconds, maybe six, 12, 18 seconds, something like that. It almost looks like you see your friends, and then they're gone. They just vanish as he time stops

and includes you guys in that brief moment. This buys you enough time to run and get as far away as you can. He doesn't move. You can see that he's like he has to stand there completely still and he just gives you all the nod. Darling does run with you as well. Okay.

But yeah, he just waits there and then like watches his clock and then clicks it and folds it up and puts it back in his pocket. So cool. Yeah. Can I take the second to pass him the side? No. Absolutely not. This is you have landed and this is you have just enough time to basically run.

Like anything else is going to fuck up everything. So yeah. Gives us like an extra what three turns? Three turns of dashing basically to run which is enough to get into an alleyway. you see Darling probably has like looks around like probably would say like drop the disguise now you potion invisibility

like hands off like the base is like just get the fuck out of here right now come on you gotta go like we'll smooth this over we can probably make it so you're dynastian friend I don't know if there's anything we can do about it for them they're gonna probably be arrested but tombs will do everything you can for them

oh god I mean if they're corrupt than Frick's... And not all of the Worm Guard are. We'll try and make sure that they get in with a good one. It would be appreciated. Go now. Okay, yes.

Can I give her the sofa? Yes, you can pass it over to Darling, yes. Takes it, like, nods, like... Yeah, I'll... Invisibility potion, for sure. Invidavidavit... The last thing, darling will say, is like, when we can,

we'll reach out and try and... brief, but we're gonna, I would suggest you, Layla, as long as possible. You know how to find us? You guys make a run for it. Yeah. But what did Daisy and Roan? Because last you saw your friends were there, and then they're not there. They're dead. They all died.

They just disappeared. The worm got a really powerful. I surrender. Rowan. Yeah? Sorry. Darling disappeared with them. They probably helped. Right.

It's fine. Keep going. Go, go, go. Just the back alley's thing. Yeah, I want to use, like, the, back alleys as much as possible to try and just make our way towards where we said we were going, which is the... You guys...

I mean, you teleport out. There's no way they're going to be looking on the other side of plaza. You immediately like him. You guys are pretty safe at this point. I think, Rowan, you're the last one. Like, you look behind, and unfortunately, Frick's heroics can't last forever. The grapple is eventually broken. The griffon, like, grabs her shell and basically plunges her into the ground.

And you just see the wormguard, like, you know, come swarming, manacles and like pinning her down basically as she's cutted away, arrested for whatever seemed to have occurred here. And with that, you guys flee. Oh shit. Returning to the Burnbright district using the back alleys trying to avoid the main streets is going to take you a lot longer than it normally would, especially trying to be stealthy. I'm going to roll, or actually I'm going to ask one of you to please roll a D4 for me. And this will be how many hours it takes

for you to avoid guard patrols. I'm trying to figure out how much I trust Rhee. It's the dice. Yeah, I know. But you always seem to roll the fun ones. It doesn't have to be any of you. Kim, he has a dice enough. I roll a dice.

I roll a dice, well, a lucky dice. Let's do it. Let's do it. Just roll a four. No, you don't, you don't want a four. It's a four. I roll a four. It takes us four weeks.

Sorry, Tom. There is a high alert. The guards, whatever just happened, that whistle seems to have signified and Griffin Cavalry fly about the city, Worm Guard Patrol. But it's also busy. It's a busy, popular night out,

even though it's late, and you're wary of being spotted. And you don't know these back streets. You get lost several times, turned around, using the little alleyways, avoiding the main streets that you've been using up till now. You end up in the completely wrong district. You end up going down all the way down into the Mist River's district, having to recycle around, then leading into Burnbray and it eats away at the time.

It is well into the early, early hours before the time when the Ignarius estate looms rising before you. A few of the lights are on As it looks like some guests arrived Not too long ago And that, my friends, is where we will end the episode today Shit Half of the minimum time Just getting back to Burn Bright

That's rough Sorry No, it's okay, like It makes perfect sense that last desperate I mean there was a series of like I rolled a one on the guards coming into the room That then led to like the chase, right? Like the fact that like you guys like the,

I rolled the Nat 20 for the guard to spot you and stuff like that. Like there was a lot of things just acting against you guys. Oh, Rex. I don't know why I get so stupidly emotional, but it's always like it's heroism. It's heroism gets me the most out of everything. But yeah. Holy shit.

What a bang. Is what we're going to have to leave it at for today's episode. Oh, yeah. Check-in, check-in. Just when I saw the floor, I was like, FAA! No, no, no, no, you're all good. You're all good.

It's fine. Them's the dice. But yeah, we're all good. Everyone's chill. Like, you know, we've got a nice check-in. Yeah. Yeah, and, you know, and we'll see where things go from here. But we'll see you next time.

We're also playing heartless very well as well. Oh, thank you. Logical, pragmatic. That might not be a permanent thing, but it's certainly a thing for now. It's an interesting thing to dabble with. It's a shift. in the character shift.

But it's also that kind of realization of there may be a way for Ophelia to realize what the growth father has taken and perhaps is that the thing that will finally push her or will it be something at the Osean embassy? Will it be this deal between the diadem and the Oseon

this impact of neutrality? They don't mess with them. I think it's going to be the game of the ascendant alley cats. Seeing those little kids playing their hearts out. They've got hot. Yes.

But... Wait, they've got... That is going to be it for today's episode. Yeah. Thank you so much for joining us, everybody. What a banger. We'll see you next time. Bye.

Bye. See you next time.