Transcript:Vorugal (episode)

List of Transcripts

Pre-Show
MATT: Welcome to tonight’s episode of Critical Role, where a bunch of us nerdy-ass voice actors sit around and play Dungeons and Dragons! Tonight’s going to be an interesting episode, but before we get to that, a couple of quick announcements and a couple of cool things we wanted to show you. One, our friend of the show, Kiki, who we saw previously made the awesome Fenthras bow replica for Laura over there recently decided to go ahead and also create Cabal’s Ruin. Taliesin, do you want to come over here and try this on?

TALIESIN: No, I’m getting into that.

MARISHA: It is on your body.

MATT: Come attune to this shit, boy!

MARISHA: Go sit in the corner with it for 30 minutes.

LIAM: Put it on. Oh my god.

TRAVIS: Stand in front of this table. Stand in front of this camera. No one can see you over there. Why are you getting totally naked?

LIAM: It looks just like Tom Cruise’s!

TRAVIS: Stand over here!

MATT: Go over there.

TALIESIN: Where?

TRAVIS: In front of the table, you dicklord! Yes!

SAM: Someone get a camera on this guy.

TALIESIN: I don’t know which camera is–

TRAVIS: Put your butt against this table! Kneel down, Taliesin!

MARISHA: Taliesin, you work in film and TV. You know how this works! Get behind where we are.

LAURA: No, he wants to be right there.

TALIESIN: I know. (laughs)

LIAM: Oh my goodness.

TALIESIN: Our plan’s going to go so well.

MATT: And she also made a fantastic replica of Whisper, the blade that was previously attuned by our dear rogue. Will you pass that over to Liam?

TRAVIS: And will you hold up that mini?

LAURA: You get to have that because you took two Vestiges.

TRAVIS: This amazing mini was done by Eric Blumkiss– I’m sure I’m messing up the name– from Sweden. It’s an incredible Grog mini that’s so detailed and amazing, and I had to have it, so I promised our firstborn child to him.

LAURA: Oh, good times.

MATT: That might make an appearance tonight as a proxy Grog for battle.

TALIESIN: I would break everything on the way back here.

MATT: And also, since it was recently Sam’s birthday.

SAM: What? A present for me? On stream?

MATT: It’s from me and Marisha.

TALIESIN: Happy pineapple day.

SAM: Oh, this is so exciting. What did I get? It’s a great gift! Shirt-ception!

MARISHA: Yay!

SAM: Part four!

MARISHA: Must keep it going!

SAM: (yells) Oh man! This is the best gift! It’s the gift that keeps giving.

TRAVIS: The four of them stacked are pretty fucking incredible.

MARISHA: I know, I think you’ve aged through the process.

SAM: Yeah. I’m going to take a picture of me. Someone can put that on a shirt. Oh man, this is amazing.

MATT: We are slowly folding into infinity. Sam’s shirts will be the end of all existence.

SAM: That’s so great. That’s my favorite gift I’ve ever gotten.

LIAM: That’s what’s inside the black spinning marble underneath Whitestone.

SAM: Oh man. Thank you, guys. That’s so sweet.

MATT: Happy birthday, Sam.

MARISHA: So sweet.

MATT: All right, announcements for the evening. First off, our fantastic sponsor Loot Crate is back. Sam, do you have anything?

SAM: I prepared a history lesson tonight. It’s a history of crates. Ancient Greece: Zeus presents a lovely crate to the first woman on earth, a lovely gal named Pandora. It contained death and evil, corrupted the world forevermore. Egypt: 1957, the Ark of the Covenant– sort of a crate; it carried the Ten Commandments– is opened by Colonel Dietrich and Dr. Rene Belloq. Ghosts fly out, and it melts the faces of several Nazis, while Indiana Jones hides his face. Los Angeles, California, 1995: Rookie detective David Mills, played by Brad Pitt, receives a cardboard crate from murder suspect John Doe! It contains the head of his girlfriend, Gwyneth Paltrow. Your town, present day: you receive a small, expertly constructed crate that contains geek chic gear and apparel from The Walking Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Halloween! Now, which would you rather get? The Ark of the Covenant? Pandora’s box? A box with Gwyneth Paltrow’s head in it? Or a Loot Crate, which you can use code CriticalRole to get 10% off your monthly crate. Guys, I think there’s only one choice.

MARISHA: That might be my favorite one. That might be my favorite one you’ve done. That was good.

LIAM: We’ve got to slow you down or Loot Crate is going to poach you for ads.

SAM: That would be fine! I would much rather do these! I would do these for money every day!

(laughter)

MATT: Curses! Thank you, Sam. And thank you, Loot Crate. Head up: me and Taliesin will be flying out tomorrow to be attending a convention this weekend called Another Anime Convention. Another Anime Con is in New Hampshire–

LIAM: Florida.

MARISHA: Boston.

MATT: No! I looked it up.

MARISHA: You’re not sure.

MATT: (giggles) We’ll be doing panels and signings and all kinds of other fun stuff this weekend, so please come and say hi, ask questions, bring things to get signed. Come meet us; we would love to see you. It’ll be a lot of fun. Also, Marisha, you have a new Signal Boost run coming up you want to talk about?

MARISHA: Oh yes! We’re doing a Halloween special edition. Two runs, starting Tuesday, and we’re bringing back all the hosts! Taliesin and I are the first episode, and I know you guys love us, so for everyone who’s like, “I’m not watching anymore because Taliesin’s not the host anymore!” Now you should watch again.

TALIESIN: I’m back. What are you going to do?

MARISHA: You’re good at the spooky stuff. You basically built our list. It was amazing. It’s all good stuff.

MATT: Liam, you had a new project you want to talk about, as well?

LIAM: Yes. I am continuing to be Doctor Strange in various Marvel animated things, and on digital HD, they’ve got a new animated feature called Marvel’s Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell, and I am still the sorcerer supreme, where I say things like “eye of Tamagotchi” and “sphere of Esperanto” and other such spells. Check it out.

LAURA: I’m in that.

LIAM: Are you?

LAURA: I’m in that with you.

LIAM: Can you say who you are? Who are you?

TRAVIS: How about no. Probably not.

MATT: The glory hosts of Hogwarts.

LAURA: You’ll hear me.

LIAM: My name was in a press release. Laura will play some confident kickass someone or other. Like you do.

LAURA: Whoa, that was double ones!

MATT: Good, you got them out of the way! Stop rolling, Laura. Save it for the battle.

SAM: Battle? Wait, we’re going to battle?

TRAVIS: Yeah, rap-battle.

MATT: I guess it depends. All right, so! Now that our announcements are out of the way, tension builds–

LAURA: No! Gears of War came out this week!

MATT: Let’s go ahead and dive into tonight’s episode of Critical Role.

[dramatic music]

Part I
MATT: And welcome back. So! Picking up where we left off, Vox Machina, in their journey to destroy the Chroma Conclave, a gathering of chromatic dragons that have torn through the Tal'Dorei countryside and taken up residence and calling it their domain, they’ve defeated Umbrasyl. They have their sights set on the next series of dragons. In the process of setting up a timeline in which they had to bait the white dragon Vorugal in the ravine outside of the ruins of Draconia, hopefully to jump on and destroy the dragon. They were approached in Whitestone by an individual that apparently was not Seeker Assum, an ally of theirs from long ago. Instead it was one of the dragons of the Conclave: Raishan, the green dragon, who had come to parley and actually offer an alliance, seemingly unhappy with the current set of rules and lack of interest from Thordak in making up his side of the bargain which was struck. Raishan has asked for your aid in destroying the swollen, dangerous red dragon. You guys asked, as a showing of faith, to have Raishan come with you to the ruins of Draconia, gather the Ravenites, and destroy Vorugal alongside you. As such, you gathered Lady Kima as an ally in this endeavor. You transported yourselves to the snow- and ice-covered ravine. Just now have taken up in Scanlan’s Magnificent Mansion, and are laying down for an evening’s rest. So. As you guys wake up the next morning, or before you do–

LAURA: No.

SAM and MARISHA: We don’t sleep?

LAURA: No.

SAM: Why’re you waking me up?

LAURA: Because I was thinking, maybe it’s a bad idea to go jumping into this tomorrow. Don’t you think maybe we should wait a day?

SAM: Sure?

LAURA: I mean, we could watch Vorugal, see what’s going on, see what his behavior is, and also prepare a little bit more with the Ravenites. But, that happening, you might have to inform them that he’s not actually going to have a–

SAM: An attack?

LAURA: Tomorrow.

SAM: But we literally just got back from telling them to be ready to move tomorrow morning.

LAURA: I know.

MARISHA: Percy, how are you feeling? You know, he seems all right.

LAURA: No, he would have extra day to recover! Percy’s not himself yet.

TALIESIN: I am sleeping in the corner, I would assume.

TRAVIS: He does look a little weak, even for his standards.

MARISHA: A little pale.

LAURA: I just don’t think it’s the best idea to jump into this.

TRAVIS: (burps loudly)

SAM: So we have to go back and tell them–

LIAM: Literally just got back.

SAM: And they were pissed. They were super pissed that we were there. We could go back.

LAURA: Do you go back in the morning or do you go back now?

MARISHA: I feel like time is of the essence here. Probably not best to wait until morning.

SAM: Tooma is not going to be pleased.

MARISHA: Look, she already hates us.

SAM: That’s true.

TRAVIS: Yeah. Can’t get any worse.

LIAM: It could.

TRAVIS: What, we’re freeing them from a dragon. We are bearers of good tidings.

MARISHA: Are we?

TRAVIS: Yeah!

MARISHA: (groans)

TRAVIS: Now do we totally trust Tooma and the Ravenites? Do we want to give her all the details or just that we’re going to be checking it out for one day more before we ring the dinner bell?

SAM: What are the details?

TRAVIS: Well, if we have an extra day, what does that get us?

MARISHA: We can maybe try and get Pike.

TRAVIS: Ooh.

MARISHA: Gives us an extra day for Pike.

TRAVIS: How do we do that?

SAM: I don’t know.

MARISHA: I can go get her, theoretically, if we have an extra day.

TRAVIS: Which I think we do. But I think we need you here, right?

MARISHA: She does have the stone, right? She does have the stone? I think she has the stone.

LAURA: Yeah, she has the stone.

MARISHA: Okay.

TRAVIS: We’re going to be setting a trap, right?

LAURA: Yes.

TRAVIS: So maybe we make that trap more better?

LAURA: What exactly did you tell Tooma was going to happen?

SAM: Be ready to attack tomorrow morning. We’re going to deliver a giant beast for the dragon to hunt, and that her people should be ready to strike. That’s it.

LAURA: Did you tell her to tell Vorugal anything in particular?

LIAM: No, but we don’t know if she has or not. They’ve got their necks on the line. I know they’re not to be trusted, but they’re in a precarious position, as well.

MARISHA: Well, we don’t want to necessarily have them jump in right away. We want them to set Vorugal on Yenk, correct?

LAURA: Yes. Shouldn’t she inform Vorugal that the monster is coming?

MARISHA: Glorified messengers at this point.

TRAVIS: Who’s Yenk?

LAURA: The big monster that we’re setting for him.

MARISHA: The goristro.

TRAVIS: What’s that? He’s like a ram?

LAURA: Yeah, a giant ram. Haven’t you seen the picture? Did you see the picture?

TRAVIS: No. I’m the only one that really appreciates pictures, and I haven’t seen it.

MARISHA: Oh, that’s unfortunate.

LAURA: I’ll go grab the book from Percy as he’s sleeping.

TALIESIN: Roll for it!

SAM: You don’t get to say roll!

LAURA: You don’t get to say roll for it!

LIAM: I’ve said that, and he’s ignored me, so you don’t get to say shit!

TALIESIN: Matt! Dad, make her roll for it!

MATT: For?

LAURA: I’m just trying the big book of beasts away from Percy as he’s sleeping.

SAM: He’s not sleeping on it, is he?

TALIESIN: It’s in my possession.

MATT: Make a perception check with disadvantage.

TALIESIN: All right. That’ll do.

TRAVIS: Say it so confidently.

LAURA: Subtract some, because you’re still really tired from being dead!

TALIESIN: That’s disadvantage.

MATT: And minus two on both of these rolls.

TALIESIN: Oh, and minus two. That’s 14.

MATT: Yeah, she slips it off you.

TALIESIN: Okay.

MATT: This is what you see.

LAURA: That’s what we see, Grog!

TRAVIS: Wait. Is that like this, is it like me?

SAM: We don’t know! We haven’t seen this thing.

MATT: It’s clustered around a bunch of other art pieces of other demonic-looking entities, and it is by and large about twice to four times the size of anything else on the page depicted.

TRAVIS: That’s really big.

MARISHA: Two Grogs? Is it like two Grogs?

MATT: There’s no picture of Grog in there. You have no sense of scale.

SAM: Quick! Draw a picture of Grog, and then we’ll know.

TRAVIS: I’ll draw it full scale! I put my hand on the page.

LAURA: Oh, he’s tiny!

TRAVIS: Yeah, I think he’s hand-held. Maybe we need like a few Yenks. Everyone can do with a few Yenks.

(laughter)

LIAM: Jeez. We’re all about to die tomorrow or the day after.

TRAVIS: Wait! Vax and Scanlan, when you’re within, did you see Vorugal in your travels?

SAM: No, we kept out of sight in the caverns and Vorugal we don’t think saw us, but we also didn’t see Vorugal, either.

TRAVIS: Do you think you could replicate your path in the daylight?

LAURA: I think he would see them. What if you became a fly or something and flew down? Would he notice you?

SAM: Wouldn’t see me. I don’t want to speak for Vax, but if we’re going back tonight, you no longer have the ability to fly, is that true? But you do, Vexy?

LAURA: I do. And I can speak Draconic.

SAM: Oh, yeah. Well, that would’ve been helpful last time, actually.

LAURA: Sorry. I didn’t think about that last time.

SAM: But yes, if I were a fly– I assume any of us can avoid his detection if we stay low and invisible. Well, yes.

LAURA: All right.

SAM: Right?

LAURA: Can you make me invisible?

MARISHA: I can’t. He can.

SAM: I can make you invisible.

TRAVIS: Are we going to go now, or are we going in the morning?

LAURA: We’ll pop down tonight to talk to her one more time.

TRAVIS: All right.

MARISHA: So you’re telling them?

LAURA: Hold off a day. She’s going to be so pissed.

MARISHA: Are we going to go back and see them again? Okay, we’ll just say: next morning, then you go say, “hey, we got an awesome thing for you.” Okay.

TRAVIS: Yeah. If we’re summoning a few good Yenks, do we have a spot that we want to say stay away from?

MARISHA: Well, they gave us a location of the stones.

SAM: She told us to release Yenk–

TRAVIS: Oh, on the summoning stones.

SAM: The summoning circle or something like that. All right?

TRAVIS: I’ve got to go pee.

LIAM: Also, when we were there, we weren’t allowed to bring any weapons in, so you’re going to have to dump–

LAURA: Nothing?!

SAM: I’m leaving mine in the mansion.

LAURA: (groans)

SAM: Bring something that you don’t mind putting down.

LIAM: Yeah, don’t bring your best.

LAURA: Fenthras.

SAM: No, leave that at home.

LIAM: I’ll take it. I’m not going to use it; I don’t know how! Barely. Woo-hoo!

LAURA: Now you’ve got three Vestiges! Should we go, then? Can you make me invisible and we go?

SAM: I can make you invisible. You can fly us down through the cavern, but you’re going to have to be super stealthy.

LAURA: Okay. I’m going to cast Pass Without a Trace on us.

SAM: Okay. Don’t know how that’ll work if we’re flying, but okay. Doesn’t that cover our tracks? Oh, that’s the stealth rolls thing? Okay, good. Wait, Keyleth, will you hold onto my Mythcarver sword for me?

MARISHA: Sure!

SAM: I can trust you.

MARISHA: Of course! (giggles)

SAM: Oh boy. That’s a big smile.

MARISHA: You can trust me.

SAM: Okay. Don’t kill anyone with it.

MATT: Keyleth finally has a Vestige.

MARISHA: I do! I was the last one, you guys! It feels– doesn’t really feel like anything.

LAURA: Once you attune it to yourself–

MARISHA: Sure.

LIAM: Scanlan feels the same way, don’t you Scanlan?

SAM: I feel nothing. Sometimes I have to hold it with my left hand so it feels different.

MARISHA: I switch hands.

(laughter)

MARISHA: Still nothing.

TRAVIS: When you call it the stranger–

MATT: So as you cast Pass Without a Trace on yourself and Scanlan, the shadows of the mansion cling to you a little darker, a little more crushed. You wish to cast Invisibility on Vex, you said?

SAM: Yes, I will use yet another 3rd-level Invisibility spell to make us both invisible.

MATT: All right. You both jump onto the back of her broom.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: And just to double check here–

TRAVIS: The way he said that–

LAURA: No, he said it really terribly.

MATT: What do you mean? I didn’t say anything!

TRAVIS: You sure did.

LAURA: Sure did!

MATT: I’ll say technically you’re carrying the broom, so the broom will also be invisible. Okay, so as you’re holding the broom, you both leap onto it, the two of you and the broom vanish, and you guys are free to exit the mansion at your disposal.

SAM: Yeah, so we made a right here and left here and right at the big rock.

LAURA: Is anybody going to keep track of us like you kept track of Vex– Vax. I just called my brother me. I just did that.

SAM: Vex is the girl one. Vax is the boy.

LAURA: Is somebody going to be around in case something goes horribly wrong?

LIAM: I’ll go with you if Kiki wants to turn me into a crow or a fly or something. I’ll stay back and watch.

LAURA: Stay up like Kiki did before.

MARISHA: I mean I could do what I did before and follow you as Minxie. Worked last time. I still have my one last shape, as well.

SAM: Isn’t Minxie big and spottable?

MARISHA: It’s a mountain-based tiger. I’m a white snow tiger.

SAM: That’s so hot.

MARISHA: It’s actually very cold in the mountains. That’s why they have thick coats.

TRAVIS: You don’t think Vorugal is going to think that’s a midnight snack?

MARISHA: Who, me?

TRAVIS: Yeah, you. Big white tiger?

MARISHA: He didn’t see me before.

TRAVIS: Oh okay.

MARISHA: Let me see something. Hang on, because this’ll tell me because Polymorph– you might go out of my range. Is the only problem.

SAM: Polymorph just lasts. Wait, no.

MATT: Nope, concentration.

SAM: So he has to stay within range.

MARISHA: Range is 60 feet.

MATT: No, that’s just to cast it. I’m pretty sure he can go off on his own as long as you maintain concentration.

MARISHA: Okay. Can I? He can go. Do you want to go? All right. What do you want to be?

LIAM: Something white.

LAURA: Something very small. Like a moth, a white moth.

SAM: It’s got to be something that can go as fast as we’re going.

LAURA: He can sit on my shoulder. No?

LIAM: Yeah, but then if you guys get fucked I’m dead, as well.

LAURA: I’ll just smack you and then you’ll become you again.

LIAM: So it’ll just be like every day. All right, yeah.

MARISHA: It’s true.

LAURA: Right? If I smack him, it’s not going to kill him, he just turns back into–

SAM: If he were a black crow or something he could fly back on its own. A moth can’t travel a mile.

LAURA: Make him a white crow.

LIAM: Yeah, can you make me an albino crow?

MARISHA: Sure! I don’t see why not.

SAM: With one yellow eye and one black eye.

TRAVIS: Oh get on with it, fuckers!

(laughter)

MARISHA: I do that. With one yellow eye and one black eye.

MATT: All right. And as your form shifts to the first probably albino crow to wander the landscape here in Wildemount, you are able to follow them, should you so chose.

MARISHA: To match Vex, I give him one little blue feather, just off the side. Little blue streak.

LIAM: A little bit; this isn’t Percy’s, but (caws).

(laughter)

TALIESIN: (caws)

LAURA: Come on, let’s go. Come on.

SAM: All right, let’s go.

MATT: You guys make your way outside into the heavy snowfall, across the top of the ravine. You go ahead and make a survival check to try and follow the tracks of Minxie to the outskirts of where you guys were last time.

SAM: Do I also get to give her any assistance, like “we went this way, go that way?”

MATT: Yeah. You know what, giving you the assist, go ahead and roll with advantage on that.

TRAVIS: Oh, that’s lucky.

SAM: Dice jail already?

LAURA: Yeah. Definitely already. 17.

MATT: Okay. Takes you a little bit of time, but you manage to find your way back through the heavy snowfall. It’s freezing cold and your teeth are starting to chatter a little bit, but you manage to make your way to the top of the ravine, dipping down where you find the cavern entrance at the bottom, leading into where Tooma and rest of the Ravenites at least seem to have the central portion of their society within the mountain itself. You guys come down. It’s a little warmer the further into the rock you travel. The snow turns to slush, then to damp ground, to dry rock and stone.

LAURA: I get off the broom and put it behind me.

MATT: Okay. Both still walking invisibly, with you now (whoosh) walking behind them, hopping as the white crow.

SAM: We should do the same thing we did last time. I know you weren’t here. We turned visible, asked to guards to go– It’s going to be really shitty when we get in there, because she’s going to hate us.

LAURA: All right. Ow! Fuck you! Stop it!

SAM: I will drop invisibility. Are the guards around?

MATT: You guys are just on the outskirts of the entranceway.

SAM: Oh, we’ll stay invisible until we get to the guards. MATT: To the center of the town, or outside of Tooma’s–

LAURA: Oh! I thought we were already in the cave.

MATT: You’re inside the cave. There’s a path in there and it opens up into the actual subterranean village, and then in there, across from this fountain area, is where Tooma’s tent is.

SAM: Where did we meet the guards last time?

MATT: As soon as you entered the main village area.

SAM: That’s where we want to meet them again.

MATT: So as you both drop your invisibility guise, with your white crow friend hopping behind you, the same two guards are still patrolling. Only one of them notices you. Turns around and gives an odd look, his head cocked to the side as he grabs his spear and puts it towards you again.

SAM: Yep, same routine. We’ll leave our weapons here. This is my friend Vex. We’d like to see Tooma again. I know it’s very upsetting that we have to make these night calls like this but it’s very important.

LAURA: I speak in Draconic. I say: Sorry, my friend rambles.

LIAM: (hacking spit)

LAURA: My broom takes off behind me.

MATT: Yeah, exactly. Vanishes forever. Keeping the spear there, yells out (foreign word), and the other soldier who’s wandering, turns around, looks and sees, steps over, puts his spear down, and they both have a conversation briefly. You can, as I recall, speak Draconic and can read lips, is that what it was? Yeah. They’re both discussing why these stupid people keep coming back and bothering Tooma, as well as the coming tension of tomorrow’s activities, and how they can’t keep interrupting Tooma if she’s going to be keeping her mind straight. But one of them leaves. The other one steps, circles around, and begins nudging you both forward, telling you in Draconic, “Then go, make it quick.”

LAURA: We will.

MATT: As you guys stay at the outskirts of Tooma’s tent, the interior light has been sufficiently dimmed, as it was before, with a little bit of the embers that are still there in the fire pit in the center. Now, barely cracking ember. Tooma is passed out and curled up inside her throne-like chair, as one of the other dragonborn soldiers comes over and nudges her gently, “Tooma. They return.” She rakes towards his face. He barely ducks out of the way. Unnatural speed for a creature as old as she is, per se, but then the hand recoils back with a snapping sound, and she wakes up, “You come again?”

SAM: Yes. We offer profound apologies for waking you from your slumber again.

MATT: Snaps her arm back into place. (cracking)

LAURA: In Draconic: we apologize for waking you up. Unfortunately, I sent my brother here before with our compatriot, and he spoke out of turn. We’re actually planning the attack the day after tomorrow.

MATT: (sigh, foreign words) Which you recognize as, “Tell the others: wait a day.” And one of her servants wanders off behind you guys and exits the tent. She turns back to you. “Then what is to be done?”

LAURA: We’ll be releasing a very large fiend.

SAM: At the spot where you told us.

MATT: “At the stones, yes.”

LAURA: The stones. We hope that you will inform Vorugal that it’s going to happen. He’ll head over, fight-fight-fight. He becomes much weaker, we jump in, fight-fight-fight.

MATT: “It’ll be done. Do not mess this up.”

SAM: Question, before we go. Typically when you’ve done this in the past, you inform Vorugal and he heads on over right away? Does he need to see evidence of a hunt? How does it work? Do you typically inform him?

MATT: “I do not inform. Skork does the informing.”

SAM: Skork?

LAURA: Yes, Skork. I remember him.

SAM: And is there some sort of hunt horn or anything that signals the beginning of this, or does it just happen?

MATT: “Depending on where the prey is, whether it be nearby forests or presented in chains to the cinder stones of which I’ve sent you, Vorugal begins the chase.”

LAURA: He won’t be in chains, exactly. Is that all right?

MATT: “Just keep it there.”

LAURA: Oh, okay.

SAM: I don’t want to mess this up. If Vorugal were to see anyone near this summoning circle, would he be suspicious, or would he be okay with it?

MATT: “If it is not a Ravenite, it would probably make them part of the hunt.”

SAM: Okay. Good to know.

LAURA: Good news. Good. Great.

MATT: “Is that all?”

LAURA: That’s all. Be pleased. We will see you in a couple of days.

SAM: There’s like a 50/50 chance we’ll come back again tonight.

LAURA: No it’s not. We’re not.

SAM: No? 60/40.

LAURA: Let’s just go.

SAM: We’re out of here.

MATT: “Leave me!”

SAM: Sorry.

LAURA: Again, I apologize for my brother. He’s an idiot.

MATT: She doesn’t even pay you guys any mind, just curls over, takes her heavy robes and like wraps them around her and curls up into a small little bundle of old dragonborn woman. The rest of the soldiers close in, cutting you off from her, and they all give you the very stern look that you have seen many times that tells you, “get the fuck out.”

LAURA: Okay. You make us invisible?

SAM: Oh yeah, invisibility yet again. I’m out of 3rd-level spells.

LAURA: Is Pass Without a Trace still active on us? It’s up to an hour.

MATT: Yeah it’d still be active. LIAM: As they’re leaving, not wanting to get left out, I fly down from the air and land in my sister’s hair and like a cat (growls) into the top of her head five or seven or 12 times.

LAURA: Thank you.

LIAM: (caws)

MARISHA: So tangled.

MATT: Instantaneous bedhead. You can’t even see it, but you can feel it and it bothers you. All right. You guys both are invisible, the bird clutching to your side. You take the broom back up into the snowy storm. I need you both to make stealth checks with advantage.

LAURA: I thought we were invisible. We’re invisible.

SAM: Yes, I’ve made us invisible again.

LIAM: Big bonus.

LAURA: Okay, stealth checks.

SAM: With advantage?

LAURA: Plus ten to whatever you roll.

SAM: Oh snap! 12, 22–

LAURA: 36.

SAM: 24.

MATT: All right. You guys make your way up out of the ravine, up onto the top of the snowy banks at the top of where the cliffsides are. Eventually, over the next 20 or so minutes, finding the shimmering outskirts of Scanlan’s doorway, joining the rest of the party.

LAURA: Get the fuck off my head, you piece of shit.

MATT: Polymorph lasts for how long?

MARISHA: An hour.

MATT: As soon as you get to the top of ravine, the white crow (impact) face-down in the snow.

MARISHA: I think it’s an hour.

LIAM: Speaking of which: hold still, there’s a little bit of bird shit right there.

LAURA: Aw, I thought you were serious.

LIAM: Sorry.

MATT: Thankfully, that doesn’t transform, either.

(laughter)

MATT: You make your way back into Scanlan’s mansion.

MARISHA: While they were gone, I, with Fenthras and Whisper, was playing make-believe archer Vex, like a 12-year-old in the bedroom with a Nerf bow.

MATT: As you enter the front of Scanlan’s mansion, you see Keyleth in the corner, who’s pulled Whisper back in Fenthras, and it goes (dagger impact) into the wall.

MARISHA: It worked! How did it go, guys?

LAURA: Give me the bow, right now.

TRAVIS: Oh, busted.

MARISHA: It might be like a cool combo move.

LAURA: I’ll think about it. Thank you.

TRAVIS: She take it well?

LAURA: She did! She said she’d wait.

SAM: She’s a night person. She’s okay.

TRAVIS: Great.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: You did catch on the way up, Vex, that even through the dark sleet-covered snow blaring night, there is the faint hint of light blue sunrise in the distance.

LAURA: Oh shit. Day’s coming. We didn’t sleep! We need to sleep!

TRAVIS: Wait! Should we see if we can get Pike first?

SAM: First? Do we have any spells to do that?

MARISHA: I can try and scry.

LAURA: What if you take the stone, pop over to her, then use Tree Stride and come back?

MARISHA: That I can do, yeah.

SAM: You have another Tree Stride in you? Didn’t we get here today?

MARISHA: We did, but if I burn a higher-level spell, then yeah. What does it matter, at this point?

TRAVIS: Yeah, let’s get all our ducks in a row.

MARISHA: All right. I’ll be right back. See you guys in a minute.

LIAM: Bye! A minute passes.

MARISHA: A minute passes. This is like when you walk the same direction, you say bye, and then you walk the same direction to the car.

MATT: Awkward quiet. You hear Kima snoring with her back against the foyer wall, just (snoring). Until eventually, the stone begins to glow and pulse like a dull frozen heartbeat. (pulsing) Keyleth, your eyes open, and you see it flashing in your hands again, and you look up real fast and before you can say anything, your mouth opens to say goodbye before she vanishes in a swirl of glitter and blue light.

LAURA: Oh shit.

MATT: Now, Pike! Come sit down!

(cheering)

ASHLEY: Hello!

MARISHA: I like your jacket! It’s really great.

ASHLEY: Oh hi! Okay.

MATT: Just flew in.

ASHLEY: Yeah. Here we go.

(laughter)

MATT: So. As the day has gone by and through the chaos of getting Whitestone ready, trying to assemble the followers of Sarenrae that you’ve gathered, and protecting the remnants of the city as Vox Machina went off, a moment hits you and you close your eyes and pray to Sarenrae and hope that all shall be well with your friends, and you wish that you could be there to help them. And there’s a sudden warmth in your proximity, and then a sudden flash of blue light, and then nearby, you see a somewhat cold, damp Keyleth just appear in the space next to you as you’re preparing to lay yourself down for an evening’s rest, it being later at night now, clutching the stone.

ASHLEY: Hey! I was just about to go to bed!

MARISHA: Were you sleeping? This is so awkward!

ASHLEY: I was just saying my prayers.

MARISHA: Oh my gosh.

ASHLEY: I do it as much as I can.

MARISHA: You know, I never thought about having poor timing with these gate stones. I’m so sorry!

ASHLEY: (stammers)

MARISHA: I thought you were on the toilet.

ASHLEY: I know. I’m so glad I wasn’t.

MARISHA: Yeah, me too.

ASHLEY: I’m so glad you’re here.

MARISHA: I missed you.

ASHLEY: I missed you.

SAM: We saw her literally today.

MARISHA: Yeah, but it seems like I went around the world and back!

ASHLEY: I was thinking today and I was like, “Oh man, I should’ve just gone with them.”

MARISHA: Yeah, we got all the way there and we were like, “oh, we forgot Pike!”

ASHLEY: I know. It’s okay.

MARISHA: Do you want to go?

ASHLEY: Or I will be there now. Let’s go.

MARISHA: We can go now.

ASHLEY: Let’s do it.

MARISHA: All right.

SAM: Is that a new set of dice?

ASHLEY: I had to go buy some because I left all of my stuff in New York. Let’s see how this goes.

SAM: You stopped on the way here to buy dice?

ASHLEY: No, I got those a little earlier. We’re okay. We’re here. Okay.

MARISHA: Okay. So we Tree Stride back.

MATT: Okay. Pike, you gather your materials, your armor, your weapons. All things that you feel would be necessary for this type of a conflict. You rejoin with Keyleth. The two of you find your way back to the Sun Tree.

MARISHA: Right. So yeah, so the leader of Ravenites, her name is Tooma, and we went there, and we were talking to her, and I think we have a plan, but not really a plan, so we’re going to figure it out as we go. All right? Let’s go. That’s the plan; you’re caught up.

ASHLEY: Okay, great. Hey, guys.

(laughter)

MATT: So as the spell finishes, the Sun Tree opens, you step through the portal into the slow crawling sunrise. The sun hasn’t quite crested, but you can see through the snowfall, which is lessening at the moment, the distant light blue is getting lighter and lighter. You probably have another 30 minutes before the sun hits the actual horizon line. But as you step out of one of the trees that you created previous, when you had journeyed to the ruins of Draconia, you do see about 150 feet off, the shimmer of the outside of Scanlan’s mansion door.

MARISHA: (whispers) Let’s be quiet, okay? Let’s do this.

SAM: Oh, great. Pike’s good at quiet.

MARISHA: We stealth there.

MATT: Both you guys roll stealth checks.

SAM: Oh Jesus.

LIAM: This is so great. Now we can all die together!

MATT: You have disadvantage, Pike.

MARISHA: Oh, that’s a natural one.

SAM: Wait, what?

ASHLEY: I don’t think I can get worse than that; that is a one.

SAM and MATT: Two natural ones?

MARISHA: No!

SAM: Oh my god. The dragon’s going to fucking kill us right now.

MARISHA: Oh my god, Pike. The plan hasn’t even started!

LAURA: Dice jail!

LIAM: We’re all about to lie down for a three-hour nap. What are you talking about?

ASHLEY: Off to a great start.

MATT: As you guys begin stepping through the snow, Pike, you take a step and you hear this strange (cracking) sound and you feel this slight shift beneath your feet. And you watch as some snow begins to trickle off the side of the cliffside.

MARISHA: Pike?

ASHLEY: I’m going to not move.

MARISHA: I don’t move, either. Do we not move or do we run?

ASHLEY: We should run. We should run because it’s probably coming down!

MARISHA: Run!

(laughter)

MATT: As soon as you both push off running, (whoosh) a portion of the cliff actually shears off and begins to slide down the side. Pike, if you could go ahead and roll a dexterity saving throw real fast.

LAURA: Oh my god, Matt! Why are you trying to kill her right when she gets here?!

SAM: Yeah, Matt. Why did you roll two natural ones?

ASHLEY: Wait, what did you say it is?

TRAVIS and MATT: A dexterity saving throw.

ASHLEY: Wait, I get nothing, okay. A four.

MATT: A four. You begin to see Pike slide down off the edge.

MARISHA: I cast Grasping Vine to grab onto her.

MATT: With that, some of the reeds, some of the nearby frozen plants on the edge that were largely covered with snow that were revealed as the rest of the snow began to crumble off, a large vine shoots out, wraps around you, and pulls you back up onto the side of the cliff: fine. The rest of the rock and snow and ice, you hear (crashing) clattering into the ravine below.

ASHLEY and MARISHA: Go!

MATT: All right, you guys run. You see the doorway shimmering before you, you get closer and you hear in the distance, this strangely familiar distant echoing (growls).

ASHLEY: Aw, come on! What is that noise?

MARISHA: Go, run!

MATT: You both just get to the doorway in time. The snowfall’s still there though gentler than it was in the night. You both dart inside, slamming the mansion door behind you, into a warmer, comfortable, quieter atmosphere. (panting)

ASHLEY: Hey!

LAURA: What just happened?

LIAM: Jeepers.

TRAVIS: Hey!

ASHLEY: Hey!

TRAVIS: Hey, buddy! Why are you out of breath?

LIAM: You all right? You look white as a ghost.

TALIESIN: Have I had a full night’s sleep, at this point?

MATT: No, not yet.

TALIESIN: Goddamn it.

MARISHA: Dragon might know we’re here.

TRAVIS: What, why?

MARISHA: Well, there might’ve been a rockslide. And it might’ve been our fault. I’m not sure.

TRAVIS: You just walked through a tree. Why was there a rockslide?

MARISHA: I don’t know, Grog!

LIAM: The door is easy to see.

SAM: The door is shimmery and shiny?

MATT: No, nobody can see through it.

MARISHA: They can see a shimmering door.

MATT: Only if you let them. Only individuals that you choose can see the entrance.

LAURA: That’s great!

ASHLEY: So whatever that was just saw us disappear.

LAURA: Oh shit! Grog! Open the door! Dust of Tracelessness! Out the door! Right now!

TRAVIS: Oh! Yeah, I open the front door and I take big handful of the Dust of Tracelessness and I (whack).

MATT: Okay, make a strength check. There’s a mild wind here you’re fighting against with dust, so we’ll see.

TRAVIS: 14.

MATT: 14? Okay. You take a big old heaping handful and (whoosh) another one. As you send it out there, all the snow crusts over and any signs of footprints, both half-elf or gnomish, turn into a gentle, untouched solid surface of snow, as you begin to hear in the distance another echoing (growl).

TRAVIS and ASHLEY: What is that?

LAURA and SAM: Close the door.

LAURA: Close the door, Grog!

TRAVIS: I just want to see what it is!

ASHLEY: I slam it shut with my gauntlets.

TRAVIS: Hey, pushy!

ASHLEY: We don’t know what that was! Well, maybe you do, but I don’t know.

MARISHA: I’m assuming that was Vorugal.

SAM: The dragon.

TRAVIS: It’s a dragon.

ASHLEY: It’s a dragon!

TRAVIS: Yeah, a big white dragon.

MARISHA: Big white. Big dummy dragon.

TRAVIS: And you let it know we’re here! (chuckles)

ASHLEY: Well, that was an accident. I was going to surprise you guys. And we almost died.

TRAVIS: But hey, we’re not, so we need to get some sleep, right?

SAM: Yes, everyone sleep now.

TRAVIS: We sleep.

MATT: Okay. You guys all go to rest?

TRAVIS: Yes.

MATT: All right. A full rest is taken for all of you. Everyone’s healed back to full. Spells are recovered. Percy, you are now down to a minus two, I believe, penalty to your rolls.

LIAM: Wake up and it’s two in the afternoon?

MATT: Technically, yeah. It’s mid-afternoon by the time you guys finish your full rest, except for Percy. Percy is up before everybody else and is pacing about the mansion by himself probably.

SAM: The mansion will last 24 hours, so it’ll be dark again by the time it wears off, so we can stay in here as long as we need to.

LIAM: All right.

SAM: But do we have things we need to accomplish today?

TALIESIN: How about making a quiet cavern, not too far away from the summoning circle, where we can hide?

LAURA: That might be smart, actually.

MARISHA: At the pace in which that cliff fell apart last night, I don’t know about the structure of the topography here.

TALIESIN: That’s fair.

LAURA: But we’re also up high and the ravine is down low. That could make a difference.

LIAM: Yeah, we could get piled on.

LAURA: Oh! I understand.

SAM: But with Percival’s engineering skills, he could maybe find a good little spot of granite for you to dig into or something.

MARISHA: I can try and do a Commune With Nature and see.

TRAVIS: These islands float, right?

MATT: Oh, they once did. All the islands of Draconia were disabled, the arcane essence that let them stay up, and they all crashed into the ravine.

LIAM: Also, when shit goes down, we don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past. A) we don’t want to teleport inside the dragon’s belly.

SAM: I’m keeping all options on the table.

TRAVIS: Only stupid people do that.

LIAM: Clearly. B) We don’t all want to be all grouped together.

LAURA: We don’t want that.

LIAM: I’m eating one of these magic candies.

LAURA: Those chicken candies?

LIAM: Yes, there’s chicken. We want to spread out so we’re not all blasted at the same time.

TALIESIN: Vex and I at a distance.

LIAM: Separately, though, so you can hit from different angles.

TRAVIS: So two caves? Four caves?

MARISHA: I’ll have to think on the caves.

SAM: They don’t have to be giant caverns. It’s just a little nook. A little foxhole.

LIAM: Cubby-holes. Up high for anyone who can take to the air, down low for anyone who can’t.

MARISHA: Honestly, I’m not going to know a whole lot until we scout out the location.

TALIESIN: Let’s go scout out the location.

SAM: Okay, how do we do that? In broad daylight.

MARISHA: I’ve got something I’ve never done before!

LAURA: What is this?

SAM: It’s called Invisible Reconnaissance.

MARISHA: Almost. It’s called Animal Shapes. And it’s basically Polymorph, but for all of us. I can turn us all into whatever we want.

LAURA: So we don’t just look like cows.

LAURA and MARISHA: We are cows.

TRAVIS: Quick question. In all of our time here, when we were scouting before, and when you two jokers were going to go see Tooma, did we see a bunch of animals around?

LAURA: I have not seen very many animals, I don’t think.

MATT: Within the ravine, there’s been very few. What animals you have seen have been a few flying owls, other carnivorous birds that are generally scavengers. You’ve seen maybe a few small wolves that are picking through the ruins and eventually scattered off. White snow wolves.

TRAVIS: As long as being animals isn’t going to make us a mid-day snack, versus being Ravenites.

SAM: I will say this: I love the sound of this spell, but wouldn’t travelling mist be really undetectable? Could we mist around?

MARISHA: It’s almost debatable. Because we look like an unnatural mist.

SAM: There’s a snowstorm out there. We’re just going to be one with the clouds.

LAURA: Is there a snowstorm?

MATT: If you guys glance outside of the mansion and look, it is not a snowstorm, but there are heavy winds. (wind blowing) You can hear multitudes, a cacophony of off-harmonies of winds, of different portions of the distant ravine that are all howling together. There is a faint snowfall, but the clouds are dark and heavy, and more of a storm coming your way.

LAURA: Does snow get thrown up to the wind?

MATT: A little further down in the ravine, it does.

LIAM: And as long as we’re not synchronized swimming in mist form and spread out, then it should be fine.

LAURA: Behave like wind, you guys.

TRAVIS: Can we do both animals and the mist?

MATT: No, they both require concentration.

SAM: My worry about animals is don’t we also have the intellect of the animals that we become?

MATT: Actually, Wind Walk is not concentration. In theory, you could do both. Wind Walk is not concentration.

MARISHA: We can be misty animals?

MATT: You can be misty animals.

MARISHA: That’s dumb.

(laughter)

MARISHA: That’s a lot.

SAM: So we keep our own intellect?

MARISHA: We always keep our intellect. Animal Shapes last for 24 hours.

TALIESIN: Can you go back and forth?

MARISHA: I’m going to find that out right now.

TALIESIN: That’s a question.

MARISHA: Because if we were a flock of birds, Vorugal’s not going to give a shit about birds.

SAM: A flock of hawks, they don’t go together. But a flock of pigeons do, or a flock of geese.

TALIESIN: I don’t want to be food. I want to be something that eats.

LIAM: While they’re debating, I pull Whisper out, and I chuck it into a wall and teleport to it. I pulled it out of the Blink-Back Belt.

MATT: Yeah. So you chuck the dagger. As you’re talking, you watch as Vax takes the blade, flings it across the room. It slams into the side of the foyer. You look back to where he was, and he’s not there anymore. There’s a flash of dark shadow energy where the blade is, and Vax’s form appears right there, holding the blade where it landed in the wall.

LAURA: That is so cool!

LIAM: It didn’t go into my belt. I went into the wall, and I’m holding it, still. I was a shadow for half a second, and I traveled with the blade. I am fucking Nightcrawler. Holy shit. And I throw it again across the other side.

MATT: Okay. This time make an attack roll because you’re excited, not concentrating.

LIAM: Okay. Sure, that’s 27.

MATT: Yeah. It goes a little more elevated, lands about ten feet up. As it impacts, you guys watch. As he releases the blade, his form almost is pulled along, almost like it’s caught on a tether and then just turns into dark smoke and vanishes with the blade. As the blade sticks into the wall, he reappears at the side, clutching the edge, and you drop a few feet and land onto your feet.

LIAM: Aw, suck it haters! This is the coolest dagger I’ve ever had!

SAM: Tell me this, can you not do that? If you throw it and don’t want to travel where it is?

LIAM: I throw it right next to his head, and I don’t go anywhere.

MATT: Roll an attack roll.

SAM: Go right in my neck.

LIAM: 24?

MATT: 24. (dagger impact) Right next to him.

LIAM: Does it go to my belt?

MATT: It returns to your belt.

SAM: Oh! You get to choose?

MARISHA: That is awesome.

SAM: Maybe don’t ever do that again, please.

LAURA: Sure you’re okay, Grog, that you don’t have the dagger? I know you wanted it.

TRAVIS: I just want to be able to move faster, but it’s all right.

LIAM: We can’t all be all things, Grog. You are the strongest thing on the planet. You are going to take Vorugal all by yourself–

TRAVIS: Yeah, if I can get next to him.

LAURA: Which he probably can’t.

LIAM: You shut the fuck up, you trouble-maker. You bust my balls on a daily basis. What is that about? What is that about? What have I ever done but support you?

TRAVIS: Pipe down! Calm down! Listen, how are we getting down there? Can we hurry this up, please?

LIAM: Throw my dagger at the ceiling. Travel with it.

MATT: All right, so you watch his form vanish again. About 40 feet up, (impact).

LIAM: Can I land on my sister?

LAURA: On me?!

MATT: Make a dexterity saving throw. This would be acrobatics, right.

LAURA: What about me?

MATT: Make a perception check.

LAURA: I was looking straight at him.

LIAM: I rolled a 27.

LAURA: Perception? 20.

MATT: You make a dexterity saving throw.

LAURA: (sighs) You piece of shit.

LIAM: Quit starting with me.

LAURA: Dexterity. 28! 30!

LIAM: 30. She beat me.

MATT: She dodges right out of the way, and you slam onto the ground. You feel your ankles and knees (ping) a little bit. That sharp pain hits you in both joints and you’re like (moans).

LIAM: Worth it. (groans)

MARISHA: So anyway. Back to the plan–

(laughter)

MARISHA: So with Animal Shapes, I can actually decide what animals each of you can be, so we can all be different animals. Furthermore, on my action, I can use it to transform you guys into a different creature.

LAURA: That’s pretty cool.

LIAM: I like how excited you are about this.

MARISHA: I’m so excited.

LAURA: I’m wondering if the mist form would not be better. But the animals are really cool.

TALIESIN: Can we go in and out of mist form? That’s a thing we can do?

SAM: It takes a while, but yes.

LIAM: But we’re not in the middle of a fight, hopefully. The animals, Kiki, save it for a rainy day?

MARISHA: All right.

LAURA: If we’re not all dead come tomorrow.

LIAM: Yeah, we probably all will be dead tomorrow, but it’s a really cool idea.

MARISHA: Thank you for your validation.

SAM: Two questions. Are we all going? And question two, when we get there and find a suitable location for carving caves, are you going to do this right now, or are we just scouting?

TALIESIN: We’re going to do this, as well.

SAM: We’re going to do this right now?

MARISHA: I imagine it depends on how scouting goes.

SAM: Well, we can’t communicate when we’re in mist form, so you just have to go do if you feel it.

LAURA: Maybe scout and then go back. Because mist form stays for eight hours, so at least that way we can communicate not next to Vorugal.

TALIESIN: If we scout and it’s clear, and then we come back and then go back, it might not be clear again. If we scout and it’s clear, then we do it. It’s done.

MATT: You guys hear this faint gargling sound as Grog is currently gargling his own spit and staring at the ceiling.

LIAM: I didn’t follow that, either. We should do something.

MARISHA: All right, let’s go scout. I cast Wind Walk on everybody.

MATT: Okay. All of you begin to feel your form buzz a little bit with the instilled power of wind. As you all each step out onto the snow on the outside of the mansion, you can concentrate for a moment as your form then meshes into a mist-like billowing cloud.

LAURA: Do we look natural?

SAM: Yeah, what do we look like?

LAURA: Do we look pretty obvious?

SAM: Are we a yellow cloud, a white cloud?

MATT: I’d say it’s more of a whitish cloud. I wouldn’t say it’s supremely obvious right now, but the wind is pushing you about a little bit. If you try and focus direction of move, you can get a better idea how well your movement is.

TALIESIN: I’m trying to move in a very windy way, yeah.

TRAVIS: And Kima is with us?

MATT: Kima is with you, yeah.

LIAM and TALIESIN: I am the fart.

MATT: Kima, as you guys are doing this and it gets cast, Kima goes, “So what am I doing?”

MARISHA: Do you want to come scout? We’re going to scout. Or you can just stay.

MATT: “You know, I’m going to stay. You’ve got a big kitchen here.”

MARISHA: It’s mainly filled with chicken.

MATT: “I love chicken.”

(laughter)

TRAVIS: There’s also a training room several levels down if you want to go smash some shit.

MATT: “I’m going to get some chicken, and I’m going to go smash some shit.”

MARISHA: And there’s the spa under that.

MATT: “I don’t think I’ve been to a spa. Does that also have chicken?”

LAURA: It could if you wanted it to.

ASHLEY: You could bring it down there.

MATT: “This is the best place ever!”

SAM: It is. It really is.

MATT: “Come back when you need me.” She goes and runs off to the kitchen area. All right. You guys, stepping out, keeping the focus on the spell, you move half-speed through this weather in mist form. So your 300 feet per round speed, whatever it is, is reduced to a mere 150 feet.

MARISHA: It’s okay. It’s more for appearance.

MATT: What are you guys doing? Are you coasting through the ravine, are you heading directly, or trying to go overhead?

MARISHA: I want to go to the summoning stone. I’m going towards there.

SAM: But we discussed before we left that we would mainly stick to the lowlands and the ravine to get there, yeah?

LAURA: Yes, we did.

TALIESIN: Hugging the walls, looking normal.

MARISHA: Sure. I follow the crowd.

MATT: Okay. Who’s leading?

ASHLEY: I am!

(laughter)

LAURA: I’ll lead the way.

LIAM: This is the quietest you’ve ever been.

TALIESIN: I volunteer as tribute!

SAM: Shouldn’t Laura lead?

TALIESIN: Let Laura lead.

MATT: Okay. So Vex and Pike are leading the way.

ASHLEY: No, I was kidding.

TALIESIN: Too late. No take-backs.

TRAVIS: We all die together.

MATT: As you guys slowly drift down into the bottom of the ravine on the outside of where the mansion doorway is, you crest down to where a large portion of the rubble is currently buried by snow and ice. The wind is whipping snow up into the air, and you’re finding little spirals and little snow devils that are making their way through as different clusters of wind tend to swell and subside. You make your way over to the opposite side of the ravine and start heading to the north way, crawling around.

LAURA: I’m going to keep an eye out to make sure nobody seems like they’re– especially towards Vorugal’s plateau to make sure he’s not there.

MATT: Need you to go ahead and make a perception check if you could. And I need everybody to make a stealth check, please.

MARISHA: Do we get some sort of bonus because we’re mist?

LAURA: Perception is 30.

MARISHA: Jesus.

ASHLEY: How can you be loud as mist?

LIAM: Natural 20!

MARISHA: Stealth and what?

TALIESIN: Just stealth for us.

SAM: Do I get to add Jack of all–

MATT: You can. As long as you’re not trained in it, you can add it to it.

SAM: I’m not. Okay. 18.

TALIESIN: 16.

MARISHA: 14.

MATT: 20.

LAURA: 15.

ASHLEY: Eight.

TRAVIS: Four.

MATT: Okay. It’s fine. It’s a group check, so successes outweigh the failures. You guys as a group begin to move forward. It’s fine. As you guys are slowly moving your way, you keep an eye out. You can see there are some Ravenites in clusters that are out, currently poring through the rubble. There are crews that are basically excavating, trying to pull out what’s worth anything from the remnants of Draconia. You make your way around this large, familiar curvature from before that leads towards the center area of Vorugal’s now-claimed lair at the bottom of the ravine. As you turn the corner and you guys keep watch, you can see on the icy platform, with these spikes that jut out at various places throughout this larger central area here. On top, you can see perched and curled up the massive form of the white dragon itself, claws curled up under its chin, its chin slightly turned askew to the left, eyes closed, wings wrapped up around and gently flapping over the sides of the top of this icy platform. It sits there quietly, breathing in, and you can hear the breath itself, deep and guttural, just echoing. (snoring) The wind occasionally sneaks in and seems to almost carry the echo farther than it should be audible. And you can see there are two packs of about five Ravenites that are armed and are sitting at the base of the platform, that are looking out. Some of them are sitting, some of them are eating some small rations, some are just keeping an eye out. These appear to be essentially assigned guards to Vorugal here at his lair. So. You guys continue past?

TALIESIN: Oh yes.

MATT: Heading which direction?

LAURA: Towards the summoning circle.

MATT: You recall which direction that was?

LIAM: It’s east.

MATT: All right, so you head a little northward, following the curvature of this part of the ravine in an eastward direction. Eventually, you all move past an uncomfortable proximity of about 200 to 300 feet of Vorugal, seemingly not catching anyone’s attention as you slowly move, following the pattern of winds. It takes you a little longer to get through, but you figure it’s best to look as natural as possible with the moving terrain and weather. Eventually, you turn around and begin making your way eastward, away, following where two more portions of the ravine clump together. Anywhere between 80 to 100 feet in width, it expands a bit, shrinks in a bit, but it seems to be pushing into a very slight grade upward, like this portion of the ravine is making its way, over probably the next mile or so, to breach and hit surface.

LIAM: So from Vorugal?

MATT: From Vorugal, heading eastward, it is slowly heading up. You get about a quarter-mile in before you begin to see the very thick ice being broken by occasional snow-covered dead trees that are breaking through. As you saw before, there are not a lot of trees in this central area of the ravine, but they’re becoming a little more common as you progress forward, though many of them dead, thin and broken in places. Make another perception check, Laura.

LAURA: Okay. 16.

MATT: Okay. It’s fine. Pushing forward in your mist form, you do see that certain portions of the upper ravine have an element of erosion to them that have broken down, and there are some large stones that have dropped and are jutting out of the ice formation on the snowy platform floor. You glance around, and you can see that there are a loose circle of maybe five, six stones forming an oval shape in the center. And even looking about, you can see this area seems to have seen some scuffles. It looks like portions of the walls have been scraped and clawed apart. It looks like some heavy impacts have hit the side. If there was a place for there to be a setting ground for some sort of a conflict of previous hunts for Vorugal, this is probably what Tooma was referring to.

LAURA: I look down towards it. Does it look like anything is around it?

MATT: Currently, no. It looks pretty–

LAURA and SAM: Ooh.

LAURA: Oh no! Tree’s down!

LIAM: It’s an earthquake. The trees fell down! Keyleth! Your spells are too powerful!

MARISHA: (laughs) I can save them! I can save them all!

SAM: Wow, Matt.

ASHLEY: It’s so pretty!

LAURA: It is so pretty.

MATT: This circle of stones here–

ASHLEY: Did you make the–

SAM: It’s Arendelle!

LIAM: He’s been carving it this week.

MATT: So this circle of stones, the clusters of rock that have broken down and are sticking out, you don’t know what the cultural significance of them are. They appear to have been there for a long time; these were not a recent series of landmarks that were presented here. These have been here for a while. But you do see a series of claw marks and damaged bits throughout the space in the area that is uncharacteristic of the rest of the ravine floor that you’ve been traversing.

SAM: Can Vorugal see this spot?

LIAM: Curved away?

MATT: You make a perception check, Scanlan.

SAM: Oh, I’m great at those.

LIAM: We just traveled about a half-mile?

SAM: Six!

MATT: About a quarter mile. You don’t see Vorugal from here, so probably not.

LAURA: I would be looking for Vorugal too, though.

MATT: Perception check.

LAURA: Natural 20.

MATT: From this perspective, it’s a little ways in the way the ravine has crawled in this northeastern direction from where the lair center was. This area is not directly visible from Vorugal. You cannot see, for quite a bit, that area.

LIAM: Wind fingers for Vorugal.

LAURA: All right. Can I float down and get a closer look at the weird marks you were talking about?

MATT: Yeah. Make an investigation check.

SAM: While she’s doing that, I’m going to fly through Pike a few times.

LAURA: 13.

MATT: It tickles. But not in a good way. Glancing about, you can see there is some snowfall here and some ice that has sealed off this area. A lot of the snow that’s hit here gets blown away by the wind that’s coming through, so there hasn’t been a lot of snow packed in this vicinity. A lot of these large claw marks are indicative of dragon claws, especially those of an ancient size. You do see bones scattered about– many of them have been picked clean– of varying sizes. There appears to be a half-eaten large insect-like carapace that’s shoved off to the side. A number of creatures have fallen here and have been mostly eaten, devoured, or left to be picked apart by the other birds of prey that exist in this area.

TALIESIN: We have cover from either side of the top. That’s right. I’m going to fly over to the top of the far right of the ravine.

LAURA: Behind those rocks right there?

TALIESIN: Above them, all the way up here. And I’m going to take a look around and see if anybody, anything’s around, anything living that looks suspicious.

MATT: Perception check.

TALIESIN: You’d think I’d be able to do this. 18.

MATT: Okay. Glancing about, you can see every now and then, a few birds fly overhead. Appear to be hawks, light gray in color. They’re just looking around, circling and vanishing in the distance. You do see a few small furred critters; looks almost squirrel-like, but it’s too far away to make out the details, and you’re not very specifically detailed– make a nature check, actually.

LIAM: Check for critters.

TALIESIN: Nine.

MATT: You have no idea. It’s furred, it’s small. It probably creeps you out a little.

MARISHA: (giggles) My friends.

TALIESIN: Yeah, I’m going to survey. Would I think it’s safer above the ravine or within?

MATT: I’d say within here, it’s probably safer within the ravine, up at the top. This is not indicative of the true height; we’ll say this is more of an example. The ravine height is probably closer to maybe 80 to 100 feet up.

TRAVIS: Yeah. Got it.

MATT: I just didn’t want to build Styrofoam that high.

TALIESIN: Actually, that works out perfectly for me. Then I’ll jump down to behind that rock and I will de-mist behind that rock.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: I’ll see him doing that and join him.

MARISHA: Yeah, I’ll watch as they do that.

TALIESIN: I think a cave entrance right here to somewhere where you can hide after you do the summoning and dive in and get about 25 to 30 feet away.

SAM: Question, Percy. There’s this annoying wind.

(laughter)

LIAM: Vax flies around them.

TALIESIN: I’m not responsible for what you ate for breakfast.

SAM: Here’s a question. Rather than scouting here, digging a hole, and going back to our mansion, should we just have a new mansion here?

TALIESIN: Yes, that’s actually– well. Kima.

SAM: Kima.

TALIESIN: That’s all right. Somebody can mist back and bring her.

SAM: I could technically drop that mansion and she’d be on her ass. (laughs)

TALIESIN: I think she’s already so delighted with you. That might be a terrible idea.

SAM: Well, someone could go back and get her. We don’t have to do this right now, but when we’re done here, maybe we want to camp here so we have a place to hide inside a mansion.

TALIESIN: That’s a very good idea, actually.

SAM: And we don’t even really need to make tunnels, do we?

TALIESIN: We do. We want to have places to hide.

SAM: Yeah, that’s true. We want to spread out.

MARISHA: I’m going to mist down next to them.

TALIESIN: We want to have a place to hide, and place to shoot from that has cover.

MARISHA: Hey, guys. What are we talking about?

TALIESIN: Digging a hole and moving the mansion here.

MARISHA: (laughs) God, so windy tonight.

SAM: I know, it’s so annoying.

TALIESIN: It also means that if something goes horribly wrong, you can run downstairs and hide.

MARISHA: All right, well, here’s the problem. I need to figure out what all of this is made out of. I can’t work with it if it’s just ice. It has to be natural stone. So cover for me? I’m going to drop down and start meditating.

SAM: I’m going to scan the sky.

MARISHA: I’m going to do a Commune With Nature spell. Do we have any other questions, before I do this, that we want to ask the land?

TRAVIS: We’re wind; you’re good.

MATT: Everything seems fine.

LAURA: We’re still wind.

MARISHA: In general, I guess.

TALIESIN: How strong are the ravine walls, and can we dig into them, as well? Not just the ground, but the walls themselves. Small tunnels, just big enough for one person.

SAM: And there’s these rocks here. We know there’s some rocks. We knows that there’s tons of ice.

MARISHA: Do I need to figure out how far exactly Vorugal is from us?

SAM: We saw him on the way over. We know exactly where he is.

MARISHA: I have three good questions.

LIAM: Weather forecast is not a bad idea.

MARISHA: No, it’s not. The weather forecast.

TALIESIN: Yeah, for tomorrow.

SAM: What sorts of things can you ask nature?

MARISHA: Nature-y things. I can ask it about–

LIAM: Where’s the closest Erewhon?

MARISHA: Yeah. Is there a Starbucks nearby?

MATT: Three questions. What you got?

MARISHA: Oh, I was asking– yeah. I can ask it about topography, I can ask about locations of people nearby. Things like that.

LAURA: Ask about what the rock is, so you can find where to dig.

TALIESIN: And where’s the green dragon.

MARISHA: Oh, that’s a good idea. Where the fuck is Raishan? Okay.

LAURA: She might be with us right now.

MARISHA: She might be. Okay. Now I do this.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: First and foremost, what is the geological makeup of this land around me? This ravine. Cliffside.

MATT: What is the geological makeup?

MARISHA: What is it made out of, yeah.

MATT: Stone.

MARISHA: And all of this stuff on the edges?

MATT: All of this is stone with about a foot layer of ice on the outside of it. Portions of it that have been broken or struck, you can see some exposure to it. This ravine is not normally covered in snow and ice; Vorugal’s presence has brought a persistent blizzard and icy atmosphere to it. So all the ice and snow you see here is technically not natural to the terrain, and most of this ravine has a very strong foundation of solid stone, natural rock, and other various geological layers beneath.

MARISHA: So it is fairly sturdy and not apparently going to collapse at any moment?

MATT: Correct. It appears like what happened with you and Pike earlier was an anomaly that only happens when you roll two natural ones.

MARISHA: Sure. Okay. Can I get a sense on what the weather is going to be like for the next 24 hours?

MATT: Reaching out to the vicinity and picking up what you can, it’s hard to get specifics, but it looks to be at least a coming sleet storm. Not hail; nothing too heavy, but it looks like it’s going to have some times of limited visibility, and very cold.

MARISHA: Bummer. Okay. Good to know. And do I sense Raishan?

MATT: Within three miles? You get the essence of the surrounding terrain that there is another large dragon presence nearby, though you don’t get a specific location.

MARISHA: Bummer.

TALIESIN: It was a good thought.

SAM: No, that’s good to know.

MARISHA: She’s within three miles.

LAURA: She’s here, or it’s Thordak.

MARISHA: Well, no, he’s said another, aside from Thordak.

LIAM: Aside from Vorugal.

MATT: No, you asked for Raishan. Raishan was confirmed to be within the vicinity.

MARISHA: Okay. That’s it. Those are my three questions.

MATT: As that question fades, you do get a little better bit of location of Raishan’s current presence. Raishan is currently on the very south end of the ravine, on the outskirts of the three-mile radius of near where you are right now. Close to where you guys first came to the ruins of Draconia, where you were first discovered by the Ravenites. That’s all you know about her. Just that location.

MARISHA: Close to the ruins of Draconia?

MATT: Where you guys first arrived when you first came here.

LIAM: Not near us right now.

MARISHA: And not where the library and the ruins of Draconia were.

MATT: Yeah. South of all that.

TALIESIN: All right. I like the idea of someone going back to get Kima. I think one tunnel on this side, one tunnel on the other side, and one tunnel on the top of the ravine on either side, if you can do that.

MARISHA: And do we want them to connect so we can get through? Little half loops, semi-circles?

SAM: Does this make noise? Will it vibrate the ground?

MARISHA: I’m pushing out earth. Yeah.

TALIESIN: Not a ton of noise.

MARISHA: Vex and I mentioned that.

TALIESIN: How loud will this be, do you think?

MARISHA: How loud will this be?

MATT: As loud as moving large pieces of stone and earth would.

TRAVIS: Loud.

MATT: Not stealthy work.

SAM: We saw a storm coming. Has it hit yet?

MATT: No, you’ve got a few more hours.

SAM: We can wait until the storm comes. It’ll be super windy and loud.

TRAVIS: Not nearly enough to move tunnels of earth and rock.

SAM: Can you do something to ice? Melt it? That’s silent.

MARISHA: Yeah, but it’s only a foot of ice.

SAM: Yeah, but we could carve out ice tunnels.

LIAM: No, the ice is only a foot thick, coating what is normally a temperate region.

TRAVIS: We got the house. We got the mansion. That’s it.

LIAM: But it’s one spot.

SAM: We can hide behind rocks.

MARISHA: We could do a test.

SAM: Can you make new rocks that are hollow? I guess it’ll still make noise.

MARISHA: I could make walls of stone. I can make little– But also keep in mind, anything that I do, he’ll notice. And the whole point to this is to not make our presence known at all.

LAURA: And ice dragons burrow. I remember that much.

MARISHA: So we could pop in our tunnels and they could be like, “what’s up?”

SAM: How important are these tunnels? Because if we want, while you’re doing this I can go distract the dragon?

MARISHA: On the other end of the ravine?

SAM: Sure, why not?

TALIESIN and LIAM: No.

TRAVIS: Why would you do that?

SAM: To distract the dragon so you can dig.

LIAM: Because we can use your mansion, and when the time is right, we can all scatter in different directions quickly. Many of us can fly. I would rather have these cubby-holes, as well, but it’s too risky, and it’s too risky to let you go running your little ass off around and get that dragon to eat you in one bite. You’re overruled.

TRAVIS: How do we go get Kima?

LAURA: Somebody that can turn invisible has to go get her.

MARISHA: Well, you’re still mist-form. That lasts for eight hours. You can mist back.

LAURA: Yeah, but she can’t turn into mist, so you can go get her and turn her into mist.

SAM: We have the stones. What about the stones? Stones. Someone can mist back with the stone, then mist back to us and give her the stone.

LIAM: Yeah.

TALIESIN: That’ll work.

ASHLEY: I’ll do it!

SAM: Ooh!

TRAVIS: Wait! Does the stone make any sound or light?

TALIESIN: No, just goes poof.

TRAVIS: Really? Then sure.

TALIESIN: Little bit of a poof.

LAURA: It’s a little bit of light, but we can hide behind something when she does it. She can poof from within the mansion before you make the mansion.

TRAVIS: She can poof from within the mansion.

TALIESIN: You can’t poof within the mansion.

MATT: You can’t poof within the mansion. It has to be on the same plane of existence.

LAURA: But it’s daylight, so it should be fine.

MARISHA: The mansion’s considered a pocket plane.

SAM: If Pike is going back as mist– no offense, Pike– can you find the mansion?

LAURA: Why don’t you go with her?

SAM: Okay. Gladly.

ASHLEY: Oh, okay. You’ll know your mansion better.

TRAVIS: Send the two bitties. And we’re going to hide out. I’m still in my mist form.

SAM: Did you guys de-mist-ify?

LAURA: Well, we’ve been talking, so I’m going to say yes.

SAM: Hey, clever elves, can you scout around, make sure we’re not being watched?

LIAM: There are no elves here. My mother was a human. Do you want to go right now?

LAURA: I’ve been keeping an eye out, but yes, I will keep watch.

SAM: We’re not being watched? You sure those hawks are hawks?

LAURA: Is anything watching us?

MATT: Make a perception check.

LAURA: 28.

MATT: 28? Looking about, there are a number of birds in the distance. There’s some that have flown overhead since you’ve been here. Nothing that seems to be acting erratically or out of the ordinary. There’s a couple that have come in a little close to watch, and then went off their own way, curious as to what’s going down in the ravine.

LIAM: Those are some birds.

LAURA: I think we should all be mist, though, while we wait for them to get back. Just in case.

TALIESIN: I’m going to spend some time in this form just studying to see if there’s anything odd about this circle at all. Studying the stones.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: Where is the circle? Oh. Thank you.

MATT: Right, so Pike and Scanlan, you guys go mist form, make your way over back towards where the mansion was placed. Takes you a while. Are you going through the ravine, or are you going over the ravine?

ASHLEY: Over.

MATT: Okay. So the two of you guys coast up to the side and over the top of the wall. There is some heavy dead forest area here, but you coast on the side of it, keeping an eye down. Both of you guys make a perception check.

SAM: Terrible. 11.

LIAM: Ashley’s got this.

ASHLEY: 21.

SAM: Ooh, my girl!

MATT: As you guys are pulling around and the weather has gotten a little better for the moment; the storm hasn’t hit yet. Pike, you glance off and you can see some stirring down in the bottom of the ravine. You see two white wings (wingbeats) and you watch as Vorugal takes off like a bat out of hell up out of the ravine, past both of you, and you can feel the wind shake and the actual ravine quakes slightly at the presence as Vorugal shoots up into the air, spirals up, then wings go out and then coasts off westward, away from you guys.

MARISHA: Oh, away from us?

MATT: Away from you guys in a western direction.

ASHLEY: Away from them, too?

LIAM: Away from us.

MARISHA: He’s going west.

LIAM: We’re east.

ASHLEY: So you guys are fine.

TALIESIN: Wait.

ASHLEY: I try to make wide eyes.

MARISHA: (gasps) Does this mean we can dig?

LAURA: Did we see him go in the air from where we are?

MATT: Make a perception check, actually, Vex.

ASHLEY: We should take his loot.

TRAVIS: (laughs) Yeah. That ends well.

LAURA: 20.

MATT: You do hear what sounds like heavy wings echoing through the ravine towards your direction. You see a faint movement in the sky, and then it vanishes and you hear the sound getting more and more distant. You gather Vorugal has at least left the lair. You’re not sure how long.

LAURA: I come out of mist form. Vorugal’s not here right now. If you’re going to dig, do it. I’ll keep an eye on the sky.

MARISHA: What do you guys think, should I do it? Over the earpiece.

TRAVIS: No.

TALIESIN: I think we should.

TRAVIS: No.

TALIESIN: I think two crow’s nests for the shooters.

LAURA: Do it quickly, if you’re going to do something.

TALIESIN: I draw out, really quickly in the snow–

LAURA: I draw out an intricate map. Blueprints.

MATT: Meanwhile, Scanlan and Pike, you guys make your way back to the mansion? Coasting over, you find your way. You make your way into the mansion. The servants are rushing two platters out of the kitchen down to the stairs that lead to the subterranean portion of the mansion.

SAM: Okay. Kima, sorry to interrupt lunch–

MATT: You come downstairs and her armor is off, her maul’s at the side. She is on the ground in the process of doing one-handed push-ups and scarfing chicken with the other hand. She’s getting ready for a fight today.

SAM: Disgusting.

ASHLEY: That’s amazing!

MATT: She stands up. “Damn right, it is. Stringy.”

ASHLEY: We came back for you because he’s going to build a mansion somewhere else.

SAM: We need to move.

MATT: “Okay.” She takes one of the pieces of chicken and pockets it.

SAM: That will disappear when we leave here.

MATT: (groans) Pulls it out. Sucks it off the bone and throws it to the ground. It clatters off to the side. “All right, let me grab my stuff.” And she goes and gets her armor and starts putting it on. “Do you want to help me?”

ASHLEY: To hold some stuff?

MATT: “Put the armor on! You know to put on plate. Come on.” You help get her armor on.

SAM: Do you need me to help, as well?

MATT: “No!” You help her get all armored up. She gets the rest of her stuff. She came relatively light, other than the materials she needs for combat. She’s ready to go in the next 15 minutes or so. “All right. So. Where’s this going down?”

SAM: I produce one half of the stones that we brought, and I say– oh wait, does she know how to do this? I guess you just think, right? You just think. You have to think. I know that’s hard, but you’re going to have to hold this rock and want it to be reunited with its pair. I’m sorry about that. And then you’ll be bamfed back to where we’re going, all right? Here, take this stone. All right, so we’ll just step out of the mansion. I won’t drop it yet, because there’s no need.

MATT: All right.

SAM: And we’re going to mist back, but after she’s bamfed. All right. So think happy thoughts, click your heels together.

MATT: Steps out in the snow, crunching sound of her boots, closes her eyes for a second, opens one back at you, Scanlan. Focuses and concentrates. The minute progresses. She clutches it and touches the actual stone to the outside of her holy symbol. You see the small platinum outline of Bahamut’s head. As it hits, it begins to glow. The blue glow is also surrounded by the bright white glow of Bahamut’s light, and as her outer form begins to shimmer, it blinks out with a spiral of a glittery white light dust, and her form has vanished.

ASHLEY: She’s the coolest.

SAM: She’s okay.

ASHLEY: She was doing one-handed push-ups and eating chicken in the other.

SAM: Can you do a one-handed push-up?

ASHLEY: Yeah.

SAM: Can I see?

ASHLEY: Yeah.

(laughter)

MATT: And with those gauntlets, she does easily, fully armored and all. She’s leaving this little Pike shape in the snow right there.

SAM: Can I try a one-handed push-up?

MATT: Make a strength check.

SAM: Seven.

(laughter)

MATT: (grunts) Two-handed push-up.

TRAVIS: On his knees.

SAM: I’m carrying a lot of stuff. Without my gear, I could probably do it.

ASHLEY: I understand. You’re also carrying a mansion or something.

SAM: Yeah. Magic weighs on you.

ASHLEY: Magic weighs a lot.

SAM: All right, let’s go.

MATT: All right. You guys mist back, begin cresting over to return.

SAM: Scanning the skies for any sight of a flapping white dragon.

MATT: Okay. While that’s happening, what are you guys doing?

TALIESIN: I’m making ice plates.

LAURA: I’m keeping an eye out for Vorugal or anything suspicious.

MARISHA: I guess I’m making tunnels.

MATT: Using Move Earth?

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: Let me see here. Move Earth is you can reshape any dirt, sand, or clay in the area. Not stone.

TALIESIN: Not stone?

MATT: Cannot manipulate natural stone or stone constructions.

TRAVIS: Or a budget rental center.

(laughing)

LAURA: So you can make walls.

TALIESIN: Can you manipulate ice?

SAM: She can manipulate ice.

TALIESIN: Can you manipulate ice?

MARISHA: I can melt ice.

TALIESIN: But you can’t create ice.

LAURA: Even if she did, it has to be something not noticeable.

TALIESIN: I think that we could–

MARISHA: I can make some more plant life.

MATT: Do you have Stone Shape prepared?

TALIESIN: Stone Shape?

MARISHA: No.

MATT: Yeah, Stone Shape would’ve been the spell to use in this circumstance.

MARISHA: Cool.

TALIESIN: If we pull some of the ice, I can try and make sheets of ice–

MARISHA: But how long does Stone Shape last? I thought it was just for a little bit.

MATT: Stone Shape is instantaneous. It just affects something.

MARISHA: I know, but how much? It’s only like a five foot cube, right? So I can’t make a tunnel.

MATT: Not a heavy tunnel, no.

MARISHA: Right, so no.

TALIESIN: We can alter the topography just a bit by taking out some of the ice and then opening it up to make hiding places.

MARISHA: I can make a little trench, like a trench wall-line for you guys at the top of the ravine, for the shooters.

LIAM: Yeah, half-bubbles almost.

MARISHA: Yes, exactly.

TRAVIS: 80 to 100 feet up, right.

TALIESIN: That’ll do.

LAURA: Yeah, I can shoot from that height.

MARISHA: Right along the ledge.

LAURA: Actually, after you do it, I can try to disguise it, so it’s not seeable from the air.

MATT: Okay, so what are you doing? You’re making a small ledge?

MARISHA: So yeah, I’m going to do Wall of Stone. Fuck.

TALIESIN: We don’t need a ton of space, because we’re never going to move more than six.

MARISHA: Yeah, I basically want a little almost half wall for cover here and here, just extending the stonework.

MATT: Just out this way?

MARISHA: Upwards.

So that they can–

MATT: Oh, okay, I see.

TALIESIN: Give us cover.

MARISHA: Do the Gears of War.

TRAVIS: Can I raise a point, Taliesin? Do you have anything to keep you from falling if he attacks you on that ravine?

TALIESIN: It would be hard to fall if he attacks us. The best thing, actually, if he attacks us up there would be to jump.

MATT: So you’re using it twice? Then over here, you said?

MARISHA: You know what, let me flank it. Let me do one on that side and one over here. Yeah? You think?

SAM: Why a hundred feet up?

TRAVIS: That’s how tall the ravine is.

SAM: Can we just do 20 feet up?

TALIESIN: You have a broom. I have a rope.

MARISHA: Is this excessive?

SAM: Yeah! Why a hundred feet? Why not 20 feet? Why not 30 feet?

LAURA: We can’t do it in the middle of the stone. We have to do it at the top.

SAM: Why?

MATT: You could, technically.

MARISHA: I guess I could, actually, because I can do a flat one. Okay. All right. You know what, I could make little pod bubbles for you guys on the half edge of the cliffs.

TALIESIN: Make some pod bubbles.

MARISHA: I’ll do that.

TRAVIS: Aren’t those going to be obvious?

TALIESIN: I’m going to start pouring water on this stuff, and it’s going to be ice again so quickly.

MARISHA: Yeah, if we try and camouflage it. Spend the rest of the day camouflaging it.

TALIESIN: I’ve already started working on camouflage–

MARISHA: The DM keeps looking at us like we’re crazy.

MATT: I’m trying to figure this out, guys.

MARISHA: All right. Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to make (stammers) little balconies.

LIAM: Spit some lyrics, girl.

MARISHA: (giggles) So smooth. Yeah, little balcony ledges that they can go on.

MATT: Okay. We’ll say…

LAURA: He’s like, “I spent a really long time carving this shit, you guys, and you’re going to be altering it.”

MATT: It’s all good.

LIAM: Is there any point to having you sharpshoot from behind that wall down below?

MATT: So right there is what you’re saying? A little shelf.

MARISHA: Yeah, little ledge. Yeah, a balcony. I want to make a cliff balcony.

MATT: How far up?

TALIESIN: I would take it to the far edge. Even further.

LIAM: If we’re fighting, I’m not bound by shit, man. I can be anywhere.

MATT: Where do you want this to go, Marisha? Right there?

MARISHA: One there, and one– yeah.

MATT: Okay, so those are the two.

MARISHA: And about what, 40 feet up? 50 feet up?

TALIESIN: I’d say about 50 feet up.

MARISHA: How about halfway up the mountain? I want to make it look rough, I want to try and camouflage it, and then I’m also going to help Percy and the rest of this excavation to use my Gust and little Create Water spells over top of it to start covering them with ice.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: I’m creating a breakable ice shield for when it’s time, but I’m just giving the nice cover.

MARISHA: Yeah, cover it with ice to make it look like the rest.

MATT: Okay. Go ahead and just roll a wisdom check. Roll a d20 and add your wisdom modifier.

MARISHA: He normally only asks me that when we’re making a terrible plan.

TALIESIN: I know. Ooh! Check out the big brain!

MARISHA: Check out the big brains on Brad! 23.

MATT: Okay. As an Air Ashari, you have a very firm understanding of airflow, temperature of air, and how best it can quickly freeze water. Over time, utilizing the spells at your disposal, over the next 30 minutes or so, you do manage to coat the visible recently created stone with a layer of ice that in some regard would help, hopefully, camouflage it.

MARISHA: Oh, he let us do it!

TALIESIN: I’m just going to spend all my time also trying to keep hiding it, keep reinforcing it. Once the mansion’s available, I’m going to take water and slowly add layers.

MATT: Okay. Scanlan and Pike, you guys do manage to return, as you watch the party preparing these small little ledges outside of the ravine interior.

SAM: Hey, guys. Did you see the dragon leave?

LAURA: I saw him fly away, yeah.

SAM: Should we be concerned at all?

LAURA: That what? He’s going to get help?

LIAM: Well, maybe.

SAM: That he’s going to meet up with Raishan? And fuck us?

MARISHA: He was heading west, right?

TALIESIN: Which is not the direction where Raishan is.

MARISHA: Raishan was south. She was far south.

TRAVIS: Can you do your detect dragons thing?

LAURA: I guess. Yeah, I can.

MATT: Kima, at this point, by the way, has been off to the side, keeping watch, goes, “You guys expecting anyone?”

SAM and TALIESIN: Oh shit.

MATT: You see Kima drops the maul to the ground and points down. And you see, stepping up from the ravine from this side, this way, you see a small, stout-looking dwarf character walking up (footfalls). Bulbous red nose. You can see a thick winter coat over, cloth tied over the top of the head, a crossbow to one side. Walks up and goes, “Hey. Larkin, the one you hired. The mercenary to help you with this exchange.”

SAM: We hired somebody?

TALIESIN and MARISHA: Yes.

SAM: When was this?

LAURA: Back in Whitestone. We hired somebody to come help us fight.

SAM: We did? Why on earth would we do that? We’re super strong.

MARISHA: I kick Scanlan a little bit.

SAM: Oh shit. Sorry.

MATT: “So. Glad we’ve all gotten together. I see you’ve begun your plans, so tell me. What is your plan?”

MARISHA: Larkin, was it?

MATT: “Larkin, aye.”

LAURA: Larkin, do you have any spells you can use?

MATT: “I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve, aye. Let’s see how it pans out.”

ASHLEY: I’m going to talk to him in Dwarvish, and I’m going to ask where he’s from.

MATT: Okay, you ask him where he’s from? “I don’t feel comfortable speaking our language in front of people who don’t understand it. It’s impolite.”

MARISHA: She’s good.

LAURA: It is quite impolite.

MATT: Watch as Larkin’s expression gets very dire for a second like, “what are you doing?”

LAURA: I whisper to Pike.

TRAVIS: Larkin, are you ready to help us kill a dragon?

MATT: “That’s what you hired me for, isn’t it?”

TRAVIS: Aye. Don’t you think dragons are just the biggest dick-fucks ever?

MATT: “To be honest, yes.”

TRAVIS: Yeah.

SAM: Oh! Oh, Larkin!

LAURA: Just fucking got it?

SAM: Oh, yes! I totally remember you, Larkin!

MARISHA: I kick Scanlan again, for sheer joy this time.

TALIESIN: We’re setting up camp. The attack begins tomorrow morning. There’s going to be a beast. There will be a fight.

LIAM: Yeah. We kind of have a plan, but fucking dragons.

TALIESIN: We’ll see how it goes. We’re going to try and tire him out.

MATT: “All right. I’ll keep an eye.”

TALIESIN: Once he’s tired out–

MATT: “So I’ll go on your signal, then?”

SAM: Will you be joining us here at the battle or providing support from afar?

MATT: “I’ll be providing support from a comfortable space.”

SAM: What kind of support? Long-distance attacks or healing?

LIAM: What’s your style?

MATT: “Oh. Let’s just say, in the beginning I’ll go ahead and bring some pain from a distance and only close that distance when things get real nasty and hot.”

SAM: And Larkin, the reason we hired you, now that I remember, was for your extreme knowledge of dragons and their behaviors. Tell me this: should we be concerned when this one leaves his lair about hobbling its lair or somehow preventing it from returning?

MATT: “Do you know when it’s returning?”

TRAVIS: No.

SAM: Well, we know that it’ll be coming here for a fight.

MATT: “If you don’t know when it’s returning, don’t step into its lair.”

SAM: Is there a way to prevent it from getting back to its lair?

MATT: “Killing it.”

TRAVIS: Real simple answer, I think.

TALIESIN: It’s not like a vampire.

MATT: Kima leans into you Scanlan, “Who’s this?”

SAM: Mercenary.

MARISHA: Larkin.

LAURA: We hired him.

TRAVIS: Yeah, he’s a real dead-eye.

TALIESIN: There’s also going to be a field of–

SAM: Ravenites.

LAURA: Potentially.

LIAM: Yeah. Told you it was complicated, yeah?

MATT: Kima crosses her arms for a second. “You also told me you had another ally coming.”

SAM and TALIESIN: We did?

TALIESIN: I wasn’t there.

SAM: Who?

TRAVIS: We have a hard time keeping track of everyone that we hire and fire.

TALIESIN: That’s why it’s going to be a great plan.

SAM: You know why? We have Pike! That’s our other ally. She’s here now.

ASHLEY: Here I am.

MATT: “I’m so confused right now.”

TRAVIS: Yeah, it’s all right. Listen, all you’ve got to do is smash dragon with us tomorrow, yeah?

MATT: “Which dragon?”

TRAVIS: The white one.

LAURA: The white one that’s here. That will be here.

LIAM: The only one that’s here.

TALIESIN: Let’s make the mansion right now. Please make the mansion.

SAM: I’ll make the mansion behind a rock outcropping. Kima, I need your help to make sure I’m not spotted while I do this ritual.

MATT: “All right.”

LAURA: So this is great. Tomorrow, you pop in, you summon, we all pop back into the mansion. We’re hiding in the mansion while the fight’s going on.

SAM: Well, someone has to be on the outside watching to find out what’s happening.

LAURA: Right.

MARISHA: Should we have someone near where the dragon is, so we can get eyes?

SAM: Someone who can be invisible, someone who can be a hawk or Ravenite?

LIAM: Scanlan, what are you going to do? You going to pop this thing out and then hop in the mansion?

SAM: Tomorrow, we’re talking about? Yes, absolutely!

LAURA: So Keyleth could be a hawk over by Vorugal–

MARISHA: Watching?

LAURA: Is there any way to let us know, though?

TALIESIN: Not if we’re in the mansion.

MARISHA: Yeah, because the earrings don’t work through the mansion, right?

MATT: From the inside to out, no. They have to be in the same plane.

SAM: Well, someone would have to be next to the doorway, pop their head in and say, oi, it’s on. But we also have these bubbles of watching around, don’t we?

TALIESIN: Which would be you and I before the fight.

SAM: Or I can just drop the mansion.

MARISHA: Well, the mansion could be good if things go terribly wrong.

LIAM: That’s true. If the mansion door is open and hidden behind that outcropping of rock there, you leave the door open but behind it, Keyleth could take to the sky, I could find somewhere low and be hidden. I can dart inside. I can be inside in a second.

SAM: And at the very least, Kima can be waiting inside the mansion, as can our lesser stealthy friend Pike. At least keep them in there.

LAURA: Yeah. Sounds great.

SAM: All right.

TALIESIN: It’s a plan.

SAM: It’s something.

TALIESIN: It’s a plan! Anything more complicated would immediately fall apart when anything shifts, which will inevitably happen.

LAURA: Actually, can I do Primeval Awareness and search for dragons to see if Vorugal’s even in the area at all?

MATT: Sure. As you concentrate, you get a very strong nearby presence.

MARISHA: She came in the mansion with us?

TALIESIN: No.

SAM: There is no mansion yet. I haven’t done it yet.

MARISHA: Oh, you haven’t done it yet. Never mind.

MATT: And you sense a closing dragon presence. At which point, you hear in the distance (wingbeats).

TALIESIN: Mansion.

LAURA: Mansion. Right now.

SAM: All right, I will cast the mansion behind a rock.

LAURA: And run into it.

TALIESIN: We will see you in the morning.

MATT: To?

TRAVIS: Larkin.

MATT: To Larkin? All right. He goes, “Right.”

TALIESIN: Thank you. Truly.

LAURA: Seriously, get in the mansion! Right now.

MATT: You glance off the side, and you can see Larkin looking off into the distance, and the white dragon Vorugal is curling in the air, currently wrestling with something, and then shoots down back into the ravine to the lair.

MARISHA: Can I get like a glimpse of it before I run in on what it is? 27.

MATT: 27?

SAM: It’s Yenk.

(laughter)

MARISHA: Damn it!

MATT: What brief view you have, it appears to be, by its size comparison, small-looking, but glancing at it, it looks to be some sort of a dire bear or dire wolf. Some sort of large furred entity that is currently being torn apart mid-air.

MARISHA: So it went hunting.

MATT: Apparently. May have been hungry.

LIAM: Snack.

MATT: You guys make your way into the mansion for a bit of a respite. Kima carries out the end of it, steps inside. “I don’t trust that dwarf.”

TALIESIN: Excellent. That’s why you’re here. That’s why he’s not in here.

LAURA: He can’t know that you know.

MATT: “Good to know.”

SAM: Kima, if it would help, I can erase your memory of this whole thing–

MATT: “You finish that sentence, and I will destroy you where you stand, Scanlan Shorthalt.”

SAM: I’ll let it alone for now.

MARISHA: Good idea.

MATT: “Come near me–”

TALIESIN: We wake up early. Before the sun rises, those of us who have to hide, hide. Once we see them bringing him to the summoning circle, we call the beast and we wait. We are going to be in the most danger, because we’re going to be right in the thick of it.

LAURA: What if he sees you, Percy? I’m better at hiding myself.

TALIESIN: We’re both going to be hiding in an ice-covered cubby-hole.

LAURA: A lot of white.

TALIESIN: It’s not possible to get to those cubby-holes without a difficult climb, is it?

LAURA: I could always bring you up on the broom.

MATT: If you get dropped off by broom, it’s easy. Where is the mansion door, again?

SAM: Behind the bigger rock where Percy’s stationed right now.

LIAM: Yeah, we should wake up before sunlight.

MATT: Guess we’ll say, as you guys all vanish from there, the entrance is right there, to the mansion.

MARISHA: Who’s going to keep an eye on Larkin?

TALIESIN: I think it’s hilarious that we can think we can.

SAM: Larkin can take care of–

LIAM: Also, we’ve no fucking idea where Raishan is or what she’s going to do, if anything.

TALIESIN: We know that the one place she isn’t is in here.

LAURA: Larkin is Raishan. Really?

TRAVIS: Holy shit. I even got that.

(laughter)

LAURA: You’re the last one to realize that?

TRAVIS: You’re the last person in this room and on the internet.

LAURA: No!

LIAM: It’s me. I’m the last one. I had no idea.

SAM: Hey, it took me five minutes.

TALIESIN: Wow! Oh my god, we’re going to die.

MARISHA: I knew the second she walked up!

SAM: Ashley figured it out before us.

ASHLEY: No, she told me.

MATT: As you guys rest to prepare for your next day’s excursion, we’re going to take a restroom break here.

LIAM: It’s half of us, Laura! Jeez!

MATT: We’ll see you guys back here in a few minutes.

Break
[break]

Part II
MATT: Welcome back. So! After that brief break, you guys have taken your time in the evening to rest up and get your spells back. Prepared for the coming confrontation, your now one-day delayed confrontation with Vorugal. As your evening comes to a close, the next morning is now before you–

MARISHA: Hang on, we weren’t done. We weren’t done. We have to do things.

LAURA: Yeah. One last thing.

MARISHA: We have to eat. We have to do the Heroes’ Feast, for sure.

SAM: Who’s going to do it?

ASHLEY: I am.

MATT: All right. Pike drops down a Heroes’ Feast. 1,000 gold out of your queue.

LAURA: That’s okay!

MARISHA and TALIESIN: Worth it, man.

MATT: All of you enjoy your first non-chicken related meal within Scanlan’s mansion.

LAURA: Feels good.

MATT: First in a while, at least. So as part of the Heroes’ Feast, guys, if you recall the details of that circumstance.

SAM: Immune to fear.

MATT: Immune to fear, definitely.

MARISHA: Saves on wisdom throws.

MATT: Wisdom saving throws have advantage.

MARISHA: Also plus 2d10.

MATT: 2d10 to your maximum hit points.

MARISHA: And I think that’s it.

MATT: And you’re immune to diseases. Immune to poison.

LAURA: (gasps) You’re immune to poison on this?!

MARISHA: That’s right. Fuck you Raishan.

SAM: Advantage on wisdom saves. Immune to poison.

MATT: All right, so marking hit points. Let me know what your maximum hit point totals increases are, currently.

SAM: Increased 14 points.

MATT: 14 points to Scanlan’s maximum hit points.

TALIESIN: 17.

MATT: 17 to Percy.

MARISHA: An additional 11 to Keyleth.

MATT: 11 to Keyleth.

LIAM: 15.

MATT: 15 to Vax.

LAURA: I got two tens! I got an additional 20!

MARISHA: You got two tens?!

MATT: Pike?

ASHLEY: I got nine, so that brings me to 97.

MATT: Awesome.

TRAVIS: I got 11.

MATT: 11 to Grog, and then to Kima: eight. Write that down right there.

MARISHA: And are we sure we don’t want eyes on her? I’m not concerned about her well-being, clearly. I’m concerned on whatever her name she’s saying she is right now.

TALIESIN: My theory on that subject is that she’s clever enough that eyes on her would not be helpful in the first place. It’s best to assume that even if we could see her that she would be tricking us over what she’s doing.

SAM: Okay and if she starts killing us, what do we do? Hide in the mansion? Regroup?

TALIESIN: Hide in the mansion and worst-case scenario, scream that she betrayed us and that she promised that she would help kill the white dragon and see if they’ll fight it out.

LIAM: Worst-case scenario, we’ll pull back towards the mansion if she starts whaling on us.

TALIESIN: Yes. And definitely inspire some conflict.

LAURA and MARISHA: Okay.

SAM: Let’s go fight.

LAURA: Now we sleep.

SAM: Oh, sleep.

MATT: Your evening meal complete, you all find yourself back to full rest, preparing yourselves for tomorrow’s grand showdown.

TALIESIN: I’m at negative one.

MATT: You’re now negative one to all of your rolls, ability checks, and saving throws.

TALIESIN: Not to damage, though.

MATT: No. Just your d20 rolls.

LIAM: You can get all 19s.

LAURA: As I am going to sleep, I want to inscribe “sinaeth” on Fenthras.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: What?

MATT: You don’t know. Evening’s rest complete, spells chosen for those who need to choose spells. Prepare yourselves for this confrontation. The morning comes. That early tension of imminent chaos fills the air. Conversation is short. What preparations do you wish to make this morning?

TALIESIN: Vex is going to put me in that pocket.

LAURA: Yes. I can’t cast Pass Without a Trace on him from that far away.

TALIESIN: We have Dust of Tracelessness.

LAURA: Yes, but that’s only tracks. While we’re over there, before I go over to my side, I’m going to try to cover his area with Natural Explorer and try to hide him.

TALIESIN: We’re going to fly over there, as well. And then also we’re attaching a rope, just in case.

MATT: Attaching a rope to?

TALIESIN: To the wall, so I have something to climb down with if I need to. It’s not going to be hanging out; it’s all in.

MATT: Okay, the stone is like a smooth wall that comes out and then upward for the protective point.

LAURA: I have climbing gear. You can use it as a grappling hook, maybe. Does that work at all?

MATT: You can fashion something. Make an intelligence check.

LAURA: Ten.

TALIESIN: Six. MATT: It seems like it’ll hold? You have a metal piece wedged into a part of the stone that seems pretty taut with the rope attached.

MARISHA: Can I ask a logistical question? How wide and alive are those trees?

MATT: They are maybe a foot wide each, and currently, it looks like a lot of them are dying or dead from the perpetual snowfall and coverage that they are unused to.

MARISHA: So Tree Stride probably wouldn’t work on these guys. I’m wondering if I should waste my time.

MATT: Tree Stride. Same size as you. Some of them, maybe.

MARISHA: All right.

SAM: Am I making us all Ravenites, or does that not even matter anymore?

LAURA: I don’t think that matters.

SAM: Okay.

LAURA: Have we left? Are me and Percy outside already?

MATT: You guys have gone outside if you’re going to place him up in his perch there and help cover the area.

LIAM: You have to do it, right? Because you’re the one releasing this thing.

SAM: I guess if I’m going to be out in the open, I probably should.

LIAM: And if you’re doing it, does it take any more mojo to do it to all of us or just yourself? It can’t hurt to do it to all of us.

SAM: Sure.

LAURA: Make us all white Ravenites.

SAM: You mean wearing white clothes?

LAURA: Sorry, I meant so we blend into the ice, not so that we’re white. That sounded so terrible. I meant so that we’re the same color as the ice and we’re camouflaged! Like chameleons.

TALIESIN: Are there actually enough albino Ravenites that we would stick out, or is that a common color?

MATT: You haven’t really encountered any.

TALIESIN: Oh, then I would recommend not. I would recommend white clothing.

MATT: You’ve seen varying shades of chromatic and metallic.

TALIESIN: All right.

MARISHA: Snow camouflage.

TALIESIN: Snowy.

MATT: Okay. What are you doing?

SAM: I guess I’ll make us all white Ravenites. Normal Ravenites with lighter-colored clothing that can maybe blend in. But also we can’t dance very well and we clap on the two and the four. So yes, I’ll make us all Ravenites.

MATT: Okay. So does that include Kima?

SAM: I can do eight people, so that’s everyone, including Kima.

MATT: All right, so you are all currently for the purposes of this visually Ravenites of varying sizes and bulkiness. Okay, is everyone currently out and about right now? Outside of the house?

SAM: I’m going out.

LAURA: Who all is leaving?

SAM: Oh wait, before I leave, doesn’t someone have to buff me up for this spell?

MARISHA: I do. Yep, I do. I’m going to cast Enhance Ability on your charisma.

LAURA: How long does that last?

MARISHA: An hour. So if we’re ready to go?

SAM: Yeah, what time is it? Is it dawn?

MATT: You’re not entirely certain. Make a survival check.

LAURA: 18.

SAM: Eight.

MATT: You have no idea, Scanlan. It’s about noon, from where you gather where the sun would be around that time based on what bits of shadows you can see. However, the sleet storm is starting to kick in, and you can see now the sheets of really cold rain with a slush to them are beginning to pound across the bottom of the ravine. The wind is picking up a bit, and the temperature is dropping significantly.

LAURA: Bundle!

MARISHA: Yep.

SAM: Okay. How will we know when it’s time for me to release? We have to wait for Tooma to go report.

LAURA: Is Vorugal back? He’s back.

SAM: I assume.

LAURA: Do we see Larkin around?

MATT: No, you do not see Larkin around.

SAM: Vax, do you want to go look?

LIAM: For Larkin?

SAM: No, fuck Larkin. To see when Tooma’s coming. I don’t want to release this thing before Tooma is there reporting to Vorugal.

LAURA: Well, maybe if we cause enough of a ruckus as soon as we release him.

LIAM: I mean if we trust Tooma to hold up her part of the bargain, that dragon is coming here.

LAURA: We need to make a lot of noise and then release it. Attract attention, release it, hide.

SAM: But when?

LAURA: Whenever we want to.

SAM: No, when is Vorugal coming? We can’t sit out here all day waiting.

LAURA: Vorugal will come when we make a noise. He’ll come over here.

SAM: The Ravenites have to tell him to come here first.

LAURA: No, she told him that it’s coming, I don’t think she’s telling him a specific time.

SAM: No, she’s telling him now. Today. We told her to wait.

MATT: As you guys are having this conversation, Vax and Keyleth, you guys notice down off the southern edge of the ravine, you see three humanoid figures walking up to your direction, coasting along the side of the mountain range.

MARISHA: Do they appear to be Ravenites?

MATT: After a short time inspecting them, they appear to be Ravenite in structure, yeah. They are dragonborn, they are heavily robed, and they are coasting up along the side.

MARISHA: Vex, you want to talk to them? They might have told him. Might have been the ones that just told him.

LAURA: I walk over.

MATT: As you acknowledge them and begin to approach, one of them breaks from the two and they stay back. As it approaches you can see the tall burly dragonborn form, this is Skork. You met when you first came to the ruins of Draconia. He approaches. “Tooma sends me. When are we to tell the dragon the hunt is on?”

MARISHA: We’re ready whenever you are.

LAURA: Give us 30 minutes. And then do it.

MATT: “30 minutes. It will be done.” He returns to the other two, and they begin to make their way rather briskly back towards the direction of Vorugal’s lair. TALIESIN: When you see the dragon pop up into the sky and head this direction, start summoning.

LAURA: Percy? Up?

TALIESIN: Yes, please.

LAURA: All right. I take Percy up top.

MATT: You bring Percy up onto the top. The rain is starting to come down hard now and you’re instinctively getting chills and shivering a little bit. You get up into your little parapet area, place him there.

LAURA: I try to move some snow around and try to block it.

MATT: Percy, I need you to make a stealth check. Just in general.

SAM: Who, me?

MATT: No, just Percy.

TALIESIN: That’s 16.

MATT: 16. Good to know. Okay. So you place him up there. What else are you guys doing? You have 30 minutes, 25 now.

LIAM: I’m going to hide behind the stone that’s in the bottom end of the screen I’m looking at. Nope, opposite side. Nope, opposite wall. Sorry. Behind it.

SAM: Oops, Percy died.

LAURA: Don’t say that again!

LIAM: And I think I already said it, but the Deathwalker’s Ward is set to cold.

MATT: Yes.

SAM: Does anyone want to be invisible for an hour?

TRAVIS: Are we not going to be in the house?

SAM: Some of us will be. Do you want to wait in the house, Grog?

TRAVIS: Yeah, I’ll be in the house.

SAM: And Pike, too?

ASHLEY: Yeah, I’m going to stay in the house for a little bit.

SAM: Okay, I’m going to cast it and probably go into the house.

MATT: So Pike is staying up in the house?

TALIESIN: I would not object to invisibility.

LAURA: Yeah, can you make us invisible?

SAM: I can make a couple of you invisible. Keyleth, do you want to make anybody invisible?

MARISHA: I can’t do that. You keep forgetting that’s you who can do that.

SAM: You can’t do that?

MARISHA: No.

SAM: You know what? I can’t do it, anyway. I think Gate is a concentration spell. Even if I’m reading it off a scroll?

MARISHA: No, it takes an action to cast.

SAM: It is a concentration spell.

MATT: It is, and as part of the casting of it, it would drop concentration.

SAM: Okay. Then I can’t make anyone invisible.

LAURA: Can I fly up and see if I can see Percy before I head over to my side?

MATT: You glide up into the air. Make a stealth check.

LAURA: I don’t want to go too high! 17.

MATT: Okay. You coast up. Make a perception check.

LAURA: 32.

MATT: Against the white snow and the ice, the parapet structure itself is slightly off-color to the rest of the ice, and you do see the gleaming of Percy’s cloak through the cover you’ve placed.

LAURA: Shit. I dive back down and try to cover him a little bit more before I head over to my side.

MATT: Okay, that’ll be the rest of this 30-minute preparation for you to do that. All right, who else is doing what now?

MARISHA: I think I just peed a little.

MATT: Keyleth is peeing a little.

LAURA: I’m going to cast Pass Without a Trace on myself as soon as I get to the other side so I can stay stealthed on my side.

MATT: Where are you staying, then?

LAURA: On the other ledge. Yeah. I’m trying to hide myself.

MATT: Okay, roll a stealth check. And Trinket is staying in your necklace?

LAURA: Yes! 32.

MATT: 32, good to know. All right. Pike, what are you doing? You’re staying inside the mansion right now?

ASHLEY: I’m staying inside the mansion for right now.

MATT: Okay. Any other spells or casting preparation? Consider what spells you have that are not concentration that help defend. This is the time to do it.

MARISHA: I’m going to go ahead and wait until the 15-minute mark– no, I’m going to wait until the ten-minute mark and then Enhance Ability on Scanlan.

MATT: Okay, got you.

TRAVIS: If you pour poison on a blade, do you get poison damage if you hit them with it?

MATT: If there is a blade you can apply poison to, then yes, you would probably do a little bit of poison damage.

LAURA: You know what, I want to pop Trinket out. I want him to be in the mansion with Pike and Grog. Go!

MATT: Grog, you’re in the mansion, as well? All righty. Kima is like (anticipation noise).

LAURA: Hide, Kima! Oh, she doesn’t have an earring. MATT: Nope. She joins you guys in the mansion for now. And Vax, you’re hiding over behind that rock? Roll stealth, if you could.

LIAM: Natural 20.

MATT: Okay. You grasp onto the rock, and much like the elven cloaks in Lord of the Rings, you blend in with the stonework.

LIAM: I’m going to go meditate on disguised dwarves. Goodbye.

MATT: Grog, any preparation you’re doing for this? All righty. As time begins to tick down, 15 minutes left, ten minutes left–

MARISHA: I cast Enhance Ability on Scanlan.

MATT: Okay, you’re enhancing his?

MARISHA: Charisma.

MATT: All righty.

MARISHA: And then I am going to move. We don’t have anyone over here yet, really, correct?

MATT: No. You have Percy up here but no one down there.

MARISHA: All right, I’m going to– fuck.

MATT: Going to?

MARISHA: Hide behind the tree and stealth as much as I can.

MATT: Okay, roll a stealth check.

LAURA: Keyleth, shouldn’t you hide in the mansion?

SAM: Can you become an animal?

LAURA: Shouldn’t you hide right now? Just be out of the way until Vorugal–

MARISHA: I can be an animal if you feel like you want eyes out here, as well, but I won’t be able to go elemental.

TALIESIN: Then no.

SAM: Ever?

MARISHA: Until I rest.

LAURA: We’ve got eyes on. We’re above. Just go hide.

MARISHA: All right, I go in the mansion.

MATT: Okay, Keyleth makes her way back into the mansion. All right. Five minutes. Four minutes. Three minutes. Two minutes.

SAM: I will inspire myself.

MATT: Okay, that’s part of your ability.

SAM: Yes, I will say to myself: all right, Scanlan. I know that your palms are sweaty. Your knees are weak, arms heavy. There’s cologne on your tunic, Grog’s spaghetti. But just remember. You’re good enough. You’re smart enough, and doggone it, people like you.

TRAVIS: Did you merge 8 Mile with–

LIAM: With Stuart Smalley.

MATT: All right, so. As you step forward, where do you want to open the Gate scroll?

SAM: I’m still going to hang out by the rocks, and I can go at least 60 feet in front of me, but I’ll do 50 feet.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: In the center, basically.

MATT: About there?

SAM: Yeah, sure.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: Remember to be super direct with his name.

SAM: And his name is Yenk?

MARISHA: Here, let me give you the script.

MATT: As you pull the scroll out, fumbling in your fingers slightly, you’re slightly sweaty and nervous.

SAM: I’m not going to read it until I hear wings flapping.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: It takes six seconds to do, right?

MATT: Make a perception check.

SAM: Oh boy. That’s an eight.

MARISHA: You have advantage on charisma checks.

MATT: This is not charisma. This is his perception.

LAURA: Do we see him in the sky at all?

MATT: You make a perception check. Don’t hear any wings. You’re listening; the wind’s (whistles), the sound of the rain hitting the ground.

LAURA: 19.

MATT: You begin to hear the flapping of wings in the distance and you glance over.

LAURA: Scanlan! What are you doing? Cast it!

SAM: Okay, I’m casting.

MATT: Okay, as you pull the scroll out and begin reading it, the sigils and arcane glyphs are ancient and convoluted, and you’re trying to trace them with your eyes and you begin speaking, letting the ancient knowledge that you’ve gained through your existence of wandering Exandria begin to pour out on its own. You feel the magic take hold and your grip tightens as the script begins to light up with a slight bluish-purple tint. As it begins to light up around, I need you to check to see if you succeed in reading the scroll.

SAM: Okay. So I roll with advantage?

MATT: You roll with advantage. Highest of two.

SAM: (gasps) Not great. Okay. And what am I adding?

MATT: Your d12 to it. So roll a d12. And plus two.

SAM: Plus two?

MATT: Plus two because Jack of All Trades.

SAM: Plus my charisma?

MATT: Plus your charisma bonus, which is six.

SAM: 20.

MATT: Okay, the DC was 19.

(yelling)

MARISHA: Every little bit helps.

TALIESIN: Oh, we made the gumbo.

MATT: As some of the glyphs begin to shake and part of the scroll begins to burn at the edges, you maintain concentration, staring at it. The rain’s hammering down on the scroll; it’s growing slick and pouring off into the center of your sleeve. You’re soaked to the bone now and shivering as you’re reading out these various language bits that are flowing through. You’re now an instrument for the spell that is beyond your capability, and as suddenly the spell finishes, your fingers tighten and the scroll bursts into flame and turns to dust around you. And for a split second, you think you may have failed. (spell noises) This giant bluish doorway erupts across the way.

SAM: Facing away from me.

MATT: Facing away from you. You see, all of you, that the somewhat dark and shadowed ravine is now suddenly aglow with bright vibrant bluish light. The blue light turns to crimson, to a deep burning red, and you hear this horrible, deep sucking sound. And you watch as Yenk the goristro is thrown from it, landing in the center of the ravine, fist to the ground–

LAURA and ASHLEY: We’re going to die!

MATT: Are you leaving the gate open?

SAM: No, I close it instantly.

MATT: Okay, the gate slams shut behind, the reddish light then now being consumed with a final blip of blue before it disappears.

SAM: I’m going to tiptoe backwards into the mansion.

MATT: Well, the goristro swoops the head over in your direction. I need you to make a stealth check.

SAM: That’s a seven.

LIAM: Oh, Sam! (groans)

TRAVIS: (whispers) Roll a little better.

MATT: You watch as the hulking behemoth, its extremely muscular body covered in fur and bony protrusions like spikes that jut out of its form, horrible hooked teeth and giant curled horns that push forward with brass jewelry emblazoned across the bone. Whips around, its red eyes beaming straight on you. In a deep, guttural voice, it (foreign words) and begins to just lumber in your direction.

MARISHA: Oh god!

MATT: For right now, I need you, just for right now, Scanlan, roll initiative.

LAURA: Oh my god.

SAM: 21!

(cheering)

MATT: All right, you’re going before it does. What are you doing?

LIAM: Bamf to the door and go in!

TRAVIS: Focus your chi.

SAM: I sing at it.

LAURA: Oh my god.

TALIESIN: No, he’s got a movement and an action.

SAM: I sing at it. I will sing: (singing) Yenk, you will be our friend, travel through the portal and back again. Your heart is true, you’re a fiend and a confidant. Boom boom boom. (speaking) All right, so I will Dominate Monster, with the hand cone.

MATT: Right. All right. Puts you at a full DC of what?

SAM: 21.

MATT: 21. That is a 13. Those who are watching, Yenk comes barreling, and then comes to a stop and stands there, looking down at this tiny gnome about 40 feet away and nods.

SAM: I say, you will stay here, and you will kill a white dragon.

MATT: You see steam shoot out from the nose as now you notice the sound of the wings. (whooshing)

SAM: And I will tiptoe back into the mansion.

MARISHA: That was the coolest thing you’ve ever done!

MATT: At which point–

TALIESIN: No!

(yelling)

SAM: It’s huge!

LAURA: Oh no, he’s so big!

TRAVIS: Holy shit.

LIAM: Make all the action figure sounds, Matt!

ASHLEY: That’s a biggie.

MATT: At this point in time, Vorugal lands. (snorting) And unleashes a torrent of frozen ice in this direction.

MARISHA: I’ve been waiting for this all week!

LAURA: I hope we can take it and it actually does damage.

MATT: That is going to be–

MARISHA: Just dies instantly. Oh fuck. Apparently white dragons are its weakness.

LAURA: I know!

SAM: We’re in a lobby, eating chicken.

TRAVIS: A little elevator music playing.

MATT: As the blast hits, you can see coats of ice across the floor. So you guys are aware, the ice and sleet and everything here is making the entire terrain rough terrain. So everyone is at half speed on foot in this entire battlefield. You can see the actual air around Vorugal itself is crystallizing into thick mist that surrounds his form sightly. Yenk is blasted with all this frozen frost-breath, and you can see the icicles crystallizing against his form. (roars) Goes running forward, and slams, goring with its horns into Vorugal’s chest.

LAURA: This feels like more like playtime than anything. All the action figures: bam bam bam!

MATT: Watch me play with my toys, guys! All right, you watch as the horns slam into Vorugal’s chest, not really expecting the ferocity and the sheer force of this entity it’s unfamiliar with. The horns spark with flames, strangely. It also tears this giant gash in two points across Vorugal’s chest. You can see white scales fly from the impact. And also, okay. It is not pushed. Vorugal stands its ground as Yenk pulls back. You see dark purple blood from the edge of the horns of the goristro. End of his turn. All right, does not save against the Dominate Monster.

SAM: Yeah, that means he’s still dominated. Okay.

TALIESIN: He has not realized this is possibly a poor idea.

TRAVIS: Yenk’s going to go, “Come on, chum. Let’s be friends.”

MATT: It did take damage from the ice breath, so it would have been trying to make its save. Did not make it. At the end of Yenk’s turn, Vorugal is going to use two of its legendary actions to do a wing attack. With a three, Yenk is knocked prone, and he suffers 15 points of bludgeoning damage. At which point, Vorugal’s moving. Takes up into the air, right above. Now coming to Vorugal’s turn. Vorugal gets cold breath back. And while Yenk is on the ground, looking upward and trying to get back up from the slick snow, releases another blast of cold breath down onto Yenk once more. Constitution save, plus 14. Does make its save again. It’s a hardy individual; constitution saves are high. It causes this cluster of ice to gather around his form, and he breaks free. Vorugal is then also going to use its flight to move over this way and spin around.

LIAM: Natural 20 on my stealth.

MATT: Yenk is going to use its turn to stand up. It looks around. It does make its save, breaking Dominate Monster, so that is gone.

SAM: Okay. Would I feel that? No, I’m on another plane of existence.

MATT: You’re on another plane of existence. You guys are all in this quiet space, fingers crossed, hoping right now. Yenk looks frustrated at this point in time. Not a whole lot I can do right now at the moment, so it’s going to run beneath and attempt to leap to grab it. Unfortunately, it does not make the full height. Leaps up in the air with all its strength; its thick muscular, hoofed hind legs crouch down and leaps in the air, its giant claws reaching forth, but Vorugal keeps just out of reach and kicks out with its claws and tail, knocking it back onto the ground. It lands, no effect. Vorugal’s turn now. Actually, at the end of Yenk’s turn– no, it’s not close enough. Come back to Vorugal’s turn. Vorugal does not get the ice breath back. It’s going to swoop down, eager to finish this hunt, and is going to unleash a series of attacks. Yeah, this is an interesting dynamic right now, because it looks like Yenk is resisting a lot of the cold impact from this. Vorugal’s going to do a full range of attacks. Hits with the bite, hits with the claw, hits with the tail. Lands and bites into him. You see ice shards go shooting off from the impact with the teeth. Both claws tear into the chest, but you can see the flesh itself is hardy and resistant to the dragon’s attacks. It’s damaging it, but Yenk is definitely made of sturdier stuff.

LAURA: While this is going on: Percival.

TALIESIN: Yes?

LAURA: If Yenk dies really fast, what do we do?

TALIESIN: I’m going to signal them to come out.

LAURA: Oh fuck.

MATT: Okay, it comes to Yenk’s turn now. As you guys are having this conversation, he is going to make two of its fist attacks and one with its hoof.

SAM: Yes, Yenk! Yes!

MATT: A hit. A miss. And a hit.

TALIESIN: He’s expending power, as well.

MARISHA: Yeah, he’s burned two of his legendary actions already. Yeah, we’re watching the dragon burn through his legendary actions.

TALIESIN: That’s the other thing.

LAURA: Oh, that’s great!

MATT: Legendary actions it gets every turn.

LAURA: He hasn’t burned through any resistances, though.

MATT: You watch as after the clawing goes through Yenk’s chest, Yenk reaches up and grabs the edge of Vorugal’s scaly back of its head and uppercuts right into the jaw, and then brings up one of its hooves and straight-up chest kicks with the sharpened hoof into the center of Vorugal’s chest. It leaves Vorugal stumbling back for a second. At the end of that turn, it’s going to use two of its legendary actions to once again beat its wings. Yenk, not being a very dexterous individual, fails and gets knocked prone once again, sending Vorugal once again up to there. Back to Vorugal’s turn, he does not get the ice breath, but it looks like Vorugal actually is moving further and further away and is biding his time.

SAM: I’m going to cast Invisibility on myself and poke my head out the door. Yeah, that’ll work.

MATT: Yeah, you look out. Make a perception check. The sleet is coming down pretty hard, so you’re having to glean what you can.

SAM: Fucking eight.

MATT: You can see some movement of dragon stuff in the air, and you hear various pitches of growling, horrible, angry yelling in the center of the battlefield.

MARISHA: So we know they’re here.

MATT: You know they’re there.

SAM: Battle is still going on. I’ll check again in 12 seconds.

MATT: Yenk’s turn, very frustrated, can’t seem to figure out what to do, is going to attempt to leap once more. Nope. He runs, leaps, tries to grab at the foot. Vorugal steps out of the way. Yenk finishes landing on the opposite side; no effect. Turns around. All right. Vorugal. Gets the cold breath back. He is going to fly backwards, and as it does, sprays an unholy mess of frozen breath energy down towards Yenk, who does not make the save, but still takes resistant damage, thanks to cold resistance. You watch with each impact Yenk’s open wounds are getting frost shards jammed into them. Right now, it looks like Yenk doesn’t have much of a recourse until Vorugal is on the ground, and Vorugal seems to have noticed this and is starting to keep a distance, and is waiting.

MARISHA: I can ground him.

SAM: And expose yourself?

MARISHA: I’m just throwing it out there. I can ground him.

MATT: Back to Yenk’s turn. At the end of Vorugal’s turn, Vorugal is going to take up about ten more feet… to get completely out of his leaping range there.

LIAM: How high is he?

MATT: Right now? 60 feet up. Yenk leaps and can’t quite get that height and angrily begins to reach over and climb up the side of the mountain there.

LIAM: Can I attack him right now?

MATT: What’s up?

LIAM: Can I attack him right now?

MATT: Which one?

LIAM: Vorugal. 60 feet. I’m sharpshooter; he’s 60 feet away from me.

MATT: 60 feet is your range. He’s a little higher than 60 feet from the angle.

SAM: Are you on the ground?

LAURA: He’s on the ground.

LIAM: Pop out the wings.

MATT: Or the wings, you could do that.

LIAM: Fly within 40 feet of him. Throw Whisper at his ass. That’s what I’m doing. Assassin.

SAM: Are you going to go up his ass into his stomach?

LAURA: In the dragon again.

SAM: In the dragon!

MATT: All right. As you step over, the wings unleash and you fly up right underneath Vorugal right there.

LIAM: Do I need to roll for stealth, though?

MATT: No, you’re still stealthed. You were holding that, yeah. You don’t seem to be noticed. Right now, Vorugal’s attention is faced over as it’s floating, staring at Yenk, who’s now starting to climb up the side of the mountain.

LIAM: So finally, this is advantage and an automatic critical hit? Assassin trait.

MATT: Well, let’s see. I’d say, given the circumstances, it is unaware that you are part of the battlefield, even though there is a current threat in its circumstance, so in this situation– let me double-check real fast.

SAM: It’s not even a Dungeons and Dragons book.

TALIESIN: It’s a cookbook!

SAM: They’re all people!

SAM and TALIESIN: It’s a cookbook!

MATT: I would say, given the fact that it’s completely unaware there was any other combatants in the vicinity aside from Yenk, I will allow this to be a surprise attack from you, though he is not considered surprised to anybody else. There isn’t a surprise round.

LIAM: All right. I rolled a 28.

MATT: Oh, that hits.

LIAM: This is Whisper. I’m using Whisper. I’m going to cast Divine Smite on the attack, as well.

MATT: All right. Roll damage on that.

ASHLEY: Kill him. One turn.

LIAM: Here we go. Two.

LAURA: (laughing) Four!

LIAM: Hold on. No, so all the dice first. Two plus the psychic damage, which is 1d8. Nine. Plus the Divine Smite, which is 15. Yeah, here comes the sneak attack damage. (counting) 38, plus my modifier which is 46. No, we double the dice first, so 38 times two. 76. Plus eight is 84.

MATT: 84 points of damage against Vorugal. Are you going with the blade, or you letting it sit?

LIAM: Oh, I went with the blade.

LAURA: So you’re on Vorugal right now?

MATT: So as you throw the blade up, it strikes into one of the wounds that Yenk had already clawed under its chest, and the blade sinks up to the hilt and further in, and as you appear, you’re actually wrist-deep in the wound right now.

TRAVIS: Back in the dragon again!

MATT: You are right up with Vorugal right now.

LIAM: I’m hasted. That’s action number one. Action number two is to throw Whisper down toward the trees closest to you, DM, and bamf there, and use my bonus action to hide. I’ll hit the ground, right?

MATT: The blade loses its luster and stumbles into the snow. (clinking) Hits the ground. It’s out of range. It doesn’t hit anything solid; you don’t go with the blade.

LIAM: I’m going to push off him, then.

LAURA: You have wings.

LIAM: Yeah, I know that. What did I use? I used 40 feet of movement?

MATT: Correct.

LIAM: Okay. I don’t know how much I have left. If I’m hasted, I would have 120 total, but that’s halved, so 20 feet, because you said rough terrain. But I’m in the air?

MATT: You’re in the air, but there’s a lot of sleet and rain hitting.

LIAM: So ten feet. That’s all right. I’m going to keep moving away. I’m going to use all my movement to get away from him and go away from his butt. I should have a bonus action that I can use. The rest of my movement, plus dash.

MATT: All right, before you get there, he’s now (roars). The angry scream. Vorugal’s head swoops around underneath and directly into your eyes as you dart away with the blade. He spins in place and bites at you as you’re trying to pull away.

LIAM: I have advantage on dexterity saving throws.

MATT: Okay. This is a bite attack, so it doesn’t matter. So that is a 26?

LIAM: That hits.

MATT: All right. So you take 22 points of piercing damage.

LIAM: Okay. Can I Uncanny Dodge this? Is this melee?

MATT: Yeah, it’s a melee attack, so you can do that. Plus 14 points of cold damage.

LIAM: Which is halved because of my armor, so 26 down to 13 and seven. 20 total.

MATT: Yeah, 20 total, reduced by half because of Uncanny Dodge, you said?

LIAM: Okay, so I’m down to 95.

MATT: Okay. So 95. You pull away to about there, the rest of your movement?

LIAM: I want to use bonus action to dash. I don’t know if that gets me 60 feet away flying.

MATT: Flying, so it would be 30.

LIAM: It’s 120 hasted, so 60 feet halved.

MATT: Okay, so yeah, you can get all the way to the ground if you want to.

LIAM: Yes.

MATT: You get down to the ground about there if you want. Okay. Now I need you to go ahead and roll initiative and put you on the initiative order.

LIAM: Yes, sir.

MATT: You have now engaged.

LIAM: Okay, so it’s an 11.

MATT: An 11.

TALIESIN: Have you said anything in the earpiece yet?

LIAM: Well, you guys saw it. People inside can’t hear me.

MATT: All right, so comes back to the top of the round now. Yenk is currently climbing up the side. Gets about halfway up the side. Is not entirely up, but is clawing up, and you feel the impact from where you’re standing, Percy.

TALIESIN: I’m holding.

MATT: Going to use the rest of his action to climb up. Gets all the way to the top of the ravine, which is about at the same height that Vorugal is. Based on your help, I need you to roll another stealth check because you helped him for the last half hour. You have advantage because she was helping you.

TALIESIN: Oh! 13. 13, because I’m at a negative one.

LAURA: 13? That’s worse than it was before!

MATT: Yenk gets to the top and turns around and sees Vorugal off to the side, glances down and goes (foreign words). And is going to make a giant bowling underhand fist punch right towards you, Percy.

TALIESIN: I was holding ready. Can I try and beat his initiative and get a shot off first?

MATT: As a reaction right now, you can go ahead and take a shot.

MARISHA: It’s time to go.

SAM: Has it been two rounds?

TALIESIN: Jenga!

MATT: It’s been more than two rounds since this started.

SAM: How about since I looked last?

MATT: It’s been almost a round.

LAURA: Can I see all this happening?

MATT: You do watch this happening.

LAURA: I’m going to take an arrow and shoot it. I can see the door, but it’s not going to register on a magical door, is it?

MATT: No.

LAURA: Fuck.

MARISHA: We’re about to pop out.

LIAM: Hey, B-T-dubs, I’ve just learned that Whisper can only bamf me once per round, right?

MATT: It needs to solidly hit something.

LIAM: To stick within 60 feet. Got it.

MATT: You can’t throw it as hard as you can and it’ll teleport you wherever it lands. It has to impact.

TALIESIN: I’m going to press a torso push with this, by the way.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: Yeah, I’m going to press a torso push. Better! 33. I don’t even know why I bother. He’s automatically pushed ten feet away from me.

MATT: He does still get the one hit on you, which is 27.

TALIESIN: Oh, that hits.

MATT: You take 23 points of bludgeoning damage from the fist, and then the fist seems to sparkle with electrical energy as it goes to impact you.

TALIESIN: That’s magic.

MATT: It is not a magic spell, no. You take six points of lightning damage.

MARISHA: Yenk is on top?

MATT: Yenk is at the top of the ravine.

MARISHA: Isn’t Percy halfway down?

MATT: Yenk got up to where he would see him and then saw him as he was passing by. Stopped to slam him.

TALIESIN: So 23 plus six. That’s fine. The lightning damage, the cloak doesn’t absorb that?

MATT: No.

TALIESIN: Okay. Then I’m going to do my damage on him, which is new to me. That’s terrible. That’s 11 points of damage, plus two points of psychic damage.

MATT: 13 points of damage. Gets pushed back. Because he’s still holding onto the edge, he has to see if he can– No, it does not. Yenk loses grip from the blast of the gun after punching you, stumbles back. Claw hits the edge and falls down prone to the ground at the base of the ravine. 40 feet.

TALIESIN: 50 feet.

MATT: 50 feet. Taking an additional 16 points of bludgeoning damage, which is halved.

TALIESIN: Do I join the initiative order?

MATT: You do. Go ahead and roll initiative.

TALIESIN: 21.

MATT: 21. All right. That ends Yenk’s turn. Vorugal does not get the ice breath back. However, does see both of you in the vicinity.

LAURA: Me?

MATT: Does not see you, no, but it sees Vax and Percy.

TALIESIN: It sees me? All right.

MATT: The blast of the gun and the impact and the whole encounter with Yenk exposed you. It’s going to use its action to use Frightful Presence, so I need both Percy and Vax– and Vex, actually, because you’re still within the range– to make a wisdom saving throw. You have advantage. You guys are immune to frightening, so it doesn’t actually affect you regardless, so don’t worry about it.

LIAM: Don’t roll?

MATT: Don’t have to roll; you’re immune to fear. Yenk makes his saving throw, so Yenk is not afraid, either.

MARISHA: Thanks, Pike! Should we pop out? Should we do this?

LAURA: No, not yet!

SAM: After 12 seconds, I will look. I will stick my head out and look again.

MATT: Vorugal is now watching the battlefield and seeing the people that have been revealed. Vorugal’s going to go up a little higher.

SAM: He’s a total not-a-good-hunter. I thought he enjoyed the hunt!

MATT: He doesn’t enjoy being ambushed or in a fight that he can’t win.

SAM: I’ve poked my head out to look.

MATT: Okay. You look out and you see Vorugal way high in the air. You see Yenk on the ground, and you see a couple of your companions less stealthed than they were before.

MARISHA: What’s it looking like, Scanlan?

SAM: I pop my head back in and I tell them: shit’s going down. Should we go out or let this play out a bit? Yenk is not dead.

TALIESIN: Jenga!

LAURA: They can’t hear you, Percy. I can hear you, but they can’t.

SAM: Yenk is not dead, so we will be fighting Yenk, as well.

ASHLEY: We can’t leave them out there alone.

SAM: I guess we go.

ASHLEY: Right? Are we going to leave them out there to die?

MARISHA: I can try and ground him. It’s a strength saving throw, though; it’s going to be tough.

LAURA: Try and ground Vorugal? Try it.

MARISHA: I say, excuse me, Scanlan.

MATT: Those who are entering the fray, roll initiative.

SAM: I’m going to leave the mansion and start running.

MARISHA: Son of a fuck!

SAM: 14.

MATT: 14. What did you get, Keyleth?

MARISHA: Four.

SAM: That’s top of the round!

MATT: Anyone else? Grog?

TRAVIS: 15.

MATT: 15. All righty.

LIAM: You get advantage, right?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: Vex, do you want to roll?

LAURA: I guess as soon as I see everybody run out, I would start attacking.

MATT: Pike, you as well?

ASHLEY: Five.

SAM: Yeah, this is great.

TRAVIS: Wow. Fuck me.

LIAM: Oh jeepers, we’re going to die.

SAM: Don’t worry, we’ve got our secret weapon. Our secret weapon, by the way, now wants to kill all of us.

MARISHA: Did he lose his save against it?

SAM: He wants to kill us.

TALIESIN: Except that he also has a dragon to contend with, so as long as we keep it a bigger threat than us, I think he’ll keep his concentration where it is.

MARISHA: We should still try to stay out of all this.

MATT: Everyone who has rolled initiative will be on the next initiative order. Vax, you’re finishing up this round.

LIAM: Oh, I am? I would like to throw Whisper to the rock I was initially hiding behind and bamf there.

MATT: Roll an attack roll.

LIAM: Yeah. Sure, that’s 25. I would like to use my bonus action to hide behind that rock.

MATT: Okay. Go ahead and roll a stealth check.

LIAM: That is a 25. Can I hold my last action?

MATT: You could hold an action to do one thing with a trigger, sure.

You can use your hasted action.

LIAM: I’m going to stay put. Stay hidden.

MATT: All right, that brings us to the top of the round. Percy, you’re at the top.

TALIESIN: Oh boy. Okay. I’m going to take a wing shot at that dragon to try and drop him. Come on. Natural 20.

LAURA: (yelling) Yes!

ASHLEY: There it is.

TALIESIN: Does the 1d6 also double? Is it all dice or just the standard damage?

MATT: No, the dice, as well.

ASHLEY: No mercy Percy!

MARISHA: You’re my favorite.

TALIESIN: Oh, you say that now. Let’s see how this goes. First the damage, which is not bad. 16 points of normal damage and 11 points of psychic damage, and he’s prone.

MATT: What’s the total on that one?

TALIESIN: 16 and 11. That’s 27.

MATT: All right. Well, it has to make a strength save.

TALIESIN: No, not against the wing shot. Oh, strength saving throw; you’re right. Against a DC of 19.

MATT: That is a success. 21.

TALIESIN: Again. That’ll hit. 31 to hit.

MATT: 31 will hit, yep.

TALIESIN: Same thing. 15 points of damage plus one psychic, so 16.

MATT: 16, and what was the DC again?

TALIESIN: 19.

MATT: 19? Just fails with an 18, so instead of being knocked prone it drops 60 feet per round.

TALIESIN: So it’s dropping now?

MATT: We’ll say for now, yes, it’s dropping.

SAM: Come on, Yenk. Kill that thing.

(plastic platform clatters)

SAM: He died!

TALIESIN: What should I make it have difficulty with? Not saving, but checks.

SAM: He’s not going to have to check anything.

TALIESIN: You never know.

MATT: There. All right, Percy. That was your second shot.

TALIESIN: One more shot. First, I’m going to Hex the dragon. I’m going to give him disadvantage against strength checks. And I’m going to shoot him with a sharpshooter shot for my last shot. Come on. Yeah! 29.

MATT: 29 hits.

TALIESIN: This is good. (excited yell) 18. Oh my god, okay. 28 plus five psychic, so that’s 33 points of damage, plus another d6. Plus another five necro.

MATT: Nice, 38. As you’re aiming up as Vorugal’s getting further and further away, you aim up and fire. One side hits it and wings it ever so slightly, the second shot you aim the other side it actually hits the joint and causes the wing to flap. Vorugal tumbles out of the air for a second and just manages to catch himself and the final shot impacts right in the back of the skull spines and shatters part of the bone and ice off of it, leaving a nice, fresh wound in the back of the head.

TALIESIN: Now, I’m going to take cover in my little cove.

LIAM: I’d like to think of you driving and cutting someone off on the 101 and going, “Plus five necro.”

TALIESIN: Plus five necro, motherfucker.

MATT: All right.

TALIESIN: He’s checking the sheet. Oh no.

LAURA: Oh no, what are you looking at?

TALIESIN: It means there’s a very angry dragon now that’s looking at me.

MATT: Okay, so Kima, who’s now eager to get out there goes, “Okay. All right. Let’s do this.” She’s going to cast Aura of Vitality on herself as her action. Then she goes running through the center of the portal, leaps out, turns the corner to there and stops and goes, “Oh shit.” That’s her turn.

MARISHA: That’s her turn?

MATT: She’s just entering the fray and did a preparation spell as part of that. Ending Kima’s turn, let’s see here. From out of seemingly nowhere in particular, you see a flash of electrical energy arcing from one of the nearby sections of the crevasse alcove. The bolt of energy arcs out and slams into Vorugal, who does not make the save, not seeing it there.

TALIESIN: All right. We’ve got a game.

SAM: Five points of damage!

MARISHA: What are you good for?

MATT: That’ll be 41 points of lightning damage.

SAM: Okay!

MARISHA: Remember, she learned from the druids a bunch of fucking nature shit.

MATT: One of the arcs tries to reach for Yenk and manages to disperse before it can get to it. It’s not quite within range, but that finishes wherever that lightning source was. Yenk angrily is going to stand up and turn. It is going to attempt to run and grab up at Vorugal again.

MARISHA and SAM: Come on, Yenk!

MATT: Leaps and misses, (impact) landing right next to the rock. That’s a natural 20 on a perception check as it lands (impact) and looks over right into your face.

LIAM: Hi.

MATT: Yenk is now aware of you.

TALIESIN: He’s just noticing everybody.

MATT: At the end of Yenk’s turn– that’s not going to help him right now. That’s going to end that. Vorugal’s turn. Breath does return this time. Vorugal, from up here, is going to send ice breath across the entire ground, sweeping up across both Yenk and Vax. I need you to make a constitution saving throw.

LIAM: Could I use Evasion for this?

MATT: No, it’s constitution.

LIAM: All right. I’m going to use Luck. First Luck of the day. All right, 13.

MATT: 13? No. You suffer 72 points of cold damage, halved because of your resistance.

ASHLEY: How much, again?

MATT: 72, but halved because of your cold resistance. 36 points of cold damage to you.

TRAVIS: Um. What?

MATT: Vorugal’s then going to take higher up into the air.

TALIESIN: Can he do that already, even recovering from the prone?

MATT: Yeah. The idea with prone is that unless there’s something that maintains or it can’t improve its movement past its next turn, it continues to fall. That’s going to finish Vorugal’s turn. Grog, you’re up.

TRAVIS: I’m up?

MATT: Yep. You’re still inside the mansion.

SAM: Do not draw attention to yourself, friend.

TRAVIS: Fuck that. We’re all going down. I take the Titanstone Knuckles and I smash them together, and I use the Enlarge, and I will burst out of the mansion in a rage.

LIAM: Big Grog!

MATT: So that’s 30 feet of movement. You have 20 more feet, if you want.

TRAVIS: No, remember it’s halved.

MATT: All right. Then there, that’s 25. That’s your movement. The gauntlets took your bonus action. You can still use your action to dash, if you want to move further. Or do you want to stay there and hold your action?

LIAM: Wait. I’m sorry. Yenk knew where I was. Did the dragon know where I was, too?

MATT: It’s funny. It hit Yenk and the whole thing, but the dragon has an aerial view, and you have a single rock that you went behind to hide, and it saw you move behind the rock. You have to break eye contact to stealth.

TRAVIS: I’ll use that dash to keep moving towards the ice wall, towards you. Maybe two or three squares. That will be my turn.

MATT: You can get there. Hulking, axe gripped, giant Grog is leaping through the snow. (impacts) You’re two-thirds the size of Yenk, right now, which is crazy. All right, that ends Grog’s turn. Scanlan, you’re up.

SAM: Me? I’m still invisible. I’m going to leave the mansion.

MATT: You’re not still invisible, because you cast Dominate Monster.

SAM: No, I cast Invisibility after I cast Dominate Monster. I’m going to leave the mansion and clockwise around the game board.

MATT: That’s as far as you can get, there, with your reduced movement.

SAM: If I inspire, that kills my invisibility?

MATT: Technically, no. It’s not an attack or an action, so I would say it wouldn’t. It may give away your location.

SAM: Then I will use my bonus action to keep moving. To dash?

MATT: To dash is your action. You can do that, yeah. Your bonus action, that’s only a rogue ability.

SAM: I will dash and keep moving away and that way.

MATT: This way? Okay. That’s your action.

SAM: That’s it?

MATT: Yeah. It’s big, heavy snow and slick ice. You’re having to be careful.

SAM: Okay. I don’t want to draw attention to myself, so that’ll be that.

MATT: All righty.

SAM: I’m only within range of Kima. I’m not going to give away my position to inspire her.

MATT: All right, finishing your turn. Vax, you’re up.

LIAM: Holy shit. Yeah, I’m going to take to the air. Holy shit. I’m going to fly within 60 feet of Vorugal. 55 feet away.

MATT: That will put you about there. Okay. Yenk has a reach of ten because his arms are long, and you’re within his combat range, so as soon as you fly up, he swings out with his fist to attempt to impact you.

LIAM: All right, Uncanny Dodge.

MATT: As you’re with your wings, dagger out, this fist comes swinging like a battering ram from the side. That is 22 to hit. Misses. (whoosh) You just barely dodge out of the way. You feel the force of it, the wind batter a bunch of errant falling sleet and snow across your face, but you rush past, the hasted bonus saving you on that one.

LIAM: Okay, so how far did I just go?

MATT: That would have been 55 feet.

LIAM: 55 feet. I can go 120 in one action, so that’s my movement.

MATT: Halved, yeah.

LIAM: Halved, but 120, so that’s my movement, total. I’m going to throw Whisper in his face. I’m not going to bamf there; I’m just going to throw the dagger.

MATT: Into Vorugal?

LIAM: Vorugal’s face. That’s halfsies, so I’m going to roll it again. That’s way better. That is a 32.

MATT: That hits. How many Luck have you used, by the way?

LIAM: One. That is 12 plus the psychic damage.

MATT: I thought you used Luck once before, today.

LIAM: I don’t think so. Not since waking up.

MATT: It would have been yesterday. You’re right.

LIAM: 12, plus two is 14, and I’m going to cast Divine Smite– no, I’m not. No, just 14 of damage, so that’s movement, action. My next action I’m going to use to fly under him, halfway between Percival and the gang, and land on the wall.

MATT: Land on the wall this way?

LIAM: Yeah. Now, that wall is higher up than it looks, so I’m really flying straight, right?

MATT: Correct. We’ll say you’re about there, technically.

LIAM: Yes, and then for a bonus action, my last spell slot, I’m going to cast Shield of Faith on my fucking self for a plus two to AC.

MATT: There you go. Ending Vax’s turn. Pike, you’re up.

ASHLEY: Yikes. Well. Are we outside the mansion?

MATT: No, you’re inside the mansion right now. You just watched Grog, Kima, and Scanlan all dart out of it. Well, you didn’t see Scanlan leave. Scanlan vanished.

ASHLEY: Scanlan vanished.

MATT: It’s you, Trinket, and Keyleth.

LAURA: Did I ever get on the initiative order?

MATT: What did you roll? Ten, right? You’d technically be after Vax. We’ll do your turn after this, but you’re after Vax.

ASHLEY: I’m going to pop out. Maybe I can stay in there and do this, in the door, and try to cast Divine Intervention.

MATT: Divine Intervention? All right, so you step out and you see this chaos happen: the dragon in the air, the fiend on the side, swinging and barely missing a flying Vax, who swoops past in the middle of this sleet storm. You close your eyes and concentrate, holding your holy symbol, praying that Sarenrae has the ability to reach beyond the Divine Gate and lend you her strength temporarily. I need you to roll a d10.

MARISHA: Man, how awesome would this be?

LAURA: It would be insane.

MATT: What did you roll?

ASHLEY: A ten?

MATT: A zero?

LAURA: Yeah, a zero.

MARISHA: (excited gasping) Shut the fuck up! She has to roll under her level, which she did.

MATT: So this succeeded.

MARISHA: Shut the fuck up, Ashley!

MATT: So as you clutch your holy symbol, concentrating, hoping that she’s there, feeling the division between the gods and their followers since the Divergence occurred. You’ve reached out to her a number of times. You look up through the darkness of your closed eyes, and you see a light, a beacon open. The clouds part, and suddenly the sound of rain goes away. The sound of all the chaos goes away, and it’s just warmth and quiet, and you watch as Sarenrae’s hand comes down and touches your forehead, and with your closed eyes, and says, “I’ll do what I can.” As she drifts away and smiles, you watch as her hand turns into a fist, and she looks up and disappears into the light. As you open your eyes, you now see up in the sky above Vorugal, the clouds that are dark, a sparkle of divine energy begins to swirl. As it grows stronger and stronger, the clouds suddenly part, and a giant column of divine energy (boom) slams down, right on top of Vorugal. Vorugal looks up just in time to try to move out of the way before it slams him back. Does not make his dex save with a roll of five. Vorugal suffers 50 points of divine damage and is slammed onto the ground.

(cheering)

TALIESIN: Stay down!

MARISHA: Yes! Holy fuck! Pike! That was amazing!

ASHLEY: Oh boy!

LIAM: Action figure is down.

MATT: Additional 26 points of bludgeoning damage. As the light column slams Vorugal to the ground, you can see some of the ice and snow underneath melts immediately, and what was once a column, you can see now looks like a giant fist made of spiritual energy that then withdraws slowly off the back of Vorugal and then dissipates before the clouds close up once more.

ASHLEY: Yes! It worked!

MATT: That’s your movement and your action.

ASHLEY: For a bonus action, I would like to place a spiritual weapon at the back of his neck, since he’s on the ground. And I would like it to be a very large flaming sword.

MATT: Okay. You watch as the hand of Sarenrae dissipates, some of the energy that’s residual there lingers, and then forms into a flaming sword of pure golden-white energy. It is now hovering over the currently slammed-down, broken-looking body of Vorugal.

SAM: She’s the best one of the group!

(laughter)

MATT: All righty. That was… What level spell was that, again, Pike? Second level. Got it. All right, so make a melee spell attack against Vorugal. Roll a d20 and add, I believe it’s 11. Roll a d20 and add 11 to it as the flaming blade attempts to strike down towards Vorugal.

ASHLEY: 25.

MATT: 25 hits. Go ahead and roll 1d8 plus five.

ASHLEY: Okay, well, six. Sarenrae did the damage.

MATT: Six points of divine damage.

ASHLEY: Sarenrae does 50 points of damage, and I do six.

MATT: Through you, did 50 points. You’re still part of it. All right, that ends Pike’s turn. Vex, we’re taking your turn because you weren’t in the initiative order.

LAURA: That’s okay. I’m going to cast Hunter’s Mark on Vorugal.

MATT: Because dragons are your chosen enemy, I’m giving you the plus two damage against it.

LAURA: Okay, so I’m hidden, technically, so I get sneak attack on him, right?

MATT: Currently, you have not been noticed.

LAURA: Okay, so I’m going to hit him, or try to. That is 34.

MATT: Yeah, that’ll hit. Divine Intervention, man. Finally worked. Can’t use it for a week, by the way, Pike, just so you’re aware. Once it succeeds, you can’t use it for a week.

ASHLEY: That’s fine.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: I doubt it’s going to work again. That, I think, has never worked.

MARISHA: You’ve gotten close. You’ve gotten really close.

TRAVIS: Three years, never worked.

LAURA: 30 points of damage on the first hit, and two of those are lightning.

MATT: Great.

TALIESIN: Is it gargantuan? Gargantuan. Trust Travis on this one.

LAURA: 22 on the second, two of which are lightning.

MATT: Okay. Nice. All right, that ends your turn. You used your bonus action to Hunter’s Mark.

LAURA: I did. I’m going to hang out there and duck down, if I can, behind my little outcropping.

MATT: Okay. Keyleth, you’re up.

MARISHA: Okay. Oh god. I’m going to pop out of the mansion. I was expecting to do an Earthbind spell, but that’s not necessary. That’s okay!

MATT: Pike, do you want to move at all, or do you want to stay behind that rock?

ASHLEY: I’m going to stay behind.

MARISHA: I’m going to fuck this guy up while he’s down. I’m going to peek around the corner, going towards you a bit, and seeing everyone there and all this go down, I’m going to Fire Storm the fuck out of this!

MATT: All righty.

TALIESIN: Death from above.

MARISHA and TALIESIN: Fire rains from above!

MATT: How are you organizing the Fire Storm?

MARISHA: I have ten of these? I’m shaking.

MATT: Fire Storm, you create ten ten-foot cubes. You can maneuver it to hit both him and Yenk, if you want to.

MARISHA: Yeah, that’s what I want.

MATT: Make a dexterity saving throw.

LIAM: Get that epic loot drop.

MARISHA: I know. I want it.

MATT: That is a failure on Vorugal, with a ten, and a seven on Yenk. They both fail, so roll damage on that. 7d10 fire damage.

MARISHA: 7d10.

LAURA: Hey, Matt.

MATT: Yes?

ASHLEY: 1d8 plus your spellcasting modifier?

MATT: Which is five. It’s your wisdom.

ASHLEY: Spell attack bonus.

MATT: Yes, there’s a difference.

ASHLEY: I understand.

LAURA: Do it, Keyleth!

TALIESIN: Want a bonus?

LAURA: It doesn’t count on the floor.

MARISHA: I’ll roll this one. It’s eight! Okay, hang on. (counting) 30. I picked it up. 38.

MATT: 38 fire damage to both of them. All righty. The Fire Storm tears through the ravine. You can see the flames burn over Vorugal’s body. Vorugal is now trying to get back up. (roars) He’s extremely angry. The flames curl over Yenk, who bats away at them. It burns him, but Yenk does seem to resist it fairly well.

MARISHA: I’m going to use the last bit of my movement to pop back behind the stone.

MATT: Okay. There you go. All righty, does that end your turn? Percy, you’re up.

TALIESIN: I’m going to take aim and hold my full attack until he tries to get up.

MATT: Okay. That brings us to Kima’s turn. Kima sees the opportunity. Because of the snow, she can’t quite get there yet with her full movement, unfortunately. All righty. Kima is going to use the rest of her action to dash and get right up next to Vorugal and is going to use her bonus action to use Vow of Enmity against it. She goes, “You are going to see Bahamut in pieces!” As she brings the thumb across, the holy symbol glows for a second. You see a mark emblazon and burn itself into the side of Vorugal’s body. That’s going to end Kima’s turn.

TALIESIN: That’s a sick tattoo, y'all.

LAURA: Maybe it’s like Hex and Hunter’s Mark.

TRAVIS: We don’t know what that does.

MATT: What’s the range on that, actually? That’s going to be a rough call. Okay, you watch as emerging from the treeline here, you see a little dwarf step forward, unaffected by the ice, and reach out a hand as a cluster of necrotic energy sparkles in the center. Leaps forward toward Vorugal. That is a success on the save, so it’s half damage, but Keyleth, you recognize at a glance of your eye, this necromantic leap. This is a Blight spell.

SAM: Blight spell?

LAURA: Who’s doing a Blight spell?

SAM and MATT: Larkin.

SAM: He’s secretly Raishan!

LIAM: What? Where did that dwarf come from? Did you hire more mercenaries? When are they showing up? Hey, I’ll own it. It’s fine. It’s been a long week.

MATT: Yenk turns around with a grin. (impacts) Coming forward.

SAM: Yes, Yenk.

MATT: Is going to make three attacks, and has advantage on these attacks, because it’s prone. A five and a one. Are you serious? Misses the first strike, with advantage. Hits with the second attack. Hits with the third. Okay, so that’s going to be 48 points of damage from Yenk. Slams a fist once and glides off the scales. Second one goes and slams into the side of Vorugal’s neck, and then picks up the hoof and jams it into the side of the skull, cracking into the side of Vorugal’s head. You can see some teeth break and get thrown off and scatter into the ice and snow nearby. At the end of Yenk’s turn, Vorugal is going to go ahead and use two actions to wing attack once more, getting up. Let’s see. Yenk’s going to have to make a strength save. Fails. Kima fails, as well. They are both knocked prone and suffer bludgeoning damage.

TRAVIS: Only if you’re right on him? I’m only two squares away, I think.

MATT: You are also within 15 feet, Grog, technically, so I need you to make a strength saving throw.

TRAVIS: 17?

MATT: 17 does not cut it. You take 15 points of bludgeoning damage and you are knocked prone.

LIAM: All the trees are down.

MATT: It’s rough. And Vorugal gets half its speed.

TALIESIN: Oh no. He’s even starting to move? I’m laying into him. Spending a grit point and I’m knocking him in the foot, back prone before he can even stand up.

MATT: Okay. How many grit points do you have, by the way, now?

TALIESIN: This is my third or fourth because I did crit, so I got one back.

MATT: You did. This is correct.

TALIESIN: 22.

MATT: 22 hits.

TALIESIN: That’s a d10 and a d6, and another d6. 12 points of damage, plus one necrotic and two psychic, so 15 points of damage, and he has a save against 19.

MATT: That’s a natural 20. Has disadvantage because of your–

TALIESIN: No, I was about to say, it’s a save, not a check.

MATT: Oh, right. Strength checks. So natural 20. Unaffected.

TALIESIN: Unaffected? Again!

MATT: This is your last grit point.

MARISHA: Can’t say we’re not honest.

TALIESIN: Blowing it. It’s worth it. Gun jams.

MATT: Gun jams.

TALIESIN: You know what happens.

MATT: So as you go to fire Animus, it charges up for a second and blasts back, and you watch as a bolt of necrotic energy shoots up Percy’s arm and into his head and bursts at his temples. You take 2d6 points of psychic damage.

ASHLEY: Does the spiritual weapon get an attack of opportunity?

MATT: No, it doesn’t get attacks of opportunity. It’s not a creature.

TALIESIN: Ow. That’s the end of my turn. I’m going to dive down and hide and hold.

MATT: That ends Yenk’s turn. It’s now Vorugal’s turn. Gets the breath back. Turns around here. At the giant cluster of shit here.

SAM: He does not see me!

MATT: Doesn’t need to. You’re in a very big space there. I need Pike, Scanlan, and Keyleth to all make constitution saving throws.

MARISHA: The cloak doesn’t have anything to do with this, right?

SAM: Can I use Cutting Words to reduce the attack?

MATT: It’s not an attack. It’s an effect that happens.

MARISHA: With advantage? Natural 20!

MATT: With advantage? Why do you get advantage?

MARISHA: I thought you said advantage.

MATT: No.

MARISHA: Fucking fuck! Well, then I guess I reroll.

LIAM: Rolled two dice.

MATT: Roll one dice.

MARISHA: I should have kept the first one. That’s an 18, which is good! 23.

MATT: Okay. Scanlan?

SAM: 13. I add nothing to it, right?

TALIESIN: Is it constitution saving? Plus two.

MATT: 23. Pike, what did you get?

ASHLEY: Nine.

MATT: Nine. Kima failed. So that is 72 points of cold damage to Scanlan, Pike, and Kima.

ASHLEY: Divided between us all, right?

(laughter)

MATT: No, sorry. Halved to you.

MARISHA: That’s 36?

ASHLEY: Just 72?

MATT: Wait, does one of you have the Cold Snap armor on?

LAURA: I do.

MATT: Oh yeah. So yeah, 36 cold damage to you, Keyleth. 72 to both of you and Kima. And Vorugal is then going to get back a bit and fly a little higher.

TALIESIN: He moved really far in one turn.

MATT: The wing effect is a legendary action on somebody else’s turn, and then on his turn, he has a speed of 80 feet, flying.

TALIESIN: Even halved?

MATT: He’s not affected by cold. Sorry, white dragon.

TALIESIN: We’re still going to need you, then, apparently.

MATT: That’s going to end Vorugal’s turn. Grog, you’re up.

TRAVIS: Oh, well, he’s in the air, which is my preference, all around. Can I get up, please? Now we’re somewhere. Can I move directly under him as far as I can go?

MATT: That’s half movement, so that’s about as far as you can get right now.

TRAVIS: Can I haste or pick my nose to go any further?

MATT: Unfortunately, no.

LIAM: Hold for him to drop?

TRAVIS: I will hold until he drops.

LIAM: Oh, sad Grog.

MATT: Scanlan, you’re up.

SAM: Jesus. I will continue my movement clockwise around the board.

MATT: This way, you mean? That’s your movement.

SAM: How far is he from me? A long way.

MATT: Quite a ways right now, yeah.

SAM: 150 to 200 feet?

MATT: Not quite that much, no. Maybe somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 feet.

SAM: Has my invisibility dropped when I got blasted?

MATT: Actually, make a concentration check with advantage, because you have War Caster.

SAM: Concentration? Is it plus anything?

MATT: It’s a constitution saving throw.

SAM: 14.

MATT: 14. Yeah, no. You had to beat a 36 because of the damage from the ice blast. Yeah, your invisibility drops. You are now fully visible.

SAM: Okay. Is he within 120 feet of me?

MATT: Yeah, he’s within 120 feet, probably.

SAM: All right, I’ll punch him in the face.

MATT: Bigby’s Hand?

SAM: Yeah. I will Bigby’s Hand him.

MATT: All right. Bigby’s Hand flies up to meet Vorugal.

LIAM: Can you yank his shit down?

SAM: He’s way too big. I can try to grab a wing.

MARISHA: Can you grapple him? Grapple a wing?

SAM: DM, how does this work? I cannot grapple anything above a huge monster. Can I grapple part of a gargantuan monster?

MATT: Unfortunately, he’s just too big for Bigby’s Hand.

SAM: So I just punch him. Simply a punch. Bigby’s Hand!

MATT: Roll a d20 plus your spell attack bonus.

SAM: 17.

MATT: 17. (whoosh) The fist swings past. Vorugal dodges out of the way, batting his wings and getting out of the trajectory of the fist that just streaks by harmlessly.

SAM: Great. I think I’m within range of Lady Kima? I can inspire her, maybe?

MATT: Yeah.

SAM: You know what? Fuck her. I’m going to heal myself.

(laughter)

SAM: She crossed me one too many times.

MARISHA: She crossed you?

SAM: Fuck her.

LAURA: Poor Kima. Trying to get mind-wiped so many times by him.

MARISHA: He’s a dick to her, and now he’s angry about it.

SAM: Healing Word. Can I do level two? That’s 2d4 plus six now?

MATT: Yeah.

SAM: 12 points. Great. Okay. Thanks.

MATT: All righty. That’s your turn, Scanlan?

SAM: Yes.

MATT: Vax, you’re up.

LIAM: Oh jeez! Really? Okay. So I’m right there. Am I within 60 feet?

MATT: Maybe.

LIAM: I’m going to fly 20 feet forward through the storm toward him.

MATT: Okay. That will put you right about there.

LIAM: Yeah. Dagger, dagger, dagger.

LAURA: Oh, you have three daggers still?

LIAM: They come back, man. First is 26. Second is a 17, but I’m going to use my second Luck, so the second is a 21. And the third is 19.

MATT: All right. The 17 and 19 miss.

LIAM: Okay, so the first one was really high. The second two are mediocre.

MATT: The first one hits. The other two streak off.

LIAM: Whisper hits.

MATT: Yes.

SAM: Does he get sneak attack because I’m on the flank with my hand?

LIAM: No, I didn’t think so. That is terrible. That’s just ten. And I use my movement to fly directly under him.

MATT: Okay. You’re not going with Whisper?

LIAM: Say again?

MATT: You’re not going with Whisper?

LIAM: No.

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: No… Yes, I am.

MATT: Are you?

LIAM: Could I have hit him in the tail?

MATT: If you want to, sure. Why not? You impact.

LIAM: I got the blade on his tail, and I’m there.

MATT: Okay. You’re right there with Vorugal.

MARISHA: It’s becoming a Jenga mini-game.

LIAM: That’s where I am.

MATT: All righty. That ends Vax’s turn. Vex, you’re up.

LAURA: Okay. I’m going to try to hit him a couple times.

MATT: Go for it.

LAURA: My moves are really intricate. 25 for the first one, and I’m using Blazing Bowstring on this. Okay. (counting) Oh! Okay. I have 40 points of damage on the first hit, two of which are lightning, seven of which are fire damage.

MATT: 40.

LAURA: And I get sneak attack because Vax is on him.

MATT: Yep.

SAM: Is that Fenthras?

LAURA: It’s Fenthras. And then 25 on the second hit.

SAM: Points of damage?!

LAURA: No, that’s just to attack. Oh, jeez Louise. (counting) 23 on the second one, with four points of lightning damage and two points of fire damage.

MATT: All right. So that’s your turn?

LAURA: And I’m going to use my bonus action to hide.

MATT: Okay. Roll a stealth check.

LAURA: Pass Without a Trace still on me?

MATT: No, because you used Hunter’s Mark.

LAURA: Right. So that is 27.

MATT: Okay, good to know. End of your turn, Vorugal is going to use his legendary action to make a tail attack against Vax.

LIAM: Is that melee? Can I use Uncanny Dodge?

MATT: You can if it hits you, yeah. So that is a 26?

LIAM: Shite! Yeah, Uncanny Dodge.

MATT: Okay. So as you get up there and the arrows smack into the sides, from both Vex’s attacks–

LIAM: Wait! I want to use my last Luck to make him roll again. Which I can do.

MATT: Okay, you can. That is 27.

LIAM: Wow. It’s all right. Uncanny Dodge!

TALIESIN: No, what are you going to do? Ancient white dragon. Someone’s going to get knocked unconscious.

MATT: 23 points of bludgeoning damage as the tail (whack) slams you in the side, almost breaking one of the wings off, and you just manage to catch yourself in the air. So 28, and you can half that. All right. So that ends Vex’s turn. Pike, you’re up.

ASHLEY: All right.

SAM: Do that Divine Intervention thing again. That was really good.

ASHLEY: It’s been a week, right? One week is one round, right? Okay. So what I’d like to do… Here’s a question. Flame Strike, since it comes from the sky, would it work since he’s up in the sky? Comes from above.

MATT: Ten-foot radius, 40-foot high cylinder. Centered around a point within range. So it’s a 60-foot range. Doesn’t say it has to be on the ground, per se.

ASHLEY: All right, let’s give it a try.

LAURA: Do it towards the front of Vorugal, so it doesn’t hit Vax.

LIAM and LAURA: Hit him in the face.

MATT: Ten-foot radius. Yeah. You can direct it where it’s not going to hit Vax.

LIAM: Thanks, Matt.

MATT: (laughs) All right, so what’s your spell DC?

ASHLEY: 18.

MATT: 18. This is dex, right? It’s a 21. He succeeds, so that’s half damage. Go ahead and roll damage on that. It’s 8d6 damage.

LAURA: Oh, do you even have to roll the attack on that?

MATT: It explodes, and it’s a saving throw to see if he manages to avoid some of the damage, which he did. What did you get?

SAM: It’s ten-foot radius? Ten-foot diameter?

MATT: Ten-foot radius.

SAM: It doesn’t hit the Hand, does it?

MATT: No. She’s directing it in a way where it hits the front of him. It bursts right through his head and the edge of his wings.

ASHLEY: 19.

TRAVIS: And two more. That’s 8d6.

LAURA: It’s 8d6?

MATT: 8d6, yeah.

ASHLEY: Oh! (giggles) Do I add anything else?

MATT: Just those.

ASHLEY: What is it? 29.

MATT: 29. All right. So 14 points of damage with the halved. (explosion) The blast hits; the flames spin around. You see Vorugal starting to look a bit rough now. It’s getting angry; wings are beating faster. You can see there’s a feral desperation in Vorugal’s eyes right now at all the things that are starting to come at him.

ASHLEY: I’m going to stay put. And for bonus action, I’m going to cast Healing Word on myself.

MATT: Okay. All right. At the end of your turn, Pike, using another legendary action to make another tail attack at Vax, trying to beat you away from behind at this point. That is a 25.

LIAM: That hits.

MATT: That hits? Okay.

LIAM: And I’m out of Uncanny Dodge, right?

MATT: Well, you can only make one reaction per round, yeah. That’ll put you at 14 points of bludgeoning damage. (whack) Right at your side this time. Though you were able to dodge most of the first impact, this one smacks you to your side, and you spiral over for a second, catching yourself, and still keep afloat right there. All right, that brings us to Keyleth.

MARISHA: Okay. I am going to cast Earthbind on him.

MATT: Earthbind. What’s the range on Earthbind?

MARISHA: 300 feet.

MATT: Yeah, that will do it. All right, what’s the saving throw on it? Saving throw on that is a strength saving throw. All right, that is a failure. It’s going to use one of its legendary resistances to make it.

(groaning)

TALIESIN: Good, you’ve burned it. Had to burn it.

MARISHA: (frustrated noise)

TRAVIS: She’s speaking Parseltongue.

(laughter)

MARISHA: I am going to do a bonus action to cast Healing Word on myself. Heal myself real quick. Same thing, I want to scoot back a little bit, behind that tree, a bit.

MATT: Right behind here?

MARISHA: Yeah, because I got whacked with that ice breath, and I don’t want that to happen again. All right.

MATT: All right. That ends your turn? At the end of your turn, he’s going to use his third and final legendary action to make another tail swipe at Vax. That is a 27.

LIAM: You’ve hit me right now? Yeah, that hits.

MATT: Okay. This third tail strike right now is going to do 17 points of bludgeoning damage. (impacts) You’ve been battered in the air by the white dragon tail swinging behind. The focus is less on you as it’s hitting you, and it’s focusing on the whole battlefield down in front of it and the giant demon that is still lying on the ground.

LIAM: Thanks, Heroes’ Feast.

MATT: That brings us up to Percy.

TALIESIN: I am going to heal, as my bonus action. That’s not bad. That’s 19 points. I’m a little better now. I’m at 108; I’m fine. Now, I’m going to take out Bad News. Fuck Animus for now. Take out Bad News and take two shots at this bastard with sharpshooter.

LAURA: What’s Yenk doing down there? Sleeping?

MATT: Yenk got knocked prone.

TALIESIN: For fuck’s sake!

SAM: Gun jam?

TALIESIN: Yeah, gun jammed.

MATT: Fire again, this time (click, explosion). You see a burst of smoke come out, and part of the metal slightly bends. And you’re like, “Shit!”

SAM: All your guns?

TALIESIN: No, I have one more gun. But I don’t have time. That burns an action.

MATT: Yeah. You could use your action surge, if you wanted to.

TALIESIN: Okay, I’m using my action surge. Might as well.

MARISHA: You try to unjam it?

TALIESIN: No, I’m taking out my last pistol and I’m shooting. I’m just going to shoot. See if I can take two more shots. Technically not; it’s two shots.

MATT: No, if you’re pulling your next gun out. You’re not trying to repair?

TALIESIN: No, I’m not trying to repair.

MATT: You’d still have two more attacks. Yeah, because you have quick draw. You drop Bad News, grab another weapon. You still have two more attacks.

TALIESIN: Oh, I’m taking two more shots, then. Sharpshooter shot with Retort. No, it’s different. 16.

MATT: Nope. Fires off in the distant cloud.

LAURA: It’s that new damn gun. Its sight is all shit.

TALIESIN: Ah! That one hits, on the other hand, I think. 22?

MATT: That hits.

TALIESIN: That’s not much, but I’ll take it. Nine points of normal damage plus two necrotic, so that’s 11 points of damage. No, 21 points of damage. I’m so sorry.

MATT: Right, with the ten. Yeah. There you go. 21. First one misses. (click) You set it up. This time, takes a shot. (impact) It hits Vorugal from underneath a few feet off from where Vax is. You can see the wound beginning to bleed now. The more damage Vorugal gets, the more you can see the trickle of reddish-blue blood darkening against the white skin. Vorugal is looking fairly damaged.

TALIESIN: I’m going to burn my action surge and take three more shots. Fuck it. See if I can lose the third gun. It’s that night, apparently. No, I will not. That’s 18?

MATT: Nope.

TALIESIN: Fuck the sharpshooter shot. I’m just going for it. No sharpshooter. Thank god! That’s 20?

MATT: 20 just hits.

TALIESIN: Excellent. Good to know. Oh my god, that’s bullshit. Ten points, three necrotic, so it’s ten points of damage.

MATT: Your final shot?

TALIESIN: My final shot. No, it didn’t. This one doesn’t do that. That’s nice, but I miss. That’s 16. That misses.

MATT: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Thankfully, it doesn’t burn that gun. No, that gun is better built. I’m rolling really poorly.

MATT: That ends your turn. That comes to Kima’s turn. Kima is going to get up.

TRAVIS: Come on, represent us melee-ers!

LAURA: The three of you down on the ground.

MATT: I know. This is a rough fight for the melee.

TRAVIS: I’m making a mean face, so far.

MARISHA: You’re mad-dogging the dragon?

MATT: Did maintain concentration. That’s good. Kima’s going to use a bonus action to heal you, Grog, for nine points. Nine health, using her Aura of Vitality.

SAM: Why wouldn’t she heal me?

MATT: She’s not close enough to you, unfortunately.

SAM: And she hates me.

MATT: Yeah, you may have pissed her off. She will move up into range with Yenk, but she can’t actually attack. Too much ice, and her legs are not the longest, and she’s having a hard time getting in the fray, but now she’s locked in the battle.

SAM: Larkin’s turn.

LAURA: Good old Larkin!

SAM: Good old Larkin! Come on, Larkin. Bring him down!

MATT: All right.

MARISHA: Where is Yenk?

TALIESIN: Yenk ain’t got nothing but us to hit right now. Let’s not dwell on that.

MATT: It’s Larkin’s turn, technically.

SAM: (singing) You see him Larkin. You hating.

(laughter)

MATT: You watch as the tiny dwarf form looks around at the chaos here, and with how things are going, “Shite!”

LAURA: Don’t you fucking ditch! Don’t you ditch out!

MATT: His form vanishes as a green dragon appears.

(shouting)

LIAM: Cards on the table!

MATT: All right, uses the movement to fly up.

MARISHA: Is she going to go for him?

LAURA: She’s going! She’s doing it. She’s so teeny compared to him!

MATT: She is a diseased dragon. And releases (blows air) cold blast of poison breath at this direction.

MARISHA: Heroes’ Feast, man.

MATT: As the billowing cloud of toxic fumes fills you, you instinctually freak out for a second before you realize that the magical protection in your lungs is preventing any of it from taking hold inside. That’s cocked. It does make its save.

SAM: What kind of save is it?

MATT: It’s a constitution.

SAM: Does the Hand need to make a save? Hand has an AC of 20 and my hit points.

MATT: I don’t know if the poison’s going to affect Bigby’s Hand. It'is arcane. It’s not going to affect that. That’s for more of physically hitting it. However, Vorugal does end up taking 38 points of poison damage.

SAM: And then Vax goes, “Wait a second, Larkin was a dragon?!”

(laughter)

MATT: Okay, at this point, that’s going to end Raishan’s turn. Yenk gets up, looking at the battlefield. He sees this giant, hulking goliath. Well, technically with Seeming, a large dragonborn with an axe. Lurches forward. Kima gets an attack of opportunity against Yenk.

LAURA: Would he still look like a little dragonborn?

MATT: No, his physical form still shifts into a larger one. He looks smaller than his actual self, I guess, comparatively. We’ll say for the fun element of it, he still looks like a bigger dragonborn, as Grog wants to look bigger on this one. Kima does hit Yenk. She’s going to use Divine Smite, 4th-level spell against him as part of that. Ooh! That’s going to be nice.

TALIESIN: Remember to go into the stomach, if it goes. We’ve got a relic in its stomach.

MARISHA: Don’t eviscerate him. It’s fine. It’s not going anywhere.

MATT: 21 plus 4d8. 5d8 because it is a fiend.

TRAVIS: Yeah! 5d8 because it is a fiend!

MATT: I don’t want to rob her of any awesome damage here.

TRAVIS: Yeah, come on. For the very few times Kima gets to get shake the dust off.

MATT: I know. Seriously!

MARISHA: It does look like he’s copping a feel.

SAM: Cupping?

ASHLEY: Little pinch.

MATT: She gets additional 1d8. It’s 5d8 additional damage.

SAM: Trumping right now?

MARISHA: No, this is our fantasy land, man.

TALIESIN: No! Nixing it! This is my safe place.

MATT: 48 points of damage in one strike from Kima against Yenk.

TRAVIS: Just from the attack of opportunity?

MATT: Just attack of opportunity, yeah. She poured a level four Divine Smite spell into it and (impacts) as she slams behind. Fiends are a paladin’s thing. As Yenk’s running away towards you, Grog, she says, “No, you don’t!” (impacts) Slams up with her maul and strikes at the side of Yenk, causing him to tumble. He’s still keeping his trajectory, though. He slams forward towards you. That’s more than 15 feet. He’s going for a gore attack against you, Grog, with the horns, like he did with Vorugal at the beginning of the battle.

LIAM: He’s going to take 15 percent of your hit points.

MATT: (chuckles) Yeah. That is a 22.

TRAVIS: That’ll hit.

SAM: Can I Cutting Words that?

MATT: I don’t think you’re in range.

SAM: Am I 60 feet?

MATT: 60 feet? Let me se. 60. Just out of range. You suffer 55 points of piercing damage from the horns, halved, plus an additional 38 points of piercing damage from the momentum from the gore.

TRAVIS: And you said additional 30?

MATT: Additional 38.

TRAVIS: Additional 38, so that’s halved also. 19?

MATT: 19 on top of the half. Plus an additional seven points of cold damage as the horns strike into you, the horns almost solidify into ice spikes as it hits you, the ice breaking off.

SAM: Would have been great against a fucking dragon.

LAURA: It did. It did the fire damage against the dragon.

TRAVIS: 48 points of damage.

MATT: Okay. There you go. That ends Yenk’s turn. It is now Vorugal’s turn. Vorugal’s pissed and hurt and angry and is going to move away.

LAURA: You get an attack of opportunity!

LIAM: Did he move away?

MATT: You do get one, yeah.

LIAM: Yeah. No sneak attack because it’s just me and Bigby, right?

MATT: Currently, yes. You don’t get sneak attack here, no.

LIAM: Right, because there’s nobody here with me. 27 hits, so that is a three plus eight is 11, plus my psychic damage is 12.

LAURA: How do you want to do this?

LIAM: That’d be great, cut him in the butt.

MATT: Nice. That’s some good luck with the ice breath this battle.

TRAVIS: There are three giant monsters.

MARISHA: Jesus, he’s back for my shit. He’s back for me and you, Pike.

MATT: I need Keyleth, Pike, and Scanlan to all make constitution saving throws.

SAM: Oh boy.

MARISHA: Okay. 18.

MATT: 18.

SAM: 15.

MATT: Pike? All right, all three of you guys take 72 points of cold damage.

LAURA: Okay. So that’s unconscious.

MATT: So Pike is unconscious. Scanlan?

SAM: I’m okay.

MATT: You’re okay? What’s your hit points?

SAM: I healed myself last time just the amount of hit points I have right now.

MATT: (laughs) Keyleth, where you at?

MARISHA: I’m at 36. Luckily I also healed myself up.

LIAM: I’m a field medic. I’ll get you out.

MATT: All right, and for the rest of Vorugal’s turn…

LAURA: What the fuck are you doing now, Matthew?

MARISHA: This isn’t good.

LAURA: Are you unconscious, too?

MARISHA: I’m up, but Pike isn’t, correct?

MATT: Pike is currently unconscious, yeah. That ends Vorugal’s turn. Grog, you’re up.

SAM: You’re not unconscious, Marisha?

MARISHA: I’m not. Pike is. There is an exit door. We can literally toss Pike’s ass in the door. How many are you down, Pike?

TRAVIS: Can I go to a frenzied rage and unload on Yenk?

MATT: Yes, you can.

TRAVIS: Okay. This will be reckless attack. Great weapon master. Because fuck it. Why not? 28 for the first one.

MATT: That hits.

TRAVIS: Natural 20.

(shouting)

ASHLEY: Get him.

TRAVIS: And 27 for the third.

MATT: Yeah, all three hit. The middle one gets critical. Don’t forget your additional 1d4 damage with your axe because you’re enlarged.

MARISHA: And those were all great weapon master? That’s fucking awesome!

TRAVIS: The first one is 15 plus six points of necrotic damage. 21.

MATT: Including the 1d4?

TRAVIS: 25.

MATT: 25. Does that includes the ten for great weapon master?

TRAVIS: Nope.

MATT: So 35 points of damage on the first strike. All right. Second attack, which is the critical.

LAURA: All dice are doubled? Is that how it works?

MATT: Yeah, all dice rolls double. Roll a d12, plus d6, plus d4.

TRAVIS: That’s an 11. It’s a six. One.

MATT: 18 times two. (laughs) 36 plus ten. 46, plus 2d12 because of brutal critical.

TRAVIS: One. Six. Seven. Seven extra points.

MATT: Plus 46. 53 points of damage with the second strike. Roll damage for the third one.

LIAM: Maniac! Here it is! Get it!

SAM: Finally, he gets to attack! It’s been six months since we’ve seen you actually attack anything.

LAURA: I know, and he kills everything.

LIAM: This is a rage spanking, right here.

TRAVIS: 28 on the third one.

MATT: 28 on the third. Nice. You did over 100 damage on one round of melee combat.

LAURA: Did you add your ten to the final one? It was 38 on the final.

MATT: (laughs) Jesus! So as you angrily get up, your large, draconic form, you rush forward, stepping right up to where Yenk is slamming into you. And after goring you in the chest, you embrace the anger and (impacts) bring the axe down, right into the inside of the shoulder. For the final attack, you put a foot up and drag it down across, cutting into it. You see a bunch of black-blue blood scatter across the snow, darkening it, the snow immediately melting with a (sizzling) hissing sound as it impacts with the ground around you. Yenk looks visibly hurt now. He’s like, (pained grunts).

LAURA: Can we see a little spire poking through its belly?

MATT: No, but you do see that the red, beady, coal-like flame eyes of Yenk are now burning with a vibrant red and are focused entirely on you.

TRAVIS: I’ve got everything you want, big boy.

MATT: All right. That ends Grog’s turn, I believe? Scanlan, you’re up.

SAM: Me? Oh, shit. Okay.

MATT: Actually, at the end of Grog’s turn, Vorugal is going to use one of his legendary actions to attempt a tail attack, which has a reach of 20 feet. You are within 20 feet.

SAM: Against me?

MATT: Yep. That is cocked. 18 plus 14 is 32?

SAM: Yeah.

MATT: You take (counting) 16 points of bludgeoning damage.

SAM: I’m going to use Cutting Words to reduce the damage. As I see the tail coming, I pick up my book of Shakespeare insults, and I will say: with thy brawls, thou hast disturbed our sport! I love thee not. Therefore, pursue me not.

MATT: As the tail swings towards you, roll a d12.

SAM: Six. And I live.

(laughter)

SAM: It was 14 points of damage?

MATT: It was seven plus eight, so it would have been 16. It was eight plus eight. 16.

SAM: So reduced to ten. I’m okay. I have four points left.

MATT: Oh shit!

SAM: My turn?

MATT: Now it’s your turn.

SAM: I look at Pike, and with my bonus action, I will heal her. Healing Word, second level. I will sing to her, (singing) you’re trying to kill a white dragon, just like the ones we used to kill. May your days be merry and bright, and I hope we all survive this fight. (speaking) Okay, so 2d4, right?

MATT: 2d4 plus six.

SAM: 13 points.

MATT: Pike is up 13 points.

SAM: Shit. I’ve got to get out of here. Are you okay, Pike?

ASHLEY: I am at 13.

SAM: Are you going to be okay?

ASHLEY: Well, I’m going to run away. I’ll be fine.

MARISHA: Don’t forget, you can go in the mansion. Pop in the mansion to heal.

SAM: I don’t want to be a coward.

LAURA: You can be a coward, Scanlan. It’s okay.

ASHLEY: You’re at four, Scanlan.

SAM: Shit. Well, I’ll move away from it. Wait, I’m within its melee?

MATT: Yes, you are within range.

SAM: Jesus. That far away?

MATT: It has a 15-foot bite reach, a ten-foot claw reach, and a 20-foot tail reach.

SAM: Oh my god. Okay. I don’t want to hit it. I don’t want to go away. Fuck. I don’t want to leave my Pikey. I’m not going to leave my Pikey. You never leave your wingman. No.

LAURA: Four, Scanlan! Get somewhere safe. That way, you can keep helping her.

MARISHA: If he takes you down and multi-attacks you, he could kill you. You healed her, right? She’s conscious now.

SAM: I Dimension Door away.

MATT: To where?

SAM: Over in Yenkville, but not in Yenk range.

MATT: Over here?

SAM: Yeah, there you go.

TRAVIS: In Yenk-adjacent?

SAM: Yeah. The suburbs of Yenkville.

LIAM: Mighty Yenky has struck out.

MATT: All right, that brings us to Vax.

LIAM: I know that from here to here, I’m 100 feet, so from the angle, am I 180 feet away to Pike?

MATT: Scanlan, by the way, I need you to make two concentration saving throws. Make two constitution saves.

SAM: With advantage?

MATT: Well, it’s one of them with advantage, so roll twice.

SAM: I rolled twice. One was a 17 and one was a ten.

MATT: Yeah, even with the bonuses, Bigby’s Hand is gone.

TALIESIN: It would have been 19.

MATT: You took full damage from the last blast, so that would have been 72. Half of that would have been– you had to roll a 36.

LIAM: I want to save one action to grab Pike and yank her, so that means I have an action and a bonus action and movement to fly a total of 360 feet, halved, which is 180 feet to Pike, like a rocket. Grab her and roll into the door of the mansion.

MATT: Okay, so as you dart past and grab her–

LAURA: Oh, does he get an attack of opportunity on you because you fly by?

LIAM: I can arc.

MATT: You’re then taking your action to grab her.

LIAM: And roll us into the door.

MATT: Okay. You are leaving his combat range in doing so, so he’s going to get his attack of opportunity on you, as part of his bite strike against you. That is 18 plus 14, so 32.

LIAM: That hits. Do I have momentum, grabbing her?

MATT: If it drops you, you drop, and you drop with her.

LIAM: I would imagine I did this. That’s the intention. Up and over.

MATT: I understand that. The attack of a bite is going to change your trajectory of a dragon slashing at you. That is eight–

LIAM: I’m out, dude. I’ve got five hit points.

MATT: Total would be eight plus eight, plus an additional 4d6 cold damage. Yeah. You grab Pike. As you begin to try to make the way, the bite snatches into you and lifts you up and throws you to the ground next to Pike, and you’re both there on the ground.

LIAM: But he bit me, right?

MATT: Yes, didn’t bite Pike. You’re both right outside of the door right now.

SAM: Pike’s alive, and she’s super strong.

MARISHA: I’m just watching everybody barrel to my feet?

MATT: Kind of, yeah.

LAURA: My boyfriend!

MATT: That ends Vax’s turn. Vex, you’re up.

LAURA: Fuck. I’m going to try to get his attention and say, hey, stupid! And then I’m going to hit him because that’s all I’ve got.

MATT: Okay, go for it.

LAURA: 22?

MATT: 22 does hit.

LAURA: Do I have sneak attack on him, at all? Marisha is next to him.

MATT: No, he’s within range for Marisha. Marisha is not threatening him, at the moment.

LAURA: So no sneak attack, although I was hidden at the end of last turn.

MATT: You were. He did not see you.

ASHLEY: I’m threatening him.

MATT: (laughs) You’re growling at him.

LAURA: (counting) 28 on the first.

MATT: That hits.

LAURA: That was damage. And then the second attack hits. It’s a 31. (counting)

MATT: These are sharpshooter shots? It’s the 1d10, plus bonus–

LAURA: 1d8, plus eight, plus two for dragon, plus Hunter’s Mark.

MATT: Right, there we go. Second one is how much damage?

LAURA: 24, with two lighting damage. The first one had four lightning damage.

MATT: Okay. Does that end your turn?

LAURA: (sighs) I want to help, I just don’t know what I can do. That’s all I can keep doing. I’m going to use my bonus action to hide.

MATT: Go for it. Roll a stealth check.

LAURA: Like an asshole. 13.

MATT: Okay. End of your turn, Vorugal’s going to use his second legendary action and is going to swing around with the tail over the top of the rock (impact) to slam down on the conscious Pike. You are prone. It has advantage on the attack roll against you. That is 28 to hit.

ASHLEY: Yeah, that hits.

MATT: 22 points of bludgeoning damage.

ASHLEY: I’m out.

MATT: Pike’s now unconscious. Okay. Vorugal is now in this ravenous, primal rage, and is trying to finish things off successively that have been a problem. Now, with that, both of them are unconscious on the ground, Scanlan’s out of the picture, Keyleth is still standing right by the side of the tree. Pike, you’re up next, so I need you to go ahead and roll a death saving throw. Roll a d20.

TALIESIN: This is where being at the end of everything is great.

LIAM: 20.

MATT: A 20? Natural 20? You are stabilized. You gain one hit point. You’re conscious.

MARISHA: Holy shit. That changes everything!

ASHLEY: I’ll take that hit point. Okay. I don’t even know what that means.

MATT: You’re conscious again. The tail slams you, and you go out, and then as the tail pulls away, (gasps) you catch yourself again. Your turn’s over, but you’re back. Pulling the tail back. That’s the end of your turn.

ASHLEY: I didn’t do anything.

MATT: Your turn was the death saving throw. You take that at the end of your turn. You woke up at the end of it. At the end of your turn, Vorugal uses the third and final legendary action for this round and with a 20-foot range, is going to swing the tail around, breaking through the tree, towards Keyleth. That is a 29 to hit.

MARISHA: Yeah. Wait, is this melee? Does this come into play with the cloak? So you’re at disadvantage.

MATT: That is a 24. Ancient dragon, sorry. That is 22 points of bludgeoning damage.

MARISHA: And that’s it? I’m still alive! (roars) 22? Okay. I have 14 hit points.

MATT: All right. Now it’s your turn, Keyleth.

MARISHA: Now it’s my turn.

LIAM: Go earth elemental!

MARISHA: I’m so torn, you guys. Do I heal you guys, or do I do damage and go earth elemental? It’s a big decision. Scanlan?

SAM: It’s all on you.

MARISHA: Pike, you’re at one?

ASHLEY: I’m at one.

MARISHA: You’re down.

TRAVIS: I’m doing real good.

MARISHA: What do I do, guys? Do I try and kill him, or do I heal?

SAM: You’ve got two nearly dead people right next to you who are feet away from a mansion.

LAURA: Can you Grasping Vine them through the mansion door? It’s open, right?

MATT: The vine wouldn’t pull them through the door because you can only create it within a space where a natural plant would grow.

MARISHA: It doesn’t work like that, unfortunately.

SAM: But you can throw them, as a beasty elemental.

MATT: What are you going to do, Keyleth? Hurry up.

MARISHA: Okay, fuck!

SAM: When I left the mansion, I locked it.

TRAVIS: Did the key break off when you locked it?

SAM: No, it’s a code lock. And I forgot the code!

MARISHA: I’m going to cast Sunbeam. I’m going to beam in his face.

SAM: On Yenk, of course.

MARISHA: It’s okay. I’ve got this. Beam in his face.

MATT: Okay, so you cast Sunbeam. 60-foot line, five-foot wide. Right past that way. Okay.

TALIESIN: Actually, does that hit both of them?

MARISHA: 60 foot, right through them? Can I?

MATT: You might have to reposition to do so.

MARISHA: What, scooch over one? Yeah, I’ll scooch over one. Take a side step to line them up.

MATT: You get around the tree and past the rock. Yeah, you can hit both of them.

MARISHA: They have to make a constitution save.

MATT: Vorugal, that is a 32. Yenk is a 27. They both make it.

MARISHA: Well, they still take half damage. It’s 6d8. Normally, they take full damage and they’re blinded. It would have been way cooler if it would have worked. Ooh, that’s a good roll. 26 points of radiant damage.

MATT: 26, then halved?

MARISHA: Then halved. And then I’m going to go air elemental form.

MATT: Embracing the age-old tradition of the Air Ashari, Keyleth vanishes into a form of swirling wind, picking up the various bits of sleet and snow around you. You’re almost like a slushy tornado.

MARISHA: That’s cool. Can I then take whatever movement I have left to try and drag–

MATT: You’ve already used your action to cast the spell, unfortunately.

MARISHA: I can’t use my movement to try and move someone?

MATT: You can use your movement to move. To pull somebody with you–

MARISHA: That’s an action?

LIAM: It’s all right. I’m fine.

MARISHA: Then I’m going to use my movement to go airborne. I think I can go 60 feet? Let me see my fly speed. I have 90 feet.

MATT: 90 feet, so it would be 45 feet up, if you want to.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: Kick him on the way up, and then he’ll follow you.

MARISHA: I give him a little air poof kick in the face, just for flavor.

MATT: Sure, why not?

MARISHA: He’s getting slushied in the face.

MATT: You rush up into the air. Vorugal does not get an attack of opportunity because he already used his reaction against you. So you (whoosh) without an issue.

MARISHA: I hope that was right.

MATT: All right, that ends your turn. Percy.

TALIESIN: Okay. I’m going to take my three shots.

MATT: Right above you, you see Raishan, wings beating, looking over and assessing the battlefield. You see Vorugal down there, bloody. You see Yenk, bloodied. Both engaged and distracted. You are currently not in either of their attentive sphere.

TALIESIN: Oh yeah, so the first thing I’m going to do is I’m going to use my bonus action to reload. I’m going to take my three shots at the white dragon with what I have left. I can do nothing. That’s 30.

MATT: 30 hits.

TALIESIN: One necrotic. 12 points, with one necrotic. Shot number one. Next shot, same thing. Standard shot. That ran, but 22? Oh, sorry. It’s not 22. I’m so tired. 17. That misses.

MATT: 17 misses, unfortunately. It hits the side, but the shot shatters across the dragonhide.

ASHLEY: Can I do War God’s Blessing from where I’m at?

MATT: You know what? Hold on, Percy. You are conscious on the ground, barely paying attention, and all of a sudden, you hear the shot go off, and you see it about to blast against the hide. As a war cleric? I’ll see if he has to be within range, or if it’s one of the things that you can do if he attacks an enemy. The creature has to be within 30 feet of you, so no. He’s way too far.

TALIESIN: 24 for the next shot.

MATT: Third one does hit.

TALIESIN: That’s 12 points, with two points of necrotic. And I’m going to grab my rope, and I’m going to wave at the green dragon and start dropping down.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: I have a rope.

MATT: I know you do. As you leap off the side, the clench in the stone (tink) comes loose, and you (impacts) tumble down the hill. I need you to make an acrobatics check.

TALIESIN: Yeah! I can do that, even at negative one, I can do that. No, I can’t. That was a one.

MATT: Natural one? You tumble Homer Simpson-style (repeated impacts) down the icy, rocky side, landing prone and suffering 18 points of bludgeoning damage on the way, landing prone on the ground. (impact, groan)

TALIESIN: Fine!

MATT: Kima’s turn. Kima’s going to go and flank Yenk against Grog, giving her advantage on her first attack. Yeah, that’s a 25 to hit, and her second attack is– yeah, both hit. The first strike with her Holy Thunder Maul. 19 points of damage against the goristro, and she’s going to burn another 3rd-level spell to do a holy smite at third level. All righty. 23 additional radiant damage on top of that, and then her second strike, she’s going to burn her last 3rd-level spell to do another smite. That is 16. (counting) 31. Nice! Yeah, she did a lot of damage on that round. Slamming twice with the maul into the backside of Yenk. The first one slams into the shoulder, sending him to the ground with his fist. (grunts) He starts getting back up. She spins, using the inertia, and slams the maul into the side of his knee, which pops out and sends him down onto one knee now, and Yenk is basically half-prostrate in front of you, Grog, preparing for your next round of combat. (growls) Ending Kima’s turn. It is now Raishan’s turn.

TRAVIS: She made him bend the knee.

MATT: Raishan does not get the breath back. However, is going to fly. Not used to the ice and can’t quite get to full speed there, but can get close enough to attempt a Blight spell, at the very least. Vorugal fails. That’s an 18. Yeah, fails the save.

LAURA: Blight spell.

MARISHA: A lot of damage. Come on.

SAM: He’s going to resist it.

TALIESIN: He might have burned it.

MATT: Yeah, burning a legendary resistance to make it happen, so it still makes the save, so it’s still half, but it has one left. Okay, so it takes 18 points of necrotic damage. That’s the end of that turn. It is now Yenk’s turn. Yenk is going to do a full-on multiattack against you, Grog. That is a 24 to hit?

TRAVIS: That’ll hit.

MATT: Actually, it has advantage on you because you used reckless attack. That hits. Second one is 26 to hit.

TRAVIS: Hits.

MATT: And natural 20. All right.

TRAVIS: I’m going to use my Stone’s Endurance on the natural 20, and I’ll do retaliation on one of those three hits.

SAM: Retaliation? That’s new.

MATT: So the first fist is 29 points of piercing damage, so reduce that to 14, plus three points of fire damage as the fist suddenly bursts into flame as it slams into you. The secondary fist comes swinging around the other way, dealing 20 points of piercing damage, reduced to ten. Plus, you take eight points of lightning damage as suddenly an arc of energy streaks from the fist, slamming into the other side of your face, as you’re taking it on each side. As you grin, he leaps up into the air, his strong, thick legs getting almost up above you, then kicks down with its hooves towards you like a very angry goat. This is the critical.

LAURA: What does stone’s endurance do?

TRAVIS: d12 plus my constitution modifier.

MATT: Reduce the damage, yeah.

TALIESIN: I’ve been hit by a goat in the face before. No, really. I got nailed by a goat.

LIAM: At the zoo?

TALIESIN: No, we were filming this ridiculous television series called Hell Town when I was a kid. It was awful.

LIAM: You weren’t trying to call Satan?

TALIESIN: Not in the show, either.

MATT: 46 points of bludgeoning damage, reduced to 23, plus ten points of ice damage as the hooves slam into you, leaving these frozen cracks where the blood should be emanating from. It seals the wound, almost.

TRAVIS: 14, so I reduce that by 14.

MATT: Correct, reduce that by 14, and then make your retaliatory strike.

TRAVIS: Great weapon master, reckless.

MATT: Go for it.

TRAVIS: 26?

MATT: That hits.

TRAVIS: 22.

LAURA: Plus ten.

TRAVIS: 32.

MATT: 32 points of damage. How do you want to do this?

(cheering)

MARISHA: Yeah, Grog! Get me that staff!

TRAVIS: When he jumped up and did the hoof kick down, I’m going to take it and then grab his hooves and wishbone him.

(cheering)

MATT: As you grab him, you try to begin to pull, and he slams onto the ground, and you see him grab his arms back to try and pull himself back up. You kick him straight down again, and as you laugh, you push your foot into his crotch area as you pull Yenk in half with a sheer show of strength, smearing you with black, burning blood. It does burn you. You do suffer five points of fire damage as the blood that’s spurting on you is burning into the skin. You tear him mostly in half. You can see the innards spilling into the snow and melting the snow within a five-foot radius of you as he (death rattle) is still surviving as you pull him apart. As you get closer, he reaches forward and grabs you and palms your head with his last bit of strength and begins to squeeze, and then the fingers eventually go lax before the hand (impact) onto the ground.

TRAVIS: I look at both of the legs in my hands, and I look at Kima and go, which one’s lucky?

MATT: She goes, “You are.”

(laughter)

MATT: That ends Yenk’s turn.

SAM: Hey, Matt. Can I rewind?

MATT: No. Sorry. Yenk is done and torn open on the ground.

MARISHA: Now we have to deal with the two dragons.

LAURA: Well, one. Hopefully.

TALIESIN: Yeah, we’re going to let one leave. One’s going to walk.

MATT: Vorugal is going to go ahead and (whoosh) come up and then–

SAM: Does Pike get an attack of opportunity?

MATT: Pike is not currently threatening him. Yeah, with Raishan blasting and seeing the dragon, Vorugal is going to turn this way, behind this space underneath the air elemental. “You betrayer!” (roars) And unleash a blast of frozen death down, hitting Raishan, as well as Vax and Pike. You’re unconscious. Vax, you fail a death saving throw automatically.

MARISHA: I thought Pike had one hit point.

MATT: RIght. If you make the save, you’re still taking 30-something cold damage, so you’re down. Automatic one fail on a death saving throw. Raishan does not make the save and takes 72 points of ice damage. Yeah, that’s going to end Vorugal’s turn, very angrily. All right, that brings us to Grog.

TRAVIS: Yeah. Can I make a quick look down? Do I see any Spire of Conflux?

MATT: Make a quick investigation check.

TRAVIS: In my rage? Natural one. I’m going to take off running toward Vorugal!

MATT: That’s as far as you can get on your full movement.

TRAVIS: I’ll dash to get as far as I can.

MATT: Yeah, you can get about there. All right, that ends Grog’s turn. Scanlan, you’re up.

SAM: I will bonus action take my potion of greater healing, right? That’s the medium one?

MATT: Yeah. It’s 4d4 plus four.

SAM: Okay. Terrible. Okay. Oh man, that’s terrible.

LAURA: What did you get?

SAM: 11 total.

TRAVIS: From which potion?

LAURA: Greater.

SAM: Okay. Well, shit. I’ll move towards the dragon a bit.

MATT: Actually, Percy, make a concentration check, if you could. Make a constitution saving throw for Hex, yeah. Forgot about that.

TALIESIN: Constitution saving? That would be a negative one? No, not a negative one. Add negative one. That would be 15.

MATT: 15. For you to take half damage? Yeah. Hex stays. All right. Scanlan?

SAM: There are no options. Not to save our friends! I’m way out of range.

LAURA: Can you Dimension Door and then run with her?

SAM: I’m done. I’ve moved. I’ve acted. I can throw a ball. I’ll throw a Fireball at Big Whitey. Centered way back so it doesn’t hit any of my friends.

MATT: Okay. Go for it.

SAM: Three charges, I guess. What do I do? I just do it.

MATT: That’s a natural 20 on his save, so he does make his save.

SAM: What I was going to say, I rewind. Because you didn’t let me, he has disadvantage on his save this time, because you didn’t let me retroactively go back and do it.

MATT: That’s right. Natural one. 20, one.

TRAVIS: Are you kidding me?

MARISHA: Burn this motherfucker!

TRAVIS: Every time we have one of these big fights–

TALIESIN: There’s no middle ground, is there? There’s no middle ground at all.

MATT: To be fair, we do a lot of rolls in these big fights.

TRAVIS: We do, but a straight 20 to one flip-flop only happens one time.

SAM: 29.

MARISHA: That’s pretty good. That’s okay.

MATT: (explosion) The explosion hits. You see it sends ice shards shooting everywhere, leaving a big crater on the ground where the snow once was, and part of the stonework is barely scratched. The blast hits Vorugal, and Vorugal (grunts). Looks down at the two unconscious bodies on the ground. Looks up at Raishan. (huffs) Does that end your turn?

SAM: Yes.

MATT: End of your turn, it’s going to use two actions to do a wing attack, beating its wings, hitting every creature within 15 feet. You’re out of range, actually, Marisha. Grog, I need you to make a dexterity saving throw.

TRAVIS: I think I have advantage on this because of rage. I do. 21.

MATT: 21? That unfortunately fails. You take 15 points of bludgeoning damage, and you’re knocked prone. Also, Pike and Vax, you both fail a death saving throw from the bludgeoning winds of the ice dragon’s wings beating downward.

MARISHA: You guys are at two failed?

LAURA: He’s at two failed. Pike’s at one.

MATT: Vorugal is going to head upward and begin flying this direction to turn tail and flee.

SAM: Do you get an attack because he’s flying by you?

MARISHA: Yeah, do I get an attack of opportunity here?

SAM: You are right over him.

MATT: You were right over him. As he gets up, I’ll give you one. I don’t have any more of these things here.

LIAM: Blow everything you’ve got. Blow it. He’s leaving. Unleash.

MARISHA: Can I do a spell attack on him? It’s just melee, right?

MATT: That’s specifically a War Caster feat ability.

MARISHA: Just one slam attack? Nope. Definitely not.

TALIESIN: How fast? Is he still within visual range?

MATT: Currently, yeah. He just moved 40 feet with that one reaction.

LAURA: We can still hit him with the ranged?

MATT: Possibly, yeah. That ends Scanlan’s turn. Vax, I need you make a death saving throw. You have advantage.

SAM: Advantage?

LIAM: 17.

MATT: So you’re okay for now. Vex, you’re up.

LAURA: Okay. I’m going to hit him twice.

MARISHA: Fucking burn this guy down!

TALIESIN: Hit him with everything we’ve got.

LAURA: 27.

MATT: 27 hits.

LAURA: 25 on the first.

MATT: 25 damage? All right, and the second hit?

LAURA: The second is also 27.

MATT: How do you want to do this?

(cheering)

MARISHA: We’re going to live!

LAURA: Oh my god.

MATT: He’s taking away, and you have a shot as it’s arcing to the right of you, bleeding and limping in the air, but managing to pick up speed. The sleet and snow is strong and firing around you.

LAURA: I want to see a cut on his stomach where Yenk left a hole, and I want to go straight into his heart.

MATT: The first arrow, you aim for it. It streaks off and hits another wound and gets jammed in. You pull back with the second arrow, and right as you see the snow beginning to blind, the one moment of clarity that hits you, (arrow firing) you release the arrow, piercing inside where the wound was, where one of Yenk’s horns had gashed into the front of his chest. Vorugal (roars) and spins into a corkscrew, plummets and crashes into the side of the ravine, tumbles backward. Rocks come tumbling onto it. Vorugal hits the ground, smacked open. As it begins to get back up, (impacts) a bunch of rocks slam down, and one big shard of ice (impacts) slams into it. (panting) Still writhing in place as he’s bleeding out.

LAURA: And a tree grows out of his guts.

MATT: He’s still currently holding on as he’s jammed to the ground. You see the bluish-purple blood leaking out the side of the mouth. (panting) It can’t move, and you can see the strength leaving Vorugal’s body. Raishan swoops up next to Vorugal’s corpse, leaning over. (cackles) “Tell your master on the other side, when you see him, that it was worth it.” And Raishan sinks her teeth into his throat and tears it out. You see the spray of blood across Raishan’s mouth and across the front of the ravine as Vorugal’s body falls limp onto the ground. Spits the chunk of white dragon flesh onto the bottom of the ravine. The green dragon spins around, facing you all. “Well done.” And backs into a sitting position. The wings furl down and fold into her side. “Take your spoils. It seems the war is nigh.”

TALIESIN: There will be a conversation.

TRAVIS: I run as fast as I can over to Pike and Vax.

TALIESIN: I run to the body of the big demonic thing and start going through it.

MATT: Okay, roll an investigation check.

TRAVIS: I have two basic potions. I de-cork both of them and shove them in their gullets.

MATT: While that’s happening, in the time it takes you guys to rush over, I need you both to make one more death saving throw.

MARISHA: Oh, fuck. Come on, you guys.

LIAM: A ten and a three!

(laughter)

TALIESIN: Not funny!

ASHLEY: 11.

MATT: Grog comes by, scoops you both up, and force-feeds you two basic healing potions. You both come to consciousness bruised, beaten, but apparently the current struggle is done, though you’re now shivering, cold, soaked through. All of you, the elements have really sunk in once the adrenaline begins to wear off.

LAURA: I fly down and cast Cure Wounds on Vax.

TRAVIS: The two of you, inside the mansion. Now.

MATT: How much do your potions heal for them? It’s 1d4 plus four. Sorry, 2d4 plus two.

MARISHA: Yes, we do.

TALIESIN: Vex, we have a dragon to disassemble.

MARISHA: You go. I’m the one who’s good at harvesting.

TRAVIS: Six.

MATT: Plus two, eight. You heal eight, Vax.

TRAVIS: Eight.

LAURA: Get inside, now.

MATT: So seven to Pike.

LAURA: I’m going to fly over and try to help Percy, now that they’re safe.

TALIESIN: I got a 16.

MATT: 16, you healed?

TALIESIN: No, 16 to investigate.

MATT: As you start peering through, you can see there’s an intestinal tract that’s covered in thorns. It’s a very weird, fucked-up alien creature, based on any sort of anatomic understanding. As you pull back, you can find there’s one rigid portion of the inside of its intestinal tract that is swollen and looks to have this weird black, pulsing mass that surrounds it, like it’s infected perpetually.

TALIESIN: I pull out my sword and cut it out.

MATT: As you pull it back, you can see there are actual vines and ivy that have begun to grow inside its abdomen. You tear back and pull it, and as soon as you cut back the rest of the muscle that’s currently tensing it in, the muscle almost instinctually pulls back, all the tension lost, and it almost fires this staff-like entity out. It shoots outward, and you have to dodge to the side immediately. You see that it’s strangely pristine amongst all the crimson and gore. The blood of this creature does not even touch its surface. A twisted series of clumped-together thorny vines that form this curvature at the top. A singular yellowish-green gem in the center that hovers, locked in place by no noticeable force. It’s there, jutting out of the body of the creature.

MARISHA: I run to Percy.

TALIESIN: I walk to you. We’re walking to the dragon, anyway. I hand it to you. Your majesty.

LAURA: I land next to them. Oh my god. Let’s get inside.

(offscreen clatter)

MARISHA: That’s right!

TALIESIN: Karma’s a bitch!

LIAM: Vorugal ain’t shit!

MATT: You all rush into the inside of the mansion?

MARISHA: I don’t, immediately.

TALIESIN: We’re finishing up the harvesting, and I go to talk to Raishan really quickly.

LAURA: I stay out, and I search more around Yenk.

TALIESIN: I’m sending you to work on the dragon.

MARISHA: I’m coming with you to have that conversation.

TALIESIN: Okay.

MARISHA: I’m coming with you to have that conversation.

SAM: I will come, as well, to make sure Keyleth doesn’t kill anyone.

TALIESIN: Thank you. You’ve earned a conversation. We’ll see you at home. You should get there quickly so there’s no suspicion.

SAM: What’s home?

TALIESIN: We don’t say it.

MATT: “Very well. I hope that perhaps this display of intent has quelled some of your worries. I’ll see you at home, then.” The form shifts down to that of Asum, closes the eyes for a second, and the form shifts as you see a sudden glyph appear beneath, and vanishes.

TALIESIN: That was not a fight we were about to have.

MARISHA: (sighs heavily) I silently go and start harvesting the white dragon.

LAURA: Did you see how weak she was, compared to Vorugal?

MARISHA: Let’s just hope she stays that way. I start harvesting the white dragon as much as I can.

LIAM: I’m going to find Larkin.

SAM: Send up a signal flare.

LAURA: I take an empty potion bottle out and get some of Yenk’s blood and put it in the cold.

MATT: Okay. As you’re doing that, too, you’re noticing that Yenk’s body is rapidly decomposing. Its form is dissolving from the inside.

MARISHA: I try as fast as I can– wait, from who?

TALIESIN: I’m going to run over and try and pull anything from Yenk.

MATT: I figure, for the fact that it’s near midnight, we can begin next game working out the logistics of what you’ve managed to harvest with the rolls and such. We’ll pick up from here next time. That was intense, guys. Well done.

MARISHA: Oh my god!

SAM: Perfectly executed plan.

TALIESIN: It really was. It actually was. How was this terrible?

TRAVIS: That couldn’t have gone any worse in the beginning. They hit each other maybe once, and then it was all on!

MATT: Actually, they did some pretty decent– I think Yenk did close to 100 points of damage before you guys even engaged Vorugal.

MARISHA: Can I see it?

MATT: (laughing) Can you see it?

MARISHA: I really don’t want to wait a week.

MATT: Sure. You can go ahead and have a look at your Spire of Conflux. You earned it.

TALIESIN: Good work, girl.

MARISHA: I didn’t think I was going to get one, you guys!

MATT: Well, guys. Well done. You’ve now taken three of the five Chroma Conclave dragons, and with the death of Vorugal, pretty much are spearheading the final push to Thordak.

LIAM: Is Thordak scared yet?

MATT: We’ll find out. (chuckles) Well, guys. Thank you so much. Have a wonderful night. Thank you for those who stuck around for as late as this epic battle went. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

TRAVIS: Glad Pike was here for the fight!

(cheering)

MARISHA: Sarenrae!

MATT: Divine Intervention! Punched Vorugal into the dirt, man.

LAURA: Thank you, Loot Crate.

MATT: Thank you, Loot Crate for being awesome sponsors. Thank you, Critters for being such amazing people and for being so supportive of the community and the show and the story and making your own stories. We’re so happy and so proud to have you with us. Be sure to check out the many charities that we support: 826LA, as well as all of our individual charities. You can look up the Critter’s Guide to Critmas and see the list of them there. Thank you so much. Have a wonderful night, and is it Thursday yet? See you guys next week.

[music]