Transcript:Breaking and Entering...

Pre-show
MATT: Hello, everyone, and welcome to tonight's episode of Critical Role, where a bunch of us nerdy-ass voice actors sit around and play Dungeons & Dragons. (cheering) (garbled nonsense)

MATT: Exactly. Before we get into tonight's episode, we do have some announcements to get through, beginning with our sponsor for the episode, NordVPN. Laura?

LAURA: It worked. The hacker spirit of BlackWillow69 was successfully transferred into my body. Number Two, do you know what that means?

TRAVIS: It means you're Sam Riegel now?

LAURA: And I can access his 69 teraflops of hacker knowledge.

LAURA: And I can access his 69 teraflops of hacker knowledge. Watch!

TRAVIS: Oh dear god!

LAURA: I know. It's exciting. Now we can finally defeat Setty and restore order to the web. Here, help me real steel the Sid 6.7 protocol and force choke Setty's terminatrix. Travis, you seem distracted.

TRAVIS: It's just your face is not what I'm used to.

LAURA: Baby, it's still me. I'm the same, but leeter. Here, just touch my face. It's fine.

TRAVIS: Oh! Ah! It tingles. I can't do this!

LAURA: Please, Travis, time is running out. Here, just kiss me. That way you'll know it's really me.

TRAVIS: Okay. I'll just... kiss your... large... mouth. Ah! I just can't do it! Oh, seeing those insane eyes and your huge teeth! Oh, you look like Venom! (cries) (laughter)

LAURA: Digits. Okay, MadHatter69, it's up to you and me. Ashley.

ASHLEY: (Cockney accent) Oh, oh, sorry, mate, I got distracted thinking about how NordVPN provides the jolly goodest quality encryption for your internet traffic and hides your IP and physical location. With more than 5,400 servers in 59 countries, it's easy to get wicked speed and protection with one simple click. Available on every major platform like Windows, iOS, Android, and Linux. Go to nordvpn.com/criticalrole or use code criticalrole to get a two-year plan plus a bonus gift with a chim chiminey discount! (laughter)

LAURA: This is a disastron. Without Number Two, how can we slice Setty and save the world? (BlackWillow69) Don't worry, Cryptonic Override, you've got me. (Cryptonic Override) You're right, Blackwillow. You're great. We're a pretty great team. (BlackWillow69) With my brain and your keystrokes, we can Cambot the Crow all the way to Tom Servo. (Cryptonic Override) Thanks for the cyber pep talk, me. (BlackWillow69) I believe in you, Laura. You're as high tech as Zune. (Cryptonic Override) (laughs) That is so sweet of you. (BlackWillow69) Well, you're sweet. (Cryptonic Override) Stop it, you're making me blush. (BlackWillow69) Yeah, and that makes me blush. (Cryptonic Override) Because we share a body. (BlackWillow69) I know. (Cryptonic Override) (laughs) We should really focus on Setty now. (BlackWillow69) Yeah, as a matter of fact, where is Setty? (Cryptonic Override) We seen it in weeks. You don't think... (BlackWillow69) They must be planning something big, but what? (Cryptonic Override) I think we'll find out next time NordVPN sponsors the show. Matt, hack to you. (laughter)

MATT: Thank you, Laura. (laughter)

LIAM: Is it still the same day? (laughter)

MATT: And thank you, NordVPN, for sponsoring the show, and giving us these nightmares. (laughs) We have next, some Critical Role Foundation announcements. Ashley, you want to take it away?

ASHLEY: Okay.

LAURA: That's great.

ASHLEY: Hey, there, guys. (laughter)

ASHLEY: In case you missed it, we-- (laughter)

ASHLEY: -- have teamed up with our friends at Red Nose Day for another fundraiser to provide much needed assistance to children living below the poverty line. Your donations over the past few weeks have shaped our upcoming adventure with our very own game master, Matthew Mercer.

MATT: (goofy laugh)

ASHLEY: A handful of us Critical Role cast members and the one and only, Steffen Col Bert, also known as Stephen Colbert! (cheering)

MARISHA: Colbert!

ASHLEY: So, don't forget, even though the polls are closed, you can still donate and share our campaign at critrole.com/rednoseday and thank you so much for your support and be sure to tune in for our adventure with Stephen on Thursday, April 28th at 7:00pm Pacific on Twitch and YouTube. (cheering)

MATT: So awesome, super excited, thank you, Ashley. And I believe, Laura, you have some merch updates.

LAURA: I do. You guys, I know I say it a lot, but I'm so excited about this one. I've been waiting for so long, this is--

MATT: What? I don't even know about this.

LAURA: I know! Critter Nesting Dolls!

ASHLEY: Oh my god!

LAURA: Artist Grace Berríos, thank you so much. Look at these dolls. We've got-- Should I just show it all?

LIAM, ASHLEY, and MARISHA: Yeah!

TRAVIS: Sure, might as well.

LAURA: We start with Trinket.

MATT: That's super cool. (squeak)

LAURA: Oh!

MARISHA: Oh shit. (laughter)

LAURA: Don't let that bother you. (laughter)

LAURA: Because next up, we've got Mister. (awing)

ASHLEY: Hey, Mister.

LAURA: Then we've got Frumpkin. (awing)

ASHLEY: Oh boy!

LAURA: Then we've got-- I love this. We got Sprinkle.

MATT and ASHLEY: (laughs) (awing)

LAURA: Then... Then after that, our final little nester is a little raven.

ASHLEY, LIAM, and MARISHA: Aw.

TRAVIS: Little Kiri?

LAURA: No, it's not Kiri--

TRAVIS: Oh, a little raven.

LAURA: It's a raven with a--

TRAVIS: Oh, I see-- With a little snow drop.

MARISHA: Aw.

LAURA: They're the best things ever. I love them. Check them out. I'm sure there's other things I'm supposed to say about them, but I don't know. Next up... (laughter) We've got-- Okay, this is great. We've got Essek key covers.

MATT: What? (oohing)

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: What?

LAURA: Little key chain set. Artist, Jenny Park, you're amazing. Yeah, you put your little key in there and then he can help you unlock...

MARISHA: Is that the one that looks like a beacon?

LIAM: All the possibilities.

LAURA: And a beacon!

MARISHA: All the possibilities.

ASHLEY: Those are so cool.

LAURA: And an Essek.

ASHLEY: What!

LAURA: Aren't they adorable?

ASHLEY: I love them! I feel like you should keep this, Matt.

MATT: Yes, please, thank you.

ASHLEY: Oh my god, I love this.

LAURA: Then last but not least, we've got a really cutie. You know, our Mighty Nein Chibi vinyl sticker set. We've now got a Vox Machina set! Also, Jenny Park, we've got all of our cutie characters.

MATT: Oh my goodness.

LAURA: Yeah, so we've got everybody. Check them out. They're great. I know that somewhere on this prompter, it's going to say what stores everything's available in. But we're not there yet.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

LIAM: Look at all those dots.

LAURA: Never mind, it's not there. (laughter)

LAURA: Guess what? Check them out at shop.critrole.com.

MARISHA: It's like the prompter was having a panic attack. (laughter)

LAURA: They're available in some of our stores. Check them out. I don't know which ones, but maybe all of them. Check your store. See if it's there.

MATT: Thank you, Laura. (laughs) I believe that completes our announcements. So, let's go ahead and jump into tonight's episode of... Critical Role. (cheering)

♪ Critical ♪ ♪ Critical ♪ ♪ It's Thursday ♪ ♪ It's Thursday night! ♪

ASHLEY: ♪ One-by-one, we climb until we reach the top. ♪ ♪ Two-by-two, we fall. ♪

LAURA: ♪ Will we meet our end or meet our destiny? ♪ ♪ Hold your breath and roll! ♪

MATT: How do you want to do this?

ALL: ♪ It's Thursday night ♪ ♪ All ye Critters, come join us ♪ ♪ It's time to continue our plight ♪ ♪ There is magic and mystery ♪ ♪ Who knows what will happen? ♪ ♪ He might! ♪ ♪ But one thing's for sure, ♪ ♪ We never give up on the fight! ♪

TRAVIS: ♪ From the healer ♪

LIAM: ♪ To the renegade ♪

MATT: ♪ We all share the same goal ♪

MATT and TALIESIN: ♪ Adding more allies ♪ ♪ Taking more chances ♪

SAM: ♪ Hold your breath and roll ♪

MARISHA: You can certainly try.

ALL: ♪ It's Thursday night ♪ ♪ All ye Critters, come join us ♪ ♪ It's time to continue our plight ♪ ♪ It's Thursday night. ♪ ♪ There is magic and mystery ♪ ♪ From darkness, our friendship will rise ♪ ♪ But one thing's for sure: ♪ ♪ We never give up on the fight ♪ ♪ Oh, get ready, ♪ ♪ Get ready, ♪ ♪ It's Thursday night! ♪

(flames whooshing)

Part I
MATT: And welcome back. So, last we left off, Bells Hells had made their way to the Heartmoor Hamlet on the northern edge of the Oderan Wilds, both to meet up with an individual who was present for the assassination of the Lumas twins and gain some information about that thread that has been tugging since the beginning of you meeting each other, and to check into a particular gig that was given to you, Ashton.

TALIESIN: Yep.

MATT: To meet up with an individual, a Mr. Evon Hytroga, who is the owner, purveyor, and the excitable figure behind the Twilight Mirror Museum here in the Heartmoor Hamlet. Who, after a botched break-in at Hexum's Manor, decided to show off how stringently strong and effective his museum's defenses have been constructed and upped since. You are all sent by Hexum as part of a wager to break in and steal a particular item within this museum before sunrise. Upon meeting Mr. Hytroga himself, he gave you a few ground rules. You have until sunrise starting at midnight. So, roughly five and a half or so hours to find within the museum, which resides somewhere in his ridiculous manor, a particular object, specifically, the Wind Folly, which is an earring. You also are not the only ones doing this. There is a secondary team that is sponsored by Mistress Isha Sabanis, that is going to be competitively searching for this at the same time. The winner which can procure this object and return it to the hands of Mr. Hytroga before the sunrise wins. Should nobody do it, he wins his wager and you all go home dejected. For those of you who survive. To be fair, he did say that he put a lot of traps and said they're not intentionally fatal. So I'm sure you'll be fine. But as you gather yourselves, gather your materials, did some shopping, found out some interesting history and some connections between the ruddy moon, Ruidus, in the sky. You all gathered outside of the museum. At the strike of midnight, Mr. Hytroga said, "Go!" (yelling)

MATT: You are off. What are you doing? (sighing) (groaning)

LIAM: Jeez. (laughter)

SAM: Are the gates open?

MATT: You are inside the courtyard right now.

SAM: Okay.

MATT: Facing off with the other team, which is now scattering off into the nearby bushes of the front courtyard.

LIAM: I have one, I have one.

MARISHA: I should have one, there.

SAM: They scatter?

MARISHA: They scatter? They didn't go together?

SAM: We stick together. Right?

LAURA: I think so?

TRAVIS: We took left, right?

LAURA and LIAM: We took left.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

ASHLEY: We did, we did.

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: I take off running left.

TALIESIN: Left.

SAM: We're all going left.

MATT: All right.

ASHLEY: Okay, I'm going to go to the right. No, I'm kidding. (laughter)

MATT: Dariax would be so proud.

ASHLEY: Copy that. (laughter)

MATT: All righty. So you all, facing the front of the manor, head off to the left hand side. Now, there are a number of hedges and bushes here that set up on this side of the yard and there is about a, we'll say a 15 or so foot gap from the iron fence line that sets off to the side, the high wall and the occasional broken, jail-like bars that lead off into the pointed poodle palers, as I call them.

MARISHA: Poodle impalers?

MATT: Poodle palers.

MARISHA: Poodle...

MATT: You can thank my mom for that one. That's awful.

MARISHA: Poodle palers?

MATT: That's my mom's joke, anyway. So as you rush off to the left hand side, what are you looking for? What are you doing?

TRAVIS: For me, are there any root cellar doors along the left side of the building?

MATT: Make a perception check.

LAURA: Or windows, I'll look for windows.

TALIESIN: Anything interesting.

TRAVIS: 17.

MATT: 17, you do not see any root cellar doors on this side of the building. There are two windows. It looks like they are glass paned and have bars placed on the exterior of them. As well as curtains on the inside that are preventing you from seeing what's inside. But there is one set of windows that's closest to you and one that's further away.

SAM: Second floor windows? Ground floor windows.

MATT: These are ground floor.

SAM: Oh. Okay.

LAURA: There are second floor windows as well?

MATT: Glancing up, yeah, you can see there's a set of second floor windows up above, yeah. There is a third floor, that from this side you do also see a--

LAURA: Do they look like they're barred as well, or--

MATT: From this high up, now that you've seen these elements here, they all appear to be similarly barred, yes.

LIAM: Second floor windows are 10 feet up, 15 up?

MATT: They're about 12 feet up.

LIAM: 12 feet up.

TRAVIS: What's the distance from where we are to the back of the building? 50 yards, 100 yards?

MATT: The back of the building? It's not quite that large, I'd say, it's maybe about... Maybe about 120 feet or so.

TRAVIS: I might try and make that distance to see what's on the back side.

LAURA: Yeah, see, yeah.

TALIESIN: I'm with you, I'm with you. Yeah, we're going.

TRAVIS: So Ashton and I'll keep running.

SAM: Do we try and get in one of these windows? Or at least check for traps?

MARISHA: Anyone have a way to cut through bars?

TRAVIS: We did a really good job of making sure we got the layout of the building. We know all the entrances. We talked to people, so we know what's inside the building.

TALIESIN: We speak a dozen languages, know every local custom. (laughter)

TRAVIS: I'm sorry, does anyone here have a-- (laughter)

MATT: Well.

MARISHA: He's got the earring by now.

MATT: All righty, so we have Ashton and Chetney are both dashing off to the far end side. You turn the corner and glance and you can see there are other sets of windows. You can also see that immediately at the initial glance, there is a rope dangling from a second floor window, where there are a couple of figures that are currently climbing up.

SAM: Oh, they made it in already!

LAURA: Let's go in after and take their same spot.

TRAVIS: I look back and I yell like: They're fucking-- They're in the window!

MARISHA: Tug the rope! Tug the rope! (laughter)

TRAVIS: Pull it down. Well, they're already scampering in, right? Or are they--

MATT: You see two on the rope, currently that are mounting upwards.

SAM: Burn the fucking rope! (laughter)

TALIESIN: I'm going to give the rope a nice, big, big floof.

MATT: So you're going to dart over to the base of the--

TALIESIN: Oh, we're not there, okay, I thought we were right there.

MATT: No, you guys turned the corner and a little ways, about middle of the back of the building you can see the rope.

LAURA: Not that far, though. It's not that far. You probably could do it.

MATT: It's maybe about 50 or so feet from you, currently.

TRAVIS: I yell. I'll just be like: Second floor, they're going to the second floor!

TALIESIN: I'm going to go and give it a nice big-- I'm going to run up and give it a nice big thump. (laughter)

MATT: Okay, you rush up to the side, which, you're relatively quick.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: You grab the base of the rope and you can see one of them is currently holding onto the bars of the outside of the window, where the rope is affixed to and the second one, you can see, is about to climb up, looks down and sees you rushing up and goes... All you hear is this voice. I wouldn't say there's enough light at this speed to see. You hear a voice go, "You got to be fucking kidding me." Right as you grab it and I'm going to say, make a strength check.

TALIESIN: All right.

MARISHA: Come on.

LAURA: Yes.

LIAM: Shake that tree.

TALIESIN: That's a... 20.

MATT: 20, okay. Let me see.

LIAM: Follow them, I guess.

TALIESIN: No, I'm just being a dick right now.

SAM: While this is happening, Matt, I'm going to start cutting through some bars.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: Do you mean on the first floor or the--

SAM: Yeah, I mean, I can't jump. (laughter)

MATT: All right, one of them manages to hold on, which is the one that's at the top, who currently, actually, holds onto the bars on the outside and gathers herself. The one that's in the process of climbing up, suddenly (yells) goes flying off as the rope arcs and lands about 15 feet away from the side of the building. They rolled really low. And slams into one of the nearby rose bushes. You hear (crashing) The crashing of roses and you hear... (groans) from the inside.

TALIESIN: You all right?

MATT: You glance out and you can see the small male goblin that you had encountered--

TRAVIS: Oh no.

MATT: Previously.

TRAVIS: He was an asshole.

MATT: Who's like... (groans)

TALIESIN: Fair.

MATT: And I need you to make a wisdom saving throw.

SAM: Aw.

LAURA: Ooh.

SAM: Oh no, oh, they're playing dirty already.

TALIESIN: I mean--

MARISHA: We started it.

TALIESIN: We started it.

LAURA: Yeah, we're--

TALIESIN: Wisdom saving throw, 20.

ASHLEY: Ooh, they're playing dirty.

MATT: 20?

ASHLEY: Oh.

MATT: As he sits there, he does this hand motion, then blows air in your direction and you can feel this force hit your brain. For brief second, you feel a tether of kinship is being drawn out of you forcefully and you shrug it off, the charm finding no effect.

LAURA: Wasted spell slot!

TALIESIN: I don't make friends! Come on!

MATT: "Apparently."

MARISHA: Do you think it's easier--

MATT: "Are you going to help me or not?"

TALIESIN: Yeah. All right, all right.

MATT: "All right." He's going to kick you right in the nuts.

SAM: Oh shit!

MATT: That's going to be a 21 to hit.

TALIESIN: That hits.

LAURA: I can't believe you helped him up!

TALIESIN: I was trying to be cool.

MATT: We'll say you take one hit point of damage.

TALIESIN: All right.

MATT: Crack, right in to your groin. You can decide on how much that affects you or not. Immediately begins to leap past you, pushes past you to scamper back up the road.

TALIESIN: I'm going to just do one back hand on the way up. Just a nice whack, nothing hard.

MATT: Okay, roll attack.

TALIESIN: I'm not even raging. Hold on, let me take the damage.

LIAM: He's being such a dick about it.

TALIESIN: That was not right. Hold on. Sorry. I did it wrong. Hold on. Sorry.

ALL: (imitating heavy bass drop)

MATT: I love that.

TALIESIN: There we go. Basic attack. Here we go. Unarmed strike. and you just manage to scoot past the top of the dome as the goblin ducks down, leaps up, grabs the rope, and starts climbing up. And as they do, they cut the rope beneath them as they get about 10 feet up.

TRAVIS: So, Matt, when he fell, I turned invisible.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: And I started climbing up the rope.

MATT: Okay, okay! Hell yeah!

TRAVIS: So I'll be right above him.

MATT: All right.

TRAVIS: (breathing frantically)

MATT: So right as you're climbing up, you glance up and you can see that the other figure there is the hairless katari figure.

TRAVIS: Yes.

MATT: Who, at this point, is arms through the bar and is cutting with this strange device a circle into the glass, about roughly this big.

MARISHA: They got glass cutters!

MATT: They brought them.

MARISHA: Fuck!

ASHLEY: Oh!

SAM: They prepared? Goddamn it!

MARISHA: We tried to find them.

LAURA: They know we're breaking in, we can just break the glass. We don't have to do this cleanly. We just got to get it.

MATT: That's very true.

ASHLEY: Wait, didn't he say though that we have to pay for what we mess up or something?

TALIESIN: No.

ASHLEY: Was that a thing? No? Okay.

TALIESIN: No.

ASHLEY: Never mind.

MATT: Minimal damage allowed.

ASHLEY: Minimal damage allowed. Okay.

MATT: Necessary. Necessary.

TALIESIN: Our purview on it.

MATT: So as you're climbing up the rope, you start seeing the figure there is cutting through, cutting through, and says, "Come on, come on!" down through you. As you feel the rope begin to move and now the goblin is coming up behind you, and you're pincered between the two of them as the other one is in the process of cutting through the glass.

TRAVIS: Are there any window sills or anything that I could latch onto?

MATT: You could try and leap from the rope to the other side of the bars, because the window is probably about six feet across.

TRAVIS: I'll give it a shot. Otherwise he's coming up my butt.

MATT: Roll acrobatics for me, if you don't mind.

TRAVIS: That's cocked.

MATT: ♪ That's cocked ♪

TRAVIS: Ugh, 13.

MATT: 13's not too bad. Not too bad. You kick off the side of the building a little bit to scoot and give yourself a little bit of a push. Unfortunately, with the weight beneath it, it doesn't get as far as you want and you have to hope and pray that you have just enough and you catch the bottom mark and dangle there for a second. The rope shifts for a second and the goblin at the bottom is like, "Stop moving it!" He's like, "I didn't do anything!" (foomp) (impact) You hear the circle of the glass get pushed in. It doesn't shatter, it just (thuds) onto the ground with inside the building is, "Come on." Grabs the arm of the goblin. The two much are lithe enough scoot through into the interior of the second floor.

LAURA: Oh, they can get through the bars?

MATT: The bars are about that wide, and both of them are just thin enough to scoot through.

LAURA: That's where you could go. You just got to break the glass and you can go in.

TRAVIS: I'll follow just behind them, if I can, before they try and seal it up or anything.

MATT: Okay. Yeah. You're definitely small enough to be able to scoot in through the same space. It's a little bit of a-- You have to wedge your head a little bit at one point, but you do manage to get through.

TRAVIS: I'm all nose, yeah. (laughter)

MATT: But indeed you managed to scoot into there. Ashton, what are you doing?

TALIESIN: I'm just-- You vanished on me. I didn't see. I was hoping that they were going to drop the rope behind them, but apparently they haven't done that.

MATT: No, the goblin just cut it from where he was up there.

TALIESIN: All right, I'm going to hightail my way to the rest of the group and tell them what just happened.

MATT: Okay, in the interim, what are the rest of you doing?

SAM: I started sawing through bars.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: I don't even know if that's possible, these are metal bars?

MATT: Yes, they are.

SAM: Oh boy. It's going to be hard.

MARISHA: Is it better if I freeze the bars? Does that help? I don't know how metal works.

SAM: I don't know how metal works either!

TALIESIN: We're back to this. (laughter)

SAM: I could slowly eat it. No, I'm just going to cut. I'm just going to cut. (laughter)

SAM: I'm going to Guidance myself and try to cut through.

MATT: Okay, so as you (metal screeching) grinding against it, sparks flying off of it. Go ahead and roll.

LIAM: Is this window just as wide as the one you described earlier?

MATT: This one's a little bit wider.

SAM: What am I rolling?

LAURA: The bars are the same?

MATT: Bars are the same. So what'd you roll?

SAM: What am I rolling?

MATT: This is just an attack roll with your--

SAM: Oh, an attack roll?

MATT: Yeah. Because you are currently trying to damage the bars.

SAM: Oh. 14 to hit.

MATT: 14 to hit. It's not quite pushing through enough. It's a tough substance. Sparks are flying and you can see it's been leaving marks on it, but it's just not pushing through with that first initial charge.

SAM: Anybody got something?

LIAM: Orym pops through the air and lands against the bars, and I'm going to try to see if I can slide through, since I'm so wee.

SAM: There's glass.

LAURA: But there's glass.

SAM: You got to break the glass.

LIAM: The glass is behind the bars?

MATT: Yes.

LIAM: Oh, I kick it.

MATT: Okay, make a strength check for me.

SAM: Slice your foot off.

TALIESIN: It's going to be one of those, isn't it?

LIAM: What is that? That's six plus strength? Oh, six. Six total.

MATT: Six total? You kick back--

TALIESIN: It's going to be one of those!

MATT: The glass-- (wobbling).

SAM: Can you not break the glass?

TALIESIN: Fucking windows. Fucking windows, am I right?

LIAM: Ashton, break this!

TALIESIN: I'm running by. I guess I see what's happening. Without breaking stride, I'm going to take a swing at the bars and see what happens.

MATT: Go ahead and roll.

TALIESIN: Oh, wait, you're in there, right?

SAM: The glass.

LAURA: The glass. We're trying to break the glass so Orym can get in.

TALIESIN: Oh. Then I'm just got to take the butt of my hammer and pop it in. Strength check, or--?

TRAVIS: This is amazing.

MATT: Strength check.

SAM: Come on.

TALIESIN: That's good. 20.

MATT: 20.

MARISHA: Okay!

MATT: (glass shattering) The whole window spider cracks and shatters into pieces, shards of it falling outside and inside the building, the curtains get tug and pulled and you get a little bit of a glance of the dimly-lit interior. There's some semblance of low, warm, like a fire or candlelight inside, and that's mostly dark. But now with the glass push past there, you can squeeze through. You land into a dining chamber. There's very little light, and most of it's coming from other rooms. You could see there's one open archway a little bit across and to the right of where you are that leads into a foyer-type entryway, where some light source is coming from. There's a faint light coming from the left hand opening that goes into a kitchen.

LIAM: Okay. Imogen, a little light in here?

LAURA: Oh!

MATT: (foomphing)

LIAM: First thing-- Oh, go ahead.

MATT: I was saying, you can now see the long table. There are a number of-- Actually, at this point, now we're not quite in the middle of the intensity of versus-versus, because you do not know where the other team is. So bringing the music down a little bit. Now in this creepy space as the lights go up, you can see there are table settings with ready, set-to-go utensils and platters. There are all manner of cabinets and you can see paintings, framed paintings of these beautiful landscapes. In each one of them, usually to the lower right in the lower middle or the lower left, you can see Evon Hytroga in them going like--

TRAVIS: Shut up! (laughter)

TRAVIS: Like travel pictures? (laughter)

MATT: They have plaques on them that have really tiny text that you haven't got a chance to look at yet, but it is a manner of eager display of his journeys and travels.

MARISHA: It's like the owner of the local diner.

MATT: More or less.

TRAVIS: Forcing the slideshow on you.

LIAM: First thing I want to do is size up the bars. Are they built into the window or are they part of a locked gate?

MATT: They're built into the window. They're bent at the top and at the bottom and at the sides to create this cage image on the outside of the window.

LIAM: There's not a fire escape door where the whole thing could swing out if unlocked?

MATT: Nah.

LIAM: It's all built in.

MATT: It's meant to be an issue.

TALIESIN: Double checking. My hammer's magical so it cannot break.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

TALIESIN: Okay. Well, if I've got the butt of it in already, I'm going to try and fulcrum this thing. I'm going to try--

LAURA: Yes!

MATT: Bend the bars?

TALIESIN: Yeah, they're already weakened.

MATT: Roll another strength check for me, please.

SAM: I will Guidance you.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: Thank you!

SAM: You have been Guidancededed.

MARISHA: You've been Guidanced.

TALIESIN: You've been Guidededed.

MATT: So you get to add a d4 to this.

TALIESIN: Thank god because that was a bad roll. 13.

MATT: 13? They have a mild bit of give, but after about 20, 30 seconds, you're probably going to need some help to try and continue this forward, but it is taking up a little bit of your time to try.

TALIESIN: Anybody? Anybody?

MARISHA: Who's strong?

SAM: I can enhance your ability.

MARISHA: That would give you advantage.

SAM: I can give you advantage.

TALIESIN: You can go suck an egg.

MARISHA: Is Laudna thin enough in her shriveled husk to also squeeze through the bars?

MATT: I'd say yeah, you could definitely squeeze. You are thin enough to just whoop through the bars.

SAM: Oh, you're going in?

MARISHA: Excuse me.

MATT: You Abe Sapien your way into the building.

LIAM: Oh shit-- oh.

ASHLEY: I can help you, I think.

TALIESIN: Okay. Okay.

ASHLEY: I'm going to go up and put my hands on the bars and scream and shake them and I'm going to cast Heat Metal.

SAM: Oh! Okay, okay.

MATT: Okay!

ASHLEY: Make an opening.

MATT: Okay, so first you start shaking the bars and they start glowing this dull orange to a bright orange, and they will burn your hands if you continue to hold onto it. But the spell has impact.

SAM: Do it.

MARISHA: Do the thing.

LIAM: Yeah, do it now.

TALIESIN: Now I'm going to do the thing.

LAURA: Yeah, now you do the hammer.

TALIESIN: Actually, I'm going to try and hit the damn thing, because I'll have an easier time of hitting it.

SAM: You're a good hitter.

MATT: So as your hands are still on it-- Well, you are a Wildfire Spirit druid. I'll say for the purposes of this, because it is not a combat scenario, if you want to just bear down and embrace that wildfire spirit, you can maintain holding onto the bars. As you do, as you clutch, you can see the edges of Fearne's fingers also begin to glow to this dull orange, to a bright orange, match the color of the metal. As you see it, the heat around it's causing the air to shift and ripple. Right at that moment, you realize this is where the metal's softest for what the spell can get it to. You glance over, make contact with Ashton.

ASHLEY: Put it in!

TALIESIN: All right, I'm going to go for that, and if that doesn't give immediately, I'm just going to smack it.

MATT: All right, make a strength check now.

SAM: Guidances!

TALIESIN: Come on. Eventually, it takes you a few minutes to do it, but between all of you working together to wedge and wedge back and forth, the metal begins to push and drag and push and twist and push until there is a gap enough there where any of you could comfortably pass through.

TALIESIN: Cool it down before. Does anybody got water?

LAURA: Oh, she can cool stuff, right?

MARISHA: Ray of Frost.

MATT: You watch as the heavy hissing sound fills the air, mist begins to ensorcell the area around it. As it begins to slowly dissipate, you see the very, very dull, dull glow vanish to leave the twisted and left open entryway to this side of the building.

SAM: Let's get in here, we just spent 10 minutes fucking opening a window! Let's go!

TALIESIN: Go, go, go.

LAURA: As soon as we get in there, I'm going to cast Mage Armor on myself.

MATT: You got it.

LIAM: Was there one door out of here?

MATT: Two doors.

LIAM: Two doors.

MATT: There's one across the way, a little bit to the right that seemed to go to a foyer space, and then one to the left, seems to go into a kitchen. You can see there are some curtains hanging from this kitchen archway door. There's no actual door, but you can just see past them a little bit of faint light and elements, looks like a countertop of some cooking utensils that catch your eye.

LIAM: I'm going to pit-a-pat across the room to the first door you described, and just look. Is it open or shut?

MATT: This door is partially, ever so faintly ajar. Just enough where you can see a little bit of light coming from the--

LIAM: Well, I'm not going to touch it yet, but I'm going to look all around the frame of it and on the floor and see if I see anything that could ensorcell us or hurt us.

MATT: Okay. Make a perception or investigation check.

LIAM: We'll do perception because I'm better at it. Yep. That's 23.

MATT: 23. This doorway seems pretty clear. There's nothing visibly noting a dangerous array of enchantment.

LIAM: Okay, blade comes out and the tip touches just above the doorknob and I push it open to get a better look through.

MATT: You glance inside, and you're now looking into the inside of the main foyer of this manor. You can see, to your left, there is a large wide curving spiral staircase that curves up into the second floor landing to your left. There's spaces in the side of each part of the base staircase before it begins to do the wide curve, where you can see little tables, little closets. You can see more of these large paintings that have other elements of beautiful Exandrian locales and locations with faint elements of Hytroga in them. There are two statues that resemble him, both framing both sides of the entryway to each staircase, both partially nude, hands up towards each other, mirroring each other, like they're weird angels about to blow on the horns to call himself down. It is a unique display. There's two glowing red orbs that sit within a cage-like, lantern-like setup that give the faint light to the interior atmosphere. To the right of you, you can see the front doors from where you originally met Hytroga, and the exterior of where you were gathering before this all started. Across the way, there is a closed door to a chamber beyond that way. That is what you have.

MARISHA: Seems like we should go upstairs, right?

TALIESIN: Caged orbs, nothing good happens with caged orbs. This is just--

LIAM: Statues. Do you want to take a look at those? Are they going to vaporize me if I walk there?

MARISHA: They're holding caged orbs.

LAURA: We should give it a second. Do y'all have anything--

SAM: Yeah, so, I mean, I can certainly see if those are traps, I can spend a spell to locate traps, if you're worried about traps. Or I could use Locate Object to try to find what we're looking for.

LAURA: Yeah!

SAM: I'm not familiar with it, though, so the best I could do is I can find all earrings around us. There could be lots of earrings.

LAURA: You know it's a lapis earring.

MARISHA: A gold with the lapis.

MATT: At this point in time, the handle on the door across the way at the closed door begins to turn.

SAM: Fucking kill them!

ASHLEY: Should I dispel it?

LAURA: Dispel what?

SAM: Dispel the doorknob?

ASHLEY: The thing?

LAURA: Maybe we wait and to see what he does.

ASHLEY: Let's wait. Okay, okay.

SAM: Draw your weapons! Get ready!

MATT: So what are you all doing?

MARISHA: I'm going to run over to the door that they're trying to open. Can I use Mending real quick to fuse the lock together?

SAM: Yeah!

MATT: Mending fixes things to where they were intended to be. The lock is intentionally functioning, so no, you cannot.

LIAM: Are there any chairs in the foyer?

MARISHA: Oh! Wait, wait! Immovable Rod, click-click!

LIAM: Oh!

SAM: Ooh!

MARISHA: Pop it in the door!

MATT: Okay! (laughter)

TRAVIS: Oh, it's opening out?

MARISHA: I think so.

TRAVIS: Or is it opening in?

MATT: You'll find out. (laughter)

LAURA: At least get it in the door handle! Get it in the door handle, so when they try to pull, yeah!

MARISHA: Okay, yeah, in between the door handle and the door. So it, yes.

SAM: So it's either way. Either way.

MARISHA: That's a good idea.

MATT: So you rush in (clicks) right as it (clicks), and you can see someone was in the process of unlocking it from the other side.

MARISHA: Fuck you guys.

MATT: (clicks, impacts) It does pull in, but the arrangement.

MARISHA: Good call, good call.

MATT: (impacts) You hear voice, "Ah, shit." You hear footsteps get quieter and quieter.

SAM: They're going another way.

MARISHA: All right.

SAM: You did it! You defeated the bad guy!

MARISHA: Real quick, while they're dealing with the statues, we're multitasking here, I want to be clear about that. While they're dealing with the statues, I also want to scan the front. Is there a "You Are Here" map or museum-- (laughter)

MARISHA: -- like a pamphlet! A pamphlet or a log book or something.

MATT: Make a perception or investigation check.

TRAVIS: There's a tubing pamphlet. There's a wax museum.

MARISHA: I'm going to look for that while we do that.

SAM: Are we trying to disarm traps here? What are we trying to do?

LAURA: I think let's find where the object is first. Because what if it's in a basement, what if it's upstairs? You know what I mean?

MARISHA: Didn't he say it was on the third floor?

SAM: Oh, did you just Guide her?

ASHLEY: I did! Guidance!

SAM: Wow, you're amazing.

ASHLEY: Thanks.

SAM: I can try.

LAURA: It's a gold hoop.

LIAM: A gold ring. I don't think it's going to find it.

SAM: I will try.

LIAM: With a lapis jewel in it.

SAM: I will try my best.

ASHLEY: Just think blue.

MARISHA: 26.

MATT: 26. While you're having this conversation, you glance around. You can see there are small thin desk tables off to each side that you go and pull them open, and they're empty. There's nothing within them. You glance around. There's no posters or maps. This part looks less like a museum and more like a home.

SAM: No fire exit map?

MATT: There does not appear to be.

TRAVIS: That is a code violation.

MATT: What did you roll total?

MARISHA: 26.

MATT: 26. Yeah, you do not-- All you see are-- The statues on the side, the glowing cages, and the various framed paintings, and the entryway door behind you, and the staircase that leads up.

MARISHA: All right.

SAM: I'm going to cast Locate Object, saying the word Wind Folly, and describing with my mind the shape and make of this earring.

TRAVIS: The lapis.

SAM: The lapis earring, and see if I can get any sort of ping. If I'm unfamiliar with the object, it says I can locate any-- A particular jewelry or apparel or furniture or tool or weapon. But I also know the name of it.

MATT: You know the name of it, and it's been described to you.

SAM: Yes.

MATT: So yes. In casting Locate Object, you focus, close your eyes. As you extend your automaton consciousness outward, you feel the magic spread like a soft fog, and then suddenly get pulled, like a wind grabs it and pulls it down.

LAURA: (gasps)

SAM: Down, down. It's downstairs. It's downstairs!

LAURA: See, we would've gone up! It's down.

TALIESIN: I'm going to start-- I'm going to start tapping-- We're still in that dining room, right? It's got wood floors?

MATT: No. They're all in the foyer right now.

TALIESIN: Oh, we're in the foyer?

MATT: Or at least you're in the foyer.

MARISHA: Yeah, she's gone-- I don't know if everybody else has gone into the foyer yet.

MARISHA: I'm in the foyer, yes.

TALIESIN: Does it seem like there's any-- Does it seem like it's possible that there's some sort of trap door in the floors?

ASHLEY: Rugs?

MATT: You can make an investigation check to look.

TALIESIN: Okay. Anyone else?

LAURA: I will help you. I'll start with the around, knowing that it's downstairs.

SAM: Does anyone have good ears?

LIAM: If I'm listening, yeah.

SAM: Maybe we should just do a quick silent-- Just shut up for a second and listen to just see if we can hear footsteps around from other folks.

LIAM: Or below us.

SAM: Or below us, yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LIAM: I'll listen. NATT: Okay.

MARISHA: Room tone. Room tone, everybody, shut up.

LIAM: That's a 19.

MATT: 19, you listen, and you faintly hear some rustling in the room beyond the currently locked door. It sounds like other doors opening and closing, just barely beyond that room. So there's definitely some movement and some thing shifting on the other side of the room. You do hear some faint footsteps from the second floor above, at which point, we come to you--

TRAVIS: Oh god.

MATT: -- as you have climbed into a room. The first thing you do when you come into this room is you hear this faint sound of water, like a brook, like a babbling brook, like a soft, gentle, mid-nature stream. As you come into the room, do you have darkvision?

TRAVIS: I do.

MATT: You do, yes, you do. There is no light source in this chamber. But immediately looking around, you can see there's ivy strewn across parts of the wall. You can see there's rock formations built into it. There is a beautiful bed that has an intricately carved canopy structure to it that spirals up like jungle trees. You can see ivy pulled between them. This whole bedroom itself is themed to feel like you're in the middle of a lush forest. You look for the source of the sound, and you can see across the way, there is a semi-translucent, illusory river running through the middle of the room. It is the strangest guest room you've ever encountered.

ASHLEY: Madonna Inn.

MATT: Very Madonna Inn.

TRAVIS: Does it have that strong chlorine smell because it's indoors? (laughter)

MATT: But you can see the one katari is currently waiting at the side just as you jump in. It's literally to the left of you as you glance and get the spinning look-over and see to the right there going, "Come on, come on." They start helping the goblin in through the bars and into the room behind you. Now you're trying not to be heard. I need you to make a stealth check for me.

TRAVIS: Which I have advantage on.

ALL: ♪ ("Mission Impossible" theme) ♪

LIAM: ♪ Pock O'Pea ♪

LAURA: ♪ Pock O'Pea ♪

TRAVIS: 24.

MATT: 24, okay. They both get inside the room, take a minute to glance around. They do not seem to notice you. You carefully make sure that you're not keeping too close. They start glancing around, and you can see them immediately starting to search underneath the bed, searching the other cabinets quietly. You get the sense quickly that they are very experienced burglars. They have gloves on. They have materials. The way they're--

MARISHA: Gloves? (laughter)

LIAM: They got a member's jackets. They've got hats.

TALIESIN: Oh, come on. Who robbed my house? What happened? Who were these mysterious rogues?

MATT: They're checking under things and sections here. The goblin goes on the other side and goes underneath this beautifully carved nightstand element and goes, "Oh, I think I found something." Something in the ceiling shifts open, and you see a reflective surface above the bed. (laughter)

MATT: They both go (groans). (laughter)

TRAVIS: Amazing.

MATT: Presses it again, it closes. (laughter)

MATT: The goblin chuckles to himself for a second before the katari is like, (frustrated noises), "Just keep doing the job." They both leave the room. They both rush to leave the room, moving to close the door behind them.

TRAVIS: There's just one door out of the room, right?

MATT: It appears to be, yeah.

TRAVIS: Okay. Yeah, I'll try and keep up right behind them.

MATT: Okay. You keep up, and you slip through just as the door closes behind, revealing what is now a second-story landing. It wraps around where the spiral staircase comes up to the second floor.

TRAVIS: Above the foyer where they are?

MATT: Above the foyer, which you have not seen yet. All you see is this horseshoe-shaped landing from the room you just stepped out of. There are, on this section, you can see another room that's to the left that has a very beautifully pearl handle to it and a frame to it that looks like a picture frame. It has this very beautiful display to it that is unfamiliar for a door you'd see in the middle of a floor. Then to the right of that, further on the U, there's a hallway that cuts in the middle of the chamber and goes off in the shadow, away from where you can see. There is a third door, aside from the one you just saw and the one you just came from, across that way there, and a fourth one that looks a little more plain on the entire opposite side of the U from where you're standing. The two figures immediately split and begin checking the doors. What are you doing?

TRAVIS: I'm going to follow the goblin.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: Yeah. I'm just tailing him.

MATT: Right. The goblin goes over to the pearlescent door, listens in. Goes and starts checking the sides, carefully, not quite putting his fingers to it, but inspecting the edges of it. Goes-- Pulls out tools, familiar tools, and starts going into the lock there, while the katari goes around to the red door and begins doing the exact same. They're both simultaneously casing elements. The katari, as it's looking through, turns back and goes, "How do you think the others are faring? I haven't heard anything," at which point you hear (clicks) resistance, like a door that's having a hard time opening from down below. (laughter) They both go, "Shit, is that them?" They both stay quiet for a second and slowly begin to creep towards the top of the staircase to look down into the foyer.

TRAVIS: To look over the--

LAURA: Oh, they'll see us.

LIAM: Haunted Mansion vibes.

SAM: But they don't yet.

LAURA: Yeah. Well, they'd see you.

MARISHA: I'm opening drawers. (laughter)

MATT: As they both look over, "That's them. The creepy one is right down there, checking the place." (laughter)

LIAM: Librarian ghost at the beginning of "Ghostbusters." (laughter)

SAM: So we are not in the foyer? We're still in the room that we--

LAURA: We're in the dining room, yeah.

LIAM: Yeah, we're right at the door to it.

MARISHA: Oh, there's a hidden curtain.

SAM: We got to figure out a way downstairs.

LIAM: I'm going to pitter-pat back towards that kitchen and just make sure, see if there's servant stairs down, any kind of--

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: Yeah, any--

LAURA: We're looking for ways down.

MARISHA: Yeah, so there's look for trap doors.

TALIESIN: Trap doors. If there's wood floors anywhere, I'm going to see if there's anything that looks like a seam, just checking it out.

MARISHA: Anything under rugs.

MATT: Right.

LAURA: You're good at-- You're good at perception.

ASHLEY: Yes. I'm going to help with that. I'm going to help with looking under rugs, under-- (laughter)

ASHLEY: I'm going to help Ashton.

MATT: Okay, okay.

MATT: All right, either both of you roll investigation checks separately, or one of you roll with advantage. It's up to you.

LAURA: I thought it was perception.

TRAVIS: Before we leave the upstairs banister area, I'm going to sneak back to the door that we came out of, and I'm going to take out the fishing line that we got from that store. I'm going to tie a little loop around the doorknob that we just left.

MATT: Yeah.

TRAVIS: And tie it across the hallway to the bottom of the banister railing so there's a thin, diagonal piece of fishing line just going from the door to the-- Just covering the walkway.

MARISHA: You're setting a little trip line?

TRAVIS: Just a little trip line.

MARISHA: That's amazing.

MATT: Now you're putting it just to the edge of the stairs, or across the stairs?

TRAVIS: No, so the door that we came out of, and then they split, I'll go back to that, tie it on that doorknob, just across to where the bottom of the banister is, so there's just this little diagonal line, so that if they come across, they might trip over it.

MATT: Okay, okay, you got it. All right.

SAM: While you were having that interaction, we decided that Laura's actually going to be doing the investigation.

LAURA: Imogen. (laughter)

LAURA: I rolled with advantage because Ashton's helping me. So that is a 21.

MATT: A 21, okay. You take a few minutes in this central foyer area, checking around under the-- There is one large, central rug that's part of this rectangular rug in the center of the main area. It has a dull brown to red texture to it. It's seen some foot traffic. Glancing beneath, it seems to be just solid ground beneath it, nothing that catches your attention. Looks like there are two smaller rugs on the far back, to the right and left of the staircase. You check those as you pass by the two statues. There is a brief moment where you smell a-- (sniffs)

ASHLEY: Oh shit.

MATT: -- a change in air.

TALIESIN: Shit.

MATT: Like a faint-- Almost like a sense of electrical fire--

MARISHA: There's something.

MATT: Before-- I need both of you to roll dexterity saving throws for me, please.

MARISHA: Oh, I knew it.

SAM: We knew it, we knew it.

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: I have advantage on this.

MARISHA: I know, you were talking about dispelling them and everything.

SAM: Yeah.

MARISHA: Whoops. I got distracted.

LAURA: 20.

MATT: 20?

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: That's a success.

TALIESIN: 19.

MATT: Success, all right.

MARISHA: Anything we don't dispel has a possibility of popping them.

TALIESIN: Yeah, I hadn't put the-- I made a map.

MATT: You both take half damage. So you both only take eight points of lightning damage.

LAURA: Oh great.

SAM: That's not so bad.

MATT: You jump forward as soon as you hear the (hissing). You glance to the side just enough to see both the statues, their eyes, these extremely gaudy statues, the eyes just glow a bright blueish-white color before they strike in the center, this blast of lightning, like two sides of a Tesla arch (crashing) in the center, and you both charge out of the way. Catches you in the shoulder. Catches you in the side of the torso. You both roll to the ground and get up. Oh, that sucked, but you're fine for now. You also look back at the statues, and where the eyes are, there's these dark burn marks where the smoke (blows) up the side. You see (sparking).

LAURA: Oh, it was a one-time--

SAM and LAURA: Maybe.

TALIESIN: Or it could be recharging.

LAURA: Oh, yeah.

SAM: Did they make it past?

MATT: You did, you made it past.

SAM: Okay.

TALIESIN: So we're going to check--

MATT: So you check the rugs there.

TALIESIN: Getting kicked in by rugs there.

MATT: Looking at the two rugs, there's nothing beneath them. The floors are solid. All you see around you are the various paintings that are all staring at you from different positions and different displays.

TRAVIS: Is he wearing an earring in any of the paintings? (oohing)

SAM: (pigeon coos)

TALIESIN: I was going to start pushing the paintings aside to see what's behind them.

MATT: Okay, you're going to start looking through the paintings?

TALIESIN: Yeah, just checking things out.

MATT: Okay, you're on the right side, left side?

TALIESIN: Whichever side I'm on right now.

MATT: Well, you both--

LAURA: Left side. You were left side.

TALIESIN: When in doubt, left.

MATT: All right, so left side, you're right side. Okay. So you start behind them, behind the different paintings. Just wooden walls. Beautifully stained wooden walls, but wooden walls nevertheless.

TALIESIN: Nothing behind?

SAM: There are doors to other rooms here?

MATT: There is one other door across the other side of the foyer. If you guys entered-- Essentially, as you're looking towards the staircase as you enter, you guys entered from the left-hand side. There is a door on the right-hand side. That's what you have currently locked with the rod.

MARISHA: As well as the one that leads to the kitchen in the previous room.

MATT: Correct. But that's adjoining to the dining room.

SAM: That's where you went.

LIAM: Orym's headed back through it to look for the Downton Abbey--

MATT: Correct, and we'll get to you in just a second, then we'll get back to you. Imogen, you're on the right side, you said?

LAURA: I'm on the right side. Can I stomp my heels onto the ground and feel if I can sound out a hollow area on the ground?

MATT: Yeah, yeah. (stomping) Nothing changing there. Some of the wood creaks a bit, but it all has the same solid feel.

LAURA: All right.

MATT: Anything else you're going to check out, or you good? You guys good?

TALIESIN: Is there anything else to check out?

LAURA: Yeah, I'm having a hard time--

MATT: Sorry.

LAURA: -- visualizing what the room is exactly.

MATT: So best I can sit here, so this is the entryway door. There's a large foyer space. Then in the middle of this open space, there is the staircase that heads up into this slow spiral upward to the second floor.

LAURA: Uh-huh.

MATT: There's the door where you came in from, which is from the dining room, the door that Imogen locked. Then on both sides of the spiral staircase are little alcoves on the side. The statues are at the right and left of the staircase. You guys both went to inspect, dove past the statues to get into the alcoves--

LAURA: Got it.

MATT: You've checked--

LAURA: So I'm on one alcove.

MATT: Correct, he's on the other. You've both inspected floors on this side, and you checked the paintings, and you checked the floor with stomping.

TALIESIN: And the rugs, and the rugs.

LAURA: All right. Then I'll look behind the paintings as well.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: How are the orbs looking right now?

MATT: The orbs are just this dull--

TALIESIN: They're still glowing the same?

MATT: Yeah.

TALIESIN: I'm going to take one of the rugs and throw it in front of the-- through the little gate where we got hit by.

MATT: Okay, you throw it through?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: Okay. The rug (swooshes) passes through, no issue.

MARISHA: Maybe you have to go quick before it recharges.

LAURA: I'm going to take the rug on my side. Can I throw it over the head where the eyes were?

MATT: Yeah, you can. You take the rug and put it over it. There it is.

LAURA: All right. (laughter)

MATT: But yeah, in checking through the other paintings on the side of the wall that's facing the staircase, you pull-- What you see before you is a beautiful base of a tower that rises up. It has a metallic sheen to it. It looks like it was painted around golden hour. It's hard to tell if the actual color has like a bright orange, golden tint to it, or if it's just reflecting the skyscape around it. But it has that soft, angelic sense to the color palette to it. Near the base of it, you see Evon standing next to it and going-- It has a plaque underneath it that says, "Evon standing beside the historic Tower of Du'Adio, the Golden Dream, Issylra." As you pull it aside, you can see, right behind it, there is a door. (gasping)

LIAM: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Damn.

MARISHA: Yes! Call on the paintings.

LAURA: Thank god I didn't come back.

ASHLEY: Dang.

LAURA: All right.

TRAVIS: Way to go.

MARISHA: Good work.

LAURA: Y'all! (whispers) Over here.

SAM: Orym went to the kitchen.

MARISHA: Here, I'll send a Message.

MATT: In the interim--

MARISHA: Yep, let's go to Orym.

MATT: Hold that message. Orym, you rushed off to the kitchen.

LIAM: Everything makes me anxious. I think that anything is going to hurt me. So I'm staring at everything I see, making my way into the kitchen--

MARISHA and LAURA: ♪ Makin' my way! ♪

LIAM: -- looking for stairs down.

MATT: Okay. As you carefully enter the kitchen, as they're all-- It takes you some time to search. These things are over periods of time. You step in past the curtains on the inside, and you can see there's a large slab, like an island. You can see there's a slate L-counter across the way. There's these heavy racks with all manner of butcher knives and blades and large, metal forks that are all hung from it and dangling, a whole manner of cooking implements. The opposite side has this beautiful, metallic, slate decor element in the wall. There is a doorway at the very end of that chamber, and a door that leads to the back of the building.

LIAM: So, there's just the one door?

MATT: Mm-hmm. Although there appears to be almost a closet door, and a door that would lead out of the room, which you did not notice when you guys were

LAURA: (gasps)

MATT: -- in the back of the building.

LAURA: Oh, interesting.

LIAM: So I'll open the closet with the, again, the end of my blade, and jump back.

MARISHA: How interesting.

LIAM: As I do it.

MATT: Okay, as you walk through the center of the room, you feel this buzz sensation-- (buzzing)

MATT: To your right.

LIAM: I pull of the rose off of my belt and start backing up.

MATT: Okay. As soon as you feel the buzz, and you've noticed this, you pull the rose out, and you start backing up. The buzz is coming from your right hand side, which is that large metallic slate slab, that's affixed to the wall.

SAM: Hmm.

MATT: You just have just enough mind to glance to your left, and you see all the utensils that are hanging on the wall--

LAURA: (gasps)

MATT: -- stand up at attention before, whoosh! (yelling)

MATT: Rocketing across to be dragged towards the edge. I need you to make a dexterity save.

MARISHA: That's so cool!

ASHLEY: Oh, come on.

LAURA: Please don't get stabbed in the face.

MARISHA: Terrifying!

LIAM: That is a 16.

MATT: A 16. You dart back as fast as you can, before, zoom, (impacts)! About six things pierce you in the shoulder, you roll-- (gasping)

MATT: You roll with it, because you've been dueling, and bobbing and weaving in combat. You manage to roll with it, which reduces the impact. You barely hit the number. None of them pin you to the wall. None of them pierce all the way through you.

SAM: Oh god.

MATT: But a number of these blades and forks are now stuck in your shoulder, and you do take--

LIAM: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Grapefruit spoon.

LAURA: Grapefruit spoon?

TRAVIS: Those little jagged fuckers?

MATT: You take 10 points of piercing damage. 10 points of piercing damage.

LIAM: (grunts) Ahh. I start, so, those are all now lodged into the opposite wall?

MATT: They're all now stuck to the wall. Then suddenly the buzzing stops, before they all just clatter to the ground, and off the counter. You all now, at this point--

LAURA: We are very--

MATT: -- hear this loud ruckus as you're having this conversation. You hear this, too. At which point the goblin goes, "Shit, something happened!" He darts off before (impacts) Flipping over, getting caught the middle of the fishing line.

MARISHA: Yes!

MATT: And falls flat on his face before, "Oh shit!" (laughter)

MATT: The katari, he just goes, "What are you-- What the fuck was that?"

MARISHA: We're just fucking up this poor goblin.

MATT: Finds the strings, "Ah, that wasn't there a second ago." (sniffs)

TRAVIS: Oh no.

MARISHA: Oh shit.

MATT: What are you doing?

TRAVIS: Oh, backing away, backing away from the hallway, just giving space.

MATT: Okay, make another stealth check.

TRAVIS: Okay. (whimpers)

LAURA: Come on, come on, come on.

TRAVIS: 17.

MATT: 17.

SAM: Oh boy.

TALIESIN: Contest that.

MATT: Okay, as you step back, step back--

LAURA: ♪ Pock O'Pea! ♪

LAURA and MARISHA: Pock O'Pea!

SAM: Pock O'Pea.

MATT: "We've got to move, come on." Goes and helps him back up, and they both dart down the hallway.

SAM: Oh!

MATT: That you saw, that broke the center of the U.

TRAVIS: Oh, right.

MATT: In the interim, now they've darted past you, and you hear the movement downstairs, and the rest of them reacting to that, that heavy sound of clanging and metal. What are you doing?

TRAVIS: Should I give chase? Or should I stay with him to--?

SAM: (coos) I don't know.

MARISHA: (coos)

TRAVIS: Yeah, I'm going to-- I'm going to go after them.

MATT: You're going to go after them?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: Okay, okay, so, you follow the hallway. As you turn, as you go to the edge of it, and turn to look down the hallway, it only goes about five or so feet before another staircase that winds up the other way, that is enclosed, almost like a tower. You see it curve out of the space, but the door is barely open, and you just see the tail end of the katari disappearing up the spiral staircase to what you imagine would be the third floor of the manor.

TRAVIS: Amazing, okay.

MARISHA: If your whole job is just to fuck with them, it's pretty fucking great. (laughter)

MARISHA: It's really good.

TRAVIS: Just in case they get there first.

MARISHA: Yeah, yeah, it's good.

TRAVIS: I know they're going in the wrong direction, but--

MARISHA: Yeah, but yeah. (laughs)

TRAVIS: Chetney doesn't. Yeah, I'll just, I'll try and keep a tail.

MATT: Okay, you got it.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: All right, what are the rest of you doing when you hear this noise in the kitchen?

ASHLEY: I'm going to go run to the kitchen because it's Orym.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: I was about to send a message.

MATT: Right, so you finish your message. Or you're casting the spell as you hear (clattering).

MARISHA: ♪ Oh, Orym! ♪

TRAVIS: (spookily) Orym!

ALL: (creepy whispering)

MARISHA: Are you all right? Did you die? We think we've found a secret entrance, by the way. It was behind a painting!

SAM: (whispers) Cut your eyelids off.

LIAM: So I shouldn't keep searching the kitchen?

MARISHA: I don't want to tell you what to do, or how to live your life, but I'm just saying, we found a secret passage.

LIAM: Okay!

ALL: (creepy whispering)

LIAM: It goes down?

SAM: (whispers) Accept Satan.

LIAM: We're going down?

MARISHA: Does it go down? Does the passage go down?

TALIESIN: No, we don't know yet, we haven't opened it.

MARISHA: We don't know yet.

TALIESIN: We're not going to open the door until we have someone to--

SAM: Tell him to wait a second until we know where it goes.

MARISHA: Oh, um--

MATT: It's a door.

LAURA: It's just a door?

MATT: Yeah. It's the same coloration as the rest of the wood.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: The edges of the frame of where you can see the faint line that shows the doorway, and the handle, that currently is pressed up against it, where all of it was essentially obscured by this painting.

LAURA: All right.

MARISHA: Hold tight, we're going to get back to you.

SAM: (whispers) You're going die. (laughter)

ASHLEY: Hi.

LIAM: Oh!

ASHLEY: Oh. (laughter)

ASHLEY: It sounded really bad, so I just wanted to make sure you were okay.

LIAM: Yeah.

ASHLEY: What ha-- Wow, you made a mess in here.

LIAM: Those were over there, and then they moved to there, but then I was there.

ASHLEY: Well, that's neat.

LIAM: Then this happened.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Was that door there? When we were outside?

LIAM: Well, we got to open the door to a closet now, right?

MATT: Correct.

LIAM: Because the last thing I did was going, (door creaks).

MATT: Yep, just as the (impact) came your way.

LIAM: Is it just a lot of cooking utensils and stuff?

MATT: You look inside, and it is about a four-foot by 10-foot walk-in storage closet. You can see there are some manner of wheat sacks, and rice storage areas. You can see all manner of jars on shelves, a broom.

SAM: Earrings.

LIAM: Okay.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: So many earrings. (laughter)

ASHLEY: I found it! (laughter)

LIAM: Is there any pie?

MARISHA: He's got a whole Claire's in there.

MATT: Sadly, no pie.

LIAM: No, okay.

TALIESIN: Monster.

LIAM: Well, maybe we could just peek in there while the others--

ASHLEY: I'll give it a peeksy. Then are there any doors to the outside?

MATT: There is a door that leads to the, what you remember to be the outside back of the building.

ASHLEY: Okay, okay, okay.

LIAM: Are there any side doors on the way to that back entrance, or is it just?

MATT: The kitchen itself is pretty self contained, beyond just the storage closet, and that one exit.

LIAM: Okay, so, back door out of the kitchen to the exterior.

MATT: Yeah, just this was one room to bring supplies in from the outside, and one room that goes directly into the dining room, there isn't much of a multitude of purposes beyond that.

ASHLEY: That door, we saw from the outside?

MATT: It was not seen from the outside.

ASHLEY: It was not seen from the outside, okay.

SAM: It's a hidden kitchen--

ASHLEY: I don't remember that door.

LAURA: No.

ASHLEY: Right? There wasn't one outside.

LIAM: No, no.

ASHLEY: Not that we checked anything out, but. (laughter)

LIAM: We are an elite force. (laughter)

ASHLEY: We sure are. Okay, let's check the pantry.

LIAM: Oh. Is there anything that is not just plain food in here?

MATT: It looks like everything here primarily has, and you can roll a perception check, if you want to.

TRAVIS: It's just food and condoms.

ASHLEY: I'm going to start using my hooves on the floor. (laughter)

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: To see if there's anything--

SAM: Standard kitchen.

ASHLEY: -- in the back.

MARISHA: Everything you need for a key party. (laughter)

MATT: Well, if you're a good cook. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Might as well have it all in one place.

LIAM: 21.

ASHLEY: Oh, nice.

MATT: Just waste time. All right, so you begin to clomp around the-- This floor in here is like a slate floor, matching a lot of the countertops in there. Not much of a change is catching your attention. What'd you roll perception?

LIAM: 21.

MATT: 21. Glancing inside, you can hear your clomp, clomp, clomp, clomp. She stops clomping for a second, and you hear a sound that you didn't recognize before, just faintly with that roll. It seems like almost beyond the wall, the back wall of this, you can hear heavy shifting, like things are (grumbling), falling, and like something is being rummaged through beyond the back wall.

LIAM: So, I'm hearing somebody else at work, probably.

MATT: Probably.

LIAM: Okay.

LAURA: They're looking for another thing, too.

ASHLEY: I'm going to press along that back wall of the pantry.

MATT: Okay. You begin to press along, you have to move past, and shift a few things to get there. When you get to it, it's a solid wooden wall. You feel around, if you want to make an investigation check for me.

ASHLEY: Okay. Nine.

MATT: Nine. It is definitely a wooden wall. You are uncertain how thick it is, but you can hear the movement behind, and it sounds like metal. For a second, you think you hear something that sounds almost like a horn, like a (tooting).

ASHLEY: I think someone's... I think that might be the bathroom. (laughter)

TRAVIS: At an airport? (tooting) (laughter)

TRAVIS: (tooting)

ASHLEY: I don't know if I'm mishearing anything, but sounds there's a lot going on.

LIAM: Do you need it?

ASHLEY: Just-- huh?

LIAM: Do you need it?

ASHLEY: Do I need what?

LIAM: The bathroom.

MATT: You hear hushed voices.

ASHLEY: No, I don't.

MATT: You hear hushed voices, but they're too muffled from this side to really make out what they're saying. You also hear some other shifting and movement, and you hear some strings plucked. (pings)

LAURA: What the fuck?

SAM: A music room.

LIAM: Yeah, so they could be messing with a harpsichord.

MATT: Another voice gets-- you just hear her getting frustrated, and another one, there's three different voices now you can hear, and they're almost bickering, though you can't quite make out exactly what they're saying.

ASHLEY: Is this wall one of the walls that's on the other side of the door with the the Immovable Rod?

MATT: It's facing that side of the house.

ASHLEY: It could be that. Okay, okay, okay.

LAURA: It could lead in...

MARISHA: Like a loop.

MATT: It possibly can.

LAURA: Oh, okay.

ASHLEY: Okay.

LIAM: Think somebody's messing with like a harpsichord, or--?

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LIAM: A harp or something?

ASHLEY: Maybe there's a band that's going to play.

SAM: (laughs)

LIAM: Let's catch up with the others, and as we leave, is there a sack of flour, or lentils?

MATT: Yes, I guess you could find something. One or the other, they're both present.

LIAM: I'm going to take both.

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: Actually. I'm going to grab two sacks, and I'm going to sheathe the sword, put the shield back, and I come out holding two big bags.

MATT: Hell yeah.

LIAM: To find the others and your painting.

SAM: We'll definitely need that.

ASHLEY: Wait, wait!

LAURA: There's the--

ASHLEY: But the door.

LAURA: Yeah, but be careful because, y'all, the statues are. They do shit.

TALIESIN: Lightning, they fire lightning.

LAURA: Yeah, they attack. There's a rug over that one. I don't know if it'll help.

SAM: (laughs)

TALIESIN: We might just have to run and jump.

ASHLEY: I want to check that door, though.

SAM: What door?

LAURA: What door?

ASHLEY: The door that wasn't on the outside, but it is on the inside.

LAURA: That's just a door to the, I mean, I think it's just a door to get out.

ASHLEY: It's just a door to get out.

LAURA: It's a great door to get out.

TALIESIN: Literally it was just us not paying attention.

TRAVIS: You know, it could be a hidden door to downstairs.

SAM: Okay, so, We found a hidden door behind this painting, right?

LAURA: Yeah, I would like to try to open it.

SAM: So, should we assume that it's trapped? Should I try to see?

LAURA: Try to see if it's trapped, yeah.

SAM: Or just dispel? I could just dispel magic.

TALIESIN: Let's see if it's trapped.

SAM: Okay. All right, I will cast Find Traps.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: And see what that does.

LAURA: How long--

SAM: Wait, do I have to be close? Close? It's just instantaneous.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: Within the range that is in the line of sight. So as long as you can see in the space, it'll tell you.

SAM: I mean, I don't think I've crossed past the statues yet to get there.

MATT: Not yet, no.

LAURA: But you could still see the alcove.

MATT: You can see it.

SAM: I can still see it.

MATT: Yeah.

SAM: If there's light in the room.

TALIESIN: You can look everywhere, man.

SAM: I will Find Traps, and scan all over the place, not just there. (buzzes)

MATT: Okay, so. Right as you see Fearne and Orym return to the central foyer area, Orym clutching two large sacks.

ASHLEY: I'm still going to try the door.

MATT: You're going to try to the door? Okay, and you see Orym arrive.

ASHLEY: Just to see.

MATT: You cast Find Traps, glance across the way, and a faint translucent purple-ish energy immediately becomes brightly visible around the door mechanism.

SAM: (gasps) That's a trap! It's trapped, (whispers) It's trapped. It's trapped.

LAURA: Well, then I won't open it until you dispel that.

SAM: Does it seem like a magical trap? Can I tell?

MATT: It appears to be magical in nature, yes.

SAM: Okay, I can dispel it!

LAURA: Perfect!

SAM: I'll use Dispel Magic, and I will dispel it!

MATT: Okay.

SAM: I'll just sort of aim at it, and focus, and (grunts), and try to shut off the arcane effects.

MATT: (fizzles) The purple energy dissipates--

MARISHA: (snaps fingers)

LAURA: Oh shit!

MATT: Whatever trap-based enchantment currently was placed upon that door is no longer.

SAM: Okay!

MARISHA: Amazing!

SAM: Open it! But we still don't know if we can go past the--

LAURA: Can I, oh, is it unlocked? Should I try to open it now that?

MARISHA: No, yes, that's true.

MATT: Do you push to open it, and--

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: So.

LAURA: Okay, so it's locked.

SAM: Oh, that's right, when I used Find Traps, did the statues appear armed?

MATT: You glance over at the statues now. The one that doesn't have the rug on its head definitely also gives a bright white-blue coloration to its entire torso area.

SAM: So, it is still alive.

MARISHA: I throw the rug the other, I take the rug.

MATT: (blanket thud) Place it over it.

LIAM: I cast Rug.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: I cast Rug. (laughter)

MARISHA: RIP carpet. (laughter)

MATT: You finish throwing the rug over, and you hear, muffled through the door where the rod is, a violin. ♪ (violin playing) ♪

TRAVIS: Nope, I hate it.

LAURA: Uh-oh.

MATT: ♪ (humming) ♪ "Shit!"

MARISHA: I would think they're trying to--

LAURA: Oh, they're trying to get in!

MARISHA: Let's go, go, go! (snapping fingers)

MATT: Another, almost like a lute starts being plucked. They're all kind of out of tune. You get the sense there isn't a lot of--

MARISHA: They're trying something new.

MATT: -- extreme musical talents coming from that side of the room, and there's definitely just hushed, frustrated whispers in the opposite side of that chamber.

LAURA: I'm going to take out some ball bearings-- and just throw them on the ground in front of that door.

MARISHA: Well, wait, wait, wait, so wait, Fearne. Let's wait for Fearne.

LAURA: In the front of the door that you can Immovable Rodded and just so that if they do get--

MARISHA: All right, I'm going to grab my rod.

LAURA: (gasps) Ooh, they're going to--

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: -- get a little bit. Good, okay.

MARISHA: Thought I might need it!

MATT: Okay, okay--

MARISHA: I can do it on the other side--

MATT: You grab your rod as you carefully--

MARISHA: We can keep rodding behind us.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: -- scatter a series of small metallic spheres across the floor in front.

LAURA: Can anybody unlock doors?

SAM: Jeez!

LAURA: Because I've, I know. (laughter)

TALIESIN: I'm halfway, I'm--

LAURA: Okay, yeah, come on, come on.

SAM: Come on, Ashton, do it!

TALIESIN: Give me a-- Can I get a d4?

SAM: Just knock through the door, just open it!

TALIESIN: I'm going to actually just try, and really quickly, just try and pick it just for--

SAM: Okay, I will Guidances you.

TALIESIN: Thank you. sleight of hand, right?

MATT: No, this is going to be rolling with your proficiency. Are you proficient in thieves' tools?

TALIESIN: I am, yeah.

MATT: Yeah, so, it's proficiency bonus, and dexterity bonus.

TALIESIN: Okay, proficiency plus dexterity.

LIAM: While we're watching: Fearne, can I get up on your shoulders? Can you give me a--?

SAM: She's gone out the other fucking door.

ASHLEY: I didn't leave the kitchen yet, because I'm just so curious about that door. (laughter)

ASHLEY: I just want to see if there's--

TALIESIN: 21.

MATT: 21.

LIAM: Maybe it goes to an extraplanar.

ASHLEY: Yeah, we're doing this.

MATT: It takes you a little bit of time, and you begin to hear from the other room. (plucking strings). The lyre plucks a few more, and then you all feel the ground (rumbles) begin to vibrate slightly. (rumbles) The vibration comes to a halt. Then you, the door unlocks, and opens.

SAM: We're in, we're in!

MARISHA: I message Fearne--

MATT: While that's happening--

MARISHA: -- really quick. ♪ Fearne, we're moving! ♪

MATT: Which, we cut over to you, because while this has been happening, you've been in the kitchen.

ASHLEY: Okay, I'm coming, I'm coming, just two seconds! Okay, I just want to see if, I just want to open the door.

MATT: Okay, the door, as you approach, you can see there are three different locks on it, up on the top of it, the side that slide bolt locks, and the door itself has some sort of a latch lock on it.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: From the inside.

ASHLEY: Yeah, I'm just going to open it.

MATT: All right. (clicking) (door creaks)

ASHLEY: Very slowly.

SAM: Sand worms!

MATT: (door creaks) (laughter)

MATT: I need you to make a dexterity-- no, no, I'm kidding. (exclaiming)

MATT: You're fine, you're fine.

ASHLEY: Okay, okay.

MATT: It opens up into the backyard.

LAURA: Great!

MATT: You can see there's the little garden area. You glance out and look, and as you look through back, there is still a visual of a solid wall that you're peeking through.

SAM: Cool.

MARISHA: Cool.

ASHLEY: It's just amazing. Okay, I'm going to close it, and I'm going to bash the doorknob off.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: Lock it in a--

MATT: (thumps)

ASHLEY: Then I want to see, are there any salt and pepper shakers in the kitchen?

MATT: Yes, you can find a couple.

ASHLEY: Okay, great.

MATT: Okay, so you put those in your inventory.

ASHLEY: Yeah. Okay, I'm coming, I'm coming! Okay, I run around the corner and--

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: Make my way to--

LAURA: While Ashton was--

TALIESIN: Picked the lock.

LAURA: -- picking the lock, maybe you and I could tie some thread from one side of the door to the other.

MARISHA: Good idea.

LAURA: So that, yeah, anybody coming through the door would trip, you know?

MARISHA: Would trip, yeah.

LAURA: All right.

SAM: Wasn't that hidden behind a painting?

LAURA: Huh?

SAM: The door?

LAURA: Oh, I'm talking about the door that she Immovable Rodded, just in case.

SAM: Got it, got it, got it.

LAURA: Then, yeah. I'm also going to put some ball bearings on the bottom of the staircase.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: Poor Chet.

TALIESIN: Once everyone's on the other side of the statues--

MARISHA: Poor Chetney.

TALIESIN: I'm going to pull the rugs off the statues.

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: Oh no!

TALIESIN: Then gently--

LAURA: We'll wait for everybody to get on the other side of the statues, we'll pull the rugs off, and then head downstairs.

LIAM: Fearne, when you're back, I ask to get up on your shoulders.

TALIESIN: Didn't we have a little man at one point?

LAURA: Yeah. I don't know where he went.

SAM: Let's get behind the door and then we'll message him or something!

MARISHA: That sounds good.

TALIESIN: We've had a couple, I guess, at this point. (laughter)

SAM: In the door, in the door, in the door!

MATT: As you all begin to push past between the two statues with the rugs over them... nothing happens.

SAM: Oh!

MARISHA: Hey!

MATT: The rugs were enough to block their vision of each other, and anything from between to trigger it. So you still smell the residual of their initial charge, and there is still a faint bit of smoke wafting from underneath them, through the rug from it, but they do not trigger upon you running through. As you all gather at the door, the door is open as you go ahead.

TALIESIN: I'm going to remove the rugs from the two statues.

LAURA: I'll pull one rug from the other. Let's roll them up and stick them next to the door, so that we have access to the rugs, but they're hard for the other people to get.

TALIESIN: I mean, I was just going to leave them where we found them, I guess.

SAM: Yeah, drop them, yeah.

ASHLEY: Take them with us!

TALIESIN: We don't need rugs, we're fine, let's go! (laughter)

TRAVIS: (laughs) Take them with us?

TALIESIN: I don't need a fucking rug, where are you going to-- You're out of the room!

MARISHA: Fearne is, as we go through.

ASHLEY: One day, we might have a house together!

TRAVIS: A pillow and a fucking rug! And a stool.

SAM: It's a high traffic area, they're not--

TRAVIS: Is that a frying pan, what the fuck?

MARISHA: Like trying to get through Ikea.

TRAVIS: Waffle iron?!

SAM: So are we going?

LAURA: Going through the door.

SAM: Through the door. Before we go, should we subterfuge? Should we just--?

LAURA: Try to hide the door?

SAM: I'm going to shout something. I'm going to shout out real loud.

MATT: Yeah?

SAM: The dining room floor! The dining room floor! Chetney, that's where the entrance is!

MATT: Okay. In the relatively quiet hour in this manor, that voice carries quite a bit. You hear it from upstairs. You hear Fresh Cut Grass's voice from upstairs in a moment, but getting to you as you're following them, you see them disappearing up the staircase, and you're following suit, right?

TRAVIS: Double the distance this time, though, just to stay out of (sniffs) range.

MATT: Okay, you got it. Following up behind, it curves up. This is a shorter staircase, or at least it's not quite as grandiose. This appears to be a little more for just personal, private use, and as you follow up to a smaller landing on a third level, you come into a chamber with tables on each side, just decor, settings with plants on them. There is a very thin window behind you, and a short hallway and a large double door, intricate, that leads into the next chamber, and as you get up there quietly, you can see now the goblin is on the ground in the process of picking the lock at the front of the doors while the katari is there glancing back and looking in your direction, almost looking straight at you, but past you as well.

TRAVIS: Anything on the ground, any kind of sand or flour or ball bearings or little--

MATT: From what you see here, the floor, it's a gray wood, a gray stained wood slat texture with a little bit of a red carpet that extends to the center of it, to the base of the doors, but nothing that is hand free, grabbable, necessarily what you're asking.

TRAVIS: I'm just checking for any of if it's super dusty or if my footprints will give me away. I'll just stay at the bottom of the stairs and keep eyes on the two of them, just at the top of the stairs.

MATT: Okay, and you stay there, keep watching. "Shit! You give it a shot." They switch off, and the goblin sits there, and he starts taking watch while the katari gets down and begins picking the lock, picking the lock.

TRAVIS: Once the katari moves to the door, I'll sneak into the room a little bit. Is there anything in the room of value or interest?

MATT: This room? I mean, the-- You are a craftsman. You have an eye for good craft. The tables in here are very well made. The stain is even. The plants, the vases that hold them are porcelain and beautifully painted. They have a faint tan coloration to them, but then a deep, cerulean blue that swirls like waves on them. These vases are worth probably quite a bit.

TRAVIS: I appreciate fine work when I see it. A sister craft, porcelain.

MARISHA: A sister craft!

LIAM: Wood and porcelain, together forever. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Brother-sister.

TALIESIN: Eternally twined.

TRAVIS: Stone is cousin. (laughter)

TRAVIS: I'll just keep an eye on them, trying to stay out of the katari's general area, and downwind, if I can.

MATT: Fair enough. There is no wind in here. It is a still chamber. But nevertheless, you keep watch.

MARISHA: Old houses are drafty.

MATT: Eventually, the katari... "Ah. Right. Wait." Goes ahead and... "I think we're safe." Opens the door, and suddenly you watch as the ceiling above seems to almost bend. They don't notice it, and this stretchy, tar-like substance immediately wraps around them, and they both get pulled up, and are grabbed and latched to the ceiling above. There's a moment's pause and they both look at each other. "That's your fault!" He points to the katari. The katari's like, "Shut up, it's your fault! Look, this..." They reach down, and they're trying to pull at it, but when they touch their chests, their hands are stuck to the substance, and they're both just attached to the ceiling above the partially opened door now, just right there.

MARISHA: Could've been us.

MATT: Right at this time, you hear Fresh Cut Grass' voice echo from behind, from two floors down.

TRAVIS: What did you shout? The entrance is below the dining room floor?

SAM: The dining room floor is where the secret entrance is. (laughter)

TRAVIS: I'll look through the door. What's in the room beyond, before I leave it?

MATT: Okay, you glance within, and it looks like the opening to a grandiose chamber. There's a beautiful, dark turquoise carpet There's a beautiful, dark turquoise carpet placed across the ground. You can see there are these two wonderful, throne-like chairs that sit on either side of a beautiful table that has some books on it, and a window beyond that, and it continues on to each side. This is a very well-decorated chamber, from the little bit you've seen.

TRAVIS: I feel like they would trap where it was, but I heard FCG. Fuck! I'll head back down the stairs and try and find a goddamn dining room, which would only be on the first floor.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: Right? Yes.

MATT: Okay, so you head back down the small staircase to the front of the landing, and come back to the spiral staircase that heads downward. You charge around, and I need you to make a dexterity saving throw as you walk right through two statues. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Oh, that's okay, 21.

MATT: 21, great.

TRAVIS: 23, sorry.

MATT: Great. So you only take nine points of lightning damage.

SAM: Oh wait, this is through the statues.

MATT: Correct.

LAURA: Oh, the statues. I also had left ball bearings at the bottom of the staircase.

MATT: We'll get to that.

MARISHA: Ball bearings, I know.

MATT: As you go running down the stairs, all of a sudden, you hear this (crackling). You go, "What?" You look over to the right as one of the statues you only just now noticed of Hytroga, its eyes burn bright white blue before you just see white. You dart forward to get out of the way and manage to shrug off the severe impact as they collide behind you. Your ears ring as you come midair and go into a tumble. You hit the ground, up to your feet, right as your feet begin, out from under you. I need you to make another dexterity saving throw.

TRAVIS: No! And it's 14.

MATT: You slide across the room, (yells) slamming into the front door, falling onto your back, onto probably a good 20 or so of these hard, marble, steel balls, onto your back. We'll say for that you just take two points of bludgeoning damage, but you are currently prone on the ground and your back hurts.

LAURA: Are we still going through the doorway at this point?

LIAM: Did it time out right for us to see him?

MATT: You guys, at this point, would've been going down, so.

LIAM: Well, I'm doing a thing before we leave, but it's fine if we don't see him.

MATT: Then if you're doing a thing, you may have just caught this, so what are you doing?

LIAM: Well, I'm on Fearne's shoulders, and I say: Here, take this. And I hand her the lentils and ask her to shut the door behind us, so I guess now would be the moment I either see him or I don't, because what I'm doing depends on shutting the door.

MATT: Right, okay. I'd say timing-wise, of him coming down to follow, and the time it takes, since that was shouted as you guys were getting ready to leave, I'd say you don't see this. You close the door behind you, and right as you begin to descend, you hear... (impacts)

TRAVIS: (groans)

LIAM: Okay, so I assume it's one of the other people. Well, I don't know.

LAURA: Would you recognize the voice?

LIAM: Yeah, I got really good perception, and a high passive perception. Open the door, open the door, open the door! I peek out, because again, I'm doing a thing, but I see Chetney sprawled out.

MATT: Yeah, you see the smoke pouring from the eyes of the statue, you see the scattered array of spheres on the ground that are now still coming to rest, they're still spreading out from the initial impact and movement, and across the way, on his back by the base of the front doors, you see a smoking Chetney prone on the ground.

LIAM: Hey, are you alive?

TRAVIS: I think so.

LIAM: Can you roll over here?

TRAVIS: Yeah. (quick footsteps)

MARISHA: Watch the eyes.

TRAVIS: Which eyes?

MATT: Roll another dexterity saving throw as you come back through the statues to get to the door.

TRAVIS: Oh, goddamn it. 18.

MATT: 18, okay, that is another success. This time, you're like, "All right!" And dart right as they... Okay, that's not too bad. You take six points of lightning damage.

TRAVIS: You'd think I'd learn.

MATT: As you tuck and roll, over the shoulder, onto the ground, hitting one other stray ball bearing that cracks into the middle of your shoulder blade, but you get back up on your feet.

TRAVIS: Metal!

MATT: Joining both Fearne and Orym over to the other side.

TRAVIS: How have you done?

LIAM: Get in, get in, get in! We think we found-- it's down.

TRAVIS: Okay, I took care of two of them already.

ASHLEY: Great job.

SAM: Well done. Sorry for the subterfuge.

TRAVIS: No worries, let's do this.

LIAM: Okay, now as we close the door, I catch the opening to the bag of the flour in the top of the door.

ASHLEY: Lentils?

LIAM: No, you're holding the lentils, so the flour, the top of the bag is now clasped in the doorway, and I push the rest of the sack against the ceiling and I pull a dagger out of the back of my boot and I jam it as hard as I can to hold the bottom of the bag up, and I take out my other one and get the other corner, so anyone who comes through here is getting antiqued, and then I hop down, and as we leave, I start spreading lentils on the first three or four steps.

ASHLEY: We're not making soup?

LIAM: Once we get the job done.

ASHLEY: Okay, okay, okay. I'll help, I'll help.

SAM: Lentil help, lentil help, lentil help.

MATT: All righty, great. So, with that finished, and easy enough to do, the wood top of this, because actually that's the base of the floor above as you get in the stairs and set this up at the door. Sorry, the staircase above you, the wood is not so hard to the point you can't manage to get that wedged in there.

LIAM: Yeah, so the bag should just go (whooshes).

MATT: Yeah, when that happens. You all begin to descend the staircase, and this continues to curve downward, a mirror of the small staircase that you encountered that led to the third apex floor of the manor. It heads down, and the wood begins to transition into stone, and about 20 or so feet down, you watch as the thin, single file staircase curves and opens up into a chamber. Looking within here, you can see there is a set of large double doors, in a wide, 12-foot archway that, from where you guys are right now, it would be to your right, and you can see the chamber is about maybe 35, 40 feet across and about 20 feet wide, and that's where the archway is. On the other side, there is another staircase that seems to be entering, like you're entering from one side of two staircases that are entering into this bottom floor.

SAM: So there's no way down.

MATT: There is--

LAURA: That's what we heard, we heard them (whooshes). They were probably opening--

MARISHA: Opening that side. Oh, do we hear or see? Go ahead.

MATT: Between the two staircases, there is a risen stone platform there is a risen stone platform with an intricate frame to it, and what looks to be some sort of artifact placed upon it with a plaque and a little bit of faint light coming down from above. This looks like the first of the museum pieces you've come across, as you now gather you've likely stumbled into the museum proper.

LAURA: Oh shit!

MATT: The double doors ahead of you, off to the side, are closed. Let me just give you a little--

TRAVIS: Yeah! Let's see it, baby!

LAURA: We're only now in the museum? Jeez Louise.

SAM: Oh boy, this is already so exciting, and we've barely started.

LAURA: I thought we were about to win.

SAM: No.

TALIESIN: Oh, no.

MATT: So, this is where you've entered from this side, and there is some low torchlight here. This is the other staircase, and this is that raised platform where you can see.

MARISHA: Oh, I see.

TRAVIS: Wait, we entered from that corner?

MATT: You entered from this side.

LIAM: There's light shining down on that object.

MATT: Yeah.

TALIESIN: The stairs are clearly trapped.

TRAVIS: And two suits of armor.

SAM: Yes.

ASHLEY: There's a raised platform on this wall right here?

SAM: It's on this wall, if you can't see.

MARISHA: Do we hear anybody coming down the other set of stairs?

MATT: Make a perception check.

TRAVIS: Can I aid her by also giving her a (sniffs)?

MATT: Sure, yeah.

MARISHA: So roll with advantage?

TRAVIS: Yeah, go for it.

MARISHA: Okay, that's a 16. These are hard. 21.

MATT: 21, great. You do not hear any footfalls, anything coming down that staircase. You pick up a scent, a faint combination of fungus and body odor.

MARISHA: Oh, it's the firbolg!

MATT: It appears to be fading.

MARISHA: They're ahead of us!

SAM: They got through the doors!

MARISHA: They got through the fucking doors. They're ahead of us!

TRAVIS: We've got to catch up!

MARISHA: All right.

ASHLEY: Well, let's go.

TRAVIS: Wait, what's on that thing?

TALIESIN: If they closed the doors, they've clearly trapped it the same way we've trapped every door we've touched.

MARISHA: Well, let's find out.

ASHLEY: Let me check out this platform. What's going on with this platform? This is just nothing?

MATT: You check on the relic?

TRAVIS: Wait, don't go up on the damn thing. Walk out into the middle of the room.

ASHLEY: Okay.

TRAVIS: To get a better look at the object that's up on the platform.

TALIESIN: I'm not walking into the middle of the room yet.

TRAVIS: I will.

MATT: So you walk out in the middle of the room?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: Okay. You step out in the center of the stone floor. Nothing happens.

SAM: Good, good. Can you read the plaque or see what it is?

MATT: Okay, so you head over to the side and you can see this raised bit of stone, and in the center of it, there's a small half pillar, and on it, you see there is a wooden box, and mounted and facing up from there, you see what looks to be a leather headband with side elements that curve upward, with a sculpted brow where eyes look through. It's a mask and a headdress of curved leather that curves up like a flame, and it has these long tethers of leather strips that come down from the sides that have been dyed in blues and reds, and you see on the plaque, it says: "Headdress of a Lyth-Priest of the cult village of Hishari, before its destruction. What terrible things has this artifact seen...?" (laughter)

ASHLEY: Wow, look at this.

SAM: We're getting some culture today, too.

ASHLEY: Sure are.

LAURA: Can we try to detect traps on the doors?

MATT: Someone can.

LAURA: There's only so many times you can cast that spell, but yeah, can we just look at it?

MARISHA: I'll try and get a closer look at the suits of armor while you do that.

TALIESIN: I'll stick with you for that.

SAM: Do you want me to cast Find Traps?

LAURA: I don't know if we want to do it just yet.

SAM: I've got one more of them.

LAURA: I know, I'm just going to visually look at the doors and see if I can find anything out of place.

TALIESIN: We're checking out the suits of armor.

MATT: Okay, so you can make a perception-- Or what are you looking for at the doors? Just seeing if anything is out of place?

LAURA: Yeah, since I know they already went through them, I'm just going to see if anything looks like they trapped it on.

MATT: Okay, roll a perception check.

LIAM: I'm going to help out, but not give you advantage, because it'll nerf my--

LAURA: Okay. Nice.

LIAM: Oh, terrible rolls.

LAURA: 15. No, 16.

MATT: 16. The doors appear closed. They don't look like they've been damaged, by any means. Nothing seems out of place about them, necessarily.

TRAVIS: Is there a lock?

LAURA: I don't know, I'm just going to try to push it open.

MATT: It doesn't open.

LAURA: Mm-hmm, they probably propped something up against the other side.

TALIESIN: Would it have felt like something propped, or felt like something locked?

LAURA: I don't know, yeah, there is a different feeling.

LIAM: Did it move half an inch and bump into something, or did it just not give?

MATT: No, it appears to be locked.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: There is a bar between the two of them, and as you go and push it, you can feel the resistance of them being--

LAURA: Oh, there's a bar on the other side of it?

MATT: Or there is some sort of a barring mechanism.

LAURA: Is there any gap between the two doors, or are they right up against each other?

MATT: A very, very faint gap.

LAURA: Can I see if there's a bar? Can I see a dark spot in the middle where there would be a bar?

MATT: You can indeed see there is a dark spot.

LAURA: Then can I try to use Mage Hand?

MARISHA: Yes!

LAURA: To lift the bar on the other side and move it?

MARISHA: Yes, queen.

MATT: Yes, actually. I would say with a faint bit--

MARISHA: Brilliant.

MATT: Well, how much weight can Mage Hand maneuver? It does have a limitation.

LAURA: Is it just five pounds?

LIAM: Picking up potion bottles.

MATT: Yeah, then I don't think Mage Hand can do it. You try and lift it, and it's a little too heavy, or a lot too heavy for the purview of Mage Hand.

LAURA: No, no, 10 pounds.

MATT: Still too heavy for it, unfortunately.

LIAM: Does anything move on those suits of armor? A lever, a hidden lever?

MARISHA: We were looking at the suits of armor. Anything?

MATT: Okay, you inspect the suit of armor?

MARISHA: Ashton and I were looking.

TALIESIN: I'm giving you advantage because yeah, I'm just checking joints, so.

MARISHA: Perception?

MATT: So you're looking to see what about them?

TALIESIN: If it looks like they are mechanized, or if it looks like there's anything special about them or that they might, that the swords have been used before.

MATT: So while these are suits of classic armor I used on the map, these as you get closer are more like leather-clad suits of detailed armor matching in a ceremonial theme. (laughs)

ASHLEY: Matt didn't approve.

LAURA: Matt didn't approve. Oh no!

TALIESIN: Wakka wakka wakka.

MATT: These look similar in design as to the mask that you saw, the main central piece there. There's something about them that seems weirdly familiar to you.

MARISHA: Weirdly familiar?

TRAVIS: To Ashton, or--?

MATT: To Ashton.

LAURA: Are they carrying swords?

MATT: No swords on them, and they're empty, and they're just placed upon a--

TALIESIN: Nothing is weirdly familiar to me.

LAURA: Does anybody have swords?

SAM: Um, the minis have swords, Matt.

MATT: Well, one of them's going to stab you. (laughter)

MATT: Yeah, no weapons on them, just a leather chest plate. There's detailed scrolling on it that has similar curves at the edges, and where it ends at the shoulders, they come to a long point off the side, so it gives these--

TALIESIN: Fuck.

MARISHA: What does the scrolling say?

MATT: Well, the scrolling's just a design to it.

MARISHA: Okay.

MATT: At the base of each of them, it says "Ceremonial Hishari Armor."

SAM: Hishari armor.

LAURA: Hishari.

SAM: We got to get through this door.

MATT: Not Ashari. Hishari.

TRAVIS: It's barred on the other side. There's not a keyhole, right?

LAURA: No, it's barred.

TRAVIS: Did you see between the doors?

LAURA: Yeah, try to get your saw blade through.

MATT: They've definitely seen some wear, but they've been cleaned.

TALIESIN: Okay, so they're probably not magical.

LIAM: I saw you lift two giant boulders.

TALIESIN: And does it look like the base is connected to anything? They're on a dummy, I assume.

MATT: It is a wooden skeletal structure, a very, very basic one just to hold armor in place and to give the image of what it would look like if it was worn.

TALIESIN: I kind of want to-- hmm.

LAURA: I don't want to waste a 3rd-level.

SAM: Can I fit my saw blade in between the two doors?

MATT: The doors are about that thick. Saw blade might be able to fit through.

LAURA: Through the gap.

LIAM: Through the little gap.

MATT: Yeah, that's what I mean. Through the gap there, you might be able to. You can give it a shot.

SAM: All right, I'll spin it up and try to slice through and see if I can slice the bar.

MATT: Okay, roll an attack.

MARISHA: Come on, FCG!

SAM: Attack. Terrible, nine.

MATT: Your precision on this is a little bit off, and instead of getting it between the two, you grind into the wood, and as it splinters into it and kicks back and your arm pulls back out of it suddenly, you sense this strange shift in the air above. It gets briefly cold for a second before the top of the door seems to spray out what you think is mist--

SAM: But it's lentils.

MATT: -- that fills the area, but it is just burning lentils on all of you. These silken strands fill the space 20 feet around the center of this chamber, which encompasses, based on where everyone was inspecting, all of you.

SAM: Oh god.

MATT: In the brief minute where you withdraw and look around, you are all webbed to the floor.

MARISHA: Fuck!

TRAVIS: (laughs) Oh, no.

SAM: Damn it.

LAURA: Can you burn the webs?

MATT: Now, I will give everyone a dexterity saving throw to try and dodge out of the way of the mist of this.

LIAM: I rolled a one, so I will reroll it. Oh, I rolled my first two natural ones.

MARISHA: Oh my god.

MATT: Congratulations.

TALIESIN: Dexterity save?

MATT: Yes.

TALIESIN: 14.

MATT: Failure.

TALIESIN: Yep.

LAURA: 16.

MATT: Failure.

ASHLEY: 12.

MATT: Failure.

SAM: Actually, 18.

MATT: Failure.

LAURA: Oh god.

MARISHA: Seven.

MATT: Failure.

TRAVIS: 24.

MATT: Success.

LAURA: Nice.

MATT: The only person that manages to dart and roll out of the way is Chetney, as you back off to the side of it.

ALL: ♪ Pock O'Pea! ♪

MATT: All the rest of your friends, you can see now, are up to their torso and shoulders, these thick strands of sticky web, and they're-- (straining)

TRAVIS: Rubes, I'll get it for us. I walk up to the door. I'm just kidding. I'll go around to Orym, since he's got a blade, and I'll start trying to cut through some of the web and free him up.

MATT: Okay, you start cutting through, and it gets through a little bit, but these are extremely sticky and your blade keeps getting stuck a little bit. You get the sense that it's less about cutting through the webbing, because eventually it gets to the point where it's gumming up your actual--

TRAVIS: Oh god, no.

MATT: -- device. Yeah, your utensil.

TRAVIS: No, please.

MATT: (laughs) This is going to be more of a force yourself out of it.

TRAVIS: Oh boy.

SAM: It's not a magical effect, right? This is now physically binding us here.

MATT: It was a magical trap that is now physically affecting you.

MARISHA: Could you burn through it? What happens?

ASHLEY: Yeah, I'm going to try to do--

SAM: Is it going to set us on fire? Burning Silly String or something?

ASHLEY: I'm going to try something.

MATT: Just to set up where you all are.

MARISHA: I'd prefer that to--

TALIESIN: I would've been on--

MARISHA: -- being trapped.

TALIESIN: -- the other side of that.

MATT: Yes.

TALIESIN: I would've been there.

ASHLEY: I was close to the mask still. I was right in front.

MATT: So you would've been right about there.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LAURA: I would've been right in front of the door.

MATT: Sure.

LAURA: With FCG.

MATT: Oh god.

TRAVIS: Who's got the highest strength score?

TALIESIN: I've got 18, so.

TRAVIS: Fearne, what've you got?

ASHLEY: Seven.

TRAVIS: Okay.

TALIESIN: Wait.

LIAM: I have a zero modifier, so not great.

LAURA: We are a weak-ass group.

TALIESIN: Oh yeah, so you must have a hard time.

LAURA: We're all weak!

TRAVIS: I'm pretty strong.

ASHLEY: It's minus two.

TALIESIN: Okay.

LIAM: Forearms.

ASHLEY: I didn't do strength.

TRAVIS: Because the cutting isn't working, could I try to go over to Ashton and go: Hey, I'm going to need you to get out of this, bitch! And I slap him in the face.

SAM: Did you inspire him just now?

TRAVIS: No, I'm trying to--

TALIESIN: Okay, I'm going to-- Fuck it, I'm going to--

TRAVIS: I'm going to grab your hand and try and pull you out of this.

TALIESIN: All right, I suppose I'm going to rage while I do this, because I did just get hit.

MATT: Okay, so you go into your angry rage, feeling the pain from this little shit that just slapped you. Roll a strength check with advantage, because you are raging, and you are helping, so it would be the same thing.

TALIESIN: Come on. Strength check?

MATT: Yes.

TRAVIS: 15.

TALIESIN: 17.

MATT: 17, okay. You pull and pull, and it's almost enough, but it doesn't quite succeed.

LAURA: Oh my god.

MATT: You can try again. This is beginning to take time.

MARISHA: Oh no, we're getting fucked!

TALIESIN: Again, again! Inspire me again, again! Hit me!

SAM: This is a strength check?

MATT: It is a strength check.

SAM: If I guide you, I will lose my Locate Object.

TALIESIN: Oh, then never mind. Here we go again.

LIAM: Shit, what about those torches on the wall? Can you burn around us?

TRAVIS: Ooh!

MATT: Locate Object takes how long? How long does Locate Object last?

LAURA: It lasts 10 minutes.

MATT: 10 minutes? Locate Object probably will have faded by now.

LAURA: Or maybe an hour. Which one, an hour or 10 minutes?

SAM: It's 10 minutes.

MATT: 10 minutes, so it would've faded by now.

SAM: Okay, then I'll Guidance you.

MATT: I will say, it will fade just as you stepped down into this chamber. Being wibbly wobbly timey wimey, the direction of it still feels down.

SAM: Downer than this? Okay.

LAURA: Good to know.

LIAM: She chose down.

TALIESIN: Do I reroll with the d4?

MATT: Yeah, reroll with the d4, and you have advantage because you're angry, and you can roll if you want to do your own roll to help pull him free as well.

TALIESIN: Hey!

TRAVIS: 16.

SAM: Wait, no, Guidance is touch.

TRAVIS: Okay.

SAM: I can't get you.

TALIESIN: Throwing the dice away. Natural 20, 24.

MATT: 24. You rip yourself free.

TRAVIS: I'm sorry, I did it for you!

TALIESIN: Again!

TRAVIS: Ah! You're already out!

TALIESIN: Again!

TRAVIS: (slaps)

TALIESIN: I'm going to run over.

MARISHA: Get through the door.

TALIESIN: Hmm?

MARISHA: Get through the door.

TRAVIS: I'm going to go get a torch.

TALIESIN: I'm going to get you all out. I'm going to start pulling.

TRAVIS: The torches out of the sconces.

LAURA: Can I use my Mage Hand to try to help me get out of it, too?

MATT: Mage Hand is not strong enough, unfortunately. It is a utility spell more than it is a forceful spell. Telekinesis and things like that could do it, but Mage Hand is not strong enough to tug at this, unfortunately.

TRAVIS: I take the torch, I run over to Fearne. Sorry, baby.

ASHLEY: Yeah, go for it.

TRAVIS: I stick in in the webs to see it'll--

ASHLEY: (screams) Ooh.

MATT: Okay!

TRAVIS: It's pretty hot, huh?

MATT: The webs do begin to burn, and they begin to ignite around you, and you do get yourself free in the few minutes it takes for them to burn around you. You do also take--

SAM: Oh god.

MATT: -- four points of fire damage.

ASHLEY: Okay.

TALIESIN: I'm pulling you out.

ASHLEY: Thank you.

TRAVIS: You're welcome.

MARISHA: (whimpering)

TRAVIS: Just an appetizer.

TALIESIN: 22.

MATT: 22. Tear her free.

TRAVIS: Who wants some fire?

SAM: I'll take it.

TRAVIS: Yeah!

TALIESIN: I should probably be taking damage for all these hits to keep raging.

MATT: No, you're getting--

TALIESIN: Okay. Just taking it to keep up.

MATT: Yep, because it's funny. Why not?

MARISHA: The weakest slap on your face ever.

MATT: You take two points of fire damage, and the webs do burn away.

TALIESIN: Who's still in?

LAURA: I am, I'm going to use my Mage Hand, since I can't pull the webs off with its strength, I'm going to pull my dagger out, use it to pull my dagger out from my thigh holster and start trying to saw through the thing.

MATT: The webbing? Okay.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: It cuts through and it gets caught. It was a worthy shot.

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Do you want fire or rage? You've got to pick.

LAURA: Rage!

LIAM: Fire.

TRAVIS: Yeah, come on! We'll switch!

MATT: Okay.

SAM: I'll Guidance you.

LIAM: (screaming)

TALIESIN: Thank-- Guidance who?

LAURA and SAM: You.

TALIESIN: Okay, thank you.

LIAM: Six points of fire damage to you, Orym, but you are now free of the webbing.

TALIESIN: 20.

MATT: 20 is just enough. Tears you free. You're starting to feel tired and strained a bit, but the strength is still there within.

TALIESIN: Door?

MARISHA: Door! I smack him again!

TALIESIN: I'm going to hit the door. Didn't need it that time, but thank you.

TRAVIS: Everybody get away from the door!

SAM: Guidance again.

TALIESIN: All right.

MATT: So you're going to slam the door with your hammer?

TALIESIN: I'm going to hit the door with my fucking hammer.

MATT: All right.

TALIESIN: We're going for it?

ALL: Yes!

MATT: Roll an attack.

MARISHA: We're running behind.

TALIESIN: I'm going to make this, I'm going to burn it so I can do advantage on this.

MATT: Sure, go for it.

TALIESIN: So if the door attacks me, it has advantage.

MATT: Good to know. You laugh, for three campaigns, it's still your biggest enemy.

TALIESIN: 16. 25.

MATT: 25 definitely hits. Roll damage on the door.

LIAM: Do we need to worry about residual web, by the way?

MATT: Residual web? No.

LIAM: Okay, cool.

MATT: What has been there has been mostly burned away from the flames that--

TALIESIN: 16.

MATT: 16 points of damage? The door cracks and splinters, and you can see, it doesn't swing open, but the bar on the other side that was holding it does break inward, and it would take one more swift kick to open them.

SAM: Who wants to do the honors?

LAURA: I do, and I break my foot. (laughter)

LAURA: You can go again.

MARISHA: Keep going.

TALIESIN: I'm going to hit it one more time, so. Yeah, I hit it again. Actually, I'll kick it. I have another one for it.

TRAVIS: Just do it!

LAURA: Come on! Just let us in!

TALIESIN: It's a slightly different number.

MATT: It cracks, slams open heavily, revealing the next chamber within.

TRAVIS: Yeah! Another room, baby!

MARISHA: All right, we've got to make up for lost time.

TRAVIS: A fucking rug.

TALIESIN: God, I want to take one of those suits.

LAURA: One door's open already.

TALIESIN: On the way out, on the way out.

MATT: These doors swing open, splintered.

SAM: What is that carpet? That notorious--

MARISHA: Yeah, we look under the carpet. Is it magical?

SAM: Don't touch the carpet!

MARISHA: I touch the carpet.

TALIESIN: What are you doing?!

LAURA: I'm going to Mage Hand the carpet away. I'm Maging Hand the carpet.

MARISHA: It's magic!

MATT: (laughs) The first thing you notice, beyond the low torchlight in the interior of this chamber, is the central dark purple carpet that sits in the middle of the room, the large candelabras that also light from each side. You can see two more sets of armor on the far corners, these having a little more of an insect-like design to them, almost, a chitinous armor, and the raised platform in the center where there's secondary light on a second relic. There, it looks like some sort of twisted iron brazier at a distance. You're not quite sure, and there's a plaque that is visible beneath it.

LAURA: Can I move the carpet?

MATT: Yeah.

LAURA: Without my hands? Without my hands.

LIAM: We're all going to hang back, too.

MATT: I'll say yeah. With your Mage Hand, you go ahead, and it takes a second. It's still a heavy carpet, but you have just enough to pull it by, and you drag it out of the way. Yeah, it moves. You move it out of the way. What do you want to do with it?

LAURA: Is there anything underneath the carpet?

MATT: There is nothing underneath the carpet, which shifts out of the way.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: You do see two doors that are across the way, to the right and the left, that lead to two different chambers.

TRAVIS: The right one appears to be open?

LAURA: Open already?

MATT: This one does-- That one should actually still be closed. There you go.

TRAVIS: What do you think, split it up? I'm still invisible, but you hear me.

LAURA: Can you cast it again?

SAM: What, Find Traps or Locate Object?

LAURA: I guess it doesn't matter. We just need to find those stairs.

TALIESIN: We just have to be careful where we go.

MARISHA: Maybe we should split.

ASHLEY: We can each peek in a room, to see if there's stairs down.

MARISHA: Which way did the druid or the firbolg go? Can you smell?

TRAVIS: Do I smell musty ass in one direction or the other?

MATT: Make a perception check.

TRAVIS: Yeah, let me smell that booty. Damn-- oh, perception, because I'm using--

MATT: You're using scent, so you have advantage on this.

TRAVIS: Way better! 17.

MATT: 17, okay. You sense it to the right. That smell is heading to the right side doorway.

TRAVIS: Nasty-Ass went to the right.

ASHLEY: Okay.

TRAVIS: Which means we should go to the left.

MATT: Which would mean over to this side.

SAM: Yeah, it doesn't mean that they're right, though.

ASHLEY: Yeah, because they could've checked the left.

TALIESIN: I still have that 10 feet of rope, right?

MATT: You do have the 10 feet of rope that they cut, yes.

TALIESIN: I had an idea. I'm going to walk over to the door that Nasty-Ass went through. I'm going to tie the rope around the door handle. Is it locked? Well, I'm not checking if it's locked now. I'm going to tie the rope around the door handle and get back about eight feet, because that's about as much rope as I have.

SAM: And open it? Don't we want to look around this room first?

TALIESIN: When we're ready, yeah.

SAM: Okay.

TRAVIS: I think it's a push. (laughter)

TALIESIN: One way to find out.

MATT: So you've tied a rope about there, in that space. What is everybody else doing?

LIAM: I'll tiptoe to the dais.

ASHLEY: Yes, same.

MATT: Okay, so you make your--

SAM: I'm going to cast Detect Magic in the room.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: Good idea.

TRAVIS: I'm going to go to the door on the left and look for traps.

MATT: Interesting call, okay. You can move over to the door on the left.

MARISHA: Is it?

TRAVIS: I'm dead.

MATT: The rest of you enter the chamber?

MARISHA: Sure.

SAM: I'm at the threshold, detecting magic.

MATT: Okay. Oh god.

TRAVIS: Oh god!

ASHLEY: What was that?

SAM: Was that somebody's base?

MARISHA: Was that her magic?

MATT: That's your magic.

MARISHA: You broke Imogen's magic.

MATT: I'll fix it at break.

LAURA: I'm useless.

MATT: There we go.

LAURA: I'll stay right there next to FCG.

MATT: Okay, so you cast Detect Magic?

SAM: Mm-hmm.

MATT: Okay. You look around the chamber and-- let's see here in this one.

TALIESIN: Double check the previous chamber, too.

MATT: You get a faint magical essence from the two chitinous suits of armor that are set on the sides of the room. You also-- No, that would be it. Oh, and the torches on the back wall. The flames appear to give off a faint magical essence.

SAM: The armor is magical.

TALIESIN: Probably.

MARISHA: Oh, these two, the ones that are--

TRAVIS: There are torches in these corners that you guys can't see.

TALIESIN: Check the other room real quick.

SAM: Okay, but the carpet is not magical?

MATT: The carpet is not magical.

SAM: All right, then I'll swing back and peek into the room we just came from and see if anything lights up over there that we missed.

TRAVIS: Was there a visage on the rug? Some sort of a clue, a picture?

TALIESIN: Keep going.

MATT: It had some intricate details to it and a very vibrant purple coloration to it, but that was it.

TALIESIN: Six hidden Mickeys.

TRAVIS: Intricate details.

MATT: What are you two doing?

LIAM: Well, reading the description, and then also looking for-- I'm looking for switches and hidden panels both on the dais and also the back wall between the statues.

SAM: ♪ On the dais, on the dais ♪

MATT: The-- (laughter)

MATT: On the top of this, you see some sort of a metallic lattice, or like some sort of a-- elements of a metallic structure, intricately carved, but bent and darkened, almost like it was blown apart. The-- The bottom writing on the plaque says, "Destroyed relic of the Xhorhasian Dynasty, supposedly from before the Calamity, now a shell of its former power. Oh, the stories it could tell..."

SAM: Oh, what does it know?

TALIESIN: I sense a theme.

LIAM: Is it a broken, busted up geometric shape?

MATT: It looks like it might've been, yeah.

LAURA: Oh.

LIAM: Oh boy.

MARISHA: Oh shit. Oh shit.

LIAM: But there's no-- You didn't get any whiff from it, right?

LAURA: A busted beacon?

SAM: I guess it was just the cage that the beacon is in?

LAURA: Maybe, yeah.

MARISHA: Yeah.

SAM: Right?

MARISHA: You said the torches in the back--

TRAVIS: It's not a sphere, right? It's got angles?

MATT: Yes.

MARISHA: Oh, yeah, that's--

TALIESIN: I don't know what that is.

SAM: But the chitinous, I guess, Kryn armor, right? Is magical, so we shouldn't disturb it?

TALIESIN: Probably not.

LAURA: Yeah, just leave it alone. We're looking for a stairway down.

TALIESIN: Have a look in the other room.

MARISHA: You said the torches were magical as well.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

MARISHA: I'm going to look at the torches. Does it appear to be just because it's magical light?

MATT: You inspect one of the torches. It looks like it's a torch that's burning, but there's no smell to it. It would have had to have been burning for a very long time.

LIAM: It's like a Light spell.

MARISHA: A Light spell, okay, okay.

MATT: Just an eternal flame type thing.

SAM: No magic in the prior room, too, if I look back?

MATT: Glancing around that room, no particular magic.

LIAM: Nothing, no-- The torches don't move or slide like an unlocking mechanism? I wanted to search around the dais and on that back wall for any hidden switches.

ALL: ♪ Around the dais ♪

MATT: Make an investigation check.

LIAM: That's a natural one, so I'll re-roll it. And that is a 15.

LAURA: I know, I was thinking that.

MATT: 15. You give a fairly fair pass around it. As you step up to the front and look behind the area, the statues (swooshes) shift and look towards the platform. You hear the faint shift. Where the helmets' faces are--

MARISHA: Uh-oh.

MATT: (gasps)

LAURA: Goddamn it.

TALIESIN: I'm backing up.

MATT: You hear this weird, windy sound. The temperature in the room seems to drop a few degrees immediately, and you all sense this breeze blow pass you in the vicinity of the entire room. I need everybody to make a wisdom saving throw for me.

SAM: Aw, man.

LIAM: I triggered that by--

MARISHA: How'd you do that?

LIAM: Being over by the back wall?

SAM: How'd you do that?

MARISHA: How'd you do that?

MATT: By stepping onto the dais, looking behind for any sort of trap.

MARISHA: I rolled a one.

LIAM: Can I flatten against the wall between the two of them in this moment, as I hear and see that?

MATT: Yeah, you can.

LIAM: It might still get me, but I'm going to go out of its radius.

TALIESIN: What check?

MARISHA: Wisdom.

TALIESIN: Oh fuck.

MATT: So it is based as an odorless gas. So hiding, unfortunately, will not be enough to do it. So starting over here?

TALIESIN: 14.

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: They just woke up and turned toward me, or turned toward the room.

LAURA: What did you roll?

LIAM: I didn't roll. Oh, real low. Five.

MATT: Five.

LAURA: 21.

MATT: 21, okay.

ASHLEY: One.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: 10.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: Natural one.

LAURA: Oh my lord.

TRAVIS: 21.

MATT: Okay. So--

ASHLEY: Sleepy time.

MATT: Laudna, Fresh Cut Grass, Fearne, Orym, and Ashton. (laughter)

MATT: You--

MARISHA: This is not going good.

MATT: -- watch as the stone floor of this entire chamber cracks, crumbles, and then falls out from under you.

SAM: (yells)

MATT: You all immediately plummet into a dark expanse, hundreds and hundreds of feet.

MARISHA: Are we tripping balls?

MATT: You are plummeting into an endless abyss below.

ASHLEY: Together, or are we alone?

MATT: Together, it looks like.

ASHLEY: Okay.

SAM: I'm going to shoot out my grappling cannon to try to latch it to the side of the wall or up.

MATT: Go ahead and roll to do this.

SAM: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Did not work. (laughter)

SAM: It's like an eight to hit.

MATT: An eight to hit, okay. You turn to fire towards the wall, and you fire, and it deflects off the wall. Chetney. (laughs) Imogen. You both watch as the rest of your group, just standing there, begins screaming--

ASHLEY: (yells)

MATT: Just screaming to nothing, and their arms are out like this, and they're screaming and flailing in the space. Fresh Cut Grass wheels around and fires the grappling hook. We'll say--

TRAVIS: I nobly tackle Imogen out of the way.

MATT: Towards you, Imogen.

SAM: Oh god.

MATT: So I need you to make a dexterity saving throw for me, please.

LAURA: (sighs) Nine.

MATT: Nine? Go ahead and roll damage on the grappling hook.

SAM: It's a d10 for damage. That's this, right?

MATT: Mm-hmm.

SAM: Two.

MATT: Take two points of piercing damage.

LAURA: Ow!

MATT: Your grappling hook finds purchase on the wall. Do you try and pull yourself to the wall?

MARISHA: Right in her ass.

SAM: Yes, I do, yes.

MATT: Okay. You pull yourself to the wall.

MARISHA: Ow!

MATT: You find yourself now, Imogen, (grunts) pulled over to Fresh Cut Grass, speared by the harpoon. But then it comes loose, and you're falling again.

SAM: Oh no!

MATT: Oh god!

LAURA: As soon as I-- Oh god. Can I shout into FCG's head: What the fuck are you doing?!

MATT: Yes, you hear-- You hear her shouting at you, Imogen yelling into your brain.

SAM: I'm trying to save us all!

LAURA: You're standing here shooting me with a fucking grappling hook!

MATT: You're watching as the light is vanishing above you. You are reaching out into an expansive nothingness. You sense that dread, that realization that you may-- You have no idea when you're going to land or what you're going to hit, and this could very well be it.

LIAM: Are we getting closer to the object?

MARISHA: I know, right?

ASHLEY: Yeah, but at least we're going down.

LAURA: Can I grab FCG's shoulders and shake him as hard as I can?

MATT: Yeah, you can shake him as hard as you can. What are you doing?

TRAVIS: Yes, are we hitting people? I run over to Orym. (smacks) I smack Orym.

MATT: Okay, are you going to do a damage?

TRAVIS: Yeah, a slap. I'm just trying to slap him with damage.

MATT: Okay, so-- Roll for for an attack.

TRAVIS: Which is just like--

LIAM: I think at advantage.

TRAVIS: Natural one. Goddamn it.

MATT: You have an advantage because he's currently incapacitated, I would say.

TRAVIS: 13.

MATT: Paralyzed, technically.

TRAVIS: I don't have attack, what the fuck? So 13 plus three, so 16 to hit.

MATT: 16? Does 16 hit?

LIAM: Oh, no.

MATT: This is an instance where a high AC is not your friend.

LIAM: I'm doing this. I'm going: (yells)

MATT: He's like, (screaming) You can't seem to get onto him.

TRAVIS: Oh shit.

MATT: What are you doing?

LAURA: I'm shaking FCG.

MATT: All right, you're shaking him, shaking him. He's still screaming--

LAURA: All right, nothing?

MATT: Just wide lens, eyes open, hinged jaw screaming.

LAURA: I'm going to cast-- Jeez Louise. I'm going to cast Calm Emotions.

MARISHA: There you go, there you go.

LAURA: In a 20-foot radius, and try to calm everyone down.

MATT: Okay, okay. I will allow everyone to save against this with disadvantage.

SAM: Okay.

MARISHA: Save against-- So another wisdom save?

MATT: Yes. Charisma save with disadvantage, which works in your favor because you are allies. But you are unaware of the effects, so there is still a chance that you shrug it off, but--

MARISHA: With disadvantage--

SAM: I rolled two 23s.

LAURA: Oh my god.

MATT: Did you really?

SAM: Yeah.

MATT: (laughs)

MARISHA: Okay.

MATT: So the emotions do not calm you.

MARISHA: 13.

LAURA: All right. You feel fine. You feel much calmer.

MATT: You're still falling, but things are okay, I guess.

MARISHA: It's nice when you just release into it.

TALIESIN: Somehow, 13.

LAURA: All right, you feel calm.

MATT: 13, same with you.

LIAM: 11.

LAURA: You feel calm.

ASHLEY: 25. (laughter)

ASHLEY: (yells) (laughter)

SAM: This is horrible!

ASHLEY: I'm so scared!

SAM: Make it stop!

TRAVIS: Just enough time to breathe.

ASHLEY: I rolled a natural 20 and a 19. (laughter)

SAM: Turn into a bird!

TALIESIN: I should not be okay with this.

MARISHA: What can I do to get out of this? Fuck.

TALIESIN: Hey.

LIAM: This is wild.

MARISHA: Do I see a falling Ashton?

MATT: Yeah, you see the rest of you falling in this comfortable pace--

ASHLEY: What if we daisy chain?

MATT: -- into darkness.

TRAVIS: What do we do?

LAURA: You hear in your head--

TALIESIN: I should not be okay with this.

LAURA: I don't know what you're seeing, but it's not real. Everything's fine, Laudna, everything's fine. You're still in the room. You're still fine.

MARISHA: All right.

LAURA: I don't know if it gets through.

MARISHA: I don't know what to-- I tell-- I try and grab FCG. This isn't real!

SAM: Yes, it is!

MARISHA: It's not real!

ASHLEY: (yells)

TRAVIS: I take my wood chisel out, and I run over to Ashton, and I slice him on his forearm.

MATT: Okay. Roll an attack. (laughter)

TRAVIS: I've got to make sure I hit. (sings)

MATT: I will say you have advantage on this because he's no longer flailing for his life.

TRAVIS: Oh, nice, I'll take it. Oh, that'll hit.

MATT: The flailing is what makes it a straight--

TRAVIS: 23.

TALIESIN: Yeah, it hits.

MATT: That definitely hits.

TRAVIS: Okay, let's see if we can wake you up. (laughter)

SAM: You want to chop off his arm.

MATT: So you'll take minimum on the damage dice, which is?

TRAVIS: Three.

MATT: So you take three points of slashing damage, and--

TALIESIN: What the fuck was that?!

MATT: The pain strikes into your brain, and you shake some sort of influence from your brain. You blink, and suddenly, you're standing back in the chamber with many of your friends around you doing this.

SAM: (yells)

MATT: Fearne and Fresh Cut Grass screaming.

SAM: This is horrible!

TRAVIS: Hurt them. Hurt them to wake them up.

TALIESIN: I don't think I can hit them soft enough.

TRAVIS: I've got it, I'll go, I'll go.

TALIESIN: Just punch, just punch.

TRAVIS: No, that didn't work last time.

SAM: I have retrieved my grapple hook, and I will once again try to--

LAURA: No, FCG!

TALIESIN: I'm going to punch right as I see it happening. I'm going to punch Fresh Cut Grass right in the face.

MATT: Okay, roll an attack.

TRAVIS: I give a little slice to Orym.

MATT: Okay, roll an attack for Orym. Roll an attack for Fresh Cut Grass.

LAURA: Meanwhile, they have the earring. They're on their way--

TRAVIS: 21.

TALIESIN: 19.

TRAVIS: Does 21 hit?

MATT: That hits.

TALIESIN: Five points of damage.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MATT: Five points of damage to Fresh Cut Grass. And?

TRAVIS: One point of damage.

MATT: One point? That includes your strength modifier?

TRAVIS: No, I just did the die, just the damage die.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: Which is one plus seven, so eight, if we're doing the whole thing.

MATT: With just your strength modifier on, it would be--

TRAVIS: Three.

MATT: So four points of damage to you.

LIAM: Why did you stab me in the nipple?

TRAVIS: It's artistic choices.

MATT: With that, both of you come to and come to your senses and realize the space you're in.

SAM: Wait, did somebody get you?

ASHLEY: (yells) (laughter)

MARISHA: Am I still seeing it too?

MATT: You're still falling, but you watch the rest of your friends fall into darkness. Now it's just you and Fearne falling in space, and she's screaming.

TALIESIN: Who is the gentlest among us?

TRAVIS: Me, I'm pretty gentle.

MATT: She's calm, and she can hear it. But the influence still--

TALIESIN: What is a--

MATT: -- has a hold on her.

TALIESIN: -- slap going to do? Like one point of damage?

TALIESIN: Okay. Just hit Laudna for--

MARISHA: Just someone hit me.

TALIESIN: Hit Laudna.

SAM: I can't--

LAURA: I'm going to slap Laudna.

MATT: Okay, roll an attack.

ASHLEY: It's just you and me. We're going to be safe.

SAM: Do you want me to hit Fearne?

TALIESIN: Yes, please.

ASHLEY: Oh no.

MATT: You do have advantage because she is not-- Because the emotions calmed.

SAM: I can't harm one of us.

TALIESIN: Do it now!

SAM: I can't. She's soul touched.

MARISHA: I come back and I slap Fearne.

MATT: Well, you're not back yet, though.

MARISHA: No, she hit me.

LAURA: 17. 17 to hit.

MATT: Okay, that hits you. You're going to roll minimum damage, which is one plus your strength modifier.

LAURA: It's a zero.

MATT: You take one damage.

LAURA: Zero plus my strength modifier, which is zero. So it's one, yeah.

MATT: It's one. Yeah, minimum one, so you take one point of damage, and you shake off the effect of this.

MARISHA: Slap Fearne, I'm too weak.

ASHLEY: I'm all alone.

SAM: Thank you.

MATT: So roll an attack on Fearne.

LAURA: Advantage?

MATT: No, not with advantage because she's still flailing.

LIAM: Attack on Titan.

LAURA: 17.

ASHLEY: That just hits.

MATT: Okay. So you take one damage, Fearne.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: And then come back to. You're all standing in the middle of the chamber now, sweaty, the adrenaline pumping through your systems both from the experience, but another layer of adrenaline for the sudden strike of pain and getting back to your bearings of where you are.

LAURA: How are we so bad at this?

TRAVIS: You're welcome.

MARISHA: We're losing.

LAURA: You grapple hooked me! You shot me and drug me to you!

SAM: I did? I'm so sorry.

LAURA: It hurt.

TALIESIN: Oh yeah, you're bleeding.

SAM: Let me heal you.

TRAVIS: Can I run over to the left door, and check it for traps?

LAURA: I did write it down.

MATT: The left door over here?

TRAVIS: Yeah, that one.

MATT: Yes, you may. Roll an investigation check.

SAM: I'll Cure Wounds on you.

TRAVIS: It says advantage if I--

MATT: It's advantage if you're following someone that's fey, fiendish, in that regard, so--

SAM: I will cast Cure Wounds on you, and heal you up to--

TRAVIS: 14, 15.

SAM: One.

MATT: It does appear to be locked.

SAM: It's four points of healing.

MATT: It does not appear to be trapped.

TRAVIS: Can I whip out my thieves' tools and go to work on the lock, with a little lock pick?

MATT: Yes, you can. Roll for your lock picking check. So roll a d20, add your proficiency modifier-- Pardon me, and your dex modifier and whatever else you got.

MARISHA: Who wants to check the other damn door? We're running out of time.

TRAVIS: Oh, yeah.

LAURA: We're running out of spells.

LIAM: You got your rope running out of the door still?

TALIESIN: Yep.

ASHLEY: I'll check it, I'll check it, I'll check it.

SAM: Okay.

TRAVIS: 28.

MATT: 28.

LAURA: Great.

MATT: So this is a complicated lock. A lot of these are. But you've dealt with something of this complication before, and it takes you less than a minute to work through this lock before it--

MARISHA: Yes.

MATT: (clicks) It's unlocked. It's open, it's free to go.

TRAVIS: No problem.

MATT: While that's happening--

SAM: This is the one on the right?

MATT: This is on the left, the left side over here.

ASHLEY: Okay, I'm going to go over to the door on the right.

LIAM: It's got Ashton's rope on it still.

TALIESIN: Yep. Ready to go.

ASHLEY: I point at the armor. Don't you do that again.

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: I'm going to open the door.

MATT: Okay. (creaks) The door opens.

MARISHA: Yeah, because he already went through.

SAM: Is there people in there?

MARISHA: Do we see 'em?

MATT: You see--

LAURA: Oh god, they're in there.

MARISHA and LAURA: (gasps)

SAM: Are they dead?

TRAVIS: Oh!

MARISHA: Are they asleep?

LIAM: Unconscious, or--?

TRAVIS: Oh!

MATT: You see a candelabra on the chamber, another raised platform with another light overhead on some sort of an object there, and three of the opposing team face down on the ground, not moving.

MARISHA: Oh shit.

ASHLEY: Okay, I'm not going to go in there.

TALIESIN: I'm going to gently close the door.

SAM: No, they could be harmed.

LAURA: No.

TALIESIN: (shushes)

LAURA: We got to get there, and they're not killed, they're fine.

SAM: They might be dead!

LAURA: No, they're not.

MARISHA: No, they're just asleep.

SAM: Can I see if they're breathing?

TALIESIN: Too late, door's shut.

MATT: Make a perception check.

MATT: (laughs) Did you close the door?

TALIESIN: I am slowly closing the door with the rope.

SAM: 11.

MATT: 11, you can't tell from here--

TALIESIN: I'm closing the door.

MATT: As the door closes.

MARISHA: Let's see what Chetney found.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

MARISHA: Hang on. Question, hang on. Hang on, real quick before we close-- Before we close the door--

TRAVIS: ♪ Hold me closer ♪

MARISHA: I'm going to, in the middle of that room, right in the center of them, put Darkness, so if they wake up, they're in pitch black darkness.

MATT: You're going to create a zone of darkness over there?

MARISHA: Yes, I am.

LAURA: Oh, that's awesome.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: Just, you know.

TRAVIS: That's awful.

MARISHA: Yes, yes.

TALIESIN: That is so mean, and I'm so proud of you.

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: That's fucked up.

SAM: Should I also do Silence there, so they also can't speak?

TRAVIS: Oh god. (laughter)

TALIESIN: Keep that in your back pocket.

SAM: Okay, I'll do that later.

TALIESIN: That's pretty cool.

MATT: You're opening the door to the other chamber?

TRAVIS: Wait, wait. Is anyone standing within? Back up.

SAM: Why don't we back into the other room?

LAURA: Yeah, we're all going to back up.

TALIESIN: We're all going to back up.

MATT: Okay. You all back up into this chamber.

MARISHA: (nervous noise)

SAM: Where another trap goes off.

TALIESIN: I'm tempted to poke that fucking armor. What's the plaque say, again, since I'm in there?

MATT: The plaque on-- (squeak)

TRAVIS: Oh god.

LAURA: I'm sorry.

SAM: It is a great product.

MATT: Headdress of a--

TALIESIN: No, the armor.

LIAM: Get some WD-40.

MATT: Oh, the armor was ceremonial armor of the Hishari village.

TRAVIS: Get some candle wax for that thing. Is there any goo above the doorway on the ceiling above me?

MATT: Does not appear to be.

SAM: Goo?

TRAVIS: Yeah, I've seen things. Is everyone clear?

MARISHA: That's true, you've seen some shit.

TRAVIS: I've seen some shit. Grab the door handle. I give her a shove, and I dive out of the way.

MATT: Okay. You open the door, dive out of the way. (tings) (whooshes) Nothing.

TRAVIS: Okay. I get back up and look in the door. (laughter)

MATT: Okay. Looking into this chamber, you see another relic on a platform with a plaque and an overhead light, two candelabras, and a set of stairs that seems to be descending into a lower floor.

TALIESIN: (like Sean Connery) A set of stairs.

TRAVIS: Oh shit.

MATT: Right about this time, too, you hear-- As you're running out of the way and hearing this conversation, you don't hear immediately more than you just notice coming down the steps to the right--

SAM: Oh no.

MATT: -- two figures that are descending from above: a small goblinoid figure and a katari that both-- Noticed all of you right there.

MARISHA: Get in and close the--

MATT: And that's where we're going to take a break.

SAM: This heist is going to kill me.

MARISHA: I know. (laughs)

LAURA: I'm so stressed out.

MATT: So I'm putting them right about here, descending from the stairs where you guys were.

LAURA: Okay, okay, okay, okay.

MATT: And they are covered in flour. (laughter)

MARISHA: They got covered in sticky stuff, too.

MATT: They are covered in (poofs). They have thick, tar-like stuff on their body.

LIAM: Oh no. So it's--

MARISHA: Tarred and feathered.

MATT: They are literally tarred and floured. (laughter)

MATT: They're having a rough night. But we'll come back to that point here after our break. We'll see you here in a few minutes. (laughter)

Break
LAURA: Hey Critters! Laura Bailey here to guide you through what's new in the Critical Role shop. It's so cute. I can't handle it. (gasps) Could anything be more perfect? The cuteness, it's overpowering. Roll an investigation if you want. It's basically perfect. Glorious! Darling, I recommend buying two. One for you, and another for you. Let's be honest. And hey, if you want, you can head over to the Critical Role shop right now.

(light adventure music) (light music) (typewriter clicking) (light music) (hopeful music)

LAURA: Oh hey, everyone. It's me, Jester. So the Traveler and I were going to tell you guys all about subscribing to Twitch, but it sort of seems like he's not really here right now, which is so stupid. Traveler? Traveler? Arty. (grunts) You know what, it's fine. I can do it by myself, with myself. I invoke Duplicity. Oh, hello Jester. Hi Jester. Okay, so what we're going to do today is tell the people at home all about the good stuff they get when subscribing to Twitch. Oh, I dunno what Twitch is, but that sounds good, let's go. No, that's perfect, 'cause this works for you too then. Okay so, there's a professionally-moderated live chat, and if you subscribe, you can post the links in the chat. Like a link to a cool hamster video? Exactly like that. So what we do here is tell, like, really cool stories, right? And sometimes like crazy shit happens when we're telling those stories, and people that subscribe get special emotes so you can express how you feel. What if you live on the side of Exandria where it's really late, and you're like, "I'm just gonna close my eyes for a few seconds," and then it's two hours, and the music is playing, and you're like, "Oh no, I missed the whole show." Oh no, that's a great question. Well, if you subscribe to Twitch, then you can just watch all of our VODs as soon as the live broadcast ends. So cool, right? So cool. I know. Another really cool thing is you can give subscriptions to people. Like I could buy a subscription for you, duplicate Jester, and for other p-- What are you doing? Look what I found. Oh my gosh, hey precious. I could draw a dick. Oh, well, technically, technically that might break Twitch's terms of service, so. But, there's no rule against, like, drawing chubby little snakes. (giggles) Yeah, or, or a really long balloon sword. Yeah, or like a really thick rope, with like, two hunky knots at the end of it. Cucumber, with two tomatoes, Yeah, a banana, you know, sitting next to an onion and an avocado. Like a mushroom, with like a little cap on it. A wiener dog, with just two feet. Yeah. Arty, where are you? Should we go look for him? Yeah, sure, why not. Oh, don't forget to subscribe to Critical Role. Okay, let's go. Okay. (whimsical music)

Part II
MATT: And welcome back. So as the rest of you have gathered in that far chamber, the door has swung open on this side here to reveal the next chamber. Right by you Chetney, while the rest of you have backed into the other room, where, coming down the staircase to your immediate right, you see the katari and goblin members of the opposing team currently stepping down covered in some dark, tar-like substance, and lots of flour. Angry and surprised.

LAURA: Run!

MARISHA: Go! We run.

LAURA and ASHLEY: We run.

MATT: You run? Y'all just charge through?

LAURA: Charge forward through.

ASHLEY: I'm going to-- I'm sorry.

SAM: Pick their pockets first.

ASHLEY: As I'm running into the door, I'm going to kick the platform to kick off the mask.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: And book it.

MATT: Okay, so you're going to go ahead and back up and kick the platform.

SAM: Disrupt it.

LAURA: Like a faun?

ASHLEY: Yeah, like a horse kick.

SAM: You're bucking?

ASHLEY: I'm bucking. I'm going to buck the--

SAM: You're going to go on your hands and buck. (laughter)

ASHLEY: Yes. Go on my hands--

LIAM: Put out some cardboard.

ASHLEY: -- buck backwards to knock off the mask and take off running.

MATT: Okay. Okay. So the rest of you charge through the room.

SAM: They're here somewhere.

MATT: Rushing through into the distance.

LAURA: Running through, all the way through to the other door.

ASHLEY: Running so fast.

TRAVIS: Eight seconds.

MATT: So fast.

LIAM: Is this Twister? Left hand me.

ASHLEY: I feel like it'll hold them up.

MATT: So you all come rushing into this room.

SAM: How are we going to immovable rod the door?

LAURA: There's definitely going to be a trap in there.

TRAVIS: Sure, sure, sure.

MATT: As you kick that and rush through, you hit it and you hear the snapping of the top of the pedestal, as it crumbles down behind you and you go running and darting through. The two of them begin to move to close in the space. At which point, I need you to make a wisdom saving throw.

SAM: Oh boy.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: They both have to as well.

SAM: Oh boy.

LIAM: Okay, okay, okay.

SAM: Come on.

MARISHA: Come on, Fearne.

LIAM: You like complications.

MARISHA: Come on, Fearne.

SAM: Be wise, be wise.

TRAVIS: I should have bled them when they were stuck on the ceiling.

LAURA: Oh my god, just killed them?

MATT: That's a possibility.

MARISHA: Fucked up.

ASHLEY: 21.

MATT: 21. You feel this strange tingling reach into your brain. Like some effect is trying to grasp the back of your mind.

MARISHA: Good idea, Fearne.

MATT: You (groans) push it past and continue going. Darting this way. You come back into the chamber to join the rest of them.

LAURA: And shut the door!

TRAVIS: Oh wait, before we shut the door, I throw the ever-smoking bottle into that room. I un-stopper it, throw it into the room, roll it in, and then I shut the door.

LIAM: (air hissing)

MATT: This entire room is now entirely filled with smoke. As you all dart into this final chamber, off to the side. Got it. All right.

MARISHA: I take out my immovable rod. What type of handle is this? Can I do the same trickity trick that I did before? Can I put in between the handle on the door? This door?

MATT: So you turn around--

LAURA: Hazel? Hazel Copperpot?

MARISHA: Oh my god! (laughter)

MARISHA: Where did she come from?

ASHLEY: What was her name?

LIAM and TALIESIN: Katharine Hepburn.

ALL: (imitating Mid-Atlantic accent)

MATT: (Mid-Atlantic accent) Immovable rod. The door swings out into the chamber, so as you pull closed you can try and wedge it maybe behind the handle.

SAM: Is it a knob?

MATT: No, it's a handle.

SAM: Oh, okay.

MARISHA: So I stick it in and click click.

MATT: Click it in place, okay. You do that.

TALIESIN: Good for now. We're ready to go.

MATT: Okay, you hear on the other side the (air hissing) and you can see smoke pouring through the small gap along the door that you just closed and locked off.

MARISHA: Okay.

MATT: Turning and looking into this chamber here, looking in the space, rather, there's the staircase across the way. There are the candelabras and now you can see-- (laughs)

LIAM: What we got? Where we at?

LAURA: Uh-oh.

ASHLEY: Oh, I read it the other way, I was like, "Hm."

MATT: Ho-hu.

LAURA and LIAM: Ho-hu. (laughter)

TALIESIN: Is Detect Magic still up?

LAURA and ASHLEY: (laugh)

SAM: Detect Magic doesn't--

TALIESIN: It's a 10-minute spell.

TRAVIS: Is the smoke coming in under the door inconsequential or is it starting to grow?

MATT: It doesn't appear to be growing more than a few feet from the door. It's slightly obscuring the front of the door a bit.

TRAVIS: Okay. I'll take my cloak off of the back and I'll shove it under the door wedge, so we don't smoke up this room, too.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: Oh, good idea.

MATT: So in this room, as you're all standing in here, you look. and on the central pillar in the middle, there is this elongated, wooden carved mask, itself probably about that long and it has these sullen, sad-looking open circles from where the eyes would be. The nose itself is deeply pierced within the face and seems almost sunken inward. The mouth itself is just this oblong and stretched almost like baleful yell. It looks almost ghostly in its design. You can see metallic bolts along the sides of it and it sits resting over, top lit on this pillar in the center. You can see because you have a high enough passive perception, and a number of you do. Fresh Cut Grass, Orym, and Fearne. Actually, Laudna, you see this as well. Hanging in the room, you can see there are five different things that are dangling from the ceiling. Glancing up with the light that's in the chamber, you can see strings. Strings that descend down into small wooden-like humanoid structures that are limp and dangling.

SAM: Marionettes?

MARISHA: Yes, like puppets?

MATT: Five large marionettes dangle from the ceiling in this room.

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: (laughs)

LIAM: Someone who wasn't observant might not have noticed them, so they're not for display, they're just there? It's just fuckery?

MATT: It looks that way.

TRAVIS: Are they marionette size or humanoid size?

MATT: They're marionette size. They're smaller than humanoid. In fact, they're pretty close to the one that you had purchased in the city.

LAURA: The one that we purchased for Laudna?

MATT: Yes.

LAURA: Yeah. Remember this mask, Laudna. This is a good creepy factor.

ASHLEY: That is gorgeous.

MARISHA: They're really good. Actually, what does the plaque say?

MATT: Okay, you approach the plaque. It says, "Haunted Mask of the Mountain."

LAURA: Haunted?

MATT: "Haunted Mask of the Mountain. A cursed relic that was once a sign of station within the dwarven noble house of Ovorag in Othanzia. This mask was found near the body of every mysterious death within the family over four generations."

TRAVIS: What?

SAM: Ooh.

MATT: "Casting it out, its dark power somehow found its way here..."

SAM: I like the showmanship.

TALIESIN: This is an entire museum of things that he doesn't understand or know anything about.

MATT: You also notice now all these plaques end in ellipses. (laughter)

MATT: He makes very strong use of them. (laughter)

MARISHA: Okay.

SAM: If Detect Magic is still up, is there anything magical in this room?

MATT: Yes.

TALIESIN: There was a sale on punctuation.

MATT: The mask seems to give off a faint magical aura.

SAM: The mask is magical?

MATT: And the five marionettes give off magical essence.

SAM: Ooh.

LAURA: Y'all hear that?

SAM: We got magic puppets. Magic puppets, magic mask.

LIAM: Oh, I didn't think they were magic puppets--

MATT: Which, Fearne, as you're reading the plaque, the marionettes (impacts) drop from the ceiling.

TRAVIS: Are they made of wood?

MATT: They fall and crumple.

MARISHA: I pull out Sashimi and I say--

SAM: Which one's Sashimi?

TALIESIN: It's the new one.

MARISHA: My puppet. I show him to them and I say: See, she's on our side, so we're on yours.

MATT: The crumpled, unmoving marionettes, all of a sudden they shoot up. The top of them pulled aloft by an unseen force and they (wood clacking). (clicking)

LIAM: No.

TALIESIN: I don't like it.

LAURA: Can we just go--

MATT: (scrambling) (screaming)

MATT: Roll initiative.

MARISHA: Oh my god! That's terrifying.

ASHLEY: No! Get out of here with that.

MARISHA: Oh my god.

ASHLEY: Fuck off. Wait, we're doing initiative?

LAURA: Yes.

ASHLEY: Notice that? I just guessed it. (laughter)

LIAM: I fucking love that. (laughs)

MATT: All righty.

LAURA: Oh god.

ASHLEY: Oh my god, I want to do something so stupid.

MATT: 25 to 20.

LIAM: 21.

MARISHA: 20 from Laudna.

TALIESIN: Fuck me.

MATT: All right. 20 to 15.

ASHLEY: 19.

MATT: 19, all right.

SAM: 16.

LAURA: Oh, I didn't write down.

TRAVIS: I got them.

MATT: All right. 15 to 10.

TRAVIS: Orym, Laudna, Fearne, FCG.

LAURA: Wait, what was it? I'm 10.

MATT: Okay. Imogen.

LIAM: Oh god.

MATT and TRAVIS: Higher dex?

TALIESIN: Higher dex. 16.

TRAVIS: 14. You got it.

MATT: All right.

LAURA: Wait, the dexterity is higher with who?

TRAVIS: Ashton.

MATT: All right.

SAM: They are still attached to wires, to strings?

MATT: There are strings that are holding them, but they're floating above them and being held in the air magically. Their feet scraping along the ground as they skitter forward.

TRAVIS: This is that subtle, unseen puppeteer.

MATT: Well, now top of the round. Orym, you're the first to go.

LIAM: Oh jeez, I want to destroy one of these things. As a bonus action, I'm going to huff and do a Second Wind.

MATT: Okay, go for it.

LIAM: We'll call that an 11. Rolled the percentile. Doink, doink, doink, and then I will take two slashes at this thing. I'm going to try to cut its head off of its body.

MATT: Which one? The--

LIAM: Whatever's closest to moi. Oh, they're all over there?

MATT: Yeah, they're all situated. They dropped over in this space, I'll say.

LIAM: Okay. Chetney's there and I guess I'll run diagonal and stand in front of the one in front of Chetney. I'll take that one.

MATT: Right there?

LIAM: Yep.

MATT: Okay, you got it.

LIAM: Okay, first roll is a one, so I will reroll it (cackles). That is a 16 to hit.

MATT: 16 to hit? Hits.

LIAM: Okay, so nothing fancy. We'll do-- That is six points of damage and then the second slash is way higher. That is nine points of damage.

MATT: Got it. So you dart forward, strike twice, both carving the wood (impacts). You see it splintering and leaving these large gash marks in front of its body form as it flips back into place. Its head is off kilter facing away from you.

LAURA: Did you try to chop its head off?

LIAM: I did, but I didn't. I don't know, I'm still testing these things out, so I'm just going to hold here and chill.

MATT: Okay, you hold your position there. All right, you got it. Laudna, you're up, with Fearne on deck.

MARISHA: All right. I am going to-- Fuck. Sorry. I'm going to-- "When you cast the spell--" Okay, I'm going to use my action to cast Bane on--

LIAM: (like Bane) Oh!

MARISHA: Do they all look the same?

MATT: They all look pretty much in a similar space.

ASHLEY: (like Bane) Would you like a sandwich?

MARISHA: All right. I'll Bane the front two and the one in the middle.

MATT: All righty.

ASHLEY: It's from that YouTube-- somebody did a VO of it.

LAURA: (laughs) That's right.

MARISHA: Then I will use my sorcery points to quicken a spell and I'm going to do Eldritch Blast.

MATT: All right. At which point?

SAM and MARISHA: Eldritch Blast. To-- I'll do the front two.

MATT: Front two? Actually, no, nope, nope, nope. I'll do the middle one and the one on the left.

MATT: Right there? Okay. Go for it. Roll for attack for the one in the back.

LIAM: Always attack in the middle.

MARISHA: Oh, these are both good. Natural 16 and a 13.

MATT: Plus?

MARISHA: Plus seven--

MATT: Both hit. Go ahead and roll damage.

MARISHA: Okay. Okay. ♪ It's been a while ♪ How does my character work? Okay, the first one on the left will take sure, seven damage.

MATT: Seven points of damage. All right.

MARISHA: Next one will take nine damage.

MATT: Nine damage. Got it. The shadows around them seem to seep into it and you watch as the strings that hold them aloft seem to darken into these blackened threads, from the white exposed twine that was once there. As the Bane seeps in, you spin around and fire both Eldritch Blasts out, hitting both of them. As the explosions hit, you see a little bit of smoke and energy dissipate. You can see the burn impact marks. The wood is splintered from the impact. They're showing damage.

MARISHA: For clarity, the Eldritch Blasts came from Sashimi.

MATT: Right. There you go.

MARISHA: I don't know.

MATT: Like holding a hooded lantern.

MARISHA: Yes (laughs).

MATT: Perfect. Okay, going to stay put or do you want to move?

MARISHA: Can I get back any further in life?

MATT: Nope.

MARISHA: Okay. No, I'm good.

MATT: You can back up maybe slightly into the wall here and that's as much as you can get.

MARISHA: That's great.

MATT: Okay. You got it.

LIAM: Did you just ask if you could back things up in life?

MARISHA: Yeah, just like, yeah, yeah.

LIAM: I felt that desire many times.

MARISHA: That's how far back I want to be.

MATT: Fearne, you're up. FCG, you're on deck.

ASHLEY: Okay, so they do have strings?

MATT: They do.

ASHLEY: Okay. So I am going to cast Entangle and I'm going to try to fuck up their strings and make 'em real nice and tangled.

MARISHA: Brilliant.

MATT: Okay. Okay, so it's a 20-foot square. So you can fill this space. Since it's a 20-foot square, it will possibly affect you.

LIAM: Do it.

TALIESIN: You're getting the mask, too?

MATT: But yeah. So you fill the area there with weeds and vines that begin to suddenly grow out of the cracks in the stone floor. The area begins to fill with dense ferns and-- pardon the pun-- clusters of roots and vines that begin wrapping around and reaching outward towards the strings and wrapping around them. You need to make a strength saving throw.

LIAM: ♪ Savin' my way ♪ It's a one. I'll roll again. It's a two. I had a feeling. (laughter)

MATT: So you are restrained.

LAURA: Oh no.

ASHLEY: Oh no.

MATT: Now, these here. Okay. Fail! Fail! Rolled pretty high. Fail!

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: Same roll. Fail! Fail. They all fail.

SAM: Yes.

MATT: They are all restrained.

MARISHA: Yes!

ASHLEY: Let's go.

SAM: Do we even need to fight?

LAURA: No, let's just head down.

SAM: Should we just go?

MARISHA: I think that's the way to go.

LAURA: Yeah, let's just down.

MATT: Up to you.

LIAM: Am I wrapped in puppet strings?

TRAVIS: How long do they last? How long is the restrain?

LAURA: I don't know how long Entangle lasts.

MATT: We'll say I'm using these as the restrained elements because they all have Bane, so they're all getting minus. Without the minus d4 to their saving throws they all still failed.

TRAVIS: How long do they stay restrained?

ASHLEY: Wow. Say again?

SAM: How long does Entangle last?

MATT: Up to one minute.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LAURA: So that's enough time for us to get out of here.

TRAVIS: They're still going to follow us down.

LAURA: Yeah, but--

SAM: They're attached to strings.

TALIESIN: Yeah, we're going to shut the door behind us.

TRAVIS: But they're not tied to the room, their strings are floating in the air.

TALIESIN: I'd rather fight them somewhere else.

MATT: Okay. Are you going to stay put or are you going to--

ASHLEY: Yes. Boy, do I want that mask. I'm going to leave it.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: Leave it!

ASHLEY: Leave it. Drop it!

LIAM: Orym starts rolling up a newspaper.

ASHLEY: I'm going to go over to Orym and I'm going to be there, ready to try to help him.

MATT: Okay, so you move up into Orym's space there.

ASHLEY: Yeah, try to start--

MATT: Get him ready.

ASHLEY: I'm sorry.

LIAM: It's all right.

ASHLEY: We'll get you out.

LIAM: I trust you.

MATT: That finishes your go?

ASHLEY: Yes.

MATT: Fresh Cut Grass, you're up.

SAM: I got you, Orym! (whirring)

LIAM: (screams) (laughter)

SAM: I'll try to cut him out.

MATT: Okay, okay. I'll say... go ahead and roll a strength check.

SAM: Can I guide myself?

MATT: Yeah.

SAM: Guide myself. Ugh, terrible.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: I'll allow it. It's fine.

SAM: Okay, 12 plus, oh, look a one. So that's 13.

MATT: 13 against her spell DC. That does not succeed, unfortunately. You're fighting the strength of her entanglement. So as you try and cut through, you cut through a few, but the vines are strong and hold on. Yeah.

SAM: All right.

MATT: To no avail, unfortunately.

SAM: That's fine. Let's see if I have any bonusy type things.

MATT: I will say, technically, because you were trying to help him out as the action, I was allowing the Guidance, which is technically an action to cast it. I just rolled them into one.

SAM: It's all good. I'm done.

MATT: So we'll say that's your turn.

MATT: Okay. Finishing your go, it's now their turn.

LAURA: Oh.

MATT: Now, they cannot make that attack against anyone who's not in melee, which currently is just Fresh Cut Grass for that one there, and that one that's up against you.

LIAM: Yep.

MATT: They are restrained, so they have disadvantage on it.

TALIESIN: A couple of them are Baned.

MATT: Yes, which means they get minus d4 on this. So this one is going to attempt to reach out and grab towards you.

LIAM: Ha, ha, nice puppet.

TRAVIS and MARISHA: Poppet.

MATT: That is going to be a six. (laughter) Although technically, it's advantage against you because you're restrained. So it would be the same. So, actually, that brings it up to a 12. Then up against you, Fresh Cut Grass. With disadvantage, that is going to be, with Bane, 13.

SAM: Miss.

MATT: Misses you.

TRAVIS: Nice.

MATT: So they all together strain against it and stop moving, their heads (whoosh) up and they all just start (cackling).

SAM: Oh!

MATT: The room fills with terrifying cackling, all their voices mingling at different pitches, winding and weaving between.

LIAM: Wisdom saving.

MATT: Okay, for the first one, I need you and FCG to make wisdom saving throws for me.

SAM: Oh god.

LAURA: What the fuck?

SAM: Ooh, that's a natural one.

MARISHA: No!

LIAM: Oh, should've been a halfling. 16.

MATT: 16? Okay. (laughter)

MATT: You are fine. You managed to wince. You take seven points of psychic damage.

LAURA: Oh jeez.

MATT: And you start laughing.

ALL: Oh.

MATT: Now your laughter joins theirs.

SAM: (snorting laugh)

MATT: You are currently considered incapacitated.

SAM: (snorting laugh)

TALIESIN: Where is this snorting even coming from? (laughter)

ASHLEY: Does he have a?

MATT: I would like Chetney and Fearne to make wisdom saving throws from the one in the corner.

TRAVIS: Oh boy.

ASHLEY: Let's do this one.

LIAM: Love that puppet.

TRAVIS and LAURA: Love that puppet. (laughter)

LAURA: Oh no!

MATT: You take six points of psychic damage, and Chetney begins laughing with them and he is now incapacitated.

TALIESIN: Oh, for fuck's sake.

TRAVIS: (high-pitched giggle) (laughter)

ASHLEY: 23.

MATT: 23. You are fine and shrug that off. This one here, its laughter is going to target Fearne and--

LAURA: Ah jeez.

MATT: And Orym. So, yeah.

LIAM: So, it's a separate save for a different puppet?

MATT: Actually, it says if it succeeds a saving throw, no. So you both are immune to this effect. So instead, instead it will shoot for, let's say, Ashton and Imogen. You both can make wisdom saving throws for me, please.

LAURA: Ah.

LIAM: Mah.

LAURA: (gibberish)

TALIESIN: Nope.

LAURA: No, eight.

SAM: Oh boy.

MATT: All right, you take five, no, sorry, seven points of psychic damage, and you start cackling as well. And are incapacitated.

TALIESIN: (giggles) Fuck, I'm not doing well.

MATT: You take five points of psychic damage and you become incapacitated. You'll join the laughter, as well.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: The last one here is going to look at you, Laudna.

MARISHA: Did someone tell a joke?

MATT: Laudna, make a wisdom saving throw for the last one over here.

MARISHA: I don't get--

SAM: Who made a save?

MARISHA: -- the joke.

TRAVIS: So far, it's just Fearne and Orym.

MARISHA: 11.

TRAVIS: Oh wow.

LAURA: Oh no!

ASHLEY: Really?

MATT: You take six points of psychic damage.

ASHLEY: Oh no.

MATT: You start cackling with everybody and are incapacitated.

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: Now it's just Orym and Fearne standing as all of your friends around you are now slack jawed, wide eyed, and cackling along with these dolls.

LIAM: Fearne, get me out of these strings!

ASHLEY: Okay, can I go? Who-- who--?

LAURA: Who, dee, who?

ASHLEY: No, we're still in initiative, sorry. I'm getting anxious.

MATT: We're still in initiative. They take all their turns. Imogen, it's your turn.

LAURA: Who?

MATT: You're still incapacitated. I need you to make another wisdom saving throw.

ASHLEY: My stress.

LAURA: Me?

MATT: Yes.

LAURA: Oh no.

LIAM: (Woody Woodpecker laugh)

ASHLEY: Come on, come on.

LAURA: (laughs) Oh no. Nine.

MATT: Nine. You maintain your laughter and are still incapacitated.

TRAVIS: Oh shit.

MATT: Ashton, I need you to make a wisdom saving throw.

TALIESIN: (giggles)

SAM: Oh my god.

TALIESIN: Nine.

TRAVIS: Oh wow!

MATT: You continue laughing, incapacitated. (laughter)

MATT: Chetney, wisdom saving throw.

TRAVIS: (goofy laugh) Fuck you, six! (laughter)

MARISHA: No!

TRAVIS: Come on.

MATT: You remain incapacitated, laughing with the crowd. Top of the round. Orym, you are restrained. What are you doing?

LIAM: But I can attack the one that's close to me, that attacked me?

MATT: You can. You have disadvantage, but it's restrained.

LIAM: So it's straight roll?

MATT: It's just straight roll. Yeah.

LIAM: I'm going to start trying to, and this is the one that I worked on initially?

MATT: Yes.

LIAM: All right. I'm just going to go slash at a time here. I'm going to try to finally take the head off. Oh, that's a terrible roll. That's not going to hit, that's an 11.

LAURA: That's, yeah.

LIAM: Second is a 15.

MATT: 15 does hit.

LIAM: Does hit, okay. Ah, and that's a six of damage.

MATT: Six points of damage. You go in first, as you begin to strike towards it. You do notice the wounds you left behind are slightly closed in comparison to where they were left.

SAM: No!

MATT: You strike again to do that six additional damage onto it.

SAM: Strong.

TALIESIN: Fire.

LIAM: And it didn't drop?

MATT: It didn't drop because it seems to have taken back some of the damage that it had taken previously.

LIAM: I'm going to keep going. I'm going to action surge and slash the thing two more times.

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: That is another miss. Damn it. That's a hit, that's 18 plus eight.

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: So that is--

LAURA: Big money.

LIAM: 10 damage.

MATT: 10 damage on that. That will drop it. So that one, the vines overtake it and it is crushed within Fearne's spell.

SAM: Woo!

LIAM: Still wrapped in string.

MATT: Yes. Yes, you are. All right, does that finish your turn, Orym?

LIAM: Yeah, all done.

MATT: All righty, it's all you got? Laudna, make a wisdom saving throw.

TRAVIS: Come on, Laudy-doddy who likes to party.

MARISHA: No, it's not good. That's even worse!

MATT: You just all rolled really, really poorly.

TRAVIS: No kidding, holy cow.

MATT: So you shake off the laughter. Now, it is technically at the end of your turn. So you do lose your turn, but you are no longer laughing with the crew.

LAURA: That's great.

MARISHA: (groans)

MATT: All right, Fearne, you're up.

LIAM: ♪ Make 'em laugh ♪

ASHLEY: Okay.

SAM: Come on, Fearne, save the day.

ASHLEY: Just double checking something.

LIAM: This chair is broken.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: Oh no.

TRAVIS: You got to invest in quality.

MARISHA: Is that what popped?

LIAM: It's the wood glue on this side.

MATT: This is the moment you've been waiting for.

LIAM: Spent.

ASHLEY: What's the difference if I do that?

TRAVIS: ♪ A moment like this ♪

ASHLEY: Okay, so, I am going to, from my hand, produce Scorching Rays.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: I'm going to shoot them to the leftover marionettes.

MATT: Okay, and what level are you casting at?

ASHLEY: I'm going to cast it at third.

MATT: Third?

ASHLEY: No, I'm not, that's ridiculous. I'm going to do it in second.

MATT: Okay, well then, okay, great. So this is a 2nd-level spell, perfect. So, you shoot three of them.

ASHLEY: Three of them.

MATT: Are you doing all at one or three different ones?

ASHLEY: There's three that are up still?

MATT: There are four that are up.

ASHLEY: Shit. Okay, I'll do--

MATT: None of them have been damaged yet, so.

ASHLEY: Okay, I'll just do three different ones.

MATT: Okay, so we'll aim for this one here.

LAURA: Didn't Laudna hurt a couple of them when she hit with Bane?

MATT: Actually, no, yeah, this one here has been hurt and that one there has been hurt. You're right, I'm sorry.

MARISHA: Three of them are Baned.

ASHLEY: Three of them are Baned? Okay, the Baned. The Baned, the Baned.

MATT: Two of them are Baned. One of them was Baned and just got killed by--

MARISHA: Two of them are Baned.

ASHLEY: Two of the Baneds, one of them that's not. Let's do that.

MATT: You go for it.

MATT: So these three here.

LIAM: They're not strong, either. It took three slashes from me and it regen-ed, so.

ASHLEY: Okay, so.

LIAM: Two to three.

LAURA: But they've regen-ed since Laudna, right?

ASHLEY: I'm going to use this one. Okay, first hit, that's an 18 plus eight. That one hits.

MATT: That definitely hits.

ASHLEY: 19.

MATT: That hits.

SAM: Wow.

ASHLEY: And 17 plus--

MATT: Hits. So roll damage on each of these.

ASHLEY: Okay, okay.

MATT: This first one here?

ASHLEY: Which ones am I going to use?

TALIESIN: ♪ ("Mission Impossible" theme) ♪

MATT: So 2d6 fire damage to this one.

ASHLEY: Okay.

SAM: ♪ Pock O'Pea ♪

LIAM: ♪ Chetney ♪

ASHLEY: Okay. Eight.

MATT: Eight?

ASHLEY: For the first hit.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: But it's they're made of wood, so maybe.

MATT: So yeah. So eight points of fire damage. It ignites and is still standing, but it is burning and that did a lot of damage to it. They are wooden marionettes, and they do not seem to like fire.

ASHLEY: Kindling.

MATT: So damage for the second one.

MARISHA: Terrifying, now they're on fire.

MATT: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Six.

LIAM: Now they're more horrific.

MATT: Six, all righty.

TALIESIN: Sticks on fire.

MATT: This last one?

ASHLEY: Eight.

MATT: Eight, all righty. So yes, those are now burning. There are flames on them and they are currently.

ASHLEY: Are you out?

LIAM: No.

MATT: Very, very hurt.

SAM: He's still entangled.

LIAM: I'm not unconscious, but yes, I'm tangled.

MATT: They're not trying to break free at the moment. They're just all on fire.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: So that's your Scorching Ray, that's your action.

ASHLEY: That's my, yeah. I'd love, can I try to help Orym in any way?

LIAM: Here's another.

MATT: It's--

ASHLEY: Oh wait. My Entangle is concentration.

MATT: It is, yes.

ASHLEY: So do I need to do anything?

MATT: You can just-- If you want to drop your concentration, you could. They would all no longer be entangled.

ASHLEY: No, no, no, no. I'm going to leave it.

MATT: Okay. You got it.

ASHLEY: Okay. That finishes your go?

ASHLEY: Yes.

MATT: All right. FCG, make a wisdom saving throw.

SAM: Natural 20.

MARISHA: Hey! (cheering)

MATT: You're incapacitated for your turn, but your turn ends and you regain your senses and stop joining the cacophony of cackling.

TALIESIN: Hey.

SAM: This is such a weird day. (laughter)

MARISHA: All righty. Bringing that to the end, it is their turn. Let's see if their--

TRAVIS: That's where they are.

MATT: Doesn't matter if it recharges because everyone else has already saved from it.

TRAVIS: Pinocchio.

MATT: All right, so there is the only one that is close up to you, Fresh Cut Grass. It's going to attempt to strike out to you. That actually is going to hit, so--

TALIESIN: With Bane?

MATT: Oh, with, yeah, that one has Bane, you're right.

TRAVIS: That fucking Bane.

MATT: Only takes takes one down. So does 17 hit?

SAM: It does.

MATT: Oh okay. So that was close.

MARISHA: Close. Damn, it's so close.

MATT: I know.

MARISHA: Caduceus remembers.

TALIESIN: Oh man. Bane and Bless were my favorites.

MATT: Yeah, it's good shit. All right, so--

MARISHA: It's great.

MATT: So it reaches out, the flaming arms of it grasping out towards you and it touches you. Not an aggressive grasp, but you do feel this pulse of energy.

LAURA: God, how strong are these little fuckers?

MATT: You don't take any damage, but you are grappled as it reaches out. As the hands touch you, this cold sensation hits you and you feel like something is holding you in place. That's all you know.

SAM: My servos aren't spinning.

MATT: So you are currently--

SAM: My rotors aren't--

MATT: Grappled.

ASHLEY: Rotating.

SAM: -- whirling.

MATT: By this one.

LIAM: My name is Talking Tina, and I'm going to kill you.

MATT: Mm-hmm. The others can't do anything because they are restrained.

MARISHA: Cool.

MATT: All right, that brings us to Imogen.

SAM: ♪ Imogen going ♪

TALIESIN: Do a barrel roll.

LAURA: 12.

MARISHA: Fuck.

MATT: 12 just fails.

MARISHA: Fuck.

MATT: You can continue to cackle. Continue to cackle creepily into the room. Ashton?

TALIESIN: Yay! 17.

MATT: 17. So you do not have your turn, but you are no longer laughing along with the rest of the creepy, flaming puppets.

MARISHA: I've never seen you laugh that much in your life.

SAM: It's really--

TALIESIN: Oh, it happens.

MATT: All right.

TALIESIN: Fuck.

ASHLEY: It's very scary.

MARISHA: I don't like it.

MATT: Chetney, it's your turn.

SAM: The smile is very off putting.

TRAVIS: Advantage on wisdom saving throws against magic. Is this magic?

MATT: No, this--

TRAVIS: Charm?

MATT: This is, yeah, this is.

TALIESIN: I smile.

MATT: Yeah, I would say not for this one.

TRAVIS: Still 18!

MATT: Okay, so--

TRAVIS: 17 plus one.

MATT: You've pushed past the effect as you use your turn. Now it is only the puppets cackling and Imogen.

LAURA: (cackles)

MATT: Orym, you're up.

LIAM: I'm going to try to shake myself the shit out of these strings. So I'll make a strength save, I assume?

MATT: A strength check.

LIAM: Yeah, I have really high strength. It's 15.

MATT: 15. What's your spell DC?

ASHLEY: 16.

LIAM: Damn it, Fearne.

ASHLEY: I'm sorry.

TRAVIS: Damn it, Fearne.

MATT: That was a good try.

TRAVIS: And that's it, kill Fearne.

MATT: Laudna, you're up.

MARISHA: What are the ones that Fearne hit that are looking--

MATT: These three.

MARISHA: -- crazy damaged? You said they're looking rough, right?

MATT: They're all pretty damaged.

MARISHA: All pretty damaged.

MATT: Yeah, they're all on fire and charcoal in places.

TRAVIS: Oh no.

MARISHA: I could do Chill Touch. But I think I'm just going to try and burn them down. All right, I'll hit the one. What's-- Is there one that's being aggressive against FCG?

MATT: Hmm? There is this one right here, yeah.

MARISHA: I'll take that one and one of the other ones.

SAM: Chetney, is it all right to kill these creatures?

TRAVIS: Don't talk to me right now.

SAM: They're wood.

TALIESIN: They're not really dead.

MARISHA: The one next to FCG is a 20 total.

MATT: That hits.

MARISHA: The other one is not good, 11.

MATT: 11 does not hit, unfortunately.

TALIESIN: They're restrained?

MATT: You do advantage on them because they're restrained.

MARISHA: Oh.

MATT: Good reminder on that.

TRAVIS: They're suffering.

MARISHA: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

MATT: Okay, yeah, they both hit.

TALIESIN: I'm playing the rules tonight.

LAURA: I forgot I was still blue.

LIAM: So we take care of it tomorrow after the--?

LAURA: After the heist.

MARISHA: Okay, the one that's next to FCG, I'm going to say is plus three, seven damage.

MATT: Seven damage. (explodes)

ASHLEY: Yes.

MARISHA: Okay, and the other one, I rolled like dog shit. Four damage.

MATT: Four damage to that one. Okay.

MARISHA: Damn it.

MATT: That one's hurt, really hurt. All right. Are you going stay put, or do you want to move?

LAURA and MATT: Are you going to stay put, or you going to move?

MARISHA: Huh? (laughter)

MARISHA: All right, then I'll-- No, no, I'm good.

MATT: Okay.

ALL: (imitate Marisha)

MATT: Fearne, you're up. FCG on deck.

LIAM: Nom, nom, nom.

MARISHA: It melted my brain.

ASHLEY: Okay, let's do a-- I came up so fast.

MATT: Who cast Darkness in the previous room?

MARISHA: I did.

MATT: So the Darkness is now gone since you are concentrating on Bane.

TRAVIS: Oh man.

LAURA: Aw, bummer.

TRAVIS: Bitch tits.

LIAM: That brain. That damn brain, tracking all the things.

ASHLEY: Scorching Ray. I'm going to do it again.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: Scorching Ray.

MATT: Are you targeting all three?

ASHLEY: Yes, let's do it.

MATT: So roll for this one.

ASHLEY: Mm-hmm.

MARISHA: That was my nickname in college.

MATT: Now, these are restrained, so technically you have advantage on these, which I forgot last time.

ASHLEY: Oh okay.

MATT: You hit with all of them, which is fine, but yeah.

ASHLEY: Great. 18.

MATT: Hits. Second one?

ASHLEY: 19.

MATT: Hits.

MARISHA: Fearne, yes.

ASHLEY: And, oh god.

LAURA: Are you rolling with advantage?

ASHLEY: 15.

MATT: Hits.

ASHLEY: Oh, did I roll that one? No, that was one.

LAURA: See if you roll a 20.

ASHLEY: It's cocked.

LAURA: (sneezes)

ALL: Bless you.

LAURA: Thank you.

ASHLEY: That's worse.

MATT: All right, so damage on each of these?

LAURA: Got it up just in time.

MATT: First one?

MARISHA: You did.

ASHLEY: I'm hot.

SAM: Woo, look at you.

ASHLEY: Nine.

MATT: Nine? (whooshes) Burns away.

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Six.

MATT: Six? (whooshes)

SAM: 69.

ASHLEY: Five.

MATT: Five. (whooshes)

MARISHA: Yes, let's go.

ASHLEY: Okay, okay, okay.

SAM: She's a killer.

ASHLEY: Fearne, yes. MVP of this one.

ASHLEY: I'm really sorry, Chetney. It just turns out, I'm really good at killing wood. (laughter)

SAM: Oh!

TRAVIS: I'll keep you to your word. (laughter)

MATT: So with all the vines burned away and the marionette dolls destroyed, the only one who remains entangled is Orym.

ASHLEY: Okay. I'm going to go over and take out my sickle and just start cutting.

TALIESIN: You can also just--

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: I'm sorry.

TALIESIN: Drop the--

MARISHA: What'd you drop?

LAURA: I had the Ring Pop, and I think I just put it in my drawer! (laughter)

LAURA: Totally opened!

LIAM: No, no, no, I hid it.

LAURA: Oh my god!

LIAM: I hid it from you.

ASHLEY: Were you looking for it?

LAURA: I was like, "I just stuck a licked Ring Pop in my fucking drawer."

MARISHA: In your pocket.

MATT: That's some kindergarten shit right there, hell yeah.

ASHLEY: Full of lint.

ASHLEY: Yeah, definitely kindergarten shit.

TRAVIS: Little melted puddle.

LIAM: You looked, I was watching, and you looked over there, and I went--

LAURA: Oh my god. (laughter)

MATT: So Orym, Fearne walks over with her staff and starts cutting you free from the entanglement.

LIAM: Cool, that's cool.

ASHLEY: Sorry.

MARISHA: (laughs)

LIAM: Sorry.

MATT: The rest of you, what are you doing?

TRAVIS: I go over to the stairs.

SAM: Yeah, let's get out of here!

LAURA: Am I still laughing?

MATT: (thudding) The door behind you now begins to lurch.

LAURA: Oh no.

LIAM: That's a good question, is Imogen--

LAURA: Am I still laughing, or did it break when they died?

MATT: No, you'd still be laughing.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: Make another wisdom save.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: She just keeps cackling, and keeps cackling.

SAM: Can I calm your emotions?

MATT: (thudding) You hear the door.

SAM: I can't, I've already harmed you too much today.

MARISHA: I grab Imogen, and I just-- I know, and they're so funny, they're so adorable! We just go.

MATT: Okay, you drag Imogen across the ground, her eyes wide. She's cackling like that creepy anime laugh where the eyes look off in different directions and you get the wide, fish eye lens in the face.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: It's super creepy.

TRAVIS: Is there anything we can do to cover the stairwell?

MARISHA: Ooh, I've got more ball bearings. (laughter)

SAM: I mean, yeah, you might as well.

MARISHA: I don't know.

SAM: That won't really cover the entrance.

TRAVIS: Everybody down the stairs, I'll go last.

MARISHA: All right.

MATT: Make another wisdom save.

LAURA: (laughs)

MARISHA: Come on, come on, you just got to roll mediocre.

LAURA: 19.

MARISHA: There we go.

ASHLEY: There we go.

MATT: Okay, there you go. So you all head down the stairs.

TRAVIS: Once we get down the stairs, I'll get down a couple steps, and I'll cast Minor Illusion at the top of the stairwell.

LAURA: Oh shit!

TRAVIS: Just to seal up the five square foot, make it just look like the rest of the floor.

MATT: Okay. What's the--

ASHLEY: Yes, yes, awesome.

MATT: -- the area space?

TRAVIS: It's only 30 feet, but I can cover a five-foot cube.

MATT: A five-foot cube.

TRAVIS: I just thought it was one square.

MARISHA: You know what, though?

TRAVIS: Is it bigger than one square?

MATT: It's pretty close. I'll say--

MARISHA: But I see what you're doing. Can I team up with him, and do Silent Image as well?

MATT: What's the space on Silent Image?

MARISHA: A 15-foot cube.

TRAVIS: Oh.

MATT: Yeah, between the two of you, you can definitely close that space.

MARISHA: Concentration for a minute, all right.

TRAVIS: We'll probably be able to see through it still, just stay under there, and be quiet.

MARISHA: All right.

MATT: All right, so you both together put up illusions that show that the floor itself is solid rock, continuing the look of the floor around the staircase.

TRAVIS: How long is that?

MARISHA: 10 minutes.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MARISHA: How about you?

TRAVIS: Yeah, yours should probably cover up mine, so that's great.

MARISHA: I'll also sprinkle the top few stairs with some ball bearings--

LAURA: Just in case they slip under.

MARISHA: Just in case they fall through, yes.

TRAVIS: Bubbida, bubbida, bubbida, bubbida.

LIAM: In town, I got one of those, I forget what it was called, a bramble, like a tangle bomb.

SAM: Oh, tanglefoot bags!

MATT: Tanglefoot bag, yeah?

LIAM: Is that a throw and it triggers, or is it something you can leave behind?

MATT: Actually, I think it might be in your inventory, if you want to.

SAM: I think it is. It's, I believe, if memory serves, it's a throw and activate.

LAURA: Okay, great.

MATT: Yeah, you throw it a target, they have to make a saving throw. If it hits, then they are considered restrained for a bit.

SAM: That's great to have, though, if they break through.

MATT: All right.

LAURA: Oh my gosh, we made it.

TALIESIN: Do you have the jack-in-the-box?

TRAVIS: Oh, I love the map, though!

LAURA: I have it, right?

TALIESIN: I think you have it.

TRAVIS: I don't want it to go away.

TALIESIN: I have a theory on how to use it.

LAURA: Okay, great.

TRAVIS: Oh, there's another one coming!

SAM: Did you have the Tanglefoot Bags?

TRAVIS: This is the best day ever!

MARISHA: Next layer of the cake.

SAM: You take it, because I don't want it.

TALIESIN: Is it cake or is it death?

SAM: I don't have any in my inventory, if you want to add it to yours.

LIAM: I thought that I had it.

SAM: Put it in your inventory. On D&D Beyond, the service that we all use at this show, by the way.

LIAM: What is the title of that item?

SAM: Tanglefoot bags.

MATT: Tanglefoot bag.

LIAM: Manage inventory on D&D Beyond.

MATT: Well, you can find the one that I make custom for our campaign on our D&D Beyond. And you can make your own, too!

SAM: You can make your own, too.

MATT: They do not have them for 5e.

SAM: I don't know how things work.

MATT: It's from an older edition, but I added it.

MARISHA: Shit.

SAM: Should I do some trap finding?

LAURA: Or some Locate Object, is it? You think it goes even further down than this, or do you think it'll be on this level?

MARISHA: Oh.

SAM: It did say downer, and we've gone down.

LAURA: All right.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: I could locate it one more time.

TRAVIS: There's only two doors in there.

MATT: Well, as you step down into this chamber, you can see within a number of small desks, or tables off to the side, some burning torches, and a central pillar that rises up into this darkly, almost devilishly carved platform in the center. It has an ominous look to it, and the overhead light has a reddish-orange hue to it, into a small book that is placed under the top of the platform, the plaque beneath it.

LIAM: This museum is so unwelcoming.

LAURA: Yeah.

SAM: Also, if I may, they have one artifact in every room. It just seems like a waste of space.

LAURA: I just don't think he has a lot of artifacts, you know? He's really trying to make it seem like it's really--

TRAVIS: Can I go down to the door, to your right. Yeah.

MATT: Right here?

TRAVIS: I'm going to check it for traps.

MATT: I'm assuming the rest of you are currently in this room.

MARISHA: Checka de traps.

TRAVIS: Checka de traps.

LIAM: ♪ Checkin' for traps ♪

TRAVIS: Natural 20! (cheering)

ASHLEY: Yes.

MATT: Hell yeah.

TRAVIS: A 25.

MATT: Okay, the door to your right there is not trapped.

TRAVIS: It's not trapped. Is it locked?

MATT: It is definitely locked.

TRAVIS: Son of a bitch.

MARISHA: To the right.

SAM: Should I Find Object? Should I Locate Object? Should I Detect Magic first? We're in a hurry, right? I'll Locate Object, why not? This is the last time I can do this, though.

TALIESIN: (hums uncertainly) Up to you, I don't know.

TRAVIS: We're ahead of the game here, save it.

LIAM: Does Locate Object--

SAM: I could do it one more time.

LIAM: -- give you an idea--

SAM: It's a 3rd-level spell.

LIAM: -- of range, or it's just down, up, east, west?

TALIESIN: I think it's just compass.

TRAVIS: Because it's just nearing if we get in the room.

SAM: "You can sense the direction to the object's location."

TRAVIS: For how long?

LIAM: What distance?

SAM: For 10 minutes.

LAURA: So it'll last.

LIAM: It could be potentially be lower than us, but--

MARISHA: Perhaps maybe we pop open these doors first.

TRAVIS: Can I get started trying to--

SAM: But we'd only have to open one.

TRAVIS: -- to pick the lock on this door?

LAURA: Exactly, you're right.

MATT: Yes, you can.

LAURA: I think you should do it.

SAM: Okay. I'll--

TALIESIN: Wait, I would say wait till we have the door open, because then we can move around a little bit. Because right now, you'd just be sitting in a room, and nothing'd be happening.

ASHLEY: I have it prepared as well if we need to do it again.

TRAVIS: 22.

MARISHA: Oh, do you have it prepared?

MATT: 22, okay.

ASHLEY: In case we need to do it again.

SAM: You have what?

ASHLEY: I have Locate Object.

MATT: As they're having this conversation, debating on this, you work on the lock, and then. (clicks) (creaks) it opens up on that side. You peek in the chamber?

SAM: Oh god.

TRAVIS: Yep. (creaks)

MATT: All right.

SAM: Kaboom.

TRAVIS: Reveal your secrets.

MATT: Looking into this chamber, this-- Seem to have been knocked down by the platform there.

SAM: Excalibur.

MATT: It has another chamber that leads into another doorway, and a raised pillar on which you see a display case, and a lengthy spear that is currently set upright with a plaque beneath it. Overhead light coming onto this a soft white light upon it.

TRAVIS: Have at it, I'm going to go check the other door.

ASHLEY: Can I read the plaque that's in this room?

MATT: You can.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: You're going to step out to that space.

LAURA: Don't want to get close to any of the artifacts.

ASHLEY: Yeah, not too close, just a little peeksies.

MATT: You read it, and this one reads, "Journal of Vespin Chloras. Spent a mild fortune procuring the mystical journal of Vespin Chloras, thought lost to time. The horrors scrawled within by the mind of one of history's greatest villains can drive one mad..." Dot, dot, dot.

TRAVIS: Shut the fuck up.

MARISHA: That's the Calamity guy, right?

SAM: That's got to be a fake, that's got to be a fake.

MARISHA: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

LAURA: There's no way that's not fake.

LIAM: Yeah, this turd would not have that.

SAM: I want to read it.

TRAVIS: We're fucking taking it,

LAURA: I really want to read it.

TRAVIS: I don't care.

ASHLEY: Okay, real quick.

MARISHA: I want it!

SAM: Real quick?

TRAVIS: Hold on, we can take it on the way out.

MARISHA: Okay, okay, okay.

SAM: Hold on.

ASHLEY: Take it on the way out? What if we don't come back out this way?

SAM: We're not going to come through this way.

LAURA: We might.

SAM: It's now or never.

LAURA: We might come back this way.

ASHLEY: I was just thinking, we could use the fishing rod, and just boop, pick it up.

SAM: Uh-huh, uh-huh?

ASHLEY: Take it?

TRAVIS: We could.

ASHLEY: I know it's a book, I don't know how the hook would get in there, but.

LAURA: I could also Mage Hand it.

LIAM: That's what Mage Hand, yeah.

ASHLEY: Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa, but first things first. We'll think about it.

TRAVIS: I go to the door on the other side of the room while they're talking, and I check it for traps.

SAM: Checking for traps!

MATT: Okay, make an investigation check for me.

MARISHA: Checking for traps.

TRAVIS: Beautiful, 23.

MARISHA: Ooh.

MATT: 23.

TRAVIS: Rolling fucking great.

MATT: Yeah, it does not seem to be trapped, but is indeed locked.

TRAVIS: I will give it a jiggle.

LAURA: We're doing the work of the Quorum, the people who--

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TRAVIS: 24.

MATT: 24, dang, bro!

TRAVIS: Because I got 15 plus seven plus five--

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: Those gloves, y'all.

MATT: As you're all gauging the space, looking, and taking in what's around you, and where the doors lead. (click, creaking) The other door gives way.

TRAVIS: I push it open. I dive out of the way! (laughs)

MATT: Okay, you dive out of the way, just as you reveal.

ALL: Whoa!

MATT: Another room.

TRAVIS: What the--?

SAM: Is that a body?

MATT: With a risen platform, and there atop it, you see the masthead of some ship, broken away with bits of wrecked and broken driftwood. At the front of it, you see most of the carving of a warrior woman, shield in one arm, blade in the other, both behind her, as she looks out towards wherever the sea she might have once carried a ship on. But it is old and placed upon there with a soft bluish-white light overhead.

TRAVIS: I'll walk up, so I can see the placard and give it a read.

MATT: Okay. Here you go. Here's the placard, and I'll keep this one open too, since you did open that one there.

ALL: (creaking)

LIAM: Bing-bong.

MARISHA: You got this, you got this.

MATT: I did it. That one's a little sticky. That one reads--

LIAM: The flea circus continues. (laughter)

MATT: "Masthead of the Hungry Fathom, renowned ghost ship of the Ozmit Sea. Born from the sinking of the historical Hespet pirate Captain Eldor Trornak, this recovered portion of the original ship is said to call out its spectral counterpart. How scary..." dot, dot, dot. (laughter)

ASHLEY: Oh my god.

MARISHA: This guy.

LAURA: I feel like we should go through one of these and--

LIAM: Oh boy.

ASHLEY: Okay, I'm going to look at the plaque of the other area.

SAM: I'll cast it, I'll cast it right now.

MARISHA: Hey, look at the--

MATT: Over here?

MARISHA: Plaque over here over there, all right?

MATT: Okay. So, you go to and inspect the plaque on that one. It reads, "Spear of Judgment. The fabled Spear of Judgment bequeathed to Yuana Bretei, high cleric of the Lawbearer, as she helmed the charge of her subjects at the walls of the great siege of the Dawn City. A true hero's weapon..." dot, dot, dot. (laughter)

TRAVIS: He's killing me.

SAM: That's an actual thing that we could use.

TALIESIN: This is some Phantasy Star shit happening right now. (laughter)

TALIESIN: There's so much ellipses, okay.

SAM: I'll cast Locate Object; we need to find this thing, it's fine.

LAURA: We're just wasting time.

TRAVIS and SAM: Okay.

ASHLEY: Are you going to pick a side? Or it doesn't matter.

SAM: We won't need to.

ASHLEY: It'll tell you.

SAM: It'll tell, it'll tell.

TALIESIN: To the right.

SAM: I will extend my little wire antennas--

MARISHA: (beeping)

SAM: -- and search for the object.

MATT: All right, as you focus, expending your spell slot, and you, once again, bring the thought--

ASHLEY: (coughing)

MATT: Oh?

MARISHA: Wrong pipe?

MATT and LAURA: That's the worst!

TRAVIS: She's in deep.

SAM: This is very embarrassing.

ASHLEY: I'm okay.

MATT: You got this, you got this. Aww.

ASHLEY: I'm okay, I'm okay.

MARISHA: "It's very embarrassing."

MATT: Fresh Cut Grass.

ASHLEY: Thank you.

MARISHA: No emotional support.

MATT: You focus once more on the mental-- (laughter)

MATT: She's the one who did tell him to shut up after sneezing, so it's only fair.

LAURA: That's true. (laughs)

SAM: Won't stop.

MARISHA: That's true.

MATT: Won't stop, can't stop.

TRAVIS: The worst.

ASHLEY: It's okay.

MATT: You concentrate once more on the mental image of the description you were given of this earring, and as you do, you feel everything draw you this direction, this way

SAM: Straight through the wall. We've got to make a hole in the wall!

TRAVIS: No, I think we can go around.

SAM: No, break through!

LAURA: Just choose a side. I'm going to go to the left.

MARISHA: ♪ Break on through ♪

MATT: You go left?

MARISHA: ♪ to the other side ♪

MATT: Left here?

LIAM: I'll trail, I'll trail Imogen.

TALIESIN: Okay.

SAM: Are we going to grab that spear? Or the book?

LAURA: No grabbing anything right now.

SAM: Grab the book!

LAURA: Don't grab anything right now.

MARISHA: Before we, yes, he's probably watching us, you know that?

ASHLEY: He probably is.

MATT: What are you doing?

ASHLEY: Maybe he's going to give us everything if we win.

MARISHA: Ooh, we get to pick an item?

TRAVIS: Wait, FCG, before you go, can you walk around the corner over here and see if it's actually in this room, and not sitting in this fucking thing?

SAM: Oh, that's fair, that's fair, sure. I'll sort of semi-circle around the room, and make sure that it's not pointing right to the Ark of the Covenant there.

MATT: Okay, yeah. You move around and it doesn't change, it's still pulling you this direction.

MARISHA: I'll follow Chetney.

TRAVIS: Yeah, we'll go to the right.

LAURA: Actually, yeah, it makes sense to follow Chetney, because he can unlock doors.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

LAURA: You're right. I didn't go left.

TRAVIS: No, no, you're good. Do your own thing.

MARISHA: We'll see who gets there first.

MATT: Okay, so you all head into this chamber here?

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: Sorry.

TRAVIS: Yeah, masthead, woo!

MARISHA: He wants to fuck with people.

MATT: All righty. Chetney, what are you doing?

TRAVIS: I'm going to move up to this door, and check it for traps.

SAM: Check it for traps!

MATT: Okay. Right as you cross the threshold--

TRAVIS: Fuck!

MATT: -- of that center portion of the room, I need you to go ahead and make a dexterity saving throw for me, please.

TRAVIS: I have--

SAM: Oh, Chetney.

TRAVIS: Nothing, no advantage.

SAM: Oh, Chetney.

TRAVIS: Natural one.

LAURA: (gasps)

ASHLEY: Chetters.

SAM: Oh god.

MATT: So you all enter the room, and you can hear the sound echoing of a door being pummeled heavily. So you can sense they're getting close to breaking through the chamber upstairs. As Chetney goes--

MARISHA: We're so fucked.

MATT: -- turns around, and then (whoosh), drops out of view.

MARISHA: (gasps)

MATT: The ground, about a 10-foot by 10-foot square right in front of that door, drops, and you fall onto a greased slide, and begin to slide down into darkness!

TRAVIS: (screams)

MARISHA: Do I have a reaction? Do I still see him? No, this isn't going to work.

MATT: You were just stepping into the room behind everybody else to take it in.

ASHLEY: Can I get a reaction--

SAM: Maybe it's just an illusion!

ASHLEY: -- as I see around the door?

MATT: It happened so fast.

ASHLEY: I know. Okay.

MATT: What are you trying to do?

ASHLEY: I was going to try to take my fishing rod out, and try to fish him.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: You go reaching out for the fishing rod.

MARISHA: Because I also saw him right as I turn, can I Feather Fall real quick as he goes?

ASHLEY: Good idea, good idea, that's probably better.

MATT: I will say--

MARISHA: No, but I need you, because I can't bring him back, he just falls slower.

MATT: I will say, the order that everyone who was walking in, which was the same order of this room, which was: Orym, Fearne, and Imogen were the first three walking in there. Chetney walked over, triggered the trap, I would say probably not give you a reaction on this one, because you weren't quite in the room to see it happen as it was occurring.

MARISHA: All right.

MATT: You.

MARISHA: I tried.

MATT: Slide for what seems like 20, 30 feet at a very steep angle, before dropping once more. Impacting on a relatively soft pack of what feels like earth at first, but the smell is quite pungent.

LAURA: Oh no.

SAM: Oh no.

TRAVIS: Any damage from that fall? From the slide?

LAURA: It's poop.

MATT: No, no damage, but when you hit, and it's soft, it's spongy, almost.

TALIESIN: Oh no.

LAURA: Fell on poop.

TRAVIS: I have darkvision.

MATT: Yeah.

TRAVIS: What can I see, out to 60 feet?

MATT: Out to 60 feet, you see the interior, it's this angle, an odd swerving feel, and it is a greased chamber.

TRAVIS: Uh-huh?

MATT: You can see the streaks of whatever the grease was. Your back is all slick from it. You look at the ground, and it's this semi-translucent, like a hard jello floor.

LAURA: Uh-oh.

TALIESIN: Uh-oh.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

TALIESIN: We got to get that down real quick.

TRAVIS: Uh. I take out some-- I look at the wall that I just fell from. Is it earth, is it stone?

MATT: It's slick stone.

TRAVIS: Slick stone, okay. I take out the climbing equipment that we just bought at that fucking store.

MARISHA: Can we throw down a rope?

LAURA: Yeah, that's what I was going to do. I was going to run over and start dropping down a rope down the--

TRAVIS: I take out one of the pittens, pitons, or whatever, and I'll start trying to hit, right at my chest level into the stone, just to get one piton to maybe put a foot on.

MATT: Okay, make a strength check for me as you do that, as you start hammering it, and you're getting your rope out--

LAURA: Yeah, to lower down.

MATT: How much rope do you have?

LAURA: Well, I have a--

TRAVIS: Natural 20.

MATT: Hell yeah. (metallic clanging) You hammer the piton, as it sticks into the stone, you see it cracks a little bit and slides in a couple inches and feels like it's pretty solid. It was about this time that you notice your feet are going a little numb, because you've sunken a few inches into the ground, and you glance down and the jello that you're on is pulling you in. (slurping)

TRAVIS: Could I grab the piton then try and pull myself up to put a foot up?

MATT: I need you to make a dexterity saving throw for me.

TRAVIS: Okay, okay, okay.

SAM: We got to get down there.

MARISHA: It's made of slime.

TRAVIS: Dexterity saving throw.

LAURA: Can you shoot your grappling hook down there?

TRAVIS: 13.

MATT: 13.

SAM: I can't, it doesn't--

MATT: You manage to pull your legs free.

LIAM: I'll go down.

MATT: On this piton, but you're still holding onto a piton in the middle of the stone floor and it's right there and you see it's still moving up. So what are you going to do?

TRAVIS: I was going to try and-- I'll turn into a fucking (growling, crunching) I'll turn into a werewolf.

MARISHA: Good idea.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: Nice, nice, nice.

TRAVIS: I'm going to sink whatever claws I can into the wall and try and pull myself up and put one foot on the piton. So I'm at least out of contact, even if I'm just balancing one damn leg with claws on the wall on a piton.

MATT: Okay. I will say for this, make an acrobatics check.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MATT: Because you and the wall are both greased.

TRAVIS: Oh.

MATT: This is a very, very slick surface. The only thing that's giving you any leverage is this small little piton on the ground. So roll acrobatics for me.

TRAVIS: Oh, not good (laughs). Four.

MATT: (laughs) So the grease has dripped down onto the piton. As you step up onto it, you're not getting any purchase. Then your foot slips, you fall back (thuds), your back slaps onto this creature. I need you to make a dexterity saving throw with disadvantage.

TRAVIS: Okay, all right.

LAURA: 50 feet of rope, 50 feet of rope.

MATT: You lower the rope, lower the rope, you get to the end of your rope.

LAURA: Yeah, go down.

LIAM: They're tying it to me and sliding me down.

MATT: Okay, so tying it to you. Let's say it takes about five feet off of it. 45 feet, you like slide down, slide down, hit the angle. Then just at the edge of the angle, the rope comes to an end. Do you have darkvision?

LIAM: No, I have nothing.

MATT: You are in pitch black darkness.

LAURA: Can I send my lights down?

MATT: How far can you send them? What's the range?

LIAM: Pretty far, it's like 120 feet.

LAURA: Yeah. It goes 120 feet away from me.

MATT: Within sight?

TALIESIN: Okay.

LIAM: Oh boy.

TALIESIN: I have nothing to do.

MARISHA: To multitask.

LAURA: Probably.

LIAM: They don't have to get all the way down to me. They just have to get near enough to make some light.

MATT: Yeah, you can lower them down. As you're lowering them down to the edge of where the rope ends, the lights traverse down and meet the bend, which would be out of your sight, but it does light up enough of the space where you glance down and you can see a little further down and you hear--

LAURA: It says within range.

MATT: You hear the transformation and you hear like the scuffle and attempts of this. Now tying it does take a moment to get it around you, so in the interim.

TRAVIS: 13 again.

MATT: 13 again, you just manage to pull yourself free a second time. What are you doing?

TRAVIS: (breathes heavily) I'm going to try the piton move again. Again, 60 feet scan. Is it just a big-ass room? Is there anything at the other end of this space that I can see anywhere?

MATT: It is a 10-foot by 10-foot chute.

TRAVIS: Oh, and that's it.

MATT: That's it.

TRAVIS: Are there chains, anything on the wall? Any kind of--

TRAVIS: No.

TRAVIS: Nothing.

MATT: It is just a greased death trap.

TRAVIS: Yeah. I'm going to try the piton again, because that's all I'm about.

MATT: Make another acrobatics check for me.

TRAVIS: That's all I got.

MARISHA: This is what he meant by, "I don't think it'll kill you."

TRAVIS: 19.

MATT: 19. You get up onto it and you hold on and you're holding tight now. You're about 20 feet below the edge, the lip there above. You can see a little faint bit of purplish-pink glow beginning to appear up in the upper area.

TRAVIS: (deeply) Help.

LIAM: Pock O'Pea!

SAM: How far is he from you?

LIAM: I don't see him--

TRAVIS: Down here!

LIAM: -- at the end of the rope's length? Once I'm lowered.

MATT: The space-- huh? You're not quite to the edge to look over. You can just see in the dark, so you can hear the voice now echoing though. The wolven voice growling up from below. The rope's just too short to get you to that end.

TALIESIN: I have another 10 feet.

LAURA: Okay, yeah.

LIAM: I shout out that I need more rope.

LAURA: We tie off 10 more feet to the rope.

MATT: Does a 19 hit you?

TRAVIS: That is my-- Wait, let me check when I change. ♪ Dum bum bum, Let me actually transform ♪ Yes, I think it does.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: Man, so close.

TRAVIS: It does.

TALIESIN: Does anybody else have more rope, or is that all the rope we have?

MATT: An element of this slime floor emerges like a long tendril and slams towards you.

TALIESIN: I'm going to tie your grappling hook--

MATT: You take--

TALIESIN: To the other--

MATT: -- 15 points of acid damage.

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Okay.

LAURA: We've got 30 more feet of rope.

MATT: You can see the floor--

SAM: Well, okay.

MATT: -- is now rising.

SAM: I would have to hold on to all of that.

MATT: It's moving up to try and get to you.

TRAVIS: I'll extend my claws.

LAURA: Yeah, you're going to have to reverse your grip.

TRAVIS: No, I'm not going to do that, because that's going to cause damage to me, never mind. I was going to try and make a little light, fuck that. Nothing, I just stand there and (growls). (laughter)

TALIESIN: Another 30 feet?

LAURA: Yeah, another 30 feet. That's now tied to FCG to lower.

SAM: So, we're tying 10 feet of rope to the 50 feet of rope--

TALIESIN: The chunk I had.

SAM: -- to the 20 feet of my grappling.

TALIESIN: Now I'm holding on.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: Okay. So that brings a total of 80 feet, correct?

LAURA: Yeah, yeah.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: With several ties, yeah.

MATT: Okay, so what that does, it extends you an extra 10 feet or about 15 feet to get to the lip and you look over the edge and you can get another-- It would be 20, 10, so it's another 30, so another 15 feet down.

LAURA: So now you're 15 feet away from--

MATT: You are about 10 feet away from--

SAM: (sighs)

MATT: You're dangling above and there's a 10-foot gap between you and the wolven beast that is currently standing on a small piton, while the whole floor-- He's covered in darkish gray oil.

LIAM: So is the piton--

MATT: The ground below is (slurping).

LAURA: Oh god, it's rising?

LIAM: 55 plus 30.

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: (sighs)

TRAVIS: I have rope I could throw you, but--

MATT: Make another dexterity saving throw with disadvantage.

LAURA: Oh god.

TRAVIS: (laughs) I don't like this.

MARISHA: While all this is happening. I'm going to look at this door, because time is of the essence. (laughs)

LAURA: It's true. What else are we going to do with--

MARISHA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Nine, nine.

SAM: Oh no.

MATT: Nine.

SAM: Oh, that's not good.

LAURA: God.

TALIESIN: Let's not cause another problem, yep, yeah.

MATT: As the floor rises up, parts of it reach out and (slurps) you don't notice it at first. Your ankles just go a little numb and as you're looking up and growling at Orym, you suddenly feel the numbness and you look down and up to your knees is currently swallowed by this weird slimy floor, which, you now can see, within it, there are all manner of bones free floating within it.

SAM: All right, all right, all right. Sorry, no, go on.

ASHLEY: Okay. If I take off my Stonky's Ring, I can lift up a creature up to like a thousand pounds. What if you Mage Hand it down there to Orym?

LAURA: I don't know if I can get it all the way down.

SAM: Why don't you go down there?

LAURA: No, no, no.

ASHLEY: How?

SAM: Slide down the hole.

ASHLEY: Okay. (laughs)

TALIESIN: That's terrible idea.

TRAVIS: I'm going to take a potion of greater healing.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: I can do 60 feet.

MATT: You do also take another four points of acid damage as you are partially engulfed.

SAM: How about this?

MARISHA: Oh my god.

SAM: I'm the end of the rope. Let's make a human chain.

TRAVIS: What is it, greater healing potion?

SAM: Everyone grab an arm.

TRAVIS: 4d4 plus four?

MATT: 4d4 plus four.

TALIESIN: All right, I'll be at the end. Let's do it.

SAM: We're going to make a--

LAURA: Oh god.

SAM: -- a Bells Hells chain of--

MATT: Okay.

SAM: -- arms. To try to extend another--

LIAM: I need another 10 or 15 feet down here.

SAM: Can you stop looting for a second to help?

MARISHA: I'll try.

SAM: Oh god, your arm's going to fall off!

MARISHA: I think it might. It genuinely might. (laughter)

MATT: All right, between that-- that'll give you an additional, I'd say, 12 feet between arm to arm and arm. So you watch as Orym begins to--

TRAVIS: 16 points of healing.

MATT: Okay, good on you. So, Orym lowers slowly.

LIAM: Wolfman.

MATT: He's about four feet from your grasp.

TRAVIS: Uh-huh.

MATT: You going to try and leap for him?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: What are you going to do?

TRAVIS: Oh, yeah.

MARISHA: You got mad hops, yeah?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: All right. You are using a greased piece of metal this long and this wide, sticking out from the wall as your basis of leaping as you just manage to pull your feet.

TRAVIS: Could I make an athletics check?

MATT: This would be an athletics check, yes.

TRAVIS: Okay.

LAURA: Can his claws get into the wall at all?

TRAVIS: Straight roll or disadvantage?

MATT: The whole wall is greased. So this is all being considered as part of this.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: So it's all balancing out. So it is only a four-foot leap, so it's not terribly high, but it is a greased piton. I will say do it with disadvantage, but it's a lower DC.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MARISHA: Okay, okay, okay.

MATT: Essentially, you have to beat a 12.

LIAM: (grunts)

LAURA: Beat a 12, beat a 12, beat a 12, beat a 12.

TRAVIS: It's the same number. It's 15.

LAURA: (gasps) Ooh! (claps)

MATT: One foot slips a little bit. The other one you push off, claws go outward and you grasp Orym's hand.

TRAVIS: I get one claw in the forearm. (growling) Sorry!

MATT: Yeah, it digs in.

TRAVIS: Sorry.

MATT: Which is important, because even as you grab, you feel him begin to slip from the grease and oil that was on him. But that one claw gives just enough leverage and it hurts and I will say, you take a point of piercing damage.

LIAM: (groans) Feels like a tendon, man. (laughter)

MATT: But with that, you all feel the rope pull with the heavier weight on it. (exclaiming fearfully)

MATT: All right, I need a group--

TRAVIS: Oh my god.

MATT: A group athletics check.

TRAVIS: You guys, I was at four hit points.

MATT: Oh shit!

TRAVIS: If I fell in there, that was it.

SAM: Oh no!

MATT: Which for the record, as he's pulling you up, I need you to make a wisdom saving throw.

TRAVIS: Okay.

LAURA: Oh god, what?

SAM: This is a group strength check?

MARISHA and MATT: A group athletics.

SAM: Athletics check. I'm going to guide myself.

LAURA: Okay, that's wise.

TRAVIS: A 14.

MATT: Okay, so you hold--

TALIESIN: Oh my god.

TRAVIS: Is that against magic at all?

MATT: No, this is against your feral need.

TRAVIS: I'm up at 20 now.

MATT: Okay, at a maximum of?

TRAVIS: After the potion. It has to be above-- I think it's 18.

LAURA: Did you roll well, Ashton?

LIAM: I did not.

MATT: Okay, so what do we got here?

SAM: Oh boy.

LIAM: Nine.

TALIESIN: 10.

SAM: Oh.

LAURA: 14.

MATT: 14, okay.

ASHLEY: Seven.

LIAM: (sighs)

MATT: Okay.

SAM: 13.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: Oh, it is on 20.

MARISHA: 11.

SAM: (laughs)

MARISHA: How did I roll higher than Ashton?

SAM: Nothing above a 14.

MATT: No, but we have for the most-- Because it's a group doing this. It's not a terribly difficult check. It was 10 and above, was the basis here. You guys just barely pushed over the 50% mark as a group.

LAURA: Wow.

MARISHA: We're a weak-ass group.

TALIESIN: I've been rolling real low all day.

MARISHA: I do not have strength now.

MATT: So slowly you begin to pull up.

TRAVIS: If it's under 23 hit points, I have to make a wisdom saving throw, but the DC is only eight.

MATT: Correct.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MATT: So.

TRAVIS: I made it with a 13.

MATT: So as you're pulling him up, the wolf is holding there. Occasionally, you see the muscles tense and this growl, this instinctual growl, begins to emerge from Chetney.

LAURA: Uh-oh.

LIAM: I fight the urge to let go.

MARISHA: You want to fuck him up?

ASHLEY: Probably smells blood.

MATT: Just pulling him up, pulling him up. Make another wisdom saving throw.

MARISHA: Oh no.

SAM: Oh shit, so he can--

MARISHA: Oh!

SAM: He's got feral instincts?

TRAVIS: It's fine, it's fine. It's fine, it's fine, it's fine.

SAM: He's got evilness in him.

TRAVIS: That's 11, okay.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: We're okay.

LAURA: Oh my god.

MATT: The growling still remains and you can still see the intelligence and humanity behind Chetney's wolven eyes. But there's something unsettling about this interaction. There's something feral behind his visage that--

TRAVIS: (growls)

MATT: -- makes you feel uneasy. As you begin to be pulled up out of the darkness in this chasm below.

LIAM: Are you sure that's not just Travis? (laughter)

MATT: I will say, because you guys barely made it, it's a slow ascent. Which means one more wisdom saving throw for you. (worried exclamations)

MATT: This is a slow ascent.

TRAVIS: It's a four (laughs).

SAM: What does that mean? You're going to kill him?

MATT: So as you just manage to pull Orym and Chetney up from this greased opening.

MARISHA: He's out, he's out.

MATT: You pull out of the entryway. (pants heavily) Just as the growl turns into an angry roar and you need to make an attack roll against Orym.

LAURA: (gasps)

LIAM: What are we doing? Hand or mouth?

TRAVIS: Just my claw, claw strike. 21 to hit.

LAURA: Oh my--

LIAM: Hits.

MATT: Roll damage.

TRAVIS: Okay.

LAURA: (gasps)

SAM: What are you doing!?

TRAVIS: Nine points of slashing damage.

SAM: What is happening!?

MATT: (swoosh)

LAURA: Can I react to this?

MATT: Yeah, you all--

LAURA: Can I cast Command on--

MATT: You certainly can.

LAURA: -- Chetney and I'm just going to try to control him and say: Stop.

MATT: All right, so go ahead. It's wisdom or charisma?

LAURA: It is a wisdom.

MATT: Wisdom saving throw.

TRAVIS: Yeah, been making a lot of those.

MARISHA: Oh, oh.

TRAVIS: 10.

LAURA: You failed? So you have to stop.

MATT: So, you stop.

TRAVIS: I was going to stop anyway.

LAURA: Oh, well, shit.

MATT: Hold yourself there for a minute. (breathes heavily) The blood's still coursing in your veins. It seems like the-- Still holding stance, but it's currently looking at you and stopping. What do you all do?

SAM: What is happening?

LIAM: I'm going to swing my other hand down and grab his hand. Through the pain with two hands. Because it's been one the whole time and still hold on.

TRAVIS: (deeply) I'm sorry. (laughter)

LIAM: Oh, I'm bleeding heavy and I'm really fucking pissed, but I'm holding on.

TRAVIS: (deeply) Sorry.

LAURA: Are you in control?

TRAVIS: (deeply) Yes.

ASHLEY: What was that? Why were you so mad?

TRAVIS: (deeply) I don't know.

TALIESIN: I am ready to swing if shit gets weird.

LAURA: We're running out of time.

ASHLEY: We're going to deal with this later. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

LAURA: Can we get through the door?

SAM: We got to talk about this.

TRAVIS: (deeply) Could you heal me just a little? (laughter)

SAM: You just attacked Orym.

LIAM: Later, later.

TRAVIS: (deeply) Might be good for all of us.

MATT: Make a wisdom saving throw.

LAURA: Oh, heal him quick!

SAM: All right, I am.

TRAVIS: 14.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: All right. Cure Wounds.

MATT: Keeping the beast at bay.

SAM: I'll touch you, you gentle--

LAURA: He would also still be controlled for--

SAM: Are you going to kill me?

MATT: For how long?

SAM: Okay, I'll touch you.

LAURA: Through a turn.

MATT: Right, which it's been more than one at this point.

SAM: Ah, fuck, another one?

MATT: Six seconds.

SAM: Four points, god!

TRAVIS: That's all I need.

MARISHA: It'll get you over, right?

LAURA: Oh my gosh.

MARISHA: I was looking at the door.

TALIESIN: I'm going to go and shut and lock the door that's to the hallway. Now that things seem to have chilled out.

LAURA: Now that we're all in here.

MATT: So you've all moved into the chamber.

MARISHA: Ashton, go close the other one, too.

LAURA: No, no, no, no. Leave that one open. They'll think we went through it.

MARISHA: Oh, good idea, good idea.

MATT: All right, so you've closed this door behind.

TALIESIN: If I can lock it, I will lock it.

SAM: So the hole that he fell down, it is a visible hole, right?

MATT: Yes, it is. It is a 10-foot by 10-foot opening that is right before the other door, which means there's no footing before the door.

SAM: Got it.

MARISHA: No footing before the door.

MATT: Right, you would have to somehow get the door open.

LAURA: Is it unlocked, or can I try to-- yeah, use telekinesis to open it up?

MATT: Okay, you use telekinesis on the door.

SAM: Mage Hand?

LAURA: It's my telekinesis.

MATT: The door (creaks) opens up.

LAURA: But, yes, it's like Mage Hand. All right. So we could potentially jump on through?

MARISHA: You said it's 10-foot?

LAURA: Oh god, what is that?

LIAM: Just give me the rope, I'll jump over.

MATT: As it opens up, you look inside the small chamber and immediately on the other side, you see a large stone lion perched and just staring in your direction with its mouth partially open, about 12 feet across and about maybe like six feet tall. Just (growls).

MARISHA: Maybe we should try the other the way?

TALIESIN: Close the door.

MARISHA: (laughs) Yeah.

TALIESIN: Close the door.

LAURA: Well, let's, you know, maybe it'll just-- It's a visual sort of thing, maybe. It's not really scary. Can I-- Mm.

MARISHA: Yeah, I take out a ball bearing and I throw it at its face. (metal clinking)

TRAVIS: How about across the floor?

LAURA: I think it's a statue.

LIAM: They have these things at libraries.

MARISHA: Yes, New York Library. It's right in front.

LAURA: What if-- Is it possible to grab the edge of the door? The top of the edge of the door and swing it over to where you--

MATT: You can certainly try.

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: We should tie a rope to anybody who's going to do that so that they fall down the pit.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, tie a rope to me so in case it doesn't work. I'm going to try to use the door to swing me over and then just step over.

MATT: Okay, I'll say just make an acrobatics check.

TALIESIN: Couple of us have a handle on this.

MATT: It's not terribly difficult. This is a fairly--

MARISHA: We're holding onto the rope.

LAURA: Well, that's stupid.

TALIESIN: Cocked.

LAURA: Acrobatics is 12.

MATT: 12, that's okay.

MATT: So it wasn't terribly difficult. So, rope on, you grab hold and then kick off the wall and (creaks) swings you over and you just have to get your foot across for a minute, touch it, pull yourself over before (grunts) stepping off and you're in the room now. Glancing off, you could see the room itself. It's not very large, necessarily. There is another doorway just to the immediate left of the chamber.

LIAM: I don't want her on her own. So Orym flea jumps over and is there with her.

MATT: Yeah, no issue there. (thudding) Jump across.

MARISHA: All right.

SAM: I will grapple hook across, if possible.

MATT: Yes, you can. (swooshes) You jump across and make it there.

TALIESIN: Trying to hold the rope, so anybody who--

MARISHA: All right, I'm going to do a little (pants) holding the (uncertain moan).

SAM: What is that?

MATT: Yeah, what? (laughter)

MARISHA: Me trying to shuffle-- I use the door and--

LAURA: Shuffle across the rope?

MARISHA: Yeah, and I shuffle across the rope.

MATT: Okay, acrobatics check. It's an easy check.

MARISHA: It's an easy check, he says.

TRAVIS: I stand by the gap just in case she drops.

MARISHA: Oh, yeah, okay, okay, okay, that's good. I rolled a 13 plus-- It's 15.

MATT: Okay. Technically, you're in your wolven form over here.

SAM: (yawns) Oh, Chetney.

MATT: All righty. All right, and so you shuffle across here.

MARISHA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Then I'm going to make a jump, but if anyone doesn't mind pulling me around, over.

LAURA: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

MATT: All right, make an athletics check to jump.

SAM: Don't fall.

TALIESIN: 13.

MATT: 13? Yeah. You leap and just catch the edge and (grunts), and help yourself in.

MARISHA: Fearne?

TALIESIN: Shut the door.

LAURA: Oh wait, Fearne's not here.

MARISHA: We're missing Fearne.

MATT: Bye, Fearne!

TALIESIN: I thought we already counted her; I would have kept the door open.

SAM: Fearne's going back for the book!

ASHLEY: I'm going to, yeah.

TALIESIN: I'll toss the rope over, if you want. (laughter)

MARISHA: ♪ I think we we're alone now ♪

ASHLEY: I'm going to lock the door.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: Did we already lock the door?

TALIESIN: We already locked the door. Okay.

ASHLEY: Okay, we did. I'm going to run across and do a Mirthful Leap.

MATT: You don't even have to roll for this.

LAURA: Ha ha ha ha ha!

SAM: Wee!

MATT: You leap through the chamber and land safely on the other side.

MARISHA: Just all the ruffles just flying in the air.

TALIESIN: Now, we shut and--

TRAVIS: I'm still in the room.

TALIESIN: Yeah, we lock this door.

MARISHA: Wait, wait, wait. We got to wait for Chet.

TRAVIS: I guess I'll just stay in here.

LAURA: Oh, I thought you were through!

TALIESIN: Oh, I keep thinking everyone's gone, all right, fine, come on.

TRAVIS: I'll leap across.

MATT: Well, you get bonuses to leaping, I think, because of your--

TRAVIS: I do.

MATT: Just roll with advantage on your athletics check.

TRAVIS: Natural 20.

TALIESIN: Two ones.

LIAM: Yeah!

MATT: Without issue. So you are all within this chamber here.

SAM: Do we have to keep an eye on you, Chetney? Are you okay?

TRAVIS: (deeply) I'm okay.

LAURA: Yeah, until he takes more damage.

TALIESIN: We're all a little rough right now, I think.

MARISHA: We don't have time to stop.

TRAVIS: (deeply) There's jello down there.

LAURA: -- so they can't get through.

MARISHA: Shut the door.

ASHLEY: Can you guys make a Minor Illusion so it looks like there's holes on either side of the hole? So that they think they can walk straight across?

LIAM: You can Minor Illusion make a fake floor.

LAURA: Oh, yeah, make it look like they could just walk straight to the door?

ASHLEY: Yeah, like it's a bridge.

MARISHA: We already did that, although, we heard them beating on the door.

MATT: Correct.

MARISHA: What do we hear?

TRAVIS: That's all, oh yeah.

MATT: Well, you can make a perception check between two closed doors, go for it.

MARISHA: Between two closed doors, what up? Not great.

LIAM: I love that play.

MARISHA: 14.

LAURA: I want to also try to listen.

TRAVIS: I'll assist with--

LAURA: Well, you want to just do it, or--?

TRAVIS: No, go for it.

MATT: Okay. So you roll.

LAURA: No, I rolled terrible. Terrible, terrible.

MATT: You don't hear anything, you're uncertain how close, how far your competitive quarry is.

MARISHA: Because my Silent Image--

TRAVIS: Just leave it up.

MARISHA: It is a concentration, up there.

LAURA: Yeah, leave that up.

MARISHA: Okay, all right.

TRAVIS: These are funnels anyway.

LAURA: Can we try to open the door in front of us now?

SAM: Check it for traps!

LIAM: Check it!

MATT: Who wants to check for traps?

ASHLEY: Can I look at the plaque?

SAM: Oh yeah, is there plaque in this room?

MATT: There is no plaque in this room, there is just the ornamental large stone lion.

TALIESIN: I would like to examine the stone lion. Does it move? Is it on a roller? Does it seem like--

MATT: Make an investigation check.

TRAVIS: Ooh, rollers.

ASHLEY: Interesting.

TALIESIN: Nine.

MATT: Nine.

SAM: Terrible.

MATT: It's hard to tell, you're not too familiar with stonework of this design, unfortunately. Who's checking for traps?

TRAVIS: 17 for traps.

MATT: For traps?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: Okay. As you're on the other side of the room and everyone begins stepping forward, you glance out and you can immediately see on the floor the pattern of stone tile work. There are two pieces that the textures are opposite of the other that are on the way to the opposite door. As soon as you see that, the rest of your party's moving towards it--

TRAVIS: (deeply) Freeze!

SAM: You're going to kill us again?

TRAVIS: (deeply) No, those two are different. Don't step there.

MATT: You glance off to the side and you can see the base of where, what you missed, the base of the lion does have a swivel. The mouth itself does have a bit of a cavernous throat.

LAURA: Oh!

TALIESIN: Hmm.

SAM: It would turn and attack?

LAURA: Yeah, do something. Fire attack or something. Yeah, so let's not touch that and just try to get through the door, then.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: Can you lock pick in this condition?

TRAVIS: (deeply) Yeah.

MARISHA: With your big paws?

TRAVIS: I just use my nails.

MARISHA: Yes!

MATT: I mean, we can totally consider that. Mechanics are the same, but that's just how we--

TRAVIS: I just nibble them down to get the perfect.

LIAM: You made a little groove.

TRAVIS: Yeah, little grooves.

MARISHA: That's pretty cool.

MATT: So, with that roll you do manage to point out the tiles. Because you just barely made it. But with that, you can all carefully step past those and one by one make it over to that door. But however, nobody can get too close to the door unless whoever's unlocking it or testing it beyond that does so. So who is getting to the door first?

LAURA: Are you unlocking? You unlocked it already?

TRAVIS: No, I can?

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS and MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: Should I check the door for traps?

LAURA: Yes.

TRAVIS: Check the door for traps.

MATT: Make an investigation check.

TRAVIS: 11, oh. Yeah, 11.

MATT: Seems fine.

SAM: Probably okay.

TRAVIS: Probably fine.

LAURA: Yeah, it's probably fine, good job.

TRAVIS: I will try and pick the lock.

MATT: Go ahead and roll. Adding your dexterity modifier and your proficiency modifier.

ASHLEY: Why does he have that face?

LAURA: Because if he's hurt, what?

TALIESIN: I can do it if you're feeling a little--

MATT: What can possibly go wrong in this tiny room, filled with-- (laughs)

ASHLEY: Stone lion?

MARISHA: A jade lion?

TRAVIS: Somebody else want to check for traps?

SAM: I can Guide you.

TRAVIS: Somebody else want to check and see if there are traps? I'm just feeling a little shook because I messed up my boy, Orym, over here.

LIAM: I'll look. I will look.

TALIESIN: Take a Guidance for it.

LIAM: Yeah?

SAM: I will Guide you.

LIAM: Okay.

SAM: What do you--

LIAM: I can reroll my one.

MATT: You roll so many ones!

LIAM: I did. It's all shitty rolls, I rolled a 12.

MATT: Seems pretty safe.

LAURA: Super.

MARISHA: I technically have thieves' tools, but it's not my forte.

TRAVIS: No, I'm good at picking locks, it's just I hope it doesn't fucking kill us. Here we go. Okay.

LAURA: I'm not standing in front of that mouth, by the way. Mm-mm.

MATT: I assume you've all stepped past and it is these two tiles here. Which is why you have to step through and move one by one.

MARISHA: We're all huddled--

TALIESIN: If it starts to move--

MARISHA: -- and holding each other.

TALIESIN: -- we will know, right?

MATT: Yes.

TALIESIN: Yeah, okay.

MATT: All right, so carefully you go ahead. (clicking) (clicks) The lock unlocks.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: What do you do?

TRAVIS: Ready?

SAM: Throw it open!

TRAVIS: I push the door open.

MATT: (squeaks) As the door opens--

LAURA: Oh.

MATT: Nothing happens.

TRAVIS: Oh my god!

MARISHA: I was holding my breath.

LAURA: Someday we're not going to fall for it.

MARISHA: I know.

TALIESIN: It hasn't happened yet.

MARISHA: No, I don't know if it ever will.

ASHLEY: No, I won't.

MATT: It does reveal the next chamber, though.

TRAVIS: What is that doorway?

LAURA: Is it here yet? What doorway? I don't see a doorway.

TRAVIS: Does this look as crazy as that to you guys?

MARISHA: That looks gnarly.

MATT: So looking inside, there is another doorway across the way and a--

TRAVIS: Don't trust that rug.

LIAM: Trust no rugs.

MATT: There are these carvings that look like vacuous humanoid spaces in the wall. Look old. There are two candelabras and then across the way, you see a raised platform with a glass case.

SAM: In the middle?

MATT: Across the way there.

LIAM: So you're saying indentations on both sides in the shape of a humanoid figure, taller than us.

TRAVIS: Oh god.

MARISHA: What's in the box?

LAURA: Uh-huh.

SAM: Can I poke my little head in and see if my Locate Object is--

TALIESIN: Why don't we check for traps really quickly?

LAURA: Yeah, we're going to, we're going to!

TRAVIS: Can I scan the floor and the walls?

SAM: Is my Locate Object pulling my in a way?

MATT: Right to the middle of that right there.

TRAVIS: Can I scan the floor and the walls for traps?

MARISHA: We're about to fight something.

MATT: You may, make an investigation check.

LAURA: We should heal Chet.

TALIESIN: I would like some healing.

LAURA: Because he is low.

TALIESIN: Do we have any--

TRAVIS: No, I'm okay, I'm okay. 22. 17 plus five.

MATT: 22. You do not see any traps, but you do notice that the alcoves on each side, the coloration is changing.

LAURA: Oh, it's already changing?

TRAVIS: Yeah, it's starting to form up.

SAM: Should we smash and grab?

LAURA: We should just run in and grab it and run out.

MARISHA: I'm here for that.

LIAM: Hmm.

LAURA: Is it in a glass cage or is it-- Is it in a glass cage or is it just sitting there?

MATT: No, you glance over, there's a glass container that is situated on the top of that table across the way.

TRAVIS: Anybody have Dispel?

LAURA: Somebody just chuck something at the glass.

SAM: I have Dispel.

MARISHA: So does Fearne, I think.

ASHLEY: I do, too.

SAM: You should use yours.

ASHLEY: But I want to go fishing!

TRAVIS: For what?!

LAURA: Fearne, it's covered in glass it's covered in glass!

TRAVIS: Just Dispel the machine, the monster maker!

ASHLEY: Okay!

MARISHA: One and one!

TRAVIS: Then you can fish.

ASHLEY: Okay, Dispel Magic.

LIAM: We'll take you to a pond.

MATT: Okay. You cast, so you move over into this chamber here with everyone else. Are you all moving into the room here?

LAURA: I'm not stepping on that rug. We're not stepping on the rug!

MATT: Okay, where are you standing?

TRAVIS: I'll stand against the back wall towards you, just off the rug.

TRAVIS: Never touch the rug.

MATT: People moving over here. Who's staying in this room? Who's going into the room?

MARISHA: Fucking no one is staying in this room.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: We're all going in.

LIAM: I'll stand in front of people. That's my job.

MATT: Okay. Ashton?

TALIESIN: Yeah, I'm going in.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: Can I hear the other team coming?

SAM: What are you going to Dispel?

MARISHA: Any updates there on the other team?

ASHLEY: Just the room.

MATT: Not at the moment, no.

LAURA: Are you going to Dispel the construct that's forming, the thing that's forming?

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TALIESIN: It's forming now.

MATT: So what you're seeing now, as you all step in and look over is in these spaces here as you're like, over there is where there's a glass container, you see the coloration is going to a deep earthy brown because some sort of earthen-like substance is pouring into it and forming quickly.

MARISHA: It's making a golem!

MATT: Into a large humanoid form.

LAURA: Yeah, we need to get the thing and get out!

LIAM: I will run forward. Smash the glass with my sword.

MATT: Okay. You rush up and attempt smash the glass.

LIAM: Yep.

MATT: Roll an attack.

LIAM: Yeah! This was a great idea.

MATT: You cast Dispel Magic on the--

TRAVIS: Oh, you're doing it on the--

MATT: What are you casting it on?

ASHLEY: Oh god! Well, I was thinking the glass to open it up, yeah?

MATT: Okay, you cast it on the glass. You watch as a faint (flutters) glitters across it.

SAM: All right, hit it again!

LIAM: I'll try again, slash.

MATT: Roll again.

TRAVIS: Is there a lock on it?

LAURA: Can you just move the glass?

LIAM: 12.

MATT: 12? Glances off the glass again.

TRAVIS: Is there a lock--

LAURA: Can you just push it?

TRAVIS: -- around the case at all? Is there anything to lift the case, like a lock that you can see?

MATT: So it is a glass box that is on top of this platform. It looks like it's locked.

LAURA: Can you just grab the glass box?

MATT: You can try to, if you want to.

LAURA: Grab the glass box.

LIAM: I'm right there, sure. I'll grab the box. What's in the box?

SAM: What if it's a trap?

MATT: It's solid to it.

LIAM: All right, I'm looking for any kind of switch, lever, anywhere around it, in it. So I'm going to make, I guess, an investigation check.

MATT: Sure.

LIAM: While these things form, natural 20.

MATT: Natural 20.

ASHLEY: Yes!

MATT: Glancing around the base of it, well, first off, you notice that there is, indeed, a plaque on it. The plaque, at a quick glance reads, "Wind Folly, the earring of Harudan. The earring worn by the mythical djinn Harudan who forged the realm of Taj-Najmeh before being outsmarted of it. What a lesson for the ages to beware the deals one makes..."

MATT and TALIESIN: Dot, dot, dot.

TRAVIS: Is it just sitting in the middle of the case? In the dead center?

MATT: It's sitting on the center of this risen platform on the table. Looking around, you see no levers, you feel confident that this is just a glass case.

TRAVIS: What does the earring look like?

MATT: Onto it you can see, it as a gold hoop that has three lapis blue stones, a central one is larger and the two side ones to it are a little smaller. It's this beautiful hoop earring.

ASHLEY: Sounds really pretty.

SAM: So it's just a really hard piece of glass.

MARISHA: Is there any type of--

LAURA: Can you use your hammer, Ashton?

TALIESIN: I'm going to run up and hit it with the hammer.

TRAVIS: Oh boy.

MATT: Go for it, roll an attack.

SAM: Glass on glass.

ASHLEY: Come on.

LAURA: Glass on glass on glass.

TALIESIN: That's-- where's my--

TALIESIN: That's not my best. 11 points of damage.

MATT: 11 points of damage, all right. The hammer hits it and you pull, it rebounds off of it and you do see there's a very, very faint crack. That is some hard fucking glass.

LIAM: Shit.

MATT: You made some impact on it, but it definitely is pretty strong. In fact, it reminds you of the glass that your hammer's made of.

TALIESIN: Yep, yep, yep.

SAM: Ooh, boy.

TRAVIS: We need the Spear of Destiny.

TALIESIN: Since I attack twice every six seconds, so I'm--

MATT: So make a second strike.

TALIESIN: Going to make a second strike. Although, I'm not raging, so. Natural 20.

MATT: All right.

LIAM: Get it, get it.

SAM: That'll help.

ASHLEY: Nice!

TALIESIN: Seven, eight, nine, It hits again. The cracks a little bit more. This thing definitely seems to be resistant to the sort of damage that it's taking. It is taking damage. It's just--

LAURA: We need to heat the glass.

MATT: It's just taking it in small bits.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

MATT: It's about now.

LAURA: Oh no.

MATT: That the two side cubbies have completely filled.

MARISHA: Hang on, while he was doing that, I was going to say, can we see any mechanism pouring stone into the thing?

MATT: Make a perception check.

MARISHA: Because I was wanting to hopefully stop that.

MARISHA: 20 total, dirty 20.

MATT: 20 total? You do not see a mechanism. The space is being filled.

MARISHA: Okay. When they call for the ladies-- Glass.

TRAVIS: Is there a rune above the thing at all?

LAURA: Does lightning do anything?

SAM: I'm going to shoot.

MATT: Looks like it's just the glass.

SAM: I'm going to shoot radiant light at it, Sacred Flame at the, yeah.

MATT: Sacred Flame? Okay.

SAM: Maybe it'll work.

MATT: You release and focus on it. The flames burn around it, doesn't seem affected by it.

SAM: No effect, all right.

MARISHA: I'll do the opposite. I will try a Ray of Frost.

MATT: Ray of Frost. Strikes into it, you see ice build and get this small layer of shards of frozen air and moisture around it. You're uncertain if it had an impact.

TRAVIS: I'll run up and I'll scratch across my forearm and drip blood onto the top of it. The case.

MATT: Okay, you strike across, you spill blood onto the platform and it spills giving this layer of blood that begins to freeze across the frost that she left there so there's now shards of frozen blood around it.

LAURA: Cold glass, does that break easier?

ASHLEY: Scorching Ray.

MATT: Okay. Go ahead and Scorching Ray.

LAURA: Extreme temperatures on glass, I feel it could do something.

MARISHA: Thunder or vibrating things?

MATT: Roll three attacks.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MARISHA: Yeah, thunder.

LAURA: I don't have any thunder things, it's all lightning.

ASHLEY: 24.

MATT: 24 hits.

ASHLEY: Dirty 20.

MATT: Just hits.

MARISHA: Dorian had Thunderwave!

LIAM: I was thinking the same thing.

MARISHA: Dorian had shit--

ASHLEY: That one doesn't hit.

MARISHA: -- that can break constructs.

ASHLEY: So two.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: Yeah, 12 does nothing.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: As the Scorching Rays hit the glass and melt away the ice, the glass is left unscathed by the flames.

LAURA: Jeez Louise!

ASHLEY: Okay. Damn!

MATT: It's at this point.

SAM: Oh boy.

LAURA: Oh god.

SAM: Oh boy, those look bad.

LAURA: Oh god, two of them?

SAM: We're all pretty hurt, yeah?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: As these, I'll say as you all entered into this room to be making the attacks you are--

TRAVIS: Oh boy.

ASHLEY: Dang it!

MATT: These two massive humanoid constructs made of solid, shifting clay emerge, partially formed, and where their faces would be, these little burning coal-like red eyes flicker on as they both harden into their space. And that's where we're going to pick up next week.

ALL: Oh!

ASHLEY: What?

SAM: Matthew Mercer!

ASHLEY: No!

SAM: You rat bastard!

LIAM: It's not that late, it's not that late!

MARISHA: Damn!

TRAVIS: What a fucking hanger, oh shit!

TALIESIN: Felt it coming. Felt it coming.

TRAVIS: Oh no!

MATT: Pick up there next week.

ASHLEY: We wasted so much shit on that glass box!

TALIESIN: They thin you out.

LAURA: It's just a fucking box!

ASHLEY: We can't get in there until we kill these things.

LAURA: Shit.

ASHLEY: God dang it!

SAM: You mean. You're ending the whole episode with a dot dot dot?

TRAVIS: Oh!

MATT: I believe I am, Sam.

LAURA: Oh my god.

TALIESIN: Or is he...?

TRAVIS: Oh god.

ASHLEY: Dang it!

MATT: We'll pick up from there--

MARISHA: The things this box has seen.

MATT: -- at the roll of initiative with a slightly damaged glass container containing the quarry of this burglary with your opposing faction of burglars somewhere in this house, not that far behind you, last you recollect.

MARISHA: They're going to show up.

MATT: Hurt, expended, and at the apex of this challenge. I'm curious to see where it goes from here. So we'll pick it up there next week. Thank you all so much for joining us. We love you very much, and is it Thursday yet?

ASHLEY: No, it's not!

MATT: Good night. (cackles)