Transcript:Reunited

Pre-show

MATT: Hello everyone, and welcome--

(laughter)

MATT: What, they threw me off. Welcome to tonight's episode of Critical Role, where a bunch of us nerdy-ass voice actors sit around and play Dungeons & Dragons.

ALL: (hollering) We play Dungeons & Dragons!

MATT: Ugh, anyway, before we get into our session tonight, we do have some announcements to get through, beginning with our first sponsor tonight, which is Thorum Rings. And I believe Sam has prepared a special "SAM Talk" about it. So, Sam.

SAM: Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Thank you, Matthew, for inviting me to your speaker series. The two most important words in the English language are "what" and "if."

ASHLEY: No, it's not.

SAM: Thorum Rings exists because of these words. For years, civilization has been making rings in various shapes: square rings, triangle rings, rhombuses. But then, in 2012, Thorum founders Caleb and Stephanie Martin asked a question that began with, "What if?"

TRAVIS: (whispers) What if?

SAM: What if we made round rings? Circles around your finger. It's hard to believe, but prior to 2012, circular rings didn't exist. It just wasn't a thing. Sure, in retrospect, it seems natural, but it took two people asking, "What if," to make it a reality. And they didn't stop there. How you doing?

MATT: Doing good. Keep going.

SAM: In the old days, rings were made out of sand, or paper--

TRAVIS: What?

SAM: -- or if you were rich, lettuce.

(laughter)

SAM: But then, Caleb and Stephanie pulled out those two words. What if instead of making rings out of sand, which would turn into mud if they got wet, what if we made them out of stronger materials--

TRAVIS: Sand doesn't turn into mud.

MARISHA: No, it doesn't.

LAURA: Sand doesn't--

SAM: -- like Damascus steel, ironwood, dinosaur bone, World War II rifle stocks?

MATT: I can feel his breath on my ears.

(laughter)

SAM: People said it couldn't be done. How could you shape those things? No one could bend titanium carbide with their bare hands.

TRAVIS: No.

LAURA: He's still talking.

SAM: Caleb and Stephanie-- This is my SAM Talk. Caleb and Stephanie said: What if we use tools? Blow torches, wrenches, other tools that I didn't learn the names of.

(laughter)

MARISHA: Blow torches.

SAM: As a result, we have these. Hold up your rings, everyone. Thorum handcrafts unique wedding bands out of everything from meteorite to whiskey barrel. They ship every single ring within one business day, have 5,000 five-star reviews and come with a lifetime warranty. Two simple words, "what if," can launch a spaceship, or feed the hungry, or even... change the world. In closing: Synergy, bioethical coffee, water desalination, China, innovation, buzzwords. Whether you need--

(laughter)

SAM: Whether you need a wedding, anniversary, or just an awesome ring, head to thorum.com and use code Criticalrole to get 20% off. Thank you for coming to my SAM Talk.

ASHLEY: Oh, wow.

TRAVIS: Oh yeah. I need a wedding anniversary ring.

MARISHA: That's great. Yes.

(applause)

MATT: Goodness, thank you, Sam.

TRAVIS: He just stays up there.

LIAM: You're right: My triangular, sand wedding band is very uncomfortable.

ASHLEY: Ugh, yeah.

LIAM: It has been for years.

TRAVIS: It always would go from sand to mud.

LAURA: Is it going to say Sam the whole rest of the game?

SAM: I hope so!

(laughter)

SAM: Do I get to keep that?

TRAVIS: Ruidus is a bitch.

LAURA: Put it above his bed?

MARISHA: Oh my god.

(laughter)

LIAM: That's the new headboard.

SAM: Tape it up for your kid. "Sam!"

LIAM: That's going to take some hits.

(laughter)

MATT: I hate this.

(laughter)

MATT: Thank you, Sam. Thank you, Thorum. Our second sponsor for tonight is Nintendo's "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom." In this sequel to the "Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild," you'll decide your own path through the sprawling landscapes of Hyrule and the mysterious islands floating above in the vast skies that loom above you. That's where they go- in the sky! You can harness the power of Link's new abilities to fight back against the malevolent forces that threaten the kingdom. The adventure is yours to create in a world fueled by your imagination. But you don't have to take my word for it. See what critics have been saying about this must-play game in this trailer that will come up during our break later on. But I can say from personal experience, it's a heck of a lot of fun, especially when you unlock all the abilities like Recall, in which you can stop time and reverse things, which is fun, especially when you're fighting a Bokoblin boss and you freeze its rock midair and then you actually use Ascend to leap up through the rock, stand on it, then fire a Bomb Flower-fused Arrow towards it, and then send it right back at it and it's--

ASHLEY: Wow, wow.

TRAVIS: Whoa.

MATT: Not to mention the Ultrahand, which allows you to get really weird. I'm sure you've seen plenty of the constructions online, but it's a fun game of adventure, and also breaking a bunch of things in wonderful weird ways in a fantasy setting. So, sincerely, it's so much fun. If you haven't had a chance, please check it out and thank you so much for sponsoring us, Nintendo.

(cheering)

LAURA: Sam!

MATT: You got some announcements, Laura?

LAURA: I do!

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Smooth transition as ever.

LAURA: This has been sitting in my lap this whole time, check it out. Wait, I'm going to show this side because, oh, just a regular old CR hoodie.

LIAM: Bor-ing.

ALL: Whoa.

LAURA: Hold up that arm so the art is seeable. Isn't that beautiful? That's our Bells Hells hoodie, out now in all of our CR shops-- most of our CR shops.

ASHLEY: I love it.

LAURA: The U.S., the UK, the EU, Canada. The artist, this fabulous art is done by Nina Matsumoto, thank you so much.

LIAM: That's a handsome halfling.

TRAVIS: Beautiful.

ASHLEY: Woo!

TRAVIS: Needs it.

MATT: Hell yeah. Thank you, Laura.

TRAVIS: Needs it.

LAURA: You're welcome.

MATT: All right, Marisha, you've got an announcement, too?

MARISHA: Yes. (buzzes)

TRAVIS: (laughs) Okay?

MATT: (imitates Marisha)

MARISHA: Let's go talk about some content. A friendly reminder that with the July 4th holiday here in the States, episode 14 of "4-Sided Dive" will air next Tuesday, July 11th at 7:00pm Pacific over on Twitch and YouTube, because America.

TRAVIS: ♪ America ♪

LIAM: Buzzwords, Sam.

MATT: There you go. Perfect, (sighs) I believe that concludes our Sam announcements for the evening. So let's go ahead and jump into tonight's episode of--

LAURA: Oh god.

MATT: Sam and a Sam.

ALL: Whoa! (wind whooshes)

Part I

MATT: So, Team Wildemount: After being one half of Bells Hells, cast and scattered troop over to the continent of Wildemount, re-engaging with a member of Chetney's past, Deanna and her companion, FRIDA, discovering about some of the strange changes in the world and the surrounding ways that magic seems to function, both new and old because of the Apogee Solstice and the recent events. You managed to go past and succeed across some challenges. You traveled from the city of Uthodurn to the ruined and cursed township of Molaesmyr in the center of the Savalirwood, absconded with information from the past of Ludinus Da'leth himself and survived. And some of you got freaky.

(laughter)

AABRIA: Could've been more, cowards.

(laughter)

MATT: But after some rest and a newly acquired staff, you chose to teleport yourselves back to Jrusar, and with your two new companions in tow. Upon rolling your d100 for the teleportation, you rolled extremely low.

LAURA: I did.

AABRIA: And that's good.

MATT: Yes.

CHRISTIAN: Notoriously.

ASHLEY: The lower the roll, the better it is.

AABRIA: It's like Divine Intervention.

LAURA: Not so good.

CHRISTIAN: I heard about this.

AABRIA: Interesting, interesting. I do remember that that was the emotional place that we were at the end. I am immediately back in that. Ah!

(laughter)

MATT: As the spell flickers and you all feel your physical selves suddenly begin to vibrate with arcane energy and then are pulled out of this realm into a strange, interdimensional, in-between space.

ASHLEY: Ah!

MATT: A liminal era and are immediately struck with a series of waves of damaging psychic force energies (blasts) blasting through you, all of you take--

ASHLEY: Ow!

AABRIA: No.

MATT: (laughs) 18 points.

AABRIA and LAURA: Oh shit!

MATT: Of force damage.

CHRISTIAN: Welcome back to the table.

MATT: From the mishap that was rolled on the teleportation, and I need you, Imogen, to roll a d100 once more.

LAURA: (groans) For what?

AABRIA: Can I roll

LAURA: To see if it works again?

AABRIA: -- a perception check?

LAURA: So okay.

SAM: Are we still caught in the maelstrom?

MATT: You are still caught in the maelstrom of mid-mishap teleportation.

SAM: Oh jesus.

MATT: You now, you roll again.

LAURA: What if I roll low again?

AABRIA: No, you're going to roll so good.

MATT: You can keep rolling low and keep taking damage.

AABRIA: I love you so much. We're going to be so fine. No!

ASHLEY: No, you did not.

SAM: No.

AABRIA: No!

ASHLEY: No, you did not! No, you did not.

TRAVIS: Really?

LAURA: I rolled two zeros and a four.

MATT: What the fuck?!

LAURA: And a four!

MATT and SAM: (laughs)

CHRISTIAN: Wow.

AABRIA: Stop.

TRAVIS: I rolled it with you.

AABRIA: Twinsies.

TRAVIS: I rolled the exact same thing,

LAURA: You rolled a four, as well?

TRAVIS: Two zeros and a four.

AABRIA: Oh my god.

SAM: What?

TRAVIS: I just rolled it just to roll with you.

CHRISTIAN: You guys should get married or something.

MATT: That's spooky as fuck.

AABRIA: Oh, I don't like it. It's too scary.

MATT: Well,

LAURA: (gasps)

MATT: Torn through this maelstrom continuously.

AABRIA: Stop it!

MATT: The shifting of magic here in Exandria has created transportation--

SAM: Oh! It works narratively!

MATT: -- to create a tumultuous space in which you attempt to push long distances within an instant, as you all take another 15 points of force damage.

TRAVIS: Oh, fuck!

LAURA: Oh no, what if we, I'm going to die!

SAM: What are you at?

LAURA: Just wait, if we do it one more time, I'll probably be dead by the time we land.

AABRIA: Matt, before she goes again, can I roll a perception check to see if I can tell that Imogen is fucking us right now?

(laughter)

MATT: Sure.

AABRIA: Yay!

TRAVIS: Why does it hurt right now?

AABRIA: Why does it hurt, who's fault is this?

SAM: If Imogen dies while we do this, do we ever land?

AABRIA: 19.

MATT: 19? In the midst of the screaming echoing chamber that is the, fuck it, I'm going to go ahead and--

TRAVIS: Yeah.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Hit the sirens, baby! (siren wail)

AABRIA: Full Kill Bill sirens.

TRAVIS: (siren wail)

MATT: I'm changing the lights for this because you guys are now caught, stuck between this space. (blasts) This is full-on like Doctor Strange being knocked through all the dimensions. You all are being pulled in so many different arcane tumultuous maelstroms at once.

TRAVIS: Growing fingers on fingers on fingers?

MATT: Yep, (blasts), each blast, as you are all being pulled apart and then pulled back together again with no direct connection to the Exandria destination that you had intended to. You do sense that the arcana is shifting away from the grasp of Imogen. Go ahead and roll.

TRAVIS: Imogen, stop fucking it up.

AABRIA: Can I attempt to Guidance?

MATT: You can.

AABRIA: I don't know what that does.

MATT: Nothing, but you can attempt it.

AABRIA: Hey, I lean in and pat you on the shoulder and go: Lock it down, this fucking sucks!

TRAVIS: That's not her shoulder!

SAM: Her shoulder opens a mouth and (chomps).

LAURA: That's my titties! All right, all right, all right, okay. This is better, sort of.

ASHLEY: I'm just pooping out pellets.

MATT: Oh, you rolled a different dice this time.

LAURA: I did.

MATT: Okay, I looked down and saw another zero, zero, and four. I was like, no.

LAURA: No, no, no. Wait, so I think that means I rolled a 13.

SAM: That's barely over.

CHRISTIAN: No way, really?

AABRIA: You got to roll higher.

LAURA: Right, I rolled a 10 and a three. I rolled 13.

AABRIA: Sweet girl. Roll different.

LAURA: I did.

ASHLEY: "I did."

SAM: What does it have to be over?

LAURA: Better, I don't know.

AABRIA: I'm going to die in transit.

LAURA: I don't have the chart in front of me, but I think it's got to be better than that still.

ASHLEY: What if we all just died right now?

AABRIA: I thought it'd be really funny to put a zero in con.

ASHLEY: It's sad but--

AABRIA: I'm going to die.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: What did I do, Matt?

AABRIA: Matthew?

TRAVIS: Get warm, y'all. Get warm, get loose.

LAURA: What, are we going to land in the ocean?

TRAVIS: We're have to eat each other here instead.

AABRIA: Donner, party of six.

MATT: Eventually that staticky, continuous cavalcade of--

ASHLEY: (scared noise)

MATT: -- damaging magical energy--

TRAVIS: Woody Woodpecker?

MATT: -- begins to subside and you feel yourselves finally pull through as you all (thuds) land in a space, the staticky vibrations across your body begin to dissipate.

TRAVIS: (zaps)

ASHLEY: (vibrations)

AABRIA: Ow.

LAURA: Is everyone all right? I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

ASHLEY: No!

SAM: No, that was terrible.

AABRIA: Dead.

ASHLEY: I was five and then I was 100.

AABRIA: I don't want to do it again.

TRAVIS: That was so high.

ASHLEY: That was scary.

AABRIA: Did that hurt for everyone?

LAURA: What?

CHRISTIAN: No puedo hablar en inglés.

TRAVIS: Whoa, look out.

CHRISTIAN: Qué pasó, Imogen, que pasó?!

LAURA: I don't know, I don't know!

AABRIA: I get out a little safety pin and hard reset--

TRAVIS: Yeah!

AABRIA: -- them.

CHRISTIAN: I'm okay now.

AABRIA: I got it, I got it, I got it.

CHRISTIAN: That was terrifying.

AABRIA: They do that every now and then, it's okay.

(laughter)

SAM: Oh my god.

CHRISTIAN: That was wild.

ASHLEY: Wow. That was--

SAM: Where are--

ASHLEY: -- so wild.

AABRIA: Is everyone--? Okay.

ASHLEY: That hurt.

LAURA: What happened?

ASHLEY: It hurt.

TRAVIS: Oh no, my clothes fell off.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: What happened?

AABRIA: I saw him take his pants off, I saw it.

ASHLEY: Yeah, we saw that.

AABRIA: I'm going to get off a Mass Cure Wounds on the group.

SAM: Wait, where are we?

TRAVIS: You're just the best.

MATT: Actually, as your vision comes in, happen to figure out lighting cues on this, the wind catches you as you find yourselves standing amongst an elevated mountain township. In focusing on Jrusar and the spires in which civilization is built around the rock, you see yourself standing in a similar space. But instead, you stand at the precipice of a rock cliff that drops down off the side of a massive mountain into hundreds and hundreds of feet below, some sort of forest and a massive mountain range that curls out in all directions around you. You pull back and hold yourself there and look up and you can see there are these homesteads that are built under the sides of the rock around you. There are gathered bits of thatch and stick and carvings. This is definitely a society built into a rock similar to your intent of Jrusar--

LAURA: Oh no.

MATT: -- but not quite where you intended to be.

LAURA: Where are, where, where, does this?

ASHLEY: I haven't seen this part of Jrusar.

LAURA: Does it look--

AABRIA: Wait, did we miss?

LAURA: -- familiar at all? Do we have an idea if we even landed on Marquet?

MATT: Based on the fact that it's the same time of day as where you left, which was early-ish morning in Wildemount, it's similar time of day, so you gather--

LAURA: Nope.

MATT: Probably not Marquet.

LAURA: Oh, fuck! (laughs)

AABRIA: Did we do it, are we in Marquet? I've always wanted to visit. I was practicing.

TRAVIS: The dwellings, are they normal humanoid size?

LAURA: The dice giveth and the dice taketh away.

TRAVIS: Or are they larger?

MATT: Well, as you glance up, you see there are birds flying in the sky above like Catha--

SAM: (gasps) Birds!

MATT: Yes.

SAM: Oh shit.

TRAVIS: It just gets better and better.

MATT: As you watch the cluster, this mass collection of about 12 or so birds turns around and begins to come directly in your direction.

SAM: What?! No, no!

TRAVIS: Give them FCG. We got to go.

AABRIA: Yeah, is this normal?

LAURA: Should you do a Cure Wounds before we all die?

AABRIA: Yeah, let me get off a quick little Mass Cure Wounds. Hold, please.

SAM: (panicked noises)

ASHLEY: I'm going to push you in, in my swathes of fabric in my skirt.

AABRIA: Everyone takes 31 points.

TRAVIS: Ooh.

LAURA: Oh, thank god.

ASHLEY: Oh wow.

SAM: Are they coming for me?

TRAVIS: Never leave.

ASHLEY: Probably.

MATT: As they get closer and closer still, you can see there's all these cavern entrances and it's an extended platform. You can see there are multiple layers of it throughout, that climb and are built into the side of this mountain spire. But these birds that come towards you, you can see where the wings below, there are humanoid bodies.

CHRISTIAN: What?

MATT: Beaks, falcon-like feathers are brown and red and they're armored and they're holding spears and they're intently coasting towards you all.

LAURA: Oh, okay, I put my hands up, and say into the bird that's closest's mind: This is an accident, we're here in peace.

MATT: The bird that's closest, as it's diving in with its spear afore goes, and looks confusedly around as it pulls away from the dive. Its wings still flapping while the others continue to dive downward towards the rest of you. In this moment, what are the rest of you doing?

ASHLEY: I'm just waving.

MATT: (chuckles) Perfect.

TRAVIS: (laughs) Yeah, we'll try, I'll try. Are we really, we're going to surrender and try and talk?

LAURA: Well, I mean, they could be nice.

TRAVIS: We come in peace!

CHRISTIAN: I'm going to load my weapon and stand in front of FCG while they do that.

MATT: Okay.

AABRIA: I just yell: Chill out!

LAURA and MATT: (laugh)

MATT: You hear them begin to communicate a bit as they're darting forward. (angry squeals) These squawks and screeches.

SAM: I'm going to Bind to some of these folks Sympathetically.

AABRIA: Which ones? Who doesn't get it?

AABRIA and SAM: (laugh)

SAM: I'll do everyone but Chetney this time.

TRAVIS: I understand, motherfucker.

ASHLEY: (laughs)

MATT: Six of them immediately dive down, and in a swooping formation dive below the edge of the shelf that you're all standing on, and then immediately coast up at an incredible speed, and as they do, they throw things at you. I need you all to make dexterity saving throws, please.

AABRIA: What? Why?

TRAVIS: Damn.

AABRIA: No!

ASHLEY: Goodness gracious.

TRAVIS: First roll, don't fuck it up. Second roll.

AABRIA: It's okay. It's going to be great. It's going to be great.

CHRISTIAN and LAURA: (laugh)

ASHLEY: Okay.

TRAVIS: 16.

CHRISTIAN: Fucking A.

MATT: 16.

LAURA: (laughing) Oh no.

AABRIA: 12.

MATT: 12, okay.

SAM: 16.

MATT: Okay.

CHRISTIAN: Dice is cursed.

ASHLEY: 10.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: It's these mats. They bounce the things around too much.

CHRISTIAN: Natural one for a five.

LAURA: We got to roll on a thing.

TRAVIS: For a five?

CHRISTIAN: Yeah.

SAM: Natural one.

MATT: Wait, what did you get?

LAURA: (laughs) Five. (laughs)

AABRIA: (laughs)

MATT: Heavy nets--

TRAVIS: Well.

MATT: (nets launching)

AABRIA: Nets?

MATT: -- immediately surround Deanna, Fearne, FRIDA, and Imogen, as you are all suddenly thrown to the ground. Their weighted exterior pulls you to the floor and you are restrained beneath them. While FCG and Chetney, the only two that dodge out of the way. The birds that flew back up, the rest of them, that land, wings drawn out, their armor all shining in the bit of the light that's coming through the mid-morning sun. They have spears up, one of them has a heavy shield in front and they've begun to encircle you while the five or the six that flew up all begin to land as well and encircle both sides of this platform where you have no choice really other than off the edge or surrender.

TRAVIS: Fair enough. At a quick glance, the net is a hempen rope or is it made of wire or something like that?

MATT: It's a heavy, heavy rope.

TRAVIS: I'll take out the scythe and I'm going to do one swipe across the net and then drop the weapon and put my hands back up, trying to open up. Was it one big net that hit four of them?

MATT: It's multiple nets. Each one of them had an individual net that they threw as they swooped upwards.

TRAVIS: Two per net, maybe, people? Or is it one for each person?

LAURA: One per net?

MATT: One for each person. That's why there were six of them that swooped in.

TRAVIS: Who got netted? Bing, bing, bing.

SAM: Everyone but you and me.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah.

TRAVIS: I'll open up Imogen's crazy ass, and then I'll drop it and go: Look, look, look, we just-- We don't mean to be here. We're happy to leave.

MATT: All right. You swing with the scythe and cut open her net. As you turn around, make an athletics check.

TRAVIS: Okay.

SAM: Athletics?

TRAVIS: 21.

SAM: Damn.

MATT: 21. The closest humanoid bird entity tries to shield bash you against the wall, and you push glide off the side while it puts a spear up near your chin.

TRAVIS: Guh!

AABRIA: (questioning grunt)

MATT: The one that's standing there, you can see its deep brown and red plumage, this thick, decorated section of beads and gold rings are tied and tethered into parts of a collar beneath some of the feathers. It dangles and appears outwardly. This one seems to have a bit of a station or captain-like energy to it as it stands there with a spear to your neck.

SAM: I'm just freaking out with all these birds. I'm just jittering and backing away slowly.

MATT: As the (rattling) clinging of your shaking metal--

(laughter)

MATT: -- makes a loud noise, the one that's holding the spear, its head turns to the side, its big yellow eye peering right at you with its hooked beak there, staring.

(conversational squawks)

SAM: Are you friends with him? Are you friends with him? Do you know Shithead?

AABRIA: (laughs)

SAM: Did he send you?

LAURA: (whispers) FCG.

MATT: The closest five look at each other and the one with station that stands there right in front of Chetney begins to speak in broken language.

MATT: "For what brings you to our city? Why and how are you here?"

LAURA: That was my bad.

ASHLEY: That was her bad for sure.

CHRISTIAN: (laughs)

LAURA: Magic's weird right now, and I was trying to teleport us and I didn't do a very good job.

MATT: They all glance at each other. You can now see after this ruckus, of the number of other openings, many, many other bird people, other winged figures are beginning to peek out. You can see small children ones that are getting curious and motherly ones that are pulling them back in. You can see other armed ones are starting to encircle and keep watch in the nearby air. This may be close to 35 or so in the air around you right now. They're just all (wings flapping) very curious, and at an alarmed state. The one that lands next to you now, you can see it has more of a feminine energy to them. The eye itself as opposed to that bright yellow coloration, that golden tinge, is more of a dull gray. You can see there's a section underneath the beak where the feathers aren't growing, and there's a heavy scar that's long-healed there, as she lands and looks towards you real close, getting right up to your face and reading your eye. Make a persuasion check.

LAURA: All right.

ASHLEY: Guidance?

TRAVIS: You can't roll all bad.

SAM: I can--

AABRIA: Stop it! Why are you like this?

MATT: I can say, Guidance is a spell casting maneuver.

ASHLEY: Sure, it is. It is.

SAM: I can give her a Bonded Blessing.

LAURA: What's that mean?

SAM: So that's an extra d6 on this roll.

MATT: You can do that as part of your ability without having to make noise. Guidance is always casting a spell verbally.

ASHLEY: I was just seeing if maybe I could get away with it.

MATT: I understand.

(laughter)

MATT: I respect that. I respect that.

TRAVIS: On the cliff.

AABRIA: Respect the hustle.

CHRISTIAN: Respect, respect.

LAURA: That would be an eight.

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Yo.

AABRIA: My god. Can you toss that 20 over here?

LAURA: It's not my set, it's-- Here's the thing.

AABRIA: Who's set? Who am I mad at?

TRAVIS: We're mad, are we mad at Taliesin?

LAURA: I just need my box.

ASHLEY: You need this.

MATT: (laughs)

LAURA: Just need my box.

AABRIA: You need to get your life right.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Eight.

LAURA: Can I roll again just because I've got my stuff in front of me now?

MATT: No, you cannot.

(laughter)

AABRIA: Respect the hustle.

MATT: Thank you, Matt.

MATT: I do, I do.

ASHLEY: "No you cannot."

MATT: It grabs the net to your side and begins to drag you alongside the platform that you are all standing on and over to the right-hand edge to a large archway that leads deeper into the mountain.

ASHLEY: Wait, wait!

MATT: As other ones begin to land in front, too.

ASHLEY: Wait!

AABRIA: Can anyone talk to them?

ASHLEY: Yes.

AABRIA: I don't like this.

ASHLEY: Yes. You-- We-- This is--

SAM: I have-- Listen, listen.

CHRISTIAN: Oh god.

ASHLEY: Listen to me.

AABRIA: (laughs)

MATT: One of them has grabbed your net and they're starting to drag you.

ASHLEY: (shushing) This is completely a mistake.

SAM: Can you speak with them?

ASHLEY: Who can I speak to? Whoever is in charge. I think it's you with the stuff under your neck.

MATT and AABRIA: (laugh)

AABRIA: Roll for manager.

MATT: You make a persuasion check.

TRAVIS: Roll for manager.

ASHLEY: Okay.

SAM: I can also give her a Bonded Blessing, but it will be very bad if I do, so I'm going to do it.

ASHLEY: That's okay.

AABRIA: No, that's okay. You're going to be okay.

SAM: Okay, a plus six to you.

ASHLEY: Okay.

TRAVIS: It will be bad for you?

SAM: Yeah, real bad.

MATT: Plus d6.

LAURA and AABRIA: Why?

ASHLEY: Where are the teeth?

AABRIA: Don't!

TRAVIS: He's going to start killing people.

LAURA: Oh, don't. Don't do it.

AABRIA: Don't do it, then!

SAM: I got to do it. It's done.

AABRIA: No, you don't!

MATT: Take a d6 to whatever you rolled.

ASHLEY: Okay.

CHRISTIAN: I was not ready for today. I wasn't ready.

LAURA: No!

AABRIA: Matt, I don't want to die like this.

ASHLEY: 24.

LAURA: (gasps)

AABRIA: Ooh!

MATT: 24 is good. So the one that looks like it's the most adorned glances over at you, looks back at the one that's holding your net, and they stop moving all of you, and just leave you where you are. That one intense general-looking one, "How did you know where this is?"

LAURA: We don't. I don't even know where we are right now. We were trying to get to Jrusar.

AABRIA: Yeah.

MATT: "We do not know of this Jrusar. But you cannot stay here."

ASHLEY: We don't want to. We don't even want to stay. We just want to get out of here as fast as we can.

TRAVIS: Yeah, air is very thin. If we could get much, much lower in a controlled descent manner.

MATT: Another one goes, "Oh, that can be definitely--

TRAVIS and AABRIA: (defensively babbling)

AABRIA: You calm down!

TRAVIS: Give us the softball.

MATT: You see the general puts his hand up once more. "We can agree if what you say is true. We will darken your eyes and leave you a ways from here--"

AABRIA: What'd you say?

MATT: "-- so you know not where you came from or how to return."

LAURA: Perfect.

AABRIA: Hold on, hold on. Permanently or just a little bit for right now?

MATT: "For right now."

AABRIA: Okay.

MATT: "Temporarily."

AABRIA: Okay.

ASHLEY: How long does that last?

TRAVIS: Remember when we did the blindfold stuff?

AABRIA: Yeah, yeah. I didn't know if they were--

ASHLEY: How long? How long? Just an estimate.

MATT: Looks over to the one that's nearest to Imogen, goes and takes part of the-- The breastplate armor has these strips of leather that are hanging from the edges. They mingle with the feathers, and when they fly they flap alongside it, like a bit of decor. Tears one off and ties it around your head in an aggressive, but necessary way and essentially blindfolds you.

LAURA: Smells like armpit.

AABRIA: Oh sorry.

CHRISTIAN: Can I roll to see if I-- I want to remember any natural monuments or-- I want to know where this place is. I want to know where we are right now in my mind.

MATT: Make a perception check.

AABRIA: Don't do it.

CHRISTIAN: Is he going to be all right if I roll it?

SAM: I have to.

AABRIA: No, you don't! Am I close to FCG? Can I kick him through the net?

SAM: I'm freaking out over here.

CHRISTIAN: It feels better, too.

LAURA: It does, yeah. It bounces too much.

CHRISTIAN: It's a 29.

ASHLEY: Oh!

MATT: It's a 29.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah.

AABRIA: They're very good at this. Trust people to do their best in the moment.

SAM: I can't.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: I'm freaking out.

MATT: So from standing up here at this section looking around below, you can see the mountain ranges continue off for an incredible distance. You begin to see in the distance of one direction, very, very far on the horizon, a large body of water like an ocean. You follow the mountain range here. You look at where the sun is, you get a sense-- Make a survival or a nature check for me as well as part of contributing to where you can figure out where you might be.

CHRISTIAN: That is a 10.

MATT: 10. Hard to pick out the specifics of it, but you do glance over to the left to look off the side and you can see snow-covered mountain ranges far away that almost looks like the Flotket Alps. But it's way on the horizon, which means that you're somewhere on Wildemount still, but you are deep in a mountain range.

AABRIA: Goddamn it.

MATT: Probably to the far southwest of where you left.

LAURA: Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool.

SAM: Wow.

CHRISTIAN: Okay. Panicking when I see that, and then feeling more than seeing FCG's panic, I will realize that there's something happening where my brain would be and think to myself: Care-Giver, can you hear me right now? And you can.

SAM: What?

LAURA: (gasps)

SAM: (gasps)

CHRISTIAN: Can you hear me?

SAM: Is that-- Yeah, can you hear me? I'm not talking, I'm just thinking.

CHRISTIAN: I can. I don't know how this happened, I think a little bit of Imogen's woo-hoo rubbed off on me.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: Her hoo-ha-ha.

TRAVIS: Woo-hoo.

LAURA: I rub my woo-hoo on a lot of stuff.

SAM: It's a very sheer--

(laughter)

SAM: -- very sheer skirt she wears.

(laughter)

LAURA: I can't help it, I'm cold.

MATT: Imogen.

LAURA: What?

MATT: How many more charges do you have on that staff? I don't remember.

LAURA: Not enough to do a teleport.

MATT: Oof, okay.

ASHLEY: I have an idea.

LAURA: It takes seven and-- It takes six and there's only eight charges on it.

CHRISTIAN: So we've used them, right?

LAURA: It has to recharge I think every day.

MATT: Correct.

SAM: Cool.

ASHLEY: I have an idea.

SAM: If you look over at me, you'll start seeing my eyes are starting to change to a reddish color.

MATT: (laughs)

CHRISTIAN: Care-Giver, you're all right, you're okay. We're going to get out of this in one piece.

MATT: "Very well. You have agreed to this for your safety."

TRAVIS: Oh yeah.

CHRISTIAN: It's going to be okay.

MATT: "To no violence."

TRAVIS: Nope.

ASHLEY: No, none.

MATT: "You will be blindfolded and left on the outskirts to pursue what you wish and forget you ever came here."

TRAVIS: Sounds great.

ASHLEY: Great. I have a small idea, and you can absolutely say no. But I was just wondering if possibly-- See, the thing is we're not where we were supposed to be.

MATT: "No, you are not."

ASHLEY: No, no, no, no, I know, just big major bad from her.

CHRISTIAN and AABRIA: (laugh)

ASHLEY: I'm thinking--

LAURA: I can't see anything, are you pointing at me?

ASHLEY: No.

TRAVIS: They blindfolded her already.

LAURA: I'm the only blindfolded one.

MATT: They've begun blindfolding the rest of you.

LAURA: Oh, okay.

MATT: While you're talking, it's Chetney--

ASHLEY: Okay. You all can fly and maybe, maybe we can come to an agreement that we will never ever talk about this place if you take us, fly us to where we need to go.

SAM and AABRIA: (laugh)

ASHLEY: Just a little bit of a trip. And then never, never talk about it again.

MATT: Make a persuasion check with disadvantage.

SAM: (laughs)

TRAVIS: We have money.

AABRIA: I can't cast it, but I just think guiding thoughts.

MATT: (laughs)

CHRISTIAN: I'm thinking positive thoughts to FCG. It's going to be okay.

ASHLEY: Wait, one of these are cocked. Hold on.

CHRISTIAN: It's going to be all right.

ASHLEY: Okay, that's really bad.

LAURA and AABRIA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Persuasion? Wait, am I adding anything?

SAM: Not this time.

LAURA: Nope.

ASHLEY: Okay.

ASHLEY: Can I Guide myself?

(laughter)

MATT: I'm going to say not.

ASHLEY: 15.

MATT: 15.

SAM: It's not terrible.

LAURA: That's not as bad as some.

ASHLEY: It's not bad.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: It's really not, Matthew.

(laughter)

MATT: Birds don't have extremely--

AABRIA: Expressive?

MATT: -- big expressions, but you can see a--

ASHLEY: Look how fluffy you are.

(laughter)

SAM: You have the scrunchiest beak.

MATT: -- to it as you suddenly feel a blindfold put over your eyes.

ASHLEY: Fair enough, fair enough.

AABRIA: While this is happening, can I attempt a Divine Intervention?

MATT: Yes, you may.

AABRIA: Sweet. I want to reach out to the Dawnfather, and be like: I need you to make everyone very, very chill. Exactly right now. It's less about these bird people, but more about seeing and noticing how keyed-up FCG is, too. I want everyone to chill the fuck out.

MATT: Go ahead and make a Divine Intervention roll, d100.

AABRIA: Hey, dice, I need you to roll like-- Can I make Laura roll it?

(laughter)

AABRIA: She's so good at rolling low right now. No.

LAURA: No, I'll roll really high when I'm supposed to roll.

AABRIA: 43.

SAM: (groans)

AABRIA: Dang it.

MATT: As you're attempting to pray out to your tenuous relationship with the Dawnfather, the four of you that are in nets feel yourselves lifted up as the other two large talons grasp around your shoulders and lift you into the air, and you are immediately lifted off the side of this mountain cliff, hundreds and hundreds of feet above the mountain. And feel the wind rushing past as squawks communicate and you feel yourself drifting around. What y'all doing, just letting it ride?

TRAVIS: Along for the ride.

SAM: I don't know, what am I doing?

MATT: So how close are you to?

SAM: I'm there, baby. I was on the edge before tonight started.

ASHLEY: Oh no.

AABRIA: That's right.

LAURA: Is it, wait--

SAM: And then we got teleport shat on twice.

ASHLEY: But even with the Mass Cure Wounds?

SAM: It doesn't do anything.

LAURA: Can I--

MATT: So--

LAURA: Wait, is it possible, can I cast?

AABRIA: No, we're turning this group of pigeons into a bucket of chicken, let's go.

LAURA: Well, can I cast Calm Emotions on FCG?

MATT: You could, if you could see.

LAURA: I can see because I'm going to use my telekinetic ability to pull my little blindfold down as we're flying.

CHRISTIAN: Nice, nice.

SAM: (cooing)

(laughter)

AABRIA: Just a little Mage Hand.

(laughter)

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: A little shimmy.

MATT: I'll allow it. So you move it down and cast Calm Emotions. I will say--

LAURA: I imagine I look over and I see FCG twitching.

MATT: Yeah, like--

SAM: Fuck you!

LAURA: Okay, all right.

(laughter)

SAM: Stop looking at me like that, you freak!

AABRIA: Oh my god!

MATT: Which, as a blindfolded individual, is hilarious.

(laughter)

LAURA: Just yelling it out.

MATT: Because you are in your space, make a wisdom saving throw with disadvantage because it is a friend cast on it.

SAM: Disadvantage?

MATT: Yes.

SAM: Seven plus something, probably not great. 14.

MATT: Okay. So indeed you feel that burgeoning rage and murderous fury that's emerging from within that long-locked cell in your metallic automaton body begin to subside and a calm comes over you.

SAM: Thank you, you freak.

LAURA: Okay.

AABRIA: Hey, all the clattering stopped, what happened?

MATT: (whooshes)

SAM: I don't know. Where are you? Are we all blindfolded?

MATT: You're all blindfolded and drifting through the air.

AABRIA: Why can I smell that? I'm downwind of Chetney, that's all I know.

TRAVIS: I had to toot.

(laughter)

MATT: How long does that last?

LAURA: Calm Emotions lasts for--

SAM: I'm in a bird's talons; this is like the fucking worst!

(laughter)

MATT: Yep.

LAURA: It lasts a minute. But, it just-- It lasts a minute, it doesn't reset him, the minute's done and then he just amps back up again? How's it work?

MATT: You'll find out.

SAM: Maybe I can do it all myself, maybe I can do my own Calm Emotions on myself.

TRAVIS: Yeah, do it to yourself.

AABRIA: What?

TRAVIS: Service yourself.

(laughter)

SAM: With my left hand, I cast Calm Emotions on myself.

MATT: Okay.

(laughter)

AABRIA: They call that The Changebringer.

TRAVIS: The Stranger. (laughter)

(clapping hands)

AABRIA: It's so good to be back! I love you!

(laughter)

SAM: Feels like someone else is doing it.

(laughter)

MATT: The sound of their squawks, and the flapping of wings is fighting your anxiety, however, as the Calm Emotions begins to slowly subside. You can notice that the treeline is coming close, and they've spun around the mountainside. They've brought you in an odd direction, and are just now about to break into the forest as your spell fades. You begin to feel that rage build up once more, and you cast it on yourself.

SAM: Yeah.

MATT: Okay. (sighs) It begins to hold itself at bay for another minute before you all, in a somewhat rough way (impacts) Hit the dirt--

AABRIA: Ow.

MATT: -- and rock floor of the forest--

LAURA: I warn FCG that's going to happen before we slam into the ground.

AABRIA: Did you warn anyone else?

LAURA: Well, I only get one person at a time, and he looks like he's about to--

AABRIA: You could yell with your human voice.

LAURA: I yell: Incoming!

AABRIA: Oh yeah, thank you, I can clench appropriately.

MATT: Good call.

AABRIA: (grunts)

ASHLEY: I just try to get loose.

TRAVIS: I'd relax into it, yeah.

MATT: You just ragdoll it?

ASHLEY: Like a drunk.

MATT: Just. (burbling)

ASHLEY: Less injury. Just kind of go with it.

MATT: Yeah, the physics are a little weird, you start shaking like in "Skyrim."

(laughter)

AABRIA: I pull out my weapon right before we land, that cancels the fall damage.

MATT: All righty. As you all impact the base of this forest, the light, the bright light of the mid-morning sky is now shaded by the depths of this forest. Then one-by-one, you feel the blindfolds removed, the nets disengaged from those of you who had them, and the birds that still remain (flapping) flying in the air above. The captain standing there, shield in one hand, spear down, looking at the rest of you, goes, "If you return on site, you will be torn limb from limb."

AABRIA: Okay, understood, any warnings about the area? We don't know where we are.

MATT: "Good, keep it that way."

AABRIA: Cool, just like monsters. You're a piece of shit!

TRAVIS: Oh no, no, no, no, it's okay, it's okay. It's okay, (shushes)

AABRIA: No, fuck that guy.

TRAVIS: Yeah, fuck him.

ASHLEY: Yeah, true.

AABRIA: Ugh!

ASHLEY: I agree with Deanna.

AABRIA: (laughs) Thank you!

ASHLEY: What if we just end up here again on accident?

AABRIA: Yeah!

LAURA: Well.

SAM: I'm going to cast another Calm Emotions on myself, keep it going.

AABRIA: Okay, what is happening here?

LAURA: What's happening? What do we need to do, what do we need to do?

TRAVIS: I slap FCG.

LAURA: No!

(laughter)

SAM: I don't know what you need to do!

LAURA: What--

AABRIA: What's wrong?

LAURA: Do we need to just go to sleep? Can you just go to sleep? Go to sleep.

AABRIA: What are you feeling? Can you communicate in this moment? What's happening?

SAM: I'm just feeling, I don't, I feel a lot of, a lot of rage. A lot of rage happening--

AABRIA: Oh.

SAM: -- building up, and I've got to get rid of it somehow, right now.

AABRIA: Do you want to talk about it?

ASHLEY: I have some ideas.

LAURA: Yeah, do you--

ASHLEY: Do you want to--

AABRIA: Do you want a hug?

SAM: You've got 30 seconds before I cast it one more time on myself.

CHRISTIAN: I run up to him, and I, in his head, he hears: It's going to be okay. And I kiss him, I grab him, I kiss him.

SAM: Okay.

CHRISTIAN: It's going to be okay.

SAM: I accept your kiss. I give you tongue.

(laughter)

AABRIA: From where?

TRAVIS and ASHLEY: Meat tongue.

MATT: (heavy sigh)

LAURA: It's really just a tongue that he bought a long time ago, and he keeps right there. So it's like--

CHRISTIAN: It's like a cow tongue?

LAURA: Yeah, it's really old and decayed.

CHRISTIAN: But you know, you love who you love, so.

MATT: I will say, I will say this instance, make a wisdom saving throw for me.

SAM: Ooh boy, and I can't see it.

AABRIA: I would've cast Guidance, but I didn't want to be part of that moment.

SAM: Was this a saving throw?

MATT: A wisdom saving throw.

SAM: 20.

MATT: 20, okay, okay. In taking a moment to push back the intensity of that burning rage within, you instead allow that calm that you already magically induced within yourself to then bridge over to the calm you feel in FRIDA's embrace. In that moment, roll a d4, and remove that many stress points.

SAM: (laughs)

AABRIA: Roll high.

SAM: Two.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: That's great.

SAM: (sighs)

CHRISTIAN: You're going to be okay.

SAM: FRIDA.

AABRIA: FCG, you good?

SAM: Thank you.

LAURA: You got that healing love.

SAM: Oh.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

AABRIA: Are you still stressed out?

SAM: A little bit, but way less now.

AABRIA: Do I need to have a special talk with FRIDA on how to maybe mitigate a little more stress? (laughs)

LAURA: (laughs)

CHRISTIAN: We haven't had that conversation.

AABRIA: I know, and maybe it's time.

SAM: Wait, what does that mean?

TRAVIS: Where are we?

LAURA: Where are, what? I know.

CHRISTIAN: I convey to you what I figured out when I was looking around, that we're just southwest of where we--

MATT: Yeah, very, very far southwest of the Greying Wildlands.

CHRISTIAN: Right.

MATT: You're not quite sure where, because you've not been there, but you know you're probably on Wildemount still.

LAURA: I am really sorry about that--

SAM: And you need how many charges?

LAURA: I'm going to need four more charges in order to get it back. So I won't be able to do it again until tomorrow.

SAM: Unless the Changebringer can help. And I'll cast Divine Intervention also.

MATT: Okay. Okay.

AABRIA: Let's go!

TRAVIS: A full court shot, why not?

MATT: Okay.

AABRIA: Yeah, exactly, it's a little buzzer beater, we can do it.

SAM: She doesn't have to get us there. She just has to give that staff a little bit more power.

LAURA: Okay. I mean, if you get Divine Intervention, maybe you should just go all out and ask her to get everything, you know?

(laughter)

LAURA: That seems like the smarter choice.

AABRIA: In for a penny, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SAM: Well, I want to make it a manageable request.

AABRIA: Smart requests of deities are important.

SAM: Oh, real bad.

(laughter)

LAURA: What'd you roll?

SAM: 54.

LAURA: Oh.

MATT: Ah.

ASHLEY: See, they just--

MATT: Unfortunately, her presence, much like the Dawnfather's, are distracted at the moment by other matters in Exandria.

SAM: Oh no.

AABRIA: Don't take it personally.

SAM: She needs us, no, she asked me to help, and I've been asking-- and I asked her for help.

AABRIA: No, you're good.

SAM: That's terrible.

AABRIA: That's the deal.

SAM: No, that's not the deal.

AABRIA: It is.

LAURA: I'm really sorry, y'all, I've never done anything like that before, it--

ASHLEY: It's okay.

TRAVIS: Yeah, shit is fucked right now.

AABRIA: Yeah, we didn't die.

ASHLEY: Yeah, it was your first time.

LAURA: We very well could have. I'm sorry.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

CHRISTIAN: But we didn't.

ASHLEY: We're not dead, we're not dead.

CHRISTIAN: We're all here.

ASHLEY: We met some cool new--

CHRISTIAN: Bird friends?

ASHLEY: Bird friends.

AABRIA: People that do not like us.

SAM: They're horrible people.

TRAVIS: Perception check of the woods, any eyes, other flapping things, things slithering towards us--

MATT: Make a perception check.

TRAVIS: Now that we're at the bottom.

AABRIA: Guidance!

LAURA: What if I don't get enough spell charges back? I have to roll to regain them, a d4 plus three. No, oh, so I'll definitely get it back.

AABRIA: There's no way you're not getting that.

TRAVIS: 23.

SAM: We just have to make camp.

MATT: 23.

SAM: Right here, right now.

AABRIA: You roll a zero on a d4.

MATT: Looking around the space you're in, it is, this whole area is on a mountain. You are in a forest, and so, the ground has patches of softness, but a lot of exposed stone, and rock, moss covered area, and heavy pines, and other tall trees that rocket up above to the heavy shadows. Looking up into the boughs, you can see there are woodland creatures peering at the strangeness of these new arrivals. You don't see anything threatening, or anything large enough to put you on edge, but you do know that these open areas of the wilds tend to carry such dangers.

TRAVIS: Yeah, in the wilds.

SAM: (sighs)

MATT: But with a night's rest, should you wish to hunker down.

SAM: I feel like we should just go to sleep, right?

LAURA: That's the only thing to do, really.

AABRIA: Isn't it the beginning of the day?

MATT: It is.

AABRIA: Hey, I'm not tired. (laughs)

SAM: Well, can you get tired?

ASHLEY: I don't know if I can fall asleep.

SAM: I mean.

AABRIA: Okay, you're getting a lot of an attitude right now.

TRAVIS: We can, oh, I mean, yeah, what were you saying?

AABRIA: (laughs) I think we're saying different things. You seem really keyed up right now.

SAM: I am.

AABRIA: I love you so much, and I need you to not make your emotions other people's problems.

CHRISTIAN: Hey, hey, hey now, he's just-- He's dealing the same way we're all dealing. He's going to be fine.

AABRIA: Right, I thought I was being nice.

CHRISTIAN: In your own way.

AABRIA: Yeah. Come correct, what do you--

SAM: Oh no, look at me--

AABRIA: No!

SAM: I'm tearing old friends apart!

LAURA: FCG, what do you do to relieve stress?

SAM: Well, apparently I can make out a little.

LAURA: Uh-huh?

SAM: Sleep.

ASHLEY: There's many ways to relieve stress.

SAM: Entering shutdown mode. Or, I mean, you guys could pop me open, and see if you could do some rewiring or something.

AABRIA: No, no.

LAURA: You know what? I don't think we should do that.

TRAVIS: I'm all for that.

LAURA: But you could put yourself in--

(laughter)

LAURA: -- sleep mode, and.

SAM: I could. We all should, though. I mean, you're going to need to sleep at some point.

AABRIA: We woke up two hours ago.

ASHLEY: Yeah, we just woke up.

SAM: Well, what do you want to do? Just walk around blindly, and--?

TRAVIS: Yeah, we'd just be walking through the wilds. We should try and rest, and get that staff back up.

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Okay, I'll try, I mean, I can try to sleep.

(laughter)

MATT: I mean, it's less about going to sleep right now, and more like taking the day here--

CHRISTIAN: To rest.

MATT: To figure out what you need, to discuss what you want, if there's anything in particular you want to handle for the day, and then an early rest for the evening.

CHRISTIAN: Well, if you want to walk over somewhere, and take a little rest, I'll watch your back while you do.

SAM: Thank you, yeah, I'll shut down right away.

CHRISTIAN: I stand guard over FCG.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: I'm going take a little bit to draw out Jrusar on a sheet of paper, and really try to visualize it better this time.

(laughter)

MATT: Hey, it's new magic, it's a new item, you know? Just got to work out the kinks a little bit.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: All right. While the rest of you make a temporary camp for at least the space you are finding probably one of the safer little spaces not quite out in the open, you can go into an evening's rest.

ASHLEY: I'm going to try to find a little sun patch.

MATT: Okay.

AABRIA: Aw.

CHRISTIAN: When he goes into his rest mode, I'm staring really intently at him.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

CHRISTIAN: I want to cast Detect Thoughts.

SAM: Ooh, ooh.

CHRISTIAN: See if I can see what he sees when he sees my brain. I want to see if I can get anything else from him.

MATT: Okay.

AABRIA: Toxic first love.

MATT: The very, very gentle surface thoughts of your shutdown state, is there anything there that you would convey?

SAM: Oh, I mean, do I dream when I sleep? Do I have thoughts, or is it rearranging? Is it just rearranging the day's events, or is it, what is it?

MATT: Okay, are you handing the baton to me?

SAM: I am handing the baton to you, because I don't know. I've never, I've been trying to dream this whole campaign. I don't know what I dream.

(laughter)

MATT: So you pick up recollections of recent events. You pick up little passing moments, and words, and expressions. Like a brief review of an important bits of affirmation. Do you delve deeper?

CHRISTIAN: Do I sense any sort of--? Yes.

(laughter)

SAM: Correct answer.

MATT: Go ahead and make a wisdom saving throw. But what was your question, do you sense any sort of--?

CHRISTIAN: Well, because he was so panicked in the moments before he turned off, and so, I guess I'm trying to probe for the source of that panic, because I have never seen him react to anything the way he reacted to those birds.

MATT: Good to know.

SAM: 13.

CHRISTIAN: Oh, what is my spell save? 15.

MATT: That's a failure. You push past, and it's hard to pick up. These are momentary flashes, but you now truly feel that that burgeoning tension that you only saw on the surface before, there is, wouldn't even classify it as a rage, but an immovable intent to kill. There is a need to destroy and cleanse. It feels unlike FCG, it feels alien. It feels intrusive, like an intrusive thought that has grown so intrusive that it cannot be ignored any further. The only thing that you see beyond this feeling that you grasp, beyond this boundary, is images of someone building--

CHRISTIAN: Do I see a face?

MATT: -- them. Not a face, you see hands. You see hands assembling, you see things being carved, you see elements of enchantment being pressed within the deep recesses of the chassis of FCG, within the head. There is a delicately crafted intentional intent burned within the essence of this person you're bonded with. Old.

CHRISTIAN: So--

MATT: Buried.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah, so an Aeormaton, am I able to sense whether this is his original programming, or like a virus?

MATT: Make an arcana check for me.

CHRISTIAN: Well, you know, oh, that's. (laughs)

MATT: You never know.

AABRIA: Try and be great.

CHRISTIAN: 11.

MATT: 11, you have no idea. It's beyond your scope of understanding of arcana, both new and old. That's about as much as you can get out of it.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah, I'll come out of his mind.

MATT: Okay.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah.

MATT: All right. You all take a harrowing evening's rest in a very foreign space, lost, cold. It is a cold night up here in the mountains. Maybe not as chilly as some of the nights you spent in the Crystalsands Tundra, but there is a lack of comfort in knowing where you are.

TRAVIS: Stay close, baby.

(laughter)

AABRIA: I don't know who you're talking to, but hell yeah.

(laughter)

MATT: The following morning comes, and indeed, your staff will recharge.

LAURA: Five charges.

AABRIA: Let's go!

MATT: Five charges. In gathering yourselves, gathering your supplies, and preparing for a hopefully better intent on the next day's journey. Do you wish to cast the spell again?

SAM: Come on.

LAURA: Yes.

MATT: All right. Focusing on Jrusar.

LAURA: Okay.

TRAVIS: We need some Guidance, though, and we need just the--

AABRIA: What do you, how do I?

ASHLEY: How do we do this?

AABRIA: Okay, Imogen--

CHRISTIAN: Everybody give it.

AABRIA: Just a quick question. I have nothing but faith in you. How do we help you? Because it feels like you're taking a lot of the burden of this, and I want to be a supportive teammate, and if I take that much damage again, I'ma go full FCG.

LAURA: I get it, I get it.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: I'm going to take out my pan flute. I'm going to take out my pan flute, and I'm going to play some music, okay?

AABRIA: Oh, that's nice, that's--

LAURA: Oh, that's wonderful--

AABRIA: That's a cool idea.

LAURA: I love music.

AABRIA: That's great.

LAURA: Does anybody have anything that can allow me to reroll something?

SAM: Ooh, ooh.

AABRIA: Interesting. What is rolling?

SAM: Wait, don't you have that?

LAURA: What does roll mean?

SAM: Didn't we have some Potions of Motes of Possibility?

LAURA: Yeah, I don't have that anymore.

SAM: Oh.

LAURA: I used that. I used that when we were saving Laudna, that was a while ago.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

SAM: Okay.

LAURA: All right.

TRAVIS: Let's get it.

LAURA: We're going to do it.

(snaps fingers)

MATT: All right, focusing on Jrusar, the place where you met your friends.

SAM: I'm going to cast Command on you.

AABRIA: (laughs)

SAM: Succeed!

(laughter)

LAURA: I feel a real drive to make this happen.

MATT: All right, roll a d100 for me, Laura. Come on, come on, Laura, come on.

LAURA: We got this! No problem!

SAM: We got this!

TRAVIS: I want to do it.

LAURA: Here we go.

MATT: You're just going to?

LAURA: You going to do it, too? What if we roll the same number again, baby?

AABRIA: Then I'm going to run away.

SAM: Oh, baby.

AABRIA: Aabria's going to leave.

CHRISTIAN: We'll all get sucked into a black hole if that happens.

TRAVIS: 33.

LAURA: 53.

SAM: Oh!

LAURA: Ah! (laughs)

ASHLEY: What'd you roll?

TRAVIS: 33.

ASHLEY and MATT: Okay.

MATT: All right. As you all grasp your equipment, and clench on all sides.

AABRIA: (squeals)

MATT: You feel the magic once more, rip you out of the space you're in, drag you through a fiery liminal space, and then, (heavy impact).

LAURA: (grunts)

MATT: You all arrive in the middle of the night sky, which I think I accidentally pressed the wrong button, we'll switch over to that in just a moment.

ASHLEY: It's such a full moon.

MATT: Standing atop a brick and cobblestone road, the smell of smoke and misty air filters in. You, your eyes have to adjust to the lighting for a moment as you can see there's a light mist that drifts around the distant floor of the jungle that lies far below you.

LAURA: (gasps)

MATT: You glance off a nearby railing, and you can see, for those of you who have been here before, indeed, you stand on the outside of one of the spires of Jrusar. For those that are new to this space, you take in the surroundings here. It is likely either late night, or early morning wherever you sit, but there is an open sky above, stars visible, little plumes of clouds gently drifting through. Mountain ranges that span the horizon around you, like you sit within a massive mountainous bowl on all sides, and the basin below, and all parts of ground is covered in dense jungle that is now mostly shadow. You do see, from where you currently stand, two other large rock spires, thin, rising mountains that, like natural towers. Masses of cityscapes built along them, and a spiraling street that rises above. Some with long bridges, and these extended cables that connect between them. It is a bit chilly, but the other thing you notice, too, is in one direction, very prominently, you can see a massive, glowing red moon affixed in the sky, and a pulsing thin beam that connects it beyond the mountain range. As you take a moment to stare, it's locked in a flaring state. Ruidus is just emanating light. That single thread flickers and pulses, like there's movement. It's ominous, and you glance around, the handful of sparse people that wander at this early hour are either armored, or are quickly running to wherever their destination is. There are all manner of shadowed flying bird-like creatures up in the sky.

AABRIA: Blindfold.

MATT: Those of you that have been in Jrusar before, you recognize these as the simurghs, these large, bird-wolf-like hybrid creatures that are partially armored, and are ridden, and are keeping, scoping the view in the sky around you. It is a unique mix of beautiful and unique, as well as tense under the distant glowing red image of the Ruidus moon. But it seems you have touched down successfully within the city.

SAM: (relieved sigh)

LAURA: The minute we land, I take 16 points of damage.

AABRIA: Oh!

SAM: Oh no.

AABRIA: Oh, okay. Bad news on the leash, did we do it, we good?

LAURA: We're here.

SAM: Yeah, this is the correct place.

LAURA: This is--

CHRISTIAN: So that must be--

LAURA: Are you okay? You did such a good job, I'm not hurt at all.

LAURA: We're here, oh great, that's wonderful.

ASHLEY: We're here, you did it, you--

LAURA: Great, great, great.

AABRIA: Do you look visibly injured at all?

LAURA: Just my soul. (laughs)

AABRIA: (laughs) Oh, you're doing that stare where you kind of go away. You good?

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm fine.

AABRIA: Okay.

TRAVIS: It hurts on the inside.

LAURA: I just shit my pants.

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: We're here. All except you.

LAURA: What spire are we on? Can we tell?

SAM: Oh yeah.

TRAVIS: Are we by?

MATT: You are glancing around. It's not entirely familiar to you, at least the specific location you are. But you assess rather quickly that you would be on the Smolder Spire.

LAURA: Smolder Spire.

MATT: For those of you that can see, the visual spire that you can see is the largest one itself, is this massive core section, the largest amount of city that wraps up with all manner of buildings across it at different levels. At the top, there is a majestic, palace-like construction that crowns the top of it. The spire you're on currently, you can smell the smoke and soot, and there are exhausts throughout that give these black smoke plumes that rise up into the sky and then drift and mingle with the clouds and wind above before dissipating. You also, I will say, note, for those of you who have been here before. The warm lights, the magical lights that adorn the city and give it its speckled glow in the middle of the night hours are a bit diminished, and a deeper shadow falls across the city.

TRAVIS: Hmm.

ASHLEY: What's our plan?

SAM: We're hoping to meet our friends here, right?

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: I think so.

ASHLEY: Spire by Fire or are we going to Soot and Swill?

SAM: Well, we don't even know where they-- We're near the Soot and Swill right now.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

SAM: So we could start there. But we can't Scry. We can't Sending, right?

AABRIA: I can try to--

LAURA: Unless if it works here, I don't know.

AABRIA: I'll try to Scry if you want to try Sending?

LAURA: Sure.

AABRIA: Wait, didn't you have something with your friend Laudna's blood on it?

LAURA: Yeah.

AABRIA: Can I borrow that real quick?

LAURA: I pull my vial out.

AABRIA: I'll give it back.

LAURA: Sure.

AABRIA: I just need to touch it. You don't have to take it off.

LAURA: Oh, great.

AABRIA: I'll just hold it. I just reach up and grab your necklace. I'm going to try Scry on Laudna.

MATT: Going to try and Scry on Laudna?

AABRIA: Yeah.

MATT: Okay.

AABRIA: (nervous laughter) I've heard of the target. We're doing great.

MATT: You have indeed.

TRAVIS: "I've heard of the target."

LAURA: You have something of theirs. I also have this red yarn bracelet.

AABRIA: Body stuff is better.

LAURA: Better?

AABRIA: Yeah, slightly better. Okay, so they have a negative five to the save.

MATT: Yep.

SAM: Guidance.

AABRIA: I don't think I roll.

MATT: No, this would be a Laudna save.

SAM: Cool.

AABRIA: But thank you. I appreciate feeling supported. This is very nice. I'm sorry I said a mean thing earlier.

SAM: No, it's all right. It's my fault.

AABRIA: No. Oh no. I cast Therapy.

SAM: Everything I do is wrong.

AABRIA: Oh no.

TRAVIS: Therapy.

MATT: Okay. As you concentrate and focus, you feel your spiritual self partially removed from your physical consciousness. Through a dimmed sunrise light of the Dawnfather, you feel yourself pulled through the realities of Exandria, clouded by mists and fog until they dissipate. There you see in some subterranean space, a cavern, a carved, deign to call it a living area, but it is a cave chamber of some kind. There is some simple furniture about, what looks to be a cot. Not too far from where this is, you can see curled up, not even really sleeping, eyes wide in thinking, a pale, thin, almost stretched and lithed woman, stringy-black hair with a streak of white. Darkened dress, small pile of materials and supplies next to her. She nods and thinks for a second. Safe, but you're uncertain as to where.

AABRIA: Okay, I wanted to do-- I'll let go of the necklace, and trying very hard to look very chill and failing. I didn't want you to get hurt. If you're going to try, I think you should maybe try Sending because I just saw her and she's very cute, and she's safe in a cave.

LAURA: She's safe? She's alive? Why didn't we do that before?

AABRIA: No, no, no, no, no.

SAM: Wait, we didn't even try that before?

AABRIA: Hey, no, no, it's okay. I think maybe it's proximity or the moon, I don't know. But it's good and you should do it and-- (excited squeal)

ASHLEY: Did you see anyone else with her?

AABRIA: Oh, I was just- Did I see--

ASHLEY: That's okay, it's okay. I just was wondering.

AABRIA: No. She was on the ground by a pile of stuff in a cave.

SAM: Where? In a cave?

LAURA: Did she look happy? Did she look okay? Did she look hurt? Did she look--

AABRIA: No, I mean she looks kind of-- You described her like beautiful spooky, and I get that. She seemed fine. She seemed fine! She didn't seem worried at all.

SAM: Not deader than normal?

AABRIA: No, I don't think so.

LAURA: All right.

AABRIA: So I think she's okay, I think your friends are okay.

ASHLEY: That's good. That's good, that's good.

SAM: Well, one anyway. That's great.

AABRIA: Well, she would probably look sad if everyone else was bad.

SAM: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

LAURA: Sure, sure.

ASHLEY: I just squeeze Imogen.

LAURA: Yeah.

AABRIA: He's right. It's good.

LAURA: I'm going to try to cast Sending.

AABRIA: I don't think it's going to hurt.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: "I don't think it's going to hurt."

AABRIA and LAURA: (laugh)

MATT: Go ahead and roll a d100 for me.

AABRIA: Aw shit!

SAM: Oh, jesus.

LAURA: I trust you. Whatever you say!

AABRIA: Oh no!

LAURA: I'm going to be all right!

MATT: (laughs)

LAURA: 69, baby.

ASHLEY: Woo!

MATT: Nice.

CHRISTIAN: You immediately level up.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Can't write it.

AABRIA: The dice are telling a story.

ASHLEY: It's decided.

AABRIA: It's a sex thing.

SAM: It's a sex thing.

AABRIA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Stupid.

AABRIA: Deeply ignorant.

MATT: As you finish the incantation, focusing in this moment of joyful confirmation--

LAURA: Uh-huh. (laughs)

(laughter)

AABRIA: The most joyful confirmation.

MATT: That hum returns, that buzzing static sound and the connection is lost.

SAM: Oh shit.

LAURA: No pain, though?

MATT: No pain.

LAURA: Oh, that's great. Didn't work.

AABRIA: Is it working? Oh, I'm sorry.

LAURA: Didn't work. No, but it didn't hurt. It didn't work. But that's great to know that she's okay.

AABRIA: Okay.

LAURA: All right.

SAM: In a cave, that doesn't sound Jrusar-y.

LAURA: Jrusar-y. It could be below.

CHRISTIAN: You all had the thought to come here because this is where you would've met up, so you have to assume that they had the same thought, and that's positive.

SAM: Yeah, and maybe if they had to move on to a cave or something, they left word. So we should go to the places that we frequent and ask if there's a message for us or something.

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Great idea.

ASHLEY: Yeah, that's a good idea.

SAM: Yeah.

LAURA: I mean, Spire by Fire.

SAM: We're closest to the Soot and Swill.

LAURA: We should check there with Pretty, maybe she left word with Pretty.

SAM: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Eshteross' place. Nope, that was covered in blood.

LAURA: No, that was-- And Zhudanna's, that's the only other place I can think of.

SAM: Yep. Yeah. So we'll real quick go to the Soot and Swill because I think that's on the Smolder Spire, right?

MATT: Mm-hmm.

LAURA: Yeah.

SAM: Yeah. Go there first.

TRAVIS: Yeah, because the trolleys, they charge an arm and a leg.

AABRIA: Oh!

TRAVIS: There's a whole gondola thing, yeah.

AABRIA: Okay.

MATT: Okay.

AABRIA: I'm going to Minor Illusion recreate the thing I saw in scrying, just in case it's recognizable. I've made a diorama of what I saw.

LAURA: Look at this cute little--

AABRIA: Yeah.

SAM: Is that a shoe box?

AABRIA: Yeah. Thank you.

SAM: (laughs)

LAURA: Does it look familiar at all?

AABRIA: Oh no! Chetney blew it away.

(laughter)

AABRIA: I recast it.

(laughter)

AABRIA: Hold your breath.

LAURA: Does it look familiar at all, the environment?

MATT: No.

LAURA: I don't know where that is.

MATT: But those of you who have been there before, guiding the new compatriots along, you wander on the outside of the somewhat industrial aspect of the city, passing by the closed at the moment mines, the many homesteads that the windows are darkened this early in the morning. The occasionally darkened lantern poles that sit at the various corners, Some alit with a perpetual flame, others that are just dark, not unlike many of the disenchanted lighting arrangements in Uthodurn.

LAURA: Does it look like we could get in trouble for being out, like the wardens are keeping people in their houses, or--?

AABRIA: Oh, curfew vibes.

MATT: Make a perception check.

AABRIA: (whispers) Guidance.

SAM: (muffled whisper) Guidance.

CHRISTIAN: (laughs)

AABRIA: This is on the wind. (whispers) Guidance.

LAURA: (breezy whisper) 16.

MATT: 16. You don't see anyone actively searching to keep people indoors at all. But the people that are out there, and you only see a handful, and they're not paying you much mind, but they're quickly ushering through the streets. There is a hurried sense of tension that you at least are grasping from the movement of people. Some of the warders themselves, the armored guards walk by and give you a look, but they have a spooked energy to them as they pass by. But you do eventually come to the exterior of the Soot and Swill. This homey tavern, you can already tell by the exterior, of it is meant to feel welcoming to the standard workers of the more hard industrial side of Jrusar. Coming into the warm, fire-lit interior, it is mostly empty at this hour. You see one individual, this rotund-looking dwarf fellow who's passed out in the far corner. This thick black hair that's pulled back and then tied up into a top knot that would flop in front of his eyes were he conscious, just snoring loudly against one table.

AABRIA: Interesting.

LAURA: It's a good way to see if you look good with bangs.

CHRISTIAN: (laughs)

AABRIA: Oh! Yeah.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

SAM: Anybody in there?

AABRIA: Ooh.

MATT: At the moment, the front desk is not attended, but as you enter a few steps, you see as an older gentleman steps down. Familiar night purveyor who currently holds when Preio is resting, at this hour at least. Comes down and you can see the older half-elven man rush down with a-- It's not even a robe necessarily, more than a comfortable business blouse that extends past his knees. It's wrapped around. "Are you looking for a room at this hour?"

LAURA: No. Is Pretty available or-- Actually, do you know-- I guess we know they're not here, but did anyone leave word for Bells Hells?

SAM: Do you have messages written down somewhere?

MATT: "No messages, but you asked for Pretty? I could inquire. Hold on." He steps back up the stairs and leaves for a few minutes. Then about 10 minutes of waiting, the gentleman returns and goes back to sit behind the front desk, and you hear the heavy foot falls behind the corner.

SAM: Don't fall in love.

MATT: As the door opens.

LAURA: Yeah. We went on a date with him.

AABRIA: I can't make that promise.

LAURA: He is--

ASHLEY: Yeah. We went on a date.

LAURA: He's something.

MATT: You see a--

CHRISTIAN: His name is Pretty?

LAURA and ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: -- a massive eight-and-a- half-foot tall ogre emerges--

AABRIA: Oh, I get it now. Okay.

MATT: -- from the nearby table, with this long night cap that dangles past his midback with this little burst at the end.

AABRIA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Oh my goodness.

MATT: He's got a night coat on that goes right past his knees, but a little bit too high. It looks like it barely fits him. You can see stitch marks, where it looks like it's been expanded multiple times trying to fit his ogre form.

ASHLEY: (laughing) Oh!

MATT: The patterns don't quite match, it's a little off. But he exits and goes, "Hello?"

ASHLEY: Hi, Pretty.

MATT: "My goodness!" Runs down the steps, two of them crack under his weight, but he rushes down and gives a big sweeping hug to the two of you in one big grasp and lifts you both up.

ASHLEY: Hi.

MATT: "It's been of while."

ASHLEY: It has.

LAURA: Pretty.

MATT: "You're here early."

LAURA: Yeah, well we've been away for a while.

MATT: "Yeah."

LAURA: Have you seen Laudna at all?

MATT: "No."

ASHLEY: Or Orym or Ashton?

MATT: "No."

ASHLEY: No?

LAURA: All right.

MATT: "I'm sorry."

LAURA: No, we all got separated and we were hoping to meet up soon, so.

MATT: "Well I'm sure if you're looking for them, they're looking for you."

LAURA: That's right.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: "Do you want some breakfast?"

SAM: No, no.

AABRIA: Aw, buddy.

AABRIA: Yeah, I'm hungry. No?

SAM: Oh no, I think--

LAURA: We should--

AABRIA: Oh, we should go.

LAURA: Let's keep looking.

AABRIA: Okay.

ASHLEY: Hey, has it been a weird few days for you? Anything happen?

MATT: "It's been a little odd. All the lights in the sky made for some fun celebrations. A lot of people drinking and getting excited, but also a lot of strangers. The moon's been kind of weird."

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: "I don't know if you've noticed."

LAURA: Have you seen anyone that is just all red and (shuddering moan) walking around?

TRAVIS: Even running through the streets? Wouldn't have been a happy thing.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: "No."

TRAVIS: That's good, that's a good thing.

LAURA: That's probably a good thing, yeah.

MATT: "Hmm. It's been a little hard to get around the city. Some of the gondolas stopped working."

LAURA and SAM: Oh.

AABRIA: Oh?

SAM: Some? Not all.

AABRIA: Uthodurn--

MATT: "Yeah."

ASHLEY: Oh.

SAM: All?

LAURA: Is it hard to get over to the Core Spire right now?

MATT: "Maybe."

LAURA: All right.

SAM: Aw shit.

AABRIA: I like Pretty so much.

LAURA: Yeah.

AABRIA: While they're talking, can I make an attempt to stealthily fix the mismatched seam on Pretty's outfit?

MATT: (laugh)

AABRIA: (winces) Ooh. The sewing was like-- (groans)

MATT: Sleight of hand.

AABRIA: I can do this. I can fix it.

ASHLEY: Guidance.

AABRIA: Thank you. Oh god, I need it. What a bad roll.

MATT: (laughs)

AABRIA: Okay.

ASHLEY: I see what she's doing.

AABRIA: 12.

MATT: 12. He's talking to you both.

(clasp)

SAM: Oh!

MATT: This massive, meaty hand grabs your arms and lifts you up a bit.

AABRIA: Hi.

MATT: "Who are you?"

AABRIA: Hi, I'm so sorry. My name's Deanna.

MATT: "I don't have pockets to pick."

AABRIA: Oh, I'm not picking a pocket. You're in pajamas.

MATT: "That's true."

AABRIA: Yeah, it looks like you've done a little bit of tailoring to your pajamas, and they didn't quite get the pattern right, I can fix it. Can you just give me one second? I'm so sorry. I should have said something first, I didn't want to interrupt, you were having a beautiful moment.

MATT: Puts you down and is like, "It's hard to find patterns in my body size."

AABRIA: Yeah. Oh! God, if we had more time-- I'll come back, I could draft something.

ASHLEY: She's really great. I wrap myself in the shawl she made. She's fantastic.

MATT: "Wow, you did that?"

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah.

AABRIA: I did, hold on! I want to reach into my little bag and pull out the biggest thing. I think it's a blanket, but it's just like a handkerchief. Here, for you, you hold that. Okay, I'm going back, and I'm going to use a mixture of Mending and my dagger to realign and fix that.

MATT: "Oh!"

AABRIA: Here you go.

ASHLEY: Much better.

AABRIA: Flat seams, too, so when you sleep on your back it doesn't bother you as much.

MATT: "I appreciate that immensely."

AABRIA: Sorry, that was distracting. We can keep going.

MATT: "It's almost pleated!"

(laughter)

MATT: "Oh!"

ASHLEY: So much better.

LAURA: He reads poetry, too.

MATT: "New friend."

AABRIA: Hi!

MATT: Pats you on the shoulder which almost pushes you down onto one knee.

AABRIA: I take a knee like (grunts).

MATT: (laughs)

AABRIA: Yeah, bud.

MATT: "(laughs)"

LAURA: In your head, you hear: He dumped us. We didn't dump him, just for the record.

CHRISTIAN: No fucking way. Pardon my French.

(laughter)

LAURA: Yeah, that happened.

CHRISTIAN: Okay, okay.

ASHLEY: Well, if you see them, please let them know that we're okay and--

MATT: "I will."

SAM: And that we'll meet them on the Core Spire somewhere.

ASHLEY: Core Spire, if we can get over there.

LAURA: Say the Spire by FIre.

SAM: The Spire by Fire.

ASHLEY: Have you happened to see a guy with long hair?

AABRIA: End of description.

(laughter)

SAM: Oh, Ludinus?

(laughter)

LAURA: Like white, long hair.

ASHLEY: Ludinus.

LAURA: He's really old, but distinguished, smarmy.

TRAVIS: Minor Illusion, this motherfucker.

AABRIA: (puffs)

TRAVIS: (groans)

(laughter)

SAM: Wow, you made a shoebox around it.

(laughter)

MATT: "To be honest, a gentleman of such an esteemed visage would likely not frequent an establishment such as ours."

TRAVIS: Oh, don't sell yourself short; this place is the tits.

AABRIA: (laughs)

MATT: "I appreciate that."

TRAVIS: Thanks.

MATT: (yawns)

LAURA: Okay, go back to sleep.

MATT: "I can make breakfast, if you want."

TRAVIS: We got to go.

ASHLEY: Thank you so much.

AABRIA: No, thank you.

SAM: We just wanted to wake you up, sell you some clothes, and leave.

(laughter)

MATT: "Okay."

(laughter)

MATT: "Well, it's nice to see you again. You're always welcome to come back."

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: "All right."

ASHLEY: Bye, Pretty.

AABRIA: (laughs)

MATT: "Bye."

TRAVIS: Come on.

AABRIA: Oh, I see a spark.

LAURA: It's like I always forget that it's going to get awkward.

SAM: It's one-way only.

TRAVIS: Pretty turned down Fearne and Imogen.

AABRIA: Wait, what?

LAURA: Yeah, all right, so look--

ASHLEY: We don't need to dwell on it, it's fine.

AABRIA: That's amazing; I have more questions.

LAURA: We were trying to build his confidence.

AABRIA: I turn to go back in and ask Pretty more questions.

SAM: No, you're not going in there! We got to go to the Core.

(laughter)

MATT: You hear him going back up to his room to sleep. That drunk, passed-out dwarf, moseys out bed, rubs his eyes, and wanders off into the night. The Warders you can see are starting to become a little more dense in the streets as the bit of the sunrise is beginning to peek over the horizon. The simurghs are growing more dense. You can see the lines of technicolor ley energy that are all gathering in the direction of where Ruidus still looms in the sky.

LAURA: It stays during the day now, too? As it gets lighter, it's still looking very present?

AABRIA: Oh god.

MATT: Yeah.

AABRIA: Oh god! Sorry, that's crazy.

MATT: You also can see as the sky gets a little bit brighter, a lot more of the city's shadows and the skyline become apparent. On top of the massive simurghs that are keeping watch around, as the city begins to wake up into life, you can see the skyport at the apex of the Aerie Spire is cluttered with skyships. You can even see some of the nearby mountain range off to the side, there are a handful of other skyships that are anchored amongst the nearby mountain ranges.

ASHLEY: We used to have one of those.

LAURA: Yeah, we crashed it.

AABRIA: Oh, on purpose?

LAURA: Mm.

SAM: Yeah.

AABRIA: Ooh, unfortunate.

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: It wasn't the best idea we've ever had.

TRAVIS: Okay!

LAURA and SAM: (chuckles)

ASHLEY: And it's fun.

CHRISTIAN: Curiouser and curiouser.

AABRIA: Every new detail more buck wild than last.

SAM: How are we going to get across if the things are--

LAURA: Well, let's see. Maybe it's--

TRAVIS: Let's give it a shot.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

SAM: Okay.

CHRISTIAN: Something occurred to me in the Sit and Swill?

SAM: Soot and Swill.

LAURA: Yeah, the Sit and Spin.

CHRISTIAN: Soot and Swill. Sit and Spin? Okay.

ASHLEY: It's Spin, yeah.

TRAVIS and AABRIA: (laugh)

CHRISTIAN: That Scry spell that you used--

AABRIA: Yeah.

CHRISTIAN: -- do you only need something that belongs to the individual that you're trying to find?

AABRIA: It's a mixture of how well I personally know them and if I have something of theirs.

CHRISTIAN: Because we now have all of these things that belong to this Ludinus.

ASHLEY: (gasps)

SAM: Cool.

AABRIA and LAURA: (gasp)

CHRISTIAN: Right? I mean--

AABRIA: Yeah. we have personal property of his in papers and things, right?

LAURA: Yeah, we could give it a try.

CHRISTIAN: Just a thought.

LAURA: I think the more powerful wizards can block it or have ability that--

AABRIA: Well, we can try.

LAURA: Who knows? Maybe he's not expecting anyone to find shit.

AABRIA: Catch him on a bad day. It's very early in the morning. He's half asleep.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah.

LAURA: Maybe let's get to the spire and then--

AABRIA: Yeah.

SAM: Yeah. Let's find our friends first.

LAURA: Yeah.

CHRISTIAN: It's a good idea, yeah.

SAM: It's a great idea.

ASHLEY: That's a very good idea.

AABRIA: Ah. FRIDA, you're--

CHRISTIAN: As we're traversing wherever we're going--

AABRIA: -- brilliant!

CHRISTIAN: -- I'm just going to make sure I'm constantly on, I'm scanning to make sure that no one, whoever's looking at us doesn't immediately recognize these three negatively.

MATT: Okay, make a perception check.

CHRISTIAN: Oh, with pleasure.

(laughs)

ASHLEY: Guidance.

CHRISTIAN: Sure, I'll take it. d6, right, d4, d6?

AABRIA: d4.

ASHLEY: d4, yeah.

CHRISTIAN: So that's a three plus 11, so that's 14, 16.

MATT: 16, got it.

LAURA: I totally thought that was a 19 from my angle, and then it was not, and all that.

CHRISTIAN: You excited me now.

LAURA: I was really excited.

CHRISTIAN: So 16 total.

MATT: 16, okay, looking around the space here, you don't see anyone paying particular notice in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable. You are definitely a colorful troop of people. As the city is coming to life through the waking hours of the morning, the bustle is definitely tense. There is a general air of fear and-- from what you're used to. Most shopping is done quickly. People who have bags to do their errands of the day are bee-lining it and keeping their head down. Most people you can see look up towards the sight of the moon in the sky and quicken their pace. You also notice that beyond the Warders, the armored guards of the city that work beneath the Chandei Quorum to keep the city safe. You begin to see other structures, other figures of somewhat unfamiliar armor. You begin to see heading into nearby taverns or marketplaces, people looking to buy supplies and such. You see armored figures of different militaries. Some wearing raiments, you know, long robes beneath their breast plates and heavily visible holy symbols of various deities. You see other sellswords or actual life soldiers that are here. You're not certain how long they've been and how long they'll remain, but as the light gets brighter in the sky, too, you get a better glance at these skyships, and a lot of them are battleships, not unfamiliar to some of the ones that you saw--

TRAVIS: Smashed.

MATT: -- smashed or destroyed upon arrival at the excavation site at the time of the solstice.

TRAVIS: Vasselheim in the house.

LAURA: Vasselheim. They sent the armies.

CHRISTIAN: Again, yeah.

LAURA: They never leave.

AABRIA: Oh, yeah, this seems like the worst possible thing in the world, so.

TRAVIS: We're like in a staging area, which is not great.

AABRIA: Wait, what if, because the Changebringer visited you, and the Dawnfather visited--

SAM: She did.

AABRIA: If that was sort of a mass all of Vasselheim was told that the gods.

LAURA: Get up and go.

AABRIA: Yeah!

(shudders)

LAURA: Wow.

TRAVIS: It's cool. It's very cool.

AABRIA: It is very cool.

CHRISTIAN: I wonder if--

LAURA: I got chill bumps.

AABRIA and CHRISTIAN: (laugh)

CHRISTIAN: I wonder if after the event, the guys that transported you to us, if there were any prisoners held here, if there were any room, any people left alive from the other guys.

LAURA: Oh, maybe.

SAM: Bad guys.

CHRISTIAN: From Ludinus. Yeah, the bad guys.

MATT: You do notice, FRIDA, at this time that close to--

CHRISTIAN: Ludinus is walking down the street.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: Yeah, he comes up and he's just like, "Nice to meet you."

CHRISTIAN: I think that's him.

MATT: (laughs)

AABRIA: He's got bangs now.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah. (laughs)

MATT: One of the massive cables that stretches from this part of the spire up to the massive central core of the five spires that make up the city of Jrusar. Now that you've walked around and can see all five that make up this metropolis. You can see the gondola itself. It's locked into place on this end, and there's a massive stone automaton that stands on this crank that is affixed to it that is just cold and not moving. Next to it is a line. There is a queue of about 35 or 40 people that have just wound up around the edge. You can see there is a robed figure wearing official Quorum decor and sigils that shows that they're part of the Quorum itself. They are one-by-one ascending, actually four-by-four, sending individuals on a floating platform with a dull blue glow underneath it. It looks like they're essentially with the gondolas that are down, they're attempting to move people throughout the city through other means, though it is a much slower process.

ASHLEY: Should we just fly over?

LAURA: There's got to be a faster way to stand.

SAM: Can we? Can we fly? What?

LAURA: Stand and fly. I mean, I can fly, let's see.

ASHLEY: I could probably carry a couple of you.

LAURA: "One additional--" (speaking gibberish) I mean, I can use a... I can fly three of us.

CHRISTIAN: Well, we still have this.

SAM: Okay.

LAURA: Yeah.

CHRISTIAN: That's one way. We still have the paperwork that says we're from the King and Queen of Uthodurn. Maybe we can implement some sort of--

ASHLEY: Like a fast pass situation?

CHRISTIAN: Yeah, what's like a diplomatic immunity situation.

AABRIA: Yeah.

LAURA: To where we jump the line?

CHRISTIAN: We need to cut this line and get there immediately.

LAURA: Yeah, makes sense.

AABRIA: Unless we want to have some fun.

ASHLEY: Yeah, I'm all about cutting.

CHRISTIAN and LAURA: (laugh)

ASHLEY: I just hate waiting. It just wastes so much time.

CHRISTIAN: I agree, I agree.

TRAVIS: Yeah, we could try.

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Otherwise, it sounds like we're going to fly.

LAURA and ASHLEY: Yeah.

LAURA: Sure. We'll go to the front.

MATT: Okay, so you step past the line, you could see--

SAM: We're very important.

AABRIA: Absolutely.

ASHLEY: Yes.

MATT: There are a number of soldiers that are at the front here. You could see there's a Warder towards the front and many of the other townsfolk that are out to run their business for the day. Some look to be workers that have some sashes over their shoulders. All of them at once give you a--

LAURA: The look.

MATT: -- a tense dagger stare as you approach the front. The gentleman who's currently operating what you would know to be called a brumeskipper. They are one of the more expensive means of transportation during normal hours. They're usually used for the well-off and important Mahaan houses of the city. They often have somebody who is assigned to shuttle them throughout the city.

LAURA: Yes.

MATT: Who does this. But now they've been taken by the Quorum and put to doing public service in a time of challenge.

LAURA: Sure they love it. On the way over, I'm going to Prestidigitation on all of us so we look bright and shiny.

AABRIA: Thank you, thank you, thank you.

CHRISTIAN: Bing.

MATT: Okay. You approach the gentleman who looks tired, haggard, this human man with a receding hairline, grayish white hair that comes to a inward curl, like a bob if you don't have the bangs.

AABRIA: Oh!

(laughter)

MATT: A nose that has outgrown the rest of his aged face. So it hangs down a little bit over the front lip.

ASHLEY: Oh dear.

MATT: But he looks like a nice fellow, just very tired, and he turns to you as you approach, "I am terribly sorry, but you need to get to the back of the line."

LAURA: Of course. Most definitely, and we will or we would, but we come on urgent business from the King and Queen of Uthodurn.

MATT: Make a deception check.

MATT and LAURA: (laugh)

LAURA: Okay. (laughs)

AABRIA: You're so good at this.

LAURA: ♪ I don't how to do a check ♪ Guidance, anybody?

ASHLEY: Guidance! Guidance!

AABRIA: We cast magic as you talk.

CHRISTIAN: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Yes.

MATT: (chuckles)

LAURA: Pat me on the back. That would be a, wait. 17.

MATT: A 17, looks at the paper. Looks at the rest of the group staring at him and sighs deeply. "Just give me a moment." Looks at it and stands there. You watch as the brumeskipper that's across the massive gap, the space, the wind blowing through, the clusters of birds flapping by as the sun gets brighter in the sky, FCG tenses up even further. Eventually, it coasts back over. You can see the first group begins to step forward. He goes, (whispers) "Quickly." (loudly) "My apologies. This is on very important Quorum business. Just another moment." You can hear shouting, whispers, angry.

ASHLEY: VIPs, VIPs, VIPs!

MATT and AABRIA: (laugh)

MATT: These are designed to hold four people.

AABRIA: Little guys.

MATT: You have two little guys.

TRAVIS: Two teenies.

AABRIA: We've two little guys.

ASHLEY: Deanna, you need to kill one of us.

SAM: (chuckles) Oh yeah, pull a Jerry.

MATT: We're back to this again.

(laughter)

AABRIA: I make choices. (laughs)

ASHLEY: All right.

CHRISTIAN: Put you on my shoulders.

AABRIA: Oh, yeah.

ASHLEY: You get over there first in case you find her. I can stand by and wait for the next.

SAM: No, no, no.

AABRIA: No, we're all going.

SAM: Can you turn into a mouse or something?

LAURA: Oh, yeah.

AABRIA: Oh, be a little guy.

ASHLEY: Oh, yeah, I'll be a little guy. I'll be a little guy.

AABRIA: Smart.

ASHLEY: All right, I'll Wild Shape into a raccoon dog.

MATT: Okay, so everyone's like--

SAM: (laughs)

AABRIA: A tanuki?

ASHLEY: It's a real thing!

MATT: You hear the frustration, the whispers, and the cursing.

ASHLEY: They're real cute.

MATT: And the not-so-nice things being said in the nearby crowd. As soon as you transform, half of them go, "Whoa, you see what she did there? That was incredible. She turned into a mouse?"

LAURA: Just pick her up.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah. (chuckles)

ASHLEY: Just a sweet little raccoon dog.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah.

MATT: All right.

LAURA: What does the raccoon dog look like?

CHRISTIAN: I'll look it up right now.

ASHLEY: They're so cute, I'll show you.

AABRIA: It's a tanuki.

MATT: All right.

LAURA: Is it about this big to pet?

AABRIA: A little bigger, go raccoon.

CHRISTIAN: Oh my god.

AABRIA: (chuckles)

MATT: Your paper is handed back to you.

LAURA: Thank you.

MATT: You all step onto the brumeskipper which--

ASHLEY: It looks like raccoon.

LAURA: Oh, I love it.

MATT: -- (puffs) dislodges and begins to move. Now the brumeskipper is about a little over 10 feet across. The guard on the sides of it is about two and a half feet tall. Standing in the middle of this--

AABRIA: I can't believe anybody goes on this.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah. (laughs)

SAM: (laughs)

MATT: Standing in the middle of this disc among, you know, all of you standing on it, as it shifts over, the wind picks up a bit, and that the nerves hit as you realize it is moving. But you are--

ASHLEY: Imogen's holding me, I'm shaking my tail.

LAURA: No.

(laughter)

LAURA: This is so much worse than the gondolas.

MATT: It's terrifying.

LAURA: It's fine.

SAM: Calm Emotions. Calm Emotions.

LAURA: Here's the thing, you know, it's-- everything's fine.

MATT: Slowly picks up speed. (hums) It's moving enough where the wind that's hitting you from this side is now being the wind that's hitting you from this side. A little part of you--

LAURA: I get down on my knees.

MATT: (chuckles)

LAURA: Hold on to the rail.

MATT: Some of you instinctually almost go for it as you grab the railing as well to get a little low because as it's cruising along, there's a moment where you're uncertain if it's tilting or not.

AABRIA: Ah, I'm going to cast Bless.

MATT and AABRIA: (laugh)

AABRIA: Just in case we all fall out and die--

LAURA: I can fly now. This should not be an issue. This should not be an issue.

MATT: (laughs) You watch as the Core Spire approaches. As it gets closer and closer, the massive scope of the central spire of Jrusar begins to truly set itself before you. The sunlight growing higher in the sky, the warmth, the temperature shifting into a warm morning into what will be probably a hotter day. The mists that mostly choke the jungle below begin to slowly subside to show the greenery and the bursts of color that make the life below. You approach and (clacking) anchor on the opposite side, quickly step off.

TRAVIS: (relieved sighs)

MATT: (laughs)

SAM: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Oh my god.

SAM: You okay there?

TRAVIS: I couldn't even talk.

AABRIA: Are you okay?

TRAVIS: Holy shit.

AABRIA: It was so quiet on the tram.

TRAVIS: I got two belly buttons now. That was terrible, oh!

(laughter)

SAM: What's that mean?

TRAVIS: (sighs)

AABRIA: It's okay, buddy.

TRAVIS: (sighs)

AABRIA: I'm doing to cast Death Ward on Chetney. It's okay.

LAURA: Death Ward! (laughs)

AABRIA: Not like this.

TRAVIS: Don't you know that voice that goes "Jump!" That bitch was screaming, ooh.

(laughter)

LAURA: Thank you.

SAM: Sure.

CHRISTIAN: Deanna, as you're on my shoulders, you just hear in your head as I'm looking up at this massive cityscape and just thinking, "I don't think I've ever felt this small before."

AABRIA: (screams) How are you in my head?

LAURA: (laughs)

CHRISTIAN: Oh, I think when we screwed up the transportation the first time, some powers got-- wires got crossed because I can speak to people in their brains now.

AABRIA: (squeakily) Oh my god.

LAURA: (laughs)

CHRISTIAN: I know.

AABRIA: Oh, you're so cool. What were you saying? Sorry, I got lost in the-- you were in my head all of a sudden. You've never seen, I'm focused, I'm focused.

CHRISTIAN: No, it's nothing. We're fine.

AABRIA: I just wrap my arms around your head and just kiss you on the top of your head. This is incredible.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah, that feels good. Yeah.

AABRIA: We're seeing the world.

CHRISTIAN: It's an adventure.

TRAVIS: How is it on the central spire? Same?

MATT: Similar energy, but you do see as you're approaching it, not on the level you're at, but above, there looks to be a regiment of about a hundred more soldiers that are gathering at one place. Make a perception check for me.

TRAVIS: Yo. 19.

MATT: 19, you also see another skyship that is approaching from the northeast side that's appearing over the distance. Two more are beginning to dislodge and head in a southern direction. Down below in the areas of the base of the Jrusar Lantern Spire, where a much of the surrounding ground-level village exists. You can see there are soldiers gathering.

TRAVIS: Whatever we do, we should do it quickly. Let's make it to the--

SAM: Sure.

TRAVIS: Oh, Spire by Fire.

LAURA: All right.

AABRIA: Okay.

SAM: As we walk, I'm going to cast Locate Creature.

AABRIA: Ooh.

SAM: And look for Orym.

MATT: Okay.

AABRIA: That little guy is a creature?

LAURA: He's a little guy.

SAM: I don't know. Does it work on people?

MATT: Locate Creature?

SAM: Yeah.

MATT: Yeah, you could.

SAM: Okay.

MATT: You could specify a person if you want.

SAM: Great.

MATT: Okay. Nothing, unfortunately, is picking up in your periphery, but you can maintain that concentration for as long as the spell lasts.

SAM: I will, I will.

MATT: All right, following your friends.

CHRISTIAN: Do they look like they're prepare-- They're preparing for an attack?

MATT: You're uncertain. You don't have a lot of military experience. They look like they're definitely-- Oh my god. You are-- armed. (chuckles) They are armed and they are--

(laughter)

MATT: They're ready--

CHRISTIAN: I don't know who to listen to now.

MATT: -- ready for the possibility of a chance encounter, like any well-trained soldier would be.

LAURA: As we pass by a group of soldiers, I'm just going to Detect Thoughts just to get an idea of when they're preparing--

MATT: Surface thoughts, as you pass by. You pick up anxiety. You pick up frustration. Not having enough information, being sent suddenly. Some of them are not Quorum. Some of them are from afar. Some of them are like the sense is, "I've never been so far. This place is interesting. Where are we going?" Another passing thought is missing home and missing their family. Other ones are the strange prayers they've had as of late. It's a whole, odd, shifting window into the disparate lives of trained soldiers sent to a place on orders they don't fully understand.

LAURA: All right, I'll stop.

MATT: But you eventually come to the exterior of the Spire by Fire. Here against the central core, the base of the Core Spire here surrounded by all many number of buildings, and structures, and shops, and this beautiful, colorful, vibrant town, even at this hour, in which many of you have seen it come to life in the brightness of the high morning, is diminished. The military presence here and the recent events definitely leaves the city under a gentle lockdown. Whether by decree or by just a lack of wishing to be outdoors and perceived by the tensions that are flowing through Jrusar now. In the Spire by Fire, the burning torchlight on the exterior of the double door entryway, it is a welcoming, tall, multi-storied tavern and inn that is built into the rock. As you step within, you can hear gentle music playing, the massive chandelier light fixture in the center, the secondary floors that roll up. There are dozens of tables around in the center. At the far back corner, you see sitting there pouring a heavy tanker of ale this early in the morning, a massive male katari, lion-like humanoid with an orange brown fur and a big dark mane, who's sitting there taking a big swig before it looks up and assesses some of you. "(laughs) I recognize you! You've been here before! It's been some time, eh?"

TRAVIS: That's true. Yes, we have. We're actually looking for some of our friends. Have you seen the rest of our group, Bells Hells, by any chance?

LAURA: You remember them?

MATT: "No, I remember you had friends. I have not seen your friends around here, necessarily, but you know, we're making it work."

AABRIA: (chuckles)

MATT: "Do you want to stay here? Do you want--? But we haven't had a lot of patrons in the past couple days. We can make you breakfast. We can do all kinds of crazy things. I might get you drinks. You want a room?"

TRAVIS: We probably should--

AABRIA: Oh, what's that?

TRAVIS: We should probably eat or something.

AABRIA: Yeah.

SAM: Sure.

TRAVIS: Then--

AABRIA: So hungry. Yes, please. Thank you.

TRAVIS: Those soldiers that we're meeting up, are they on a higher level or on the same level and further down the--

MATT: They were on a higher level of the Core Spire.

TRAVIS: Got it. Or we see any armored individuals taking breakfast in here?

MATT: Not yet. But you, within a short time of settling in the space here, some soldiers begin to emerge from deeper in the tavern, and you begin to get the sense that why this individual, why Ishir might be wanting patrons is because the tavern has largely been taken over as a temporary barracks and housing--

AABRIA: Oh, yeah.

LAURA: Ah.

MATT: -- for the military passing through.

TRAVIS: Yeah, breakfast would be great. We'll take the works.

AABRIA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Full breakfast.

AABRIA: So much breakfast. I'll pay for it, I got it! Wait, do you take money from Uthodurn? I didn't convert any of my currency before we got here.

MATT: "Hey, gold is gold. Silver is silver."

AABRIA: Okay.

MATT: "Give me what you got."

TRAVIS: Bunch of beers all around.

MATT: "We'll make it work. Don't worry. (laughs)"

CHRISTIAN: I'm going to position myself closest to the soldiers and pay close attention to what they're saying.

TRAVIS: Thank you.

CHRISTIAN: I'll try and figure out what's going on here with the planning.

MATT: Okay, make a--

LAURA: Can I? Oh, sorry.

MATT: Make a history check for me.

CHRISTIAN: A history check?

MATT: Yes.

CHRISTIAN: (muttering) Where is history? Right there.

AABRIA: You got this.

CHRISTIAN: 20, dirty 20.

ASHLEY: Nice.

MATT: Okay. You do notice that some of these soldiers, while some of them wear similar armor, though a little more intense than the Warders that guard the town, others carry emblems and attire that you have seen from traveling members of the Menagerie Coast. There are symbols of the Clovis Concord present.

TRAVIS: Dang.

MATT: As well as a symbol that you do recognize from what you've maybe heard of around but you can gather to be probably the crest of the Council of Tal'Dorei.

AABRIA: (gasps)

SAM: Oh.

MATT: There is a spread of representation here as far as a cluster of military might sent from abroad.

SAM: I'm going to sidle up near FRIDA and look around. We've heard a lot about the Stratos Throne. Is that a group that we would know about?

MATT: Make a history check.

SAM: Oh, okay.

MATT: (laughs)

CHRISTIAN: As I slide, you're going to be here. I'll convey that to you.

SAM: History check. 12.

MATT: 12. I mean, what you recall from what you've learned about in the past is the Stratos Throne, that's the faction to the far southwest of Marquet that was one half of the Apex War.

SAM: Do they still exist, though?

MATT: They still exist.

SAM: Okay.

MATT: They're relatively, comparably isolationist since the war.

SAM: Okay.

MATT: They've been recovering in the aftermath of the stalemate end of the Apex War.

SAM: Cool.

MATT: You know them as the ruling government of where you grew up, though they largely didn't have much of an impact beyond pressing for taxation and tithes upon Gelvaan. Their seat of government is high up in the southern mountains where the heavy snow and the clouds take the peaks. But you don't see them represented here yet.

SAM: All right.

LAURA: Could I step outside while everyone's settling down to get some breakfast?

MATT: Mm-hmm.

LAURA: Can I see Ruidus from where we are?

MATT: Yes, yes, you can. You have to step a little ways out of the Spire by Fire, out into the street, and as the now higher in the sky sunlight hits your eyes a bit as they adjust, you glance over and there are some clouds gathering on the horizon, but indeed there just looming above, unmoving, bright and burning red, Ruidus greets you.

LAURA: If I focus on it, do I feel anything different? Does it feel like the sort of draw that I had in my dream or anything?

MATT: I mean, there's always a very, very faint pull like if a thread were connected to your sternum and it was just the gentlest of tugs.

LAURA: I'm going to try to send a message, I don't know if it'll work, but maybe because it's a shorter distance, to Zhudanna.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: It's Imogen. Has Laudna checked in? Is she at your house maybe? Are you all right with everything?

MATT: Roll a d100.

LAURA: (sighs)

AABRIA: Oh snap.

LAURA: Oh my lord! (laughs)

CHRISTIAN: Girl.

LAURA: What's happening?

CHRISTIAN: I don't know.

(laughter)

AABRIA: Christian's fucking done with you.

LAURA: He's over me.

AABRIA: That's amazing.

LAURA: He's like, get out of my space. You're ruining me.

AABRIA: You're putting your shit on me, and I don't need that smoke.

LAURA: He's like, don't touch me.

TRAVIS: Leeching, leeching. Like, lead in the water.

LAURA: I rolled a two.

(laughs)

MATT: You rolled a two?

LAURA: 002.

MATT: Okay.

AABRIA: Is that good?

TRAVIS: (poof) Just gone.

ASHLEY: Yeah, where'd you go?

AABRIA: (laughs)

MATT: (Zhudanna muttering)

LAURA: Oh, it worked! Maybe it's a good thing to roll low on this one.

AABRIA: Who could know?

CHRISTIAN: Oh, okay.

ASHLEY: Yeah, it's a good thing.

MATT: "I didn't-- What is happening?"

SAM: She's going to kill this woman.

(laughter)

MATT: "Hello?"

LAURA: She knows it's me. I've talked to her in her head before.

MATT: No, she knows, but-- (laughs)

LAURA: She's-- aww.

MATT: "I have not seen Laudna anywhere."

LAURA: Oh, Zhudanna.

AABRIA: (laughs)

MATT: "Do you want juice?"

(laughter)

SAM: Do you want juice?

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Just making sure her babies are fed. Making sure her babies are fed.

MATT: But that is the first successful attempt at a Sending spell.

TRAVIS: Hey.

ASHLEY: Okay!

LAURA: Aww.

SAM: Hey, you're getting your magic back!

LAURA: She's close by. She's close by. All right, I'll go in. I'll go in.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: Wow!

TRAVIS: Can I buy a little round of breakfast ales and take it over to one of the tables where a collection of some of those armored individuals are coming in?

MATT: Mm-hmm.

TRAVIS: I'll sidle up and say: Hey, hey, y'all! Um, listen we were, um, I don't mean to pry. I figure there's nothing like a couple cold mugs of ale to get you warmed up for a good reckoning!

MATT: You can see they're putting on their pauldrons. They're assembling what elements of their armor they have to put on before they leave for the morning.

TRAVIS: It's encumbering. I like to stay stretchy, you know? Keep the vibe-- Anyway, I was wondering if, you know, we got displaced when the moon did its thing, and I came from the Dividing Plains, so I recognize a little of the Tal'Dorei, and I spent my time in the Menagerie Coast. Is there someone coordinating all of your efforts? We'd love to join the cause.

MATT: They look at each other and one of them speaks up. "(clears throat) We're just following orders. We were sent here not but a number of days ago. That is all that we know."

TRAVIS: From your individual commanders, from the Menagerie Coast, there's no coordination between?

MATT: "From our individual commanders that are here with us, yes. Who are you?"

TRAVIS: Oh, my name's Chetney Pock O'Pea. C-POP in the streets. It's a pleasure to meet you. I was seeing if maybe there was a larger effort being, you know, put together in case you needed some wisdom.

TRAVIS: One of the Warders nearby, one of the Warder soldiers leans in a bit and goes, "I assume that you would have to speak to the Quorum if you wanted to know, but we are here on military business."

TRAVIS: Ooh, I like the way you said that.

AABRIA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Wow! That was impressive. Yes, well, here, um, some breakfast ales for these gents! And ladies. Is it just the fellas?

MATT: No, no, no, there's a spread of genders amongst the military here.

TRAVIS: Okay, for my friends here. May your ass-kicking go well.

MATT: "Thank you for your gracious, respectful offering to hardworking soldiers. This concludes our conversation."

CHRISTIAN: Oh no, oh no.

TRAVIS: Shit.

AABRIA: Hm.

TRAVIS: All right.

AABRIA: I'm going to make little stink eyes to them in the back.

TRAVIS: Have a good morning!

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: I walk over. They're fucked! They're all working independently. It's all FUBAR. We'll do much better on our own.

ASHLEY: May I--

TRAVIS: You know what FUBAR is?

ASHLEY: I'm still a raccoon dog.

AABRIA: Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition.

MATT: Yes, you are.

ASHLEY: Just a little fatty patty raccoon dog, just plump and happy.

AABRIA: Oh, you're still--

ASHLEY: Yeah, I didn't change. I want to look around and see, I don't know, maybe Council of Tal'Dorei? I don't know, whatever seems like the most important-looking group and go over to their table.

MATT: Okay, make an insight check.

ASHLEY: Okay.

CHRISTIAN: I wish I could cast Guidance.

ASHLEY and MATT: (laugh)

AABRIA: Just pet her.

TRAVIS: I just hit her and the dog goes, (poof)!

(laughter)

ASHLEY: 22.

AABRIA: Nice.

MATT: 22.

SAM: Insightful dog.

MATT: There are three small groups of soldiers here. There doesn't appear to be any visual ranking on them. They're just waking up in the morning before they have to meet with the rest of their scattered regiments wherever their business is for the day. But within every small troop there appears to be a driving mind, if you will. You can suss out each one has a particular person who's keeping them on task.

ASHLEY: Okay. I'm going to walk over to that table and get on my haunches. Ruff!

CHRISTIAN and AABRIA: (laugh)

MATT: You see a handsome older half-orc whose dark hair is combed over to one side. It swoops over, almost blocking one eye. He has a nice well-kept goatee that comes into a tuft at the bottom, has a little bit of scruff on the sides, but you know, a nice, gentle look to him. These gentle tusks poke underneath, and you can see one of them has a little gem embedded into it.

SAM: Ooh.

MATT: Looks down over to you. "Oh, aren't you adorable?"

ASHLEY: Ruff!

AABRIA: (laughs)

MATT: "Oh, well, this is a wonderful grace in my mornings. Thank you. You're adorable. Do you want a bit of breakfast? You want bacon?"

AABRIA: (gasps)

ASHLEY: Woof!

(laughter)

MATT: "Very good, very good." Takes a half-eaten piece of bacon off the plate and throws it in the air towards you.

ASHLEY: (scarfs)

TRAVIS: It just hit you in the face and bounced off.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: I'm going to sit at their table and try to listen in and be real cute.

MATT: All righty. As you're playing with the one, someone talking like, "Man, what are we even supposed to do here?" Somebody nearby goes, "We're just supposed to be running a perimeter down towards apparently what the grounding site is. We'll find out more orders when we get there. They're keeping us in the dark for some reason, and that makes me both nervous and excited." The orc that you spoke to originally as you approached leans in and goes, "Sh! We do not know the specifics, but few here do. That tells me this is serious and that means that we are trusted. So, we watch each other's backs, we do as we're ordered, we follow instructions, and we'll know more when we arrive. Keep your shit together. I know it's a bit strange." Now at this awkward pause as they all look off in the direction of the window and look back to each other. "Drink as much as you need to wake up, no more. We have a lot of marching to do in two hours." They both begin to finish the snacks at their table. You sense that there's an air of anxiety that is combating the sense of duty.

ASHLEY: All right. I hop down and go back to my group.

MATT: Okay.

AABRIA: Could I have rented a room? I just want to, it doesn't need to be-- I want a room for three days under the name Bells Hells with a note inside it that says, if you're here, the rest of the group is safe. Stay and we'll be back.

ASHLEY: Nice.

MATT: You got it.

LAURA: That's smart.

ASHLEY: Very smart.

LAURA: That's real smart.

MATT: You got it. Okay.

CHRISTIAN: I sidle up alongside Ms. Temult here. This will all happen in our minds here, but I'll just, I don't really drink this if you want mine.

LAURA: Oh, you know what? I don't usually drink either.

CHRISTIAN: Hm.

AABRIA: Chug, chug, chug, chug!

LAURA: (gulping)

AABRIA: Guidance!

(laughter)

LAURA: I'm always afraid that I'll hear too much if I do, but I got this circlet now, so I might as well get toasty, right?

CHRISTIAN: I guess so. How are you feeling Ms. Temult?

LAURA: (laughs) Better knowing that our friends are alive. Anxious waiting for them to come.

CHRISTIAN: I sensed that.

LAURA: Also warm because I got this leather jacket on, and I take it off so everyone can see my beautiful dress underneath it.

AABRIA: Nice corset! (laughs)

MATT: (laughs)

CHRISTIAN: You know, home--

LAURA: It's got sheer sleeves.

TRAVIS: She's been drinking.

LAURA: Have you noticed?

CHRISTIAN: I think it's beautiful.

AABRIA: Immediately.

TRAVIS: When the hand goes to the head.

ASHLEY: She's taking off clothes.

CHRISTIAN: I think, Ms. Temult, I've been wanting to say to you for a while that home can be many things, right? But home can be a person, too. When I think of Faithful Care-Giver, I feel like I'm home.

LAURA: Mm-hmm.

CHRISTIAN: And I think you're going to be home soon, too.

LAURA: Thank you.

CHRISTIAN: We made it this far.

LAURA: I give you a hug.

CHRISTIAN: Oh!

AABRIA: (laughs)

SAM: Oh no!

CHRISTIAN: Are you feeling a little--

LAURA: Oh, I feel fine.

CHRISTIAN: Okay.

LAURA: I feel fine.

SAM: I'm just glaring at her.

AABRIA: I put a blindfold back over FCG.

ASHLEY and MATT: (laugh)

SAM: What the fuck are you doing?

AABRIA: You're like a bird. I just constantly cover you with a blanket.

LAURA: No, no, no--

TRAVIS: Like a canary cage.

AABRIA: Yeah. Go to sleep.

LAURA: FCG, stop it! Stop it. In your head you hear: Stop it, stop it!

SAM: In your head you hear--

LAURA: It's not becoming on you.

SAM: You know what's not becoming? Acting like a hussy in front of everyone.

(laughter)

AABRIA: I know I couldn't hear that, but I felt the word hussy.

(laughter)

LAURA: Hussy, hussy, hussy.

MATT: In this tense, visual exchange in the minds of these two as the rest of you feed on your breakfast and the general air of mixed emotions that seems to permeate the room, the city abound. The soldiers gathering their materials and leaving, the other general go-tos of the interior of this tavern getting to their morning drink. Somewhere elsewhere in the city, a tree in a garden glows.

(gasping)

MATT: And a door within opens.

(gasping)

MATT: And that's where we're going to go to break

(screaming)

TRAVIS: What do you mean? What do you mean? What do you mean?

MATT: We're going to come back here with some different people at the table when we come back at the break.

AABRIA: What?!

MATT: So we'll see you here in a few minutes.

LAURA: Okay.

AABRIA: I thought we were by ourselves.

Part II

MATT: And welcome back.

(laughter)

MATT: As Team Issylra, after traversing the challenges and dangers of the center of Issylra's continent, heading towards the Ascendant Bridge Mountain, making some allies, destroying some temples, traversing the dangers of the natural world, learning of the eidolon spirits that have long--

MARISHA: Killing some allies.

EMILY: (laughs)

MATT: Killing some allies.

EMILY: No! Bor'Dor was not an ally.

TALIESIN: Just one.

MATT: Being betrayed. But then with some information gathered and rest under your belt, you were granted passage through a nearby tree by Hevestro to the city of Jrusar after scrying on and discovering that the allies that you seek currently reside within the Spire by Fire tavern. As the gateway is opened within the tree, your new friend Prism enlarges her raven ally and grasps it and glides outward, realizing--

EMILY: Goodbye! I'll never see you ever again!

(laughter)

MATT: As you glide out of the tree, leaping and going over in a massive drop expanse below you just over the lip of a garden.

MARISHA: Prism! Prism, wait!

LIAM: Where you going?

EMILY: What?

TALIESIN: That's not a really--

MARISHA: Oh, no!

EMILY: I'm going to Marquet. You're going to Jrusar.

MARISHA: We're walking the same direction.

TALIESIN: We're literally--

EMILY: Let this be the last moment you ever see me.

LIAM: We've been here before. Would you like a walk about?

EMILY: Wait.

MARISHA: That's a cliff!

EMILY: What? Oh no!

(laughter)

MATT: So while the three of you step through the tree and you're at the edge of this garden, you look up to the edge and you watch as the bird is gliding downward at a rapid state, with a Prism now dangling probably close to a half mile in the air.

EMILY: I don't think I have the dexterity to balance this vessel!

TALIESIN: Turn back towards the-- Come on!

LIAM: All right. Orym jumps up and runs along the little stone wall that bridges the garden and swings Seedling up. I don't know if she's close enough, but I will try to grab her by the tush with a vine to try to rein her in.

EMILY: (laughs)

LIAM: Just turn her towards the garden.

MATT: I'll say, as you've circled around a bit to try and catch yourself, and you've now dipped below off the edges, you're descending off of this lip. She's about to continue to glide down into the expanse above the jungle. You leap over to the edge and try and lash it. I'll see if you can try and get there in time.

LIAM: Yeah.

MATT: Go ahead and make a dexterity check for me, if you don't mind.

LIAM: Okay, I'm rolling Laura's dice.

EMILY: Can he do it with advantage if I have a nice tush?

MARISHA: (laughs)

EMILY: Like a nice target.

MARISHA and EMILY: (laugh)

MATT: I'll allow it with your offering, sure.

EMILY: Okay. Canonically I have a nice tush.

MARISHA: Warm that cake.

(laughter)

MATT: It is a high DC, but--

LIAM: Way to sell it.

EMILY: (laughs)

MATT: (laughs)

EMILY: Ah!

LIAM: That is a-- This is a dex save?

MATT: A dex check, so you just add your dexterity modifier.

LIAM: Oh, that's an 18.

MATT: 18, okay. As you're gliding down--

EMILY: Oh, no!

MATT: -- it catches you on--

EMILY: Oh, my tush!

LIAM: Sorry!

MATT: -- the left side of your tush.

EMILY: My left cheek!

(laughter)

LIAM: Ay, the left pap! Oh!

(laughter)

MATT: Before you are pulled back up and over the edge landing onto a soft beat of grass in the middle of the garden.

TALIESIN: He literally pulls.

MARISHA: Yeah. (laughs)

EMILY: I'm so confused. I thought we were going to two different places. I was trying to give you a nice cinematic sendoff of me.

MARISHA: So Jrusar is in Marquet.

LIAM: Right.

EMILY: Oh.

LIAM: Your first time here. We're hundreds and hundreds of feet in the sky.

EMILY: Yeah.

LIAM: Let's just-- We'll walk you around and we'll show you the lay of the land.

EMILY: Okay.

MARISHA: It was incredibly epic, though. I love the idea.

EMILY: I know. I was like, I'm not going to be able to do this, but it's going to be a really great last visual and then I'll crash and they won't see that part. They won't see that part. (sighs) Yes, you've been here before?

LIAM: So this is Jrusar.

EMILY: This is Jrusar.

TALIESIN: Welcome.

EMILY: Wow!

TALIESIN: What spire are we on right now?

MARISHA: Oh, yes.

MATT: Glancing around, you gather you are on the Lucent Spire.

TALIESIN: Wow!

MATT: This is a very, very nice garden park area that sits on the outskirts of a nearby cluster of estates. It is a very, very upscale neighborhood that sits high in a loft separate from the majority of the lower sections of the spire in which-- Well, from what you can see, a very vibrant cluster of buildings, abodes, structures, a very thriving city that exists, built around the surrounding five massive rock spire-like monoliths that push out of the jungle floor of the valley below you.

EMILY: What are all those?

LIAM: Well, it's five, right? Five spires here in the city?

TALIESIN: Mm-hmm.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

LIAM: Yeah. These are the spires of the city, different neighborhoods. Usually take gondolas between them.

EMILY: Gondolas.

LIAM: Orym's looking around, too, trying to assess if we're in a public park or in somebody's backyard.

MATT: You are in a public park.

LIAM: Okay.

MATT: Though it is gated. Public as anything would be in the Lucent Spire, which is largely reserved for the people who live here.

LIAM: Has anyone given us any funny looks?

MATT: Oddly, at this early to mid-morning hour, there's nobody else in the park.

LIAM: Okay.

MATT: You do see some Warder guards wandering the far streets. You do notice as you arrive here, you can see the array of multicolored ley energies that are currently driving in a southward direction. As you assess over, you can see the glowing moon, Ruidus, affixed not far from where you are, locked in the sky with that central tethered beam disappearing past the mountain range to the south, southwest.

EMILY: Does it feel like when we were in the place with Abaddina? Does it feel like that's a powerful source of arcane energy like that was?

MATT: You do notice the lines are all convening in that direction. Wherever this is happening, it looks like it's happening at another nexus point.

EMILY: I want to go there. Unless you guys are headed there. I mean, really, my talents are best spent in some sort of library or wizard study, or--

TALIESIN: Well, we have that.

LIAM: Haven't really talked past today really, but--

MARISHA: No.

EMILY: Yeah, what is your plan?

LIAM: We're going to find, look for, the people we got split up with.

TALIESIN: Might check in at home. Regroup a bit.

MARISHA: Yes, we should check in. There was this really fantastic-- Well, there is the one here, the-- Help me out. The twi--

TALIESIN: Not on this spire.

MARISHA: No, not on this one. The Starlight, Starbright Aca--

TALIESIN: Oh, you're talking about the--

LIAM: Starpoint?

MARISHA: Starpoint Conservatory.

MATT: Starpoint Conservatory.

TALIESIN: That's right.

LIAM: Starlight Express.

MARISHA: Yes.

EMILY: Starlight Conservatory?

MARISHA: Which is quite a very nice, top notch university.

LIAM: Top notch.

EMILY: Actually, since we're all here, I'm planning on lying and saying I'm a high mage. A really high mage in the Cobalt Soul. I was wondering if you would all conspire with me to support that lie.

MARISHA: Sure.

TALIESIN: I can help by saying the first trick is not telling people that you're lying.

EMILY: Yeah, I know. I've been working on saying the lie without smiling.

MARISHA: Oh. Wait, try it.

EMILY: I'm a high mage of the Cobalt Soul!

TALIESIN: Oh!

MARISHA: Oh my goodness! That was like--

EMILY: Okay. Yeah. No, I know.

MARISHA: That was a lot of smiling.

TALIESIN: What accent was that?

EMILY: I know.

LIAM: We met this lady from the Cobalt Soul. She was way flintier, and way more serious.

MARISHA: Yeah, kind of grumpy. Really kind of a bitch.

TALIESIN: Looked like a face that had never actually smiled. There was no line there at all.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

LIAM: Hard-ass.

EMILY: Really?

LIAM: Yeah.

EMILY: Would I know this person? Dynios, do you remember this person?

LIAM: She has abs for days.

EMILY: Dynios, who has the most abs at the Cobalt Soul?

MATT: "To be entirely honest, I have not looked nor cared. But, I guess, keep an eye out for the wash board abdominals of which you're speaking of, and maybe they'll put a bit of intensity in your look as well."

EMILY: Okay. Well, I've never cleaned her quill or chamber pot, but she sounds fantastic.

MARISHA: Do they put everyone at the Cobalt Soul through an intense bootcamp, like a rigorous workout routine?

EMILY: It's just--

LIAM: History check.

EMILY: Oh, okay. Uh-oh.

LIAM: Yes. 24. (laughter) I don't know a lot. I've read a little bit, but yeah, I think that many, if not all-- Well, not all, because I mean, how are your abs?

EMILY: I lift up and I have an eight pack.

(laughter)

EMILY: I have a minus two to strength, because my arms are weak. It's all in my core.

(laughter)

EMILY: This is where magic comes from.

LIAM: Are there books wedged between each?

EMILY: It looks like a fucking stack of books.

(laughter)

EMILY: Welcome to the library, bitch.

LIAM: Just book spines all the way down.

TALIESIN: Tattooed book spines.

(laughter)

MARISHA: She has the Dewey Decimal System on her abs!

EMILY: All of the authors say "Prism Grimpoppy" because I fucking made these.

EMILY: I wrote my own fucking story! Okay.

(laughter)

EMILY: I'm glad that in my very last episode I've established I have a nice tush and an eight pack.

(laughter)

MATT: 10 minute intro. Well done.

TALIESIN: Get it all out now.

LIAM: Yeah, if you keep going in the same direction as us for 30 episodes, we can't stop you.

MATT and EMILY: (laugh)

EMILY: Yeah, I think that sounds like a great place for me, the conservatory. I could sneak in and give them a stone face. I'm a high mage of the Cobalt Soul.

MARISHA: That's better.

TALIESIN: Care less.

MARISHA: Yes.

EMILY: Care less. I'm a high mage of the (mumbled) Cobalt Soul.

(laughs)

MARISHA: Hmm!

LIAM: That's-- You went too far.

TALIESIN: Yeah, swung hard.

EMILY: I know, I know, I know.

MARISHA: Spot the difference.

EMILY: I know, I know. You have to believe the lie, right?

TALIESIN: Who the fuck are you?

EMILY: I'm a high mage of the Cobalt Soul.

TALIESIN: Oh yeah. I felt that.

MARISHA: That's great.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

EMILY: That was good.

TALIESIN: I felt slightly demeaned there. That's good.

LIAM: So we will back you up.

EMILY: Thank you.

LIAM: Long as you're our eyes on the inside, and if we need to find something out in a pinch and we can get ahold of you.

EMILY: Yeah.

LIAM: Is that fair?

EMILY: Yeah. So as we were coming through that tree, I might have learned a new spell that could help and--

LIAM: Right in that moment?

EMILY: Yeah.

LIAM: Whoa.

MATT: (laughs)

EMILY: It was really cool.

TALIESIN: Things have gotten weird.

LIAM: Like a moment of inspiration?

EMILY: Yeah. Yeah.

LIAM: Tell me more.

EMILY: Okay. Yeah. You want know more? Yeah.

LIAM: Yeah.

EMILY: As I was clinging to the enlarged feet of my raven familiar, I remembered a page I'd seen in one of the wizard scrolls and it said, Teleportation Circle. And in that moment, I copied it into my spell book with my wizard quill.

MARISHA: As you were gliding?

EMILY: Yeah.

MARISHA: Oh, you are so talented.

EMILY: Yeah. Thank you. Thank you.

LIAM: How did you write?

EMILY: My quill does. Actually, I do have a magic quill.

LIAM: Wow.

EMILY: Mm-hmm. So I think I have ways that I could maybe send you information.

TALIESIN: Do we have anyone left alive there at this point? Not to scare you.

MARISHA: I was just thinking that because help me out, DM.

MATT: Mm-hmm?

MARISHA: Was the academy located at the Mirror Towers?

TALIESIN: Aerie.

MATT: No, the academy's on the Aerie Spire near the skyship port.

MARISHA: Aerie Spire. Right. I just remember the four towers. But was that different? Was that a governing branch? The teardrop towers, the ones that we infiltrated?

MATT: Oh, no, that was on the Core Spire. That was higher up on the Core Spire.

MARISHA: Okay. That was the one that we exploded.

MATT: You brought down, yes.

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: They're not there anymore. Or at least, you do not recall them being rebuilt.

MARISHA: Oh, wait, here's the Starlight.

TALIESIN: Well air conditioned.

MARISHA: Okay. Found a study on red dreams by-- All right. No, no. Hang on. Do we know anyone here?

TALIESIN: God, there's that poor person at the front who hates us now.

MARISHA: I know.

EMILY: I mean, I--

TALIESIN: Might like you, though.

EMILY: Oh. I think I have ways to ingratiate myself. I do have a sigil of the Cobalt Soul and I have the seal from Vasselheim. So I feel like I can work my way into a couple rooms that I wouldn't have had access to otherwise. But I do appreciate your help. I mean, where are you going? I could try and help you.

LIAM: Well, we're hitting a tavern, an inn, for us to find friends and breakfast. Then we have to figure out. I don't know, even we haven't talked about this, but if I have any say in the matter, we're going to head out soon, out towards that. And I reference the moon.

MARISHA: It seems destiny is pulling us that way. Whether you like it or not.

LIAM: Well, I tell you what, why don't you come with us, we'll get some breakfast.

EMILY: Okay.

LIAM: We can work out your story if you need.

EMILY: Thanks.

LIAM: Make sure you say the right things.

EMILY: Yeah. Yeah. That would be good. Yeah. Let's do that and then we'll formally say goodbye.

MARISHA: All right.

EMILY: Yeah. And go on our ways.

TALIESIN: You have money for a gondola, right?

MARISHA: Yes, let's head toward the gondolas and--

EMILY: I don't have any money. No.

TALIESIN: Well, I've just given it all away, I suppose. That was a bad call. I'm just fucking with you. Yeah, no. It's fine.

(laughter)

MATT: Okay. As you step away from the side of the garden precipice, the heavy winds blowing through, you step through the rest of the Lucent Spire, passing the exteriors of the high walled, very beautiful estates and manors that are built into the spire and the cusp of it above, the palace-like rich homesteads, the various higher Mahaan houses that run a lot of the city beneath the Chandei Quorum. Eventually, you come to the familiar to three of you at least, the gondola wire entrance to this part of the spire, which connects to the Core Spire. You can now see the massive, central, mountain-like tower that rises at the center part of the city with hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of structures and buildings that are built in this rising road that carves up higher to its peak, where you can see the palace of the Chandei Quorum glistens like an ivory beacon at the top. The gondola is functioning. You could see a massive stone automaton with glyphs inscribed throughout it that is moving this massive crank that its arms are fused to. As it pulls the cable, you can see this shifting box moving up to the top. As it does, this hanging gondola chamber arrives and opens and you see a small family of a very well dressed denizens quickly step off. They're well dressed, but they have cloaks over a bit. As they see you, they nervously avert their eyes and quickly rush into the neighborhood, which is not what you would expect from the normally haughty denizens of this area of the city.

EMILY: Do you have a bad reputation here?

LIAM: We didn't get the sense that that was the reaction to us or just the vibe they were in.

MATT: Make an insight check.

LIAM: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Bad reputation. Does that count?

LIAM: That's good.

EMILY: Nice.

LIAM: That's a 20.

MATT: 20.

LIAM: Dirty 20.

MATT: You didn't gather it was pointed at you directly, more just a discomfort in general.

LIAM: We're nobody here. Not many people.

MARISHA: People react to me like that all the time. So just seems, you know, it could be me!

EMILY: I don't think it was.

MARISHA: I hope not. I don't know.

EMILY: Is this your home as well? You said you're from here. This is your home?

TALIESIN: This is my home. These two are transplants.

LIAM: From Tal'Dorei.

MARISHA: Yes. We've spent a decent amount of time here.

LIAM: Met here, the lot of us.

MARISHA: Handful of months for me and Imogen, who maybe you'll meet!

EMILY: Oh, that'd be so weird because I've scryed on her so much.

MARISHA: Oh my goodness!

EMILY: To see her in person!

MARISHA: So weird, like a para-scry relationship.

EMILY: Yeah, I do have a para-scry relationship with her now, I think.

MARISHA: Yes. Mm-hmm.

EMILY: Yeah.

MARISHA: That's fun.

LIAM: Yeah. One way look.

MATT: A gnomish courier pushes past. "Oh, excuse me," and then gets inside the gondola and motions to the automaton to start--

MARISHA: Oh wait! Hold the door!

EMILY: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!

MATT: "Okay." You step inside. This younger gnome, you see him carrying a bound package of some kind that's wrapped. He sits in the back. "Well then, get on. Get on quickly!"

MARISHA: Is this seat taken?

MATT: "(trembling scream) No! No, it's fine! There's plenty of room."

MARISHA: All right! I sit right next to him.

EMILY: (laughs)

MARISHA: Probably uncomfortably close.

TALIESIN: I sit across.

MATT: (laughs) The door closes and (low rumbling) the automaton beings moving and cranking, and immediately the gondola begins to shift down the cable, swinging gently with the wind as it blows.

MARISHA: Are you a courier or a town crier? What do you do?

MATT: "I am a courier. Yes."

MARISHA: Oh. What's been going on here lately? What's the vibe? People seem a little on edge. Do you have the news, the news?

MATT: Points out the side window of the gondola in the direction of the massive red moon that is unmoving in the sky.

MARISHA: Right, yes. No.

MATT: "Yes. There's quite a bit going on. There's a lot of strange people coming in and out of the city. Things aren't normal, no. You could say that, yes. Why?"

EMILY: What happened here during the Apogee Solstice? Hi. High mage of the Cobalt Soul.

MATT: "Oh, whoa!"

EMILY: Here to inquire, for the sake of the Cobalt Soul, very serious business.

MATT: "No. Understood. I mean, there were some celebrations, there were some events. The numerous spires had their own gatherings. It's an event!"

EMILY: It was just a nice situation? No one got shunted anywhere?

MATT: "No one got shunted, necessarily."

LIAM: Anyone gone missing?

TALIESIN: Anyone suddenly appear?

MATT: "I don't know. I don't know! Look, I'm just trying to do my business. I don't know what this interrogation is about. I--"

LIAM: No worries. We just got to town. We've been gone a week or two. Lot of change.

MATT: He keeps looking back at Ashton (laughs) and Laudna and--

MARISHA: I look down at the package he's holding. Can I see if there's name?

MATT: He hides it behind him.

MARISHA: Oh. I'm aloof about looking at his package.

EMILY: Are we allowed to use a new spell that we got from leveling up?

MATT: (laughs) I mean, that's part of the fun leveling up. What are you trying to do?

EMILY: Okay.

LIAM: Teleport him away.

EMILY: I took a dirty little spell that old Prism would've never taken.

MARISHA: (laughs)

EMILY: Can I cast--

TALIESIN: Bad spell! Dirty spell!

EMILY: It's a dirty little spell! Can I cast Friends on him?

LIAM: The other side of the coin.

EMILY: It's just a cantrip.

MARISHA: Oh!

MATT: Okay. Yeah, yeah.

TALIESIN: You have Friends as a cantrip? Damn!

EMILY: Yeah, I have friends now.

TALIESIN: Damn!

EMILY: So I'm going to magify it.

TALIESIN: Sure, you have friends now.

MATT: All righty.

TALIESIN: Heard that before.

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: He's just awkwardly sitting. He has this simple, don't look at me garb, with his running shoes on, this flume of hair that comes up into two points on the sides. It's unkept, windswept. He's trying to make himself look even smaller He's hiding the package and he feels like he's, unfortunately, been surrounded by a bunch of strangers that are asking too many questions.

EMILY: What's your name? I'm so sorry if we have disturbed you at first. Again, I am from the Cobalt Soul and--

MATT: "You said that. Yes."

EMILY: Yeah, and the only thing that we want to do is we just want some information and I want to help you do your business because I'm also a businesswoman.

MATT: All right, make a persuasion check.

EMILY: Here we go.

LIAM: Can I help by subtly stepping in front of Laudna and blocking her visage from his view and smile?

(laughter)

MATT: Just--

LIAM: Yeah.

MATT: You got it.

TALIESIN: I'll lean back. I see what's going on.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: Keeps following the direction, just leans.

EMILY: I have my advantage because of Friends.

MATT: Go for it.

LIAM: Oh, you have already have it. Great.

(laughs)

EMILY: (laughs)

TALIESIN: I see one terrible roll.

LIAM: (laughing) Ooh!

EMILY: It was a three.

MARISHA: Oh no!

EMILY: Followed by a two.

TALIESIN: Yep.

(laughter)

MARISHA: Oh boy!

MATT: (sighs) For a total of?

EMILY: Oh, for a total of? I have a plus one to persuasion. So that's a total of four.

MATT: (laughs)

LIAM: Wow!

MATT: He goes--

EMILY: One, two, three, four.

MATT: "Well, then I think the Cobalt Soul might be very helpful in letting you know some of the things you are asking about. I'm no one. I have no way of--"

TALIESIN: Would you be willing to take a survey, is what she's asking.

EMILY: Yes.

TALIESIN: It's got a clipboard and everything.

MATT: "I really don't like surveys."

EMILY: On a scale of one to 10, how would you describe your experience of the Apogee Solstice?

MATT: "I hate this!" He curls in and gets really quiet, shuts down.

MARISHA: He's disassociating. Oh no!

LIAM: Write that down as a two.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

EMILY: Yeah, I think so. I think so.

LIAM: I have a really simple question. Has there been any official statement or action taken by the city since everything happened?

MATT: "The Quorum has notified denizens of the city that it has made some alliances due to the strange nature of the moon and the events in the Hellcatch, so to expect strangers passing through.

LIAM: Okay. Increased security? Anything like that?

MATT: "Yes. Largely." As the gondola's getting closer to the Core Spire, he points up to the Aerie across the way and you can see the cluster of skyships that are all docked there. It's not designed to hold this many skyships and it's this cluster of docking. They're all tethered off to the side.

TALIESIN: Oh, fuck me!

MATT: "It's very strange times, very strange times indeed!" Gondola-- (swaying into dock) "This is my stop as well. Goodbye!"

LIAM: Appreciate it.

MATT: He gets up quickly and tucks the thing under his arm, starts running out.

MARISHA: Toodeloo!

EMILY: Can I send Mother after him?

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: Yes, you can.

LIAM: Just hound him to his grave.

EMILY: I want Mother to stick her little beak in his package and cast Identify.

MATT: (laughs)

EMILY: I want to know what he's hiding. Mother, act like a curious bird, okay?

MATT: Mother goes (soaring) and flies out and you hear him go, "(wails) No, no, no!" (laughter) He's charging away as Mother casts Identify on a missive. It is just a missive.

EMILY: It's just a missive.

MATT: He's just a courier.

EMILY: He's just a courier.

MARISHA: It's just dehydrated potato flakes.

EMILY: Yeah.

MARISHA: For some instant mashed potatoes.

MATT: Yep.

EMILY: Okay. Well.

MATT: Mother returns.

(flapping)

EMILY: So this is really different than it was last time you were here, right?

TALIESIN: Oh.

LIAM: It didn't have this nervous energy in the air.

MARISHA: The fact the people were celebrating but I guess--

EMILY: Yeah, he said celebrating.

LIAM: Celebrating on the night.

MARISHA: On the evening, correct.

LIAM: But not now.

MARISHA: No word about--

TALIESIN: Yeah, it does have a weird vibe.

MARISHA: -- a bunch of missing people.

LIAM: Can't imagine--

TALIESIN: I'm tempted--

LIAM: Oh, go.

TALIESIN: I'm tempted to stop by home before we hit the inn. I don't know.

MARISHA: We're so close!

TALIESIN: Close to both, technically.

MATT: Yeah. They're both adjacent.

TALIESIN: I'm fine either way. It's just a stop I'm going to have to take.

MARISHA: Do you want to do that now or with the rest of the group? Maybe FCG would love to see Milo.

TALIESIN: That's actually not a bad idea. Yeah, that's not a bad idea at all.

MARISHA: I'm also a little anxious to make sure the others are all right.

LIAM: Okay.

TALIESIN: That's fair.

LIAM: Let's get there.

EMILY: Okay.

MARISHA: All right.

LIAM: I reckon cities of the world are all handling this a little bit the same and a little bit different.

MARISHA: Mm.

EMILY: I'm just struck by how dodgy he was.

TALIESIN: Well--

MARISHA: All carriers are dodgy!

TALIESIN: It's kind of their job.

MARISHA: (laughs)

EMILY: Okay.

MARISHA: Postal workers!

EMILY: (laughs)

LIAM: What is this cross-campaign beef you have with the Post, Marisha?

MARISHA: Mail system!

MARISHA and EMILY: (laugh)

MATT: Yeah, actually! This has been a long thread.

LIAM: What the hell?

MARISHA: (laughs) So did we go from the Lucent Spire to the Lantern or are we crossing through the Core Spire?

MATT: No, to the Core.

MARISHA: Is that where Spire by Fire is?

MATT: It is, yes.

LIAM: Yeah.

MARISHA: Oh, it is. Okay.

TALIESIN: Everything fun is in the Core Spire.

MARISHA: As we're walking and talking, I'm pointing out to Prism, like, over there's the Lantern Spire. It's like the gateway to the city.

EMILY: What about, are there any taverns here in which high mages might meet up to swap spells or arcane secrets?

LIAM: Did we go anywhere like that with you and Imogen?

MARISHA: I mean, it would probably be either at the Aerie Spire--

EMILY: Aerie Spire.

MARISHA: -- or the Lucent Spire.

LIAM: I remember Starpoint.

TALIESIN: I can't think of any pubs at the Lucent Spire that I know of.

LIAM: We spent a lot of time in dives.

MARISHA: We did.

EMILY: What about, what are the religious centers here? Because I feel very curious to see what sort of esoteric texts are being hoarded by the religious sects.

TALIESIN: I mean, Ascension's Rise University? Would that be a thing for Prism, or am I overthinking that?

MATT: Ascension's Rise University?

TALIESIN: It's in the Aerie Spire. I know. I'm killing you. It's the magnet school.

MATT: Oh yeah! Ascension's Rise University! Yes! That would be very specifically of interest.

TALIESIN: They've got to have a cafe of some kind, I'm sure.

MARISHA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Student union.

MARISHA: Go where the college campus cafes are.

TALIESIN: Yeah, you've already got the vibe going on.

EMILY: Yeah.

MATT: As far as religious things go, you do know the Prakash Pyre.

TALIESIN: Mm-hmm.

MATT: Which is the massive Dawnfather temple and the pyre lighters that sits in the Lantern Spire.

TALIESIN: That's right. I'm catching up.

EMILY: Interesting.

MARISHA: I wouldn't say it's necessarily a heavily religious dominated city in general, though. Right?

EMILY: Yeah.

MARISHA: You can find it, of course.

EMILY: Yeah. I think I'm looking for anyone who might have pre-mythological information about the elemental eidolon kings or Predathos.

LIAM: Oh man! If that's your focus, you might have stayed in Issylra and gone north to Vasselheim.

EMILY: Oh.

MARISHA: I don't know. Vasselheim is so--

LIAM: That's a big step. Plus, we just--

MARISHA: So religiously dominated.

LIAM: We just raised hell in church.

MARISHA: I was going to say, maybe the other option is to continue to head very south to Yios.

TALIESIN: I don't know. I feel like there's a lot here. I mean, personally.

EMILY: Yeah.

LIAM: Well yeah, it's a good starting--

EMILY: I will definitely start here.

LIAM: -- point here.

EMILY: I think I'll get some really good leads here.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm. One of the threads that started us on this whole thing was following a couple of students who went missing who went to the Starlight Academy, the Lumas twins.

LIAM: Starpoint. Yeah.

MARISHA: Starpoint. Fuck! Never will get that right!

EMILY: (laughs)

LIAM: It's okay, Imogen.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MARISHA: Damn it! But they come from the Lumas Mahaan house.

LIAM: We didn't really run with mages before meeting you.

MARISHA: That's true.

EMILY: Really?

LIAM: Yeah. You're the first.

TALIESIN: Not really our vibe.

LIAM: I mean, we met one a few days before you, but that was a couple of minutes.

EMILY: Well, you had a really bad experience with him, right?

TALIESIN: Not really their fault.

LIAM: Wasn't there to make much of an impression, really.

EMILY: Gotcha. I thought you were referring to Ludinus.

LIAM: Well.

TALIESIN: (sighs)

LIAM: We didn't really run with him. More like a run over.

TALIESIN: Mm.

LIAM: Anyway.

EMILY: Yeah.

LIAM: Good starting point is Starpoint.

EMILY: Yeah. Okay, great.

TALIESIN: Pointing out the Ascension's Rise, also.

EMILY: Ascension's Rise?

TALIESIN: Ascension's Rise University. It's basically in the same-- They're not quite next to each other, but pretty close.

EMILY: This, honestly, gives me a year's worth of work. So this is amazing! I cannot wait to sneak into all of their restricted reading sections.

MARISHA: Yes. Seems like you're good at that.

EMILY: I'm going to get really good. I'm already pretty good.

MARISHA: Oh my goodness! I can't wait to talk in a couple months and be like, oh my god, Prism! What have you learned?

EMILY: Actually, Laudna, I was thinking about this because, before we talked about the Shadow Realm and I was a little down on it, right, because it's a tough place. But if you ever are able to go, try to go for the Night of Ascension.

MARISHA: Night of Ascension?

EMILY: It's the day, it's this big holiday where everyone celebrates the Matron of Raven's ascension and it is the Shadow Realm at its finest!

MARISHA: Really?

EMILY: Yeah.

MARISHA: All right.

EMILY: Yeah.

MARISHA: That sounds great!

EMILY: Yeah.

MARISHA: When does that happen?

EMILY: Oh, that's a date that I absolutely know. So instead of just saying it, why don't I just send you a Google invite?

MARISHA: That sounds fantastic!

EMILY: Great. So now you know.

MARISHA: That's great! I'll put it in my calendar.

EMILY: Then we both know. Yeah.

MARISHA: I love it.

LIAM: You can reply to those messages.

EMILY: Yeah. I am waiting for a reply.

MARISHA: (laughs)

EMILY: Are you attending?

MARISHA: I really need a head count.

EMILY: Are you attending?

(laughter)

EMILY: It's just like, there are costumes and I need to know how many to make.

(laughs)

TALIESIN: Maybe plus two.

LIAM: This is totally a walk and talk through the streets.

ALL: Yeah, yeah.

TALIESIN: This is very much, yeah.

EMILY: Do you want to come, Orym?

LIAM: To the Shadowfell?

EMILY: To the Shadow Realm.

LIAM: Shadow Realm. Well--

EMILY: Night of Ascension.

LIAM: Sure, if we're still here in two weeks. Sure.

TALIESIN: That does sound kind of fun, actually.

EMILY: You should come. We get really fucked up.

TALIESIN: Need to travel more.

MATT: (laughs) Along this journey through the center of the Core Spire, the town has come to life, though the usual cacophony of families and jovial conversation and the comfort of life within the city that you are familiar with, those who have been here before, is heavily diminished. There is a sense of worry, there is a sense of expediency. You can see a large military presence, armored warders and other armored figures all throughout the city. You can see other skyships on the horizon that seem to be either traversing here or heading off from here in other directions, eastward, south eastward.

EMILY: Does this remind me of the religious presence in the place that Abaddina was from?

MATT: I mean, in a way, in having military figures in a space where it doesn't feel like the presence is normal.

EMILY: But they aren't religious military figures, like they were?

MATT: Some of them are. In fact, some of them have similar vestments and armor as to-- But maybe the symbols are different, but there are definitely individuals who are armored present and carry a weight and station about them, but their attire is heavily, very much carrying the iconography of the gods.

EMILY: Can I do a religion check on what kind of gods are--

MATT: Sure.

EMILY: -- in this? That's another two. So 11.

MATT: 11. The first one you see walk by you don't quite get a good glance. The second one that comes by, some of these soldiers are leaving the Spire by Fire as you approach this massive tavern carved into the side of the core itself. The second one that comes by there is a symbol emblazoned on the front of their chest. It looks like it's burnished a bit, or hasn't been cleaned since a long journey possibly. But it looks to be that of, a woman's hair that is, like the side of women's profile, the hair is swooped and gathered into the design of the armor itself.

EMILY: Orym. Who is she?

LIAM: Do I recognize her?

MATT: You recognize it because it's the same symbol that adorns the coin that FCG has been carrying as of late, so it is definitively the Changebringer.

LIAM: Okay.

TALIESIN: Any signs of the Ivory Syndicate and Paragon's Call, any of--

MATT: No Paragon's Call. Ivory Syndicate doesn't have any strong iconography.

TALIESIN: I thought they had a little--

MATT: They have some things about them, but no one catches your eye. And if they do, they're fairly subtle.

TALIESIN: They're staying. Yeah, they're staying down.

LIAM: What I was thinking about when you asked me that question. Is anyone in green cloak or hood on the street in the crowd? Are there any Green Seekers about?

MATT: You do not see any sign of Green Seekers in the the direct path you're making to the Spire by Fire, but you do reach the exterior of the familiar tavern where much of your adventures first begin here in Jrusar. Just as soldiers are emerging, armored up, and scattering out into their day's commands or business, you step within the familiar darkened interior of the tavern. You see across the way, Ishir Eka, the katari proprietor of the Spire by Fire. They're currently in the process of conversing with another person who looks like they're arranging for a room of some kind. And not far off, to the far corner, you see a table with a cluster of familiar faces. I would like the rest of everyone--

MARISHA: Hey!

MATT: -- to somehow come into this area.

LIAM: Okay. Let's figure this out.

(laughter)

MATT: Let's try this.

LIAM: Figure this out.

MARISHA: All right, we're going to have to scooch--

TALIESIN: No, there's no room.

MARISHA: -- our pooches.

AABRIA: So many homies.

MARISHA: Oh my god.

AABRIA: I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

MARISHA: Let me move all my shit.

LAURA: Scooch down, please.

MARISHA: Is this your conch?

AABRIA: This is my conch.

TALIESIN: Hello.

AABRIA: Give me my shell.

LIAM: Holy cow.

MARISHA: Oh my god.

TALIESIN: This is fine.

LIAM: Holy cow.

MARISHA: This is wave by fucking--

AABRIA: Travis is not in the frame!

TRAVIS: I love it.

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Scoochy scoochy.

CHRISTIAN: Hey there.

MATT: This is chaos.

MARISHA: Is this a record?

LIAM: Wow.

AABRIA: Hi!

ASHLEY: This is amazing.

AABRIA: Oh my god, look at these people.

MARISHA: Hi!

AABRIA: Hi!

(laughter)

TRAVIS: It's like Thanksgiving.

AABRIA: Hello!

ASHLEY: Okay!

LIAM: What the heck is this table?

CHRISTIAN: My god.

AABRIA: Hi, buds!

ASHLEY: Ermahgerd!

AABRIA: This is so cool.

MARISHA: Oh my god.

TALIESIN: Need Sam and Ashley to do big arms.

MARISHA: When you tell the waiter that you have four friends who are joining and they're going to be here in 10 minutes.

SAM: Can we pull over another table?

MARISHA: Can we pull few more? Yeah. Can we scoot these two tables together?

AABRIA: Yes. Yes, exactly.

LIAM: Oh my gosh.

MATT: Imogen.

AABRIA: There's more of you?

LAURA: Huh?!

SAM: Oh!

LAURA: Me?

MATT: As you are conversing, and finishing up your meal here, mid-discussion, you glance past and see a cluster of shadowed silhouettes enter past the soldiers that are exiting, and you immediately recognize the silhouettes of Laudna, Orym, Ashton, and another.

MARISHA: Imogen!

LAURA: Laudna! You guys!

MARISHA: I skitter over.

AABRIA: (laughs)

LAURA: (yells)

LAURA and MARISHA: Hugs, hugs, hugs, hugs.

LAURA: I've got a lot of phones in front of me.

(laughter)

LAURA: Hugs, hugs!

AABRIA: Hugs is so creepy when you watch her move.

LAURA: You're alive!

MARISHA: You're alive!

LAURA: (laughs) Where's Orym?

LIAM: There's a rapid patter of feet along the wooden floor, and then Orym flies through the air, and latches around Fearne's neck.

ASHLEY: Well, I'm still a raccoon dog.

(laughter)

LIAM: I lift her up.

ASHLEY: I'm wiggling so happy.

AABRIA: You just find a random raccoon dog and you're like, "This is my friend."

LIAM: Is the animal sitting at the table with you guys?

LAURA: No, it's another table.

AABRIA: I'm just going to sit--

ASHLEY: At a different table.

SAM: It's spying on soldiers.

MATT: The soldiers you were spying on have gotten up and left now, so you probably would've--

ASHLEY: Okay, great. So I'll go under the table and (whooshing) change.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: (clomping) Oh my god!

(laughter)

ASHLEY: Hi, you're alive.

LIAM: Which reality is real?

(laughter)

AABRIA: All of it, none of it.

MARISHA: Wait, where's Chetney?

LAURA: Oh, he's over, he's next to Deanna. This is Deanna.

TRAVIS: 'Sup?

AABRIA: Hi!

MARISHA: Hi!

AABRIA: I saw you laying in a cave.

MARISHA: Oh my god. Really?

(laughter)

AABRIA: Hi.

MARISHA: Wow.

AABRIA: It's nice to meet you. I've heard really nice things.

MARISHA: Pleasure to meet you. Oh my goodness, we made a friend as well. This is Prism, everybody.

EMILY and AABRIA: Hi.

EMILY: I'm a high mage of the Cobalt Soul.

AABRIA: Oh, that's nice.

ASHLEY: Oh my goodness.

AABRIA: What's that?

EMILY: That's just my reality.

TALIESIN: Insight check.

(laughter)

EMILY: Ashton!

TALIESIN: No, no, I buy it, it's fine.

(laughter)

LAURA: And this is FRIDA.

SAM: Oh, we were making out in the corner. Oh wait, oh, what's going on over here?

CHRISTIAN: Hello.

SAM: Oh.

ASHLEY: They had a thing. Hey, Ashton.

SAM: Hi!

TALIESIN: Hey.

ASHLEY: Hey.

MARISHA: Uh, is-- Is this another--

LAURA: Yeah!

MARISHA: Is this another?

CHRISTIAN: Aeormaton?

ASHLEY: Yes.

AABRIA: Yeah, their name's FRIDA.

SAM: They have a name, yeah.

MARISHA: FRIDA.

LIAM: You're so tall.

SAM: Oh my gosh, you're alive.

CHRISTIAN: It's the first time I've ever heard that.

(laughter)

CHRISTIAN: Yes, I am. Yes, I am very tall.

(laughter)

LAURA: Why, yes, I am.

MARISHA: Actually, we were able to peek in on you all as well.

AABRIA: Oh!

ASHLEY: What did you see?

SAM: Where were we?

LAURA: What were they doing?

AABRIA: Oh, what do you see?

TRAVIS: Wait, wait, wait. When is very important.

AABRIA: So when?

TALIESIN: Why?

LIAM: Wait a second, I have an idea. If you want to speak, you hold the conch.

(laughter)

AABRIA: If anyone touches my conch--

TRAVIS: You might not--

AABRIA: -- I take your throat.

TRAVIS: You don't want to touch that.

AABRIA: It's been places.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MARISHA: Yes, you were just walking through a snowy tundra mountain.

TRAVIS: PG shit.

AABRIA: Oh!

SAM: Just walking.

AABRIA: Great.

ASHLEY: Cool, cool, cool.

LAURA: Mm-hmm.

SAM: Okay, that's all we were doing!

ASHLEY: We had a threesome!

AABRIA: Oh!

LAURA: Well--

ASHLEY: I just--

AABRIA: Wow.

LAURA: Not me.

CHRISTIAN: Wasn't it--

EMILY: I punched a man and killed him.

MARISHA: Yes, we had betrayals.

SAM: Was he a bad man?

TALIESIN: You had help.

EMILY: Yes, he was really bad. He tried to assassinate me for something I didn't even do, and he spent an entire week endearing me to him right before that.

ASHLEY: How dare.

SAM: Oh no.

LAURA: What a horrible man.

SAM: Wow.

ASHLEY: With one punch?

EMILY: Yeah.

ASHLEY: You might be the one of the most powerful people I think I've ever met.

EMILY: Well, this is also not a lie, One-Punch Grimpoppy is what they call me.

ASHLEY: (gasps)

LAURA: Wow.

SAM: Grimpoppy?

TRAVIS: Insight check!

(laughter)

AABRIA: Guidance!

MATT: Go ahead and--

ASHLEY: I'm writing that down.

MATT: Prism, if you would like to make a deception check.

EMILY: I would like to make it.

MATT: (laughs)

LIAM: It's practice for later.

EMILY: It's going to be so awesome if it's really good.

LAURA: Is my spiral down there?

SAM: What?

LAURA: Is my spiral down there?

LIAM: I put it--

MARISHA: Ooh!

EMILY: 17.

TRAVIS: 25.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: What if I was writing in it?

TRAVIS: It's real, for sure.

ASHLEY: Wow. I--

TRAVIS: For sure.

ASHLEY: I'm a professor. Professor Calloway, yes.

EMILY: Oh, I'm kind of an eternal student.

ASHLEY: Oh my god.

LAURA: Wow.

ASHLEY: This is just kismet.

EMILY: What do you teach?

ASHLEY: I teach--

SAM: A little of this, little of that.

ASHLEY: Yeah, little of this, little of that, a little magic. Laudna has been a student. I just teach life and things.

SAM: She was recently a guest professor--

EMILY: You're a life coach?

ASHLEY: And a life coach, yeah.

SAM: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Guest professor.

SAM: Somewhere, I can't remember when, where.

ASHLEY: A lot's happened.

LAURA: Things're--

TALIESIN: It's been a long week.

AABRIA: We have a room, if we want to do this not on the street.

ASHLEY: Oh yeah, that's a good one.

LAURA: Oh, she's a smart one. Oh my goodness.

AABRIA: Oh, thank you! Oh, I like you so much.

MARISHA: Wow!

SAM: She is, except she does have a little bit of problem estimating how many bodies can fit in a certain space, so, this room, I don't know if it can actually--

AABRIA: You kill one goat, and it's all they can talk about.

TRAVIS: Where have you guys been?

TALIESIN: Oh boy.

TRAVIS: Where did you go when we got split?

ASHLEY: Should we go get snugly in the room?

TRAVIS: There are 10 of us. It's probably more space out here.

LIAM: Smaller than this table?

AABRIA: Fair.

SAM: Yes.

AABRIA: Fair.

(laughter)

LIAM: We should definitely do it.

AABRIA: I mean--

TRAVIS: Also, the moon's all red and shit, so I don't think anybody's going to care about what we're talking about.

AABRIA: Fair.

MARISHA: We ended up on Issylra.

AABRIA: Oh!

MARISHA: Where were you all?

AABRIA: Wildemount.

LAURA: Wildemount.

TRAVIS: Up by Uthodurn.

LIAM: And I actually don't know that it is cool to talk. We ended up traveling to Issylra with somebody from the Excavation.

LAURA: You did?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

LAURA: All right, let's go back.

SAM: Why?

TRAVIS: Oh, like on the bad side?

MARISHA: Yes.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Okay, yeah, let's go.

ASHLEY: What excavation?

TRAVIS: Let's finish this-- No, no, no, we'll go to the room. We'll go to the room.

AABRIA: Are you guys hungry? I'm going to get food.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: Drink, drink.

AABRIA: Got it.

TALIESIN: Drinks, drinks, drinks.

TRAVIS: You just ate.

AABRIA: Oh, just for them because they're new.

LIAM: Do you have money?

MARISHA: Are these your--

TALIESIN: Um, no.

MARISHA: Are these your pancakes?

TALIESIN: Well, I have like--

AABRIA: Yeah, oh yeah, go ahead.

SAM: Actually--

AABRIA: Oh! Okay.

SAM: I just finished baking a bundt cake. I can give you guys a bundt cake.

TALIESIN: I have 87 silver.

MARISHA: You've been baking bundts now.

ASHLEY: Easy-Bake.

AABRIA: Oh no.

SAM: I've got-- Oh, shit, it fell.

(laughter)

AABRIA: RIP.

EMILY: What is this? How many toys do you need?

LAURA: Ew!

(laughter)

LAURA: What is that?!

AABRIA: Hey.

SAM: Here's the bundt cake.

AABRIA: Emily, have you seen this table? The answer's "a lot."

(laughter)

EMILY: Did you bring a prop?

TALIESIN: Oh no.

AABRIA: What's happening?

LAURA: No, it's the other side, the other side.

LIAM: Oh my goodness.

SAM: Serving bundt.

LAURA: Oh, it's got a hair on it.

MATT: (laughs) Oh my god.

AABRIA: Oh, it's a real cake!

SAM: Go ahead and eat it, Emily.

LIAM: Show it to that side of the table, please.

AABRIA: Hey, Emily.

EMILY: Never.

AABRIA: Hey, Emily, no.

EMILY: Ew, get it away from me! What?

ASHLEY: I'll give it a little nibble.

AABRIA: I'm in hell.

MATT: I regret everything.

AABRIA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Little bit of the inside.

LAURA: So it's-- There was a hair--

AABRIA: Fearne, no.

LAURA: -- right on it.

CHRISTIAN: Live life dangerously.

LAURA: How was it?

ASHLEY: Oh, it's very moist.

SAM: Can I interest you?

ASHLEY: It's very moist.

LAURA: Grab the inside where it didn't touch the ground.

AABRIA: He's serving bundt in a god-fearing way. Praise the Changebringer and all her works.

LAURA: Oh, Sam.

LIAM: There it goes.

(laughter)

LAURA: Sam, pick it up.

TALIESIN: Bundt down.

AABRIA: Oop!

ASHLEY: Sam, pick it up.

AABRIA: Yeah, it's great.

MARISHA: Oh my god.

SAM: It's just cake on the floor.

AABRIA: Yeah.

LAURA: It bothers me so much.

(laughter)

SAM: I'll pick it up.

ASHLEY: Okay.

TRAVIS: Should we go to our room?

MARISHA: Right. So we're migrating?

ASHLEY and TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: Okay, so you migrate to the room that Deanna had already set aside.

AABRIA: I get drinks. I bring food for everyone.

TALIESIN: Oh my gosh.

AABRIA: Just full Mom Mode. Hi, is everyone okay?

EMILY: Oh my god.

TALIESIN: I'm just standing in the corner.

LIAM: Now you guys join us on this side of the table.

ASHLEY: Hello.

LAURA: Oh my gosh.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: Damn it, Sam.

AABRIA: It's bad here.

LIAM: That bundt is busted.

CHRISTIAN: Oh my gosh.

EMILY: It's undercooked.

ASHLEY: It's a little undercooked. It's moist because it's very undercooked.

EMILY: Did you bake that in an Easy-Bake Oven?

SAM: I bake it inside of my body.

EMILY: Oh, oh.

MARISHA: Wow.

TRAVIS: It looks like a dinosaur shit on your character sheet.

EMILY: It really does.

AABRIA: ♪ ("Jurassic Park theme") ♪

SAM: You're like our Easy-Bake master.

TRAVIS: The most horrific.

SAM: Life finds a way.

(laughter)

AABRIA: Oh my god.

ASHLEY: May we get a bunch of pillows upstairs?

MATT: Yep, with a couple of questions. Easy enough, Ishir is like, "Yeah, of course, I'll get you some pillows, I'll send them up there." "There's an extra silver charge for the additional pillows, but--"

AABRIA: I'm going to drop down 10 gold, and be like, "Is this going to cover the next eight requests?"

MATT: "Yeah, yeah."

AABRIA: Cool, thank you.

MATT: "Don't worry, we got you."

AABRIA: Thank you so much.

MATT: "No, no problem." All the pillows get brought up to the chamber.

TALIESIN: Remember these are my-- I brought them in for-- remember, these are the people I bring in for you. This is gold, this is gold.

AABRIA: I'm here with-- Ashford?

TALIESIN: That'll do for now, that'll do. Yeah, Ashford, it's been a weird week, let's go.

MATT: "All right."

AABRIA: I'm so sorry. Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry.

TALIESIN: Oh, Ashton, it's okay.

AABRIA: Ashton.

TALIESIN: It's literally been what, three minutes at this point?

AABRIA: Yeah, okay, I'm so sorry.

TALIESIN: No.

AABRIA: It won't happen again. It's going to happen again.

TALIESIN: Of course, it's going to happen.

TRAVIS: I got you, I got you.

AABRIA: Thank you.

ASHLEY: Wow, I missed you guys.

TALIESIN: I missed you a lot.

ASHLEY: Missed you a lot.

MARISHA: So, so, so, you all had a good time. You all had a good time.

TRAVIS and LAURA: No.

AABRIA: Oh yeah.

ASHLEY: Well.

AABRIA: No.

LAURA: There was some--

AABRIA: Yeah.

MARISHA: Oh, okay.

ASHLEY: I mean--

AABRIA: High note on the end, scary a lot through the middle.

ASHLEY: Yeah, it wasn't all great.

LAURA: No, there was a big slimy mound of flesh monster.

ASHLEY: Oh, that's right.

TALIESIN: It's a terrible way to talk about Chetney.

AABRIA: Oh, and a wolf that was five wolves.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MARISHA: Oh!

LAURA: It was kind of horrific, actually.

TALIESIN: What?

MARISHA: I, actually, I don't know where it came from, but I can now summon undead ghost wolves from my orifices.

AABRIA: Oh.

SAM: Oh.

AABRIA: That ended on a different note.

MARISHA: It was the first time I did that. It kind of just ripped from my ribcage.

ASHLEY: My goodness.

LAURA: Multiple wolves?

MARISHA: Just one. Well, I can just do it now. I can just have a wolf come out.

TRAVIS: I appreciate the wolf motif.

(laughter)

MARISHA: I wasn't thinking about you when it happened, but I felt--

TRAVIS: Oh, okay.

LAURA: Not everyone wants to fuck you, Chet.

TRAVIS: Sure, of all the animals of the world, wolves. Got it.

LIAM: Were you serving hunt?

ASHLEY: Oh wow.

(laughter)

MARISHA: See, we had a few high points in the middle, and then ours ended.

LIAM: It was pretty bad the whole time.

TALIESIN: It started on a low point. It went up to two and then back down.

SAM: You were traveling with a bad guy, and you knew this?

LIAM: We were traveling with a shepherd. Right?

EMILY: He said that he was an innocent shepherd, and then me and Laudna taught him magic, or we thought we were teaching him magic, and we thought it was this really cute bonding thing. But actually he knew magic all along, and then he attacked us for something that I didn't even do, and then I punched him to death.

SAM: He was the one you punched to death?

ASHLEY: Wow.

EMILY: Yeah.

SAM: Are you that kind of a fighter, like a powerful--

EMILY: I wasn't until that day, but I think I am now.

SAM: Wow.

ASHLEY: That is so cool.

LIAM: Prism's pretty amazing on the battlefield, have to say.

SAM: Yeah?

EMILY: Thank you.

LIAM: That's it, yeah. She pulled my ass out of the fire a couple of times.

EMILY: Well, Orym saved me more than once.

TALIESIN: It was pretty much constant awful the whole time.

LAURA: Did you immediately bamf out when everything happened the same way we did or were you there longer?

LIAM: We were thrown into the wilderness. We were there for just for a handful of days. We found a town, absolutely alienated the church of the Dawnfather.

AABRIA: Wait, I'm so sorry. Back that up. What?

MARISHA: Oh yes, an angel came from the sky, and we killed an angel.

EMILY: And we killed an angel.

LIAM: Well, we didn't kill an angel.

EMILY: With a demon I summoned.

LIAM: The guy that what we killed, killed the angel.

SAM: Why would you do that?

LIAM: Well, it was trying to kill us in the moment.

AABRIA: And I have a normal response.

SAM: The angel tried to kill you?

EMILY: I think that they were more conflicted than I was. I'm going to go on the record, and say that I think we did that town a favor.

TALIESIN: We did.

EMILY: Because the Dawnfather presence there was military, and it was disgusting, and they were taking tithes from all the people and they were running--

AABRIA: I'm going to go get some more drinks.

EMILY: -- out a lumbering business.

SAM: Easy, easy. There's someone here who's a worshiper of the Dawnfather.

MARISHA: Is this why that reaction is a lot?

SAM: Yeah.

MARISHA: Oh.

SAM: Yeah.

MARISHA: I thought, Deanna--

AABRIA: Gone.

MARISHA: All right.

LAURA: She has a complicated relationship.

MARISHA: With the Dawnfather?

LAURA: Yeah.

SAM: Yeah.

MARISHA: Look, it was purely transactional. We met the kind of leader of the town and they were like, "Hey, help us get rid of this militarized presence, and we can help you all get out."

LIAM: We were looking for a way to get here.

MARISHA: That's all we cared about.

LIAM: And it was not a good scene.

TALIESIN: I don't regret a minute of it.

EMILY: I don't either.

LIAM: Church was sent down from Vasselheim and they were-- had the place under their thumb in a way that I've never really seen in my travels.

TRAVIS: Why that city? Why would the Vasselheim or the Dawnfather care?

LIAM: It wasn't a big place, but it felt like the response to everything that's, pointing my finger toward a window, happening in the sky.

EMILY: It was an arcane nexus. There was a meeting of leylines, and I think that there might have been a bid for power there.

LIAM: I think with everything going on, their church, at least, was trying to lock shit down.

LAURA: Oh.

EMILY: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Well.

TALIESIN: I wouldn't be surprised if it was more than just the Dawnfather.

LIAM: Anyway, the guy we were traveling with was Ruby Vanguard.

TRAVIS: Oh shit.

LAURA: Did he know who you were?

ASHLEY: Oh my god.

LIAM and TALIESIN: Yes.

LAURA: The whole time?

TALIESIN: Yes.

ASHLEY: How--? Whoa.

LIAM: We finished the job, and we were pretty close to coming home, or coming here, coming to you, and we were kind of saying our goodbyes, and he attacked us.

MARISHA: He was trying to get away, and I don't, like with Prism sort of just snapped, sort of at the end of our rope. We've been through a lot.

TRAVIS: That sounds awesome! You smoked a bad guy.

ASHLEY: Yeah, I'm proud of--

TRAVIS: I don't know why you said it with so much regret in your voice.

LIAM: Well.

TALIESIN: It didn't feel good.

LIAM: He--

MARISHA: It was just complicated.

LIAM: He's angry at the gods.

MARISHA: And he honestly had every reason to be.

LAURA: Was he sent intentionally to spy on you all, or was it just a coincidence?

LIAM: I think a coincidence. I think--

MARISHA: Shunted just like the rest of us, and just happened to end up in the same place.

LIAM: Yeah, and we didn't land with Prism, and we didn't land with him, or we didn't land with this lady named Deni$e, a dwarf named Deni$e.

LAURA: Oh.

LIAM: I think we all just got sprinkled across the landscape, and then just stumbled into each other.

SAM: Did you punch her to death, too?

EMILY: No, actually, we formed a really special bond and friendship. I really hope I see her again.

SAM: Where is she?

EMILY: I have have a piece of her hair, so I can Scry on her at any time.

LAURA: That's wonderful.

SAM: Oh.

EMILY: Like friends do.

LIAM: Fearne.

ASHLEY: Yeah?

LIAM: That lady, Deni$e, was Dariax's ex.

ASHLEY: (gasps) That Deni$e?

LIAM: That Deni$e with the dollar sign.

ASHLEY: Oh my god!

EMILY: She was fantastic.

ASHLEY: No shit.

TALIESIN: Really cool.

AABRIA: It's a pure reaction.

EMILY: Yeah.

LIAM: She's angry at him.

ASHLEY: She is?

LIAM: But she's pretty cool.

ASHLEY: Ugh, I bet she is.

TALIESIN: I don't like anybody.

EMILY: She was angry at him, but in a way that I was like, oh, I really want you to put him in his place, and then--

LAURA: I've seen that happen.

EMILY: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah, love that.

LAURA: In real time. It's quite fun.

ASHLEY: Love that for her, yeah.

MARISHA: Mm!

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: You mean with Deanna?

ASHLEY: Oh.

SAM: We had some adventures, too, yeah. We saved Santa. We met a king and a queen.

EMILY: Santa's real? Can I do a history check? Is Santa real?

MATT: Yes, you may.

SAM: He's called something else in--

EMILY: That's another two.

(laughter)

EMILY: Everyone complaining that I rolled too many nat 20s can eat my dice.

(laughter)

SAM: Deanna killed a goat.

LAURA: This is my own. Yeah, she exploded a goat.

SAM: She exploded a goat. We had a lot of sexual escapades, and--

EMILY: Wow.

LAURA: I didn't.

SAM: -- I met a god.

EMILY: What god?

LIAM: Your god?

SAM: My god, she came to me and spoke to me, and I have a special place in her universe, I guess, and I have someone to fight for, and believe in.

LIAM: Well, that's-- I was going to say amazing, but it's also really complicated right now, isn't it?

SAM: Well, I mean, not for me.

MARISHA: Seems like a lot of people are very mad that the gods get picky and choosy with who they favor, and who they choose to ignore.

EMILY: Yeah, the way he put it, it almost sounds like the gods are planning escape pods.

SAM: Well, I think maybe we just don't understand what the gods are like, but why do they have to be all things for all people? I mean, they have their own goals, and their own hangups, and I feel like gods are people, too, and-- You know, they're just trying to do their best, and right now, they need us to help them.

EMILY: Mm-hmm, that's a fair perspective.

ASHLEY: Well-- How does someone go from just being a regular to being a god, then? Can't we all just be like, I'm a god now?

EMILY: The Matron of Ravens did.

TRAVIS: A normie, you mean?

ASHLEY: Yeah, a normie.

TRAVIS: Hmm.

LAURA: Matron of Ravens did that?

EMILY and TALIESIN: Yeah.

EMILY: The Matron of Ravens did that.

MARISHA: See, we actually--

LAURA: That's what Ludinus, I think, is trying to do, right?

MARISHA: Yes, which we've talked--

LAURA: Or something like that.

MARISHA: We've talked a lot about, and one of the druidic elders that we talked to talked a lot about these spirits called eidolons that are basically branches of the titans that really formed this world, and were here far before the gods.

LAURA: Did we see anything about eidolons in Ludinus' notes? Did we see anything?

ASHLEY: Oh, oh, oh!

TRAVIS: We have some of Ludinus' old shit.

MARISHA: Have what?

LAURA: We're in the room, right?

MATT: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Yeah, yeah. we're all in the room.

LAURA: Yeah, we found his old tower in-- god, names--

MATT: Molaesmyr.

TRAVIS: Savalirwood.

LAURA: The Savalirwood. And it had his notes from a long time ago. He's ancient.

LIAM: It just looks like Sam is playing with his own fecal matter.

MARISHA: It's super disgusting.

ASHLEY: Me too, me too. We can scrape it.

MARISHA: That's incredible that you found that. How did you happen upon that?

SAM: Did we ever go through that stuff? We did, right?

LAURA: We did, we scribed it, you scribed it.

CHRISTIAN: Hi, I am Far-Ranging Integrated Defense Aeormaton.

LIAM: Oh yeah, there's so much to process, and--

TALIESIN: I was going to ask.

LIAM: I'm on the verge of asking in the last three minutes. Where are you from? Where did you find FRIDA?

TRAVIS: So, we can go from the beginning in an abbreviated way. We ended up next to west of Uthodurn, in Wildemount, and we made our way towards the city, because that's my old stomping grounds. We came across FRIDA and Deanna, who you met, she's a cleric of the Dawnfather.

LIAM: Oh.

TRAVIS: But I hadn't seen Deanna, who's an old fling-- Oh shit, is that a whole story-- in, like, two hundo, so, it's been a minute.

LAURA: Full threesome.

TRAVIS: You don't have to jump to the end of the story!

LAURA: I'm sorry!

AABRIA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: So we went into Uthodurn, we ingratiated ourselves to the king and queen there, because they were having some problems, because magic's been all fucked up. They really helped us. I settled some beef with my old employer, Oltgar. Then we made our way down into the Savalirwood, because we used some of the resources in Uthodurn to learn about Ludinus, who had been in the Savalirwood prior to going to the Cerberus Assembly in Rexxentrum.

EMILY: Will there be a question and answer--

LAURA: No.

EMILY: -- at the end? Okay, okay.

SAM: But we do have stuff from Ludinus, so we think we might be able to Scry on him, and find out where he is.

LAURA: Potentially.

MARISHA: Oh.

LIAM: One thing at a time.

MARISHA: We tried to Scry on him.

EMILY: We did. We did.

MARISHA: We couldn't get through, it was blocked.

TRAVIS: Part two, just so people can have it, Ludinus was previously in the ruins of Molaesmyr, which was a city that was destroyed before the Cerberus Assembly was founded. So we went there, seeing if we could find anything of him, or of his old shit, and we kind of did.

LAURA: Chetney's real old.

TRAVIS: Yeah, I'm about 400 years old.

EMILY: Yeah, your visual communicates that.

TALIESIN: It's been about a week.

LIAM: I wonder--

SAM: And I found love.

TRAVIS: Visual?!

LIAM: Yeah, I want to know everything about that, but that doesn't answer the first question, which is I've never met anyone like Letters in my entire life, and now--

MARISHA: There's two Letters.

TALIESIN: Two.

LAURA: FRIDA is exceptional.

AABRIA: We're getting a whole alphabet, baby.

ASHLEY: Magical.

CHRISTIAN: I had never met anyone like Faithful Care-Giver before either.

LIAM: Where are you from?

CHRISTIAN: Well, I'm learning that I, I'm at least as old as Deanna, and maybe not as old as-- No, I'm older than Chetney.

SAM: I think so.

TRAVIS: You're the OG, bro.

CHRISTIAN: I'm a lot older than Mr. Pock O'Pea.

LAURA: You're double the age of Chetney.

TRAVIS: You and Letters.

TALIESIN: Mr. Pock O'Pea, fuck.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah, I-- I was brought back the same way FCG was brought back, or similarly. We learned a bit about my original function, which was, we think, to protect the original-- Can I say Malleus Key out loud here?

LAURA: Yes.

CHRISTIAN: Malleus Key.

LIAM: Oh.

CHRISTIAN: That thing that Ludinus crudely recreated.

LIAM: Where in the world was that?

LAURA: ♪ Carmen Sandiego ♪

CHRISTIAN: Issylra.

AABRIA: Eiselcross.

CHRISTIAN: Eiselcross.

LIAM: That's the way north, yeah.

AABRIA: Mm-hmm.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah, the ruins of Aeor.

MARISHA: I'm sorry. Going back a little bit. Did you say Faithful Care-Giver?

CHRISTIAN: Yes. Oh.

ASHLEY: Oh.

MARISHA: That's what FCG means?

SAM: Apparently; it was carved into the inside of my skull.

AABRIA: (laughs)

MARISHA: Oh!

ASHLEY: Yeah, took the head right off, and then saw right in there.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah, it looks like this. (clicking and shifting)

MARISHA: Oh my god!

TALIESIN: I don't feel bad for never thinking about it.

SAM: Don't shame them.

MARISHA: I'm, I'm... just impressed.

SAM: You know, your ear falls off sometimes.

MARISHA: That's true!

LIAM: We've seen you do the same thing!

(laughter)

AABRIA: You're so allowed to express-- I'm not there.

(laughter)

MARISHA: I just got a little bit more inspiration for my next Form of Dread, is all I'm saying.

CHRISTIAN: You must be Laudna.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

LAURA and SAM: "Lout."

AABRIA: (laughs)

CHRISTIAN: Correct.

CHRISTIAN: I will play back--

LAURA: (gasps)

CHRISTIAN: The voice sort of emanates, "She's beautiful, but like spooky beautiful," and it's Imogen saying it.

MARISHA: Ooh.

LAURA: Yep, that's me, talking about you.

CHRISTIAN: You are spooky beautiful.

MARISHA: (laughs) Well. Oh my goodness, thank you.

TALIESIN: Clumps slough off.

TRAVIS: (wet thud)

LIAM: You're spoo-tiful.

MARISHA: I'm spoo-tiful.

CHRISTIAN: Your friends missed you all very much.

MARISHA: We missed you so much.

EMILY: They spoke of you all nonstop.

SAM: Oh, sorry about that. Was it annoying?

EMILY: No, I found it quite charming, yeah.

TRAVIS: That's nice.

ASHLEY: Did you miss us?

TALIESIN: Yes.

SAM: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah?

SAM: Yeah.

MARISHA: I hope we didn't offend Deanna.

SAM: Probably.

MARISHA: You do know if she's coming back?

MATT: At this point, you've been off for a bit. You've found a space, and begun conducting a ritual. As you finish the completion of your divine circle in this dark wooden corner of the tavern upper area, which is completely empty at this time of day, you finish your Commune spell, and you clutch your holy symbol. (ringtone) And my phone goes off.

SAM: Holy symbol!

AABRIA: That was so good!

MATT: Look at that timing!

AABRIA: That was so good!

TALIESIN: Fuck! Run!

TRAVIS: It's him!

AABRIA: My immersion!

MATT: He's arrived!

AABRIA: Cool!

(laughter)

AABRIA: Canon accepted.

TRAVIS: They're listening!

MARISHA: Oh my god.

MATT: Yay. As you feel the chimes of your worship clinging past your ears, the light fills your mind, and the burning light of the star that encircles Exandria and brings life, and heat, and death, and rebirth. The Dawnfather's presence glides through and around your spirit, and you feel the burning stare of him turn towards you, expectantly.

AABRIA: I do my best to not look away, and just match that burning gaze. A couple questions, and then I'll let you go. One, is working with Bells Hells actually going to help save all of you? They seem dangerous.

MATT: There is no response, which leads you to believe that the Dawnfather is uncertain.

AABRIA: I'm getting so fucking little from you. Fine. Are your disciples perpetrating harm in this world at your behest?

LIAM: Sharp.

MATT: "My disciples do what is necessary for the good of our people collectively, and the future of Exandria."

LAURA: Not the right answer.

SAM: I love him.

AABRIA: One more.

SAM: He's strong.

AABRIA: Are you worth saving?

TRAVIS: (sharp inhale)

MARISHA: (gasps)

MATT: You are thrust out of your communion.

MARISHA: Oh!

TALIESIN: Oh!

MARISHA: Oh!

(laughter)

MATT: With enough force that you hit the back of the wood, and your eyes burn like you had been staring into the sun itself.

MARISHA: I got chills.

AABRIA: Ow.

ASHLEY: Oh, that was cool.

AABRIA: Ow, ow.

(laughter)

AABRIA: Ow.

MATT: Yeah, he didn't like that.

AABRIA: Oh. Huh, weird. I go back upstairs and move on with my day.

MATT: Okay.

AABRIA: Wearing some sunglasses I've just invented right now.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Those seem very useful.

TALIESIN: I don't know what they are, but they look cool.

AABRIA: Hi, hi, hi, sorry.

ASHLEY: Hi, babe.

TRAVIS: Introductions are needed.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah.

TRAVIS: Deanna, this is Laudna.

AABRIA: Hi.

EMILY: I'm Prism, I think I'm the one who offended you.

AABRIA: No, I'm not offended.

MARISHA: We're sorry.

TALIESIN: I would've gotten around to it, it's okay.

MARISHA: We didn't mean to.

AABRIA: No, you're good.

LIAM: We didn't realize.

AABRIA: You're good. It's complicated. Hi. Okay, speed run. Were we all doing catch up speed runs?

TRAVIS: Yeah, we kind of did, a little. The top line.

AABRIA: We're supposed to be the same age. I died 200 years ago, came back. Dawnfather thing.

EMILY: Yes, you look better.

AABRIA: We're not great. FRIDA's my best friend, and we had a three way, but I think that's been covered.

MARISHA: Hoo!

MARISHA: Yeah.

MARISHA: I died 30 years ago!

AABRIA: Oh!

MARISHA: Then again three months ago!

AABRIA: Ooh, how you doing?

MARISHA: And you know, I'm doing, you know, I'm--

AABRIA: You good?

MARISHA: Yeah, I'm good.

AABRIA: Yeah. Oh, that's nice.

MARISHA: Yes, yes.

AABRIA: It's fun to die a little bit, and then come back.

MARISHA: Yes.

TALIESIN: I'm letting that one pass.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

LIAM: Yeah. I do too a little everyday.

AABRIA: Yeah.

(laughter)

EMILY: When you said that magic was different, what did you mean?

TRAVIS: Well, in the city of Uthodurn, well, we've seen it here in Jrusar too, the lights seem dimmer. Things that I think are natural processes are kind of janked.

LAURA: Yeah. I'm normally able to Send messages across long distances, and nothing short of short distances is working.

LIAM: Yeah, I tried to reach out to Dorian, and to that ginger wizard from the excavation, but it didn't work either time.

TRAVIS: Oh, right.

LAURA: I tried to contact y'all multiple times as well as Deanna.

AABRIA: We tried to contact you, too.

TALIESIN: But there were things going on in the city that we were at that were, I mean, it felt different. It felt--

EMILY: Illusion magic was powerful--

TALIESIN: Very powerful.

EMILY: -- as we got closer to the nexus.

SAM: Wait, it was more powerful?

EMILY: It was more powerful--

AABRIA: Ooh.

EMILY: It was thrilling, you could conjure a Minor Illusion or Prestidigitation, and it was almost real.

LAURA: Wow.

TRAVIS: What?!

TRAVIS: Our theory is that's why--

MARISHA: I mean, specifically--

TALIESIN: -- the Dawnfather was trying to take the land.

MARISHA: Yeah, specifically near this nexus in this small town.

LAURA: Wow.

SAM: He was trying to take this land to make it secure?

LAURA: Probably, I mean--

TALIESIN: To take it.

SAM: To do what?

AABRIA: He's doing what he thinks needs to be done in order to protect the gods.

LAURA: I wonder if Predathos is going to be able to use the leylines to travel, if that's where his source of power will come from.

AABRIA: It would make sense.

LIAM: I still don't know what Predathos is.

TRAVIS: Oh, wait, you're part of the Cobalt Soul?

EMILY: Yes.

AABRIA: A high mage.

TRAVIS: They know stuff!

EMILY: A high ranking mage.

TRAVIS: They got books.

AABRIA: So you know all about this.

EMILY: Yes.

TRAVIS: Oh, this is great!

AABRIA: Can you explain the whole thing?

TRAVIS: Knowledge is what we need!

SAM: You're a high ranking mage?

AABRIA: Because I've been calling it an Applebee's Solstice--

SAM: Insight check.

AABRIA: Yeah.

LAURA: Yeah, insight check hardcore.

EMILY: Do I have to do a deception again?

MATT: Yes, you do.

AABRIA: Can I do an insight check also?

TRAVIS: (laughing) Do I have to lie?

MATT: Yeah.

MARISHA: Yeah.

(laughter)

EMILY: 12.

AABRIA: 21.

LAURA: Yeah.

SAM: I only got an 11. She seems great to me.

LAURA: I rolled a 15 plus five, so.

EMILY: Fine, yes, okay. I am on the 10-year apprentice track, and I'm not yet a mage, and I'm currently defecting, and I'm going to become a book thief.

TRAVIS and AABRIA: Oh!

ASHLEY: Love it.

TALIESIN: We're teaching her how to bullshit.

LAURA: That's wonderful.

SAM: You're going to become a book thief?

EMILY: Yeah!

AABRIA: She kind of crumbled under--

MARISHA: We've been rehearsing a little. It's new.

EMILY: Folio filcher.

AABRIA: Well, maybe don't go for a high ranking.

EMILY: Parchment pilferer.

(laughter)

AABRIA: That's fine.

SAM: A literary larcenist?

EMILY: Yeah! Yeah. That's right, when I'm done reading them, I'm going to set them on fire! I've been hanging around Ashton--

MARISHA: No, that's an arsonist.

SAM: That's arsonist.

TALIESIN: Literary arsonist.

EMILY: Oh.

(laughter)

SAM: You need to read some more books.

EMILY: Who knows? I'm only finding myself!

AABRIA: We got to steal you a thesaurus, baby girl, it's going to be great.

(laughter)

SAM: You know, I think, you know, having a goal like that is really admirable, but you could become a book thief today. You could just go steal a book.

EMILY: Yes, well, I have, but I'm currently, I think that, from everything that we learned, I'm starting to feel a bit suspicious about some of the stuff with the gods, and these elemental eidolons, and also even wondering if the nature of Predathos isn't fully being communicated, and we're only hearing a mythologized version from the gods' point of view. So, that's sort of--

AABRIA: Oh, that's--

EMILY: The stuff I'm interested in stealing.

SAM: That's deep, subtextual conspiracy stuff.

LIAM: We were talking about this morning, trying to get Prism in at Starpoint.

LAURA: Oh!

LIAM: Then maybe if we ever need any info, we could reach out, but we can't reach out.

EMILY: Yeah, I can only Scry on you, it's kind of a one-way friendship.

TRAVIS: Does the Cobalt Soul, or the, you were part of the--

(snapping fingers)

LIAM: The Ashari?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

LIAM: Is not the Cobalt Soul.

TRAVIS: No, no, but they're both huge groups of people, right, with vast sums of knowledge.

LIAM: Yeah, the Cobalt Soul, not an expert, but is sprinkled around the world.

EMILY: Yeah.

LIAM: Ashari is, my people are in one place.

TRAVIS: Oh--

AABRIA: The air.

TRAVIS: Does anyone know?

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Does anyone know how many nexuseseses there might--

ASHLEY: Nexii.

TRAVIS: -- be? Nexii.

LAURA: That sounds right.

TRAVIS: If it's a power grab, do we know how many spaces are on the board?

MARISHA: I get the feeling that there's several scattered around the world.

EMILY: Would I have seen a map? Would the Cobalt Soul have a map of presumed nexii?

TALIESIN: Or old leyline connections. I mean, if they had a map of old ones, they would be working on a new one.

LIAM: They went squirrelly the other night.

MATT: They do have, in charted land, they have notes of the nexuses that exist between each Apogee Solstice that shifts them. Some stay the same, some move, you know, everything doesn't get re-categorized around. But I'd say, in your studies, internally, you might have come across it. Go ahead and roll--

LAURA: There were supposed to be three in Marquet that we knew of.

MATT: Roll a history check for me.

LIAM: We're aware that the map got rewritten a little bit, right?

AABRIA: Can I give you a little Guidance?

MATT: Yes, yes it does.

EMILY: All right, I'll take that! 17!

SAM: Woo!

MATT: 17. Better, better. Before the Solstice, there was mapped in chartered territory, because not everything is charted in Exandria, through shifts and such, there were approximately 23 nexuses.

EMILY: 23, like Michael Jordan's number.

LAURA: Oh. Wow.

AABRIA: Who?

LIAM: Is he a mage of the Cobalt Soul?

LAURA: Powerful mage.

SAM: Cobalt Soul.

AABRIA: A powerful mage.

EMILY: High mage of the Cobalt Soul.

LIAM: No one more powerful.

EMILY: Yeah, he's a wizard.

TALIESIN: I was going to say he might be a monk of the Cobalt-- I don't know.

EMILY: No, he's a wizard.

AABRIA: He was for a little bit. Sorry. It doesn't matter.

TALIESIN: (laughs)

SAM: He was a wizard for a little bit. That's true.

TALIESIN: Oh. Okay.

MARISHA: (laughs)

EMILY: So yeah, 23. So that's probably a lot of power grabs going on around Exandria.

ASHLEY: You know, it's interesting what you said about you think that we're not really hearing the truth because in Ludinus' notes--

AABRIA: I just pull them out.

ASHLEY: Yes.

MARISHA: Wow!

EMILY: Ooh! Something to read!

ASHLEY: A lot of them, something said about the great temples fear the moon and the gods push to ignore the moon.

AABRIA: They push for people to not understand it.

ASHLEY: Not to understand it!

LAURA: Yes.

ASHLEY: So you're right.

EMILY: Wait, really?

AABRIA: Mm-hmm.

ASHLEY: Yeah. You're onto something.

LAURA: I think they wanted people to forget about this entity. Don't the gods get power the more that you worship them, right?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

AABRIA: Something like that, but the more people understand the moon, I think the more Ludinuses you get trying to exploit it.

LAURA: Yeah.

SAM: See! The gods are trying to protect us by keeping us blind to this power and so that people can't access it.

ASHLEY: That's right.

EMILY: We encountered a strange artifact in which we found some sort of extraterrestrial impact of essentially a meteorite with a githzerai, which--

LIAM: In the middle of a field.

EMILY: In the middle of a field. It was a githzerai that was trapped inside of rock--

SAM: What is that?

EMILY: -- which is sort of like an alien from the sky who have telepathic abilities and they were imprisoned in there. Ashton, you're wearing their ring now.

TALIESIN: I am.

EMILY: Do you want to show it off?

SAM: This person was alive, this creature that you found?

EMILY: No, it was the remains.

MARISHA: They were dead.

EMILY: So they were this githzerai.

LAURA: What does the ring look like?

EMILY: It's hematite.

TALIESIN: Yeah. It's a very simple hematite ring.

LAURA: Have you had it identified?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

SAM: It's a round ring!

MARISHA: (laughs)

LAURA: What a unique--

TALIESIN: God fucking damn it!

SAM: Yeah.

EMILY: I know.

SAM: Made out of meteorite!?

AABRIA: I feel like our adventure was very horny.

TALIESIN: Wow!

MARISHA: It sounds like it.

AABRIA: Yeah.

MARISHA: Ours was traumatizing.

AABRIA: Mm.

ASHLEY: I'm going to try to take the ring off of Ashton.

TALIESIN: That's going to be real hard.

AABRIA: I want to provide the help action by distracting Ashton!

LIAM: So I got this ring.

EMILY: Oh my god! That's so beautiful! Let me see!

TRAVIS: Hotel room!

MATT: Hey, I've seen some close-up magic. All right.

MARISHA: The size of this table.

AABRIA: Hey, Ashton! Look at me!

MATT: Sleight of hand check.

EMILY: (laughs)

ASHLEY: 18.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: All right. Roll a perception check. I'll give you advantage because it's on your finger.

LIAM: And you are referring to it in this moment.

MATT: In the moment.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Yeah.

TALIESIN: My perception sucks, though, so this will be hilarious.

LAURA: We've done this ring dance before, y'all.

MARISHA: I'm going to laugh if he fails.

AABRIA: Please fail!

TALIESIN: 15.

AABRIA: Oh my god! (laughs)

MATT: So you go--

TALIESIN: That's not hard! I only have a one in perception!

MATT: Here's the thing! You go to show them the ring, and it's not there.

MARISHA and MATT: (laugh)

EMILY: Ashton, what did you do with the ring?

AABRIA: Is it invisible?

EMILY: That was such a rare, special item!

ASHLEY: Yeah, where'd it go?

EMILY: It was literally from outer space!

TALIESIN: I missed you, too.

ASHLEY: How did you lose it?

TALIESIN: I missed you so much.

ASHLEY: There you go.

LAURA: (laughs)

AABRIA: Aw!

SAM: Does it do anything?

TALIESIN: Apparently, it makes it so that now I fucking owe her a beer. Other than, that I'm not entirely sure.

SAM: I can Identify it.

AABRIA: That's fun.

LAURA: That's what I mean! Have you Identified it?

SAM: Oh.

LAURA: Nothing?

TALIESIN: It does things. It's fire-based.

SAM: Oh!

LAURA: All right.

ASHLEY: Well, you should obviously give it to me.

AABRIA: Oh.

SAM: Oh yeah! She is a fire.

ASHLEY: I'm kidding. You can keep it.

TALIESIN: No, no! Okay, well, we can have--

ASHLEY: No, no, no. We have plenty of treasures! We got lots of treasures!

TALIESIN: When there's a little more liquor going around, we can have this discussion because I'm always open to a deal.

AABRIA: With a stick and a strap-on harness.

TRAVIS: We had a hell of a time getting--

AABRIA: We had a different adventure than you!

ASHLEY: (laugh)

TRAVIS: We did.

TALIESIN: Did you get it? Okay. Nevermind.

TRAVIS: We had a really hard time getting from Wildemount back to here. We only came across a staff that allowed us to use it, and even that went kind of tits up, well, a few times.

LAURA: I almost killed us all.

AABRIA: Learning curve. You're doing great.

LIAM: How?

LAURA: With this.

ASHLEY: It's powerful.

LAURA: It is quite--

CHRISTIAN: Powerful man.

LIAM: Like, you swung it around and hit everybody, or what do you mean?

LAURA: No, I tried to teleport us and I almost tore us apart.

TRAVIS: Ripped us apart. Our shoulders had mouths. It was a whole thing.

MARISHA: Ooh!

ASHLEY: And then we met a bunch of birds.

LAURA: Yeah.

EMILY: Birds.

SAM: Yeah. Horrible creatures.

TRAVIS: But if you were in Issylra--

SAM: Dastardly. Dastardly.

EMILY: Oh, really?

TRAVIS: How did you guys--

EMILY: Can I send Mother to go see?

SAM: What? What's Mother?

EMILY: On FCG's shoulder.

SAM: Ah! What is this? What's going on?

EMILY: It's a little raven.

SAM: No! Get off of me! Ah!

MATT: "(squawks)"

SAM: Get off of me!

MATT: (flapping) It's flapping at your... It does not like you.

SAM: Well, I don't like it!

MARISHA: In this tiny hotel room.

TRAVIS: Prism, that's not the safest thing.

AABRIA: Why is there a bird loose in the room?

TRAVIS: When he gets nervous, everybody dies!

EMILY: Well, he's egging Mother on and now Mother's upset!

MATT: "(squawks)"

AABRIA: Okay. Oh.

(laughter)

SAM: I'm looking at you! I don't like--

MATT: (splatter) Shits on you.

(laughter)

LAURA: Oh, it shit on you!

SAM: It's just like Shithead!

(laughter)

CHRISTIAN: Oh!

ASHLEY: Didn't we kill Shithead?

SAM: They're all the same.

LAURA: So now that we've caught up.

AABRIA: Mm-hmm.

LAURA: What is the plan here?

TRAVIS: How did you get back here, first of all?

MARISHA: Oh.

SAM: Yeah.

MARISHA: So part of the deal with the little pissant town that we were in, to have them transport us was to help rid them of the Dawnfather's militarized presence. So we--

TRAVIS: They sent you?

MARISHA: They sent us through a tree, not too dissimilar to how Orym's druids have done it in the past.

TRAVIS: Got it!

ASHLEY: Okay.

TRAVIS: Because we're far away from the base of the moon, which I assume is what we're all thinking we need to get back to, right?

LIAM: Got to go.

LAURA: Yeah.

AABRIA: With a game plan, though, yeah? Didn't last time you got shunted across the earth and then you spent the whole time bitching about getting back to each other.

TRAVIS: We had a game plan.

AABRIA: Bigger plan.

TRAVIS: We even threw an air ship in that mix and it was-- They're real, real strong.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

AABRIA: Well, knowing that Ludinus' thing that he built to leash the moon is made of parts of other stuff, maybe there can be some sort of research to other big technology things? I'm about to say words that I barely understand.

TRAVIS: This is the best part.

AABRIA: To get the leylines or where they cross.

MARISHA: No, that's an excellent point!

TALIESIN: Technology things.

TRAVIS: Did you say the Leylas or Delilahs?

AABRIA: Yeah! I don't remember what they're called!

TRAVIS: It's okay. Let me rub your shoulders.

AABRIA: Thanks! Thank you! Leylines! The leylines, and maybe some of all the technology in the past that Ludinus has been looking up, and maybe you can figure out how to break it because it seems like he just put it together, slap-dash!

CHRISTIAN: I think someone needs to go to ground zero.

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Oh!

CHRISTIAN: And find whatever's floating around in here and make sure he doesn't get it first.

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: I mean, we spent weeks circling around the Malleus Key and trying to figure out what the hell they were doing. We did not find out much.

EMILY: Well, what sort of information do you need? Because you can send me--

AABRIA: Book thief!

EMILY: -- wherever you need information about and I can find a way to get it back to you.

TALIESIN: That's a good point.

SAM: You're a wizard, right? A powerful mage of the Cobalt Soul?

EMILY: Mm-hmm.

SAM: Do you have the ability to send messages over great distances?

AABRIA: I can do that! I know I don't know you very well! I'm so sorry!

EMILY: No, no, no.

AABRIA: Oh my god! Just presuming. (laughs)

EMILY: No! I mean, please! I actually don't have a way, but if you do--

AABRIA: Yeah.

EMILY: And if we go somewhere and then I can find the information. Are you good at sneaking into the restricted section of libraries?

AABRIA: If I take my armor off, yes.

(laughter)

EMILY: Did you just flirt? Okay.

AABRIA: It's kind of an aura.

EMILY: Okay! Then, yes! I think I could probably--

AABRIA: You're in the middle of this.

MARISHA: I feel very in the middle!

AABRIA: Make a choice, Laudna! Make a choice!

MARISHA: Laudna just recedes.

ASHLEY: Homer Simpsons.

MARISHA: Yeah. (laughs)

EMILY: Yeah, if we went somewhere and--

AABRIA: Okay!

EMILY: I could get the information and then give it to you and--

AABRIA: And we'll send it to you.

EMILY: Yeah.

LAURA: If it works.

AABRIA: What else is there?

SAM: Where is this information that we need?

LIAM: It seems pretty needle in a haystack to me. We've been to Starpoint. The knowledge of Predathos came out of the deepest hole in Vasselheim. No one was supposed to know about that. Knowing how to deal with it--

SAM: Maybe they got to go to Vasselheim, then.

EMILY: I do have a seal from Vasselheim and I could get us pretty easy passage.

AABRIA: You know what? We're the--

SAM: Like a seal?

AABRIA: -- Protectors of Uthodurn.

SAM: Or like a seal. (claps)

EMILY: What do you think? Be honest. What do you think?

SAM: I think the first one.

EMILY: Yeah, I think so, too.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: She's got a bird! She probably has a seal as well.

(laughter)

AABRIA: Andre!

TRAVIS: That's a fucking familiar for you.

(laughter)

SAM: I'm sorry. Your bird is distracting me.

EMILY: Mother.

SAM: No! I cast Banishment on it!

AABRIA: No!

MARISHA: Oh my god!

MATT: She's gone. Mother's gone.

MARISHA: Mother!

EMILY: Counterspell!

SAM: Don't worry.

MATT: Counterspell! (laughs)

EMILY: Counterspell!

AABRIA: Oh, okay. We're doing a lot.

EMILY: Okay.

AABRIA: We should maybe separate, actually.

MARISHA: This is a small hotel room!

AABRIA: Yeah.

(laughter)

AABRIA: Also, I am a cleric of--

MARISHA: Of the Dawnfather.

AABRIA: Of the Dawnfather.

EMILY: I know.

AABRIA: So going to Vasselheim, I think, wherever you can't get in, I might be able to.

EMILY: Oh, that's amazing! Yeah. I mean, we just came from there, but I learned Teleportation Circle and I'm assuming that teleportation is working great right now.

(laughter)

AABRIA: Huh!

TRAVIS: It's a safe assumption.

SAM: We used--

LAURA: No, we used Transport?

SAM: We used Teleport.

LAURA: What is it? Teleport?

SAM: But we think that the circles don't work anymore. Right?

LAURA: We don't know.

AABRIA: Well, we could figure out how to re-enchant them?

TRAVIS: In Uthodurn, they said the circles were working, but teleportation spells were not.

EMILY: Okay.

SAM: Is that true?

MATT: Other way around.

AABRIA: Other way.

TRAVIS: Flip it?

MATT: Yeah.

AABRIA: Flip it and reverse it, baby.

MATT: Some of the existing circles, because it's a grounded enchantment that acts as an anchor for teleportation circle spells and they anchor two of them or multiple ones together permanently. Some of those have stopped functioning, one side or another, or both.

SAM: So it's not that that magic inherently doesn't work. It's that the permanent enchantments were unenchanted.

LIAM: Some of the connections were broken.

TALIESIN: Like a freeway in an earthquake.

MARISHA: Well, maybe it's different as when we were in Issylra. As Prism said, the magic was more concentrated. It was better. Maybe it similarly--

EMILY: Particularly arcane. It seemed like it was arcane, right, Dynios?

MATT: At this point, you see this leather tome--

EMILY: Oh yeah.

MATT: -- floats into the space, this leather bound, massive book.

AABRIA: This is fucking wild and I was dead for 200 years.

MATT: As a face pushes out leather and goes--

ASHLEY: Oh!

MATT: "That is quite right! It seems there might have been--"

AABRIA: No! And I slap it.

MATT: (bangs) "Ow! (grunts)"

TALIESIN: Hey, hey, hey!

MARISHA: Slap it!

EMILY: Dynios!

TALIESIN: Don't slap him!

AABRIA: I'm sorry! I'm sorry!

SAM: Oh no!

MARISHA: Don't slap him!

TRAVIS: Your book talks?

EMILY: Yes.

AABRIA: Is your book a god?

EMILY: My book contains the soul of a mage who was bound to it.

TRAVIS: Oh!

AABRIA: On purpose?

ASHLEY: Wow!

MATT: "You poked my eye!"

AABRIA: I'm so sorry, sweetie!

EMILY: You poked his eye!

MARISHA: Oh my god!

EMILY: Dynios.

MATT: (pops) "Yes?"

MARISHA: (gasps)

EMILY: Whoa! Okay, it came back. You got the impression that it was arcane magic that was amplified, right? Specifically, not necessarily divine or any other things, or was it all magic?

MATT: "The best I could ascertain it, most magic was entirely amplified in the presence of these spaces."

EMILY: Oh, most magic!

MATT: "But I also am not a specific researcher of divine specifications. And I've only been your book for some time, so."

EMILY: Yes. Okay.

AABRIA: Is there a little heat in that tone? Can I insight check the book?

EMILY: We're working on it.

MARISHA: He's very sassy.

EMILY: Yeah, he's very sassy.

MARISHA: This is what he does.

EMILY: Yeah.

LAURA: Can you read his mind?

EMILY: Can I read his mind?

TALIESIN: He's basically an open book.

EMILY: I don't think so. No.

LAURA: I'm going to try to Detect Thoughts on your book.

AABRIA: I'll give you another ale.

MATT: Try and Detect Thoughts on the book? The surface thoughts in the book go, "Why is she staring at me so intently? I don't trust this troop, and I'm a bit curious as to why we've wandered into such mixed company."

LAURA: Are you a good book or a bad book?

MATT: You speak into its mind?

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: The book goes--

(laughter)

MATT: "I'm a good book with a bad attitude."

(oohing)

EMILY: Oh, I wish I heard that!

(laughter)

LIAM: Oh wow! 50 Shades of Fey!

(laughter)

LAURA: And this Prism that you're working with, is she a good guy or a bad guy?

MATT: "She is walking an uncertain path and I'm interested to see which choice she takes. She's got potential, and she's shown a bit of a radical streak I wasn't expecting. So I'm eager to see."

LAURA: Hmm. He seems like fun.

EMILY: Yeah. He can be really scathing in his remarks, but I think, like any father figure, it can rise you to your best self.

LAURA: Mm. Yeah.

EMILY: What do you think of him? Do you like him?

SAM: Well, he's an object with sentience, so I appreciate that. I've just started to realize that objects can be alive, too, or things that were built. They just need a little spark. I found that things need life to live.

TALIESIN: I've been waiting to hear you say that.

LAURA: Oh my god!

MATT: "I am feeling uncomfortable being perceived by so many. I'm going to diminish." The face retracts back into the book and floats over to you.

SAM: He can turtle away?

TRAVIS: Turtle in and out!

EMILY: You're right, Dynios. I hold him close to my chest.

TRAVIS: I'm a big fan of the idea of going to get more knowledge or maybe research, but we also noticed there's a collection of armored individuals and skyships and all sorts of things over the city now. Did any of you happen to talk to any of these factions on your way in?

LIAM: We saw the skyships on the way in from a distance.

ASHLEY: We may have interrogated a courier, but nothing of value.

LAURA: They looked like they might be from Vasselheim, right?

CHRISTIAN: Yeah.

TRAVIS: I think we saw some from Tal'Dorei, and then we saw some from the Menagerie Coast.

SAM: We saw some from Issylra, too!

EMILY: We also saw some with religious faces, like of the Changebringer.

SAM: Oh wait. What?

EMILY: Some of the armored presence.

SAM: Wait! Where? Here?

EMILY: Yeah.

MARISHA: Around town.

SAM: Oh! I got to go find them.

TALIESIN: Let's give it a second.

TRAVIS: I was also thinking that-- Well, we went to talk to one and they all said that they were acting independently, but it seems like there's some sort of a coordination, and all of these powerful forces coming together at once. I know we still have Ajit Dayal and the... Right?

LAURA and ASHLEY: Yeah.

TRAVIS: So maybe we could see if they're at least meeting up there and sharing, I don't know, intelligent people thoughts?

LIAM: Well, if the Changebringer's guards are filling this city, and we saw the same with the Dawnfather's forces. By the way, there was a Judicator there.

TRAVIS: Oh!

LIAM: Sidebar.

MARISHA: Yeah, we fought him.

EMILY: Yeah, we fought him.

TRAVIS and ASHLEY: You what?

SAM: Did you win?

AABRIA: What?

EMILY: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Judicator's is a big death machine, kind of.

EMILY: Her shadow wolf and my devil double teamed them.

SAM: You also have a devil? You have a raven, a book, and a devil?

EMILY: The devil is conditional.

LIAM: It's the closest we've gotten to a threesome.

(laughter)

SAM: That would be an awesome threesome!

AABRIA: Deanna's like: That's pretty good! That's a good lineup.

LIAM: There was an angel, a devil, a big rock guy. They were going at it.

MARISHA: Their side summoned an earth-- or the druids that we were helping, they summoned an earth elemental.

LIAM: Yeah, it got pretty heavy.

MARISHA: It was a lot, honestly.

TRAVIS: FRIDA's got a gun for an arm!

EMILY: If anyone has interest--

TALIESIN: What's a gun? Oh wait, I would know. Never mind.

EMILY: If any of you have arcane interest, I copied down all the runes that were carved into the Judicator. It's Draconic magic. It's really old magic.

LAURA: Oh!

CHRISTIAN: Miss Temult, in your mind you hear: There's something nefarious about that one.

LAURA: Oh yeah, I've gathered that. Also, kind of interesting, though.

TRAVIS: Can anybody read the old stuff?

SAM: Draconic? Anybody?

TALIESIN: Draconic.

SAM: Well, wait, I have Tongues.

MARISHA: Hmm.

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

MATT: Yeah.

EMILY: It was Draconic, divine, anti-magic, old magic.

LAURA: Wow.

SAM: It's what? Sorry, sorry, go ahead.

EMILY: Draconic, divine, anti-magic, old magic.

LAURA: I have Celestial. I can read and talk and speak Celestial.

ASHLEY: Why do I have-- What would be--

EMILY: But I can make a copy of it. You can carry it with you. I don't know, maybe you might recognize it somewhere.

SAM: Okay.

TALIESIN: That's a very good idea.

ASHLEY: That's a good idea.

EMILY: Okay, I get to that.

LIAM: Do you really have a gun in your arm?

CHRISTIAN: (mechanism whirring and clicking)

AABRIA: Yeah!

MARISHA: Ooh!

TALIESIN: Holy shit!

TRAVIS: That's right.

LIAM: Oh man.

MARISHA: That's impressive.

TALIESIN: What kind of--

LIAM: Paging Whitestone.

CHRISTIAN: Blunderbuss. Whitestone?

LIAM: A place we visited.

LAURA: We actually--

TALIESIN: Gesundheit.

LAURA: We did see the Tal'Dorei Council symbol. I wonder if the Lord and Lady of Whitestone would be in attendance.

LIAM: Saw it where?

CHRISTIAN: Here.

LIAM: Here?

TALIESIN: What?

LAURA: Multiple places have sent armies. I don't know if they're one of them.

TALIESIN: Where's your people?

LIAM: Well, that leads me to a question, Deanna, ma'am.

AABRIA: Oh, just Deanna's fine.

LIAM: Okay, Deanna.

AABRIA: Hi.

LIAM: You said you looked in on Laudna?

AABRIA: Yeah.

LIAM: Do you think you could do that for someone from my home?

AABRIA: Oh, yeah. It would help if you had something important of theirs. I'm going to say something kind of gross, and I'm so sorry, a bit of it is easier. But stuff is good. Yes, I can. I'm sorry. I can help, yes.

LIAM: Yeah. I pull out a little bit of the remnants of the seed.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: It's ew. It's like seeds.

AABRIA: Okay, sure.

CHRISTIAN: (laughs)

EMILY: Oh, that kind.

SAM: But it's old and dry.

MARISHA: The remnants.

AABRIA: Sure.

LIAM: She gave me-- It's kind of fading, but she gave me this.

AABRIA: Okay, I won't hurt it. You can have it back in a second. Can anyone give me a quick, what she looks like.

LAURA: We give you a full description.

LAURA: Yeah.

AABRIA: Yeah. Can we get a little diorama?

TRAVIS: I Minor Image.

(magical humming)

AABRIA: Thank you! Got it, got it, got it, okay.

TRAVIS: Watch, I'll spin it.

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Oh shit!

AABRIA: Ah!

(laughter)

MARISHA: Not the sideshow.

(laughter)

LIAM: She's way, way taller, though. Way taller.

TRAVIS: Sorry.

(illusion stretching)

AABRIA: Oh, got it. I need a scale. Thank you.

TRAVIS: Yeah. Now it's distorted.

AABRIA: Sure, I will spend my other 5th-level spell to attempt to Scry on Keyleth.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: Oh god.

TRAVIS: I'm sure we won't be fighting.

LAURA: This is terrifying.

AABRIA: Hi, seed. Aabria remembers you.

MARISHA: Yeah, we don't really know yet, right?

LAURA: We don't know what happened to her.

MATT: As you hold the--

TALIESIN: Oh boy.

MATT: -- dried husk of this seed in your hands and draw out the runes scrolled on the floor here in this darkened chamber--

AABRIA: Watch your feet. Watch your feet. Watch your feet. Stand on the bed. Stand on the bed!

(laughter)

MATT: It takes a moment to even push the spell through as you finish the incantation, like the magical power that you're granted is being held at bay before eventually given back with intent.

SAM: Hmm.

TRAVIS: Damn.

AABRIA: Okay, got it.

TRAVIS: Subtext.

LIAM: Dawnfather being a petty B.

MARISHA: He's sassy.

TRAVIS: He's being a petty bitch.

AABRIA: We're all having a fucking moment, god.

MATT: Hey, you walked into that Commune hot.

AABRIA: Sure, sure, sure, sure.

(laughter)

AABRIA: Okay.

MATT: Dad wasn't happy with the attitude you brought to the table.

AABRIA: I match fucking energy. What does that say about you?

(laughter)

MATT: As--

SAM: If you're having problems, I could--

AABRIA: I got it!

SAM: I could try. I could try.

MATT: (laughs)

AABRIA: I think I turn to you and her eyes and her mouth are pouring noonday sunlight.

TRAVIS: Radiant energy.

SAM: Oh my god!

AABRIA: I'm fine!

SAM: Okay, I'll just come back later.

EMILY: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Wow!

(laughter)

MATT: With that, you close your eyes and mouth. The light subsides and (energy flowing) you are pulled out of yourself once more. As opposed to being pulled through clouds this time you're pulled through the warmth of midday bright, vibrant sunlight. The warmth envelops you and you feel yourself being pulled through these shafts of light until the momentum shifts and your stomach turns slightly, like you're dropping. That sense of losing weight, of the very shift of your gravity being loosed beneath you.

LAURA: The top of the rollercoaster before it falls?

MATT: Yes, exactly. That sort of ride.

AABRIA: Yep.

MATT: Before you come to a scene. A shaded interior. There is light from a nearby window, though blurred beyond the horizon. You see a figure standing, looking through this window. Turns around carrying a staff. A woman, red hair, horns, leaning heavily on the staff. Somebody talks on the side and she looks back and nods and gives a physical motion before almost falling onto the ground before some figures rush in and catch her and lead her back to a bed. You see she fights them to try and get back under her own strength before eventually lying there for a second and setting the staff to her side. Make a perception check.

AABRIA: Yeah!

SAM: Come on, come on!

AABRIA: 24.

LAURA: Yes!

ASHLEY: Woo!

MATT: 24. While the figures that are talking around her, you can hear speech, voices saying, (unknown voice 1) "You must rest. Do not use your strength." (Keyleth) "(groans softly)" (unknown voice 2) "Voice of the Tempest, you must not overextend yourself." She just pushes it away. You can see across her there are these dark red wounds across her neck and arm and the side of her face and torso that aren't bleeding, but they're not closing.

AABRIA: Oof.

TRAVIS: Yo.

AABRIA: Okay.

TRAVIS: Yo.

MATT: She takes a minute and breathes heavy and goes, "Just give me a moment. I have to speak with the others. Too much is happening. (groans sharply) (sighs) It wasn't supposed to be like this." She stands back up on her staff and reaches over to the side of the chamber where you see there's a woven, thin tapestry that, at the end of it, there is tied a single long black feather and she strokes it through her fingers a moment before she gets back up on her staff and begins to hobble her way out of the chamber, the two other figures grabbing her arms and helping her as she steps out into the sunlight as the spell diminishes and you're pulled back into the interior of the room.

AABRIA: Before she left, I know it wouldn't probably work, but Deanna would try to cast Guidance on her. I don't know if it will help or if it will do anything, but she looks like she needs a little extra. (sighs) Okay. When I come back, can I cast Mending on the seed fragments? Just to make it one piece again for Orym.

MATT: Yeah, I'll allow it. I'll say the-- It has gone from a living organic material to an object, and indeed you can reform the husk into the semblance of a seed, though it is still dried.

AABRIA: Yeah. She's alive.

LIAM: Oh, okay.

AABRIA: I explain everything. Her wounds, there were... If she was as badly injured as you say she was in the fight you had weeks ago, those wounds aren't healing.

LIAM: That tracks.

LAURA: How long ago was it now? Was it weeks ago or was it a weekend?

LIAM: A week, maybe.

MATT: It's been a little over a week.

LAURA: Okay.

ASHLEY: What does that mean?

LAURA: Magic isn't working on her.

MARISHA: I recall, Orym, not to speak for you, but when they were attacked before, resurrection magic didn't work, healing didn't work.

LIAM: Toxin.

LAURA: Oh, that's right.

AABRIA: Yeah, resurrection magic's off the board in general, if you guys didn't know.

MARISHA: Oh.

AABRIA: So be careful. Oof.

CHRISTIAN: Pardon me. Ludinus was successful, then, when he breached whatever he was doing?

LAURA: Well, I mean, the moon is tethered, right? I don't think he succeeded fully, but--

CHRISTIAN: So he's going to try again?

TALIESIN: I think this is the try right now. I think it's not done, personally.

EMILY: So you all think that the resurrection magic being gone is related to the proximity and the tethering of the moon and not the shifting of the leylines?

LAURA: Correct.

EMILY: Interesting.

LIAM: Did you get a look at her surroundings?

AABRIA: Oh, diorama time. I want to show you what I saw, the place I saw. I don't know where it is, but--

MATT: You do recognize the chambers. These are her chambers in Zephrah.

LIAM: She's home.

AABRIA: Oh, that's good!

LIAM: She's home.

LAURA: How did she get there?

AABRIA: That's good?

LIAM: (sighs) I don't know.

LAURA: Oh, I guess travel would be up.

AABRIA: Are you okay?

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

LIAM: Better.

TALIESIN: That's a good thing. That's a good thing.

LAURA: Yeah. That means that somebody was able to get in and help her.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MARISHA: From what we saw in the land from these ancient druids when we were in Issylra, in addition to what FRIDA is talking about and maybe seeking more information about this ancient technology that you both seem to behold, I feel like the druids might be another key. Because they know of time and powers and magics far before the gods.

CHRISTIAN: Ludinus was interested in their magic and powers as well.

EMILY: They also have their own radical factions, too, that we might have encountered.

MARISHA: Mm.

TALIESIN: They do.

AABRIA: Was there anyone y'all didn't fight?

EMILY: Hmm?

TALIESIN: No.

EMILY: Was there anyone?

MARISHA: It was a very busy few days.

AABRIA: Yeah, big week.

EMILY: Honestly there is--

MARISHA: It's been a big week.

EMILY: Wait. Actually, no, I know something we didn't fight. There was this hill--

MARISHA: (gasps) We didn't fight that.

EMILY: That we could have fought, but we didn't--

MARISHA: We almost fought a hill.

SAM: A hill?

MARISHA: Yeah, a sentient hill.

EMILY: Yeah, thank you. Yeah.

SAM: Well, congratulations.

EMILY: Thank you, thank you.

MARISHA: Although we did fight some vines and some living bushes when we first touched down.

EMILY: Yes.

TALIESIN: We had a complicated relationship with a rock elemental, if I recall.

MARISHA: Yes, yes.

LAURA: Okay.

ASHLEY: All right. All right.

MARISHA: So we fought a rock, not a hill.

TALIESIN: Mm.

MARISHA: Did fight some bushes.

LIAM: Traveled with a cougar.

TALIESIN: Fought with a rock.

EMILY: Oh, I forgot about the cougar.

MARISHA: Oh, that's right, the cougar.

CHRISTIAN: How old was she?

LIAM: Couldn't tell. Timeless.

EMILY: (laughs) Aren't they all?

TALIESIN: Good pick up there.

TRAVIS: Where would we find more of these ancient druids with old knowledge?

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Do we think the Council's in town? Is that the conversation that we're having? Is it that--

EMILY: That's what I'm wondering. All these people are coming into town. Are they coming to confer with each other or is this a power grab? Are these various people dispatching their militaries because they're all going after something or are they all meeting up to plan something?

TRAVIS: I was hoping it was the meetup, but it sounds like they're all coming to bum-rush the moon.

LAURA: Yeah. Somebody was saying they were marching in a couple hours, which would be right about now.

TALIESIN: Well, that seems stupid.

CHRISTIAN: No one here has obviously revisited the site of-- No.

LAURA: No. I did dream.

MARISHA: You did?

LAURA: Yeah, and I saw it up close. There's people going between the two.

LIAM: Between...

MARISHA: Here and the moon.

LAURA: The moon and here.

LAURA: What?

LAURA: There's a growing number of-- Fuck me running. The people--

ASHLEY: Reilorans?

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

MARISHA: The what?

ASHLEY and LAURA: Reilorans.

MARISHA: Reilorans, right.

LAURA: Like the being that I can summon.

MARISHA: Right.

SAM: But that's different from the kind of-- What was the beings that you saw? What are they called?

CHRISTIAN: Eidolons.

TRAVIS: Eidolons?

ASHLEY: Eidolons?

SAM: Eidolons?

MARISHA: Eidolons.

SAM: Eidolons.

TALIESIN: We wouldn't know if they looked the same anyway because-- Well, actually we would because we saw--

TRAVIS: You did see the red stuff.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

LAURA: Yeah, we've seen them.

TALIESIN: Any physical similarity now that someone brings it up?

MATT: Between--

TALIESIN: Our alien in the crater and--

MARISHA: Ancient earth spirits--

MATT: No.

TALIESIN: Okay.

LIAM: Natural.

EMILY: It's like echoes of the titans.

MARISHA: Yes.

LIAM: Stone, air, water--

MARISHA: Like if-- If the gods have their, you know, their angels or celestials, if the Primordials had their offshoots, these are like the eidolons.

LAURA: Oh.

SAM: They're different from the red creatures from the moon.

MARISHA: They were like--

LAURA: The gith being that you said you saw crash?

EMILY: Yeah, githzerai.

LAURA: Githzerai.

EMILY: They're sort of a psychic people from the sky.

LAURA: Do you know what they looked like?

EMILY: I think--

MATT: (laughs)

(laughter)

EMILY: Dynios, Dynios!

AABRIA: Dad, help. Dad, help.

(laughter)

LIAM: It had a long head, that extended--

EMILY: Yeah.

MATT: (Dynios) "The githzerai are in some ways similar to elves in their lithe bodies."

EMILY: Yeah, lithe.

MATT: "Usually a yellowish, sometimes spotted skin, long, pointed ears."

EMILY: Right.

MATT: "Generally a relatively stumped nose."

EMILY: Yeah, I love those faces.

MATT: "Long, pointed eyebrows."

EMILY: Okay god, the eyebrows.

MATT: "Darker hair. Traversing the Astral Sea are githyanki--"

AABRIA: The Astral Sea?

MATT: "-- which are related to the githzerai. The githzerai themselves are crafters and forgers of imagination within the Astral Sea through psychic capabilities and the power of manifestation given a specific will."

EMILY: Yeah.

LAURA: You can just look up anything on him and he'll just know it?

EMILY: Um. Uh. Yeah.

AABRIA: Name me four kinds of tree.

EMILY: What do you need?

MATT: "Name me four what?"

MARISHA: Four kinds of tree?

AABRIA: Name four kinds of trees.

TRAVIS: Shit, I could do that.

MATT: "No!"

(laughter)

EMILY: Well, we encountered them. I just... He was jogging my memory of what they looked like.

LAURA: That's not at all similar to a Reiloran.

MATT: Hm, no, it doesn't sound pretty similar, no.

LAURA: Okay, all right. Thank you, book.

EMILY: But it was imprisoned in the same way that Predathos is imprisoned in this moon.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

AABRIA: Are we dancing around the fact that I feel like you guys have to go to the moon?

LAURA: I think we do need to go back.

LIAM: We have to go back to where it happened.

EMILY: Are you guys going to march with them when they leave?

SAM: That would be a way to get there without being detected. If we put on soldier uniforms and marched with them.

MARISHA: We can move so much quicker than an entire army, though.

AABRIA: You can Teleport. Um, actually, Imogen's very good at it now.

LAURA: I got better.

ASHLEY: Yeah, she can do it.

AABRIA: She could do it.

SAM: She's 50-50. Well--

LIAM: Seven minutes ago, you said you almost ripped everybody--

LAURA: Yeah, and then the next morning, I totally got us here just fine.

MARISHA: Deanna said something about mouths on shoulders.

AABRIA: Like a little bit as a treat. Calm down. You make a wolf come out of your chest. Get off Imogen's dick!

MARISHA: Ooh!

TRAVIS: She's spicy.

MARISHA: Yeah, she is. Oh goodness. I'm intimidated by your presence. It's large.

AABRIA: Is there a vibe here? What's happening?

MARISHA: I don't know.

(laughter)

MARISHA: It's been a long few days!

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Do we want to try and talk to Ajit Dayal and see if anyone's conferring with anyone in Jrusar, or if they're all just rolling out in an hour?

LIAM: I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to get a vibe check from the forces in the city today. But we can't wait any longer than that. We got to go.

TRAVIS: Maybe by the time we talk to him, if you guys are going to go and collect research from the Cobalt Soul and steal books?

LAURA: Oh, the Starpoint Conservatory.

AABRIA: Books everywhere.

LAURA: I still have access to it.

EMILY: Do you have a library card?

LAURA: Lord Eshteross gave me pretty much open access.

EMILY: That would be huge. Yeah.

LAURA: Maybe I can walk you in.

EMILY: That would be great, yeah.

ASHLEY: There's a store named after you.

EMILY: What?

ASHLEY: Prism Emporium.

EMILY: I never knew.

TALIESIN: I forgot about that.

ASHLEY: I just put two and two together by looking at my map.

EMILY: I don't think that's true, but I'm going to pretend like it is.

(laughter)

AABRIA: So you're kind of like a wizard nepo baby.

EMILY: I got to stop by the Prism Emporium.

TRAVIS: Heiress.

(laughter)

CHRISTIAN: Is it possible that you derive--

TALIESIN: It's a real thing.

CHRISTIAN: -- your power from Predathos?

LAURA: Yes, quite, actually.

TALIESIN: It's not that far away.

CHRISTIAN: Because this imprisoned being that you all found, if I was a god imprisoned somewhere far away with no one to talk to or spend time with, I would create my own children. That's sort of what gods do. If it is here, it means that he was, in fact, successful in some regard because the plane keeping Predathos out is starting to break a bit.

LAURA: Yeah, I think-- Ruidusborn-- I think-- I don't know. I remember learning that-- We are connected. If we get rid of Predathos, I don't know if I'll continue to have any abilities or I don't know what will happen to me.

MARISHA: Are you a holy person, FRIDA?

CHRISTIAN: My faith is placed in the people I meet. But perhaps this Malleus Key-- Maybe there's a way for us to reassemble it, and take Predathos' power away. Rather than unleashing him, maybe we just destroy Predathos.

LAURA: Flip it and reverse it.

CHRISTIAN: Yes, and you get to keep your power and-- Health and--

LIAM: Put your moon down.

LAURA: It's in my head.

(laughter)

LIAM: Well, how about a two-pronged approach?

SAM: Okay.

LIAM: How about-- Deanna, Prism, and FRIDA try to do a deep dive at the library. Try here, if that doesn't work, try Vasselheim.

EMILY: Yeah, I think I can get us there.

LIAM: And the rest of us go get boots on the ground.

EMILY: FRIDA, are you good at--

SAM: Shouldn't FRIDA come with us? I mean--

AABRIA: I wouldn't presume. FRIDA, you should stay with FCG. I'll be okay.

CHRISTIAN: I think, as I've said, this is our fight now, too. I think we need as many friends helping as we can. I don't want to leave you.

SAM: Great, then come.

CHRISTIAN: I don't know where I'm best served. You have all of these people here protecting you. And you protect them. I can't lose Deanna.

SAM: Well, she's got One-Punch Man over here to take care of her.

ASHLEY: One-Punch Grimpoppy.

EMILY: I am kind of a one woman bodyguard.

CHRISTIAN: In your head, you hear: That's probably why I should go, I don't trust her.

SAM: Oh! (sweetly) Hi. (laughter)

(laughter)

EMILY: My raven over my shoulder and my book over the other.

CHRISTIAN: FCG, I've been-- I've been in despair about this moment for a while. I'm not sure what to do, but-- It feels like we need all hands on deck.

SAM: Well-- It's just temporary, right? You're going to go get this information and then find us again and give it to us? Right?

CHRISTIAN: Yes. But I don't believe it. Deanna, you would know. I don't believe it.

AABRIA: Yeah. Deanna, pointedly, is looking at the ground now.

CHRISTIAN: Yes, I will make my way back to you.

SAM: Okay. I mean, the alternative is, I could stay and you know, I've been to the-- I've been there, too.

AABRIA: Who's going to heal your group?

SAM: Well-- I guess I could flip a coin.

CHRISTIAN: Ask the Changebringer.

SAM: Sure.

LIAM: Letters. If we don't address this fast and fully, no one's getting back to anybody.

SAM: Yeah.

MARISHA: Let FCG make his own choice, Orym.

LAURA: How will we know which one means what?

TALIESIN: FCG's not making a choice.

SAM: I think I know what she would say.

MARISHA: What do you want, FCG?

SAM: Well-- It's tricky because I feel like there's this big lady in the sky who's helped me figure out who I am, and what I'm meant to do. Then there's this automaton down here on Exandria with us, who's helped me figure out why I want to do those things. And I want to serve them both. But Orym's right. If we don't save the gods-- My whole existence is to help people and to make people feel better and to keep them safe. And a god can keep so many people safe. So many more than I'll ever get to. So if I'm really following my duty and my purpose, I've got to help her because she can help so many. So-- I don't need to flip. I'll go with you all and I'll help. We got to save her.

AABRIA: FCG, I promise I'll bring FRIDA back safe to you. I promise.

SAM: And you promise, too, right?

EMILY: Yeah, of course.

SAM: Insight check.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Three for three.

AABRIA: Guidance!

TRAVIS: Three for three, let's go.

MATT: All right, so--

EMILY: What am I even rolling?

MATT: So, here's what we're doing. So, you roll insight, you roll. You roll and then either add your persuasion or your deception--

SAM: Depending on what you're doing.

MATT: Depending on what you're doing without saying which one you choose. And just give me a final number.

EMILY: Oh god, I got a nat one.

(laughter)

EMILY: I'm going to be really honest. I don't know what's going on.

(laughter)

AABRIA: That's real as hell.

EMILY: I'm so fucking confused.

(laughter)

EMILY: I want to be what you need me to be, but you're asking me questions with a heavy tone that I can't make sense of.

(laughter)

EMILY: Do you want to say what you really feel? Do you want to say what you really feel? Because the last time--

SAM: Okay, okay--

EMILY: -- someone didn't tell me what they felt, I punched him to death.

SAM: You punched him to death.

(laughter)

EMILY: Come here. I don't want to do that to you.

SAM: I don't want you to do that to me either.

(laughter)

AABRIA: She's making good points.

SAM: I got to go with my friends to go save the world. But this one here, FRIDA, I know you just met, but they're awesome. And they make me want to have a life and be happy for the rest of it. If they don't survive, then all of this is sort of for nothing. I just met you and I don't think many people here trust you. But for some weird reason--

EMILY: Really? Why?

SAM: Because you're really shady and shifty.

EMILY: What!?

TALIESIN: They don't trust you because you have a bird. It's just a trust--

TRAVIS: He's got bird trauma, just so you know.

EMILY: Okay. Since I don't think that we have time to build trust, how about we make a deal?

SAM: Okay.

EMILY: Okay. I promise to bring--

SAM: FRIDA.

EMILY: -- FRIDA back to you, but I need you to promise to bring my new best friend, Orym, back to me alive.

SAM: Your new best friend?

EMILY: Yeah, he's my first best friend.

MARISHA: Laudna just puts herself in your--

TALIESIN: I'm kind of leaning in, too. I'm leaning in, too.

SAM: You guys really bonded?

EMILY: Yeah. There was this thing where these little living spirits, these little sort of local spirits were surrounding him and we had this moment and he saved me twice in battle. And I might be confusing battle mechanics--

ASHLEY: Oh!

EMILY: -- with friendship, but--

AABRIA: (laughs)

EMILY: -- I'm pretty sure that we might be best friends.

TALIESIN: I didn't know that's how it worked.

LIAM: Did you know that I'm super likable?

EMILY: So how about that, right? A deal.

SAM: All right.

MARISHA: We both sort of killed Bor'Dor, kind of in tandem. And I thought that we were a little bonded in our trauma.

TALIESIN: Saved you several times, but that's okay.

EMILY: It's just been really obvious in the group that me and Orym really hit it off.

SAM: Sure, sure.

(laughter)

EMILY: Day one.

TRAVIS: Wow, not even a consideration.

AABRIA: High int, low wis.

TRAVIS: You're not even in the competition.

AABRIA: I see this, I see this. Yeah, okay.

TRAVIS: You didn't complete your registration.

AABRIA: We're going to work on emotional intelligence while we're abroad.

TRAVIS: The podium has one step.

TALIESIN: I feel bad!

SAM: I think that's a deal worth making.

EMILY: So would you trust me if we were doing a deal?

SAM: I trust you.

EMILY: Okay.

SAM: You save FRIDA, I'll save Orym.

EMILY: Okay, deal.

SAM: Deal. Do you want some Bundt cake?

EMILY: Again, no, but do you want a cigarette?

SAM: Oh! Sure, I don't think I can-- Sure.

EMILY: Okay.

SAM: I've never had one before.

TALIESIN: Mm.

SAM: I don't think it'll harm me. Do you smoke?

EMILY: Yes, I'm a student, of course.

SAM: Oh!

(laughter)

AABRIA: I see something in Ashton reacting to FCG, that reminds me of reacting to FRIDA. I'm like-- Yeah.

TRAVIS: Are they cloves?

AABRIA: We don't have time.

TRAVIS: Are they clove cigarettes?

AABRIA: But we're best friends.

ASHLEY: A little bit of fiberglass never hurt anybody.

AABRIA: I get that.

SAM: What do I do with it?

TALIESIN: I feel like I finally understand you a little better.

EMILY: Actually, I have Light, which actually just makes light, so I hold Light, but it doesn't actually ignite.

(laughter)

EMILY: It should work, it's called Light.

SAM: I feel so grown up.

(laughter)

EMILY: Yeah.

SAM: Ooh!

ASHLEY: Wow, so tough.

LIAM: I'm 1000 years old.

SAM: Wow.

ASHLEY: Wow.

AABRIA: Wild!

LIAM: Do you have--

(laughter)

LIAM: Do you have a little internal fan to pull it in and blow it out?

SAM: Nope.

AABRIA: Just Minor Illusion a little smoke drifting off of it. You're doing it.

ASHLEY: Wow.

MATT: Perfect.

SAM: Thank you.

EMILY: So are we copasetic?

SAM: We are.

EMILY: Okay.

SAM: Okay.

CHRISTIAN: Mr. Pock O'Pea.

TRAVIS: Yes, FRIDA, sir?

CHRISTIAN: You hear in your head: Faithful Care-Giver and I have grown close. But-- and I'll kneel down next to you, I look up to you. Thank you for showing me that it's important to stay hungry. If, you know, if I get a little furry-- I'll find you.

TRAVIS: Yeah, yep, yeah. If the hair starts to grow--

AABRIA: Hair?

TRAVIS: I didn't think about that before I said it in my head.

LAURA: It's in your head.

TRAVIS: I know.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: Okay, thank god I can't hear this.

TRAVIS: It has been an honor and a privilege. I will be sure to take care of your Letters.

MARISHA: Why are you guys staring into each other's eyes? Can he do the thing?

TALIESIN: Are you part of the threesome?

LAURA: Everybody can talk in each other's heads now.

MARISHA: What the fuck?

AABRIA: Emotionally, yes.

LAURA: I think when I teleported people, some of my powers got shifted over to FRIDA.

CHRISTIAN: Yes, it was quite a-- I'm sorry, I haven't figured it out yet. I'm just learning.

AABRIA: Baby, you're yelling.

CHRISTIAN: I'll speak low, I'm sorry.

AABRIA: It's okay.

ASHLEY: Why is everybody so quiet?

(laughter)

EMILY: I was going to say it so long ago. Thank you for calling it out.

ASHLEY: I was like what's happening?

EMILY: Everyone's making intense eye contact and their lips are moving a little bit.

(laughter)

LIAM: If the guy from the tavern stopped in, he would just see like--

(laughter)

AABRIA: I just tug on Laudna's skirt.

EMILY: Just like big emotions.

ASHLEY: It's private.

AABRIA: Imogen got you a corset.

MARISHA: (gasps)

AABRIA: Don't let her forget.

MARISHA: Oh!

LAURA: I got you a-- I was going to tell her! It was going to be a thing!

AABRIA: Well, I just wanted to be a part of it! Well, we're going to leave in a second!

LAURA: We got you a corset, we all got you a corset. We got new clothes, look!

AABRIA: Matching, and I was going to leave and not know.

LAURA: Oh, you should've seen Deanna's outfit before. This new outfit, it's just amazing.

MARISHA: You all look so--

TALIESIN: I really like the whole vest thing.

MARISHA: -- beautiful.

TALIESIN: It's really working for you.

SAM: Oh, thank you.

AABRIA: I'm sorry.

MARISHA: Oh, no, it's fine!

EMILY: You know what? Wait, hold on. You know what? Just take the pack and you can have them whenever you want.

SAM: Oh, good. Thank you so much!

LIAM: I really don't want this image to exist at all.

ASHLEY: I love it. I love it.

TRAVIS: You get some meat tongue cancer from those. Just be careful.

(laughter)

MARISHA: Deanna, will you help--

AABRIA: Yeah, I got you.

MARISHA: -- tie me in?

AABRIA: (grunts) Ooh, ribs are breaking!

MARISHA: All 12 of them.

LAURA: It looks good.

MARISHA: What does it look like?

AABRIA: What did you get?

LAURA: A corset.

ASHLEY: However you want it.

LAURA: We didn't want to design it without your influence.

MARISHA: It's beautiful. I'll think of the design later.

(laughter)

MARISHA: I feel just like the ladies of Whitestone. Thank you.

AABRIA: Yeah, it was all her.

CHRISTIAN: Who does the Scrying your group? Someone should have something of ours.

EMILY: I do, I actually already collected bodily accoutrements from people so I can Scry on them.

ASHLEY: I have, too. I have collected some--

LAURA: Do you Scry?

ASHLEY: -- bodily stuff. Um.

TRAVIS: Fearne.

AABRIA: Fearne!

TRAVIS: Fearne!

ASHLEY: I can try it.

SAM: I can Scry.

ASHLEY: I'm sure I can do it.

AABRIA: I can Scry on Fearne and Chetney really well whenever.

MARISHA: Oh my god!

ASHLEY: I can definitely Scry.

LAURA: Got to love marsupial pouches.

LIAM: (like Fearne) I just collected all those things just 'cause.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: I forgot about my marsupial pouch. How could I forget?

LIAM: This is like "Dexter."

(laughter)

LAURA: Slides, slides. She opens up her pouch.

(laughter)

MATT: Actually, you just got 5th-level spells, right?

ASHLEY: I sure did.

MATT: So you do have Scrying as a possibility now.

ASHLEY: I know.

LAURA, MARISHA, and TALIESIN: Ooh!

TRAVIS: A-ooga!

(laughter)

TRAVIS: All right.

MARISHA: So wait, did we get something of your group, then? You have a clump of my hair and scalp.

EMILY: Yes, yeah.

AABRIA: I think we're good.

ASHLEY: I think we're probably good.

AABRIA: Again, we fucked. So I think we're good.

ASHLEY: We're good, we're good.

AABRIA: Very familiar bodily fluids. Didn't want to say it out loud. We're good!

ASHLEY: Yeah. I've got all of the-- All of it.

AABRIA: All of it.

TALIESIN: We have something for Prism, too.

AABRIA: Again, I'm so sorry for biting you.

ASHLEY: No, really, it's totally fine. It's totally fine.

TALIESIN: No, what do you have?

EMILY: Oh!

TALIESIN: So that we Scry on you.

MARISHA: She has a clump of my hair. I think also Orym's.

TALIESIN: Reverse the two.

MARISHA: Can I have a clump of your hair just 'cause?

EMILY: Yeah.

AABRIA: Ugh!

EMILY: I unhook the chin strap on my tri-corner hat. Take off my beret and then rip out a chunk.

AABRIA: Double hats?!

MARISHA: Thank you. A hat on a hat.

EMILY: I put my beret back on. Fasten the chin strap.

AABRIA: I've should've been making fun of that the entire time.

(laughter)

AABRIA: Okay, so me and Little Lord Fauntleroy are going to find some fucking books.

ASHLEY: Oh, and a tricorn-- You're wearing a tricorn--

EMILY: With a chinstrap.

(laughter)

LIAM: Wait, it was an illusion hat over a hat, right?

EMILY: It's a hat of disguise.

LIAM: Yeah.

AABRIA: Amazing.

EMILY: But it turned into that.

LAURA: Amazing. So--

EMILY: Okay.

LAURA: I should walk you over to Starpoint?

EMILY: Yeah, that would be very helpful.

SAM: Wait, what did Eshteross give us that gets us in?

LAURA: It was a letter.

SAM: Can't we just give her the letter?

LAURA: I think it had my name on it.

AABRIA: You have an hour until those soldiers leave.

EMILY: Well, I have a hat of disguise. I could just disguise myself as you.

LAURA: Oh, perfect!

EMILY: Yeah.

LAURA: Yeah.

EMILY: As long as you're, you know. it would make sense that you would wear a tricorner hat with a chin strap.

LAURA: Can you change the hat?

EMILY: No.

(laughter)

LIAM: How's your accent work?

EMILY: (laughs) Wait, let me hear you talk again.

LAURA: I don't know what I would say.

SAM: She just talks normal.

EMILY: I don't know. Hi, my name is--

LAURA: Imogen.

EMILY: (like Imogen) Imogen. Hi, my name is Imogen and I love my tricorner hat with a chin strap.

(laughter)

AABRIA: It's uncanny!

ASHLEY: It's really good.

LAURA: She sounds just like me.

EMILY: I'm always known to be walking around, wearing this thing.

ASHLEY: It's really good.

LAURA: Yeah.

EMILY: Can I just have a peeksie at your books?

MARISHA: That's pretty good!

AABRIA: That's pretty good!

LIAM: If you can sprinkle in a reference to loving horses.

LAURA: Yeah. I've been there before.

AABRIA: And goats.

ASHLEY: Yes.

LAURA: It's not unusual that I would've gone back.

EMILY: Oh! Okay! Oh, okay. So I won't have to introduce myself.

SAM: But you should do that whole thing.

LAURA: Yeah.

(laughter)

SAM: Just to everyone you meet.

AABRIA: Yes!

EMILY: (laughs)

AABRIA: We'll make business cards.

EMILY: Okay. Yes. Then, yeah, I think just a letter will be enough.

LAURA: Great! I'll hand over the letter.

EMILY: Okay.

SAM: Watch out. Don't burn it.

EMILY and MATT: (laugh)

LIAM: It was never lit, right?

LAURA: No.

TALIESIN: No.

EMILY: I've just been holding a Light cantrip, so it looks like it's lit.

ASHLEY: I put a little flame at the end of my finger.

AABRIA: Traveling with it.

SAM: Ooh!

ASHLEY: You want to try it for real?

ASHLEY: Sure!

TALIESIN: Oh boy.

LAURA: FCG gets high as fuck off a clove cigarette.

SAM: I can't! I don't breathe!

(laughter)

LAURA: It never goes down!

SAM: Nope!

MATT: No, it just lazily drifts.

AABRIA: He never inhales.

SAM: I got to ash it off a little.

LAURA: Ugh!

(groaning)

LIAM: God!

LAURA: You chose this.

CHRISTIAN: I know.

LIAM: Jeez.

(laughter)

CHRISTIAN: Something to look forward to.

(laughter)

EMILY: Well--

LIAM: (raspy) FRIDA, honey, come by-- Come here.

(laughter)

EMILY: I guess, then should we head out and--

AABRIA: Yeah. Okay.

EMILY: Say our goodbyes.

LAURA: That fast, huh?

SAM: Well, the soldiers are marching.

AABRIA: You have to go.

LAURA: Oh god! All right.

TALIESIN: We got a few things we need to do.

AABRIA: We'll be back.

ASHLEY: No, I hate this!

AABRIA: It's just for a little while.

LAURA: All right.

MARISHA: Thank you all for ingratiating yourselves to our cause.

AABRIA: That felt like a mean way to say it.

MARISHA: It's-- Well--

AABRIA: It's okay.

LAURA: (laughs)

CHRISTIAN: I've been alive a long time and I have never met a group of people who care about another group of people as much as these folks care about you.

AABRIA: Yeah.

CHRISTIAN: I think that that might be more powerful than whatever Ludinus is planning.

MARISHA: Let's hope it can save us.

TALIESIN: Thanks for taking care of them.

CHRISTIAN: It was my honor.

TRAVIS: We'll see you again. When you died, 200 years went by, we hooked up again.

AABRIA: Again!

TRAVIS: We got this in spades.

AABRIA: That's pretty cool.

(laughs)

EMILY: Was it better the second time?

AABRIA: Hell yeah!

TRAVIS: It was.

EMILY: That's cool.

AABRIA: He was a werewolf. It was weird.

LAURA: (laughs) It was weird.

AABRIA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: (stammers) There's plenty of time.

MARISHA: Yes.

AABRIA: Mm-hmm.

MARISHA: Yes.

AABRIA: Chetty?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

AABRIA: I just want to give you a big hug. I'm going to cast Death Ward on you.

SAM: Aw!

AABRIA: Don't die.

TRAVIS: I got this.

AABRIA: Okay. I love you.

TALIESIN: Hey, nerd.

AABRIA: Gives a little kiss on the cheek. Okay, let's go! We did it! We did it! Ooh, no feelings!

(big breaths)

TALIESIN: Take care of your people. Have fun!

MARISHA: Lie good!

EMILY: You taught me how to have fun.

TALIESIN: Have a lot of fun.

EMILY: So I'm going to go keep-- Get that shit away from me.

(laughter)

EMILY: I'm going to need you to put that--

AABRIA: I trust her implicitly.

TALIESIN: I love you!

EMILY: I need you to put that in a garbage bag, tie it up, throw it into hell.

(laughter)

LIAM: That's where we're going.

EMILY: Can I for, as a parting gift, summon a Phantom Steed for them and make it just a really big bird?

(laughter)

SAM: You!

AABRIA: (laughs deviously)

TALIESIN: I'm so proud!

SAM: I'm starting to like you.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: FCG should have a French accent now.

(laughter)

LAURA: (exaggerated French laugh)

AABRIA: (French accent) FCG!

(laughter)

AABRIA: Faithful Care-Giver.

EMILY: Okay.

TALIESIN: I'm going to walk right over, too, and give you a big, heavy hug.

AABRIA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: It's a me thing. I'm very quietly going to whisper in your ear: You pay attention to who you want to be. And walk off with a little slap on the shoulder.

AABRIA: Oh! Wow! Yeah. We'll talk again soon.

TALIESIN: I hope so.

AABRIA: Stay safe!

LAURA: In your head--

TALIESIN: You too.

LAURA: -- you hear--

TALIESIN: You too.

LAURA: I know we've only known each other a short while and you made quite a connection with FCG, but you're one of the best people I've ever known.

LAURA: I play you back your own laughter. In the storm, hold fast to this and to them. I'll walk over to FCG and I'll get down to eye level and take the cigarette from you.

(laughter)

CHRISTIAN: And kiss you.

AABRIA: I take the cigarette.

CHRISTIAN: In hundreds of years, I've never had this opportunity. I love you, Faithful Care-Giver. I'll see you soon.

SAM: You will. That's a promise. I love you, FRIDA. Thank you for everything and for giving me yourself.

CHRISTIAN: Don't smoke. It's unattractive.

LAURA: Oh.

SAM: Oh!

AABRIA: (exaggerated drag on cigarette)

LAURA: Oh shit!

(laughter)

SAM: Okay.

TALIESIN: Thank god.

SAM: I'll--

(laughter)

LIAM: And so it begins.

CHRISTIAN: (takes a drag)

SAM: Oh!

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Oh. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

AABRIA: Can you breathe?

(laughter)

SAM: It looks good on you!

(laughter)

AABRIA: Fearne!

ASHLEY: Hey.

AABRIA: I love you a whole bunch. You're a fantastic lay.

AABRIA: Oh my god! Sa-- I was going to say the same thing!

ASHLEY: Oh my god! Just, that was a blast!

AABRIA: That was so good!

ASHLEY: But also, you're wonderful.

AABRIA: Yeah, just you as a person are wonderful.

ASHLEY: Yes. I really appreciate you and I just think you're amazing.

AABRIA: I think you're amazing. I'm going to cast Death Ward on you, too.

ASHLEY: Oh!

SAM: You can do more than one?

ASHLEY: Thank you!

AABRIA: Stay alive.

ASHLEY: You stay alive, please.

AABRIA: Okay.

ASHLEY: Okay? We'll see each other again.

AABRIA: Of course.

ASHLEY: Okay.

LAURA: Deanna!

AABRIA: Hi! (sobs) Just immediately weeping.

(laughter)

AABRIA: You're the best.

LAURA: You're the best!

AABRIA: I love you. You're just so wonderful!

LAURA: I love you.

AABRIA: It's going to be so hard and scary, but your friends are with you and we're with you, even if you can't tell, and you're just so strong!

LAURA: I'm going to try all the time to talk to you.

AABRIA: Okay!

LAURA: All right.

AABRIA: Okay. I'll keep you up to date. Take care of Chetney.

TRAVIS: Just remember, if you need anything, just use the conch. It's multipurpose. Let me demonstrate.

(empty blowing)

MARISHA: (laughs)

AABRIA: Just covered in his spittle.

MARISHA: (laughs)

AABRIA: Just like in the Savalirwood.

TRAVIS: Just like that.

AABRIA: Perfect!

(laughter)

TALIESIN: All right.

LAURA: Wow! I thought it was going to be like a telephone.

AABRIA: I also thought that. It went in a different way.

TRAVIS: (trumpets)

MARISHA: I was waiting for that!

(laughter)

MARISHA: (trumpets)

AABRIA: Okay.

MATT: He'll never, ever, ever be let down.

MARISHA: Nope.

AABRIA: (laughs)

LIAM: All right, Cobalt Soul.

MARISHA: All right.

LIAM: Good luck lurking in a library.

EMILY: Thank you. Thank you for getting me out of some bad situations.

LIAM: Oh man!

EMILY: And giving me a taste for battle.

LAURA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Oh boy!

LIAM: I think you've got a taste for it.

EMILY: Yeah.

MARISHA: I'm really grateful for this very strong connection that we made as well.

(laughter)

MARISHA: You know, beyond--

LIAM: You guys did murder a man together. It's true.

MARISHA: We did! I consider you a really great and close friend now!

TALIESIN: (whispering) Laudna! Laudna!

EMILY: Laudna, I--

MARISHA: That's my name. (laughs)

EMILY: Laudna, I actually, I just want to say that I feel like when everything was going down with Bor'Dor--

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

EMILY: -- and the rage came over your face, it was this different side of you than I'd seen because you're so trusting. In that moment, I feel like the thing I saw was that actually your greatest strength is overcoming all of the pain to just keep trusting. So I think that's what I'm going to take and learn from you, with your permission or without your permission because I'm a rebel now.

(light laughter)

MARISHA: You are. Go give them hell!

EMILY: I will. Maybe I'll see you in the Shadow Realm.

MARISHA: Let's go to the Shadow Realm. I want to see this Ascension festival.

EMILY: It's so fucking crazy!

MARISHA: Sounds amazing!

EMILY: All right.

LIAM: If we're all still here in a couple of weeks, let's pick up where we left off.

EMILY: I would love that.

LIAM: All live normal lives. He raises up a tiny little fist bump to Prism.

AABRIA: Aw!

EMILY: (laughs) I reach down to fist bump him and then cast Enlarge on you.

(laughter)

LIAM: Whoa! I'm 6'6"!

ASHLEY: Whoa! (laughter)

AABRIA: Amazing!

EMILY: This is how I really see you, Orym!

MARISHA: Oh my god.

LIAM: (deeper) This is really weird.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: My goodness!

LIAM: Wow!

LAURA: What happened?

AABRIA: Okay.

LIAM: Chetney! Look at the top of your head.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: It's pretty shiny, huh?

LIAM: Yeah!

(laughter)

LIAM: Wow! You too, Letters!

SAM: Wow! That's a cool trick!

ASHLEY: That is a very cool trick.

SAM: BFFs!

(laughter)

EMILY: Shh! Don't tell him I said that!

SAM: Okay.

EMILY: I think it might be a one-way street for now.

SAM: Oh.

MARISHA: (laughs)

SAM: Okay.

LIAM: He grabs a rafter and just starts doing pull-ups. Wow!

(laughter)

MARISHA: His biceps are now the size--

LAURA: Is it easier or harder though, now that you're bigger?

MARISHA: -- of my corseted waist.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: It would've been-- Yeah. So, proportional.

LIAM: Feels about the same!

(laughter)

AABRIA: It's funny, when he's bigger, this feels douche-y. This energy was cute when it was small.

MARISHA: Yeah!

(laughter)

TALIESIN: It got smug.

AABRIA: We'll unpack that later.

TALIESIN: It got smug.

LIAM: Woo!

MARISHA: It was a pleasure meeting you, Deanna and FRIDA.

CHRISTIAN: Yes.

EMILY: And a pleasure to meet you as well. Sorry for those of you who don't trust me, but I think I'm going to win you over with my actions, if not my words.

CHRISTIAN: I certainly hope so.

MARISHA: She also has great one-liners in battle.

TALIESIN: Mm-hmm.

EMILY: Okay.

LAURA: Oh, really?

MARISHA: Really great.

LIAM: Quirky, clever.

LAURA: I wish I could've seen it.

LIAM: It's really just the bird.

EMILY: It's the bird?

LIAM: Yeah.

EMILY: All right. I un-summon Mother.

LIAM: You're great.

MATT: (poofs)

EMILY: Do you like me now?

MARISHA, LIAM, and AABRIA: (laugh)

CHRISTIAN: Sure.

AABRIA: Oh god!

EMILY: Sure?

CHRISTIAN: Sure.

EMILY: I can hang my hat on "Sure." Okay.

SAM: Hats. Hats.

LAURA: Your tricorn hat.

MARISHA: The tricorner hat.

(laughter)

EMILY: One from its chin strap.

TALIESIN: It's just a thing at her school that hasn't quite left yet.

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Oh.

(laughter)

EMILY: Okay. All right. Well, be safe in the front lines.

SAM: Be safe at the library.

AABRIA: Equally dangerous missions!

(laughter)

MARISHA: We'll be in contact.

LIAM: Somehow.

CHRISTIAN: Stay alive, all of you.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

LAURA: All right.

AABRIA: As we walk out, I'm going to pull out some of my yarn and just start wrapping and covering every symbol of the Dawnfather on my clothing.

MARISHA: Whoa!

MATT: Okay.

CHRISTIAN: This is going to be a rough travel day for me.

(laughter)

EMILY: I also might pass off a quill and some paper to Ashton and just be like: I kind of overheard that you were having a hard time meditating, and sometimes the way I clear my brain isn't meditating, it's writing. So I mean, do whatever you want with this. But it yours, just in case.

TALIESIN: Thank you! I'll give it a shot.

EMILY: Okay.

TALIESIN: Thanks!

EMILY: Then I follow Deanna.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: Shit.

MATT: As the newly splintered trio of unlikely allies sets off on their information gathering mission, there's a moment of quiet acknowledgement of the odd collisions of paths, but the genuine joy of reunion and the terrible immediate influence they've had on FCG.

(laughter)

MATT: But the knowledge that things are moving, and moving quickly.

(laughter)

MATT: There is much growing mystery, danger, mounting influence and power somewhere around that terrible, glowing ruddy moon. And we'll go ahead and call the episode there.

(groaning and cheering)

MATT: We'll pick up next time from that moment.

AABRIA: Oh my god!

TALIESIN: Woo!

LIAM: Yes!

MARISHA: Oh!

MATT: Oh my god! Christian, Aabria, Emily, thank you so much for joining us for this crazy leg of our journey!

TRAVIS: And Aimee and Utkarsh!

MATT: And Aimee and Utkarsh, who aren't here! We love you so much!

LIAM: Deni$e and wherever dead Bor'Dor is.

AABRIA: Aw!

EMILY: Yeah, I think FRIDA's going to try and kill me, too.

(laughter)

CHRISTIAN: No.

AABRIA: Like a little as a treat.

MATT: Just a little. Just a little.

CHRISTIAN: In order to join this gang, you have to die at least once.

AABRIA: At least once!

MATT: That is valid.

AABRIA: Oh! Ooh, I can't bring you back.

EMILY: Okay.

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: It's a dead man's party.

CHRISTIAN: Dead man's party.

AABRIA: Dead man's party.

LIAM: Soft pitch: You three should call yourselves The Lore-sonists.

LAURA: How close were you?

EMILY: Oh!

MATT: Woo!

AABRIA: That's really good!

EMILY: Oh!

AABRIA: Folks, we got it in one.

EMILY: That's a hard pitch. That's not a soft pitch. That's good.

LIAM: It's because I'm 6'6" now, bro!

AABRIA: Yeah! (laughter)

EMILY: Yeah, you are!

AABRIA: Big man!

MARISHA: Amazing!

MATT: What an absolute joy! Thank you so much for joining us.

MARISHA: Christian!

CHRISTIAN: Thank you.

LAURA: Yay!

ASHLEY: Yay!

AABRIA: So good!

LAURA: I love you.

CHRISTIAN: Dream come true for me! Thank you for having me! Love you guys!

MATT: We love you too, man! Emily, thank you so much for coming and joining us.

EMILY: Thank you!

AABRIA: Yeah.

MATT: It was so wonderful! Ugh! So, so much fun!

MARISHA: So good!

EMILY: Sorry I gave him a pack of cigarettes.

(laughter)

AABRIA: No, it's great.

TALIESIN: It was going to happen.

EMILY: Actually, I did it on purpose, to be honest.

LIAM: So are we.

(laughter)

EMILY: I saw your face and I was like, he doesn't want this to happen.

TALIESIN: No.

LIAM: Nope!

MATT: Of course!

AABRIA: If he's going to have cigarettes, we'd rather he do it in the party.

MATT: Look. The minute we put you and Sam next to each other at the table, it was only going to lead to terrible things.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LAURA: Yeah.

(laughter)

MATT: Happy that it worked out that way. (laughs) Aabria, you know you're always such a wonderful joy at this table.

AABRIA: Aw, thank you! I love you!

MATT: Thank you for coming and joining us again. You're the best!

AABRIA: Always.

MATT: And we'll pick up from there next week.

MARISHA: Oh my god!

(cheering)

MATT: Thank you all much for joining us! We love you very much, and is it Thursday yet? Good night.