Transcript:Call of the Wild

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

ALL: (hollering) We play Dungeons & Dragons.

MATT: Before we get into our session tonight, we do have some announcements to get through, beginning with our first sponsor, which is Quip. Sam?

SAM: It's me, Ludo McGillicutty. Welcome back to the Quip Public Domain Lounge. (scats)

MATT: Is there something different about you, Ludo?

SAM: I can't believe you noticed, Mork.

MATT: It's really hard to miss. You've really blossomed into something special.

SAM: Well, yes, my mouth is cleaner thanks to Quip's new rechargeable cordless water flosser. ♪ It's an easy-to-control ♪ water flow ♪ ♪ That leaves you ♪ squeaky clean ♪ ♪ Five dollar ♪ replacement floss tips ♪ ♪ Shipped every ♪ three months ♪ ♪ If you know what I mean ♪ Thank you.

MATT: That's a nice song, but I (laughs), I actually meant how you're turning into a sunflower.

SAM: I what? I'm sorry?

MATT: Look. (laughter)

MATT: Your body's going through some changes. It's nothing to be ashamed of.

SAM: Yeah, you're a piece of work, Man Ray. You know that? The only change I've gone through is using this water flosser, which blasts away pollen, I mean plaque, with precision. With a 360-degree rotating magnetic floss tip. With a 360-degree rotating magnetic floss tip. (laughter)

SAM: ♪ Hit all the right spots ♪ ♪ With the touch ♪ of a button, yep ♪

MATT: Oh, that was-- (laughter)

MATT: That was also a very fine song, Ludo. It's just, look, your stem is really great, but those petals. You should really be proud-- (laughs)

TRAVIS: The words.

MATT: Proud of how you look, man.

SAM: Ixnay on the owerflay, Magic 8-Ball, okay?

MATT: Look, I don't understand what's wrong.

SAM: If Quip finds out that I'm slowly becoming a flower, they're going to drop me as their spokes-crooner. Flowers don't have teeth.

MATT: Look, I'm sure they'll understand. And maybe I could take over the gig for you.

SAM: Nobody wants that, Mr. Mustard. Well, until next time, folks, it's me, the very human Ludo McGillicutty wishing you good flossing and reminding you to get 20% off a Quip water flosser when you go to getquip.com/criticalfloss. Plus, save extra 20% on already discounted bundles. ♪ I have very human teeth ♪ because I'm a human man ♪ ♪ I don't self-pollinate ♪ because I'm not a flower ♪ Bye-bye, Matt. Uh oh. I seem to be stuck.

MATT: It's your roots.

ASHLEY: Oh my god.

SAM: I'm not a flower, Mancheego Cheese, I just--

LIAM: Mancheego?

MARISHA: Mancheego (laughs).

SAM: I'm actually kind of thirsty. Can you water me?

MATT: I don't want to.

SAM: Can you, please?

LIAM: Oh boy. Oh boy.

LAURA: No.

SAM: Thank you, water my body.

LIAM: Aim for his stigma.

SAM: Oh! Oh, yes! So refreshing! Oh, yes! Matt, back to you. (laughter)

SAM: I can't leave, though, because I'm rooted to the spot, so I'm just going to have to stay here.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: I'll pluck you.

MATT: This episode is also sponsored by Thorum.

SAM: (straining) (laughter)

LAURA: Duck down.

MATT: Don't show that on-- sit down, Sam! Sit down! (laughs)

LIAM: You can't show stamen on Twitch.

SAM: Just going to sit right here. (laughter)

LIAM: Please, can we Photoshop in, like, some flower blooms?

ASHLEY: Oh my god.

MATT: This episode is also sponsored by Thorum, makers of handcrafted unique wedding bands. Made out of everything from meteorites to whiskey barrels, right here in the US of A. Thorum's been making rings for 10 years now, and they take great pride in its amazing customer service, quality, and original designs, and not turning into sunflowers. Every single purchase includes a free silicon activity band and a wooden ring box. (scats) So when you need to take the ring off and do stuff, you don't damage it. Plus, they make the process as easy as possible by offering ring-sizers that you can just get sized at home. So whether you need a wedding band, an anniversary ring, or you just want a ring that looks awesome, like one of these, head on over to thorum.com and use promo code CRITICALROLE, one word, to get 20% off a truly unique and epic ring.

TRAVIS: Epic ring.

MATT: Sunflower Man.

SAM: I have to do another ad. (laughter)

TRAVIS: I transplanted you.

LAURA: I like how nervous the sunflower makes you.

MARISHA: I know.

LAURA: Because it always shakes just a little bit. You're just like-- (laughter)

SAM: I was holding a semi squat over there because I didn't want people to see my wang.

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: I could see it.

SAM: Hey, we've got another sponsor tonight, D&D Beyond. Bring "The War of the Lance" to your table and become the hero that Krynn needs. Play a Kender and follow your curiosity for adventure and mischief. Join forces with the legendary Knights of Solamnia. Nope, Salmnia. Maybe. Or-- (laughter)

SAM: Or the Mages of High Sorcery. Imbue your powers with lunar magic from Kreen's three--

LAURA, TALIESIN, and LIAM: Krynn.

SAM: Kreen's three mystical moons with an all-new Lunar Sorcery subclass. Fight against legendary villains like Lord Soth, and face legions of draconians, dragons, and other servants of the Dragon Quin. It's quin, right?

LAURA and TALIESIN: Yeah.

SAM: Or queen? Okay, you can purchase Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen today at dndbeyond.link/crdragonlance.

TRAVIS: Dope.

MATT: Thank you, buddy. Laura, you got a couple things to talk about, too, I believe.

LAURA: Yep. We've got a T-shirt.

TALIESIN: I should've worn mine. (cheering)

LAURA: The Beauty of Exandria: In Motion collection. It's Ashton Greymoore pocket T-shirt. On the back, it says...

SAM: Just don't.

ASHLEY: Just don't!

LAURA: Here you go, Taliesin.

TALIESIN: I actually already have one.

LAURA: It's pretty fabulous.

SAM: Have we ever done a pocket tee before?

MARISHA: The Fearne one.

LAURA: Yes.

LIAM: The Fearne one.

SAM: Oh. Sorry. (laughter)

LAURA: Also--

TALIESIN: I bought matching pants at Hot Topic, too.

LAURA: This is part of The Beauty of Exandria: The Archives collection. It's a journal sticker set.

TALIESIN: What?

ALL: Ooh.

LAURA: Art by Grace Berríos. Look, because we've been wanting stickers that could go in our journals, and we have all these journals.

TRAVIS: And by "we," you mean you.

LAURA: But yes.

MARISHA: Are those Omars?

LAURA: No, they're like little Misters and little Frumpkins.

MARISHA: Oh my god.

LAURA: And there's all sorts of things. There's little Pâtés, and then you've got these little ones that you can write your own stuff in. I know that I shouldn't show off every single one of these things, but there's these ones and these ones and they're all really cute. Go to the website and check them out because I love these, and they--

TRAVIS: Ronin is all over these damn things.

LAURA: I know, right?

TALIESIN: Little bits to play with, ooh.

ASHLEY: I love him.

LAURA: Look at all of these stickers. It comes with so many stickers. They'll be so great for journaling, or for scrapbooking, or for sticking on things.

MARISHA: Can I have those?

TRAVIS: Like your son putting them on your forehead.

LAURA: Yes, very much.

ASHLEY: This does look like Omar from far away.

MARISHA: I thought it was an Omar emoji.

LAURA: There's Captain Tusktooths!

ASHLEY: Oh my god.

LAURA: Go check them out.

ASHLEY: OMG.

MATT: Awesome.

TRAVIS: Bing!

MATT: Thank you, Laura.

LAURA: You're welcome!

MATT: I think that actually--

MARISHA: Little Pâté.

MATT: -- brings us to the end of our announcements. So I think it's time for us to jump into tonight's episode of Critical Role. (wind rushing)

Part I
MATT: Welcome back. So, last we left off, Bells Hells, in the wake of the loss of their friend and patron, Lord Ariks Eshteross, managed to prove they were not responsible for his demise, as well as agree to align the interests of Seshadri and the other members and/or allies in and around the Quorum of Jrusar to find the one responsible, which you are pretty sure is the same individual that you fear maybe hunting you or you might be hunting them. But regardless, you were left a skyship, as it seemed Eshteross was aware of his rapidly approaching fate. After acquiring the ship, you began to head to the southeastern direction to Aeshanadoor and the city Yios, the City of Flowing Light where you have a few narrative threads to pursue. Some figures you have been sent towards and some mysteries that seem to lead in that direction. In flying over-- In choosing to fly over the Hellcatch Valley, a brief tussle with a chimera that seemed to be hunting a number of cockatrices. Then eventually heading into and over the Gloomed Jungles of Aeshanadoor. There, you found a ruin of some sort of a military tower. With the information that you had received from Ajit Dayal, you, Chetney, in seeking the Gorgynei, the sect of blood hunters that focus on controlling the beast of lycanthropy within, the group has stopped at your behest. Here, you howled at dusk in hopes that they would hear you. And hear you, they did. Along this journey, you did make a sending stone call to our good friend Dorian who did reply, retroactively.

ROBBIE: Oh, Orym. My heart aches that I cannot be there to help you. Find strength. Stay steadfast. Sending you fairer winds. Is this thing on? (laughter)

LIAM: That guy's got a good voice.

MATT: He's got a good voice.

SAM: Wow.

TRAVIS: You could listen to him read a book.

LAURA: So cute.

MATT: Upon being nearly ambushed by the Gorgynei, you proved to not be an antagonistic force to their ventures and life out here. Upon proving yourself to be one who has some training with hemocraft and wrestling this beast within, they agreed to take you to their hidden village. Hidden village they refer to as Barinak. Here, you were introduced to a number of the civilians that also lay under the protection of the Gorgynei, themselves carrying lycanthropic curse themselves. There we go. That's a phrase and a half there. I appreciate the support, Laura. (laughter)

LAURA: I'm impressed.

MATT: Oh, thank you. Upon discussing your interests, the short timeframe you have, and the recent unexpected control over your transformation unexpected control over your transformation that the ruddy moon Ruidus previously did not have, you are guided to the possibility of undergoing a trial within a specific location not far from where they stay known as Zha'Vrollo, the Temple of the Savage Heart. It is believed that Sahyaadon, which is a, one of the numerous bestial spirits that claims parts of this landscape their home and their domain resides there. It is a holy site in which the Gorgynei have taken it as part of their own meditations and rituals and various important training activities in dealing with their own challenges. So, you were given a place to stay for the night, and underneath the rainfall of the evening, you all found rest. So you can complete a long rest.

LIAM: We threw the portable hole against the side of the tree.

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: And made it sideways.

MATT: You did.

LAURA: Hold on. You have a fuzzy.

TRAVIS: Zha'Vrollo.

MATT: Zha'Vrollo.

TRAVIS: Sahyaadon.

MATT: Yes.

TRAVIS: Barinak.

LAURA: Yeah, we we have our--

TRAVIS: Correcting my phonetic disaster over here because I never check the spelling.

SAM: So we might be going-- We might have some sort of a trial. Is that right? Tomorrow? Or he--

LAURA: I think Chet will have a trial, yeah.

SAM: What are you looking at, Chetney?

TALIESIN: Your destiny?

TRAVIS: Fucking-- Don't take it out of my mouth! (laughter) (laughter)

TRAVIS: Shit! Now I got to think of some other killer one-liner. I could be here for hours.

TALIESIN: Wasn't that killer, it's okay. Honestly, I feel like I saved you on that one. (laughter)

TALIESIN: Now I'm going to feel bad. Damn it.

TRAVIS: It's raining and dark, fuck. Yeah, pretty much.

SAM: Okay.

TRAVIS: I'm stoked! I'm amped.

SAM: Are you? It seems like most of the weres here are a little bit younger.

TRAVIS: Uh-huh.

SAM: More, you know?

TRAVIS: Wet behind the ears, amateurish. I was thinking the same thing. Have to show them how it's done. Show me the fucking leaderboard! Time for a new name to go up top. (clicks tongue)

SAM: Who are you winking at?

TRAVIS: I'm setting the tone right now! My destiny! (laughter)

TRAVIS: It's coming around. (laughter)

TALIESIN: Oh shit.

TRAVIS: Covering up my nerves. (laughter)

TRAVIS: It's all a farce.

MARISHA: Did you say that out loud?

TRAVIS: Say what out loud? (laughter)

MATT: Off to a great start.

LAURA: Wait, it's still nighttime?

SAM: Is it morning? What time is it?

LAURA: Or is it morning? What?

LIAM: We got a long rest, Matt said.

MATT: We are now getting a long rest.

LAURA and ASHLEY: Okay, okay.

LAURA: Okay, I thought we got a long rest, okay.

MATT: I wasn't sure when you guys were jumping in, if it's before night or morning of, but.

TRAVIS: I'm carbo loading and getting a long rest.

LAURA: Okay. Long rest.

MARISHA: Well, didn't--

LIAM: Orym's legs are gone. (laughter)

TRAVIS: (gnawing) Stop!

MARISHA: Divaasheela mentioned we'd be there to assist you, right?

TRAVIS: Yeah, yeah. Like a pit crew, if not more.

LAURA: So maybe we'll be--

MARISHA: A pit crew.

LAURA: -- fighting alongside of you?

LIAM: Hype men?

TALIESIN: Cheering you on.

LIAM: Sidekicks?

TRAVIS: Who knows? Be ready for anything, though, like we always are.

MARISHA: We roll deep.

TRAVIS: Yeah, but if this is really like a trial put in place by some sort of spirit, anything could happen.

LAURA: Maybe all of us will turn into werewolves. Or wereboars, or werebears.

TRAVIS: That would be incredible.

LIAM: That's interesting. What would we be? It's who bites you? Or what you want?

LAURA: Is it whatever bites you?

SAM: Do you get to choose?

LAURA: Or if something bites you, yeah, does it come out in your blood? I'm internally--

TRAVIS: Let's say you get to choose. Let's go around.

LIAM: Okay.

TRAVIS: Ashton?

TALIESIN: Well, I mean, clearly, I would have to go with some sort of heavy reptile because it's the only thing that would make sense with the complexion. So, you know, an alligator or something like that.

LAURA: What about you, Orym?

LIAM: Guess I'll go with rabbit.

TALIESIN: Solid.

TRAVIS: A wererabbit?

LAURA and LIAM: Wererabbit.

ASHLEY: Werewabbit.

LIAM and MARISHA: Werewabbit.

LAURA: Wait, are you allowed to do-- We're allowed to be things that are not actually predators?

LIAM: I don't know how it works!

TALIESIN: You can be a wereherbivore, why the fuck not?

TRAVIS: I'll consult the spirit of this realm and get back to you. Imogen?

LAURA: I mean, I would say a werehorse, but-- (laughs)

SAM: A werehorse? (laughter)

TALIESIN: Oh, neigh.

TRAVIS: Isn't that just a centaur? (laughter)

LAURA: I think it would be, or like, I'm trying to imagine what it would actually look like.

TRAVIS: Just a horse head on a human body.

LAURA: Maybe you wouldn't actually be able to walk upright, so you'd just be like--

MATT: You're just BoJack.

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: A horse head with the most beautiful purple mane. (laughter)

MARISHA: You're just a My Little Pony at that point.

TALIESIN: I mean, even that's gone wrong even for My Little Pony.

LAURA: Yeah. And consult your spirits. Let me know if that's acceptable.

TRAVIS: The reception's spotty. The rain fucks it up.

ASHLEY: I mean, I'd probably be like... a werequokka, or like, you know, a werebara.

SAM: What's that? A bara?

ASHLEY: A werecapybara.

MARISHA: Capybara.

SAM: Oh.

LAURA: Cute. That's real cute.

ASHLEY: Yeah, werebara.

MARISHA: Werebawa.

ASHLEY: Werebawa.

TRAVIS: Took a shift for the cuddly over here, okay. FCG, get us right back on the meat-eating path.

SAM: I came prepared.

LAURA: Oh.

ASHLEY: Oh my god.

LAURA: A werebass.

SAM: A werebass.

MARISHA: Oh, it's a werebass? Yes.

ASHLEY: Oh wow.

SAM: I want to feel the water against--

LAURA: Why does it look like it has red hair?

SAM: Because that's the fur of the werebass.

ASHLEY: Oh, because that's the werewolf part.

SAM: Yeah.

ASHLEY: How scary.

LAURA: Got it.

TRAVIS: I can't.

TALIESIN: No.

TRAVIS: Well, that's good. What about you, Imogen?

MARISHA: I mean-- Wait, did you just pull a Matt and call me Imogen?

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Yep.

MARISHA: Amazing. (laughter)

MATT: It's catching.

ASHLEY: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Oh shit. Oh no.

TALIESIN: Nervous, are we?

MARISHA: I guess a wererat, but a big rat.

TRAVIS: Oh!

MARISHA: You know, so I could roll with Pâté.

TRAVIS: Like a were-ROUS?

MARISHA: Yes.

TALIESIN: Dire rat. Were dire rat, weredirerat.

MARISHA: Weredire.

TRAVIS: Where Dire at? (laughter)

LIAM: Oh my god.

LAURA: Wow, what is happening tonight?

TRAVIS: Sorry, I just heard it.

LIAM: This is the gripping depth and drama people come for.

MATT: Yeah. Well, this is the conversation happening from within the tree hole through the rain overnight as you're trying to sleep and the weird thoughts start intruding.

LIAM: Oh, don't even lie, you guys playing D&D at home. You've totally wondered what hot werewolf lycanthrope you'd turn into! You know you do it!

MARISHA: Our audience is super horny. Let's be honest.

LIAM: This is super authentic!

TRAVIS: Yep.

MARISHA: Well, this actually begs a good question. You got bit by a werewolf.

TRAVIS: Yes. Mm-hmm.

SAM: Smooth Criminal. (laughter)

SAM: Keep going.

MARISHA: And you turned into a werewolf, so it's not like it's--

TRAVIS: I did. The beast chose me.

MARISHA: Hmm. I guess we could talk to, who was the hot one? Hang on.

TRAVIS: Oh yeah. Hot one was Green eyes--

SAM: The tiger?

TRAVIS: -- Manad?

MARISHA: Manad. Manad.

MARISHA: Maybe we could talk to Manad and be like, "Did he get bit by a werepanther?"

SAM: Yeah, sure.

MARISHA: Or did that just manifest inside.

ASHLEY: Wait, what was your... Oh yeah, you were the fish.

MARISHA: His lithe pecs.

TRAVIS: Just to be clear, if it happens, you shouldn't seek out getting bit because normally you have to be bit and then stop the rest of the biting process that leads to your death.

LAURA: Right, because it would just--

TRAVIS: It would just eat your ass.

LAURA: But unless it's like...

TALIESIN: If you're looking for a nibble.

LAURA: Couldn't you just bite us and then we would become a werewolf?

TRAVIS: Well, I mean, yes, but you--

LAURA: You wouldn't be losing control or anything, you would just be doing it, you know?

SAM: So a single bite can turn you, or-- Just a single bite can turn you?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Well, how do you... So what's the difference between biting someone and then you kill them and then biting them and then they turn?

TRAVIS: Yeah, if you bite someone, then you kill them, they're dead. Then if you just bite them and they get away, then they have the potential to turn.

ASHLEY: I see.

SAM: The potential to turn?

LAURA: Do you have to break the skin?

TRAVIS: Yes. I can't just (mouth sounds).

LAURA: I don't know, maybe your saliva's poison.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

SAM: So you could kiss another person without turning them?

TRAVIS: Sure you could. Oh yeah!

SAM: It's not saliva.

LAURA: Have you kissed anyone since you've actually--

TRAVIS: For a solid hour. You can kiss all you want.

TALIESIN: Transformation by hickey.

LAURA: A solid hour, just kissing you?

TRAVIS: I got at least a solid hour in that form. You bet. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Them's the rules.

MATT: It's true. It's mechanically sound. (laughter)

SAM: What if you haven't finished by then?

TALIESIN: Oh wow!

TRAVIS: Well, you know, disappointment. (laughter) (laughter)

MATT: As the morning fog has-- (laughter)

TALIESIN: Thank you.

MATT: -- taken the majority of the surrounding jungle air, you all come to consciousness in your cold, somewhat damp tree interior. Looking out, you can see the drops of the rain that's still filtering down through the treetops and canopy, dripping past the opening. You can see the shapes of the various little huts and constructed homesteads of Barinak. The shadow through the fog, the shapes almost giving a dream-like visage as you hear the sound of heavy axe falls on wood. (chopping) A couple of voices in the distance. Looks like the village is awake in its own right and dealing with its morning chores. You're a little bit stiff from just being not in as comfortable sleeping space as you're used to, but the day is yours.

LAURA: You know, we could just fill that hole up with mattresses.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

ASHLEY: You mean along the sides?

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

ASHLEY: It's really hard to--

TALIESIN: Then, we'll wait for it to dry out a bit or else they're going to get all moldy, though.

LAURA: Oh yeah.

ASHLEY: It's hard to sleep on a curve. That was weird.

TALIESIN: True.

MARISHA: Sleeping on a white cyc. (laughter)

SAM: (sneezes)

MATT: Gesundheit.

TRAVIS: I'll hop out and take a look around. (laughter)

MATT: You hop out and you see some of the civilians stopping and glancing as you make yourself briefly known here in the morning air, and they go back to their errands. You do see there is a pile of the packs that are been placed out by one of the larger fire pit circles of stones and you see Yuvelo the dragonborn, the green-scaled dragonborn and Manad, both over there, packing materials for the day's journey.

TRAVIS: Yuvelo.

TALIESIN: Are we up? Are we moving?

LAURA: Yeah, yeah. We should head on out.

TALIESIN: I'm going to, just because I love seeing if this damages things, once we're all out, I'm going to try and ring the portable hole out, see if I can get some of the moisture out. Give it a good.

MATT: Oddly, it didn't take much moisture. It feels pretty dry to the touch.

LAURA: That's great!

TALIESIN: All right.

TRAVIS: I'll wander over to the campfire, real casually over to Yuvelo. Morning!

MATT: "Good morning. Are you and your compatriots ready to make the journey eastward?"

TRAVIS: Oh, I think so. Do we have time to get a bite down, or is it game time?

MATT: "Well, we can definitely feast a bit before the journey. You'll need to keep your energy up, but the sooner we leave, the best chance we have of finding a good place to camp for the night."

TRAVIS: Oh. That makes sense. Are these packs for us?

MATT: He looks over at Manad, finishes putting the lid, the flap over one of these and latches it and goes, "That's correct. Look like we're rolling about five deep outside of you just to keep everyone safe."

MARISHA: He's rolling five deep.

SAM: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. I heard it.

TRAVIS: That's fucking hot.

MARISHA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: I'll go back over to the hole. Let me rally! We're going to try and get out early this morning so we have a chance to find a good place to make camp for the night before we lose the light.

LAURA: All right. I'm ready. Let's get going.

TALIESIN: Ready to roll.

TRAVIS: We can eat on the road.

MATT: All right. You do gather your things and there is a collection of dried tack and meat that they had prepped universally for the trip if anybody needed it. But you know. Not enough to feed all of you, but enough that if a few people didn't have enough rations for the journey, they could probably probably fill the gap. But with that, you have Manad, Yuvelo, Annaline or Divaasheela, which was the other name you were given initially from Ajit, as well as the female dwarf which you had seen was the transformed werewolf when you first arrived, and Uther, who is the older human, who is the wereboar.

TRAVIS: Yuvelo, Uther, Manad.

TALIESIN: Yuvelo.

TRAVIS: The werebear we don't have the name of yet.

SAM: Wait, the dwarf was a wolf?

LAURA: The dwarf was the bear, I thought. No, because the dragonborn was the werewolf.

SAM: That's what I wrote down.

TALIESIN: Divaasheela?

SAM: There was a tiger, wolf.

MARISHA: Divaasheela is Annaline.

MATT: Technically, there were two werewolves in the group.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

LAURA: Oh! Okay, okay.

MATT: Uther's a wereboar, and there was a female dwarf who was one of the werewolves there.

LAURA: Okay, got it.

TRAVIS: But the werebear we don't have yet.

MATT: Correct.

MARISHA: Yuvelo, Manad, Annaline, Uther.

TRAVIS: Yep.

MARISHA: We don't know the name of the--

MATT: I'll say, in the evening probably you would've gotten the name. Fresceo.

SAM: The dwarf?

MARISHA and TRAVIS: Fresceo.

MATT: Fresceo is the dwarf. They've all, within a short time this morning, put on their travel armor, put on their tools, put on their cloaks, gathered their materials. They all each pick up the packs that have been set in the pile and the energy amongst the crew is that they're pretty much ready to move forward. Is everyone prepped? Is there anything you wish to do before you head out?

LAURA: How long did they say this trip to Zha'Vrollo is going to be?

MATT: About one and a half to two days, depending.

SAM: Oh wow!

TALIESIN: Okay.

TRAVIS: Do we need to communicate that to the ship?

LAURA: Oh, that's a good idea.

TALIESIN: Wow. Yeah.

TRAVIS: What were you thinking?

LAURA: Yeah, that's a good idea. I should let them know that. We should've done that last night.

SAM: Oh well. (laughter)

TRAVIS: I thought we did last night.

LAURA: Yeah, we definitely did.

TRAVIS: Sure did!

MATT: If you had an extra spell slot before you went to bed last night, I can allow it. It's fine.

LAURA: Okay, okay, okay.

TRAVIS: Okay.

LAURA: Yeah, we sent them a message saying, It's going to be a few days.

TALIESIN: Yeah, unless there's--

LAURA: Hang tight. Don't get in trouble.

MATT: (Xandis) "All right. That's okay. We got plenty of card games. It's going to be a good time. Get back safe. Don't die."

ASHLEY and LAURA: (laugh)

TALIESIN: Unless there's somewhere else to wrangle supplies around here, which I really don't think there is.

TRAVIS: It didn't seem like it.

MATT: Glancing about, it looks like most everyone here has what they need to survive comfortably within the village, but there isn't rousing commerce present here in Barinak. Most everything here is stretched leathers and materials and tools.

TALIESIN: Hoping for an art festival. I could buy some local jewelry or something like that.

MATT: Maybe on the way back.

TALIESIN: All right.

MATT: (laughs)

MARISHA: An art festival?

TALIESIN: Tents. Yeah. Some food.

MARISHA: Craft fair?

TALIESIN: Yeah. Food stalls.

MATT: With that, you see Annaline puts her pack up and puts a short bow over her shoulder, taps the side of her hip where the hammer is also slung over in a leather harness that goes across the other shoulder and there's a large hammer on one shoulder and the short bow on the other. Looks at the rest of you with the tangled hair still damp from the moisture of the surrounding fog and mist. Brushes it back a bit and looks at the rest of you with her piercing eyes. "All right. We're good to go?"

TRAVIS: Yeah, you're rolling five deep, seven on our side. That makes us a were-dozen.

SAM: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

MARISHA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: We'll workshop it.

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: "That would be a very good idea. Yes. All right. Well, come."

ASHLEY: Technically a baker's dozen type of thing.

MATT: "Follow quickly. If you fall behind, yell." The crew begins to go into a moderate jog toward the eastern side of the village.

LAURA: Fuck! I didn't know we'd be jogging.

SAM and MATT: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Cardio, man.

MARISHA: So she's doing cardio all the way through the woods? Oh fuck.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MARISHA: Goddamn it.

MATT: The dense jungle immediately greets you.

LIAM: Casters.

LAURA: (laughs) Yeah.

MATT: The evening before, when you were traveling at a brisk pace, being chaperoned by the Gorgynei through, it was a continuous series of thick shadowed trees and following in their steps for safety. They seemed to have an eye out for the challenges and various opportunities to injure oneself and were watching for you as you went. Now that you have a lot more comparative visualization on the jungle around you, it is oddly alien and beautiful. As the fog still keeps the trees at a distance, these shadowed pillars that slowly come to form as you move forward, following their brisk pace, you can hear the sound of the various birds and creatures that live up amongst the canopies and the occasional insect (buzzes) coasts by your ear. But these trees themselves have this pale, blanched bark-like color, the majority of them. Along its base, this thicker black, dark gray bark that smoothly looks to climb up, like it's some sort of an oily symbiote that is wrapping up the tree. Uncertain if this is a separate symbiotic entity, or if this is part of its exterior protective shell. But these trees, these trunks, all have their own unique patterns. They twist upward, the branches themselves reaching outward, these long, thin, bony extensions, like fingers that reach out and hold up these vast canopies of dull grays and dark, deep purples. You can see the leaves as they fall and scatter the ground. It's hard to tell which are in different states of decay based on the spread of odd and muted colors. You can see there are bursts of bright, vibrant reds and oranges at times. As you scoot by and glance, you can see there are these patches of fungus, these widespread mushroom caps, like a series of clustered umbrellas. They have distinctly bright colorations that stand out amongst the environment. Whether that be to warn from being eaten or as an invitation, you'd have to eat one to find out.

TRAVIS: As we go by, can I grab a little one and be like: Fearne?

ASHLEY: Yes?

TRAVIS: Are these good to nibble on?

ASHLEY: Yes. (laughter)

TRAVIS: You were so quick with that answer. You must really know your fungi.

ASHLEY: I do. I do.

TRAVIS: So do you want some?

ASHLEY: Sure.

SAM: (laughs)

LAURA: Oh my god.

TRAVIS: How's it taste? (die roll clack)

SAM and TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: It's bitter.

TRAVIS: I heard that dice! I heard that dice!

ASHLEY: Did he roll?

LAURA: Yes, of course he rolled!

ASHLEY: (smacks lips)

MATT: It's bitter.

MARISHA: It's bitter.

ASHLEY: It tastes not good.

TRAVIS: Oh.

ASHLEY: Probably needs to be cooked. I probably need to roll.

MATT: The flavor profile is shifting a little bit. The bitterness is giving way to almost a citrus-y sting on the back of the tongue.

ASHLEY: Oh! It tastes a little bit like... like a little bit of a tangerine.

TRAVIS: Burning.

LAURA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: A little pepper.

TRAVIS: Oh.

ASHLEY: That's a little weird. My tongue feels so strange.

MATT: I would like you to make a constitution saving throw, Fearne. (laughter)

TALIESIN: Yes! Chaos.

MARISHA: (laughs)

LIAM: So violent.

ASHLEY: Okay. It is eight.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: Fearne's dead.

MATT: That slightly citrus-y, burning sensation begins to fill the inside of your chest. It's almost like a straight bourbon, how it burns its way down and through.

ASHLEY: Wow, it's really warm in my chest cavity.

MATT: It's not painful. It's not odd. As you're explaining this to Chetney, you watch his eyebrows extend and wiggle a bit and his features almost seem to stretch in odd ways.

ASHLEY: Oh. Oh! (laughs)

TRAVIS: What's the taste (slow motion) profile like? (laughter)

ASHLEY: Oh, I think you're turning already. You know what? I think I know exactly what this is.

TRAVIS: (slow motion) What is it?

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: (giggles) (laughter)

ASHLEY: (laughs) You look so crazy. (laughter)

ASHLEY: I'm going to keep some of this for later because I think I know exactly what this is. (laughs)

TRAVIS: Cool.

LIAM: (high pitched) Hey, guys! Are you coming? (laughter)

ASHLEY: Okay. Onward ho! (laughter)

TRAVIS: (slow motion) Onward ho!

MATT: So the combination of mist and quickly moving shadows seem to stretch at times. Trees seem like they're rubber banding past you and keeping pace. You feel this giddy sensation billowing up within your stomach and you find yourself having to reach out and grab as you pull. Some of the Gorgynei compatriots are keeping an eye out and you see Manad, at one point, catch your small of your back and go, "You all right?"

ASHLEY: Oh yes! (laughter)

ASHLEY: Are you all right?

MATT: "I'm quite fine. I saw you eat one of them mushrooms and just want to make sure you're feeling okay."

ASHLEY: I am feeling so good.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: "I'm sure you are."

ASHLEY: And... did you want any?

SAM: (laughs)

MATT: "Maybe when we get back."

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: "Okay, I'm going to stay about five, 10 feet behind you and you just keep moving on. I'll just keep an eye."

ASHLEY: Why so far? (laughter)

TRAVIS: Oh wow! (laughter)

ASHLEY: I'm not going to do anything. (laughter)

MATT: His orcish complexion definitely darkens slightly as he looks down.

ASHLEY: Oh. (laughs)

MATT: "Well, just for safety reasons."

ASHLEY: Ooh! (laughter)

ASHLEY: I'm not that dangerous, but okay. (laughter)

ASHLEY: That's a good idea! (laughter)

MATT: You see he gives a nod and glances over and you see Annaline, who's up above, looking behind and goes, gives a hand gesture to her.

ASHLEY: Yeah, she did go over there to her.

MATT: "We'll keep moving."

ASHLEY: Okay. Okay.

MATT: He gives you a grin. You are effectively poisoned for the next 24 hours.

ASHLEY: Okay. (laughter)

SAM: Poisoned! (laughter)

TRAVIS: That's fair.

LAURA: You're fucking poisoned!

ASHLEY: Wait, this is not a magical effect, obviously?

MATT: This is not a magical effect. This is just a--

ASHLEY: This is just a--

LAURA: This is a 'shroom effect.

ASHLEY: Okay, so I'm just going to--

SAM: So it's disadvantage on all ability checks?

TRAVIS: Yes, I gave the druid mushrooms.

MATT: Disadvantage on all ability checks and attacks.

ASHLEY: And attacks?

MATT: Mm-hmm.

ASHLEY: Oh cool.

LAURA: Oh jeez!

ASHLEY: Oh.

MATT: Unless somebody has a means of getting rid of it.

ASHLEY: (laughs) Here we go.

MATT: So pressing through the area, you see more of these bursts of color and the fungus does change as well as some of the other local ferns and flora that exists around the base of these trees. The roots tangle and twist and, in between them, you can see these sections, dark red ferns and bush that seem spread out, almost like they're one singular bush entity that keeps reaching out further and claiming its stake in the middle of this jungle. Occasionally, you see the shadow of some sort of furred creature up in the bows that leaps away as soon as you end up making too much noise. There's definitely a vibrant ecosphere here and it is beautiful in some ways, but also unsettling and, kind of, not nightmarish, but very unlike a natural space that you've walked through. At times, it feels like some sort of a grave shadow of a jungle. But everything here is alive and thriving, from what you can tell. The smell is earthy and fresh, not unlike the best after rain periods in the Oderan Wilds or any of the surrounding woods or jungle of Marquet and beyond. Occasionally, you hear some sort of a distant call of some creature and the Gorgynei stop you and Annaline looks outward, (sniffs) sniffs the air. For a second, you swear you see her features slightly extend into something slightly more feline before they recoil back into her and she adjusts the path and you begin to make a wider berth around. For the first day of travel, since they are technically guiding you, it is their ability check, but I want someone to roll for the Gorgynei that are guiding you towards the temple.

LIAM: Oh, Tar. You got it.

TRAVIS: Me?

LIAM: Yeah.

SAM: You're the wolf.

TRAVIS: (howls) Natural 20! (cheering)

MATT: That's how you start it.

MARISHA: Ba, ba, ba!

MATT: All righty. So. (laughter)

MATT: The day progresses in a somewhat, I wouldn't say quiet, you know, there's a little banter here and there, but everyone's definitely focused on the goal at this point. There's still a slight gap of comfort, or at least a careful distance that the Gorgynei keep from the majority of your troop, both to keep an eye on you and also just a lack of familiarity and not necessarily a strong eagerness to engage on anything personal. But another moment does happen where Annaline stops everyone, looks around, and you hear from one of the nearby boughs. (growls) Then you hear two more. Annaline goes, "Well, it looks like we are being hunted by twilight tigers."

MARISHA: Twilight?

SAM: What?

MARISHA: Tigers.

MATT: "Shh."

SAM: Okay.

MATT: She points up and you see, just barely visible up in one of the thick branches of the nearby trees above there--

MARISHA: Mirror Image.

MATT: Mirror Image of yourself?

MARISHA: Yep.

MATT: You see this--

SAM: Now there's two Imogens.

MATT: This th-- (laughter)

LIAM: Wasn't there always?

TALIESIN: Inside all of us.

MATT: This muscular but lithe looking tiger. But most of its matted fur, and I say matted because it looks wet in places, it has an oily slick glimmer to the outside of its fur. It is a dark black to gray in places, and where there would be tiger stripes, there is a bright white and it's like a negative imprint of a tiger from what you'd normally expect to see. But the lines themselves push backward, as opposed to up and around. It gives a frozen in mid-leap or movement, like it has its own blur lines across it as it stands still and growls. You see two more begin to peer down as one leaps down into a nearby bush and (growls)

LIAM: Any words of advice?

TRAVIS: Quadrupeds, from what we can see?

MATT: They are quadrupeds. At this point, you watch as Annaline transforms into her hybrid form, the tiger physicality beginning to push through, those shoulders widening, the snout and teeth beginning to bare and Annaline (growls) growls back. You watch as Manad leaps onto one of the nearby trees and his whole body forms and cracks, bones reforming into large panther aesthetic as he claws his way up and under one of the branches, leans over, his tail swinging as he (growls). Every other member of the Gorgynei go into their hybrid forms and form a circle around your troop

TRAVIS: Don't mind me. I do the same.

SAM: Oh!

TRAVIS: (growls)

MARISHA: (laughs)

LAURA: I just put my hand out like Chris Pratt.

MARISHA: Yeah! Yeah! (laughter)

LAURA: Easy, girl!

MATT: You got it. As they all bear this line there around the sides, you now see five of these massive beasts and now as they get somewhat close, they're still keeping about 20 feet from you, but gauging their distance to nearby trees, they probably are from nose to tail about 20 or so feet.

LAURA: What?

MATT: They are massive.

LAURA: What?

MATT: They look smaller at a distance.

SAM: Whoa!

MATT: Then they start to come out of the corners and they are large beasts. At least, the largest that you can see nearby is about that size. The others begin to curl around and you do see the other ones are a little bit smaller than that main one, and you get the senses might be a family or at least some adolescent ones that are traveling with some sort of parent.

LAURA: Aw!

MATT: As the growls continue, because you rolled a natural 20, the Gorgynei, with Annaline as a leader, leans forward and (growls) growls leans forward and (growls) growls and you watch as the largest one (growls) and then begins to stalk away--

SAM: Oh!

MATT: -- and it circles around the other four. They all, as a troop begin to just disperse back into the mists, and within 15 seconds, it's like they were never there. They just leap off into the distant horizon of the tree line where the fog just swallows their shattered forms.

TRAVIS: (deeply) Cool! I can only do this once a day.

LAURA: Oh no! (laughter)

MATT: Once every short rest.

TRAVIS: (deeply) Once every short rest. (laugher)

TRAVIS: I say to myself.

SAM: Did Annaline? Is that right?

MATT: Mm-hmm.

SAM: Did you know those fellas?

MATT: (gruffly) "No. But there are beasts like this that live out here. It is just important sometimes to establish respect and hierarchy."

SAM: How do you do that? With just a show of force, or did you say something? In case we need to do it. TRAVISL (whispers) Say it.

MATT: "If you encounter one of these beasts, just pray."

TRAVIS: (deeply) Make them recognize the alpha.

SAM: Yeah, yeah.

LAURA: RTA.

TRAVIS: (deeply) Oh yeah.

MATT: They maintain their hybrid form, but begin to pick up their pace, arcing in a rightward direction off the current path where they first begin to encounter the signs of these beings. But any sort of conflict there was averted--

SAM: Amazing!

MATT: -- at the get go.

LAURA: Nice!

MATT: The rest of the day, before the night begins to slowly darken, the signs of sunset begin to acquire. You get the sense now that you've traveled through this portion that, depending on the weather and the day, and it's been kind of cold, especially following the previous storm, the mists and fog hangs for the majority of the day of your travel, thinner at times, thicker at others, depending on the rise and fall of the topography and the root and tree covered hills. But eventually, Manad puts up a hand and says, "Well, I think we need to find a place to stop here and set up camp for the night. We're not too terribly far, I don't think, looking at things." You see him because he's rubbing his hand along some of the trees and he's looking for something and he begins to continue his path around as Annaline takes her pack off and they begin to set up small semblances of camp. You can see that Yuvelo's in the process of putting up long, thin cords across some of the nearby trees.

SAM: Oh. Not magical cords? Just sort of tripwires?

MATT: That you can tell. Yeah.

SAM: Okay.

TRAVIS: What are you feeling the trees for?

MATT: Manad's still looking. "Well, when we come through, especially places that we travel to and from, we make sure to leave marks for ourselves. I'm just... Ah, there it is! There it is!" You see him, looks up, and there looks to be dual sets of claw marks that cross in an X fashion.

TRAVIS: Oh!

MATT: But they're balanced. The way that they're marked in looks like it was intentional. They're even on each side. "As long as we're keeping eyes on this, this is the best way to track our way. So, you know, if anything terrible happens to the rest of us, you can find your way back to Barinak."

TRAVIS: Nice! Nice penmanship!

ASHLEY: That's a great idea.

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LAURA: The trees that look like maybe there's something growing on them, potentially, were there trees like that within the camp, like their actual city, or was it--

MATT: Yeah, there were a few.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: But there are many different types of trees here. Those seem to be more prominent the further you've gone. If you want to make a nature check, actually, to see from your experience or study if you can pick out any specifics about them.

LAURA: Oh, I've got a really high nature. I'm going to use this one. 11!

MATT: 11. You're not certain what types of these trees are necessarily, but it doesn't look like this is a parasitic organism that is separate from the tree. It's like a smooth, secondary bark that is built over it, like how resin will harden into an amber, but if it was opaque and a smooth matte black coloration.

LAURA: Cool!

LIAM: What does it feel like to the touch? Is it sticky or--

MATT: It's not sticky. It's hard. It's like a shell, but it looks like it seeps into parts of the blanched whiter gray inner bark and it does have this odd, climbing sense to it.

LAURA: If I scratch it with my nail, does it come off or is it really hard?

MATT: It's very hard, but if you scratch it hard enough, you get some residue off under your nail, just like any other bark. But it does seem to come off in a powdered residue.

LAURA: Interesting!

TALIESIN: Hmm!

MATT: You see them setting up a small camp around.

TALIESIN: Like a very hard-- There was a moment I was hoping for a weretree. I was hoping they were trying to find the tree that actually would transform back.

LAURA: Talk to us?

TRAVIS: Like they were trying to tickle a friend or something?

TALIESIN: Yeah, just wake up because maybe, if you're a weretree, you just stop for a while when the moon--

ASHLEY: A couple of them are awake.

LAURA: Are you still?

TRAVIS: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Huh?

TALIESIN: What?

SAM: Do they look like they're moving to you?

ASHLEY: Yes.

SAM: Wow!

ASHLEY: They're dancing.

TRAVIS: Oh!

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LIAM: Your pupils are enormous!

TALIESIN: Are you weirder than normal? Oh wow! Yeah! Look at that!

ASHLEY: Oh. (laughs)

TALIESIN: What did you do?

ASHLEY: I just ate some food. I just ate just a little poof of a mushroom.

LAURA: A poof?

ASHLEY: Is that what it was?

MARISHA: Off of one of these trees?

TRAVIS: It was just a little nibble. I thought you said it was fine.

ASHLEY: It was just a nibble. All mushrooms are totally fine.

TRAVIS: You don't know anything about mushrooms, do you?

ASHLEY: I know a little bit.

TALIESIN: You know that there's one that makes you all sorts of weird at this point, I suppose?

ASHLEY: Okay. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Okay.

SAM: But no. Sometimes being in an altered state like this can sort of give you insight into your own desires, your own fears, your own truths.

ASHLEY: Sure.

SAM: Is there anything on your mind that you want to explore or talk about or sing or dance or just be?

ASHLEY: Oh. Oh! Oh.

MARISHA: Who do think is the hottest one out of all of us?

TALIESIN: That's really what--

LAURA: (laughs)

SAM: I don't know if it's a truth serum. Well, maybe it's a truth serum. Sure.

ASHLEY: Well, I mean, you all have your own special parts that are great.

MARISHA: Who do you think is the hottest out of the werewolves that we're with?

LAURA: Oh yeah.

MARISHA: Say Manad.

ASHLEY: Yes, Manad.

MARISHA: Yes!

ASHLEY: Goodness!

TALIESIN: Feels like a cheap answer at that point, though.

LAURA and ASHLEY: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MARISHA: FCG, can you-- Can you get altered?

SAM: Can I recognize hotness?

MARISHA: No, can you get--

ASHLEY: Do you want to take a little bit and see?

MARISHA: Can you get a little trippy?

TRAVIS: Can you get turnt?

MARISHA: Yeah.

SAM: I don't know!

ASHLEY: Here.

SAM: I don't eat things, but maybe it will make me feel--

LAURA: Can you be poisoned?

SAM: I don't know. We'll find out.

TRAVIS: Put it under your tongue. Let's see where this goes.

LIAM: That's where it soaks in.

LAURA: No.

MATT: It's not a meat tongue.

TALIESIN: I feel like we're the precise sorts of people that your creator should not have--

ASHLEY: Do you want some?

LIAM: I think it is. It comes up constantly.

LAURA: No.

TRAVIS: (gags)

SAM: I would love to feel what you're feeling. Sure.

SAM: Okay. I'm going to put it on the end of the tongue and I'm going to roll it in. (laughter)

MARISHA: It's like the Looney Tunes.

TALIESIN: I mean, couldn't you do a mind meld?

LIAM: Fruit Roll-Up.

TALIESIN: Your crazy--

SAM: Oh yeah! I could just go into your mind and feel it. But let's try this first and see if it works.

TALIESIN: Well, let's try this first.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: Okay. (laughter)

TALIESIN: Technically, this is your doing.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: Why? By introducing a natural phenomenon to a natural space? Yes, it is actually my fault. You're right, you're right. It is my fault.

TRAVIS: Yep. Yep.

LIAM: Chet, if this works, the next thing is you've got to bite Letters.

MATT: (laughs)

LIAM: All the experiments happen tonight.

MATT: There it is.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

TALIESIN: This is how we celebrate when it's over.

MATT: You take the remainder of this chunk of cap that you had swiped as you passed by and it's a soft spongy texture to it. The top of it has an orange-ish, peach coloration to it that goes to a darker red around the edges and the underside of it is a paste gray--

LAURA: Ew!

MATT: -- in a way. It has this odd, mealy texture to it, but it's dry when you touch it. You go ahead and imbibe it and it just plops down inside. Nothing to report within the first few minutes.

ASHLEY: Do you feel anything? Completely connected to the whole network underneath the earth?

LAURA: (laughs)

SAM: No. Well, I mean, I'll touch the ground and see if I can feel anything course through me, pulse through my hands or anything.

MATT: Feels like the ground.

TALIESIN: Try taking a little more. That always goes well. (laughter)

TALIESIN: Oh shit!

SAM: Oh, it hasn't kicked in yet. Maybe I should try some more! (laughter)

LIAM: Nah. Nah. (laughter)

TALIESIN: No, no. (laughs)

MATT: 20 minutes, 30 minutes go by.

SAM: I guess I'm just not suited for experiences like that.

TALIESIN: You have a robust constitution and you just are set up for a different version of it. Go for it. With permission.

SAM: I could go into your mind, but you seem like you're doing fine. If you want me to, I can, but I don't need to. I'm fine. I want you to enjoy this on your own. You're just having your own time, and that's fine. How many hours has this been going on for, by the way?

MATT: At this point now--

ASHLEY: I think four days. (laughter)

TALIESIN: No that tracks. Uh-huh.

SAM: Or 15 minutes. Unclear.

ASHLEY: Yeah. Sure.

MATT: Make a constitution saving throw.

SAM: Oh!

LAURA: Oh!

SAM: Oh!

TALIESIN: Hey!

SAM: Is this a poison?

LAURA: Oh my god, you almost--

MATT: It is.

SAM: I'm resistant to poison.

MATT: Resistant to it. But are you immune?

SAM: I'm not immune.

MATT: Correct. Do you have advantage on checks against poison?

SAM: Well, isn't that what resistant means?

MATT: Resistant means you take half poison damage.

SAM: Oh, got it! Got it! So I'll take the first roll and what is this, a constitution save?

MATT: Correct.

SAM: That was very good. It was 17.

MATT: 17. You do feel an odd tickle--

MARISHA: Damn it.

MATT: -- through your body, like when you're nearing a thunderstorm and that sense of electricity is just coasting through the atmosphere and you feel that vibration through your body for a moment and it just rests there. It's gentle, and it slowly just fades, but you felt something.

SAM: Hey, that's something

MARISHA: I do still have that weird baggy of drugs that--

TRAVIS: Okay, look. We're going to a trial of fortitude.

SAM: Sure. Give it to me. I'll just take that too.

MARISHA: Well, what's bird lady? Justi!

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MARISHA: Justi?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MARISHA: Right?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MARISHA: Maybe for later.

TALIESIN: That's definitely a for later.

SAM: Seems like now's the time.

MARISHA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: When we succeed.

TALIESIN: I'm so excited that we're in the middle of the jungle, acting like a bunch of assholes. This is kind of what I always wanted in life.

SAM: You know what, actually Fearne, while you're like this, I wouldn't mind just asking you because you might have some sort of special insight into the world or whatever.

ASHLEY: Ooh!

SAM: You know, I've been trying to commune or talk to this god, this thing, this Changebringer person.

ASHLEY: Mm.

SAM: She's been sending me--

LAURA and MARISHA: Mm.

SAM: Oh. Oh? She's been sending me some really weird mixed signals.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

SAM: Oh. Like when I first tried to reach out to her, Laudna died.

ASHLEY: Yes. I remember.

SAM: But then we got her back.

ASHLEY: Yes.

SAM: So I thought, you know, that's good. That's a positive and a negative. And then--

ASHLEY: Yeah. Which cancel, maybe, each other out.

SAM: Then Eshteross died.

ASHLEY: Yeah. Oh yeah.

SAM: Then--

ASHLEY: We gained a life-- We lost a life. We gained one.

SAM: We got a skyship.

ASHLEY: We lost another one.

ASHLEY: Yeah, a sky ship.

SAM: I don't know. There's just been a lot. Then I asked for a sign while we were on the sky ship and we got attacked instantly. So I guess what I'm saying is there's been a lot of positives and negatives.

ASHLEY: Okay.

SAM: I just don't know how to interpret that. Maybe with your clairvoyance, your vision now, you can sort of give insight into what you think it all means, if there is meaning.

ASHLEY: Well, I think there's a possibility it could all be bullshit, but maybe it also could be real. You know, that's what faith is, I hear.

SAM: Faith is maybe bullshit, maybe real?

ASHLEY: I don't know. Do you want me to see if I can connect with whatever this thing is and ask on your behalf? Because I'm pretty sure--

SAM: Can you do that?

ASHLEY: Yes. I sure can.

SAM: You can?

ASHLEY: Yes.

SAM: All right.

ASHLEY: Give me just a moment.

SAM: See if you can reach out to the Changebringer.

TRAVIS: She's going to throw up and come back.

MARISHA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: (gags)

ASHLEY: (buzzes lips)

MARISHA: But it felt real good.

ASHLEY: ♪ Changebringer ♪

LAURA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Changebringer! ♪ Please answer me! ♪

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: Make a perception check. It's at disadvantage because you're poisoned.

LAURA: (laughs)

SAM: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

ASHLEY: Okay.

SAM: Okay.

ASHLEY: Okay. 10.

MATT: Okay. You concentrate and you focus and you can hear the various insects and night creatures that have begun to emerge from their subterranean holes or hideaways carved into the nearby branch and trees and the hum of them seems to begin to collide and swirl and it creates this low rhythmic music and it's arrhythmic, then rhythmic again. You feel your heart trying to beat in rhythm, but then it keeps changing. Your body's trying to keep up and, for a moment, you swear you hear a voice go, "Hi!"

ASHLEY: (gasps) Oh! They just said hi.

SAM: Ask a question, maybe. Am I on the right path?

ASHLEY: Okay.

SAM: Or do they know who I am?

ASHLEY: Okay. Hi, this is kind of a two-part question, but do you know who FCG is, and is he on the right path? Are they on the right path? Excuse me.

SAM: Either way.

MATT: (breathy) "Hi." You feel a direction from it. You look down and, on your knee, this tiny little black beetle is looking up at you, its legs out and it has this humanoid face and just looks up at you and he goes, "Hi."

ASHLEY: Oh!

TRAVIS: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Are you the Changebringer?

SAM: (laughs)

MATT: "Hi."

ASHLEY: (gasps) Oh wow! I didn't know you would look like this.

LAURA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Did you make the decision about Laudna?

MATT: The wings unfurl as it's flying up and lands on your forehead. As it does, you feel this warm hug coming around you, like the embrace of a deity. You just watch this bug just going (flying and smacking). (laughter) (laughter)

ASHLEY: I think that the Changebringer is reaching out for a hug for you. I think--

SAM: To hug you or to--

ASHLEY: No, you. I think it's fully accepting you.

SAM: Oh.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah.

SAM: Metaphorical hug. I don't need to hug the bug or anything?

ASHLEY: Well, maybe you should give it a try. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Give it a big hug. (laughter continues)

SAM: I'll try to not squish it. (laughter) Here. I think it wants you back.

ASHLEY: All right. Well, you should go and thanks for talking to us. (laughter)

MATT: (clattering) (wings flapping) As it takes off, you hear, "Love you."

TRAVIS: Oh!

ASHLEY: Oh. Love you, too!

MATT: Leaves a little trail of color behind it as it goes.

LAURA: Amazing!

ASHLEY: Oh! (laughs)

LAURA and MARISHA: (laugh)

LIAM: Excuse me, Uther? (laughter)

LIAM: How much time do we have left before we get where we're going?

MATT: "Probably looking to arrive sometime tomorrow midday, maybe early afternoon."

LIAM: Early afternoon?

MATT: "We're not terribly far. We intentionally built Barinak to be close to this temple."

LIAM: Our friend might have eaten a mushroom off a tree. Do you know how--

MATT: "Why would they do that?"

LIAM: I ask that question on a daily basis.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Am I going to be like this forever? (laughter)

LIAM: Yeah, what's the timeframe?

TRAVIS: "Is this going to be forever?"

MATT: "As long as you get her enough water, and we can maybe get some more in her stomach, she'll be right as rain by midday tomorrow, I think."

LIAM: Okay.

LAURA: Oh! Midday tomorrow!

LIAM: Yeah. She's really high.

MATT: "All right. We'll just keep an eye on her." He gets back to whittling something. At this point now, night has definitely overtaken and the little bit of light that you have exists here in this little campfire in the center of this jungle pocket.

TRAVIS: Hydration. You can hear the crackling sound as the little bit of warm light that fills and flickers the inside of this jungle hollow. As you're all--

LAURA: This fire's huge! (laughter)

ASHLEY: (gasps in fear)

TALIESIN: Why does the smoke keep hitting me? Oh god! (laughter)

MATT: While you're all taking this moment, you have noticed, off to the side, Annaline has been taking the hammer and spinning it a bit and practicing her own combat form. She's away from the troop, keeping that standoffish energy. After everyone finishes their evening meal and is settling in for the night, you, Chetney, hear the hammer (hammer thuds) in the ground and dirt next to you, and Annaline leans down from over your shoulder and says, "Walk with me."

TRAVIS: I'll be back.

SAM: You need any help? You need back up?

TRAVIS: I'm okay. I'm okay.

MATT: She guides you little ways out into the mists and fog of the jungle. As you walk, not looking at you, she continues to talk to you. "So you have learned a few things. You have taken on some lessons of hemocraft."

TRAVIS: Some. I feel like the basics, maybe.

MATT: "Show me what you can do."

MARISHA: Show me what you got.

MATT: (deeply) Show me what you got.

TRAVIS: (laughs) Have we taken a short rest?

MATT: You would have, yes.

TRAVIS: Okay. I will again transform into my better self (low, beastly growls) and I will...

SAM: Why are you so weak?

TRAVIS: I don't want to do it to her. Oh, I'll take out my chisel and I'll draw it across my pec. (groans) Yeah. You see the chisel alight with flame. Huh?

SAM: (laughs)

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: "Like you said, the basics."

TRAVIS: Oh. I mean, (deeply) oh!

MATT: (laughs) She stands there, leaning on the hammer a bit. So you've come here for a rapid epiphany to essentially cut the corners and acquire more of the path of the lycan.

TRAVIS: I'll drop right back down to Chetney size. Well, kind of. I mean, no. I was interested in learning as much as I could, but now I'm with a group and we're taking on incredible things in the world. What I do actually matters for what seems like might be the first time. So, I feel like the more I can learn, the more I might be able to help them. But the more I keep this form, the more I feel, the more I see, and the more I can do. I found that I can actually manipulate others a little bit as long as they have blood.

MATT: "And this was with the basics of training? You've just stumbled your way into this?"

TRAVIS: Yeah. I was kind of given an ultimatum, figure it out or get wrecked.

MATT: "That is a very effective teaching tool, given the circumstances."

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: "Why do you want to harness this? What is the purpose? Is it fun? Is it the rush of power, the the killing instinct within?"

TRAVIS: Yeah. No. I don't mean to be insincere, but it is a great allure. I'm not going to lie. I've spent hundreds of years really not being much of a threat to anyone. And it's okay. I don't mind being overlooked, but this is an incredible gift. I don't view it as a curse. I know some might, but I view it as an opportunity to make change, to help or to... affect other areas, you know? I'll make the world a better place.

MATT: "Hmm. You know, for as much as a small, ragged, prickly persona you maintain for an exterior, there's a soft inside." You see she pokes you in the belly.

TRAVIS: (grunts)

ASHLEY: (laughs)

MATT: "Does that bother you?"

TRAVIS: I mean, you got a hard finger. Yeah.

SAM and MARISHA: (laugh)

MATT: "You've got a lot more to worry about than this if you continue on this path, you realize?"

TRAVIS: What do you mean?

MATT: "You will always be hunted."

TRAVIS: Because we're like this?

MATT: "Yes."

TRAVIS: By who?

MATT: "People fear what they do not understand. And to be completely honest, we are the few that can live with this."

TRAVIS: Yeah. Your group. How many would you say in a year don't take to it as well?

MATT: "I'd say each year we have about... three to four new arrivals and about three to four that we say goodbye."

TRAVIS: Oh.

MATT: "It's challenging to maintain the society when the very essence of what brought you together is a continuous day-to-day struggle."

TRAVIS: Yeah. I'm starting to feel that a little bit more of late. That fucking moon!

MATT: "Apparently, both of them in some situations... We do our best to maintain an idea of this curse as a blessing. For us, it has allowed us to do many great things, but it doesn't mean we've conquered it. This is a struggle we will live with for the rest of our lives. And not everyone has the mental fortitude to fight that long."

TRAVIS: Yeah. Life can be long. It can be short, but boy, it can really be long sometimes.

MATT: "Before I was leading this troop, there was the one who taught me. Ometho. They were an old member of the Order of the Lycan, a splinter of the Claret Orders, which you said you encountered."

TRAVIS: Yes.

MATT: "They were one of the individuals that spearheaded the creation of the Gorgynei. I looked up to them immensely and they taught me most everything I know."

TRAVIS: What happened to Orma? Omethon? Ometho?

MATT: "Ometho. One day, they woke up and they didn't want to fight anymore and let it take over."

TRAVIS: Oh.

MATT: "Not because he couldn't. He just grew tired. I tell you this because I want you to know that if this is indeed something you want to harness, something you want to take into this temple, you want to be beseech the beast to be a part of you, you have to learn to live with it. It's the shadow of a roommate that never goes away. I won't let go, like Ometho did. If anything, the more I think on it as he has passed, I think he did what he did to show the rest of us what we can never become."

TRAVIS: I appreciate you looking out for me and sharing that, and I don't know how many years I have left, anyway. I can't imagine a world in which I didn't take this exciting chance and see it for all that it's worth. That doesn't mean I want to give myself over to it. That shit's fun. Don't get me wrong. Whew! I think I'm okay with that shady-ass roommate you talked about. I think I can co-hab.

MATT: "This is good to know, but I suppose only Sahyaadon knows for sure if you are of strong enough will to be let free."

TRAVIS: Oh boy. This trial, if you don't pass do you get a second chance? Best of three?

MATT: "Every trial that's granted by Sahyaadon is tailored to the individual."

TRAVIS: Oh.

MATT: "So I do not know what lies before you, but I hope for the sake of you and your compatriots that... Nah, you'll figure it out."

TRAVIS: Oh shit! That was slick. Look, I know this is a serious thing, but man, I'm pumped!

MATT: "Good. Good. So you've picked up some blood runes. Show me your glyph work."

TRAVIS: Oh shit!

LAURA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: My... my glyph work?

MATT: "Yes. You know how to strike a singular rune, but that is simplistic. Carve a symbol, like this." You watch as she takes her finger and she has her thumb, which has a normal, stubbed nail that's worn down through use. A tiger claw seems to emerge from it suddenly and strikes a curved C-shape that into your chest where you drew that cut earlier, and it hurts!

TRAVIS: Oh yeah!

MATT: But as it does, the flame on your weapon burns a little bit brighter.

LAURA: Ooh!

TRAVIS: What was that?

MATT: "Glyph work. You instinctually have learned or picked up from your previous training the most basic of lines of power through hemocraft. The blood itself is a very strong catalyst, but you are using it as a raw material. You are accepting it as the most basis of mineral, as fuel for the magic. You need to practice and refine and then you'll be really surprised at what good you can do in this world, if that is indeed what you seek to do."

TRAVIS: That C was amazing. How many runes are there?

MATT: You watch her, she then takes her hand and the fingers now all have that tiger claw, and she curls it--

TRAVIS: Whoa!

MATT: -- together, you feel this burning, searing sensation in your exposed chest and you look down and, indeed, the glyph of castigation, the brand that you have recently learned, which has always been this very simple, semi-circular, series of dragged claw marks in places, looked more like a bestial brand than a glyph. When you see it burn into your chest, you look down and the claw marks seem to form a fractal pattern. As it spreads out and then spreads out further and then spreads out further, it clicks in and glows this bright, bright red coloration. You suddenly, you feel this cold anchor that's a drawn in her direction.

TRAVIS: (groans) That's beautiful! Beautiful attention to detail. Oh!

MATT: "It's like calligraphy. It just takes practice. Now." She dispels it and you watch the glyph releases on your body and she walks over to one of the blanched trees and pulls out pocket knife, hands it to you. "Let me show you." For the next few hours into the evening she begins to show you the basics of advanced glyph work.

TRAVIS: Dope!

MATT: Explaining to you that, through practice and time, this will allow you to further develop and expand upon the basics of hemocraft that you've instinctually stumbled through. So this thus begins a brief compounding lesson for the future.

TRAVIS: I trade her. I'll hold out the pocket knife, unless she wants it back, and I'll give her a detailing chisel.

MATT: "This is a very curious knife."

TRAVIS: Just in case I don't make it tomorrow, which I will. But listen, just something to remember me by. If you really want to get serious about your detail, it's all about pressure and angle.

MATT: "Oh! Hmm. Appreciate it."

TRAVIS: Of course.

MATT: Tucks it into her armor.

TRAVIS: Fucking pocket knife, basic-ass edge. It's really nice, though!

MATT: (laughs) But probably well into the early morning, you go through these practices, swap a few stories, you learn a little bit about her history. about Divaasheela was, she called, a name from a previous life before acquiring the curse and before training amongst the Gorgynei. She expresses that she was a student, actually, at the Dayal Hall of Jrusar when she was younger and knew the Dayal family growing up as a student. When the curse found her, she vanished from the city for obvious reasons, took the name Annaline.

TRAVIS: Yes. Does she talk about what her experience was with that first lycan?

MATT: "There was some sort of a... some sort of a mislabeled delivery towards the northeastern port, the Oderan Wilds. I was sent that way to visit an uncle and they were supposed to be receiving a package, a gift, and this lycan was temporarily unleashed. I don't really know why or how, though I get the sense that it was to deal with the Ivory Syndicate, from what Ajit told me. If you ever encounter a pale-ass elf with brown hair past the ears, bright amber eyes, scar under his mouth to the left hand side, ask if his name is Dorao."

TRAVIS: Dorao?

MATT: "And if it is, kill them for me."

TRAVIS: Dorao the dead.

MATT: She grabs her hammer and sits up. "Well, we have a lot of travel to do. We should get some rest."

TRAVIS: Cool.

LAURA: What were the markings? Dorao's markings?

TRAVIS: Scars.

MATT: It's a scar on the left of his mouth, around there.

TRAVIS: Dorao. Awesome!

MATT: Night's rest comes to a close. You all get a long rest.

TRAVIS: Long rest!

TALIESIN: ♪ Do do do do do do do do ♪

MATT: The morning comes.

TRAVIS: Do they just sleep out in the open air, around the fire?

MATT: Some of them sleep out in the open air, Manad sleeps up in the tree boughs, leaning against one of the branches and keeping one eye open. And Annaline, you don't know where she sleeps. She never comes back to the camp.

TRAVIS: Oh! Interesting.

MATT: But when you all come back to your waking selves, somewhat rested, though cold in foggy morning here in the middle of the jungle, Annaline has returned and is currently in the process of throwing ash and rock over the fire to prevent it from catching or continuing on to ember. At this point, Manad glances around to the rest of you after a brief bit of breakfast is had. "All right, everyone! Looks like we're ready to head out! Got a handful of hours until we're out there. Everyone feeling okay?"

ASHLEY: (laughs)

LAURA: Were you able to sleep at all?

LIAM: Mushroom check. How are you doing?

ASHLEY: I slept, I think. I just see (blows air)

LAURA: Wow.

ASHLEY: Everything's moving pretty fast, but I'm doing great. How do you feel for your big trial?

TRAVIS: Oh, I feel good.

ASHLEY: You feel ready?

TRAVIS: Yep.

SAM: If you succeed-- When you succeed because victory isn't--

TRAVIS: Manifestation.

SAM: Yeah, it's an attitude. It's a way of being. You got to be it.

TRAVIS: Mindset!

SAM: It's a mindset. Yeah. But when you're victorious, do you have to pick a wolf name or something?

TRAVIS: Oh. Oh! I don't know! I hadn't thought about that. I don't even know. Maybe I could pick another form!

ASHLEY: (gasps)

TRAVIS: No, that can't be right.

SAM: I don't know.

TRAVIS: Anything's possible! No, that can't be right. Maybe it is.

MARISHA: What form would you pick if you could choose? We never asked you that last night.

TRAVIS: Cockatoo.

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Oh, gorgeous!

LAURA: You'd be a really, really good--

TALIESIN: Cruel.

TRAVIS: They're smart as fuck!

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: They talk.

ASHLEY: What would the color of the plume be?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

LIAM: It fits, oddly.

ASHLEY: A peach plume?

TRAVIS: (cockatoo coo) And then you'd fly! Who wouldn't want to fly?

MARISHA: Pock O'Pea the cockatoo.

LAURA: I love flying!

ASHLEY: Golly!

TRAVIS: Yep. It changes on the daily. I'm a little fickle.

LIAM: I don't know. I think you wear a wolf well.

TALIESIN: Mm.

TRAVIS: Thank you, Orym! I appreciate that. I do my best.

LIAM: You can bite less.

LAURA: I feel like I've got something in my eye.

TRAVIS: If I was a cockatoo, they would just be nibbles.

LIAM: Right.

ASHLEY: Oh!

TRAVIS: Unless I don't like you, and then them sum bitches hurt real bad.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LIAM: Birds--

LAURA: They can draw blood.

LIAM: -- can be dicks.

ASHLEY: Birds bite real hard.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Beaks are scary.

TRAVIS: Is Annaline back, by the way?

ASHLEY: Plus, he doesn't like birds. Yeah.

TRAVIS: Annaline is back in the group.

MATT: Is back in the group, yeah.

TRAVIS: Okay. Okay.

MATT: Everyone's finished up their morning ritual.

ASHLEY: Manad?

MATT: "Yeah."

ASHLEY: I just have a question. We've been wondering. Do you choose what werebeast you turn into? Or is it--

MATT: "Oh, I mean--"

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: "At the moment of infection, yeah. The great spirit of the Lycanbeast comes to you and asks you to step through many doors and each door is a different beast and you select which door to go through. I almost went with--"

ASHLEY: How many doors were there?

MATT: "There was about 37 of them. They're expanding every year, though. They're trying to-- No, each strain carries the beast. I'm sorry."

ASHLEY: Oh, oh, oh!

MATT: "I saw the gullibility open and I couldn't stop myself."

ASHLEY: It's okay. It's okay.

SAM: She's in a fragile state right now.

MATT: "I understand. Look, it was all in good fun. I feel bad now."

ASHLEY: Don't feel bad. Don't feel bad.

MATT: "But yeah. No. Lycanthropy, every strain comes in its own variation. I don't quite know what the origins are for each one, whether they be magically created or what sort of lycanthrope bloodline curse it may have come from. But no, if you get bit by werewolf, you can become a werewolf. If you could by wereboar, you become a wereboar."

ASHLEY: Oh, okay.

LAURA: Have you ever seen a werehorse?

TALIESIN: Thank you!

MATT: You watch as Manad furrows his brow, trying to comprehend what the hell that would look like. He goes, "I don't--"

TALIESIN: Herbivores in general.

LAURA and TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: "No, as far as I know, most everything is predominantly predatory and the basis of the curse wouldn't be all that helpful and/or dangerous if you became a beast that just ravaged all the nearby plants."

TALIESIN: I'd say that depends on the plants.

MARISHA: I agree.

LIAM: Savage kick, though.

TRAVIS: A weredeer? Mm. Not so bad.

TALIESIN: Weregiraffe--

MATT: "As far as I know, at least. I mean, I could be wrong. I'm no expert.

TRAVIS: Interesting as fuck, though.

MATT: "But you know, could always be something different."

LAURA: Mm-hmm.

TALIESIN: It's a big world.

LAURA: Moose are--

MARISHA: Very territorial.

MATT: Weremoose would be frightening!

LAURA: Scary as fuck!

TRAVIS: Moose would whoop some ass.

LAURA: Oh my god! Can you imagine how big a weremoose would be?

LIAM: Yeah. Real big.

SAM: Weregiraffe?

TALIESIN: Would the weremoose shrink when they came a person?

TRAVIS: When they fight, they'd be like--

MARISHA: They fight with their head. (laughs)

TALIESIN: Right? Oh man!

MATT: Well.

TALIESIN: Okay

MATT: "How about you chew on this twig for a bit while we're walking and just keep yourself focused. I think we're gathering up and we'll start making our way eastward."

TALIESIN: Why have we never thought about giving her a twig?

LAURA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Fuck!

MARISHA: Wait, is it-- Did you give her a twig because it helps with the mushrooms? Or is it because she looks like a deer?

SAM: Or maybe just because of the jaw, she's clenching her jaw.

MATT: "Yes."

MARISHA: Oh!

MATT: "Just to help--'

MARISHA: I thought he was profiling for a moment. (laughter)

TALIESIN: Sweet summer child.

ASHLEY: Thanks for looking out.

TALIESIN: Sweet winter child.

MATT: "Legitimately the very least I could do."

ASHLEY: What's the most?

LAURA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Okay.

LAURA: Oh my god!

SAM: All right. Let's just go.

ASHLEY: I'm just kidding. We're walking, we're walking.

LIAM: Still rolling.

TRAVIS: Persuasion check.

MATT: He just darkens his shade a little more and just keeps walking.

TRAVIS: Come on! (laughter)

MARISHA: Incredible!

TRAVIS: You could draw it. (laughter)

MATT: You continue on for a few more hours. You do sense the toxins begin to subside within your system and your vision comes back to a clearer, more controlled space.

ASHLEY: (exhales)

MATT: I would like somebody to roll a d20.

LAURA: Hey, the singing stopped! (laughter)

SAM: Would you like to roll a d20?

MARISHA: All right.

LIAM: Imogen.

SAM: Marisha Ray?

MARISHA: Sure. Six.

SAM: Mm-hmm.

MATT: Six. Okay.

LIAM: Love to hear it.

MATT: The good news is they're good trackers.

MARISHA: All right.

MATT: So along this path, it isn't as much of a beeline as you would hope and Annaline and Yuvelo and a few of the other members have to stop a few times and take a few large curves from the general path as Annaline, glancing about, telling y'all to be quiet and stealthily follow. She says, "We're starting to get near some of the more dangerous beasts and their domains here in the jungle. The powers of this temple tend to gather attention, subconsciously as it may be, of some of the larger civilians of this expanse."

MARISHA: What, more dangerous compared to the twilight tigers that were massive?

MATT: "Oh."

MARISHA: They're nothing.

MATT: "Size isn't everything."

SAM: Hmm?

MATT: (laughs)

MATT: "But--"

MARISHA: What? What? All right.

MATT: You had to roll a five or lower--

SAM: Oh. (groaning)

MATT: -- to get into a bad scenario here.

TRAVIS: Damn it!

MARISHA: Fuck.

MATT: They're good trackers. But you do eventually follow them into the mid-afternoon or so, about three or four. The mists have mostly burned off, but you can feel the temperature beginning to slightly cool as what was a very sunny sky above the canopy begins to fall back into cloud cover and the night begins to announce itself slowly arriving. You watch as Manad turns back to the troop. "Keep your weapons and wits about you. We're not too far from it, so I guess we'll be showing you one of our little secret hideaways."

LAURA: Wait. Weapons and wits? What do you mean? Does it spring out at you?

MATT: "No, it's a temple. But like I said, a lot of things sometimes take up residence in there and we're not aware of who's camping up in there."

LAURA: All right.

MATT: "Did we ever tell you much about this temple?"

LIAM: No.

TALIESIN: Not really.

LAURA: I'm just going to cast Mage Armor on myself, just to have it.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: It's always a good look.

SAM: I'm going to just go over to Chetney and just be like: You got this today. This is all you today, right?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

SAM: All right. I'll just give him a pat on the back and cast Death Ward on him.

MARISHA: Mm!

MATT: All right. All right.

SAM: No, you didn't tell us about the temple. I wrote down, Zha'Vrollo, Temple of, and that's it.

MARISHA: The Savage Heart.

SAM: Thank you.

TALIESIN: The Savage Heart.

MATT: Yeah. "Yeah, it's the Temple of Sahyaadon, which is the Keeper of the Savage Heart. I'll be honest with you, when I went through my trial I saw something different than what everyone else here is. It's not a singular beast, but it seems to be a representation of the feral protective spirits of the Gloomed Jungle, or at least this area of it. So I can't really guarantee what you're going to run into, but it is a powerful spirit. It's said that it looks over the order of nature, the cycle of it. It is both a protector of and a guide to both hunter and prey. It knows that in order to live, that balance has to be struck. I think that's part of why I felt drawn to this is part of Marquet to begin with when we were trying to find a home and we couldn't really find much rest up to the northwest. So it was--" He looks up ahead to see if anyone else is watching anything beyond your group here in the jungle, briefly glances about. "There was a short time during the Apex War that it became a secret military outpost for the Stratos Throne."

LAURA: Wha--

MARISHA: Wait. This temple?

MATT: "Yes."

TRAVIS: Yes.

MARISHA: All right.

TALIESIN: Oh wow!

LAURA: (gasps)

TALIESIN: Okay.

MATT: "It was briefly occupied and used as a base of operations for some sort of group of operatives hoping to strike out at Yios and some of the more sensitive elements of Aeshanadoor. But it's--"

TALIESIN: Is their shit still around, or is there bits of abandoned weird?

MATT: "You can see bits and chunks because it seems that Sahyaadon definitely took it back herself. (laughs)"

TALIESIN: Fuck yeah!

MATT: "The beast of the temple sent them packing and fleeing, left a bunch of their stuff behind. We've co-opted what we could find that was useful. Not sure how much we're supposed to clean up, since some of it could be just a reminder and a war trophy for the spirit. So we just let it lie where we find it for the most part and ask for forgiveness or for permission if we find anything of usefulness."

TALIESIN: That's pretty fucking cool.

ASHLEY: Wait. What?

MARISHA: (laughs)

SAM: Did you take shit?

LAURA: How long ago was that? That's not me asking. I would know.

MATT: Yeah, yeah. A couple decades ago.

ASHLEY: I'll leave it.

LAURA: Okay, okay, okay.

MATT: Yeah. He says, "But unfortunately, when they fled, they did a bit of damage to the temple. There's elements of it partially crumbled and forgotten, but we managed to uncover it and make do with what we could muster. The central chamber is still pretty much there, which is good. So just to give you expectations it's not some grandiose structure that's beautiful and standing untouched and basking in the middle of the daylight. It's a partial ruin, but it's got its beauty intact for the most part."

LIAM: So this Sahyaadon resides there?

MATT: "Oh, here and everywhere, a little bit."

LIAM: It's the remains of an outpost and also sometimes creatures from the area wander in?

MATT: "Well, the temple was briefly used as an outpost before it was then evacuated once more."

LIAM: Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you said even earlier than that, that sometimes some of the wildlife from the area--

MATT: "And then, the nature of the spirit of the temple just draws some of the more natural and sometimes unnatural creatures towards it. It's kind of a power hub, if you will, of different spiritual energies."

LIAM: I think I follow.

LAURA: How long have you been--

TALIESIN: Magic watering hole.

LAURA: -- living in Barinak?

MATT: "Oh, we've only been here for..."

MARISHA: Oh god!

MATT: "I don't know."

MARISHA: It's too much!

MATT: "Number of years. Five, six years or so since we built it."

LAURA: Got it, got it.

TALIESIN: Wow.

LAURA: All right.

MATT: "Yeah, we've been moving around for quite some time and heading through the continent as we go. But you know, it's the first time that we struck an agreement with the Court of the Lambent Path, or at least our contact there, and felt safe enough to put down some roots."

LAURA: It's nice. It's a nice feeling, I'm sure.

MATT: "Honestly, yeah. Been a while since we had a place we can call home for a bit."

TRAVIS: ♪ Been a while ♪

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: (howls)

LIAM: (howls)

SAM: What's been going on over here?

MATT: "But anyway, we--"

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: "We often, when we're feeling like we're having a rough time with our struggles or just need some clarity of mind, we'll make a small pilgrimage out here to the temple, whether it be independently or as a troop and it's where we'll go through and look for inspiration, bits of prayer, maybe ask for a new challenge from the spirit or just leave offerings, take some time to meditate and clear our minds." "It's part of the reason we built our village close enough to do that. Feels like one of the fewer ancient pure spots that hasn't been co-opted or built over by some of the nearby civilization, you know?"

SAM: Do you always get a response from the spirit of the Savage Garden? Savage Heart? (laughter)

TRAVIS: ♪ I wanna lay with you ♪

LIAM: ♪ I will go on ♪

MARISHA: ♪ Forever ♪

LIAM: (sloppily singing Savage Garden) Sorry. Good song, though.

MATT: "Sometimes it can be my wish, it can be my fantasy."

TRAVIS: Oh boy!

ASHLEY: Oh yes! There it is.

TRAVIS: Woof!

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Woof!

MATT: "I mean, I've certainly felt it and conversed with it when I went through my initial trial and sometimes it's just a feeling, a presence, a protection or feeling like something's watching out for you, as long as you show the respect that it's due. But like I said, its form can be different for whoever's reaching out to it. For those who aren't coming with the purest of intent, well, (chuckles) you'll see what happens to them."

SAM: Okay. Yikes!

MATT: "You'll see. You'll see."

MARISHA: Are you feeling pure today? Chetney's the least pure person I know!

SAM: I agree.

TRAVIS: What? I'm 100% pure stunna.

LAURA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: "Pure" feels vague.

LIAM: Does Chetney have to go in on his own?

MATT: "No. I mean, we're all going to be going into the temple here. We want to show you around, make sure you're not falling into any pit traps or--"

LIAM: Okay.

MATT: "If stuff starts going bad, we can try and evacuate you out of there."

TALIESIN: Mm.

MATT: "But, I mean, I don't know what the trial's going to necessarily represent. That's for you to find out and for all of us to be at the ready, I suppose."

SAM: All right.

LAURA: We're there. We'll be there to help you, if you need it.

TRAIVS: I hope it's just endless supplies of wood.

SAM: Yeah, like a carving challenge?

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Oh boy!

SAM: That might be it.

LAURA: That feels like that's probably what it's going to be.

SAM: Yeah, it's probably going to be in a woodworking based.

TRAVIS: Got to warm up the write-its! Okay.

MARISHA: Ooh! Do we get to be the judges? (gasps) And you have a time limit? That's a good show. I'm just saying. (laughter)

MATT: Manad wipes a little bit of moisture and snot from the end of his nose and goes, "I'm not going to lie. That'd be a lot of fun. Will mix it up from the usual."

TRAVIS: What a--

MATT: "Fingers crossed. I'm with you on that one."

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: "Anyway, keep eyes ahead. We're not too far." Within a another couple hours of travel through the pale, blanched and blackened trees begin to transition in places. They don't fully fade away, but their density and monochrome cluster--

LAURA: Their density. and monochrome cluster--

LAURA: Their density. I'm sorry.

MATT: You just kicked my leg out from under me, Laura Bailey.

LAURA: I'm sorry! I'm sorry!

MATT: (laughs) You see more cerulean leaves pops of different types of trees that begin to come through the further eastward you travel. These have a deep maroon-type trunk to them, These have a deep maroon-type trunk to them, thinner, not as thick as the masses of the jungle trees that you've seen, but these have a thick brown maroon coloration. As they rise up, they're these cotton-like plumes of blue that grow out of the branches, these softer bits and they just dot the landscape as you go.

LAURA: I've never seen trees like this.

MATT: "Yeah, you don't really see trees like this anywhere outside of the Gloomed Jungles. Something about the, I don't know, something in the air, something in the soil."

LAURA: It's how I imagine Feywild would look.

TALIESIN: Mm.

ASHLEY: Yeah!

LIAM: Is it?

ASHLKEY: A little bit. Yeah, I think I've seen things like this, a little bit. Different colors.

MATT: Uther comes from behind and goes, "Some folks come out here and take some of these trees and try and sell them off land, but they don't take really to any soil or roots outside of it, outside of magical enchantment means. So it's really expensive to get any of these to keep to a garden somewhere. There are those that do and I'm sure there's a fine business trade for that somewhere here. But marvel and take it in. You won't see much of this elsewhere."

ASHLEY: Wow!

TRAVIS: Does it look like fey stuff that we've seen before?

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

SAM: With disadvantage?

ASHLEY: No, you're longer poisoned.

LAURA: No, she's not poisoned anymore.

SAM: Phew!

LIAM: How do you know? She's probably been popping mushrooms this whole time.

SAM: Well, no. I don't know what she's doing.

ASHLEY: My nature is bologna. Wait, why did I just roll twice?

SAM: How? You're a fucking nature person!

ASHLEY: Sorry, I'll take the first one. No. Seven.

MATT: (laughs)

LAURA: Maybe, do you get advantage because it's about the Fey Realm and you're from the Fey Realm?

MATT: No.

SAM: Sure. (laughter)

TRAVIS: No.

ASHLEY: No? (laughter)

MATT: But good looking out. (laughter) It reminds you of the Fey Realm a little bit, just the weirdness, but you've never seen these types of trees necessarily. But it does, I don't know, the unfamiliar, alien landscape feel of it does give you a little scratch of home.

ASHLEY: It feels a little reminiscent. Just a little bit.

SAM: Mm-hmm.

ASHLEY: But it's different. I haven't quite seen them this color before. It's beautiful!

MATT: "We're here."

LAURA: It's the Changebringer.

MARISHA: Oh.

MATT: As you all begin to step behind Annaline, who'd been keeping a good 20, 30 paces ahead, leans back to announce that and carefully ushers you up over this hill. Beyond that, you can see this choked clearing where most of the trees keep a fairly loosely consistent pattern of density throughout the jungle with small patches that are open where either small ancient stone constructs that have fallen just into piles of rock over time or gardens of dangerous looking plants that you are told to avoid as you go by have taken root. But here, you see there are cliffs, small jutting cliffs that begin to rise out of this part of the jungle and the topography rises and falls at times, but here you can see you're not terribly far from the base of a mountain range. But this is the first large cliff side you see rising up. In this rocky hillside, you can see it is overgrown with numerous dark roots that spill over the top and there are trees that rise up above it. As the roots pour down and tangle, you can see these hanging gray vines that just wrap around it. As they tether down, they wind in between the roots and it gives this odd, natural cathedral look to it built into the side of this rocky surface that itself has all manner of green and gray and brown moss that grows wherever elements of it are exposed to the rain and damp elements.

LAURA: ♪ One-by-one, we climb until we reach the top ♪ (laughter)

MATT: You do see--

MARISHA: That's right. We planned that. (laughter)

MATT: You do see-- Oh my god, I didn't even think about that. You see, at certain portions, there are bursts of jet black and very, very bright purple fungus, different than the ones that you had consumed that seem to almost, the purple ones, pull out to these long shelves. They reach almost a full two feet out at the height from the surface they extend from, where the jet ones are these small pods, these small puff balls that are just pitch black. It looks like a void until you see some of the light glitter past and you can see the surface texture of it.

LAURA: I feel like you shouldn't eat those ones.

ASHLEY: Okay.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: You also can see that there is a half-collapsed rubble of ruined stone that crowns visibly carved a mason structure. It is built into the side of the rock. It has been swallowed by most of these vines and you can see there is a portion of the cliff that is cracked and stones have fallen and where a bit of natural erosion, you can see signs of intentional carving and shaping where softer stones are smoothed, where you can see there are shapes that look like they are like a claw that reaches out and holds onto a stone bowl that is cracked and broken. You can see there's a large-- One of those large burgundy trees has fallen from the top and is half angled over and what would be its canopy of extremely bright blue is empty. The tree itself, no longer rooted and died. It is now just this reaching, extending, a bloodstream looking extension of thin branches that reach out to nothing before they just fall onto the ground before it. But you can see there is a cavern beyond where it has tumbled and where some of these shapes of ancient carvings are still visible amongst the exterior. This looks to be an entranceway.

SAM: (exhales)

MATT: As the group begins to emerge from the tree line and stepping out into this clearing towards it, Annaline turns around and addresses the rest of you. "I ask all of you to be respectful. If there's anything you wish to take, make sure you ask permission."

ASHLEY: Yes, of course.

SAM: Insight check.

MATT and TALIESIN: (laugh)

ASHLEY: Sure.

TALIESIN: Can I give you advantage?

MATT: What are you-- (laughs)

SAM: I'm just trying to read her.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: See what she's thinking. I rolled a six.

MATT: Total of six?

SAM: Well... Oh, no. 12.

TRAVIS: Take advantage because I think we're all doing the same thing.

LAURA and TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: (laughs)

MARISHA: We're assisting.

SAM: 12.

MATT: You can roll with advantage if you're being assisted by the rest of the group.

SAM: Ooh!

TRAVIS: All heads just go (focusing).

SAM: 20!

ASHLEY: Of course I'm going to try. (laughter)

SAM: Cool, cool, cool. She's living her truth.

ASHLEY: I'm going to try to be very good. I'm really trying in my heart. That's what I'm feeling.

SAM: I can't even tell if you're lying to me as Ashley Johnson like that.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

ASHLEY: We'll never know. (laughter)

TALIESIN: Just because I'm curious, before we head in, how big is Annaline's hammer? Just because I'm--

SAM: Hammer envy?

MARISHA: Hammer envy?

TRAVIS: Comparing.

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: It's-- It's maybe about two inches shorter than yours.

TALIESIN: Okay. Yeah, right.

SAM: But it's thicker.

TALIESIN: Stop it! (laughter)

TALIESIN: You're 12.

LAURA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: You're a child. Sam Riegel's a child.

MATT: No, I'd say the one major difference is, whereas yours is an even hammer from both impacting sides.

TALIESIN: Oh, it's a war hammer.

MATT: Yeah, this one has a wider front and not quite a pick at the end, but it has a thinner point of impact so that it can be more incisive pressure against whatever it wants to hit.

TALIESIN: All right. I probably have been watching a little, I've been watching a little bit, the practice run.

MATT: A little bit. Yeah.

TALIESIN: I'm pretty sure it-- I assume it's nice and clean and well-formed or--

MATT: It is.

LAURA: Yeah, I'm sure it is.

SAM: Really well formed.

TALIESIN: I know I'm feeding all of it to you! Don't think I don't know that! (laughter)

TALIESIN: Take it, motherfuckers!

MATT: Children! (laughter)

TALIESIN: Okay. Just, yeah. I'm just going to take a second and just have the...

MARISHA: (giggles)

TALIESIN: All right, cool.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MARISHA: Feeling insecure, Ashton?

TALIESIN: No.

MATT: (laughs)

TALIESIN: I'm excited to see how this whole thing works out.

MARISHA: Mm.

SAM: Are you a little cold? It just seems--

TRAVIS: Come on! (laughter)

TRAVIS: I was in the pool!

TALIESIN: Mine is bigger, but... Okay. Never mind.

MATT: You all approach this one exposed entryway. It looks like, amongst the tree that's fallen and the roots that curl around it, there's a space about the size of Ashton. So no one has to uncomfortably reach through, but you can see what may have been a larger entrance is now mostly covered. Each one of the Gorgynei step in, and you watch as Manad keeps the caboose region, waiting for all of you to enter beforehand. "After you."

SAM: Yeah. Chetney first?

TRAVIS: Sure.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah.

TALIESIN: It's your party.

TRAVIS: (sniffs)

LAURA: We follow up.

MARISHA: Oh boy.

TRAVIS: Follow your nose.

MARISHA: Oh boy, oh boy!

MATT: All right.

TRAVIS: Oh.

MATT: So. As you all begin to push into the interior of the structure, whatever it may be, you immediately are hit by the smell of stale water and damp earth and old musk, like bestial scents, and old musk, like bestial scents, things that may have been either cast or rubbed against rock or just left to mark something passing through and claiming it as territory and who either vanish or still live somewhere in the shadow within.

MARISHA: Cat piss smell?

MATT: A little bit, amongst other natural scents.

TRAVIS: Cat piss plus a couple hundred pounds.

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: As you step through this long winding tunnel, the first thing you notice is there are wooden supports, little beams in the sides that you would see on the inside of a mine shaft, to a certain extent. One of them looks like it's slightly splintered in places, but it's built into it, not quite holding the same kind of ancient temple aesthetic that you would expect. You can see hanging from one of its iron bars around it, it looks to be a lantern, but the glass element has been shattered.

LIAM: Did that scaffolding start after a delay? When we entered, there were very, very old carvings and it was a clear entrance.

MATT: Correct, and as you stepped inside, maybe about 15 or so feet, you saw this beginning of wooden scaffolding.

LIAM: Scaffolding. Okay.

MATT: You push through no more than maybe 50, 60 or so feet, moving past edges of this long carving tunnel. You begin to look around and see that this area might have been larger in places, but elements of it have collapsed inward. You can see there are piles of rock and stone. There's a brief moment where, instinctually, you worry that maybe this is unstable, but most of the cliff looked solid and the areas here that are collapsed, it doesn't look like there are large signs of heavy structural damage or long cracks that wind through, just elements of the walls that have seemingly fallen.

SAM: Hmm.

MATT: You also, through the interior, notice bones.

SAM: Oh.

MATT: You can see ancient chunks of bone, flakes and shards, things that have just either been crushed through time or through many, many years have just been stepped on until it became just a shale that once existed within a creature with chunks of larger bone here and there. At immediate glance, not entirely certain as to what these may have belonged to until you see the first humanoid skull.

SAM: The first what?

MATT: Humanoid skull.

LAURA: Humanoid.

SAM: Oh, okay.

MATT: But you see other skulls too here. You see things that look like wolves or coyotes or another that looks like a massive feline skull, something that may have fit one of those twilight tigers you saw earlier, but it is long overgrown with a moss and you can see part of its jaw is missing and it's just partially embedded into the stones that have gathered around it. It's been here for quite some time. In fact, a lot of these bones and some of the carvings on the inside look like they've been here for quite some time. You can see there are shapes. Nothing here is refined. There was no societal architect that came in here and renovated and built a great temple. What you see are shapes that look like beasts. What looks like a wolf head that emerges from the rock and it looks like it's been, just over time, ground into its shape, but it's rounded the edges. It's more of the essence of a beast. Ancient enough to where the stonework here is interpretive and rough.

LIAM: You used the word ancient for the bones. Are there anything any more recent mixed in? Years? Decades?

MATT: You can make a perception check for me.

LAURA: Do the carvings look similar, like they're from the same time period as that statue that was in the middle of town?

TALIESIN: Jesus, that roll.

MATT: The statue in the middle of town, you didn't take too much time to look at, but it looks like, I would say, they're still building that statue.

LAURA: Got it.

MATT: That one seemed actually pretty recent, but the process seems to be similar. It's more like just rough carving away at stone and chiseling at it with tools.

LIAM: Natural 20.

LAURA: Ha ha!

SAM: Ooh!

MARISHA: Ooh!

MATT: A lot of these bones look very old and a lot of them look like they've been either uncovered recently by someone sweeping through. When I say recently, I mean like in the past, you know, number of years. But some of them look very new. Some of them look like creatures that may have died not more than a few months back and the the bones themselves look clean and smoothed over, like the insects and other creatures that exist off the decay of beings have cleaned it thoroughly and it's now left here as another display of the cycle of life. You also see human skulls that look like they probably, with a natural 20, have been here for a few decades. You see chunks of leather armor, you see rusted weaponry.

LIAM: Any wounds in the skulls?

MATT: Yes, indeed! In fact, in one of the skulls you see a series of puncture marks that look like large teeth.

SAM: Oof!

LAURA: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

LIAM: Teeth specifically.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

LIAM: I mention that to the group.

MATT: You also see along the walls and bits of the wood, with your natural 20, as you're now inspecting the space around, there are gashes, strikes across the wood, some that could be bladed, some that could be claws. You do see one blade that is half still embedded in one of these archway supports, but rust has taken it extensively.

LIAM: Boy, it feels like a lot has happened in here.

TALIESIN: Mm.

LIAM: A lot.

MATT: But a short jaunt in, this tunnel opens into a larger antechamber. Here in this room, you can see there's a break in the ceiling about 40 feet above you where you can just see a bit of the sky above. There's actually about a two or three foot hole that you can see out into the elements. Actually, from this view, you can't see any trees, but you do see a single shaft of light that breaks down and falls into the center of the room. Where the light hits, you can see there is water trickling through, whether it be just runoff from the recent storm or some element of a nearby brook above the cliff drains out here. But there is just a single, ever-present trickle of water that just partially mists as it falls and it just topples down into the middle of the chamber where you see standing a female humanoid statue that resides in the middle of this central chamber. You see this woman clutching something to her chest in the darkened, shattered interior. There looks to be risen platforms underneath her to the center of this chamber, and there are numerous other statues, carvings, similar to what you've seen, that are standing on their own. But some of them have fallen over and crumbled with bits of the fallen rock. This room, the more you look around again, and take in, your eyes adjusting to the light, this room has seen quite a bit of collapse. Whole sections of it seem to have slid inward and you can see there are piles of loose stone and collapsed cavern that just mounted up at certain edges. Beneath them, you can see bones emerging, you can see broken furniture, bits of wood, you can see metal tools that are rusted and lost amongst the rest of broken stone and pebble. You can see a panther-like stone sculpture that has shattered into four pieces and it's been overgrown with bits of of vine and moss. It is quite an interesting combination of old and new decay and nature reclaiming it all.

TRAVIS: Is there any-- As we're looking around, are there any markings or runes, glyphs, pictographs, anything that looks like it was etched into this stone?

MATT: Make a perception or investigation check.

TRAVIS: 24!

SAM: Whoa!

LAURA: Nice!

MATT: 24. You do not see any runes. There is nothing carved in here that appears to resemble language or Draconic magical rune artistry. It looks like everything here is more simple, other than the statues themselves which have a little more detail, even than the things you saw before, especially the statute of the woman in the center. But you do see, amongst the walls, sconces, a number of metal iron sconces that are bolted into the stonework around the chamber. You watch as the Gorgynei separate and begin to take out of their pouches dried wood and begin to fill the sconces and prepare them to be lit. As they do, they go around the room and (flames alight) begin to light the wall-mounted braziers to begin to bring more of a flickering firelight into the chamber.

LIAM: As we start to get more light in here, is there any obvious remnants of the Stratos Throne strewn about?

MATT: I'd say, still going off, even just your passive perception, yes. In fact, most of the broken furniture and wood and the semblances of more recent human remains that exist in here amongst the various other beasts and animal remains look like there are signs that somebody once put in tables and chairs and bunks. You're not sure how much further this chamber once went and what other rooms may have been accessible from here, but it looks like a lot of what was brought in here by the Stratos Throne has been destroyed, sundered, or buried. But there are broken remnants of it, reminders of it, and--

LIAM: Like barracks, mess hall, that kind of thing, broken?

MATT: Yeah, you don't see anything specific like that, at least not within this central antechamber. You see signs of other tunnels that may have gone further, but those have since collapsed inward and are cut off. But you do see broken piles of materials. You see old leather satchel bits that are overgrown with mold and moss at this point. The green vines that have come down to that open hole now have extended across the entire ceiling and just dangle down. So about 10, 12 feet above where you're standing to the 40-foot apex there there is just hundreds and hundreds of vines that just hang and dangle at different heights above, that one shaft of light that comes down into the center of the chamber. You can see the roots breaking through parts of the above ground and the stonework of the ceiling from whatever elements of trees still exist above the top of this cliff.

SAM: Do you have to go talk to the statue or anything?

TRAVIS: I don't think so. I'm just waiting to take my cues from the rest of the group.

TALIESIN: Maybe you have to romance the statue. Maybe it has to fall in love with you.

TRAVIS: Romance the stone, you say?

TALIESIN: Yes, I do.

TRAVIS: Mm.

MARISHA: Take Ashton's hammer.

TRAVIS: What?

TALIESIN: No, no. No, you're fine. No. My hammer's fine.

SAM: Smash the statue?

TRAVIS: You're in an aggressive place right now. I like it. Keep it. (laughter)

TALIESIN: I was enjoying the confidence. I was trying to just put a little pickup.

TRAVIS: Yeah, we'll walk towards the statue, though. Is there any sort of expression or body language? I mean, she's clutching her hands to her chest.

MATT: Yeah, so as you walk up, you see this is a woman, the statue itself standing probably about six-foot tall. You see she has this majestic air about her a plump frame, long curling hair that goes past the shoulders and almost touches the ground around her, seems like unfurling to the ground. She's clutching a scabbard to her chest with both hands and just looking forward with this maternal, partial smile. It's almost welcoming. It definitely stands out against a lot of the rest of this temple. Make a religion check for me.

TRAVIS: And a empty scabbard, or is there a cross hilt sword in there?

MATT: There's no signs of a sword or anything. It's just like she's clutching a scabbard to her chest.

TRAVIS: Religion check. Why would I have advantage on that?

TALIESIN: Does anybody here have a decent nature, by the way?

TRAVIS: -- "your ability to recall lore about deities, rites, and prayers?"

MATT: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Okay.

TALIESIN: All right.

MARISHA: No.

SAM: How is that possible?

TRAVIS: Whoa! A 19 and 20, so natural 20 for 22.

ASHLEY and MATT: Woo!

MATT: All righty.

TRAVIS: Damn.

MATT: This is indeed a statue of Seraatani, which is the Marquesian name of the Wildmother.

MARISHA: Oh, okay.

TALIESIN: Mm-hmm.

MATT: She represents the goddess entity that oversees, protects, and is the through line and spiritual chord to all things natural that exist in the wild, whether it be seas or forests and jungles, and everything that lives through the cycle of water to light, to prey to hunter, to the natural order and cycle that maintains everything beyond civilization. That is Seraatani. That is the Wildmother. You recall when you were first discussing this temple with the Gorgynei, they mentioned that the spirit, this actual savage spirit of this temple.

TRAVIS: Sahyaadon.

MATT: Sahyaadon, is a spirit entity that is either an extension of, a creation of the Wildmother, of Seraatani. As you approach and look over the statue, Annaline begins to walk to you as the final bits of these torch brazers are lit and goes, "Welcome to the chamber of trials. This is where the Hunter's Bane is granted to those within the Gorgynei who choose to walk the path of hemocraft and control this beast and harness it for the hunt. Here is where offerings are made to the spirit, Sahyaadon, here, the being of the Savage Heart and its creator." Then she gestures to the statue. You look now, below the statue and the floor, there are a number of metal and stone platters, or just square, stone platforms or just square, stone platforms and little chunks of wide shale that can be used to carry things. There is rotted fruit and bone where the meat has been plucked away, and coins, and all manner of offerings that have been brought that are clustered and piled around the central statue. You watch as Annaline kneels down, opens her pack, reaches in and pulls out a bit of dried meat, a piece of platinum, and a uniquely bright green fruit that stands out and sets them onto one of these little platters. She sits up and turns to you as the rest of the Gorgynei come and leave their own little offerings at the base of the statue.

SAM: Were we supposed to bring something?

MARISHA: Should we do the same thing?

TRAVIS: I think it's for me.

MATT: "This is where the balance of the gloom is watched over and maintained. You who seek to speak and commune this spirit, leave an offering."

TRAVIS: Yeah. So I'll go over and I'll also take out two platinum, not to be shown up. I'll also pull out what looks like a small fang, but it's carved out of wood, intricately detailed. It's a wolf's tooth. The gum line represented perfectly, slight cavity marks, because why would you brush your teeth?

LAURA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Place them. I place them at the base of the statue. (laughter) (laughter)

MATT: "We may camp here for tonight."

SAM and LAURA: Oh.

MATT: "We settle for the evening's turn."

TRAVIS: Oh, oh, oh.

SAM and ASHLEY: Oh.

MATT: "I believe it is your prerogative--"

ASHLEY: You can do what you want to do.

MATT: "-- to meditate. To sit here in the antechamber and concentrate. Speak your mind, what you seek, what you wish to be rid of. If you're lucky, the spirit's listening." With that, Annaline turns around and the Gorgynei begin to take out their bed rolls and choosing corners of the room. There are little pockets of the room where the somewhat collapsed stone can be cleared away. There's a few spots that look a little warmer towards the edge of the tunnel. The rest of you can do the same, if you'd like.

LAURA: How big is this chamber?

MATT: It's probably... It's maybe 100 to 150 feet across at places. It's maybe 100 to 150 feet across at places. It's not a perfectly open chamber since parts of it have fallen in. It has an odd shape to it. But I'd say at places it's somewhere between, close to 100 feet across. If not, a little more, a little less.

LAURA: Okay.

SAM: Are we just supposed to go to sleep now, or are you staying up all night to pray?

TRAVIS: Yeah, I think so. I'm in for the long haul.

SAM: We should stay up with you then.

TRAVIS: No. I mean, listen, you need your rest. Keep your strength. I may need your help. So let's consider it like, I'll take the first of a few watches. If something goes wacky, I'll sound the alarm.

SAM: But then you won't be ready for tomorrow. You'll be tired.

TRAVIS: No, maybe I'll just meditate for a little bit and then I'll come tap one of ya.

LAURA: Okay.

TRAVIS: Good call.

MATT: It's still late afternoon.

SAM: Oh.

MATT: So.

SAM: Good night! (laughter)

SAM: It's 3:20.

MATT: I was like, you can go to sleep now, if you want to, but at least the Gorgynei are setting up camp here and preparing to stay here for the time it takes for you to complete whatever your trials might be.

TALIESIN: So the sunlight's coming through that hole at the top of the chamber.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

TALIESIN: It is sunlight light? It is clearly a--

MATT: Make a nature check.

TALIESIN: Yeah, okay.

TRAVIS: I mean.

TALIESIN: Oh, wow! Five.

MATT: Five.

LIAM: (like Owen Wilson) Wow.

MATT: Looks like sunlight, yeah.

LAURA, TRAVIS, and MARISHA: (like Owen Wilson) Wow.

TRAVIS: I bet Sahyaadon would appreciate planning and foresight. So since there's an entrance to this place, just in case, when the sun goes down and the moon comes up, if that means bad stuff's coming in, we could always lay a little trap for something by the entrance.

MARISHA: You think it's going to come in, not appear or leap from her forehead? Drop from the ceiling?

TRAVIS: I feel like it's all of the above.

MARISHA: Come out of the earth, splintering from beneath?

TRAVIS: Well, maybe, yeah. But if this is the goddess of nature, all that shit's out there.

MARISHA: Like she summons it in.

TRAVIS: Could be.

MARISHA: All right.

TRAVIS: Could come through the floor. Could be dramatic as hell. Could be a forehead beam. I don't know!

SAM: So you want us to make a trap?

TRAVIS: Well, I mean, just maybe encumber the way a little bit. Fortune favors the sexy.

SAM: All right.

TRAVIS: And the prepared.

TALIESIN: I thought you were going to say the encumbered, but that works, too.

TRAVIS: This is a lot of choices, really.

SAM: I don't know if I have any traps.

MARISHA: I have a bunch of ball bearings.

SAM: Okay. Sure you do.

MARISHA: Because they are a staple.

TRAVIS: On a jungle floor.

LIAM: The Marisha Ray story. (laughter)

TALIESIN: "I have a bunch of ball bearings."

MARISHA: ♪ A pocket full of bearings! ♪

LAURA: I got a pocket full of caltrops as well.

TRAVIS: Is that Rage Against the Machine?

MARISHA: Yeah, I was trying. (laughs)

TRAVIS: Okay. (laughs)

TALIESIN: Those are all--

MARISHA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Caltrops, actually, might be really good idea because I bet whatever's going to come in isn't wearing shoes.

TRAVIS: ♪ Pocket full of bearings ♪

TALIESIN: Yeah, it does not strike me.

LAURA: Most animals I feel like can avoid--

TRAVIS: Double.

MARISHA: Yeah, it doesn't work as much.

TRAVIS: Still a little rough, yeah.

TALIESIN: I mean, depending on the animal, too. You would just make the shoes out of the same animal. It really would just be doubling up.

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: Hard to plan when we know literally nothing about what's going to happen.

TALIESIN: There's a vibe.

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: A vibe?

LAURA: I'm going to go find a corner away from everyone else.

MATT: Okay. Far left, far right? Where are you feeling?

LAURA: Far left. I'm going to sit down and open up my mind and see if I can sense anything in this chamber around us.

MATT: Okay. As you expand your consciousness a bit and let the voices in that may wish to look to press their way into your consciousness, you sense your allies, you sense the Gorgynei, but nothing else of human intelligence piercing inward. So you feel confident, at least at the moment that nothing of that level of intellect is in the immediate vicinity.

LAURA: All right.

MARISHA: I look at the scry ball.

SAM: Ooh. Sure. Why not?

MATT: It's fine. Still dark.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

LAURA: It's always good.

MARISHA: It's always fine.

LAURA: You've got to check.

MARISHA: It's probably done now.

MATT: I mean, it has a radius of only a few miles, so.

LAURA: It's like 1,000 feet, isn't it?

MARISHA: That's how she's going to get it. Is it 1,000 feet or is it five miles or something? I don't know.

MATT: I'll look at the details again. It's not very long, but it's enough to the point where the fact that you don't see anything, is a good sign.

LIAM: It totally reaches to the moon.

TRAVIS: I mean, do we have any extra rope?

LAURA: You cut up all the rope, I think.

TRAVIS: That's why I said extra.

TALIESIN: I got little bit of rope, I think.

TRAVIS: That was my rope.

LIAM: Chet's rope.

TRAVIS: That I burned for the group.

LIAM: You need a rope?

TRAVIS: Well, I was just thinking-

MARISHA: To make a trip trap?

TRAVIS: Yeah, at the front. If anything comes rushing in--

SAM: Tripping trap?

TRAVIS: -- you can slow it down just a little bit.

MARISHA: I still have the immovable rod.

SAM: No, you don't. I took it off your dead body. I have it.

TALIESIN: No, I have it. You gave it to me.

SAM: Uh-uh.

MARISHA: Can I have my rod back?

SAM: Yes, I will--

TALIESIN: I'm literally staring at it.

SAM: It's also in my equipment.

MATT: Well, one of you just--

SAM: Hey, we got two--

TRAVIS: Rollies.

LAURA: If we had two rods!

SAM: We have two immovable rods right now. Let's Rollies.

SAM: 15.

LIAM: You're rolling to roleplay giving back the rod.

SAM: Uh-huh.

TALIESIN: 11.

LIAM: Cool.

SAM: So I have the rod.

TALIESIN: I have a really interesting metal bar that doesn't do anything. (laughter)

TALIESIN: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Fuck yeah!

TALIESIN: Watch while I come up with a great fucking plan with this metal bar.

TRAVIS: Yes!

SAM: Would you like it back?

MARISHA: I would like it back.

SAM: All right. I'm unequipping it. It's all yours.

MARISHA: But I could put it on this end. We could tie a little rope or a vine and then fasten it to something on the other side. Then put ball bearings up front.

SAM: This sounds great. Yeah, let's do that.

MARISHA: All right, we do that.

MATT: All right. As you set up that entry-- There are two splinter tunnels from where you came. There's the one you came through and then there's one to the right of it that continues off another direction. But you don't see any light source or anything in there. You haven't really checked it out.

MARISHA: I warn the rest of the Gorgynei that I'm dumping a bunch of ball bearings. D&D's most dangerous weapon.

MATT: Of course, yeah. Totally.

TRAVIS: You said there's another light source, but we haven't checked it out?

MATT: Well, there's another tunnel.

LIAM: There's another tunnel.

SAM: Oh!

LIAM: The other thing was collapsed in, but there is a separate exit from--

MATT: From where you're in the room, you don't see any other, and then as you turn back around from where you came, there's a second entrance to the right of it, but it continues going in the direction of where you came from, just a little bit off to the right.

TRAVIS: Well, we should check that out.

LAURA and TALIESIN: Yeah.

TALIESIN: I mean...

TRAVIS: Yeah. I'll stay put.

MATT: Brief glance into it. About 15 or so feet, it is collapsed.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: It is a filled tunnel.

LIAM: It goes forever. I'll be back in a while.

MATT: As they finish lighting all the flames, you can now smell the burning of incense, a strong, pungent, almost like a sage smell with a strange acerbic, citrusy smell. It fills the air. It's strong, but it definitely seems to cleanse the musky scents that approached you as you arrived. As the incense smoke begins to burn throughout the chamber, Annaline turns around to you, "Chetney, if you are to call upon Sahyaadon for guidance, you must concentrate, meditate, offer yourself to her mercy and wisdom. Shed your ego."

LAURA: Hmm.

MATT: "And let your timeless nature bloom within." She steps away from the center and the rest of the Gorgynei move, all five of them move to different corners of the chamber, almost forming a loose circle on the perimeter outside of it.

TRAVIS: (exhales) This is-- Okay. I'll sit criss-cross applesauce in front of the statue. (clears throat) (breathes shakily)

SAM: Before you start.

TRAVIS: Huh?!

SAM: I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I want you to succeed so, so bad, so bad. I'm going to tap you on the shoulder and say: You got this, pal. I'll cast Enhance Ability. Boy, what do I enhance? What are you about to do? Talk?

TRAVIS: Maybe...

MARISHA: Wisdom?

TRAVIS: Yeah, wisdom couldn't hurt.

SAM: Wisdom? All right, yeah. I'll do the--

TALIESIN: You're like--

LIAM: Stamina.

TRAVIS: My charisma's dog shit, but whatever.

TALIESIN: You're stalling a meditation right now.

TRAVIS: No, no, no, no.

SAM: Because you're about to be talking.

LAURA: Maybe.

TALIESIN: Maybe.

SAM: Boy, I don't know.

TALIESIN: Could be.

MARISHA: Talking? Are you feeling? Are you thinking?

TRAVIS: Charisma is my lowest stat.

SAM: I'll do charisma then.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: I don't know what that does. Was that a plus to something or advantage?

SAM: It's advantage on all rolls.

TRAVIS: Okay, thank you.

SAM: For an hour.

TRAVIS: All right, I'll sit.

SAM: I'll shit.

TRAVIS: I'll focus myself. Close my eyes. (breathes deeply) Sahyaadon? Chetney Pock O'Pea here. C-POP Industries. (laughter)

TRAVIS: I know it's taken me four centuries to get to this point, but I'm here to make a difference. I look at your influence as a blessing and I want to be straight with you. I'm going to use this for personal gain, but only a little bit. I've seen a lot of shitty things in the world and some of that stuff needs a force to push it back. I'd like to do that at times. Also, I have personal beef I'd like to squash, on the side, after I've done some good.

MARISHA: That's got to be Santa, right?

TRAVIS: Nope. (laughter)

TRAVIS: I am willing and open to any wisdom that you could share.

MATT: There's a pause. You hear this loud crunching sound. You glance over and you see Manad sitting in the corner, chomping on some sort of a hard vegetable and goes--

TRAVIS: Bro!

MATT: "Sorry. You're going to be there a while."

TRAVIS: Am I doing this right so far?

MATT: "I think so."

TRAVIS: Okay.

MATT: "Just be open, I guess, and patient." (crunches) An hour goes by, two hours. The tension that you felt as you arrive and set up for this begins to ease as you all settle into almost a boundary between impatience and boredom at times. Eventually, the sunlight that peeks through shifts darker. You can ascertain that the sun sets, You can ascertain that the sun sets, leading into a moonlit night from within. Now the sunbeam, while it is faded, is replaced with a moonbeam. This moonbeam... doesn't shift. In fact, Catha is not up in the sky, not at an angle that it would be visible at this point. But there is indeed a shaft of gentle moonlight that pierces through that hole above and alights the interior of this darkened chamber. The sconce light flickering.

TALIESIN: Fucking knew it.

MATT: You catch a sweetness in the air.

LAURA: (whispering) Sweetness.

MATT: This faint smell of sharp decay and honey, followed by a wave of strong iron. Then you feel a presence arrive. And that's where we're going to go to break.

ALL: Oh!

SAM: Presents arrive? That's Santa!

MATT: Oh my god.

TALIESIN: I was waiting for the werebees.

TRAVIS: The time has come!

SAM: The presents!

TALIESIN: Werebees! It's time for werebees.

MATT: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Werebees.

MATT: Anyway.

TRAVIS: Shit. Okay. Okay, okay.

MATT: We'll come back into this after our break. This has been a little bit, we need to go to our break.

SAM: Yes!

BREAK ENDS -->

Part II
MATT: But yeah, we'll see you here in a few minutes and we'll pick up where that left off. See you in a second. (howling) (dramatic music) (light music) (dramatic music) (light music) (bright music) <!-- BREAK BEGINS Laura: Hey, Critters. Laura Bailey here to guide you through what's new in the Critical Role shop. This is pretty badass. I mean The Traveler always says impulse purchases are a good decision. This holiday season, give the gift of effortless style. Oh, so comfy cozy. This is seriously magical. Roll an investigation if you want, it's basically perfect. Aw, they're so mini. And hey, if you want, you can head over to the Critical Role shop right now. (light music) (festive music) (dramatic music) I feel so good with these big, chonky socks on and these long johns because I feel like I'm wearing footie pajamas. I really wanna play Nintendo. Are you trying to get your feet on Wikifeet? Why are you playing with your feet so much? Here they are, boys or girls or whoever. Raise that score. Stop it! Stop it! Make sure to vote. Is it gods fucking? Break open a god cage. I'm gonna flare! Oh, ah! Is there a rule that a dog can't play basketball? Am I passing gas now, yes or no? No, I don't think you would do it with a microphone on you, just in case. But I will... Does that come with a butt flap? It does have a butt flap. Yep, look at that. I wanna see, show everybody. Yeah, now on Wikibutts! (holiday music) (whimsical music) (typing) (whimsical music) (bright music) Hi, Critters. Sam Riegel here. (clicking tongue) There are many relaxing properties to a Twitch subscription to Critical Role. So today I'm going to tell you all about them in soothing ASMR. Which stands for autonomous subscription meditative reaction, or something. Ah! (crinkling) With a Twitch subscription, you can watch our VODs immediately after the live broadcast. Before they're uploaded to YouTube. So you can unwind with us at your own pace. (tearing cloth) Listen. That's the sound of your blood pressure decreasing. You also get access to all of our custom emotes. (gurgling) And you can post links in chat. Doesn't that sound nice? (squeaking) And speaking of chat, Twitch is the only place to join our live and professionally-moderated chat while watching Critical Role. (meowing) So snuggle up with some cocoa (slurping) and let the calm flow (belching) through those fingers, Critters. I'm whispering from really far away. And if you're an Amazon Prime member you get one free Twitch subscription to a channel of your choice through Prime Gaming. So why not use that tranquil little freebie on a Critical Role subscription? Just remember to resubscribe every month. Oh! (scratching) Ugh. Am I doing this right or? Oh, sorry um... Am I doing this right? You can also gift subscriptions to fellow Critters. So what are you waiting for? Start spreading that sweet serenity with a Twitch subscription to Critical Role. ♪ Sponsor me♪ It's like a warm blanket, oh-- Oh, hold on. It's my proctologist, just give me a second, okay? Hello. Hello? Oh hey doc, yeah, what's up? What do you mean more teeth? I thought you got rid of 'em all. Well, no! Don't tell me to relax! I'm the one with teeth up my-- (light music) Subscribe. (light music)

MATT: And welcome back. So. As all of you have found your spaces in the chamber here with Chetney at the base of the central statue surrounded by other statues in various states of standing and or being toppled and crushed as the ages have taken their toll. The Gorgynei have also separated to the outer edges as the darkness of nightfall has come and a singular shaft of moonlight, white and thinned, finds its way into the chamber. The water still trickling out from the top and spreading amongst and around the central statue. With all the offerings set at the base. As you sit there and meditate over this time, that smell begins to change. This presence begins to hang in the air like an invisible mist that weighs within all of your lungs. You can feel this faint vibration in the ground. Not rhythmic, not thrumming, but just a continuous. (hums) Orym and Fearne, can you both roll perception checks for me, please?

SAM: Oh, shit!

LIAM: Not great. 15 for me.

ASHLEY: 19.

LAURA: Ooh!

MATT: 19. You make out just the faintest bit of this but more so for you, Fearne. You almost see a wisp of a shape seem to drift through the mist of the falling trickle of water. Almost like a hand passes through it. But it seems to shift and take its own form. Like there's a glimmer of something there, like a ghost or some sort of a spectral movement. Right as this happens, Chetney, you feel emotions begin to build up from inside you that aren't your own. Images that fill your head like shapes and smoke. There's not language there, but you can interpret intent. Questions to where the emotion and imagery still pierces to your heart. And you know the spirit's present. (eerie) "Are you a hunter or prey?"

TRAVIS: (pained) Oh. (pants) Hunter.

MATT: "You are hunter and prey. Are you yearning for freedom or indulgence?" "Are you yearning for freedom or indulgence?"

TRAVIS: Freedom.

MATT: "You are a fool. Do you seed the garden or spoil the earth?"

TRAVIS: Oh shit. Spoil the earth.

MATT: "You are a catalyst. I smell it within you. A blessing, a curse. A curse." You feel that burning red. For a second, you close your eyes and you can see that red flare between your lids as you open once more. "If I take one, I take a part of you with me. If I take one, I take a part of you with me. And leave a part of me with you." The emotions seem to be less scattered and more focused. "Do you accept my trial?"

TRAVIS: Yes!

MATT: "(inhales)" All the Gorgynei in the chamber stand up.

LAURA: Oh no.

TALIESIN: Yep.

MATT: And close their eyes together as one. As they open them once more, (poof) there is a pale blue mist that drifts out of their open eyes.

MARISHA: Oh no! Oh yes.

TRAVIS: I'm sure it's fine. I'm sure it's fine.

MATT: They just stand there all looking to the center of the chamber where the statue and Chetney are. Chetney, as you say yes, and you watch the Gorgynei flicker on as still guardians, Chetney, you feel that red, that burning tether to the ruddy moon being tugged and pulled and you feel that tickle, that urge to give in, that hunger, that violence, that necessary allure, that necessary allure, that howl, that call, that beckoning, that thirst, that taste of blood and running earth and flesh, the rush, the flow, the leap, the climb, the tear, the growl, the hunger, the bite, the snarl, the break. It all boils and churns and churns and pulls and pushes from within. It's pushing out, it's pushing out. It must be free. You must be free. You must give into this. It is here, it is now, it is within and it is out. It must be out. The rest of you watch as this mist that's drifting off of the waterfall within begins to splash down heavily. The water begins to come down like a waterfall onto and around Chetney. As it does, the mist seems to gather and alight within the moonlight. As it does, you watch Chetney tumble over and begin to bulge. The shoulders begin to ripple and expand, the fur expanding. As the transformation sets in, you watch as the face pulls back and the snout of the wolf begins to push out and it grows larger and larger, bigger than you've seen Chetney emerge as its arms reach out the length of almost eight feet on each end, the claws extend.

LIAM: What?!

ASHLEY: Whoa!

MATT: The white fur begins to burr outward, like a massive mat of cloak-like fur, a carpet of continuous snow white spines out of the body. The teeth extend, slobbering, growling. The spittle itself almost carrying a ruddy liquid coloration to it as it spatters unto the ground, lost amongst the fall of the water itself.

MARISHA: What?

MATT: As Chetney begins to spin you see that same kind of blue, misty glow in his eyes amongst the other Gorgynei--

SAM: Same glow.

MATT: -- the water still scattering across his shoulders.

SAM, LAURA, and ASHLEY: Ah!

TRAVIS: Oh no!

ASHLEY: Oh boy.

MARISHA: Okay everybody.

SAM: Guys, crack open your paints. The newest set of pre-primed miniatures from WizKids is available now at your local game store. Check out the entire Critical Role collection at WizKids.io/CRMinis. (exclaiming in awe)

ASHLEY: That's so cool.

MARISHA: Did you inhale some popcorn?

SAM: I had popcorn right before I started speaking.

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: Whereabouts are the rest of you set up?

LIAM: Kernel go down the wrong pipe?

ASHLEY: Oh god.

SAM: Uh-huh.

LIAM: Oh dear.

LAURA: Okay, okay, okay.

LIAM: All right.

LAURA: So the Gorgynei are fully spread?

LIAM: Oh yeah, show us the Gorgynei.

LAURA: Okay, they're perfectly spread out.

LIAM: Okay.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

LAURA: That makes sense.

MARISHA: We were up front.

TRAVIS: (trembling) Woo! Woo.

LAURA: Doing the trap.

MATT: This is where you came in and this is the collapsed one.

MARISHA: We came in making that trap.

TALIESIN: What was that, in that corner?

LIAM: I mean, this is a few hours I think.

MATT: I'll show you in a second. In the center.

SAM: Okay. I would be close to him because I just touched him to put charisma on him.

LAURA: I mean, you touched him then you backed away, right?

SAM: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I backed away a little.

MATT: A little bit, so about there?

SAM: Yeah, no, that's good.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: I can be closer. It's okay.

MATT: You can be closer?

MARISHA: Who's that that you're holding?

MATT: This is Imogen, but whoever wants to be placed.

SAM: Imogen, that's you.

MARISHA and LAURA: (laugh)

MARISHA: Laudna can be over here in this corner.

MATT: You got it.

LIAM: Which one of these is the collapsed?

MATT: This is the collapsed one here.

LIAM: I'll say that I'm near that. That was the last time I placed myself anywhere.

SAM: So cool.

TALIESIN: I'd probably be hanging out by that weird little-- in that little V section.

MARISHA: Yeah, the green glows.

TALIESIN: Actually a little closer.

LIAM: Those statues.

TALIESIN: Away from me.

MATT: Over here?

TALIESIN: Yeah, but forward, towards you. Right there, yeah. Right in there.

MATT: Okay, you got it.

LAURA: I would be by that little lit up area over there.

MATT: Over here?

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: Shit is lit.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: I'm going to hang out with Orym.

MATT: Over here?

ASHLEY: Other side.

MATT: Over here?

ASHLEY: Yeah.

SAM: Oh, I didn't even see the green glows.

MATT: You've got it.

SAM: I can't see anything over there.

ASHLEY: I didn't either.

MATT: Have you had Mister out with you, I imagine?

ASHLEY: Oh yes, of course.

MATT: Whereabouts would Mister be?

ASHLEY: Uh, let's put him on my left.

MATT: All righty.

TALIESIN: Oh no.

SAM: So we're fighting Gorgynei? Or you're fighting?

LIAM: This is Annaline?

LAURA: Or Chet.

SAM: Or Chetney.

LAURA: Who or what are we fighting?

SAM: Ah!

TALIESIN: We're fighting all of them. (exclaiming)

TRAVIS: (laughing) Oh!

LIAM: What?!

TRAVIS: That is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!

MARISHA: He's so big.

ASHLEY: Oh!

LAURA: What?

MATT: Here's your stat sheet, Chetney.

MARISHA: What? You got new stats?

LIAM: He's bigger than Grog!

ASHLEY: Oh my god.

TRAVIS: That name is interesting.

SAM: Chetney Pock O'--

MATT: I need everyone to roll initiative.

LAURA: Oh my god!

ASHLEY: Oh my god.

MARISHA: So what are we-- Are we a part of--?

LAURA: I don't know! What are we doing?

MARISHA: What are we doing?

SAM: This is our trial?

TRAVIS: (laughs) Oh no! What the fuck?

MARISHA: Oh Jesus, that was cocked.

ASHLEY: Oh.

SAM: Very good.

ASHLEY: Okay.

TALIESIN: Ey, boy.

MARISHA: (groans)

LAURA: Okay.

MARISHA: That's all right.

MATT: All right. 25 to 20.

LIAM: 25.

MATT: All right.

ASHLEY: 20.

LAURA: 23.

SAM: Whoa.

TALIESIN: Whoa.

MARISHA: Mm.

MARISHA: Hang on, hang on, wait. Hang on, that was...

TRAVIS: Orym, Imogen, Fearne.

TALIESIN: Orym, Imogen, Fearne?

LAURA: Mm-hmm.

SAM: Didn't we used to have an initiative ladder or something?

MATT: 20 to 15?

TALIESIN: 19.

MARISHA: No one used it. Orym.

TRAVIS: 16.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: I'll make a new one.

MARISHA: Fearne.

LAURA: Oh yeah.

MARISHA: What is it, Ashton? You're 16?

TALIESIN: I'm after Fearne and then Chetney's after me.

MATT: Chetney and then?

LAURA: That was a long time ago.

SAM: I'm going to run out of popcorn in the first three minutes.

LAURA: I know, I'm already scarfing.

MATT: What'd you get?

MARISHA: I rolled an 11. What did you roll?

MATT: FCG, what'd you get?

SAM: Five.

MATT: All right. Six.

TRAVIS: What did you roll?

MARISHA: 11.

TRAVIS: Oh, so it's--

MATT: Laudna then FCG.

LAURA: What'd you roll?

TRAVIS: Laudna then FCG.

MARISHA: He's 16. So it's Orym, Imogen, Fearne, Ashton, Chetney, Laudna, FCG. I think.

TALIESIN: Chetney, FCG?

LAURA: No.

MARISHA: Chetney, Laudna.

MATT: Do you understand how those things function?

TALIESIN: Laudna, FCG.

TRAVIS: Yes.

TALIESIN: Oh boy.

TRAVIS: I think I'll figure it out.

TALIESIN: I don't like any of this.

MATT: Okie doke.

LAURA: Wait, what are we-- Who are we fighting? I don't even know who we're fighting, though.

LIAM: Exactly.

MATT: Orym, you're up first.

LIAM: Yeah, chaotic energy in here.

MATT: You see Chetney transform.

LIAM: No idea what's going on yet, so all I'm going to do is hold my action. I'm going to attack any threat that attacks Orym or Fearne. That's it.

MATT: Okay, you're holding your position there?

LIAM: Yes.

MATT: You got it. Imogen, you're up.

LAURA: Yes.

LIAM: This could be a fight, or...

LAURA: I know. I don't know.

SAM: Well, yeah, it could be just a dance.

LIAM: Horizontal dance.

SAM: Mm-hmm.

LAURA: Hold on. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. One second. It all happened so quickly. Okay. I'm going to...

LIAM: Dibs on the boar.

LAURA: I'm going to cast Fly on myself.

SAM: Cool.

MATT: Cast Fly on yourself? You got it.

LAURA: And get up and go up.

LIAM: You go out the hole and leave?

LAURA: I go straight up and out. Goodbye. (laughter)

MATT: How far up are you flying?

TALIESIN: It's been cool.

MATT: It's a 40-foot ceiling in here, so.

LAURA: All right. I'll just go up to the top.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: And hold onto some of the vines up there.

MATT: All right.

SAM: Oh, you're way over there. Shit.

TALIESIN: That was a very good call.

MATT: All righty. That finishes your turn. Fearne, you're up, with Ashton on deck.

ASHLEY: Oh my goodness. All right. I am just going to... Ooh! You know what? I'm going to whisper to my staff of the adder. I'm going to whisper to my staff and tell them to wake up. Get ready just in case.

MATT: Okay. You got it.

LAURA: Oh, can I use my bonus action?

MATT: Sure.

LAURA: Just to Chet, I'm just going to go: Chet? In his head.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

LAURA: What's happening?

MATT: The minute you reach into the head--

TALIESIN: Oh boy.

MATT: -- you feel, returning to you, this wave of ancient will that shuts you out.

LAURA: Mm-hmm. Okay. All right.

MARISHA: The person you have reached is unavailable.

TRAVIS: Fucking--

MATT: So with that, finishes your go. Fearne?

LIAM: Look at the big bastard.

MATT: You were whispering to your adder and you're staying there?

ASHLEY: Yes, I'm going to stay there.

MATT: Okay, Ashton.

TALIESIN: I'm going to take a few steps to my left to just get in the way of anything that might-- Yeah. Then I'm going to rage and hold my action for whatever comes anywhere-- Well, actually, I should rage first to see what the fuck's going to go on.

MATT: You've got it.

TALIESIN: Oh okay, that's fun. Cool. Yeah, I'm just going to hold my action until something weird happens.

MATT: All right.

TALIESIN: As long as-- also Imogen, (blows raspberry). Laudna's within 15 feet of me? Just double checking.

MATT: Laudna is currently, yes.

TALIESIN: Perfect, okay.

MARISHA: Is that good or bad?

TALIESIN: That's good.

MATT: All right, finishing your turn. That brings us to Chetney. Chetney?

LIAM: You can fit so much wolf in this gnome.

MATT: "Hunt."

TRAVIS: Damn.

MATT: "Rip, sunder, tear, devour." What do you do?

MARISHA: "Rip, sunder, tear, devour. That doesn't sound good for us."

TRAVIS: (growls) Start of my turn. Okay.

MATT: So that is your max, up top. So you can't go higher than what you have up here.

TRAVIS: Okay, good deal, good deal. Ooh, boy! I'm going to turn... Okay. Yeah, I mean. I just see FCG standing in front of me, right?

SAM: Mm-hmm.

MATT: Yeah.

TRAVIS: I just look down and I will--

SAM: Hug?

TRAVIS: -- with a bonus action, I will drag my claws across my left arm and you see flames come up out of my claws and I'll swipe down at FCG.

SAM: (groans) But-- Not this again!

LIAM: Jeez.

LAURA: Why are you trying to kill us, Chet?

MARISHA: Annaline did ask if we were willing to take him down.

MATT: All right, so make your attacks against FCG.

TRAVIS: Okay.

SAM: It's happening again.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MARISHA: Help, it's again.

SAM: We're turning on each other again.

ASHLEY: Wait, who has to take him down?

MARISHA: Oh no.

LAURA: I think we do.

TALIESIN: We are literally our own worst enemies.

TRAVIS: 22 to hit.

SAM: That hits.

MATT: 22, yeah.

TRAVIS: Okay. What is it? Plus four. Plus another nine. So that's 11 points of damage. Three of that is fire damage.

SAM: Okay.

TRAVIS: And I take three points.

SAM: Fire?

MARISHA: Fire demon?

SAM: You have fire claws?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MARISHA: His, well--

TRAVIS: When I use my--

MARISHA: Yeah, his blood rite shit.

SAM: Chetney, no! It's me, Fresh Cut Grass, your friend. (laughter)

TRAVIS: How much movement was that?

MATT: That was five feet.

TRAVIS: I'll look to the right over at Mister--

MATT: Mm-hmm.

TRAVIS: -- and I'll run over and swipe at Mister as well.

TALIESIN: Attack of opportunity, or--

SAM: Do I get a--

MARISHA: He's going for the monkey!

MATT: 15 feet.

ASHLEY: He's going for my monkey.

SAM: Do I get an attack of opportunity?

MATT: You do get an attack of opportunity, if you'd like it.

SAM: I'm just going to do what I've done before.

MARISHA: Do we need to let him win?

SAM: I'm going to buzz saw him.

LAURA: I don't know.

SAM: Natural 20.

MARISHA: Oh shit.

MATT: Dang!

SAM: I assume that hits. It's not very much damage. Five points of damage.

TALIESIN: Doubled?

SAM: No.

TRAVIS: Oh, five total?

SAM: I mean, it's double the dice, right? So that's two, four, plus one is five.

MATT: Non-magical?

TRAVIS: So.

SAM: I guess so.

MATT: To a two. Oh, non-magical only does half damage?

MATT: In his wolven form, yeah.

SAM: Okay.

MATT: But you do buzz past, striking him as he rushes over towards Mister.

TRAVIS: I'll take a swipe at Mister.

MATT: All righty.

TRAVIS: Natural 20.

ASHLEY: Oh!

MATT: (laughing) Oh no!

LAURA: No!

SAM: Wait, is he an ally?

MATT: At the moment? He just struck you and is now going after the monkey, what do you think?

SAM: Oh, he's not an ally.

MARISHA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: 13 plus.

TALIESIN: If he is, you have some serious relationship problems.

TRAVIS: That's 17 points of damage--

SAM: Well, we do have some serious relationship problems.

TRAVIS: Against Mister.

ASHLEY: Oh wait.

LAURA: Huh?

ASHLEY: Wait, how many hit points does Mister have?

SAM: Probably not very many.

LAURA: He never gets hit.

ASHLEY: It says five times your druid level.

LAURA: Five plus your druid level.

SAM: Five plus your druid level.

ASHLEY: I mean, he's out.

SAM: That's 12, isn't it?

LAURA: Yeah.

SAM: Wait, what are we? Seventh level?

ASHLEY: Wait, how many points was it?

TALIESIN: That's 12.

ASHLEY: 15?

TRAVIS: 17.

ASHLEY: Oh yeah, he's out.

SAM: (gasps)

LAURA: Oh!

SAM: A poo gun clacks to the ground.

MATT: (monkey screech) (laughter)

MATT: You're just like, (whooshing), a burst of flame and a scattering of ash and Mister is sent from this realm.

SAM: No!

TRAVIS: I think I used the other 15 feet, right? So that's my movement?

SAM: Not the poo monkey.

MATT: Hold on, that's plus.

TRAVIS: Oh, that's--? (laughs) Fuck! Oh no, you guys. I'll see the monkey dissipate and I'll (snarls) look at Fearne and I'll close on Fearne--

LAURA: Oh no!

TRAVIS: -- and swipe away.

MARISHA: So this is attack number three?

TRAVIS: That's 20 to hit.

ASHLEY: Yes.

LAURA: How do you know you have to attack us?

TRAVIS: I, the spirit in my head said all the bad words. So that's eight, eight points of damage.

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Got it.

MARISHA: Just turns into George Carlin--

TALIESIN: Six points of fire damage. Okay, I--

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MARISHA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: And that's my turn.

MATT: Okay. So that brings us now to Laudna, with FCG on deck.

SAM: Oh, it's already the end of the-- How did that happen?

MARISHA: (whimpers)

SAM: Okay.

MARISHA and TALIESIN: (stressed whimpers)

MARISHA: Well, yours was an attack of opportunity. I--

TRAVIS: Went over our heads.

SAM: Let's just calm down. All right, all right.

MARISHA: I just, I shout out: Do we let him win? What do we do? As I'm saying that, I start transforming into a weretree: my Form of Dread.

SAM: Oh wow!

ASHLEY: Yes! (laughter)

MARISHA: I'm going to have it take on the trees that we have been passing this whole time, that pale ash--

MATT: Cool.

MARISHA: -- with the black that starts seeping up from underneath.

MATT: Hell yeah.

MARISHA: Then, I am going to-- That's a bonus action, so then I'm going to cast Mirror Image and I'm going to quicken the spell and cast Spider Climb.

MATT: Well that, you can't do more than one spell on a turn. One has to be a cantrip.

MARISHA: Quicken Spell?

MATT: Quicken Spell, you can do a cantrip--

MARISHA: Oh, oh, wait, when it moves it to a-- Never mind, never mind. Okay, so just Mirror Image and Form of Dread.

MATT: You got it. You got that?

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: Take your temporary hit points.

MARISHA: Ooh, 10!

MATT: 10. Nice.

MARISHA: Fuck yes. Okay. I'm just going to stay where I am.

MATT: Okay, you got it. That finishes Laudna's turn. Do you know how the legendary actions work?

TRAVIS: (stressed inhale)

LAURA: What?!

MATT: You can do them at the end of somebody else's turn, if you'd like.

TRAVIS: Yep.

LAURA: What?

ASHLEY: Oh my god!

SAM: Wait. I hit--

TRAVIS: Oh. Oh man.

SAM: Is he supposed to win or lose?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

LAURA: We don't know.

MARISHA: I said that out loud.

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: I said that to all of you.

TRAVIS: I'll take another swipe at Fearne.

MATT: Okay. Go ahead and make another strike.

TALIESIN: He has to win because if we get all clears and I think if one of us-- Well, let's find out. Fuck.

TRAVIS: 20-- oh, 22.

LAURA and TRAVIS: Mm-hmm.

LAURA: What if he's supposed to be fighting the Gorgynei and we're just here as witnesses?

TRAVIS: 13 points of damage.

ASHLEY: Okay.

LIAM: Can't wait for campaign 3.5.

MATT: (laughs)

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: This is why you were so excited then when I said there could be a TPK today, and you were like, I don't know.

TALIESIN: He always makes that noise.

MATT: It's not really a TPK. One of you will survive.

SAM: (laughs) The giant wolf one?

MATT: (laughs)

SAM: What if--

TRAVIS: Oh boy, oh boy.

SAM: What if dealing with the wolf is not about winning or losing? What if--

MATT: FCG, you're up.

SAM: -- has to like--

MARISHA: Have to dodge him or something?

SAM: No, what if he just has to-- this is a test to see how--

MARISHA: If he overcomes it?

SAM: If he overcomes it or can control it.

MARISHA: Sure, sure.

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: It'd be so easy for him to control it if we knock unconscious.

SAM: I'm going to do my action to do Sympathetic Binding.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: Definitely on Fearne and Orym.

MATT: Okay. (shoots)

SAM: But also, boy, I'm going to try to mentally connect with Chetney. I know he's not an ally, but we're fast friends or whatever it's called. What's it called?

MATT: Okay. So you're--

SAM: We're a trusted companion, so I'm going to try to push through whatever blockage there is and make a connection with his mind.

MATT: Okay. I will say, make a wisdom saving throw, Chetney.

TRAVIS: Okay. Okay. Is this magic?

MATT: This would be magic. No, I mean, yeah, it's a magic effect. So yeah.

TRAVIS: I have advantage on it. 14.

SAM: That's my spell casting whatever.

MATT: That's your spell DC is 14?

SAM: Yeah.

MATT: So the binding connects, but you have no-- You're bound, but you're still hitting this wave of ancient force. There is will there that is beyond language, but it is holding you back as you try and connect with Chetney. It's just a hand there is in front of you.

SAM: Oh. All right. Well then, in that case (huffs), I guess with my bonus action I will, I'll just get a Spiritual Weapon up and ready.

MATT: Okay. What form is it taking? (laughs) Dare I ask?

SAM: I mean, he's a wolf. So it'll be a stake.

MATT: (laughs)

TALIESIN: No, no, I'm just, I'm all ears.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: That's just me, I'm not.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: No, I don't have a stake mini, but I'll just take--

SAM: No, like a (gnaws) steak A stake through the heart.

TRAVIS: For a vampire?

ASHLEY: Silver stake.

SAM: Oh shit, that doesn't work on werewolves?

LAURA: That's a vampire.

ASHLEY: No.

LIAM: Nope.

SAM: Well, I don't know, I'm a robit! (laughter)

MARISHA: Oh wait!

ASHLEY: So it's a steak.

MARISHA: I thought it was a steak.

LIAM: So it's a steak steak.

MARISHA: Can you slap him with the steak?

SAM: Doesn't that work on werewolves, too?

TALIESIN: Stakes work on werewolves.

SAM: Is that a silver bullet?

TRAVIS: I mean, it'll penetrate him.

LAURA: Like a silver bullet stake?

MATT: There you go, you got a stake.

LAURA: Just like a big piece of meat, steak.

LIAM: Yeah, make it a--

SAM: It's a silver stake, Matt.

MATT: It's a silver, sure!

MARISHA: A silver stake.

MATT: There you go. It's floating up there in the air for it. Go ahead and roll your attack, if you want to make it.

SAM: Oh, I can attack with it?

MATT: If you want to make it.

SAM: Okay, yes, I do. 10 plus six I think to hit?

MATT: 16.

TRAVIS: Misses.

MATT: The stake (whoosh) veers off of the hard hide, grinds past the fur. No impact.

SAM: Okay.

MATT: But it exists out there. You want to stay put?

SAM: I think I will.

TRAVIS: I'll use a legendary action to dash. I'm going to cross across Fearne and come right about here.

MATT: Okay. So you leap up?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: (clatters)

TALIESIN: Batter up! Right in the face.

MATT: Right about there.

TRAVIS: (growls)

MATT: So two things. One, Fearne, you do get an attack of opportunity if you want to take it.

LIAM: I don't, though.

MATT: You do not.

LIAM: He was not in my range, yeah.

MATT: Unfortunately.

LIAM: Too wee.

LAURA: Too wee!

ASHLEY: No way.

LIAM: Or not to wee.

SAM: To wee!

ASHLEY: No way.

MATT: No, okay. And you get to make your two strikes.

TALIESIN: Yes, I do.

SAM: You know what, I will move. I would move just a little bit towards the statue.

MATT: Here?

SAM: Yeah.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: Let's see. Yeah, sure, sure, sure. I'm going to Reckless Attack. Big hit, let's see what happens. That's a 27 something to hit.

TRAVIS: Yes, that hits.

TALIESIN: All right, let's start this process and see how bad it gets.

ASHLEY: What are we supposed to do?

LAURA: I don't know.

SAM: He has to fight through.

TRAVIS: I would try and win.

TALIESIN: 12 points of-- 12. 12 points of damage.

TRAVIS: Great. It's a magic weapon, right?

TALIESIN: Mm-hmm.

MATT: 12 points of bludgeoning.

SAM: He's trying to control his bestial urges, right?

ASHLEY: He's got to control it.

TALIESIN: I'm just going to let that flip around and try and hit you right on the top of the skull. See what the fuck happens. That's 22 to hit.

TRAVIS: That hits.

TALIESIN: All right.

LAURA: (whispers) How smart is Chetney? Is he smart?

TALIESIN: That's, ooh, 15 points of damage.

TRAVIS: Great.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: All righty. So you leap over, land right as Ashton (whooshes) double slams you across the face in the side of the chest. You get pushed up against the side of the stone wall, catch yourself and then right back to your position there.

TRAVIS: Nice.

MATT: So that finishes FCG, so we're back at the top of the round. Orym, it's your turn.

LIAM: Jeez. Son of a-- None-- The Gorgynei did nothing, they're just--

MATT: The Gorgynei are just standing there.

LIAM: Just standing there.

MATT: Watching.

SAM: (sighs)

LIAM: Okay, so Orym is going to-- Shit, I'm going to run.

LAURA: He's going to poop his pants.

LIAM: Five, 10, 15. (pings) leap up here.

MARISHA: (moans)

LIAM: I'm going to yell out and say: Chet! You in there? You didn't bring us here for this, did you? I'm going to pull out a three quarters finished little wooden wolf that's really crudely carved and not done and I hold it out. This was for you. I guess it's now or never! You in there, big guy?

TRAVIS: Oh! (whimpers)

LIAM: And that's my turn.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: What is it, what did you do?

LAURA: It's a little wolf carving!

LIAM: A wolf that I've been carving.

TRAVIS: That's a-fucking-dorable!

MATT: Go ahead and make a--

TRAVIS: Terribly made!

MATT: -- make a persuasion check with advantage.

LIAM: I'm terrible at persuasion.

MATT: With advantage.

LAURA: Oh, oh!

LIAM: 17 straight roll.

MATT: 17. As you right yourself from the slams of the hammer across your body, you hear the voice and (growls), look back towards it and you see the crudely shaped carving and there's that strange a shooting pain in your head for a second. In that shooting pain from right behind your eyes, you see that red flare once more as you close them instinctually. You see in the middle of the chest, around the sternum between the fur, a little bit of red smoke (puffs) begins to trickle out.

TALIESIN: Good enough.

LIAM: Okay.

MARISHA: You still have Daylight.

MATT: It's nighttime.

MARISHA: I know.

MATT: Yeah. Sorry, I thought I heard you say we still had-- Oh, the spell, sorry. I thought you meant like-- Okay, got it. So that finishes--

LIAM: So it's just a plume of red smoke exiting the chest?

MATT: Yeah, like a little stream of just red smoke is (poofs),

TALIESIN: Interesting.

LIAM: Okay. Okay.

MATT: All right. That finishes Orym's go.

TRAVIS: That's the end of his turn. I'll use my final legendary action and I will use Howl of the Hunter.

LAURA: Oh no.

MATT: Now, that takes two actions to do that.

TRAVIS: Oh, it does, it does. That's right. Sorry, okay.

MATT: So you can't do that one.

TRAVIS: Fair, fair, fair.

ASHLEY: Aw fuck.

MATT: But on the top of your next turn, you'll get all your actions back.

TRAVIS: That's right, okay.

MATT: All right, so. That brings us to Imogen, with Fearne on deck.

LAURA: Did I see that happen with Orym?

MATT: You saw, yeah. You heard Orym shouting this out and clutching it out there and watching the wolf form reel from it for a second and that little faint bit of red trail smoke on it.

LAURA: Uh-huh. All right, I'm going to-- Fudge. I'm going to try to reach into Chet's mind and lash him really fast and cast Blindness on him.

MATT: Okay, you got it. I believe that's a constitution saving throw?

LAURA: Yes, it is.

MATT: Make a constitution saving throw, Chetney. It is magic, so you have advantage.

TRAVIS: Oh. That's really good. That's a 21 to save.

LAURA: (grumbling) (laughter)

MATT: Chetney's eyes close for a second, and as the wolf opens him once more, that bright blue, glowing mist (crackles) seems to shatter the incantation before it can take hold.

LAURA: Before he thinks about where I am, I'm going to fly across the cavern to the other side.

MATT: Okay. To the other side over here?

LAURA: Yep.

LIAM: (booms) Ah!

LAURA: I'm going to grab onto a vine up there.

MATT: How much far can you move? 60 feet?

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: All righty. That'll put you at-- Yep, that's about right.

LAURA: (stammers) I want to get out of his range. I'm going to try to go--

MATT: Over here?

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: You got it.

LAURA: I'm going to get a foot on a vine and hold onto it, too, so I'm standing up on a vine.

MATT: Okay. You're holding onto it up there. Perfect. That finishes Imogen's go. Fearne, you're up, with Ashton on deck.

LIAM: What are we doing, Ash?

ASHLEY: Oh god. Are we hurting him or are we trying to--

LAURA: I don't know! (echoes)

SAM: Reason with him, maybe?

ASHLEY: All right. Shit, this is going to-- I'm going to attack. I'm going to attack because he just hurt my kid. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I don't know what to do. All right. Scorching Ray.

MATT: Okay. Go for it. So that's three rays, if you're casting at a base level. (whooshing, crackling)

ASHLEY: Base level. 15 for the first one.

TRAVIS: Misses.

MARISHA: Scorching Ray.

ASHLEY: 19 for the second one.

TRAVIS: Misses.

ASHLEY: Okay. Natural 19.

MATT: That hits.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Okay. Mister's not there.

MATT: 2d6 fire damage.

ASHLEY: Okay, seven.

MATT: Seven points of fire damage to you, Chetney. (crackles) As one ray strikes you, the other ones go wide and hit the stone cavern interior around you. Do you stay put, Fearne? Anything else you want to do?

ASHLEY: That's-- I'm going to move a little closer to him.

MATT: All right. 10 feet? 15 feet?

ASHLEY: Yes.

MATT: That's 10 feet there.

ASHLEY: Let me get within distance of him.

LAURA: Whoa.

ASHLEY: Or close up.

MATT: Close up?

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: All right. We're in melee right there.

LIAM: Get that ass.

MATT: That finishes your go, Fearne. Ashton, you are up, with Chetney on deck.

TALIESIN: Okay.

ASHLEY: Fuck!

TALIESIN: I'm going to ready for a couple more strikes, but before I do: Come on, buddy, I want to fight the real you. This is bullshit. Get that shit out of there. Yeah, I'll do Reckless Attack again and I actually-- no, I don't have to because we're in a-- I'm in where, he's--

MATT: You can move to get into a pincer attack.

TALIESIN: I'll move. I'll move to get into it, yeah.

MATT: Get you about there.

TALIESIN: Thank you.

SAM: Aww, shit.

TALIESIN: Oh no!

MATT: It's okay. Go ahead.

TALIESIN: Here we go to hit again. Oh, that's, yeah, that hits. That's, like, 25 to hit.

TRAVIS: Oh yeah, that hits, yeah.

TALIESIN: Yeah, yeah. That's 15 points of damage.

TRAVIS: Yes.

MATT: (clatters) Another heavy hammer hit the, probably the lower hip area. (cracks)

TALIESIN: Does it seem like it's doing fuck all?

MATT: It's doing damage, yeah.

TALIESIN: Okay. Okay. And here we go again. Nope. It's 12 to hit.

TRAVIS: Misses.

TALIESIN: That misses. Take another swing now.

MATT: Second swing, you try and swing with the second strike and (bangs). You're not even realizing it, Chetney, you (impacts). The claw grabs the hammer and holds it in place and almost begins to lift up Ashton from the hammer slightly,

TALIESIN: It's starting to have a little bit of the red, blue flashes on either side of the hammer and the head's starting to go and I'm starting to vibrate a little bit out of sync. Come on, man. We'd have a lot more fun. This is not the way I wanted to do this.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: That's your turn.

TRAVIS: At the end of his turn, I'll use my last legendary action and I'll take the hammer that I caught in my hand and just smash it back into his face.

MATT: (laughs) I love it.

TRAVIS: Which is with advantage because he was reckless.

TALIESIN: I was not reckless.

MATT: He was actually not reckless.

TRAVIS: On your held turn you were.

MATT: That's true, yeah.

TRAVIS: It's still up.

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: I wasn't--

MATT: Well, let's see.

TALIESIN: No, it's not still up because I just took my turn.

MATT: Technically--

TRAVIS: I think it's-- Oh, is it until the-- That's right.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

TRAVIS: It's until your next turn.

MATT: Until the beginning of the--

TRAVIS: Oh, that's right. Okay.

MATT and TALIESIN: Yeah.

MARISHA: Oh fuck!

TRAVIS: Should have just had--

TALIESIN: Take it.

TRAVIS: It's a natural 20.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

SAM: (groans)

TRAVIS: That's all right. He's-- That's not so bad. Yeah.

TALIESIN: I'm fine, it's fine.

MARISHA: You're fine?

TALIESIN: Yeah, I--

TRAVIS: Of course, he's a barbarian. Of course he's fine!

TALIESIN: We'll see.

MARISHA: Because, I-- But I'm not going to. I'll hold my reaction.

TRAVIS: 11, 14. Oh, six, 12.

LIAM: If we keep our hands up like this, Matt won't know what's going to happen. (laughter)

TRAVIS: 20. 20 points with three points of fire damage, so 20.

TALIESIN: Three points, so that's 13 points of damage.

MATT: Actually, these attacks are considered magic.

TALIESIN: They're all considered magic?

LAURA: My face!

TALIESIN: Fuck my life. So that's 23 points of--

SAM: I'll take half of that.

TALIESIN: Thank you.

MATT: Okay, there you go. That's 11 points of damage to you, 12 to you.

TALIESIN: Fuck my life. How?

MATT: And 11 temporary hit points--

LAURA: ♪ I'm never gonna dance again ♪

MATT: -- on you for the current round.

TALIESIN: (groans)

MATT: All righty.

LAURA: ♪ Guilty feet have ♪ ♪ got no rhythm ♪

TRAVIS: Start of my turn, I'll use my Bestial Regeneration.

TALIESIN: Well, it-- Yeah, okay.

TRAVIS: To regain 11 points of--

SAM: Damn.

TALIESIN: Good to know.

TRAVIS: Yep.

TALIESIN: I'm also going to, since you're starting your turn, I'm going to institute Temporal Morass, so--

TRAVIS: Oh boy.

TALIESIN: Make a constitution saving throw.

MARISHA: Control that ass.

TRAVIS: Okay.

TALIESIN: Against some number.

LIAM: What the shit are we doing?

TRAVIS: (laughs) Natural--

MARISHA: Oh my god!

ASHLEY: Come on!

TRAVIS: That's a 20, 22. I guess I have advantage on it. It's not another 20.

TALIESIN: We're burning him out, everybody, it's fine. So yeah, that just--

TRAVIS: You don't succeed?

TALIESIN: Yeah, that does not, on a natural 20, no. It does not succeed.

MATT: This is a unnatural force of nature--

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: -- that is pushing through this cavern now. Chetney is just a monstrous beast hungrily tearing through and rushing and leaping from place to place. This is an intimidating space.

TALIESIN: Yep.

MATT: Does that finish your go then?

TALIESIN: I mean, that's--

MATT: Oh yeah.

TALIESIN: That was my--

MATT: So you're taking your turn.

TALIESIN: That was my bullshit.

TRAVIS: Yeah, the guy with the hammer hurt me a lot, so I'll take all three of my swings at him.

MATT: All righty.

SAM: Oh no.

TRAVIS: Which are not advantage, though. That's good.

MARISHA: Taking all three at Ash.

TALIESIN: I'm taking all three, yeah.

TRAVIS: 19 to hit?

TALIESIN: That hits.

TRAVIS: Okay. The second one is a natural 20.

LIAM: What? That's three!

MATT: (laughs)

MARISHA: I'll do it, I'll do it. Silvery Barbs that one.

TALIESIN: Thank you.

MARISHA: I see Ashton being pummeled. I take the rock and I jettison it in front of Chetney to distract him, and then I'm going to take that and immediately give you advantage on whatever your next thing is.

MATT: So you need to roll again.

TRAVIS: Does that work on Silvery Barbs? That doesn't.

MATT: Silvery Barbs, it's not a saving throw.

MARISHA: You just have to reroll it.

TRAVIS: Beautiful. Oh, I just reroll it?

MATT: Reroll the attack.

MARISHA: Yeah, you get disadvantage on what you just did.

TRAVIS: Oh, at disadvantage, okay.

SAM: No, no, just that one.

MARISHA: So take that. Which is still good with--

TRAVIS: Oh, okay, so 15 plus eight, 23.

TALIESIN: That hits.

MATT: So two hits, and the third strike?

TRAVIS: Natural one!

MATT: There you go!

ALL: Eyy!

MATT: Third strike misses.

TRAVIS: Eyy!

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting this!

SAM: I love it, it's great.

TRAVIS: Okay, there's a one, 26.

SAM: Stressing me out.

TRAVIS: So 12 points of damage on the first one.

TALIESIN: Jesus.

TRAVIS: And I take six.

TALIESIN: 12 points of damage.

TRAVIS: Okay. And then--

TALIESIN: What's the second?

TRAVIS: It's 13 on the second one.

TALIESIN: Okay.

TRAVIS: And the third one missed.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

TRAVIS: And on the--

TALIESIN: Oh fuck me.

MARISHA: And you have advantage on your next attack roll, ability throw, or saving throw.

TALIESIN: All right.

TRAVIS: Yeah, and I'll stay right there.

MATT: Okay, stay right there?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: All right, that finishes your turn, Chetney. Laudna, you're up, with FCG on deck.

SAM: Jesus.

MARISHA: Laudna goes: Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. And I cast Spider Climb and I climb up the wall.

TALIESIN: Thank you.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: Up and away.

MATT: All 30 feet?

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: Okay, we'll put you up around here, we'll say.

MARISHA: Fine. Then I'm going to go, and seeing his wounds heal, I'm going to now quicken a spell, and I'm going to cast Chill Touch on him.

MATT: You got it, all right, you can do that. So, Chill Touch, is that an attack roll for you, or is that a saving throw on-- Or constitution save?

MARISHA: It is-- Sorry.

TRAVIS: Oh, boy, I didn't-- (laughs)

MATT: It's a ranged spell attack from you.

MARISHA: So I have to--

MATT: Yes.

TRAVIS: I didn't see that word.

MATT: Oh yeah.

TRAVIS: This is much worse.

MATT: Those are on top of--

TRAVIS: Okay.

TALIESIN: Oh, boy.

MARISHA: Shit, that's not good. 15.

TRAVIS: This is really cool.

MARISHA: Does 15 hit?

MATT: 15 hit you?

TRAVIS: No.

MATT: Okay. So the Chill Touch, as you release it, as you're climbing up the wall, you strike out with it--

MARISHA: That was a bad roll.

MATT: -- but the combat that's currently going beneath with Ashton and the massive wolven form of Chetney, it swings wide and goes through the center of the fray, unfortunately.

MARISHA: Fuck.

MATT: Does that finish your turn?

MARISHA: Yes.

MATT: FCG, you're up, with Orym on deck.

TRAVIS: If that's the end of her turn, I will now use those two legendary actions to do Howl of the Hunter.

MARISHA: Oh, what?

TRAVIS: All creatures within 30 feet of you must make a DC 16 wisdom saving throw or become frightened for one minute.

MATT: So that is--

MARISHA: I'm immune to being frightened.

MATT: You are. So you are unaffected by it.

SAM: Because you are fright.

MARISHA: I am terrifying.

MATT: You are the terror that flaps in the night. So that's everyone except for Imogen and Laudna, obviously.

TALIESIN: DC 16 wisdom?

MATT: Yes.

TALIESIN: That's fine. Oh wait, I don't have advantage. Why am I doing that?

LAURA: What about the Gorgyneis standing by him?

TALIESIN: Oh, I do have advantage.

MATT: Nope, they are unaffected by that.

TALIESIN: Oh, come on.

LAURA: ♪ Guilty feet ♪

TALIESIN: God, I watched it, and then it veered. Yeah, that was only a little cocked. No.

MATT: No? So Ashton is frightened.

TALIESIN: Fuck.

MARISHA: You're frightened.

SAM: You can be frightened while you're raging?

TALIESIN: Wait.

MATT: Yeah.

TRAVIS: That's a different barbarian.

MATT: That's a berserker barbarian ability.

TALIESIN: Yeah, that's right.

SAM: Oh.

TRAVIS: (as Grog) Not your boy.

LAURA: Yeah, wait. (laughter)

MATT: It's all good.

TRAVIS: Can't be frightened if you don't understand it.

SAM: I got a 23.

MATT: 23, you are fine.

ASHLEY: 23.

MATT: You're fine. Orym?

LIAM: I failed with a six.

SAM: Oh no.

MATT: All right.

LAURA: Oh dear. Oh, buddies.

MATT: So you are both fine. Or sorry, you're both fine, but--

LAURA: Y'all are fine.

MATT: You can continue to make the save at the end of your turn, but until then, you cannot move closer, you cannot move towards Chetney at all, and all of your attacks are at disadvantage.

TALIESIN: Yep.

SAM: Oh no. Those are bad for those guys.

MATT: All right.

TALIESIN: Working on it.

MATT: That finishes your turn?

TRAVIS: Yes. That's just the legendary action.

MATT: Laudna, you're up, with FCG on deck.

SAM: I think Laudna went already.

MARISHA: Me? I thought I went too.

SAM: She just Spider Climbed.

TRAVIS: She did. It was the end of her her turn.

MATT: Oh, sorry. That was your--

TRAVIS and LAURA: Legendary action.

MATT: Legendary action. So, Orym, you're up.

SAM: No, it's me.

LAURA: No, FCG's--

MATT: Oh, because you didn't take yours, you're right. Sorry.

SAM: I'm trying to think if I should attack or not. It's my turn.

LAURA: It's his turn.

MATT: It's his turn and then it's you.

LIAM: Yeah yeah. Cool, cool, cool.

MARISHA: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I knew that.

TALIESIN: I have nearly half my HP down, so you know, whatever you want to do.

SAM: You what?

TALIESIN: I have nearly half my HP down, so you know, whatever you want to do is cool.

MARISHA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Just putting that out there.

SAM: Yeah, but I'm trying to get through to Chetney. All right, I'll do that next turn then. I'll shoot a-- what do you call it? My bolt thrower at him from here.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: Just rolling an attack.

MATT: You got it.

TALIESIN: With a-- Okay, shit.

SAM: Natural 20.

MATT: No shit! Okay.

SAM: Yeah. For 23.

MATT: Yeah, well it's a natural 20, so it automatically hits. So roll your dice damage for the bolt thrower, and then double that and then add the rest to your modifier.

SAM: Four, so eight.

TALIESIN: Oh, whoa.

SAM: Plus 11.

MATT: Indeed. So, that would be 19.

SAM: 19.

MATT: It is not magical.

SAM: No, it is not.

MATT: So that would be nine points of piercing damage to you.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MATT: Just (bolt impacting) shot from behind by some unknown source.

SAM: Then I guess as my bonus action, if you're really looking hurt there, Ash.

TALIESIN: Little down.

SAM: Boy, oh boy. Healing Word is just so lame.

TALIESIN: I mean, that may be a hold for later thing, so. It's okay. Do some crazy shit.

SAM: No, no, no, that's fine. I'll get close enough to throw a Healing Word to Ashton. I'll do it at 2nd-level.

MATT: You can do it from over here.

TRAVIS: Laura.

MATT: Is this the 30-foot range--

TRAVIS: What's on your character?

MATT: -- or 60-foot range? I think it's 60-foot, isn't it?

SAM: It might be.

MATT: In which case, you can do it from back where you were.

LAURA: Concentration.

SAM: Oh, it's 60. You're right. I'll stay there then.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: Ah! Two, four, five points-- Nope, seven points of damage.

MATT: Seven points of healing--

SAM: Healing.

MATT: -- to you, Ashton.

TALIESIN: I'll take it.

MATT: All righty.

SAM: Then if I'm still near the statue, I'm just going to get even closer to the statue, right under her lap.

MATT: You got it.

SAM: Chetney, please! You're killing me over here!

TRAVIS: Promise. (laughter)

MATT: All right, that finishes FCG's go. Now it is Orym, with Imogen on deck.

MARISHA: You're killing me, Chetney.

LIAM: Okay, question. Fearne's in melee, right?

MATT: Yes.

LIAM: Okay, so, I can't get any closer, but I can stay in the same circle, so Orym, scared to death, sword sort of shaking as he steps down here, is going to come down and crawl under Fearne's space and use Bait and Switch to take her place. I'm not getting any closer. I push Fearne back.

MATT: Well, you are 10 feet from him.

LIAM: Am I?

MATT: There. You were 10 feet up here.

LIAM: All right. Then all that thing goes away.

MATT: Unfortunately, yeah. You have to keep a 10-foot distance from him.

LIAM: Then I got to think of something in five seconds.

TRAVIS: This decision brought to you by WizKids. (laughter)

LIAM: Cool. That's fine. I'm going to instead stay within 10 feet. I'm not going to leave. Actually, I will go back there.

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: I'm going to pull one dagger out the back of my boot and throw the blade at that spot where I saw the red smoke coming out.

MATT: Okay, so--

LIAM: It's at disadvantage.

MATT: So disadvantage, it's a ranged attack.

LIAM: That is 14. I'm sure it doesn't hit.

TRAVIS: Misses.

MATT: 14 unfortunately does not hit.

LIAM: Yeah, and I'm going to go again. That'll hit. That's a 24?

TRAVIS: Oh yeah, that hits.

LIAM: Okay, I'm going to make this a goading attack and try to get it right in that spot where I saw red smoke coming out.

MATT: You got it.

LIAM: It's not going to do a lot of damage, but that is one plus five is six, plus the superiority die, six. 13 points of damage, and you have to beat a wisdom of 16.

TRAVIS: Is that 13 halved? Is it a magical weapon?

LIAM: It's not magical.

MATT: It's not magical. So it's six.

TRAVIS: Seven? Six. Doing math, doing math, doing math. Great. The wisdom saving throw is?

LIAM: 16.

TRAVIS: Natural one.

LIAM: Okay, so attacks against anyone else but me are at disadvantage, and I will back up another 10 or 15 feet away from Chetney.

MATT: You got it.

TRAVIS: Can I use legendary resistance against that goading attack?

MATT: Yeah, if you want to, you can.

TRAVIS: So I'll resist the goading feature.

MARISHA: Fuck.

LIAM: Action Surge, I'll throw again.

TRAVIS: Oh god, there he goes!

MATT: (laughs)

LIAM: That's a miss. That probably misses, too. Eight, 16.

TRAVIS: Misses.

LIAM: Oh, that's it, I'm done.

MARISHA: Damn.

MATT: All the daggers are out of your boot.

MARISHA: Damn!

MATT: One strikes. The dagger that is sunk in there, though, is partially in there from the hilt, and the smoke you see, more of it's pouring out now. It's actually like a red flare on the side of the road, it's this (pressure releasing) red smoke that's pouring out of that section of the chest.

TRAVIS: At the end of his turn, I'll just spin in place.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

TRAVIS: Who's in melee at the dagger being thrown? Is it just Fearne right there?

MATT: Fearne right there, yeah.

TRAVIS: Yeah, I'll take a swipe at Fearne.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: Oh no, not Fearnie!

ASHLEY: Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.

TRAVIS: Oh, that's not a lot. 12 to hit?

LIAM: Oh, do I--

ASHLEY: No.

TRAVIS: Yeah, misses.

LIAM: -- resist fear at the end of my turn?

MATT: Make a wisdom saving throw.

TRAVIS: It was a crap roll.

LIAM: Yeah, that'll probably do it. That's 20.

MATT: 20. You are no longer frightened.

MARISHA: Oh, that's good.

TRAVIS: Nice.

MATT: All righty. So finishing Orym's go, taking the strike at Fearne, Fearne, you dodge just out of the way as the claw slams into the side of the stone. It's your turn, what do you do?

MARISHA: I wonder what happens if we attack the Gorgynei.

ASHLEY: I don't know if this is going to work, but I'm going to give something a go.

SAM: Only one way to find out.

ASHLEY: I am going to--

MARISHA: See what happens.

ASHLEY: -- change into a wolf.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: Oh.

SAM: You're changing into a wolf?

ASHLEY: I'm changing into a wolf.

TALIESIN: This is getting weird.

SAM: This is getting sexy.

ASHLEY: Yes, and I'm going to try to change into like a sexy wolf.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: Like a sexy wolf.

ASHLEY: Yes.

LIAM: What are the aspects that make a wolf sexy?

LAURA: Sexy.

MARISHA: Are you trying to--

SAM: Her confidence?

ASHLEY: Yes, her confidence, yeah.

LAURA: Her smile. Her sense of humor.

MATT: I'll use a fox to make it a sexy wolf.

ASHLEY: Perfect. Perfect, perfect.

LAURA: Oh, nice.

LIAM: That's what foxes are.

MATT: Yeah.

MARISHA: Sexy wolves. (laughter)

SAM: Foxes are sexy wolves. (laughter)

ASHLEY: Chetney, hey. You just got to power through and just look at me right now, and remember who you are, okay? You got to fight through. You got to fight through.

TRAVIS: You're a wolf, right?

MATT: You are a wolf.

LIAM: So we hear (howls).

MATT: Yep, you hear exactly that sound.

LAURA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: I think I actually-- But I communicate simple ideas with small or smaller beasts.

MATT: Yeah, so you actually get the essence of what she's saying. Make a persuasion check for me with advantage in your wolven form.

LAURA: That's amazing.

LIAM: Roll with advantage.

TALIESIN: Oh my god.

LIAM: Advantage for sexy.

MARISHA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Come on, come on. Okay.

LAURA: (howls sexily)

ASHLEY: 17?

SAM: Okay, okay.

MATT: 17. I will say you have permanently lost one of your legendary actions.

TRAVIS: Ooh!

SAM: Whoa.

LAURA: Oh.

MATT: As between the--

TRAVIS: That's--

MATT: There were a couple of factors, so you only have two legendary actions at the moment.

SAM: Sexy.

MATT: Through this wolven speech, something is conveyed through the language of nature, through the language of the predator. There's an element of your fury that begins to slow. All right, does that finish your turn? You want to stay put?

TRAVIS: I don't know what that means.

MARISHA: She's in heat. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Fucking--

TALIESIN: Explains a lot, actually.

SAM: God, are they going to start fucking? (laughter)

MARISHA: We're all just like--

TRAVIS: It's an enormous werewolf and a wolf.

LAURA: And a fox. (laughs) (laughter)

SAM: You know.

ASHLEY: Yes, I'm just going to sit.

TRAVIS: Nope. Nope.

TALIESIN: Are we still in initiative?

ASHLEY: I'm just going to sit and wag.

LIAM: I don't know why, but a wolf tearing out your throat is kind of sexy.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

ASHLEY: I'm just going to sit and wag.

MATT: Just sit and wag. You got it. All right. As you wag away, finishing Fearne's go, Ashton, you're up.

TALIESIN: Oh no. We jumped.

LIAM: We jumped Imogen.

MATT: Oh, sorry, you're right.

LIAM: I mean Laudna.

ASHLEY: Oh!

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: I don't know if this is going to work. Yeah, this is 120-foot range with this. I'm going to stare down at that spot of red on Chet's chest and I'm going to focus all of my psychic energy and shoot it out and try to Psychic Lance the spot on his chest.

MATT: Okay, all right. So is that a saving throw on his point?

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: All right.

LAURA: That would be an intelligence saving throw.

MATT: Make an intelligence saving throw.

TRAVIS: Intelligence saving throw? Okay. Going old baby blue here. Is that magic?

MATT: It is.

TRAVIS: Oh, that's terrible! Eight.

LAURA: Oh! You fail!

MATT: That's a failure.

LAURA: Okay. You take 7d6 psychic damage.

LIAM: Ooh!

SAM: Ouch.

LIAM: That's a serious one.

LAURA: And you are incapacitated until the start of your next turn.

SAM: Oh!

TRAVIS: I would if I wasn't going to use a legendary--

LAURA: Resistance. (groaning)

LAURA: But you still take the damage.

TRAVIS: Oh, I do?

MATT: Half the damage, yeah.

TRAVIS: Half damage.

LAURA: Half the damage?

LIAM: Travis Willingham living his best life.

LAURA: I know.

TRAVIS: I got these things that say legendary on them!

MARISHA: Holy fuck.

TRAVIS: It's madness!

LIAM: You're a dragon!

TALIESIN: That's why you keep giggling at us, you motherfucker.

TRAVIS: Well, yeah, it's not going to last forever!

LAURA: One, two, three, four, five, six.

TRAVIS: This is amazing!

LAURA: Seven.

TALIESIN: Oh man. I've got to plan. All right.

TRAVIS: I've only got six of them, so.

LAURA: 10, 20, 25.

MATT: So, 12 points of psychic damage to you.

TRAVIS: Cool.

MATT: As it (psychic bolt) strikes into your mind at the chest. TRAVIS (growls)

MATT: Make a wisdom saving throw for me.

TRAVIS: Oh?

SAM: Wisdom save?

MATT: Just a general wisdom saving throw.

TRAVIS: No, five.

LAURA: Uh.

MATT: Five.

SAM: That's probably good.

MATT: You okay?

LAURA: Oh, is that a good thing or a bad thing? I thought it was--

TALIESIN: We don't know.

MATT: Okay. Actually, we'll wait 'til we get to your turn.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MATT: Which is after Ashton. So we'll get to that.

TALIESIN: I'm going to take a quick--

MATT: Unless you want to move, Imogen. You going to stay put?

LAURA: ♪ I will stay where I am ♪

TALIESIN: I'm going to take a quick look at Laudna, see if you're okay, and have that, ah, shit. I'm going to-- Even though I can't do this very well, I'm going to try and swing around and do the baseball attack against the thing in the chest one more time, since it seems to be the thing that's going on.

MATT: You got it.

TALIESIN: I have disadvantage.

MATT: I will say, for the time being, you have disadvantage because of the fright. Because you are sitting and waggling and just talking, you're not going to be technically a threat to him at the moment, so you do not give him the pincer, so.

TALIESIN: Oh, no. Yeah, no.

MATT: So yeah. Disadvantage on your strikes. Yeah, that's fine.

MARISHA: You're waggling.

TALIESIN: I assumed as much.

MATT: Yeah.

TALIESIN: I'm also going to, just because I've got to give myself a little distance, I'm going to go into hyper rage, so I'm just a blur now.

SAM: Hyper rage.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: There's just a-- Yeah. It's just a blur of red and blue.

LAURA: It's called hyper rage?

SAM: Is that a thing?

TALIESIN: Yeah. So I'm going to attack.

MATT: It's part of his kit.

SAM: Hyper rage?

MARISHA: It's something new every time, I don't know.

SAM: (laughs)

LAURA: I'm going to go into hyper sorcery.

TALIESIN: That sucks.

MARISHA: Yeah, yeah.

TALIESIN: 11 to hit, that's bullshit.

MATT: 11, unfortunately-- Being unprepared for the massive burst of energy, you just swing wide.

TALIESIN: I'm going to take another one.

LIAM: He's just running deception checks on us every game.

TALIESIN: That's better, that's way better. 25 to hit.

TRAVIS: Yeah, that hits.

MATT: That hits.

TALIESIN: So that's my standard, you know, to that point. Come on. Oh, that's not bad! 15 points to right in the center.

TRAVIS: Awesome.

TALIESIN: Then I'm going to use my third attack to disengage.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: I am a fucking blur. I am going to give myself a little room. I'm going to pull back to-- Oh god, where do I want to go?

MATT: But you can go twice your speed.

TALIESIN: I can go 80 feet, so I can go anywhere I fucking want. Let's go, yeah, let's go back behind that pillar. Yeah, just keep going that way for a while. There. Yeah, well, again, just right behind the pillar. I'm just going to use a little cover.

MATT: Right here?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: You got it.

TALIESIN: Then I'm going to do my saving roll.

MARISHA: This is hyper speed, which is hyper rage.

MATT: Just Quicksilver-like strikes. Then arcs off in a blur of blue and red and energy, as you streak through the chamber.

TALIESIN: 10, wisdom save.

MATT: Wisdom save? You're still frightened.

TALIESIN: Yep, yep.

MATT: All right.

TRAVIS: Oh damn.

MATT: That finishes your go, Ashton.

TALIESIN: As long as you're good.

TRAVIS: I'll use my--

MARISHA: I'm on the ceiling.

TRAVIS: -- Bestial Regeneration.

MATT: You do not get your Bestial Regeneration this turn.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MARISHA: Wait, what? Why?

TRAVIS: I don't know.

LAURA: Ha ha!

TRAVIS: Okay, okay.

LAURA: Maybe because he's been hit in the chest so many times.

TRAVIS: I've been hit in the heart.

TALIESIN: You're breaking my heart.

LAURA: ♪ Shot through the heart ♪

TRAVIS: There's a small wolf in front of me that talked, and that's strange.

MATT: Yeah, and there are two women who are holding onto the walls on the sides of the chamber that are jumping distance, and you have--

MARISHA: Why would say any any of that?

LAURA: We're jumping distance?

MATT: Orym over here.

MARISHA: Why would you say jumping distance?

LAURA: We're both jumping distance?

MARISHA: Why would you point that out?

TRAVIS: Well, I can tell, but you were up for-- Are you talking about this one over here?

MATT: Huh?

TRAVIS: Are you talking about Imogen as well? Who's the other one?

MARISHA: He can jump?

MATT: I mean, we'll have to see the distance you can travel.

TRAVIS: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I'm going to run towards Laudna.

TALIESIN: God fucking damn it!

SAM: You got this, girl.

TALIESIN: Really?

LIAM: That wolf does not skip leg day.

TRAVIS: Jump!

ASHLEY: Oh my god. You watch as the bestial form--

TALIESIN: God fucking damn it.

MATT: -- of Chetney turns around, runs and leaps into the air, and is just going to swipe down towards you.

LAURA: Oh my god!

MARISHA: No! No!

TALIESIN: I feel like that should be at disadvantage, but that's me.

LAURA: (laughs)

MARISHA: You feel like what?

TALIESIN: I feel like that should be at disadvantage.

TRAVIS: Actually, with my bonus action--

LAURA: Why would it be at disadvantage?

TRAVIS: With my bonus--

MATT: I wouldn't make it disadvantage if you guys are doing it.

TRAVIS: -- 30 feet?

TALIESIN: Yeah, that's fair.

TRAVIS: With my bonus action, I'm going to try and do Blood Curse of Bloated Agony on Imogen as I stare up at--

LAURA: Me?

TRAVIS: I'm sorry. Laudna.

LIAM: Laudna.

TALIESIN: Laudna. Wow.

TRAVIS: Wow!

MARISHA: I don't understand why!

LAURA: Why?

TRAVIS: It's catching! It's catching! I don't know!

TALIESIN: Laura, Laudna. It's the Ls.

TRAVIS: Yeah, I'll stare up at Laudna and try, in the wolf rage just try and curse.

MARISHA: I-mo-gen, Marisha. I guess.

SAM: Yeah, yeah.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: You got it.

MARISHA: So wait. What are you doing? You're staring me down?

SAM: He's bloating you.

TRAVIS: Give me a con saving throw.

SAM: Oh boy!

MARISHA: Okay. This can't be good.

TALIESIN: No.

TRAVIS: Nope, and I think it just takes effect. No, you have to be able to save against it, right?

MATT: No, you just have them, but it doesn't do anything until they... so it's just--

TRAVIS: That's right.

MATT: -- You don't even get a save.

TRAVIS: Yeah, you have disadvantage on strength and dex checks, basically, and some other stuff.

SAM: Do you have to aim for the correct Mirror Image?

MATT: So you just suddenly feel this sickly cold feeling in your body, like you just--

SAM: Doesn't he have to aim it at the right--?

MARISHA: I don't think it's-- That's for attacks. I think he just looked at me and now--

MATT: Yeah, he's just leaping towards you, just instilled this curse within you. You feel this instantaneous stomach flu sensation inside your body--

SAM: ♪ instantaneous ♪

MATT: -- like something sickly takes root in your body.

TRAVIS: And I'll just run up the wall and, as I'm doing it, it's like a (whooshes)

MARISHA: Fuck, fuck.

MATT: Just a flail of claws at you in the middle of the air.

MARISHA: Do I roll for Mirror Image?

TRAVIS: Because you're just the closest thing.

MATT: You do.

TALIESIN: I was going to switch right before it's--

TRAVIS: That's cocked. Okay. That's a 15 to hit?

MARISHA: Shield. No, no. I'm just going to Mirror Image it first.

MATT: Okay, so roll.

MARISHA: Miss.

TRAVIS: Miss. Great.

MATT: But one of the duplicates is destroyed.

MARISHA: Yep.

TRAVIS: Second one. 18 to hit?

MARISHA: Miss. Next duplicate.

TRAVIS: Nice!

MATT: So you just (flailing claws) There were four Laudnas and two of them you strike and they just dissipate.

TRAVIS: Last one. 14 to hit.

MARISHA: That is my armor class.

MATT: So that would hit.

MARISHA: Miss.

TRAVIS: Awesome.

MATT: So you just strike. All the images are gone and as you land and streak your claws down the stone and land on the ground below her, still looking up at her, you just manage to deflect this wave of muscular fur and claws and watch all your images vanish.

MARISHA: (stutters in fright)

MATT: He lands.

TRAVIS: (snarls)

MATT: It's lapping up at you, snarling and snapping from below as you're just up on the wall.

ASHLEY: Oh, okay.

TRAVIS: I will use my movement to... I'm going to run 45 feet.

LIAM: Jeez, he's traveling.

TRAVIS: Over here.

LAURA: Oh my god!

SAM: Oh no!

TALIESIN: God fucking damn it!

LAURA: Oh no!

SAM: That's me.

LAURA: Oh no!

SAM: We're friends!

TRAVIS: (laughs)

SAM: You helped me! You helped me against a bird!

TRAVIS: That's my turn.

MATT: All righty. That brings us to Laudna, with FCG on deck.

MARISHA: Oh fuck! Fuck! Okay, so he didn't get his reach-in-y thingy.

TRAVIS: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

MARISHA: But we don't know why.

TRAVIS: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

MARISHA: I'm going to go another 30 feet up.

MATT: There's only-- At this edge of the corner, you're pretty much at the ceiling. So you can either go across the ceiling or laterally.

MARISHA: How is she 60 feet up?

MATT: Because she's further into the cavern.

MARISHA: I'm going to then try and just keep getting--

MATT: Well, she's not 60 feet up. She's 40 feet up. She can only get up to where the ceiling is.

LAURA: Yeah. That's the whole--

MARISHA: Okay. Well, I'm going to keep getting the higher ground, I guess.

TRAVIS: Excuse me.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: Wait, did you do the wisdom fail?

MATT: So you're moving--

MARISHA: Up, and I'm going to hug this wall, I guess.

TALIESIN: I did, I failed utterly.

MATT: Oh god!

MARISHA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: No!

MATT: About there?

MARISHA: Sure.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: What was the wisdom fail that Chetney had that you said you were going to do on his turn?

SAM: I think that was--

MATT: Oh, that was him losing the Regeneration.

LAURA: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Okay, okay, okay.

MARISHA: And then--

LAURA: Okay. That's a good idea.

MARISHA: I'm going to try Chill Touch again. That is the exact same thing I rolled last time, so I don't think that hits.

MATT: Oof. Unfortunately, no.

MARISHA: Really fucking sucks!

MATT: Goes wide.

MARISHA: Okay.

MATT: All right. So that finishes your go. That brings us to FCG, with Orym on deck.

SAM: All right. Ooh boy!

TALIESIN: Look at that thing.

SAM: Oh boy!

MARISHA: Fucking dice are cursed.

SAM: All right. I will pick up a twig off the ground--

TRAVIS: (laughs)

SAM: -- and I will shout a command at Chetney.

TRAVIS: Don't you dare!

SAM: Fetch!

TRAVIS: Don't you dare! (laughter)

MARISHA: Yes!

SAM: I throw it.

TRAVIS and MATT: (laugh)

TALIESIN: Oh my god!

TRAVIS: That's why you're throwing it.

SAM: You have to save. It's not a very hard save. It's a wisdom 14 save.

TRAVIS: Okay. My wisdom's balls, brother!

SAM: Okay.

TRAVIS: Is it magic?

MATT: It is magic.

TRAVIS: Okay. Yeah This one's cocked, but.

MATT: So you throw it, "Fetch!" What do you do?

TRAVIS: (snarls)

SAM: Oh, he thought about it.

TRAVIS: (snarls) (laughter) (laughter)

LIAM: Uh-oh!

SAM: Then I will bonus action. From behind, I hope, he'll feel a spearing sensation as the stake comes flying in--

TRAVIS: Yeah!

SAM: -- and tries to jab him in the back of the heart.

MATT: But you can move it. Oh, that's not a creature, so it doesn't give you an advantage. So you can just take a strike.

SAM: Okay. Oh! 16 plus six, 22.

MATT: 22 hits, right?

TRAVIS: It does!

MATT: Yeah, so roll your damage. 1d8 plus your wisdom modifier.

SAM: That's 1d8. Six points of damage!

LAURA: Nice.

TRAVIS: And it's magic right?

MATT: Crack! It is!

TRAVIS: Or it's silvered? Yeah.

MATT: Yeah.

SAM: Well it's magically silvered.

MATT and SAM: (laugh)

LAURA: It's radiantly silvered.

MATT: Indeed.

SAM: I probably can't move, can I? So I'm just going to get as close to the statue as possible, just press myself up against her, hoping that he won't attack for fear of damaging the statue.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

SAM: Just wrapping my arms around her.

MATT: You got it. Okay.

TRAVIS: On the end of his turn, I'm going to use a legendary action and I'm going to dash 45 feet towards the base of where Imogen is hovering.

LAURA: Oh fucking hell!

LIAM: God damn it!

MATT: You do get an attack of opportunity, if you want it.

SAM: All right. I will take it.

TRAVIS: I'll try and get on the opposite side of Imogen from Ashton. Yeah.

MATT: So here?

TRAVIS: Up there as high as--

SAM: I can't cast a spell, right? It has to be a melee thing?

TRAVIS: Do you have War Caster?

SAM: No, I don't.

TALIESIN: Oh.

SAM: If I can hot swap back to a saw blade, I'll take a saw blade attack. But I--

MATT: As a reaction, you wouldn't have time to.

SAM: Yeah.

MATT: It's so fast.

SAM: What I have loaded right now is the bolt thrower. Could I shoot at him as he leaves? Or no, it has to be up front.

MATT: Yeah, unfortunately.

TRAVIS: You can just hit me.

MATT: It's all good!

TRAVIS: Just hit me!

SAM: I'll unarmed strike him.

MATT: Do it! Do it! Just punch!

MARISHA: Punch him!

SAM: Three. (laughter)

MATT: You do hit. Ping!

SAM: Ow! (laughter)

SAM: It's the calves! Those calves are amazing!

MATT: No worries. All right, finishing FCG's go, Orym, you're up, with Imogen on deck.

LIAM: (sighs) Shit! Everything I was planning is gone because he moved.

TRAVIS: Yep.

LIAM: I'm going to use full movement and start on a diagonal towards Chetney wolf.

TRAVIS: I was wondering.

MATT: Five, 10, 15, 20, 25. What's your movement?

LIAM: 30.

MATT: 30 will get you there.

LIAM: Okay. I'm going to spring from that spot and use the rest of my movement to go all the way up to get right in his grundle, and if you'll allow for flavor, I will just try to land against his chest and hold on.

MATT: All right.

TRAVIS: I love it!

MARISHA: Cool. Yeah. (laughs)

MATT: So you just (leap) and try and hold on? Yeah. I will say, for the purposes of this-- You're just grappling? Yeah. Okay. You're not--

LIAM: I mean, I'm not grappling.

MATT: Yeah.

LIAM: I'm not stopping this behemoth from getting anywhere.

MATT: Yeah. I'll say, yeah.

TRAVIS: You don't know.

MATT: We're good. You're holding on.

LIAM: But I'm baiting him by hanging off of his fucking nips.

MATT: You got it! Okay, that finishes your go. Imogen, you're up, with Fearne on deck.

LAURA: Okay. I'm going to-- (hums) I'm going to look down at--

MARISHA: I'm going to--

MARISHA and TALIESIN: ♪ (hum) ♪

LAURA and ASHLEY: ♪ (hum) ♪

LAURA: Look down at Chet.

TALIESIN: Zig-a-zig ah.

SAM: Chet.

LAURA: And mentally, I'm going to say: Fight this! But in your head, you're going to hear: Fight this, fight this, fight this! And it's going to echo around in your head and it's going to be discordant.

LIAM: Dubstep.

LAURA: Dissonant Whispers. At 3rd-level.

MATT: At 3rd-level. Okay.

LAURA: Which is a wisdom save.

TRAVIS: Okay. That's an 11.

LAURA: You fail it!

TRAVIS: I'll use my last legendary.

SAM: Nice!

ASHLEY: Ugh!

TALIESIN: Burn it! Yeah!

LAURA: So that's half of 5d6. ♪ Dee do lee doo ♪ Oh! Oh, I did d4! It's fine. It's fine. I did two d4s last time instead of d6s.

MATT: Oh!

LAURA: You know, brilliance.

TALIESIN: Sometimes life.

LAURA: 10! 13! 17!

MATT: 17. So for that, it'll bring you to eight.

TRAVIS: Eight.

MATT: Eight points of psychic damage to you.

TRAVIS: I'll use my last legendary action with this. Nope, it's still your turn.

LAURA: Still my turn!

TRAVIS: Sorry! Sorry!

MATT: Yeah.

LAURA: I'm going to use my full movement of 60 feet to fly to the other side of the chamber--

TALIESIN: (laughs)

LAURA: -- and hold on to the vines at the top. (laughs)

TRAVIS: Bad for Orym.

LAURA: Oh no! Sorry! Oh no, Orym!

LIAM: It's fine.

MATT: All right.

LIAM: I knew what I was doing.

TRAVIS: I'll use my legendary action to try and take a swipe at the small person on my chest.

MATT: Go for it. Make a strike.

LIAM: How small. Gnomed.

MATT and TRAVIS: (laugh)

TRAVIS: That's cocked. 26 to hit?

LIAM: Sure. Yeah. Big time.

TRAVIS: Okay. Yeah, dude. This is fucking weird. Oh no. Not that one. Two plus five, seven. Oh, that's the old six from last time. 14 points of damage.

LIAM: Yes, sir.

TRAVIS: That hurts, though. Hurt me. (laughs)

MATT: It hurt you?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: Why?

TRAVIS: Well, every time I hit with the Crimson Rite I do the-- Oh, no! I don't do that again! I did it the first time.

MATT: No, you do it as soon as you instigate.

TRAVIS: That's right. So that's on my turn. Yeah. Yeah. That's it. That's my legendary action.

LIAM: Oh, I see, I see, I see.

MATT: Clarifying, just making sure. Crimson Rite, you only take the damage when you ignite it the first time.

TRAVIS: Yeah, the very first time.

MATT: Yeah. That's all. Okay. That finishes your go?

LIAM: Mm-hmm.

MATT: That brings us now to Fearne's turn.

LAURA: (laughs) Have you been doing it every time?

TRAVIS: Might have done it a couple times. It's okay.

MATT: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Oh.

LIAM: Shit happens.

ASHLEY: Do I-- Can I--

TRAVIS: Level seven.

MARISHA and LAURA: (laugh)

ASHLEY: Can I cast while I'm in Wild Shape or I just have my stats in Wild Shape?

MATT: You just have your stats in Wild Shape.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: If you want to cast a spell, you have to get out of Wild Shape.

ASHLEY: That's right. Okay. So as a bonus action, I'm going to drop my wolf.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: My sexy wolf.

MATT: You got it.

ASHLEY: There's some-- What's in the middle of his chest?

MATT: There is a dagger that is currently sticking out of it and a continuously smoking plume of red smoke that's like (smoke hissing out)

ASHLEY: All right.

MATT: As he's running across and leaping across, leaving this trail, like (smoke hissing)

ASHLEY: I am going to step up to a little bit behind that pole. Not pole. What's this called?

MATT: The pillar here? The statue?

ASHLEY: Yes. Thank you.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: I was like, it starts with a P. I am going to cast Daylight and attach it to the dagger that's in his chest.

LAURA: Ooh!

TALIESIN: Ooh!

SAM: Daylight dagger.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: Daylight dagger!

LAURA: That's sexy! That's sexier than a wolf.

ASHLEY: Sex!

MATT: Okay. (laughter)

MATT: So the dagger in the chest, as you're standing there trying to claw at Orym, suddenly exhibits this extremely bright daylight in this space and your eyes go white. Orym, you're clutching the fur on the front of the chest and you just took a hit--

ASHLEY: Shield your eyes!

MATT: -- and the dagger that's a foot from your head that you put in there earlier suddenly just emits this bright daylight right in your face. Both of you just have a moment where you're seeing nothing but white around you.

LAURA: Amazing!

MATT: Blinking.

LIAM: That's our druid!

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Yeah. I'll say to the proximity on this, I'll consider you both blind on the next round--

ASHLEY: Oh dear! Sorry, Orym!

LIAM: Cool.

MATT: Just from the proximity of it. So it's disadvantage on strikes.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: But yeah. Okay.

TRAVIS: Okay.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: Does that finish your turn? You want to move a little more?

ASHLEY: That finishes my turn.

MATT: You good?

ASHLEY: No, I'll stay there.

MATT: All right. Ashton, you're up.

TALIESIN: How far away does Chet look at the moment? I'm just peering over.

MATT: Peering over? Chetney looks about 60 feet from you.

TALIESIN: About 60 feet?

MARISHA: Are you still a-feared?

MATT: Yeah, about 55 feet.

TALIESIN: Yep.

MATT: Yeah.

TALIESIN: I'm just debating whether or not to try and what I can do right now. Okay. I'm just going to-- There's not a lot I can do right now. I'm going to pull around, get a little bit of cover.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: Just at the side. I'm going to... This is going to be weird. I'm going to drop rage.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: I'm going to basically hold my reaction.

MATT: In case somebody comes within--

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: Actually, is defensive reaction a thing that you can--

MATT: You can just take a dodge action, which means attacks against you have disadvantage.

TALIESIN: Yeah. Yeah, I'll just have that ready to go just because it's going to take me a round to get my shit back.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: Then let's try and save.

MATT: Make a wisdom save.

TALIESIN: (sighs) Come on! Don't be a dick!

MATT: Natural one. Oh, I'm sorry, buddy.

TALIESIN: (growls)

MATT: Still a-feared. Still afraid of the big, bad wolf.

LAURA: Bummer!

SAM: Great. Okay.

MATT: All right, Ashton. That finishes your go then?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: You can keep moving if you want.

TALIESIN: If I just get further away, I'm just going to be further away. So yeah, further away is further away. I'm just going to--

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: If I move, I'm just going to be a fucking target.

MATT: No worries. Chetney.

TRAVIS: Yep.

LIAM: This just in: Big Bad--

MATT: You're up.

LIAM: -- is big and bad.

TRAVIS: I don't have any Regeneration?

MATT: No, your Regeneration's returned, which is per round.

LAURA: Oh bummer!

TRAVIS: Oh shit!

TALIESIN: Oh shit!

MARISHA: What was it? What did he just regen?

TRAVIS: That's okay. It's only six points.

MARISHA: (sighs) I keep trying to keep that from happening. I'm fucking failing!

TRAVIS: Well, I was going to go after Imogen, but she flew off and left only this small hero on my chest.

LAURA: (groans)

TRAVIS: So I'll take three swipes at Orym to try and get him off.

SAM: No!

MATT: At disadvantage.

TRAVIS: At disadvantage! That's right! That's right.

LAURA: Because you're blind?

LIAM: We're both blind.

TRAVIS: Yep.

LIAM: Prom dancing.

TRAVIS: 12?

LIAM: Nope.

TRAVIS: Yep.

TALIESIN: (growls)

TRAVIS: 16?

LIAM: Nope.

SAM: Wow!

TALIESIN: You're magical.

TRAVIS: Disadvantage is a problem. Natural 20 and a four for 12.

LAURA: Oh shit!

LIAM: Get wrecked, Wolfgang! (laughter)

LAURA: Nice!

ASHLEY: Sorry, Orym!

LIAM: Ah! Ah! Ah!

LAURA: You don't even know what you're dodging.

LIAM: Yeah.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: I feel like the shield's slung over your shoulder in the back and you're like (clanging). (laughter)

LIAM: This is not fun! (laughter)

TRAVIS: And as I'm doing it, (laughs) I just blindly stumble forward and I'll come forward 45 feet towards the back of the statue.

MATT: All right. As you get that close to the statue and you're about to seriously lumber into it, something in your mind goes (hisses) and tells you to stop, and you actually stop right before crashing into it.

ALL: Oh!

LIAM: We got to make him make out with the statue.

TRAVIS: Got to get that. That is the end of my turn.

MATT: All right. That finishes your go.

TRAVIS: Yep.

MATT: Laudna, you're up, with FCG on deck.

MARISHA: The hole in the ceiling in which the moon is coming in--

LAURA: ♪ The hole in the ceiling ♪

MARISHA: How big is it? (laughter)

MATT: It's about four feet across.

TRAVIS: Yes? (laughs)

MARISHA: Four feet?

MATT: Yeah.

MARISHA: (sighs)

SAM: Yeah, man!

MARISHA: Should I try it?

SAM, TALIESIN, and LAURA: Yeah!

ASHLEY: Do it!

SAM: Outside the box!

LIAM: Get crazy!

MARISHA: I could try and cast Darkness over top of that area, or I could try and cover it with my body.

TALIESIN: You're not for--

SAM: You're like a twig.

MARISHA: I'm so-- Oh, right? Okay, okay, okay.

TALIESIN: You're a wicker--

LIAM: Can you Form of Dread yourself into a tarp?

MARISHA: I can-- (laughter)

TALIESIN: Maybe a really scary kite.

MARISHA: I am as bigger as Form of Dread. I can extend.

MATT: Yeah.

LIAM: (foomph)

MARISHA: I'm bigger.

TALIESIN: You're still a bamboo curtain, man.

MARISHA: I'm still a bamboo curtain. I'm going to-- (laughter)

MARISHA: I'm going to get a little crazy. I'm going to move towards it.

MATT: Okay. How far?

MARISHA: Skittering my movement, which is 30 feet.

MATT: 30 feet.

MARISHA: Da-la-la-la-la-la-la (rolls tongue)

MATT: There you go. You get close to it. Not entirely.

SAM: Oh god!

MATT: Move the stone.

SAM: Oh god!

MATT: And there we go. Right there.

MARISHA: I am going to cast Darkness over the hole to block out the moon.

MATT: Okay. (whoosh)

ASHLEY: Whoa!

MATT: This sphere of shadow fills and encompasses the ceiling portion. That beam of ever-present sourceless moonlight that was pouring down from the water suddenly (whoosh) vanishes, gets cut off. The water continues to pour out of the black shadow, but the beam of light is gone. And inside the chamber, the only light that's around there are the surrounding sconces in the space.

SAM: Nice lighting effect!

LAURA: Ooh!

MATT: As that happens, Chetney (whoosh) your form shrinks down to your normal werewolf form. (yelling)

MARISHA: It worked!

ASHLEY: Yes!

MARISHA: It worked!

TRAVIS: (laughs)

LAURA: Yes!

LIAM: (triumphant laugh)

TRAVIS: Now I've got a BabyBjorn on my (laughs) (laughter)

TALIESIN: Are you still a flashlight, by the way?

LAURA: I know. Are you still glowing?

MATT: Yes! Still glowing, still daylight bursting out of the chest.

TALIESIN: What's premiering at the Mann's Chinese this week?

LAURA: (laughs)

MARISHA: It is. So here's the funny part. It is a concentration spell.

SAM: So you lose Spider Climb?

MARISHA: So I lose Spider Climb.

SAM: Oh shit.

TALIESIN: Wait, what?

LIAM and MATT: (laugh)

MARISHA: So I fall, but I'm going to cast Feather Fall on myself.

TALIESIN: Unless you were hanging-- oh, okay. Okay, okay.

MARISHA: As I hit, as a reaction.

MATT: Okay, now...

SAM: Is that concentration?

LAURA: Can you do--

TALIESIN: No.

MARISHA: No, it's a reaction.

LAURA: Can you do a reaction on your turn, though? Like--

SAM: But it's a spell.

LAURA: -- immediately after your own spell?

MARISHA: Well, if you're falling, that's what triggers the reaction.

LIAM: I would think so.

SAM: Uh-huh, uh-huh. Oh man, we're going to the book for this.

MATT: We are.

LIAM: Because the action happened first.

SAM: The reaction is not part of the--

LIAM: Falling is after your action. The reaction is to the aftereffects.

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: To the fact that I'm falling.

TALIESIN: Because there's enough time there that, yeah.

MARISHA: I would imagine.

TRAVIS: Like burn your reaction?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: This is the odd scenario, because normally you cannot, based on the rules as I know, I'm aware of, you cannot cast more than one spell on the same turn.

TALIESIN: But it's not the same turn, though.

MATT: It's during your turn that you're falling.

TALIESIN: Well, is it after the turn?

MATT: Although technically, because if that's the end of your turn--

LIAM: The action took the turn.

SAM: It took the whole turn to cast the Darkness spell.

MATT: The move, cast the spell, then the reaction is at the end of your turn, then yeah, I'll allow it.

MARISHA: Okay.

LAURA: Nice!

MATT: So there you go. As you plummet, you land at the bottom.

SAM: So cool.

MATT: The tendrils of your tree-like roots of your Form of Dread just unravel and almost grab and take root into the ground as you hit.

MARISHA: That's cool.

ASHLEY: That's very cool.

MARISHA: I like that flavor. I've done all the things, so I look around, and I look at Ashton, and I look at Orym. Help!

TALIESIN: Mm.

MARISHA: And that's it.

MATT: All right.

TRAVIS: At the end of her turn, I'll use a Legendary Action to dash right at her.

TALIESIN: Can you? Are you still blind, or?

MATT: The blind only was for his round.

TALIESIN: Okay.

MATT: His eyes adjusted.

LIAM: Attack of opportunity, at disadvantage because I'm blind.

MARISHA: Left myself open here.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

LIAM: Both 15s.

TRAVIS: Are you not holding on anymore?

LIAM: I don't, I mean, I think that's only for flavor. I wasn't really, I mean, it depends. If he'll let me, I will go--

MATT: I'll allow you. He's still covered in fur, and you're still holding on, if anything.

TRAVIS: Do whatever you want.

MATT: It's up to you. You can let go and then strike if he runs. Your call.

LAURA: Why don't you just hold on and not attack him?

TALIESIN: You're on there, man.

MATT and MARISHA: (rumbling)

LIAM: No, I'm going to ride. I'm going to ride.

MATT: You're going to ride?

SAM: Going to ride!

MATT: All right. So you're just holding onto him, now full on Baby Bjorn onto Chetney.

LIAM: What the fuck are you doing?! (laughter)

MARISHA: So is he still kind of like-- Is Orym in between Chet and I?

LIAM: I would be on his hips.

MATT: Yes, he's right there, as the wolf comes tearing towards you.

MARISHA: Oh fuck!

LAURA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: You're ramming attacking him?

MATT: Make a wisdom saving throw for me.

TRAVIS: Okay. With advantage or straight up?

MATT: Just straight up.

TRAVIS: 10.

MATT: 10, okay. The light not there, the connection of this flow through of power, this entity that's poured within you, seems to be far lessened in its influence, and for a moment, you feel yourself beginning to take control before it pushes through once more and the feral look continues in your face. You're unable to beat the willpower of the entity at the moment.

MARISHA: Damn.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MATT: All right, FCG?

SAM: All right, I will start to move my Spiritual Weapon towards the statue, holding it at her throat. (laughter) (laughter)

SAM: And I will cast--

TRAVIS: You wouldn't!

SAM: I will--

LIAM: Oh my god.

SAM: I will cast Calm Emotions on Chetney while I say to him: Chetney! You must recognize the alpha! An alpha is not one who draws the most blood. It's one who can control himself. Fight through it and save this bitch! (laughter)

MATT: All right, is that a wisdom saving throw?

SAM: That's a charisma saving throw--

MATT and TRAVIS: Charisma saving.

SAM: 14.

TRAVIS: Even worse.

SAM: You get advantage on that?

TRAVIS: Natural 20. (groaning)

MARISHA: Oh no!

ASHLEY: Come on!

MATT: That's a lucky fucking roll.

TRAVIS: Is that cocked?

LAURA: Wow.

TRAVIS: Let's see if it's cocked. No.

MATT: It's not cocked. So--

TRAVIS: That was fucking amazing.

MATT: That was awesome! So, as you release the wave of Calm Emotions, the spell takes hold and you can see that mist dissipates for a second before it pulls back, and you can--

TRAVIS: No. It was a charisma saving throw.

SAM: It was.

MATT: Yes.

TRAVIS: I do not have advantage on charisma throws. It's just on intelligence and wisdom against magic, not charisma.

MATT: You sure of that? That's from your gnome ability?

TRAVIS: "A hunter's.." Yeah, it's from...

TALIESIN: Gnome?

MATT: Just double checking here.

TRAVIS: "Gnome Cunning: Advantage on intelligence, wisdom," oh, "and charisma saving throws against magic." Sorry. It's just not listed on here.

MATT: It's all good. Good try, a good attempt.

MARISHA: Oh man.

MATT: I was really into it.

MARISHA: Yeah! Calm your shit or the goddess gets it.

SAM: I won't cut her.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: I respect the goddess.

LAURA: (laughs) I respect the goddess.

MATT: While the emotions do not immediately calm, you can see this is having a profound effect. You can see the emotional stakes of this is cutting right through, and even though this bestial, feral urge is still overtaking Chetney's mind, it's having a lot more of an effect than some of the damage has had.

SAM: Okay, okay.

MATT: All right.

SAM: That's good to know.

MATT: Orym, you're up. Imogen on deck.

LIAM: Okay, I'm going to, since I've just traveled with him and I felt him shrink, I think maybe the tides are turning here, and I heard all that from FCG, so I just take my shield and I just start bashing him in the face. Fucking knock it off!

TRAVIS: (whimpers)

LIAM: I'm going to try to goading attack him just with the shield.

MATT: You got it.

LIAM: Disadvantage because I'm blind, right?

MATT: Yes.

LAURA: Still?

ASHLEY: Sorry.

LAURA: Still blind.

LIAM: Yeah, because--

MATT: It's just the first round for each of them.

LIAM: Five, so that misses. That's five plus... Yeah, that misses. That is an 18 to hit?

TRAVIS: That hits if that's gone.

MATT: That is gone at the moment.

TRAVIS: That's my AC.

LIAM: Okay.

MATT: That hits.

LIAM: So that's a goading attack, so you just take, the shield will just be one point of damage, plus the superiority die. It's a six, so seven points of damage. You have to beat a wisdom 16.

MATT: The shield is technically magical, so you take the full six.

LIAM: Oh, that's true.

TRAVIS: The full six? Great, great, great.

MARISHA: That's true.

LIAM: Wow.

TRAVIS: Okay. 18, and then what am I saving against?

LIAM: 16 wisdom.

TRAVIS: Wisdom. Yeah, another 20.

LIAM: 20, you succeeded.

MATT: This goading is not magical.

TRAVIS: Oh!

MATT: So just roll one.

TRAVIS: It's a single roll. Five.

MATT: All right.

MARISHA: Oh shit. Oh fuck.

LIAM: Okay, so that means any attack against anyone but me is at disadvantage.

MARISHA: Oh, thank god!

LIAM: Does my blindness drop at this point?

MATT: At the end of your round, it does.

LIAM: End of my round. Okay, so I'm not aware. I have movement and stuff, but I won't see, and I'd have to move, and then the sight would come back. So I guess I just plop to the ground, and that's it. That's the end of the turn.

MATT: Okay, so you drop down.

LIAM: Yep. Sight comes back.

MATT: All right.

TRAVIS: End of his turn, I'll use the last legendary action now at disadvantage to take a swipe at Laudna.

MATT: Go for it.

TRAVIS: Laudna!

MARISHA: Yeah, nailed it.

TRAVIS: No, that's going to be a 13.

MARISHA: Miss. (laughter)

TALIESIN: First time!

MARISHA: Wow, yeah, first time for everything.

MATT: The bright, shining beacon of the dagger in the middle of the chest, he's still swinging wide and can't quite make out shapes that are just beyond the reach of the claws, and you just barely feel it hit one of the hairs in the front of your head. It almost cuts it, and you watch it flitter away. All right, with that it comes, now it is Imogen's go, with Fearne on deck.

MARISHA: Oh jeez.

LAURA: All right, I'm going to fly down to the ground.

SAM: Turn into a sexy wolf.

LAURA: Obviously.

MARISHA and SAM: (laugh)

LAURA: I'm going to drop Fly, and having seen FCG's attempt, I'm going to do the same thing and I'm going to hit him with Calm Emotions again and just say: Chet, you always brag about how in control you can be. Prove it right now. Stop fighting. Control the beast!

SAM: You're an MC, a master of control!

LAURA: (gasps)

TRAVIS: (tiny howl)

MATT: Charisma saving throw with advantage.

TRAVIS: Okay. Natural 19.

SAM: God.

LAURA: Motherfucker.

TALIESIN: Where are these rolls?

SAM: These rolls are insane!

TRAVIS: A 19 and and a 12.

LIAM: The dice don't care.

ASHLEY: Come on.

TRAVIS: I'm so good, though.

LIAM: The dice don't care about your acting.

MATT: That's how it works.

TRAVIS: (deeply) The master of control of death!

MATT: Once again, each one of these moments, there is a flickering moment where you can see the rage beginning to subside before it rears back up inside. That finishes your turn, Imogen?

LAURA: I believe.

MATT: All right. Fearne, you're up.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: Ashton on deck.

ASHLEY: I am going to cast Charm Person. Hey, you're going to fight this, okay?

TRAVIS: (deeply) You're hot. (laughter)

ASHLEY: Yes, I know.

SAM: Inappropriate.

ASHLEY: But you really need to fight.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: You're looking in your book for something.

MATT: No, continue.

SAM: See if there's a charm effect or something.

LAURA: Oh, is he immune to charm right now?

SAM: Who knows? We'll see. Keep going, keep going.

ASHLEY: If you're going to do it, you're going to do it.

MATT: Just confirming that lycanthropes in their form are still considered humanoids, which I believed they were, but I just wanted to double check.

LAURA: Oh! Oh, oh oh.

ASHLEY: Okay, so you have to make a wisdom to beat 16.

TRAVIS: Okay.

ASHLEY: Probably will because you're rolling natural 20s.

TRAVIS: Yep.

ASHLEY: Aah! Shit.

TRAVIS: 20.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MARISHA: Wow!

MATT: Jesus Christ, dude!

TRAVIS: Natural--

MARISHA: Wowzers.

MATT: What the fuck?

LIAM: Can't stop this wolf.

TRAVIS: Natural 19 and a one, so we're getting worse.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: As all of you have slowed down the energy of this, and you're all slowly encroaching upon, and one after another, trying to appeal to this mind that is locked by this influence of the spirit, and it just continues to fight back and fight back. It's having a harder time with each element. It's being whittled down. Does that finish your turn?

ASHLEY: I can't bonus action a Flame Blade, can I? Because that's a--

MATT: Unfortunately, no, because that'd be two spells in one round.

ASHLEY: That's it.

MATT: All right. Ashton.

TALIESIN: I assume that the fear is somehow still up, even though there's now a fucking--

MATT: Correct, the effect maintains. I'm sorry.

SAM: This is the longest fear ever.

MATT: That's the problem with low wisdom.

TALIESIN: Yeah, low wisdom characters.

TRAVIS: You save for it every round.

TALIESIN: I'm visible now, I suppose.

MATT: You are.

TALIESIN: Fuck it. I'm just going to turn, look straight on. Come on, Chet, this is bullshit! Knock it off, and if you're not going to knock it off, come here and let's just fucking do this, because they don't deserve it.

LAURA: Let's fucking do this.

MATT: Make an intimidation check.

MARISHA: You have to come to me, though, because I can't.

SAM: Technically.

LIAM: I totally want to fight, but.

TALIESIN: I also have no rage right now.

SAM: Oh no!

LAURA: Oh god.

TALIESIN: Make an intimidation?

MATT: Mm-hm.

TALIESIN: Oh wow, fuck me. 24.

SAM: Wow.

TRAVIS: Good, yes.

MATT: 24 intimidation.

TALIESIN: There's little sparks going off and shit.

MATT: Chet, make a wisdom saving throw.

TRAVIS: That's not magic?

MATT and TALIESIN: Nope.

TRAVIS: This is shit! Four!

MATT: Through all the appeals to emotion, all the appeals to find friendly connection, all chipping away at this boundary until eventually, the wall that the spirit that has possessed you has put between your and your companions through this trial, through the crack in the middle of this central barrier, another beast meets you eye to eye.

MARISHA: Alpha to alpha.

MATT: And beseeches you to show your true strength.

TRAVIS: Oh shit.

MATT: Please describe to me how you regain yourself. (cheering)

SAM: How do you want to subdue this? (laughter)

MARISHA: Yes! (laughter)

TRAVIS: Yeah, I'm looking at Laudna, just getting ready to tear her to ribbons. Then I hear Ashton. (deeply) Let's do this. Wait, what? Oh no. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Can I go (whooshes) and drop down to... Can I drop the hybrid form?

MATT: Yes, you can.

MARISHA: Oh my god. Oh my god.

TRAVIS: Not for nothing, but I'm pretty sure you were going to be fucked.

MARISHA: (nervous noise)

TRAVIS: Um.

TALIESIN: I'm going to slowly walk up to him. Come here.

LAURA: (laughs) Oh!

TALIESIN: Boom, right in the face. Asshole! Asshole! (laughter)

TALIESIN: Fucking...

TRAVIS: Your hand is made of rocks! Fuck, my mouth!

TALIESIN: We're cool now. We're cool.

MATT: You hear a resounding echo of laughter begins to fill the chamber as all of the Gorgynei, no longer held by the spectral spirit, begin to laugh at what they just saw.

TRAVIS: That was awesome.

TALIESIN: I'm going to fall over now.

MATT: Yeah. (laughter)

MATT: As you lie there on your back, eyes tense, the dagger still protruding from your chest--

TALIESIN: Oh shit.

TRAVIS: (whimpers)

SAM: Oh, oh!

MATT: Hold on, do you maintain the Daylight spell?

TRAVIS: It's so bright! I can't!

ASHLEY: No, I'll take it down.

MATT: Okay. As the Daylight spell diminishes and the light vanishes, do you keep the Darkness spell?

TRAVIS: I think you broke my nose.

MARISHA: I'm looking at Chetney. You're good? You're sure you're good? If I let the moon in, will you be all right?

TRAVIS: What? Why would you do that? I don't know.

SAM: Maybe just hold it?

MARISHA: I'll hold it for a little while longer, just to be sure.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: (grunts) Can I pull this fucking dagger out of my chest?

MATT: Yes, you can.

TRAVIS: Aah!

TALIESIN: Oh god.

MATT: You pull the dagger free, and you all watch as a splash of crimson comes emerging from it. But it just drifts there. It is a red, spectral mist that begins to drift and emanate out. As this happens, the Darkness spell dissipates.

MARISHA: Oh.

MATT: The light continues back in to fill the chamber.

MARISHA: I didn't do that.

MATT: As this light begins to swell and fill the space around you with a bright, blue, midnight light, the series of emotions fill your head once more, saying, "I eat of the scar of an unworthy predator, I eat of the scar of an unworthy predator, and leave my scar in its place. You are a hunter, and the wilds wait with you to be unleashed." You watch, almost like drawing the venom from a wound, this red energy drifts out, and you watch as this cloud of red drifts there for a second, and for a moment, it almost resembles a familiar, ruddy moon before it dissipates. You sit there on the ground, breathing heavily, with an open wound in your chest.

SAM: Oh, need some curatives?

TRAVIS: I'm leaking.

SAM: All right, here. You're not going to hurt me, are you?

TRAVIS: I don't think so.

SAM: Oh, Chetney.

TRAVIS: Help me. (snarls)

SAM: (screams) Don't do that! Don't do that! (laughter)

TRAVIS: Sorry, sorry. There's a little residual in there. That was awesome.

SAM: You're going to do it again. Don't scare me again. Cure Wounds.

TRAVIS: ♪ Ah ♪

TALIESIN: You get two hit points back.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

TALIESIN: (grunts)

TALIESIN: A good sports massage.

SAM: You get six hit points.

MATT: Manad steps up from the side and goes, "Well, looks like the spirit really enjoyed fucking with you for a bit, so that's something new."

TRAVIS: Is that typical?

MATT: "Occasionally, it's done strange things, made people duel it off. Sometimes they have to go off and hunt something and bring it back. It changes from person to person. Whatever you had in you, guess you had to deal with tensions with your allies here and come to an understanding, whatever that interpretation means."

TRAVIS: Yeah. Sorry. That was incredibly brave, what you did. I could see it. You jumped in. I was going to, and you...

LIAM: You think, going forward, you got more of a handle on things?

TRAVIS: I don't know. I think only time will tell. Maybe we go by the chain-me-up protocol, visitors welcome. (laughter)

TRAVIS: But hopefully there's something to be gained from all this.

LIAM: Can I have my knife?

TRAVIS: Oh! Yep. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Everybody okay?

LIAM: Yeah.

TALIESIN: (groans)

SAM: No.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah.

SAM: We're alive.

TRAVIS: It felt like it was a dream, I thought I was bigger and more muscly, and hotter than ever.

LAURA: You were huge!

ASHLEY: Yeah, it was really intense.

TALIESIN: Really-- And attractive.

LIAM: Four to five times larger than normal.

TALIESIN: He was alive.

LIAM: Young, virile.

TRAVIS: I felt like you guys were shooting shit at me and I was like, "Nah, bitch!" Then you do it again, I'll be like, "I don't think so!"

LAURA: Yeah, you could heal yourself.

TALIESIN: I haven't been that scared in ages.

TRAVIS: I was like, "Not today, Miss Arnold." (laughter)

SAM: Class dismissed! (laughter)

ASHLEY: One more, come on.

TRAVIS: School's out for summer!

ASHLEY: Yeah! I wonder if that's your new thing. You're just really--

TRAVIS: Awesome?

TALIESIN: Say it.

ASHLEY: Just big.

TALIESIN: Yeah, there we are.

TRAVIS: I don't know. I don't think so. I think that was probably the spirit. By the way, I look around whatever-- the hunter's bane-- is there any fey, fiends, undead, anything else in this room?

MATT: Make a perception check for me.

TRAVIS: Oh, using that. That's cocked. Natural 20. (laughs) Natural 20, for 21.

LIAM: Jeez.

MATT: Okay. You do not sense any fey.

LAURA: How many is that? This--

ASHLEY: I know, is it the same?

LIAM: Five or six.

TALIESIN: Dice...

MATT: It's crazy. Fiends or undead in the vicinity, which is comforting, but still as you glance around, you look up and you can still see that mist that is pouring from where the water is trickling down past the statue. You still feel that presence. Though you do not feel it within you, or you do not feel that untethered, feral nature within, it never left the chamber.

SAM: Chetney.

TRAVIS: Yeah?

SAM: Where are you looking?

TRAVIS: Up there.

SAM: Is it your destiny? (laughter)

TRAVIS: No, FCG. That's in here.

MARISHA: Aww.

MATT: A gentle wind blows through from above. (laughter)

TALIESIN: Nope.

MATT: That awkward itch that you've been combating, up in the grundle-- No, in the-- (laughter)

TRAVIS: Ah, it burns. (laughter)

LAURA: What is that rash, Chet? (laughter)

TRAVIS: It's only when I pee.

MATT: That ever-present worry since that moment that the red moon looked back. That anxiety seems to have been lifted--

TRAVIS: (deeply inhales)

MATT: -- unstitched.

TRAVIS: That would be clutch. That would be really good. Yeah, still going to be chain me up at nights. Got a feeling, got a feeling.

MATT: At this point, Annaline approaches and goes, "If you feel it is necessary, but from what I could gather from my oddly peripheral watching position, not everyone would be eager to calm a beast of your size beyond slay it."

TRAVIS: Yeah, they're pretty great. I have a fucking terrible hunger after that.

MARISHA: I'm a little hungry, too, actually.

TRAVIS: Do you want to eat one of these guys?

SAM and LAURA: (laugh)

TRAVIS: Just kidding, just kidding.

TALIESIN: Can we eat the hot one? Sorry, sorry.

LAURA: Which, they're all the hot one.

TALIESIN: I was just hoping someone else would decide.

LIAM: Chet, all your clothes and underwear are over here split to smithereens. I don't know if Laudna could--

TRAVIS: Oh no, the elastic! I didn't account for being so hot.

MATT: Yeah, you are just flapping the breeze out here.

TRAVIS: Wang out! Try not to be too impressed.

LAURA and MATT: (laugh)

LIAM: It's weird that the hat made it through, but everything else-- (laughter)

MARISHA: Just the hat.

LAURA: (laughs) Just the hat.

TALIESIN: Can you just move the hat to the--

TRAVIS: No, I don't think I will. (laughter)

MATT: Manad goes, "Well, if you're hungry, I'll go hunting, I'll leave you to your business here," and head outside. The other Gorgynei chuckle for a moment.

LAURA: Mending. (laughter)

TRAVIS: What are you trying to say?

LIAM: Mending your clothes.

MARISHA: Mending.

TRAVIS: Okay, good.

TALIESIN: Faster.

TRAVIS: And my pride.

MARISHA: I can do that. (laughter)

MARISHA: I take Pâté and have him help me do a little Cinderella mice stitching situation with the scrap of his clothes, yes.

TRAVIS: ♪ Cinderelly, Cinderelly ♪

TRAVIS and ASHLEY: ♪ Night and day, it's Cinderelly ♪

MARISHA: They're not perfect, but there you go.

TRAVIS: I'll wander up to the statue and just look up and go. (whispers) Thank you.

MATT: As you glance up towards the moonlight, as it crosses into your face. In the beams, while it's not blinding by any means. There's a refraction where you almost see the face of some sort of a snouted creature, the face of some sort of a snouted creature, like some spectral wolf, but it's also not a wolf, it's many creatures. It shifts as you glance at it. As it looks down at you, and you just feel this sense of pride.

TRAVIS: It's like the end of "Fantastic Mr. Fox," he sees the wolf in the distance. (laughter)

TRAVIS: You know what I'm talking about.

MARISHA: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

TRAVIS: Cool, cool, daddy-o.

SAM: You need a Werther's.

TRAVIS: You know what we should do, we should all strip down and run through the woods, it'll be exhilarating.

LAURA: That actually sounds like a blast.

SAM: I don't wear clothes.

TRAVIS: Yep, listen, this is a team bonding exercise.

SAM: Yeah, let's do it.

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Let's fucking go. Who's with me?

LAURA: I'm in.

TRAVIS: I'll lead the way. Tally-ho!

TALIESIN: Nope.

LIAM: There he goes.

TRAVIS: I'll just take off. (laughter)

ASHLEY: Look at him go.

MATT: All right.

TALIESIN: Do you want to find a twilight panther, because that's how you find a twilight fucking panther.

LAURA: We all get naked and run out after him.

MATT: All right, so all of you just start dropping and running.

MARISHA: Sure.

TALIESIN: Oh, fuck it all.

TRAVIS: Through the quad!

LIAM: Everybody's clothes just goes into the portable hole. (laughter)

LIAM: And Fearne runs with the portable hole.

MATT: I'll say, Orym, as they're engaging in this chaos, and you're contemplating jumping in with the rest of them, the breeze is still blowing through. An odd scent seems to come through the chambers. It's familiar, very faint. And emotions come over you as you recognize the scent you haven't smelled in a long time. It's the faintest scent of Will, his skin. Just that natural scent. It's been a long time and suddenly the memories wash over you for a second. Why do you smell that now? Why? Roll a perception check.

SAM: Wildmother?

MARISHA: Wildmother shit.

LIAM: 25.

MATT: 25. You turn around and you glance back at the statue and you swear for just an instant, it seemed like it was emanating from that but now it's almost gone and fading, it's odd.

LIAM: I'm totally left alone here? Did the whole pack leave as well?

MATT: They're all starting to disrobe and run, yeah, you're just about to dive in before you--

ASHLEY: I'm waiting, I'm waiting.

MATT: You turn around and look towards it.

LIAM: Okay, I look at Fearne, is she? Are you naked at this point?

ASHLEY: No, no, no, not yet.

MATT: Moonlight seems to be almost haloing the statue before you. You see her just-- The statue there, this gentle matronly smile, clutching that sheath to her chest.

LIAM: (whispers) Thanks. I'll take it.

MATT: There is a... a unique element that as you look back down at the statue, there are these small growths like vines and they're just emanating from the top of the sheath.

LIAM: That she's holding?

MATT: Yeah. Like it's just something is rooted in and growing.

LIAM: I see everyone's filing out, Fearne waiting at the entrance. I'll get closer and try to understand what I'm seeing better.

MATT: Okay, it's a little high up there.

LIAM: That's no problem.

MATT: Leap and perch onto the statue. It is a sizeable statue, it's stone, carries your light form without issue. But as you stand over the sheath that she's clutching, indeed has an opening.

LIAM: I look at the width of the sheath.

LIAM: I look at the width of the sheath.

MATT: It slides into it. The sheath looks like it's a little too big for your sword, but the sword fits into the space there. As it kind of, the hilt of it clicks into where the top of the sheath would be. The vines begin to wrap and grow rapidly surrounding the handle of the blade, surrounding the top of the sheath. Wrapping up and almost touching and wrapping around your hand. Oddly warm to the touch. You see this faint green light begin to just emanate from the gaps around it. And the light fades. Your hand around the handle of the blade is now wrapped in vines and ivy.

LIAM: I'll try to gently pull free.

MATT: As you pull it free, the ivy just gently pulls away with very little resistance. As you draw your blade out, you can see the blade looks the same, but as you still grip it in your hand, the hilt of it, ivy grows from it and continues to wrap around your blade like a hand guard.

ASHLEY and LAURA: (gasp)

MATT: As you look it over, faintly, you see this emerald energy, this faint magical field drift across the edge of it.

LAURA: Nice.

LIAM: I assume I'm sort of on the statue's shoulder looking right at her face. I'll just bow my head. I don't know why, but I'm grateful all the same. Thank you, Serataani. I got that name right?

MATT: Mm-hmm.

LIAM: I'll take one last look up at the moonlight coming in and then I'll leap down, drop and look at Fearne. Come on, we got to go. I start taking off my clothes. (laughter)

LIAM: And a little three-foot-three naked guy with a shield and brand new sword just starts-- (laughter)

LIAM: -- running out.

ASHLEY: I'm going to walk up and I'm going to take a platinum out of my... fur. and I'm going to take a platinum out of my... fur. (laughter)

SAM: Whatever I hold things in.

MARISHA: Your haunches.

LAURA: Pouch, you have the marsupial pouch.

SAM: The marsupial pouch.

ASHLEY: My marsupial pouch. I'm just going to roll it across my fingers. Hey, thanks. And then flick it. That was fun. Bye.

LIAM: You hear Orym's voice from down the passageway. (shouts) Are you streaking with me or what?

ASHLEY: Yes, hold on, jeez!

MATT: As the collection of Bells Hells go charging off into the evening moonlight, nude as they choose to be.

LIAM: The moonlight. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Hunter's moon!

MATT: We're going to go ahead and finish the episode there.

TRAVIS and LAURA: (howl)

ASHLEY: Oh man!

MATT: Couple fun things, you level up. (cheering)

MATT: So everyone's level eight.

ASHLEY: Yes!

MARISHA: Oh shit!

MATT: You should notice a new feat under your feats called Savage Spirit. (gasping)

LIAM: So creepy now!

MATT: You get to figure out the name for your sword.

LIAM: Aw. (gasping)

MATT: You get to name your blade.

LAURA: Wow.

TRAVIS: Yo.

MARISHA: Magic sword, magic sword, magic sword!

SAM: Oh, is that the name? (laughter)

LIAM: It's three. Magic sword, magic sword, magic sword.

MARISHA: Yeah. (laughs)

ASHLEY: Oh my goodness.

SAM: Are we rolling now, or we do that some other time?

MATT: We can do it now while we're here, if you want to. Or do you want to take some time to think on it?

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LAURA: Oh right.

TALIESIN: Oh yeah, because someone might multiclass.

MATT: You know what, we'll take some time to think on it since we got a little time, in case someone wants to multiclass. We'll put that up when it's time, but--

ASHLEY: I'm so excited. I'm so excited!

MATT: In the interim, thank you all so much for joining us. We love you very much, and is it Thursday yet? Good night. (cheering)