Transcript:Hell or High Water

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

ALL: (discordant yelling) We play Dungeons & Dragons!

MATT: Before we jump into our episode tonight, we do have some announcements to get through, beginning with our sponsor for the night, Fandom Gaming. Sam.

SAM: Oh, sorry. Sam.

MATT: Yeah, Sam.

SAM: Tonight's sponsor is our friends at Fandom Gaming, makers of D&D Beyond, and their ongoing super sale on all products from now through May 2nd. They're offering 25% off all books at D&D Beyond, which includes the recently released Candlekeep Mysteries and upcoming Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft pre-order, not to mention our own Explorer's Guilde-- Guide to... I can't even say our book. The Explorer's Guile to Wildemoult. (laughter) Check everything out at dndbeyond.link/springsale. And speaking of spring sales, after several hundred advertising gags, we've developed quite an inventory of props in the back there. So inspired by the folks at Fandom, I thought I'd do my own spring cleaning clearing out the clutter to raise money for charity. Maybe even to raise some money for our own Critical Role Foundation and their awesome 826LA fundraising push! (gasping)

ASHLEY: That actually, we do not want to be associated with whatever it is that you're about to do.

SAM: I'll take that as a yes! So I've given the entire cast auction paddles. Go ahead and hold them up. And let's auction off some props for a good cause. Item one: A bag of hair that I shaved off my scalp in that haircut bit a few weeks ago. Smells like... (sniffing) Smells like Head & Shoulders Extra Strength. Let's start the bidding at 10 dollars! Anyone? 10 dollars? 10? Do I hear 10? Do I see 10? No bidders? No bidders? What if I told you this bag does not only contain hair from my head?

LIAM: (clearing throat) I will take it.

SAM: Aha! Sold for 10 bucks to the creep who loves me. All right.

LIAM: What? It's for the Critical Role Foundation.

ASHLEY: No, no, no, it's not! CRF, we just-- We don't want anything to do with whatever the hell it is that you're doing.

SAM: Thanks Ash, next up! Item two: My pink latex costume from Gen Con a couple of years ago, unwashed!

TRAVIS: Oh god.

SAM: Let's start the bidding... (sniffing) Ooh, at 100 dollars. 100 dollars.

MATT: I'll pay a hundred bucks.

SAM: Okay! Yes, Matt.

MATT: What? It'll look good on the Playa, you know.

MARISHA: That's actually a great point. 200 dollars?

SAM: Okay!

MATT: 300 dollars.

MARISHA: Hey, we live together, we can totally share.

MATT: 500 dollars.

SAM: 500! Sold to the man who doesn't understand how auctions work. Remember, this is all in support of our charity.

ASHLEY: Please stop saying that!

SAM: Item three!

ASHLEY: No, it's not!

SAM: One bite guard, slightly used, to prevent you from grinding your teeth.

TRAVIS: Ooh.

SAM: Nice, huh? Shall we start the bidding at some amount of money?

LIAM: I don't remember that gag. I also didn't remember this line. It's not highlighted. Is that a prop from one of your skits?

SAM: Nope, I stole this bite guard from Travis' bedside table last night. Do I hear 50 dollars? 50 dollars, everybody!

TRAVIS: Wait! What?! That was you?

LAURA: How did you even get into our house?

SAM: Through the vents! You should really clean them out, by the way. Do I hear 50 dollars?

TRAVIS: I thought that was just, like, a weird nightmare!

SAM: It was, it was! 50 dollars anyone? Do I hear 50?

TALIESIN: Over here, I'd like to have that.

TRAVIS: What?!

TALIESIN: I'd like it very much.

TRAVIS: Ew, why? That's my bite guard!

SAM: Not any more its not! Sold to the 30,000-year old man!

TRAVIS: Why do you even want that?

TALIESIN: I have my reasons.

LAURA: That's gross.

SAM: Remember, all this money tonight is going straight to the Critical Role Foundation.

ASHLEY: I will sue your ass, Riegel.

SAM: That's all the time we have. Back to you, Matt! Thanks, Fandom.

MATT: Thank you, Sam. And thank you, Fandom. Of course, I want to thank you all so much joining us here at our live Twitch channel and on YouTube. And of course, to join our live official, moderated community chat, please head on over to our Twitch channel for the show. Also, our Vox Machina Origins series three, issue number two, is now available at local comic shops, as well as online digital platforms like Dark Horse Digital and ComiXology.

TRAVIS: Number two! (clapping)

MATT: It's fantastic, I'm super excited you guys get to continue the story.

ASHLEY: ♪ Give it to me now! ♪ (laughter)

MATT: Oh, don't get me started on that song. ♪ I want today ♪ All right, Ashley, by the way, since you spoke up, you have an announcement!

ASHLEY: Oh, yes I do! Okay, so thank you so much for your support of our Critical Role Foundation fundraising campaign. Sorry I said that so weird. (laughter) With... (chuckles) With our friends @826LA! (cheering) So since we are pre-recording the show, the best way you can catch real time fundraising updates is by following us at Critical Role FDN, on Facebook and Twitter, and to learn more about our campaign to build a writer's room for students at Venice High School here in Los Angeles, or to just donate, head on over to criticalrolefoundation.org. (cheering)

MATT: Thank you, Ashley. And thank you all so much for your tremendous support of the foundation and 826LA. Laura, you had some quick announcements to make?

LAURA: Oh yeah! I just have one little thing to say right here. So we made these patches for our live shows. It's of the Darrington Brigade! It's like, you know,

LIAM: Love those guys.

LAURA: Yeah, troop badges and whatnot, but we don't have a live show. We haven't had one for a while. So we put them in our store! (cheering) So check them out! There's not a whole bunch. So they might already be gone! I don't know! (laughter)

MATT: Perfect! Thank you, Laura. And with that, I believe our announcements come to an end which means it's time for us to jump into tonight's episode of--

MARISHA: No pun intended.

MATT: -- Critical Role!

ALL: Yeah!

(water bubbling)

(thunder rumbling)

(explosion)

♪ Role, Critical Role ♪

♪ Role, Critical Role ♪

♪ Role, Critical Role ♪

♪ Role, Critical Role ♪

♪ Role, Critical Role ♪

♪ Role, Critical Role ♪

♪ Roll the dice ♪

♪ The adventure begins ♪

♪ They were always beside you ♪

♪ Your nerdy best friends ♪

♪ And the DM to guide you ♪

♪ And they rise from the flames for the battles ahead ♪

♪ Villains beware because you're about to be dead ♪

♪ They got magic and flair ♪

♪ They got falchions and cunning ♪

♪ They don't see over there ♪

♪ There's a monster incoming ♪

♪ Inspiration is waiting, rise up, don't think twice ♪

♪ Put your fate in your hands, take a chance, ♪

♪ roll the dice ♪

♪ Roll the dice ♪

♪ Critical Role (roll the dice) ♪

♪ Critical Role (roll the dice) ♪

♪ Ooh, ahh ♪

♪ Can you answer the call ♪

♪ Diggin' deep in your soul ♪

♪ As the legend unfolds ♪

♪ Now it's your turn (your turn, your turn) ♪

♪ to roll ♪

(flames whooshing)

Part I
SAM: -- fish.

MATT: And welcome back. (giggling) So... (laughter) Last we left off--

LIAM: (laughs)

MATT: (sighs heavily) (giggling)

MATT: (clears throat) Last we left off-- (laughter) The Mighty Nein continue their delve into the ruins of Aeor after making a new friend in the Aeormaton known as Charlie, dragging it through the rest of the Praesidis Ward, avoiding some dangers, encountering some dangers, getting a rest, you eventually found your way to the Genesis Ward where it seemed some great cataclysm, even more ruinous than the destruction of what you've come upon so far seems to have carved out the center of the entire ward into this massive, lightless pit whereupon on the inside, you can see layer after layer of subterranean basement levels, some sort of a continuation beneath the surface where more arcane research once transpired. After finding your way down within a few of these levels, you did battle with a few entities. You managed to restore Charlie to his former glory and all of his memories and found out that indeed the original name, Devexian, was what it once and now calls himself. Upon which, he gave you some information that you require as a thank you, but had his own business to tend to and left you abruptly. But you knew, thanks to Devexian, that what it is the Tomb Takers seek seems to lie somewhere in B-9, the basement floor below. However, the battle that transpired you found best to not necessarily see to its bitter end after banishing the remaining foe. You all ran and leapt off the side to make your way past many floors in hopes of eventually finding which one was B-9. As you lept off the side, a few of you managed to catch yourselves with some flight spells and sought to aid the rest of you to fall with Feather Fall. So now, as you all begin to drift downward into the dark lightless expanse, the first order of business, who cast Fly? You? Essek, and you with your sword.

TRAVIS: Yep.

MATT: Could you roll a d20 for me, please?

LAURA: Oh no, you just got your hair back!

MATT: Four? All righty.

TRAVIS: Ten.

MATT: Okay. So it seems that the Aeorian fields of strange, wild, odd magic did not affect those castings, so everything goes well. Feather Fall is below 3rd-level, so you're fine. But as you all begin to drift down... Who's keeping track of what floor? You were on and which ones are passing beyond?

TRAVIS: Somebody that's perceptive, go.

LAURA: I was keeping track.

LIAM: Well, Caleb will assist because the Keen Mind feat, he would remember, even though I don't because it's been so long.

MATT: That's true. Go ahead and make a perception check for me.

SAM: Is there light? Did you globules?

TRAVIS: My sword is glowing.

MATT: The sword is glowing. What did you get?

LIAM: I got a one.

MATT: A one, and it is very bright. The sword is unnaturally bright from what you're used to, suddenly it's like, "Ah! I can't quite see."

TRAVIS: Ja, bro.

LAURA: But I said I was keeping track, too.

MATT: Okay, make a perception check as well.

LAURA: I'll just move my auction-- Natural 20!

MATT: Look at that, back and forth on the scale. Damn!

TRAVIS: (quick beat)

MATT: Keeping tabs as you plummet slowly, thanks to Veth's magic. Watching as you go. And it's challenging because you'll only be able to really discern based on the fragments of light that reflect from Fjord's sword and your general ability to discern the dark, colorless shapes as you pass by them. But you count in your head as you go between the levels, and they're scattered. It isn't like each layer is an entire floor. There are different places beneath, an odd pattern as they were constructed, like a series of intentional, ant hill-type constructs beneath the surface. But as you believe, he began to count down to six, maybe seven, eight, and you all began to hear, too, that sound of rushing water that you've been hearing in different areas throughout and seeing little bits of water and trickle is getting louder and louder still. As you catch down to what the shelf of B-9 would be, you see there is a wide, shelf-like platform, maybe about 30 feet across, and there is just water pouring off of it. Like it's a large, aqueduct-type vent, and it's just a layer of water, it's just... (whooshing) sprang off. And it's nine. And the tunnels continue down below.

LAURA: That's nine! The waterfall, that's level nine! That's level nine!

SAM: I can't get us over there!

LAURA: Help! Help!

TRAVIS: (vrooming) (laughter)

TRAVIS: Ferry tugboat.

MATT: Yeah. The three Team Flights are all just slowly pushing the crews together.

TRAVIS: Flying V!

MATT: The gentle nudge you all begin to corral yourselves inward towards until eventually you all begin to step down (splashing) into the area, and the water that's rushing past as you begin to eventually touch down, it's not super thick, maybe like an inch and a half to two inches tall, but it is a continuous layer of water that is now pouring through. And as your feet touch, you can see it dividing amongst your ankles and beginning to feel a little bit of tension from it, pushing past you, but not too strongly.

LIAM: I'm going to hover just above.

SAM: If I'm walking on the water, is the current pushing me off?

LIAM: Is it like a treadmill?

SAM: Or some sort of treadmill effect?

MATT: Walk on Water is an interesting spell because you can walk across a surface that is liquid. I do not believe it says anything about being affected by the speed in which it's going. I will double check.

TALIESIN: Is it like a snowboarding thing where you can kind of maintain just by doing a little bit of left, right? And then you can let it take you when you need to? And kind of--

MATT: "As if it were a harmless solid." So I would say no.

SAM: Okay.

MATT: Essentially, there is... I will say that there's an arcane barrier that comes just in between where your feet actually contact the water, like a severely hydrophobic material. And you can just stay right there on the surface. So it is going quickly and you freak out for just a second, but your footing is still pretty solid as it just passes beneath you.

SAM: I'm going to do some 180's.

TALIESIN: What's the temperature of the water?

MATT: Do you reach down into it?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: It's quite cold.

TALIESIN: Okay. This is melting ice.

LIAM: Yeah.

LAURA: Oh, interesting.

TALIESIN: That's my theory. Something hot up ahead, maybe.

LAURA: Ooh.

MATT: As you all stand here on the broken ledge, the path continuing inward towards what looks to be the subterranean structure ahead, like a 50 foot-wide hall that you are currently standing at before it collapses down into the tunnel below. You can see maybe only a few bodies that still remain in the space strewn across the marble floor, partially submerged in this perpetual stream and not being forced out because they've been caught on some of the rubble and fallen debris that seems to have gathered at some of the edges that have held against the stream. And right off the right hand side of the ledge, to the right of where you all landed, you can see, there is the broken remnants of a doorframe and some sort of an entryway into a chamber beyond that has completely fallen or was carved off with the destruction that transpired behind you. So you're standing partially in this large hall and one of the large chambers that it connected to no longer exists. Looking ahead, in a westward direction you see a small set of four stairs that lead up into an arched hallway. And that currently appears to be the only place from this particular platform that you could head.

LAURA: And water's pouring down from the hallway.

MATT: Correct, and as you look ahead, you could see it like cascading down the stairs.

MARISHA: Any writing? Does it look-- any-- Once again, any signs or anything over the gateway?

MATT: Make a perception check.

MARISHA: 12.

MATT: 12? You do not see anything, unfortunately. Interesting point, though, as you gather yourself here and everyone's jumped off, you go to go for your goggles. But the shadows aren't quite as piercing as they once were.

LAURA: (gasps)

SAM: (gasps)

LAURA: Fucking eyes!

MARISHA: I put them on.

MATT: No real change.

MARISHA: No real change?

TALIESIN: You all right?

LIAM: You, too. I wasn't sure.

ASHLEY: What, what, what, what?

SAM: U2! What does that mean? It's a good band.

ASHLEY: What's a band? I'm just kidding.

TRAVIS: What's a Bono?

LIAM: You're the front woman of your own band.

ASHLEY: I know, it was poorly-- It was a bad joke.

SAM: She's just trying to break the tension!

ASHLEY: I'm trying to break the ice, so to speak.

SAM: Oh no, no!

ASHLEY: And it's already broken.

TRAVIS: The ice is melting, Yasha.

ASHLEY: I know, I know, I know. What are you talking about? (laughter)

LIAM: I wasn't sure.

MARISHA: Is it the same? Can you see better? Do you feel like you can see? The darkness or something else? Veth?

SAM: What?

MARISHA: Put these on. Do they still help you?

SAM: (yelps)

MARISHA: You're three feet from me. (laughter)

SAM: I like to make things dramatic. Yeah, this helps a lot! Thank you!

MARISHA: All right. Well, that answers that question, I guess.

LAURA: Hey, at least you're getting some cool abilities out of it.

LIAM: Can we try something? Can you make your face look different? Like you do?

TRAVIS: Sure, I'll try and look like Caduceus.

TALIESIN: Huh, not bad.

MATT: Where you both see the Caduceus face, it has a faint shimmer or transparency to it. And just beneath it you can see the outline of Fjord's facial composition.

TRAVIS: Oh ho ho ho, boy.

LAURA: Whoa.

TRAVIS: What's the price, though?

TALIESIN: You know, you two can use your words if you're doing like a weird psychic thing or...

MARISHA: No, no, just processing.

ASHLEY: You two talking to each other now?

LAURA: Can you read our thoughts? Can you read our thoughts?

TALIESIN: What number am I thinking?

TRAVIS: (like Caduceus) What number am I thinking of?

TALIESIN: Whoa!

TRAVIS: (like Caduceus) Whoa! (laughter)

LIAM: Ja, I wasn't sure. I was watching you talk to your friend.

LAURA: Arty?

LIAM: Yeah.

LAURA: Could you see Arty?

LIAM: I could see Sprinkle whispering in your ear.

SAM: Sprinkle? Sprinkle's been dead for centuries. (laughter)

LIAM: Is that something that you have been keeping to yourself?

LAURA: Wait, what?

LIAM: Yeah, once when I was a monkey and then later you talked to him again and when you were talking to him--

SAM: Talking to Sprinkle?

LIAM: -- Sprinkle was chittering in your ear.

LAURA: (gasps)

MATT: You see Sprinkle slowly emerge from around her neck and look up with the eyes and-- The glance over of the weasel and go, (as Artagan) "Well, how else was I supposed to stay with you--"

TRAVIS: Shut the fuck up!

MATT: "-- and keep tabs on you?"

TRAVIS: Shut up!

SAM: What's happening?

LAURA: You little sneaky! Oh my gosh. And you've just been here the whole time?!

MATT: "I told you I'd be keeping an eye."

LAURA: I love you so much, Arty. Should I call you Sprinkle? Should I call you Sprarty?

TRAVIS: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Ugh.

MATT: "Stick with Arty for now."

TRAVIS: Sprinkle is the Traveler?!

LAURA: Of course he is! That makes perfect sense.

LIAM: It's the only reason he's still alive.

MATT: "You're not entirely wrong, and it's been a journey."

SAM: Wait a second.

MATT: He shakes off a bit.

SAM: Did you know this?

LAURA: (laughs) No!

ASHLEY: How did you know?

LIAM: I wasn't sure if-- I thought maybe I was imagining it, the first. I was a giant chimp, but then I saw it again, and then I started to-- But I wasn't sure.

LAURA: (gasps) You!

MARISHA: Is there anything weird I have that I should have noticed? Am I missing anything?

TRAVIS: Did you know?

LAURA: No!

MATT: You weren't as close a proximity during.

MARISHA: I didn't see.

TRAVIS: I think we joked about that one night.

TRAVIS and LAURA: (laugh)

TRAVIS: Fucking weasel. Shit!

SAM: What?!

LAURA: Oh my god, it makes perfect sense. Have you always been Sprinkle? Did you take over Sprinkle? Did Sprinkle die and you absorbed--?

MATT: "No."

LAURA: You've always been Sprinkle?

MATT: "Let's just say the gentleman who sold me, was surprised to see he had a crimson weasel, but wasn't against selling it to the first person he came across, which I counted on."

LAURA: Oh my god! I even put a little blue bow-- a little green bow on you. It makes perfect sense!

TRAVIS: He killed the real Sprinkle, just saying.

MATT: "Shh!"

TRAVIS: (laughs)

SAM: Wait, there was never a real Sprinkle! It was always the Traveler?

MARISHA: Yeah, what about Professor Thaddeus? He actually just was a dick? Did you know him?

MATT: "He's just an asshole owl."

MARISHA: Well, what the fuck!

MATT: "Spent a little time with him, kind of a dick. I'm just--"

LIAM: That was Kord.

MATT: "You dodged an arrow on that one."

MARISHA: What other gods are animals?

LIAM: All of them.

LAURA: I'm so happy! Do you still want to ride on my shoulder? Are you happy where you are?

MATT: "I mean, it's pretty comfortable."

LAURA: Okay. Hang out!

ASHLEY: Didn't I bathe you one time?

MATT: "Yes."

TRAVIS: Oh my god!

ASHLEY: You scratched me, though!

MATT: "Yes."

ASHLEY: Okay.

TRAVIS: What else have you seen? And how long has this been going on?

LIAM: Barely at all. DM, point of clarification, the first time, as Capeleb, was two eyes, then a night's rest, and then three eyes, and I saw it again. So it was already going on with two.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

TRAVIS: But only for you?

LIAM: No.

MARISHA: I mean, did I notice? Because I was using my goggles just--

SAM: She's not very perceptive.

MARISHA: -- the other night, though. But I'm not very perceptive.

MATT: There has been a progression.

TRAVIS: Oh wow.

MATT: Circumstantially, and with that particular element--

LIAM: There's light all the time. From Fjord, from his blade.

MATT: Yeah.

LAURA: It's true.

LIAM: Driftglobe.

MATT: It's been very situational. You guys have been instinctually keeping light up for a lot of the time, regardless.

LIAM: Yeah, so it's-- We can see in the dark currently, and we're seeing through illusions.

MARISHA: And see through illusions.

SAM: Wait, but you have three eyes, right?

LIAM: It's D&D truesight.

SAM: Three eyes?

MARISHA: Uh-huh.

SAM: Doesn't that imply that you have a third power?

LAURA: You're going to be able to read our minds. What can Lucien do that we don't, that we noticed? What could he do?

TRAVIS: Dispel, see magic.

LIAM: Their magical stuff, everybody's magical stuff is not glowing around me, is it? No?

MARISHA: Seems selective.

TRAVIS: So you've gained abilities for reading the book, but what did you give?

LIAM: Well, I think we know what's at risk, Fjord.

MARISHA: (sighs) Yeah, nothing's free. I am going to look at Caleb, though, and be like--

SAM: You're going to try to communicate?

MARISHA: Can you read my-- Can you hear me in your head, though?

TRAVIS: Can you read my mind?

MARISHA: Can you hear me? Yes. I'm thinking this.

LIAM: And I'm thinking: She's probably trying to send her thoughts to me.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: As she stares at you--

TRAVIS: Shut the fuck up. You'll hear the faint echo of her words.

MARISHA: You do not! He does not!

TRAVIS: Shut up!

LAURA: (screams) Just you? Just you? I'm going to try too, I'm doing it, too.

TRAVIS: No, you're not.

LAURA: Yes, I am.

MATT: Nothing from Jester.

LAURA: Thinking something-- nothing?

MARISHA: Nothing from Jester? Wait, but does it work for us doing it to other people? Yasha?

ASHLEY: Who am I in love with? Oh, that's dumb.

MARISHA: No, listen, can you hear me?

TRAVIS: Say it out loud?

MARISHA: Can you hear me?

ASHLEY: Can I hear you?

MARISHA: Yeah. I'm going to try and talk to you.

ASHLEY: Okay, let me see.

SAM: I will very quietly cast Message. (laughter) And just say, (high-pitched voice) Hey girl. It's me, Beauregard.

ASHLEY: Oh.

SAM: You want to get freaky?

MATT: Ashley, it's hard to make any of these words as two voices are competing for the attention in your mind. (gasping)

TRAVIS: Shit!

MARISHA: So we can-- so they can't-- But we can--

ASHLEY: Wait, wait, wait! You have two voices in your head and one of them sounds like Veth?

TRAVIS: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Oh.

ASHLEY: Oh.

SAM: It's because you can hear my thoughts. You could have done that before.

ASHLEY: I could have done that before.

SAM: Yeah.

LIAM: I look over at Jester, and think: Testing, testing, eins, zwei, drei.

LAURA: Do I get it?

MATT: You do.

LAURA: (gasps) Oh my god!

ASHLEY: This is the coolest thing ever.

MARISHA: So wait but then, is there a--

TALIESIN: This is concerning.

MARISHA: Is there a third ability that we're missing?

SAM: That's three. Isn't it?

LIAM: Dark, illusion.

SAM: And telepathy!

LIAM: Telepathy.

LAURA: Oh my gosh.

MARISHA: I guess I was lumping the seeing better into one.

LIAM: Could be.

SAM: Don't get greedy.

LIAM: We'll have to stumble on it.

MARISHA: Well, you know, better odds.

LIAM: No, it's possible. It's possible that something else.

MARISHA: Maybe they have vision insurance, or something.

LAURA: It's possible that he'll be able to control you like instantly, like he can the other people.

MARISHA: That's still my biggest fear this whole time.

TALIESIN: Definitely means he can probably communicate with you, and you can probably think at him.

LIAM: He already is.

MARISHA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Oh.

LAURA: He's talking in your brain? He's talking-- can you hear him right now?

LIAM: No.

TALIESIN: How about now?

LAURA: Ask him where he is.

TALIESIN: Don't do that. Don't do that!

LAURA: Why?

TALIESIN: He'll think about us. It's weird. (laughter)

SAM: It's just wild to me that the least amazing thing about this exchange is that Sprinkle is a god! (laughter)

LAURA: I don't know, I think that's one of the most amazing things about it.

SAM: I agree, but it seems secondary at this point.

LIAM: I mean, he's also god. It's like the trinity. He is a god. He's not a god. He's a fey prince. He's a weasel. There's a third thing we haven't figured out yet. (laughter)

MARISHA: Okay.

TALIESIN: Well, this is the thing.

LAURA: We should keep moving. You guys should be careful.

MARISHA: I'm also wondering if when Devexian said that we needed--

SAM: (gasps)

MARISHA: -- to have a trained eye upon the gateway.

SAM: Sorry.

MARISHA: What, did you just get the vapors just from me saying his name?

SAM: I just swooned a little. I swooned a little, it's okay.

MARISHA: Okay.

LAURA: He was pretty dreamy.

MARISHA: It was really hot.

LAURA: I mean.

MARISHA: Yeah.

SAM: Cut.

LAURA: Like, why would a robot need to be that attractive?

LIAM and MARISHA: Why wouldn't you?

LIAM: If you're manufacturing something--

MARISHA: Exactly. Make it super hot.

LIAM: Yeah, Laura, That's true.

TRAVIS: Can I scoop down into the stream and taste the water? Does it tastes like salt or fresh?

MATT: It's interesting. It's very cold and very clear. And then when you taste it it has a faint salty taste to it.

TRAVIS: Slightly brackish, perhaps? A mix of the two?

MATT: No, it's fairly clear. It's fairly clean. It just has a very faint saltiness to it. It's odd. It's not like an ocean level.

TRAVIS: Yeah, we're in the middle of a land mass.

MATT: Yeah, but--

TRAVIS: Ish.

TALIESIN: What does that mean? I mean--

MATT: Salt, bit of salt, taste is strange.

TRAVIS: Do we know anything about the geography of this place? I mean, we're not on some sort of giant glacier ice shelf, are we? This is continent, yes? Earth? Rock?

LAURA: I mean, I think Aeor is just a big ice. Isn't it?

LIAM: Eiselcross is tundra, it's like our Arctic.

MARISHA: Do we know? Do we know if it's an ice shelf or a landmass or--?

MATT: You can make a history check, if you'd like.

LAURA: Also, don't forget, guys, we have to do a Heroes' Feast today.

MARISHA: Yes.

SAM: While she's thinking about this, can I walk over to maybe the edge. There's edges of this river that's flowing? This stream? Or does it fill the whole space?

MATT: It fills the whole hallway for the most part, with a slight edge where maybe there's a far end where a bit of it is out of the water because it's at a slight angle.

SAM: Then can I just go to where it meets the wall? The sidewall? And just see if it looks like the water has smoothed out the edge of the wall, because it's been flowing for hundreds of years?

MATT: Make an investigation check.

SAM: Or if it's pretty fresh? Okay.

TRAVIS: Fucking weasel's Artagan.

SAM: 23.

MATT: 23, you do see signs of erosion, long-term erosion.

SAM: Oh, so it's not just a new effect. It's been melting for years. Thousands of years.

MATT: In fact, the bodies that still remain in the water from what you can see, there is heavy general degradation to them from continuous, slow water flow.

SAM: Wow.

TRAVIS: Salt water, at that.

MATT: Yeah.

TALIESIN: How old are these bodies?

MATT: Make a medicine check.

TRAVIS: Make a Caduceus check.

MARISHA: I rolled a 17 on my history check. Which is low for me.

TALIESIN: 19.

MATT: 19. They're quite old. As old as any of the other bodies you've seen in Aeor.

TALIESIN: But they're--

MATT: The exposed portions of them that are up on the debris are as decayed as they can be, but they're not as mummified because of the proximity of the moisture and the elements that were in the water are grody and black and mostly remnants of heavily corroded bone and material.

TALIESIN: Huh.

MATT: For you, Beauregard, Eiselcross, there are-- The glacier elements are to the farther north of it. Most of where you are right now is just rocky continent. Though there is an ocean nearby. The Frigid Depths do surround Eiselcross, but there is a mountain range between the edges of the ocean and the ruins where you currently are.

MARISHA: I mean, is it-- It's so far, unless we're--

TRAVIS: Very weird, especially for water to be moving down.

MARISHA: Right.

TRAVIS: From a--

LIAM: Is it perhaps passing through something?

TRAVIS: If it was an aqueduct.

LAURA: Maybe it's coming out of a portal. This was the plane.

MARISHA: The tethered--

TALIESIN: Wow.

MARISHA: The plane tethered floor.

TRAVIS: Oh, yeah.

TALIESIN: Huh.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MARISHA: Because we're looking for--

LIAM: Like in Rumblecusp, there could be a breach.

LAURA: Exactly.

MARISHA: We're looking for the Immensus Gate, but yes.

TRAVIS: Instead of the Astral Sea, there's a water plane, maybe?

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Immensus Gate, that's right.

SAM: If the water's been flowing for thousands of years, it can't just be from here. There'd be a huge depression, or something.

TRAVIS: I don't know what there'd be.

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: All right, well.

TRAVIS: We should be going.

MARISHA: Exactly. So, you said there was this broken down, clearly-collapsed tunnel off to the side, and then, towards the west, there is forward.

LAURA: We're going through the--

LIAM: Steps up where the water's coming from.

LAURA: The stairs up and going.

MATT: Caduceus--

LAURA: (gasps)

TALIESIN: Yes?

MATT: -- Beauregard, Caleb, you've been discussing things, and there's been some noise around, but it's been pretty quiet in the vicinity. But, out of the silence that surrounds you in this open space, as hushed as you are being, you pick up on a certain sound. (coughing bark) (growls and barks) This distant growling bark sound, way above, it seems.

LIAM: Those creatures were canine that we tangled with above.

TALIESIN: We should probably move.

LIAM: Maybe more, maybe something else.

LAURA: Does it sound human?

LIAM: No.

SAM: Like back from whence we came up?

MATT: From above, but because of the space and the openness of this area, you're not quite certain of the direction, plus the fact that you're inside a little bit from where the ledge is.

LAURA: We should move.

TALIESIN: So it's outside of the cave we're currently in, but above.

MATT: But above.

MARISHA: That--

ASHLEY: That doggy thing.

LIAM: Those skinned doggies with the eyeball tails.

SAM: Maybe it's Devexian is fighting with them.

MARISHA: Well, yeah, or the Tomb Takers, because we could be ahead of them. Did it sound like a tussle, or did it sound like when, you know, the coyotes at night are just talking to each other?

MATT: You do not have any experience with the creature that makes that sound, and you've never really heard it before, other than maybe some of the combat sounds of some of the creatures you encountered here in Aeor, so you're-- Make an insight check with disadvantage.

TRAVIS: We'd be ahead of them already? They would've seen us go whoosh.

LIAM: He can't fly. We talked about that last time.

TRAVIS: Right, but they could see us drop down.

LAURA: Oh, right, we might've gotten in front of them.

LIAM: If they were looking.

MARISHA: You said with disadvantage?

MATT: Right.

MARISHA: Insight?

MATT: Yes.

MARISHA: (sighs) Release too often.

TRAVIS: Oh, that changes stuff.

MARISHA: 21.

MATT: With disadvantage?

MARISHA: Yeah, rolled a 12, and I have a plus nine on my insight.

MATT: It doesn't sound like imminent combat. It sounds like a call to hunt.

MARISHA: Stalking.

TRAVIS: Velociraptors.

MARISHA: Yeah, yeah.

TRAVIS: Man.

MARISHA: Okay.

TRAVIS: In the fucking kitchen. I ran out at that scene.

MARISHA: Yeah, yeah, that's exactly what it sounded like.

TALIESIN: We don't have any way of sealing off this cave, do we?

LAURA: Of scrying? Of what?

TALIESIN: Of sealing off this cave.

LAURA: Oh, let me see what I have.

LIAM: What is the doorway made of?

LAURA: I have Stone Shape.

SAM: Fjord can shape the water into some sort of ice wall.

MATT: The hall that you're in right now?

SAM: Yes, you can, you got it. (laughter)

MATT: The hall that you're in right now where the ledge comes is about 50 feet across from side to side, so it's an open ledge where the water's just pouring out, and off the side. Then the stairs that go up into the hall above looks to be about 15, 20 feet from side to side, and about 10 feet tall.

LIAM: 20 feet? Oh, that's a lot. (sighs)

TALIESIN: Might be a way to block it off, if need be.

LIAM: How much stone can you move?

LAURA: Um.

LIAM: I could maybe pull one side of that doorway to the halfway point.

LAURA: I can do five feet in any dimension, so I could probably close off a door.

LIAM: I mean, I could close it off maybe entirely, but it takes me a while to do that.

MARISHA: Maybe an alarm. Can you put up your wire?

TRAVIS: That might be the best, save your spells.

MATT: (as Essek) "That is not a bad idea. Trying to reserve what we have at our disposal. (sighs)"

LAURA: It could be cool to hide something, like something that will hurt them in the water, in the doorway, maybe, where we know they have to pass through.

MARISHA: Can't see it?

LAURA: Can't see it because it's underwater.

TRAVIS: If we're in front of them. If we're in front of them.

SAM: We have the glyph anymore? The glyph's gone.

LAURA: I mean, I have it still, again. Oh, wait, I don't have the supplies for it anymore. It took a lot.

TRAVIS: It was awesome.

SAM: What supplies?

TRAVIS: It was awesome.

LAURA: Well, you know. Oh, I didn't prepare it today because I used it already.

MATT: "Well, that certainly makes it easier to choose."

LAURA: Yeah, sorry, Essek.

MATT: "That's all right."

TRAVIS: Should we put a wire and move?

MATT: "Regardless, we should move soon."

LIAM: I didn't prepare that.

TRAVIS: Oh.

LIAM: I can do it, but, again, it's a time suck since it's not prepared.

TRAVIS: Let's go.

LAURA: What, the--?

LIAM: Alarm, 10 minutes.

LAURA: Oh.

MATT: "Mayhaps just traveling quietly."

TALIESIN: Let's just be very quiet.

MARISHA: Maybe we'll find another opportunity for it.

LIAM: Yep.

MATT: So, if you all are moving quietly, I'd like the whole group to make a stealth check, please.

LIAM: Okay. I think my Fly has probably petered out after all that discussion.

MATT: Yes.

LAURA: Oh, Blessing of the Trickster so you get advantage.

TRAVIS: Mine's up for an hour, so I'm just going to--

LAURA: Oh, who needs advantage?

TALIESIN: I do.

LAURA: Advantage on-- Sorry, I already gave it to Caduceus.

LIAM: Well, I got a six.

LIAM: A six?

LAURA: It doesn't count after you've already rolled anyway, so.

MATT: Yep, six?

TRAVIS: I'm flying, do I need to roll?

MATT: Because you're--

TRAVIS: Fly lasts for--

MATT: How long does Fly last?

TRAVIS: 10...

LIAM: 10 minutes for me.

MATT: 10 minutes?

TRAVIS: Oh, it's 10 minutes, yeah.

MATT: Yeah.

TRAVIS: I thought it was an hour. I'm full of shit. 15.

MATT: 15, all right.

LAURA: 15 as well.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: 32.

LIAM: Yes.

ASHLEY: 15. I'm sorry, 13.

TALIESIN: 21.

MARISHA: 12.

LAURA: Whoa, we rolled bad.

SAM: Yeah, you did.

MATT: All right.

LIAM: ♪ Splish, splash, I was taking a bath ♪

MATT: So, as you all carefully progress, gently (water splashing) through the water as you begin to ascend the stairs, can I get a marching order as you step into the hallway? There's enough room for you to travel by tightly, you know, somewhat, four at a time, or you can do three comfortably.

MARISHA: I'll take the front-ish.

TRAVIS: I'll be up there with Beau as well.

LAURA: Would I be able to tell that we're splashing a lot?

SAM: Eh.

MATT: I mean, every step you take is stepping into about two inches of water, so it's not making a huge splashing sound. You're just trying to be quiet before it breaks the surface every time, and-- (water splashing)

TRAVIS: Plus, there's running water, so it'll get lost in the--

LAURA: Okay, okay.

MATT: Correct. Hopefully, it's enough.

ASHLEY: Scent would be washed away.

LAURA: I could cast Pass Without a Trace, but we've already rolled.

TRAVIS: Jester, why don't you join us in the front?

LAURA: Okay, I'll come up to the front.

MATT: Okay, so Jester, and Beau, and Fjord are in front?

TRAVIS: Yep.

MATT: All right, who's in the next wave?

LIAM: I'll be in the center of the pod.

TALIESIN: I'll be on the left.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: I'll go on Caleb's other side.

MATT: All right, with Veth and Essek taking up the rear.

SAM: Mm-hmm.

LIAM: So, as everybody is moving up through that hallway, Beauregard would hear in her head: Keep each other in check. Do what needs to be done.

LAURA: (quietly) It's fucking crazy.

LIAM: If possible.

MARISHA: I just respond back: Haven't forgotten it.

MATT: All right.

SAM: Creepy.

TALIESIN: I don't like it.

MATT: Carefully and quietly stepping through the hallway. (water splashing) It continues on for about 30, 35 or so feet before a door, a closed door greets you on the right hand side, and it continues on, and you can see it taking a left about 25 or so feet ahead.

LIAM: So, door to the south, turn toward the north if it's going--

MATT: Well, you guys are heading--

LIAM: West.

MATT: West, so it would be, door to the north, and then it turns to the south.

LIAM: Door's not on the right?

LAURA: I'm so confused.

LIAM: Okay.

TRAVIS: Door's on the right.

LIAM: Door and pass.

MATT: Door's on the right hand side, but you're moving westward. Which means the door would be on the north.

LIAM: Yeah, other way around.

MATT: Yeah.

LAURA: Okay, got it.

MATT: There you go.

TRAVIS: Is there a handle, a knob, any sort of marking to denote a way to open said door?

MATT: There is no knob, but there is a faint, teal crystal built into a small--

LIAM: Ah.

LAURA: Oh, yeah, use the key cards.

MATT: -- stone circle.

TALIESIN: Should we?

LAURA: Yeah, try it.

TRAVIS: Real quick, is there a covering of dust, anything that looks like it's been disturbed, or wiped, or touched recently?

MATT: No, but, you know, as you're glancing around, you can see, the bottom of the walls, and the bottom of the door, everything here has, like, a slight blackish tint to it from just years and years of perpetual corrosion.

TRAVIS: Oxidation.

MATT: Yeah, oxidation, and just general, just slow destruction by the running water here. There is script above the door.

LAURA: Mm.

LIAM: You're a spoken language, right? And I'm the reader. Yeah, I'm going to do it. Um... 1st-level spell, yeah, I will take out my little pinch of salt and soot, and drop it in front of my eyes, and cast Comprehend Languages.

MATT: All right.

LIAM: Whew.

MATT: It reads, "T-Dock Project," the equivalent of T, hyphen, Dock Project.

SAM: T-Dock.

LIAM: T-Dock.

TRAVIS: I'll cast a Divine Sense, and just see if anything is pinging from the other side of the door.

LIAM: T-Dock.

MATT: Okay. You concentrate, extend your senses. Nothing.

TRAVIS: Okay.

LAURA: Does that ring a bell with any of the papers that you were looking at?

LIAM: I don't think so.

MATT: Not currently.

LIAM: Not in Liam's brain. I'm going to start a swirl of a Fire Bolt in my hand, and just be ready if something obviously comes thrusting out of the door just to kill us.

MATT: All right.

TALIESIN: Am I opening the door?

TRAVIS: Yes.

TALIESIN: Give it a swipe with the teal.

MATT: As you do, the gem, both in your bracelet, and in the front little lock mechanism here, glow for a moment, and you hear this grinding sound, this (grinding) as it seems like 1,000 years of stillness suddenly have to shift, and slowly (grinding) it opens halfway before coming to rest, enough for somebody to squeeze through one at a time.

LAURA: Can we see anything beyond the door?

MATT: There is no light source within, but for now, pretty much all of you, that's not an issue at that point, except for, maybe, Caduceus.

TALIESIN: Can we hear anything?

MATT: Make a perception check.

LIAM: You have the goggles now, right?

SAM: Mm-hmm.

TALIESIN: 24.

MATT: 24, nothing, silent.

TRAVIS: 60 feet darkvision over his shoulder.

MATT: Indeed. Glancing through, you can see another hallway, a little bit thinner than the one you've currently been walking through, for about 20 or so feet before opening into another chamber, where you can see some more scattered destruction, and some broken elements, and, actually, you see the other side of the wall. You see the 20-foot hallway that continues on, and you see this entire, another 20-foot-wide chamber that ends on the opposite side. You see some sort of a raised platform, some debris, a scattering of papers and other things around parts of the floor.

TRAVIS: If there was a remnant of a doorway behind us, and this is another door, this could be an aqueduct, or a means of travel, so this could just be a big-ass water pipe, essentially. This might be the way we need to go, rather than onward, west.

TALIESIN: I found that confusing, but I'll trust you.

LAURA: Caduceus, did you prepare Find the Path today?

TALIESIN: I, uh--

SAM: Nobody prepared shit.

LAURA: I have Find the Path today, I do.

TRAVIS: What'd you prepare, Veth? Lead by example.

SAM: I prepared Feather Fall, which saved half of our lives.

TRAVIS: Yes, thank you, Veth.

SAM: And I also prepared these awesome goggles. I tighten them up. My head's a little smaller than yours.

TALIESIN: I did not do Find the Path.

LAURA: Okay, I have Find the Path prepared today, but I also have Heroes' Feast prepared today.

SAM: What do you need to know to do Find the Path?

LAURA: That's a good question.

SAM: Can you just say, find me the path to anything?

TALIESIN: It will, it will point an arrow like a compass.

SAM: But do you need to know what you're looking for?

LAURA: Something that you're familiar with on the same plane of existence, so, if we know what the destination is, we're familiar with what it's called.

TRAVIS: Which we don't know.

LAURA: Well, we know, it's called the Immersion--

MATT: Immensus Gate.

LAURA: The Immensus Gate.

SAM: Oh, okay, okay.

MATT: If that's what you're looking for, then it would lead you there, yeah.

TALIESIN: But I don't think-- is it the path itself, or just a compass arrow? I can't remember.

MATT: That high level spell. I think it shows you the direct path.

TALIESIN: Yeah, it's not the safest path, but it's the shortest.

MATT: Not the safest, but it's the shortest.

TALIESIN: That's right.

SAM: Cool.

LAURA: Like Waze.

MATT: Yeah, yeah.

SAM: Make a left turn, cross the 10?! (laughter) On foot. What? Okay.

TRAVIS: Sure?

ASHLEY: All right, we'll get there three minutes faster.

MATT: Helping overpopulation one set of directions at a time.

TALIESIN: Pay the ferryman at the LA River.

LIAM: Drive through Amoeba Music. (laughter)

TRAVIS: And it's an hour for Heroes' Feast, to do it.

LAURA: It's an hour for Heroes' Feast, but, so, both of them are 6th-level, and I only have one 6th-level.

TALIESIN: It would be that and burning a seventh then, which--

LAURA: Yes.

MARISHA: I say we keep looking for the Immensus Gate.

TALIESIN: I say Find the Path is a last--

MARISHA: Yeah, last ditch effort.

TALIESIN: If everything goes wrong.

LAURA: Okay.

SAM: Wait, what do you mean, everything goes wrong? Don't we have two choices here, we don't know which way to go?

LAURA: We don't know which way to go. This could lead us down a completely wrong labyrinth.

SAM: This is it.

TRAVIS: Yeah, it's either the tu-- well, yeah.

MATT: You do see, the hallway that you're looking into right now opens up into another room beyond, and you can see another wall at the edge of your visual range, so there does appear-- unless that room goes into other directions, it's not a continued hallway.

LAURA: Oh, okay.

LIAM: Let's just stick our head in and look around.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: Okay.

TRAVIS: Let's do that.

LIAM: Instead of arguing.

SAM: Who wants to go in?

LIAM: I'll go.

SAM and LAURA: What?!

LAURA: That doesn't make any sense.

SAM: You're fricking crazy.

TRAVIS: I'll go.

TALIESIN: Send a couple of--

ASHLEY: Oh, I'll go, I'll go, I'll go.

SAM: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't want you to go alone.

LIAM: Yeah, you walk in front of me, please.

ASHLEY: Okay.

TALIESIN: Should a couple of us stay on the inside of the door?

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: Okay. So who's going into the chamber, hallway? Got it.

LIAM: Only because I can read.

LAURA: This is the one that he just-- I'll go as well.

MATT: So Jester, Yasha, and Caleb?

LAURA: I've got Arty, nothing can hurt me.

LIAM: Nothing can hurt Sprinkle.

TALIESIN: I think we're all going inside the door, but, like, not all of us are going past that.

MATT: Got it, okay. So you're all staying in the hallway that leads towards that area, and the three of you are--

LAURA: And we're going through the door that we just opened? Or we're going into the room at the far end?

MATT: As far as I know, you guys are going into the room you just opened.

LAURA: Got it, yes.

LIAM: Yeah, door opens, then--

LAURA: Yes, I know, that's what we're doing.

MATT: So, you squeeze through one at a time, that opening.

LAURA: But you knew that.

MATT: Find your way through. Yes, indeed. Right there with you. The three of you, as you step within, the smell in here is different. There's an earthy elemental scent to it. It's hard to describe. And, as you enter this room, it is, indeed, 20 by 20 feet. There does not appear to be a secondary exit. It is a contained chamber. It in some ways reminds you of the construction of the R 01, R 02 chamber that you had lept from not too far from here, though its layout's a little bit different. First, the walls in here, as you glance around, have a strange texture to them, and they are just continuous without any sort of additional grooves, or any other design to it, and, upon looking around, you put your finger across it, and, looking at your hand, there's a slight residue left on them.

LIAM: Does the residue smell like the water?

MATT: It does not.

LIAM: Okay.

MATT: Go ahead and make, any two of you, make an intelligence check.

LIAM: Just add the modifier.

LAURA: Aw, it bounced up, and bounced off, that's not cool.

LIAM: 17.

MATT: 17?

LAURA: Plus-- No, no, this is terrible.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: Yeah, this is-- that's a eight.

MATT: Gotcha. No worries. These walls are lined in lead.

ASHLEY: I was just going to taste it, but I will leave it alone. (laughter)

TRAVIS: (chomp)

TALIESIN: I respect the impulse. (laughter)

ASHLEY: I'll tell you what it is. (dying noise)

MATT: You do see a multitude of material containers that are now askew and scattered across the floor, mostly broken. The water does not quite come all the way into here, so most of the floor here is dry, separate than the other chamber. It's at a slight angle, with whatever impact, it's been jostled from its initial placement. You do see, similar to the Rejuvenation Chamber before, another raised platform with some sort of casing and arcane construction affixed to its base, somewhat bulky and unrefined, which is odd. Most other forms of arcane constructions and/or enchantment-containing materials you've seen throughout Aeor, especially within this ward, have a level of refinement that is fairly consistent. But the previous chamber, the Rejuvenation Chamber, and even moreso this one, things appear a little more... experimental. There are no glass tubes in this one, but there is a deeply intricate runic circle sitting atop the raised platform here, where a lot of these devices, it seems, are surrounding.

LAURA: Do you understand the runes?

LIAM: It's not language, so it's arcane language.

MATT: It is not language.

LIAM: Does it resemble anything from my experience?

MATT: Make an arcana check.

LIAM: Come on.

TRAVIS: Let's go!

LAURA: Can I give him guidance? Since I know that he's checking it out?

MATT: Yeah, I'll allow it.

LAURA: I give you Guidance.

LIAM: 31.

TRAVIS: Fuck!

TALIESIN: Wah!

SAM: D-damn.

TRAVIS: Woo!

MATT: 31.

TALIESIN: Didn't know it could go that high.

MATT: You've-- This is like if you had stumbled upon, after years and years of studying the greatest poets, finding the lost tome of the greatest poet ever. There is something about this circle that is unlike anything you've seen, and, while firmly based in transmutation, there's a level of intricacy that even you are having a hard time to grasp at first, until you realize, it's because it's not based in pure transmutation. It's a merger of transmutation and elements of dunamancy. In fact, with a 31, is heavily based in temporal alteration.

LAURA: (gasps) (gasps)

SAM: That means temperature.

LAURA: Yeah. Can you make it warmer in here?

LIAM: I wonder if Athodan stood in here once.

LAURA: Who's Athodan?

LIAM: We just learned about him up above in the records room.

LAURA: Oh, right.

ASHLEY: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Should I go get Essek?

LIAM: I'm memorizing the shit out of this. Yeah, that'd be a good idea.

LAURA: Oh, right. (gasps) Oh my gosh. You could recreate this later, and then open up a portal into--

ASHLEY: I kind of speed walk.

LAURA: -- fifth dimension.

ASHLEY: Essek!

MATT: "Yes?"

ASHLEY: Come here.

MATT: "All right."

ASHLEY: Something interesting.

MATT: Squeezes through the opening, and follows you into the chamber, looks down at, like, the scattered papers and grabs a couple, and looks over at you.

LIAM: See anything familiar?

MATT: He glides forward, and starts looking over it in a very curious way, and then his eyes go wide, and then he gets down, like, on his hands and knees looking at it, and glancing about.

LAURA: I give him Guidance. (laughter) (

MATT: rummaging through dice) (laughter) (laughter)

MATT: "I've had theories... but--"

LIAM: What are the machines all around this circle?

MATT: From what you can see around, a lot of them-- some of them appear to be the equivalent of an arcane seismograph. They are record keeping, and reading fluctuations in arcane energy, some of them even in different schools of magic, like there was some sort of tweaking and turning of knobs to see where a specific balance was, in some way. You can see the paper that Essek grabbed, and he looks down, and starts rummaging through some of the scattered notes, and small leather-bound books, starts glancing through. "This device borrows a lot of tenants of dunamis development, which even further confirms that Aeor was dabbling in some familiar territory. Maybe there's something here we can find." And he just starts to go rummaging through stuff.

LIAM: And there's refuse, and shattered stuff around?

MATT: Yeah, there's material containers, component containers that have been shattered and left to rot.

LIAM: I'll start searching for anything written in here.

MATT: Okay, make an investigation check with advantage because of Yasha's help.

TRAVIS: With Essek going outside, I'm going to walk about 25 yards back the way we came, and just take a knee, and listen.

MATT: Make a perception check.

TALIESIN: I'm sitting at the door, listening as well.

SAM: I'm coming with you.

TRAVIS: Okay.

LAURA: I'm going to help look for anything that isn't broken in the room.

MATT: Okay, make an investigation check. So first, perception checks.

TRAVIS: 18.

TALIESIN: 12.

MATT: Seems fairly clear.

SAM: I'm with them, and I can also see anything invisible within 10 feet of--

MATT: Indeed.

SAM: Or at least hear it.

MATT: Nothing.

SAM: Okay, okay, okay.

LIAM: Natural 20 for a total of 31.

TALIESIN: (blows raspberry)

MATT: A lot of these are just general logs, like, day-to-day logs, quick notes about findings, adjustment of channeling. Actually, you would-- Things referring to the primal artifact.

SAM: Primal artifact.

MATT: But what catches your attention is one of these thick log books, you open up, and within a quick glance through, there is an image that immediately catches yours and Essek's attention. It is a 12-sided object.

MARISHA: There it is.

MATT: To where, within, you can see artistic renditions of starscapes within.

MARISHA: (chuckles)

MATT: And as your spell is still there, it speaks of development between Athodan and Archmage Ayoshadaf.

LIAM: Ayoshadaf.

MATT: And their study of the primal artifact, channeling the seemingly limitless source of temporal transmutation that is still vastly untapped. He believes one can anchor a point in one's history, and temporarily shunt oneself there.

LAURA: (gasps)

TRAVIS: Fucking time travel.

LAURA: Oh my god, they're Aeorians.

MATT: If successful, expansion to designating anchor points beyond one's own timeline may be possible.

LAURA: (gasps)

MARISHA: Mm-hmm, temporal alteration.

LIAM: And this is indicating this can be done with the beacons.

TRAVIS: Don't give the wizard this.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

MATT: It's indicating that this device--

LIAM: Here before us.

MATT: -- right before you was the beginning experimental stages of sussing this out.

TALIESIN: T-Dock.

TRAVIS: No, oh no.

MATT: You continue to read on, because you rolled super fucking high. It speaks on the experimentation process, after initial development, that an echo of the individual is left behind when they transfer, a shadowed echo that is the anchor of them to their own timeline, while they're shunted into their own.

LIAM: So echo in present, full self in--

MATT: Keeping them connected in their timeline.

LAURA: That's why they're in the bubbles? The echo is in the bubbles, you think?

MARISHA: That's 100% what it is.

MATT: You don't know about that specifically. This is dealing with this scenario.

LAURA: Okay, okay, okay.

MATT: There could be connections.

LIAM: Related.

MATT: That may require a lot more time and research. As you continue, perhaps.

TRAVIS: Plus, you could fuck with an anchor.

MATT: Further logs speak of mages experimenting with the Temporal Dock.

SAM: A T-Dock!

MATT: Which is the T-Dock.

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: Only spending a few seconds in transit, but the physical stress already proving worrying. Later experiments lament the individuals spending longer than predetermined within the dock, ending with the echo fading, and the individual never to return. And then the final notes complain of challenges in acquisition for funding and approval for continued research, and that's where the logs end.

SAM: (scoffs) They never fund science enough.

MARISHA: It's true.

SAM: They just don't.

LIAM: I look to Essek and say: Unbelievable, isn't it? Except I don't say it, I accidentally just think it.

MATT: He kind of-- "Like I said, it confirms some of my theories on both sides. If one could change the past..."

LIAM: It's-- It's interesting.

MATT: "A chance to correct mistakes. It's alluring, regardless of how dangerous."

LIAM: Not enough to go on. Curious.

ASHLEY: Yes, yes, yes, yes, not enough to go on.

LIAM: Curious.

LAURA: Yes, I agree. I concur?

MATT: "Indeed."

LAURA: Indeed.

LIAM: How big is that log book?

MATT: From what you see, it's maybe about 50 pages.

LIAM: I take it.

MATT: Okay. "Perhaps, if we survive this, we can return and--"

LAURA: And change the past?

MATT: "Exchange theories."

LAURA: (whispering) Does that mean what I think it means? Is he coming onto you?

LIAM: I think: What do you think it means?

LAURA: I think he's coming onto you.

LIAM: She hears: It's complicated.

LAURA: (gasps)

LIAM: Well, we have a task at hand here, ja? I pick up a little bit of-- a small piece of rubble from the room, and add it to my waypoints.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: By the way, speaking of small piece of rubble, this is why Find the Path wouldn't work. We talked about it last time. You have to have something from the place in order to get there, which is so weird.

SAM: You can't just be familiar with it?

LAURA: No, you have to have an item from that location.

TRAVIS: You got to earn that HUD point.

SAM: Maybe-- do we have something?

LAURA: But, like, if you have an item from that location--

SAM: But do we have something?

LAURA: Do we have something?

SAM: Maybe.

LIAM: Do we have something of Lucien-- Molly's, maybe?

TRAVIS: Ask your weasel.

LAURA: Does it count?

MATT: It's right about this time, Fjord.

TRAVIS: Hmm?

MATT: That you hear--

TRAVIS: (radar beeping)

MATT: From the direction of where you had traveled from, (grunting) (water splashing)

TRAVIS: Oh, shit.

MARISHA: Shit, we got to go.

TRAVIS: (quietly) Can you send a message?

SAM: Yep. I do so. I pick out the wire and I will send a message to Capeleb.

LIAM: (grunts)

SAM: Saying: Hey, don't come out. There is a monster, and it is coming toward us, so don't come out of the closet.

LIAM: Uh? That's what I say back.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: You can groan-reply to this message.

LAURA: Oh no.

SAM: So are we the only two in the hallway?

TRAVIS: Yeah, correct.

SAM: Or was Caduceus out there, too?

TRAVIS: Oh, yeah, sorry.

MATT: Caduceus was in the hallway between them. You guys were out towards the central hallway.

SAM: And then where's Beau?

MARISHA: Which means I'm still right in between the door and the hall. I'm in between two parties.

MATT: Correct.

MARISHA: Again.

SAM: You're in the splash zone, like, it's going to get to you first, right?

ALL: No.

MATT: No, it would get to you both first.

SAM: Oh.

TRAVIS: We're the farthest away.

MARISHA: Then me, then them.

TRAVIS: Like, 25 yards from everybody else.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

TRAVIS: Feet, sorry.

MARISHA: I could probably see them, right? They're just down the hall a bit?

MATT: Yeah.

MARISHA: So I can see you, I'm just not with you.

MATT: 30, 35 feet from you at the most.

TRAVIS: We can try and move backwards.

LIAM: Face feels hot.

MARISHA: Warm?

TRAVIS: We'll back up, we'll back up.

SAM: But it'll follow us, and that'll lead it to our--

TRAVIS: It's coming this way anyway.

SAM: Should we set a trap?

TRAVIS: Do you have a trap?

SAM: I have a bomb.

TRAVIS: Fluffernutter?

SAM: That's loud, though. If it hunts in packs.

MARISHA: Very loud.

TRAVIS: Oh, that's true. (laughs) Let's just back up.

MATT: All right, have both of you roll stealth checks for me.

SAM: Marine Layer?

TRAVIS: I want to, but it fucks me every time.

LAURA: Can you use, like, Control Water, and shove it off to them?

SAM: Oh, make your ice wall!

LAURA: Or just make it a tidal wave that forces it off the side.

TRAVIS: It's two inches of water.

LAURA: So what? You can control the water. Make it a bigger wave.

TRAVIS: We experienced this with Keyleth, and that is not going to knock anything out of the aqueduct. It'll be like, (splash).

LIAM: What a callback.

MARISHA: It's true.

TRAVIS: I learned.

MARISHA: He has a point.

TRAVIS: Tidal Wave against Thordak, wasn't it?

MARISHA: Yeah, I thought it was going to be really cool, and it wasn't, yeah.

SAM: I can turn five-- I can turn a five-square-foot part of the water slightly warmer. (laughter)

ASHLEY: By peeing?

LIAM: It's like peeing, that's it.

SAM: No, it's a spell, or I could pee, that would be faster, actually.

MATT: You got options.

MARISHA: To be fair, Thordak was fucking massive.

TRAVIS: He was, he was.

MARISHA: Fucking massive.

ASHLEY: Can you hide behind in the door?

SAM: We're going to slowly back up, back towards where we were.

MATT: Okay, whoever's backing up, which currently right now would be just you two? Go ahead and make stealth checks, please.

LAURA: Oh god!

TRAVIS: 17.

SAM: 26.

MATT: 26. You both quietly back up to where the rest of the group is. You can just faintly hear the (breathes heavily), but it's not becoming any louder.

SAM: Should we duck into the room?

TRAVIS: I'd just stay, no movement.

SAM: But what if it comes? It'll see us. We should duck in the room so that it'll just walk on by.

TRAVIS: If it comes in the room, then we're fucked.

SAM: But we'll be in the room, we can shoot out of it. Or we can disguise the gap in the door.

TRAVIS: Sure, let's go-- Yeah, yeah, let's do it.

SAM: Guys, hey, there's a creature!

MARISHA: What?

SAM: There's a creature.

MARISHA: Oh, we should probably just duck in this door, then.

SAM: That's what I said.

MARISHA: Right, yeah, let's do that.

SAM: Okay, let's duck in. Caduceus, are you here? Okay, cool. (laughs)

TRAVIS: I definitely have extinguished the sword and everything.

MATT: Yeah.

TRAVIS: If we do go in the room, I'll say: Caleb, lights out.

LIAM: I don't have any lights on.

TRAVIS: Oh, I thought you had a ball.

LIAM: I see in the dark now.

TRAVIS: Oh, fine, you fucker!

SAM: We can probably see in the dark, too. Can we-- Marine Layer!

TRAVIS: No!

SAM: So that if it looks in, it can't see anything.

TRAVIS: Fuck you!

LAURA: Shut up! We've gotten in trouble before with you being too loud!

SAM: I'm just saying, Marine Layer. It's the one thing! Or we can put up a fake door. I have-- I have an illusion.

LAURA: Then do it! Why don't you set a noise out behind it so it chases off in the other direction?

TRAVIS: I have it.

SAM: Oh, I can just throw something.

LAURA: Oh, that'll work!

MARISHA: I just slowly go--

SAM: I cast Mage Hand--

MARISHA: And close the door.

TRAVIS: No, it's all rusted, it'll be loud!

MARISHA: Oh, is it loud?

LAURA: It's a thing.

MATT: Make a strength check.

TRAVIS: Goddamn it!

LIAM: Oh, it's a Star Trek door?

MARISHA: I'm not going to do that.

LAURA: It's a Star Trek door. (hisses)

MARISHA: I thought it was just a hanging door.

MATT: No, no.

TRAVIS: Remember it was like-- (squeak)

MATT: It slid into the doorway.

MARISHA: No.

MATT: Partway.

SAM: With Mage Hand, I can just throw something down the hall?

LAURA: Yeah!

TRAVIS: Just do it!

LAURA: Throw something off of the waterfall, but make it make a noise!

SAM: Give me something!

TALIESIN: We're nowhere near that, you'd have to go all the way round.

TRAVIS: Give her your staff!

LAURA: No, no, no! Take one of the-- it's one of those disco sticks. It's a rave stick, make the Mage Hand light it up and then, after it passes by.

MARISHA: Yasha?

ASHLEY: Yeah?

MARISHA: Your hair looks really great.

SAM: I'll send the Mage Hand out--

MARISHA: Yeah, humidity in here, I think it's--

SAM: 60 feet, 59 feet away.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: Down the hall, past.

LAURA: No, past us? No!

SAM: I don't know!

LAURA: Make it go back over the waterfall!

SAM: Okay. I'm sending it back. But I'm not breaking the rave stick yet. I'm just holding it.

MATT: Okay, so the Mage Hand just drifts into the darkness. What's your--

SAM: Oh, it can only go 30 feet, shit! (laughter)

MATT: So as you drift it out into the middle of the dark shadowed hall where you all came from, it just floats there 30 feet from you. (laughter)

LIAM: Just a beacon.

MARISHA: Yep! (laughs)

SAM: Put it right on the side or down in the water, down in the water!

MATT: The water begins to break--

LIAM: The water's going--

MATT: -- over it.

LIAM: (rave noises)

SAM: Up on the ceiling, up on the ceiling!

MATT: It's not lit yet, thankfully. (laughs)

ASHLEY: (laughs) The water!

SAM: Okay, it's just waiting, just in case.

TALIESIN: This is the worst case of we have to do something.

LIAM: Could the water carry it, though? If you lit it would it--?

SAM: Oh, it could!

LAURA: Send my duplicate!

SAM: Yeah!

LAURA: Wait, wait, why are we doing this? That can go way farther!

TRAVIS: What happened to just throwing something? Just throw something past it!

SAM: Okay, I'll just throw it, I'm throwing back the other way?

LAURA: No, you're throwing it over the waterfall!

LIAM: He's behind me, isn't he? (laughter)

ASHLEY: In the deep dark hole so they jump off.

SAM: Okay. I'm going to throw it over the waterfall if I can reach that far.

LAURA: But light it up!

MATT: Mage Hand does not have much strength to throw something, but you can throw it yourself if you'd like.

SAM: Okay, I'll go out the door.

LAURA: No, no, no!

SAM: How am I going to throw it over if I can't go out there to throw it?!

LIAM: This is like if we, us, not the characters, us were trying to save the world.

MARISHA: How have we ran a company successfully for the past how many--? (laughs)

TALIESIN: Pure luck.

SAM: Wait, I've got a crossbow!

LIAM: We have our plusses.

SAM: I can just shoot it.

LAURA: Yeah, do that!

TALIESIN: Don't, oh--

ASHLEY: Shoot the rave stick?

LAURA: No, to shoot the rave stick over the side.

SAM: Okay, Mage Hand's coming back.

TALIESIN: Am I the only one who knows that we can't see the waterfall at all right now?

MATT: Correct.

TALIESIN: Okay. I'm the one who-- okay, that's good.

SAM: Can we see the waterfall?

TALIESIN: No! We're three corners around!

TRAVIS: Yeah, it curved, right?

MATT: From the main hallway, the hallway continues down the steps, descending to the main chamber. You can see into the chamber when you're in the main hallway. But you do not have enough visual range to see the actual waterfall.

TALIESIN: It would only call them to us.

SAM: I do this when I shoot, it curves, right?

MATT: Right, right, yeah.

SAM: Is that how that works?

MATT: Yes, the bullets.

TRAVIS: Maybe we just wait and see what it does.

LAURA: Or maybe we just walk out and walk away.

MARISHA: Why don't we just walk away? We could have been a mile from it from now!

LAURA: Let's just keep walking away from it.

TRAVIS: Because we'd have to make stealth checks.

LAURA: Okay, I'll cast Pass Without a Trace and let's go!

MARISHA: Okay!

TRAVIS: Okay.

LAURA: Okay. Bye, guys!

MATT: So is that the plan?

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Holy crap. (laughter)

SAM: We're just going to slowly walk away?

ASHLEY: Yeah, but now they're even closer, probably.

LIAM: Worse! Yes, we took three minutes to achieve nothing.

SAM: But we could block the way with Marine Layer!

TRAVIS: (screams) No! (laughter) You'll just see-- (hisses) and then you'll hear-- (footsteps). Drop it, drop it, drop it! (laughter)

MATT: So what's the plan?

SAM: We're just going to walk?

TRAVIS: Yes.

MARISHA: Yeah!

SAM: Okay.

TALIESIN: Pass Without a Trace.

ASHLEY: We don't need anything else in here? This is good? We're good.

LAURA: We're good. I'm going to cast-- okay, here's the thing. Here's what's going to happen. That's a concentration, I can't do Pass Without a Trace and Invoke Duplicity, so it's either or.

TALIESIN: I think it's Pass Without a Trace.

LAURA: Okay, Pass Without a Trace. Everybody!

MATT: All right, everyone make a stealth check, please.

TRAVIS: How long does it last for?

LAURA: I don't know!

MARISHA: Like an hour, right?

TALIESIN: Do we want to leave a rave stick in the room?

LIAM: Plus 10, right?

LAURA: Yeah, it's a plus 10, and, who needs it, Blessing of the Trickster? Who's the worst?

LIAM: What is it?

MARISHA: I'm pretty bad.

LIAM: Mine's not great.

SAM: Blessing of the Sprinkle?

MARISHA: I have a higher base, I'll be 23 in total.

LIAM: I'm much lower than that.

LAURA: Cast Blessing of the Trickster.

LIAM: What's that, advantage?

LAURA: Yes.

LIAM: Better. Not much better.

TRAVIS: 23.

LIAM: Oh, it is better, yeah.

MATT: Essek got a 30.

LAURA: Ooh!

TRAVIS: Ooh! He'd better, he fucking floats.

LAURA: Jester got a 30 as well!

MATT: Nice.

LIAM: 24, thanks to Blessing of the Trickster.

SAM: 39.

ASHLEY: 24.

TALIESIN: 30.

MARISHA: 23.

MATT: That's some great rolls.

LAURA: Nice.

MATT: As you all-- and it is one at a time squeezing through the doorway into the hallway, each of you can make out the-- (animal grunting) and with that proximity, you recognize the sounds. Those larger, furless, skinless-looking bear-like creatures that you had fought not long ago. There's one maybe about 15 feet beyond the hallway that you're standing in, 15 feet from where the stairs ascend just stalking around, but it doesn't seem to take note of you as one by one, you all begin to enter the hallway. Hear it, see it, and back up further into the hall where you guys were heading towards.

LIAM: We haven't reached that point yet, and it is where we were initially?

MATT: Correct.

LIAM: Thank you.

MATT: So what's the marching order now? Same?

TRAVIS: Same, I think.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MARISHA: That works.

MATT: All right.

LAURA: But are we having to go one at a time or is it--?

MATT: No, you're back into the wider hallway.

LAURA: Okay, yeah.

LIAM: I'll actually stay near the rear this time.

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: In case I need to fill the hallway with death.

TALIESIN: Those bears don't have, projectile, any magic or anything like that?

LIAM: The Care Bears? Sure they do.

TALIESIN: They do, okay.

MATT: These ones do not, you don't recall.

LIAM: I was talking about the Care Bears.

MATT: Oh, the Care Bears, yes.

LIAM: Yeah, it comes out of their tummy.

MATT: Yeah, they do. The Stare.

TALIESIN: Anti-magic Stare.

MATT: Powerful and comes back on a five or six every turn. All righty.

TALIESIN: (laughs)

LAURA: Oh, I'm going to hand an oops-stone to Caleb. You can--

LIAM: The stinky one?

LAURA: Yeah, you can drop it at the back of the pack.

LIAM: Oh, that's a good idea.

LAURA: It'll keep people-- hopefully they won't want to enter the area for at least 10 minutes.

LIAM: Yeah, if they have a really good smell then this is maybe especially potent.

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: Thank you, I think.

SAM: Do you need your rave stick back, or--?

LAURA: I've got so many rave sticks, don't you worry.

SAM: Okay.

MATT: Actually, I checked on your inventory and it's like, celebone, celebone, celebone, celebone, celebone, celebone.

LAURA: Oh yeah.

MATT: It's like, ha ha, that's right!

LAURA: 20 oops-stones, 20 celebones. Shit ton of chuckle dust, I'm good.

MATT: The important stuff.

LIAM: All your Skyrim wheels of cheese?

LAURA: Yes.

TALIESIN: Trying to make some money at the rave.

MATT: Indeed.

TALIESIN: Glow stick, glow stick?

MATT: All righty, so. Backing up and heading towards the rest of the left turn that's heading southward in the hall. It continues on for another 30 or so feet, but you can see now there are statues set on each side of the chamber, though some of them have fallen and broken and a lot of whatever remnants and broken chunks that may have been set free have since long washed away and you can see the same... darkening, elemental gathering where the water has been touching it for some time as the water continues to rush. And the hall is a very, very faint side angle and you can see the level's a little bit uneven from where you're standing. There is an open hall to the right and a partially ajar door across where the hallway ends about 30 feet ahead of you.

MARISHA: So another offshoot door, essentially?

MATT: There's an open archway.

LIAM: A new door and a new passageway.

MATT: Another hallway that goes this way. And then a door ahead that is partially open.

LAURA: Okay.

TRAVIS: Got to check the partially open.

SAM: Well, let's go look in the door, right?

MARISHA: Yeah.

LIAM: Got to.

MARISHA: Once again, any writing above it? Any boopies?

MATT: Writing above both, the archway that leads into the hall to the right and writing in the kitchen above.

SAM: What's it say?

LIAM: Comprehend Languages is still up.

MATT: Indeed. Across from you where the partially open door, you do see it says "Kitchen." And the hall to the right says "Common Area."

TRAVIS: And the water flow's coming from the common area?

MATT: Correct.

TALIESIN: You'd think the kitchen.

MARISHA: Someone left the sink on?

LIAM: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Any difference in the ceiling or the water level?

TALIESIN: That's going to be expensive.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LIAM: I'm just going to rinse these Brussels sprouts, I'll be right back! (laughter)

MATT: The water level, no, but you do see the water is rushing from that area into this tunnel and is now spreading amongst both sides, but appears to mostly be flowing in the direction from where you traveled.

TRAVIS: And is the ceiling in this area changed or opened up or gotten higher or anything?

MATT: No, it's a continuation of the previous hall.

TRAVIS: Cool.

LAURA: We need to keep moving.

TRAVIS: Half open door.

LIAM: Just in case.

TALIESIN: I'll admit the common area does sound interesting.

LAURA: That's where the water's coming from.

MARISHA and LIAM: That's where we're going.

MARISHA: But peek in the kitchen first, I guess?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: Just a couple of peeks.

LIAM: See some 2000 year-old food.

MATT: Who's peeking in first?

LAURA: Beau.

MARISHA: I'll peek in.

MATT: All right, Beauregard, make a perception check.

LAURA: I'm going to pat her back and give you Guidance!

MARISHA: I'll take it! Oh, thanks, Jess. 18, that was--

MATT: 18, slick. Okay, glancing inside, you see--

MARISHA: Wait, Guidance is advantage, right?

MATT: No, Guidance is a 1d4.

MARISHA: Add a d4, thank you, thank you.

LAURA: You did it right?

MARISHA: I did it right.

MATT: Okay. An absolutely ruined, smallish kitchen lies still with counters and stove-like installations that are overturned and broken. You see hundreds of shards of fine dishware and broken ceramic materials just scattered along the floor and piled up to where the water only comes to a certain point. It seems like the angle that this hall is at, the water only gets to a certain, maybe three or four feet into the entryway before some of the rubble closes it off, or the angle doesn't carry it any higher. You do see the remains of a few individuals. Heavily dismembered, long dead.

TRAVIS: Dismembered?

MATT: And-- you rolled-- was it 17?

MARISHA: 18.

MATT: 18, yeah. You also see on the opposite corner, curled up in two various sections, these red and teal-colored panther-like beings that are in a wrapped resting state with a fleshy, muscle-like tail that ends in a singular eye. The eye phased out, twitching on occasion.

TRAVIS: Marine Layer!

MATT: Glancing around. But they're both not moving, curled in on themselves. Seemingly just resting.

MARISHA: I just very slowly-- I don't even want to touch the door, just turn to everybody.

ASHLEY: (whispering) No snacks?

MARISHA: (whispering) We would be the snacks.

SAM: Do they have a KitchenAid in there? With a breadmaker attachment?

MARISHA: It's out of commission.

SAM: Okay.

MARISHA: Yeah.

SAM: Those are valuable.

ASHLEY: I mean, if they're this good with magic, they probably have a box that you can open and it's just a full meal. Magic food.

SAM: Yeah!

MARISHA: That full meal has been had.

SAM and ASHLEY: Okay.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: Keep going?

MARISHA: Cooks have been cooked.

LAURA: Common area?

MARISHA: Common area, yeah.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: And just back away.

MATT: Okay, the same stealth checks remain. Nothing has been broken or noticed.

LAURA: Great.

MATT: You head back and head into the hallway that leads towards what was labeled as the common area. There's only a few steps about 10 feet in that lead up, once more the water pouring down like small waterfalls before you slowly step up into a room that has light. This one has the orange-ish yellow overhead arcane orbs, though they've been long dying and left pale, some flickering, like they're just about to expire the last bit of arcana that has kept them going for the thousand years.

LAURA: I mean, those things are pretty strong to last this long.

MARISHA: Yeah.

SAM: Mm-hmm.

MATT: Before wizards did planned obsolescence enchanting.

MARISHA: Planned obsolescence, it's real.

MATT: It's a problem. But this wide room is approximately an L-shape from where you enter before it turns to the left. Inside you can see there are a handful of pillars beset to the side. The one across the way has fallen and crumpled. There is rubble everywhere. And maybe a half dozen or more tables that are overturned, some broken, some adjusted with some sort of chaotic impact of the city. Chairs and elements of what was once probably a vibrant common room and/or commissary-type chamber, that is left abandoned and in disarray. There are a number of corpses here as well. The moisture not allowing the same level of mummification that other corpses have been allowed and are in a much more decayed state. Mainly just skeletal and partially blackened by proximity. You see on the opposite wall, between where the two pillars were, next to the fallen one there is another hallway that continues with, you can just barely see maybe a placard for text above it. And the L-shape of the hall continues to the left beyond where the right-hand wall goes.

LIAM: One more time. The common room is shaped like an L that goes to the left when we enter?

MATT: And you cannot see where the left-hand side of it is because the wall blocks the view of wherever that would go.

LIAM: But we do see--

MATT: You do see across the way there is an opening.

LIAM: Got it, and you mentioned a placard?

MATT: Yeah. Though you're too far to make out any details at the moment.

LAURA: And can we see where the water is coming from in this room?

MATT: It's flowing your direction.

LIAM: So from around the bend?

MATT: It could be. You probably have to get closer to look.

TRAVIS: Let's get in there.

LIAM: Yeah.

LAURA: We keep walking forward.

LIAM: And not just the placard, I'm going to scan the room for anything written anywhere.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: I'm going to scan the room for anything living.

MATT: Make a perception check.

LIAM: That is a 25.

MATT: 25. Okay. Checking the wall, looking, you do see the placard ahead. You make out the text "Immensus Hall" on that placard. Just as your eye peaks down towards the standing pillar in the rubble there, you see a faint pulsing glow of what you immediately recognize to be a hovering, triangular, pyramid-like device.

LIAM: Oh--

MATT: (explosion)

MARISHA: Glyph.

MATT: I need everyone to go ahead and make a saving throw.

TRAVIS: Oh!

MARISHA: Shit!

TRAVIS: They gave us a taste of our own fucking medicine. We ain't in front, he is.

SAM: Oh no.

TRAVIS: What kind of saving throw?

MATT: I'm going to look it up right now.

SAM: Constitution?

LAURA: Oh no.

TRAVIS: Wow!

SAM: Oh no.

ASHLEY: Oh.

SAM: An intuit charge.

MARISHA: Did it look like an intuit charge?

MATT: It was an intuit charge, set for proximity detonation. Sorry, I'm pulling it up right now.

TRAVIS: We're all up in that.

LIAM: Psychic damage.

SAM: It says DC intelligence check.

MATT: Well, to check it. For the actual check.

SAM: Oh that's to set it.

MATT: Make a wisdom saving throw from all of you.

MARISHA: Wisdom save.

TRAVIS: Man.

MARISHA: And this isn't something that you can use Evasion from, Matt?

MATT: No.

TRAVIS: Where's my big one? Come here.

MATT: Evasion is dexterity, right?

MARISHA: Yes.

LAURA: Did you get a natural 20?

TRAVIS: Is that for real?

LIAM: No, but high.

LAURA: I rolled high.

TALIESIN: I rolled high.

MATT: Okay, so let me roll the damage here for a second. Hey, you guys set the precedent.

MARISHA: I'm going to keep it.

LIAM: Saucy DM.

MATT: (chuckles)

MARISHA: Actually, no. I'm going to spend a ki point to reroll this.

LIAM: Get it, get it, get it, girl.

MARISHA: That's better. I will take that.

LAURA: No!

LIAM: No!

ASHLEY: He's smiling.

MARISHA: Yeah, he is.

LIAM: Oh no.

LAURA: It's a lot?

LIAM: Oh no, no, no.

MATT: I have never rolled so many 10s.

LIAM: You shut your mouth, Matthew Mercer!

MATT: I feel like I have to take a picture. They're all--

LIAM: You sit on a throne of lies!

TALIESIN: (laughs)

MATT: That would be 72 points of psychic damage to anybody who didn't roll a 20 DC.

TRAVIS: What happens if you roll a one?

ASHLEY: Well, yeah, I rolled a one.

MATT: So you take the full damage.

ASHLEY: Did we both--?

ASHLEY: I'm out.

MARISHA: You both rolled a one?

ASHLEY: I'm unconscious.

LAURA: You're unconscious?

ASHLEY: I only had 45 hit points.

LIAM: Barbie?

TRAVIS: You were down?

ASHLEY: I think from the--

MATT: From the previous fight.

ASHLEY: The previous fight.

MARISHA: But we slept!

ASHLEY: Because-- no.

MARISHA: Oh, you got--

LAURA: The Genesis Ward.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TRAVIS: We've been walking around with--

MARISHA: You got eaten.

TALIESIN: That's-- I can deal with that.

MARISHA: (laughs)

LAURA: How much damage-- is it half damage to anybody that had higher?

MATT: That rolled a 20 or higher on the wisdom save.

MARISHA: What's half damage on that one? 30--

MATT: I just said it was 70?

LIAM: 70 something.

LAURA: 72, I think.

MATT: 72 it was, yeah.

LIAM: So 36.

TALIESIN: 36?

MARISHA: 36. All right.

TALIESIN: Okay. Hold on.

SAM: What is-- I made my save.

TRAVIS: Yeah, it does other shit, though.

SAM: I have Evasion?

MATT: That's on dex-based, I believe, right?

SAM: Yeah, you're right.

LIAM: Dex only.

MATT: So 72 points of psychic damage. All of a sudden, there's a flash of white light and while you had never understood what it felt like on the receiving end, your mind is rocked with a searing white echoing pain. your mind is rocked with a searing white echoing pain. You, for a brief moment, can't even contemplate your existence. All you know is suffering. And as your body slowly begins to no longer be vibrating with absolute... desolation-- everyone who failed their saving throw--

LIAM: They're stunned for a minute.

MATT: They're stunned for a minute and can make a save every turn to try and reject it.

MARISHA: Everyone who failed?

MATT: Everyone who failed.

TALIESIN: Spare the Dying before anything happens.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: Anybody who's down, I'm just going to hit with Spare the Dying.

ASHLEY: Okay, okay, okay.

LIAM: I stand over Fjord right now, looking around for an incoming attack.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: Samesies.

TALIESIN: I'm also now going to heal you.

TRAVIS: Raise your hand if you're stunned.

ASHLEY: Well--

TALIESIN: Well, you're unconscious.

LAURA: You're the only ones that failed it.

TRAVIS: Okay.

SAM: Oh, we all made our saves!

ASHLEY: Nice job.

SAM: Wow.

MARISHA: Rolled a 24.

MATT: DC 20 is pretty good.

LAURA: I rolled a 29.

SAM: Rolled an 18.

LIAM: 25.

MATT: That's crazy.

SAM: I mean, 18 plus six, so 24.

MARISHA: Yeah, I rolled a 15.

TALIESIN: I'm going to-- 4th-level or 3rd-level, what do you think?

ASHLEY: Just do third.

LAURA: Of what, Cure?

ASHLEY: Just do third because--

LAURA: We could take-- we're going to have to take a rest for Heroes' Feast.

MARISHA: Yes.

TALIESIN: Okay.

MARISHA: You can burn some hit dice.

MATT: So, Caleb, as you're glancing over you look and the other side of the L chamber--

TALIESIN: You get 21 hit points.

MATT: You can see a smaller doorway. And it is like a door that slides in like the previous ones, but it's a smaller one and there is a label above it that says "Brume Lift."

LIAM: Brume lift? Are there umlauts?

MATT: B-R-U-M-E.

LIAM: B-R-U with an umlaut?

LAURA: Oh, I bet they took the elevator down.

MATT: It's a brume lift. As in brumestone.

MARISHA: Devexian said that the brume lift was out, so he was a goddamn liar.

LAURA: Well, there might not be an elevator in there, they might've found a way to just drop down.

SAM: Shut your mouth!

MARISHA: That's true.

TRAVIS: Or he had an intuit charge.

SAM: Devexian is the best!

MARISHA: What?

TRAVIS: No, that's too much.

MARISHA: Devexian?

LAURA: No--

SAM: Did that explosion make a loud noise?

MATT: It made no sound.

MARISHA: Never trust a sexy robot.

MATT: But you all just gradually and-- I'd like you both to make saves for me.

LAURA: I'm going to heal.

TRAVIS: There's only one Steve Rogers, goddamn it. Is it a wisdom save?

MATT: Wisdom, yeah.

LAURA: I'm going to hit Fjord with a level three Cure Wounds.

TRAVIS: 16.

LIAM: You going to hit that shit?

TALIESIN: If she went unconscious--

ASHLEY: 20 total.

MATT: Well, yeah, you're fine now, did you heal her?

TALIESIN: Once she was unconscious, yeah, I brought her back.

MATT: You said Spare the Dying, which keeps them from dying.

TALIESIN: And then I healed her.

MATT: Then you healed her? Okay. So yeah, you're no longer stunned, so you're conscious, coming to in horrible pain. And you remain stunned.

TRAVIS: 16, okay.

ASHLEY: That was not fun.

LAURA: You got-- wait, did I do that math right? 15. 15 plus seven?

TRAVIS: 22.

LAURA: 22, plus five?

TRAVIS: 27.

LAURA: That's a really good heal for a level three.

MATT: (growling)

SAM: Oh no.

MATT: You glance over the source of the sound, which is in the room you're in, you look over into the far corner to the right of where the larger entrance is. Still stunned.

ASHLEY: May I Healing Hands on myself?

MATT: You can, yes, you can. You see an opening or a pit of some kind in the far right hand of the chamber that has a metallic grate over it, though it appears to have been jostled a bit and is a little loose on its mooning. And you hear this deep alien growl that echoes from beneath the pit.

TRAVIS: Sarlacc! Rancor! Wrong one! The Star Wars monsters!

MARISHA: You said-- is the grate ajar enough to where something could get out of it?

MATT: It's possible.

LIAM: The sound's coming from under it?

MATT: Yeah. You also hear-- the three of you immediately splashing coming from the hallway where you guys came from. Remember, this is a 300-foot radius.

LAURA: Right.

MARISHA: I grab Yasha really quick and I just grab her and try and get her to her feet. We either run or we're fighting.

SAM: Which way are we running?

TRAVIS: (unintelligible noises)

LIAM: He's not moving.

LAURA: We can pick up Fjord.

MATT: You guys can glance and you see in the door where you came from across the way, one of those dog creatures with the eye at the end of its tail-- (groans)

LAURA: Oh, he's hurt! He took a lot of damage too.

LIAM: Oh, because it's 300 feet.

MARISHA: Right, let's go into the archway.

MATT: So, you're going over into the archway?

TRAVIS: And there's two more in the kitchen.

MARISHA: Right. I'm assuming--

MATT: That was coming from the direction of the kitchen.

LIAM: Yeah, these were hit in the kitchen.

MARISHA: I'm going to start moving towards the archway, personally.

LAURA: Same.

TALIESIN: Same.

SAM: We're just going to leave Fjord behind?

LAURA: No, I'm picking up Fjord!

MARISHA: We're grabbing our fallen.

MATT: Make another wisdom save for me, Fjord.

TRAVIS: Okay. Oh! 19 plus four, 23!

MATT: You shake off the stun.

LAURA: As I'm holding you. Oh, hi!

TRAVIS: Hey, hi.

LAURA: You want me to keep carrying you?

TRAVIS: Yeah, let's go!

LAURA: Okay.

MARISHA: Move.

MATT: Okay, you're moving into--?

MARISHA: Towards the archway that is talking about heading to the Immensus Hall.

MATT: Okay. As you duck down into this tight chamber, the stairs descend until the water gets to about waist level.

LAURA: Oh, of course.

TRAVIS: Please look for more charges!

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: You can go ahead and make a perception check.

MARISHA: Sure.

MATT: Since you are at the forefront of this.

MARISHA: This is not my fucking strong suit! Ooh, that was better though, 21.

MATT: 21, okay. As you get down in there, there is a heavy mist, sourceless, that gets heavier, denser and denser the further back it goes and this is a long, small tunnel. You can only maybe go about two at a time through this. And as you look beyond, there's all sorts of fallen rubble, bits of ceiling panels that have fallen that are causing the water flow to splash back. And you're pushing through the water a bit as it's coming up to about your waist. And you glance ahead and about a hundred feet ahead in the very faint glow in the mist, you can see other similar, slightly gyrating intuit charges.

TRAVIS: Fuck!

MARISHA: Far enough away?

MATT: About a hundred feet from you.

LIAM: 60-foot range to set them off.

MARISHA: Okay, so I stop everybody immediately. And point them out.

TRAVIS: They're not just proximity based.

MARISHA: Yeah, they can also be let go.

LIAM: One or the other, though.

MATT: As she points this out, you also hear on the other side of the chamber-- (growling)

TRAVIS: Oh, we got to go.

LIAM: In the chamber we just came into or in--

TRAVIS: Other side?

MATT: No, the chamber that you were just in, you have intuit charges ahead of you and you have--

ASHLEY: Monster behind us.

MATT: Hurt monsters behind you.

MARISHA: Monster jaws behind us. Yeah, we're sandwiched.

TRAVIS: We're fighting monsters.

MATT: Well, it's up to you guys, what do you want to do?

LIAM: I use Allura's Staff of Power to fill the archway that we just came through with a Wall of Force once everyone is through it.

TRAVIS: Or I could do the Gate!

MARISHA: Oh, to get us on the other side!

TRAVIS: Yeah!

LAURA: Do that!

TRAVIS: But I need to see-- I only have darkvision for 60 feet, how far away are the intuit charges?

LIAM: I just bought us 10 minutes of thinking time.

MATT: The first one's a hundred feet from you and the mist blocks your vision to even see the second one. You just see a faint glow in the mist of a similar light.

TRAVIS: I have to be able to see--

TALIESIN: Have to go real far.

TRAVIS: Yeah, I have to be able to see it.

LAURA: I can shoot-- does Dispel Magic--?

LIAM: I already did it. There is a Wall of Force blocking anything in that chamber that we just left from coming after us physically. So if there were mages, they could cast at us, but physically nothing can come through.

SAM: Can you send your duplicate ahead?

LAURA: I mean, yeah, but--

TALIESIN: It would still set off and hurt us.

LAURA: I don't think it would because it's not a living creature.

ASHLEY: But it's 300 feet?

SAM: It would still hurt us though, if it got set off.

LAURA: But I have to be able to see what my duplicate is doing.

TALIESIN: Is there a way to dispel them?

LIAM: That's what I'm thinking, I have Dispel Magic and it goes 120 feet.

SAM: We had these intuit charges. Do we know what--?

LAURA: Yeah, do we remember if Dispel Magic would work?

MATT: You don't know.

LIAM: How far does Mage Hand go?

SAM: 30 feet.

TRAVIS: Don't set it off.

LAURA: No.

SAM: You, Jester, you can get past it. You can Dimension Door past it.

LAURA: Yeah, but I have to see. I mean, I would have no idea where I'm Dimension Door-ing to.

SAM: You've got Sprinkle to guide you. He just puked on your shoulder, but--

TRAVIS: Dispel Magic's 120 feet?

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Use it. Try, find out, otherwise we're fighting monsters. Can't take this fight into the room. We'll get popped.

LAURA: Okay. I can do a level four. And how far are the two away from each other?

MATT: You can't quite see how far the the second one is because the mist that fills the chamber and blocks your vision, it makes it hard to see depth.

TRAVIS: Do you have Dispel Magic?

TALIESIN: It's not my bag. Well, actually wait.

MATT: At this distance, what you see is the one that's still-- you can see crisply some of the lights even though it is partially obscured by the mist.

TALIESIN: I do.

MATT: And you can see the second glow that's deep enough in where you can just see the glow, but you do not have a direct line of sight on it.

LAURA: Okay.

TRAVIS: If you guys both have 120, you should at least try one. Because if it doesn't work, then we're fighting these things.

LIAM: I can do the same and regain it back if we rest because I can draw on some energy.

LAURA: Oh, then maybe you should do it because we don't get our spells back at rests.

TALIESIN: Could we get close enough to it where you might be able to hit both of them in one shot?

LAURA: With a level four, you could try to get both.

SAM: How many monsters were there?

TALIESIN: Three minimum.

TRAVIS: At least.

SAM: And they're injured badly.

LIAM: It's one object, I can't do both, it specifically states one object.

SAM: Does anyone have the ability to charm or control the monster?

TRAVIS: Mm-hmm.

SAM: Yes?

LAURA: I can't control monsters.

SAM: Great, he just said yes.

TRAVIS: I do, but I thought when you Extracted Aspects it was immune to necrotic, fire, and charm?

MARISHA: It's immune to necrotic and--

TRAVIS: The eye did something.

LIAM: Radiant.

MARISHA: And radiant.

SAM: But that was one kind of monster, are these all the same kind of monster?

LIAM: So far, they're all.

MARISHA: They've all been immune to necrotic and radiant.

SAM: But we don't know what the Sarlacc monster is.

MARISHA: Well, if it's the panther-like thing with the eyeball then it's the nullifier, which we've already faced.

SAM: And it's also immune to charm?

MARISHA: Yeah, I got that.

LIAM: Twice she's got that.

MARISHA: I didn't say charm, all I got was-- I don't have those notes.

TALIESIN: I thought it was the same as the psychic, charmed, frightened, you just can't mess with the brain.

MARISHA: That's the Tomb Takers.

TALIESIN: Yeah, I thought it had a similar build, though.

MATT: The ones that you've gone against are the reverser and the absorber and the nullifier. The ones that you saw, the bear-like ones that were towards the ledge where you came in, which are the reversers, and the absorbers are the ones with the eye that are coming in from the kitchen. None of them are immune to charm. They're only immune to radiant and necrotic damage.

LAURA: Okay.

LIAM: So--

SAM: So we could charm one to go in for us.

LIAM: But it's 60 feet.

SAM: I know, I know.

LIAM: The distance to set off, was 300 feet.

SAM: We can back up.

MATT: Caleb, I would also like you to roll a d20.

LIAM: Okay, I just put a Wall of Force up.

TRAVIS: I could go for two.

LIAM: Eight.

TRAVIS: Monsters.

MATT: Okay. And you cast a level three Heal, correct?

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: I'd like you to roll a d20 for me.

LAURA: Two.

MATT: Okay, and you cast?

TALIESIN: A level two heal.

MATT: Then you're fine.

LIAM: To clarify, there's two intuit charges, you said?

LAURA: Yes.

MATT: There are two that you can see.

LIAM: One that's more visible than the other?

LAURA: We could try for the front one--

MATT: Yes.

LAURA: -- and then move forward a little bit, try for the second one.

LIAM: Yeah, we could do that.

MATT: One is partially obscured by mist, the other is heavily obscured by the mist. You can only tell it's there because of the faint bit of a similar light glow.

LIAM: I think I should try to dispel the first one. We could try to do the second. We could also try to gate and catch it in the Bag of Holding, through the door.

TALIESIN: That's a big risk.

LIAM: That's a lot.

MATT: You also don't have a Bag of Holding.

MARISHA: We don't have a Bag of Holding.

LAURA: I have a Haversack.

LIAM: Well, we can't do that. Why would you suggest that, Fjord?

LAURA: A Haversack is basically a Bag of Holding, just smaller.

MATT: Yeah, smaller pouches.

ASHLEY: I'm going to take out my--

TRAVIS: It's a terrible idea.

ASHLEY: -- the Holy Avenger, I'm just going to hold on to it.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: And I'll be facing the direction of the sound, just in case they come around.

LAURA: You try Dispel; if it works, can you regain more than one spell back on a short rest?

LIAM: No, I can regain back a certain amount, so.

TALIESIN: If we figure out it works--

LIAM: It's not bad. I should do it, if both are successful, great, I can get some of my mojo back. So I'm going to try it on the first.

MATT: So as you guys are doing this, by the way, the Wall of Force that Caleb put up is invisible. And you can see back into the archway, into the chamber where that overhead yellow light is still flickering on and off; that faint orangish-yellow glow in the chamber. And you can see coming around the corner, (growls) one of the panther-like creatures, and the eye spin as it (growls), runs and then hits the wall. You see an arcane wave off of it as it (growls) begins to stalk. And a second one comes up behind it; and like caged tigers, they're both paring back and forth, beyond that.

TRAVIS: The globe that you made around us is a radius or?

LIAM: It's not a globe, it's a wall that things cannot physically pass through.

TRAVIS: Okay. And the distance away from us is--?

LIAM: What do you mean?

TRAVIS: Like us, wall.

LAURA: It's right behind us.

LIAM: We're right there, we're in front of a glass.

TRAVIS: Got it.

LIAM: Invisible barrier.

TALIESIN: An aquarium.

LIAM: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Okay.

LIAM: It's like we're on the Nostromo right now.

MATT: You also see crawling into vision, behind them, one of the greenish-red bear creatures clawing along the wall.

TRAVIS: So three.

MATT: That also looks like it's a bit scrambled. It's (snarling), and it turns over, and you watch as a tentacle whips out and grabs it and pulls it out of view.

TRAVIS: Ooh!

MATT: From something else that seems to have crawled up from the chamber below.

SAM: And we don't recognize the tentacle?

LIAM: Does it look like the thing that almost got Fjord, stopping him from teleporting, in that one room? Bipedal, two footed little--

MATT: You do not, you could not be able to tell from that. It was very quick.

LAURA: Oh my god.

LIAM: That's what it is.

MATT: But immediately the two other creatures (growling).

SAM: Ooh, yeah, maybe they'll kill each other.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

MATT: And you begin to hear the sounds of combat happening within the previous chamber you were in.

SAM: Great, great.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, kill each other, kill each other!

TALIESIN: Let's not wait until there's a winner.

SAM: Ooh, wait, what about the dome?

TALIESIN: What about it?

MARISHA: Could we get in the dome?

SAM: Get in the dome and set off the intuit charge?

MARISHA: (laughs) Well, it-- but the--

LIAM: The wall will be down by the time the dome is up, but maybe they'll kill each other?

MARISHA: Does the dome protect--

LAURA: Let's just try to dispel the intuit charge first. Give it a try, give it a try.

TRAVIS: Can you do that and the Wall stays up?

LIAM: Yeah, the wall is from the-- Well, it's still concentra-- is it? Hold on.

LAURA: Dispel isn't a concentration.

LIAM: Wall of Force is concentration. No, it's not. Yes, it is. So I can't do any new concentration spells, but Dispel Magic is not concentration.

MATT: Indeed.

LIAM: So I will just try it on the first one. I will do it at 4th-level.

MATT: 4th-level? All right. As you reach out and concentrate on the charge, releasing the unraveling tethers of your arcana, the charge hovering and slowly revolving in place. The lights around it, the glow within its runes, flash brightly, and then (click, impacts) splash into the water below.

SAM: Okay, okay, okay.

LAURA: That's awesome.

SAM: Can you do that again?

LAURA: Cool, cool, cool.

TRAVIS: We're picking that motherfucker up.

TALIESIN: Do you want to, or?

MARISHA: Yeah, we are.

LIAM: Yes, we are.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LIAM: That's Solid Snake just (clicks). (laughter)

TALIESIN: I'm going to do--

TRAVIS: Just one of two that we can see.

TALIESIN: -- perception scan. Do we see anything else?

TRAVIS: Can you guys do-- how far is Detect Magic and shit?

TALIESIN: Oh.

SAM: 60?

TALIESIN: I've got a Detect Magic, that is--

MATT: Detect Magic is level one, I believe, right?

TALIESIN: Yeah, but I've got a use of it that's--

LAURA: Oh yeah, roll a d20.

MATT: Indeed.

SAM: Oh, shit.

LIAM: Eight.

MATT: Okay, you're fine.

TALIESIN: I've got a Detect Magic that's 30 feet, so maybe one more, a little further in. Actually, it stays up, doesn't it?

MATT: It is concentration again.

LIAM: Ten minutes, 30 feet.

TALIESIN: So I'll cast Detect Magic as we're moving forward.

MATT: Okay, all right. To remind you, too, you do detect beyond the equipment that's on you, there is still the armor and the weapon that you found from the security corpse previously.

LAURA: Oh, that we haven't identified!

LIAM: Well, the weapon wasn't the one that Veth has tried once?

MATT: Correct, that one.

LIAM: So, your newfangled Force Bolt.

TALIESIN: Is magic.

LIAM: Telekinesis crossbow?

TRAVIS: The blaster crossbow.

LIAM: Remember?

SAM: Oh that's right, I have a crossbow!

LIAM: And some unidentified space armor.

LAURA: Are we going to take an hour to do the Heroes' Feast?

LIAM: Not here.

LAURA: No, no, no, but--

LIAM: Hopefully.

SAM: What is that thing?

MARISHA: I would like to.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: I feel like it's clutch.

TALIESIN: 20 perception.

MATT: 20 perception. As you guys glance ahead, the water that is rushing towards you, there is-- you see a slight change in the path of it. You can see some of it is drifting into an opening to a side chamber down this hall. And this chamber goes into darkness beyond the faint orange or the faint bluish teal glow of the mist-obscured intuit charge.

TALIESIN: All right, let's get a little closer to this, then.

LAURA: ♪ Get a little closer ♪

TRAVIS: Will the wall stay up, no matter how far we move?

LIAM: It's concentration, so I think it stays.

MATT: It stays, for as long as it lasts.

LIAM: I'm going to-- I don't want to fuck around. I'm going to do another 4th-level Dispel and get rid of the second intuit.

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: As we get closer.

MARISHA: As we creep forward.

MATT: Okay. As you guys are creeping forward, you hear-- (heavy impacts) and you glance behind and you can see the edge of a creature coming into view. This bulbous-looking abomination, itself three elephant-like legs out of the side of a central fleshy body with an open-toothed mouth. You see it has this long tendril and this weird eye stalk, and it seems to have this long tentacle with these teeth-like extrusions out of the bottom of it. And it looks like it's got gashes all over it, and it's whipping around. And one of the small, panther-like creatures with the eye tail leaps onto it, as it (growls) rummages back and slams into a nearby wall out of sight. The battle continues to rage on behind you.

TRAVIS: T-Rex and velociraptor!

LAURA: There's a whole Kaiju battle happening over there. Pull out some popcorn.

TALIESIN: Let them fight. (laughter)

MATT: Continuing on, you begin to get nervous with proximity, but slowly you begin to take in a little bit more shape. Make a perception check for me, Caleb.

LIAM: Did I successfully Dispel the second charge?

MATT: We're getting to the point where you can see it enough to Dispel it.

LIAM: Okay, what am I rolling for?

MATT: Perception.

LIAM: Perception.

LAURA: Can I Guidance him?

MATT: Sure.

LIAM: I already rolled. Okay.

MATT: I'll allow you to Guidance him.

LIAM: Thank you, 18.

MATT: 18. You start getting to that nervous point where you're like, "Are we getting too close? We're getting too close." And then right as you begin to have that sense, you can just make out the fine detail of the runes, which is the part that you need to be able to see, to unravel the magic. You go ahead and cast it at what level?

LIAM: 4th.

MATT: 4th-level again. (whooshes)

SAM: Nice.

TRAVIS: Fucking yes!

SAM: There could be more, there could be more.

LAURA: Yeah, we look around for any glows.

MATT: Okay, glancing around, you don't see any additional glows, but what you do see is what Caduceus had mentioned before; there is an open door, where some of the water is flowing into, as you're slowly (whooshes) pushing through. You can read the top of the door, which reads, Security Storage.

LIAM: No, I can't, ah.

MATT: Oh yeah, you can't.

LIAM: Because the Wall's up.

MATT: That's right, never mind.

LIAM: That says, (gibberish).

MATT: Well, it looks to be a storage facility, where certain things may have been secured. (laughter)

SAM: Is that the only door that we see?

MATT: Where you currently stand, yes.

SAM: But it's not the only path?

MATT: No, there's the hallway ahead of you where the mist continues, and this is just a side chamber here in the center. The room is maybe five by 10 feet, it is very small. You can see all manner of wall hooks and shelves and placement for all sorts of things. But it has been cleared out beyond the rubble and fallen cases.

TALIESIN: I've got Detect Magic up, so.

MATT: You do. You see a faint bit of magical essence coming from one of the heavily buried small leather cases, under the water.

MARISHA: I was going to say, we're still underwater, right?

MATT: You guys are about waist-high in water, yeah.

LIAM: Oh!

MATT: Except for Veth, who's walking onto it, thankfully.

TRAVIS: It's very fucking cold.

TALIESIN: It's right over there.

LIAM: They mostly come out at night.

TALIESIN: Guidance.

LAURA: It could be a glyph hiding under things.

TALIESIN: That's true.

SAM: She already went under.

MATT: Make an investigation check.

LAURA: I'm backing up.

TRAVIS: Boom, depth charge. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Shit!

LIAM: She just floats away.

MARISHA and TRAVIS: Yeah.

MARISHA: Investigation, you said?

MATT: Mm-hmm.

MARISHA: 20 total.

MATT: 20 total.

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: All righty.

MARISHA: If it looks like a glyph or an intuit charge, then I'm not going to fuck with it.

MATT: Fair enough.

TRAVIS: You're dead already!

MATT: Yeah. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Is this uranium?

MARISHA: Oh, shi--

MATT: (explosion)

TALIESIN: Too real!

LIAM: An intuit charge would have already gone off.

MATT: Yeah.

MARISHA: Right.

MATT: It's just the Terminator 2 at the fence dream sequence.

TRAVIS: (explosion) (laughter)

MATT: So you glance through and as you're pushing there--

MARISHA: Was there is a leather case?

MATT: It looks like there were a lot of cases that were tethered with arm straps to part of this shelf unit. They're just free floating in the water, and you (bubbles) push through them. One of them, it looks like it wasn't cleaned out, and there is three very smooth, refined-looking crystal vials within.

MARISHA: All right, I'll just grab the whole leather satchel and come back.

MATT: Okay, you grab it. What you do notice, and some of you pick up, too, when you're in the room, there are all these open cases on the shelf here. Within them, there is some sort of heavier padding, and across this padding in these multiple, multiple cases you can see cut openings; spaces where triangular-shaped devices were once set, but now lay empty.

MARISHA: This is where he fucking got them.

ASHLEY: How many openings are there? So we know how many he's--

MATT: Quick glance.

MARISHA: That's a good idea.

MATT: About 15, 16.

MARISHA: He could have a lot.

LIAM: Fuck!

TRAVIS: Yeah.

SAM: He's only got two hands, he can only hold a few.

ASHLEY: Well those, they're already gone.

LIAM: They're also--

LAURA: Oh yeah.

MARISHA: Five are down.

LIAM: They are hard to set. You have to roll real high arcana.

LAURA: And they can only set two at a time, because there's only two of them.

MARISHA: That's true, that's true.

ASHLEY: But three of them--

LAURA: Yeah it was farther away, that's why.

TALIESIN: And it's very hard to get away from them once you've set them.

SAM: Yeah, we're going to be fine.

LIAM: Uh.

MARISHA: But it's a good point: There are basically 10 unaccounted for.

TALIESIN: Wow.

LAURA: Well, some of them could have been from the last time, right?

MARISHA: For sure, yeah.

LAURA: I mean, we could have set off--

TRAVIS: We have three now?

LIAM: I think we had one leftover because we weren't able to use them.

MARISHA: I think we are, too.

MATT: Yeah, one leftover and the two that you recovered from the water as they came by, which cannot be set today.

LIAM: Set until tomorrow, right?

MATT: Correct.

TRAVIS: We could throw the shit out of them.

ASHLEY: Do they make these things everywhere?

LIAM: Ah, you hit my ear!

SAM: Do they make them?

ASHLEY: Do they make these intuit charges everywhere, or are these, like, super rare?

SAM: They came from here.

LAURA: I think they came from here, so I think some of them have already been used.

ASHLEY: Okay, so the ones that we had are probably?

SAM: Yeah, they were from here as well.

ASHLEY: Okay, okay, okay.

MARISHA: Yeah, because we got ours from the bag switcheroo from them.

ASHLEY: That's right, okay.

LAURA: Okay.

SAM: Yeah.

LAURA: So we keep moving forward.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: 10 minutes on the wall?

LIAM: Yeah.

LAURA: Can we sit down here and have a Heroes' Feast?

LIAM: No! Unless we hear silence from the Kaiju battle in the other room.

LAURA: How long would that force wall stay up?

LIAM: 10 minutes.

LAURA: Oh, that's what you just said?

LIAM: Yep.

MATT: It's up to you guys.

LAURA: Keep walking.

MATT: You're going to keep walking?

MARISHA: Because we're still in the water, too, right? In waist-deep water?

MATT: You are.

LIAM: How does it sound in the monster room?

TRAVIS: And we're not going in, and the room-room is done and we're going in the mist.

MATT: Well, it's been a few minutes in searching through there, it sounds like the battle has ceased, or at least doesn't appear to be a raging battle any longer, as it has been a few minutes.

LIAM: Is there any sound, any creature sound?

MATT: Make a perception check.

LIAM: That is a 19.

MATT: 19. You don't hear anything.

LIAM: Okay.

TALIESIN: Let's just keep that up for a minute.

TRAVIS: There's also a whole bunch of holes and passageways. They could be going around.

LAURA: I mean, it's a trade-off, right? If we spend an hour resting, they could already be on-- bringing the city back in that hour.

LIAM: If we go a little bit farther, even if there's something alive behind us, they would maybe not follow us as far as we go and sniff around and lose interest.

LAURA: Okay.

MARISHA: Yeah. Let's keep going a little more.

TRAVIS: Forward.

LIAM: Possibly.

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: Keeping an eye out for intuit charges.

MATT: All right.

LAURA: And for anything moving.

LIAM: Nope! Just charges.

MARISHA: And glyphs.

MATT: So. Now, this is a two-by-two walkway here and you are pushing past hanging vent elements and cables and such.

SAM: ♪ Two by two ♪

MATT: So what is the marching order here?

TRAVIS: Beau and I up front.

MATT: Okay, Beau and Fjord up front.

LIAM: Use that truesight, girl.

LAURA: I'll go second.

MATT: Second, and who's with Jester?

ASHLEY: I'll go with Jester.

LIAM: I'll stay at the back.

MATT: All righty.

TALIESIN: I'll stay at the back with Caleb.

MATT: Okay. Essek and Veth will be third, and then Caleb and Caduceus in the cabooses. All righty. (laughter)

TALIESIN: Jesus.

TRAVIS: You love it.

MATT: You begin to push into the heavier mist.

MARISHA: Still in water.

MATT: Still in the water, still waist-deep.

MARISHA: All right, okay.

MATT: Push on for about 30 or so feet. Those at front, Beauregard and Fjord, make perception checks.

MARISHA: Natural 20.

SAM: Oh!

LAURA: Yay!

TRAVIS: 19! 16, natural 16.

MATT: You both feel pretty confident that you don't immediately see any intuit charges that prevent your continued travel. What you do see, is that about 40 or so feet ahead of where you now are, the hallway opens into a new room.

TRAVIS: Is there light in that room or darkness?

MARISHA: Or people?

MATT: There is a faint light in there, yeah.

TRAVIS: What kind of light: white, colored?

MATT: You can see some elements of the same orange-yellow flickering. And with your high perception checks, a very, very faint blue light, like a deep cerulean blue along with some vibrant teal shifts. It's hard to tell, there's a lot of light fighting through the obscuring mist in this tight tunnel.

MARISHA: And do I see anything crossing in front of that light? Anything that is cutting that light off?

MATT: You take a moment. You do. There is movement in that chamber.

LAURA: Do you think it might be Lucien?

TRAVIS: Steady or erratic?

LAURA: They're right there.

TRAVIS: Like a pat-- Like a repeating, or?

MARISHA: Like someone patrolling, back and-- pacing, or yeah?

MATT: With your high enough perception check, it does not appear patterned. It appears to be a little erratic or at least, not a continuous repeating.

TRAVIS: And we're still in waist-deep water, right?

MATT: You're still in waist-deep water that continues into the room.

TRAVIS: Can I sink underneath the water and do another check?

LIAM: Oh, that's cool.

MATT: Yeah, if you want to.

SAM: Rambo-style?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

SAM: Hey, wait, just out of curiosity, past where the intuit charges have been laid for us, how far have we come?

MATT: You are standing a little bit past the second intuit charge.

SAM: So if it went off, it would have affected the people in this room up ahead of us?

MATT: It would seem so, yeah.

SAM: Okay.

TALIESIN: It was probably--

TRAVIS: 18 underneath the water.

MATT: 18 underneath?

TRAVIS: It would also let him know we're here.

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: Glancing down under the water, it is murky and make it at disadvantage because it is underwater.

TRAVIS: That's right. 19, so 18.

MATT: Yeah, okay, glancing ahead, you can see the same shimmering light coming through from the different perspectives. There is all sorts of fallen debris and such that have sunken to the bottom. You don't see anything swimming in it.

TRAVIS: No glowing?

MATT: I mean, there's no glowing in the water, no. The same kind of light sources from above.

TRAVIS: Yeah, okay.

LIAM: That means we can't count out, even though it's got a 300-foot damage range, you can't count out there being more of them because if an intuit charge went off in here, where we were, and it would have hit them; that means they may have some sort of--

SAM: Well, Lucien is immune to psychic damage anyway.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LIAM: But, is Cree as well, do we know?

MARISHA: I don't know about Cree.

SAM: Cree was hurt, was Cree hurt?

MARISHA: Cree was hurt really bad.

MATT: Cree was very hurt.

TRAVIS: Can't you become invisible?

LIAM: It could have been from the fall and the pain.

SAM: I can become invisible.

TRAVIS: I can make a gate here and put it in the other fucking room and you could walk out invisible and take a look. He'll see you, but if he's not looking at you--

LAURA: He'll see the gate.

TRAVIS: You can just show up in the middle of the room.

SAM: Wait, is the gate invisible?

LAURA: Jump out and surprise him, right now.

TRAVIS: The gate is invisible.

LIAM: No, it's not. We dealt with that at the sanitorium.

TRAVIS: No, the gate is invisible to the back.

LIAM: One side?

TRAVIS: One side of it, yeah. Now, if he can see magic, then he can see it, but it normally appears--

SAM: If he's looking.

TRAVIS: If he's looking.

LAURA: We could jump out and attack him right now.

SAM: Maybe you could put, can you put the gate? Does it have to be on the floor?

SAM: It does, right?

TRAVIS: It does.

TALIESIN: Wrecked, wrecked.

SAM: I can just invisible up and just peek through the door?

TRAVIS: Yeah, do that.

SAM: Yeah?

TRAVIS: Yes.

LAURA: We're going to let him get away.

TRAVIS: There's nothing we gain by sitting here, and we only got a couple more minutes.

LAURA: We should heal them really fast, heal them. We should heal them.

ASHLEY: I can keep fighting, so.

SAM: Are you healing or am I going?

TRAVIS: What about the vials, the crystal vials, do they look like healing potions or something?

MARISHA: Do they look like healing potions or do they look like some other residuum magic?

LIAM: Are they silvery like the possibility potions?

MATT: You glance inside of the vials. Two of them appear to be healing potions of some kind. You're not too specifically aware of what they are. And one has a deep purple coloration to it. You're unfamiliar with what it may or may not be.

MARISHA: I toss a healing potion to Yasha.

TRAVIS: I'm at 97, anybody lower than that?

MARISHA: I toss one to Fjord.

TALIESIN: Oh yeah.

MARISHA: Oh.

LIAM: 50.

TRAVIS: (panicked noise) I toss mine over to Caleb.

MARISHA: Great.

MATT: They're both greater healing potions, so you heal 4d4 plus four.

ASHLEY: 4d4 plus four, okay.

TRAVIS: And you're lower than 97?

TALIESIN: I'm 85.

TRAVIS: Great.

MARISHA: Have I seen this purply liquidy before?

MATT: I don't believe so.

ASHLEY: Oh, come on.

MARISHA: Veth?

SAM: What?

MARISHA: Does this look familiar to you? I toss it to Veth. Purple potion.

SAM: I look at it with my keen alchemical mind. (laughter)

MATT: Make an intelligence check.

TRAVIS: Natural 20.

SAM: Eh, it looks purple. (laughter)

LIAM: Is it the same hue--

SAM: It's 10, I rolled a 10.

MATT: Yeah.

LIAM: Same hue as the gems in the regen room?

MATT: Darker. But purple all the same, yeah.

SAM: Here, take this for later. I will turn invisible. I'll take out an eyelash wrapped in gum arabic and smash it in my hand, waving it across the air, touching my forehead and pinching my nose, activating the Invisibility spell as I always do. (laughter)

MATT: So you are now invisible and standing on the water.

SAM: Yes, and I will army crawl along the water. (laughter)

LIAM: Is the water going (bubbles)?

MATT: Go ahead and roll a stealth check with advantage, because you are invisible.

LIAM: Seeing a Veth-shape snow angel.

SAM: Stealth. 34.

MATT: Okay. As you elbow your way into the space, you push past where the door opens. And the first thing that you notice is familiar teal light sources to your right and left, beyond the door. There is an intuit charge maybe two feet to your right and two feet to your left. Both just glowing and slowly rotating.

SAM: They didn't go off?

MATT: They have not gone off.

SAM: Oh, because they're being-- they're not proximity.

MARISHA: They're manually triggered.

LIAM: Yep.

MARISHA: This is an ambush!

SAM: Okay.

LIAM: Yep.

MATT: Looking into the room further, from what you can tell, make a perception check for me.

SAM: I'm not good at those. But 19 anyway.

MATT: Okay, okay! You can see now ceiling panels have fallen in a few places here and cables dangle and chain elements are affixed to parts of the walls around you. But this is probably a massive 90- to a 100-foot chamber. The center of it has a mostly roundish, cylindrical construction, aside from three offshoot alcoves of which this is one that you're in, where this hallway enters into. The mist hangs on everything here, and you can see the source of the mist as well as the source of the water. For in the middle of this cylindrical chamber, there is a raised series of stairs and a dais in the center where you can see other elements of mechanical arcane contraptions with glowing runes that are affixed to a large, 10-foot wide ring that stands the top center of this platform, about 10 feet side-to-side.

SAM: A stargate?

MATT: Essentially.

SAM: Okay.

MATT: An arcane stargate. In the middle of it, there is a very fine blue, glowing, crackling line, like a mostly-shut eye. And from it, weeping, is just water--

SAM: Cool!

MATT: -- and mist drifting out. You immediately can see this is the source of all the water flooding this chamber, as well as the mist obscuring the top three or so feet of this entire room.

SAM: And aside from the intuit charges, which are giving off this pale glow, yellow and blue light is coming from the--

MATT: Blue light is coming the Immensus Gate--

SAM: Immensus Gate.

MATT: -- in the center of the chamber. The yellow light is coming from similar affixed light sources in the ceiling from previous chambers you've been in. You do see along the walls, other tables and laboratory elements, similar to previous places you've explored and other elements of Aeor and other ruins, though arranged differently within the interior here. There's elements of metal carts and cracked debris that are lodged where the water source has pushed them out to the side. So a lot of the furniture has been shoved to the exterior walls of the room. You can also tell within the center of this raised platform, talking and darting amongst the materials are two humanoid figures that are in the process of adjusting things and moving things about.

SAM: Close to the gate, or--?

MATT: Very close to the gate.

SAM: Okay, I'll back up immediately. Reverse army crawl.

TRAVIS: Just throwing it out there, it's waist-high water. We have underwater breathing, if we wanted to go under the water as we went in, just a thought.

LAURA: How would we take out the intuit charges? Sneak in and dispel them really fast before they realized that we've--

TRAVIS: Those are the only two we saw.

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: I feel we would be able to, unless they had more hidden?

SAM: Why would they hide more?

TRAVIS: Lucien will smoke Cree.

SAM: Yeah. In a second.

TRAVIS: And us.

MARISHA: Yeah, he won't care.

SAM: Okay, so I go back, oh my god. How far back are my friends?

MATT: They're about, maybe 20 or so feet. You guys probably wouldn't have gotten any farther than that.

SAM: I don't want to make any noise, so wave everyone further back, just so we don't make any noise. And I'll whisper what I saw to the crew using a lot of hand gestures.

TRAVIS: Do we have time for a Heroes' Feast? I don't think we can wait an hour.

LAURA: We can't wait an hour.

TRAVIS: Yeah, I'm just making sure we said it.

LIAM: We're all clumped up within sight of these charges, that Veth located?

MATT: No, you don't have sight. In order to see them, you'd have to step into the chamber.

TRAVIS: They did the same thing we did. They're on the inside of the door.

LAURA: So we'd have to--

MATT: Looks like they learned from you.

LAURA: Can we do the Orb of Invulnerability and walk in, so they set them off and it doesn't affect us, and then we attack?

MARISHA: Is that orb protected against psychic damage, or is it just physical?

LAURA: I don't know.

LIAM: It's spells.

LAURA: It's spells.

LIAM: Of a certain level.

MARISHA: Spells.

TRAVIS: Instead of effects, it could be that--

SAM: The duplicate could-- well, no, it would still go off. I mean, if they go off and we're anywhere close, we still get hit.

LAURA: 300 feet.

TRAVIS: In our entire arsenal, how many Dispels do we have left between the three of you?

LAURA: A lot.

TALIESIN: A lot.

LAURA: So I could go in. I could sneak in underwater; if you give me underwater breathing.

TRAVIS: Uh-huh.

TALIESIN: We both have it. We can do it on the count of three.

LAURA: We could swim in below.

TALIESIN: Knock them both out.

LAURA: Do it and bamf them out.

LIAM: We also can't use the globe. We fudged the rules last time; the globe doesn't travel.

TRAVIS: Right, okay.

LIAM: It's stationary.

LAURA: Oh, good to know.

TRAVIS: So ballpark the Dispels, though, just in case we're only seeing two of six or eight. How many do you have, how many do you have, how many do you have? If you needed to max out your Dispels.

LAURA: I mean, a ton.

SAM: We also established--

TRAVIS: A ton is what, four? Five? Six?

LAURA: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

TRAVIS: At least 4th-level?

TALIESIN: Oh.

TRAVIS: Okay.

LAURA: Oh.

TALIESIN: Two, four.

TRAVIS: That's the one that had success from Caleb.

TALIESIN and LAURA: Six.

LIAM: Five, if we're doing 4th and higher.

TRAVIS: Five.

LAURA and TALIESIN: Same.

MATT: As you're having this discussion--

TRAVIS: Fuck!

MATT: Caleb.

MARISHA: Son of a bitch.

MATT: Beauregard.

MARISHA: Son of a bitch, he knows we're here.

MATT: A voice creeps into your minds.

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: "I was wondering when I'd sense your closure. Oh, don't be shy. Let's have a conversation. I've made some precautions, but I think it's worth a talk, right?" That's all you hear.

TRAVIS: Time for y'all to go.

LIAM: What'd you say?

TRAVIS: He senses you.

LIAM: Mm-hmm.

SAM: You want to send them in solo?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MARISHA: We could send us in, we could start talking while you guys set up.

SAM: If you did that, how many hit points do you have? We'd want to be sure that you can take a full blast hit.

TRAVIS: Yeah, the only part of this plan we're talking about is you two walk in.

SAM: 100 points.

TRAVIS: Coming up with a story, how the two of you survived and we didn't and the rest of us are underwater so that you two can hit the intuit charges. I don't have anything after that, because we don't see any other intuit charges.

ASHLEY: Is there any way he could know that we're all here?

SAM: I assume he knows we travel together.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Mm-hmm.

LIAM: Yeah, he's not going to believe that you guys are gone.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

LIAM: Also, if those both go off, I'm down.

TALIESIN: We're all down if those both go off.

TRAVIS: Yeah, we're all down.

ASHLEY: I could just rage and then run in there and set them off.

TRAVIS: We're within 300 feet.

SAM: Yeah, but we could back up.

TALIESIN: We can't back that far up.

SAM: Sure we can.

TALIESIN: It's very far. If you rage and get--

TRAVIS: It'll kill you.

TALIESIN: It'll kill you once you-- because you're--

LAURA: Yeah, she can't die.

LIAM: It'll surpass your total.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

TALIESIN: Yeah, way past.

MARISHA: I do have a feeling he's probably set it to where it's got to be triggered.

SAM: Yeah, of course.

TALIESIN: We'd already be dead.

LIAM: It would have gone off by now. Well--

SAM: Yes.

LIAM: How far away in feet?

MARISHA: 60 feet.

SAM: I was within 10 feet.

MATT: Yeah, Nott was within 10 feet of each of them.

LIAM: You were right there.

LAURA: You want to go in and talk?

TRAVIS: I mean, the options are sneaky and try to Dispel, or we talk our way into this poker game.

TALIESIN: I don't think we have a choice. I don't think there's any-- You can't be sneaky once they've invited you in.

LAURA: We can be sneaky, they can't.

LIAM: Well, he can sense us, but he can't-- maybe he can't see us. You could send me and then I could Dispel those things from under the surface of the water and at least get the two.

MATT: At about this time, the light flickers a bit through the mist. And you hear a voice echo from within the chamber and it goes, (as Cree) "Ah, I think I've got it."

LAURA: Go, just go.

MATT: And you hear Lucien respond, "Shh, wait, we've got company. We don't want to be as impolite as they've been."

LIAM: All right, I'm doing--

SAM: I think, if Caleb and Beau go in, he's just going to be like, "Where are your friends?"

TALIESIN: Yeah.

LAURA: Regardless, we have to fucking do something.

MARISHA: Even if that, "Where are our friends?" gives us six seconds in order to Dispel those, even if it gives us a--

LIAM: Let me just get those two things. You send me underwater, all of us, give us all the ability.

TRAVIS: I just cast Underwater Breathing on all of us. 24 hours, done. You can do with it what you will.

LIAM: I'm going to glide up under the surface and try to hit--

TRAVIS: I cast the Water Breathing.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: Do I need to-- Nine.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: I'm going to Invoke Duplicity. I know that he'll probably be able to see it, but I'm going to just shuffle her in with the other people and hopefully it won't be as noticeable, and I'm going to go underwater while she walks with everybody.

MATT: Okay. So you're going underwater while sending your duplicate with the rest of the troop.

LIAM: I'm going to go ahead of the group.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: And I'll go ahead with you.

MATT: All right.

MARISHA: Caleb and Beau are walking in.

MATT: Caleb and Beau.

LIAM: Underwater.

SAM: I'm invisible.

MARISHA: Underwater.

ASHLEY: I'm right behind them, as well.

LIAM: Get rid of at least these two charges before discussion begins. We can pop up out of the water.

MARISHA: You get rid of them, I'll be watching.

LIAM: Okay.

MATT: All right. As you all begin to step towards the chamber to figure out how this interaction at the Immensus Gate is to transpire, we're going to take a break.

SAM: Ah!

LIAM: Ooh.

MARISHA: Instant sweat.

ASHLEY: Uh-huh.

LIAM: We're bugs on a windshield.

TRAVIS: I'm loving it!

TALIESIN: We're so fucked.

MATT: We're going to be right back here in a few minutes to see how this happens. (laughs) All right, see you guys in a minute.

Break
NARRATOR: (fire crackles) (groans) Dwarvenite. The most precious substance among dwarven smiths. Able to absorb the very spirit of the craftsmen. (electrical crackle) Thus enthused, it becomes nearly indestructible. Able to forge heirlooms that will last for generations. (roars) (flames explode) Pure dwarvenite. Now you can get your hands on this legendary substance, with the new Dungeon of Doom. Available now at dwarvenforge.com (flames whoosh)

Oh I can't wait to give Taliesin hugs. I know. I know. I've missed him so much. Well, over a year now. (groaning) Well over a year. Taliesin, I think, you were my last hug. Was I your last hug? I think you were my very last hug. Oh god. Aww. I was thinking about it the other day, I'm pretty sure you were the last person I hugged. Oh man. So. My last hug was definitely that flight attendant as she threw me out. Coming back from wherever we were. All right, the question was-- (everyone laughs) She doesn't wanna tell that story. (laughs) I love that nobody does anything anymore. We just stare.

LAURA: Hey critters. Laura Bailey here. Let's see what's up in the Critical Role shop. Oh, look at this. Look at the details, oh. Oh my gosh. It's so amazing. Can you put donuts in this? Only one way to find out. The cuteness! It's... ...overpowering. I mean, the traveler always says impulse purchases are a good decision. So click on over to the Critical Role shop. Don't worry, there's a few more minutes in the break. You still got time!

SAM: (birds chirping) I'm a fan of hot air balloon rides above the Venetian countryside. I'm a fan of Momlyn, she's always got my back. I'm a fan of wine older than Taliesin. I'm a fan of Twitch subscriptions. I'm a fan of emotes by Arsequeef. They're neat. I'm a fan of a wife, so cool people forget, I exist. (distorted noises) (elephant bellowing) (loud explosion) (robotic noise) (baby crying) (heart beating loudly) I'm a fan of... ...wearing your skin as a mask.

Part II
MATT: And welcome back. So, last we left off, you were deciding-- whoa, after I dropped something-- You were deciding what to do as you're seemingly sensed and invited to come talk with Lucien and Cree within the Immensus Gate chamber. What would you like to do?

SAM: Here's my plan. We're all cows. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Thank you, thank you.

MARISHA: It kind of works.

TRAVIS: Where's a druid when you need it? We could be killer whales.

LAURA: I mean, we said Caleb was going underwater. I was going underwater. Anybody else going underwater?

SAM: I was going to sneak behind you guys, invisible.

LAURA: Okay.

MARISHA: And I'm the mouthpiece to start us off?

SAM: Ooh. We're dead.

MARISHA: I know. We're so dead.

ASHLEY: She's wonderful!

MATT: So Caleb and Beau up front with Veth sneaking underwater or on top of water.

SAM: On top of the water, I'm still invisible for a bit longer.

MATT: Right.

MARISHA: Admittedly, the worst thing that I'm at.

LAURA: I'm underwater.

MATT: Jester's underwater.

LAURA: I'm underwater right behind--

SAM: (claps) Focus!

MATT: Right behind?

LAURA: Right behind Beau. I'm potentially, if--

MARISHA: My innate ability to just charm the pants off people.

LAURA: If Caleb is right behind, because you said you were going to hang back just behind Beau?

LIAM: I was going to just be right at her ankle, essentially.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: All righty.

LAURA: He's under water.

LIAM: Like a triangle we could do.

MATT: So you're underwater as well, Caleb?

LIAM: Yeah, yes, V-formation.

MATT: All right, got it. So Beau--

LAURA: And I would be right next to Caleb then, underwater.

MATT: Okay, you got it. Veth's on the water, who's up next?

TALIESIN: I suppose it would be me.

MATT: All righty.

ASHLEY: I'll go next.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: (whispering) Why are we doing this?

LAURA: And my duplicate is walking between Yasha and Caduceus.

TALIESIN: They're clearly identifiable to someone who has Detect Magic and can see though--

LAURA: Sure, yeah, but-- I mean, if you're paying attention, but if she's just walking amidst everybody, hopefully, she'll just--

ASHLEY: Blend in.

LAURA: -- look like she's there, you know what I mean?

LIAM: Maybe.

MATT: Sure.

TALIESIN: Could be.

ASHLEY: And I'll try to, you know, make myself bigger.

TRAVIS: Please explain what that was.

ASHLEY: I'm making myself bigger. You know, covering her a little bit.

TRAVIS: Look over here!

MATT: Like one of those little desert frogs that puffs up? All right. (laughter)

TRAVIS: (crocks)

LIAM: Yes.

LAURA: We're trying it?

MATT: So, you're in formation.

MARISHA: (nervous sounds)

TRAVIS: You got it, you got it, it's going to go great.

MARISHA: I'm playing a--

TRAVIS: We hold all the cards.

MARISHA: -- 20 charisma character next game. Okay, let's go.

LIAM: I think what I would do is wait underwater and when I hear the vibration of Beauregard's voice is when I would fire off Dispel.

MATT: Okay. So you all enter the chamber or begin to step into the space.

MARISHA: But I'm just walking.

MATT: With Jester and Caleb underwater. Beauregard, you begin to walk in and you see the mist still gathered across the surface of the water as you (splashing), with the sound of all the people behind (splashing) marching your way through the water. At which point, you see the two figures at the top, the sparking, glowing, and occasionally flashing line of energy in the center of this large, metallic, empty ring. And as you begin to step in, Beauregard, one of the figures turns around and, though you cannot see the face so much, the light source in here is very faint, other than the faint glow from the ring behind them that's giving them this back-lit appearance and just the front of shadow, you can tell from the outline, that it's Lucien. Also, because while you just see a shadow in the front, you see a number of red eyes that seem to be glowing from within the shadow across what parts of him are visible.

LIAM: As she's taking that in, in your brain, you hear, "We believe in you."

MARISHA: (groans)

MATT: You step in and with Lucien turned around, he goes, "I think that's far enough, for I've my thoughts on turnabout should you take another step."

MARISHA: I stop.

MATT: "You may have to just twiddle the finger. I know how you figured these little scramblers work, seeing as how you murdered most of our crew with them, so you know that if I think so much as a greener color shade. You all go. And you bleed from every memory."

TALIESIN: Color shade...

SAM: Are we inside the threshold or is Beau in?

MATT: Beauregard has stepped into the threshold and seems to have stopped. The rest of you are right on the inside of the tunnel. What are you doing?

MARISHA: What can I see quickly? Can I see any more of those glowing teal--?

MATT: Make a perception check.

MARISHA: With my quick glance around the room? Come on, don't fail me now.

LIAM: With Truesight!

MARISHA: 17.

MATT: 17, looking about right now, all you can see from your perspective are the two charges immediately to your right and left, raised above the water surface and the deep blue glow coming from the central, flickering portal sliver, and the lights glowing from above in the far walls. That's all you can see.

MARISHA: I just think towards Caleb's direction. He's ready to kill us. Stand down.

TRAVIS: Can't he hear that?

LAURA: Probably.

MARISHA: Probably.

LIAM: I stand up at that, knowing that he probably can hear.

MATT: Okay. Caleb stands up.

LAURA: I look over. (water bubbling)

MATT: Make a stealth check, Jester. (laughter)

LAURA: That was pretty good.

LIAM: Fuck.

LAURA: 21. (laughs)

MATT: Okay, I mean--

MARISHA: Sorry we're late.

MATT: "I'll say you're quite quick in some ways. I'm impressed."

MARISHA: How long have you been here setting up the party by yourself?

MATT: Cree grumbles over the shoulder. (grunts) (as Lucien) "Not terribly long, maybe about a better part of an hour."

MARISHA: Oh yeah, we actually did make pretty good time.

MATT: "But we had to set up some precautions, since you tend to follow and nip at our heels, and well, you taught us a few tricks along the way."

LIAM: Isn't this the part where you kick back and tell us all your clever plans?

MATT: "Sure. Step in a bit."

LIAM: I take a step in and look around for more of the things.

MATT: Okay, make a perception check.

LIAM: Natural 20.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: From your perspective, at the entrance of the chamber, right now you can only see the two to your right and left.

MARISHA: Is he bluffing?

LIAM: Impossible to say. I think.

MARISHA: I take another step in as well--

MATT: Everyone else--

MARISHA: -- slowly.

TALIESIN: I'm going to cast a quick spell on myself before I come in and then I'm going to come in.

MATT: What spell do you cast?

TALIESIN: Death Ward.

MATT: Okay, Death Ward is on you.

LIAM: They do, they're above the water surface.

TRAVIS: Right, so they can't be under.

MATT: Yeah, they're above on the platform right now which is about-- the full climb of it is maybe four and a half, five feet up, so it's about a foot out of the water.

TRAVIS: Oh, no, I meant the intuit charges. They float far enough off the ground to be above water.

MATT: Oh yeah.

LIAM: Do we see the threshold stones that they need for this to work?

MATT: With your perception check, you see, on the platform, right by where the ring is, there are the two satchels, the same heavy ones that are right there. At this point, as you guys are taking a couple of steps in, Lucien puts a hand up for you to, like, halt. And the rest of you filter in a little bit, right within just the beginning of that alcove.

MARISHA: I don't like this.

MATT: "I've not been a poor host. I lent you my personal reading. (laughs) And taking what I was owed, I borrowed a few things with intent to return them, though some of these pretties intrigue me." As he runs his hands across each other and apparating from his hand you see a small, glowing yellow orb that he begins to spin through his fingers. Bowie-style. (laughter) And then it vanishes. The familiar Cloven Crystal, somewhere in his grasp. "We defended ourselves when assailed and even then I invited you to come see what we've been working on. Letting bygones be what they are and still, you treat us with such animosity. Shame. Manners are important and the last thing to go when an age runs dry. I do still very much want to show you what I've been working on, but I feel like you've shown me how hard it can be to trust. So I need you to earn it." Cree at this point, she goes, "Why don't we just kill them, Lucien? Stop the games." Lucien puts the hand up. "Shh." Still looking over in your direction. "Because try as I might, a part of me still likes them."

MARISHA: I just in my head look at Lucien and I say, "You should listen to the woman." Not audibly.

MATT: As he looks towards you with a smile, there's a part of him that twitches for a moment, and he kind of-- (exhales) (cracks fingers)

LAURA: Ooh, he didn't like it.

MARISHA: Yeah, what was that?

LAURA: Also, I should say, my Pass Without a Trace was still up because it lasts for an hour from the last time I cast it. So my stealth roll would have been 31.

MATT: Okay. Good to know.

TRAVIS: You're still just (water bubbling).

LAURA: I'm just under the water. I just don't want to come up.

LIAM: Well, tell us more, circus man.

MATT: The twitch kicks in again and he's like, he looks confused for a minute and for a brief moment there's like a hollow confusion.

MARISHA: What is-- why, why?

LAURA: It's Molly?

MARISHA: Insight check? Insight check!

MATT: Make an insight check.

TALIESIN: Can I get in on that?

MATT: Sure.

MARISHA: Okay, okay, okay. 24.

TALIESIN: 30.

MARISHA: Not as good as him.

TALIESIN: Well, Bless.

MATT: Something about the words rang something.

MARISHA: Something about the words?

MATT: That Caleb used, rang something in him that even he doesn't quite understand, with the 30, you get that.

TALIESIN: It's not-- it's the message, not the delivery system is what I-- if that makes sense?

MATT: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Okay.

LAURA: Circus man?

MATT: With a 30.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: "Long ago, there was a group of people who had an idea to get away from oppressive minds and pursue their dreams. And when destruction came, not of their making, they were ready, or so they thought, as they shunted their people across the planes to safety, in the astral plane where they knew they could make their dreams a reality. Unfortunately, what they didn't account for was this terrible psychic storm that awaited them, that racked every mind and spirit and shattered them until they became one with their own city. Death would have been a sweet mercy, but instead, thousands of people and the Somnovem that guided them, were broken. And over time, slowly reformed, powerful. The instinct of their dreams driving them in a place where they could will their dreams to be, were their will not so fragmented. They needed help. But it was hard to push through the hunger. For now, the city was alive and things that live need to eat. I was lucky to be a mind free, one to speak to it and there's so much that they could do, but they just lack the guidance. It's a waste of potential. But I think I can show them. And maybe if you decide to be more friend than foe, when all is done, I could make your dreams come true as well." Glances over towards Cree, and Cree gives him a nod. (as Lucien) "Well, like I said. You've got to earn your path. Show me that you really have what it takes, beyond being a thorn in my drawers." Cree you see adjusting something on the contraption.

MARISHA: I watch every click that she makes, just take note.

MATT: She reaches over and you can see she's holding this rod in one hand and there is a separate rod in the device.

MARISHA: Okay.

MATT: And she looks back and gives a nod to Lucien. Reaches over towards this lever to his side and just shifts it ever so slightly upward, like an inch. As it does, you watch the thin sliver in the ring widen just a bit, like a tear in space, as the slight trickle of a waterfall becomes a brief torrent. Water begins to pour into the chamber, foaming as Lucien and Cree step to the side. For a moment you feel the waves rush past, as it sploshes in and then he lowers it entirely, returning to that thin sliver once more. (as Lucien) "This door can go many places." As Cree switches out the rod with the other that was in her hand.

MARISHA: Assuming you want us to go on a little field trip?

MATT: "Well, I'm certainly going on one. I guess it's a shame to work so hard, and, I don't know, not to have anyone who really understands it, who's right there to see it. But I've seen potential in at least a couple of you. You're already walking the right path."

LIAM: And you plan to go and stay there or bring something back and make this world better than how you found it?

MATT: "Yes."

TALIESIN: And you want us to be an audience?

MATT: "Well, I'd love an audience, but I'd like for you all to earn your ticket. Come join the show."

MARISHA: Maybe you should take your bodyguard.

MATT: The water that poured out of the lip begins to undulate and begin to gather, like something that spilled through the sliver of a doorway, at which point, Lucien goes, "The other side perhaps." Takes a bow, and as he stands up from the bow, he pulls the lever up with him and that thin line tears open to an entire portal to fill the central ring and where once you saw glimpses of this endless watery, oceanic expanse, now you see a starscape, filled with waves of purple and gossamer, silk-like silver. And in the center of it--

MARISHA: I kick Jester underneath the water really quick while this is happening.

MATT: In the center of this space, you see a city, hundreds of beautiful towers, rising up with arches and bridges that connect, streets that line through, of all the tales you've heard of the Age of Arcanum, this meets or exceeds those expectations and it's familiar because you've seen the city before, in flashes. And as you focus, you watch as one of the towers twitches. Another, an eye opens up before shutting, across the stonework. "Well, I think it's time you paid the ticket taker." And both of them turn, grab the satchels.

MARISHA: Are we letting them go or are we running?

MATT: And run through the portal.

TRAVIS: What?

LAURA: I don't know, are we trying to stop them?

TRAVIS: No.

LIAM: No, we're following.

MATT: You watch as they both leap and just begin to drift and then at once, Lucien puts his arms at his side and spins around, looking back at you, his now longer purple hair drifting, waves and then rockets off.

MARISHA: I dart towards the portal.

LIAM: Yeah.

MATT: Hmm?

MARISHA: I dart towards the portal.

LIAM: Same, this isn't over.

TRAVIS: I reach down and I grab Jester in the water, pull her up.

MATT: As you all gather up, the central whirl in the center of the chamber shoots up into this mass of twirling, angry, elemental liquid. You see tether like tentacles whipping around, some sort of terrifying, octopi-like elemental leviathan rises up from the ground, having escaped from the elemental plane where it was waiting for a chance. I need you all to roll initiative.

TRAVIS: Oh shit! The ticket-taker is a bitch!

SAM: Oh man! This combat is brought to you by Dwarven Forge, makers of premium, hand-crafted gaming terrain. If you want to become a master of battle maps like Matt Mercer, the best place to do it is Dwarven Forge starter sets. These starter sets are so easy to build, even Sam Regal-- spelled slightly wrong-- could do it. (laughter) Maybe.

MATT: So.

TALIESIN: I don't like this.

MATT: I need first off, for you to tell me-- Okay, the marching order would have been, Beauregard about there. Caleb.

MARISHA: Something is coming through the portal?

SAM: It's already here.

MARISHA: It's already through?

LIAM: It's the gush of water that came through. It was a being.

LAURA: He let it out.

ASHLEY: The first rod-- he let out--

LAURA: I would have been floating underneath one of the Intuit Charges.

MATT: Okay, so you're right over there.

SAM: I was, like, right behind them.

LIAM: But they're gone. They can't set them off.

TRAVIS: You can.

LIAM: From another dimension?

TALIESIN: Probably not.

LAURA: No, probably not.

TRAVIS: I mean, the doorway is open, right?

MATT: It should say on the item if it does.

TALIESIN: Yeah, because otherwise we would have set it off from inside the mansion.

LIAM: Looking.

SAM and LIAM: (robot voice) Looking.

TRAVIS: But that doorway is open.

ASHLEY: Yeah, we're going in, right?

SAM: Yeah, it's open.

TRAVIS: That's what I mean, though.

LAURA: The gateway is open?

TRAVIS: Yeah. (cries of alarm)

SAM: What the fuck is that?

TRAVIS: Yeah, baby!

LAURA: That is huge.

LIAM: It doesn't say anything about dimension.

SAM: It does. It says--

LIAM: Where does it say it?

SAM: "You link your mind to the device. At any time, you can choose to detonate the charge as long as you are on the same plane of existence."

LAURA: Great.

SAM: Under "Remote."

LIAM: It doesn't say that on mine.

SAM: You got a different one.

LIAM: Yeah.

MATT: I have to update it.

TALIESIN: So we would be good.

LAURA: You could do your gateway door behind the leviathan and then we just run. (laughter)

MARISHA: Uh-huh.

SAM: Well.

TRAVIS: Yeah, my initiative sucks.

MATT: 25 to 20.

SAM: 20.

LAURA: 21.

ASHLEY: 23.

SAM: Ooh! Classic Ashley roll.

TRAVIS: Yasha, Jester, Veth.

ASHLEY: 22, sorry.

MATT: Still high. And then?

MARISHA: Jester.

MATT: Veth.

MARISHA: Veth.

MATT: 20 to 15.

MARISHA: 19.

SAM: Water, huh? What can we do to water?

MATT: Waist-high in the water.

MARISHA: Sorry--

MATT: Except for Veth, your movement is halved because it's considered difficult terrain so just be aware of that.

SAM: Okay.

MARISHA: Also 20, sorry.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: So I'm at the same time as Veth.

LIAM: Probably good to remember that we can all breathe water.

MATT: You both have 20 dex?

SAM and MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: So you guys decide who goes first.

SAM: You're slightly further forward.

MARISHA: Okay.

SAM: You can go first.

MARISHA: All right.

TRAVIS: Beau then Veth?

MARISHA: Yeah, sorry, it was my bad.

ASHLEY: We're going in, yeah?

LAURA: We're going in the portal, that's the goal.

SAM: If we can get past--

MATT: 15 to 10.

SAM: -- OctoMom.

LIAM and TRAVIS: 10.

TRAVIS: Your dex is probably higher than mine.

LIAM: My dex is 12.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

LIAM: Wow. I'm so fast.

MATT: Caduceus?

TALIESIN: Nine.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: Caleb.

MATT: Yasha, you are up first as this creature now essentially fills the majority of the chamber forward towards this portal. What would you like to do?

ASHLEY: Okay. I have an idea. For starters, I would like to rage.

MATT: There you go.

SAM: Correct.

ASHLEY: And then-- I haven't had a long rest, okay, never mind. I want to try to book it to the portal.

TRAVIS: ♪ I want to try to book it to the portal. ♪

ASHLEY: ♪ I want to try to book it to the portal. ♪ So where am I at in there?

SAM: You're the one that's covered in mist. I think you're towards the back, actually.

TALIESIN: You're towards the back.

ASHLEY: Yeah, I was by--

LAURA: Yeah, you're like the farthest one back. No, second.

ASHLEY: I think I was beside Caduceus.

MATT: Correct.

SAM: Yeah, that's about right. You're second to last.

ASHLEY: That's me, okay, okay, okay. So--

MATT: Fjord and Essek towards the back.

ASHLEY: Let me just try to make it to the portal.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: I want to just start running.

MATT: 35, 40, 45, 50. What's your movement?

ASHLEY: Yeah, 50.

MATT: 50, you can get there on your movement and your bonus. You still have an action. However.

SAM: Didn't you just say all of our movement is halved?

MATT: Correct, so you would have actually been--

MARISHA: Wait, why-- our movement's halved?

LIAM: Because of the water.

MATT: Because you're waist-high in water.

ASHLEY: We're in waist-high water, goddamn it.

MATT: So yeah, so that's your movement there.

ASHLEY: What a smart spot to be in. I'm going to take a swing.

MATT: Go for it.

ASHLEY: Okay. Get my paper ready.

SAM: Be like water.

ASHLEY: 14.

MATT: 14, misses, I'm sorry.

ASHLEY: Cool. Okay, second hit.

MATT: Go for it.

ASHLEY: Nope.

SAM: What?

TRAVIS: Can you roll a 14?

ASHLEY: Yeah, so I--

TRAVIS: So it hit?

ASHLEY: Yeah, because I rolled a five and it's a plus nine, and then I just rolled a four.

LAURA: Wow.

TALIESIN: You were talking about those dices earlier, I'm just saying.

LAURA: Yeah, me too.

ASHLEY: This one was usually good.

MATT: Strength is 18, right?

ASHLEY: Wait, I was swinging with my--

MATT: Holy Avenger?

ASHLEY: My Holy Avenger, yeah.

MATT: Right, so it's proficiency bonus which is five.

ASHLEY: Jesus.

MATT: Plus strength which is four, plus weapon which is three.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: So plus 12 to whatever you rolled.

ASHLEY: Oh, then I was looking at-- (mumbling).

MATT: That's okay.

TRAVIS: That index card.

ASHLEY: Christ, 17.

TRAVIS: I'm going to make you the barbarian index card.

MATT: 17?

TRAVIS: That's all you need.

ASHLEY: 17.

MATT: Just hits.

ASHLEY: (sighs) Okay.

MARISHA: 17?

ASHLEY: Jeez louise. Okay, so first hit.

SAM: Those dice.

ASHLEY: I know, they're so small.

LAURA: Does it have giant boobies?

SAM: It does have.

LIAM: It does.

MATT: It does, yeah.

MARISHA: Oh, it does!

ASHLEY: I'm going to do a Savage Attacker.

LAURA: Water boobies!

MARISHA: Water boobies!

LAURA: That's some water boobies!

SAM: I can't attack her. She looks too much like me. (laughter)

ASHLEY: That would be 33 points of damage.

SAM: She's beautiful.

MATT: 33 points of damage, nice.

ASHLEY: And I already rolled a second hit, which was a four, so that would bring me to 16, so.

MATT: Okay, 16 just misses. All right, so first swing as you rush up, trudging to the water, blade at the ready. Cut through and you can see, it hits water and you're expecting it to just cut through water. And it does, but the form does react to the impact. It does take damage.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: The second swing, you go wide and one of the tentacles, hits the blade and deflects it off and it just (splashes) into the water next to you before you ready it. That's the end of your turn?

ASHLEY: That's the end of my turn.

MATT: Jester, you're up. Beau, you're on deck.

LAURA: Okay, I'm going to also run forward to try to get past it.

MATT: Okay, you get up, which is half your movement.

LAURA: Uh-huh.

MATT: And you can get that far on your movement.

LAURA: Well, I wasn't prone, I was crouched. How high was the water? It was waist-level, so I was like-- Okay, but whatever. It's not like I was laying down.

MATT: I'll allow it. Fine, fine, all right.

TRAVIS: You did say you were on your back.

LIAM: We're just booking it, right? We're all just running through this?

MARISHA: Yeah, we're trying to get to the portal. Trying to get to the portal.

SAM: You were standing fully upright.

LIAM: We're not trying to kill--

SAM: Just also underwater.

MATT: (laughs)

LAURA: No, I was crouched! You know, you can be under-- And look, I'm crouching.

TRAVIS: Are you doing this right now?

LAURA: Yeah, I'm showing you how I can crouch and be underwater.

SAM: Sure, sure.

MARISHA: (laughs)

LIAM: Are you pooping?

LAURA: I was pooping. Anyway, if you want to take half my movement, that's fine.

MATT: No, that's fine. What are you going to do?

LAURA: I'm going to try to cast a spell on it.

MATT: It is still half your movement to get there, though.

LAURA: Yeah, I'm right next to Yasha.

SAM: Also, Sprinkle died again.

LAURA: Sprinkle's fine.

MATT: Sprinkle technically is partially archfey.

LAURA: Sprarty is fine. I'm going to say: Do something! And I'm going to cast... Polymorph.

MATT: Polymorph?

SAM: Sure.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: Sure.

MATT: What's the save on it?

LAURA: 18 wisdom.

MATT: 18 wisdom. It rolled a 20.

LAURA: Okay.

SAM: It's wise.

LAURA: I figured it would be, but it was worth a shot, right?

ASHLEY: Worth a shot, good.

MATT: But good try. All right, that finishes your go.

LAURA: Yeah, I'm gonna-- Can I use my bonus action? I'm going to move my duplicate.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: Around to the other side of it, to where it looks like she's trying to flank.

MATT: Okay, easy enough to do.

LAURA: Ooh, ooh, ooh, lies! I'm going to move my duplicate to be on the other side of Yasha, so she's within five feet of me. I'm going to move her--

MATT: Oh, so over--

LAURA: Yeah, I want her to be next to me.

MATT: Over here, you mean?

LAURA: Yeah, because she'll give me-- it'll be harder to hit me.

MATT: Okay, you got it. All right, that finishes Jester's go. Beau, you're up, with Veth on deck.

MARISHA: I will head to the direction that Jester's duplicate was heading in, on that flank side, on to the right of the creature. I have unarmored move, which means I can dart on water.

MATT: You can.

MARISHA: So, I can still get my full move, yeah?

MATT: You can, so you can literally jump out of the water and just Naruto run across the surface.

MARISHA: Which is what I do and I get to its hind side.

MATT: Okay. Right there?

MARISHA: Uh-huh.

MATT: Easy enough to do.

SAM: The Hind Side, starring Sandra Bullock.

MATT: (laughs)

LAURA: Oh, Matt, I read the thing wrong. I do want it on the other side. If we're both within five feet of the creature, I get advantage.

MATT: Oh, I see.

LAURA: That's all.

MATT: Okay, so there you go, the other corner.

MARISHA: Yeah, I'm going to hit it. I'm gonna take out my stick. I'm gonna hit the abyssal monster.

SAM: Wet pop, wet pop.

MARISHA: Slap, slap. (laughter)

LIAM: Slip slop.

MATT: That's pretty accurate.

MARISHA: The first one is a 21.

MATT: That hits.

TRAVIS: Splash, splash.

MARISHA: Second one is a 15, which I believe misses.

MATT: It misses.

MARISHA: Rolled really low, but--

LAURA: That one got caught in the water.

MARISHA: It did, it got a little drag as I tried to swing my staff around.

LIAM: A little bit of a shiver and queef. (laughter)

MARISHA: And that's 12 damage.

MATT: 12 damage, you got it.

MARISHA: Stunning Strike?

MATT: Stunning Strike, okay.

MARISHA: Can I stun this thing? Did it invent stun?

MATT: It has no effect on it.

MARISHA: Of course it doesn't.

MATT: Meaning, you attempt to stun and it does not seem to be stunned.

TALIESIN: Extract--

MARISHA: That is what I will do next, which I will do with my Flurry of Blows.

MATT: Do it, two more. Slap, slap.

MARISHA: Two more.

MATT: Slap, slap.

MARISHA: (mumbles) Shlap, shlap.

LIAM: Slap-a da bass.

MARISHA: Those both hit.

MATT: All right.

TRAVIS: Slap-a da bass.

TALIESIN: Goddamn.

MARISHA: And that is... 13 damage and nine damage.

MATT: 13 and nine.

LAURA: This thing is going down.

MARISHA: So 22 total. Extract Aspects.

MATT: All right, it is resistant to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from non-magical attacks.

MARISHA: Pierce, slicing, okay.

MATT: It is immune to acid and poison.

MARISHA: Immune to acid.

SAM: Shoot some electricity at it.

MARISHA: And poison, okay.

ASHLEY: What was the first bit?

MARISHA: Bludgeoning, piercing, slicing.

ASHLEY: That's no good.

MATT: For non-magical attacks.

MARISHA: For non-magic-- we're all gold.

MATT: Magic weapons will get through. It is also immune to exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone.

MARISHA: All the Ps?

MATT: Restrained and stunned.

LIAM: You read all its chi.

MARISHA: Restrained, stunned. Okay, cool, cool, cool.

TALIESIN: It can't be stopped. There's no stopping--

MATT: This is an unstoppable water elemental.

SAM: Did you say charm in there?

MARISHA: Did not say charm.

MATT: Charm is not in there.

MARISHA: Acid, poison, exhaustion, grappling, paralyzed, petrification, poison, prone.

TRAVIS: Personification.

MARISHA: Rest, what is rest?

SAM: Paprika.

MATT: Restrained.

MARISHA: Restrained!

MATT: It's immune to rest, guys.

MARISHA: And stun.

MATT: It's a work horse.

LAURA: I never sleep.

LIAM: Oh, so it's us.

LAURA: So, when you Extract Aspects, can you tell if it's, like, a sentient being? Or if it's a mindless attacking monster?

MARISHA: I can only figure out what it's immune and resistant and vulnerable to, but since it's immune to stun and all these things, I feel like it's sentient. That feels, yeah. I don't know. It feels smart. Which I'd say. I tell people: It feels smart and tough, but it doesn't-- not getting any pings on elemental damage, is what I say.

MATT: There you go. Finishing Beau's go. Veth, you're up.

SAM: I will dart left. Skimming across the water.

TRAVIS: ♪ Skimming across. ♪

MATT: Whereabouts?

SAM and MARISHA: ♪ Skimming my way. ♪

SAM: As far as I can get. I can only move 30 feet.

MATT: Yeah, you can get there's about where you're going to sit.

SAM: And then I will throw buttons at it and say: Buttons! (laughter) And I will cast Hypnotic Pattern in a sort of a desperate move to stun it or something.

MATT: Okay, got it.

LAURA: Does that affect me and Yasha as well?

SAM: Well, maybe?

LAURA: And Beau?

MATT: Where do you create? It's a 30-foot cube.

SAM: It's a 30-foot cube. I was hoping--

LIAM: Aim high.

SAM: -- that I could center it in a way that is, like, if it's you, Matt, it would be your left side that way, but in a way that it wouldn't hit Jester and Yasha.

MATT: The ceiling is about 30-feet tall. So if you were to point the center of it--

SAM: Could I focus a cube to its back left, that it would hit only it?

MATT: Over here? You could, yeah.

SAM: Yes. That.

MATT: Okay. So you guys watch as this corner now becomes filled with this space of coloration. Weird semi-transparent patterns begin to just shiver.

LAURA: And quiff.

MATT: And quiff. (laughter)

MATT: Shiver and can move between them and tie and untie. It's pretty trippy.

ASHLEY: Shiver and quiff.

SAM: Shiver me quiffs.

MATT: Thankfully, it's the only one within the-- (laughter)

TRAVIS: (fart sound)

MATT: It rolls a fail. So it's going to use a Legendary Resistance to succeed.

SAM: Oh, it's a legendary creature. Everybody, I've extracted another aspect. (laughter) It's a legendary creature!

MATT: All right. Is that your turn, Veth?

SAM: Yeah, I have a bonus action.

MATT: You do.

SAM: I guess I can bonus action... dash? Keep dashing?

MATT: You can, yeah.

SAM: Towards that table with the levers and stuff on it, yeah.

MATT: Over here?

SAM: Yeah, somewhere back there.

MATT: Okay. Now, you can definitely get up onto there and get next to the table. The portal's flickering next to you and as you glance over, you look into the space and you can see the awe dreamy expanse of the Astral Sea. And there beyond it, Cognouza, the living city staring back at you. Literally staring back at you in some ways.

SAM: Oh jesus, that's creepy.

LAURA: Yeah, we should try to keep going.

LIAM: Just go.

SAM: The most livable city in the Abyss. Voted every-- three years running.

MATT: All right, that finishes Veth's go.

TRAVIS: So many Michelin stars.

MATT: It is now the creature's turn.

LAURA and LIAM: No.

TALIESIN: Yep.

LIAM: Are you sure?

MARISHA: This is going to be bad.

MATT: Yeah, I'm pretty sure.

LAURA: It's gonna be bad.

SAM: No, no, no, it's fine. It's got one attack.

LAURA: All of us are going to get sucked into a whirlpool vortex.

SAM: It can just do a punch attack for six points of damage. That's it.

MATT: It's going to, as Beauregard sits right there on the edge.

LAURA: Did it get-- Oh.

MATT: It's going to go ahead and maneuver itself right here.

LIAM: Nice. Nice.

MARISHA: Do I get a Sentinel attack or is it still in my range?

MATT: It does move out of your range, technically, as it tries to-- (whoosh)

MARISHA: But it's immune to--

SAM: Everything.

MARISHA: But Sentinel doesn't technically--

MATT: It doesn't grapple anything. It just reduces speed to zero.

MARISHA: To zero. Who knows? Maybe this will-- Oh, oh, yeah. I mean, it hits with an 18, so 30 to hit?

MATT: That'll hit, so it does not move.

MARISHA: And 11 damage.

LIAM: Thanks, Beauregard.

ASHLEY: How do we want to do this? (laughter)

MARISHA: I trip it. It just bumps its chin real bad.

TALIESIN: You literally whipped the tide for daring to turn without your leave.

MATT: It goes and tries to dive into the water as its tendrils begin to go underneath. And as it does, Beau takes a swing with the staff and hits. And as it does, its body forms up like a wave. And where it's, like, seemingly these faint, glowing orbs that float in the water where its face is, readjust to where the back of the head was. It reforms facing Beauregard. You've gotten its attention.

LAURA: Do its boobs also go from one side of its body to the other?

MATT: Yes, they do.

LAURA: Nice.

TRAVIS: Creepy, yes, thank you.

LIAM: Its nipples move through to the other side.

MATT: All right. It's going to go ahead and take four--

MARISHA: I wish I could do that. Yeah.

MATT: -- four attacks with its tendrils.

LIAM: Oh, damn it.

LAURA: Oh jeez.

MATT: It's going to be one at Beau, one at Yasha, one at Caleb.

LIAM: That's not right.

MATT: And roll a d6 for me, Laura. On a one to three, it goes after you, on a four to six, it goes after your duplicate.

LAURA: Six.

MATT: So it goes after the duplicates.

LAURA: Yes!

MATT: So that does miss you. And whips to the duplicate. However, against Beauregard, that is 24 to hit.

MARISHA: Yep.

MATT: Against Yasha, that is 25 to hit. And then against Caleb, that is 24 to hit.

LIAM: That hits.

MATT: All right.

SAM: Doing a little Ringo Starr. (laughter)

MARISHA: Like that octopus drummer in Aquaman?

SAM: Yeah.

LIAM: Yep.

MARISHA: And you were like, "Oh, that's an interesting choice."

MATT: Beauregard.

LIAM: You were into that.

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: Beauregard, you take 23 bludgeoning damage.

MARISHA: 23.

MATT: And 11 points of acid damage.

LAURA: Ooh, ooh!

TALIESIN: Oh boy.

MARISHA: So for 33 total?

LAURA: It's acid water?

MATT: The water from its body seems to be caustic when it wills it to be so.

LIAM: That's why the water tasted so funny.

SAM: It's peeing in the water.

MATT: That's you.

MARISHA: Okay.

MATT: Yasha?

LAURA: I was swimming in it. I was under pee water.

MATT: 25 points of bludgeoning damage.

ASHLEY: Halved?

MATT: Halved.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: So only 12 and four points of acid damage.

TRAVIS: These are big hits, guys.

MARISHA: Yeah, they are.

MATT: And Caleb.

LIAM: Yeah?

MATT: You take 18 points of bludgeoning damage.

LIAM: Okay.

MATT: And 11 points of acid.

LIAM: Yeah, okay, okay, okay. That makes my options clear.

LAURA: You haven't gone yet, have you?

LIAM: Nope.

LAURA: No.

MATT: I also need to each of you to make a strength saving throw.

LIAM: Oh, this should go well.

LAURA: Oh no.

ASHLEY: You have advantage.

LAURA: I am--

MATT: She didn't get hit, but you're raging. You have advantage.

ASHLEY: I do.

MATT: And Beauregard?

LIAM: I'm so strong.

MARISHA: Oh wait, what? Huh? What am I doing? (laughter)

MATT: Strength saving throw.

MARISHA: Oh, sorry, I was totally thinking of how to fight this thing.

TALIESIN: That's the trouble with being 10 steps ahead.

MARISHA: 19?

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: I've already been left behind.

ASHLEY: 26.

MATT: 26. Both of you guys after being slammed by it, the tentacles wrap around you and you just manage to push away and squeeze out. Caleb, it maintains its grip on you and you are grappled.

MARISHA: Oh no!

LIAM: Shit. Shit, shit.

MARISHA: That's not good.

MATT: All right. Finishing its turn now, Caleb and Fjord. You're up, but Caleb goes first--

LIAM: Fjord go first. Or I'll go.

TRAVIS: Go.

LIAM: So I'm in water tentacles?

MATT: Indeed. Oh, Jester, I also need you to roll a d20 for me, please, because you cast Polymorph.

LIAM: Ooh, this is new information.

LAURA: I did.

SAM: Oh, I also cast a spell, but it didn't work. Does that count?

MATT: Yours was what level? Second level?

SAM: No, third.

MATT: So I need you to roll as well.

LAURA: 16.

MATT: 16?

LAURA: It's 17 and up?

MATT: 17 is the--

LAURA: Oh my god.

SAM: 18.

MATT: I need you to roll a d100 for me, Nott.

TALIESIN: I better get that out.

SAM: Oh boy!

MARISHA: Maybe it's something good like the creature that you're fighting is teleported to hell.

SAM: 81.

MATT: 81.

LAURA: Oh god, that sounds like it's going to be something.

MATT: Your size shrinks by one category for one minute. You watch as Veth suddenly becomes from a medium-sized creature to-- Oh, no, you're a small creature normally. You are now a tiny creature. (laughter) You're hiding and then-- (laughter)

TRAVIS: What does tiny mean?

SAM: (high voice) Guys, what's going on? What just happened?

TRAVIS: Like Sprinkle size?

MATT: Almost, I'd say you're about--

SAM: Foot and a half?

MATT: About a foot tall.

LAURA: Oh!

ASHLEY: Oh! (laughs)

LAURA: That's so cute.

SAM: What's happening?

TRAVIS: Shut up!

LIAM: Oh my god!

SAM: (short scream)

MARISHA: Does your crossbow bolt also shrink with you?

SAM: Everything's tiny. (laughter) I got to have a little sip of my flask. That's a whole half an ounce.

MATT: All right.

LIAM: Okay. Did I see that? Can I see Veth, tiny Veth?

MATT: You cannot. Veth is completely on the opposite side of the room.

LIAM: Am I being held up in the air or am I down low?

MATT: You're just where you were standing. You're maybe lifted a little bit off the ground where it's holding you, but that's it. But it is literally blocking your line of sight to Veth.

LIAM: Okay, this is a dumb move and I'm going to do it. I'm going to Teleport right in front of the portal.

MATT: Okay, with the Teleport spell?

LIAM: Yes.

SAM: Oh!

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: (gasps)

SAM: Oh god.

LAURA: Oh no!

SAM: Oh no!

LAURA: Oh no!

TRAVIS: He's taking his chance.

MATT: I need you to one, roll a d20 for me.

LIAM: 18.

LAURA: (gasps) Oh no!

MATT: Okay, So first roll a d100, and then roll a d100. (laughter)

LIAM: 70-- 70.

MATT: 70, okay. And then roll the second d100 for me.

SAM: This is more d100s than I've ever rolled in both campaigns together.

TRAVIS: 87-- what you roll, 83?

MARISHA: He went-- an 81.

TRAVIS: 81.

MATT: All right.

LAURA: Oh my god!

MATT: So you cast Teleport and shunt out of the space and appear right in front of the portal.

SAM: Oh, great!

LAURA: Good job.

MATT: Which is awesome.

LIAM: But I die on the spot.

MARISHA: (laughs)

SAM: But your testicles are made of hands.

MATT: Tiny Veth, you look over and see Caleb appear. And then, his form shifts as well. Only now, he's a sheep.

LIAM: Yes! (laughter)

TRAVIS: What?!

LIAM: Yes!

TRAVIS: What?!

MATT: I'm going to use this little turtle.

TRAVIS: No!

MATT: We don't have a sheep, but you are polymorphed into a sheep.

SAM: You sheep shifted? (laughter)

MARISHA: Yes!

SAM: Wow.

LAURA: No!

TALIESIN: Fuck!

MARISHA: He got baa-anished.

SAM: He's a sheep shifter.

MATT: But that's your action.

LIAM: I should still have my movement.

MATT: You do.

LIAM: I step into the portal.

LAURA: No, as a sheep?!

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: You watch, those of you who can see, which is Beauregard looking over your shoulder. And Yasha. (laughter)

TRAVIS: (bleats)

MATT: Jester, as you look past, you see Caleb land. (laughter)

MATT: (bleats) And just floats slowly into astral space.

LIAM: How can I not?

TRAVIS: Yes, I love it.

LAURA: Oh my god.

LIAM: How dumb are sheep? They got to be real dumb.

TRAVIS: Oh my god! Oh my god.

LIAM: (laughs)

TRAVIS: (bleats)

TALIESIN: Oh no.

TRAVIS: In space, no one can hear you bleat. (laughter)

LIAM: Yep, intelligence 2. (bleating) Bye!

TRAVIS: Yeah!

MATT: All right, that finishes Caleb's go. Fjord, you're up.

LAURA: Oh my god!

TRAVIS: Holy fuck.

MATT: From your perspective, Caleb managed to escape the grasp. Hell yeah.

TALIESIN: Help, help.

MATT: What are you doing?

TRAVIS: Oh no, it's again.

MARISHA: Am I the only one that saw Caleb sheep?

MATT: You, over your shoulder, Veth, Jester, and Yasha all had line of sight to that. Caduceus, Fjord, and Essek did not see this.

MARISHA: Sheepleb! (laughter)

SAM: Caleb turned into a gigantic sheep!

TRAVIS: With my bonus action, I'll cast Expeditious Retreat at 1st-level.

MATT: You got it.

TRAVIS: And I will use the dash action to run 60 feet around the right side.

MATT: You've got it, which because of your armor, you do not suffer the penalty.

TRAVIS: Mariner's breastplate.

LAURA: So you're just straight up and out. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

TRAVIS: I don't know if I get all the way there, but--

LIAM: Should've turned into a sheep. Worked for me. (laughs)

MATT: 55.

LIAM: Don't be sheepish, get in there.

MATT: Which means you would be on the portal space. If you wanted to you could just, with your final five feet, jump in.

TRAVIS: No, I'll wait.

SAM: This is shear terror.

MATT: So that's your movement and your bonus action.

TRAVIS: My action--

MARISHA: That's pretty good. Yeah, that's a good one.

TRAVIS: (gum chomping and humming) Yeah, that's it. That's my turn.

SAM: You were made for water fights.

MATT: You're holding your action for anything, or no?

SAM: You're the water guy.

MATT: Readying an action, if you want.

MARISHA: Fuck it, in the portal. Caleb's already hoofing it that way.

LIAM: This is veal bad, you guys.

TRAVIS: Who's left on the ground? It's Jester and--?

LAURA: And Yasha.

MATT: Jester and Yasha right there. Caduceus and Essek.

TRAVIS: If it attacks Jester or Yasha, I'll let out some Eldritch Blast.

MATT: All right, so you got Eldritch Blast at the ready. You got it.

MARISHA: It's veal bad.

MATT: All right, finishing Fjord's go, that brings us to Essek.

MARISHA: Oh yeah, Essek.

SAM: He's got to have some tricks, right?

MATT: Essek is going to--

LAURA: (groans)

MATT: You were saying "help"?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: "(uncertain noise)" (laughter)

MATT: "Well, I guess it's more important that you keep everyone alive." He's going to go ahead and wrap his hands in an airspace and then put his-- clenched fingers forward and rush upward like that. And as he does, you feel this gust of wind as these sparkling arcane wings appear on your back and you have Fly on you.

ALL: Whoa!

LAURA: Are they pink, are they like unicorn--?

LIAM: Or are they purple, sparkly dunamancy wings?

MATT: They're purple, sparkly dunamancy wings.

LIAM: Yes!

MATT: So you do have Fly cast on you.

TALIESIN: Oh shit.

MATT: He rolls a nine.

LIAM: Goth My Little Pony.

MATT: So he's okay.

MARISHA: Yeah, yeah.

MATT: And he is going to take his movement.

ASHLEY: Oh god!

MATT: 15, that's all he can do. He's wading through the water and he's like, "Don't forget to return the favor."

SAM: He can't float on the water?

TRAVIS: Is Expeditious Retreat the spell--

SAM: He can't float on the water with his little--

LIAM: It's a three-inch spell.

MATT: It doesn't quite work like that. It keeps him off of solid ground, but it doesn't put him over surfaces. It's not a levitate type spell.

TRAVIS: Do I need to roll for Expeditious Retreat?

MATT: What level spell is that?

TRAVIS: One.

MATT: I believe it's one. No, you're fine.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MATT: All right, so that finishes--

SAM: You guys both thinking about Devexian? Is that what's going on? (laughter)

MATT: Caduceus.

TALIESIN: What's my speed with flight?

MATT: So, Fly.

TRAVIS: Get some ice tea in here!

MARISHA: We just turn into the Steel Magnolias cast.

MATT: 60 feet.

MARISHA: Well, he was just the sweetest man.

TALIESIN: Can I pick up Essek as I'm flying past?

MATT: You could, yeah. It'll slow down your movement to half, but you can do it.

TALIESIN: But I'll get that first chunk of my movement at full speed and then--

MATT: You will.

TALIESIN: All right, let's do that.

MATT: Okay. Now, the reason it takes half your movement, though he's a relatively light individual, you're both waterlogged. And so your clothing is very heavy. So as you drift up, it does slow your movement in half, but you do manage to pick up Essek and five, 15, 20, 25, 30. You are essentially--

TRAVIS: (laughs) Yeah, great.

LAURA: Oh god, directly above him.

TALIESIN: I would've gone around the side, I think.

MATT: You'd like to go around the side?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: Which way, over here?

TRAVIS: Towards the tendril.

TALIESIN: Let's take the left, actually.

MATT: This over here?

TALIESIN: Everyone keeps taking the right. Let's take the left.

MATT: I respect that. Okay. Put you about there.

TALIESIN: Yeah, probably wouldn't be quite that high, but yeah.

MATT: Okay?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: You get the gist, that was what I used.

TALIESIN: I'll also say-- No, never mind, it wouldn't work.

LIAM: Got to go on the lamb you guys, let's go.

SAM: (laughs)

MATT: I'll go ahead and make it not as high.

TRAVIS: We got a sheep in orbit.

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: The sheep in orbit.

TRAVIS: Baa!

MATT: All righty. So as you lift, Essek's like-- (screams) You're just carrying him up in the air, he's like-- the wings--

TALIESIN: Yeah, I don't want to die from fall damage.

MATT: Tentacles are whipping around. It'll break some of it. That finishes your go, Caduceus?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: Yasha, it's your turn.

ASHLEY: Well, hell.

MATT: Actually, you know what? No. At the end of your turn, it's going to take a legendary action to go ahead and make a slam attack. Which right now, the smartest would be against you, Caduceus. I'm sorry. That would be 20.

TALIESIN: That is my armor class.

MATT: It does hit you.

LIAM: (groans)

MATT: So the tentacle, whips up in the air and catches you in the side. You take--

ASHLEY: Maybe he'll just hit you into the portal. (laughter)

TALIESIN: Pinball wizard.

MARISHA: This isn't a new round, is it?

MATT: 23 points of bludgeoning damage.

TALIESIN: Cool.

MATT: And 10 acid.

TRAVIS: Yasha starts it.

TALIESIN: That's not cool.

MATT: All right. Yasha, now it's your turn.

ASHLEY: Okay.

SAM: Come on, Yasha. No more muttoning around.

ASHLEY: We're just going?

TALIESIN: I mean, you got to get everybody together, but yeah.

ASHLEY: I'm going to start booking it into the portal.

MARISHA: Do you think sheep Caleb's eyes are square? (laughter)

TRAVIS: (bleats)

MATT: 50's your movement, you said?

ASHLEY: 50's my movement.

TRAVIS: (goat scream)

MATT: That's your movement there, you still have--

LIAM: ♪ I knew you were trouble when you walked in ♪

MATT: -- your action and bonus action.

LAURA: You could just go--

SAM: ♪ Trouble, trouble ♪

ASHLEY: Where's my girlfriend?

MATT: She's 10 feet from you in front on the stairs, still facing off with the creature which is now faced in that direction.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: Eyes, face, and boobs and all, facing off with Beauregard.

ASHLEY: Great. She knows how to handle that. I'll jump in.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: Rest of my turn.

MATT: You leap in. It now takes its reaction. It wasn't worried about the sheep. Wasn't too worried with you, but you've been a bit of a problem. It's going to go ahead and strike out with its reaction because it still has it, to try and hit you. That would be a twenty... five to hit you.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

MATT: All right, so you take... 20 points of bludgeoning damage, reduced to 10.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: And three points of acid damage and I need you to make a strength saving throw.

LIAM: No, come on. Come on.

ASHLEY: I have advantage. Oh, it's cocked. I have no room in my box anymore.

MATT: I know what that's like.

LIAM: Dice!

ASHLEY: Okay, not bad. Ooh, okay, natural 19, so plus 10, so yeah.

MATT: Yeah.

LIAM: Nice.

MATT: It tries to hold onto you as you leap through, it catches you and you just kick it off and you give way into the space. You're now looking back over your shoulder, you see this tiny little pocket of the inside of the room and just this vast expanse of distant, floating, gyrating dark--

ASHLEY: Do I see a sheep?

MATT: -- and one sheep.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: (bleats)

TRAVIS: And because it tried to attack Yasha or Jester, I'll release those Eldritch Blasts.

MATT: Go for it, three strikes on it.

TRAVIS: That's 18 to hit.

MATT: 18 does hit.

TRAVIS: Okay, second one is a 13, misses. And the last one is a 23, so two hit.

MATT: Indeed.

TRAVIS: Five, five, eleven.

LIAM: Maybe I could be like the yunie--

TRAVIS: 22 points of force damage.

MATT: How much?

TRAVIS: 22 total.

MATT: 22, nice. (impacts) Like small depth charges, both of them sink into the middle of the water about a foot into its body and then (small explosions) on the inside, giving this flash of light and you can see the impact bubble before it finds itself back to median.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MATT: Awesome, that finishes your reaction on there. Finishes Yasha's go. Jester, you're up. Beau, on deck.

LAURA: Okay. I'm going to move and try to get up to the portal area.

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: That is such a big--

LAURA: I mean, it's so huge.

MATT: Right there, that's your movement.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: You're like (splashing).

LIAM: You want to dash?

MARISHA: Yeah, double it up. Go, go, go, go.

LAURA: Double it up. Would I be able to make it through the portal if I doubled it, if I dashed?

MATT: You may.

MARISHA: Out of water? Is she out of the water?

LAURA: I'll use my action to get up.

MATT: Yeah, you'd be out of water on there, so it wouldn't be--

LAURA: Okay, yeah, then... I'll get up to it.

MATT: You can jump in or you could stay, up to you.

LAURA: I'm going to use... (nervous chittering) (heavy sigh) (uncertain sound)

MARISHA: You can fly, right?

TALIESIN: At the moment.

LAURA: But we might be down a cleric. I'm going to stay off to the side.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: Not jumping in?

LAURA: I'm not jumping in, just in case somebody goes down and Caduceus is out.

MATT: Okay, so you and Fjord are currently just settled right on the edge of the portal.

LAURA: Yeah, I'll be on the opposite, on the other side of the portal from Fjord.

MATT: Okay, as you both stand there, there's this very faint sensation of the wind rushing past you into the space behind, both your hair is being blown in that direction as you look at each other, just.

LAURA: I'm going to try to make it-- I'm going to have my duplicate get underneath Caduceus and Essek just in case they fall, I'll be able to get to them really quickly.

MATT: You got it. All right, that finishes your go, Jester. Beauregard, you're up. Veth, you're on deck. Veth, you're on deck.

MARISHA: We running? We good? Because if so, I'm going to go. I'm going to start darting towards the portal. I'm still in combat with it?

MATT: You are. You're in melee with it, yeah.

MARISHA: Can I tell if it's looking rough?

TRAVIS: Are you grappled?

MATT: It's hard to tell on a massive water creature.

MARISHA: No idea?

MATT: It's taking some hits like a champ and doesn't appear to be changing its behavior, so.

LIAM: That thing is a mess.

TALIESIN: Not yet.

MATT: Not. Yet.

TALIESIN: It's not a construct, is it? Technically?

MATT: You think probably not.

TALIESIN: Okay. I'm figuring out some shit.

MATT: No, totally, totally. So, Beau?

MARISHA: I am going to Step of the Wind to disengage.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: So it doesn't hit me.

MATT: It did already use its reaction.

MARISHA: Oh, it already used its reaction? Oh.

MATT: To strike for Yasha.

MARISHA: Oh, that's right. Well then, great. Then I'll just not do that. I'll save a ki point.

ASHLEY: I did that on purpose. Anything for my princess! (laughter) (laughter)

TRAVIS: Wow.

MATT: I love you so much, Ashley.

TRAVIS: [inaudible]

LIAM: Princess punch.

MARISHA: Anything for my princess.

MATT: Ha ha. Ha ha.

ASHLEY: Ah ha ha ha ha.

MATT: All right, anyway, enough "Room" jokes. Beauregard, what're you doing?

LIAM: I like the Tin Man.

MARISHA: I run up to where Fjord and Jester are.

TRAVIS: Hi, doggie!

MATT: All right.

MARISHA: I look at them. Right behind me, yeah? And I jump in.

MATT: You jump into the space. You vanish from view. It's the same thing, you glance out a little bit after Yasha as you both catch at the same trajectory, just floating there, looking at each other and looking back at the whipping whirlwind of water in the chamber where you previously were, where you see the backs of Jester and Fjord looking back towards you as they focus back on the inside of the chamber, hoping the rest of your friends can make it.

MARISHA: And a sheep.

MATT: And a little, baa!

MARISHA: It's like that beautiful scene from Across the Universe, but then also a sheep is there.

MATT: But also a sheep, yeah, basically. All right, that finish your turn, Beau?

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: All right, Veth, you're up.

SAM: In the contraption with the rods.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

SAM: There's a rod in it still?

MATT: There is.

SAM: I just wonder if we should close the door on our way through or no.

TALIESIN: I don't think that's possible.

MARISHA: Can we?

LAURA: I don't know.

MATT: You can make an arcana check if you want to see if that's something possible.

SAM: Sure, I'll make an arcana check.

MATT: Go for it.

SAM: Four.

MATT: Four. (laughter) Possible.

LIAM: Try to Mage Hand it on the way out.

SAM: That's what I was going to do.

LIAM: But you got to do it once everyone's through.

SAM: Yeah, I'm so-- I want to stay and help them through, but I feel like, between Jester and Fjord.

MARISHA: Yeah.

SAM: They've got enough to get through. Both of you can do bamf-y things.

MARISHA: It starts becoming a chicken and egg thing.

SAM: Yeah, so I feel like I should just go. I'll cast Mage Hand and just leave it hovering near the rod.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: And I will climb up and into the portal. (laughter) (high-pitched) Come on!

MATT: As opposed to a giant leap!

TRAVIS: Ugh! (laughter) Fucking-- (laughter)

MATT: It's like you suddenly realize you got brushed by the chupacabra.

TRAVIS: Fuck this place!

LIAM: Man, putting tiny Vax to shame.

SAM: (high-pitched giggle)

LIAM: You're like a baseball.

MATT: That's really creepy. Okay, does that finish your turn?

SAM: Yeah.

MATT: You're now floating through space, catching up with the two of them and a sheep.

LIAM: Baa.

MATT: You got it. All right, finishing Veth's go.

LAURA: Veth is really far away from us! (laughter)

LIAM: How did she get ahead?

SAM: (high-pitched) It's perspective, I'm right next to you!

MATT: It's going to go ahead and move--

LAURA: Oh no.

MATT: -- in a little bit closer there.

LIAM: Oof.

MATT: Angrily, it's going to go ahead and take four more strikes.

SAM: Oh, jesus.

LIAM: Oh, mama.

LAURA: All right.

SAM: If it grapples all of these fuckers.

LIAM: Oh, mama.

MATT: It's going to take a strike at you, Caduceus.

TALIESIN: Mm-hmm.

MATT: It's going to take a strike at Fjord, a strike at Jester, and a strike at Essek. One of each.

LAURA: Is it going to try for my duplicate again, or?

MATT: Yeah, go ahead and roll for the duplicate to see if it goes after one or the other.

LAURA: Five!

MATT: Five. It goes after the duplicate. Jester, you are free.

SAM: All right, we've got one person.

MATT: As it swings once more, swiping at the nonexistent, technically, Jester Lavorre.

SAM: (like Jester) Technically.

MATT: (like Jester) Technically. Swinging for you, Fjord.

SAM: You fleeced him!

ASHLEY: Technically, it's not me.

MATT: That is a 27.

TRAVIS: Yes, sir.

MATT: Against you, Caduceus, that is a 19.

TALIESIN: Oh my god, I have a reaction to that.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: I'm going to--

TRAVIS: I'm appalled! (laughter)

TALIESIN: How dare you? How dare you? (laughter) I've encountered many bodies of water in my life, but never!

MATT: Man, grave clerics get all the good abilities. Technically, Cutting Words does well.

TALIESIN: I'm going to retort with 4d6 force damage.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: Two, three, four. And they have to succeed a strength saving throw.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: Oh, wow. 20 points of force damage.

MATT: Nice.

TALIESIN: That went well.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: All righty, and a strength saving throw?

TALIESIN: Yep.

MATT: That is going to be 16.

TALIESIN: I think it's off of my spell AC, which is 18.

MATT: 18, so that'd be a fail. It's going to use a Legendary Resistance to succeed.

TALIESIN: Awesome, how many-- wow. Two, three Legendary Resistances? Okay, we're at two Legendary Resistances now, right?

MATT: All righty, as the shield flashes and you see the water form in itself hold strong like a bulwark until the shield flashes, and you watch as its shoulders dent inward for a moment before it has to reform the space where the impact blasted it. All right, and the last one is going to be Essek, which, a natural 19, that hits.

LIAM: Ooh!

MATT: All right, so Fjord, you take 23 points of bludgeoning damage.

TRAVIS: Woo, baby!

MATT: And four points of acid.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MATT: And Essek takes-- Ooh, that's not good-- 29 points of bludgeoning damage.

LIAM: (like Arnold Schwarzenegger) Get to the portal!

MATT: And two points of acid damage. Essek's looking a little rough. As he takes the hit, he's like, "Ah! (coughing)" And begins coughing. I need you to make a strength saving throw.

TRAVIS: Okay.

LAURA: Oh god.

LIAM: Should've gone sheep.

TRAVIS: 21.

MATT: 21, you succeed. Essek, with a natural three, does not.

LIAM: I didn't lose my hair, I got more.

SAM: Oh, Essek is grappled?

MATT: Essek is grappled.

TRAVIS: ♪ Natural 19! ♪

MATT: So you are now clutching him, and you can't move as long as you're holding onto him as the creature has a strong hold on Essek Thelyss.

TRAVIS: Can that fucker teleport or anything?

TALIESIN: We'll find out.

MATT: All right, that finishes his turn.

SAM: Maybe he had it coming.

MATT: Now we come to Caleb. You're a sheep.

LIAM: (bleats)

MATT: Fjord, your turn.

TRAVIS: And you're not grappled?

TALIESIN: I am not.

TRAVIS: But Essek is.

TALIESIN: But Essek is.

TRAVIS: And he's up in the air?

TALIESIN: Not high, but yes.

MATT: Yeah, about 15 feet up in the air, being held by Caduceus, who now is trying to hold and pull, his wings flapping hard, and Essek's just grabbed by him, and Essek's like (groans), just reeling from the pain of the crush and the acid burn.

TRAVIS: I'm just trying to picture it, so if I waded out to him, would I be able to jump up and reach him at all, if he's 15 feet in the air?

MATT: 15 feet's a pretty high jump, especially from water, even with your armor.

LAURA: Can you aim at the tentacles that's holding him?

TRAVIS: I don't know if that'll drop him, though.

MATT: You could certainly try.

TRAVIS: I certainly could.

MATT: It's D&D: If you can imagine it, you can certainly try.

TRAVIS: That's right.

TALIESIN: ♪ [inaudible] ♪ Oh wait.

TRAVIS: It's not a bad idea, actually. I do hate to stay here, though, and this is my whole fucking movement. I'm here for another round. Balls. My hit points.

MATT: It's your call.

TRAVIS: Yeah. I'll fire three Eldritch Blasts at the tentacle.

MATT: Okay, because you are aiming specifically at a tentacle, it does have a higher AC than the creature's base AC, because you're aiming at a very specific part. So as opposed to aiming for the 17, you are aiming for a 22. Go ahead and roll.

TRAVIS: At disadvantage, or just regular rolls?

MATT: Just regular rolls at a 22.

TRAVIS: That's off the table.

SAM: ♪ Regular rolls, regular rolls. ♪

TRAVIS: 13 plus--

MARISHA: All the way back to the beginning.

LIAM: Yeah.

TRAVIS: 10 is 23.

MATT: 23 hits.

TRAVIS: Okay.

SAM: What if this city is just no rules.

TRAVIS: That's a four. Ah! God, jesus.

TALIESIN: Just rock and roll.

MARISHA: Just going bowling.

TRAVIS: That's a natural one.

MATT: Okay, so one hit.

TRAVIS: One hit. 11 points of force damage.

MATT: 11 points of force damage. It hits it and you watch the tentacle bursts a bit on one side, but it holds true. The other two, unfortunately, go wide. It's not enough to sever its connection to Essek Thelyss.

TRAVIS: I can't make myself a liability. I back up through the portal.

SAM: Oh, you're just gone?

TRAVIS: My hit points are too low and I can't stay here for another round.

MATT: Fjord is now drifting out in the Astral Sea with the rest of the Mighty Nein.

TRAVIS: If I could've touched him, I could've done one thing, but.

MATT: All right, that finishes Fjord's go.

LIAM: We don't want to be Thelyss.

MATT: It is now Essek's. Essek, as you're holding on, is just like, "Don't worry, we've all got tricks up our sleeve."

SAM: Okay, okay, okay.

MATT: He's going to bonus action cast Misty Step.

LIAM: There we go.

LAURA: Nice.

TRAVIS: That's clutch.

MATT: Vanish out and appear right in the space where Fjord was. Just drifting off the ground a bit, looks over at Jester. "Let's make it quick."

LAURA: Go.

MATT: And then just glides into it and begins, just continues his gliding outward, almost like he just drifted into a fly. All right.

LAURA: I'm going to shout from my duplicate: Come on, Caduceus!

MATT: You got it.

TRAVIS: Nice.

MATT: Okay, finishing Essek's turn.

LIAM: Jester.

MATT: Caduceus.

TALIESIN: Bonus action, turn invisible.

MATT: Bonus action, turn invisible, you got it.

TALIESIN: And I'm going to try to make a beeline with my movement towards the portal.

MATT: That is smart as fuck, because it cannot make a reaction attacking something it cannot see.

TRAVIS: Nice!

ASHLEY: Nicely done!

TRAVIS: Fucking Caduceus! Caduceus!

TALIESIN: Does my reaction get me all the way to the portal?

SAM: Your movement?

TALIESIN: Does my movement get me all the way to the portal?

MATT: You have a movement of 60 right now, because you're no longer holding Essek.

TALIESIN: Because I'm no longer holding Essek. So on my way out...

SAM: You're going to draw a dick.

MATT: However, actually, this is a valid point. Essek did take damage. He took 31 damage. We'll see if he drops the Fly spell.

LAURA: Oh, right.

MARISHA: Does he have War Caster? He does, right?

MATT: He does, so he gets-- which is good, because his first roll was a three. That'll do it, natural 18.

LIAM: Yes!

TRAVIS: Fuckin' A.

LIAM: Yessek!

ASHLEY: Yessek!

MATT: He maintains concentration on Fly. You remain able to make this turn. So as you glide towards the portal, invisible, you turn around at the last minute. What are you doing?

TALIESIN: Is Jester the last one here?

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: Both of them.

TALIESIN: I'm just going to tap a Bless on my way out, just to-- Actually, how do you look? Do you look fucking rough?

LAURA: I don't look fucking rough.

TALIESIN: Okay, I'm going to tap a Bless on you on the way out.

LIAM: Tap that Bless.

LAURA: Tap that Bless!

TALIESIN: Tap that Bless.

SAM: Oh boy, Jessie.

MATT: Okay. Essek.

SAM: Get through that door.

LIAM: Don't do another Happy Fun Ball, please.

MATT: Essek gets through the door.

LAURA: I know, right?

MATT: There you go. All right, that brings us around, as everyone else is drifting, Jester, it's your turn. You and your duplicate now stand confronting this angry elemental monstrosity. What are you doing?

LAURA: I'm going to say: It's just you and me, Titties. (laughter) And I'm going to make my duplicate step up in front of me and have a standoff with it like she's putting up her dukes. She's going to pull out a handaxe and act like she's about to fight it as I back up and try to bamf through the door.

MATT: Okay, it does have its reaction back.

LAURA: I know.

MATT: So it's going to go ahead and take a swipe, and since you're the one stepping out of range, not the duplicate, it is not--

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: -- fooled, because it's reacting to the one that moves out of its 20-foot combat range.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: Which its tentacles allow.

TRAVIS: 20-foot combat range!

LAURA: That's fine.

LIAM: Those titties have a long reach.

MATT: As soon as she leaps through the portal, it attacks her through the portal. You make it through. You jump, and about five feet, a little over five feet out of the portal, whipping out through towards you. That's going to be a 25 to hit. (groaning) You take-- that's actually a pretty low roll.

LIAM: She's a tank, she's a tank.

MATT: 20 points of bludgeoning damage.

MARISHA: It's that's grapple.

MATT: And two points of acid damage. I need you to make a strength saving throw.

TALIESIN: With a d4.

MARISHA: Roll high.

LIAM: Come on, stronk girl.

MARISHA: Yeah, that's right, you got that Bless.

ASHLEY: Are we close at all, to try to--

LIAM: Stronk!

LIAM: No.

ASHLEY: No. No, no.

MARISHA: You lie!

LAURA: Seven plus two is a nine!

MATT: You guys, as Jester rushes out, going towards you, she's now held and tethered through the portal.

SAM: I use my Mage Hand to pull!

ASHLEY: Wait, isn't your Mage Hand on the lever?

MATT: Okay. Okay.

ASHLEY: Isn't your Mage Hand on the lever?

MATT: Mage Hand is on the lever.

SAM: It is on the lever.

ASHLEY: Oh, cut that tentacle!

MATT: So we come back, Veth, it's your turn.

SAM: I will push down the lever!

MARISHA: Pull the lever!

LIAM: She's on the Astral Plane side?

MATT: Yeah. So.

MARISHA: Because it doesn't pull, it just grapples.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: Correct, so she's just held there. You watch as Jester's now pulled, and being pulled, drawn back into the portal, and the portal vanishes. (cheering) With just a (splash) of water that drifts out, releasing you.

TALIESIN: In the endless void!

TRAVIS: Yeah!

LAURA: Good job, tiny Veth!

SAM: (high-pitched) Yay!

TRAVIS: It's out here you guys! (impacts)

TALIESIN: Papule, running through the--

LIAM: You guys. (bleats)

LAURA: Do you think we could have a feast out here in the sea?

ASHLEY: Boy, I sure hope so.

TALIESIN: Very "Alice in Wonderland", trying to to set up--

TRAVIS: When the door closes, what is in its place? Just a door?

MATT: Nothing.

TRAVIS: Nothing.

LAURA: Just emptiness.

MATT: Where it vanishes, you all now glance about. The wash of elation of your escape and that victory is short-lived as you all now look about yourselves, free-floating in the middle of a spatial expanse where you've been once before. Adjacent to the Folding Halls of Halas, you once engaged and stepped into the mouth of an astral dreadnought in a very similar realm. As you now find yourselves free floating through the Astral Sea. You take stock of everyone, including the sheep, and look back.

SAM: "Take stock."

TRAVIS: Just floating around.

MATT: Towards the mass of rock that now-- It is challenging to figure out perspective of how big it is, it is so immense before you below: an entire still-intact section of Aeor stares back, hundreds of structures and neighborhoods and streets intertwined, arches, walkways, tall, tall towers that seem to reach on forever. Somewhere in there is Lucien and Cree, heading towards whatever their goals are. And as you all look forward to where you're intended to go, you can't help but look out of the peripheral of your eyes and see bits of the city shift and flex, like muscles involuntarily awakening, and beneath the rock you can see these long tendrils, thin, sinew-like, like drifting threads that coast along with it as it moves forward, and it is moving, closer and closer. Caleb and Beau, it's at this point that you begin to hear in the inside of your head a familiar sound, a static of faint screams and laughs and sobs and shouts, and a voice peeks through. "Welcome." "Welcome," "Welcome," "Welcome," "Welcome." "Welcome." And that's where we'll end tonight's episode.

TRAVIS: Oh boy, they just got themselves a sheep.

LIAM: Everybody flock together. (laughter)

TRAVIS: We are wool-fully unprepared for this.

ASHLEY: Oh, I'm bleating out of all the places.

TALIESIN: The shear horror of it.

ASHLEY: We're looking rough.

LAURA: Terrible.

TRAVIS: What's your HP?

TALIESIN: I wanted one. That's all I needed.

ASHLEY: My total?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

ASHLEY: 154.

TRAVIS: No, where are you now?

ASHLEY: 16. (laughter) That's why-- Because I was like, I don't want any of you guys to have to peel me off the ground, so I was like, I'm going to go through the portal.

LIAM: That's why I did what I did. I was like, I could go out of here cool and dead, or alive.

TRAVIS: You did go out cool. (laughs)

MATT: It was pretty cool.

LIAM: This thing is holding me and I have no strength.

TRAVIS: Fuck.

MATT: Oh man.

ASHLEY and TALIESIN: Yeah.

SAM: Cool.

MATT: Well, you've made it to Cognouza.

LAURA: Oh my god.

MATT: We'll see what lies in store for you next time.

TALIESIN: I can't wait to go shopping.

SAM: Shopping episode?

TALIESIN: Shopping episode, shopping episode.

MARISHA: Yes.

ASHLEY: Shop-nouza?

MARISHA: Shop-nouza!

TALIESIN: Do you have any healing potions? (retches)

MATT: Just vomits into a glass.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Oh, jesus.

LIAM: We need a shearing episode. (laughter)

MATT: Well, we'll pick up there next time. Thank you all so much for joining us. We love you very much, and is it Thursday yet? Good night.

TRAVIS: Oh, wow.