Not Another D&D Podcast - Skaldova - Ep. 7: The Laboratory

Episode Date: April 11, 2025

The Zu Crew breaks into the sealed wing of the keep, uncovering failed experiments, twisted schemes, and a glass box full of bugs.Sound Mixing and Editing by Brian Murphy and Faris Monsh...iMusic / Sound Effects Include:"Blackthorn Hall" by Emily Axford"The Children" by Emily Axford"Henry’s House" by Emily Axford"A Friend For Life" by Emily Axford"Angels and Devils" by Emily Axford"In The Dark of Dusk" by Emily Axford"Young Love" by Emily Axford"Conspiracy In The Clouds" by Emily AxfordSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 This is a HeadGum Podcast. Welcome to the campaign after the campaign. This is not another D&D podcast. Welcome back to Skaldova, everybody. Skal-do-va! Sing it. I'm your dungeon master, Jake Hurwitz, here with Brian Murphy. Scaldova, everybody. Scaldova! Sing it. I'm your dungeon master,
Starting point is 00:00:28 Jay Kerwitz here with Brian Murphy. Fighting a bookshelf to redeem myself, Zadrik of the murder. Yes, you are. Emily Axford. From the windows to the floor, to the ceiling, to the back of a board, it's Welly Hanzam!
Starting point is 00:00:45 Murph looked at me with secondhand embarrassment the entire time I did it. He was trying to get me to stop with his eyes. So cringe. That one was so cringe, Emily. It only made me wanna do it more. I think it was the fact that you deviated from the original song right away.
Starting point is 00:01:04 It was, I was waiting for the window to the wall. Oh, okay. So I just thought it was different. But isn't the famous line is the window drops off my balls. Okay. I don't really know the song that well. Also, we were all sitting here and I was asking Jake a bunch of Lord questions. I was writing and call was writing and Murph made a joke about the notes taking and call was like, I'm just coming up with a rhyme. And I was like, Caldwell was writing and Murph made a joke about the notes taking
Starting point is 00:01:25 and Caldwell was like, I'm just coming up with a rhyme and I was like, fuck, I need to come up with a rhyme. Wow. And then that song that was incorrectly in my head. Yeah, I would say what's more cringe is that Murph knew all the words. Yeah right, that song rocks, dude. Now let's see what Caldwell came up with.
Starting point is 00:01:42 Caldwell Tanner, can you beat it? Can you meet that controversy? Jam balls into mine real quick. A man from a bog who bested some zombies let loose my hog but I'm still feeling hungry till the sweat rolls off my balls, it's Boggy Roger. That's how you do it. I definitely needed little John to creep in there.
Starting point is 00:02:03 Little John is part of Boggies Buds for sure. Isn't little John part of Robin Hood? Yeah, yeah. That's where it comes from. He actually is. Wow. Wow, yeah, cool stuff. So honestly, Emily inserting that song, even incorrectly,
Starting point is 00:02:17 was kind of like sort of metaphonotary. It was actually beautiful. Really intelligent. It really brought everything together. I actually didn't know who the singer was or that little John was part of Robin. Last time, our three strange sentinels charged into the dungeon to face an undead horde and a regular boar.
Starting point is 00:02:34 Wellie and Boggy fought off some monks and tamed the beast while Zudrick had a knockdown drag out fight with a bookshelf. In the guard room, you uncovered the legacy of Princess Lenark's chivalric order, the Solar Knights. From there, you explored the armory where an ancient map challenged everything you knew about the Age of Stories, a mysterious dragon, the advance of the Hilt, a circle in the bog, plus a fleet in the north, a stolen compass, and a star map in the sea
Starting point is 00:02:59 west of Mudtown, aka Solset. You eventually made your way to the crypt where you found the tomb of Ser Gunnar Summer, captain of the Solar Knights, buried with a sword as his headstone, etched with a familiar name. And that's where we are now. All right, well, he's turned around. I am trying to yank it out as I read it. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:03:21 Okay, so Zudrik, your hand is on the hill, you're wiggling it. Yeah. Okay, so Zudrik, your hand is on the hilt, you're wiggling it. Yeah. What are you gonna do? I think the gesture was really flippant at first. I was just like, whatever, and I went to pull it, and then I think I see Hamdam, and I try to stop myself.
Starting point is 00:03:38 So maybe I'll do a strength check with disadvantage. Okay, all right. Do you need help? Do you need a yank? No, wait. I feel like this is someone else's moment. Okay. Let's yank that sucker. I only got a, with disadvantage, I got an eight.
Starting point is 00:03:52 Great. So you reach toward the sword, you get distracted, you see the name Hamdam, and you jam your thumb against the hilt. Oh! Zutty, it's not gonna fit in the treasure bag, but we can take it for sure. Okay, yes, Wellie, I think you need to read the sword.
Starting point is 00:04:07 Oh, read something? Gladly. I go read the sword. Okay. Sir Caspar Holborn, Sir Lachlan Boyd. Wow, these are some of the luckiest knights ever to have. Keep going. Oh, okay.
Starting point is 00:04:22 Sir Hilda Garnet, that's a pretty name. What a name, what a name. Sir Cassian Dane. Sir Leif Thornston. I have his shield, I have his shield. Let me go grab his shield, I have to show you. History is alive. Okay, Sir Radak Lachmaw.
Starting point is 00:04:38 Sounds like a solid bro. You're right, he really does. There's so many. Lachmaw, what a good last name. Yeah, Willy, yeah. Oh, and there's one more. Sir Wilma Hamjam. Whoa!
Starting point is 00:04:52 Are you fucking kidding me? Well, he passes out. No, no. Catch her. You need to pull this sword out. Not drop your voice ten octaves and then die. Did I just read what I think I read? Yes, I think your family perhaps was part of this order of solar knights. You were descended from chivalry.
Starting point is 00:05:17 No. This is the greatest moment of my pathetic life. Well, don't have to. Ah, okay. I will grasp it both tenderly and greedily. And I'm gonna try to unearth this relic from whence it is separated from me. Wow, all right.
Starting point is 00:05:42 As you come to, you fainted and you come back, you approach the sword. A ripple of torchlight glides across the carved steel. Each name, an oath sworn night with their own tale, their own trials, joys, hardships, and loves. All seven of their stories, however winding, converged here, etched into the blade of their brother as they laid him to rest. And now, a new story.
Starting point is 00:06:06 Three unlikely companions, deep in the lost crypt of a forgotten castle. What tales will they tell of you? You grip the hilt on the sunken blade. Wellie, the DC to bring this blade out of the stone is going to be 20. But you can make a case for me to use whatever skill that you would like to.
Starting point is 00:06:27 Can I give advantage by saying that I did yank it out a bit? Cedric loosened it when he knocked his hand against it. I'll help. I see it just slightly off kilter, just looking slightly less pretty in there and I just keep wincing. If you need oil, I've got more. I think that Wellie would just like to use athletics,
Starting point is 00:06:48 but I will drop to my knees and say a prayer. I will clasp my hands and I will say in my mind, but moving my lips. Oh, Lodestar, oh, Hilt, oh hill, oh ender, I know I am but a lowly squeak in the symphony of this universe. But if you can hear me, from wherever it is that you've gone to, please know that I'm really trying. Just as the earth forms a rough rock which the river may later smooth into a pleasing
Starting point is 00:07:28 pebble, so I desire to let the bumpy currents of fate tumble me into something better, more worthy. I wish only to know your protection, your guidance, and your embrace. Sincerely, Welly Hamdam. She signed off on a prayer. You said that part out loud. P.S. I've seen Princess Lenark and she's so hot. I mean, has so much integrity. Okay, since this isn't actually a letter,
Starting point is 00:08:08 I can't cross out the mistakes, so it's just gonna hang there in the air. Okay, and then I'm gonna try to pull out. Yes, give her a tug. Okay, so you try to shake off that PS. Give me an athletics check with advantage with the help from Zudrik knocking it a little loose. Okay.
Starting point is 00:08:28 I didn't get it. No. Do you have a tactical mind still? I have one last second wind I can turn into a tactical mind. I need to get a seven or higher. Oh man. I got a six. Oh.
Starting point is 00:08:43 Oh. Wellie, you grip both your hands around the blade, you whisper this prayer, and you yank up, and the sword starts to give, but it catches in the stone, not willing to break free. Wellie's just gonna say, I'm sorry, Hamdam is a very common name. Maybe we're not even related. And even if we were, it's clear that something's gotten worse over time.
Starting point is 00:09:14 Wellie. Buggy puts a hand on Wellie's pauldron. When there's something lost in the bog, when we are dredging up a corpse to see if there's any usable iron on it, or whether we're harvesting the bog potatoes we planted dredging up a corpse to see if there's any usable iron on it or whether we're harvesting the bog potatoes we planted last season. We do it together. The strength of many can paddle the boat faster. Yes, there are a lot of names on this sword. Min Amarth, we rise as one.
Starting point is 00:09:42 Well said. Would you allow me to help you? Again, as I mentioned, I have lots of oil. But what if it shouldn't be taken from its place? What if that would disturb the soul of the man who was laid here? Would you use this sword to oust these monks who defile this place? Yes, I would. Then I think it worthy. But what if the reason I want to oust them is just because I wanna be closer to the gods
Starting point is 00:10:06 and the reason I wanna be closer to the gods is just a selfish curiosity about magic? The heart is a compass, Welly. And you fight with yours pointed towards true north, I think. Okay. As Boggy says this to you, Welly, you see the opal in the sunburst on the pommel glimmer and glow, the light slanting across the room.
Starting point is 00:10:29 The sword is calling out to you to try again. Okay, I will try one more time. Is there anything you can do to, ooh, what's a word other than lubricate? Lube it up. Yeah. Lube it, lube, yeah. You don't have to say all of lubricate, you can just say lube.
Starting point is 00:10:46 Of course. Should I lube this puppy up? Yeah, I think you should lube the puppy. Should I spit on that thing? Hey! Hey guys! You don't understand, I just said a prayer and ended with a really embarrassing postscript and I don't think that the fact that I was unable to pull the sword is unrelated to that embarrassing postscript.
Starting point is 00:11:10 Okay, okay, this is fair. So Boggy is going to lube it up, Zudrik is gonna spit on it. Min Amarth, you rise as one. My legendary sword from the Age of Stories is now nice and slippery for Wellie to grip. From the sunken to the sun, we shall rise. Okay.
Starting point is 00:11:32 You know what, Wellie, if you started off perfect, you wouldn't be on a journey, so let's just keep trying to transmute rock into gold. That's a 19 on the die, it goes a 25! There you go. Oh! It's so lubed.
Starting point is 00:11:52 It's so slippery. Wellie, you step forward to grip it and you fall down, driving the sword all the way into the stone, up to the hilt, and then jerk it back up with one smooth motion and it is shiny, slippery and free. I'm gonna take a second to pass it around because we did this, we all did this. My goodness, it's expertly balanced.
Starting point is 00:12:16 Yes, I hold it up and hold it up to the light. It does seem to have some sort of feeling to it. Do you feel it Zudrik? A brotherhood in which people didn't betray each other? That's what these nights were. They kept their oaths and they looked out for each other and they honored each other's deaths. Does that feel like medicine for everything you've been through? I suppose it is a soothing thought. Yeah, Yes. So as you pass the sword around,
Starting point is 00:12:48 I will tell you all of its properties. The Opal Sun Sword is a plus one sword. Zudrik, as you hold it in your hand, you flash it in the light. It has power called the Glinting Blade. Once prolonged rest on a hit, your blade sparks against an enemy and you can impose disadvantage on the next attack against you. You pass it to Boggy. Boggy, you see the faintest glow in the Opal. This is the light that remains.
Starting point is 00:13:17 While the holder of this sword breathes, your allies have a plus one on all saving throws. As Boggy looks at it, I think the reflection catches him and he sees his own face in it, marred by all these names, and he just kind of lets out a wistful sigh. These were true buds. Boggy, I'm actually quite good with carving.
Starting point is 00:13:42 Usually I do runes, but I could carve the name of all of your buds into your weaponry. No, no, do not. I do not deserve that. I live and they do not. Even if you thought that you didn't deserve it, wouldn't you think they deserved it? Perhaps you're right. Perhaps I should remember their deeds and their stories if I want to or if I do not. Yes, please. Okay, yeah.
Starting point is 00:14:07 Do you do engravings for birds as well? Yeah, yeah, actually I really do. Okay, good, because I have a lot. I've only talked about four of them, but they're sort of the chattiest ones. They're amazing. And my lance is long. Really?
Starting point is 00:14:22 Yes, I, yeah. Ah! You know what? A flock of crows storms into the crypt, dogs. I think if I spend all night, if I've pulled an all-nighter, I could get you guys geared up with the names of all your departed and loved ones.
Starting point is 00:14:34 I appreciate that, Welly. I think that is the best use of our time. And Boggy, as you pass the blade back to Welly, Welly, you discover the sword's last ability, Sun Flare. Once prolonged rest, you can cast the spell Misty Step, disappearing into a golden flash with the swing of the blade. Whoa. That is...
Starting point is 00:14:56 I've never seen anything like that in battle. It could be true. Okay. It's possible that this is magic that doesn't exist anymore now that the gods have retreated. I'm gonna try and use it. We should probably find out right now because what if I tried to do it in battle?
Starting point is 00:15:17 Wellie nonchalantly arcs the sword, flicking some lube against the wall and in a bright flash of light, she is suddenly 30 feet on the other side of the room. Indus bosom! Zudger throws up through the grate in his helm. It must be a trick of the light, like how it always looks like there's only four birds,
Starting point is 00:15:36 but there's more than four birds. We've seen ritualistic magic, but that was... That was something else. Magic is real. Magic is real. Magic is real. The gods are real. The way you gleamed.
Starting point is 00:15:49 Oh, I have not seen such since. The likes of my companion, William. William, William. William Shits. William Poops? William Shits, in fact. William Poops. How did William Poops die?
Starting point is 00:16:01 How did William Shits pass? Boiled. Oh God. Boiled. Boiled. Boiled Oh God. Boiled. Jesus. Boiled. Water, oil? I guess oil would be fried.
Starting point is 00:16:10 It was a cooking lube or oil as it's called. Cooking lube. Yes. They cooked him. Why'd you have to call cooking oil lube? I don't know, it's just, it's everywhere. It's on my mind now. Yes, so he was, the scholars,
Starting point is 00:16:24 the wicked scholars of Goodport feared him God touched and they wished to test to see if the gods would save him. So they. Oh, that is barbaric. They put him in a stew. But his blade gleamed as yours does now. So it made me recall finer days, Welly.
Starting point is 00:16:40 Boggy, your stories never fail to darken the mood. Yeah. Well, that's enough of that. Which I appreciate. We should keep our feet on the ground. But yes, this is incredible. Yes, this is proof of something. Who knows what we're going to discover as we descend deeper and deeper. Indeed, what relics await us.
Starting point is 00:17:01 Do you think this just residue? Forgive the word, but residue of the gods' great power? Residue? I don't have a problem with it. It's lube. Residue of the lube of the gods. The gods' lube? Oh my god. I just, I really, even though I'm like getting more comfortable with nudity after seeing
Starting point is 00:17:19 it on Princess Lenark's wall, I just don't think the gods would have called it residue aka lube of the gods. I just don't think the gods would have called it residue aka lube of the gods. I just don't think so. I don't think so. Right, yes, yes. Seeing it in art and stuff, but if they were all lubed up, man, that would just be just giving a different connotation sort of, yeah. They've got to be doing some sort of oil. They're so bronzed up and shiny in those depictions. Well, I mean, we have much more spelunking to do.
Starting point is 00:17:45 I mean, in this game. I know what you mean, yes. It's just a funny way to describe it. God, everything feels crass now. Oh, it's like a mirror of Entendre. All right, well, there was some sort of phase of the moon that they needed for the ritual to take place. That is not tonight, correct?
Starting point is 00:18:04 That's correct. It is not tonight, correct? That's correct. It is tomorrow night. And you guys have been fighting through the night. It's almost morning now. It's late, late at night. All right, perhaps we should. This would be not a bad place for us to rest.
Starting point is 00:18:15 We'd be able to hear anyone coming in. It is dark. We can hide here. It does not seem like the monks even really discovered this place. Yes, it seems untampered with. Yes, they are not a curious sort. Yeah, okay, yeah, let's set up camp here.
Starting point is 00:18:29 Okay. Excellent. I begin to pitch my team. Wise. In the crypt, which is probably the safest place in this keep. Do you guys wanna bar the door with the bookcase? Yeah. Zudrick handle another fight.
Starting point is 00:18:41 We know this is a strong bookcase. Yes, God damn, do we know this is a strong bookcase? Drag it back, laboriously drag it back. Clearly some God's residue on this bookcase. Oh yeah, the bookcase is nice and greasy now, so it slides back a little bit easier. I'm gonna, I'll spend a little bit of time starting to work on carving the names into their weapons. And then when I go to sleep, I want to sleep next to the sword,
Starting point is 00:19:06 staring at Sir Wilma Hamdam's name, trying to feel her in, I guess we don't have a concept of genetics, but trying to feel her whispering in my flesh and blood. Well, what do you know of your parentage? Do they speak of this connection? Honestly, no. I think that I kind of voluntarily joined the Order of the Oaken Ore. So I didn't know. There's much from this era we know not of. I know.
Starting point is 00:19:42 I find the truth of stories not as delightful as the telling of the tale, but I must confess I'm curious to delve deeper. Yeah, I would think that this example would be in contrast to what you just said. This seems like the coolest story of all time. I would say if it did not go against my instincts, that this were something like fate, if that were to exist, which it does not. Look at him. Ooh, there's a little sunshine in that cattle bubbling up.
Starting point is 00:20:15 Shut up. Little opal twinkle in your eye. Shut up. You can't see my eyes. I think that we should all pass around the sword and practice training with it. You think? Yes. Clearly you are meant training with it. You think?
Starting point is 00:20:25 Yes! Clearly you are meant to wield it. Yeah, I feel like this is your sword, Willy. But how do we know that none of you are related to Sir Caspar Holborn, Sir Lachlan Boyd, Sir Hilda Garnet, Sir Cassian Dane, Sir Leif Thornston, Sir Raddek Lokmaw? Still, I think it is worth us all practicing wielding it. It is an incredible relic and if one of us goes down in battle, we should all know how to use it. Very well. If you wish it, then I would gladly spar.
Starting point is 00:20:52 I suppose yes, in case of an emergency, if we were able to disappear out of thin air and show up later somewhere else in a burst of sunfire. Are we about to have a romp? Are we about to have a little pre-slumber romp? Are you guys sparring? This is training, this is serious. Yeah, I think we're all gonna spar. Okay, hell yeah, let's spar. I'll be like the sparring dummy with the shield. I'll use the shield of,
Starting point is 00:21:17 and then you guys can kind of like try and attack the shield of Leif Thornston. Who shall spar first? I'm already launching in the air. As soon as Boggy says, shall we romp? 21 to hit. I'm guessing that definitely hits because my armor class is 17
Starting point is 00:21:36 and I would think even with a shield that wouldn't get it to 21. So there you go. Zudrik, you launch up in the air with all of the anger that you used to attack the bookcase and you crack the sword into the shield and land a blow and you feel like if it comes to it in a pinch, you could pick up this blade.
Starting point is 00:21:55 24 damage. Oh my God. I'm down. Oh my God. You went through the temp HP. Zudrik, it was a simple romp man. I was already heard from something else. You won't, you didn't romp, you won't.
Starting point is 00:22:13 No, not again. Again. I don't know how to chill. I don't know how to hang out. Wellie, give me a death save. Go dig a latrine. That's a nat one. Oh my God.
Starting point is 00:22:28 Someone do something. Quick, all right, both of us have to do medicine checks to stabilize her. I'm gonna use Rally. It's a superiority dice ability. And it's gonna give you one D8 plus two 10 pit points. Okay, okay, okay. All right.
Starting point is 00:22:43 Can 10 pit points bring back from? I don't know. Okay. I got a 16 on a medicine check anyway. Okay, okay. Two chest compressions. Wily, no! Yes?
Starting point is 00:22:53 Go away from the lodestar! I'm sorry, Wily, I'm sorry. No! Shy away from the Indus bosom! Zudrik, it's good. You were really good with that thing. Yes. Um.
Starting point is 00:23:01 Yes. A bit of a shock, but perhaps... Now you! You're a little bit of a shock, but perhaps... You're a little bit of a shock, but perhaps... You're a little bit of a shock, but perhaps... You're a little bit of a shock, but perhaps... You're a little bit of a shock, but perhaps... Zudrik, it's good. You were really good with that thing. Yes. Um. Yes. Ah, a bit of a shock, but perhaps. Now you!
Starting point is 00:23:09 Yes! I thought that was the shield. Yes, of course, let me see that. Ah, hmm. Ha ha, heavy. God, well, he comes back from the brink of death with their first breath, hands the sword to Boggy. All right, strength is one of my worst stats.
Starting point is 00:23:23 Ha ha ha. I kind of lean on the sword nonchalantly. Mm, yes. To catch them off guard, that's what I say. Shipping its edge in the stone. I rolled an eight on the D8 for the launch is why I did that. Yeah, I saw you roll that
Starting point is 00:23:36 and I was like, this is really funny because I've already used all my hit die. That's a 10 to hit. Okay, that misses. That misses. Boggy, you swipe the sword and it's too tin to hit. Okay, that misses. That misses. Toggi, you swipe the sword and it's too lubed up. It slips out of your hand and cracks into a tomb. Distraction!
Starting point is 00:23:53 I run forward and I kick. Okay, everyone relax. Toggi gets carried away. Okay, I have a confession. Yeah. What? I wasn't fainting against the boar. I just missed, okay?
Starting point is 00:24:05 Really? Yeah. Do you think that there's something in the trauma from your past that makes it easier for you to attack an ally? Maybe. Yeah. I think you could be working that out.
Starting point is 00:24:18 Interesting. Yes, please. Don't faint on us. Don't faint with your emotions. Let them out. Well, I mean you fainted on the boar, but then you fought those tentacles and whatnot. Yes, thank you. Perhaps he sensed that the boar was meant for greater things. Yeah. Oh, yes, the boar is yeah, I don't even fully know why I attacked the boar. Yes, he's king now.
Starting point is 00:24:41 It is certainly his castle. You hear a snort from the throne room. He's making a mess up there. All right, perhaps we should get some rest before we kill each other. Yeah, because I definitely actually feel really weak as I say that I pass out. But again, I would like to pass out. I would like as I close my eyes to be looking at Wilma Hamdom,
Starting point is 00:25:05 hoping to dream of her. Awesome. Is everybody else going to sleep too? We'll take shifts, but yes. Yes. All right, great. So you guys all spar a little bit. You attune yourselves with the sword,
Starting point is 00:25:18 some of you more than others. And Welly, as you go to sleep, you're looking at the name etched in the sword and you turn your head towards the ceiling, which is cracked, crumbling, choked by roots, and swallowed by vines. Uh, through the gaps, you can just see the pale light emerging. It's daybreak, morning on the eve of the ritual.
Starting point is 00:25:38 But as you close your eyes, uh, from the roots, a samara seed. Uh, some people call them helicopter seeds or spinning jenny's. Yeah. It helicopters down spiraling and settles on your cheek. I would like to take it off my cheek and put it in my pocket or look at it or worship it.
Starting point is 00:26:01 As you clutch the samara seed, something stirs in you. A memory not your own. You feel it root down through generations. A finer detail from the age of stories, carried like this seed on the wind. You know now the name the solar knights gave your eighth great aunt You know what they called her Wilma Hamdam the relentless And you go to bed, okay
Starting point is 00:26:39 I think I wake up the next morning and scream that at the top of my life I think I wake up the next morning and scream that at the top of my lungs. Oh, what? Oh please, we're all, listen Wellie, we're all very hungover. It's Wellie's shift, she wakes up shouting. Throw out my hand, throw out my hand. Oh wow.
Starting point is 00:26:57 So you guys got some rest. The sun was rising as you went to bed, so it's early afternoon now, but you do know that you have some time before the ritual this evening. And you find yourselves here in the crypt. How long does this glowing stuff that we got from? The daybreak, Weedman.
Starting point is 00:27:13 The daybreak, yes. How long does that last? Not long, right? You got the sense when Sir Mathis gave it to you that you would wanna do it like in a flash, in an instant, just before the battle. We'll do it right before the ritual, but. It seems wise, yes.
Starting point is 00:27:24 Remember that we have this. Yeah. Shall we plunge deeper towards that autumnal stench? I suppose we should delve deeper. Yeah, let's do it. So from here, the dungeon going deeper goes back past the lift. There is the earthen passage, which you guys avoided,
Starting point is 00:27:40 and then also the sealed steel door at the end. Okay, so we are staring at an earthen passage and a steel door. Where do we think that a bunch of corrupt monks and their charismatic leader would be hiding? It seems like they've had trouble bypassing some of the castle's fortifications. Yeah, the storks can't open a door. No. That's for sure. You're right. You're so right.- Storks can't open a door. No. You're right. You're so right.
Starting point is 00:28:06 These dorks can't open a door. But the screams of monster. Just look at this thing. Like just some kind of worm or something. I'm just gesturing at it. It's all just worm shaped. I pull out a tape measure. Look at this.
Starting point is 00:28:19 Oh my God. Hands up. Oh, there's scales. Yes. Can I look, can I see if there's any imprints of scales or anything? Like something made this. Can I do a nature check to see if there's any worm,
Starting point is 00:28:31 evidence of a huge worm? Yeah. Sure. Yeah, you guys can both give me nature checks. All right, I'll give Wily the help action. 16, I got two 14s plus two. With the 16, you guys can peek around the earthen passage. You see that it is slick and dark with large swaths of rock streaked with claw marks and a dull hardened resin.
Starting point is 00:28:50 Some kind of secretion. Okay, okay, yeah, you're right. Secretion, secretion monster. This is the scream monster. Steal door, steal door, steal door. It screams monster, it sings monster, it shouts monster. It insinuates monster, it whispers monster. I back out as soon as I went in, all right.
Starting point is 00:29:07 That experiment is that I shove my lantern into the steel door and try to create like a lever and just start yanking. So you guys back away from the earthen passage, you walk down the dungeon corridor, those monstrosities in the cells have made desperate attacks through the bars and the walls draw close as the corridor narrows, pressing toward the steel door
Starting point is 00:29:27 ahead. As you approach, you see that this is no forgotten threshold of the past, but a reinforced barrier, deliberately maintained. Your eyes settle on the heavy deadbolt and a thick iron mechanism with a slim keyhole above it. Wellie, this is you. Okay, I take out my hairpin and I try to pick the lock.
Starting point is 00:29:47 All right, great, give me a sleight of hand check. Okay, I do it with advantage because of my lodestar rune. Right, nice. 23. Woo! I got a 19 on the die. Stand down lock. The lodestar guides your hairpin
Starting point is 00:30:03 through all of the intricate Trappings of this lock and you hear it click click click click click the door is unlocked Tell me how you're opening the door. Oh my god Back up everyone Does it open does it feel like it opens out? Do you see resin? Oh, yeah? I'm gonna very Delicately hang on just see which direction it moves in okay Do you see resin? Oh, yeah. Does it open out? I'm gonna very delicately Wait, hang on.
Starting point is 00:30:26 just see which direction it moves in. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, and There's gonna be a fucking battery there. millimeter Wait, no, let's not move it at all. Okay, I'm holding it close. Really?
Starting point is 00:30:34 Okay, I'm not moving it at all. Okay, hang on, real quick. I've got this, okay? I've got this. I'm going to tie a rope to the handle, okay? Okay, so we back up, we back up. And then we're gonna run, and then we're gonna yank the rope
Starting point is 00:30:48 and hide around the corner. Yeah. There's gonna be a freaking boulder. Yeah. You tie the rope around the handle, you back up into the corridor, yank the rope, and as soon as you do, you hear a click, a whoosh, thunk. All so fast, faster than you would have been able
Starting point is 00:31:06 to react, this is a guillotine trap. A razor edge slab of metal plunges down from above. So much worse than a boulder. When he knows, he knows. Look at this guy. Wow, that's even worse than I thought. Slices through your rope and you guys fly backwards. Oh, okay.
Starting point is 00:31:26 That was a really good call, Zudrik. Yeah, I can't believe it. Zudrik is shook. Fucking KT, Jesus. I'm so glad that you always feel unsettled. Yeah, I feel more unsettled than I thought. I mean, I thought I might get hit by a boulder and just sort of roll over to the side and be like,
Starting point is 00:31:44 oh shit, I popped my shoulder out again. Oh yeah, that no, this would have just been head cut off our heads off right quick All right, so ahead of you guys the door is open you see this massive sheet of sharp metal This episode of NAD pod is brought to you by NetSuite. What does the future hold for business? Fuck if I know man. If you ask 9 experts, you're gonna get 10 answers. And also all 9 of those experts are gonna be crying and wishing they went to dental school. Bull market, bear market, can someone please just invent a crystal ball already?
Starting point is 00:32:17 Until then, over 41,000 businesses have future proofed their industry with NetSuite by Oracle, the number one cloud ERP, bringing accounting, financial management, inventory and HR into one fluid program. With real time insights and forecasting, you're peering into the future with actionable data all thanks to NetSuite. You're going to be closing the books in days, not weeks, and spending less time looking backwards and more time on what's next. Now if I were an actual business guy and not the dumbest man in the world, I would
Starting point is 00:32:48 absolutely be using NetSuite. Maybe Jake uses it, I really have no idea, but I'll tell you what, if you have business needs, the NetSuite has business solutions. Whether your company is earning millions or even hundreds of millions, NetSuite helps you respond to immediate challenges and seize your biggest opportunities. Speaking of opportunity, download NetSuite's popular KPI checklist, designed to give you consistently excellent performance absolutely free at netsuite.com slash paw paw. That's netsuite.com slash paw paw to get your own KPI checklist. Alright, thanks
Starting point is 00:33:23 for listening. Time is money, so let's get back to the show. Hey everybody, it's Emily here to talk to you about Raycon. From early mornings to late nights, mom is always on the go, juggling work, family and everything between. This Mother's Day treat her to Everyday Earbuds by Raycon because she deserves a moment to relax, recharge, and enjoy her favorite music, podcasts, and calls in crystal clear sound. Raycon's Everyday Earbuds are the perfect gift for your mom. They have 32-hour battery life, quick charge function, just 10 minutes of charging yields 90 minutes of battery, and Raycon's
Starting point is 00:34:05 everyday earbuds also come in a spectrum of vibrant colors to match your mom's style. Personally, my mother's an artist, so getting her something functional and pretty always gets me points. So go to buyraycon.com slash pawpaw to get 20% off site-wide. Right now, Raycon is offering up to 20% off site-wide when you go to buyraycon.com slash pawpaw. That's buyraycon.com slash P-A-W, P-A-W. Goodbye, sweeties. Okay, what do we see beyond that?
Starting point is 00:34:43 I guess I step on top of the sheet of metal and poke my lance around. Yeah, all right, so you guys, so you're gonna climb over the sheet of metal, you'll climb over the guillotine. The three of you step through this threshold into a surprisingly orderly corridor. The stones here have been scrubbed clean
Starting point is 00:35:02 and torches light the walls in perfect intervals. But none of this registers because as soon as you climb over this guillotine, staring you dead in the face is a tall, thin looking monk holding a candle and a leather journal. He was coming over here to investigate the commotion, but as soon as he sees you, he jumps back with a sharp intake of breath.
Starting point is 00:35:21 He stands frozen for a split second, eyes wide, then he hisses at you. And he turns to run. I was poking my lance. I immediately tried to kill him. Jason! I was onside, I tried to grab his shoulder and shove the full lance through him. Get him, Zadie! Everyone roll a nation.
Starting point is 00:35:44 Nine. Fifteen. I'm. Everyone roll a nation. Nine. 15. I'm gonna use Ambush to give myself an extra D8 on this. Zedrick, he's got a book. He has. Be careful of the book. He's a scholar. Save the book.
Starting point is 00:35:55 25. All right, so this monk has turned and is sprinting, robes flying. You see he's making a mad dash for another steel door that is slowly closing, a cluster of frantic hands pressing against it, the dark eyes of several scared ones glaring outwards with no mercy for their brother as he rushes for safety.
Starting point is 00:36:15 Boggy, you are first. Wait, there's also, the door is open, so we should kill this guy as we keep running. We have to hit that, we have to slide under that door. Okay. And kill all of those guys. I just point menacingly at just one of the guys I make eye contact with as the door is closing.
Starting point is 00:36:34 They're all hissing at you. We met two of your friends and they didn't hiss at us. I hiss back. I kiss. I guess. I'm just going to run right past this guy, like lift my hat. Good day, sir. And then I'm gonna pull up my rod of alertness
Starting point is 00:36:54 and jam it in the door so they can't close it all the way. Whoa! So you sprint past this sprinting monk. Oh, fuck! Great day for a ritual, A-Chum. So, Boggy, you have sprinted about 45 feet down this hallway. You used a dash action,
Starting point is 00:37:10 but you're going to try to jam this door open so they can't shut it. Indeed. Okay. I watched us free a sword yesterday, and now I'm going to stick this deep in there. That's actually a great move because it is one of the monks with his hands on the door's turn.
Starting point is 00:37:26 He's gonna look at you and be like, move, dude. She tried to oppose athletics check you, but that's a two. So you're gonna be able to hold the door open. You can't be being. That's an at 20. No. Yes.
Starting point is 00:37:40 These guys are dorks. Victus invited us to the party, friend. We're coming. You were right. They can't open a door, and they can't even close a door. All right. We have robes. Shit.
Starting point is 00:37:52 Whatever. We have to kill these guys. They saw too much. Oh, we totally forgot. We could have been sneaked. Is it too late? Can I use an object to put on a robe? They also don't really seem to care too much
Starting point is 00:38:04 about the whole brotherhood of it. I forgot to put my robe back on. I took it object to put on a robe? They also don't really seem to care too much about the whole brotherhood of it. I forgot to put my robe back on. I took it off to sleep. The plan's gone to shit. We have to kill everyone. This is what we're best at. It's too bad I'm really good at impressions.
Starting point is 00:38:14 Hi, I'm Victus. Oh, that was really good. I disappear into my character. Some comedians, they do a spot on impression, but Wellie makes it her own. And that's funny, it's her own way. Right, she makes it her own. And that's funny in its own way. She captures the intricacies. And that's why she's so funny.
Starting point is 00:38:28 She just kind of picks a thing and then goes with it. Like that guy was always saying his name. He was always saying, I'm Victus and, and then he would say something. Through your laughs as you explain comedy to the monks, that is your turn. Okay. Yes, that's the thing.
Starting point is 00:38:45 You know, there's actors and then there's superstars. A superstar brings a bit of themselves to the role as I try to run through this guy with a lance. 12 to hit. Does hit. He is. Oh, thank God. He's nude under his robes.
Starting point is 00:39:02 So nude. Well, shit dude, you're interrupting the ritual man. What are you doing? That's exactly what I'm trying to do, asshole. Is the ritual getting a door open? Cause we're having trouble. 12 damage. 12 damage, okay.
Starting point is 00:39:15 You slash into this guy. He's a little bit heartier, but that does hurt him a lot. I'm going to topple him. Oh. Yeah. He needs to make a con saving throw. All right, shouldn't be a problem. He only has a minus one to that. That's a 13.
Starting point is 00:39:29 Minus 14 now because we leveled up. Woo. So my DC is 14. Ooh, that's right. Yeah. You guys are level four. Okay, so he is prone? Yes, and that also means that anyone gets advantage
Starting point is 00:39:43 on their attacks on him and when he gets up, he will have to use half his movement to stand up. Nice. Great. And it is actually his turn. So he's going to give up on running. He's just going to try to fight you in the hallway. You see a flash from his hand. There is acid flying at your face. He makes two acid attacks. That is a 17 and a 13 to hit.
Starting point is 00:40:06 Oh no, it's gonna burn off his helmet, oh no. 17 hits. So acid splashes through the eye slits in your helm and he does eight damage to you. Okay. And now that is Wellie's turn. Are you good, Zudrik? Should I run and?
Starting point is 00:40:20 I'm going to fucking kill this guy, yeah, go ahead. Okay, cool. I want to run, use a dash action. While I'm doing to fucking kill this guy, yeah, go ahead. Okay, cool. I want to run, use a dash action. While I'm doing a dash action, I am using my bonus action to Might of the Gods, and I basically wanna run and slide under the door, and then do my bonus action, Might of the Gods, grow underneath the door to try and shove it up.
Starting point is 00:40:40 Whoa, sick, okay. This is how you open a door. All right, so Wellie, you are charging down the hall, you knock past this monk fighting Zudrik, and you baseball slide right in between the door, and then you grow in size, your shoulders broadening, and the door flings open. They are not gonna be able to get it shut now.
Starting point is 00:41:00 To the window, to the door. Yeah. It just feels wrong somehow. Pretty sure that's the lyrics. Okay. As you burst into the window, to the door. It just feels wrong somehow. Pretty sure that's the liars. As you burst into the room, you and Boggy are hit with a scent of damp stone giving away to something more acrid, more chemical. This deep room has a low coved ceiling
Starting point is 00:41:17 and it's brightly lit with four ironwork chandeliers groaning on their chains. The monk that was trying to hold the door is going to reach for the acid in his pocket and make another acid attack. He only gets one, but he's gonna throw it at the giant welly, that's a 19 to hit. Careful, he's got lube.
Starting point is 00:41:35 Is this mean lube? Shit, okay, that's only four damage. Okay. Nice. Is this a facial peel? Well, no, it's removing the barnacles from your armor. Do you have a cosmetology license to be using this? I shake the monk that I'm fighting.
Starting point is 00:41:50 How did you know acid to the face is my weakness? Okay, that's one of the other monks. You guys see out of the corner of your eye that one of them has sprinted to the back of this laboratory. You see that he is nervously attempting to unshackle something that has changed to a table. His hand is shaking as he inserts a key into a leaden manacle.
Starting point is 00:42:11 And on his turn, he crit. You hear the chain pop open and something rises. Oh no. And the other one, the other monk in here is going to try to stab you, Boggy. Ah. That's only a 10 to hit. Won't be enough, friend.
Starting point is 00:42:29 Okay, that is the monk's turn. That is back around to Boggy. Wonderful, okay. God, this is stupid, but I have to do it. I have to try it. I'm going to hold my action and knock an arrow and prepare to bring down a chandelier on this shambling monstrosity as soon as it comes towards us.
Starting point is 00:42:49 Whoa. Oh, I love that. That's awesome. Great, so you are readying yourself, you're behind one of these big lab tables covered in old brass tubing and dirty beakers. For my bonus action, I'll go ahead and just do another rally. I'm gonna shoot a rally at Wellie, since she's in the room with me.
Starting point is 00:43:10 Okay. Cool. So that'll give you 1d8 plus 2 temp HP. I say, Wellie, they're cooking up some good drugs in here. Get in on this. This is quite a party. Though I disagree with your framing, I agree with the idea. Ah, we made lots. Oh, I got a seven on the die, becomes nine temp HP.
Starting point is 00:43:30 Yes. Wow. Whew, thank you, Boggy, I'm feeling strong. Bad ass. All right, that is the monk that was trying to close the door, but between the Rod and Wellie being a giant, he's going to give up and he's just going to disengage into the back corner of the room.
Starting point is 00:43:46 Kind of frightened by you guys, but he's going to prepare to do something. And that is Zudrik's turn. All right, I'm going to launch because now I'm hearing a lot of activity and it's not just killing the one guy. That is a 13 to hit. Does hit.
Starting point is 00:44:02 That is 17 damage. Zudrick, finish this acid splashing mug. Oh. I hate acid! I'm sorry about that! I didn't mean to do it. Yes you did. Then I apologize.
Starting point is 00:44:15 You're lying to me. No, it slipped. I hate it when you lie to me. I'm not lying, it slipped. I do the old bisect down the middle. Oh my god. And then I rip him apart with my fingers once it gets loose enough.
Starting point is 00:44:28 Carve him in half. One of the guys by the door who had given up trying to close it decides that he actually really wants to now. He starts weakly pressing against the door. And then I'll use, after I kill this guy, I'll use the rest of my movement to get into the room with everybody else.
Starting point is 00:44:41 Okay, great. Wellie, that is your turn. You've baseball slid and grown in size. I wanna try to go after the monk who is next to the monstrosity. Okay, the one that's just unshackled this monstrosity. All right. Okay, I'm going to say activate hilt rune.
Starting point is 00:45:00 What? So I'll do my extra damage. Does a 15 hit? For sure gets through the do my extra damage. Does a 15 hit? For sure, gets through the ropes. 23 damage. This man, the last thing he did with his life was free that beast. He's gone, he's dead.
Starting point is 00:45:12 You can finish him. So I can cleave onto the monstrosity. So it takes the great Axis damage. So the monstrosity takes eight damage. Wow, okay, awesome. And then because I took great weapon master and I downed someone to zero hit points, I can make an attack as a bonus action.
Starting point is 00:45:31 Whoa. Damn. So I'm gonna try to attack the monstrosity. Okay. Does a 21 hit? A 21 does hit the monstrosity. This thing is taller than your average monk. It's gone.
Starting point is 00:45:45 Great, 11 damage on my second attack. And then I'm gonna back up, even if I take an opportunity attack, to bait the creature to come to the chandelier that Boggy's ready to hit. Awesome. Yes. Okay.
Starting point is 00:46:00 The goat is goating. This tall, wiry, nude beast looks humanoid, but with a very stretched out mouth, just chomping. And clawed hands is walking into the room, swiping at you. And now it's standing directly under a giant chandelier. This is a transformed monk. Yeah, can we, now that we all have eyesight on it,
Starting point is 00:46:23 what are we thinking this thing is? It looks like a failed experiment. Oh. A volunteer. Oh dear. Okay, that is the monk who retreated to the back of the room. As all of you guys are in this room now, you see directly to your left,
Starting point is 00:46:36 the wall is lined with glass, like the front of a greenhouse. Behind it, the glazing gives way to a pocket of the cave itself. Frogs and turtles lie on slick rocks. Fish dart through a dark, unmoving pool. And above that, coiled on a waterlogged branch, a glistening snake raises its head. Every surface inside this terrarium is alive, crawling and teeming with roaches, spiders,
Starting point is 00:46:58 centipedes, and scorpions. You take all of that in, and in an instant, just as the scared one in the corner raises a brass canister and hurls it at the glass. It connects with a sharp crack and explodes through, shattering the pain. The rocks inside gleam as a gloomy gray fog spills into the lab, curling low onto the floor. A venomous mold.
Starting point is 00:47:18 Did he use an attack roll on the window? I guess technically he did. Could I use my cloud rune or my lodestar rune to redirect that attack on the window to the monstrosity? Yes. Oh my God. He just like hit his arm and like a quarterback mid throw. Just make him fumble it.
Starting point is 00:47:42 His grand plan. Just dodged the monster in the head. He goes to toss this brass canister. As you say, activate lodestar. It distracts him just a little bit. Yes. He whips the canister's sidearm and hooks it at his monster.
Starting point is 00:47:57 Thankfully it doesn't hit. It doinks off the monster harmlessly. Ah, okay. But it does not break the glass. The venomous mold that was going to require constitution saves from everyone or poison you remains behind. What now, friend?
Starting point is 00:48:13 You didn't know we had a Rune Goon on our side. Okay, but there is one other monk who is going to take a stab at Boggy. Only a 14. Ah! You found no purchase, friend. You worried me, that sounded pain. I'm just very hungover.
Starting point is 00:48:30 You are so jolly that even when you get hurt, it sounds a bit jolly. So that is the ghoul's turn, but Boggy, you have an action held. Boggy notches an arrow, lines it up, breathes in a little bit of the remaining whiskey on his beard for confidence. And then like Wellie did yesterday, mouths a prayer to the lodestar that no one can hear.
Starting point is 00:48:51 All right, give me an attack. Here we go. Against this chain. That is going to be 23. Whoa. That hits. Yes! And I'm going to make this a trip shot, weirdly enough. Oh, okay.
Starting point is 00:49:03 That makes sense. That makes sense, though. Actually, I pull out one of my special arrows that Dandio Candles made for me, and you see they just got like a serrated edge to kind of like lodge itself deeper into someone's shin. Hell yeah. Hell yeah, that's 15 damage.
Starting point is 00:49:17 Woo! Oh my god. A lesson these monks need to learn. They are only as strong as their weakest link. Boggy, the chain snaps, and this monstrosity has four HP, so it will kill him. What? You can finish this ghoul. As the chandelier falls and crushes this monster,
Starting point is 00:49:37 I think Boggy just goes, Holy shit, it worked. The monster explodes. Its skin was so thin, black lace, just filling it like a sack, and the black blood splatters across the lab floor. That is two monks with zombie stats left. Oh!
Starting point is 00:49:57 Boggy, you architect! Ha ha ha! You designed the perfect demise. I must say that I was guided by the lodestar himself on that one. And before they get to go, Zudrik, that's your turn. All right, great.
Starting point is 00:50:10 Let us parlay. It is time to negotiate. You're not doing anything to our butts. Take a seat. Yes, that sounds like a great idea. You take a seat. Hey, Zudrik, romp them. Yeah, I'm trying to.
Starting point is 00:50:23 I'll go ahead and I'll use my axe to try to cleave if I can kill one. I don't know that I can do enough damage. I don't wanna waste all my launches just yet. So I'll make an attack. 14 to hit. Hits. 15 damage. Yeah, finish him.
Starting point is 00:50:40 Great, okay. Slice through him directly into the other one, just unmoving, just in one motion, just keep swinging, spinning around, keeping my momentum. Yeah, just full on Bloodborne Axe. And I do my Great Axe damage to the other one, which was eight. That guy is on Death's Door,
Starting point is 00:51:01 but he reaches onto the lap table and picks up another brass canister. Action surge, can I action surge? Yes! Action surge. I just need to kill this guy. I wasn't gonna throw it, I was gonna give it to you! 26 to hit.
Starting point is 00:51:16 It does. I was just cleaning up around the lab. Another 14 damage. Sit down, Dor. He's dead. Okay. So they try to slam this door, they try to spring all of their traps,
Starting point is 00:51:29 but you guys go in and you decimate this lab. Let's take a second to sort of digest everything around here. I might carve my runes back in, and maybe let's try to be really reverential to the animals beyond this terrarium glass. Yeah, I wanna look in there. Are you sure? This is perverse, to trap the bog in such a way,
Starting point is 00:51:52 let it be free, I say. You're right, okay. Wait, so are we, yeah, I'm actually, yeah. Let's look inside. Are these regular frogs, regular boar style? Yeah, these animals, just by looking at them, they look like animals you've seen in nature. These animals are in their lab,
Starting point is 00:52:08 waiting to be plucked out, experimented on. Okay, I think I'm gonna blow hot breath, draw the sigils of all the gods, and then look to everyone and should we just attack this glass and then leave the room? Yeah, hang on. Okay, let's think this through. We absolutely do have to save these animals.
Starting point is 00:52:30 What is your trap sense telling you? Okay, yes, let's basically get by the door to the tunnel, smash the glass, sprint as fast as we can, and just let the animals go nuts. And just try and close the door behind us so that they leave out the way that we came in. And then we're leaving, we're going deeper. Oh, I see.
Starting point is 00:52:51 So you're gonna direct them kind of up and out so they can go out the earthen passage. Yes, these are subjects of the Vorkane. No, we don't want them to go to the earthen passage because that's what they're just doing. We want them to go to the elevator. We have to do the elevator trap again. We have to? We have to. What choice do we have? We've got time, we've the elevator. We have to do the elevator trap again. We have to?
Starting point is 00:53:05 We have to. What choice do we have? We've got time, we've got time. We've got time, yeah. We do the, we're gonna try and do the elevator pattern. Do you want me to fire an arrow at it to break the glass? Yes, that's perfect.
Starting point is 00:53:16 Okay, what if we try to bait them all onto the shield? Oh. The shield is sort of like a little bowl in which we can hold them over our head. Yeah. Oh. Like a cup trap when you're freeing a wasp. Wait. Are they going to all go in one place on a shield?
Starting point is 00:53:37 Yeah, there is gonna be a little bit of natural selection in there on its own, I would imagine, but they've all been living in this one terrarium, so they've probably already had it out with each other. All right. Like sexually? I mean, the ones who were going to fight have probably already killed the ones they were going to kill.
Starting point is 00:53:55 Oh, I see. Okay. Yes. So the worry of them all being in this one bowl. I thought you meant they'd all dated each other. They might have also. Oh, wait, wait, wait. Can I do an insight check if they've all dated each other?
Starting point is 00:54:04 Sure. That looks kind of awkward between that frog and me. It's Stevie in there. They might have also. Oh wait, wait, wait, wait. Can I do an inside check if they've all dated each other? Sure. That looks kind of awkward between that frog and me. Yeah, that's a 13. It's Stevie in there. Yeah, there's some canoodling in the terrarium. There has to be. How do you pass the time?
Starting point is 00:54:13 I don't know about the shield. This is basically Love Island. I don't know about, I think there's too many animals to carry out on one shield and also they might just bite you or jump or squirm. Well, one of them is coming with us as a pet. Yeah. Wait a second.
Starting point is 00:54:24 I have a really good idea. I have a really good idea. Instead of the elevator, we can bring them to the place that we are sleeping because I could see daybreak through the roots. So there's access to above. So we could pass them one by one through the hole in the roof. We just give them a chance. The shield, the shield can be the elevator. Okay, yeah, that's perfect. Okay, great, so we will use the shield later, but here's my suggestion for this. Speak. I think you should fire two arrows, Baki.
Starting point is 00:54:53 I think you shoot one to break the glass and shoot one to drop another chandelier to scare them out of the room into the tunnel. Oh, nice. That's wonderful. Yeah, make it unpleasant to be in this room, so they'll want to run away. A great commotion, of course.
Starting point is 00:55:08 Great. OK, so then maybe just so everything happens at once, I'll hook a rock at the glass. You shoot an arrow at a chandelier. Knocked and ready. And, Welly, you be in that tomb ready with that shield. Yeah, I'm going to be there. And if one frog hops in my pocket
Starting point is 00:55:26 because they wanna be a friend, that's, I have a pocket open in case anyone wants to jump in instead of the shield. I would say that we absolutely need a mascot for this little team that's coming together. If I were to get a pocket frog out of this, that'd be fine. Sure, and Tabitha and the others,
Starting point is 00:55:45 they'll go on Team Welly because I do not need them. The air quality here is no good. I feel like snakes and birds are like, that's a rivalry throughout time. So the crows can just be watching our back in case the snakes attack us. All right. Very smart.
Starting point is 00:56:01 All right, let's get ready. I get ready to hug a rock. Perfect. So you guys are splitting up into the passageway. There's gonna be a rock, an arrow, and a shield back in the crypt. Yes, Operation Critter Lift, begin. Critter Lift.
Starting point is 00:56:15 Okay, so first part of Operation Critter Lift is free the critters. I hook a rock at the glass. Well hooked. Okay, that's easy. Zedric, you yeet a rock at the glass. Well hooked. Okay. That's easy. Zedrick, you yeet a rock at the glass. Yeet. It connects with a crack.
Starting point is 00:56:29 Oh wait, you know what? I can read my description that I didn't get to read before. There you go. It connects with a sharp crack and explodes through, shattering the pain. The rocks inside gleam as a gloomy gray fog spills into the lab, curling low onto the floor. Venomous mold fills the room.
Starting point is 00:56:45 You guys aren't there to inhale it. Yeah! All of the animals escape from the terrarium. They start going towards the rock thrower, Zudrik, unless Boggy can do something about it. Boggy, divert them! Okay, here we go. Oh, that's a nat one!
Starting point is 00:57:01 No way! I'll use my inspiration. They know I'm with the birds. That's a 17. A 17 hits. Be gone, be gone, critters. That's eight damage to the chandelier. That's not enough, is it?
Starting point is 00:57:15 You know, that's actually just enough to break this old ass chain. And you snap it, it crashes. And all of these insects, bugs, snakes, toads are diverted and they scramble down the hallway. Wellie, hurry, they're coming from my corn pocket. I'm ready to catch them. I'm down on the floor with the shield
Starting point is 00:57:36 and I wanna scoop them all up as soon as they all go in the shield. Shoot, shoot, go. Running with a shield full of reptiles under my head, being escorted by crows. Tabitha, if you could just grab one, if there's any frogs that look like they wanna live in my pocket. A turtle,
Starting point is 00:57:55 perhaps, would be nice too. We can bury it when we don't need it. Honestly, I covet a pocket frog. And then I'm trying to run down to the crypt to hold them up to the ceiling so they can escape through the roots of the earth. As you conduct this bizarre ritual, shepherding animals, like a deranged Noah down the hallway,
Starting point is 00:58:17 give me an animal handling check with advantage. Okay, okay, okay. Ooh. Okay, I only add one to animal handling, but I got an 18. Comes a 19. Wellie, you shuffle all the way down the hall over the dead monk. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Starting point is 00:58:37 Over the guillotine, back past the earth in passage, you kick a cockroach out of the way of a grasping tendril just as it goes to grab it back into the crypt. They climb up the vines. Now you can see the light of day shining bright overhead through the gaps in the stone. And all of these animals, the snakes slithering up the roots,
Starting point is 00:58:58 the insects crawling up. The frogs are gonna have a tough time. Return, return for when you can. Okay, I'll try and help the frogs, but do any frogs look so overwhelmed by the situation that they just can't proceed further? You watch as all the animals climb up and out into freedom. One tiny little frog with all of its might climbing up the roots, and it looks down at you, almost in thanks, wiggles out and hops into the sunlight.
Starting point is 00:59:27 And a little dejected, you look down and there, on your boot is a river toad. Oh! Oh! We got one! I scoop him up and I whisper, I'd like for you to live in my pocket if you had curiosity. It could be a short-term thing.
Starting point is 00:59:44 I won't charge you a lease. I'll feed you bits of good things in my pocket. If this is sort of a short term thing that would excite you as much as it excites me, rib it once. He blinks. Rib it. I slip him into my pocket. Let's give him some food.
Starting point is 01:00:05 I honestly, I forgot there were roaches in there. I don't really give a shit about the roaches. I just grabbed a roach off the wall. I was scurrying up. Yeah, put the roaches in my pocket. Put the roaches in my pocket. Yeah, there were a couple maggots that decided not to leave when you freed them.
Starting point is 01:00:19 The frog is feasting. William Schitts is hungry. Put the roaches in my pocket. You named him William Schitts? You named him William Schitts? I named him William Schitts is hungry. Put the roaches in my pocket. You named him William Schitts? You named him William Schitts? I named him William Schitts. Now you can say the name. Oh, what a beautiful tribute.
Starting point is 01:00:30 A true honor. Willy, as you're skipping back to the lab, you clock the leather journal that the monk was clutching as he was rushing over to see what the commotion was. Wait, before we deal with this, is there a toad pun off of one of Boggy's buds that might work better?
Starting point is 01:00:49 Let's really delve into this. Let's delve into this. Let's really think long and hard. We could do that, but I feel as though he really took to William Shits. Okay, sure, sure, yeah. We're a bit, we're a bit. All right, he's William Shits.
Starting point is 01:01:00 Let's look at the book. All right, you crack this journal and inside you see the desperate scrawlings of a madman. It is hard to make sense of it. Notes on dosages, a list of effects and littered throughout are cryptic words. Swallow the dark, become the omen. You flip the brittle pages,
Starting point is 01:01:21 the writing becomes more and more erratic, deranged. Consume, pool, drink, become, consume, spread. Words repeated over and over. Consume, spread, consume, spread, until the script becomes a dark blot of ink. Then you flip to the last page. A sketch. A woman, arms outstretched, her blood spilling into a black well. From the well, a flow of dark liquid into a black chalice, swirling with blood and ink. Beneath it, written with a smeared stroke,
Starting point is 01:01:53 the chalice of malice. This is the ritual, the gift of a lifetime. Your hand starts to shake. Then you realize it's not you. The hallway is shaking. A deep rumble from deep in the passage, the loud crack of stone on stone. The scared ones have fallen back
Starting point is 01:02:11 and collapsed a passage behind them. The pathway is blocked and the time for the ritual is fast approaching. And that's where we'll end our session. Oh! They outdoored us. Oh! I'm gonna have to go through the freaking monster path. Oh! They outdoored us. Oh. I had to go through the freaking monster path.
Starting point is 01:02:27 Oh. Well, check out that residue, you know? That's true. Sweet, that was awesome. All right. You can hear us talk more about this over on our Patreon, patreon.com slash nadpod, that's NADDPO. We'll probably come up with alt names for William Shits
Starting point is 01:02:42 based off of Toad puns, but I do feel like William Schitts feels really nice. It's really nice. It's a great tribute. You have to honor that. Does anyone have anything they'd like to plug? I've got some Dimension 20 shows to plug. We're going to be at the Hollywood Bowl in June. We're going to be at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle in July,
Starting point is 01:03:01 and we're going to be in Las Vegas in November doing Starstruck, so be on the lookout for that. Yeah. Ooh, very cool. I'll go ahead and plug Bloodborne because it's the 10th anniversary of it. Whoa. Hell yeah, dude. Happy birthday to Bloodborne.
Starting point is 01:03:15 Yes. And with that, you can follow us on social media that we may or may not use, at CH First Me, at Coldest Caldwell, at EXterdemily, and at Jake Roberts as Jake, and you can talk about the show online using hashtag NanPod, that's N-E-D-D-P-O-D. We are, we are, the youth of the nation!
Starting point is 01:03:30 We are, we are, the youth of the nation! It's the end of the show everybody and that means I need to shout out our benevolent Council of Elders starting with Brad D, Jeffrey S, Lord of the Fjord, Lader McSkater, Matt M, Cutter W, Jeff C, Daniel G, Danielle the Dastardly Dame, Carpe Liam, Victor T. aka Balnor's Boy, Hoyd's Friend, Justin I, Danny Danster, TJM, Trelai the Cray, Christopher B, Damiel R, Jordan L, cyborg version of Josh the Cobald, Targot, Stevie Wags, Hellish Rebukeur, the NBDM PhD, Princess Yar, Jorie S, Jack L,
Starting point is 01:04:16 Nicholas C, star of every film ever made in Bohemia, Mike H, Alka Smeltzer Plus, Great Value Gemma, Tyler F, Carbro Chapel Hill FPV, Cc Lulu, Old Cobbs Dunkle, Older Burn, Hercuel Poirot, The Rabbit Folk Detective, Timmy R, Raiko, Jake's Jerk Jelly, hashtag CCC, Taylor B, Insert Rents,
Starting point is 01:04:44 oh, laugh here. Cass Strong Grinch. Steven Shoutouts to Booey the Troll. C. Mike K. Nick W. William W. Big Bad Beard of the Mad. Eric McD. Ananarama. Percival Fredrickstein von Musso Klosowski de Rolo III. Jay Dragonborn, Guardian of the Vibe, honoring the cock Pithy Witch, Ben A, Dave H, Dustin S, Not That Nick,
Starting point is 01:05:12 Danny F, Hawkeye Pierce, Bookvars Assistant, Issy F, Big Bad John, DPC is Awesome, Sean, The Shade Tree Mechanic of Zobel Dahr, Summer Rose, AKA Grand Tare, Mark, the Dark Lord's Taint, Cat C, Misa of House N'Zunza, Ariel the Occasional Mermaid, Selena N aka Valay Sea Raptor, BPerkyAlways, Pat L, Maxwell J, Lauren H, Serv16, Annie the Feywild Therapist, Connor S, Saleel, Bioquart 7, Amber Dextrous, Trub Hopdropper, Jack H, King of the Mole People under Iron Deep, dressed in blue and fighting
Starting point is 01:05:52 his way through a bracket style tournament, Valen, Podge, the bitchin bunny bard, Druidic Peyton, Carlin C, Noah the Bullywug Boy, Hasht the cock, James G, Crystal T, Everything Bago, the Aladdin who just wants to hang out with his pet badger, Stripey, Reverend Chatterbones, Hawn, Eric B, Marcos, Learns the Balance Druid, Free to M, Maggie, Holly the Green Laughing Hyena, Cal misses the D5s with all her heart,
Starting point is 01:06:24 Aaron B, Russell H, a monk named Dilgo, yes the whole thing, yes every time. Cody C, McKenna S, your friendly neighborhood yawn and yunkle, Andrew and Sid, John Adams, we can be done with the presidential puns. Meg the mail carrier of Bohemia, James F, Austin S, Wayfarer, now has to do something with the trolls. Get rid of them, turn to page 42. Keep them, turn to page 69. Oreo, Shane C, Barpo Goodbarrel, Bard Barian, Garrett G, aka One Big Curd, Bovine Beauty, Renee the Monster Captain, Olivia the Enchanting Bard, and Jared the Soap Opera Cleric who will be auditioning for Callie's acting troupe. Blue Ash, Fico, Garrett the Artificer, Damon, son of
Starting point is 01:07:11 that one merchant named John, Valkyrie, the Gert C. Brother, Anthony, the Rattest of Dudes, Jay, the Ferrets have amended all their ways and are volunteering at their local petting zoo, Cantrip Dumbledore, the bear onesie wearing barbarian. Lexi loves the two crew. Thank you, Lexi. Roger L. NoDrogge the Pass of Fist barbarian. Jean-Luc A. Leon K. Legendary hero of Bohemia from a future campaign. Shenanigans O'Connor. Mios the Great. Joshua S. Alexander. Linz W. Johnny Dude KK, TheMischiefOfNadPodsFamiliars,
Starting point is 01:07:49 Pavu Escanar, the Goliath Paladin providing service with a smile, KitAndTheirCat, TimM, TR, MLG Cheeto, ShellBee, Kenna's First Favorite Sprite Girl, LovedSeeingMirfOnTitanTakedown, Good Luck Bobby, We're rooting for you, thank you, shall be. Snailus who's infecting Worcester from within, a boar prince's boisterous well-earned snort laugh. Pawpaw Skydays, MeeMaw Skydays, Megan N, Anthony B, Savannah H, Bownor's best friend Steve, Stephanie of House and Zunza, Benjamin A, Gimli the Corgi, Papa and Foster's canine friend,
Starting point is 01:08:29 Mikkel A, Josh H, pilot of the Nightmare Verse flight, the two crew blew through, Jennery, Ethan the Mailman, Maple the Shy Bookworm, Ashesaurus, Billy Batson, Tori the Tungsten Draguse, accidental sharer of recipes, Michael L.S. the second. Carl B. Plumber of the realm. Dex Riddlewell. Hannah A. Ace Dregs, High Lord of Critsburg.
Starting point is 01:08:53 Darius D. The guy from that one thing. Vin Diagram. Catamilius the consumed. Elizabeth G. Sickly but cruel. Clinton P. Cam the frog man. Dean. Jake W, says, hi mom. Tuesday Cross, the choose your own adventure writer, not the porn star.
Starting point is 01:09:12 Steve L, Tyler McEm, Alex G, Zibba the Bakery. Nicole, Kaylee of the Order of the Oak and Ore. Katarina C, Misty the Crispy Kitty really hates flame skulls. Greg W, whose satyr-barred whisker is basically a Crick Elf, Baruk Thunderhelm, fifth generation Minotaur working as an abandoned labyrinth tour guide, literally Satan, Chupac Aubrey, Boney is Dead,
Starting point is 01:09:38 Cohen Pace, the Duke of Silk's missing son, The Waterworth, Nick, Amy, Agus K, Carnal Corner Club, Charlamagne, Not the God, and finally DJ Dramamine. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you to all of our listeners and of course all of our Patreon subscribers and our benevolent Council of Elders. We'll be over on our Patreon talking more about the episode. In the meantime, we'll catch you all next time.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.