Legends of Avantris - Beneath Dark Wings | Ep. 73 | Bargains and Broken Things: Part 1

Episode Date: January 29, 2026

The party, in an uneasy alliance with Escher, continues their quest...   Gain access to an exclusive campaign, Shroud Over Saltmarsh, over on Patreon: https://legendsofavantris.com/patreon The Crooked Moon, a folk horror supplement for 5e, is available for preorder! Get the Crooked Moon at: https://thecrookedmoon.com/ Watch more D&D adventures in the world of Avantris live on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/legendsofavantris Check out our merch store: https://shop.legendsofavantris.com  Join our community on Discord: https://legendsofavantris.com/discord Watch our many campaigns on YouTube: https://legendsofavantris.com/youtube  All other links: https://linktr.ee/legendsofavantris   Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/wo5km1lp_dA?si=krMdtVGoXmwJBLGa

Welcome to Legends of Aventress. I'm Mikey Gilder, and you're listening to Beneath Dark Wings. Here's what happened last time. So, welcome back to Beneath Dark Wings. If you have just been binging this and you just watched the episode of the Eclipse right before this one, two years have passed. And so I want, so it may feel, perhaps,

in the context of the universe, that we're getting back into it, things might be forgotten, it may take us more time to shake off the rust. I just want you to keep in mind if you've been binging this entire campaign that the campaign started in 2018 it is currently 2024 just to put that in perspective

and that it's been two years since the most recent episode so we are just going to get back into it for the last four episodes of the campaign so please bear with us if you're wondering why do they forget that why is that not a thing? Why doesn't it feel like they just experienced

the apocalypse We're going to get back into it. We appreciate your grace. Thank you so much. With that, I really skimmed through things for this recap. That's okay. I skipped a lot. It is seven full pages, singles-paced.

Oh, wowie. Wow, Zowie. Are you ready? Let me get into character. Let me get my pen ready. All those people that say, I'm on episode 8 or I'm on episode 12, listen closely because you're going to get a very quick and dirty recap. Buckle up. of the entire fucking campaign.

And what I'm going to do is I'm going to read this, and then at the end we'll have time for questions that if there are things that I forgot to mention that you think are relevant, we can tell to everyone. And then we will get into the session, we'll ease into it. How does that sound? I love that, Mike.

Like the Hot Springs episode. I love the Hot Springs episode. Remember the Hot Springs episode? I think we all need. Hey, boomers, remember Hot Tubbed Time Machine? Yeah, I do. Remember Kangaroo Jack? He found a bunch of cards in my pocket.

I got honey all over my legs. You know Kangaroo Jack is like literally the biggest false advertising bait and switch like for all movies? Yeah. Anyway. Derek, I didn't know you had a pin on there. This is I love Andy. Yeah.

I've got a Samurai cat. How may I help you? Whatever this is from Tokyo Underground, Great Ramen Place in DC. This says upwardly mobile for some reason. Book nerd. We got this at Pax. White Lotus, fingers crossed, eye heart Andy, easy to make fun to wear.

You know, I read that from here as easy to make fun of. I'm like, wow, that's very self-aware, Derek. I take one D-thagin psychic damage. I take four psychic damage. Where's Bard Rock? Yo, you still have Bard Rock, yeah? No, Bard Rock, the back, the pin actually snapped off. That's right.

I cannot even re-inserted it. I can solder it for you. And then this is, this says emotional support cleric, and I got it for Iris. And I got it, I mean, it was given to me by a mod, and thank you. Okay. That's nice.

Our story began at the crossroads in the dense forests of Corvacia, a militant human nation on the continent of Striguff that is constantly at war with its three neighboring nations. Brought to this land for various reasons, they decided it was safer to travel the dangerous wooded paths together and quickly discovered a village

that had been savaged by a plague that turned its victims into frothing beastmen. I'll pause here to introduce the characters. We had Toa Kamenui who was searching for the four wind spirits of his home who had protected them from a malevolent volcano god and they had gone missing and he had followed them here. We have Felix Ackerman,

whose little brother had been taken by the military, and he has never been able to find him since. We have Capriccio DeCesto. You can call him DePriessto. Caprice, not the priest, who had seen in a pamphlet, in an ancient tone that there's a prophecy for him to arrive at Striga due to the nature of his line and his descendants. Luffy, who is coming here to help Iris, but also on the general lookout for her mother, having never actually met her. And then Iris of the Sands, she had arrived with Lifty after receiving a vision from anubis of a strange sarcophagus and chains and the like. And Herja, Anbelhardt, had been her father had gone missing and was on the way to Striga, and she was looking for him.

So at this town, after investigating the town that had been affected by this beast plague, after finding one infected survivor, they brought him to the town of Kirsteim, where the Brotherhood of La Pouard, the god of drink, took him in to attempt to heal him, but not before rescuing a belligerently drunk bugbear named Jamadie. There they learned that all was not well in Corvaccia. People were going missing daily, and the ogres, Ettings, and giants of the Highlands were more active than they had ever been. Investigating the missing people, they discovered that,

that these giant kin had allied with a massive horde of beastmen, known as the Horn Legion, taking on the gift of the beast and joining forces to march toward Zentra, the capital of Corvacia, where they presumably sought to bring down all civilization on Striga. On this adventure, they met Nestor and Nora Strongarm, a brother's sister duo, who were hunters at the Lockfeather Lounge, which housed an order of hunters pledged to slay the beast that threatened the people of this dangerous land. They returned to the lodge with the strong arms only for it to be attacked by a flock of

bird-like demons who attempted to destroy a magical seal beneath the lodge. After the carnage, the Huntsmaster revealed that he was a master of the 13th order, a secret society sworn to protect the seals that imprisoned Thar's Doom, the chain god, a horrifically powerful elder god of entropy and madness. With the danger of his release being clear, the party left the lodge with the hunter captain, Ravali Freewing, whose entire squad had been annihilated by fiendish creatures near the mountains. Returning to the scene of the slaughter, they discovered that this was the entrance to an enormous maze,

where cultists of the demon lord Baphomet and the deposed archdevil Moloch were performing rituals and child sacrifices to aid in the horned legions advance. The party followed this nearly endless labyrinth and exited out a secret door into the heart of Zentra. Realizing that there were bad agents in the capital city, and that they were in way over their head,

they began to investigate a conspiracy. They went up to the media wing of the Korovaki government and eventually discover that one of the highest ranking officials of the nation, General Kujada, had turned traitor and was a minion of the cult of Baphomet and Moloch. With this knowledge, the party stopped an assassination attempt by Kujada on High General Virgil Zern, the ruler of all Korovacian. After revealing everything they knew to the High General, Zern entrusted them as his wings of the raven,

and they joined forces to protect the city as the Horn Legion attacked, with great fiendish machines of war and hordes of demons, with herds of beastmen. In the battle for Zentra, the human sacrifices triggered the manifestation of an avatar of Moloch himself that the party faced in battle alongside Zern, greatly empowered, presumably by the Raven Queen, the patron deity of Koravakia.

In the final moments of the battle, the demons and the beastmen abandoned Moloch to be slain, revealing it to be a massive sacrifice that brought forth an avatar of Baphomet into the world. The moment this ritual concluded, the Horn Legion retreated into the dark woods and began to move away from Zentra. In the aftermath of the battle, Zern rewarded the party and sent them on another mission that was proving even more dire than the

wounded and fragmented Horn Legion. The neighboring nation of Irios ruled by the Okaxian court, an aristocracy of Owl-Erokra, was becoming more aggressive, and there was an immense increase of magical storms raising overhead. To help thwart whatever dark machinations were occurring Zerns sent the party to meet with the Rootwood Alliance, a group of rebels that operated on the floor, a forced floor of Erios, while the wealthy nobility lived in luxury and treetop cities built amongst abnormally massive trains. After being welcomed by the rebel leader at Tabaxi named Warriors' Heart, the insurgents were attacked by enforcers of the Ocaxian court, forcing the survivors to retreat along with the party. The party sought refuge in a magically hidden

garden that was sacred to the cult of Garrick's. This cult of fanatical lizard folk had been planning an uprising for centuries and entrusted the party with dozens of vials of specially treated oil that was powerful enough to ignite the magically fireproof treetopop cities of the Ericocra into blazing dragon's fire. Along the way, Bugbear bounty hunters failed to kidnap who seemingly was important to the designs of the owlfolk, and Toa came face to face with Makutu, the rival whom had stolen away the wind spirits from his home islands. Makutu barely escaped but lost his jaw in the process,

and after the bounty hunters were dispatched, the party spared a misguided bug bear named Zorbeck, who became a grateful ally and also cut Caprize. That's not what happened. That didn't happen. Stop making this up. Longarmes. Move on, you long arm.

I didn't write that one there. The party finally made their way into the treetop cities of the owlfolk, securing magical rings that disguised them as nobles with robaz bust alibis so they could move incognito and besting the ruthless assassin, Tiber, the silent death. They eventually arrived in Kaleri, the capital of Irios, and quickly connected with a faction of the nobility

that had lost trust in their war-mongering ruler, Cometheus. After learning of a forthcoming assassination of Lord Commodus, the party attended a masquerade where the conspirators were exposed and publicly executed, and the Madden ruler left to the hurricane's eye to conduct a ritual that would bring an end to the traitors of Kaleri as well as the other nations of Striga, all in the name of reclaiming the former glory of Erios, which had once spanned the entirety of Striga. The party pursued Combinus to the hurricane's eye, and this is a little fancy for me. Take it. Who?

Oh yeah, Mike, you missed the part where Jammini was described as smelling like Bigfoot's dick. I know you have to keep it brief, but you're missing important details. Please hold all missed details till the end of the video. We can literally go through and see what I missed. That will be actually be very important. What?

What? The party pursued, that sounds like me. The party pursued commonest to the hurricane's eye. A great tree in the center. of a storm-swept valley. Before climbing the tree, Toa had a final confrontation with Makutu, killing the traitorous Goliath

and putting an end to the threat of his volcano god. The party then confronted Cominus and saw he had imprisoned six wind spirits to fuel an ascension into a world-ending elemental monstrosity, an elder tempest. Commodus revealed that Lufty had a wind spirit in her soul and ripped it from her to transform into the elder tempest and began to fly toward Kaleri to kill all the traitors

before killing the rest of Shiga. The party rescued Lufti's mother, Al-Kira, a gin, and one of the imprisoned wind spirits, and she teleported them to the eternal veil of Aca, a fluent island in the elemental planet of Ayr, where time does not pass. It was here they recovered from their wounds and learned that within each of the wind spirits was a windeduke of Acha. All of them, seven of them, angels born of both divine and elemental construction and biology, who at once ended a war against chaos millennia ago, and were dormant until the time came to prevent another war. First, they had to deal with commonus.

So they received the elemental boons of a powerful cloud giant named Nimbonsi, who teleported them back to Kaleri right before the elder Tempice attacked. There, the party faced and defeated Comedis' new storm owl form, and with the help of the seven wind dukes, they smote him once and for all. In the subsequent celebration, all was not well, as the fanatical cultists of Garek's enacted their plan, and in an instant, half of Kaleari was set a blaze, and thousands were burning alive. To spare the city, Lufty wished for her gin mother to save all of them, and Alcira sacrificed herself to bring down a magical reign that put out the dragon

fire and killed the malevolent cultists. From that noble sacrifice, Alcira became an angel herself, and the eighth wind-duke. New leadership was established in Irios and a peace treaty between the nation and Korovaki was brokered, and the party returned to Aca to recover. In the Eternal Vale, the Winddukes returned to begin waking thousands of obsidian-skinned elemental beings of air, called the Vati,

who had been in Stasis in Aca until the time came for them to wage war against chaos once more. However, a black gem that had once been comiduses brought the demonic corruption of a powerful avian demon to Aca, and all of the ancient records were destroyed,

and one of the Windhoots, dukes was gravely wounded and corrupted. These dark tidings made it clear that the unchaining of Tharaz Dune was nigh, and the wind dukes told the party that the only thing told them of the only thing that could stop his chaos, an ancient artifact called the Rod of Law, which had been used once to win a war against chaos, but had split into seven parts and spread across the plains to ensure that the power could never be abused again. With this charge, the party returned to Zentra, where Zern told them that he knew,

that a piece of the Rod of Law had headed north into the neighboring Ork Nation of Grand, brought by none other than Herge's father. They learned that the Horn Legion had headed north as well, destroying several seals of the 13th Order on their warpath, and that their friend

Ravali had headed north to track them and sabotage their advance. The party then teleported to the northernmost outpost of Khoravakia and made their journey into Gron where they received urgent communication from Ravali. They found him at a town ravaged by Beast Plague, his arm ripped off and about to be slain by a bechial orc.

After slaying the orc and using reincarnation, he was brought back as a halfling. That's right. The now half-lined orc named Kargash swore vengeance on the Horn Legion and took off after it on his goat, but not before telling the party to take Krasang pass through the serpent-spine mountains

if they wanted to cut off the Horn Legion and arrive at the capital of Grand Mogher Kai before the Horn Legion led by the Avatar of Baphomet himself. They made their way to the Man. mountains, but the nightmares of Caprice made manifest revealed that his soul and the soul of all of his descendants and predecessors are owned by Glaccia, an archdevil of the nine hells, and he would only be freed if he did her bidding. After arriving at the Serpentzbine Mountains, the party made the treacherous journey through the pass and took refuge in an abandoned Korovacian

watchtower. It was there they found records of an 18-year-old Virgil Zern, staying there over 40 years prior. That night, Caprice was called to the zenith of the mountain in a waking dream, where he finally found the statue of an avian demon man with the name written thrice, Pizzou. Finally discovering the being that had been harrowing them this entire time, they continued to the other side of the mountains

and were captured by orc soldiers in Mogher Khan. We're in Ark III, by the way. Brought back to the city, they found it to be beautiful and peaceful, almost unsettlingly so. They learned that Gron had once had a dozen warring tribes until they were united by the long-lived war chief

Shenaro Frostfang. with the guidance of his spiritual advisor, a snow leopard to Baxi named Golden Lotus. She had introduced him to a benevolent goddess called the Eternal Blossom and taught him how to quail the inner rage that he had and live a life of peace. They found hers' father, Torvald, Anvilhart,

who had strangely pledged himself to the Eternal Blossom, and it was revealed that Golden Lotus had seen visions of the horn legions attacked and had already collected six out of the seven pieces of the rod of law to destroy Baphimat. However, she needed help retrieving the final piece, from the plane of limbo after it had been taken by the Githzerai that

called that plane home. With the help of her Kieran companion, Hisaki, the party killed the head Githzurai named Shivatu and brought back the final piece where it was re-forged into a great glade to be wielded by Shengoro. While Torvald forged

it, the party handled the corruption that lingered from the last time it was used. In the cleansing ritual that brought them to the past, they learned that the rod of law was shattered in defeating Miska the wolf spider, the former prince of demons that led the Oberiths, primordial beings from another universe that were the demons before the demons now as we know them. In the final moments of their battle against the Vati and the Winddukes, Miska was struck down, Pizzuzuzu

swooped in to devour his remnants, and the lesser demon that had been subjugated by the Oberiths turned on their masters and the army was annihilated. However, Herja was slain in this vision, which greatly affected her living form and required her to be healed by Golden Lotus as the Horn Legion approached. Herja then revealed herself to be unsettlingly aligned with the Eternal Blossom

as well as Ravali Free Wing who had sacrificed his former greatest passion, freedom. After a great feast with the war chief, the legions of beastmen and demons finally attacked, sacrificing captured devils to conjure an enormous labyrinth to destroy the walls and defenses of men. Mogherkai. While the defenders went to defend against the Horn Legion, the party went to

defend the seal of Thar's dune beneath the city and faced the avatar of Baphimet himself once he arrived. In a brutal battle, Kargash arrived to get his vengeance, dying in the process. The party then gave Schengaro an opening, and the war chief slayed Baphomet with his glave, but at the cost of his own life essence as he withered and aged rapidly before finally expiring. In the aftermath, Golden Lotus revealed herself to be a gold dragon named Rajani, the Eternal Blossom. The glave was now empowered with the power of Baphimat, and she could now spread her mind control with a rapid spread similar to that abyssplug. Once the forging was complete, she retreated to her layer with Herja and Torval to finish forging this weapon.

The party pursued and fought through her lair, slaying Rajani, but not before she killed Caprice. In death, Caprice was in hell, tortured by Glaccia, and he called upon Pazuzu three times. who brought him to Pazunia, his layer of the abyss. While brokering a deal, Asmodeus, the Lord of the Nine Hells himself, spoke through Caprice and whisked him away to his own chamber, where he made a new deal to defeat Pizzu Pizzu. As collateral, he took Herja and Torval, who had been corrupted by the shattered glave. Returned to life by Asmodeus, who revealed he had once been an angel that had been caused to had fallen due to Pizzuzu's treachery.

Caprice joined his friends. and they went back to Aca to return the rod of law to the Winddukes after leaving Rivali with the orcs to teach them how to be free. The party then were sent by Zern to the eastern front of the country to venture into Skethernail, where the necromanic Shadarkai that had been warring with Korovacia for centuries had been performing dark magic. Arc four.

He had also learned that kidnapped children had been sent to Skethernil over the past years, and very likely, Felix's brother, Milo, had been sent as well. Zern connected them with a Count of Skethernail, who may, he thought may be an ally in opposing Vorok, the Carrion King, a vulture-like creature that ruled the nation. On the way to meet this count, they rescued a young girl from ghouls who had been bringing her to Castle Gloomvale. They met the Count, who was a vampire named Escher Kreskov,

whose daughter Ravenovia, another long-lived vampire in the body of a child, had abandoned him and made a deal with a dark entity known as Drislash, the Nine-Eyed Spider, and turned into a sadistic monster working with the Carrie. King. The little girl, Vestani, the little girl that had been saved, Vestani named Valesca, was captured by fleshcrafted abomination sent by Ravanovia, and Escher swore to help them. He guided himself to the county of Berovia, where they met the Vestani and the count named Alexi von Zarevich. They investigated the missing people being taken by the large werewolf pack that lurked at the

in the beastwood and discovered that the Shadar Kai had been extoring them and threatening them to kill the daughter of the pack leader, Old Scratch, which is why they had been aggressive against the humans of Barovia. A peace was brokered between the werewolves and the crusaders, and they pledged their might against the carrion king and his ghouls. The party then investigated the Amber Temple to find a way to save Ravanovia, but failed to find any salvation, save killing her. Then the combined forces of the Valley of Barovia rode against the undead hordes of Skechernel, while the party infiltrated Castle Gloomvale. There they met a prisoner named Zellic Cythagos, who helped them fight through the castle, sneak past the carrion king,

finally facing Ravanaughia, who was a spider abomination that ate her father whole. After a brutal fight, Escher killed his own daughter, but then called upon Pazuzu to save them both in a desperate play. They then discovered the main project that Ravanovia had been working on, the Ravenchild, which was an avian abomination with two heads, flesh crafted from two human children, little Velasca, who they had once saved, and Milo Ackerman, Felix's brother. Vorok appeared, revealing his plan to use the Raven Child to depose the Raven Queen goddess, but Zellek revealed himself to have been Virgil Zern in disguise, who put a pestilent curse on the

Kirian king. However, Vorok escaped and the castle teleported to a realm beyond the mist, beyond the mist of death, and Zern took the raven child to stop the end of the world. The dread domain they were in was Harakir, a realm of death ruled by a mummy lord named Ankatap, whose soul had been ripped into seven pieces and spread across the realm. However, one of these pieces had been put into Iris at birth by Anubis, her own god. With Ankhateaetep trying to capture Iris

to reunite the pieces of his Ka so he could finally die, the party stopped his attempt to birth a new God and the remnants of the Chaos God set, or with the remnants of the Chaos God set, and finally faced Ankatep atop atop his pyramid after he sacrificed Iris and reunited his Ka. Oh, also out killing Vorok in the process, I forgot to mention. After killing the mummy lord and his soul being brought back to Arcadia for judgment by Anubis, the final seal which was in the chest of Ancatep was broken,

and it was only a matter of time before Tharaz Dune was released. The parties joined Virgil Zern at the black pyramid that served as Tharaz Dune's prison and attempted to enact the High General's master plan to send Thore's Dunn to the prison to the prison of the Raven Queen's Fortress of Memories. with the empowered Talangard blade and with assistance from the seven wind dukes, the rod of law, and the Raven Child, Tharazdun was smited and devoured.

However, before Zern could finish his plan, Pizzuzu himself appeared to stop him, devouring Zern and transforming him into a crow demon named Raoom, consuming the power of Tharazun in the process. However, in one final act of defiance, devouring Zern caused a silvery curse of the Raven Queen to afflict Pazuzuzzi,

which kept the apocalyptic power of Tharazun. Dune at Bay. The party brought the saved children back to Skethrenil, where they discovered Escher's betrayal, who broke into Count Alexi's Castle and stole the shattered hairpin of Stradanya von Zaravich, which was imbued by the power of the Raven Queen and needed by Pizzou to manage Zern's curse. With no time to waste, the party teleported back to Zentra to discover that Bradley Furman, a traitor who had served the demons all along, was going to sacrifice the entire nation to

begin the eclipse and usher in the apocalypse. after offering them power in exchange for joining the flock of Pizzouzuzu, the party was able to save most of Korovakia, but were unable to save the denizens of Zentra, who were entirely transformed into avian demons that flew into a black disc that covered the sun, causing an eclipse that opened a portal to Pizzunia, Pizzu's realm. The party flew to stop the apocalypse as thousands of birds' demons spilled from the portal,

which were then met by the Vati, who held the demons back as the party, entered the realm of Pizzouzzi, seeing the new demon king atop his dark ziggurot, performing a ritual to summon forth the queen's conclave, a union of all the Oberoth Lord still in existence, to turn this existence into their domain. However, before they could face Pazuzu, Count Escher, transformed by Pazuzu's corruption, opened a portal and whisked the party to a strange realm within the abyss, another layer of an obarith lord, asking for help in saving his daughter, and in the process, offering the chance

to break the power that Pizzou had claimed. Jesus fucking Christ. Gotta give it up. Well done. What a, a great summary. I relive the whole campaign. We told a lot of story in 36 episodes. We really did.

Holy moly. Those sessions are long. Not bad, apparently only 20 minutes. All right, all right. That's not bad. That's not bad at all. We should put that in Discord for folks that want to read it.

Yes. So let's do that at some point. We will. It doesn't make it like multiple tons. Or just link the Google Doc. That's good idea. Yeah, it's basically 72 episodes. That's fair.

Yeah, it was for sure. At least twice. Anything I missed. Someone mentioned that Zern was the father of Milo. Yep. Zern is Milo's father. Yeah. We learned that Zern was sort of the

forgotten child of King Barov, Von Zarovich. Yep. What else? It wasn't anything major that you missed. You didn't mention Strapon, the camel. No, yeah, Strapawn, sometimes slipped through the cracks. Or the Sphinxes. Or when we turn into animals and fought mummies. Well, we can't be here for a week, fresh. Yeah.

Yeah, Fiona, Scratch's daughter was killed. She was turned into a horrible nuke, basically a silver nuke. for the werewolves. That was fun. That was sad. That was fun. Oh, apparently the powers from Asmodeus says an octal. I have no idea.

I have no idea what you're talking about. Oh, I don't. Mine is already. Oh, I've got to have mine. I'll have to find it. I don't think I can't have it. I bet you it was in my book. I have the card.

Yeah. Mine, I don't, iron oppression of discs is what mine is called. Can you look for that in your documents, Mike? Oh. Diss nut. Iron impression. I don't think Iris took one, right? Correct.

Yeah. Just like Ganges and Prime. Yeah. Clarence. Yeah. Iris. Iris. So I have Mantle the Lion King.

Oh. Man. I forgot I did this shit. Maladmini. I'm going to post this in our Discord. Did I say that? Nala Domini. But either way, that's what it is.

It's your... Okay. I do have that, then. I have a ring of the Eternal Sun. Does that sound familiar? No, it would be named. Well, I mean, that's probably a thing, but it would be named it for one of the layers of hell. I linked to the document. I linked them with all. I'm going to have to find that. Maladimony. Hold on. Shibody. Make sure we get off of our 20 language.

That sounds much more in somebody's name. Great name. Maladomino. It's crazy. If I had a nickel for each one of my characters that had a power. of diss, I'd have two nickels. That's very common. Which is, you know, not a lot. Weird that it's happened twice. The other one's the exploitive loophole of. You have five dreads, Mike. Oh. Yeah. So I'm not used to having dreads. It wasn't a thing back, my name. Yeah. Wow, that's right. No, I did have dreads by this. We didn't get me. Yeah, where was it? I didn't think it was no. When we came back.

There were a couple of them. I dreaded Felix. I listened to like the last hour. Oh, that's fair. Of the session. But it had only been like an end episode or Just a handful of episodes. I feel like it was like... And we never got them. They were so precious. Yeah. You all find yourself

in an inky void. You see movement all around you. You float in mid-air able to will yourself forward back up and down in this strange place. You feel

your whole person surrounded. Your skin is crawling. You feel like you hear something. And you can't tell. It doesn't sound like it's coming from the people next to you, but you can hear it. You're not sure if you're hearing it in your ear

in the back of your mind and the backs of your neck are tingling as hairs are standing up on your hackles as you feel like someone is watching you. Something is watching you. As the dark, inky, liquid all around you, that you can somehow breathe or somehow experience him. As Escher Kreskaw floats before you, his blade now sheathed,

having told you that this was a realm of Areeks, the forgotten prince, an inky black void, that this was a formerly a, a broad, robust domain of whatever Areeks used to be. But him communing with a strange thing, an entity called him who washes from beyond the stars

had turned this place into nothing and that his name was never truly Areeks of who he was, of what he was, of what it was, was forgotten by ever, including himself. The first of the Oberoth lords, the first of these Oberth realms that you are now in, after asking to help Ravanaughia,

after offering to help break the power of Miskka the Wolf Spider that had been consumed by Pizzou so long ago. Escher is almost drifting back as you see that his bald head is covered in feathers to almost full warm hair as the demonic corruption has absolutely increased, as he has almost like a raven talent skin along his hands that goes up to feathery elbows.

As he looks at all of you, simply waiting, what do you all do? I'm gonna look him in the eye. And was it worth it? Was it worth whatever deal? you made, saying its name, do you have any regrets? I have nothing but regrets, boy. Make no mistake.

I have made mistakes my entire life. You heard my secrets. You saw my failures as a father. But the things that I would do for my daughter, I do not want to think about that, but I am trying to trying to help. This is perhaps the only way after being granted the essence of Bazunia.

And he coughs up feathers, and you see kind of this dark blood on the feathers as they drift off into the inky void. He looks at you and he says, the only reason why my new master can even hold the power of Thorazdun is the feast he enjoyed so long ago

when he devoured the Prince of Demons. How do you know that what you're doing is going to be any different than what Zern tried? He tried to trick Pazoozu. And at the last moment, Pizzou was 13 steps ahead. Wait, you stopped saying the name. Oh, oh. You said it twice.

You just say like P. Zizzle or something. Oh, I forgot. I'm supposed to be really scared of that name. Fiche. That's too long time. I know I like them stupid, but not this stupid. Oh, God. Wait, don't you need to say them in secession? Yes, unless it's in that song.

I'm sure. I'm very sure. All right. So you should be fine. things between it. Just don't say it again, okay? No, P-Man, I'm sorry. Shut that sweet, beautiful mouth.

Honestly, I'm not even sure you should say P-Man. I think you should just... Yes, cover your mouth. They was really close. I'm sorry, guys. The prince, the dark angel of the four winds. His mind is racked by the torture of the Raven Queen. Every moment is agony.

His mind is assaulted, his body is assaulted. It is a miracle that he has made it this far, but I fear that it is everything he is consumed. The power of the chain guard, the power of the prince of demons. He wants to be the king of demons to lead the queen's conclave, to be the king consort, to the Queen of Chaos, who created the first Prince of Demons, and then gave that power to Miska. I have seen so much. Who's the Queen of Demons?

The Queen of Chaos. The Queen of Demons. She was the first one in that domain, that universe that died, that they killed. Pizzou was the weakest of all of the Oberoth Lords, by an insurmountable margin. But he was the cleverest. That is why he had to consume what was left of Miska. You saw it in your visions, didn't you?

You participated in that battle. Yes. You saw what the Tenari, the lesser demons did to their masters. The oberus are broken. Bent. It is effortless for them to throw their lot in with Pizzou. What choice do they have?

But I believe that they can be his downfall. There is nothing that a demon lord hates more than another demon lord. So that's it. That's your whole plan. We're going to figure out a way to unleash the other demon lords on this one. A little persuasion.

Never hurt. And then... What? Yeah. When all of those demon lords have been unleashed on the P-Man, what then? How do we rein them in? How do we stop them from destroying the world?

Yeah, if he's the weakest, then what do we do? When the stronger ones are there? He was the weakest. He has now arisen to be vastly more powerful than any of them ever had been. So what if they come out and they realize that? and then, I don't know, fuck off and do demon things, and then we just have a bunch of demons. Oh, that's a good point.

That seems like more demons when right now all we have is one. We're going to fight 12 demons instead of one. Are you familiar with the saying, cut off the head of the snake? Are you familiar with that, Felix? Yes, yes, we're familiar. Yes, we're familiar with this. Grammatically, that makes sense, yes. If you deal with Pizzou, they will see their opportunity.

if you turn them against each other, they will devour him without a second thought. I feel it. I feel what is like to think like a demon. That bastard Cern must have felt like this his entire life. I don't envy that man. How do we know this all isn't some kind of trick? That you're just using us to save your daughter?

I would not hesitate to use you. to save Ravanaughia to give her another chance. But we can do two things at once. We can kill two birds with one stone. You all look terrible, like you've been torn apart. Did you expect to fight him like this? At full strength. What other choice do we have?

We're not given up. And that is exactly why I'm here. refuse my offer. I can open a portal right here, send you back into Pazunia. It is the palace of one thousand and one closets. It is the plain of infinite portals, the plain of the yawning pits. No, I mean, I don't know, I think we should, we should rest. I mean, can, can we rest here? We have time. Time passes slowly here. but it does not stop. Where, where are we exactly?

We are in the forgotten land. It's a layer of the abyss. You had been in Pizzunia, the first layer of the abyss. Now we are deeper, far deeper. A realm's true origin long forgotten. It's true master. a mere shade of what he once was.

He is now known as Areeks, the forgotten prince. Is there anything else here? Do you know if we're all alone? We are not alone. Wow, great. O'Reaks is out there. They are all distracted with the ritual. They all wish to join Pizzouzuzu on his zigerat.

They all wish to get the power he's promising. becoming the king of demons. So is that what I'm feeling? Like I'm being washed. Is that what it is? Yes. Yes. But it's not Harek that is watching you.

What is it? Who is it? It's what. He reached out to contact. The stars extend far beyond this reality, but there are things far worse beyond. I have... at first-hand experience of something of akin to this thing watching us.

Wow. It was the worst thing I've ever seen. What was it like? It was the end of all things. But this thing can only watch for now. Whatever it did to Ereaks was thorough, but it gave it no hold here. I dare not speak its name. I wish I did not know.

know it. I wish Pizzou did not know so much. You mean both. No more names. No more, no more invoking anything. We're done with all that. Who watches beyond the stars? It's not his name though, is it? No. Oh, thank you.

To say his name allows his eye to focus directly upon you. It allows him to stare into your soul, try to achieve, tried to achieve his very aims, his noble aims. But you said last time for this guy's cousin or whatever, it was the end of all things, but obviously I guess it wasn't, right? It was preempted. Just like this apocalypse, we are trying to preempt. All right.

So if we could preempt that end of all things, then we can preempt this end of all things. feel terrible bit. Everyone in the Trump. We gotta not think about that right now, Tawa. We gotta press forward. We can do this.

Who's gonna tell Captain Freewing about his mother? I don't know. We just, we have to keep moving forward. We can end this. I know we can. We can do anything together. We can find any solution

to any problem. We just try hard enough. In most people, won't have been turned into horrible bird demons and fame. You said we have time? There is time, but the longer we linger, the more his gaze increases. Asher looks around.

I am not concerned with Areeks, but it is that thing that peers into this realm. It concerns me. Do you hear it? Do you feel it? It's like in the back of my mind, it makes my hair stand on end. Do you feel the disgust? Ooh, now I do.

Yeah. The disgust for what this place is. The disgust of what I've become. Do you have any way to go back? I don't know. I will try to find out. But we cannot think of anything else until the prince of the aerial place. planes, the dark angel of the four wings is annihilated or cast down off his ziggurat.

All right, well, I'm convinced. If you want to help us, then we can help you and just take care of everything. Do we all agree? Does that's the way forward? I don't think we have any better plans amongst us. I think you're right. No, we were just going to fly it right ahead and On a zigguror, hefted. Weekend, yes. It's a good plan. I'm excited about the plan. Let's do the plan.

Okay. All right. What's the plan? Yes, what would you have us do? You brought us to this place while we're being watched, but you don't like that we're being watched, and quite frankly, neither do I.

Iris, think about how much you hate these demons. Can you picture it? Can you feel it? Oh, yes. What is watching us hates them far more than you or I ever could. It views existence as a taint that has been corrupted. I can't say it's wrong.

Oh, why do you think it did this? To whoever a reeks was. Why do you think it turned him into not even a memory? But mortal life is required For such demons and corruption to fester So the full extent of annihilation That him who watches from beyond the stars seeks He is total

We sow discord We turn them against each other With Pizzou gone, it'll be like a power vacuum They'll all try to move in at once And it's like if we all tried to get through a door At the same time None of us would get through, right? I think I would probably find a way to get through.

Not if I'm a good, I think him through the door. No, he would steamboat you and then he would fall to the ground and cry again. I would turn into some sort of a massive dinosaur or something. I don't know. You wouldn't, you'd be crying. It's cheating! No, that's exactly what the demons are going to do. This, that is exactly what I'm fucking talking about.

Oh, that's a good point. They could turn into dinosaurs? Oh, God. Toa, darling, they're far worse than dinosaurs. Far larger, too. Really big dinosaurs. Gigad dinosaurs. Think about Hector Mancrab.

But worse. A hundred times worse. Now we'll never get him to rest. I have repressed those memories. But he needs to understand what we're dealing with. My dear friends. Yes, Toa, darling. What were your names?

I miss you so. There'll be time to mourn them when this is all done. All right? All right, Felix. We'll fault that problem later. We'll go back there. We'll find Hector Man Crab. And we'll find him a nice Hector Woman crab.

And they'll have a bunch of Hector children crabs. They'll settle down. It'll be great. It's going to be fine. I don't want him to settle down. I was going to say, do we want to give him a good life or do we want to kill him? The best way to kill him is with kind. I want to steam them and season them away from the military.

Oh, well that's so. Let's fucking do that. When all of this is done, we can go to the McConey Islands and have a crab boil. We can absolutely cook them alive. Let's do that. All we have to do is make sure that the McCona Islands still there later. It's true. That would be nice.

All right, let's do it. Let's sew discord. Whatever you said. Well, I think we need to rest first, right? We need to get some strength back. We also need a plan as to how we're going to. to go about sewing this discord. Are we that...

Oh, go ahead. It would mean that we need to contact these other entities. Yeah. I'm assuming making some sort of deals of our own, which I'm not quite happy about. Did you have

further plans outside of do this thing? Or are the details up to us? The details are up for discussion. How do we even go about contacting them? There are ways. It is surprisingly easy. When there are demons who haven't been contacted or commune with in so long,

it's almost like they're a lonely person desperate for someone to talk to. Do you have a demonic roller decks that you can scroll through to help link us up with demons that would be appropriate for us to speak to by chance? Roller decks? Yes.

Oh, okay, I heard something else. Roller. I have the sight... Rollericks. Why, that's what she said, Rollericks. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what I heard.

What else would you have heard? I have the sight of Pizzunia and the Oberiths. In my mind, Caprice. I have the power of the infinite portals. I cannot raise my blade against another demon. I cannot kill. or even speak to

the oberets that Pizzuzu is trying to trick. But I can speak to you. I can share my knowledge. I cannot even collect the parts of my daughter that Pizzou ripped apart and scattered across these realms. But we can't. That is right. All right, so step one.

Get some rest and we'll sleep. for at least eight hours, sleeping or doing light of activity. If it was not for our good friend Virgil Zern, I could not even do this. The man and his god do no secrets. And if it is any consolation, Dark Angel of the Four Winds is in shrieking agony. That's nice to hear, certainly.

I could feel him constantly watching me. I could feel him flying over me. until I suppose was the moment that Thore's Dune was released and Zern was devoured, and after that I was commanded to retrieve the hairpin, and while he has fashioned himself a crown, fit for the king of demons, it is not enough to heal him, to cure him. But there is limited time. The power of Thorisdune within him grows. I will be undetectable for not much longer.

Where do we sleep? I don't really feel like sleeping in a floaty void. I mean, I could try to sleep. No, no, no, no, no, no. If we're going to try to sleep here, we need to, like, attach each other to each other's hips. I'll circle around. What if we just, like, float apart over the course of eight hours?

And then we wake up in the void and this guy, ow. Mechanically. Mechanically speaking, you can choose the short rest here, or you can choose the long rest here. But that will change things mechanically. You have options, though. Once we're done resting, what is the next step? I don't feel like we can choose how long we're going to stay here unless we know we're going when we're done. I had an idea.

Pizzou was not always the king of demons there, has never been. a king of demons, only princes. And Miska, the wolf spider, whom you experienced defeating, was not always the prince of demons. There was one once, deposed, broken, cast aside by the Queen of Chaos herself to give that power to her lover, Miska.

I propose we start with him. Use his hate. Use his rage. He is allied with the others, only out of convenience and necessity. But he is mustering his power on his own. Who is it? One name is Obok's Ob. But I recommend not saying it in his presence.

How do you spell that? Obio X-O-B. Ob-O-X-D. O-B-O-X-O-B. Ob-B. Obax-O-B. O-B-B-O-B-B-O-B. Man, demon names, I'll tell you. O-Bach-Fob.

Don't say it. He just said, don't say it. No, in front of him, unless he's right, Oh! These are like powerful, like, demon princes, right? We, we're just gonna walk up to him and be like, hey. Yes, this all feels very casual. Like, hey. I don't know what to expect.

What if they just destroy us on first sight? There is a risk of that. You don't inspire confidence. I'm being honest with you, lovedy. We've stared into each other's eyes and seen each other's souls. Do you think I would ever lie to you? Even after all this.

Covered each other's mostly balding. Not my finest moment. What? Oh God, you were hotter then. This pants still then. Well, I guess if we have no choice, we have no choice. But where do we find him? We will find him in the blood marshes. That is his layer.

Oh, disgusting. But we must. deal with Areeks and procure Ravanovia's head. It is in the void. It is in the darkest void. And that is where Aureique is as well. Well, maybe we should only spend mechanically 60 minutes resting. I'll look to you, Tadno, and you'll, you can see that on.

Felix is in roughshed. And I'll look at you and see you. I agree. I only need a little bit of time and I'll be ready. I can do this all day. And maybe with the help of Arras and Caprice, we can heal up a little bit and just relax and gain some of our energy. I know that General Fuhrman really had it out for you. Yeah. But he's gone now. Yes. Forever. All of them are forever. We don't have a lot of time to waste. So let's get to it. And I'm gonna, you'll see like I cross my legs. It looks like I'm sitting like I normally would on the chair or on the floor. And I pull out my spellbook and I start flipping through it. And I begin to take my short rest.

Okay. I can float for a while. All right. Maybe with little song. I pop my wine. Sure. I'm using my arcane recovery. I'll think something nice and restful. I'm recovering a two and a six. Do we get a short... You'll enjoy a short rest, yes, mechanically. Oh, but.

So you are choosing not to take a long rest, correct? Taking a short rest, I'm using my routine recovery. The two, they have to combine up to level eight. I'm recovering a six and a two, just so you know. Okay. Do this by the book, because it matters for old Felix boy. 8.80. And then I'm using a fuckload of hit dice if I have any left.

I only have four left. That's what I'm scared to love, to be honest with you. Oh my goodness. If you spend a hit die, you can add. Oh, whew, I have a buck. Tummy, tell me, what can I add? You can add. I'm song of resting, so you can add an additional 1D10.

Oh! Hit points. I'm gonna use all of these. Um, sixes. Oh, you know what, I'll sing one of the first songs I ever say to you. Sing to us. Oh, the bitter winds are blowing it. and I'm already missing the city.

Striga's cold and I have been told we're gonna have to endure this kind of weather. I'm certain in time our enemies will find they're defeated and we capture that weird ass crown. I'll be your troubadour and sing you a tune if you'll be my friends and my party too. No, I'm not asking much of you. Just fight little darlin fight with me.

Aw. That was really nice, Caprice. Thank you. An oldie but a goodie. I'll fight with you, Caprice. I'm gonna see this through the end. Oh, oh, wait, shit, I don't know if you hit nice. What the ass.

What a terrible role. Thank goodness you gave me that. You're my team first. I've been kicking you guys' asses. You really have. Actually, that healed me to Max, so. That's heel. that you gave me that.

Yeah, let me roll that first. Shit. Boop. So let me know everyone's done mechanically, taking care of their. One more hit died ago. Another 11. Let's fucking go.

Back to my house. Actually, I had my con every time, and my con's pretty good. Cons plus four. So that would be- What level is the party? 16. What are we?

16. Does that be some? Wow, you were on that. Oh my God, this wasn't even close to it. I use way more headdice. Okay. Shit. I'm not...

Oh, my real deal with you, folks. My max HP was buffed by someone or something. Do I still have that? Yeah, I was going to say, I got a little bit of extra max HP as well. Did Iris do that, and would that be over? Or... Fuck if I know. It was probably Aid, if I had to guess.

So it's buffed by 20. Oh, no. Was it Heroes Feast? Do we have Heroes Feast? Yeah, it's max-motton 5.20. Yes, you do have Heroes Fees. For how long? 24 hours.

There's probably still in fact. Yeah, you still 30? It's not for a long time. Okay. Alright, then I still need to use three more hit dice, I think. Oh. Eighth, max 28, 20 max xp. It was aid for eight hours.

You still have aid. Thank you. Thanks, chat. If it was right before the Furman fight, then yes. Okay. So no Heroes Feast, right? I don't know. But we still have it for you now.

I didn't have anything on mine that would have said that. So you all have 20, or whoever was aided. I think it was the three of us, maybe. I would have done. I had it for sure. Probably I would have your character. I didn't touch my sheet. Because it wouldn't have been,

I have no way of knowing. I just know that I have no spell slots. I was not paying attention. Why did we get the max HP modifier? It was from eight. So if you have it in your character, you leave it. No.

Okay. Don't add it if you don't have it. And then, so I actually need to mechanically take the short rest. Yeah, me too. One, two, three, four, take short breaths, confirm. Stone's in, okay. I get stone in the gun's back.

That's nice. I have one die left. I have two. I have two. I've used all of my hit dice. All of my hit dice. All right, I'm back to hole. Did you send our demon hammer?

Yes, he did. Oh, he did. The ERP jam? Nice. Nice. Indiana Jones, you bring your RV Sera. Yeah, I got two hit point hit dice left and I am full health Oh, that's right. That's what's up

You're just lost it out of the sweet. I Rican recovered I don't think there's anything else I can do I think I'm this is it long rest you reset this bad boy so that's gonna hurt. That's okay. That'll be fine. I'm not worried about it. Oh dear You all drift and you feel at peace, almost unsettlingly at peace. As you drift in this inky void, as you see the, almost like you're once again in kind of a drop of ink. As you see the liquid pool pooling all around you. I need everyone to make a wisdom saving throw.

Oh, man, ask one question before I do. Yeah. While I'm taking my short rest, I'd like to mull over the name that Escher told us. Oh. Yes. Yep. Does that mean anything to me in a Vissal? Oh. Oh. Oh. Make a Arcana check based on what you had studying. Where's my KU-D20?

I got a 25. 25. 25. Especially now that I'm fluent in a missile. You don't know what I taught you. Yeah, except the DX-7. I was learning to this one. Yeah. If he hadn't said that, I was going to say some fucky shit later. Oh, God, that'd be funny.

For me. I would say that it is seem to be a proper name, but I would say that you would have, I guess, from your studies in the library, that you would have seen this name come up very briefly. Okay. In the studies of the various demons, we were studying Baphomet and other demons, as the Prince of Vermin. Oh, okay.

And basically the, and what I would say is that you would have, there would have been warnings in dealing with its minions and do not let the stingers pierced its skin and because of, that's how they reproduce. I would absolutely share this information with my friends,

Yeah. What was the last thing you said that's how? They reproduce. That's how they reproduce. Oh. All right, the Prince of Vermin? Oh, yeah. That sounds disgusting.

I'll make my wisdom saving throw it out. Oh yeah. What everybody, yeah. I got a 21. You passed? 25. Pass? Oh, I'm profusioned in that.

20. Pass. Come on. But you get greeze? What? I don't want to be the only one. What? No. Was it saving through?

Fortunately, I get a plus five because her- Failed with me. Oh, fail with me. I get a 12. Yes, I'm not the only one. Oh, no. We're fucked. We're fucked.

I found a joint in my pocket. I need both of you to roll a D6. Oh, no. Four. Four. Want me to read one? I'll re-roll. R-roll, because you got it first.

Two. Two. You have a roly boy. Yeah, that's fun. He ain't got no corners on him. I shouldn't have thought about that name. Caprice. You think back, and as you come to,

you remember all of your friends, you remember your journeys, but you pick up the violin that you have. You have no idea why you have violin. Oh, no. You forget how to play music. Oh, my God. Huh.

You shitting me? This is really great. You're supposed to hold it like, hello? Caprice. What are you doing? It's so silly sometimes. I mean, it's really not the place.

Is this some kind of bit, a joke or something, to live in the mood? What the fuck is this? Tell us Felix. Caprice is doing another bit. Oh, oh, I can't wait for the punchline. All right, come on. We're all paying attention now.

What? Felix. You remember everything. You know that you're here, but, and you know that you are a wizard. Wait a minute. Where did you put your spellbook? Oh, no. Where do you put your focus? Where did you put everything that you need to do everything? Your organization, you have forgotten where all of your possessions are and you are unable to find them. That's... That's weird.

I... I thought I just had my... You guys saw my... My spellbook, right? It was right here. I thought I was leafing through it. You were just reading it. Yeah, I saw you.

You, like, cross-legged sort of on the ground... Well, you weren't on the ground, but in the void here, and you were reading it, I swear. You were, like, sitting, kind of float sitting, and you were reading it, and then you weren't holding it anymore. Oh, no. Did you put it in your bag?

You look around. Men are terrible it is. They can never find anything. And I go through my pack and I start ripping things out and things are starting to start floating off into the void. I'm throwing things left. A cup, a plate, you know, some loose papers, a quill. Oh my God.

No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. It's gone. It's gone. How could it be gone? I must have missed it somehow. Hey, did you fear? Wait.

Do you have a copy? I feel like I'm missing something else. to the knife. Where is it? Isn't it where it always is? You haven't even taken it out since we've been here. It's always on my hip and it's gone. Don't worry, hold on.

I always have you a copy of your spellbook in my pack. Just for this kind of scenario. Okay, I need you both to calm down. No one ever finds anything when they're panicking. That's true. Raiz. It's not here. Caprice.

It's not here. Can you search Felix for his knife? The backup book is gone to him. It's gone. It would have you gone. Yeah. Oh my God. No, I swear, I swear I wouldn't have lost it.

You absolute coconuts, how could you have both lost it? How is this? Thieves. There must be thieves. There might be void thieves. Let me look. I check my pockets for everything. It looks kind of like a woman's body.

What are you talking? This is your violin. I don't know what that is. Oh, it does kind of look like a body. Yeah. I see it. I will investigate. Very curt.

I will look through the pack, I take off my jacket, I will double check everything. I'll look under the hat. My pants pockets inside out. I like, yeah, I give you my hat. I like dump out my bag. It's just like floating through the void. Well, don't even if we can find the backup book,

it's not gonna be the most up to date. It's not gonna have all the spells in it, but it's something. It's something. We'll figure it out. We'll figure it out. It's gonna be all right. All right, all right, we're gonna find it. Just a minute.

Let me just do a little pat down here, just a little pat down. Excuse me. Excuse me. Pardon me. Just one moment. No, I don't find it. I'm guessing I don't find it. You do not.

Shit. Look, it's okay. It'll probably turn up. You might have left it back in Zentra. That would be very bad. I am aware of that, but it would be better than it being lost in this infinite abyss.

But it just had it. It has to be here. It may have floated. I mean, we were sort of freston, right? Like, did you, like, absent-mindedly, like, put it down? on the ground and then it's sort of like, it could be a 200 feet in that direction. No.

There's a weird gap in my memory. Something is going on. This isn't our fault. Escher, what is this? Who could have taken this? This is the forgotten place. Oh. So how do we get it back?

How do we remember? Something's going on. That's why you don't know what that is. And I point to your floating, or the, I point to the violin. I'm holding it by the strings. It's your, it's your, it's your, it's your, it's your, it's your, it's your, it's your, it's your, it's your, it's way too small to be a viol. That's way too small to be a viol.

It's kind of like a fiddle. It's almost like someone should have been using that word the whole, try to play it. It's a song right now. Oh, it's an instrument? Yes! See, this is. This is what I'm talking about.

Something's wrong. No, Felix, this is just a running joke. He's going to wait until he gaslights all of us. And then once we're all buying it, he's gonna play some stupid song about how we're a bunch of idiots. You're right. All right, I'll try to play it.

Place the song you just played. What are you doing? Well, I assume that you just turn these knobs in order to produce music. No, stop set. You're going to break it. Oh, okay, well, I'll turn it the other way. and the strings are around

it's like, yeah, because of ribbon. There's no sound coming out. Do I have to yell into it? Down for what? I'm doomed. Turn down for what? How long is it going to last, Esther? I don't spend my time here.

I haven't forgotten anything. How can you be sure? That's a very valid point. Mickey just broke the whole plane. Take a boat, okay, and drag it across strings. Oh, stop, so, so, stop. Okay.

Oh, maybe you just forgot how to play that instrument. Well, I'm sure I've got other instruments. Well, I'll have one here. Try, see if you know how to play this. I have a dulcimer if you'd like to try that for some reason. Turn down for one! Oh, really? It's everything.

It's not just the final. Caprice, Caprice, try to sing. That's getting closer. No, no, you have to fret. You have to use you. Yeah, put your hand like that. I'm fretting right now, right? Hold it.

We're all fraying. That's very funny. Don't fretting me. We're all fretting. Okay, so. See, he hasn't lost if he's making juice. And then do this. You just run your fingers along.

Oh, I get. Oh, okay. That's all right. You know. That sounds, it's probably horribly enough to my husband. I played it in days, weeks. You're just playing the same note over and over again. You have to play.

Well, how do you produce additional notes? You just move your hands to different strings. Okay, hold on. Oh, that's worse. Maybe just sing a little song. Use your voice. Try your teafling instrument. Oh, the summer wind.

How to fucking the hell. All right, so I'll just do one of the strings. all right. That's okay. The string breaks. Ah! Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, it's okay.

I wasn't gonna play it anyway. So here's the thing. Yes, Helix. I remember a lot of my spells, but only the ones that are currently in my brain. I couldn't tell you what was in that book. Which is crazy because I've been looking at that book every day for my entire life. And even though I can remember some of them,

without the knife I need a whole host of items to cast these spells. Maybe we have some of those items. Yes, I can always check my bag. Metals and plants and- A lot of gold. Gems and- I don't think we can just accept that it's gone.

I think he has forgotten, but we haven't forgotten. Maybe we can find it while we're here. Did you so toe and caprice looking, they couldn't find it either? Well, we have to, I don't know, swim, float, whatever this is. There has to be more here than just nothing. Well, maybe I can float around and look like a pre-sit.

If it floated away, like 200 feet away, I'll just float around and check. Maybe if we think about it, it would just appear. We have to be careful. We don't really want to float out into this nothingness and get lost. We're getting lost. Especially if things are going missing, if we're forgetting things. The last thing we want is Toa to go look for it, and then we all forget Toa. That's true.

Oh. Who knows what we might forget? Who knows what we might forget? already forgotten. Oh gosh. We could have already forgotten so much and we don't know because we've forgotten. Exactly right. You don't know what you don't know. Oh gosh. Was there always five of us? I think so. There were six ones. There was. Do we forgive one of our friends? All right. All right. Wait. Who was I? Oh, no. Oh God. What?

Who was I before I became this? You were a vampire. Yeah, you were the Count. Your Countessor Kreskov of Castle Romonia. I know my name. Your daughter is Ravanovia. Who? Oh, shit.

We can't delay any longer. We know what we have to do. And we know, we don't really know where we're going, but we know what we have to do, we got to start doing it before we forget it. Didn't Escher say that we needed to get something from this place? Ravanovius Hid Yes, and then we have to find

Which leads me to another question Escher, what did you get by saying P-Man's name three times? You did it to have your daughter back But now she's in pieces all over the abyss Oh yeah How did you at all give? The girl in the pieces

Yes She is alive Just in pieces Oh, that's horrible Fine. Well. Do something then. We have to find the head.

Better than dead, I guess. Oh, so it's like you wished for something and it like sort of came true but in like a bad way you weren't expecting. Monkey paw style. Oh, I thought it was called Oscelot's little hand. You set that up. So hard. I'm not even mad. I'm just impressed.

Ocelot's little. That's exactly what. Right, lots of lots of little hand. When a wish turns on itself with a little grippy hands. I can't pay you for it. Lots little hands. Oh, my God. Hi.

If I ever have a mage hand, I'm going to be named with that. Yes. Why? Oh, God. I care for the girl. Why? She's your daughter. I will remind you if you will tell us what the long-term effects of being in this void is,

because it seems to me, that we're all forgetting things here and that soon we will be destroyed horror. We may be forgotten, imperceivable by anyone who has known us. I don't know that. We have to hurry. Do you have any idea the direction of the head?

Yes, it is, it is in the darkest void, yes. Yes, yes, it's, it's, it's where, it's where reeks, What's left of him dwells. All right, then we have to hurt. You said that, but which direction? How do we get there from here? We have to think of a memory. Our fondest memory, think.

Fondest memory. Think what is our strongest fondest memory? I can't recall. What? I have one. I think really hard. What's the memory that you're thinking of? When Felix and I run downstairs for ice cream Sundays.

That's the fact of the memory that I had. I have to say memory. Does he make a super memory? I would say that it does that you think very hard and suddenly you open your eyes

and I'm going to have Felix make an Arcana check at advantage because Felix is help because the toe is helping you. I see my eyes are open. 27. Arcana.

You open up and just like anachronistically, like when you see a flashback or a vision in like a movie, where you see yourselves and you see the stairs suddenly in the void and you're both excited and you're shouting about ice cream sundaes

and then you run off down to the left, just down like this, and you all run and you disappear in that direction. And it feels as if your past selves, your memories are running towards there deliberately. That's it. We did it. Oh, we did it. Yes, we did it. We got to follow them.

Oh my God, let's go, let's follow them. And suddenly you both forget, oh, as you're going through, you both forget what it was the memory that you thought of. You can't remember. You remember you were following something. You can't remember what it was. Oh, no. Yes. We have to go this way. That's all I know. Feelings. Do you still remember? You gotta make ice cream soup? No. No. Oh, no. I don't even, I'm not even sure I know what you're talking about.

I don't even know if I know what I'm talking about either. Did you guys forget what you were doing just now and what you were focusing on, just as Asher suggested? I know that we need to go big way. He's right. We have to go this direction. Come on. There's no time to waste. So we, we pick a favorite memory. It has to be a favorite memory. if we already have the direction, but you can pick one if we want to validate. Oh, I thought we all had to do it.

Let's just go. And you make your way through, and you push your way, you push and you continue, and you put, you make yourself, you are willing yourself through the space, and as you move, you see the bits of shapes, and through this inky void, you see, You feel like beyond the space of this ink that you're in, a sheet of black all around you.

And you feel eyes watching you. You feel, not eyes, you feel a gaze, you feel a presence, you feel a malevolence around you. As you continue onward. And anyone who has lost memories, to roll a wisdom saving throw for me. Come on. You've lost memory now.

Should we twist? Who needs a twist? You guys can twist if you want. I just fucked up my role real bad. I have a plus seven. I have a plus three. So I should probably We're going to twist you in these four.

Give me three. Okay. Give me three for a plus ten. That's huge. Three, four. Four for you. Five for you? Ethan.

No, four is like advantage. I think just straight four is fine. Four, okay. And that's plus seven. Oh, and I'm not going to roll this one. I'm going to use two. I used two. I got three for you, four or two. Perfect. Dirty 20. Oh, go ahead. Pop-bop King.

I can't afford to forget my spells. I can't anymore. I already am like totally in trouble here. 18. I can defend myself for a little bit. 24. Okay. Dirty 20. 18. That is I don't know. Oh, my God. I had a feeling.

Oh, no. We're level 16, so that checks. And you guys are in the Abyss. Yeah, that checks. I'm surprised that, oh my God, I wonder, oh, my God. I was thinking it was probably 20. Holy shit. Ice cream soup.

Abyss, my wife. Abyss my wife, a lot bike. Is that everybody? Fuck. So, Tua, you're making your way through. And. You not only forget the ice cream Sundays. You forget the McCona Islands.

You forget the wind spirits. And all you can think about is the horrors you've experienced over the past few months. And you think of the pure ocean, all the horrors you've witnessed in these past months. and especially with the destruction of Zentra, they weigh heavily on you. You wish for the world of a calm and beautiful sea, but now you finally see it. If the universe is an ocean, it's a tainted one,

foul, putrid, vile, like an irrevocably polluted sea that bears sick, withered fish. The realms of your existence are a taint, and all you can think of is how to protect the realms that aren't of your existence from that pollution. You are a defender of your friends, after all.

It is your duty to protect from the unclean. If this realm is something, then the only way to shield against it is to be nothing. You are filled with disgust and repugnance as your spirit turns to nothingness of an impossibly black void. As you see Toa, his tattoos that had once been able, almost a faint glow from the blessing from the wind spirits,

they turn an inky black and they start to run through his skin as he floats forward, as he begins to turn into, as he begins to lose his color and he begins to lose the essence that has made him. You all see this happen. I'm floating. Believe it or not, I'm floating around. I never thought I'd know more than Capri.

Peace. This podcast is brought to you by our Patreon. Become a patron today at patreon.com slash legends of Aventress and gain access to tons of exclusive perks, including a monthly movie night and a weekly Patreon exclusive campaign set on the high scenes, shroud over salt marsh. You can also go to the crooked moon.com

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Did we just do this? It's dark Toa. He's back. Wait, I'm not, I'm not Dark Toa. I'm Tala. I'm Tala. Yeah, you're Tawa. Do you feel okay?

But why am I toa? That's how you were born. Why am I disgusted right now? What? I don't like it. You are so utterly disgusted and you see Escher, a demon. You are in the abyss, the taint of the demons. You feel an immeasurable hatred and disgust towards him.

It makes you want to kill him. Oh, fuck. Do I still like my friends? Do I love my friends dearly? You still feel that you must protect your friends from the taint of the demons, the taint of reality. Mikey, you're killing me. You said taint like 20 times in the last 30 minutes.

Taint no mountain high enough. I tried so hard, but you said it so many times. That gray will be tainting. I had my teeth cap and I just couldn't. I need to protect you guys. We all protect each other, To it's okay. No, I know, but I don't think Aisha wants to help us. He's a disgusting demon. Look at him.

Yes, he doesn't look like he used to, but I do believe he's trying to help us. He's very selfishly trying to. get his daughter back. She may not still remember. He's not going to try to use us to do that. Yes, he's not helping us for the good of everything, for the good of himself. He's trying to trick us. But it's help none the same. Just like Zern tricked us.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, easy, easy. Look, right now it's the lesser of two evils. We're going to work with him for now. Just like Ravali tricked us and Shangorro tricked us. No, Ravali didn't trick us. And Golden Lotus tricked us. Well, the others do. To what's this going on with you?

What's up, man? been used by everyone we've met. He's forgotten how to be kind. No, Toa's been through a lot. It makes sense that at some point everything he's been holding inside would bubble up. I'm done being used. I'm done being tricked,

especially by a disgusting demon. Oh my. Get away, Aisha. You see Toa's eyes are a pitch black and you can see through him to the void beyond. You can see through his tattoos or that same inky darkness of the same. stuff that is me, that is all around you.

It's okay. Look, this place is making you sick. We're forgetting things that's changing us. Just try to hold on to yourself. I'm trying to help you. Don't talk to him right now. Let us. Leave now! Hey, hey, it's okay. Try to remember who you are. Hold on. Never come back. This isn't good, guys. This isn't good at all. I'm protecting you. I know. I know. It's okay.

Or what? You cannot stop me. Don't antagonize him right now, Escher. Or I'll kill you. He will kill you. No, he'll get killed trying to do so. Thank you. Thank you.

How overpowering is my need to kill Escher? It's very strong. I will let you as the role player determine what that looks like. Oh, my God. I'm absolutely putting myself between the two of me. Yeah, absolutely. Even though I know he'll just mow me over if he wanted. Felix, you don't understand.

I do understand. I do. I can't know what you're going through right now, but I understand that you're hurting. Zern, use your brother, your own brother, as a pawn in his plan. I know. That's what he's doing. We're pawns in his plan. We need to kill him. I don't know this. We have to kill him.

We have to remove his taint from our presence. George. Listen, I don't trust him either. Silence, boy, how do you expect to get out of here without my portals? You want to be lost here, forgotten by all time. Go ahead and kill me. Felix has portals.

Felix can do everything you can do know. Felix can't remember his spells right now. That is one of the ones I do remember, though. Never mind, I take it back. You figure it out. I'll trust my friends and I don't trust you. Escher is right for now. We need his help for now. We don't have to trust him. Do you want to become like Oryks?

Stop talking to him. Forgotten by all those besides the Oberith laws and the people are surrounding me now? Do you wish for that? Go ahead and strike me down. Felix? Yes, sir. Because you're more best friend. We won't fight. For now. But the sickenet, I even think that we just pawns for you, you're going to die. I welcome you to attempt. Thank you for trying.

Thank you. I mean that. All right. We got to get out of here. Do you know? We have to go quick. We have to find the head and leave. The power I have, and he raises, and you can see that his hands are like raven flesh, and he has talents.

Stop antagonizing him. I said that three times. Fine. I cannot be seen by. Thief, by Arise. Anyway, last he warned Pizzou, the forgotten prince must not see me. And you see as Escher, in a moment,

he folds in on himself, and you see feathers, and you see a, as a feathered bat appears, and flaps over to Lofty. and kind of hangs on your little buns. And you see just this small little bat that is covered in feathers. And the beak is like, there's almost like a little beak protruding from the nose.

It's this horrible bat bird abomination. Oh, I guess this is okay, but we need to go. So can we just keep going the same direction? As long as we still remember the direction that we feel that we need to go and tell and I would continue to lead it. Felix. Stay close to him.

I will. Disgusting. It's all right. Just breathe. We're friends. We're friends. Come on. Pat my bun.

And we continue to try to lead the way. You continue and you feel yourself getting deeper and deeper into this realm, the forgotten land. As you feel something washing you. And suddenly the movement of the ink all around you gets less and less, and you feel like you're just in an empty void. And that gaze gets stronger and stronger and stronger. And Toa, I need to make a wisdom saving throw for me again. Oh, no.

I'm using five points. Okay. That's why they're there. I remember how to sing now because I saved my wisdom saving throw. What? Well, you never forgot how to sing. Well, you've got how to play instrument. You've got how to play music, yeah.

Which is detrimental. Which is 20 should I use? I didn't have a phone. The very best one. That one looks beautiful. I. That's pretty good. Okay, okay, okay.

25. I didn't trust the process. Oh, the DC is going up for sure. That sucks. Yeah. It is enough. As you feel that same level of disgust, Toa. Toa, as your tattoos

are that inky void, your eyes are black, your mouth is black when you open it to speak, but you do not lose your shape. You do not turn into a blot of ink yourself. As you finally see up

ahead something floating in the darkness and you see two shapes. And for the first time, you see a bit of light, and you get closer and closer as you see something moving in the darkness. It is large. And as it moves, it just seems to be like a raindrop running down, a pane of glass, or a a spawning pool from some primordial ancient time.

It's just a bubbling mass of void. And as you approach, you see the bit of light that's just beyond it. And you realize that it's not light, it's a small, pale head. Oh, God. Grieved in dark ringlet curls. as you see it's slightly moving, a child's head. And its eyelids flitter, but no eyeballs are within.

Its mouth opens, no tongue. As it floats beyond this inky void. And you all hear something come from that moving pool of ink before you. It's almost a faint, a faint, you almost as something that back of your mind, almost a thought as this thing is in between you and the head floating head. Like it's craving memory or wants it? It's possible. Or whatever is holding onto the head is lurking just beyond our sight. We got to stay on guard.

As she said, we'd have to deal with. You know who? Try speaking of memory into the bulb, whatever that thing is, and maybe it would be destroyed or forgotten. We should get closer first. We can't afford to lose anything else. What if that's what it wants?

To be said with memory might empower it, but it also might be the way through. Like a trade for the head? We could also just try to coax the head over here. I mean, it's probably unable to look at motion itself, but, you know, I could try it a little something, something. Okay. Does the blob, like, react, seem to react to us at all,

or it's just sort of moving? Now, the closer, now that you are close, it does seem to react. And as it's kind of moving, it extends a bit. and almost takes the shape that seems vaguely. Is it trying to be a humanoid or a beast? You can't tell. It's trying to take a shape.

But then it's almost as if it forgets what shape it's trying to take and then shifts back into just this amorphous blob. Like appendages kind of start to form but then retract. I'm picturing hexus. Oh, very similar to hexus. Exactly right.

Exactly right. As- How do I feel about it? You feel a kinship with it. You feel like this is what should await all foul demons. You know that this kinship, this is Zarekes, the forgotten prints

before you. That shape, that is the Oberoth. And you are, even for what you've forgotten, you're almost stunned to think of the power Pizzou and the Oberith, the dark shapes and the portals you had seen trying to be called forth. But you know that this is the prince, that whatever he perhaps may have been just like you, look just like you, but whatever he is now is as he should be, all thanks to him who watches from beyond the stars.

Arekes, the forgotten prince. And you see as it starts to... oscillate towards you as it it takes a moment though, as if it took a moment to even remember its own name. As it, as this ink block in just nothingness suddenly moves towards you. And in a moment you see that it changes its shape

into the form, something that slightly resemblance You see the shape of the hair and the ooze. And you see even a through it, dark grooves of where the tattoos are. And then it shakes its head and suddenly it loses its form and shifts back and forth and is in between you all and that floating head of Ravanaughia. As you said we were going to have to deal with it.

I don't know if that means through force or convincing it or Fincing it or why? Hey, can you understand us? I address the blob. Oh, I speak to it in Abyssal. If you spoke in common, it did not, but then when you speak in Abyssal. I say exactly what I said in Abyssal.

It takes a moment, almost like it's trying to register as if it's forgotten language, and then suddenly the language comes back as it then shifts to you, and you see, you feel, You feel this presence and all the while, while this is a, you feel a strangeness

to this living ink blob before you, but the threat and the horror that surrounds you is coming from outside from what's watching you all from beyond. And you feel its gaze very, very truly and deeply now, stronger than it's ever been as it turns to you. He can understand us. For sure. He has ascended.

What? As he should be. All of his demonic filth perched from him. Toa, stop saying odd shit. It's not odd at all. We could all be so lucky. What are you talking about? I have all of the disgusting filthiness.

It's all tainted. But not him. He's pure. He's whole. He looks like someone spilled an ink pot. You think that's a good alternative? Yes. That's the ideal.

Because he's forgotten everything. Everything we remember is wrong. It's not true. It's lost. Felix. It's disgusting. Hey, hey, it's all right. Come on, remember.

Remember who you are and who we are. And we're all best friends. and we're going to be okay. We're going to get through this. I don't. I know I'm Toa. I don't remember really who I am. Besides, I know that we're friends.

I don't know where I'm from, but none of it matters. Okay. Because where I was from was tainted. No, I'm... It's not true, Toa. We've been there. I'm getting us out of here.

Sort of. I'm done. done with this. I don't want to leave him like this anymore. And I turn to the blob and it I say, what do you want? You see that as you're speaking to it, it's starting to drift back toward, kind of turn towards you. And then it's starting to drift closer to Toa. It's kind of extending tendrils. Oh, stop it. And you hear once again faint, not even a whisper, just in the back of your mind as it starts to, it kind of shifts and it is starting to like slither towards Toa. Would I want to commune with this God? You feel like you might want to?

Oh, my. I'll start to float towards him. Hey. I will step in front of Toa and look at this blob. Okay. And I won't say anything, but I will picture in my mind the moment that all of us met at the crossroads. One of Iris's fondest memories. She'll think of the way that in her mind she was thinking, you know, Lifty is not so bad. I actually don't mind her all that much. I wouldn't tell her that, but she's not so bad. That's so sweet. And how it was that moment of distraction that everyone else kind of came upon each other. And the first time she had seen Toa and Felix and Caprice and Hersia and how that was the beginning of her found family.

You see as it stops, as you are able to, position yourself is moving very slowly. And you think very deeply. And as you're thinking about this memory, you see that this ink blot starts to change. The moment you think, you see it ripple out from the center, almost. And then it ripples out from the outside and then back in and then in and out.

And you feel as the presence of this thing gets larger, as you hear again, as you see that it stops and shudders and slinks away, it's tendrils occasionally reaching out, as if any of you try to think back to that memory, it is gone. As a reeks, the forgotten prince has fed upon that. memory and there's nothing in between you and the head of Ravanaughia.

As however, as you think back to the moment, you try to think back to the moment that you, you try to think back to the moment that you, you try to think back to the moment where, um, where you all met at the crossroads. And it's, it's not there. You're trying to think back to the moment. You're trying to think what was the memory and a different memory stirs. You see a dark ziggara. You see an enormous bloated woman with blue purple skin

and rather than legs, writhing tentacles with a huge beak, wriggling green hair and a trident and her tears are deep. She is wailing. And their

bowing in comfort is an avian demonic, monstrous person as you see Hazuzu bowing, raising hands, comforting.

And you feel a set, You see the look in Pizzou's eyes of treachery. You've seen the look of treachery over and over and over again as that memory is that all you can picture as you see that this blob goes away and then you realize now as the head is floating, a reeks has left a single orb of ink about that big. It's just pulsing and rippling. And that is what you say.

Did I just feel my memory get changed? It's possible. Anything is possible here. Did someone do something? Why is he leaving? I gave it what it wanted. You gave it a memory? Yes, it was approaching Toa,

and I was afraid in his current state if we let it get close to it at all, that it would take Toa, and I would rather it have a piece of me than Toa. You did the right thing. You gave us an opening. And I would immediately go for the head. And I would reach up and I would at least put my hand near the orb.

You do. And you raise your hand to the orb. And you see that within that orb, you peer into it. And although it is a black bit of ink, as you look into it, You see in your mind the memory that you had just seen of this great tentacled queen with her fort spear of power atop the ziggurat. You see other horrible fiendish abominations around.

They seem to be wounded. It seems to be after perhaps a battle. And it seems to be the, there seems to, that Pizzou seems to be bowing and lying to whatever. this entity is. And we all have this memory. Those who look into it suddenly you is because you all gave your memory

of the crossroads. You think back to the time that you first met and it feels like, oh, wait a minute. You showed up. You got to Striga and suddenly the period of time when you all met is a period of another world and another plane of existence experiencing this in this horrible

dark ziggurat. Holy shit. Wait! Areeks! This one time in grade school, I poop myself, and then I waited until it dried my ass crack, and then I let it, like, roll down my pants leg, and some other kid got blamed because I, like, shook it out at the back of class, and they all bullied them for like a year. Take it! Take it! Take it back! It was way longer than a year. People don't forget. Oh, people don't forget. He's gone. None of you heard that, all right? I too would like to forget that I heard that.

You're going to kill Kelsey. You can't see it. has done an incredibly brave thing. And as soon as I feel like there's an opening that I would not get to the blob or I'd go to see if I can retrieve the head. You run for me and you feel Escher on your head. He's clinging and he's definitely, he's actually shaking.

He's got me by the bombs. Exactly right. He's hanging on one little claw with talons and the other one he's hanging on on your head. It's weird that it's happened twice. Right? He's a buns man. And you float forward and you see

you grab this head. Gross. And it is, it twitches to your grasp. Ew, ew, ew, ew. As you see the eyes are gone, the nose is gone, the tongue is gone, and the ears are gone. As you're holding Ravanaovia's head.

And I would, God, help us. And I would float back towards the rest of the party with this thing in hand and just kind of like trying not to look at it too much because it's really disturbing. It's moving a little bit. You don't think the other bits are floating around in here, do you? Almost certainly. Oh, gosh.

I don't know if we need them all. Asher, come on, help us out here. What's going on with this? You see as Aurek's, is kind of floating away, Escher takes off and he flaps and goes in the opposite direction, pressing, flying away from Arreeks. Where are you going?

Come back here and I'll follow him. He keeps going away and away back into the inky void. And suddenly that darkness, you feel that. And to make one more wisdom saving throw for me. As you feel that gaze of him who watches from down the stars. Five. Yeah.

Killed it. 30. 30. I will say with that, you feel the gaze. And there is something about this, retrieving the head of this child and what is at stake? And suddenly memories start flooding back. And you remember who you are,

your tattoos start to glow with the power of the wind spirits, your eyes, return to their normal shade as you are back, Toa. Hey! As- I'll be looking at the orb dusting. The face of existence! I mean she's not very pleasant to look at,

but that's not a very friendly thing to say about a demon queen. You should still do that if you have the opportunity. You're feeling all right. Oh my gosh. You look better? No, I remember who I am. Oh, Toa. Do you remember ice cream Sundays?

Are the ice cream Sundays back? Both of you remember the ice cream sunda? Ah! I do remember ice cream sundays! Oh, my God! How can I have forgotten about that? Oh my gosh! And how Felix is the only one

that knows how to make ice cream soup! Oh! Oh, there's hope yet! I'm sorry for how I was acting. Oh, that's not like me. I don't like it at all. I don't like feeling disgust. It's all right.

We knew it wasn't you. It's this place, and the sooner we get out if he has the better we're going to to be. Let's keep up with Escher. He's our ticket out of here. Immediately, the bat bird spins and grows larger as you see Escher's vampire form as he runs forward. Give me that. Oh, hell no. Hold on. I'm not giving this to you yet. Yeah, you hold on. What is he done to you, my little bat? What is he done to you? Escher. You can't hear me. You can't see. You can't speak. I know it's hard to see her like that, but we have to get out of here and quickly.

Do you think that the rest of her is here or elsewhere? Twelve pieces, 12 planes, 12 Oberith Lords. We are going to put you back together, my little bat. We're going to save you. I swear it. And with that, he pulls out his rapier. and slices through the ink all around you. And you see, as soon as it makes an indent,

it cuts through the void, and it turns to the color of blood as it oozes out, and there's bits of green mixed in in the blood. And you all hear a terrible, cacophonous, buzzing droning as a portal opens up before you in the void. I think you should give him his daughter's head. Why? Because it's his daughter. Do you want to be carrying it around this whole time?

No, but if he does anything that... It's insurance. We can't hold on to it. I agree. We need him. Yeah. Either way, if he betrays his... Isher, are you going to betray us at this point?

I am risking everything. See? If you fail, then there's no more world for my little back. to enjoy when we put her back together. I'm sorry, by the way, for being upset to you and threatening to kill you. There you go. I threatened to kill you as well. Think nothing of it.

I've done far worse. I think because I just went through that experience, I'm feeling especially trusting him. I do kind of need my hands free. There is no need to hold onto the head. Just give it to him. If he's going to betray us, he'll do it whether he has the head or his. or not. Quite frankly, is more powerful than you are, Felix, more powerful than I am. Well, I don't think he's more powerful than Felix, but...

And even if he is, I'll... Fine. I'll give you the head for now. But don't think that I can't just burn it. I know. He looks at it. What have I dumped you? He got to fucking ruin that. Get here. Talk.

Talk. Tell what. Put up your finger. Oh, put up your finger. Oh. This is so cool. It's fucking gross. And I just knock it off my finger.

That doesn't happen. That's not funny. That's very funny. As he looks. Sorry, Mike. And he grabs he grabs it and says, what if I is on to you?

And with that, he takes his finger and he draws a circle and the ink again. And a small portal opens, and he lets the head sail through, and it closes. And he turns to all of you and he says, a box up was deposed, weakened and defeated, but he spent my own. a lannier regrowing and strength, building his swarm of vermin. I do not know what eyes and ears he has in the blood marshes, but I will need to be in my other form, at least until we are certain we are unwatched.

You're your bat form? Yes. All right. Let's go. We'll make our way through the blood marshes, and we'll find this. obax ob. He turns back and do a bat

and clings back to your buns. And you are all able to leave the portal if you'd like, or go through the portal. We enter. Let's get the hell out of here. I float expediently. As soon as we leave, we forget that we were in the plane. Just 12 more pieces to go.

Forever and ever. Dang it. Forever and ever, over and over and over. in. What were you doing? You all feel... I feel like you've been there for two years. Hungry, huh?

You all feel the gaze of who else could it be besides him who watches from beyond the stars is it has a horrible sense of disgust that fills all of you. As you pour through this portal as it closes behind you and your feet

land in ankle-high muck, and you look down and you see just blood all around you and buzzing and buzzing. It's all over as you see a stinking marsh, but far larger and more horrible. It looks like nothing natural. Where there are trees,

what looks like trees is actually massive papery hives, filled with holes, poxed everywhere, rising hundreds of trees. the feet into the air. You see small insects buzzing all over the place, and massive swarms as you smell stench and you see swarms of flies and swarms of skittering things

that look like scorpions, things that look like flies, things that look like beetles, all over as far as you can see. As you look up into the sky and the clouds are moving incredibly fast, and the clouds are a sky blue, and the sky itself is white. As blood stretches all around you, as you've arrived in the blood marshes, as the feeling that you all get

is utter disgust. And it's not the same, it's, and it's utter dread. And the, drone that you feel that you hear is almost deafening, and it's almost a cacophony. What do you all do? Oh God. This is disgusting.

I can't even think. Blood Marsh if you're nasty. It was very funny, Caprice. Well. I'm gonna take out a handkerchief, and I'm literally just gonna like tie it around in the back of my head and cover my like nose and mouth. I don't like bugs.

I will hold my breath with my unending breath. Oh. Oh, yeah. Wow. The, you still feel disgusting as the droning is, yeah, it's this horrible, horrible, buzzing and droning of just swarms flying all around. And you see now as you get your bearings that you see these trees, these pock marked. It's a triptophobics nightmare.

Yeah. as you see just these huge skittering insect demons skittering in and out, flying all around. As far off as you can see, you see the ruins of the ruins of massive cities. It almost reminds you of a dark version of Harkir of how many ruins that you see all around you. And then what gives you the most

pause as you look through the swamp and through these strange trees, you see chained up humanoid creatures, some demonic, some devil, some look celestial looking, perhaps across the multiverse, beings tied up and their bodies completely covered in holes. their corpses having perhaps been burrowed in and out bored as if things have perhaps

burst out of them. Well, let's try to stay here as little as possible. We have to go across the marsh. Is there an obvious direction? Let's look for landmarks and see if there's an obvious direction. Make a perception check. Oh.

That's going to be... That's dandy, folks. for him of biking. Seeing perception. I've got a 22. You you look around and you see

that there is that this is putrid bloody swamp as far as you can see in all directions. But you see that there are various ruined structures that seem to have been And I would say that you do see in one far off in the distance that there is a huge ruin of what looks like a primordial palace. What about this massive primordial palace right there on the horizon?

Oh, it's right over there. It's actually great. Yeah, it seems so obvious. I don't know why we didn't think of it before. Well, it seems like, you know... There is blood in my paw fur. Yes? Iris, that's...

Thank goodness you have black fur. Otherwise, I would never come out. I can feel it and it's warm. What's a pauffer? Is it like a type of coffee? Not doubt. It's a kind of bird in the Arctic. It smells here.

My linen is dirty. Oh, I mean, you're all of you is dirty. I want to die. Toa can kill you. Please. No, I don't want to... Horace, do you need to be carried? I need to be killed.

No, no. At least let me get you out of the muck, and I'm going to go scoop a virus. I'm so dirty. It smells horrible here. Caprice or Felix, I don't know. Can you help? I can help.

I can help. Clever off? Yeah. We've dealt with some awful things, but this is the worst. Iris, you're being a little... There's a palace. And it's disgusting.

I'm very deep in thought when you say this to me, but almost absentmindedly, I just snap my fingers a few times. If you get depressed a duty, too, and clean you up. But I'm clearly in thought while I'm doing this and kind of absentmindedly just trying to clean Iris up while I think. Iris, you're so much better. You're clean now? Yes.

Take my hand. No. We need, we need. Take my hand. No, it's always sweaty. It's just clammy palms, okay? It's a little hairy, which is straight. I forgot all of my phenobiosostostate when I was in Galtica.

I don't have the ability to... It's just climbing. Just fucking take my hand. I don't want to. It's feeling just cleaned me off. We need Toa to be able to not just carry you this entire time. He needs to be able to fight and defend us. But he's strong and muscular.

It's going to be fine. Just take it. But he's warm. I know, but you're going to be able to stay clean and free. I hate when you talk to me. What? This is for your own good and I'm gonna grab her paw and put it. I cast fly.

I don't have to use this. Failed. You like fly out of my own. Does it recall any kind of components? I mean I've got my focus and I believe that I... What's your focus? My fiddle. Your feel?

Do you remember how to play it? Yeah, do you remember how to play it? I thought that I think. against that. When you all arrive, you realize, except for the Crossroad memory. We got all. So we're good. So I was able to find my shit. Yes. And suddenly you're like, how the fuck did I miss place that? That lost it. It's like, you know, when you're looking for something and it's in your hand the whole time? Oh my God. I just... It was on the top of your head. Yep.

I thought that we got that back when we initially saved. So I thought that we were... Anyway, fortunately, it's all fine because I use my bow of the dying swan to cast him. All right, she's got an hour before she has to get monkey. And that's about as long as it's going to take for us to walk there, I'm guesstimating. Let's get going.

Felix, are you okay? Yeah, I'm just thinking about what we're going to do when we find this thing. Well, yes, Escher, you warned us about the other situation. What are we looking for here? Sure, yeah. We're not gonna say its name in front of it. That's right.

No. That's right. But we're going to have to deal with it, I'm assuming, and what part of your daughter are we looking for here? We know she's missing her eyes, her tongue, her ears, her nose. Clearly her body is gone. Mm-hmm.

Is it just head? It's an all head part, 12 head part? Maybe some, no, no, I mean there's 12 pieces. I mean, she was more than just a head with this. started, I presume there's going to be body pieces. Well, I'm just knowing, is the body one piece and then there's 11 head pieces? I'm just trying to figure out the ratio. Well, there's five head pieces so far.

You think if you're going to split someone up, you wouldn't go all head. You'd probably go head, shoulders, knees, and toes, right? Oh, yeah. At the very least. Okay. Shoulders not really a body part, though. Of course it is. It's more like the intersection of two body parts.

Like the clavicle with the arms attached, just like one... upper torso. I'm guessing torso, legs, feet, toes, arms, hands, fingers. Oh, that's really good. Are you going to separate the toes from the feet, in which case that's already. Yeah. I wouldn't.

Well, no, but then it's like a group. The fingers are a group. Why wouldn't you just do hands? And that way the fingers are simple. Because that's not enough numbers. Yes. Because if you separate, toes got a good point. If you separate the hand,

and then the fingers from the hands. It's just a poem. I didn't think about that. Lift up. Hold on. You feel... Lifty. You feel...

There's still not enough. Unless you can't butt cheeks separate. Bat fangs sink into your right leg. Ow! God! Oh, you're right? The hell? And then the bats get...

And then you see Escher skitter back to the top of your head. What the hell? Oh, yes. Oh, he's being rude. No, he said that he couldn't be seen by this thing, so he can't answer our questions because he's a bat creature, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

He's tiling his stuff. Does anyone know how to speak to bad creatures? Wait, maybe he means that her legs are here? Oh, is that why you get married by the cabs? He goes over and he nods at you. Oh! He climbs over on your face and nods. I can try to speak bad.

Well, can you just bite Lufty in every place that Rabinovi has been split? Yeah, or just like gently flutter your wings, you fucking leaves. He bites your other leg. God, damn it. That looks like it hurt. All right, we're looking for legs. clearly. Oh, legs. And then he bites both your arms.

Oh, and arms. And arms. Here? All here? No, no. He's just telling us the pieces we're going to be looking for. I think we just know that it's body parts. Why is this relevant? I don't know. Stop biting me. We'll figure it out. If we find a stray body part, we'll collect it, we'll shove it through the hole. Easy.

That's fair, yeah. Easy money. Okay, let's just, let's just go. Can we go? Can we start going? Yeah, we proceed. You make your way through the swamp as it gets deeper and deeper. As you see the looming trees that are bored out and filled with holes, skittering insects, that they seem to, they seem to pay you no mind as they look very clearly a demonic in origin. As this grand, the blood shallows, by the way, he was saying shallows, not marches. That's retcon.

The blood shallows. The blood shallows. You make your way through the muck as you see ruined temples and crumbled towers that look even more ancient than the ruins that you had seen in Haurakir. As you

press onward and the buzzing of this swarm gets louder and louder and as you make your way through the muck it is so loud and everyone to make a comment Constitution Saving throw. It's where I'm a Viking.

Oh, I'm advantaged. I'm not advantaged. I'm fruition of this. Oh, baby, spiking them. Let's go. That's Monty. That's just silly. Okay.

I'm going to assume that's pretty good. Constitution, Constitution. I hope the D.C. is very low because otherwise I feel. You of all people? Oh, no. It's five plus nine, which is a 14. This is not poison, is it? No.

What did everyone get? What did everyone get? 17. 21. 21. 14. You are walking. And as you, the buzzing gets louder and louder as you actually make your way around one of these giant, it almost, it looks like, you.

You can't sure if it's a tree or a mountain or a high, it almost like a giant ant-hill that rises up and kind of has these fleshy fronds that are all obviously marked with holes as one of these swarms of a horrible scorpion flies, for lack of a better word, there's scorpion flies, they're buzzing, and it gets louder and louder. And you had been gazed upon by an Eldridge horror

from Beyond the Stars, and this is far worse. as you see, you hear a loud, sickening splash as both Toa and Caprice fall unconscious for 10 minutes. Wait, from the buzzing? From the buzzing, yeah. Could you describe these as like meat trees? Are they like the cum trees of Pennsylvania? What, Jesus.

Describe them as meat trees. Yeah, it's like, yeah, they're meaty, they're kind of meaty, but there's also wood. It's very demonic and horrible, and, I'm picturing the meat trees from GER. Yeah, their meat trees is kind of like the big spires in sylophis a little bit too. Or you know those living fleshy silithed stuff.

I'm picturing Caleb from Eldon Ring. For anyone that knows that game. Excellent. My face. I need to fix my face. You see Caprice and Toa collapse as the buzzing. Would fly stop as well? Yes. Splush.

Wait. Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait. Go on. Wait. It is definitely concentrated, you know that? But no, fly is concentration. The way that I cast it, when I- Does that skip concentration?

It doesn't. It's still a concentration. Okay, then we all fall into the muck. Oh, dear. Concentrating on fly, concentrate on. God, I look between them to decide which to help first with Caprice's face down in the blood clotty, like shout. A few bubbles are like crossing right next to my nose.

Don't even think about it. Iris, oh gosh. There's like no way we can pick up Toa. He's extremely heavy. Without even hesitating. Before a moment can happen, I would, now knowing where my knife is, I would reach for the knife, hold it in my right hand,

and with my left hand do a whistle, which I can't do it. But it would ring out. Do it. And Beatrice would pop on the my hand. shoulder, flutter and tweet and immediately grow to a much, much, much larger Bluebird as I cast Arcane Hand. Very good. But I'm flavoring it as a giant Bluebird. And she easily plucks them up out of the water. Yeah. Two, you hear one of the bugs like, woo, woo, woo, woo! Get them, skater!

Get them! That man! It flies going fucking crazy. As you, as Beatrice goes to pick them up, I think she needs to do an athletics contest. Oh, my. To see if she pulls them out of the muck. Each Caprice and Toa, you take- Strength of 26. Yeah, it's a crazy.

I don't want to take. Oh, you got 26? No, no, I'm sorry. She has a strength of 26. Holy hell. Wow. So that's plus... Plus eight.

Yeah. 11 points of piercing damage. As you are unconscious, you're not knowing, you don't know why. But. Holy fuck. Both you need to make constant saving throws again, too. Thanks, Beatrice. That's a 21 total.

That is enough. As Beatrice takes her Bluebird talents and grab them. And you see Beatrice, her eyes, she looks a little, like, surprised. the fact that she has to give it a little bit of oomph, as if the swamp is trying to take them as she pulls up both Caprice and Toa. What did you give on your Consaving Thirst? 21.

Four. Four. You see now as there are holes in both Toa and Caprice. As you see little burrowing insects and scorpions falling out. However, as Toe is pulled. out and there are something that's just turned out and shriek and fold down and skitter away into the swamp. You see the ripples. However, Caprice has dozens as you see movement beneath his skin. Oh my God. It's like bot flies. The dark hand is only going to last a minute. Yeah, so I would try to have Beatrice

move them to a spot where they are not drowning. Yeah, face down in a puddle. Yeah. And set them upright again. and something. Yeah, you would be easily able, I mean, there's so many, like, large roots and large, and bits of rubble and stone. You make your way through and you just find bits of, perhaps there had been a whole city here thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of years ago.

It's really hard to tell with the abyss. You would easily be able to find a ruined, tainted piece of stone to put them on. Caprice, you're going to take an additional 15 points of piercing damage. Oh my god. I would look to Iirs and say, yeah. Oh, this is really bad.

I know my dad. Look at his skin. Look at what's moving underneath. I can try to dispel it, but I don't know if it's magical. I don't know if it's something you can cure. There's like bugs inside of him. Okay, this is really cute.

I'm like my whole body is crawling right now. I'm happy to try to dispel it. I just don't know if it's going to have any effect. I'll assist you. in whatever way you need me to. Well, I'm tap it out on most of my ability, unfortunately. I would take a look at what's happening to poor Caprice here. I did have my heart ripped out in case you've got.

Tushay. And see if I can discern from an arcane perspective whether or not dispelling or attempting to dispel this might have any effect. Or if these are like physical creatures that need to like physically be removed. And yeah, if I could assist, or medicine check or something just to see if I could determine what, if anything,

I would say our contract, medicine check. And am I still unconscious? Ten minutes, yeah. You just hopefully don't have to keep making that safe. So I'm full of holes, but they've left me. Yes, you've been ripped. They were basically working on burrowing in and you were able to get ripped up,

but they just went right for Caprize. He was very tasty. He was very tasty. He was softness. Nice. Like a teamwork. What I will say is that you are, able to determine that these are definitely living creatures,

but I think that if you do use some sort, they are very magical, they are demons. They are fiends in nature. And so if you were to use a dispelled magic, you could roll for it to see if it would basically purge them out. That's pretty cool. The question is fourth level or seventh level. There's no in between.

I would attempt to use a fourth level of dispelled magic. And what you would see is you'd see me raise the knife, like I'm gonna go for his skin, And I'm like putting my hand around one of these moving things. Like, it looks like I might go to cut it out. But then my left hand will glow with flash blue arcane magic I attempt to dispel of these creatures from his... Yeah.

So I'm just going to roll to spell magic. And I'm just going to tell you what I get... It's an arcana. No, just... Just it, I believe. This just says any spell, third, immediately ends for fourth spell or higher, make an ability to check using your spell casting ability.

which is just plus five. Yeah, right. I would be assisting you, yeah? For dispel, you can't assess, I don't think, right? I can give him guidance, which gives us a D4 to the next ability check. Yeah, bitch, shut it. Yeah, I would lean over it. Guide your hand with golden hands.

If we can twist it, it might not be a bad idea to add like three. Two or three, what do you think? We're running kind of low. Running kind of low. That's not doing it. I got guidance plus five. Got it. You know, this will be the time I roll one, which is fine.

No, perfect. Oh, we're good. 17 plus five is 22. You see the movement. It reminds you of the dusk elves, the Shadar Kai, who had been gifted with the scarops, the necromanic scarves from Anka-Tap that you'd seen so long ago as at least a dozen of these horrible beetle-like

scorpion fly creatures pour out of Caprice. And I need you, Caprice, to make one more Conflage and say, McThill fly. You're going to pass this. I can't take anymore. I just can't. Give me some 17. 17.

They pour out of Caprice, and you see no more wriggling beneath his skin. As you hear the loud droning of that tower that had knocked them out directly next to you. You've been able to resist it. but it is this horrible buzzing as these flying in-suits are kind of flying all around you, but they're not seeming to attack

as you do this. But now, basically, both Toa and Caprice, there's a large, a broken block that would have taken a brick bigger than any kind of brick that you had seen before, even in Harakir. It would have taken perhaps

a thousand more mortal humanoids or whatever kind of horrible beast to be able to move this thing, as you rest them on that. Oh, God. Okay, all right, nobody panic. I think the bugs are gone. Yeah?

Yeah. They seem to be gone, but they're, you know, full holes and they're unconscious. Okay. All right, thanks for the hell virus. Oh, you're welcome, let me. Caprice looks worse. Worse for wear. It looks disgusting.

I can't even look at him. He does look quite disgusting. I hate to do this, and I'm gonna grab his clammy sweaty palm, and I'm gonna cast cure wounds on him at a second level. You channel the power of Anubis, although he has gone back to Arcadia. You are the vessel of his power, it's Caprice.

You suddenly wake up and feel the pain of having been born in. 11 points of him. as you see these, as you feel as if you've been turned into an ant-hill. Oh, God. I'm covered in holes. I hate that. This is bad.

Well, that's gross. What the fuck? What the fuck just happened when I pass out? Why do you think of things like that? You're going sick fucking. Oh, I miss when you dark wings, folks. This is really bad. Really bad.

Oh, God. I got, I got some stuff about this. Hold on. I pull out a Ziplog bag full of ointment. God. I've still got two charges on this bitch. Before fucking music now. Here, here, here.

Take some for Toa. Oh, I have to touch Toa too. I have to touch Toa too. I'll take some. Lot me out. What about? 2D8 plus two hit points for both of us. And it ceases any poisoned or disease specifically.

You feel the holes closing up as you apply the way in Toa. You suddenly are rocketed back as, as, Iris, however you want to apply in the oil, you can. Slowly. Oh, your chest is looking mighty wounded. There aren't any holes there. Oh, these biceps, triceps. What happened?

It's best we don't talk about it, but you're okay now, sort of. Felix, come here, come closer. Come closer. This is just like me in 1999, film the money. Starting Brendan Fraser. Okay. And Rachel, Mike, look, you're, you've been wounded.

It's going to be okay. I don't want anyone to panic. I, with Iris's help, we were able to dispel or stop whatever it was within you. Thank God. And I don't want anyone to panic, but I do want to remind everyone that allegedly the minions of this being reproduced by burrowing into the skin. Oh.

Tell us, you feel pregnant. So if anybody feels weird, let us know immediately. What does it feel like to be pregnant? I don't know. I don't know either. If you start wanting pickles with your ice cream soup, let us know. That does sound kind of good. No! Oh, God.

No. Am I eight? Chawa? No. Okay. Nevermore. It doesn't taste. I guess me saying no like that won't prohibit the possible impregnation. So you do whatever you want. Let it happen. Speak up. I don't know how to respond to that.

I'll say the same thing. I feel fine right now, but if I feel any eggs of wriggling, you'll be the first to know. We are not off to a great start here. Why'd I pass out? I heard that sound and it just like, it was the buzzing. I mean, it's pretty intense.

It's really hard to concentrate on anything with that noise. It's throbbing inside of all of us. Can we like run? Can we? Say, damn. We gotta move. We might be, two of us might be pregnantante.

Or am I okay. All right. We must hurry. Let's go. I start sprinting. We rush. Should we go to the palace? You do.

If that's what the fertilization look like, I don't want to see what the birth looks at. Oh, God. You see these. These things that it looked like trees or these great spires are like giant ant-hills as these creatures that are a mix between of ant, of scorpion, of fly, of beetle,

are flying all around, and the buzzing gets larger and then gets louder and louder as you finally make your way to just these utterly destroyed what could only have been a palace or perhaps an enormous temple. But what it would have taken to destroy this thing, You cannot even imagine. As you see the ruins have overgrown

with this just this fleshy substance that's pulsing, pop up with holes, insects crawling all over it, with enormous spires rising up, organic spires, with the buzzing insects flying all around. And you make your way into the ruins of this palace. And what I will say is who would like to guide to figure out where to go. As Escher is, Escher is just clinging on and he is trying to guide you, but in the bat form, it's difficult for him to communicate. He can't, like,

ratatooie me with my puns. Oh. I'm going to roll for animal haley. Roll for ratatooie. Batatooie. Batatooie. Batatooie, everybody. Oh my God. Batatooey. Yes. Roll for batatooey. Oh, that wasn't very good. I got an eight. You can see that he's trying to bat it to you. And you are not picking up what he's laying down at all. I'm just breaking eggs everywhere.

And so I'll say, maybe you'll be able to develop a bond strong enough, especially after everything that you've been through with Escher, that he can bat it to me. Because that's the greatest him ever heard in my time. You know, we need that to happen. What's he saying, Blufty? I don't know. You know, I feel like he's telling me. Go right, go left, I don't know.

Whisk this, do that. It doesn't feel applicable to our problem right now. Whisk? I don't know. It's the length as this. It's just vegetables? You do feel that it's interesting that he is not taking off in the sky

as perhaps being a small bat might be a very easy morsel for one of these giant insects that you occasionally see flying overhead. And so whoever wants to attempt to figure out where to go. I mean... Aris.

You know palaces and castles and stuff like that look like this. Yeah, I feel like you'd be well equipped. I could try to inspire you with a song. Would you have to touch me again? No, only touch you with my emotional singing voice in your heart. Well, I do love when you sing.

Yeah. Fine, I'll do it. I'm in the abyss. I might be pregnant. We're in the blood shallows now. And I'll give you inspiration. That was brilliant. That's really good.

That was brilliant. That's really good. That's really good. That's right. I was saying blood shallows the whole time. He's what he's ratatouies. All right. So, oh God.

We'll attempt to do what? Lead us, let pretend this is your temple. Confidently walk forth and Find out where we need to go because it'll just feel right in your guide. All right. If you had something important in your castle, in your temple, where would you put it? The very back behind handsome girls. Oh, just imagine that and find the handsome guard.

Okay. All right. I'll step forward. You can hear the blood and slush as my feet sink down into it. I'm not going to look down. I'm going to look forward towards this hideous temple and I'm just going to march forward and... Make a survival advantage. As you step into this castle, you realize not only is the motion above you of just the clouds of vermin and insects all around you buzzing, you see the pure, the strange blue clouds almost rocketing over you. As if it's, it's anachronistically like a super fast time lapse of a day, but it's just like sped up as it's sped up as fast as possible.

as it's almost dizzying to look up. A temple is a temple, as a temple, as a palace is a temple. They're all the same. I hope. And I got a 20. Nice. You get a sense of this place

where a palace is a palace and you start to see as like you want to get out of the environment. You want to get out of the shallows of the marshes. As you enter, there's occasion areas of where there are rooms where the roof is still above you, but mostly it's exposed to the elements. You do, however, find huge ruined chambers, cracked hallways, and Iris guides you through without getting lost with that role. As you make your way deeper, as you see the flesh growth on the walls pulsing the kite in a shell of insects, you see the creepy crawling of all

these strange hybrid, demonic fiendish insects all around you, until you finally, the smell and the buzzing gets louder and louder until you, the buzzing, it was normally impulsing in waves, and the deeper you get into this palace, the droning is consistent, and it is maddening, is bouncing off all of the walls, is reverberating, and as you get closer with these large spires of ant-hill-type growths. You see up ahead, where perhaps the grand audience hall may have been in this fantastical,

other-worldly palace, an enormous hole that is bored deep into the soft, wet earth, all sorts of strange veins of what you found going down, and these massive spires surrounding it, almost the biggest spires of this ant-hill-like,

gross that you've seen yet, as you see that they have these enormous holes, like the size of a full grown adult. And you see right there, and the buzzing is so loud, you feel like if this is where the former Prince of Demons would be lurking, this is where it would be. Well, I think we found where it lurks. Well done.

You have to go. Down there? I believe so. We have to be ready for anything. All right. Stand behind me. Are you sure? I'm okay.

You might be pregnant. I know. I'm just going to hope that I'm not. Positive thinking. I'm going to manifest that I'm not. Oh, I love that for you. Would you like a crystal? I have 12.

Does that help? Yes. You just put crystals everywhere and anything you want comes to you. Oh. Sure. All right, and I read into my pack. Here are my quartz, and there's my peridou, and here's some jasper.

What kind do you want? Turquoise, I'm going to give you some of gems, some of crystals. Anything you want manifest if you have these crystals? Well, that's what I was told. That's what it said in the pamphlet. Why wouldn't you get those out and just be like, we need all these pieces right now? Because I haven't figured out how to make them work yet. Oh.

I'm going to manifest very hard with this. Thank you, Arrows. Oh, welcome. I'll start to slowly lead the gang down into this disgusting pit. You do. And as you make your way into this kind of in this courtyard that is surrounded by,

almost like the spires are all coming up and meeting. At the top, you see growth and the droning gets incredibly loud. And suddenly you hear a, as bursting forth, you, as bursting forth, from all of these growths, you see the insects that you had seen before were child's play.

Oh, God. As you see, oh, these are the true minions of Abok's ab. As these horrible insect-like creatures that are crossed between a scorpion, a fly, and an ant. But where a head would be, you see fuse together

of three humanoid-looking demon skulls. As they take to the wing and they burst out, flying into the air. Huge pulsing stingers, extending from their abdomen, pulsing with that same disgusting blood red goop of the blood shallows. As they swoop down, the buzzing is cacophonous. As I need everyone to make a constitution saving throw

and roll for initiative. Damn. And we can take a break there if you like, coffee break. I wouldn't mind. Let's get initiative done and then. I was thinking. I love these guys. I'm going to miss these days so bad. You're frost dice to really help me out here, bro.

Yeah. If you know how to roll them, they always do good. 21 for Constitution. 20 for con. Okay, you resist it. 25. 25 for con. You're good? 17. 17 for calm. Double 13s. Look at that. My initiative is only a 16, though. But I'm not very fast.

10 for calm. Oof-da. Roll the natural one. That's 21 for con. For calm. Toa's just not having a good thing. Oops. You're saving a bit of combat. That's right.

You're gonna go absolutely ham at combat. Initiative. 20 to, I'll make some during the break, yeah. And let me just see. Let me see the DC. Here's your in your, your, you only out of 10. The droning, you were off your game. I think it was probably perhaps the realm of the forgotten lands.

I'm spooked. As you see Toa. you see Toa collapse onto the ground as the buzzing is so awful, you fall unclogous. 17-1-cast? 17-n-Cast, yes. As these enormous insect demons swarm upon you, I'll take everyone's initiative.

Eight, nine. So I'll just do, Toa is nine, Iris is eight. Felix's got a 16. Felix is a 16. Lifty's a 22. Lifty is 22. 18 for Derek.

And then 18. I mean, Capri. Freeze. And then, okay. Thank you so much for listening to the Legends of Evantris podcast. We hope you enjoyed the session. If you want even more campaigns to listen to, become a member of our Patreon at the Pearl Dolphin Tier or Higher

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