Transcript:Shadows New and Old

Pre-show

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

ALL: (garbled) We play Dungeons & Dragons.

MATT: Before we begin tonight's episode, we do have some announcements to get through, beginning with our sponsor, Thorum. Marisha.

MARISHA: For over a decade, Thorum has been handcrafting unique wedding bands out of everything from Damascus steel to dinosaur bone. Now Thorum makes a fabulous line of minimalist watches featuring meteorite, Hawaiian koa wood, and California redwood.

MARISHA: Ooh.

MARISHA: It's like having a little piece of history bundled together in a beautiful watch. So, for tonight's ad read, I thought it would be fun to learn about the history of timekeeping, or horology, as I've recently learned.

TRAVIS: Is that a thing?

MARISHA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Oh.

MARISHA: So please welcome, all the way from Frankfurt, famous German clock historians, Fritz Kitzlenmilker and Manfred Kitzlenmilker.

LIAM: Guten Abend, Damen und Herren.

LAURA: Oh my god.

ASHLEY: Oh wow.

TALIESIN: Hallo.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: Oh yes.

TRAVIS: No.

MARISHA: Thank you so much for joining us. So, talk about the history of horology.

LIAM: Ja, ja, ja, ja. The history of horology is as tedious as it is horrifying.

TALIESIN: In 1410, Mikuláš of Kadaň built Prague's magnificent astronomical clock, and shortly after--

(laughter)

TALIESIN: Yes, laughter, the coward's response to oblivion.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: And shortly after, had his eyes burned from their sockets by the city council so that he could never build such a clock for another country again. They say he died by throwing his body upon the gears, cursing those who blinded him and breaking the clock he once loved.

LIAM: His creation, much like his guts, bones and sinew reduced to waste and silence.

TRAVIS: God.

MARISHA: Uh. Wow, that's a lot. It sounds like Mikuláš' clock needed one of Thorum's lifetime warranties, am I right?

LIAM: Such an arrangement did not exist in the 1400s, but natürlich, ja.

(laughter)

MARISHA: Okay. Do you guys have any lighthearted facts about clocks or watches?

LIAM: In Cambridge, one may gaze upon The Corpus Clock, which features a grotesque grasshopper-like creature that slowly consumes each passing second, the sounds of its hourly chime created by dropping a chain through a wooden coffin upon its back.

LIAM: The Chronophage consumes moments happy and sad and excretes only silence. It's great for the kiddies. Hallo, Kinder!

(laughter)

MARISHA: Okay, well, Thorum's watches don't do that. They're wonderful and they offer free worldwide shipping. This is not going how I planned.

TALIESIN: Man make plan, Marisha, but the gods laugh.

LIAM: Ah ha.

TALIESIN: This point honed a keen edge by the Death Clock, an invention designed to predict the hour of one's final breath. Of course, such predictions have no substance. The hour of doom keeps its own schedule.

MARISHA: Okay, we've gone a little off-topic--

TALIESIN: Time!

MARISHA: Can we--

TALIESIN: -- like a relentless river flows ceaselessly, eroding the very essence of our existence until we are but fragments carried away into the abyss of oblivion.

LIAM: Clocks with their mechanical precision--

(laughter)

TRAVIS: No.

LIAM: -- stand as indifferent guardians of time, relentlessly ticking away some moments of our lives with unyielding determination.

TALIESIN: Tick, tick, tick.

MARISHA: Oh!

LAURA: Oh!

ASHLEY: Oh.

LAURA: Oh.

TALIESIN: And now--

LIAM: As is inevitable--

TALIESIN: Our time has come to an end. Gute Nacht.

LIAM: Gute Nacht.

LAURA: Oh!

MARISHA: So, Thorum, they got over 10,000 five-star reviews. This is one of their minimalist pendants. We love them. Go buy a watch from them. Matt, clock to you.

TRAVIS: Oh.

MATT: Okay. (laughter)

(clapping)

MATT: Laura, you're up.

LAURA: I'm up.

LIAM: Those guys were great.

LAURA: They were, they were great.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Big fan.

TALIESIN: They seem cool.

MARISHA: Yeah, you just missed them. Did you meet them on your way out?

LIAM: I've seen some of their lectures online.

MARISHA: Oh, yeah.

(laughter)

LAURA: Ja.

TALIESIN: I'm something of a horologist myself.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah you are.

MATT: Yeah, you are.

LAURA: Um, look at this.

ASHLEY: Eyy!

LAURA: It's a Leave the World Better than We Found It.

TALIESIN: I want one.

LAURA: Shirt, it's benefiting the Critical Role Foundation, you guys.

MARISHA: I love it.

LAURA: This was designed by our fabulous Jordyn Torrence. Thank you, Jordyn.

ASHLEY: So cool.

LAURA: So get this, in the US and Canada, there's this color, but in the UK and the EU. Hold on, that's the same one.

ASHLEY: Watch, watch, watch. There's this one.

LAURA: There's this color.

ALL: Oh!

LAURA: Holy shit, they're so different.

ROBBIE: Wow.

TRAVIS: Holy shit.

(laughter)

LAURA: Anyway--

TRAVIS: Spider-Man, baby.

LAURA: Pretty cool, huh?

LIAM: Let me see, let me see. Let me see.

LAURA: I want to wear that one.

MATT: Super sweet, I love it.

LIAM: You know it's still fantasy, though, because it's round.

TALIESIN: It's just from above, man.

LAURA: Yeah, it's just this angle.

LIAM: Right.

TALIESIN: It's a drone shot.

LIAM: Directly above, right?

LAURA: Yes, yes, yes.

MATT: It's a heart.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: It is a heart.

LIAM: Oh.

TRAVIS: No more teal.

LAURA: Plus, if you're looking to stock up your T-shirt collection for spring or con season, we got you covered, you guys, with a sale on our many, on many of our awesome T-shirts.

TRAVIS: On our many.

LAURA: On our many many. The sale is live (slaps) right now (slaps) at all of our Critical Role shops--

TRAVIS: One more.

LAURA: -- and it ends (slaps) this next, next Thursday. I suck.

ASHLEY: No, you don't.

LAURA: (slaps) Next Thursday.

TRAVIS: Oh, now there's four.

MATT: Travis, you're up next, I believe.

MARISHA: It sounded like there was more.

TRAVIS: I know, right?

LAURA: There wasn't!

TRAVIS: You guys, over on Beacon this week, you can find the first three episodes of our new actual play podcast, following the second coolest monster hunters in Exandria, the Re-Slayers Take--

MARISHA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Right out of Vasselheim. The cast is led by a duo of Game Masters, George Primavera and Nick Williams, with the main cast including Jasmine Bhullar, Jasper William Cartwright, Carolyn Lux, and Jasmine Chiong. Episode one is available everywhere podcasts are found, with new episodes dropping every Monday, and Beacon members will continue to stay two weeks ahead of the free feeds. As a member, you can also check out the VOD of our first episode of our, what is it? Fireside Chat.

MARISHA: We get a little Fireside Chat.

TRAVIS: With, what's that guy's name?

MARISHA: Uh--

TRAVIS: Sir Matthew Mercer.

MARISHA: Machew.

TRAVIS: Machew.

MATT: Sounds like a douchebag.

TRAVIS: As always, thank you to everyone in our Discord who submitted their amazing questions. It was wondrous to behold. If you're not a Beacon member yet, you can start a seven-day free trial right now at Beacon.tv. See what it's all about. Come join the fun!

MARISHA: Wait, how does Laura? Was it (slaps)

MATT: That's the one.

MARISHA: Right now. (slaps)

TRAVIS: Right now. (slaps) Ooh!

MATT: Oh, super stoked about Re-Slayers Take, it's so great, it's another expansion of the world of Exandria and it's family-friendly.

TRAVIS: That's true!

ROBBIE: Wait, really?

TRAVIS: Parents, you can watch it with your kids.

MARISHA: Something that parents have been asking us for about a decade.

TRAVIS: Yep.

ASHLEY: Yes!

ROBBIE: That's cool

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: So rad.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: Marisha, you're up next.

(laughter)

MARISHA: Oop, my brain. We cannot wait to see you this Saturday.

(excited noises)

MARISHA: For immersive live performance of Candela Obscura at the United Theater on Broadway here in Los Angeles.

TRAVIS: Ooh.

LIAM: So many spirits.

MARISHA: Yeah, it's going to be so spoops. Anyone that can't join us in person can watch our livestream on our Twitch and YouTube's channels on May 30th, and the VOD will be available for everyone on June 3rd, so you will get to see it, and you can find last minute tickets and details over on CritRole.com/events. While you're over there, tickets are also on sale now for our Bells Hells live show at the Greek.

TRAVIS: What?

MARISHA: On June 15th.

TRAVIS: It's that little experimental theater.

MARISHA: Yeah, it's small, like you said, yeah. We'll be recording the event as well, so if you cannot make it to the live showing theater performance situation, I sound like Laura, sorry.

(laughter)

LAURA: How dare!

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Under the bus.

MARISHA: If you can't make it--

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Under the bus!

MARISHA: I love you. I'm sorry. It's been a weird day! If you can't make it to LA, you can watch the livestream on June 20th, with the VOD dropping on June 24th.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Woo!

MATT: Fantastic.

LAURA: Next time I do announcements, I am going to be so good, and you're going to eat your words.

TRAVIS: Bet.

LAURA: Bet.

TALIESIN: For the next time.

LAURA: I'll bet you.

LIAM: Finger is out.

LAURA: Ow.

MATT: On that note, that concludes our announcements. So now let's go ahead and jump into (German accent) tonight's episode of Critical Role.

Part I

MATT: And welcome back. So last we left off, Bells Hells, after speaking with Keyleth about the next leg of their ability to aid the coming dangers and the Ruby Vanguard's plots upon Ruidus, with a thread of information that Ludinus Da'leth seems to be entwined in a place called the Ruins of Aeor to the far, far northeast in a land called Eiselcross. You were granted from an ally to the Exandrian Accord here an individual who has some experience here, a stealth mage, who was revealed at some point during an interrogation in the city of Zadash to be a figure really called Essek Thelyss of the Kryn Dynasty. Discovering a little bit of information about where Ludinus might be within these ruins after interrogating a member of the Cerberus Assembly here in the city of Zadash within Wildemount, you began to do your preparation for a journey to a very chilly place to the far north. After doing a little bit of shopping, picking up some new acquisitions and making some orders for some wardrobe that'll help you in many ways, but as well some cloaks to stay warm to such a cold area, you went to the Lodge of the Eclipse, watched a show, drank a bit, and all of you went to rest for a night before you went on this odd and dangerous leg of your journey into the unknown. In the middle of the night while everyone was asleep, Laudna, seeing the very blade that had speared her and many friends on the back of Orym, attempted to take it while he rested. However, he awoke, and a scuffle began to ensue, fighting over control of this blade and arguing amongst what should be done with it. When the rest of the team had awoken and the argument had not resolved, Imogen and Laudna escaped out the window to the rooftop, where it seems there is still quite a bit of tension about what has transpired and what is going on between this group of friends. Here, as Laudna and Imogen hold each other, trying to understand what is to come, we return to the two of you.

LAURA: I'm holding her.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

LAURA: I'm just kind of staring off into the distance. What are you going to do about Orym?

MARISHA: What am I supposed to do?

LAURA: I don't know. Was it you who took the sword or was it her?

MARISHA: I don't know how much good it's going to be going forward trying to distinguish between the two of us.

LAURA: Really?

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

LAURA: So it was you.

MARISHA: I knew what I was doing, yes.

LAURA: Okay. Did you take it because you thought it was wrong that he was carrying it or did you take it because you wanted to have that power?

MARISHA: She told me it was bad, it was a bad sword. It made me uncomfortable walking over and seeing it on his back. And he came in with it, and then it just-- I thought I was doing the right thing.

LAURA: You know Delilah lies, right? You know she's not out for your best interest, right?

MARISHA: How am I supposed to remove the voice in my head?

LAURA: I don't know. I thought she was gone, and now she's stronger than she ever was. I think if you want to get rid of her, you have to stop feeding her. But that's a choice, Laudna. If that's not what you choose--

MARISHA: I thought we were all in agreement that we were going to do whatever it takes to defeat Ludinus.

LAURA: We said that, yeah. We said that.

MARISHA: Imogen, I've already told you, I'm a dead end. This goal that we have to go stop him, stop this business with Ruidus, that is my purpose, that is our purpose. Once that's done-- I just can't help but feel like I have to throw everything I have, including myself, into this, even if it means the end of me. Which honestly, maybe it should. Maybe it should.

LAURA: Don't say that.

MARISHA: I'm trying to look at Delilah as a tool to use, and then discard when it's done.

LAURA: I'm afraid she looks at you the same way.

MARISHA: Then perhaps that means we're aligned.

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: I didn't mean to hurt anyone.

LAURA: I know.

MARISHA: I didn't.

LAURA: I know. I believe you.

MARISHA: You keep saying that I lie, that you think I'm lying, but I'm not lying. I'm speaking my truth, even if it's possibly--

LAURA: Laudna, I think she's lying.

MARISHA: But I'm not.

LAURA: I don't know if you know the difference right now. But I do know that we won't be able to fight anyone if we're not right with each other, all of us.

MARISHA: I'm not lying. You don't believe me?

LAURA: I do. Hey, I believe you. All right? Do you want to go back down there or stay out for the night? Either way, we need to make peace.

MARISHA: No, no. I don't like people being mad at me.

LAURA: I know.

MARISHA: Most of all, you. I hate upsetting you. I'm terrified it's going to keep happening.

LAURA: I don't know-- I don't know where tomorrow's going to take us, or the next day. I don't know where this will all lead, Laudna. I don't believe you're a dead end, but ultimately, that's up to you. You're powerful without her. Sometimes, I think you might be stronger without her. She certainly would never let you think that, though. There's a reason she chose you. You know that, right?

MARISHA: I don't think I do.

LAURA: You're special. (laughs) You always say that to everyone else. You're so much more than her.

(sighs)

MARISHA: I can't make you promises, Imogen, that I'm going to be able to resist her or pull away from her or not.

LAURA: Mm.

MARISHA: I feel like I've done that before, I've tried to tell you that I can. And maybe that's what comes across as a lie. So I might as well just call it out front. We're so far down this path. Just as Orym wishes to wield that sword, I wish to wield Delilah.

LAURA: I understand.

MARISHA: You're upset with me?

LAURA: No, I'm not.

MARISHA: You once told me that you hate the idea of her watching you, watching us.

LAURA: Mm-hmm.

MARISHA: Guessing that hasn't changed.

LAURA: No, it hasn't. I'm going to miss our little cottage, though.

MARISHA: (teary) Mm-hmm.

LAURA: Should we head back down?

MARISHA: Mm-hmm. You go first. (choking up) I'll be there in a moment.

LAURA: I kiss her hand, and head down.

MATT: While this conversation's happening, the rest of you watch the two of them emerge out the window.

ROBBIE: Should one of us go after them? Are they okay to be by themselves or?

ASHLEY: I think they're okay.

TALIESIN: And if they're not okay, you'll just get in the way. Best to let them sort it.

ROBBIE: Let them sort it out. All right.

ASHLEY: Orym, you all right?

LIAM: Yeah. A little muddled.

ASHLEY: Are you hurt?

LIAM: A little, but I think I might have hurt her worse than she hurt me, but I'm more shook than anything.

TRAVIS: I feel like that's the first time in a while we've seen her not be in control.

TALIESIN: It's the first time in a while you've seen her not in control.

TRAVIS: Fair.

LIAM: I know things have been hard since Issylra, hard on her. Hard on all of us, but for sure hard on her.

ASHLEY: What were you going to say?

ROBBIE: Oh, I just-- (laughs) No. No.

MARISHA: (laugh-cries)

ROBBIE: I've never seen her out of control.

TRAVIS: Oh, oh.

ROBBIE: What was that?

TRAVIS: How do we?

ROBBIE: Just the book jacket.

TALIESIN: You know that weird little voice in your head that sometimes tells you to fuck your entire life up, hurt everybody you know, and just toss everything out of the window? Just every now and then, you get that weird little voice.

ROBBIE: Sure.

TALIESIN: Hers is actually a person. She's--

LIAM: Haunted.

ROBBIE: Oh.

TALIESIN: By something that wants to hurt her and hurt us, and it is very convincing.

ROBBIE: But are we sure that Imogen is all right with her?

TRAVIS: I mean, I think so, they love each other. I don't think anyone's looking out for Imogen more than anyone in the world, but--

ROBBIE: Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt you, Chetney. They what?

TRAVIS: They've--

TALIESIN: Oh, it's been a while.

TRAVIS: Oh!

ROBBIE: They love each other?

TRAVIS: Oh! Shit!

ASHLEY: (gasps)

TRAVIS: We should do a whole level set.

ROBBIE: No, no.

TALIESIN: Yeah, yeah.

ROBBIE: No, no, you explained--

TRAVIS: They're now--

ROBBIE: -- what was going on with the war and all of that, but Imogen and Laudna?

ASHLEY: Jeez, so much has happened. Yes.

ROBBIE: I know I shouldn't be happy right now--

ASHLEY: No, no, I know.

ROBBIE: -- but that just seems like a good thing.

ASHLEY: It's the best.

ROBBIE: Now I understand why they went together to talk it out.

ASHLEY: Yes.

ROBBIE: I thought we should all be out there helping rein her in, but it's a lovers' moment.

ASHLEY: It's a thing, it's a thing.

ROBBIE: I get it, I get it.

TRAVIS: It's a big progression. They're in love.

TRAVIS: Fearne and I had a threesome.

ROBBIE: Excuse me?

TRAVIS: There's a bunch of stuff we could catch you up on.

ASHLEY: Yeah, a lot happened, a lot happened.

ROBBIE: Wait, wait, "Fearne and I had a threesome"? The math doesn't add up. "Fearne and I had a threesome"?

ASHLEY: Yes, with his ex.

TRAVIS: The third one was an ex of mine from 200 years ago.

ASHLEY: Yeah, it was awesome.

ROBBIE: All right?!

ASHLEY: Awesome.

ROBBIE: Awesome?

TRAVIS: Standard stuff really.

ASHLEY: Yep, a werewolf at the time, monster situation.

ROBBIE: I feel a little left out.

ASHLEY: There's still time.

ROBBIE: But that's all right, that's all right, I get it.

ASHLEY: There's still time.

ROBBIE: I get it, oh, no, no.

ASHLEY: There's still time.

ROBBIE: Still time?

ASHLEY: It's a great.

TRAVIS: There's still a lot of meat left on this bone, don't worry.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

ROBBIE: All right, that's not what I meant.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

ROBBIE: Okay.

ASHLEY: Yeah, I think they're okay, I just--

ROBBIE: All right.

TRAVIS: It seems to flare up, every once in a while, there seems to be a desire for power from this entity inside of Laudna, and I thought she had it under control, but Issylra was different, and it's been a minute since we've seen that lapse.

LIAM: When we were split up and we traveled for a while with someone that we only realized at the last second was part of the Ruby Vanguard. And this guy tried to kill us. And--

TALIESIN: We all got a little--

LIAM: Well, he tried to kill us twice. And I believe he would have tried a third time. So Laudna did what all three of us were prepared to do. And once it started, you could see her sliding.

ROBBIE: A friend is different than a monster or rogue on the road. I understand.

TALIESIN: And he knew how to cut. He knew what to say. He'd seen us, and he cut deep.

LIAM: The choice was right, but the consequences were steep.

ASHLEY: I think what Laudna doesn't understand is that she's powerful without her. I think she thinks she needs her.

TRAVIS: Is that it?

ASHLEY: I don't know. What do you think?

TRAVIS: That was almost somebody entirely different. I wouldn't know if she has a choice. Does she?

TALIESIN: I think, and I say this with some love, I think what you don't understand is what it is to know that you're the villain, and that every moment is just a choice not to be. I think she knows she's the villain, and-- I've come to terms that perhaps it is-- (sighs) It's a noble endeavor to try not to be the villain, if you know that that's your base instinct and you're going to slip, but that there is strength in it and I don't think she knows that yet, and-- (sighs) We've got to bring her back from that edge, and we have to make sure that-- We've got to make sure she still trusts us, even if we-- Yeah.

ROBBIE: Dorian seems as if he's going to address the group, but as he does, he locks eyes with Orym and says: Can she be trusted? Well.

ASHLEY: Of course she can. Of course she can.

MATT: It's about this moment that you realize, at the edge of the window, Imogen's hovering just at the opening, and might have been there for a moment, listening.

LAURA: Hi.

TRAVIS: Hey... Hey, girl.

ASHLEY: Hi!

TALIESIN: You okay?

LAURA: No.

TALIESIN: She okay?

LAURA: No.

TALIESIN: Okay.

TRAVIS: No, it's no bigs in here.

ROBBIE: I was working on a new song.

TRAVIS: Yeah, all chill.

ROBBIE: ♪ Can she be trusted ♪

ROBBIE and ASHLEY: ♪ Can she be trusted ♪

TRAVIS: ♪ Do do do do ♪ We're going to do a four part harmony.

TRAVIS: Yep.

LAURA: I liked your first pass better.

TRAVIS: She okay?

LAURA: I mean, fuck. I saw Delilah come out of her, y'all. That was something. It was like I wasn't even looking at Laudna for a second.

TALIESIN: Oh boy.

LIAM: What are we talking about? Elaborate.

LAURA: She took the dagger. She absorbed it into herself, and Laudna disappeared for a minute, and Delilah emerged. I think, I think, Laudna's intentionally making Delilah stronger, because she thinks, you know, we need all the help we can get.

TRAVIS: Oh, that kind of help?

LAURA: I don't know what Delilah's ultimate end goal is, but I don't think it involves Laudna having free will.

ROBBIE: You think this Delilah person's capable of--

LAURA: I don't know. I thought we killed her, but--

ASHLEY: We did.

LAURA: -- she survived as a spark, I guess.

TRAVIS: Oh fuck.

LAURA: And now the flame's grown, again.

TRAVIS: I know Allura's talking about reaching across the aisle to friends and enemies alike in a joint effort. But free will?

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: That's a hard bridge to uncross.

LAURA: It's my fault. I mean, Laudna and I talked about it. We talked about it. We would embrace the power that we needed to in order to make-- In order to make things happen, and she just did it, you know? And I didn't. I didn't give in to Predathos, and I could've. Maybe I should've, and then she wouldn't be alone right now.

ASHLEY: No, no.

TRAVIS: Yeah, what? How would that help her?

LAURA: I don't know, maybe it just wouldn't make me so judgy.

LIAM: I think Predathos would've pulled you away from her and all of us.

TALIESIN: What makes you think she's alone?

LAURA: She's not alone.

TRAVIS: This is about resistance. It's not about giving in. She has to fight it. You had to fight it. We have to fight this. That's the plight.

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: I'm going to go peek my head out the window.

LAURA: I just want her to want to fight it.

ASHLEY: Laudna?

MATT: As we come to you, alone on the roof for a minute, what have you been doing, Laudna?

MARISHA: Nothing. Crying. Processing. Trying to pull myself together and think of what to say for the rest.

MATT: In that moment--

MARISHA: Knowing I have to apologize.

MATT: That distant stare locked in place can see the faint movement of torchlight throughout the city streets below. "No one can really understand what we've been through." And that's when you hear Fearne call your name.

ASHLEY: Are you still up there?

MARISHA: Yes! I'm coming. How loud was she?

MATT: Loud enough that you heard her from about 20 feet away.

MARISHA: Delilah.

MATT: Oh. (laughs) My apologies. (laughter)

(laughter)

TRAVIS: How loud was that bitch?

ASHLEY: Nah, nah, nah!

LAURA: You heard her, you heard her.

MATT: Like a whisper in your ear.

MARISHA: (skittering footsteps)

MATT: You watch her skitter off the top of--

TRAVIS: No, there's no need to do it like that. You can fucking use your hands.

ASHLEY: I'm going to put my hand out to her.

TRAVIS: Normal-ass person.

MATT: Fearne reaches her hand out towards you.

ASHLEY: Can you come back inside, please? Come on.

LIAM: Are you all right? I didn't hurt you too terribly, did I?

MARISHA: I think I can see a few ribs.

TALIESIN: Oh wow. New ones.

ASHLEY: Oh wow, that's spraying.

MARISHA: Is it bad?

ASHLEY: (mumbles noncommittally)

TALIESIN: It's a vibe.

TRAVIS: Seen worse.

ASHLEY: We should talk this out.

MARISHA: I'm sorry, I'm sorry. We don't have to say anything. I didn't mean it. I really didn't mean it. I'm sorry.

LIAM: Orym walks up and stands right in front of you with his three feet three inches, and I'm looking straight across, but he's looking up.

MARISHA: Normally I avert my gaze by looking down, but he's under me.

(laughter)

LIAM: I'm awake now, more awake, and I've been thinking about it, and Dorian is right. It is just a thing. When I-- Please, let me just say my piece, and you can say anything you want in return.

MARISHA: You don't owe me anything.

LIAM: I'll say my piece, and then I need everybody's help. When I look at that sword, does it kill me? Yes. If and when we find ourselves in front of Ludinus, would it be useful? Yes. But Laudna, the truth is, more important than this sword being at my side is you, is you.

MARISHA: You still want me by your side?

LIAM: I thought you'd understand. You've carried something so dark for so long. I thought you'd understand me taking it up, but--

MARISHA: No, I do, I do. I do.

LIAM: But it doesn't matter what I thought. It only matters what I believe. All of us have doubted ourselves. We've even doubted each other, a little bit. Doubted the gods. But I believe in you. And if anything, what just happened brought me back to myself, a little bit. I don't want to second guess if you're okay next to me when we're out there. I want you to trust me, and I'll make it a lot farther with you than with this sword, so I don't want it.

MARISHA: No, no no no, no.

LIAM: I'm not taking it, and no one in this room will change my mind.

MARISHA: That's not what I wanted.

LIAM: When I said I wanted you guys to help me, I want to do something with this. I rip it off my back and turn away from you, and rest it on the floor in the middle of everybody. I won't pick it up again. I'm betting on you. You. Not Briarwood, you.

MARISHA: You all have to be comfortable, though, with knowing whether I like it or not, and for 30 plus years, I have not, she's along for the ride.

LIAM: So are you. You survived a long time. You deserve your place in history, as much or more. I don't know what that woman has done for Exandria, but I know what you have. It's a lot.

MARISHA: What about the rest of you? I understand if you don't feel comfortable with me around. I told Imogen, I don't want it to seem like I'm lying. I don't want to lie. So the only way that I know to not do that is to just make sure that you all are aware that sometimes I don't know what's real or not. That's the truth. I'd like to think my intentions are pure. But I feel often, those with the purest of intentions are often misguided and weaponized the most for those who wish ill will. So, that's the truth.

TRAVIS: Okay. I mean, look, I'm not going to be a hypocrite. I turn into a giant fucking wolf every once in a while. Sometimes, a little out of control.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TALIESIN: When it was my turn to attempt to absorb a piece of shit, ill-advised, and everyone wanted to fucking kill me, because I betrayed their trust, and the closest thing to a real family I had ever seen spent, I would say, a significant more time giving me shit. You forgave me, asked. You did something no one had ever done to me. You gave me love, I think. You're not the first person I've ever had in my life who had problems, and-- That doll made me feel like maybe, I don't know, you were-- Sometimes I think of you as like a big sister. And I will never not stand in front of you to keep things away. I will always step in front. You.

LIAM: You know what's real? Her. That guy.

(chuckling)

LIAM: We're real.

TRAVIS: I do have one concern.

ASHLEY: I was just going to--

(laughter)

TRAVIS: I'm just concerned for Dorian.

ROBBIE: Hm? Me? Why me?

TRAVIS: You sweet lad. I just hope he can trust the same way that we do. Right, Dorian?

ROBBIE: Oh, sure, Chet. I used to think that it was all about good and evil, and now I'm not so certain there's either. All I know is that we have to make do with the best that we have, and this is the best that I have. You deserve to be well, and we'll take care of you, I think. Not so good at this. I have my mandolin in my hand and I, with one hand, hit a harmonic chord, put my hand on her shoulder, and I'm going to cast Cure Wounds. Not that it matters.

MARISHA: Of course it does.

LAURA: It matters.

TALIESIN: That was pretty impressive.

ROBBIE: 19.

TRAVIS: Doesn't matter.

LAURA: (laughs) It doesn't matter.

TRAVIS: Worthless.

LAURA and ROBBIE: (laugh)

LIAM: ♪ (atmospheric hum) ♪

LAURA: (laughs)

MARISHA: I think he was bleeding all over the floor. Oops, I just did 19 damage.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: Too real, too real.

TRAVIS: (punches)

(laughter)

ROBBIE: Wrong cord, wrong cord!

MARISHA: Wrong cord!

TRAVIS: How dare! I think there's one rule, though. Same that applies to me. If you start getting weird again, we might have to fuck you up a little bit, knock you back into, you know, you. Hopefully it won't happen too often, and maybe we just keep a closer eye when items of increased arcane or powerful magnitude are nearby.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TALIESIN: I'm genuinely looking forward to having to knock you out one day. It's actually, it's up there.

TRAVIS: Listen, I got it under control. I haven't been off the wagon in weeks.

ASHLEY: Sure, sure.

TRAVIS: Months.

TALIESIN: Clock's ticking.

LAURA: Are you a ticking time bomb, Dorian?

ROBBIE: Oh, I've got so many issues.

LAURA: Okay.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Look, we're playing to win, right?

LIAM: Dangerous game.

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: Orym. You gave me that nod of approval before I snuffed out Bor'Dor's life.

LIAM: It had to be done.

MARISHA: Will that still hold if it's against any other baddie?

LIAM: What do you mean?

MARISHA: Using the tools at my disposal. It was never meant to be directed at anyone here. I'm sorry.

LIAM: She chose you because you have power, Laudna.

LAURA: It's like you could hear me. I said the same thing to her.

LIAM: I wasn't listening to your roleplay.

TALIESIN: What?

(laughter)

TRAVIS: 33 perception.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: (expanding mind) Matt Murdock.

MATT and LAURA: (laugh)

LIAM: I can't remember seven seconds ago. My hands are numb right now.

TALIESIN: Who are you people?

TRAVIS: Laudna, do me a favor.

MARISHA: Hmm.

TRAVIS: Hold out your hands and close your eyes.

TALIESIN: Oh god.

ROBBIE: Yeah, don't trust him, actually.

TALIESIN: Don't do that.

LAURA: No, I believe him.

TRAVIS: We were just talking about trust and ownership!

LAURA: I trust you, I trust you.

ROBBIE: All right, all right.

ASHLEY: No, no, no.

ROBBIE: All right, yes.

ASHLEY: I trust him.

ROBBIE: Mm-hmm.

LAURA: We did a whole trust game.

TRAVIS: As soon as she closes her eyes--

MARISHA: Please don't put your dick in my hands.

TRAVIS: As soon as she closes her eyes, I break for the middle of the room. I grab the sword, I put it in the bag of holding.

ROBBIE: Oh.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: I walk over. (slaps)

LAURA: Oh! (laughs)

TRAVIS: Did that fucking hurt your finger?

MARISHA: No, you're good.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: See? All better.

TALIESIN: If you want to feel a little better, too, this is just an offer, and I'll admit, I'm curious. Not every night, but some nights-- I pull out the pipe. I put this pipe in the center of the room. Sometimes, when I don't want to feel like shit, I have a smoke, and it materializes the best thing I ever did, the most heroic act, the kindest act I ever performed. That's what it does.

LAURA: Where'd you get that pipe? Oh, from the tree.

TALIESIN: I've had it for a while.

LAURA: Was it from the tree?

TALIESIN: No, I let the tree smoke it.

LAURA: Oh, that's right.

LIAM: Yeah. That's the last time we saw it.

TRAVIS: Why the the fuck haven't we been hitting that pipe more?

ASHLEY: Yeah, wait, wait. What?

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: God, we're terrible at this.

LAURA, TRAVIS, and MATT: (laugh)

TALIESIN: I know mine, and it has not changed yet. But if you want to see yourself in some good light, if you want to be seen just for a moment in a good light that has no real judgment, it's there. Even if mine is still decades old, I find comfort in it. If you don't want to, you don't have to.

MARISHA: I'm afraid of what I might see.

TALIESIN: Yeah, I was, too. I was afraid I wouldn't see anything. Keep it, if you want.

MARISHA: All right. Maybe later.

TALIESIN: I may ask for it back if I'm feeling like shit.

LAURA: (laughs)

ROBBIE: You know, my brother and I, when we were younger, used to have these knock down, drag out brawls. No weapons, just an older brother and a younger brother beating the shit out of each other in the field. We would come home to my parents bloodied and bruised and sweating and crying, hurt feelings. Every day after, we would play harder than we'd ever played before. The best games, the biggest imaginary adventures. I cannot help but feel those same feelings right now. These are the moments that bring us together. Thank you for letting me be a part of that.

MARISHA: We've certainly seen each other at our worsts, and our bests.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

LIAM: No bullshit.

TALIESIN: (chuckles)

ASHLEY: What would you like us to do, Laudna? How can we best be there for you?

MARISHA: This is already so much. You already are, all of you. Not in a million years did I think anyone would go and rescue me from whatever void Delilah had trapped me in after Otohan killed me. You've already done so much.

TALIESIN: You'd do the same for us. You have. Same for me.

ASHLEY: What do you want us to do about her? Because we'll kill her a thousand times, if we have to. But if you-- I don't know.

MARISHA: Did you all know Delilah was in the Cerberus Assembly?

LAURA: You mentioned it.

MARISHA: She has a debt to pay. Just as Ludinus does.

LAURA: Was she anti-Ludinus, or--?

TRAVIS: (smirks)

MARISHA: Seems like everyone in the Cerberus Assembly hates each other.

LIAM: Definitely got that vibe from the woman we met today.

TALIESIN: Power will do that to you.

LAURA: How the fuck are we supposed to sleep tonight?

LIAM: (laughs) I was wondering the same thing.

TRAVIS: It sure is going to be hard. (snores)

(laughter)

TALIESIN: Shit. Imogen, get the mirror. Hold on, let's make sure that's--

LAURA: No, I can hear him.

TALIESIN: I got more to drink.

MARISHA: That sounds nice.

ASHLEY: Should we play Spin the Bottle?

TALIESIN: What's Spin the Bottle?

ASHLEY: JK, JK, JK. I don't know, you put a bottle down, and then wherever it points, you just kiss somebody. I don't know, it seems

TALIESIN: You kiss, just is every--

ASHLEY: -- a little flippant for right now.

TALIESIN: Well, no. Okay. I just need to be clarified on the rules.

TRAVIS: Chetney fucking wakes up. What?

(laughter)

TRAVIS: What?

ASHLEY: Something to lighten the mood, you know?

TALIESIN: We're talking about kissing bottles.

ASHLEY: Nothing serious.

TRAVIS: Kissing bottles?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Okay. (snores)

MATT and LAURA: (laugh)

ASHLEY: Just kidding.

TALIESIN: Don't-- Let's none of us ever feel bad about who we are. I'm tired of it.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

ASHLEY: That's a hard thing to do.

TALIESIN: I know, I'm suck at it. I'm really fucking bad at it.

TRAVIS: I'm suck at it.

LAURA: I'm suck at it!

TALIESIN: Yeah.

(laughter)

LIAM: So it begin.

TALIESIN: Mm-hmm.

(laughter)

LAURA: Oh!

MARISHA: It has begin.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

ROBBIE: (sighs pleasantly)

ASHLEY: It has begin.

TRAVIS: Long may it reign.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: Ah.

(lingering laughter)

MARISHA: If you all can agree and feel comfortable, I do want to bring Delilah into this fight.

TRAVIS: How does that work?

MARISHA: She owes me her life, just as she took mine. Then after this is done, well, I guess we'll just take it from there. Cross that Sun Tree branch when we get to it.

TALIESIN: You've got to try to-- I'm not going to say not lie, because that's not what it is. You've got to just try to tell the truth when we ask, which is not the same thing. Don't pretend you're okay when you're not. Don't feel like it's nothing when it is. If something's itching, we're not going to turn on you. We just need to know. We need to know when she's poisoning your head, or trying to.

LAURA: And try to remember, try to remember that we're not lying to you. If we tell you she's leading you astray, try to trust us.

MARISHA: I intend to get information from her. We can use what she gives us, or we can't. That'll be up to us. But I promise, I will talk to you all about it.

LIAM: That's good enough for me.

ROBBIE: So what do you guys do now? Do you put your hands in the center and say, Bells Hells!

ASHLEY: We can.

TRAVIS: We should have a group thing.

ASHLEY: We could. We actually don't have--

ROBBIE: Even in all this time, you haven't come up with something?

ASHLEY: No.

ROBBIE: No secret handshakes?

ASHLEY: It's really weird that we haven't.

ROBBIE: I mean, that was a prototype.

TALIESIN: Would the bottle be appropriate for this?

ROBBIE: I'll do it.

LAURA: It's really cheesy, but--

TALIESIN: We can do a thing with the bottle.

ROBBIE: If we want to.

LAURA: Is that a thing? I don't know if that's a thing, with--

ASHLEY: I'm down for it.

ROBBIE: People do it. We don't have to do it. You can do--

TRAVIS: We could do it for the first--

ROBBIE: -- whatever you want to do.

TRAVIS: I think you have to choose what we say. Don't they count to--

ROBBIE: Ding dong, here we come! It's Bells Hells.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

ROBBIE: I'm just spitballing.

ASHLEY: Oh yeah.

ROBBIE: I'm spitballing. It can be anything.

LAURA: Ding dong, I understand.

MARISHA: That's fun.

LAURA: Ding dong.

ROBBIE: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Ding dong is really not--

ASHLEY: Ding dong, Bells Hells.

LAURA: Wow.

ASHLEY: Ding dong.

LIAM: Welcome to Hells.

LAURA: (laughs)

ROBBIE: Not bad, not bad. With the two fingers. We all shoot finger guns at each other?

TALIESIN: I have a thing that I--

ASHLEY: That's cool.

TALIESIN: But then if you're carrying stuff--

LIAM: I saw a guy with one of these once.

TALIESIN: -- that just looks weird.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: Yeah, do I put down the hammer if we do that? Is that how, if we're going to do-- That's weird. I feel like it's just complicated.

MARISHA: Oh, because a hammer on a gun--

ROBBIE: Oh, we could say, hammer time! Or something like that, yes? No?

ASHLEY: Hammer time?

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: I feel like I've seen someone do that before.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

ROBBIE: All right.

MARISHA and ROBBIE: We'll workshop it, we'll workshop it. we'll workshop it.

ASHLEY: We'll workshop it. I like this idea, though.

ROBBIE: We'll workshop it.

ASHLEY: We'll figure it out.

ROBBIE: Someone think about it.

TRAVIS: I got one. I'll go first. Ready? Everyone, put your hands in.

LAURA: Oh god.

ROBBIE: Okay. Yes, yes!

TRAVIS: Here we go.

LAURA: Is he going to toot?

TRAVIS: Come on. Chetney needs sleep on three. One, two, three.

ALL: Chetney needs sleep!

TRAVIS: All right.

LIAM: Don't die!

ROBBIE: That's pretty good.

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: (snoring)

MATT: All right.

MARISHA: Why did I do that?

LAURA: All right.

MATT: As uncomfortable a night's rest as it might have been in the wake of that experience, and I believe sleeping in through a good part of the morning is part of it. (laughs) But the morning does greet you.

LAURA: Oof.

TALIESIN: ♪ Do, do, do, do ♪

MARISHA: I imagine I--

LAURA: It happened.

MARISHA: -- probably shifted my sheet--

TALIESIN: There we are.

MARISHA: -- to give Imogen some space in the night.

TALIESIN: I may have quietly crawled over to your little chunk of the room. Mind if we picked up where we were last time?

ASHLEY: Yes, please.

TALIESIN: Oh yeah. (groans)

(laughter)

TRAVIS: I've been up since five. I went and found some prunes.

(laughter)

LAURA: Just some prunes?

ROBBIE: Has to regulate.

MARISHA: Up since five?

LIAM: I went with you--

ASHLEY: Trying to get regular?

LIAM: -- because I'm going to say that Orym did not sleep. Orym did not sleep.

LAURA: You're intentionally giving yourself exhaustion?

LIAM: I got a short rest.

TRAVIS: It's a day of travel, what could go wrong?

LIAM: Going to get some stuff back.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

LIAM: So, no long rest.

MATT: You get a point of exhaustion for getting no rest.

LIAM: I know, I know. But went out prune shopping. Then I also took the armor that Dorian helped me buy, I had to run it over to the armor place, because I needed it, I asked for color alterations.

MATT: Yeah.

LIAM: For overall vibe.

TRAVIS: You want to be there first thing when it opens.

LIAM: Yeah, so they have time.

TRAVIS: Solid.

LIAM: For when everyone wakes up.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: Did I recover from a level of exhaustion? I feel like with last night--

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: With a long rest, you recover a point of exhaustion.

TALIESIN: We should be zeroed out now. No, you doubled up, so--

MATT: You did, but Keyleth took two off.

TALIESIN: Oh, so you're--

MATT: You would now be baseline.

TALIESIN: We're fine.

ASHLEY: Last night was a hard night.

MATT: Yeah.

TALIESIN: We're clear.

MATT: You're good.

LAURA: When we wake up, I'm holding Laudna's hand.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: She didn't hear it, but it happened.

MARISHA: I heard it. You're holding my hand. I got distracted because I saw Chetney seize a little, and I wanted to make sure.

LAURA: Did you?

MARISHA: I think it was just the apnea.

LAURA: What'd he roll?

MARISHA: He's fine. (laughs)

LAURA: You're gone.

MARISHA: I got distracted.

LAURA: What a night! (snores)

ROBBIE: Dorian's always liked to see the sunrise, so he's out front of wherever we're staying in a chair, leaned back up against the wall, and he's been fiddling with this jeweler's stuff, and he's been unequipped the last couple days, and he finally is finishing up what he was doing, and his flute that he's always had no longer has an axe handle on it, but you can tell there's something special about it, and he's been taking time putting a little blue lapis button right in the flute. But we don't know what it is, and he hitches it to his side. Then he has Bertrand's blade with him, that he's had for a long time, and it had been formally decorated for the ball. (laughs)

(laughter)

ROBBIE: That's good, that's good. And same thing, but this time, it's got three pieces of lapis in the hilt, and he's holding it, thinking to himself about Orym last night and how serious he was, how dedicated he was to the cause of wanting this sword that was clearly a threat, and he has a quiet moment where he thinks about his brother and he thinks about what he's gotten himself into after witnessing what went down last night. He clicks one of the pieces of the three blue lapis and he uses the Gambler's Blade to take an extra risk. So, that means he gets plus one to his attack, and then if he has a death save, he takes one off. So it's his first time taking a real risk. I guess you should--

ASHLEY: Ooh!

MATT: Good to know.

LIAM: That lasts one full sleep?

LAURA: Is that what the Gambler's Blade does?

ROBBIE: Yeah, and then I can reset it every morning.

LIAM: You boost the sword, but you're increasing your chances of (chokes).

LAURA: Ah!

ASHLEY: Ooh!

ROBBIE: Are we getting serious or what, motherfuckers?

ASHLEY: Yes!

MATT: Why stop at one?

ROBBIE: (laughs) Yeah.

ASHLEY: Gambler's Blade!

ROBBIE: Give me room to work, Matthew!

TALIESIN: Let it ride! Let it ride!

TRAVIS: Jump in the pool! Jump in!

ASHLEY: Dang!

MATT: Hell yeah.

LAURA: That's a cool blade.

LIAM: Got to have somewhere to go.

ASHLEY: That's fucking cool.

ROBBIE: Yeah.

MATT: All righty.

TRAVIS: (as Bertrand) You're welcome. Force ghost.

MATT: As you both return from your trek in the late morning stages, as the rest of you are waking up after a night of rough rest, you see Seth, in his full illusory self.

ASHLEY: Esseth?

MATT: Essek in his Seth facade.

TRAVIS: Hi, Seth.

MATT: Meet you both as you're coming in. Steps in. "Good morning. I guess some of you are taking a prolonged rest?"

MARISHA: Oh. What?

ASHLEY: What?

LIAM: I think this is to Chet and I.

MATT: Sorry, this is to Chetney and Orym.

TRAVIS: You shut up. It's just us.

LAURA: Sorry, sorry.

TRAVIS: Sit down.

ASHLEY: Sorry, we're gone!

MATT: This is down in the lodge.

TRAVIS: Let the masters work.

ASHLEY: We're leaving.

TRAVIS: And go!

(laughter)

MATT: The mostly empty lodge baseline entrance where the tavern and step up goes from there.

ASHLEY: Dingus.

LIAM: (sighs) It's been a rough run of days. We needed a little extra. Hope that's okay.

MATT: "Of course. I am at your disposal until you decide it is time to go. But time is of the essence, as it always is. So I'll wait here. Come find me when you are all ready."

TRAVIS: Oh, we can gather the rest. One question. Are we going, are we jumping? Are we teleport, whatever it is that you do into a populated area? Is it like a wilderness? Will there be eyes, no eyes? What do you think we can expect?

MATT: "Where we are intending to go is a frozen wasteland to the far north. There are very few in the location that I would consider a population, though there are denizens throughout the ruins. The locale I wish to take us to would be on the outskirts of a Dynasty outpost that once upon a time I was responsible for, but would not wish to enter directly for reasons."

LIAM: Is it still active?

MATT: "It should be. I have not been there in many years. One thing I should also let you know, as I will let the rest of them understand, is magic gets a bit strange to the north, and I cannot guarantee my first attempt at getting us to our destination will be smooth."

TRAVIS: Yeah, I'm a stickler for little details. I noticed the word choice "intending," right? It's like pulp in my orange juice. Just get it the fuck out. What do you mean intending? Have you ever missed before?

MATT: "I wish not to repeat myself. Perhaps it best I tell you all when you've gathered."

TRAVIS: Fine. (sarcastic shiver) Chilly up there and chilly here. Let's go get the others.

LAURA: (laughs)

MARISHA: I like pulp.

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: You're not here!

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Take a seat!

(laughter)

TRAVIS: The masterclass is in session!

LAURA: That's what you hear, that's what you hear as you walk in the door. "I like pulp."

MARISHA: I like pulp.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: Laudna is still asleep and we're going: Was it her or Delilah?

(laughter)

TALIESIN: Sounds like Delilah.

LAURA: It's Delilah.

TALIESIN: (attacks)

MARISHA: Only Delilah would like pulp.

TALIESIN: Likes pulp.

LIAM: Everyone's talking about orange juice. Orange juice, please.

MATT and LAURA: (laugh)

MARISHA: (laughs)

ROBBIE: Pop pop.

MATT: You do all gather yourselves and collect your things. For the ease of narrative, you know, pieces already paid for, you gather your things. The materials that were put on order through the night, and they worked through the night. The team looks bloodshot in the eyes, exhausted, proud in their "(yawns)" yawn as they headed over. Part of the team already crashed on the ground with the completion of what you requested. But nevertheless, you have what you need to prepare yourself for the next leg of your journey. Returning to the lodge--

MARISHA: Suit up montage.

MATT: Yep. Grab your things.

TRAVIS: (intensely gearing up)

TALIESIN: Chet, I need a quick haircut.

MARISHA: Bat nipples!

TALIESIN: You chisel that?

TRAVIS: (buzzing)

TALIESIN: Right there. Chisel, motherfucker.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: (buzzing)

TALIESIN: Why are you making that weird noise every time? You just hit it with a fucking hammer.

TRAVIS: Don't question my methods, okay?

(laughter)

TRAVIS: I'm a futurist.

(laughter)

MATT: As you're all gathering the last of your things, the final person to arrive would be you, Orym, since you had to pick up your armor to be colored and stained and properly treated for the journey ahead that you could only start that morning.

LIAM: Sure.

MATT: But with you rushing into the chambers of the lodge, you all are able to get ready, dressed, or if not already.

LIAM: I got my clothes on.

LAURA: (buckling and gearing up)

ROBBIE: (majestic outfit reveal)

MATT: So, I guess who wants to describe what their order was first?

ROBBIE: Oh!

TRAVIS: Oh shit.

MATT: You made a bunch of custom stuff.

TRAVIS: You want me to go first?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

TRAVIS: You see, I got a leather suit, fur lined, but you couldn't tell. I've turned the harness with all my tools into a bandolier. I got a leather strap as well for this new Harp of (gravelly) Valor--

ROBBIE: (laughs)

ASHLEY: (growled) Valor.

TRAVIS: -- which is fucking dope.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: I've got fingerless gloves for increased grip because we're going where it's going to be icy--

MARISHA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: -- and wet. My upper sleeves, I've got some chain mail on. I've got FCG's little piece on my right arm off of Orym's idea. I got a blue bandana tied tight. "Hot Shots! Part Deux," and some really good wrapped up feet for good mobility. Of course, fucking RTA right above the right ear, baby.

ASHLEY: Yeah, baby.

MARISHA: Yeah, girl!

MATT: (laughs)

MARISHA: Reppin' that toy company.

TRAVIS: Ready to fucking deliver justice!

MATT: Fantastic.

TRAVIS: My cod piece area looks super sweet. It's awesome.

MATT: (laughs)

LAURA: Wow.

TRAVIS: Right below my belly.

MARISHA: Does it frame your dick?

ASHLEY: That looks so good.

TRAVIS: My dick.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Frames my dick!

MARISHA: Frames your dick.

(laughter)

ROBBIE: My dick!

MATT: Who would like to go next?

LIAM: Mine's not that elaborate, so I'll go so you guys can all flourish.

TRAVIS: How could it be?

(laughter)

LIAM: I'm actually using a lot of my old shit. So the same boots, because if I'm not flea jumping, it's not me. The same sword, the same shield. I have now antique Zephran armor with the glyph right in the middle. I still have my old sash wrapped around. There are still-- Well, here's a question.

MATT: Yeah.

LIAM: We're back from the moon. Do I still have a touch of fey about me? Can I feel it?

LAURA: Oh!

MARISHA: Oh, after Nana Morri?

LIAM: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Touch of Fey.

LIAM: Because I don't remember discussing--

TRAVIS: Touch of (dreamy) Fey.

LIAM: -- timeline, duration, eternal, temporary.

LAURA and MARISHA: (laugh)

TRAVIS: (dreamy) Fey.

MATT: It's still there.

MARISHA and ASHLEY: (laugh)

MATT: As far as you can tell, there hasn't been inclination to cancel the contract that was sealed.

ASHLEY: (laughs) Oh god.

LIAM: So it's a mix of my old shoulder guard with FCG as a pauldron on the shoulder.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

LIAM: Then now this new, it's really just the chest, cod piece, down the thighs. That's the antique armor with the old drip and the new drip mixed together.

MATT: Gotcha.

LIAM: My hair is also a little bushier these days. I haven't had a haircut.

TRAVIS: Ooh.

LAURA: Got a mane.

TRAVIS: I can take care of that at any time, but it is going to be cold where we're going. Yeah, let the curl flow.

LAURA: Are you trying to let it grow out?

TRAVIS: Is it wavy or curly?

LIAM: This feels long. Wavy.

TRAVIS: Wavy, yeah.

LAURA: Wavy.

TRAVIS: Let it go messy, baby.

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: Oh, and I asked that question because all around the armor are a little spider, little tiny spider vines still clinging around the arms and on the chest and the back.

MATT: Cool, I dig it. Who's up next?

LAURA: Um, sure. I used my old dress. I just altered it a little bit so it's open down the front, and I got some pants, like I talked about.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

ASHLEY: (like Imogen) Pants.

LAURA: My little legs are covered.

TRAVIS: (like Imogen) Pants.

LAURA: But I got long black boots now and I got a black harness all buckled up. I have that new robe that I stitched up and changed a little bit, so it's off the shoulder and strips on the bottom, so it's all sheer and flowy and shit.

MATT: Cool.

MARISHA: (laughs)

LAURA: That's basically it. Still wearing my circlet.

LIAM: Reworked.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: Fantastic.

ROBBIE: Dorian's got a new fit, too. He is way more lithe than he used to be, not nearly as bulky. Still has his winged boots. He's got swashbucklers pants on. Instead of the big silver wing across the chest, it's smaller now across a cummerbund-type leather vest.

LAURA: Across his dick?

ROBBIE: Across his dick! A little above the dick!

MATT and ROBBIE: (laugh)

TALIESIN: Cummerbund.

ROBBIE: He's wearing the sluttiest shirt!

TRAVIS: Oh yes!

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Serve it!

ASHLEY: Slut it up!

ROBBIE: When you're first looking at it, it's a fully open, poofy pirate arm sleeve, sheer shirt. But if you were to get really, really close, you would notice this was his--

LAURA: Tiny little nipples.

ROBBIE: Tiny.

(laughter)

ROBBIE: Medium.

(laughter)

ROBBIE: Medium, proportional. I'm checking the art.

MARISHA: Proportional! (laughs)

ROBBIE: You would notice that this was the gift that Keyleth had gotten for him and made, which it feels really close, the threads are like really fine mithral.

LAURA and ASHLEY: Ooh!

ROBBIE: So he gets a little bit of--

LAURA: It's like sheer armor.

ROBBIE: Mm-hmm.

LAURA: I didn't know that was an option! I love sheer shit, in case you hadn't noticed.

ASHLEY: Sheer shit.

ROBBIE: I got it approved.

TRAVIS: You both can go nips out.

ROBBIE: I got it approved!

TRAVIS: It's okay.

LAURA: I mean--

ROBBIE: We can swap.

LAURA: I feel like my robe is also kind of sheer. Everything's kind of sheer, but my nips are covered.

ROBBIE: Good, that's good.

LAURA: All right.

ASHLEY: Boo!

TRAVIS: Boo!

(laughter)

ROBBIE: And then--

LIAM: Imogen's are enormous.

TRAVIS: Yeah. (laughs)

LAURA: They're like this big!

(laughter)

ROBBIE: He has a cape, but it's a half cape.

LAURA: Actually, it's just lightning coming out from all--

(laughter)

LAURA: Sorry.

TRAVIS: Lightning.

ROBBIE: Everyone's got nipples.

LAURA: Yeah.

ROBBIE: Everyone's got-- How many do you have?

MATT: Every time she casts a big spell, they just grow.

(laughter)

MATT: It just spreads a little further.

ASHLEY: (nipples growing)

ROBBIE: Oh my gosh.

LAURA: It's just nipple up the shoulder.

ROBBIE: Pepperoni.

LAURA: I'm sorry.

ROBBIE: No, it's okay.

LAURA: Keep going.

ROBBIE: It's a pepperoni patronus.

(laughter)

ROBBIE: You said it, not me.

ASHLEY: Pepperoni.

MATT: It's all beautiful.

LAURA: That is a very slutty shirt you've got on.

ROBBIE: Oh, thank you.

LAURA: In the best way.

ROBBIE: I appreciate it.

ASHLEY: Slut it up.

TALIESIN: Mm-hmm.

MARISHA: Hot boi summer.

ROBBIE: Half cape, same ombre. Then instead of that armor up top, he's got one shoulder pauldron. The most noticeable thing is that the second son always wore silver, and now all of the metal accent and armor pieces are all gold now.

TRAVIS: Damn.

MARISHA: Oh!

TRAVIS: Damn! That hurts!

ROBBIE: Oh!

LAURA: Oh.

ROBBIE: His crafty mandolin that used to be red that he got--

TRAVIS: Hurts, though.

ROBBIE: -- from Dariax, it's now blue and sunburst, and on the back next to his set list is just a little etching of FCG's little grass symbol.

ASHLEY: (gasps) Oh!

ROBBIE: Yeah. That's it.

MATT: I love it.

MARISHA: You're going to freeze your nips off in the tundra.

(laughter)

ROBBIE: Oh no!

(laughter)

ROBBIE: This design came before that!

(laughter)

LAURA: Oh, we all have cloaks.

ROBBIE: We have cloaks, right?

MATT: You got cloaks, you got cloaks.

TALIESIN: We have cloaks with big fur.

LAURA: We're just not describing them. There's cloaks.

ROBBIE: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

TALIESIN: We've got cloaks.

MARISHA: We've got cloaks.

LAURA: Yeah, I don't want to ruin my sheer vibes.

LIAM: We're wearing winter--

LAURA: We've got sheer vibes.

LIAM: -- onesies over everything.

ROBBIE: No.

LAURA: Flowy.

LIAM: I can't put my arms down.

MARISHA: Laudna is pulling out what she made in a fugue state last night. She was kind of out of it, and as you look, you see she's examining it almost like it's the first time she's seen it, even though it hasn't. She's like, hmm, just questioning where her inspiration came from. You see a big billowy blouse. She also took a lot of what she had and repurposed it. Nice tight little gloves. Then she has a thin breast plate with chains dangling off of it that go around that resemble a rib cage.

MATT: Cool.

MARISHA: Also, the black corset and then has her long skirt, which has a black to purple to a little bit of blue ombre. Then over top of that, she has a cage, a cage skirt all in gold--

ASHLEY: That's so fucking cool.

MARISHA: -- going over it. You see her hair is tied up in a bun with a high collar and she has a little green choker chain.

ASHLEY: Was ist das?

MARISHA: You know, just thought I'd mix it up, look a little bit more like a lady, you know?

TALIESIN: What kind of gem is that?

MARISHA: I don't know.

TALIESIN: Hmm.

MARISHA: I must have gotten it out of the bag.

TALIESIN: There were some interesting things in the bag.

MARISHA: Yes, I just kind of--

TRAVIS: It's got a vibe.

MARISHA: Just got what we had, you know? Just worked with it.

TALIESIN: Is it residuumn? Who knows?

MATT: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Is it an emerald? Who knows? Should I, or do you--

ASHLEY: All right. Oh, well, go ahead.

TALIESIN: Rollies! TALIESIN: Rollies.

ASHLEY: Rollies?

TALIESIN: We'll do for partial--

TRAVIS and TALIESIN: Boulder, parchment, shears.

TALIESIN: Yeah, boulder, parchment, shears.

ASHLEY: Boulder, parchment, shears, okay. One, two, three. Okay, I go. All right. So everything that Fearne is wearing has been repurposed.

MARISHA: Upcycle.

ASHLEY: Yes, upcycled. There's an element of Fearne that you can see that she's been very, I guess, affected by everyone around her. She almost looks a little more human in a way, more freckles, more sunburned. Her jacket was FCG's jacket and you still see some of the burn marks because she didn't want to take that away so we never forget that part. All the little rips and tears were put together with a yellow thread and there's little bits of everyone. So on her belt, she has her wolf from Chet. She has a red thread and violets that are wrapped around in a bracelet. She has little ankle gaiters around her hooves--

(laughter)

ASHLEY: -- for battle and protection. And a little jade stone from Orym. Her hair is messy and plopped on the top of her head. Very not flashy for Fearne. Just more battle ready and grounded and--

MATT: Utility Fearne.

ASHLEY: Utility Fearne, yeah.

MATT: (laughs) Cool.

LIAM: (like Fearne) I am the night.

(laughter)

LAURA: I want to see it, I want to see.

TALIESIN: Also mostly repurposed, although there are a couple new things. Had them go through, clean up the boots a little bit, put some new gold hardware on them. Took some chunks of what I had. Have gold hardware going up the right leg. It's a split punk pants. One side is that blue ombre from FCG's jacket. The other side is a yellow blue plaid split down the middle for the pants. It was a black skirt piece that immediately started to put a couple rips in it because it didn't quite feel right when we got it back. Leather belt. You know, shirts are bullshit. So I had a shirt and I just tore it off. It's now sitting at the rib cage. We're going to go full, you know, we're going to--

MARISHA: A little crop.

LAURA: Full crop top?

TALIESIN: A little crop top. Also, torn up a little bit because it wasn't quite working. Leather vest, black leather vest, which is new leather. It's got gold spikes that go down the shoulders. Then little gold pieces going down either side of the vest as well. God, what are they, grommets going all the way down. Blue liner in it. Slightly new haircut. Kind of cleaned it up into almost a mohawk now.

TRAVIS: Oh!

TALIESIN: Actually, got some proper leather gloves with spikes on. Well, one of them on the right has spikes and the other one is because we did a fabric trade because you wanted some of my fucking spikes.

ASHLEY: I did, yes. So there are some little bits on the jacket with the spikes. I also have a little spiky ball harness situation.

TALIESIN: I stole some of the lace that you were using on your shit and I've got that on the left arm now.

ASHLEY: Yes, I amended that part on my skirt as well.

TRAVIS: Unless you have someone for your stone work, can we say that I helped?

TALIESIN: You've been doing it.

LAURA: That's what--

TALIESIN: You've been doing it every fucking week.

TRAVIS: Yeah!

TALIESIN: That's how I like, yeah, this has been a thing.

ASHLEY: Oh, you did the haircut?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Cool.

TALIESIN: It's just a little chisel.

TRAVIS: That chisel's fucked.

(laughter)

LIAM: Slowly grow in over time.

TALIESIN: Yeah, like the sugar, when you put the thing in the sugar.

LIAM: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

MATT: It's pretty cool.

TALIESIN: Then on the back, once we got it back, I started painting it up and it's got, there's a bunch of little symbols. We'll go into them, but there's clearly-- Not now. There's clearly six bells and then two that have faded off to the corner. The very back, it doesn't say "Just Don't" anymore. It says "Smiley Day" in the most threatening way fucking possible.

(laughter)

MATT: I love that so much.

ASHLEY: Smiley fucking day.

MARISHA: Smiley day--

MATT: Oh, it's so good.

MARISHA: -- bitch.

ASHLEY: Oh, I love it.

TALIESIN: So--

TRAVIS: Looks warm.

LIAM: We're going to freeze our tits off, guys.

TALIESIN: Literally, I have a glowing right arm now. I'm feeling pretty good.

TRAVIS: With the cloaks, the cloaks will be good. We're safe.

ASHLEY: Yeah, we get cloaks.

TRAVIS: Dorian's fucked, but you know.

LAURA: I have an extra bra if you want, Dorian. If you want to keep warm.

ROBBIE: That is hurtful.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Not as much as the mithral shirt in the winter.

(laughter)

ROBBIE: I didn't know about our travel plans!

TRAVIS: True.

(laughter)

LIAM: Will you guys pass Ishta down to Chet from the bag?

TALIESIN: Oh.

TRAVIS: Thanks.

LAURA: Yeah, we should--

TRAVIS: Not you!

LAURA: Wait, wait, wait. Before we go, should we use that harness?

TALIESIN: It's the Pipe of Remembrance.

LAURA: Should we use the harness to absorb something? We all have extra shit now, don't we? Powerful items.

TALIESIN: Well, you have some weird shit in the hole still.

MATT: For those of you that do prepare spells-- I think that's just you now Fearne, right?

ASHLEY: I did. What did you say again, sorry.

MATT: Make sure you choose your spell list for the journey ahead.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah.

LAURA: Oh, for the cold weather.

TALIESIN: Wow, that was as close to him saying--

LAURA: That is a warning for the journey ahead.

ROBBIE: The journey ahead.

TALIESIN: For the journey.

LAURA: Do we need to use the harness? Do we want to use the harness? Do we want to absorb anything before we go?

TALIESIN: Not a bad idea.

MARISHA: Should we do it now or should we do it--

LAURA: We should've done it last night, but things happened.

MARISHA: Yeah, that's fair.

TALIESIN: Do it now. What do we got?

LIAM: Well, Ishta is a BFD.

LAURA: We have Ishta.

TRAVIS: You know the name of that harness, Matt?

LAURA: We have this Pearl of Power.

MATT: It is the Quintessence Array.

MARISHA: I know. It's kind of meh.

LAURA: Right? It's a little something.

MARISHA: It's a little mid.

LAURA: We could spin the bottle and see who gets Ishta.

TRAVIS: Oh, look. I'm awake. What?

TALIESIN: We have a fucking orb we're never going to have to need to use again.

LAURA: Oh yeah.

MARISHA: Treshi scry ball. I don't know. What if we do? We've got the ring. We've got the orb. I can (lips popping) plop it on somebody else if we need it.

TALIESIN: Touché. That's actually a really good idea. I take it back.

MARISHA: Maybe I can plant it on--

LIAM: I can't wear that Ring of Protection anymore.

MARISHA: What's his name? Ludinus, that's who we're fighting.

LIAM: Luda!

(laughter)

ROBBIE and MARISHA: (growl)

TALIESIN: He Who Can Not Be Named. What was it again?

LIAM: Above table, I'm full up on attunement now with my new armor. So I've taken off a Ring of Protection. We can either absorb it or someone could wear it.

MARISHA: Is it a plus one or a plus two? Do you know?

LIAM: It's a plus seven. It's a plus one.

TALIESIN: Oh.

LIAM: It requires attunement.

LAURA: I have a plus one Ring of Protection as well.

TALIESIN: Have I already got a ring? I think I already have a ring. So I think two rings is not a thing you can do.

MATT: You can wear two rings.

TALIESIN: You can do two rings?

MATT: You have two hands.

MARISHA: But you have to attune to both of them, right?

MATT: Yeah. It's an attunement.

TRAVIS: I think the Butcher's Bib is also on the chopping block.

TALIESIN: Yeah, I have an empty slot for attunement.

LIAM: That thing is such a mess, anyway.

TRAVIS: It just drips everywhere!

LIAM: It stains things.

LAURA: It drips constantly.

TALIESIN: It's going to leave a trail in the snow.

TRAVIS: Terrible.

LAURA: That's true.

MARISHA: I also have a Feywild shard.

TALIESIN: What does that do?

LAURA: I'm surprised you haven't given that to Delilah.

MARISHA: I know. I know. I've been holding on to it.

LAURA: She wanted that one a long time ago.

MARISHA: She did.

TALIESIN: Who else has an attunement slot open?

LAURA: That's not the same rock. It's a different one. You got it from the, yeah, over by Fearne.

MARISHA: In the Feywild, I think. Yeah, yeah, yeah, from the bunny.

TALIESIN: You're too full up on attunement?

LIAM: I'm full up.

TALIESIN: Full up on attunement?

LIAM: My boots, my sword and my armor.

LAURA: I'm full up on attunement.

TALIESIN: Is anybody not full up on attunement?

LAURA: Oh, I'm so full on attunement.

TALIESIN: I have one slot open, so if there's anything we're trying to move around.

LAURA: Oh, you have a slot open. I have a Pearl of Power, which you probably can't use.

TALIESIN: That doesn't do anything for me.

LAURA: Ring of Protection.

LIAM: Plus one, plus two, or--?

LAURA: It's a plus one.

LIAM: So we've got two plus one rings.

TALIESIN: I'll take a plus one ring.

TRAVIS: And a Butcher's Bib, if you want it. Crit on a 19 or 20.

LIAM: Are you full up?

LAURA: Ooh.

ROBBIE: I am.

TRAVIS: You roll your dice.

ROBBIE: Yeah.

MATT: Does it say anything specific about the weapons?

TRAVIS: Weapon attacks that deal slashing damage.

TALIESIN: I do not deal slashing damage. Never mind.

MATT: Yep.

TRAVIS: Once per turn, when you roll damage for a melee attack with a weapon, you can reroll the weapon's damage dice. If you do so, you must use the second.

TALIESIN: Ring of Protection sounds awesome.

TRAVIS: Coward.

TALIESIN: I literally don't do slashing damage.

TRAVIS: Not with that attitude.

TALIESIN: Wow.

LIAM: Can I use the Voldo harness to absorb the ring?

ROBBIE: The what now?

LAURA: I'm deleting this from my inventory.

MATT: You can, yeah.

TALIESIN: Ring of Protection?

LAURA: Ring of Protection.

LIAM: I can never remember that huge sheet's rules.

TRAVIS: Common, five temporary hit points. Uncommon item, 10 temporary hit points. Rare, hit point maximum goes up by two. Very rare, maximum permanently increases by five, plus a couple of buffs.

LIAM: What's it for rare?

TRAVIS: For rare, maximum hit point increases by two. All attack rolls and ability checks have advantage until they complete a long rest.

MARISHA: What was uncommon again, sorry?

TRAVIS: Uncommon, the wearer gains 10 temporary hit points.

LAURA: Okay.

LIAM: The plus two for rare is permanent on hit points?

TRAVIS: Yes.

LIAM: I'll take that.

TRAVIS: Yeah, on rare. Very rare, five. And legendary, one of the wearer's ability scores is permanently increased by two depending on the item, as does your maximum for that score.

MATT: Some powerful items might bestow additional benefits.

LIAM: Okay.

LAURA: Okay.

TRAVIS: Like to your dick. Crickets.

MARISHA: (laughs)

LAURA: What is that sword? Was it very rare?

LIAM: It's a plus three sword. It's probably pretty baller.

TRAVIS: It is legendary.

LAURA: Whoa.

TRAVIS: But it's also a kick-ass weapon.

LAURA: It's a fucking sick sword.

LIAM: That it requires attunement.

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: Someone should use that sword. Says Marisha.

LAURA: I say out loud.

(laughter)

MARISHA: Someone should use it. I know this is probably mixed messaging, but.

LIAM: It is.

TRAVIS: I'm sure we will. I'm sure we'll get to it.

MARISHA: Yeah, we'll get to it.

TALIESIN: (high-pitched) I say we use the sword.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: We'll get there. We'll get there. We'll get there.

MARISHA: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

ROBBIE: Sure, sure, sure.

TRAVIS: Butcher's Bib, Ring of Power.

MARISHA: I might hold. I might hold and wait and see. Maybe we'll find some cool stuff in the snow.

TRAVIS: Okay, okay, okay, okay.

LIAM: I'll definitely do the ring, though. I'll take those two hit points in lieu of this Ring of Protection.

TRAVIS: You want to do it?

LIAM: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Okay. Let's do it.

MATT: So marking you up in the harness, you take a moment and leave that Ring of Protection behind the glass-like funnel that comes up to the back of the shoulders. The ring spins rapidly for a second, and within a short time, you watch as the ring begins to dissolve and burn away. Each of those little glowing pieces of enchanted matter are pulled in towards the harness. You feel that weird a staticky warmth at the base of your neck. With the ring gone, you get plus two permanent increase to your maximum hit points.

LIAM: Ooh.

ROBBIE: Ooh.

LIAM: Am I taller?

TALIESIN: Maybe you are, but we are, too?

(laughter)

MATT: All your attack rolls and ability checks have advantage until your next long rest.

LAURA: Nice.

LIAM: Okay.

TALIESIN: Ooh.

LIAM: Well, ability checks will be straight because I've got one point of exhaustion.

MATT: That's true.

LIAM: But the attack rolls will be at advantage, right?

MATT: Yep.

LAURA: Okay.

LIAM: Right.

TALIESIN: Mm-hmm.

LIAM: All right. Throw a dragon at us.

MATT: You got it.

TRAVIS: That's it, unless we want to risk breaking it, for the day.

LIAM: Is it one a day?

TRAVIS: 20% chance to increase of it breaking.

LAURA: Yeah, let's--

LIAM: Oh no.

TALIESIN: Oh, hell no.

LIAM: We don't want to risk that.

TRAVIS: Cowards.

MARISHA: Factor.

MATT: All right.

ROBBIE: Got fucking scared.

TRAVIS: You want to do it?

MARISHA: (laughs)

LAURA: Don't you fucking break that harness.

TRAVIS: Let's go. We got business. Plus, you know, "Seth" is downstairs being a little bit of a bitch about the timetable. So we should go.

MARISHA: Right. (laughs)

TRAVIS: Whatever you do, don't ask him to repeat himself.

MARISHA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: What?

TRAVIS: It's a long story.

LAURA: You still have the Weavepiercer Gloves, right, Marisha?

MATT: Chet, as you open the door, on the other side of the door, you see Seth immediately there.

TRAVIS: (screams)

MATT: He's like, "Seth also has keen ears and can overhear nearby conversations."

TRAVIS: I'm "sorry."

TALIESIN: You can say that again.

(laughter)

LAURA: Come on in, Seth.

ASHLEY: Hi, Seth.

MATT: Enters, closes the door, drops the illusion, and is like, once again, gliding about an inch and a half off the ground as he enters.

LAURA: How do you do that? How do you do that? Is it concentration? Do you have to think about it all the time?

MATT: "It's magic."

LAURA: (exasperated sigh)

ROBBIE: What's the deal with magic? It's all magic.

LAURA: I mean, yeah.

ROBBIE: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah, but is that just natural for-- Okay.

MATT: "Are we ready?"

TRAVIS: Yes.

ASHLEY: Yep.

TALIESIN: Yep.

ROBBIE: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yes.

TRAVIS: We're prepared.

MATT: "So, we are about to head to the realm of Eiselcross to the far north above here. This is where the crash site and the ruins of Aeor reside, Aeor being one of the most powerful magocracies during the Age of Arcanum, a massive, advanced, arcane city that floated above the landscape, one of many, but one of the apexes of the time, before it dared bring its strength against the gods during the warring times of the Calamity in which the gods struck it from the sky and this magical city crashed into this icy realm and was forgotten until recently. Now, I've been there a handful of times before the Empire and Kryn interests began to push into the depths, and, to be fair, I might've defaced elements of it slightly. Where we go, this ruin contains within strange alterations to spellcraft and magic. The very landscape around it tends to make things not work as intended on occasion. Eiselcross is challenged with some transportation magics. I would not dare bring us into the ruin itself, but even getting nearby should prove a bit, well, it might take a few tries. Once within, even mildly powerful magics have a chance of acting strangely. So for those of you who utilize spellcraft, do not be too surprised with (chuckles) odd encounters." "do not be too surprised with (chuckles) odd encounters. You see him laughing like he's recalling a memory. But it'll be dark. It'll be dangerous. Between the current denizens of the ruin, the wandering ancient denizens of the ruin, and what elements of the Vanguard and Ludinus now call it home as well. We will move in shadow. We will be careful. And you will trust in my word. Do any of you hold any magics that are useful for finding things? Finding people."

LAURA: FCG had them.

MARISHA: FCG did, yes.

TRAVIS: I got a bitching nose.

MATT: "That can be helpful."

LAURA: Do you have Locate Object? That'd probably be smart. Which is more important, people or objects?

MATT: "Well, if we're looking for individuals, people is helpful. I have prepared one myself, just in case. But it is best to have many things at our disposal. Nevertheless, cross your fingers. Step into the center of this chamber. And hope that if the gods are not with us, at the very least, the dice are."

(laughter)

MATT: He adjusts his cloak with a big furry edge around the mantle. Begins to repeat the incantation that drew you to Zadash with him when you first met. Then, a brief moment (magic whooshes) the magic begins to pull you in once more. The breath seemingly pulled from your lungs as you feel the gravity drawing you into the center. As it releases, I need one of you to roll a d100 for me, please.

LAURA: Who? Who?

ROBBIE: Whoa?

LAURA: Who's doing it?

ASHLEY: Who's doing it?

LAURA: I'm not doing it.

MARISHA: You, new guy. You.

ROBBIE: No!

TRAVIS: Yeah, do it! Dorian!

LAURA: Do it!

TRAVIS: Good job, us. Good job, us.

ROBBIE: Where is it?

TRAVIS: It's the 2d10.

LIAM: They're the twin dice. Yeah.

LAURA: Yeah, that one and then a d10.

LIAM: Find that one's twin.

ROBBIE: Then a d10.

TRAVIS: Take mine.

LIAM: Same shape.

ROBBIE: Oh, that's even scarier.

MATT: So one of them is the tens and one of them is the single digits.

ROBBIE: Okay.

LIAM: You got this, Dor.

ROBBIE: Tell me if it's good or bad. I'm going to do it right in the middle so everybody can see.

LAURA: 14.

ASHLEY: Ooh.

MARISHA: Is that right?

ROBBIE: 10 and four?

TALIESIN: Yeah, 14.

MARISHA: 14.

ROBBIE: Is that good?

LAURA: He's doing a face.

TALIESIN: We don't know.

ROBBIE: Low numbers are great, right? Lowest number wins, just like golf.

TRAVIS: You just got to look at Matt's face.

ROBBIE: Same thing, right?

MATT: As you all get pulled in--

ROBBIE: You did this.

MATT: -- you see the arcane tunnel begin to pull, and then, suddenly (crackles) this clouded static fires from the middle of your minds. The arcane core of what was pulling you in (intense explosion) detonates--

(oohing)

MATT: -- and you all go (reverberating whoosh) scattered across the room, slamming into the wooden walls. The wood panels splint a bit, and you all land dazed for a minute.

TALIESIN: (laughs)

TRAVIS: (groans) An auspicious start.

ROBBIE: How did we do?

TALIESIN: Oh, that was fun.

ROBBIE: How did we do?

LIAM: Is it Aeor?

TRAVIS: (sarcastic) Nice job, Seth.

MATT: All of you take 11 points of force damage.

(laughter)

ROBBIE: Come on! You guys are jerks!

MARISHA: Out of the gate.

ASHLEY: Are we there yet?

(laughter)

LIAM: What did you do?

ROBBIE: Nothing. Why me?

MATT: As Essek pulls himself off the floor and goes, "Like I said, Eiselcross can be a challenge to arrive at. Let us try again."

TRAVIS: Oh, whoa. Okay.

MATT: "Cross your fingers a little heavier."

TRAVIS: Ashton this time, too.

ASHLEY: I don't want to do this anymore. Imagine somebody else.

MATT: Releases the magic and--

LAURA: You're doing it? Are you doing it?

LIAM: Got it.

MATT: -- you're all pulled forward. I need somebody to roll a d100 again.

LIAM: 45.

MATT: 45.

ASHLEY: Okay, that's in the middle.

ROBBIE: That's better than 14, right?

LAURA: That's better.

ASHLEY: Those are good.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: (intensifying whirring) You're all brought in and (thuds) suddenly land. The landscape is cold.

ROBBIE: Okay, good.

LAURA: Cold is good.

MATT: There is a wind that (gentle whistling) begins to kick in, and you immediately pull yourself into a warmer space. A gentle fall of snow begins to apparate around you. You see these rolling white fields of snow on the surrounding mountain range. About a hundred feet to your right, you see an encampment in disarray, looks like an abandoned encampment, some tents that have fallen and bits of old, wooden furniture itself snow and ice-coated. As you all take in this surroundings here, at last, you've arrived. As Essek looks around. "Well, we fucked up."

TRAVIS: What?

LAURA and ASHLEY: Oh.

TALIESIN: There's a lot of different snow in the world.

TRAVIS: I thought you said cold.

MATT: He points off in the distance and you see amongst the mountain range, this cresting. There is one mountain that, actually, a pair of twin mountains side by side where you can see the clouds above. There is hints of what looks like a cityscape built into these twin snowy mountains.

MARISHA: Oh my god.

MATT: "That's Lyrengorn. So we are far north of Tal'Dorei. (sighs)"

LAURA: Wow.

MATT: "All right."

ROBBIE: Come on! Somebody be good.

LAURA: I'm going to do it.

TALIESIN: Oh you got it or I got it?

ROBBIE: Laura, you're--

MATT: "So, here's the thing--"

LAURA: Rollies.

TALIESIN: Rollies?

ASHLEY: Can you not do it again?

MATT: "I can do it once more for the day."

TALIESIN: 17.

ROBBIE: Whew.

MARISHA: What? You can what?

ROBBIE: What?

MARISHA: What?

MATT: "I can do this once more for the day."

LAURA: Okay.

ROBBIE: Oh, come on, man.

MARISHA: Don't fuck this up, Taliesin.

ROBBIE: Come on, baby!

MATT: Warms his fingers for a second. (grunts)

(air whooshing)

TALIESIN: Take me to the islands!

LIAM: Higher. It's higher.

TALIESIN: 61.

MATT: 61.

LAURA: A little better every time.

ROBBIE: That's a D-minus!

(laughter)

TALIESIN: Wow, too real.

ASHLEY: That's too real.

ROBBIE: Sorry. Sorry.

MATT: (whooshes) You feel yourself pulled through the sudden thrust of arcane energy. (whooshing) You all land again in a different set of heavy snow about knee-to-thigh deep. Your legs are chilled in the space.

LAURA: Oh, it's even colder.

LIAM: I can't see anything!

TALIESIN: I got you. (heaves)

(laughter)

TALIESIN: (thuds)

ROBBIE: Oh!

MATT: The snow here's a bit high, and around you, you can see more jagged, more dangerous-looking mountains, closer, surrounding you. The heavy peaks of it looking like in some points like needles or claws, and others, it falls into broken elements, and as you all stand there taking it in, not too far off, you can see this beautiful castle, a fortress of some kind. You can see it maybe about half a mile away from where you stand. The more you look at it, parts of it look like it's old. It's aged. Maybe it's seen some damage through history. Essek goes, "Well, at least we're in Eiselcross. We're not at our intended destination."

LAURA: How far away from our destination are we?

MATT: "I'm not certain. I've not been to this part of the continent."

MARISHA: Oh.

LIAM: So you don't recognize that castle in the distance?

MATT: "I do not."

(laughter)

MATT: As he looks over towards the castle, you also see there are--

TRAVIS: Goddamn it.

MATT: -- things moving along this fortress.

TRAVIS: Yep.

ASHLEY: What are those?

LAURA: Oh no.

TALIESIN: I think they want to be friends.

MATT: You also see a handful of other darkened figures walking through the snow, and maybe only a few hundred feet away, these two lumbering figures (feet thudding) cresting through. You see these 20ish-foot tall humanoid creatures. Based on the heavy furred and bone-based armor across, they look to be giant-like. One of them with a pale-grayish blue skin amongst its, you know, tattered furred armor carrying behind it, dragging some sort of a large axe that carves through the snow like a plow pushing through a field of white. The other one, as it lumbers, you can see blueish-gray skin for parts of it, the parts where exposed bone isn't shown.

LIAM: That's a hundred feet off?

TRAVIS: Undead giants.

MATT: About 150, 200 feet off.

MARISHA: Undead giants. Undead ice giants.

LAURA: Are undead giants usually nice giants?

TRAVIS: No.

MATT: "Not these kind. These are unliving. These are unliving frost giants. We should hide. We should hide." As one of them (groans).

TRAVIS: We just sit in the snow.

MATT: (groans)

TRAVIS: Oh jesus.

LAURA: Wait--

MATT: And we're going to go to break.

(screaming)

MARISHA: Right as Laura was trying to negotiate. Wait, wait, wait, wait.

ALL: Wait, wait.

ROBBIE: We've probably got this.

TRAVIS: Do not see me.

(laughter)

MATT: There's a reason you took a boat to Eiselcross last time.

TRAVIS: Goddamn it. I'm so excited!

ASHLEY: Me too!

LIAM: It's okay, guys. We're safe now.

ASHLEY: I'm so excited we're here.

MARISHA: -- crossed Avantika.

ROBBIE: When we fail, we fail together.

TALIESIN: Hey, we all have a good time, and it's all fun and games.

ASHLEY: That's true.

ROBBIE: Yeah.

MATT: Indeed.

LAURA: I rolled an 86, by the way.

TALIESIN: Well, now you did.

(laughter)

MATT: It's fucking-- All you have to do is find a place to crash for the day and wait for him to--

MARISHA: But what if he bamfs us to the fucking South Pole tomorrow?

ASHLEY: Yeah, what if we get--

LAURA and MATT: It could happen.

TALIESIN: Then we'd meet undead penguins!

ROBBIE: Yeah!

TALIESIN: They'll poop everywhere.

LIAM: Up to 61% is fuckery if not higher.

MATT: There's a reason people don't teleport to Eiselcross often.

LAURA: Yeah, it's really hard to get, like the stats are harder, right?

LIAM: Yeah.

MATT: Yeah.

MARISHA: I was a monk the last time we were here.

LIAM: So we could fart ourselves in a totally wrong place again tomorrow after three tries.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LIAM: That's totally possible.

MATT: Yeah.

MARISHA: Yeah, what if we get further?

TALIESIN: Woo-hoo!

MARISHA: Maybe we fly.

MATT: Eh, we'll deal with it then.

TALIESIN: Giant eagle.

ASHLEY: Oh my god. I'm so excited we're here!

MATT: We'll be back here in a few minutes.

Part II

MATT: And welcome back.

MARISHA: (laughs)

LAURA: So close.

ROBBIE: Close.

TALIESIN: Well done.

LIAM: Razor's edge.

MATT: So--

TRAVIS: It's intentional.

MATT: -- where we left off. Lost in the snow, an icy, mountain- surrounded landscape of an unfamiliar place among the continent of Eiselcross. You and your now apparently a bit nervous guide, Essek Thelyss, look up at the massive fortress not too far off and the numerous undead frost giants that lumber around its exterior, one of which seems to have taken notice of you upon the top of this snowy hill and has turned in your direction.

MARISHA: How far away is he? You were saying things.

LAURA: I was going to say wait.

LIAM: Hundred feet away were the giants.

MARISHA: Wait.

LIAM: Should I just cast Fly on us and then try to get away? Or should we fight it?

LIAM: (elderly) Should I just cast Fly on us?

LAURA: Do I sound like that or what?

ASHLEY: Maybe they're nice.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: They don't look nice.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

LIAM: No, you're Laura Bailey! You're the queen of voiceover! You sound like a bell, like an angel. Proceed.

LAURA: (laughs)

ROBBIE: Good cover.

MARISHA: Essek, how far are we from our destination?

ROBBIE and TRAVIS: Good cover.

MATT: "I do not know precisely where we are."

LAURA: Well.

MATT: "I just assume--"

LAURA: Yo.

MATT: "-- we're in similar looking landscape."

TALIESIN: We're going to need shelter. We're going to need it soon, and we're going to need to deal with this one way or another, whether it be flying.

MATT: You can see now both of them are (stomping).

LIAM: Are they coming in our direction?

MATT: They're running in your direction.

LIAM: Great.

LAURA: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, I can't, eight. Yeah, I can't.

ASHLEY: Oh, well.

ROBBIE: Wait, what do you want to do?

LAURA: I can't Fly that many people.

ROBBIE: I can Fly some people.

LAURA: You can Fly some people?

ROBBIE: Yeah, it's natural for me.

LAURA: Oh.

ROBBIE: I got one Fly. I got one Fly, and I can fly with my winged boots.

LIAM: What if we just rolled around in the snow, and covered ourselves, and acted real quiet?

LAURA: Do you think they already--

TALIESIN: They're literally coming this way, they're running--

LAURA: They see us?

TALIESIN: -- towards us.

LAURA: They are running towards us right now?

LIAM: Are they running or lumbering?

MATT: They're like (heavy stomping).

LAURA: They see us.

MATT: They seem to have noticed at least one of you. One of them is heading in your direction, the other one has taken notice and is like, (growls) and begun following after it.

TALIESIN: Oh cool. Cool, cool, cool, cool.

MARISHA: Okay, but you can get two people, right?

ROBBIE: Yeah, me and one.

MARISHA: You can turn into a thing?

ASHLEY: I can do a shoebill.

TRAVIS: We should talk to them.

LAURA: How far away are they?

LIAM: Flying away is so boring.

TRAVIS: I know.

MATT: About a little over a hundred feet and closing quickly.

LAURA: Okay, I'm going to cast with a Distant spell. I'm going to cast Command on the first one and say: Halt!

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: Ah.

TALIESIN: Ooh.

LIAM: Can't be that bright.

LAURA: Right?

MATT: Now, you say this Command, which affects humanoids, correct?

LAURA: Maybe.

MARISHA: (laughs)

LAURA: The creature.

TRAVIS: But will certainly affect undead giants.

MATT: Sorry.

LAURA: Creature--

LIAM: Sorry.

LAURA: -- I can see within range.

MATT: Okay, gotcha, I want to make sure. That depends, some of these-- Correct. Yeah, and it has to be able to understand you. That's what it is.

LAURA: Oh, wait. Never mind, the spell has no effect if the target's undead.

MATT: Yep, that I thought as well. (laughs) So you say that, they just (stomping)

ASHLEY: He's not stopping. He's not stopping.

MATT: It reaches over and grabs a chunk of broken ice block.

MARISHA: Are we flying or fighting?

LAURA: Should do it, fuck!

LIAM: Woop, Bait and Switch on Imogen!

MATT: (whooshes) And it's going to throw it in your direction.

ROBBIE: Oh no!

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

LIAM: Will you allow my Bait and Switch out that I just called out real fast?

MATT: Sure, yeah. You did, you did.

LAURA: Oh.

LIAM: Okay. So you get an extra, I see that rock coming, you get an extra four to your AC.

LAURA: Okay, (gasps) so oh. That makes it 21.

LIAM: 21?

LAURA: Because I took my ring off.

(groaning)

ROBBIE: Oh! Oh no!

MARISHA: Mage Armor!

TALIESIN: What? She had a spare.

MARISHA: Oh, no, sorry, that's not. I don't have that spell! Mirror Image! That's Imogen's spell.

TALIESIN: She had a spare.

TRAVIS: Don't want to die!

LAURA: I have the staff.

LIAM: Oh, she's full up. She's full up.

LAURA: I'm full up.

LIAM: She's got all the attunements she can eat.

MATT: That is 26 points of bludgeoning damage.

LAURA: Yeah!

LIAM: Damn.

MATT: As this massive icicle (smashing).

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

MATT: You watch as it impacts right before it hits Imogen, and hits the ground, and then rolls over her in rapid speed, and (spattering) vanishes below. As it goes over you, you see her crushed down in the snow.

LIAM: My Bait and Switch rolls are always such shit.

LAURA: No, it was great. Don't talk about yourself like that.

TALIESIN: So we need a plan. I am getting, I am now ready for whatever the fuck's coming.

ASHLEY: Are we fighting or flying?

MATT: You can see a number of the other--

TALIESIN: Shit.

MATT: -- undead giants just starting to turn.

ROBBIE: How many?

MATT: You noticed. Right now, there's the two coming towards you. There's about three other ones that have noticed. Amongst, between here and the stronghold, probably close to 20 to 30 that are immediately in visible range.

LIAM: Stronghold was a mile away, right?

ASHLEY: We can just talk to them and see if we can stay here for the night.

MATT: But the ones that are closest to you are scattered out and they're starting to notice, almost like a chain.

LIAM: Oh-kay.

LAURA: All right, I can cast Fly on four people.

TALIESIN: We can throw rocks.

ROBBIE: Four?

LAURA: I can cast Fly on four people.

TALIESIN: Seth, do you have an idea?

LIAM: Including yourself?

ASHLEY: Mm-hmm.

LIAM: That's okay.

MARISHA: If you can, he is--

MATT: "You can call me Essek, and-- (groans)"

TALIESIN: I am prepared to try and knock whatever the fuck comes flying at us as hard as humanly possible until someone--

LAURA: I can try to teleport us.

TALIESIN: Sure!

MATT: "You don't even know where we're going."

LAURA: No, I don't!

MATT: "You will have no chance of getting there."

ASHLEY: I can carry you.

LIAM: Fearnie gurney.

ASHLEY: I can carry Orym.

MATT: "(groans)"

MARISHA: What? What? Can you fly? Can you not fly?

MATT: "Scheisse."

MATT: And is going to attempt to cast Teleport one last time.

ALL: Oh!

LAURA: Oh jeez louise!

TRAVIS: I thought he only had three.

MARISHA: Is he doing it at a higher level?

TRAVIS: He lied!

MATT: (laughs) He was trying to save his 9th-level spell for something else.

LAURA: Oh shit.

ROBBIE: Oh no!

LAURA: Oh, we going to have to sleep.

TRAVIS: It never works out the way you wanted to.

ROBBIE: But he's our fwiend!

LAURA: 9th-level!

MATT: So I would like one more person to roll a d100, please.

TRAVIS: I got this.

TALIESIN: Bailey?

TRAVIS: My wife's got this.

(laughter)

LAURA: Oh no, no, the pressure now, no!

ROBBIE: Yes, yes.

LIAM: We know she's going to roll high because she's told us she can.

ROBBIE: Yeah.

LAURA: (wheezes)

ASHLEY: She's going to do it right now.

ROBBIE: We need stealth!

TRAVIS: Watch this.

LIAM: Oh my god.

LAURA: What was that?

LIAM: It's a 48.

ASHLEY: Uh-oh.

LAURA: Is that a 48?

LIAM: Yep.

LAURA: It's at advantage, though, because it's a 9th-level spell.

TRAVIS: Fucking haggles.

MATT: Mm, unfortunately, no.

LIAM: Go back to your garage sales.

MARISHA: Just inch it a ways closer.

TALIESIN: I rolled a 61.

LAURA: But you know what? At least it's going to get us away from here.

ROBBIE: Yeah, but end up in Fart Town, though, or somewhere shit.

ASHLEY: Or just teleport us right closer to them.

MARISHA: Yeah!

(laughter)

ASHLEY: Shit!

(laughter)

ROBBIE: You're giving him ideas! You're giving him ideas!

MARISHA: I mean.

TRAVIS: Fuck!

ASHLEY: (screams)

ROBBIE: Just right into its mouth.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Oh my god.

MATT: As the spell takes effect, as you're starting to scatter, you can see the two undead giants. The one getting closer, you can see the lower jaw is missing flesh.

ASHLEY: What are we doing?!

MATT: Then (whooshing) you pull out, and (whooshing), you land in another patch of snow elsewhere.

(relieved sighs)

MATT: The landscape unfamiliar, not as close to the ones near you.

TRAVIS: We just drop prone.

(thudding)

MATT: Yep.

MARISHA: Oh yeah.

LAURA: (shushes)

MATT: Essek looks up a bit--

TRAVIS: Stop floating and lay down, Essek.

(laughter)

MATT: "Well, the good news is we've gotten away. Bad news is I have no idea where we are."

ASHLEY: Cool. That's fine. I'm sorry, I'm just stressed so I'm getting sarcastic.

LAURA: All right.

ASHLEY: It's great.

MATT: "You said you have the ability to do this as well?"

LAURA: I have a staff that, yeah.

TALIESIN: Should we at least look around to see where we are? Or maybe.

MATT: "I do not--"

LAURA: Oh, I never took the 7th-level spell.

MATT: "I don't have any illusions prepared to even try and convey the location in Eiselcross."

ASHLEY: I can locate an object, if that's helpful at all in this moment.

LAURA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Is it just--

MATT: "Good for you."

TRAVIS: Just so we don't get surprised, can I just use my nose on the wind and just make sure something's not--

MATT: Yeah, roll a perception check.

TALIESIN: I assume we're taking a 360.

LIAM: Yeah, always.

MATT: "(sighs)"

TRAVIS: Se-- 16.

LIAM: 31.

MATT: Okay, looking around here, first thing you notice is it's actually pretty cold here as well, but the air is thinner, which means you're at an elevation.

LAURA: Cool.

MATT: Glancing around, you can see there's mountain ranges are, looks like a smaller mountain range around you just like, you know, a few peaks in different directions, but you do not see the horizon, which leads you to believe quickly that you are probably on the higher end, if not the peak of some mountain or a mountain range.

ASHLEY: I feel short of breath. Why can't I get a (gasps), a full breath in?

(laughter)

ASHLEY: What's happening?

(laughter)

ASHLEY: And it's just really cold.

MATT: You don't see or sense anything immediately that causes you to feel worried or in danger, but you are still keeping a close watch, but this definitely feels like a desolate mountaintop. Like a somewhat jagged, wrung plateau of some kind.

LIAM: What's our footing like? Are we on a little precipice? Do we have a lot of room up high?

MATT: Where you are right now, you're on an area that's mostly rock. You can feel a hard stone beneath your feet, but there's about a foot and a half, two feet of snow over that right now. Then you can see the rest of the valley around you like a shallow valley around the nearby mountains that is all white.

ROBBIE: Oh.

LIAM: Okay.

TALIESIN: We need to find a cave.

TRAVIS: Any scents on the wind or just cold?

MATT: Just cold.

LIAM: I'm on Fearne's shoulder because it's up to my nose.

MATT: Essek, you can see is now creating a very small illusion looking towards you, Imogen. He's like, "There is a--" You can see there's a, it looks like land masses with a cliff, and rocks, and ruins. He's like "(sighs), This isn't going to help. Lest you had a clear image of it, you'd have little to no chance of even getting there."

LAURA: What if we had something from the place?

TALIESIN: Oh.

MATT: "Perhaps."

TALIESIN: Oh.

TRAVIS: Oh, oh! Yeah! I take the bag of holding.

(whirring)

LAURA: Well, that have been helpful for you to have (chuckles) this whole time.

LIAM: Well.

ROBBIE: (chuckles)

MATT: "Possibly."

LAURA: Mm.

TRAVIS: (grunts) Bring out the piece of machinery.

ASHLEY: Oh, that's right.

LIAM: Whoa.

MATT: "I've seen of its like. It'll probably be at the same chance, but you can--

MARISHA: Are you able to peek into his head? For imagery?

LAURA: I could try that.

MARISHA: If it'll help, I don't know.

LAURA: Are you willing to open up your mind?

TRAVIS: (squeaks)

MARISHA: I mean, both, I was thinking--

TRAVIS: No, no, it's fucking cool.

LAURA: We might need it.

ROBBIE: It's a good idea.

TRAVIS: I'll just carry the bag.

(laughter)

MATT: "Perhaps the two together might be of aid."

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: "Sure, I'll let you in a brief peek. Just don't go poking around, please."

LAURA: Okay.

LIAM: Look for dirty thoughts.

MATT: "(heavy sigh)" Letting you into his consciousness. For a brief instant, you see shadows around, almost like there are other memories, lengthy memories with curtains thrown over them to ensure that you do not peek beyond where you're supposed to. But in that shadow, you see an image begin to apparate. You see now the familiar snow and frosted landscape that you've been to. But this one's uniquely different. You see the crown of mountains around this majestic valley, the black jagged peaks then pushing through the ice and snow. In this valley, you see long expanses of ice with broken towers poking out, breaking through the ice sheets. You can see little facets and glimpses of ancient ruin mostly locked somewhere beneath this glacial ice. You shift through the bird's eye view of his memory, and you see this kind of entryway. You see a path that leads into this glacial shelf. You then get glimpses of subterranean ruins, flashes of faint blue glow in spaces, and you see him shake his head, "I have to keep you focused. And we cannot go directly there. Did you see that cliff that--" The image in his head shifts back to that point. You can see there's the ice shelf ends in a cliff and leads down to this slight decline. There's other jutting parts of ruin.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: But you see a crack in this glacial shelf and a dark point entrance.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: "Well, you can certainly try."

LAURA: Yeah. All right. (chuckles) Everybody, gather around.

ROBBIE: You better do it.

LIAM: Come on, caster, let's go.

LAURA: I'm going to just reach my hand in the bag of holding and touch the--

TRAVIS: (moans)

ASHLEY: (laughs)

LAURA: Chetney.

TRAVIS: Hmm?

LAURA: Move the bag.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: What's this? What's this?

LAURA: What's this? Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.

TRAVIS: ♪ That's my balls in the air ♪

ASHLEY: Guidance?

LAURA: Oh, will that help? Guidance?

MATT: No, but it's just nice to have.

LAURA: It's nice.

(laughter)

ROBBIE: Sweet.

TRAVIS: It makes you feel like it.

MATT: Yeah, it's some nice little warm fuzzy feeling before you know it.

LAURA: Yeah, okay.

LIAM: She cares.

LAURA: And I'm just rolling. I'm just going to roll.

MATT: So as you pull the staff out, Essek looks at the staff with an odd glance. As you begin to concentrate and the runes begin to glow, he goes--

TRAVIS: Yes.

MATT: Just like holds his breath and squints his eyes.

TALIESIN: I'm going to rage. I don't trust anything that's about to happen.

MARISHA: Wait, did Essek recognize the staff?

MATT: No, he just--

TRAVIS: He just knows.

MARISHA: Okay. He just knows it's bad. Yeah, yeah.

TRAVIS: He's giving himself up.

LAURA: (puffs)

TRAVIS: (throat clears)

LAURA: That's a, oh!

LIAM: Oh, well, that's--

LAURA: It's cocked, it's cocked, it's cocked, it's cocked.

TRAVIS, MARISHA, and LIAM: Come on.

LIAM: Nope.

LAURA: Fucking 49. I thought this was going to be the 90.

ROBBIE: Oh, the cocked was 90, what?

ASHLEY: It's a good, it's a good--

LAURA: It was cocked towards 90.

ASHLEY: It's good, though.

LIAM: Bad cock.

ASHLEY: That's good, though.

LAURA: The cocked was 99.

MATT: (gasps)

LAURA: But it was cocked.

LIAM: Nah, nah.

MATT: Fair enough.

ASHLEY: It's going to be good.

MATT: Very well.

ROBBIE: (sighs)

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: Back to the ice giants.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: Damn it!

ROBBIE: Oh man. Oh.

MATT: (whooshing) You all vanish from the top of this mountainscape and instead land in a glade of some kind, a frozen snowy glade between a number of tall, reaching, snow-covered pine trees.

LAURA: Y'all, this is beautiful.

MARISHA: This is gorgeous.

ASHLEY: This is better.

ROBBIE: Much better.

ASHLEY: This is much better. This is much better. You did such a good job.

TALIESIN: (shushes)

LIAM: Trouble, danger?

LAURA: Oh, sorry.

ROBBIE: Are we jinxing it?

MATT: Perception check.

TRAVIS: (sniffs)

LIAM: 27.

TRAVIS: We'll go with Orym's.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: He won.

ASHLEY: We'll just sniffs.

TRAVIS: I've got a runny nose.

(chuckling)

ROBBIE: It's cold!

LIAM: Too much coke.

MATT: Immediately around you, you see no creatures beyond a couple of snow rabbits that dart away as you all arrive and make yourselves known.

TRAVIS: (arrow firing)

MARISHA: Yes.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MARISHA: That's immediately what I thought of.

TRAVIS: (thudding) (screams)

(laughter)

TRAVIS: That's the greatest fucking thing I've ever heard.

LIAM: (splattering)

(laughter)

MATT: Nothing immediately there, but you see Essek going, "All right, still have no idea where we are. Perhaps we just call this a wash for the moment and stay close."

TALIESIN: Okay, now that there's nothing here, yeah, this is way better. This is good.

LIAM: Mountains anywhere or are we?

TRAVIS: Snow-covered palm trees?

LIAM: All we see are trees with ice?

MATT: No, pine trees.

TALIESIN: Pine trees.

TRAVIS: I think he said palm trees.

(laughter)

ROBBIE: Sweet.

TALIESIN: We're on the Universal backlot!

TRAVIS: Poor Nicodranas!

MARISHA: Fucking snow on the 101!

MATT: (chuckles)

ASHLEY: Should we go into the--

MATT: Steps into a nearby alcove about 40 feet off and says, "I can keep us safe for the time being, but get close."

LAURA: (groans) All right.

MATT: He looks into a small side tome that he has pocketed and glances through, reminds himself of something. Mutters the incantation. "(speaks in foreign language)" As he puts his hands down, this amber-colored dome surrounds all of you. Then immediately, the cold becomes a comfortable centralized, climate- controlled temperature. He sits down. "(sighs) All right. It's a good thing I woke up relatively early in the day because I'm going to have to take an early nap. Yes. Sorry about this."

LAURA: I'm sorry as well.

ASHLEY: No, no, no.

LIAM: So it hasn't been that long, right? It's been a handful of minutes from Zadash.

TALIESIN: It's been an exciting 10 minutes.

LAURA: Yeah, 10 minutes, right?

LIAM: (thudding)

MATT: Yep.

LIAM: Yeah.

MARISHA: Just screaming the whole time.

LAURA and MARISHA: (screams)

MATT: (laughs)

LIAM: Okay.

LAURA: All right.

ASHLEY: We could scry.

LIAM: How does this work? Do we all have to stay inside it?

MATT: "Yes, I mean, you can leave if you need to, but while inside, it is comfortable and most nothing could penetrate the boundary itself, so."

ASHLEY: How do we get in and out?

LIAM: Solid?

MATT: You put your hand towards it, it passes through slightly.

TALIESIN: I want to go look around.

MATT: But you do notice that the snowfall that's here is stopping and gathering a bit on the top.

MARISHA: It's like being in a snow globe.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: "Yeah, something like that." He pulls open his book and sits and leans against the side and starts reading through his book and you can see that frustrated knot in the middle of his forehead.

TALIESIN: I'm sneaking outside. How dense is this forest, out of curiosity?

MATT: It's fairly dense. Beyond just this one little pocket, you can see the treeline immediately falls back to back to back.

MARISHA: All right.

LIAM: Oh, cool.

MARISHA: Now what?

ROBBIE: It's nice.

TRAVIS: Anyone we should message? I thought we'd be in Aeor by now. These delays are a bitch.

MATT: "It certainly beats trying to take skyship or boat, I guarantee you."

ROBBIE: Chitchat, little nap, try again tomorrow.

MATT: "I think that's--"

LIAM: Well, it's--

LAURA: Well, if he takes a nap--

LIAM: -- lunchtime.

MARISHA: Do you need a full eight hours good rest?

MATT: "I need an extensive bit of sleep, yes." He reaches into a pouch and pulls out a face mask.

(laughter)

LAURA: Well, good night.

MATT: "(grunts)" And curls up the far back part of the dome against the little hillscape that's there. Drops in.

ASHLEY: When he starts to fall asleep, I'm going to lift up his robe and look at his feet.

LIAM: Once he passes out, you mean?

ASHLEY: Once he passes out.

LIAM: Yeah.

MATT: Okay, make a sleigh of hand check.

TRAVIS: Like his shoes or boots or?

ASHLEY: I just want to see how he's floating!

ROBBIE: I thought you just wanted to see his feet.

ASHLEY: Not his feet.

LAURA: (laughs)

ROBBIE: Essek's on Foot Finder.

ASHLEY: I rolled a two.

TALIESIN: She has a gold account on WikiFeet.

ASHLEY: Nine.

MATT: A nine.

ASHLEY: They're just regular feet.

MATT: Just barely sees. As you peek, he shoots up a little bit and pulls the face mask up a little bit over one eye and goes like, "Is there an issue?"

ASHLEY: Did you want a foot rub to help you sleep? I was going to help you try, I can just, I'm going to... I walk out of the globe.

MATT: As you start-- (laughter) Goes back to rest. It is an arduously boring eight hours of waiting for Essek to recover his spell craft for all the intensity and drive and energy going into this venture towards your supposed destination of mystery and deadly traps. Now you're sitting in the mountain--

LAURA: Does he not have--

LIAM: We're rested up.

LAURA: Does he not have ability to get the four hours--

MATT: There are limitations--

LAURA: -- long rest?

MATT: No, actually, yeah, as an elf, he would only have four hours.

LIAM: Yeah.

MATT: That's right.

MARISHA: That's good.

LIAM: Pseudo meditation.

MARISHA: The meditation thing.

MATT: So he takes in his reverie.

MARISHA: I'll take a short rest.

MATT: Take a short rest, if you like.

LIAM: Yep.

ROBBIE: Oh. I need it.

ASHLEY: I'm going to try to look around and see if--

TALIESIN: I'm attempting to climb a tree at the moment.

TRAVIS: Yeah, if there was any game in the forest nearby, I might try and use the harp.

TALIESIN: Ooh.

TRAVIS: See how it is.

MATT: Go ahead and roll a d20 and add your attack modifier. Dexterity and the plus two bonus.

TRAVIS: That's a dirty 20 plus one, did you say?

MATT: It's your bonus--

TRAVIS: Plus two, so 22.

MATT: 22, okay. You hear this (wet grunting, screeching) and this streak and you see this a small shape go running past and you (arrow pinging) fire (thudding) and it comes to rest and you see an adolescent boar--

TRAVIS: Ooh!

MATT: -- that is now at your disposal.

TRAVIS: (running noises) Yes! Oh, fucking sweet meat. Um. Ah. Now, should I take it back to the others? Hard to tell. Ah, kick it again. Pick it up, I'll start dragging it back.

MATT: You're climbing a tree?

TALIESIN: I'm attempting to climb a tree.

MATT: Roll an athletics check for me.

TALIESIN: All right.

LIAM: Yeah, bring it back, I need protein.

TRAVIS: This ass jerky isn't going to make itself.

TALIESIN: Oh, that's terrible. That's natural one for 12.

MATT: Well, it's a natural one.

TALIESIN: Yeah, I know.

MATT: So you see this tree, good view. You get two branches up. (snap) It breaks and you fall in your ass.

(laughter)

MATT: Shit. You go to the next one. This one's pretty sturdy. You get three branches-- (snap, thud) Fall on your ass and take five points of bludgeoning.

TALIESIN: All right. Apparently, if you're made of rock, climbing a tree, a little difficult.

ASHLEY: I'll do it.

MATT: Athletics check for me, Fearne.

ROBBIE: You got hooves.

TRAVIS: She confidently says.

MARISHA: I know.

MATT: I love it.

LIAM: (as Fearne) You have my hooves.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: I'm a horologist.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: Ooh, okay.

TALIESIN: Time is a weird soup.

ASHLEY: Athletics check, you said?

MATT: Mm-hmm.

ASHLEY: Oh, shit, it's minus two.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: 14.

MATT: 14 is enough, though. It takes you a bit and in a hilarious display of showing up the athletic prowess of Ashton here in the snow, you leap and grab and leap and grab until you get to the top--

ASHLEY: Hooves are slippery.

(laughter)

MATT: To the higher part of this tree and eventually you crest beyond the canopy's top, and as you glance from this point, you're on the side of a hillside slant in this massive snow-covered forest. As you look past, you see it does continue on. There are pockets where it dissipates and you can almost see the edge of a frozen lake somewhere. As it continues on in the middle of this valley, there is a mountain range on one side that continues into one massive mountain and this is miles and miles off, but you swear you can see at the edge of the foot of this mountain, a city, a very large city built, tall battlement walls that surround it, multiple layers and you can see it built into this large mountain, this cliffside peak. You can see a handful of other bits of trails of smoke drifting up at different parts of this forest where you have either fires in the middle of the snowstorm or other smaller signs of civilization might exist throughout this valley.

TALIESIN: Are fucking you with me?

ASHLEY: No.

TALIESIN: Wow, okay.

ASHLEY: I mean, I have no idea where we are. I have no idea where we are.

MATT: (echoing) Are, are.

TALIESIN: No, I could have heard you. It was okay. I, hmm. Nothing in any-- well, yeah. How much of a walk would it have been to get to that city at this point?

MATT: Through this forest? A number of days.

ROBBIE: Mm.

MARISHA: Wow.

TALIESIN: At least we know it's there.

ASHLEY: We know a direction.

MARISHA: Sure.

TALIESIN: I guess it's pretty, okay, that's fine, I don't care.

TRAVIS: Back to the dome. I've cleaned the boar. I've gotten some branches and started a little fire. (fire igniting) Some of my blood magic shit. Making some ass jerky for Orym.

LIAM: Pocket bacon?

TRAVIS: Yep.

LIAM: Okay.

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Making a little spit, a little impromptu spit to turn and burn, baby.

MATT: And the cleanest, most polished spit you've ever seen crafted of wood.

TRAVIS: You bet your ass, no imperfections.

(laughter)

MATT: Eventually, you see Essek sit up, pulling off the face mask. "(sniffing) Do you have any extra?"

TRAVIS: You bet. Especially for you.

MARISHA: How are you feeling? Feeling rested? Feeling good?

MATT: "Feeling willing enough to try again."

TALIESIN: Interestingly enough. I mean, Fearne got to the top of a tree.

ASHLEY: Yeah, I did.

TRAVIS: You got to the top of a tree?

ASHLEY: Yes, I did. Why do you have to say it like that?

TRAVIS: That's incredible. We're trying to jump continents and you're climbing trees, that's great.

LAURA: What'd you see?

ASHLEY: Well, there was more snow and a slopey situation, and then there was maybe the edge of a frozen lake and a city.

LAURA: Oh!

ASHLEY: But it looks like it's a few days away.

LIAM: A big one?

ASHLEY: Yeah. Like a real city. Does that make sense?

MATT: "I believe you, that makes sense, yes."

ASHLEY: Well, I mean does it sound familiar?

TRAVIS: A city?

MATT: "I've been to a few cities in my time."

(laughter)

ASHLEY: In Aeor, in where we're supposed to go in this area? No?

MATT: "For the most part, the only cities of Eiselcross are the southern side, not in this densely forested region, and the dynasty city of Vurmas is actually on the water, so."

LAURA: So we're definitely not in Eiselcross.

LIAM: We're in the highest points of what? Wildemount or--

MATT: "I do not know."

LIAM: -- Issylra?

MATT: "This is not familiar to me."

LAURA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: I'm betting Wildemount.

MATT: "So, let's try and get out of here, shall we? Everyone have your things? Everyone ready?"

TRAVIS: Anybody else wants some boar?

MARISHA: Yes.

ASHLEY and TALIESIN: Yes, please.

TALIESIN: Yes.

ROBBIE: Sure.

MATT: Takes a piece, finishes chewing on it. "All right."

TRAVIS: Saved you the cork.

MATT: "Let's try again before the day takes us."

ASHLEY: You got this.

MATT: (intense swoosh) As he releases the magic once more, I need somebody else to roll a d100 for me.

ROBBIE: Who hasn't done it?

LAURA: Not me. Do it. You got this.

ROBBIE: Chet hasn't gone yet?

LIAM: Come on, Marisha.

MARISHA: Oh my god.

ROBBIE: Yeah!

ASHLEY: Come on.

LIAM: This is your moment.

ASHLEY: Come on.

ROBBIE: Redeem yourself.

MARISHA: Would it makes sense if our odds--

TRAVIS: Don't fucking rationalize it.

MARISHA: If one person had better odds, like you know, trying to...

TALIESIN: That's not how that works.

MARISHA: Shut up.

LIAM: Come on.

MARISHA: (laughs) Oh, 53.

LAURA: Ah!

ROBBIE: Let's wipe that booty.

LAURA: It's over 50.

TRAVIS: Well, I think we rolled in the 60s once.

ROBBIE: We rolled in the 60s before.

LAURA: Yeah.

ROBBIE: Before we rolled 61.

TALIESIN: One. One roll.

ROBBIE: Chet, are you our last hope here?

ASHLEY: What do we have to get?

MATT: (swooshes) You all arrived--

LAURA: It's going to be you.

TRAVIS: Always was.

MATT: On the edge of a mountain slope and you all have to catch yourselves as the snow begins to slide and you can see now you could very easily begin to tumble--

LAURA: Is this it? Did you--

MATT: -- into the valley below.

LAURA: Did you do it?

MATT: "No, this is not it!"

TALIESIN: I hit the button on the hammer.

LAURA: Do it again. Do it again.

TALIESIN: There is now something to hold onto.

MATT: "I can't. Hold onto my shoulders." He begins to do the physical incantation as you're holding, his legs, hovering a little bit in the space.

TALIESIN: UnLock.

MATT: Teleports again. Marking another spell slot. Someone roll another d100.

LAURA: Oh god. It's you.

ROBBIE and MARISHA: It's you!

EVERYONE ELSE: You!

MARISHA: Come on!

ROBBIE: You're the chosen one.

TRAVIS: No problem.

LIAM: Don't fuck us.

TRAVIS: 46.

(laughter)

MARISHA: (screams)

TRAVIS: 96, it's a 96.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: Oh!

ALL: Ah!

MATT: As you all go "aah!"

MARISHA: Oh my god.

MATT: (impacts) As you all land--

MARISHA: Son of a bitch.

MATT: -- you look around to another similar landscape of ice and snow.

TALIESIN: Cool.

MATT: The only person of real recognition is you, as you saw the image of this in Essek's mind.

LAURA: We made it! We made it. We made it.

ASHLEY: It all looks the same.

MATT: "Ssh."

ROBBIE: Ssh, ssh, ssh, ssh.

TALIESIN: It all looks the same.

LIAM: We're on flat land?

MATT: He points over and you can see now where you are. There's rocks pushing out of the nearby snow, but you take a moment to realize and they're not rocks. You see structure. You see a corkscrew design of stairs that have been smoothed over time along one edge of a massive pillar that's broken at the top. You can see another edge of a crumpled building peak that has just enough of a corner point and designs among it where it looks like it was once a beautiful structure, now lost to the weathered elements in time. It just barely stands beyond the peak of the ice. Here between this small descent, this snow-filled slow crawl to the base of this glacial cliff side, you can see this dark crack that snakes up the base in a shattered walkway, adds to darkness within. "Very well. We have arrived. Try and be as quiet as possible and stay close."

ASHLEY: (fart) I'm so sorry.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: He drifts above the snow and begins to glide down towards that cliff entrance. I would like a group stealth check from you all.

MARISHA: Group stealth.

ASHLEY: Pass Without a Trace.

LIAM: Essek's heading down to a crevasse?

LAURA: Pass Without a Trace?

ASHLEY: Pass Without a Trace.

TALIESIN: Who's doing it? I can do it.

ASHLEY: Me.

TALIESIN: Okay, you got it?

ASHLEY: I'll do one of them.

TALIESIN: All right. Is the plan to not--?

LIAM: So disadvantage for me.

TRAVIS: Do I dare? I should know not to do this, but.

ASHLEY: Why doesn't it show up when I look for things?

ROBBIE: No, why roll that one?

MARISHA: Why, because we took a rest?

TRAVIS: No, because this one is such a bitch.

ROBBIE: This has betrayed me every time.

TRAVIS: That's fine.

LAURA: What?

ROBBIE: These ones.

LAURA: Okay. Not the Dorian dice!

LIAM: So many do.

ROBBIE: I haven't rolled them yet.

MATT: Ashton.

TALIESIN: 20.

LAURA: Are you saving it for something special?

LIAM: 20.

ROBBIE: You do know me.

MARISHA: With Pass Without a Trace?

LIAM: Yeah.

LAURA: Because he's at disadvantage.

LIAM: Yeah.

MARISHA: Ugh.

LIAM: Tie-tie

LAURA: 27.

MATT: Well, you're at a, but you, didn't she--

LIAM: Stealth?

MATT: No, I was going to say didn't she take the magical item?

LAURA: Oh, it's not at disadvantage now.

LIAM: That's not for stealth, though, that's acrobatics, or maybe it's a brand new item and I don't remember.

MATT: No, sorry, you took it, you have it for the next long rest, advantage on all.

LIAM: So it's straight.

MATT: So it's a straight roll for you.

LIAM: Well, I don't know what I roll anymore.

MATT: Just reroll one more time.

LIAM: 20s pretty good. That's better.

LAURA: That's better.

LIAM: That's with Pass without a Trace, that is 33.

MATT: That's better.

LIAM: Yep.

LAURA: 27.

MATT: All right.

ASHLEY: 30.

MATT: Ooh.

ROBBIE: 14.

LAURA: That's not bad. That's not terrible.

ASHLEY: Okay.

ROBBIE: Wait, oh, with 10.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

ROBBIE: Oh we get 10?

LAURA: Yes.

LIAM: Plus 10.

ROBBIE: 24.

MATT: 24, okay.

MARISHA: 21.

MATT: All righty.

TRAVIS: 41.

LAURA: (gags)

(exclaiming)

LIAM: Yes.

ASHLEY: How?

LIAM: (deeply) Roll.

MATT: (laughs)

LAURA: Whoa.

ASHLEY: He flies.

LAURA: That's the highest--

TRAVIS: Natural 19, plus 12 plus 10.

MARISHA: Shit, we left Chetney behind. We're got to turn back.

(laughter)

LAURA: Is that higher than the last time you rolled?

LIAM: I think I got like 44 at one point.

ROBBIE: He's everywhere.

TRAVIS: Yeah, everywhere.

MATT: Yeah, somewhere, Chetney, you feel a mysterious high five from some extremely mysterious being from another campaign. The hell?

TRAVIS: Everybody gets wet willies.

LIAM: Because his chest hair and hair just vanishes in the snow.

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Fur lining. Uh.

MATT: Following down, you head towards the entry here, and as you head towards it, you notice before anybody else does that some of the rock outcroppings and bits of ice, the snow that's landed on them isn't snow, it's fur. There are a handful of large furred humanoid entities that are grasped onto the ice and are just sitting there. It looks like they're hibernating against the side of the cliff.

TRAVIS: Whoa.

MATT: You will quietly descend towards the entrance and through the dark cavern to whatever lies within. Here moving through this tunnel itself, the snow begins to give way to frost, where whatever moisture exists in this space now has become small ice crystals that crack a little bit under your footsteps, but the spell that you've cast muffles that sound as you begin to descend three-by-three, and eventually two-by-two, and it gets smaller and smaller. You both now aware that this is happening. You look up into the icy ceiling of this perpetually tightening cavern and you can see a few more of these strange, white furred entities that are clutching to the ceiling. You can see occasionally one shift a bit and they're just--

LIAM: Did you say humanoid?

MATT: They look humanoid. Make a perception check.

LIAM: How many heads they got?

TRAVIS: General size? [thudding]

LIAM: Oh.

LAURA: (nervous noise) Stealth. Oh, I had my pop, my lollipop out.

LIAM: So this is at disadvantage. Great, that is a 21.

MATT: 21. So glancing up at the ceiling, you can see they look to be probably... At first, you just see a furred mass. You see the back of the head, maybe some legs. Now that you get closer as the ceiling is maybe only about 20 or so feet above you at this point, it's taller than it is wide. As the cavern pincer in, you can see these elements of icicle and stone coming through. They would probably stand at a full height of about eight feet, eight and a half feet. You see one of them shift and like (creature growling) and shift, you could see bits of the skin beneath showing the fur, long fingers, heavy, thick-looking joints. You see in the face, a long, bulbous nose that curls in front of the rest of its trollish face.

TRAVIS: Whoa.

MATT: These are ice trolls.

LAURA: Ice trolls.

LIAM: Ice trolls!

MATT: Here--

TRAVIS: Those are.

MATT: You can see probably a good half dozen or so throughout your passage into this tunnel. Quietly you move, and none of them seem to be bothered or pushed from their midday slumber. They might be nocturnal, or they might be in a phase of, well, glancing at them, you're not sure how thick ice trolls are supposed to be, but these are kind of thin. They might be a little hungry, so they might be saving their energy.

TRAVIS: I hate it.

MATT: The tunnel gets thinner until it's only one-by-one. You have to move single file. Could I please get a marching order of your troop, please?

ASHLEY: I'm getting claustrophobic.

LIAM: I'll go first.

TRAVIS: I'll go second.

ASHLEY: I'll go third.

TALIESIN: I'll go fourth.

MATT: All right, hold on.

TRAVIS: Tiny tots up front!

LIAM: I'm on the sandbox.

MATT: So we have Orym, who's--

MARISHA: (sneezes) Shit, I didn't get it in time.

LIAM: Chet, Fearne, Ash.

MATT: All right, Chetney, Fearne.

ROBBIE: You tap for sneezing.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm. Yeah, it helps.

MATT: Ashton fourth.

MARISHA: It helps clear the demons.

TRAVIS: Imogen!

MATT: Essek's going to request to be in the center.

LIAM: So many demons.

MARISHA: I'll be behind Essek.

MATT: Behind Essek, cool.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: Imogen, and then you're holding up the rear?

ROBBIE: I'll hold up the rear.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: (longingly) Dorian.

MATT: You move on--

ROBBIE: (laughs) The caboose, baby.

TRAVIS: (laughs) Yeah.

MATT: You move on for only a few more minutes before even the single file becomes too thin to walk. You notice where the crevasse stops, a small tunnel continues in that you would need to crawl through to progress.

ASHLEY: I hate this.

LIAM: I'm good.

LAURA: So we crawl.

TRAVIS: We should, before we get into a tunnel that we have to crawl through, Orym should definitely go first and make sure that it's not going to get us stuck in a tunnel.

TALIESIN: Mm-hmm.

TRAVIS: You got it, Orym.

LIAM: That's a good call. Make sure it doesn't get any smaller than me. Go 30, 40, 50 feet ahead.

ASHLEY: Can you put a rope around your--

LAURA: Is it all dark or can you see?

MATT: Oh, it is absolutely pitch black.

LAURA: Can I send some--

MATT: There's the faint little bit of daylight that's peeking through from the area you came in.

TRAVIS: I can do dark. I can go with darkvision.

LAURA: Oh, okay.

TRAVIS: Save the light in case, you know, it gives our position away.

ASHLEY: Whoever is going through, can you take a rope or something too just in case?

TALIESIN: Yes, please.

TRAVIS: Sure. 50 feet of rope?

LIAM: You're going to slide ahead?

TRAVIS: Tag, yeah, I'll go, because I don't need the light.

MATT: Okay. You take the rope and you progress inward and you take the narrow crawlspace that continues on and winds and shifts a little bit. But 50 feet go in, and at times it dips low, but at times it opens up again. It seems fine up to 50 feet. You come to the end of the rope and it just continues onward.

TRAVIS: Uh, uh--

TALIESIN: If we see the end of the rope, we will tie a knot to that with the next 50 feet of rope and give it a little tug.

TRAVIS: (stage whisper) It's fine.

LIAM: Chet says it's fine.

LAURA: All right.

LIAM: This is still cavern, right? This is not carved in any way, right? It's just natural?

MATT: Yeah.

LIAM: Okay.

MATT: It's mostly ice with bits of rock that come through.

ASHLEY: Are we going?

LIAM: Yeah, we'll scooch up.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, yeah, scoochy scoochy.

ASHLEY: All right. All right.

MATT: Okay. As you all continue to crawl in, Chet, you don't get too much further than where you were calling them forward as you begin to crawl and see the ground almost seems to descend to what might be a decline, and as you approach, no, it's just a drop off. It's just a full on dark pit.

TRAVIS: Stop, stop, stop!

MATT: (light thuds) You're pushed up to the edge a little. (laughs)

TRAVIS: Essek! It's a fucking pit! It just drops off into nothing!

MATT: "Right. Do you have a means of climbing down?"

TRAVIS: I'm holding onto a rope! (laughs)

MATT: "If I recall this, little over 100 feet of rope should get us down."

LIAM: How many times have you been through here?

MATT: "Three? Maybe four. Four."

LAURA: Okay, what's at the bottom?

TRAVIS: Can I use--

LAURA: Anything dangerous?

TRAVIS: -- my darkvision to look down 60 feet? Do I see the tops of anything?

MATT: No.

TRAVIS: No?

MATT: Like the tunnel continues on and then fades to nothing.

TRAVIS: Is it an ice tunnel?

LAURA: Is this really?

MATT: Hm?

TRAVIS: Like are the walls stone or are they ice?

MATT: The walls in here appear to be stone.

TRAVIS: Okay, okay.

MATT: With veins of ice. It looks like a bunch of crumpled stone that was falling in and then is frozen, moisture has frozen through any of the gaps to make it solid.

TRAVIS: Would you say there was enough ice or a long enough continuity of it to take two chisels and ice climb down for a four foot?

MATT: Make an investigation check for me.

TRAVIS: Okay. 18.

MATT: 18. You can actually see signs of climbing gear and pitons that are still driven into this tunnel.

ASHLEY: Piton.

LAURA: Pitóns.

MATT: Pitons that are-- You can see across the way, there are metal pitons that are still stuck into it where someone in the past has climbed down this space.

TRAVIS: I can actually take the 50 feet of rope. Somebody's come through here before, and I can run it along the pitóns.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: All right.

LAURA: Okay.

ASHLEY: Be careful.

TRAVIS: Yeah, I got it. No big deal.

MARISHA: I take out my immovable rod and hand it to Chetney just in case.

TRAVIS: Oh, cool, I'll take that. Ha!

MARISHA: I want it back, no!

(laughter)

MARISHA: You can't have it!

(laughter)

ASHLEY: Keep it, keep it.

TRAVIS: It's just in the back of my pants, where'd you think it went? Dirty.

(laughing)

TRAVIS: I'll have two chisels and work along the ice down to a pit and run the rope around it once, keep coming down, working them.

MATT: Okay. Okay, you descend down. Down. Takes you, you go down another 20 feet until you find the next one. You can see signs of other ones that may have been pulled out or fell. Eventually, you get to one area where the pit stops and opens up into a much larger dark expanse beneath you.

TRAVIS: Darkvision, 60 feet, anything?

MATT: Yeah, 60 feet from where you stand at the base of this, you can see the bottom of this massive pit. It is a cavernous, like a ruined courtyard, sparkling with ice crystals all across the bottom, dusted across most of every surface that you can see. You see massive fallen pillars that lay crumbled across the base floor here. You can see a stone cracked platform that lays at a harsh angle at one side. It's like corner set up across one of the crumbled towers. You can see other odd bits of crushed furniture around and sprinkles of debris that cover the entire floor here. See patches of brown dirt that peak through the frost and ice in different places amongst the ruin. It breaks up this wintery graveyard vibe of the interior and it is still and freezing cold down here. That's what you can see from where you are.

TRAVIS: Can I use my nose to get a whiff of any scent, life, anything?

MATT: Yeah, roll a perception check with advantage.

TRAVIS: Then could I also, okay. Then yeah, I would at the same time like T-Rex looking for movement.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

TRAVIS: Assuming it should just be still. 17.

MATT: 17. You smell, amongst the cold stillness, there is a-- It's a unique musty smell. It's like a clean must. Like if old dust was never left to become mildewed. But along with that also is an earthy, faintly herbal scent that mixes with it is the best way I can describe it.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MATT: Nothing that seems to be sweat or a creature that you can tell.

TRAVIS: And no movement that catches my eye? Any familiar white furry bodies?

MATT: None in here.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MATT: You gather, based on what you saw, that none of them would be small enough to probably fit through the cavern. They've all very-- It's not quite Bishop in "Aliens" going through the tunnel, but there are a couple moments where you get a little anxiety thinking it might.

TRAVIS: From where I am with that 60 feet of darkvision I can see to the bottom, so is it about 50 or 60 feet to the floor-ish?

MATT: From the top, yeah.

TRAVIS: Okay. I'll take out my 50 feet of rope, hanging Sylvester Stallone cliffhanger style. (panting) My forearms are so jacked right now!

MATT: So yeah, it's about--

TRAVIS: So vascular!

MATT: It's about 50 feet from where you started and where it comes, and then it's 60 feet below into the dark, so.

TRAVIS: God, I'm so fucking awesome. Wish I had chalk.

LAURA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Daisy duke jeans, all right, here I go. (grunts) I'll tie a nice secure knot and I'll start

(climbing noises)

MATT: All right, do you all follow suit?

LAURA: Yeah, in Chet's--

LIAM: Blindly.

LAURA: In Chet's head, he hears: Is it safe?

TRAVIS: Yeah. Yeah, it's safe, it's cool. It's empty and still, but there's a bit of a fall. Once you go down the little tunnel, it's like 50 feet down, so don't slip.

LAURA: Be careful, there's a 50 foot drop or something. Don't slip.

MATT: Those of you who don't have darkvision, it is completely lightless in here.

LAURA: Do you think it's safe for me to use my lights?

LIAM: How far back were-- Well, but we're in a space too small for them.

LAURA: We're in a tunnel.

MATT: Yeah.

LAURA: No, we're not, it's not too small for the little balls of light.

LIAM: No, no, no, for the trolls.

LAURA: Oh, the trolls.

LIAM: Sorry. The trolls can't follow 'cause we're in a tight space and Chet is saying safe ahead, so I think it's okay.

LAURA: Okay, so I'm going to send--

LIAM: I can't see shit.

LAURA: -- three little globules of light.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: -- floating ahead of us and down.

MATT: So as Orym beings to descend, some of you begin to head down that rope itself. Kind of trusting in the darkness. You see the globules of staticky purple energy begin to descend as well and light up the interior of this cavern. You can see the frosty surfaces all around you refracting the light in a thousand different points in all directions. It's oddly beautiful in the geometric symmetry that goes across this broken surface as you descend. As you all begin to head down, one after the next, following and then the orbs floating down, you can see them casting the faintest bit of light across the entirety of every frost-covered surface here in this ancient courtyard. Everything has almost this velvet texture to it, the way that the frost has gathered across it. Eventually, you all land and stand here amongst the dangling rope, looking down to what looks to be a broken rope that is partially frozen into the ground below where you landed.

TRAVIS: Are there any indications of footprints?

MATT: Make a perception check for me.

MARISHA: Ooh.

TRAVIS: Yeah, that's right, I got that fucking perception. Mm, 14.

(laughing)

TRAVIS: We're getting lower.

(laughing)

MARISHA: We're getting lower!

TRAVIS: Orym, look for footprints.

MATT: Ugh. You do not see any footprints around you. The ice is getting to your eyes a bit and you're like, "Ugh."

TRAVIS: Anybody's else's eyes--

MATT: What are we looking for, Orym?

LIAM: That's a one, which I can reroll, but it's at disadvantage, so it doesn't matter. Not great.

MATT: Well, that was a single roll, remember? 'Cause you--

LIAM: For why?

MATT: When you absorbed the--

LIAM: Oh, I got advantage.

MATT: -- Ring of Protection, it gave you advantage for the day, so it's the straight roll.

LIAM: Okay, fine.

TRAVIS: But-but why?

LIAM: Start over. That is 21.

MATT: 21, okay. A few things you pick up on here. You see what could be footsteps in some places, where there's skidding across elements of the dirt patches. You also see, beneath the ice you stand on, bones. Like ancient bones that look like they are, they're splintered, withered, bent. Some of them look like a boiled leather texture to it, all held deep beneath ice crystals like little peaking layers of thicker ice that has entombed beneath it these skeletal remains that look like before they were frozen were treated in some awful way. Not locked beneath the ice itself, but of a heavy layer of frost, you do see three not quite as ancient corpses among where you stand. You see shreds of clothing and armor wrapping mostly damaged bone. The majority of the flesh torn away before the remainder was left to freeze.

LAURA: Oh, it's Ludinus! Look at that!

MARISHA: We won!

TALIESIN: Problem solved.

ASHLEY: Success!

MATT: One of them appears--

(laughing)

TRAVIS: No acknowledgement.

MATT: Similar in size to you, Orym. Two others that look a bit larger, one fairly large, but you can see these skeletons, the bones have been nearly picked clean from flesh on the surface. They have also a number of wounds across the bone. Something must have torn into them or not. You also noticed in some of the legs impact injuries to the legs. These individuals had a rough time.

LAURA: Something's down here.

LIAM: Essek, is Essek down with us? We're all down?

MATT: Yeah. Essek's hovering, looking around. "All right, so first things first, do not touch anything brown. That's not dirt."

LIAM: Mold?

MATT: "That's a mold, and it's a dangerous one. If it becomes a problem, do not try and light it on fire. It is immune."

LIAM: Do you know anything about these people?

MATT: "(laughs) I do indeed.

TRAVIS: (gasps)

LIAM: Yeah, dude!

TRAVIS: Yeah, I'm with you now, sorry. I caught it, I caught it.

TALIESIN: Took a minute to get there.

LAURA: Who is it?

LIAM: Retracing Mighty Nein's steps.

TRAVIS: Who did we--

MARISHA: Oh my god!

LIAM: Tomb Takers, Tomb Takers.

TALIESIN: Yeah, we took out the Tomb Takers.

TRAVIS: We set that big-ass trap.

ROBBIE: Hey, I know that one! It was in the book!

(exclaiming and laughter)

MARISHA: It's that Captain America moment. I get that reference.

ROBBIE: I understood that reference.

MATT: So Essek responds, says, "Ah, on my first journey down here, my compatriots made sure we weren't followed by a few unsavory types, and it seems that what we left behind, some other denizens of these ruins found what was left," and looks to you and goes, "Looks like you carry some similar skills as well. Be careful not to lose your footing, blood hunter."

TRAVIS: Ooh!

LIAM: I remember this is where Fjord did that.

TRAVIS: Called out!

MARISHA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Good to be Cree, I mean free. Could I use the Monocle of True Essence to in this room scan around, and I'll use Detect Magic, especially on these c-c-corpses.

MATT: Indeed. So detecting magic, it looks like everything of value on them has already been picked clean. Whether dragged off by whatever devoured what remained or possibly other tomb robbers that had snuck through and, you know, grabbed what they could. But it's weird, like the lens has almost a haziness to it. Like there's a faintest bit of fog that shifts in places, and you begin to try and clear, and you realize no, there's a general magical presence in here that seems to warp and shift in an alien way.

TRAVIS: Hm. Weird. There's something going on down here.

LIAM: Any passages out?

TALIESIN: Huh.

LIAM: Although Essek knows his way, at this point.

MATT: He does, he points to, he's like, "That's the end of it. East is this way. This would be the tunnel before us. This should take us into the Praesidis Ward. Once again, stay close."

MARISHA: Jesus. This is so weird.

MATT: Drifts towards this eastern entry this archway that has language atop of it that--

TRAVIS: That stays up for 10 minutes, just in case there's some active ward that we're walking into or a trap or a rune or something.

MATT: Certainly.

LIAM: We set off the explosion.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah.

MATT: As you all approach this archway with the strange language across the top. The only person who can read it, I think, is you with the Eyes of the Runekeeper.

MARISHA: Yep.

TRAVIS: Dead-ass.

MATT: It reads, "The Praesidis Ward, Convocation Grounds, Central Deliberations." As you step through this archway, there's this massive chamber through this long tunnel that has its own collapsed pit that can be vaulted across. Essek guides you across. The chamber opens up into this cavernous expanse. Here, it's hard to gauge in size. It could be 1,000 feet across or more. You can see the ceiling itself has encased in uneven icicles and rocks as it shifts around and continues to move. There's the faint points of bluish glow that outline what looks like a darkened cityscape. You see dozens of buildings and towers, some that reach towards that ceiling and vanish into the rock. Others that are partially turned over and crumbled. You can see, at a first glance, as you begin to step in, it looks like streets or roads. You can see these faint little points of bluish light sprinkled throughout the ruins. Like faint blue green coloration, like little lanterns lost amongst the shadow. That light is the little bit of light that fills the city space here and gives you an idea of what resides within, without detail, of course. Essek continues following a path and glancing around.

TALIESIN: How many people do you think have actually seen this in the last, I don't know, 200, 500?

LIAM: 1,000 years?

ASHLEY: I don't even know.

TRAVIS: Do we pass--

TALIESIN: Well, we just pushed it to double digits. (laughs)

TRAVIS: Do we pass close enough to any of those blue lights or are they all off in the distance? Nothing that's semi-close to us?

MATT: Following Essek, you begin to head through what looks like, at first, a large archway, but you realize it's actually an elevated street or some sort of a walkway that goes between buildings. 25 feet up at the peak of its arch and maybe about 10 feet across, there are layers to this city. But a lot of it, you can see it's tilted to the side in places, and a lot of the structures, the foundations are cracked and broken. You can see portions of the ceiling that have fallen in, and there's a lot of broken rock that looks like it was embedded at a high speed into parts of these buildings and the floor around here. It's odd because parts of the city that you get a glance at look serene, if a bit off-kilter, and other parts look locked in decimation, like a ruin that fell in a terrible way. You follow Essek through these streets and you see one source of this light a little further off, and it looks faintly-- not faintly-- like a fairly glowing, blue-green dome of some kind, not too dissimilar to the one that Essek had protected you all with on one of your offset teleportation destinations.

ASHLEY: What?

LIAM: It doesn't matter, I don't know, I have no memories of this place.

MATT: You also notice as you step through here--

MARISHA: That's so weird.

MATT: -- weirdly, the air gets warmer. The chill begins to drift away, the frost begins to vanish, and you feel more comfortable. In fact, like the heavier cloak that you're wearing at this point is going to quickly grow uncomfortable.

TRAVIS: Essek, you've been here two or three times before, you said?

MATT: "Yes, more or less."

TRAVIS: Are you anticipating, just so I know how danger close--

MATT: "Shh."

TRAVIS: (whispering) Just so I know how danger close we are, are you anticipating Ludinus to be here, or are we using this as a jumping-off point?

MATT: "No, the place where he is I have not been, but I know the location that leads before it, which is where I'm taking you."

TRAVIS: Okay.

MATT: "From that point, it's going to be uncharted territory for all of us. Hence my conversation earlier this... morning? Oh, my time's all messed up now."

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: "(sighs) Anyway." And you pass by this massive amphitheater to one side, where you can see there's archway entrances and upper platforms and levels, part of it cracked in. You can see the faint glow of energy from beyond the entryways. Passing beyond that, you can also see these long, snaking aqueducts that wander through the city and through buildings, with running water, just--

(flowing water)

LIAM: Still flowing, huh.

MATT: -- still flowing.

ASHLEY: This kind of looks the place on the moon.

LAURA: Oh.

TALIESIN: Little bit.

LAURA: Yeah, you're right.

ASHLEY: Bits of it.

TRAVIS: Oh, the blue domes and stuff? Yeah. How far away is the nearest blue dome?

MATT: 50-60 feet.

LIAM: Well, there's one in the amphitheater.

TRAVIS: Is there a blue dome in the amphitheater?

LIAM: Yeah.

MATT: Yeah, you saw light glowing from the inside.

MARISHA: Oh, we know, once again, we're metagaming, but.

LIAM: Above the table, yeah.

MATT: Well, I did describe that there was a glow from the inside of the amphitheater.

TRAVIS: Never mind, it's okay.

ASHLEY: Essek, there were parts like this on the moon.

ASHLEY and LAURA: (laugh)

MATT: "Really?"

ASHLEY: Mm-hmm.

MATT: "Just like this?"

LAURA: They were ruins, yeah, but similar architecture.

ASHLEY: And water flowing through. And that's how we found the back door.

MATT: "Very interesting. When all of this is done, I would like very much to hear what you saw there. If there is a connection historically, that has some implications."

LIAM: Are we in danger at the moment?

MATT: "Oh, always. Continuously. The creatures here that exist, if they haven't wandered from the outside, are entities that have been unleashed throughout the interior of here since the time of the Age of Arcanum. Wartime experimentations, biological weapons. I've seen some terrors down here, nightmarish entities. So once again, stay close, stay vigilant, stay quiet."

LIAM: Okay.

ASHLEY: Wait, what's that dome over there?

(quiet laughter)

MATT: "Those are some of the original citizens."

TALIESIN: The domes?

MATT: "Some were-- In the moments of crisis, some magics were designed to protect, but all things here work strangely, and we're not quite sure of the source of these domes, but many of the original civilians at the time of the cataclysm still remain in those domes, locked in a point of time."

TALIESIN: I kind of want to see this.

MARISHA: Are they alive?

LIAM: Can we see features?

MATT: "It's hard to see." Kind of takes a deep sigh. "Are you really going to go off the beaten path to inspect one of these?"

ASHLEY: Sorry--

TALIESIN: Technically, this path has not been beaten.

ASHLEY: This is new to us.

MARISHA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: I mean, if you're sure it's not going to give us, (stage whispers) if it's not going to help, then we don't have to. If you're not curious, it's okay.

MATT: "No, sure, take a look."

ASHLEY: There's nothing we can--

TALIESIN: Is there anything we shouldn't touch?

MATT: "Everything!"

LAURA: Don't touch anything.

TALIESIN: I'm not going to touch anything, but if we get--

MARISHA: Don't touch everything or don't touch anything?

MATT: "Don't touch anything!"

MARISHA: Oh, okay.

MATT: "Everything is the thing you should not-- (sighs) You speak in strange arrangements."

LAURA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: But if things go sideways, get thrown into a thing, it's good to know that you shouldn't get thrown into that thing or--

MATT: "Yes, do not throw yourself into things."

TALIESIN: Well, other things would throw--

LIAM: Orym's walking into the amphitheater.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: "(stammers) (sighs)"

MARISHA: Laudna follows.

LAURA: Essek, you said magic--

TALIESIN: Didn't think it would be those two.

LAURA: -- is funny here.

MATT: "Immensely."

TALIESIN: I'm going to walk behind.

LAURA: A while ago, I cast a spell, anyway, all my hair fell out.

MARISHA: (laughs) Oh, that's right.

LAURA: Is that what you mean? Is it like if I cast a spell, I could go bald or turn blue, or something like that, or is it more serious?

MATT: "From what I've seen, similar circumstances, yes."

LAURA: Right.

MATT: "But I do not know the length and breadth of what can happen. The most dangerous thing that happened to me was I became a fish for a brief period of time."

LAURA: You became a fish?

MATT: "Yes."

LIAM: What kind of fish?

MATT: "A salmon, I believe."

LIAM: Oh.

ASHLEY: Did you know you were a fish?

MATT: "Yes, it was awful."

ASHLEY: Wow.

LAURA: Were you just flopping around or was there water?

MATT: "No, I was just flopping on the floor."

LAURA: Oh. (laughs)

MATT: "My partner had to carry me for a bit."

LAURA: That's awful. (laughs)

MATT: "But it's--"

ASHLEY: Could you still breathe or was it like a? I'm sorry, this is a really interesting.

MATT: "It's fine, just--"

MARISHA: Salmon are heavy. It's a big fish.

MATT: "Be warned, it can get a bit strange."

LAURA: Is it all spells, or--?

MATT: "Past a certain point, I think the arcane threshold needs to go beyond a certain level of spellcraft."

ASHLEY: Shouldn't we try to let those people out?

MATT: "(scoffs) I don't think anyone knows how. And if the Assembly has been here, which I assume it has been to a point, if there was use to it, they would've discovered it by now as well."

LAURA: Wow.

LIAM: There's a person in the blue, arms outstretched, at the end of the stage, right?

MATT: Well, as you enter this, are you all following behind Orym?

TALIESIN: Oh, hell yes.

ROBBIE: Yeah, yeah.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

ROBBIE: Oh. (laughs)

MATT: You all follow.

MARISHA: (claps) Having fun!

MATT: And Essek sighs heavily and drifts behind. I would like a group stealth check from this point as--

MARISHA: Oh boy.

TALIESIN: We're still--

LAURA: You are--

TALIESIN: -- Pass Without a Trace?

MATT: You are.

MARISHA: That failed me better.

LAURA: Ooh.

MARISHA: Maybe this will be better.

ROBBIE: Hey. Ah.

MATT: We'll start over here.

TRAVIS: 35.

MARISHA: That's better.

MATT: Okay. Laudna?

MARISHA: 30.

MATT: Okay. Dorian?

ROBBIE: And we don't get the 10 or we do?

MATT: You do get the 10.

ROBBIE: 34.

MATT: Ooh.

LAURA: Nice.

ASHLEY: 31.

MATT: Look at you all.

LAURA: Natural 20--

ASHLEY: Ooh, baby.

MARISHA: Ooh.

LAURA: -- for 33.

MATT: Heck yeah. Orym?

LIAM: (yawns) 23 because I'm tired.

MATT: Yeah, apparently.

TALIESIN: 35. You just did a straight roll?

LAURA: We are on fire.

ASHLEY: Wow.

LAURA: That's the best stealth roll we've ever had.

TALIESIN: Wow.

MATT: I think so, group stealth, that is by far the best you've done.

TALIESIN: Okay.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

TRAVIS: I want mutants.

(laughs)

TALIESIN: I'll keep reminding you.

MATT: You carefully step through the entryway to this amphitheater, parts of it broken and fallen, bits of rock. And you can see where a portion of one of the interior load-bearing pillars has fallen in, the ground splintered upward. The first thing you see as you step through, there are pockets of that brown mold that Essek had pointed out. And you ensure to keep a wide berth as he reinforces that fear. You see skeletons everywhere.

ASHLEY: Wow.

MATT: Dozens and dozens of bodies, ancient corpses. What elements of clothing remains has long rotted and been left to history. Within, there hasn't been heavy weathering or moisture to completely deteriorate it, but everything has this mummified feel to it. You can see what paper-like skin might still remain on some of these corpses has been mostly either fallen to dust or you can see signs of creatures' teeth scraped across parts of skulls and bones. You step beyond that, into the open amphitheater, and you can see many more corpses, both within the center of bodies on top of the ledges, of the amphitheater edges, looking down. Within, you can see platforms in the center. And the one vastly bright glowing dome you see, there is a figure within, arms outstretched, faintly like the shadow of them inside of it.

LIAM: I can't tell if they did this or maybe they were giving a speech?

LAURA: Have you tried Detecting Thoughts?

MARISHA: (laughs) You're doing it?

TRAVIS: I'll lick my finger and touch it and cast Grim Psychometry on the blue dome.

ALL: Ooh.

ROBBIE: do it.

MATT: All right. Roll a history check for me.

ROBBIE: Oh shit.

LAURA: Oh finally.

TRAVIS: Sometimes it doesn't work.

ASHLEY: Guidance?

LAURA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: 17?

MATT: 17. You step up to the center of the dome. And first when you touch it, it buzzes against your fingers, you feel the crackle of energy there vibrating beneath your palm. As you close your eyes, you open them once more and you see a coliseum filled with hundreds and hundreds of people. A din of all voices blending together, shouting, arguing, yelling, as you see others rushing in from parts of the coliseum, and robed and armored guardians keeping them at bay, shields up, like there's some sort of social tension happening here. There are other figures wearing similar long, draped bits of this robed clothing, and silvers and grays and bits of gold. And you see on top of this central platform area here, this human female, who is shouting in a language you do not understand, yelling amongst everyone here. As she continues to yell, you see the darkened cloud covered skies above. You see her yelling and expanding her voice magically out amongst the crowd. But the voices get louder, you hear crying, you hear sobbing. And you see, as she yells, she is mighty, she is important. There's a station and an air of confidence about her, as she yells and shouts outward. Though you can't make out the words themselves what they mean, you can sense there is authority, there is a promise, an attempt to calm. And right as the voices begin to grow quiet, (intense whooshes) white light comes and fills the space. And then all you see in the darkness is her standing there arms outstretched, unmoving, as you pull away.

TRAVIS: Ah, ah. This place was open air before. There were so many people. She was trying to calm some kind of unrest. I couldn't understand what she was saying. And then there was some enormous white flash. She was just-- the same pose she's in now?

MATT: Mm-hmm.

TRAVIS: And she was in this exact same pose. But the light encompassed everything. That's all I got.

LAURA: Is she still alive in there?

MARISHA: Her arms must be so tired.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: Fuck.

TALIESIN: Right.

ASHLEY: That's true, though.

MARISHA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: I glow, I glow blue when time slows down. I glow blue when time slows. That's just what this reminds me of.

MATT: "Indeed, as an individual who studies time alteration through magical means, there are signs that speak to those moments and time being locked."

LAURA: Natürlich, ja.

MARISHA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Huh.

MATT: "I'd be curious, if these were ever to be disabled, if they would be brought to continue life as they were, or would a thousand years pass in an instant?"

LAURA: Oh my god.

MATT: "I do not know. I have my theories."

ASHLEY: Yeah, I bet you have.

TALIESIN: And snap back when I stop slowing down, or I speed up sometimes, actually.

TRAVIS: 20th-level Time Stop there. (laughs) The spells.

MATT: As you're talking about time and magic, Essek's like, "Nice."

TRAVIS: (laughs)

TALIESIN: I do not notice.

TRAVIS: No dispels, okay. We got no dispels. It's fine.

MATT: "Have we done the necessary amount of sightseeing here?"

TRAVIS: Well, yeah, sorry, you can't just walk us through some new place covered in frost.

ASHLEY: Yeah, and be like, "No big deal, no big deal."

MATT: "I can if it's--"

TRAVIS: You're right, urgency, I'm sorry, a sense of urgency and drive, yes.

TALIESIN: We're getting our distraction out first.

MATT: "And that's why," and he points up, and you can see up on the edge, the far end of the amphitheater, there is a shape that (whooshes) leaps to a upper portion of it. Almost like a gorilla leaping from one part of a tree to another, you see it (whooshes).

ASHLEY: Did you see that?

MATT: And a rock goes like (clattering). "We should go," and begins to drift back out of the center of the amphitheater.

ROBBIE: Is it worth it?

TRAVIS: Let's go. (laughs) No, it's not. It's real bad.

(laughs)

LIAM: Okay, we'll creep out.

LAURA: What was it? What is it?

TRAVIS: You remember the--

LAURA: No, I don't remember.

ASHLEY: Oh, I remember those.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: Yeah. Hi.

ROBBIE: Hi.

(laughter)

LAURA: When we came here before, what was our level when we came here before?

MARISHA: Morlocks.

TRAVIS: 13, 14.

LAURA: We were higher.

LIAM: Little higher.

MARISHA: We were higher.

LAURA: Higher level than we are now. Okay.

ASHLEY: That's good to keep in mind.

LAURA: (laughs)

MARISHA: A little bit higher, but probably not by much, right?

LIAM: We were 16-ish.

MARISHA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: The difference between my 13 and 14--

MATT: You finished the campaign at 16, so.

LIAM: I think we were around 16-ish.

(laughter)

MATT: Backtracking to the walkway you were taking with Essek, you continue on past these large structures, with some officious- looking buildings, also rubble piles where things were collapsed. And you can see a portion of heavy rock spearing it, hundreds and hundreds of tons of stone that has fallen from the cavern above or elsewhere that has jammed into the ground where once a proud building once stood. You can also pass beyond this unique, multi-layered, opulent, temple-like structure, a mausoleum-type structure to the right of you. You see deep cracks that spiral up from the base. It looks like it's on the cusp of collapsing on a full structure. You can see bits of the ground, of broken earth, and looks like petrified, long-dead trees. But the garden around it is now overgrown, and trees further in are vibrant and green. And then you pass by a step and it seems to go gray with a ghostly, pale color, like for a split-second, you saw it vibrant and then it's not. When you step back to where you were, and it's remains, its gray, ghostly element. Essek goes, "Well, that's a new thing," and points to the path ahead. And you see a mummified skeletal corpse crawling on the ground, but reaching outward, and it's just stuck there. Its eye sockets sunken deep and empty, its mouth agape, with its lips curled back, its teeth exposed, top and bottom, heavy robes behind, and there's a long silver chain dangling on it. You can see its bony, long fingers just there reaching.

LAURA: That's new? That corpse wasn't there the last time you came?

MATT: It's peeking around the opening of a wall. Not from off to the side where it opens up. "I do not recall that."

LIAM: I'm sorry, is it moving or it's frozen in that position?

MATT: Make a perception check.

LAURA: Oh, geez.

LIAM: That's a 26.

MATT: 26. It's frozen. Like it's just locked in place. You look at it for a second and go to acknowledge, and you realize, no, you swear it's moving just imperceptively slow.

LAURA: Oh, that's fucking creepy as fuck.

ROBBIE: (nervously laughs)

MATT: Like so slow. Most anyone else would not notice.

MARISHA: I notice that chain around his neck.

LAURA: I know, I'm going to use that--

TALIESIN: Oh boy.

ROBBIE: Oh, come on!

LAURA: I want to see what the chain is! It seemed like--

TALIESIN: ♪ Loot that body ♪

(laughter)

MARISHA: ♪ Loot that body ♪

LAURA: I'm going to try to use my telekinetic hand.

MATT: Mage Hand, yeah.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: Okay, you do see that it's dangling on the base of it. The hand goes and drifts, and you see it turns a bit, and what little bit of light that you have access to with your orbs, you can see that, a dark purple sapphire-like gem fixed in the middle of this--

LAURA: Can I pull it up off of his neck?

MATT: Hm? Yeah.

LAURA: Can I pull it off of him?

MATT: You drift it up off of the body--

LIAM: "That's mine!"

MATT: -- and bring it over to you.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: Put it on the ground.

LAURA: Is it safe to touch? I ask Essek.

TRAVIS: It's on a dead body, of course!

ROBBIE: Yeah, it's all fine.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

ROBBIE: It won't spring to life immediately after this.

LAURA: Don't touch anything.

MATT: "It is one of the first things I asked you not to do."

(laughter)

MATT: "I literally--"

MARISHA: We didn't touch it.

LAURA: We didn't touch it, though.

MARISHA: It's floating.

LAURA: It's just--

ASHLEY: She didn't touch it with her hand.

TALIESIN: Keep an eye on that fucking corpse.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: I'm going to set it down on the ground.

TRAVIS: (laughs) It's one of the first things I asked you not to do.

LAURA: Sorry about that, Essek. I thought that was specifically for things not being worn by mummies.

MATT: "Well--"

TRAVIS: We're not upset, we're--

MATT: "-- I would like to be clear to expand that into anything, especially phantom amulets hanging from long dead corpses!"

ASHLEY: Technically, she didn't actually touch it, it was just like a-- from far away.

MARISHA: Yeah, you licked it!

MATT: "If my hair wasn't already white, you'd see it going gray."

ASHLEY: You should have been a little bit more specific. So we can't do a touch with like a Mage Hand, or like a-- what she just did?

MATT: "Look, do what you wish. I have means of escape."

TRAVIS: Oh, damn.

MATT: "I'll be fine."

TALIESIN: (sarcastic muttering)

MATT: "Likely."

LIAM: All right, well, lead the way.

LAURA: Still looks like a really cool--

MATT: He drifts on, continuing past the amulet and heading down the path.

MARISHA: Mage Hand! (theft sound)

(gasping)

ROBBIE: Oh!

MATT: Okay! (zhoop) You pick it up and that's in your grasp.

TRAVIS: Yep.

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Yep.

MARISHA: We're just going to not touch it, 'cause I'm not breaking my promise.

TRAVIS: (swallowing gulps)

LAURA: I'm just going to absorb it into my chest!

(laughter)

MARISHA: Put it in my little pouch.

MATT: All righty. Continuing onward, you can see through moving through more and more of the cityscape of the Praesidis Ward, the cavern ceiling now begins to slope rather suddenly and deeply, like the cavern is starting to come to a pinch point. You can see at the edge it's-- this thing is bisecting the ward in the middle. Like it's carving into the middle of it, like the ceiling's diving in and dividing the ward almost. You follow Essek around the edge of this and you can see there's these ice coated gaps in the rock of this ceiling. Eventually, follow him to one of these gaps that leads into a tall well-kept chamber. Like a small hall that leads into a building that looks like it was swallowed by this ice and rock, but it's well-kept on the inside. You can see the walls are finely carved, the designs. There is an open path slightly cracked and raised in places as it snakes through and around an edge. There is a platform in the center of this room where it looks like it's a raised, maybe five-foot area, and Essek puts his hands up. "Something dangerous has been pilfered through here. There's no use here. Whatever was here was gone." You see him still take a wide berth around the center of this chamber, and you can see this platform probably looks like this larger room once carried something there, but it's no longer present.

MARISHA: Mm.

TRAVIS: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

MARISHA: Do I see any more writing, like maybe down in the Precipitous Ward?

MATT: No writing visible in this chamber.

MARISHA: Okay.

MATT: But as you glance around, you can see parts of the platform as you walk by and look at it. Looks like it's been broken, and you begin to glance on the side. You see it first, there is a broken pickaxe and some other things, some implements looks like either tomb robbers or perhaps even the Ruby Vanguard have come through here and taken a few things. Continuing past the back of this pathway, this are-- Let me see, yes. All right. You see more of the excavation tools towards the opposite end, and then--

LAURA: Should we take some tools?

MATT: Up to you.

ASHLEY: He said not to touch anything.

LAURA: Don't touch, don't touch, don't touch.

ROBBIE: I mean, a shovel couldn't hurt.

ASHLEY: Yeah, a pickaxe, some--

MATT: The edge of the hallway beyond this area is completely collapsed. The only beyond the exit tunnel is just stones fallen in place, like heavy bits of shale rock guarding. For this pristine chamber, it looks like one side of it collapsed.

LAURA: So what do we do now?

MATT: "I did this on my last exit." Then he starts lifting his hand and you watch as the stone shifts out of the way. Like a conductor conducting an orchestra, you watch as Essek moves his fingers and shifts stone after stone beyond these large rock shelves, creaking out of the way, some cracking and shifting before collapsing into broken stone rubble in the ground.

ASHLEY: I thought you said don't touch anything.

MARISHA: You beat me to it.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

MATT: He looks back at the shoulder. "I'm not touching it, am I?"

(laughter)

MATT: (scraping)

ASHLEY: (mocking noises)

MATT: Kind of gives you a smile.

LIAM: Cheeky monkey.

ASHLEY: Cheeky monkey!

MATT: It takes about five minutes of him doing this. Quite a bit of rubble's in place here before it gives way to an archway. Looks like a door of some kind here. Heavy brass doors that were set, but it looks like one of them still stands. Another one has fallen off and is now broken on the ground resting there. Beyond this, another comparable if not larger cavern awaits you. Here, there's immense space, surprisingly well-lit compared to the previous Praesidis Ward that you had stepped into. You can almost see at one time that this might have been an incredible core industry center of this mythological mage city. But now it's a cavernous space of jagged ice and rock and broken bits of civilization that have been violently ruined. You can see these structures beyond in the streets, winding within towers that rise up to a certain point and then are jaggedly cut or crumpled off. What you notice different from this place than the one you were in is the further in the city you go, it begins to curve up. The streets bend upward before it comes to a jagged end point. Like some massive geyser blasted through. You can see tangled bits of metal visible from edges of it bent upward and out of the way. You can faintly hear the sound of the water running through some of those canals ever so gently winding through the city as you progress.

LIAM: Source of light we see?

MATT: A number of other blue domes as well as a handful of magical lanterns that still flicker in spaces.

TRAVIS: Wow.

MATT: Essek puts his hand up a bit. "All right, we have arrived at the Genesis Ward."

ASHLEY: Oh.

LAURA: Oh.

TRAVIS: We're on target.

LIAM: (whooshes)

MARISHA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Occultus Thalamus?

LAURA: He could potentially be anywhere around here, or--

MATT: "Any of the Vanguard could be anywhere around here if they've been maneuvering through these spaces. So look for anything that looks out of place."

TALIESIN: Footprints?

TRAVIS: Yeah, can we-- Well, (sniffs) now that we're in a new room, just to smell the air. Anything different from the spaces we've previously been in?

MATT: Go ahead and roll perception.

TRAVIS: 15.

MATT: (sniffing) There's a faintest metallic smell, almost like a rust metal scent, and almost like that faintest tinge of hard water in some areas of flowing water. The frost begins to settle in a little bit, which makes it a little hard to pick up a lot of the scents as you step through, and the temperatures begin to fluctuate between every 10 to 15 steps before the cold begins to settle back in.

TRAVIS: Just to clarify, truly oxidized metal or rust and not like the metallic tinge of blood or iron?

MATT: Correct. For the time being.

TRAVIS: (nervously) For the time being.

(laughter)

MATT: Essek looks back at the rest of you. "Now, I'm not entirely certain where this Occultus region might be, but it is attached to this ward, and there is one portion of the Genesis Ward that I'm aware of that is relatively centrally connected to much of the city itself." "So--" He looks back at the center portion of this devastation, this massive cored out region of this ward beyond you. "And that's where we have to be, so."

MARISHA: We haven't really talked. What's the plan when and if we find Ludinus? Deter him, slow him down?

TRAVIS: He's probably here for something, right?

LAURA: So if we can get it before him.

TALIESIN: Destroy it.

TRAVIS: Or subvert him.

TALIESIN: Trap him.

LIAM: Send the tech away.

TRAVIS: Essek, you mentioned people with the ability to look in on you. Is that, have you checked on that? Are we being watched, followed? Would anyone know that we might be coming?

MATT: He flicks his eyes open and you can see a faint yellowish energy over his eyes as he glances around. "No one's watching us at the moment, and, thankfully, I'm pretty certain no one's watching me." He plucks a small necklace from underneath his heavy furred cloak, mantle, tucks it back in. "I've made a life so far of not being followed."

TRAVIS: Now we're off the radar. Sort of.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MATT: "Well, do you know of anything else? If I can recall, Ludinus, much like myself, is difficult to divine directly. Is there something about his person or someone he might be with that we could perhaps search magically for?"

MARISHA: Who would he be with?

TRAVIS: It wouldn't be your mom, she's on the moon.

LAURA: Wouldn't be with my mom, yeah.

TALIESIN: Wouldn't be with your dad, necessarily.

LAURA: What?

TALIESIN: Not your dad, your dad.

LAURA: Oh, no, he wouldn't be with him.

ASHLEY: Are you sure he wouldn't be with your mom?

LAURA: No, she stayed on the moon. Ludinus was already gone.

TRAVIS: Wouldn't be other members of the Cerberus Assembly, right?

MARISHA: Cerberus Assembly. They all scattered. I mean, Astrid talked about most people distancing themselves from him, but maybe there's one or two? I don't know.

MATT: "I imagine there's probably at least a member or two are on his side, to some degree or another. I have no idea what place they would take in the Vanguard."

TALIESIN: Or even more overt enemies. Do you think Ira would have made it this far?

LAURA: Oh my gosh.

LIAM: Possible.

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: I don't know how likely.

TALIESIN: They made it to the moon.

LAURA: Didn't we--

TRAVIS: Just to see, can I open up the bag of holding and start to pull the bit of that machinery back out? Just because there's so much glowing here, seems like some residual energy. Is anything on that any more alive than its otherwise inert state?

MATT: Interesting. No, it doesn't seem to be reacting to anything nearby, not proximity wise, at least.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MATT: "Well, if Ludinus has not been the one doing this excavation himself, that would mean that there are alliances to the Assembly or the Vanguard likely present throughout these halls. So I just hope to not gain their attention, let them know of our presence. But conversely, they might be a good source of information we seek."

LAURA: That's true. Do y'all think that Ludinus still has one of those harnesses?

TRAVIS: Like a funnel?

LAURA: Yeah. Do you think he's got something similar to what he made before?

LIAM: Or better?

MARISHA: I do. But better. I have a feeling we were working with the prototype.

TALIESIN: Mm.

LAURA: Couldn't we try to locate that?

MARISHA: That's interesting.

TRAVIS: Have we seen it?

LAURA: No. No, but it would be similar to what we have, so.

MARISHA: Because remember--

LIAM: Astrid mentioned--

MARISHA: Astrid, the itchy neck.

ASHLEY: I could just Scry.

LAURA: Or yeah.

TRAVIS: If we fuck it up, he'll know that we're watching.

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

LAURA: Which would not be good.

ASHLEY: It wouldn't be great.

LIAM: We still haven't crested the--

MATT: No, you're still in the outskirts of the main city.

LIAM: Do we want to just--

TRAVIS: Cautiously?

LIAM: -- cautiously peek over and see if we can't spot any movement or activity?

TRAVIS: Dorian and Orym?

ROBBIE: Sure.

LIAM: Now if we leave the group, we lose the--

LAURA: Pass without a Trace.

LIAM: Pass Without Trace, right.

TRAVIS: That's a good point.

LAURA: Well, then we just-- You guys peek your head over. We'll stay close. (laughs)

LIAM: Okay.

LAURA: It'll be within 30 feet of you.

MATT: "Well, if we're all having to go there anyway, better sooner than later."

LIAM: Okay.

MATT: He glides on, leading you through the immense rubble of this ward, seemingly frozen at the moment of absolute destruction. You can see little faint bits of rock that hover in the air, slowly turning on their own. You can feel the presence of history and loss throughout. More bodies scattered but broken throughout. You head through these streets. I mean, it's disaster. Disaster long lost and forgotten. You can see in the architecture and in the clothing scraps on the corpses you pass, the people that you do see locked in these time domes, there's a rich culture here. A different one, though it may be, it's odd to walk through something ancient, yet advanced and now gone. Occasionally, you see shadows shifting, entities and skittering, you can see there are things hunting or wandering the expanse of all these ruins and structures. Thankfully you all rolled really fucking high on your stealth check and Orym pointing them out, you all carefully avert these spaces. But you, with your high passive perception, do see naught maybe a thousand or so feet from the edge of where the city's central devastation begins to curl upward, something that is not of surrounding Aeorian architecture.

LIAM: We're at the bottom before it goes. Rises up, you're saying? Okay.

MATT: You can see where everything's set to rise up. There's, you know, a tower leaning at an angle and see other bits of crumbled ruin around, raised bits of stone and rock between parts of the street. But you see a large wide tent. A non-withered or rotted tent that appears to have a faint reddish lantern glow from the inside.

LAURA: I get rid of my lights.

MATT: (quick snuffing)

LIAM: Hear anything from in there?

MATT: You don't hear anything.

LIAM: Okay.

TRAVIS: I got this. With the monocle, I will cast, I think for the first time, Arcane Eye.

LIAM: Yeah!

MARISHA: Yeah!

ROBBIE: Yeah!

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah!

MARISHA: (laughs)

LAURA and LIAM: Yeah!

ROBBIE: Yeah!

ASHLEY: Yeah!

TRAVIS: I will--

LIAM: Chetney, he'll try anything.

TRAVIS: -- silently send an invisible eye--

ASHLEY: What?

TRAVIS: -- towards the tent and around, looking, like a fucking drone.

ASHLEY: That's cool.

MATT: Okay.

ROBBIE: But a good drone. A good drone, the good kind.

TRAVIS: Yeah, good drone.

ROBBIE: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Good drone.

MATT: As this faint little point of magical concentration projects beyond you and glides through the air, the rest of you watch Chetney go a little slack-jawed as he stares forward.

LIAM: Uh-oh, he's going.

TALIESIN: It finally happened.

LIAM: He's going.

(light laughter)

ASHLEY: Put your tongue back in.

TALIESIN: I have a kit for when this happens.

TRAVIS: I can't feel my tongue.

MATT: It drifts around, past a handful of other glowing domes that are settled on pieces of the surrounding broken cityscape and roads themselves. It drifts to the edge of that elongated tent, and you can see there are what looks to be, on the entrance side closest to you, there's heavy canvas flaps that are closed around it. There is a small gap towards the bottom where it doesn't quite meet the floor that you can drift into, if you want to go beneath.

TRAVIS: I would like to.

MATT: Okay.

MATT: Your invisible point of presence drifts underneath. On the inside, you can see there is a singular magic orb-like lantern that's hanging from a hook on the ceiling, it's just sitting right there, the interior magical fire flickering, casting these long shadows across the edges of the tent around you from chairs and stuff that sit up in the center. But you see a chair leaning against a broken table that is splintered on one side. You see what looks to be some cots and perhaps a makeshift desk and some other simple furniture that has largely been broken throughout the room. There is blood everywhere. We're talking slashed and splattered across the entire interior of this tent. Every piece of furniture is touched by some sort of scattering of it, and you see, there on the ground immediately around you, bodies, five bodies, all wearing Vanguard attire.

ASHLEY: (gasps) Ooh!

MATT: At a quick glance looking within, you can see all manages of slashes and gashes and bloody wounds, though not a whole lot of detail beyond what you're seeing with the shadows that are stretching beyond the still bits of furniture that's standing around it. You can just make out the outline of it, maybe one hand that's peeking out into the light where you can see. Best you can make out is this was recent enough where the hand is not decomposed entirely.

TRAVIS: Wow, cool. Can I-- I'll do a quick survey of the tent. The bodies are there, the destroyed furniture, the lamp. Can I come back out of the tent, if there are no other-- Are there any crates, Cerberus Assembly markings on anything around, any sort of cargo?

MATT: You do see a couple of boxes. They don't have any Assembly symbols on them, necessarily, that you can see, but they are enclosed.

TRAVIS: Stuff. Can I exit the tent again and do a slow look around? I can see us, which is a trip.

MATT: Yeah, you're looking back at yourself.

TRAVIS: Do the camcorder thing.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: (laughs) Yeah. Then can I look around? Is there anything moving?

MATT: Make a perception check for me.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MATT: You do not have advantage on this. This is just sight-based.

TRAVIS: Straight-up. ♪ Now tell me if ♪ you really want it ♪ 17.

MATT: 17.

MARISHA: ♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪

TRAVIS: ♪ Now I'm caught in a ♪

MATT: You don't see anything at the moment from this perspective, no.

TRAVIS: Okay. How high is the roof here?

MATT: The roof of the tent? Or, oh, the cavern.

TRAVIS: Yeah, the cavern.

MATT: Oh my goodness. Best you can make out at certain points it looks like maybe it could rise up 100 feet or more, and others, it dips down a bit.

TRAVIS: I'm going to push the limit of this spell. There's no limit to the distance, so I'm going to go up as high as I can until I can see a roof, and then look down.

TALIESIN: Look at that drone pilot.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

TRAVIS: I've never had one before. Might as well see if I can break it.

MARISHA and ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: As you look back down, make a perception check from that point.

MARISHA: She lives outside the radio signal.

LAURA: Come on.

TRAVIS: 14.

MATT: 14. From this point, you can see the expansive size of this ward. It is wide, and you're not even certain if this is the whole ward or just one portion of it that isn't buried, that's still exposed within an interior space. But it goes on in all directions. One thing you do notice is those blue little dome lights, dozens and dozens of them, maybe even hundreds, sprinkling, like a blue cloud of fireflies, frozen in place all throughout this massive ruin. You also can see now a much better view of the massive, jagged hole that sits in the direction you were traveling, and it descends into darkness like a sinkhole that's ready to swallow everything.

TRAVIS: I'll take the eye, I'll dive back down from the roof, and as I approach all of us, I'll come along the floor and then come right up under Essek's face and look right up his nose.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: It's so vast and cavernous.

LAURA and ROBBIE: (laugh)

MARISHA: He has some sinuses.

MATT: Hairless, freshly trimmed.

TRAVIS: Oh shit, you can see. That's right. You're-- (laughs) Apologies. (drone buzzes away)

(laughter)

TRAVIS: It's massive in all directions. There are hundreds of those bubbles, though. The sinkhole is nothing that I can see, dark and deep.

LIAM: What was in the tent?

TALIESIN: Mm-hmm.

TRAVIS: Bodies, five people, seemed to have been slaughtered. It was pretty unclear, but did it look like sword slashes or raw, jagged?

MATT: You'd have to inspect it with medicinal knowledge.

TRAVIS: They're all dead, but also, not super long dead, so--

MARISHA: The lantern is still on.

ASHLEY: Freshly dead?

TRAVIS: With caution, we could check it out, but--

MARISHA: Do you think it was one of those little skittering guys that we saw?

TRAVIS: Could've been. Some sweet arterial spray going on.

LAURA: Were the bodies scattered or piled?

TRAVIS: They were all in an area, all dumped in the middle.

MARISHA: Well, we should check it out. We might be able to find information.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's what somebody-- It's a trap. Okay, let's go check it out.

MARISHA: You think it's a trap?

TRAVIS: No, not at all.

MARISHA: I feel like I heard you-- Never mind.

MATT: (laughs)

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: Who's traversing towards this tent?

LIAM: I'll go.

LAURA: Oh, gosh.

LIAM: Yeah.

MATT: So it's Orym?

LAURA: You can hear me in your head.

MATT: Chet?

TRAVIS: I'll go too. We'll be sneaky quiet.

LIAM: Mm-hmm.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: The two of you.

MARISHA: How far away is it?

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: The tent?

MATT: From where you're standing now, I'd say about 200 feet.

LAURA: It's on even--

LIAM: Ooh, that's far.

MATT: It's on a bit of even ground. There is a bit of angled ground this way and other bits of stone that are punching up in this way. It's almost towards the base of where it begins to head upward at an angle.

LAURA: So the then sinkhole was--

LIAM: Parked right before the hill up to the down.

LAURA: Got it, okay.

MARISHA: I'll follow them for another hundred or so feet. That way, we're at least--

TRAVIS: We should near. Keep up the Pass Without a--

MARISHA: Within fire--

LIAM: Yeah.

MARISHA: Yeah, that's true.

ASHLEY: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

LAURA: Yeah yeah yeah, we'll stay--

TRAVIS: You have to go with.

MARISHA: All right.

MATT: Okay, so you're staying 200 feet back or so?

MARISHA: No, no, no.

LIAM: 30 feet back.

LAURA: We're going, we're going.

MATT: Oh, got you.

ROBBIE: We're all going together?

TRAVIS: We're all going to go.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: Just so we keep the Pass Without a Trace up.

LAURA: So that we can all die together.

ASHLEY: Yeah, of course, of course.

LIAM: So that we're not 200 feet away from each other when an attack happens.

LAURA: Yeah, 200 feet is a lot.

TRAVIS: I thought it was 50.

LIAM: Okay. Same stealth? New stealth?

MARISHA: At least get a little bit.

MATT: Okay. So in approaching this, one more stealth check for me, please.

LAURA: (waggles tongue)

ROBBIE: Hi-yah.

LAURA: But we have Pass Without a Trace.

MARISHA: Hi-yah!

ROBBIE: Let's do it.

LIAM: Not good.

MARISHA: Okay.

TALIESIN: Do we need Pass Without a Trace again?

LAURA: Yes.

TALIESIN: I'll cast it.

LAURA: Wait--

ASHLEY: We need to cast it again, or we--

LAURA: We still have it. Which one?

MATT: It lasts for an hour, right?

TALIESIN: Mm-hmm.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: I'd say, because you've been moving pretty quick, but you were inspecting some bits. It's about to fade, so I'll say this is the end of your spell.

LAURA: The last one.

ASHLEY: Okay. Okay.

LIAM: Last one.

TRAVIS: 37.

LAURA: Okay.

MARISHA: 29.

MATT: All right.

ROBBIE: 23.

MATT: All right.

ASHLEY: 19.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: 22.

LIAM: 19.

LAURA: (winces)

TALIESIN: 26.

LAURA: All right, all right, all right.

MARISHA: That's okay.

TRAVIS: You're fired.

ROBBIE: Fired.

TRAVIS and LAURA: Fired.

ROBBIE: Fired.

TRAVIS: Fira.

MATT: As you all begin to maneuver through the street past some of these buildings, through an alley and out into this open area, this main road, it looks like an intersection where this tent was set before that massive tower, and it's leaning in a direction where it feels like it should be falling for its size, but it's holding strong. Are you all heading in towards this tent, or all you all staying-- Okay. You all slowly scatter up to the side--

LAURA: This is bad. This is a bad idea.

MATT: -- pull aside the tent opening, and it's large enough to fit all of you, though you'll likely all be standing--

LAURA: I'm going to stay outside.

ASHLEY: (uncertain murmuring)

MARISHA: Me too.

(laughter)

MARISHA: I do peek my head in, because I want to see.

LAURA: Yeah, I want to see it, but then I stay out.

MATT: It is a unique massacre.

MARISHA: Then I stay out as well. I'll back up a little bit.

TALIESIN: I'm keeping an eye out.

ASHLEY: I'm going to stay out, since--

ROBBIE: Our heads--

MARISHA: Yeah, yeah! (gawks)

MATT: Yeah.

MARISHA and ROBBIE: (laugh)

LIAM: Why don't you go help Chet?

LAURA: Me?

LIAM: Yeah.

LAURA: How do I help Chet?

LIAM: You're great at figuring shit out. I'll just stand watch. Yes!

LAURA: Really?

ASHLEY: We'll stand watch.

LAURA: Okay, I'll go, yeah.

ASHLEY: Please be careful.

LIAM: I'll stay outside with the outside crew and keep watch.

LAURA: I'll go in.

MATT: Okay. Stepping inside and getting a better look at the space now, and you can create your light globules to give a little more light beyond the low burning central magic orb that's in there.

LIAM: ♪ Give a little life ♪

MATT: There are five bodies total amongst here. Two appear to be human, a male and a female, a gnome, an elf, and a halfling, all wearing Vanguard robes, and there are multiple wounds across all of them. Either of you want to investigate closer or look throughout the chamber? What do you want to do?

TRAVIS: I'll investigate.

MATT: Roll an investigation or medicine check.

LIAM: Let's go.

TRAVIS: Natural 20. 28.

MARISHA: Fuck yeah. Fuck yeah.

ROBBIE: Yeah!

MATT: Okay. Okay.

LAURA: That's nice.

MATT: So, the first thing you notice, the bodies are not heavily decayed, and you gather this has probably happened in recent days, at least within a week, so there is still a softness and a decay happening, but it's slower than it even should for that period of time, which might be from the atmosphere of Aeor or from other reason. But you quickly pick up where they're sitting, where the wounds are, there are multiple slash and stab wounds across most of these bodies. It appears that this was a struggle between them. You can see many of them, the wounds are small stab, slash, cut through robes. The blood sprays look like whoever was doing this was doing it with a violence and a cruelty that seems almost like they were having fun. Amongst all of them, you find the elf is the one that catches your attention, because they're the one who's wounded the least, but their arms are the most covered in now dried brown blood. You see they hold in their hand a long dagger. You assume it's a dagger, because most of it's embedded in their own throat.

LAURA: (gagging) Oh!

TALIESIN: Yep.

LAURA: Don't touch anything.

MATT: Their expression is one, a final expression, of euphoria.

TALIESIN: Yep.

LAURA: Can I use Mage Hand to pry their hand open and get a better look at the-- Pull the arm back so I can see the blade actually embedded in their neck?

MATT: Looks like a pretty nice blade.

LAURA: Anything special about it?

MATT: It looks like it's well made for both utility on the handle, it's not any magical rune, crazy blade. It looks like it's a good, solid, leather-wrapped blade. You could remove the blade if you wanted to get a better look.

LIAM: (as Gollum) Does it look tasty?

LAURA: Can I do it without touching it?

ASHLEY: Does it look scrumptious?

MATT: Go ahead and roll a d20 and add your spell modifier to it.

LIAM: (as Gollum) What is it?

LAURA: Wait, that's cocked.

LIAM: Yep.

LAURA: Spell modifier.

MATT: It's your charisma.

LIAM: (deep) Modifier.

LAURA: 23.

MATT: Easy. It slips out and floats in the air. You can see this blood-coated blade. It has a jagged edge on one end, almost a serration on the back, but the rest of it's a sleek, slightly curved dagger. The handle is leather-wrapped and simple. It looks like something that would be used, self-defense, or to cut and cook. A utility knife, as much as it is a possible weapon.

LAURA: Does it look old?

MATT: No.

LIAM: What's in the boxes?

TRAVIS: I really want to touch him.

LAURA: Don't touch the blade.

TRAVIS: No, no. Not the blade. Him.

MARISHA: A little Grim Psychometry again?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: Oh. Can you do it again?

TRAVIS: I don't know. It might be hard.

TALIESIN: There's an easy theory for that. Are we listening to all of this, I assume? Are you guys being quiet?

MATT: I mean you guys are out, paying attention around.

TALIESIN: Okay.

TRAVIS: It's the expression.

MATT: They're having this conversation quietly.

TRAVIS: It's the expression that gets me. I just want to--

LAURA: He looks happy.

TRAVIS: We could just-- I could try it.

MARISHA: I mean, did something get in his head? Yeah.

ASHLEY: Come on, do it, do it, do it.

MARISHA: Come on, come on, come on!

TRAVIS: Woo!

ASHLEY: Psychometry.

MARISHA: Touch him! Touch him!

TRAVIS: Clear!

(electrical shock)

MARISHA: Yeah.

(laughter)

MATT: Grim Psychometry?

TRAVIS: I'll try it.

MATT: Okay, roll a history check.

TALIESIN: -- never "Flatliners".

TRAVIS: It does sometimes work for them.

ASHLEY: Come on.

TRAVIS: 19.

ASHLEY: Ooh!

TRAVIS: 16 plus three.

MATT: Okay. You see flashes of study. You see hunched figures over tables. You see supplies being lain down, and others that aren't present passing through this tent. You see flashes of conversation, argument, and then a person standing there, an elf. You see them touch their forehead and look off, wander out of the tent. Flash. They're in the tent, just sitting and waiting. Four figures step in, begin to speak, like they're giving a report. They look confused. (whooshes) There is just blood, as a blade goes flying. Silent screaming as they all try and hold them back or try and flee, but an unnatural strength fills them as they reach and pull them back, cutting a throat, stabbing multiple times, turning them around, looking them in the eye as they gut them underneath the jaw and lay them to the ground before cutting through, smile on their face. You see someone trying to claw their way out of the tent after the back of their legs have been cut. It looks like the Achilles tendon is cut, and they're trying to pull, as the elf drags them back in and start carving them, cackling quietly.

TRAVIS: Already dead?

MATT: You see these images. Carving them as they're still alive.

TRAVIS: Oh, okay.

MATT: Pulling them into the tent. Trying to defend themselves, trying to stop them. They carve through all four. Flash. Has them standing there alone. Again sitting there, in the center of where these bodies are strewn in the chamber, as they're slowly carving something into their chest.

ALL: Oh!

MATT: Then look up and smile (squelching) as they stab their own throat, and then fall back. Your vision comes back.

LAURA: What was it? What was it?

TRAVIS: (grossed out noises)

LIAM: Got to check the other corpses.

TRAVIS: Ooh ooh! Ooh ooh!

(laughter)

LAURA: Are you okay, Chet? Chet, Chet, calm down, calm down. Chet, Chet, Chet! Look at me! Slap him across the face.

TRAVIS: (blepping)

LAURA: Chet.

TRAVIS: (grossed out noises)

(breathing heavily)

LAURA: Shh, shh. If you're going to barf, barf quietly.

TRAVIS: That one had some spice on it.

LAURA: What?

TRAVIS: (cloth rustling) Pull open shirt or robes.

TALIESIN: ♪ (humming Superman theme) ♪

MATT: You see what looks to be--

TRAVIS: Kal-El?

MATT: -- two overlapping circular carvings, a larger ring and a smaller ring that intersect, and a few lines that are carved-- It looks like a sigil you do not recognize has been carved into the chest, deeply, inches deep. You can see through part of the exposed rib. The strength it would take for one person to carve through their own ribcage to finish a symbol does not correlate with the size of the figure you see before you.

TRAVIS: Okay. Essek, Laudna, Imogen, anybody recognize this?

LAURA: I certainly don't.

MATT: He drifts in and looks inside.

ASHLEY: Moons? Moons?

MARISHA: What did you say? It was two circles.

LIAM: Overlapping.

MATT: A larger circle and a smaller circle, and a number of--

LAURA: Moons?

MATT: -- lines drawn through, and shapes, in an odd sigil or sign of some kind.

MARISHA: Does my Runic--

LAURA: Do you recognize it?

MATT: Essek gives it a look. "I do not. This doesn't seem to-- It's either of an arcana older or outside of my purview of research and understanding."

MARISHA: Runic Vision?

MATT: Runic Vision, which allows you to?

MARISHA: My Runic Vision, my Eyes of the Rune Keeper?

LAURA: Understand runes.

MARISHA: Understand images and runes.

TRAVIS: Meaning all runes.

MATT: Is that what it does?

TRAVIS: Without limitation.

LAURA: Every rune ever--

MARISHA: Eyes of the Rune Keeper.

MATT: I know. I'm bringing it up, bringing it up. Hold on.

MARISHA: It's the thing I've been using to read things.

TRAVIS: I wrote it on a sheet of paper.

MATT: I know. I'm double--

MARISHA: Exactly. (laughs)

MATT: No, no, I know you have it. I'm just double-checking.

ROBBIE: ♪ Bringing it up ♪

MATT: It's been a minute since we've used it to make sure that we have this--

MARISHA: ♪ Eyes of the Rune Keeper ♪

TRAVIS: What is happening?

MARISHA: ♪ (silly humming) ♪

ROBBIE: Can I look over your shoulder?

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: Mm, mm-hmm.

TALIESIN: Mm, mm, mm, mm.

LAURA: Mm-hmm.

ROBBIE: You have so much stuff.

MARISHA: Who can find it first?

ASHLEY: Catha?

MATT: There we go.

ROBBIE: You got so much stuff to do.

LAURA: Catha and Ruidus.

MARISHA: (laughs) So much.

MATT: Can read all writing is what Eyes of the Rune Keeper do.

TALIESIN: Catha and Ruidus.

MARISHA: Right. So this isn't writing?

MATT: This is not writing.

MARISHA: Okay.

MATT: Essek goes, "I don't know, unfortunately. Whatever sort of arcana or symbol this might be, I do not know it."

MARISHA: I mutter--

TRAVIS: I'll take a little piece of wood and I'll make a--

MARISHA: Note of it.

TRAVIS: Carve into it, yeah.

TALIESIN: Good call.

MARISHA: I mutter under my breath: Does it look familiar to you? To Delilah.

LAURA: Oh!

TRAVIS: Oh.

ROBBIE: Oh!

MATT: In your head you hear--

TRAVIS: You got to start saying bitch.

MARISHA: Bitch!

MATT: (Delilah) "I do not. I'm uncertain if this is spellcraft. It feels almost ritualistic or-- Hmm." That's all.

MARISHA: Can I roll for it?

MATT: You can. If you want to try and roll, roll arcana or religion.

LAURA: That's what I guess it looked like.

TRAVIS: Fearne, you should call your boyfriend. This is his shit.

TALIESIN: Ooh, that's way better.

LAURA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: (gasps) Good idea.

TRAVIS: I mean--

MARISHA: Yeah, that's fair. I will say out loud: This feels ritualistic.

TALIESIN: Feels like a--

MARISHA: Is what she said.

TALIESIN: Look like a signature to me.

LAURA: Did he carve it on anybody else--

MARISHA: A signature.

LAURA: -- except for himself?

MARISHA: That's interesting.

LAURA: I'm going to use Mage Hand and start opening up the robes on anybody else.

MATT: No.

LAURA: Just on himself?

MATT: Everyone else is just a--

MARISHA: Arcana. Oh, that's good!

MATT: -- shredded mess.

MARISHA: That's good! Natural 19 for 25.

MATT: On?

ASHLEY: Nice.

MARISHA: Arcana.

MATT: Arcana?

ASHLEY: Yes.

MATT: This is not runic or spell glyph design. This is not an enchantment. What you can glean with that roll, while you cannot understand the nature of it, this is tied to something more divine, or at least in that spectrum.

TRAVIS: (laughs) Divine goes both ways.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

TRAVIS: (laughs) That's what I'm saying. Your boyfriend would know what this is!

LAURA: Oh!

TRAVIS: Just to let you know also--

LAURA: ♪ Asmodeus ♪

TRAVIS: Chesty McCarvey, he--

MARISHA: Chesty McCarvey!

TALIESIN: Chesty McCarvey.

MARISHA: Campaign four character!

MATT: (laughs)

MARISHA: Dibs!

TRAVIS: He grabbed his head like he was influenced.

TALIESIN: Roller derby.

ASHLEY: Yes.

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Or something, so--

MARISHA: Something got in his head.

TRAVIS: Yeah. Maybe Imogen, maybe you could put the 'dar out and just, you know.

(sonar ping)

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But what if it gets in my head?

TRAVIS: Well, I mean--

MARISHA: Hmm.

MATT: Orym, you're out in the tent with them?

LAURA: Hey baby.

LIAM: I was-- No, I've been--

TRAVIS: Oh, goddamn it.

LAURA: He went to pee.

LIAM: -- making sure nothing's-- I did. I walked 1/3 of a block away and peed behind a tower.

MATT: Yeah.

LIAM: Then I came back.

TRAVIS: On a blue bubble.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: Smiling.

LIAM: Just like a little--

MATT: ♪ Don't whiz on the arcana dome ♪

TRAVIS: Somebody wakes up 900 years later and they're like, "Why is my leg wet?"

(laughter)

TRAVIS: That's the city, but my leg.

LIAM: I'm better suited to make sure that nothing's sneaking up on us.

MATT: Yeah.

MARISHA: I tell everybody, this seems divine in nature. Probably not the happy kind of (choir singing) divine, like bad.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

TRAVIS: Could be, could be, could be. Could be, though.

ASHLEY: Should I?

MARISHA: Everyone should watch their heads.

MATT: Orym, there's the faintest grinding sound.

MARISHA: Son of a bitch!

LAURA: Ooh, ooh.

MATT: Like stone on stone.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

LAURA: No.

ROBBIE: You triggered it.

MARISHA: Son of a bitch!

MATT: (grinding)

LAURA: Every time. All right.

MATT: (grinding continues)

LIAM: How far away is that sound?

MATT: It's hard to tell in this open space. It's echoing a little bit.

LIAM: So it's everywhere?

MATT: Roll a perception.

LIAM: (groans)

TRAVIS: I'm sure that's a check for being drugged.

ASHLEY: Nah.

TRAVIS: I'm sure of it.

LIAM: Straight roll. Come on.

ROBBIE: It's a parade.

MARISHA: (laughs)

LIAM: Good.

TRAVIS: Did you say it's a plant?

LIAM: 23.

ROBBIE: A parade.

TRAVIS: Oh, parade.

MATT: 23. Probably 100 feet if not a little closer.

LAURA: Aah! Okay.

MATT: It sounds like heavy stone on stone, just grinding.

(intense grinding)

LIAM: I pull open the flap. We got a little bit of noise about 100 feet away. Stone on stone. I don't know.

LAURA: Hmm.

ASHLEY: What do we do? What do we do?

TRAVIS: Hide? Invisible?

LAURA: Hmm?

TRAVIS: Should we hide? Should we hide? Just in case something's coming this way.

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: Maybe not in the tent, but away from the tent.

LAURA: Hide on the other side of the tent?

ASHLEY: All right.

LAURA: Which direction is it coming from?

TRAVIS: I take the motherfucking hide action. (laughs) Outside the tent.

MARISHA: Yeah, yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah.

MATT: Just on the outside of the tent?

ASHLEY: Same, same, same.

TRAVIS: Yeah, I'll go outside of the tent and try and hide since it's--

LIAM: This is probably a beacon, so if we get away from it and move it--

MATT: There's plenty of broken rocks and parts of nearby ruin to hide in.

LIAM: Yeah.

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yes.

LIAM: Rubble.

TRAVIS: I try to tuck into shadow until that sound goes away.

LIAM: Rubble, rubble.

TRAVIS: Rubble, rubble.

ASHLEY: Rubble.

MARISHA and ASHLEY: Rubble, rubble.

MATT: Okay, so you go and find an edge side of shadow. All right, everyone else doing the same? Are you finding other facets around?

LIAM: Mm-hmm.

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: Crannies.

MATT: All right, let's have, this is going to be a group stealth check, but we're grading everyone individually.

LAURA: (squeals nervously)

ROBBIE: Oh, poopies!

TRAVIS: Does that mean we lose Pass Without a Trace because--

LIAM: Yes, well, that was Fearne's last--

ASHLEY: Well, can I cast it--

TRAVIS: Oh, that's right.

TALIESIN: I can cast it again, but--

MATT: It's ended by now, but you've--

TALIESIN: But I can cast it again as long as we're close enough to each other.

ASHLEY: Okay.

LAURA: Okay.

TRAVIS: How close?

MATT: Are you all going to hide together?

LIAM: I thought we're all scattering.

LAURA: Or are we scattering?

TRAVIS: We are. It's kind of scattered.

LAURA: We're scattered.

LIAM: Around the tent?

LAURA: So anybody within 30 feet of you, but--

LIAM: Sort of like--

TALIESIN: So anyone within 30 feet of me would have Pass Without Trace.

MATT: Correct, so--

ROBBIE: This'll be fine.

MATT: So, all right, so if this is the center tent and all of you are scattering--

LIAM: Moves around the tent.

MATT: Who's clumping with who, I guess?

TALIESIN: I think maybe just, yeah, not go in a full circle around the tent, but I'll take a quarter.

LAURA: No, like a funnel outside of the back.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

LAURA: Like a cone of hiding.

ASHLEY: A cone of hiding?

ROBBIE: Cone of hiding.

TALIESIN: Cone of hiding.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: Okay. So I guess, who's staying close to Ashton?

TALIESIN: Yes.

LAURA: I don't know. It's hard to know what's around. Is there a--

TRAVIS: I won't. I won't.

LIAM: I won't either.

ASHLEY: I'm going to stay closer because my stealth isn't great.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: I'll stay close.

LAURA: Yes. Yeah, I'll stay close to Ashton.

MATT: Okay, so the three of you. Are you staying with the witches or?

ROBBIE: Uh--

LIAM: How's your stealth?

ROBBIE: Mid. I'm going to go with Chet.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

ROBBIE: Stick with Chet.

MATT: Okay, so essentially the three of you scatter off to one side, filling out some of the shadows of rock of some of the larger area.

ROBBIE: That's fine.

MATT: The other ones of you head over with Ashton's spell. You start to move in the direction of that leaning tower and the rocks around it, but then that sound of stone seems to be emanating from that side and you got to switch back around the edge to go hide. All right, let's roll.

LIAM: Let's go.

ROBBIE: (hums nervously)

LIAM: Nope.

LAURA: (hums)

ROBBIE: (groans)

TRAVIS: 27.

MATT: All right.

ASHLEY: Okay, okay.

MARISHA: Natural one.

LAURA: (gasps)

ASHLEY: No, Laudna.

TRAVIS and MARISHA: (superb high five)

TRAVIS: Yes, bitch.

ROBBIE: 23.

MARISHA: This is going to be funny when I get possessed.

ROBBIE: Sneaky, sneaky.

TRAVIS: Sneaky!

ROBBIE: You fucking sneaky motherfucker!

ASHLEY: 19.

TRAVIS and ROBBIE: (laugh)

MATT: 19. Okay.

LAURA: 26.

ROBBIE: Ooh!

MATT: 26.

LIAM: Nine.

LAURA: (groans)

ASHLEY: Nine?

ROBBIE: Nine!

ASHLEY: What do you mean?

ROBBIE: Natty one?

TALIESIN: 35. What's wrong with you people?

ASHLEY: 35!

ROBBIE: She shits herself.

ASHLEY: Wait, why didn't you add the 10?

TRAVIS: He didn't go.

LIAM: I'm not by Pass Without a Trace.

MARISHA: Judged individually.

TALIESIN: Yeah, he butted away from us. There's three that don't get the plus 10.

TRAVIS: That's why you just fucked it up.

MATT: So yeah, so no.

TALIESIN: You did just do a stealth roll, though?

MATT: As a group stealth check.

LIAM: Mm-hmm, I finally--

MATT: You all dart off to the side to stay quiet and just quietly watch, and you see this shape begin to round the bend beside the tower.

(ominous stone scraping)

LAURA: What is it, what is it, what is it, what is it, what is it?

MATT: (increasingly ominous scraping) You see this tall, thin, lumbering humanoid shape begin to walk around near that tent as it's dragging something behind it. You can see it looks to be-- It looks like a part of the statue to the point where you can almost see the hand that was gripping this massive hammer that is partially cracked that is now being dragged as a hammer by this entity behind it. Part of the hammer's head is grinding flat on an edge from it dragging it through the city for who knows how long. But this tall--

MARISHA: Wow.

MATT: -- spindly creature, as it gets around the edge and begins walking towards the tent, 15 feet tall, 20, 20--

ROBBIE: What?

MATT: -- a little over 20 feet tall.

ASHLEY: Oh!

ROBBIE: What?

MATT: Long, thin limbs. There are facets of it that would remind you of the Nightmare King if it wasn't standing straight up as opposed to spider- like on the ground. Where its shoulders are, its head seems to arch forward in this long hood that hangs, but there's no hood there. There's no clothing. It's like the skin hangs around the sides and creates almost a hood.

ASHLEY: Oh my god.

MATT: From what best you can see, as it gets closer to the tent, lit from underneath by the very faintest of fiery glow that gets it. You can see these weird grayish flesh folds go (goopey squelches) beneath it.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

LIAM: Fucking "Pan's Labyrinth."

MARISHA: Fleshy.

ASHLEY: Cool.

TRAVIS: Come on, Matt! (laughs)

ASHLEY: It's fleshy.

ROBBIE: Fleshy.

MARISHA: Flesh folds. Fleshy.

TRAVIS: Yes!

MARISHA: Grayish flesh.

MATT: Long, thin overextended forearms that drag this hammer behind it. As it glances around, it spins and looks and you can see where its chest is, there is this spinning rows of teeth that slightly shift and (gurgles)

TRAVIS: Oh.

MATT: And kind of (sniffs).

ASHLEY: Is that a--

MATT: (sniffs)

MARISHA: Like the baby but grown up?

LAURA: Oh my god.

MATT: (extremely ominous gurgles)

(quick, gruff snorts)

TRAVIS: Better not be calling--

MATT: You watch as the toothy maw (chuckles) in the center of it starts to--

ROBBIE: (laughs)

MATT: Oh, it feels good when it feels right.

TRAVIS: When it feels right. Yeah, yeah, same, baby!

MATT: When it feels right.

LIAM: Embrace it.

MATT: Begins to open and you hear these little (creepy chitters) sounds and something crawls out of it.

TRAVIS: Shut up!

ASHLEY: Come on, shut up! No!

ROBBIE: Get out!

MATT: Two, three, four.

TRAVIS: Four?

MATT: Six.

LAURA: No!

MATT: Numerous of these strange somewhat translucent, they look almost like--

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: -- almost like large scorpions or some sort--

ASHLEY: No!

MATT: -- of insect-like creature begin to crawl--

ASHLEY: No!

MATT: -- down its legs into the ground and begin to scatter--

LAURA: ♪ We're going to die ♪

MATT: -- searching with these weird antennas out the front as they curl through. Where you can see them, their chitinous shell is translucent, like you can see the inner workings of it through its armored shell.

TRAVIS: Oh, the poisonous ones.

ASHLEY: That's disgusting.

MARISHA: That's cool.

MATT: They begin to scatter and search around as the creature-- (sniffing)

LAURA: They came out of his stomach hole?

TRAVIS: Stomach mouth.

ROBBIE: Toothy maw.

MATT: Yeah.

MARISHA: (laughs)

ROBBIE: Belly button.

MATT: As this happens, Laudna, you move back and your foot catches one of the nearby stones that you thought would hold your weight before it (smacks) kicks out from under you and-- (light taps)

MARISHA: Oh!

LAURA: No!

TALIESIN: Oh!

MATT: At which point, there's a brief moment where you hold your breath--

ROBBIE: (gasps)

MATT: -- and think maybe nobody saw it.

(alarming whoosh)

MARISHA: (screams)

MATT: It looks right in your direction as all the creatures (frantic scuttles) begin to skitter in your direction.

ALL: (shouts) And that's where we're going to pick up next week.

ALL: (so loud) No!

LAURA: (screams)

ASHLEY: Oh shit!

ROBBIE: Oh!

MATT: But what I--

TALIESIN: (shouts)

MATT: But what I can show you because it'll help you plan for next week is good.

TRAVIS: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah!

ASHLEY: Yes!

ROBBIE: Yes! Yes! Teaser!

LIAM: This week, emotional damage. Next week, physical damage.

TALIESIN: Physical damage.

ASHLEY: Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.

TRAVIS: He's going to show a map, I think.

TALIESIN: (mimics air horn)

ROBBIE: All those great stealth rolls.

TALIESIN: And then--

ROBBIE: We were doomed to fail.

LAURA: Uh-huh, yeah.

ROBBIE: We were doomed eventually.

TRAVIS: Wait, this is fucking huge.

TALIESIN: Oh no!

ROBBIE: What?

MARISHA: Oh my god.

TRAVIS: Do you need help?

ROBBIE: Oh, he's--

TALIESIN: Oh no!

LIAM: Oh, get your arm workout.

ASHLEY: Whoa!

TALIESIN: Fuck off!

ROBBIE: Oh, look at that thing!

ASHLEY: Oh noes!

TALIESIN: What the fuck?

LIAM: Don't drop it. Don't drop it. Don't drop it.

ROBBIE: Oh!

LIAM: Oh.

LAURA: Oh god.

ASHLEY: Oh wow!

LIAM: It's got blue bubbles.

ROBBIE: Yeah!

TRAVIS: Oh my god, Matt!

MARISHA: Oh, look at the blue bubbles!

ROBBIE: Yeah, let's go!

TRAVIS: Get out of here!

LAURA: Wow!

TRAVIS: Shut up!

TALIESIN: (mimics air horn)

ROBBIE: Yeah, yeah.

MARISHA: Oh!

LAURA: I swear, we're there.

TALIESIN: Oh, turn them on, turn them on.

LAURA: We're by the tent?

LIAM: Look at us go pretty.

ROBBIE: Yes, please. Yes, please!

TRAVIS: Oh!

ASHLEY: Yes!

(shouts of admiration)

TRAVIS: Oh damn!

TALIESIN: Holy.

MARISHA: Oh my god.

LAURA: So we're where?

MATT: Laudna was hiding over here.

ROBBIE: Okay.

MATT: As Ashton-- (chuckles)

MARISHA: Was in with the witches.

LAURA: So we're all within 30 feet.

MATT: Essek was drifting on his own over here.

LAURA: Oh, Essek's--

TALIESIN: Ashton, with me, yeah, yeah.

LAURA: Essek's like, "Don't fucking look at me."

TALIESIN: "You fucking people."

TRAVIS: Oh my god.

MATT: So, the rest of you were hiding over in this space here.

TALIESIN: Mm-hmm.

LAURA: Uh-huh. Yeah, that seems about right.

MATT: Trying to stay within the range of Ashton.

LAURA: Where is Ashton?

TALIESIN: I would have been maybe behind that little--

LIAM: Chet?

TALIESIN: To your left.

MATT: Right here?

TALIESIN: Behind the light. Yeah, in that little crevice.

MATT: Yeah.

LIAM: Chet, Dorian, Orym were a trio apart.

ROBBIE: Yeah.

TRAVIS: We were fucking money.

LAURA: You were fucking.

MATT: Yeah, so Dorian would be over here. Fearne would likely be over here hiding.

MARISHA: I'm just taking in the sights.

TRAVIS: Oh!

ROBBIE: Oh!

LIAM: Oh!

MATT: Whereas the three of you probably darted off into this area here--

ROBBIE: Yeah.

MATT: -- either behind the stone in this ruin.

ROBBIE: Yeah.

MATT: Likely.

TRAVIS: Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep--

ROBBIE: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

TRAVIS: I like it.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: Hey, I know where that came from.

ROBBIE: Yep, yep, yep, yep. Uh-huh, uh-huh.

TALIESIN: Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep--

TRAVIS: I like it.

ROBBIE: Get it down.

LIAM: Farly, farly, farly, farly.

TALIESIN: Holy shit.

LAURA: Can I put myself up behind, like up--

TRAVIS: 100%. "Overwatch," baby.

MATT: Here?

LAURA: Yeah, like--

MARISHA: Your "Call of Duty" brain.

LAURA: But further.

TRAVIS: Oh, it's got good cover.

LAURA: Even further. Yeah, like around right there.

MATT: Yep, as long you're within 30 feet of Ashton, you should be fine.

LAURA: Great, okay.

MATT: Do you have a preference in place?

ROBBIE: Yeah. (laughs)

ASHLEY: Yeah, I'll tuck into that.

MATT: Little crevasse.

LAURA: Where I was.

ASHLEY: I don't know if I want anybody to know.

LAURA: Oh my gosh.

TALIESIN: Well, I mean--

ASHLEY: Maybe I'll tuck in to where you had me, actually, on that other side.

MATT: Here?

ASHLEY: Then tucked into the, yeah.

MATT: Crevasse, got it.

LIAM: Tuck it in.

LAURA: ♪ Tuck it in ♪

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: ♪ Tuck it in ♪

MATT: Essek's hiding over-- He would probably just turn Invisible to himself there.

LAURA: We really should have seen where this creature's coming from before we decided where we would place.

ASHLEY: Sure, sure.

TALIESIN: We didn't know. We didn't know.

MARISHA: What's that?

MATT: This is where you hid when you heard the sound.

LAURA: Oh, oh!

MATT: Where it makes it better for me to place it. I did describe it coming around the edge behind the tower.

TRAVIS: We'll do it for combat next time.

MARISHA: For next time, it's combat.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

LIAM: Oh!

(shouting)

ROBBIE: No!

(exclaiming)

ASHLEY: That is awesome!

TALIESIN: It's so gummy!

ASHLEY: That is horrifying!

LIAM: But that specifically!

ROBBIE: Him's a big baby.

MATT: One of my favorite D&D minis.

LIAM: Oh!

LAURA: Oh sick!

ASHLEY: No!

LIAM: What's that hammer?

ASHLEY: Fucking hate those things.

ROBBIE: Look at those--

TALIESIN: Yeah!

LIAM: Oh.

ROBBIE: Oh yeah!

LAURA: What?

ASHLEY: They're translucent.

TRAVIS: What?

LAURA: (groans)

MARISHA: Oh god.

LIAM: They just haven't seen the sun.

ASHLEY: No! It's disgusting.

MARISHA: Oh, I'm not recording!

ASHLEY: That shit.

MARISHA: (screams)

TALIESIN: They look like real scorpions.

ROBBIE: I'm sorry!

ASHLEY: Ugh!

TRAVIS: What even is that, man?

MATT: It's fun is what it is.

LAURA: Oh god, there's so many.

ROBBIE: Yes!

ASHLEY: What? No, why are they all over here?

LIAM: Those came out of his mouth?

ROBBIE: You made the noise-ies!

TALIESIN: Because of that one.

ROBBIE: You made the noise-ies!

ASHLEY: I didn't make the noise-ies!

MATT: It was the natural one that did it.

LIAM: They came out of its stomach mouth.

MATT: Yep, and there's--

TALIESIN: They're more frightened of you than you are of them.

LAURA: If we cast spells, we could turn into a fish.

ASHLEY: I don't want to be where I am anymore!

(laughter)

ROBBIE: Are we still in that area?

ASHLEY: Can I move?

TALIESIN: That is a model right there.

ROBBIE: Oh no.

LIAM: Which direction is the sinkhole?

TALIESIN: Say that every morning.

LAURA: Oh!

MATT: Huh? This way.

ASHLEY: I don't want to be where I am any more!

MATT: You can see where it starts to rise up on this side, the angle, it's over this region.

LIAM: So Chet, Dorian: The three of us, we could just leave.

ASHLEY: Shit.

ROBBIE: Yeah!

(laughter)

ROBBIE: It'd be a great spin-off!

(laughter)

TALIESIN: This week, on a brand-new "ExU."

TRAVIS: This week on a "Sneaky Bastards."

MATT: So.

ASHLEY: Disgusting!

MATT: Here's where we'll pick up next week. (laughs)

LAURA: Oh god. That is so many scorpions!

TALIESIN: ♪ Having adventures ♪

ASHLEY: That's so many.

ROBBIE: Where'd those other guys go?

LAURA: There's another scorpion over there?

MATT: Yeah, there's one over there, too.

LAURA: How many scorpions are there? One, two, three, four. Five, six, seven.

ROBBIE: Wow.

LAURA: There's eight scorpions?

TALIESIN: That we know of.

LIAM: They probably have two hit points each.

MARISHA: Sure.

LIAM: Sure.

TRAVIS: Oh no.

TALIESIN: It's a maw! It goes to wherever the maw leads.

LAURA: It's a maw.

MARISHA: But is this the thing that got--

LIAM: All right, all right, all right, all right.

ASHLEY: It's a toothy maw.

TRAVIS: We should sign off. We should sign off.

LAURA and ASHLEY: Okay, okay, okay.

MATT: Yeah. We'll pick up at the start of this battle next week. Thank you all so much for joining us. We love you very much, and is it Thursday yet? Good night.

TRAVIS: We're all going to die!