Transcript:Where The Red Fearne Glows

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 enthusiasm)

(laughter)

ROBBIE: I forgot how it goes.

MATT: They're coming for me strong tonight.

(laughter)

MATT: So, before we get into our episode tonight, we do have announcements to get through, beginning with our sponsor for the night, Roll & Play Press and their fabulous book, "One-Shot Wonders." Marisha?

TRAVIS: (whispering) "One-Shot Wonders."

MARISHA: Oh yes. With "One-Shot Wonders," with over 100 different one-shots all on two pages or less, this book is a lifesaver for busy GMs and new GMs alike. Now, with their gorgeous new map library!

(oohing)

MARISHA: I know. There's one-inch gridded battle maps for every adventure, and they're dry erase wipeable-ble.

LAURA: That's awesome!

MATT: That's really great, actually.

MARISHA: Yeah, also wipeable.

LAURA: It's really pretty.

MARISHA: These beautiful tomes can easily cut DM prep time from hours to just minutes. You can use one of their prompts straight from the book or you can easily customize it to your liking. Here, I'll show you. Let's see here. Let's just pick a random one, okay? Now, this is totally random. This one-shot is called "On Shaky Ground," and I'm going to customize it based off of the table's suggestions, kind of like Mad Libs. Okay, so I need a plural noun.

LIAM: Queefs.

MARISHA: Great.

ASHLEY: Okay.

TALIESIN: Starting right out.

TRAVIS: Isn't that really a verb?

MARISHA: An adjective.

LAURA: Yeah, that's--

LIAM: I think it's both.

TRAVIS: Saucy.

MARISHA and ROBBIE: Saucy.

ASHLEY: Okay.

LAURA: That one's nice.

TALIESIN: That good.

MARISHA: That's great.

MATT: My drag name, Saucy Queefs.

LAURA: Ooh.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm. A movie star or animal or I'm going to say an animal who's a movie star. Why not?

MATT: Air Bud.

LAURA: Beaver.

ASHLEY: Air Bud! Good one.

TALIESIN: Oh wow. Air Bud. Wow.

MARISHA: What did you say? Hold that one. That one could be good.

(laughter)

MATT: What did you--

ROBBIE: It was beaver with three Bs.

MARISHA: A verb that ends in -ing.

ROBBIE: B-b-beaver.

ASHLEY: Swallowing?

TRAVIS: Fapping.

MARISHA: Swallowing?

ROBBIE: Swallowing.

MARISHA: This is great.

MATT: Man, Laura's rocking it.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MARISHA: Great.

MATT: She's almost got a word out, guys. Come on.

(laughter)

MARISHA: An important event.

MATT: Yeah, Laura, what you got?

ASHLEY: Ooh.

LIAM: The rapture. The rapture.

MARISHA: The rapture!

ROBBIE: Good.

ASHLEY: Good, good, good.

ROBBIE: Good, good, good.

ASHLEY: Supes important.

TALIESIN: This is going to go great.

ROBBIE: This is great.

LAURA: I'm going to get one.

ASHLEY: Supes important, hope we all make it.

LAURA: I'm going to say one.

MARISHA: An NPC name.

TRAVIS: Carl. Oh no--

LAURA: Beaver?

TRAVIS: Beaver?

TALIESIN: Beaver with three Bs.

LIAM: B-b-beaver.

MATT: She got it out.

MARISHA: We'll call him Beaver Carl, how about that?

ROBBIE: Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.

LAURA: Great, great, great.

TALIESIN: Fun Carl.

MARISHA: Position of importance?

MATT: Missionary.

TRAVIS: Comptroller

ROBBIE: Missionary.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: Wow. Wow!

ROBBIE: Sorry.

MATT: No, dude. Yeah, dude.

TRAVIS: Whoa.

MATT: We're both on the same--

(laughter)

MARISHA: What did you say?

TRAVIS: Missionary.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Missionary.

MATT: We're terrible.

TRAVIS: Holy shit.

MATT: Oh no.

TRAVIS: Y'all have some explaining to do.

MARISHA: Okay, that's great.

MATT: Yeah.

(laughter)

MATT: Yeah.

MARISHA: A silly NPC name, so not Beaver Carl.

ASHLEY: (laughs)

LAURA: Kevin.

TRAVIS: Marisha.

LAURA: What?

ASHLEY: Kevin!

TRAVIS: Kevin?

LAURA: Kevin!

MARISHA: Kevin.

LIAM: Kevin Hedgehog.

ROBBIE: Yeah.

MARISHA: Kevin--

ROBBIE: Kevin Hedgehog's good.

MARISHA: This is great. This is great.

MATT: This is going to be a good session.

MARISHA: A serious place.

ASHLEY: Oh.

TRAVIS: Mortuary.

ROBBIE: Serious. Oh, mortuary.

MARISHA: Mortuary.

MATT: Pretty serious.

ROBBIE: Oh wow.

ASHLEY: That's very serious.

MARISHA: Mortuary. And a verb.

LAURA: Shivering.

TRAVIS: Shivered queef?

TALIESIN: Oh, I see you brought it all around. Well done.

LAURA: Uh-huh.

MATT: Look at that. Good job.

MARISHA: Nailed it. And one more verb.

LAURA: Oh.

LIAM: Shart.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

ROBBIE: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

LAURA: Shart--

MARISHA: Great. Okay.

LAURA: Sharted.

TRAVIS: Don't gamble on a fart.

MARISHA: Here's our little adventure.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MARISHA: Are you guys ready?

TRAVIS: Ready.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MARISHA: The party will learn that some queefs cannot be fought head on with a gigantic--

(laughter)

ASHLEY: Well--

(laughter)

ROBBIE: Only one way to stop them.

(laughter)

MARISHA: When a gigantic saucy Air Bud advances on the town where they are swallow-- Where they are swallowing, causing terrifying tremors.

ROBBIE: Mm!

MARISHA: That got weird.

ASHLEY: That doesn't makes sense.

MARISHA: Can the heroes complete a rapture before the monster brings the town down around them? Important characters include Beaver Carl, the town's elected missionary--

LAURA: Oh!

ASHLEY: Oh wow.

MARISHA: -- who is willing to make tough choices to ensure his community's survival. And of course, Kevin Hedgehog, a trainee healer at a local mortuary--

(laughter)

MATT: Not real good at his job, huh?

(laughter)

ROBBIE: Wrong place.

MATT: Oh, bro.

TALIESIN: I don't what he's not very good at, but it's one or the other.

MATT: He's like, "I don't get it. Nothing's working!"

TRAVIS: Slow going.

ASHLEY: Why can't I do this?

MARISHA: -- who just wants to shivering any way she can.

TRAVIS: Uh-huh.

ROBBIE: Aw.

TRAVIS: I guess it would just be shiver.

LAURA: Shiver.

MARISHA: "One-Shot Wonders" is available now on rollandplaypress.com. I had no ending to that bit. I probably should have wrote an ending.

TRAVIS: Man.

MARISHA: Rollandplaypress.com/critical. If you order before May 31st, you'll get a free coupon for $10 off your pre-order of the map library. Matt, shart to you.

LAURA: Aw.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: Hey.

LAURA: Nice.

MATT: It's actually a really great book. It helped me out when I was running a one-shot last minute for your dad when he was in town.

MARISHA: For my dad, yeah.

MATT: It's really cool. Highly recommend it.

MARISHA: They're really great.

MATT: We have it, and you should have it too.

MARISHA: Just these awesome little like prompts.

LAURA: That's awesome!

MARISHA: They're cool.

LIAM: Just get some prompts.

MARISHA: It is a really great book.

LAURA: Just get some prompts.

MATT: It works better when you have mature friends.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: Nah.

LIAM: What's that like?

ASHLEY: Boo!

MATT: I'm excited for someone to try that exact storyline.

TALIESIN: Don't, no.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: Our next sponsor is Quest's End Whiskey--

(cheering)

MATT: -- and their brand new spirit, Sandkheg's Hide! Delivered from the Rumedam Desert right to your door. I am so excited this exists. Quest's End is giving away a virtual tasting with co-founder Matthew Lillard and master blender, Ale Ochoa. Sandkheg's Hide inspired by Vox Machina campaign one episode 65.

TRAVIS: 65, everyone remember that?

MATT: I believe it was.

TRAVIS: A million years ago.

MATT: It is our first ever spirits collaboration. Please make sure to sign up at www.sandkhegshide.com by May 23rd, 2024 for a chance to be one of 50 lucky critters selected for this exclusive tasting in early July. No purchase is necessary, but you must be 21 or older to enter.

TRAVIS: Ugh, rules. Rules.

LAURA: Can we have some of that?

MATT: This is so freaking cool.

LAURA: Open it!

MATT: We got to try it, which one we liked, and we found that good mix between what tastes good and also gets a little bit of that mouth buzz to it that fits with the theme of it.

ASHLEY: Yeah, mouth buzz.

MATT: It's really good.

TRAVIS: Alcohol's the kicker.

MATT: Excited for you guys to try it out. But thank you so much to Quest's End for sponsoring this episode and make sure to go try this amazing whiskey, Sandkheg's Hide: Bottled by the brave, imbibed by the bold.

ROBBIE: Oh!

MATT: Mm!

MARISHA: It's got a tag line!

MATT: Indeed.

ASHLEY: Bottled by the French excellence.

MATT: All right, and for our next announcement--

TRAVIS: You guys! We launched Beacon this morning!

(excited cheering)

MATT: Woo!

TRAVIS: If you don't know, Beacon is our new membership service and our one-stop shop HQ for all things Critical Role. You will get things like live event pre-sales, merch discounts, new exclusive series like Critical Role Cooldown, where all of us sit here at the table after we're done talking about how stupid that was and why Matt is an insane person.

MARISHA and LAURA: Yes.

TRAVIS: All the post-show chaos. And for the first time ever, if you listen to Critical Role via the podcast, Beacon members receive episodes the same day they air--

MARISHA: Same day!

TRAVIS: -- on video platforms. First time.

MARISHA: That's right!

TRAVIS: First time!

MARISHA: First time!

TRAVIS: Also, to answer one of the biggest questions we have had, nothing changes with how you are able to watch or listen to our current content. We will continue to be on Twitch and YouTube as per usual. As an independent company, which we are--

MARISHA: We still are.

TRAVIS: -- Beacon, it gives us the flexibility to create special perks, stay better connected with you, our lovely audience, and provide you with a better unfiltered Critical Role experience without being beholden to algorithms--

MARISHA: Algorithms.

TRAVIS: -- and demonetization--

MARISHA: We curse a lot.

TRAVIS: -- future changes, anything really, any other outside company might decide to do.

MATT: Video platforms just failing and going away.

TRAVIS: You know.

MARISHA: Who knows?

TRAVIS: A little future proofing. You can go watch our latest State of the Role on YouTube and read all the details on critrole.com or go directly to beacon.tv to check it out for yourself and start a seven-day free trial. As always, thank you so much for your support and for being an amazing part of our community for almost 10 years!

MARISHA: Jeez.

TRAVIS: 10 years!

TALIESIN: Oh, my back.

MATT: My goodness.

TRAVIS: 10 years! Grosse Pointe Blank.

MARISHA: Yep.

MATT: Thank you all so much.

TRAVIS: Oh, oh! Another thing! Along with Beacon today, we also announced our first Bells Hells live show!

(excited cheering)

MARISHA: Let's go.

LAURA: This is a big day.

TRAVIS: You guys.

ASHLEY: Big day. Big day.

TRAVIS: We're hyped. We're hyped.

MARISHA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: It's at a little place called the Greek Theater here in Los Angeles.

LIAM: You're lying! That's not real. You're lying.

TRAVIS: It's true! It's true! I know, it's The Greek, man.

ASHLEY: I'm going to--

TRAVIS: On June 15th, please join us for an exciting live performance of campaign three episode 98 of Critical Role with all of us here at the table, including this wonderful Robbie Daymond.

ASHLEY: Whoa!

ROBBIE: Yay!

TRAVIS: And, as we announced, the extraordinary Brennan Lee Mulligan will be serving as a master of ceremony.

MATT: Woo!

LAURA: Yay!

TRAVIS: The pre-sale for bacon-- Beacon, Beacon. For bacon members?

LAURA: Bacon.

MARISHA: Pocket Beacon.

ASHLEY: I mean, it makes sense.

TRAVIS: Got to keep that pocket Beacon. Pre-sales for Beacon members begins Monday, May 20th at 10:00am Pacific. But please keep in mind that you have to be a paid member to receive the pre-sale code. Remember, that that seven-day free trial we mentioned, it does not include access to live event pre-sales, so to make sure you guarantee access to the pre-sale, be sure to sign up for a monthly or annual membership no later than May 16th at 11:59:59pm Pacific.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

TRAVIS: If you miss the pre-sale, don't worry.

MARISHA: It's cool.

TRAVIS: We'll have tickets available for everyone else the very next day on May 21st at 10:00 AM Pacific.

MARISHA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: If you're wondering, anyone unable to join us in person can watch the livestream on our Twitch and YouTube channels on Thursday, June 20th.

MARISHA: Yeah, yeah.

TRAVIS: That was a lot. So if you need the details over again, you can find them all at critrole.com/events and we will see you at The Greek!

(cheering)

TALIESIN: Hey.

LAURA: Wow.

MATT: All righty. I think we are next up with you.

LAURA: Yeah, it's anticlimactic after all that, but I have a shirt, you guys.

ASHLEY: No, no, no.

(laughter)

ROBBIE: Nice!

ASHLEY: No, that's still cool!

LAURA: It's still awesome, though. It's a Bells Hells shirt. If you guys know, our Mighty Nein weapon shirt and our Vox-- I don't know what other weapon shirt we have. We have other weapons shirts and this one's the Bells Hells one.

MATT: Woo!

ROBBIE: Nice!

MARISHA: I love that color.

LAURA: It's available everywhere.

ASHLEY: I know, I do too.

LAURA: Adriann Helton designed it, artist. She drew all this amazing stuff. Thank you, Adriann.

MATT: Awesome.

MARISHA: It's giving big--

MATT: I love it.

MARISHA: -- camp counselor--

TRAVIS: It's true.

MARISHA: -- circa 2010 vibes.

LAURA: Isn't it so cool?

LAURA: Yeah, so anyway,

MARISHA: Yeah, it's great.

LAURA: Check it out.

MATT: That's rad.

ROBBIE: Nice.

MATT: Is there a medium over there?

LAURA: Is there a medium over-- This one's a small--

ASHLEY: No, there's an extra small and a small. This is not going to fit me. I was just going to put it over my head.

LAURA: This is a small, you can try it.

MATT: That's okay, I'll buy one.

LIAM: That's it. We only made two.

MATT: Oh, well.

LAURA: Sorry. Sorry, everyone. Ashley took them both.

TRAVIS: First come, first served.

MATT: Yeah. All righty. I believe we have Marisha, you're up next.

MARISHA: (dramatically) And over in the Fairelands--

ROBBIE and TRAVIS: (laugh)

MARISHA: Candela Obscura: The Circle of the Crimson Mirror has come to its conclusion. But there are more secrets left to unearth. Yeah, it's our--

ASHLEY: Hazel Copperpot here.

MARISHA: Hazel Copperpot is here. Our session zero video and our Crafting a Mystery interview with game master, Liam O'Brien.

LAURA: ♪ A mystery ♪

MARISHA: Are both now available as VODs on Twitch and YouTube. Of course, don't forget, you can get tickets! Speaking of live shows, guys.

TRAVIS: Live shows.

MARISHA: More live shows! Don't forget you can still get tickets right now for our immersive Candela live show experience on May 25th at the United Theater on Broadway in Los Angeles. It's going to be so spoopy.

TRAVIS: It's going to be spoopy.

TRAVIS: Dress up. Come join us.

MARISHA: Yeah, come join this party.

LAURA: Please dress up.

MATT: It's going to a fancy place. I'm excited.

MARISHA: Yeah. Get all the details at critrole.com/events. like our other details.

MATT: I get to be a character.

MARISHA: You get to play!

MATT: I get to play in this one.

ROBBIE: Oh, yeah!

MARISHA: Yeah, it's going to be Matt's debut!

TRAVIS: Totally going to serve it up.

MATT: I'm going to ruin it. It's going to be great. All righty. And! We just launched Daggerheart 1.4 in the beta, a new version of the playtest materials--

LAURA: Huge day.

MATT: -- in response to your specific feedback. You watching, thanks to you, it's off your feedback. Download and play this version 1.4 now at daggerheart.com/play and to get an overview of what's changed and the reasoning behind it, check out the VOD of the updated livestream from earlier this week. Update livestream even. What is happening? (laughs)

MATT: We're modeling the shirts, obviously.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: Check out the VOD of the update livestream from earlier this week or read through the change log on daggerheart.com.

TALIESIN: Open beta.

LAURA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Open beta.

TALIESIN: Open beta.

MATT: I think that concludes our announcements.

LAURA: Oh my god.

ASHLEY: Oh my god.

LAURA: Those were majors.

MARISHA: I know, I wonder why we're tired all the time. (laughter) It's just so much.

MATT: So with that, let's go ahead and jump into tonight's episode of Critical Role.

(cheering)

Part I

MATT: And we're back. So, last we left off, Bells Hells, after a rather chaotic information gathering mission to the red Moon of Ill-Omen, Ruidus, you had traversed deep beneath its crust into the alien city of Kreviris, and with the help of the Volition, which is the resistance against the terrors that currently oversee that locale, you found information, you left some chaos, and in the escape, lost a friend through a heroic sacrifice. Fresh Cut Grass is no more. Gathering what pieces you can and making a tenuous alliance with Liliana, one of the high members of the Ruby Vanguard and mother of Imogen, you returned. (laughs) You returned to Exandria with her help. Upon returning, through a brief stealth mission and escaping the Tishtan Excavation Site, you returned to the west side fortress, where one of the numerous stationed elements of the Exandrian Accord have set up base, preparing for either the defense of Exandria or the offense on the moon. Upon arriving here, still numb with the experience, Keyleth arrived, bringing with her a friend you hadn't seen in some time, Dorian Storm, who had undergone his own challenges as of late, walking here alone, having lost a brother, and had to leave behind other friends. Here, you were conveying information of what you had discovered, and given a place to rest for the night, exhausted, you all reunited, shared a bit about what had happened, what you're thinking, what you still haven't processed yet, and shared drinks in the honor of those that are no longer with you. Here, as we come back after some drinks have been had late in the evening, the soreness creaking in, not really sure what hour it might be here in the middle of the evening, what would you like to do?

TALIESIN: I'm going to-- I assume everyone's crashing?

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: I'm still pretty injured.

TALIESIN: Yeah, me too.

LAURA: Oh god, yeah.

ASHLEY: Oh, that's right.

TALIESIN: Let's--

MARISHA: Everything hurts.

TALIESIN: Oh yeah, it's going to be a couple days before I feel right. (sighs) Yeah, I'm going to--

MARISHA: What is it?

TALIESIN: No, it just hurts. That's all.

ASHLEY: I'm going to go over to Ash, and I'm going to give you a big hug. I'm sorry.

TALIESIN: If you feel half as bad as I feel-- Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I think it's time to go to sleep. I'm going to head outside.

LIAM: Okay. We've been going pretty hard. Maybe the best thing is just to reset. Figure it all out in the morning.

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Yeah, sure.

MARISHA: We have a lot of work ahead of us. We have to explain everything we saw.

LAURA: Bright and early. Dorian?

ROBBIE: Yes?

LAURA: I'm glad you're back.

ROBBIE: Oh, thank you. I'm glad to be back. I wish it was under better tidings.

LAURA: Yeah.

ROBBIE: Perhaps a rest sounds right. Is he all right? Pointing up to Ashton, where he just went to bed.

MARISHA: No.

ROBBIE: Who of us is? But he was with FCG the longest, right?

MARISHA: Yes.

LAURA: Yeah.

ROBBIE: Hmm.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LAURA: Probably knew him the best.

MARISHA: I think what's worse is, Ashton talked many times about how he feared something like this would happen from FCG. That they would sacrifice themselves in some way, shape, or form. (sighs) What's harder? Expecting the worst, or being surprised?

ROBBIE: That's a good question. Rest seems to be the way.

TRAVIS: Yeah, rest. Rest.

ASHLEY: I'm going to go up to where Ashton is.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: I did not go to sleep. I was waiting quietly by the side of the door. Hey, I-- God, I'm really shit at this.

ASHLEY: Are you okay?

TALIESIN: No. Are you?

ASHLEY: No, of course not.

TALIESIN: I want you to know, I've been thinking about, I've been meaning to talk to you about this, and it's just, the timing has always been wrong, and it's always, we've been going so crazily, and I think that that's never going to change. Nothing beyond, do you want some company tonight?

ASHLEY: Oh.

TALIESIN: Just, nothing. Just, I don't know.

ASHLEY: If I may.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

ASHLEY: I would love some company, but, can we just hold onto each other?

TALIESIN: Everything hurts. That's honestly what I was really-- Yeah, I don't-- (laughs)

TRAVIS: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Yeah, I don't--

TALIESIN: Again, I'm really bad at this. I don't really-- Yeah, I'm really bad at this. I'm sure you've noticed.

ASHLEY: Bad at what? I don't really know what you're getting at.

LAURA: (laughs)

MARISHA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Getting at things.

ASHLEY: Oh.

MARISHA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: (laughs) It makes me nervous. Yes, that's exactly what I was hoping you'd say.

ASHLEY: I think I just want a long hug, and then, fall asleep.

TALIESIN: Yeah, I think I want to fall asleep with someone and then wake up with them. Sounds really nice.

ASHLEY: Okay, I'll try to stay.

TALIESIN: If you don't, that's cool.

ASHLEY: But I might get a little skittish.

LAURA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: I might wake up earlier than you. I don't know. I don't know.

TALIESIN: That's very likely.

ASHLEY: I don't know why this is making me weird. Let's just go to sleep.

TALIESIN: Yeah. (laughs) Yeah, okay.

ROBBIE: What's the layout? I haven't been here before. What's the layout of this--

(laughter)

ROBBIE: What's the layout of this building?

MARISHA: I'm new here.

LAURA: I don't know. We don't know.

LIAM: It's a single 10 by 10 room.

(laughter)

ROBBIE: I'm in the corner.

MATT: It is a large tent with a number of cots and beds throughout, but Ashton stepped outside of it, outside the door.

TALIESIN: I was outside the tent.

MATT: She went ahead and joined them out there. They've been having this conversation outside of the interior.

TALIESIN: Yeah, you don't hear.

ROBBIE: Truly in private.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

LAURA: Yes. Yes, yes, yes.

ROBBIE: Okay, okay.

LAURA: We're all like--

ROBBIE: (laughter)

MATT: For those who have a passive perception under 30, yes, private.

ROBBIE: Okay. (laughs)

LAURA: Oh, so you heard it all?

LIAM: Damn!

(laughter)

LAURA: Orym's just like (gasps).

LIAM: Nothing!

LAURA: What is it? What is it? What is it?

TALIESIN: When no game meets no game, passing through the rye.

ASHLEY: Yeah. Mm-hmm.

MATT: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LIAM: Ashton's between a rock and a hard place!

LAURA, TRAVIS, and ROBBIE: (laugh)

TALIESIN: Whack!

ASHLEY: Yeah.

ROBBIE: So it's like a cuddle circle. Everybody can see everybody else.

MATT: Yeah.

ROBBIE: But we're just in a big tent, like a yurt.

MATT: Yeah.

ROBBIE: Okay.

TALIESIN: So, yeah.

ASHLEY: I just, I want someone to hold me, and I want to hold onto somebody.

TALIESIN: I can't even remember the last time. Yeah. Yeah, sounds great.

ASHLEY: All right.

MATT: Okay. As the rest of you find your respective beds, sharing, those who wish, until eventually, the exhaustion takes over and you all go into a long, thoughtful, 'til immediately passing out rest.

LIAM: I think Orym fights it for a while, and even though he's cuddled up on the floor, just watches all of his friends. When it feels like the last one awake, he lets himself pass out.

MATT: Okay. Much needed sleep comes to you all.

MARISHA: Yes.

LAURA: (buzzes lips)

MARISHA: Yes, thank gods.

ASHLEY: Woof.

TRAVIS: It's going to be fine.

LIAM: Long rest.

MATT: Fearne. At some point, the fuzziest of half-consciousness comes to you. A lucid dream-type state plies your eyes open in the dark of the middle evening. Describe to me how you're arranged with Ashton at the moment.

LAURA: (gasps)

TRAVIS: Are you wearing your armor-- (laughs)

TALIESIN: Ow.

TRAVIS: -- when you sleep?

LAURA: Oh no!

MARISHA: You're definitely the big spoon, right?

TRAVIS: I learned this the hard way.

ROBBIE: Yeah, are your goat knees in his back?

MARISHA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yes. Yeah. I think I'm the big spoon.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: I'm holding onto them--

TRAVIS: Hot.

ASHLEY: -- from the back, my head in--

TRAVIS: Draw it.

ASHLEY: -- the nape of Ashton's neck.

MATT: As you lay there, your eyes flittering open in that Vaseline on the lens, fuzzy, uncertain if conscious or not feeling pushes through your blurry blinks. You see something skittering on your left shoulder. As you glance over and begin to focus, you see this tiny, fuzzy, gray sugar glider-like creature--

ASHLEY: (excited gasp)

MATT: -- with these dark eyes--

ASHLEY: I love sugar gliders.

MATT: -- and these long ears that go into these little poofs at the edges. It has its arms curled up on your shoulder, and it's-- (chittering)

ASHLEY: Hello. Can you understand me? I'm going to shut up.

MATT: It skitters off your shoulder.

MARISHA: It's a trap.

ASHLEY: Well, I've got to follow it.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: I go back to sleep.

(laughter)

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: That was weird!

(laughter)

ASHLEY: That was weird. I'm just so tired.

(laughter)

MARISHA: It's the altitude.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: How cute. I'll follow it.

MATT: Okay, are you trying to carefully pull away?

ASHLEY: Yes, yes.

MATT: Okay, so I need you to make a stealth check for me.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: To absolve yourself of Ashton-- [harsh clink]

LAURA: Oh!

ROBBIE: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Remove your thumb. (pop)

TALIESIN: I think that's an autofail. Sorry.

LAURA: Sheesh!

ASHLEY: Okay.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

ASHLEY: 15.

MATT: Okay. Make a stealth check for me-- Sorry, your passive perception is halved--

LIAM: Yeah.

MATT: -- at the moment, because you're sleeping.

LIAM: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Because you're asleep.

LIAM: That's 33 halved, so 16.

LAURA: 33!

MATT: And you rolled a?

LIAM: 15.

ASHLEY: 15.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: Jesus Christ.

TRAVIS: You monster.

MATT: What's your passive perception?

TALIESIN: Oh.

MATT: Halved.

TALIESIN: It's 11.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: Nice.

MATT: So you carefully and gingerly begin to pull yourself away from the big spoon position.

ASHLEY: I know how to get out of bed really quietly.

MATT: That's true.

(light laughter)

MATT: As you step away from the--

ASHLEY: I've had practice.

MATT: -- larger cot that you were sharing, looking upon the spread of all your sleeping friends here, the dark of night beyond the tent, you see the tiny creature skitter beyond and stop just beyond, look back at you and go--

(suggestive chitters)

ASHLEY: Well, you're going so fast! All right, I'm trying to clop really quietly behind.

LIAM: (whispering) Fearne.

ASHLEY: What? Oh, sorry.

LIAM: Are you okay?

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm just going for a little walk. It's fine. Go back to sleep, it's fine.

LIAM: Okay.

ASHLEY: I love you. Bye.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: Okay. You step out of the tent, and you can see there are small clusters of soldiers that are still doing their inner patrols of the courtyard. You can see the tall, scraggly, leafless trees that claw their way up into what is now the absence of moonlight. In the sky right now, Catha has passed beyond this side, so there's not a lot of light on the horizon beyond the red glow of Ruidus that still sits, bathing the entirety of the Hellcatch in a dull red glow. But there are torch lights still flickering, and magic lanterns that hang upon poles that are set up within the courtyard that give enough light. No one seems to pay much mind to you exiting. You are within the walls. You can see the sugar glider dart from tent-side to tent-side to tent-side, heading towards what would be, probably, the southwestern side of the interior.

ASHLEY: It's going so fast. Slow down!

MATT: It slows down a little bit and looks back at you.

ASHLEY: Thank you.

MATT: (chittering) Continues to dart in that direction. Eventually, it heads to a cluster of a dried bush, and one of the lanterns that's flickering in a low ember, it looks like this is not one of the enchanted torches, it is actually a standard torch that is in its low end, the end point of its life cycle for the evening's burn. It's now this low orange ember. You see the little sugar glider clambers down to a hole in the wall, a small crack, and turns around and looks at you and goes (chittering) and squeezes down into the hole, through the wall.

ASHLEY: You think I'm going to fit in there?

LIAM: Peeking out of the flap of the tent, do I see her?

MATT: Yeah.

ASHLEY: All right.

TRAVIS: This is joyful music, there's no reason.

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah, this is definitely--

LAURA: Nothing to be worried about.

ASHLEY: -- going to be good.

ROBBIE: Did you--

ASHLEY: I'm going to peek my head in and see if I see anything before going all the way in and--

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: -- trying to pull my ass through.

MATT: You look down, it's about roughly that size at certain points.

LAURA: Teeny.

MATT: It's small. It's about the size, a little large for a field mouse. Even this shorter, lighter creature could move through with a little bit of work. But it looks like the wall is probably a good foot and a half thick of stone, if not thicker, but you can see through the other side. You can see the darkness and shadow of the hole. Then on the opposite end, you can see the red glow on the ground beyond. This is an actual tunnel that leads to the outside of the wall.

ASHLEY: All right, I'll try to wiggle through.

MATT: Okay. How?

LAURA: He said it's this big.

ASHLEY: Oh, yeah, yeah.

ROBBIE and LAURA: (laugh)

MATT: (laughs)

ASHLEY: I can fit.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: Shit, I don't know if I have any more--

MARISHA: Me in my 10 year old dresses.

LAURA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Yeah. (laughs)

LAURA: (grunts)

MARISHA: Just a minute!

ASHLEY: Shoot, I don't have more Wild Shapes.

LAURA: (through clenched teeth) Just zip it up!

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: You've taken a short rest at this point.

ASHLEY: We've taken a short rest.

MATT: The equivalent of a short rest, given that you guys have rested through the night.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: Before-- Yeah.

ASHLEY: All right. I will Wild Shape into just a little-- I know this is a weird thing to Wild Shape into right now, but I really think it'll be cute. I want to Wild Shape into a cockatiel with a peach plume.

TRAVIS: Wow!

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: I love it.

ASHLEY: But I'm not going to fly. I'm just going to--

LAURA: (light footsteps) (gasps) Oh, like the--

TRAVIS: Do the waddle.

ASHLEY: Yes.

LAURA: Like where they have the smacky feet?

MATT: Yep.

ASHLEY: Yes.

MATT: Okay. You have to--

ASHLEY: I wanted it to be a little field mouse, but it didn't happen. I was like, well this will have to do.

MATT: Hey, I get it. The inspiration hits you in the last minute.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: Change course.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Inspiration or distraction?

ASHLEY: Yeah, distraction.

MATT: Yeah. You glance as you're watching from a distance. You're peeking beyond the tent and following her up beyond the other tent to where the wall is, just quietly following. You watch as Fearne shrinks down into a tiny little bird--

LIAM: (bleary) Oh, what the shit?

MATT: -- and begins to (soft footfalls) walk through the base of the wall.

LIAM: (sighs)

MARISHA: (laughs)

LAURA: (laughs)

LIAM: (sighs)

LIAM: Hilarious. I'm going to keep back. I don't want to interrupt what she's doing, but I am going to trail.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: (laughs) I don't want to interrupt the cockatiel.

MARISHA and MATT: (laugh)

MATT: You go, (awkward waddling) squeeze through the opposite side, get through the hole and emerge from the south southwestern side of the fortress' walls. Here now, you can see the Hellcatch Valley spreads out in all directions. You can faintly see the dull glow of an impending sunrise climbing on the eastern horizon, where the dark expanse of the night sky above you, there's just that little bit of a lighter blue that turns to purple and you know that the sunrise is maybe about an hour or so off in that direction.

ASHLEY: I'm going to shake and floof up my feathers.

MATT: Okay. You hear the (chittering). You look up and you can see one of the nearby leafless trees that hangs there, the sugar glider has climbed up on one of the branches, sees you, and then leaps off the branch. (wings spreading in flight) Continues to glide south, cruising across the dust.

LAURA: Oh shit, are you going far?

ASHLEY: I'll follow.

MARISHA: I know.

MATT: Okay, so you take flight, (graceful flight) following. You can see as it glides down, catches a small bush or a branch then leaps off and then glides a little further and skitters on the ground, climbs up something else. It's looking back are you, making the chittering sounds, and continues to guide you on a path. Orym, what are you doing?

LIAM: Well, I can't fit in that hole, right? That's bigger--

MATT: No.

LIAM: That's smaller than me. How high? I'm at a wall?

MATT: The walls here are about 20 or so feet.

LIAM: 20 or so feet? Oh jeez. I'm going to get a good running start and try to leap and flea bounce off the top of a tent to the top of the wall.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: Prince of Persia!

ASHLEY: Yes!

MATT: I'd like for you to make an acrobatics check.

LIAM: Okay.

MATT: This is a relatively high DC, given the height and the structures that are not terribly nearby, but it is doable.

LIAM: Okay. That is 26.

MATT: 26 will do it. So you head back towards the wall, check out your trajectory, wait for some of the guards to pass, so as not to make them suspicious or weird, run up, catch the edge of a box, leap and hit the edge of the tent, using that to rebound and then flea leap off the corner, as you (dramatic leap) through the air towards the edge. You almost-- You realize towards the end that you're probably not going to make it and you have to throw Seedling to (whip latches) snatch the edge and get on top of the wall. Here, there's-- The walls here are sculpted magically out of the ground. So even the parapets and walkways here have a naturally hewn, slightly uneven look to them. But as you pull over the side and look, you have a beautiful overhead view of the surrounding shale covered landscape of the Hellcatch, and you can just barely make out the--

LIAM: I see the bird?

MATT: Well, I imagine as a cockatiel, you're a brighter color?

ASHLEY: Yeah, white with a peach plume.

MATT: Yeah. So very much can see her, this bright red bird creature that's now walking or flying as it continues across the area.

LIAM: Okay. I'm going to stay put, unless she goes so far off that she disappears from view.

MATT: It guides you on for about five or six minutes. She's beginning to disappear from view.

LIAM: So that's a yes? Okay. I leap down.

MATT: Okay. Land, tweak the ankle a little bit, but not too much. It'll be fine if you walk it off in a few minutes. But continue following the path, make sure you do not lose perspective on this. You continue to follow this tiny little creature, and it begins to slow down a little bit and look back. As you approach as a cockatiel from a five feet distance, looks at you curiously. (chittering) Beings to skitter further south, further south, before looking back over its shoulder, nudging you in this direction.

ASHLEY: Wait.

LAURA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Where are we going? I just realized I don't-- This is a little far.

MATT: (chittering)

(persuasive chittering)

ASHLEY: You're just so cute. Okay, I'll keep going.

TRAVIS: Fucking smart as shit.

LIAM: You're still a bird?

TRAVIS: Gesturing and shit.

ASHLEY: Still a bird.

LIAM: Okay, so chirping--

ASHLEY: Chirping.

LIAM: -- at the sugar glider.

TRAVIS: Except you're a cockatiel.

(harsh squawking)

ROBBIE: (laughs)

ASHLEY and LAURA: (harsh squawking)

MATT: You--

ASHLEY: (trilling chirp)

MATT: As you're getting further away from the fortress, the landscape is coming up in large rock platforms, these miniature mesas of dusty rock and stone that rise up these platforms. The red light of Ruidus, gently being shifted by the faint orange glow from the sunrise in the distance. You can see there's the trees rising around at the stone around. Eventually, the creature stops, and as you approach, turns and leaps into the air, and then just stays there. It just (sudden halt) stays floating in the air.

ASHLEY: Wait.

TRAVIS: Uh-oh.

ASHLEY: What are-- What's-- All right, I'm just going to float.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: And try to look and see what he's on.

MATT: As the creature sits there in the middle of the air, you watch as a shape begins to shimmer and emerge from nothing. You see an armored, a dark armored gauntlet pet it.

ASHLEY: Fuck.

MATT: As the shoulder pauldron begins to reveal--

ROBBIE: You fool.

MATT: -- across--

LAURA: Fly, you fool.

MATT: -- what you can tell to be a familiar suit of heavy, dark fey armor. You see a pale figure with dark hair begin to emerge from illusory invisibility as the Sorrowlord Zathuda--

LAURA: How the fuck--

MATT: -- seems to be now standing amongst this open space.

TRAVIS: (softly) You've got this.

LIAM: As soon as Orym saw the sugar glider hovering in space, he went flat on the ground.

MATT: Okay. The figure stands there, looking at your bird form. "So. Difficult to converse in this form, I'd say."

ASHLEY: I pretend I'm a bird and I keep flying around.

TRAVIS: You panic flap?

ASHLEY: I panic flap.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: I'm just a bird. I'm just a bird. Nothing to see here.

MARISHA: He knows it's you.

ASHLEY: I know. (laughs)

(laughter)

ASHLEY: I'm just thinking maybe I could--

TRAVIS: Denial, denial, denial.

ASHLEY: Maybe I can fool him.

TRAVIS: Denial, denial.

ASHLEY: All right, you know what? I'm going to settle on the ground and look up at him, and I'm going to drop my Wild Shape.

MATT: Okay. (magical transformation) As you revert to your normal form, standing upon your hooves, tall and exuding the presence that is Fearne Calloway here in this shadowed pre-sunrise state. The Sorrowlord looks to you. "It would seem Otohan has fallen. I smell her ruin upon your person. The smoke and soot of retribution still lingers. Well done."

ASHLEY: Hi, daddy.

TALIESIN: (muffled laughs)

MATT: "(short laugh-adjacent sentiment)"

ASHLEY: Nice to meet you.

MATT: "Pleasure to meet you, officially, my daughter."

ASHLEY: What do you want?

MATT: "I sense you walk with a secret fire." Begins to step and walk parallel to where you stand. The creature's still chittering on his shoulder. His cloak slowly billowing with each step behind you. "The flame is churning within, eager to consume in an endless inferno. Something not of my make. Something more ancient."

ASHLEY: I don't know what you're talking about.

(stifled laughter)

MATT: "You've truly grown into something terrible and wonderful. Slow to rise, but rise you do. My impatience remains my truest failing. But I'm proud to see what you've become."

ASHLEY: Why?

MATT: "Because I feared that I'd failed in creating something worthy of my bloodline. Ludinus has long belittled my contributions to the cause with my failure in you. Such strong Court blood should've produced a Ruidusborn heir greater than a simple farm girl. These words, but perhaps you are just yet to find your potential. To unlock it. Perhaps, indeed, my kin can still be the one to pass the Hallowed Cage. And awaken it."

LAURA: (gasps)

ASHLEY: What does that mean?

MATT: "I apologize. Fearne. My absence as a father through your life might be the cause of your stunted ascendance and I intend to correct that mistake at this 11th hour."

ASHLEY: I don't need you to do anything. I don't even know you. I don't understand what you want with me.

MATT: "You might not know me consciously. But part of you knows we're connected." As you look at yourself, you can see that faint red energy glowing ever so faintly off your body here in the proximity of the red Ruidian light. That odd drifting, dull nightlight glow.

ASHLEY: Did you love her? Birdie.

MATT: "(scoffs) Birdie was part of a long plan and she played her part well. But you're the entire reason I put up with any of these low born. I think there's greatness in you. I can help you reach it."

ASHLEY: (meekly) How?

MATT: "I want you to come with me."

ASHLEY: Where?

MATT: "To learn. To be taught. To show Ludinus and every other brainless individual that they don't understand the power that we hold. That the Zathuda bloodline contains."

ASHLEY: I can't leave my friends. I can't, but you know, I do want to say, since you haven't been around, I think to make it up to me, you should give me your mount.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: And then maybe I'll think about coming with you. "(laughs)"

TALIESIN: You deserve it. Demand a pony.

LAURA: Yeah, Daddy, I want a pony.

ASHLEY: I really just want a pony.

(laughter)

MATT: "I appreciate your ambition."

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: "Oh, I could give you whatever you like, whatever creature in the Fey Realm and beyond. We could hunt and break them together. Your cry could cause the skies to quiver in fear. There's nothing like it, that exhilaration, being the apex hunter of everything."

ASHLEY: That does sound really fun.

MATT: "Aye, it's intoxicating."

ASHLEY: I'm going to turn and look back. I can't go with you right now. But let me just make sure I'm getting this correctly. You are not in league with Ludinus?

MATT: "Don't misunderstand. We've been in a long-term alliance. But priorities change, and I see opportunity. In fact, sometimes it's those that are underestimated that can make the greatest play for power."

ASHLEY: I'm going to insight check him.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: Go for it.

LIAM: Yaas.

LAURA: Yaas!

LIAM: So, can I read this motherfucker's lips?

ASHLEY: Fucking bitch.

LAURA: (groans)

TRAVIS: Yes.

MATT: Make an active perception check for me.

TRAVIS: Yes, let her out, Pool Hall Ashley.

LAURA: Bitch!

ASHLEY: Insight, insight. Okay.

TRAVIS: Bitch!

ASHLEY: 19.

ASHLEY: Oh.

MATT: 19 is still pretty good.

TRAVIS: Yo!

LAURA: Whoa, you have a sick insight.

TRAVIS: We got whispers.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TRAVIS: This whisper brought to you by...

LIAM: Active perception is at advantage.

LAURA: Oh.

ROBBIE: Don't you listen to the whisper.

LAURA: I can't. I'm not allowed.

TRAVIS: Brought to you by B-B-Beacon!

ROBBIE: I know, I said don't.

LAURA: I'm not allowed.

ROBBIE: That's why I'm talking to you.

TALIESIN: It's forbidden.

ROBBIE: Forbidden whispers.

TALIESIN: It's forbidden. Forbidden whispers.

ROBBIE: (whispering) Forbidden whispers.

TALIESIN: (laughs)

TRAVIS: (whispering) Whisper.

MATT: "Allow me the honor of shepherding you into your true nature."

ASHLEY: I can't leave. But-- But, maybe we can figure something out, okay? I have made a family for myself, and I love and I care for them a great deal, and I don't want to leave them. But I'm kind of into what you're putting down a little bit. I'm not going to lie. But I can't go anywhere with you. I barely know you. How do I know you're not, I don't know, going to do something bad?

MATT: "(sighs) Fearne Zathuda, it is in our nature to do bad things."

ASHLEY: It's Calloway.

TRAVIS: (softly) Ooh. Ooh.

MATT: "Unfortunately, there isn't much time given the pace of events as of late." He glances up in the direction of Ruidus. "The lessons need not be voluntary."

LAURA: (gasps) Run.

MATT: "Maybe it's important for you to face your own demons before we can truly break through." He reaches into his cloak and pulls forth this wicked looking black iron mirror, this hand mirror with a handle on each side.

TRAVIS: What?

MATT: He pulls it from the shadow and holds it out towards you.

LAURA: (gasps)

MATT: You look in the reflection, and you see yourself looking back.

ASHLEY: I don't-- I'm going to--

MARISHA and LAURA: I'm gonna I'm gonna.

ROBBIE: Hum-ina, hum-ina, hum-ina.

LAURA: I'm going to look at it and then I'm going to close my eyes, then I'm going to look at it.

TRAVIS: I'm going to cast fuck you.

ASHLEY: I'm going to look at it, and then I'm going to away.

(laughter)

ROBBIE: How about that?

TRAVIS: How about that?

LIAM: Does she see dark Fearne that she saw a long time ago?

ASHLEY: When he pulls out the mirror, I'm going to cast--

TRAVIS: Look at that--

ASHLEY: -- Scorching Rays.

MATT: Scorching Rays at the mirror?

ASHLEY: Yeah, the mirror. I don't want to look at it.

MATT: Okay. Go ahead and roll three times.

LAURA: Oh my god.

LIAM: Also, I got a 28 on the perception check.

MATT: Yeah, you're down on the ground beyond some of the rock, and you see him pull forth something, and then she begins to lob three flame columns at him.

LIAM: Right. But did I read all the talking--

LAURA: Just a skillet.

LIAM: -- all this time was what that perception was for.

LAURA: Want to make some bacon?

MATT: I'd say you picked up most of their conversation, yeah.

LIAM: Okay.

ASHLEY: 24, 29, and 26.

MATT: Okay. Go ahead and roll damage.

ROBBIE: A magic mirror?

TRAVIS: Yeah, this could be somebody in there--

ASHLEY: Eight for the first hit.

TRAVIS: -- that going to--

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: Six for the second.

ROBBIE: I don't think she cares.

LAURA: No.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: And--

ROBBIE: She doesn't care.

ASHLEY: -- eight for the third.

MATT: Okay. (scorching rays fire) The flames hit and impact in the front of the mirror as they filter out, the final one (singeing) burning away to no impact on the mirror's surface. But as you're looking towards it, you see yourself, arms out on the opposite side as it smiles.

LAURA: (gasps)

MATT: (clutching)

(screaming)

TRAVIS: (laughs) Once glanced in reflection not too long ago, you see a shadowed Fearne begin to claw her way--

LAURA: No no no no no no!

MARISHA: Not again!

ROBBIE: Yeah!

MATT: -- out of the glass--

ROBBIE: I mean, no!

MATT: -- before stepping onto the ground.

LAURA: What do you do?

LAURA: How do you do do this? How do you do do do this?

ASHLEY: How derr derr derr.

MATT: You see, as she emerges, her leg is the last piece that seems to be almost connected to the glass as she tugs herself free with that final kick. (glass shattering) The mirror shatters behind her leg as the iron (resonating thuds) drops on the ground, as Zathuda laughs and (dispersing) vanishes from sight.

TRAVIS: What? What?!

MATT: You see the dark Fearne standing there as she stands up.

LAURA: (gasps) She's out? She's out?

MARISHA: She's here now?

LAURA: She's out in the wild.

TALIESIN: We have Nega-Fearne.

MATT: "Hi."

LAURA: (gasps)

MARISHA: Yeah, well--

LAURA: Oh my god.

MATT: "We should've talked a long time ago."

LAURA: (gasps)

ROBBIE: Yeah!

TRAVIS: (laughs)

ROBBIE: Yeah!

ASHLEY: My gods, you're beautiful.

(laughter)

MATT: "Speak for yourself."

ASHLEY: What do you want?

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: "What anyone wants from my realm."

MARISHA: Oh no.

MATT: "To take your place."

MARISHA: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

TRAVIS: Which realm? What?

MARISHA: She's wants to fucking swap.

ASHLEY: Shit. Shit.

MARISHA: She wants to swap-a-do.

TRAVIS: Where's she from?

ASHLEY: Shit.

MATT: Her neck cracks a little on one side, and you see the shadow beneath her begin to stretch out from three different points.

LAURA: Oh no!

ASHLEY: Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

LAURA: We need to get--

MATT: As three other shadow Fearnes--

LAURA: Why didn't you wake anybody else up?

MATT: -- reflections of her from shattered parts of the mirror--

LIAM: I thought she was doing shenanigans.

MATT: -- begin to also form around. In unison, they all laugh.

(shadow laughter)

LAURA: Shit.

LIAM: On the side, Orym pulls out the sending stone and whispers: Dorian. Dorian. Dorian, wake up. Dorian.

LAURA: (laughs)

LIAM: Fearne and I outside the city, about 10 minutes.

MARISHA: 10 minutes.

LIAM: Need you all.

LAURA: Can anybody hear what you're saying, even the microphone that's above you?

(laughter)

TALIESIN: (radio voice) Dorian, Dorian, outside the city, 10 minutes.

(laughter)

MATT: You do get a blast of information into your mind.

ROBBIE: Okay.

LAURA, TALIESIN, and TRAVIS: (laugh)

ROBBIE: A little sleep apnea. Not a lot, just a little.

MATT: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Totally. (laughs)

LIAM: That's why I said your name so many times.

LAURA: (laughs)

ROBBIE: (startles) Then, I get all of that instantly?

MATT: Yeah, kind of like: (startles) It's like someone shouting into your ear.

ROBBIE: What did you say?

LIAM: Dorian, Dorian, Dorian.

ROBBIE: You didn't give me a direction, did you?

TRAVIS: Roll to remember, baby!

LIAM: I don't know the direction. We're outside the city, 10 minutes.

ROBBIE: (startles) Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!

LIAM: I don't know the direction.

TRAVIS: Wake up!

ROBBIE: Full-on yelling at everyone to wake up.

ASHLEY: Wake up!

LAURA: Why? What?

TALIESIN: Where the fuck's Fearne?

ROBBIE: Wake up!

LAURA: What?

MARISHA: Why are you yelling?

ROBBIE: This hasn't worked in months! I've got a message. Orym's in trouble. He said 10 minutes outside of camp.

TRAVIS: It's called a nightmare. Just lay your head--

TRAVIS: Where the fuck is Fearne?

ROBBIE: Wake up! No, wake up.

TALIESIN: I'm getting my shit.

LAURA: Wait, what?

TALIESIN: Have we had a long rest or is it still a short?

LAURA: Orym?

MATT: This would be towards the cusp of a long rest. So, no, you have not completed it.

TALIESIN: God fucking damn it.

TRAVIS: Orym's right over there.

LAURA: We haven't gotten a long rest?

MARISHA: I hit the button. I fucked up.

LAURA: I did too.

ASHLEY: I still have exhaustion?

MATT and TALIESIN: You do.

ASHLEY: So am I down one?

MATT: Well, I'd say it's been close to six to eight hours of sleep.

LIAM: ♪ Rewind ♪

TRAVIS: ♪ Rewind ♪ I'm alive.

MATT: I'll tell you what. Roll a d20 for me.

LAURA: Me?

MATT: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yes. Come on.

MATT: 11 or higher, you have just transitioned to a complete--

ASHLEY: Yes. Okay.

LAURA: Okay, okay, okay. 11 or higher.

MATT: Let the dice decide.

ROBBIE: Is it just you or is it everyone?

MATT: She's rolling it for everybody.

LAURA: I'm rolling for everyone?

ASHLEY: Come on, baby! Come on, baby!

ROBBIE: Oh, don't mess this up.

MARISHA: Come on, bish.

ASHLEY: Big money, big money.

LIAM: Let's go!

ROBBIE: Please!

LIAM: Come on!

ROBBIE: Please!

LAURA: I don't have good luck with this.

LIAM: You can do it.

MARISHA: I believe in you.

LAURA: 15!

LIAM: Yay!

ASHLEY: Yes!

MATT: All right. So it's been just enough time for a full rest.

LIAM: Not for me, though, or Fearne.

MATT: Except for you and Fearne. Yeah, Fearne and Orym are the two that managed to--

LIAM: Miss it.

MATT: -- miss that.

TALIESIN: You're just slow and your skills are--

MATT: You're both at whatever your expended spell slots are or whatever your hit points were when you went to sleep. Short rest would have been at your disposal.

LIAM: Yeah.

MATT: But beyond that.

ASHLEY: We are not at full, long rest.

MATT: No, not the two of you.

ASHLEY: Okay. So have I still maybe healed one level of exhaustion, or am I still at? No.

LAURA: You wouldn't have healed that yet.

MATT: Likely, no.

ASHLEY: Okay, but with the short rest, I was still able to get a extra Wild Shape.

MATT: Correct. Yeah.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: So.

TRAVIS: I like this Mercer.

MARISHA: We immediately don't see Fearne.

TRAVIS: This Mercer is serving up dishes!

MATT: There's no Fearne.

MARISHA: We're missing Fearne and Orym.

MATT: There's no Orym.

ROBBIE: I'm shaking Chetney awake because he just won't wake up.

TRAVIS: What?

ROBBIE: Wake up. We need you. We need you.

TRAVIS: Okay. What do you need? Do you have a cramp?

ROBBIE: He said when, how far away it was, but he didn't say where. That's how I know something's wrong. We've got to find them. Can you track them? Smell them? I don't know.

TRAVIS: Okay. Hold on. Just let me get my clothes on for a second. (grunts)

LAURA: No, stay naked. You're going to transform anyway.

TRAVIS: Oh.

MARISHA: That's true.

TALIESIN: Do it now.

MARISHA: Put your boxers on.

TRAVIS: No, I don't think I will.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Let me go over here. Let me go over to where-- Wait a minute. (sniffs) This bed's--

ASHLEY: Can I do hit die with a short rest?

MATT: Can you what?

ASHLEY: Can I do hit die with a short rest?

LAURA: Oh, you can do some hit die with a short rest.

MATT: Yeah, you can spend hit die with a short rest.

LIAM: I thought you said, "Can I do hentai with a short rest?"

(laughter)

ASHLEY: Yes, I fucking can.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: Give me 10 minutes!

(laughter)

TRAVIS: I go over to Fearne's bed, but there's no scent over there. (sniffs) I go over to Ashton. (sniffs) Was she in-- Oh.

TALIESIN: Find them now!

TRAVIS: Yep, sorry. You got it. (sniffs) Can I use my, follow my nose, to try and figure out which direction they might have exited the tent?

MATT: Yeah. I'll say either use perception or survival with advantage.

ROBBIE: Is that something that you actually have?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

ROBBIE: Yay!

TRAVIS: I got wolf nose, baby.

ROBBIE: Yay! I didn't know.

ASHLEY: Yes! That's right.

TRAVIS: That is a 15.

MATT: 15.

TRAVIS: Did you say perception or investigation?

MATT: I said perception or survival for tracking.

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: 15's good. 15's good.

MATT: Okay. So 15, it takes you a little bit to really pick up the track of where Fearne had gone. Thankfully, she wasn't clomping, it was a slow maneuvering, and it leads you to the edge of the wall. And the scent just ends.

TRAVIS: Yeah, in open space?

MATT: No, to the wall. You're in the courtyard and you get to the interior wall--

TRAVIS: Oh, right.

MATT: -- and her scent is gone.

TRAVIS: Well.

LAURA: Well.

TRAVIS: Fellows, here she is, the wall.

MARISHA: I take out Pâté. Go find her.

MATT: "Hey, what-- Ah!" He just (arcing) gets launched over the wall.

TRAVIS: How high is the wall?

MATT: About 20 feet.

TRAVIS: Fucking--

MARISHA: Scan for Fearne and Orym, I tell--

TRAVIS: Oh, like tracks.

MARISHA: Oh, yes.

TALIESIN: Are we going up the bloody wall?

LAURA: Yeah, I think so.

TALIESIN: I take out the hammer, I take a jump, and I'm clicking a ladder point.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: So, there's now a stick that anyone can use to get over the fucking wall if they want.

TRAVIS: Oh, great.

LAURA: Oh, great.

MARISHA: I'll just do Spider Climb.

LIAM: (creepy chittering)

LAURA: I'm going to Mage Armor myself and then--

MATT: Okay.

ROBBIE: I've got underpants, but I did put my boots on.

MATT: Okay, so you got boots and underpants.

TRAVIS: Dorian, give me a boost.

MATT: Hell yeah.

ROBBIE: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

TRAVIS: Be careful where you grab.

(laughter)

ROBBIE: That's funny, I don't see anything.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: (shrieks)

(laughter)

ROBBIE: He's got a handle. No. I'll carry him up with me if I can, yeah.

MATT: Okay, yeah. So between your Spider Climb, your hammer, you guys can all slowly begin to clamber up the wall. Some of the guard are beginning to notice this chaos, and two of them emerge. (guard) "What's going on? What's the commotion? Is everything all right?"

LAURA: I don't know.

MARISHA: (laughs)

LIAM: (laughs)

MATT: "Okay. Thanks."

MARISHA: Just keep a lookout for anything that seems untoward.

LAURA: I'm going to send a message.

MATT: "Right."

LAURA: I'm sending a message to Orym.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: We don't want any guards to come follow us and join us?

LAURA: What's happening? What's--

MATT: Now, while this has happened, this has been quite a few minutes of their end of things. So we come back to this point in time.

ASHLEY: I have nothing.

MATT: As this shadow Fearne and the odd refractions, the dark refractions all begin to slowly circle around you, Fearne.

ASHLEY: I'm going to cast Earthbind on the main one.

MATT: Earthbind on the main one. All righty.

ASHLEY: Or the janky Fearne.

MATT: The janky Fearne. Okay.

ASHLEY: Yes.

MATT: This will be initiating combat.

ASHLEY: Fair.

MATT: So let's roll initiative.

ASHLEY: Okay. Okay, okay.

TRAVIS: Oh shit. Oh shit.

LIAM: Can I see the creature, the small animal, hovering in space anywhere?

MATT: No, it's vanished with its owner.

LIAM: Vanished with its owner.

ASHLEY: I have no spells.

ROBBIE: I'm in a bad spot.

TRAVIS: I don't want any fucking excuses.

ASHLEY: I know. I'm not. I'm just saying.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: I'm just saying. My head's in the game. My head's in the game. My head's in the game. I'm going to figure it out. I'll figure it out.

TRAVIS: Next time, think about that before your big spoon, okay?

(laughter)

MATT: All right.

ASHLEY: Fuck you.

MATT: 25 to 20.

LIAM: 24.

MATT: 24.

LAURA: We're not rolling.

MATT: Not yet, nope.

ASHLEY: Okay.

ASHLEY: So, Orym.

MATT: 20 to 15.

ASHLEY: Sorry, I got a 21, sorry.

MATT: 21, all righty.

LAURA: Oh my god.

ROBBIE: We're just leaving.

ASHLEY: Bye.

MATT: She's like, nope. Bye. All righty, so, that being the case.

TALIESIN: Fuck.

ROBBIE: Oh no.

TALIESIN: No.

ASHLEY: Oh god, oh god, oh god.

ROBBIE: What did you do?

ASHLEY: I don't know!

ROBBIE: Why did you follow the sugar glider?

ASHLEY: Because it was so cute!

LIAM: Because it was a sugar glider.

ASHLEY: Because, yes!

ROBBIE: Oh my god.

LIAM: Matt hooked you like a fish.

ASHLEY: He knows. He fucking knows. It's so easy. Give me a cute little creature.

MATT: Up at this point here.

ASHLEY: Uh-oh.

MATT: Orym, you have been hiding flat over here.

LIAM: Wherever you want to, yeah.

MATT: Whereas you had-- you're probably a bit further back about--

LIAM: I think yeah, farther back makes sense.

MATT: Right, there where the conversation was happening.

MARISHA: This combat is brought to you by WizKids Minis! Heed the call to adventure alongside the heroes of Exandria, the Darrington Brigade, available now at wizkids.io/DarringtonBrigade.

ASHLEY: Woo!

TRAVIS: Good Sam throw.

MATT: Fearne.

ASHLEY: Yes?

MATT: This is your dark version.

ASHLEY: Whoa!

ROBBIE: (groans)

ASHLEY: Cool!

TALIESIN: She's so evil.

MATT: These are the similar--

TRAVIS: Whoa!

MATT: -- surrounding refracted shadow Fearnes.

LIAM: So many shadow clones in this campaign.

TRAVIS: So first of all: Amazing, Matt.

MARISHA: Wow.

MATT: It's a theme.

ASHLEY: Yes!

ROBBIE: Yeah.

MARISHA: Look at this map!

ROBBIE: Wow.

ASHLEY: That's a cool map.

MATT: Well, as this has continued to trigger, you begin to cast your spell. Orym, you do have the moment of initiative here as you are top of initiative order as you begin to cast your Earthbind.

LIAM: Oh jeez.

TRAVIS: That's one at the top.

MARISHA: Oh yeah.

LIAM: I would've already gotten up, if we're saying that I had this cover and I saw daddy, I would've backed up against this, so I'm already on my feet. I'm going to fucking run out. I'm going to run straight out.

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: Five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30.

TALIESIN: Oh my god.

LIAM: I will use my action to move further.

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: I will stop here. I will run under her legs, slide her back, Bait and Switch.

MATT: Okay, Bait and Switch.

MARISHA: Jeez.

LIAM: You get--

MATT: Orym tumbles beneath your legs and pushes you back into a defensive position.

LIAM: You get an extra--

ASHLEY: Hi.

LIAM: -- four AC to you.

TRAVIS: That'll help, you get your AC--

ASHLEY: I'm so glad you're here.

TRAVIS: AC goes up by four.

ASHLEY: Okay.

LIAM: Following an animal, huh?

ASHLEY: Sorry.

MARISHA: (laughs)

LIAM: That's it, that's the end of my turn.

MATT: Okay, finishing your turn. Fearne, you're up.

LIAM: So you have an extra four to your AC for now.

ASHLEY: Okay, okay. Oh, thank god. Okay. Earthbind on--

MATT: The main one?

ASHLEY: Main one, main Fearne.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: I'm the main Fearne.

MATT: All righty.

ASHLEY: Main bad Fearne.

MATT: So back on.

TRAVIS: They all have different hair colors.

ASHLEY: That's really cool.

MARISHA: One of them is real Fearne.

MATT: So with that being the point, that is a saving throw.

LAURA: Which one's the real Fearne?

MATT: Dexterity saving throw, right?

TRAVIS: Right next to Orym is the real Fearne.

MARISHA: You're right, the real Fearne.

LAURA: Okay.

ASHLEY: Strength saving throw of 19.

LIAM: Will the Slim Fearnie please stand up?

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: Strength or dexterity?

ASHLEY: You're probably right.

(laughs)

MATT: Oh, no, I'm looking at the wrong one. No, I'm not, I picked the wrong one.

ASHLEY: I wouldn't trust myself.

MATT: No, it is a strength saving throw, you're right.

ASHLEY: (gasps) Okay.

MATT: Okay, so that'll be 13.

ASHLEY: All right--

MATT: Which I believe is a failure, correct?

ASHLEY: -- so it fails. Yes, it fails.

MATT: Okay. Okay, so its flying speed is reduced to zero. Okay. So you're concentrating on it. So now, if it was intending to fly in any way, shape or form, it cannot.

ASHLEY: So-- (mumbles)

TRAVIS: I think you put it--

ASHLEY: Oh, I think I thought she couldn't move. I didn't realize it was a flying situation.

MATT: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Even if she's not flying, she can walk around?

MATT: She can walk around--

ASHLEY: Damn, that was dumb.

MATT: -- but if she wants to fly or had the ability to fly anywhere, she cannot.

ASHLEY: Okay, that, I thought--

MATT: Her speed is zero.

ASHLEY: Damn.

LIAM: Did you put the ring on real Fearne? Why?

MATT: Because she's concentrating on the spell.

LIAM: Oh, so it's a concentration ring, okay.

ASHLEY: Shit.

MATT: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Whatever, that was a dumb waste of a spell. That's okay, that's okay.

MATT: Not necessarily, you don't know what she's capable of.

ASHLEY: Who knows? Who knows?

LAURA: Maybe she was going to take off.

ASHLEY: If she was going to fly around, okay. Fuck.

MATT: All right, do you want to move or you want to stay put? She keeps the AC bonus when she's next to you, right?

LIAM: Yes.

ASHLEY: I'm going to stay put.

MATT: Okay, got it. All right, so with that--

ASHLEY: Damn.

MATT: -- the mirror Fearne that had come through, here, the familiar sight of its terrible dark reflection of you. The teeth slightly extended, the creeping and darkness that filters into the alcoves of her expression and her body. She steps away to the side a little bit as the magic takes effect, her head slightly cocked in your direction. "You waste your gifts, Fearne, you're a disgrace." She is then immediately going to (growls) and dart forward--

LAURA: Ah, I don't like it.

MATT: -- around to this space--

ROBBIE: Creep.

MATT: -- and is going to unleash onto you two shadow claw attacks.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: First one is going to be a 25 to hit.

ASHLEY: Yes. Yes.

MATT: All right, with that, you take--

TRAVIS: Oh boy.

ROBBIE: Come on, Matt.

MATT: -- it's going to be seven points of cold damage as the claw strikes across you with freezing--

ASHLEY: It's cold damage?

MATT: It is.

ASHLEY: So, so.

LAURA: Oh.

ASHLEY: Because I had a fun time with the dread captain.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

ASHLEY: (reads under her breath) Okay, "You can use a reaction to become resistant to cold damage until the end of the turn, and use this feature again." Okay, it was seven points.

LAURA: Fuck yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it.

MATT: You're going to do it? Okay, so that reduces it to three points of cold damage--

ASHLEY: All right.

MATT: -- as well as three points of psychic damage from it, so you take six damage total.

ASHLEY: Okay. Okay.

MATT: Second attack is going to be a natural 20.

TRAVIS: Holy cow.

ASHLEY: All right. Let's see what you got, bitch.

MATT: All right, that's going to be eight plus four. 12 points of cold damage.

ASHLEY: Okay.

LAURA: Is that halved as well? Because that's 'til the end of your turn?

MATT: So yeah, end of the next turn.

ASHLEY: Thank you.

MATT: So it'll be six points of cold damage--

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: -- and two points of psychic damage.

ASHLEY: So seven points?

MATT: Correct.

TRAVIS: Eight total.

MATT: Yeah, eight total from that one.

ASHLEY: Eight total? Okay.

MATT: So that's going to end its turn.

ASHLEY: Okay.

TALIESIN: Well done.

MATT: As that one sweeps up there, the other ones are going to (whooshes)

TRAVIS: Holy crap.

MATT: (whooshes)

TRAVIS: Where are you at, Fearne?

ASHLEY: Well, I'm at 79.

TRAVIS: Okay.

LAURA: Because you short rested.

ASHLEY: Because I short rested.

MATT: Okay. All the other ones full on swarm you from those four corners. They all have you flanked, so the rest of them get advantage on their attacks.

LAURA: Oh fuck.

ROBBIE: Whoa.

TRAVIS: (nervous laughter)

ASHLEY: Okay, mmkay, mmkay, mmkay.

MATT: So the first one's going to make two attacks against you, with advantage, that's going to be 18 to hit.

ASHLEY: No.

MATT: First one (whooshes) misses you or strikes the armor and slides off. Its second attack is going to be, that's going to be 22 to hit.

ASHLEY: Yes.

MATT: You take five points of cold damage. That's from the one on that corner.

LIAM: That's with my boost, too?

ASHLEY: Halved? That's with the boost.

LIAM: Okay.

ASHLEY: Yeah, 21 is my boost.

LIAM: Okay.

TALIESIN: So five reduced to--

MATT: One on this side is going to attack you twice with advantage. That's going to be a 15 to hit, which misses you.

ASHLEY: No.

MATT: That's going to be 18 to hit, which I think misses you with the armor boost, right?

ASHLEY: Yes, misses, misses.

MATT: Whew! Next one, that's going to be 21 to hit.

ASHLEY: That just hits.

MATT: That just hits. You take eight points of cold damage.

ASHLEY: Reduced.

TALIESIN: Reduced to four.

MATT: Reduced to four.

ASHLEY: What do I reduce the five to?

TRAVIS: It was two.

ASHLEY: Okay.

TRAVIS: Five doesn't divide by two.

MATT: Well, it reduces it on the same turn, not round.

TALIESIN: What?

MATT: So the first attack, it was the first one that attacked you twice with the crit, it reduced that one. It hasn't reduced the ones after that. So technically they're taking their own different rounds.

LAURA: Oh, I thought it was to the end of your turn.

ASHLEY: Yeah, I think--

MATT: Is that what it says?

ASHLEY: Let me double check. (sighs) "Until the end of the turn."

LAURA: Oh, "The turn."

MATT: "The turn," so yeah.

TRAVIS: So those were full damage?

ASHLEY: Okay, so I--

MATT: Those were full damage.

ASHLEY: I might've not done those other ones.

TRAVIS: So five and eight.

ASHLEY: Five and eight?

LAURA: No, no, no, you did, you did.

ASHLEY: I did, I did? Okay, okay, okay.

LAURA: Everything's fine.

ASHLEY: So I did the eight, I didn't do the five, okay.

MATT: Right, and so the last two are a 17 to hit, which misses you, and a natural 20.

TRAVIS: Wow!

LAURA: Oh my god.

TRAVIS: Matt, listen--

ROBBIE: Jeez, you're a savage right now.

TRAVIS: -- you were supposed to leave that--

LAURA: I know.

TRAVIS: -- a couple sessions ago.

TALIESIN: I thought we all agreed.

LAURA: Wait, are you using a special dice or is it a different?

MATT: It's the Ruidus dice.

LAURA: Fuck!

TRAVIS: You did this, you did this!

ASHLEY: You did this.

TRAVIS: You did this!

ASHLEY: Not like this.

MATT: 14 points of cold damage.

ASHLEY: 14 points?

MATT: Yes.

ASHLEY: Okay.

TRAVIS: Cat meme.

MATT: That's going to finish all their turns.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: Back to the top of the combat round. Orym, you're up, with Fearne on deck.

ASHLEY: Whew.

MATT: They're all just swarming Fearne.

ASHLEY: That is clutch.

MATT: You hear them all, as they're all striking and scraping through. You're dodging, your armor's catching some of it, some of it's scratching your back, and you hear Fearne screech in pain. As the other ones are around, finished after the attack, start cackling. "(cackles)"

LAURA: Ugh. All I keep thinking is our song. ♪ One-by-one, we climb ♪ until we reach the top ♪ ♪ Two-by-two, we fall ♪

MARISHA: ♪ We fall ♪

LAURA: What if, if one dies, another one has to die? What if it's a prophetic song?

TRAVIS: Laura!

ASHLEY: (gasps)

MARISHA: Oh, because--

ASHLEY: Laura Bailey!

TRAVIS: Keep that to yourself.

TALIESIN: Don't say these things.

(laughs)

LIAM: Okay, so bonus action, Bait and Switch, and I slide our positions around and give you an additional, fuck, three points until the start of my next turn.

TRAVIS: It's okay.

LIAM: Could be 10!

ASHLEY: An additional--

LIAM: Three.

MATT: Three AC.

ASHLEY: Three AC, on top of what I already have?

MATT: No, instead of it.

ASHLEY: Oh.

LIAM: Starting it over.

ASHLEY: Starting it over, okay, okay, okay, okay.

MARISHA: (mumbling)

TRAVIS: 18, 19, 20.

ASHLEY: (sighs) Okay.

LIAM: I am going to think: Grandma Morri, your granddaughter is in trouble. Her father is here and we have no time, and I start swinging.

LIAM: Okay.

TRAVIS: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Call the cavalry, call in the airdrop.

LIAM: I have no flanking with anybody, so. Okay. I'll hit the one next to Fearne.

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: The one next to Fearne, which one?

LIAM: Sorry, that one.

MATT: This one?

LIAM: We'll go with that one. Yeah.

TRAVIS: (whooshes) (explodes)

LIAM: All right, that is 20 to hit.

MATT: That hits.

LIAM: Okay. I'm not using all my stuff right away. 20, that's 20. 20, (sighs) no, that's 12 to hit, 12 points of damage.

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: Yeah. Next hit. 21. So then that's another 12 damage.

LAURA: (laughs)

LIAM: 22, and 11 points of damage. So I'm hacking away at her goat legs, low. Action Surge.

MATT: Okay, go for it.

LIAM: 23 to hit. That's 11 points of damage. 27 to hit, nine points of damage. 24 to hit, 10 points of damage, just on one of them.

MATT: (whooshes) Striking with each hit, you carve into it, you see where the flesh cuts, there's a brief, looks like a reflection of light behind it, like the mirror itself is reflecting within the wound before it closes and gets bloodied with black within.

LIAM: So (sighs) did it look like this thing was hurt or does it look like I've been?

MATT: Yeah, it's bleeding and the black, blood-like liquid that's dripping from it. But each time you strike, it's like scraping a razor across a glass surface for a moment, and then it bleeds out.

LIAM: Okay, okay. The mirror is shattered on the ground, right?

MATT: It looks like it, yeah, it's just left there.

LIAM: Okay, that's it.

LAURA: Oh, it's just on the ground, it's not shattered?

MATT: Yeah. Well, there's broken mirror shards around it--

LAURA: Oh, okay.

MATT: -- on the ground.

TRAVIS: In an iron frame, right?

MATT: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Iron frame.

LIAM: That's it, and I stand my ground, next to Fearne.

MATT: That finishes your go.

LIAM: Yeah.

MATT: Fearne, you're up.

ASHLEY: Okay, I am going to activate the Spark of Rau'shan.

TRAVIS: Yeah, let's go, let's go.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: Kick it up.

LAURA: Isn't it dangerous to do that right after you did it?

TRAVIS: Who gives a shit? This is bad!

MATT: It'll add two more points--

ASHLEY: It'll add two more points.

LAURA: Oh.

MATT: -- of exhaustion to you.

ASHLEY: When I--

MARISHA: When she stops, though, right?

ASHLEY: When I drop it.

MATT: When you drop it, yeah.

LAURA: Okay.

TALIESIN: You're going to be real--

ASHLEY: So I'm going to be real fucking tired.

LAURA: You're just going to need Kiki, that's all.

ASHLEY: Just little sleepy beepy. Just a little bit.

MATT: You push this one out of the way because you occupy four squares as you do.

MARISHA: (laughs)

LIAM: We're in trouble.

ASHLEY: Okay.

TRAVIS: It makes it easier to find you.

MARISHA: So wait, they came out of the mirror--

LIAM: Yeah, absolutely.

ASHLEY: It's true.

MARISHA: -- but they also feel like glass.

LIAM: Big bonfire in the middle of the dark.

ASHLEY: Okay. (sighs)

MATT: (whooshes)

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: You ignite around you. The air itself seems to burn and steam as you take on the elemental form within. It's an action to make the transformation?

ASHLEY: That is an action.

MATT: Okay, so you still have your bonus action.

ASHLEY: My bonus action, I am going to pop out Mister.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: There's a good boy, good boy.

MATT: Where do you want Mister to land?

ASHLEY: I am going to put him, let's put him over there by, yeah, yeah, on the other side, yeah.

MATT: All right.

ASHLEY: Where he can still hit them.

MATT: Okay. (whips) (grunts and shrieks) You seem him screech out and looking at the other various dark Fearnes around. (sniffs) (screeches) Looking very unhappy.

ASHLEY: All right. That's my turn.

MATT: All right. Finishing your go, the shadow Fearnes chuckling in unison. This weird slightly offset "(cackles)" around you. This one shifts from this side here to move in, and is going to--

ASHLEY: Why did I cast Earthbind?

MATT: -- take another round of two strikes on you. Because you are within melee of one of the other forms, it gets advantage on the attack against you. That's going to be 17 to hit.

ASHLEY: Does not hit.

MATT: Does not hit you.

ASHLEY: But when they take a melee attack, they take a d8 of fire damage.

MATT: Hit with or just attacks you?

ASHLEY: "Whenever a creature hits you," sorry.

MATT: Okay, second one against you, that is going to be a 24 to hit.

ASHLEY: That hits.

MATT: So that does hit you. So roll any fire damage as that (whooshes) flashes against it.

ASHLEY: Two!

MATT: Two points of fire damage, all right, on the main shadow Fearne. So because it's now directly you are within melee with one of the other ones, it gets its Voice Thief Sneak Attack on you. So that means it's going to do, from a damage standpoint. That's going to be six points of cold damage--

LIAM: Its Voice what?

MATT: -- six points of cold damage, plus two points of psychic damage.

ASHLEY: Six points of, say one more time, I'm sorry.

MATT: Six points of cold damage--

ASHLEY: And six points of--

MATT: -- two points of psychic.

ASHLEY: Oh, two points.

MATT: Plus an additional 19 points of sneak attack damage to you.

(groaning)

ROBBIE: You okay?

ASHLEY: Mm-hmm.

MATT: And I need you to make a constitution saving throw.

TRAVIS: Was that 27 points of damage?

LAURA: And a concentration check.

MATT: Yes.

TRAVIS: Did you call this the Voice Thief?

TALIESIN: At disadvantage.

MATT: Correct.

MARISHA: Do not fail this.

ASHLEY: I think because I have an exhaustion, I get--

TALIESIN: It's at disadvantage.

ASHLEY: I get at disadvantage, okay.

MATT: You do.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Natural one.

MATT: Natural one.

TRAVIS: (screams)

ROBBIE: Oh no.

MATT: Okay, so.

TRAVIS: (screams)

MATT: The first strike misses. The second one, when it strikes you, she doesn't go for your chest, her grasp goes around your neck and carves across the front of your throat. The cold feeling, there's no blood, there's no scar. You see a splash of dark, but there's no blood. Then as you go to try and-- your voice is gone.

(gasping)

MATT: You cannot cast any spells with verbal components at the moment.

(gasping)

ASHLEY: (screams)

TRAVIS: You can't cast any spells?

MARISHA: You can't cast?

ASHLEY: With (stammers) verbal component.

(laughs)

MARISHA: Which is all of them.

TRAVIS: It's happening already!

MATT: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.

TALIESIN: Okay, turning into fire was a really good thing.

ASHLEY: Okay, okay, okay, okay.

TALIESIN: Well done.

ASHLEY: Okay, okay, all right.

LAURA: But you can still do this stuff.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

MATT: This.

ASHLEY: I'm going to be fine, I'm going to be fine.

MATT: That finishes its turn.

MARISHA: Yeah. (laughs)

MATT: These three are going to now continue to swarm around you.

MARISHA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Took me a second, I was like.

ROBBIE: You got to think about it.

ASHLEY: Shit, there's so many--

MATT: With advantage, striking on you for this one.

ASHLEY: -- with verbal.

MATT: That's going to be--

LAURA: Oh wait, what?

MATT: 16 to hit.

ASHLEY: V means verbal, right?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Fuck.

LIAM: 16 doesn't hit.

MATT: 16 does not hit, your AC's 20, right?

LIAM: Right, yeah, she's at 20.

MATT: That misses, too. The first one goes to strike for you twice, (whooshes) and it just can't quite figure out what part of the flames to go for in your current form. The one across the way there--

ASHLEY: Shit.

MATT: -- that's going to be a 26 to hit.

LIAM: Ugh.

LAURA: Oh no.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: But it does take fire damage.

ASHLEY: Okay. So, okay.

MATT: Just roll for that.

ASHLEY: Seven points of fire damage.

MATT: Seven points of fire damage on that one. You take six points of cold damage.

ASHLEY: Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho! I am not doing good.

MATT: The second attack for that one, that's going to be a 19 to hit. Misses you--

ASHLEY: Misses.

MATT: -- because of Orym.

ASHLEY: Misses.

MATT: Then the last one is going to attack you twice. Natural 20.

TRAVIS: Oh god.

ROBBIE: What is happening, gang?

ASHLEY: Okay, okay, okay.

MATT: (laughs) That's a shitty roll. You take eight points of cold damage.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: Then its last attack is going to be a--

ASHLEY: Oh. Ooh.

MATT: 20.

ASHLEY: 20 to hit?

MATT: 20 to hit.

ASHLEY: Okay. Okay. Okay.

MATT: So it just hits, yeah. You take six points of cold damage.

TRAVIS: Matthew Beelzebub Mercer.

TALIESIN: Also, roll fire damage as well.

ASHLEY: Oh yeah!

TALIESIN: Yeah. Actually, for both of those, right?

ASHLEY: How many hits did you do?

LAURA: Yeah, you need to do--

MATT: Hit twice, so it's two hits.

LAURA: -- fire damage for two more.

ASHLEY: Okay. Seven.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: And one.

MATT: Okay.

ROBBIE: Is that like an automatic punching bag?

MATT: (crunchy strikes) You see as they're striking you, they're chuckling as they're just swarming you like a feeding frenzy of terrifying hunters. They're just ripping and tearing through you and flames and elements of strange dark fire tendrils, what would be blood, but now almost look like volcanic melted rock splash out in directions before they cool, and as they pull back, their fingers are searing, and you see them mixed from the pain, but still fully immersed in the pleasure of the hunt. Orym, you're watching them just go to town on your flaming friend here. That finishes their go.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: Orym, you're up, with Fearne on deck.

LIAM: Okay, the one that I attacked originally is the one facing her head-on, correct?

MATT: This one.

LIAM: Yeah. I'm going to dive through--

ASHLEY: Five points.

LIAM: -- through the flames, in between Fearne's legs.

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: Underneath, Bait and Switch. Give me a good roll. Seven, plus seven to your AC right now.

ASHLEY: Plus seven to my AC?

LIAM: Yes.

ASHLEY: Fuck yes. 21.

LIAM: I will attack that one in the lead. That is an 18.

MATT: 18 hits.

LIAM: Hits. Okay.

TRAVIS: Solo 'em, Orym. You got this.

LIAM: That's 10 points of damage. Natural 20.

TRAVIS: Oh baby!

ASHLEY: Yes, yes.

ROBBIE: Yeah.

LIAM: It's just 10 points of damage--

ASHLEY: I smell, you guys.

LIAM: -- because I rolled low.

ASHLEY: I'm so nervous.

LAURA: You smell yourself?

LIAM: Then--

LAURA: Oh, I thought you said you smell us.

LIAM: 17 to hit.

ASHLEY: You guys smell.

LAURA: I smell you guys.

MATT: 17 misses.

LIAM: Misses.

MATT: It will use its reaction to use Slippery Dash.

LIAM: Yup.

MATT: So now it can use its reaction to move its speed without provoking opportunity attacks. So it's just going to (whooshes) move around and shift to the opposite side of Fearne.

LAURA: You don't want to be Slippery Dashed, you guys.

MATT: Just cackling.

LAURA: You just don't.

(laughter)

LIAM: I'm going to use my bonus action to do Second Wind just to give myself a little more HP.

TRAVIS: Bonus action, save the day.

LIAM: Come on, come on, come on. Okay.

MATT: All right. Go ahead and roll that for yourself.

LIAM: Balls.

TRAVIS: (laughs) How many? How many?

LIAM: 16 total. That's all right. I used hit dice for my short rest. And that's it. That's all I got. I'm just holding my ground, protecting Fearne.

LIAM: Okay. Fearne, you're up.

MARISHA: Do you have a ripcord?

LAURA: Yeah, don't you have a ripcord?

MARISHA: Get the fuck out of Dodge.

ASHLEY: I do have a ripcord. Okay.

TRAVIS: Do you have one?

ASHLEY: Everything I have left is verbal. Okay, what I'm going to do is-- Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! Oh, oh, Mister's going to take some shots. Mister's going to take some shots is what I'm going to start with.

MATT: Sure.

LIAM: Shots, shots.

MATT: Shots, shots, shots, shots.

TRAVIS: ♪ Everybody ♪

MATT: There it goes.

ASHLEY: He's going to take some shots at main Fearne.

MATT: Okay. Go for it.

ROBBIE: Yeah.

LAURA: At main Fearne.

ROBBIE: Main Fearne.

ASHLEY: Sorry. Hang on.

MATT: She's over here.

ASHLEY: Okay.

LAURA: Oh, we're so far.

ROBBIE: We're so far?

MATT: Yeah.

LAURA: We're fucked.

MATT: As of right now, you guys are just starting to get your clothes on.

MARISHA: Well, we were over the wall.

TRAVIS: Some of us.

MARISHA: We were over the wall.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

MATT: Well, I was going you guys a little further ahead time.

TRAVIS: I'm just clinging to the side of Dorian's face.

MATT: Yeah.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

LIAM: This is all in one minute.

MATT: Yeah, you guys all started when he sent the message, and he sent the message right before this started. So.

MARISHA: Yeah, that's fair.

ASHLEY: 21 to hit?

MATT: 21 hits.

ASHLEY: Okay. It's six points of damage. Six points of fire damage.

MATT: All righty.

ASHLEY: I'm going to, that's what I got left, guys. I'm going to deactivate the Spark of-- Where's Orym?

MATT: He's right next to you.

LIAM: Right in front of you.

ASHLEY: Shit.

MARISHA: Oh, because it goes boom-boom?

ASHLEY: It goes boom-boom.

MARISHA: Well.

ROBBIE: How big a boom-boom?

TALIESIN: You're going to be--

TRAVIS: Woo, Matt Mercer, motherfucking Matt Mercer.

MARISHA and TRAVIS: (laugh)

ASHLEY: Okay, maybe I should--

TRAVIS: Woo!

LAURA: You're going to die.

ASHLEY: I'm going to die.

TALIESIN: Okay, in that case, fucking--

ASHLEY: But so could Orym.

LAURA: No.

TALIESIN: No, he's fine.

ROBBIE: Nuke your friends to save yourself.

MARISHA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Okay. All right. I'm going to (stammers) Why I can't talk right now. I'm going to deactivate.

MATT: You're dropping your form?

ASHLEY: Well, why would you say it like that?

MATT: No, I'm just confirming. I'm just confirming.

ROBBIE: Did you see the blood lust in his eyes?

ASHLEY: I did. I did.

MATT: I'm just confirming.

ROBBIE: The excitement.

TRAVIS: (scream-laughs)

MARISHA: I know. He was so excited.

ROBBIE: Terrible poker face.

ASHLEY: He's excited. Okay, wait.

LAURA: No just, yeah.

LIAM: He's barely containing it.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it.

MATT: Are you doing it? Okay.

ASHLEY: I'm going to do it.

MATT: So.

(laughter)

LAURA: Because you're going to die.

ASHLEY: I'm going to die.

LAURA: The next hit, you're out.

ASHLEY: The next hit, I'm out. Okay.

MATT: Oh, I forgot to ask you to roll for concentration on the Earthbind, by the way.

ASHLEY: I did, and I failed.

MATT: You failed? Okay.

ASHLEY: No, that was the one.

TRAVIS: It's been a very effective spell, for what it's worth.

(laughter)

MATT: That was for the Voice Thief.

ASHLEY: Oh, oh, oh. Okay.

MATT: So.

ASHLEY: Oh--

LAURA: She succeeded.

ASHLEY: Wait, I roll it again.

MATT: With disadvantage.

MARISHA: Druid problems.

ASHLEY: Okay. 17?

MATT: 17 would be okay, yeah. So you made your Earthbind.

ASHLEY: Okay, so it still stays? Cool. So I'm going to deactivate.

MATT: What's the range on that?

ASHLEY: The DC for that is 18, dexterity saving throw. All creatures within 20 feet.

MATT: 20 feet. That's all of them including Orym.

ROBBIE: Always in the mix.

MATT: What was the DC on that?

ASHLEY: Say again?

MATT: What was the DC?

ASHLEY: 18.

MATT: 18. All right. So for the main one.

LIAM: Acrobatics.

MATT: Natural 20. So they succeed.

LAURA: Fucking dick.

MATT: I've rolled a lot of 20s on this one.

LAURA: Not you, the main one.

MATT: All right.

TRAVIS: Well...

MATT: That one is going to be 16. That's a failure. A natural one, failure.

ROBBIE: Oh, good.

LAURA: Super failure.

MATT: That's going to be--

ASHLEY: This is so many ones!

MATT: That's going to be a 20. So, succeed, fail, fail, succeed.

ASHLEY: Okay.

LIAM: I got a 23.

MARISHA: Succeed.

MATT: Okay, succeed. So half damage.

ASHLEY: 10. 16.

LIAM: (laughs)

ASHLEY: What the heck?

TRAVIS: I fucking love this.

LIAM: Snatch and grab.

TRAVIS: Relentless. This is the best.

ASHLEY: 23. How many did I roll?

LIAM: They're about to throw a sack on her head and throw her in a van.

LAURA: Yeah.

ROBBIE: I thought we were going to take a nap and talk about our feelings.

LAURA and MARISHA: I know!

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Or take the head and throw it in the sack.

LAURA: What the fuck? I'm glad you guys got some snuggle time.

TALIESIN: Like two hours. Both with migraines.

LIAM: Way more than that. Closer to long rest.

LAURA: That was six, seven hours.

TALIESIN: Six, seven hours.

ASHLEY: Okay. That's way better.

LAURA: Unless you were awake for a while.

TALIESIN: Oh, it was the non-hurty arm. It was good.

MARISHA and LAURA: (laugh)

ASHLEY: So 23 plus 18.

LAURA: 31?

ASHLEY: 41.

LAURA: 41.

MATT: 41. All right.

MARISHA: That's cool. That's good.

LAURA: That's good.

ROBBIE: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Fuck you.

LIAM: So Orym takes 20 or 21?

TRAVIS: Yeah, 20.

LAURA: 20?

MATT: All right. So, yeah, you take 20.

ASHLEY: I'm sorry, Orym.

LIAM: Don't, no, you're good. You're good, Fearnie.

MATT: As you (extreme explosion) revert back to your form and step back onto your hooves, the heat emerging around you in waves, you see is two of the shadow fragment Fearnes cackling. "(creepy cackles)" (echoing shatters) And themselves just shatter out.

TRAVIS: Oh, oh, oh, oh!

LAURA: Okay, so two of them!

ROBBIE: Yeah! Yeah yeah!

ASHLEY: Okay. Okay. Okay.

MATT: Both of these look very hurt.

LAURA: They're very hurt.

ASHLEY: All right. All right. Okay.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: Was that an action or was that a bonus action?

ASHLEY: That was a--

TRAVIS: Laura.

LAURA: I'm just saying. Is it a free action to drop the form?

MARISHA: Do something else. Do something good.

ASHLEY: It was an action.

MARISHA: Fuck.

ASHLEY: Then, I already did a bonus action with Mister flaming threw.

TALIESIN: Do you get a round of something or are you now just down?

ASHLEY: No.

TALIESIN: All right.

ASHLEY: That's it. That's all she wrote.

MATT: Okay. That finishes your turn?

ASHLEY: I just take two points of exhaustion now, so now I'm at three?

MATT: Well--

ASHLEY: Because I had one?

MATT: Right, so it'd be three.

ASHLEY: Okay. Got it.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: Well, you had two, because you hadn't finished the full rest, because you had two at the end of last time.

ASHLEY: So now I have four?

MATT: So you have four points.

TRAVIS: What happens at four points of exhaustion, DM? I don't know if I've ever met anyone that's been at four points of--

MATT: Hit point maximum is halved.

MARISHA: (gasps)

ROBBIE: Oh wow.

TRAVIS: That doesn't matter for her right now.

ROBBIE: No.

MARISHA: That's true. That's true.

ASHLEY: Wait, so--

TALIESIN: Disadvantage on everything.

ROBBIE: Still can't cast?

MARISHA: Your movement speed is slowed.

TALIESIN: Movement speed's halved.

ROBBIE: Got that chilly neck.

LAURA: Got that chilly neck.

ROBBIE: Got that chilly neck.

TALIESIN: Disadvantage on ability checks, disadvantage on attacks and saving throws.

ASHLEY: I'll be fine. I'll be fine. I'll be fine. I'll figure it out.

MATT: All right. Does that finish your turn, Fearne?

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: All right.

LAURA: Oh, fuck.

MATT: Cackling, this one is going to attempt to lift off the ground, but cannot because of the Earthbind spell.

ALL: Oh!

ASHLEY: Yay!

TRAVIS: Did it drop?

ASHLEY: Something came in handy.

LAURA: No.

MATT: No, she actually managed--

TALIESIN: It held.

ASHLEY: I was able to keep it.

MATT: She's going to dart up here.

ROBBIE: Why?

LAURA: Why?

ROBBIE: Why?

MATT: And is going to attempt to leap onto the platform over there since it can't.

LIAM: ♪ Comin' up from ♪

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LIAM: She's on the corner.

MATT: Barely, barely gets up on there.

ROBBIE: People's Elbow.

LAURA: What's she trying to do? What's she trying to do?

TALIESIN: I don't like it.

MATT: There we go.

TRAVIS: She's dead!

LIAM: Pick up on the field.

TRAVIS: Nope.

ROBBIE: Theater of the mind.

MATT: I need to put the--

TRAVIS: Putty.

MATT: The putty's going to be needed for this one.

LIAM: Putty, putty, putty.

TRAVIS: ♪ Putty ♪ ♪ Put a motherfucker ♪ with the putty ♪

MARISHA and MATT: (laugh)

(laughter)

TRAVIS: ♪ You wanted to ♪

MATT: That did well there.

MARISHA: ♪ You wanted glue ♪

TRAVIS: (laughs) You wanted glue.

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: This one's going to (whooshes)--

TRAVIS: Too fast to understand.

MATT: -- end up here.

ROBBIE: It took me a second.

MATT: So they do not get their advantage on the attacks, but they're both going to take two void dart strikes at you as they stand up there.

LAURA: Void darts?

MATT: Their hands begin to crackle with dark black purple energy and they (impactful whooshes) and just laughing into the air as they throw them at you. The central one up there on the far end is going to roll. That's going to be 22 to hit?

LAURA: Fuck.

LIAM: It's a plus six, right?

ASHLEY: No, no, no.

LAURA: Oh, it's a plus six?

LIAM: This time.

MATT: That's right.

ASHLEY: Because I have a 24 right now. It was plus seven.

MATT: All right.

ROBBIE: Plus seven.

ASHLEY: It was plus seven.

MATT: Second attack--

MARISHA: Wow. Wow!

MATT: -- is going to be A 20 to hit.

(cheering)

MATT: They both manage to just go wide.

MARISHA: Come on, baby.

MATT: This one over here has two void darts at you.

LIAM: The motherfucking halfling shield.

MATT: That's going to be a 26 to hit.

ASHLEY: That hit. That hits.

ALL: Ooh.

MATT: All right.

TRAVIS: Roll low. Roll low.

MARISHA: Do you have a reaction?

TRAVIS: Roll low. Roll low.

ASHLEY: I know. I already looked.

MATT: This is going to be six points of psychic damage.

ASHLEY: How many?

MATT: Six points.

ASHLEY: I... am down.

(shouting)

TRAVIS: Okay. Okay.

MATT: Fearne falls to the ground unconscious.

ROBBIE: Wow.

MATT: As part of the void dart, if she hits, she can teleport to an unoccupied space within five feet of the target.

ASHLEY: What?

ROBBIE: No!

MATT: With the second attack, is going to strike you.

(yelling)

TRAVIS: That's two death saving throws.

ROBBIE: What is happening?

TRAVIS: That's two.

MATT: That's an auto-hit. Or, sorry, advantage on the hit. That's going to be a 25 to hit. Right? How much was this?

TRAVIS: 24.

ASHLEY: 24. It hits. It hits. It hits. It hits.

MATT: Auto-crit, so it's two death saves.

TRAVIS: (pants)

ROBBIE: What is happening?

LAURA: Are you about to die? Is she about to die?

ASHLEY: Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe.

MARISHA: What is happening to our campaign?

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

TRAVIS: I'm here for it.

ASHLEY: It's okay.

MARISHA: Oh my god.

ASHLEY: It's okay, everybody.

MATT: That finishes their turn. Orym, you're up.

LIAM: I think I have a healing potion still because I had two or three at one point, and I used one in the last battle.

TALIESIN: I think they got--

TRAVIS: I think I gave you one after you were up.

ASHLEY: I made bad choices.

MARISHA: I have to pee. I've drank so much tea.

TALIESIN: Because I know we moved things around. I think I have way more than I was supposed to have right there.

LIAM: I think I still have one. I'm not going to push it. I'm going to say I have one.

TALIESIN: Because I did not have four.

LIAM: I am going to start pouring it into Fearne's mouth. That's an action, right?

MATT: It's an action to administer it to an unconscious figure.

LIAM: I do that, and then I step over her and hold up my shield and give her an additional two to her AC.

MATT: Okay, so how much does she heal?

LIAM: Oh, right.

TRAVIS: That's just two.

LIAM: Five. It's just two?

LAURA: No, no.

TRAVIS: No.

LIAM: No, nine. 13 plus four, right?

TALIESIN: Mm-hmm.

LIAM: So 17.

MATT: So you heal 17. You're now back to consciousness.

ASHLEY: Okay.

LIAM: Put this away.

ASHLEY: How do I even bring it back? Oh, here we go, 17? 17.

ASHLEY: 17?

LAURA: Add 16 there.

ASHLEY: Now your AC bonus is just plus two.

ASHLEY: Did I do it right?

LIAM: That's it. I used my action to do the potion, and I'm standing over her with shield up.

LAURA: That's a wowie-wow. Sorry. I fucked this up.

ASHLEY: No, I know.

LAURA: Ashley, I'm trying to help.

ASHLEY: You're fine, you're fine. You're trying to help.

MATT: So, 17 hit points. You're up, Fearne. So now, finishing your turn, you're over her body on the ground, shield out. You're conscious on the ground, prone, the shadow of Orym over you desperately guarding you with your shield. You're back into yourself. Your voice is returned because it's been a round and she was not actually able to Voice Thief you from up close.

ASHLEY: Okay. Okay. Okay.

MATT: So it only lasts until the end of the next round. So your voice has returned. You're conscious. What are you going to do?

ASHLEY: Right. Okay. All right. So, what we're going to do here, what we're going to do here is Scorching Ray.

MATT: What level?

ASHLEY: The highest I got, which is 3rd.

TRAVIS: And you can't escape?

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: You can't turn into a fucking bird and bounce?

LAURA: Orym is still there.

LIAM: Big bird.

MATT: So 3rd-level is four rays, correct?

ASHLEY: I can't because I brought out Mister, so I only have, that was my last-- I Wild Shaped into the cockatiel, and then I brought out Mister.

MATT: Brought out Mister, yeah. So that's four rays you're throwing out there, right?

ASHLEY: Four rays.

MATT: So four attacks. Who are you aiming them at?

ASHLEY: I'm maim-- aiming them at-- I can't even--

MATT: (laughs)

ASHLEY: (stammers)

(laughter)

ASHLEY: Main Fearne, yeah.

MATT: All at the main one?

ASHLEY: All at the main one. Well, let's do--

MATT: We'll roll for one. Okay. The first one?

ASHLEY: The first one is, that's 11.

ASHLEY: ♪ I want my baby back, baby back, baby back, baby back ♪

LIAM: Is it hot in here?

LAURA: Yeah, I feel like it's really hot.

ASHLEY: It's so hot.

TALIESIN: So hot in here.

MATT: (laughs)

ASHLEY: 20?

MATT: 20 hits.

ASHLEY: Okay.

ROBBIE: You were never getting that.

MATT: So roll damage on that one.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: So, 2d6.

ASHLEY: The second one is 17.

MATT: 17 misses.

ASHLEY: Okay.

LAURA: The sound, it's so noisy.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Son of a bitch! Four points of damage.

MATT: Four points of fire damage. Okay. Third one?

ASHLEY: (sighs) Okay. Natural one.

TRAVIS: Woo!

MATT: Okay. Last one.

ASHLEY: Come on. Natural 19.

MATT: Okay, that definitely hits. Go ahead and roll damage.

ASHLEY: Six points of damage.

MATT: Six points of fire damage.

ASHLEY: God, that was such a shitty--

MATT: Fearne--

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: -- How do you want to do this?

ALL: Oh!

ASHLEY: For real?

MATT: That fire blast took them down to only 10 hit points, and you said four then six.

ASHLEY: Oh! Oh! Oh! Okay.

ROBBIE: Yeah, nice!

LAURA: What does that mean, mean, mean?

TRAVIS: Was that the prime?

MATT: The prime was here, yeah.

ASHLEY: Okay, okay.

MARISHA: Holy shit.

TRAVIS: No fucking way.

ASHLEY: I'm just going to get up on my knees and my-- (stammers) I can't do this. I can't make this cool. I just shoot them out from all fours.

MATT: Okay, so, standing up there at the top, you see lording in the red light, the shadow version of you that's taunted the exterior, the very far edge of your dreams and nightmares cackling up above, as you unleash this series of blasts of flame. Some of them go wide in your fury. The last one strikes true. As it does (crackling) you see it impacts and seems to vanish, continues to laugh. "(laughs)" It takes one big breath, and you watch as this low, dull, glowing crack (spidering crackling) begins to splinter throughout before (shattering) it shatters like a white-hot mirror into a thousand pieces on top, just (shattering) scattering out and (whooshing) plummeting to the ground in hundreds and hundreds of shards of broken glass.

ASHLEY: Then, I just look at Mister. Please help. I'm going to have him take Flaming Seed and shoot at the last standing.

MATT: Last one?

ASHLEY: Last meanie.

MATT: Go for it. Have him roll.

TRAVIS: The last one stays up even through prime went down, right?

LAURA: Even though the other one--

MATT: Mm-hmm.

LIAM: Is that the last one--

ASHLEY: Yeah, that's a natural 19--

LIAM: -- on the map?

ASHLEY: -- plus stuffs.

MATT: That hits.

LIAM: Oh, she's right next to us.

ASHLEY: Features and Traits. (concentration noises) Okay.

MARISHA: Roll big.

ASHLEY: Okay, okay.

LIAM: Too many Fearnes.

LAURA: ♪ Too many Fearnes ♪

ASHLEY: That will be--

MARISHA: Oops! All Fearnes.

ASHLEY: Why am I-- What are you? Sorry.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

ASHLEY: (searching hums)

ROBBIE: Does Mister throw out his poops?

ASHLEY: Wait a minute.

MARISHA: He's got a gun now.

ROBBIE: Excuse me? (laughs)

LAURA: Yeah.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Yes.

MATT: Guess what he uses for ammunition in the gun.

ROBBIE: Oh. What'd you say?

MATT: Guess what he uses for ammunition in his gun.

ROBBIE: Poops?

MATT: Yeah.

MARISHA: His own crap.

ROBBIE: Yay!

MARISHA: It's one of those big--

ROBBIE: Poop gun?

TALIESIN: Pop guns.

TRAVIS: Pepperbox.

MARISHA: Pop gun. Yeah.

LIAM: Like a small potato gun.

TALIESIN: Like a potato gun.

ROBBIE: Yeah!

MARISHA: But it shoots poop now.

LIAM: Small potatoes.

MATT: All right, how much damage do you deal?

ROBBIE: Great.

TRAVIS: Highbrow, highbrow stuff.

MATT: Additional fire damage from your ability, too.

TRAVIS: High fantasy.

ASHLEY: Well, plus also, which I've been forgetting to do, I roll a d8 because the Enhanced Bond.

MATT: Correct.

ASHLEY: So, yeah.

LAURA: Oh, great!

ASHLEY: I forgot about that.

ROBBIE: That shit gun's going to work so much better now!

TRAVIS: Yeah. (laughs)

ASHLEY: Yeah. Now I'm going to win!

(laughter)

ASHLEY: Okay, so, let's see. (laughter)

(laughter)

MARISHA: Come on, Mister!

ASHLEY: Where the fuck? It's a plus-- It's--

MARISHA: Oh yeah. He's cute, yeah. I freaking love him.

LAURA: Ashley!

ASHLEY: I'm so sorry, you guys.

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Okay, so that is--

MATT: ♪ It's hard to read ♪

LAURA: I know.

ASHLEY: Nine points of damage. Nine points of fire damage.

MATT: ♪ D&D Beyond ♪

MARISHA: Come on.

MATT: How much? Sorry.

ASHLEY: Nine.

MATT: Nine points of fire damage.

LAURA: Oh god.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: It's so hard to read when you're freaking out.

MARISHA: (groans)

LAURA: Is it still up?

ASHLEY: It's so hard because you can't find anything.

TALIESIN: It really is.

MATT: Gets shot with the flaming excrement from Mister's pistol. (monkey hoots) (gun shot)

(blow smoke) (monkey hoots)

LAURA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Get out.

(laughter)

MATT: Shadow Fearne takes the hit and is just standing there, and still remains standing. That finish your turn?

ASHLEY: Yes, it does. Yes, it does.

MATT: At the end of your turn, the shadow Fearne, still looking forward, still the flames from the impact of Mister's strike, still stands there before it flickers and then just-- (vanishes)

LAURA: (gasps)

ROBBIE: Yeah.

MATT: -- vanishes.

LAURA: You stinker.

MATT: They disappear at the end of the turn.

LAURA: (sighs)

ROBBIE: Okay.

MARISHA: Oh wow.

MATT: But here, in the midst of this heavy breathing, adrenalin-pumping quiet--

TRAVIS: How the fuck did you survive that?

ASHLEY: I just roll on my back.

LIAM: We're not done.

ASHLEY: Fuck!

LIAM: I start straining my ears for that.

MATT: (slow claps)

TRAVIS: Oh no!

ROBBIE: Yeah!

ASHLEY: Wait, what?

LAURA: It's Daddy.

LIAM: Dad's still here.

MARISHA: Daddy's still here!

ROBBIE: He's still watching. You think he went away?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: You glance up as the edge of this rock surface seems to shift, and you notice the chameleon color change--

LIAM: Oh, it's the mount.

MATT: -- of the massive fey dragon form of Gloamglut that was perched across that had changed the color of its body and wings to blend in with the surroundings now stands up and (intimidating exhale) looks down at the two of you as you see Sorrowlord Athion Zathuda on his mount just clapping. (slow claps) "So it seems--"

ASHLEY: Stand up.

MATT: "-- maybe pressed a little closer to the edge, maybe it's not self-preservation. Maybe it's protectiveness."

TRAVIS: Oh my god.

MATT: "Well. We are always our worst enemy, aren't we?" He stands there looking up top as he--

TRAVIS: Oh no, no.

MATT: -- now sitting atop the dragon, doesn't even pay mind to you.

ASHLEY: As I stand up, I'm going to stand up in front of Orym.

MATT: "You are capable of greatness, Fearne. Why do you insist on shackling yourself to lowborn sheep? Why do you cling to shreds of morality when your heart screams to be free and take what you wish?"

ASHLEY: What do you think I wish for? I love these people. That's what I care about. Why would I want to go to this place? They all seem like they're fucking miserable.

MATT: "They're merely a testing tool, my dear. And you passed. Now I know what's important to you. Perhaps I need to develop the next lesson."

LAURA: (mouthing) The next lesson.

MATT: "I see such promise in you. A glimmer beneath your hollow, waning words. You will emerge your true self. You are my child, and I know our nature. You hold it back, but it's fighting to be set free. Ludinus' Vanguard can fall to dust. Sammanar and their court legacy can crumble, for all I care. Let Zathuda blood become the devourer of gods."

LAURA: Ugh.

MATT: "(laughs softly) May you take what is rightfully yours and cast to ash my disappointment in you. Embrace your essence. Step into your destiny. I'll be watching." (powerful wings flap) As Gloamglut takes to the sky, (screeches shrilly) screeching up above, the sunrise light now and beginning to show a peeking bright orange threatening to break through. At that same time, shortly after that screech, you hear bells begin to ring from the fortress across the way. The rest of you, as you're climbing over the wall, hear that screech up in the sky above.

LAURA: Oh no, that's--

MATT: Immediately, the soldiers start, (gasps) "In the sky! Attacking dragon! Dragon!" Bells going off, people starting to mount ballista, and you watch as Gloamglut begins to circle above where you are. (wind rushing) As it does, you begin to hear the sounds of ballista being let loose. (arrow piercing air) (impact pounds) Into the ground about 15 feet from where you stand.

(impacts pounding)

LIAM: Oh.

LAURA: Oh shit, shit!

ASHLEY: We better go.

LIAM: Yeah, maybe we ought to-- C-C-Closer to the wall. Closer to the wall.

ASHLEY: All right. Back up a little bit.

MATT: All right, so you all turn and begin heading in the direction of the fortress and begin to see these mounted arcane defensive weaponries that are being charged up and these faint blueish-green glow as they begin to-- (energy powering up) And as Gloamglut begins a slow swoop over both of you, (wind rushing) one final pass by, two of them let loose their charge. (energy crackles) Bolts of deep blue-green energy go striking hundreds of feet out in their direction, barely arcing over where the two of you stand and passing below where the dragon swooped. As it (wings flapping) begins to fly off eastward in the direction of the Tishtan site. More distant ballista begin to arc off into the distance, and you feel you are no longer in immediate danger to the array, but as you begin to approach, you begin to see your friends up on the wall as all of you begin to see now Fearne and Orym approaching looking a bit harried, Fearne looking in a rough place.

LIAM: I almost didn't come after you.

ASHLEY: I don't know what I would've done without you here.

LIAM: I thought you were going out to pee.

ASHLEY: Well, no, there was a really cute creature, and I followed it, which is a dumb thing to do, but I'm sorry.

LIAM: Give me your hand. Let's just get back inside.

ASHLEY: Okay.

LIAM: Hey!

LAURA: Wha? What happened?

ROBBIE: We came as quick as we heard!

TALIESIN: Oh god, you look like shit.

ASHLEY: Yeah, I don't feel very good.

LIAM: Feel like it.

TALIESIN: Dropping the hammer down for another handheld handle to get up and over the-- Come on, come on.

LIAM: Maybe we find the door.

LAURA: They will, I don't--

LIAM: Let's go around the front door.

TRAVIS: Yeah, yeah.

TALIESIN: Okay.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

LIAM: Thanks, though, Ash.

TALIESIN: I'm going to flip down then. I can take everybody down who's coming down.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll walk with them, Fearne.

LIAM: Fearne just got rocked.

ROBBIE: Are you all right?

TALIESIN: Clearly.

ROBBIE: I'm going to come straight up to her and put my arm on her shoulder. Are you okay? Then as I do that, she's going to feel a little warmth from my hand, and I'll cast Cure Wounds, for sure.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

ROBBIE: She looks bad bad, right?

LAURA: Amazing.

TALIESIN: Oh yeah.

ROBBIE: Yeah, I got you. Good, eight. Nine. Four, 13, three. 17.

ASHLEY and LAURA: Okay.

MARISHA: So, Daddy's here.

LAURA: What did he want? I can't believe you're still standing.

ASHLEY: Well, he didn't want to kill me. I think he just-- He wanted to test me.

LAURA: For what?

ASHLEY: I don't know, he said something about a hollow gate. Did you hear that?

LIAM: It seemed to me like he was talking about Fearne being the vessel.

MARISHA: Well, remember, he feels like he manufactured you.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MARISHA: You sort of revealed yourself. He's going to come looking for--

LIAM: He made it pretty obvious he's coming back.

LAURA: He wants you to be the one that Predathos goes into. The vessel.

ASHLEY: Oh.

ROBBIE: I'm sorry, did you say that dragon was Fearne's father? How does that?

MARISHA: So not the dragon, but there's a mean guy who rides the dragon.

ROBBIE: Oh, okay.

MARISHA: Yes. But the dragon's name is Gloamglut. How cool is that?

TRAVIS: The dad's name is Shadowlord Zathuda.

ROBBIE: All right.

LAURA: -- the devourer of gods.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

TRAVIS: Yeah, it's real fucked.

MARISHA: Pretty gnarly. He's a big bad in the Fey Realm.

LAURA: We can't let him take you. If that's what he wants then--

ASHLEY: No, no, no, no. No.

TRAVIS: How did he find you?

TALIESIN: That's what I was thinking.

MARISHA: We've made our presence pretty well known, you guys.

TRAVIS: Sure, but we bamfed down from the moon. We walked a distance. We were asleep in a tent in cover from the sky.

LAURA: He came through the bridge as well, right after us?

MARISHA: Then we're in an outpost not that far from the Malleus Key.

ASHLEY: I mean, he did tease me a little bit, and I woke up and there was a cute little creature and I followed it.

LAURA: (claps emphatically) You got to stop following cute creatures, Fearne!

ASHLEY: I know, I know! I know, I know, I know. It just, it didn't seem like it was--

TALIESIN: How about we compromise--

ASHLEY: -- kind of bad or anything.

TALIESIN: -- with, just take a buddy?

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Yeah. There's no reason to stop.

ASHLEY: I was just, I didn't want to wake anybody up because everybody was so tired. It was dumb. It was dumb.

LAURA: No.

ASHLEY: I understand.

TALIESIN: Just bring a friend.

ASHLEY: But I'll bring a friend next time.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

ASHLEY: I feel like shit.

TRAVIS: Do you have something from your dad's?

TALIESIN: You look terrible.

TRAVIS: Do you have jewelry or a piece of armor or something from his like a heirloom, or--?

LIAM: We shook off the people at the bottom of the Malleus Key, so how was he able to come right to you?

TRAVIS: I mean--

LIAM: We got to tell the Tempest because this place is compromised.

TRAVIS: Yeah, yeah.

ASHLEY: I mean, is it just me because I'm--

LIAM: Maybe.

ASHLEY: -- his kid?

TRAVIS: I mean, maybe they know where this encampment is, and maybe they sent a little-- What kind of creature was it?

ASHLEY: It was a sugar glider.

TRAVIS: Whatever that is.

LAURA: Aw, that is really cute.

TALIESIN: Oh man, yeah.

ASHLEY: I know. What was I supposed to do?

TALIESIN: There's no spotting that.

MATT: As a note to you, this fortress isn't hidden, you know? It's an encampment that's built up to defend itself, and the position where it is is defensible, but--

TRAVIS: Still infiltratable.

MATT: It's defensible, but it's not--

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: -- cloaked or hidden.

ASHLEY: (sighs)

LAURA: All right. I mean, it would have been, a little rodent was able to get in, yeah.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MARISHA: And just run around. I mean--

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: Like I said, he was flying over the city being like, "Calloway" when we were on the moon.

LIAM: Our impression of this--

ASHLEY: Yeah, that's true.

LIAM: -- place where they've gathered, they're not broadcasting their presence here, right? Yes, people might know that this fortress or whatever it is is here, but they're not making a big to-do about being here, or are they?

MATT: Not at the moment, but you do know that many soldiers currently are encamped here and more are on the way.

TRAVIS: It's like a FOB. Fighting off people.

MATT: Some skyships do come as well as others that are magically transported.

LIAM: Mm-hmm.

MATT: It is a slow building of forces both to play defense to these various fortresses around the Malleus Key and to mount an eventual offense once the information that you've gained can be consolidated with the various captains to decide on a plan.

LIAM: Okay.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MARISHA: You definitely tried to murder him on Ruidus, so--

TRAVIS: But he let you live.

ASHLEY: He did.

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: Well, he spoke a lot of honeyed words. He wants to recruit her. It sounds like from the way he was talking that he could give a fuck about Ludinus or any of the others.

LAURA: Well, he never got along with Otohan.

MARISHA: Mmm.

LIAM: He's making a play for himself.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LIAM: He wants to use Fearne.

LAURA: (chuckles) My mom says she's not with Ludinus. Your dad says he's not with Ludinus. Every man out for themselves.

TALIESIN: Well, you know--

ASHLEY: (sighs deeply)

TALIESIN: -- I'm a deep believer in judging somebody by the company they keep, so.

LIAM: Exactly.

TRAVIS: It's also not a bad thing. The more fractured they are--

MARISHA: The weaker they are.

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Good point.

ROBBIE: One more time, what's a Ludinus?

TRAVIS: (laughs)

LAURA: Oh, we got to fill you in.

TALIESIN: Oh, sweet fuck.

LIAM: Sorry, Dorian.

TRAVIS: We'll fill in Dorian as we head back towards the tent to try and get these two some sleep.

LAURA: We'll fill you in, Robbie, on the break.

MATT: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Versus actual game.

ROBBIE: No, I know. I'm RPing, Laura!

(laughter)

MATT: As the two who are worse for wear from the recent encounter finish off the rest of their evening's rest. The rest of you take the time in the early morning to fill Dorian in with some of the more complicated details of the Ruby Vanguard, Ludinus Da'leth, what has transpired and what is to come. As the sunrise and the early morning warmth begins to take the Hellcatch Valley, we're going to take a break.

ROBBIE: Oh!

TALIESIN: Yay.

ASHLEY: Ooh!

TRAVIS: Did he say "The Hollow Gate" or "Hollow Cage?"

LIAM: "Hollow Cage."

MATT: "The Hallowed Cage."

TALIESIN: Hallowed.

LIAM: Hallowed?

ASHLEY: Hallowed Cage.

MATT: Hallowed Cage.

LIAM: Not hollow, hallowed.

MATT: Hallowed Cage.

LIAM: By the way, Orym totally passed out in the goat leg crook.

MARISHA: I think that's--

ASHLEY: You did?

LIAM: After all that.

ASHLEY: Oh yes, of course.

MARISHA: The Tishtan site is the overall site where the Malleus Key is, right?

TALIESIN: I think when you wake up--

MATT: Correct.

TALIESIN: -- you'll be three down.

MARISHA: Yeah, so it's like--

ASHLEY: Three down? Okay.

MARISHA: -- the name of this crater area--

TALIESIN: Damn! Good call.

LAURA: Geesh!

ASHLEY: Well, there were so many bad moves.

TALIESIN: No, that was--

MATT: Far west of the Tishtan site, yeah.

ASHLEY: There was so much shit, I forgot.

LAURA: Just think about, if you hadn't knocked out those two.

TALIESIN: That would have been it.

LAURA: Who knows, but--

LIAM: And fire damage every time they hit you, and also--

ASHLEY: I don't know why I bamfed Mister out--

LIAM: They fucking jumped you in the alley.

ASHLEY: I forgot that there was-- There was a lot to keep track of.

ROBBIE: You were one death save away, silly goose. That's crazy.

LAURA and MARISHA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: That's crazy.

TALIESIN: Yeah, that was-- It couldn't have gone any better.

LAURA: It showed her dad-- Well, I can't know. We can't know.

TRAVIS: Let's go to break!

LAURA: Okay, okay, okay.

(shouts and babbles)

MATT: (laughs) These are good conversations for after the episode.

TALIESIN: Let's go to break.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

MATT: See you all here in a few minutes.

Part II

MATT: Welcome back.

(laughter)

LIAM: Oh wow. We're going with it.

MATT: Oh yeah.

ROBBIE: Oh yeah.

MATT: So most of you now catching up to the others with an evening's rest. The late morning introduces you to a relatively hot midday here in the Hellcatch. The open blue sky with the occasional distant white-plumed cloud in the distance, still overshadowed by the ever-present glowing beam and red moon, but the fortress is still a bit abuzz from the events of this morning. Been long bouts of quiet with short skirmishes with whether it be exterior guardians or testing scouts from the Vanguard's positioning. But the sight of that beast has definitely set everyone on edge. But you are awake and the day is yours. What would you like to do?

ASHLEY: I did want to grab the, what's left of the mirror before. Is that something that we can retroactively--

MATT: Before you head back? Sure. Yeah.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: So you grabbed the remnants of the shattered mirror and it is about this large here in it's hand size, a cool twisted spiraling, dark iron metal exterior.

TRAVIS: Just the frame or pieces of the mirror, too?

ASHLEY: I think anything that's left.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: Handful shattered pieces.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TRAVIS: I don't know about you, but it does not feel safe here.

MARISHA: Mm-mm.

TRAVIS: I know it's protected in their battlements and everything else, but we got to get off the X, not just because of Fearne. I mean, we stirred up a hornet's nest up there. They're going to come looking for us.

MARISHA: We're more of a liability to these people more than anything.

TALIESIN: I think we are the X. I think that, I don't know. I don't think there's anywhere to go anymore. I think that running, I don't know. Running seems silly at this point.

MARISHA: Well, we could get further away than a hundred feet from the Malleus Key.

TRAVIS: Yeah, we're a little close.

LAURA: I think we fill everyone in on what's happening and what we found.

LIAM: Yeah, and see--

LAURA: We find out from Evoroa more about the plans. She mentioned Aeor, right? That's where Ludinus is right now.

ASHLEY: That's right. That's right.

MARISHA: Yes.

LAURA: We have to tell everyone.

LIAM: I want to get a better sense of what everyone here, the Tempest and all of them intend to do next. So maybe we can call a meeting.

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: Bring Evoroa, bring everyone and swap info.

TRAVIS: Should do it now.

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: Do we think there's any merit while we're still on this side of the globe to visiting Imahara Joe regarding FCG? Or is that--

TRAVIS: The fragments that we also got from--

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

TRAVIS: When we were up on the moon.

LAURA: Oh yeah.

TALIESIN: I would much rather be going somewhere than running from somewhere.

LAURA: Isn't Joe here?

MARISHA: Or he's up in Bassuras. Oh wait, actually--

LAURA: I think he's here. Right?

MARISHA: Stationed--

LAURA: Or was-- Was Joe here or was he with the Ashari?

MATT: You're uncertain where he is at the moment.

LAURA: But he had been with Keyleth.

MATT: Keyleth had helped you.

LAURA: Oh, we left him in Whitestone.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

LAURA: Okay.

TALIESIN: I don't know. I feel distracted.

TRAVIS: Keyleth first.

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: Okay. You gather your things for the day and doesn't take long for you to notice that the energy is a little lifted. There is presence and purpose to some of the more elite guard within this space and the central war tent where you were first introduced to some of the Exandrian Accord here, you can see the security detail around it is a bit thick. It gives the sense that there at least is some sort of important figures meeting. If you approach around this time, you can see, and you can see partway in through the central open tent that there are figures having a discussion. You can hear the voice of the Voice of the Tempest just beyond the edge of the material itself, as well as a few other hushed voices. As you approach the guard, they take note and one of them steps forward. "There is a meeting, but is this important to speak to the council?"

LAURA: Very.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LIAM: It is, if you could tell the Tempest that her Savior Blade and his circle are here.

MATT: "Very well." He steps inside behind the cloak. There's a brief little whisper. Returns. "You may enter." Pulls aside and you enter within and you can see the central pillar of the tent has been pulled open. So a lot of the sunlight comes in and fills the space with a warm light amongst the other hanging chandeliers that are affixed on various chains and cables that sit within the center, keeping the area well-lit regardless of the shading. You can see the large table spread out and present indeed is Keyleth, Voice of the Tempest. You also see Tofor Brotoras and Qi Mandozi. The Earthbreaker Groon is not present or any other figures. It's just these three currently having a conversation. As you step inside, you see Keyleth turns and smiles and nods, but you can see the lines under her eyes. She looks like she probably hasn't slept in a bit and there is a bit of a lean toward her body against the table.

MARISHA: Does she still look like she's recovering from her wounds?

MATT: Best you can tell. You could make an insight or medicine check, actually.

MARISHA: Okay. They're the same.

TRAVIS: Are they?

MARISHA: They are. 13.

MATT: 13. You don't see any visible wounds and the way she's leaning doesn't appear to be that she's at a dearth of strength, more that she just looks a little tired and is just bracing the edge of the table. But you're welcome to inquire further in. As you all approach, Keyleth--

LIAM: Sorry, I can't remember. Is Evoroa rolling with us or-- I don't remember.

MATT: Are you bringing Evoroa with you?

LAURA: Evoroa went off with Keyleth.

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

LAURA: The previous night, so--

MARISHA: But she should be here.

LAURA: Unless Evoroa is already filled.

LIAM: Somewhere around, yeah.

TRAVIS: Or nearby.

MATT: Evoroa is not currently in this tent, but can be retrieved if you want to ask.

MARISHA: Okay.

LIAM: Thank you.

MATT: Do you wish to have Evoroa retrieved?

LIAM: No, I just couldn't remember if she was with us or if we had handed her off to Keyleth.

MATT: Understood. Yeah. You handed her off to Keyleth before you went to bed the night before.

LIAM: Okay.

MATT: But as you approach, Keyleth straightens up a bit. "Good morning, you all. I'm happy to see that you are recovering from your journey."

LIAM: Had a little action last night.

MATT: "So I heard. There was a perimeter incursion?"

LIAM: Yeah. How much do you know other than the creature that was in the sky? Do you know the individual?

MATT: "I understand that is the Sorrowlord. An alliance between Sammanar and the Unseelie has indeed been confirmed."

LAURA: In Fearne's head. Are you going to tell them?

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: "We're uncertain as to the reasoning why, other than maybe just perimeter scouting, but nevertheless, the Unseelie are by nature mercurial and layered in their plots. The fact that it was so overt gives me pause."

MARISHA: Mercurial is a good word.

ASHLEY: It's a good word. That is, uh, my dad.

MATT: "Your father?"

ASHLEY: Yes.

LAURA: It's a recent discovery.

ASHLEY: I didn't, yeah, I didn't know this.

MATT: Tofor leans in a little bit. "You've neglected to let us know that your father is one of the higher members of the Ruby Vanguard."

LAURA: It's a recent discovery.

ASHLEY: Yes.

TALIESIN: You didn't ask.

ASHLEY: Thank you. Yeah. Yeah.

MATT: Keyleth puts her hand up. "How familiar are you with this figure?"

ASHLEY: Not at all. I just, that was actually the first time we've talked, which was in the wee hours of this morning. I did know that he was--

MATT: "You spoke with-- You're why he was here."

ASHLEY: Yes.

MATT: "Okay."

ASHLEY: But, you know, I didn't-- He said a lot of things that I think--

ROBBIE: He tried to murder her last night.

LAURA: Yeah. Mm-hmm.

ASHLEY: In so many ways. He was testing me, but he was saying many things, like something to do with a Hallowed Cage. I don't know if any of this is ringing a bell.

MATT: They all look at each other. Gives a nod over to the orcin sorcerer, Qi, who immediately looks over, starts jotting notes down.

ASHLEY: Possibly that I maybe, I guess, would be a vessel for something.

LAURA: Do y'all know about the vessels? So what they're planning.

ASHLEY: Where to start?

LAURA: They want to wake up Predathos, right? What we've gathered--

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LAURA: Is that they want to channel that divinity into some of the more Exalted of the Ruidusborn. And--

LIAM: They have alluded to trying to find the right potential person to be the vessel for Predathos.

LAURA: Currently, I believe, it's my mother, although, I don't know if she-- I don't know what's-- She may be a spy now for us, kind of.

MARISHA: Still feels undecided.

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: It's a lot of info.

TRAVIS: Parents are the best.

TALIESIN: Loyalty seems very thin amongst most of the upper echelon people that we've met.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TALIESIN: They all seem to talk about betraying one another as soon as possible.

TRAVIS: There's also renewed sense of urgency. Seems like their timetables have all moved up.

ASHLEY and LAURA: Mm-hmm.

TRAVIS: We encountered the five minds while we were on the moon. We've seen division among their ranks. The brazen attack last night, this morning, whatever you want to call it, there was no fear. He just came for her and then let her live, like with a test. I don't think we have as much time as we think we do.

MARISHA: They were were all preparing. Yes, busy little bees on the moon, they were. Word through the streets about preparing for an oncoming attack.

MATT: "Hmm."

MARISHA: Now, I do think we might've bought ourselves a little bit of time. The reason why we had to leave, make haste from the moon so quickly, is because half of our group was part of a plan that was a massive detonation, big explosion to maybe collapse some of their infrastructure.

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: Then the other half of us went and did a little infiltration mission to get back Evoroa. So we might have slowed them down by just a tick, but it's hard to say.

TALIESIN: There was a lot of explosion.

TRAVIS: Did you have time to speak with Evoroa?

MATT: (Tofor) "We have spoken with the--"

MARISHA: Bormodo.

MATT: "Bormodo. 'The entity' is apparently offensive. The Bormodo known as Evoroa, they have been very forthcoming in helping us and teaching us a bit of their experience and culture. This Volition that you did business with as well, we are eager to make contact with them as part of the eventual siege of Ruidus. If we can establish a means of communication and plot as one, that will give us a grand advantage. We are in the process of gathering many of our esteemed allies. Numerous champions have been gathering across Exandria to the various divine. I think we have a shot."

LIAM: What's the plan?

MATT: "Well, that is going to require us to take some of the information that you found and see how many of our friends are not caught up in the rest of the mounting chaos around Exandria." Keyleth leans forward a bit. "Indeed. The Vanguard sympathizers continue to be a growing force across the various cultures. There are rising demagogues using Ludinus' cycling illusory speeches as a means to grow support for his endeavor, or at least mistrust of what we're trying to do. We're seeing protests. We're seeing riots. There are a number of political forces that have sent aid to our plight here. But we are still challenged to gather all of our resources as the numerous magical bindings that were undone in the wake of the solstice have let loose a countless number of dark magics and long-forgotten evils that have been wantonly tearing through each and every countryside, inevitably another part of Ludinus' plan to distract and divide us. So, knowing this, I'm to continue as I have been," and you can see that she rubs her eyes a bit, "to see who I can pull together, to see who I can, who I can trust to come at our aid at this time, see who I can convince to come out of retirement, see who I can convince to maybe step in for one final hurrah."

LAURA: (deeply) You have my bow.

(laughter)

ASHLEY: And my axe.

TRAVIS: Wrong movie, wrong movie, wrong movie.

MARISHA: Wrong movie!

TRAVIS: One does not simply--

(laughter)

MATT: "This is a plot that is beyond us, beyond you. I'll beseech the leaders that have themselves joined the Accord. We will begin to put our heads together to the best way to exhibit our strengths, especially if what you say is true and we do not have as much time. Now, this Evoroa had spoken of Ludinus having dealings in Eiselcross."

LAURA: Did we bring back the-- Did we already show you the, what we brought with?

TRAVIS: No. I have it. I'll start to open the bag of holding and pull out section of the machinery that we took.

(clunks)

MATT: They all inspect it closely and Keyleth nods. You can see that Mythtaker Qi looking very curiously across it. "This is very, quite majestic design, more than I've ever-- quite myself. Well, I would love to think one day I could be as good a crafter of enchantments what this is that you present before me. But this is, damaged as it is, magnificent."

TRAVIS: Advanced?

MATT: "Definitely Arcanum era, definitely."

TRAVIS: Ancient.

MATT: You see Keyleth lean back a bit into her mantle. "Do we think we know where Ludinus is?"

LAURA: According to Evoroa, she said he's been researching and trying to gather things from Aeor.

MATT: "Do you believe he might possibly still be there?"

TRAVIS: Yes, it seems to be a place of focus for them. There were numerous pieces of machinery like this.

MATT: "Then perhaps time is indeed of the essence."

MARISHA: Even with this Malleus Key, pretty sure it was tech from that era. It seems like it might be imperative to their plan of awakening Predathos.

MATT: Tofor puts both elbows in the table and leans forward, scrunching their central dragonborn eyebrow. "It was discussed with the Ruidian Bormodo that they have encountered numerous challenges in their plot and perhaps if this tech is what they're reliant on, they are seeking an answer within it as well. I do not know much at all about this Aeor." Keyleth goes, "I know of a few that have done some research there. Let me reach out and see if there's-- Just a moment." She reaches into her cloak and you see she pulls out a particular stone and steps away from the table for a bit, a little bit, quietly off of the side.

LIAM: Bing.

MATT: Steps back from the shadows. "Well, the individual that I know who has some personal experience with Eiselcross and the ruins of Aeor is in the midst of an important mission that they have yet to complete. But they said they can send another individual, an archivist of some kind they said to look for who has also researched these ruins. Said it shouldn't be too long. Perhaps gather your things. Maybe they can help take you to a place where this information might be more readily available but in the middle of this godforsaken desert."

LIAM: You're going to send us after them?

MATT: "To find information, hopefully. If not you, I'll find somebody else for the task. But if Ludinus is still there, Ludinus needs to be stopped if possible, at the very least what he's after be destroyed before he can make use of it."

LIAM: Boy, I feel we're really close to all this.

MATT: "More time we can claw from their plot, the better chances we have of success. They've had the upper hand this entire time. They sprung this long, deeply spun plot on us with very little knowledge on our part. As such, we've been desperately trying to catch up. With every step we take, they're 14 ahead. Now, with what you've done, a number of our other allies of the Accord have been able to accomplish in this past week. We've been able to reclaim some of that distance, but it's not enough. I would not ask you so closely after a dangerous mission to partake in another."

ASHLEY: Why stop now? We're just getting started.

MARISHA: We are pretty invested.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: "You, Dorian?"

ROBBIE: Wow. Perhaps I am not as familiar with the trees, but I have seen the forest and things are not good out there. If you are relying on the help of the gods, champions, I can't say that I trust them anymore. If you are looking to do something of this magnitude, it's going to take people and there are no people I would rather be with. So, yes.

MATT: "Me and a few allies have some ideas, but we need to set the stage for it. Believe it or not, I am one of the few who have actually met the gods of Exandria myself in person. They are a awe-inspiring and deeply complicated array. But we need to see what we can do to ensure that they are aligned with us. We only have one shot at this, so that's part of my responsibility. If you wish to step up to this one, it'll have to be quick. It'll have to be soon. So." She looks at the rest of the current counsel there. Tofor sits up, his arms crossed. "I'll be honest, I wasn't sure what to think of you when you first arrived. It wouldn't be the first time a series of scrappy fuck-ups have left me with more respect than I anticipated, so-- Go for it."

LIAM: Come too far and lost too much to give up now.

MARISHA: So are you wanting us to go to Aeor? Is that what they're saying?

LAURA: (laughs) I think that's what they're saying, Laudna.

MARISHA: If, hypothetically, we encounter Ludinus--

MATT: "Stop him. Slow him. Squeeze what information you can out of him and keep safe. Do not do anything that you regret. Do not do anything to put yourself in more danger than is necessary. And do not let him take either of you."

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: "In an odd way, I think the two of you are the safest of his wrath right now. The rest of you less safe, so."

TRAVIS: With all due respect, fuck you guys.

LAURA: Uh...

TRAVIS: It's incredible to me that you would send, to use your words, a group of fuck-ups and send us to the moon. No backup. We see things that none of you have ever seen, encountered the five minds, seen Predathos, blue glass, species that have never been seen on Exandria. Then we're going to go after Ludinus to some city named Aeor by ourselves, and it's, "Stop him, good luck, but don't risk too much"? I will say this much. Whoever you're talking to, whoever the decision-makers are, that should come through us. We've paid in blood and bone and metal and we have more answers than it seems you do down here. You should check in with all of us. We're the keepers of knowledge, not you. It's not the other way around.

MATT: There's a pause at the table before Tofor leans forward, the scaled muscles flexing underneath the armor. "We appreciate what you have done, but so many others are out there fighting their own fights. You haven't seen with your own eyes the terrifying release of Kaa'fourd as it has devoured half of the Turst Fields and the people within. You haven't seen the various towers that have fallen in the wake of these magical shackles released, ancient shadows devouring children and women alike. Everyone is fighting individual fights. We have only asked of you what you seem to be best suited for and tied to and at no point have we forced you to do that." Keyleth leans in. "He's not wrong. He's not wrong, Tofor. Perhaps I should be a little more clear and I do apologize. Being in a position of leadership for as long as I've been and having to have made many hard decisions in my time with little time to consider sometimes make you feel a little hard. You're not wrong. And I'm sorry."

TRAVIS: I appreciate the apology. Sometimes it's important to see how someone reacts to a push. I also want to know how expendable we are to you. And I can see the heart behind your words. So not so hard after all.

MATT: She smiles.

MARISHA: To Chetney's point, the last time that we encountered Ludinus, he threw an airship at us.

TRAVIS: To be fair, we threw it first.

LAURA: Well--

MARISHA: And then he parried it.

LAURA: We lost a companion fighting one of his henchmen. We certainly aren't in any place to be fighting Ludinus himself.

MARISHA: We almost lost Fearne. He almost sucked her away. And then he fell into a pit of lava and turns out it was just Ludinus, but snow.

LAURA: Butt snow?

MARISHA: It was just a snow Ludinus.

LAURA: (laughs)

MARISHA: And we almost died!

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: "All these things that you're saying are the type of challenges that are being asked of every single person on Exandria. Thus, we just step aside and let them do what they wish. You don't have to do any of this."

LAURA: I'm here for it.

TRAVIS: We're all here for it.

MATT: "You could walk away any moment and none of us would blame you."

TRAVIS: No, no, no. You don't understand. Listen, I came off hard because, again, I wanted to see what your reaction would be. We would be lobbying you for this opportunity. We have a score to settle. We've lost people. We're incentivized. But it's always good to know where the leverage is. It's very easy to become the lowest common denominator very quickly.

TALIESIN: Especially after seeing that he's prepared for armies, he's prepared for gods. He is not prepared for people. Every setback hasn't been armies, hasn't been gods. It's just been some group of fuck-ups somewhere.

TRAVIS: We're actually exactly what you need. I will admit, though, if you got a box of tricks or toys or magic items that could change the way we look or give us any sort of assistance or help with being sneaky for these loud motherfuckers, I'm sure they'd take it, because me, I'm like a fart in the wind. You don't know where I'm going to come from, but they need some help.

TALIESIN: Yep. We can smell you coming.

MATT: Tofor, who has, up to this point kept a very hard-lined and somewhat aggressive presence, can't help but laugh under their breath a bit before clearing their throat. Keyleth nods. "Many relics and powerful artifacts have been in the hands of those trying to quell these uprisings, these unforeseen dangers, some of which have been dealt with, many that are still being done with. But the hope is as we gather our forces, we also gather our resources, and we do have some. So as I continue to make my treks, as I continue to reach out and solidify the circle of friends that we can call to the front lines with us when the time comes, I'm sure many of them will bring a few gifts they can share."

TRAVIS: Imogen, can you put an image in someone's head? Could you show them what the five minds looked like?

LAURA: I could certainly try.

MARISHA: I can do a Minor Illusion.

LAURA: That might be better.

LIAM: Mm-hmm.

MARISHA: (conjures illusion)

MATT: You create the floating illusion of the five extremely deadly psychic entities that are the hive mind, themselves floating, their dangling, thin limbs no longer really needed for the sheer force of their mental fortitude and capabilities.

LAURA: Pretend you're seeing this just in your brain.

(sparse laughter)

TRAVIS: Don't act like you're not impressed.

LAURA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: The reason I bring it up is the artillery is great, the firepower has its place, but the psychic level--

LAURA: Oh yeah.

TRAVIS: If there's wards or protections or whatever it is you do, that's where you should beef up.

MARISHA: I make them do the Thriller dance there while I'm controlling it.

(laughter)

MATT: "Well, as we begin to plot this out, there are a number of pillars of the forces of Ruidus. This imperium has multiple different points of capability and strength." Looking about the rest of the room, "We've discussed the best way to handle this is a simultaneous assault. To tackle one gives the others time to prepare and respond. Plus, distraction, as we've seen, allows those of less noticeable presence to get to the more sensitive areas."

LAURA: Hey, it's a method we tried and tested and--

LIAM: Seen it work.

LAURA: (laughs)

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: We have a lake.

MATT: "Well, hopefully the next we speak, one, I'll have slept some more, and two, I'll have more exciting things to show you, some more exciting friends for you to meet, and a plan for us all to eventually bring this to an end."

LIAM: How much time do you think we have? How long are we going to be on standby while you figure out next moves?

MATT: "I wish I could tell you."

LIAM: Days?

MATT: "Week or more."

LIAM: Week or more?

LAURA: Before we go to Aeor, or a week or more to be in Aeor?

MATT: "Week or more until we begin to really understand how many forces we have at our disposal."

LAURA: All right.

MATT: "There are troops in transit. Some magically transported here quickly. There are some that, equipment and all, take skyships. There are some that prefer to take the ocean and may not even arrive here in time. Magic has its limits, but there are a number of heroes and soldiers and bounty hunters and powerful guardians of the temple. There are many proven heroes from all across Exandria, some that have stepped into the shadows having nothing to do with this, but many who have sworn themselves to this cause."

TRAVIS: This could be over in a week.

MATT: "It could be."

TRAVIS: We have to go to Aeor now.

MATT: It's about this time there's a bit of commotion outside and the tent door opens and the guard on the outside goes, "Members of the Accord, there is an arrival here, says they were sent by a Widogast."

MARISHA and ASHLEY: (gasp)

LAURA: (excited whispering)

MATT: The door opens and you see a figure step in, a human figure.

ASHLEY: Yes.

MATT: Looks like male human in his 40s, shaggy, blonde, gray hair, a chinstrap beard, deep-set green eyes, wearing bundled, slightly too big travel robes and a shoulder pack, who steps in, "I'm sorry to bother all of you. My name is Seth Domade. I am an Archivist of the Cobalt Soul. I was sent by a friend to help."

LAURA: That's just a disguise, it's a disguise.

MATT: "I stepped into something maybe a bit intense, I can wait outside."

ASHLEY: Wait, wait wait wait.

LAURA: Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. Come on, come in, come in, come in.

ASHLEY: Seth what?

MATT: "Seth Domade."

ASHLEY: Domade.

MARISHA: Is it--

LAURA: Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh.

TALIESIN: Mm-hmm.

MARISHA: Domade?

MATT: "Yes."

TRAVIS: Can I, just ever so-- No, it's fine.

MATT: (laughs) Okay.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

TRAVIS: I don't need to do that.

LAURA: You have knowledge of Aeor?

MATT: "Yes, it has been of particular interest to me and two other archivists over the past decade or so, since the ruins have been in conflict between the Dwendalian Empire and the Kryn Dynasty. A number of artifacts and various rumors have been swirling about. And for a brief time, it was available for research."

LAURA: Oh.

ASHLEY: Have you been there before?

MATT: "I have been. It has been a number of years since the Cerberus Assembly took complete control of the site, but I do know a bit."

LIAM: So they have control now?

MATT: "They do, and have had for a few years."

LAURA: Do you know of a way to get in to avoid them?

MATT: "I have not been there in some time, and I have not seen all of the ruins, only but a bit of it. But with enough care and foresight, I think we can probably get to some places safely. What are we doing? I don't know what exactly--"

LAURA: Oh.

MATT: Keyleth goes, "Thank you very much, Archivist Domade. Indeed, I appreciate you coming on such short notice. These are Bells Hells, they are powerful, strong-hearted, and to be deeply respected champions of the Exandrian Accord."

ASHLEY: Bingo.

MATT: (Seth) "Ah. Very well, pleasure to meet each and every one of you." She goes, "And they have just returned from Ruidus after a very successful infiltration and a series of espionage and sabotage missions upon the enemy and the Vanguard." (Seth) "Well, I'm very curious to hear what is on the moon. Wow. So what do you need from me?"

TRAVIS: Your knowledge.

LIAM: Yeah, we probably need to know how to get to this place and--

LAURA: What to expect when we're there.

LIAM: -- where to start looking.

TRAVIS: What to bring with us.

MARISHA: Also, there seems to be a lot of gadgets like this on the moon. I point to the thingy.

LAURA: If you know anything about Ludinus, obviously that'd be good to know.

MATT: "I know of him. He is the highest archmage of the Cerberus Assembly."

TRAVIS: Mm.

MATT: "As of late, well, the Assembly has abandoned the Empire, more or less. It seems that him and a number of members have, how do you say, withdrawn?"

TRAVIS: Do you know what they've done with the furniture at the-- A lot of it's mine.

LAURA: You did the furniture?

TRAVIS: Yeah. It's okay.

MATT: "I am not familiar with such furniture, my apologies."

TRAVIS: I'm sure that someone's making good use of it.

LAURA: Oh yeah.

MATT: "Of course." He pulls out a pair of glasses and puts them on.

ROBBIE and MATT: (laugh)

TALIESIN: I'm sorry, Chet. I'm sorry.

LAURA: This is what breaks Chet.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

ASHLEY: That were--

TRAVIS: I feel used.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: "(sighs) Well. If the Cerberus Assembly is challenging to trust, given that many of them are believed to be aligned with the Ruby Vanguard and Ludinus, or secretly aiding its business, that definitely challenges the options of who we can speak to that might know more about what they are doing there and where he might be within. That being said, I believe there is one member, at the very least, that might be available for interrogation--"

ROBBIE: Oh.

MATT: "-- if not taken for part of their word. If we are to find this individual, I will need your help in both encircling and holding this individual present and pliable." You see this weirdly awkward figure get a little dark in the moment, it catches you off guard. Adjust their glasses.

TRAVIS: Who would this-- First of all, how many members of the Cerberus Assembly are there, these archmages?

MATT: "There are eight of them."

TRAVIS: Eight, and who would this individual be?

MATT: "Best I tell you along the way."

MARISHA: Hmm.

LAURA: All right.

TRAVIS: Right.

MARISHA: Oh, before we forget, we brought souvenirs. I start rummaging through the bag, and I get out the big globe. The half globe--

LAURA: Oh yea, so we got this globe.

MARISHA: -- of the moon.

LAURA: They think Predathos looks--

LIAM: That's a diorama.

LAURA: All these crystals coming out, that's what they think Predathos--

MATT: "Oh."

TRAVIS: Is.

MARISHA: Yes, so you see how there's these columns and there's this blue core? That's Predathos.

MATT: "That's mildly terrifying, actually, that's--"

LAURA: The glass is what his body was.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

MATT: "That's very, that's big, that is-- That is big."

MARISHA: If you touch it--

MATT: "Very big."

MARISHA: -- it's tingly, the glass. It's tingly.

LAURA: Not that.

MARISHA: Not this.

LAURA: I mean, yeah.

MARISHA: I mean, I don't know. Ah. (laughs) He didn't flinched.

MATT: You can see Keyleth writing all this down feverishly, but then gets a little distracted at the globe. (Qi) "So you're saying Predathos is very large?"

LAURA: Very large.

MATT: "Fantastic. (sighs)" You can see right now, you see a little sweat on the brow.

TRAVIS: Or was. No way to know.

LIAM: They're talking about somehow Predathos going into a vessel.

TRAVIS: Right.

LAURA: Right.

LIAM: Your size or your size.

LAURA: Or multiple vessels.

TRAVIS: Hallowed Cage.

LAURA: We're not exactly sure.

LIAM: Right. Lot of language got thrown around. You still want to come with us?

ROBBIE: I'm thinking about it.

MARISHA: (laughs)

ROBBIE: Of course.

LAURA: (laughs)

MARISHA: Also, I got all these little, look at all these little, ooey-gooey, little fetuses in jars.

MATT: Everyone takes a step back from the central table. (laughs)

ASHLEY: Ooey-gooeys.

TALIESIN: I forgot about those.

LAURA: Yes.

MARISHA: They're totally fucking with some experimentation--

LAURA: Bioengineering.

MARISHA: Bioengineering.

MATT: (Keyleth) "How... delightful."

LAURA: Okay, that's a little inappropriate.

MARISHA: Look at them go! It spins!

LAURA: I'm going to use telekinetic Mage Hand--

TALIESIN: Don't bruise.

LAURA: -- and float them over to the table slowly.

MATT: You set it down and one of them twitches in the jar.

LAURA: Oh no.

TALIESIN: You've made it mad.

MARISHA: But definitely this seems like they're making super Reilorans.

MATT: "Terrifying. Okay, well, thank you. We'll get this to our present researchers and see how we can possibly extract information that can aid us ahead." As she takes her staff and pushes it a little further away on the table.

MATT: "(sighs) Very well. Domade, if you would allow them to gather their things, and I guess be their escort to the level in which you are comfortable."

LAURA: Where are we off to now?

MATT: (Seth) "Of course."

LAURA: Not Aeor right now, we're going to find this Assembly member?

MATT: "Yes, I believe I know where one might be. The less that we speak of it, the less chance there is of them somehow knowing. I know we sit in a comfortable space here, I am uncertain as to what ears may be about."

TALIESIN: Fair.

LAURA: Oh, all right.

MATT: Adjusts the glasses again.

TALIESIN: What?

TRAVIS: (laughs)

LIAM: Now, this is Larkin, right?

TRAVIS: (laughs)

LAURA: For sure this is Larkin.

LAURA: Okay.

MARISHA: 100%.

TRAVIS: Yes.

LIAM: Got it, got it.

TRAVIS: Nine years later.

LIAM: Catching on.

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: First to the table. (laughs)

TALIESIN: What's the mode of transport or are we talking about that somewhere else as well?

MATT: "Oh, I'm the mode of transport."

TALIESIN: Oh, we're doing it that way, are we?

TRAVIS: Oh, you got the magic jumps?

MATT: "Yes, I am an accomplished sorcerer, and have used my skills to be helpful to the Cobalt Soul in our research."

TRAVIS: Whoa, stop shouting.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: "What?"

MARISHA: It's a figure of speech.

TALIESIN: Never listen to anything--

MARISHA: Don't worry.

TALIESIN: -- he says, unless he's really angry.

LIAM: He's a very sassy old man.

MATT: "I think this will be a fun journey together."

LAURA: (laughs)

MARISHA: Oh! I look at Keyleth, Where's Imahara Joe? Did he come with you?

MATT: (Keyleth) "No, he's currently resting in Whitestone and is in the process to help us cobble together some of our various magical and alchemical materials to give us some edges in the battlefield."

MARISHA: He should know about FCG.

MATT: "Would you like me to tell him or would you like to tell him?"

TALIESIN: I'd prefer us, but I trust her.

MARISHA: It's up to you. If you prefer us.

MATT: "He'll likely be returning with me after I do my next pass of--"

TALIESIN: We'll see him soon.

LAURA: All right.

TALIESIN: It might be better. It was going to be a while, but we'll see him soon.

MATT: "I'll let you tell him, then."

LIAM: I know that we wanted to refresh our supplies and maybe get re-outfitted. Will there be time for that before we head to wherever it is we're going, or is it something we could do there?

MATT: "Well, good question. Archivist Domade, where are you intending to take them before heading towards Eiselcross?" (Seth) "Well, should my information be correct, we will be making a brief stop in Zadash, which is in the Dwendalian Empire, there should be a number of places to resupply.

LIAM: That's a pretty big city, if I remember, right?

MATT: "It is of sizable expansion, that is true. There are a number of districts there that could be of your disposal. So?"

TRAVIS: That'll be fine.

LIAM: That'll do.

TALIESIN: That'll do.

LAURA: Do we have enough cash to buy--

TALIESIN: We're going to need some money.

ASHLEY: What if--

LAURA: Potions, if we need to re-up.

MATT: Tofor goes--

TRAVIS: Daddy's got you.

MATT: "We can reach into the war chest. Do not worry."

TALIESIN: We'll take a war chest.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: "How much do you need?"

TALIESIN: How much you got?

MATT: "We have a lot, but we have many directions to put these resources."

TRAVIS: 10,000 gold pieces?

LIAM: Well, you're sending us to Aeor to trail the head of the dragon, so.

TALIESIN: 500 gold more than what you feel comfortable with would be great.

MATT: You see, Mythtaker, he goes, "Look, I do not mean to barge into here, but just give a number."

TRAVIS: 10,000 gold pieces.

MATT: "10,000 gold pieces?"

MARISHA: It's okay.

MATT: Looks to Tofor. "Done."

MARISHA: Do platinum.

MATT: Points to one of the nearby guards. "Fetch Bells Hells 10,000 gold pieces." They immediately shove off.

ASHLEY: Maybe we should ask for more.

LAURA: I know, god, we should have.

TALIESIN: I love it when you're a monster. That was great.

ROBBIE: So is the energy that we're going now?

LAURA: I guess, yeah, I guess--

ROBBIE: Oh, okay.

TALIESIN: Take a minute to gather our things.

ROBBIE: Dorian's going to scamper outside really quick, and unbeknownst, it's really fast, he's going to hit up these three little single-man tents where there's an armor and he's frantically grabbing shit.

TALIESIN: Oh, I'll help you, I'll help you with that.

ROBBIE: Okay, thank you. It's very clumsy.

TALIESIN: Well, I've got a giant hole, so I'm going to--

ROBBIE: You've got a hole?

LAURA: We have a big hole.

TALIESIN: I'm going to open up the magic hole.

ROBBIE: Say that again.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: It's like a--

(laughter)

TALIESIN: You heard me. I've got a magic hole.

LAURA: He's got a giant hole.

MATT: Ashton takes what looks like a rolled up rug, a dark rug, and rolls it out across the ground, and as soon as it rolls out flat, the ground becomes a 10-foot deep--

TALIESIN: Just toss it in.

MATT: 10-foot hole across in the ground.

LAURA: What is in that hole right now?

MARISHA: Have we cleaned it?

MATT: No.

TALIESIN: We cleaned it.

MATT: A terrible stench begins to emerge from the inside of this pit.

TALIESIN: There's a lot--

ROBBIE: I think-- These were special order, are you--

LAURA: No, don't put it in with the decomposing bodies.

TALIESIN: Fine, we'll clean it later.

TRAVIS: What, are you turned off by our deep, dark hole?

ROBBIE and ASHLEY: (laugh)

MARISHA: We should--

ROBBIE: It's not my favorite.

MARISHA: Can we at least get all the dead bodies out of it?

TALIESIN: I would love to do that if we have a second.

ROBBIE: You know what? I'll just hold it.

TALIESIN: We just keep moving around.

ROBBIE: I'll just hold it.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: If we had five seconds to clear the dead bodies out of this.

TRAVIS: This is a bag of holding.

TALIESIN: Actually, I would love-- It's far, far more--

TALIESIN: We've got a bunch of dead Ruidus--

TRAVIS: It actually has a nice lavender scent that comes out of there.

ROBBIE: So many sacks and holes.

TALIESIN: -- chunks of off-planet people in here, we should probably unload right now.

MARISHA: We do. Hey, Tofor.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, let's just pull--

MARISHA: Tofor, look! As we start throwing--

TALIESIN: Grab me some leather, some silks.

MARISHA: -- alien body parts out of the hole.

MATT: You see Tofor emerge--

TALIESIN: I'm going to write down merch we need.

MATT: -- from the tent.

TALIESIN: Just run around, force them to give you all that shit, it's cheap.

ROBBIE: Got it.

MATT: "What do you need from--"

ROBBIE: Scampering.

MATT: "Dear god, what is this?"

TALIESIN: Clothing shit.

LAURA: Remnants of our mission.

TRAVIS: You got magic to clean up and disinfect and--

LIAM: Little bit of wet work was done.

TRAVIS: -- wipe memory. Yeah.

MATT: Other guards start looking, getting close and looking--

TALIESIN: Oh god, do I need to pull up the list?

LAURA: I know it's not pleasant.

MATT: Tofor's like, "We will take this for research."

TALIESIN: Don't pretend you've never smelled anything like that before.

TRAVIS: We should actually keep one or two limbs. They've come in handy.

MARISHA: That is true.

TRAVIS: Right?

MARISHA: We will keep a limb or two.

TALIESIN: We got some juggernaut chunks.

TRAVIS: Can you Saran wrap some of these bitches to go?

TALIESIN: Do you want the head or the limb? We've got some juggernaut--

ROBBIE: I come back with your stuff: Got it! Throw it straight into the hole.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: Do I look like I care?

(laughter)

ROBBIE: Yeah, good point.

TALIESIN: Yeah, we've got a bunch of juggernaut pieces. I mean, yeah.

TRAVIS: You got to keep a calf.

LIAM: If you're going to keep a couple limbs though, don't leave them in the hole because that turns into soup. Put it into the bag of holding because that's like a video game inventory and everything gets sectioned off separately.

LAURA: No, it still decays.

TRAVIS: The bag of colding kept it fresh. The bag of holding still soups.

LAURA: Remember Dork?

TRAVIS: You're right. The hole is like--

LIAM: But it keeps items separate from each other.

TALIESIN: That's true.

LAURA: Oh, that's true. It doesn't make everything stinky.

TALIESIN: It didn't infect everything else.

LIAM: So, right. You're not--

TRAVIS: It comes out as a--

LIAM: -- going to get gangrene on a healing potion.

TALIESIN: This should mostly be for big things. Let's keep this down for a big things.

LAURA: Ew! Yeah, like body odor.

ROBBIE: While they're fighting, I'm fidgeting with a little piece of copper in my pocket.

LIAM: In the middle of a war room.

ROBBIE: I whisper to Keyleth: Are you sure they're ready for this?

(laughter)

MATT: She looks towards you.

TALIESIN: What do you want to keep? Some forearms, some fingers?

MATT: "From personal experience, weirdly, probably."

ROBBIE: All right.

TRAVIS: Give me a calf and a forearm and we'll call it even.

TALIESIN: I got them.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: Calf.

LAURA: I'm very excited about this.

MARISHA: I'm keeping Caviar on my belt. Was that what I named him?

LAURA: I think so, yeah.

TALIESIN: Yes.

MARISHA: I think so, and this behemoth finger.

MATT: He takes his glasses off to start cleaning them, and goes, "I will be entirely honest. This is a very interesting first impression. I will say I am excited to see how strange it gets."

TRAVIS: ♪ You ain't seen nothing yet ♪

MATT: Keyleth steps--

MARISHA and TRAVIS: ♪ B-b-baby ♪

(laughter)

ASHLEY: ♪ B-b-baby ♪

MATT: Keyleth approaches you, Fearne, puts her hand on your shoulder. "How are you doing, Fearne?"

ASHLEY: How am I doing? How are you doing?

MATT: "I'm doing as I've always been, perpetually going. How are you holding up?"

ASHLEY: I'm okay. I'm okay. I'll be okay.

MATT: "All right. You look exhausted."

LAURA: Oh.

ASHLEY: Yes, I am.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Let me spell it out!

ROBBIE: (sprinkling hints)

(laughter)

ROBBIE: Those aren't breadcrumbs, those are loafs.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Bitch, you are toe up!

ASHLEY: I am exhausted!

TRAVIS: Toe up!

ASHLEY: I am so tired.

MARISHA: Take it.

TRAVIS: Wash your hair.

MATT: "My spirit is exhausted. You look stretched across the ground, my dear."

ASHLEY: Yes.

MATT: "Do you need help?"

ASHLEY: I would take any help that you could give.

MATT: "All right." She reaches into her side satchel, it's stitched to the edge of her armor and pulls out what looks like a handful of dust. As she brings up to her hand, you can see it glimmer a bit. She begins to place her hand on your shoulder and close her eyes, and as she does, the wind begins to pick up around you, around your legs and around your waist. As it picks up, the dust from her hand begins to be swirled through the dust itself and create this weird, shining gossamer ribbon of a sparkly glitter-like material.

ASHLEY: (shudders)

MATT: As it travels up, that cold rush causes you to shiver a bit, and then your body is filled with warmth and you lose two points of exhaustion.

ASHLEY: Oh!

ROBBIE: Oh, yay!

LAURA and MARISHA: That's great.

MARISHA: So what does that put you down to?

ROBBIE: Does that put you back to stasis?

TALIESIN: No.

ASHLEY: It puts me down to one.

LAURA: And you're at one.

TALIESIN: I'm at one. We're both at disadvantage on ability checks.

LAURA: Great.

ROBBIE: Ability checks.

ASHLEY: Ugh.

ROBBIE: Wow.

TALIESIN: As opposed to one transformation away from death.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yes.

TALIESIN: We hit six and you just die.

LAURA: Wow.

TALIESIN: So I think, actually, yeah.

MATT: She shakes off her hand a bit and you see the few little remnants of sand that looks like whatever's left has lost its luster, falls free.

ASHLEY: Thank you.

MATT: "Of course. I only, (laughs) I only wish I more to offer at the moment, but where I'm off to I have to keep a few resources at my disposal as well. But you seem to be better than you were a moment ago."

ASHLEY: I'm much better. I'm much better.

MARISHA: Where are you off to?

MATT: "I'm off to traverse the length and breadth of Exandria. I have a few friends to stop at, some acquaintances to speak to, and some challenged adversaries to request their assistance."

TRAVIS: Oh, boy. Oh, boy.

MATT: "I'm but one of a number of diplomats on these missions, but I'm one of the fastest there is, and in some cases, (smirks) the most underestimated."

TRAVIS: Happy recruiting.

MATT: "Thank you."

MARISHA: It's nice to be underestimated. It means you can only impress people, for the most part.

MATT: "Indeed, and catch them off guard."

ASHLEY: If you need help from the champion of Asmodeus, I have his number, so I could pass that along if need be.

MATT: "What--" You see Tofor and Master Qi's heads turn over. You see Domade look over as well.

TRAVIS: New information, new, it's all new information.

ASHLEY: Yeah, all new information. All new information.

MATT: "Strange bedfellows and all that. (laughs)"

ASHLEY: You need all the help you can get, you know?

TRAVIS: No bad ideas.

ASHLEY: No bad ideas.

MATT: "No bad ideas."

TALIESIN: Not that strange.

ASHLEY: Just throwing it out there for--

MATT: "Of course. I'll--" She takes your hand a bit and she pats your hand. She looks at the symbol on your finger. "I'll let you, I'll let you know."

TRAVIS and LIAM: (laugh)

MATT: "Well."

TRAVIS: (sighs pleasantly)

MATT: She takes her staff and knocks it on the ground a bit and her mantle, the cloak spreads out behind her.

LAURA: Sick.

MATT: The colored leaves, the ombre fade of them--

TRAVIS: Whatever.

MATT: -- dragging behind.

ROBBIE: Not that cool.

TRAVIS: Basic.

MATT: She tightens one of the belts on her leather travel armor and gives a nod. "Good luck to you all, and wish me luck."

LAURA: Get some sleep.

MATT: "(laughs) Once this is over." Then she steps out of the tent into the light of day and treks off as the wind gently carries after her.

LIAM: I actually run off after her.

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: Keep pace for a minute.

MATT: "Orym. A sight for extremely sore eyes, you always are."

LIAM: You know, I know they're not as familiar with the depth of your character as I am, but--

MATT: "None of them."

LIAM: Chetney's a good man. Real old, but he's a good man. I can attest to every single one of their characters. They've proved it again and again. I mean, if Imogen or Fearne were going to go down a dark path, they would've done so by now. It's not going to happen.

LAURA: (evil laugh)

MATT: She stops and turns to you and says, "I know." She kneels down and looks you straight in the face. "And I know that if they did, you'd know what to do."

LIAM: But that's not going to happen.

MATT: "I trust."

LIAM: My family will help your family, and hopefully we'll see the sunrise again.

MATT: "Yeah. It seems we suddenly have an easier time communicating than we once did, so don't be afraid to reach out when you can."

LIAM: Will do. Anyway, I know you have a tree to catch, so I'll let you get to it.

MATT: "(laughs) Savior Blade."

LIAM: Tempest.

MATT: She continues her stride towards the nearest tree.

LIAM: (bounding back to group)

TRAVIS: Were those bounding leaps back to the-- (laughs) (intense boinging)

(laughter)

ROBBIE: Time for a vertical leap!

TALIESIN: ♪ Spider-Man, Spider-Man ♪

MATT: (laughs) With that, the currently present Accord members begin to scatter amongst their business. The Mythtaker takes up his book of notes, gives you all nod. "Very well. Good luck, adieu. I do not believe we have met. What is your name?

ROBBIE: Dorian Storm, humble bard.

MATT: "Ah. (good-natured laugh) They call me the Mythtaker."

ROBBIE: The Mithtaker?

MATT: "Mythtaker."

TRAVIS and MARISHA: (laugh)

ROBBIE: Myth--

MATT: "Qi Mandozi."

ROBBIE: I couldn't place the accent, I'm sorry.

MATT: "Magic practitioner extraordinaire."

ROBBIE: Pardon my friends.

TRAVIS: What's in a name, right, Dorian?

ROBBIE: The Mythtaker, lovely. It's powerful, yes.

TALIESIN: Taker of myths.

LIAM: From Spain.

MATT: "Just call me Qi."

ROBBIE: First name basis.

MATT: "Well, it's easier when you don't make fun of my first."

ROBBIE: I wasn't making fun. Aw. All right. Sorry.

TRAVIS: Damn Mythtaker.

MATT: "Forgiven."

(laughter)

ROBBIE: Really, that quickly?

MATT: "Yeah."

ROBBIE: I like him, I like him.

MATT: "I don't hold grudges, really. Not normally. (sternly) Normally."

TRAVIS: (laughs)

LAURA: Oh!

ROBBIE: Oh, he's being serious again?

TRAVIS: I like it. (laughs)

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: "Ah, you're so easy to get! You're so good to get."

(laughter)

ROBBIE: You and me are on the same plane.

MATT: "(laughs) I like this one."

MARISHA: (sighs pleasantly)

MATT: "Anyway. Stay alive."

(laughter)

MATT: Darts out of the tent.

ASHLEY: Bye, Mythtaker.

TALIESIN: Honestly, good advice at this point.

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Is Seth still in the tent?

MATT: Seth's gathering his sack and stuff that he set down, puts on his shoulder strap, rearranges his cloak a little bit, and turns to the rest of you, takes his glasses off and folds them, puts them in their pouch. (Seth) "All right, I guess let me know when you're ready to head off and we will make our first stop."

LAURA: We're ready.

TRAVIS: I'll go over. I'm Chetney.

MATT: "Chetney."

LAURA: Oh.

MATT: "Pleasure to meet you." Shakes your hand.

TRAVIS: I squeeze his hand a little.

(sniffing)

MARISHA: (snapping fingers) Come on.

TRAVIS: Did I smell anything weird?

MATT: Make a perception check.

TRAVIS: Dirty 20.

MATT: Dirty 20? It smells like sweat. It smells like leather and travel materials. You don't catch anything strange. There's no, nothing unexpected. This is a person who's been traveling for a bit and the common scents of a person who's probably a day and a half to two days since their last bath comes through.

TRAVIS: Well, lead the way!

MATT: "I will need you all to gather with me, please, quickly. Close enough." Reaches into a component pouch, pulls out a few things into the hand, flicks, looks at the rest of you. Begins to draw a sigil through the air, plucks up center part of the sigil and you see as they pull, some of the shape begins to form a loose, it looks like a map in the middle, a glyph that begins to show almost streets. As they pull it, they release it, it flicks into place, and then all of you feel yourself being pulled towards it. (whooshing) As you--

LAURA: Sick.

MATT: -- blink naturally, as your chest and sternum begin to pull a vacuum towards it, you blink and then you go back onto your back heels and you are now in the middle of a street. You are in a completely different location.

TALIESIN: Cool.

ASHLEY: That is so cool.

LAURA: All these amazing spells being shown recently.

ASHLEY: Chet, you can do that? Can't you do that?

TRAVIS: I mean, I did it in my 200s, but I try and mix it up a little bit.

ASHLEY: You got to learn that again.

LAURA: I still can't get over my mom doing the fucking Time Stop.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

ROBBIE: Time Stop?

MARISHA: It was really cool.

LAURA: Yeah! My mom did this spell right before we left the moon where everything froze.

ROBBIE: Did you freeze?

LAURA: No no, we were still moving. It was amazing.

TALIESIN: It was pretty impressive.

LIAM: And terrifying.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MARISHA: Her mom is really cool.

MATT: "You said your mother was able to stop time?"

LAURA: Yeah, it was really unique.

TALIESIN: I can slow it down a little bit, but only in a tiny bubble.

MATT: "Who is your mother?"

LAURA: Her name is Liliana Temult.

MATT: "I do not know your mother."

LAURA: No.

MATT: "She seems powerful."

LAURA: She is. She's working--

TALIESIN: Oh boy.

LAURA: -- directly underneath Ludinus, so he may have been teaching her some stuff.

MATT: "Right." You see quickly, in his eyes, putting the pieces together.

ASHLEY: What's your mother's name?

MARISHA: Do you know--

LAURA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Go ahead, Fearne.

LAURA: (laughs)

MARISHA: (laughs)

ROBBIE: They're just noises.

TRAVIS: Did you have--

ASHLEY: What's your mother's name?

MATT: "Thela Domade. She was a tavern wench in her younger years, but I'm the first in my family to go to formal schooling and excel."

TALIESIN: An extremely powerful tavern wench.

LAURA: Ah.

MATT: "She can stop time with enough ale."

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: "(laughs)"

MARISHA: You seem to have this little twitch in your eye when we talk about Ludinus. Did you have any run-ins with him? Any personal experiences?

MATT: "Not in person, but he has been broadcasting himself across Exandria for weeks now."

TRAVIS: Oh, right.

ASHLEY and LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: Are we on a side street right now, or are we in a public, Munich Square?

MATT: Now that this this conversation has stopped, I can set the scene.

(laughter)

MATT: As you take in the surroundings--

TRAVIS: What was your dad's name?

(laughter)

TALIESIN: Brothers, sisters, nieces?

MATT: "Well, as an adventurer, they all died when I was young."

TRAVIS: Oh!

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Sounds right.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: That tracks.

LIAM: One of us.

MATT: Here, you stand amongst the streets of the Innerstead Sprawl of Zadash. Amongst the various buildings here, the aged cobblestone and packed dirt that makes this center thoroughfare, one, you can see the beautiful architecture here of the mixture of Tudor and very Eastern European inspired building designs, usually between the one to three floor height, lines both sides of the street, though you can immediately pick up the smell of smoke. As you glance around--

MARISHA: (sneezes)

MATT: Bless you.

MARISHA: Sorry.

MATT: You can see there is some damage to the city. Some of the rooftops look burned or partially collapsed, and you can see bits of gray, black, and white smoke from somewhere else beyond the skyline that you can see in the immediate vicinity. Quickly looking around, you can see that there is a somewhat tense air to the people that live here. People are going about their business still, but there's not jovial walking and conversation, and with much reasoning. The sky itself still holds the ever-clustered ley lines from the solstice. The very city itself seems to have sustained some damage, though the source of which, you're uncertain of. Beyond that, you can see the Crownsguard presence here is quite dense as well, some that are keeping watch over the populace, some that are jogging from one location to another. It almost has the air of a place that was recently under siege. As you take in your bearings around here, Seth nods. "We should not dilly-dally. We do not want to draw the attention of the Crownsguard."

LIAM: Do you know what happened here? What this smoke is from?

MATT: "I do not. I have not been to Zadash in some time. But if I am to assume, like many places, something or someone was freed or had long been waiting for the right moment to strike."

LIAM: Oh.

MATT: "There's been a lot of opportunity for those who have been patient."

LIAM: Well, you know more than we do. Lead the way.

MATT: "Mm. This way."

LIAM: Pop, have you been here before?

TRAVIS: I have, lifetimes ago. It wasn't on fire, though.

MATT: Okay. As you all follow suit behind Seth, he begins to lead you through these tense walkways. You get past this large structure that you can see, probably one of the more bustling buildings here, referred to as the King's Hall in its main signage. You can see this large hall of justice, if you will, where there's large pillars on the front and a massive central doorway where you can see a statue of the Lawbearer that sits out front, itself recently constructed and raised in the front. It is polished, and isn't anywhere near as weathered as the surrounding structures. You can see, there is a large number of Crownsguard, as well as the Dwendalian military has some presence around here as well. There are some raised voices in conversation, but Seth tries to keep a wide berth around it as you follow in step behind him. You begin to push beyond King's Hall to the outer walls of the Tri-Spires district. Here, you can see the interior high walls of Zadash itself, a portcullis gate that is about five to six feet off the ground and where two Crownsguard currently sit on the exterior, and two more on the interior. Within, you can already tell, it is a more affluent region of the city. But as you all begin to arrive, Seth looks at the rest of you. "This will just make it easier," and waves a hand across. "(quiet figuring)" He goes, "Are any of you capable of an invisibility incantation?"

LAURA: Oh, yeah, I could go invisible.

MATT: "I would like very much not to waste my most powerful magics to ensure this, especially if we are to continue to transport."

LAURA: Sure.

TRAVIS: Yeah, three of us can blip out, if you want.

ROBBIE: Four.

MATT: "I can take the other four."

LAURA: Great.

MATT: "Very well. Let's do a little walk-around," and he leads you all along the right hand side of the wall. The guards notice you all with a curious expression, a look of acknowledging your presence, but without recognition, and that shifts into mistrust. As you all walk past, you can see one of the guards stays put. The other one begins to follow, and Seth goes, "All right, I think we are being followed. Follow me into this alley," and ducks into the alley. As you all enter, as soon as you all step into the shadows, he goes, "All right, now!" He goes ahead and releases his incantation, and I believe it would be himself, you, you, and you all vanish with his incantation. That's those four.

LAURA: So I'll cast it at a 3rd-level, so I can get me and Orym, I guess.

MATT: Okay. Both of you can turn invisible as well?

TRAVIS: I turn into a werewolf and rush the guard.

MATT: Great. Okay.

LAURA: No, you don't.

MATT: Roll initiative.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: I take all my clothes off and turn invisible.

MATT: Okay. (laughs)

TALIESIN: Turn invisible, then take all your clothes off.

TRAVIS: Oh, I always forget I don't have to do that!

(laughter)

ASHLEY: Chet, why are you taking off your clothes?

ROBBIE: You don't have to, but--

MARISHA: You know this. You're just an exhibitionist.

MATT: You immediately hear Seth's voice say, "All right. Stick against the walls. Hold your breath."

LAURA: Damn it.

ROBBIE: (deep inhale)

MATT: You all go to the sides of the alley here and you see the guard rush up to the edge. "(frustrated huffing)" I'd like to have everyone here make a group stealth check.

LAURA: (squeaking)

MATT: It isn't a very high DC.

LIAM: At advantage, because invisible, yeah?

MATT: Yes, this would be with advantage.

TALIESIN: I was going to say-- Oh, with advantage.

MATT: Yes.

MARISHA: All of us?

TALIESIN: No, it just means that Fearne and I don't have advantage, we're just rolling straight.

MATT: Correct.

TALIESIN: Although, is it okay if I cast Pass Without a Trace on us anyway?

LAURA: Oh!

MARISHA: We cool.

ROBBIE: No!

MARISHA: It cool, it cool.

MATT: You can, but it'll drop invisibility.

TALIESIN: Oh, on me?

MATT: Yeah.

MARISHA: Yeah, you know-- Yeah.

TALIESIN: Oh, okay. Never mind then.

MATT: Because it's considered casting a spell, and when you cast a spell, it breaks invisibility.

TRAVIS: What are you doing?

TALIESIN: Okay, I didn't know I was-- Okay, that's fair. All right.

MARISHA: I don't know why I'm like this.

ROBBIE: Is that with advantage?

LAURA: Did you--

MARISHA: Yes, there's two!

ROBBIE: I see them. I'm looking at them right now.

TRAVIS: Pretty close to it, though.

MATT: All righty, from this side.

MARISHA: There's two!

TRAVIS: 25.

MATT: 25.

MARISHA: 10.

MATT: All righty.

ROBBIE: 15.

MATT: All righty.

ASHLEY: Natural one.

ROBBIE: No!

TRAVIS: Fucking--

LAURA: Natural 20.

MATT: Ooh.

TRAVIS: There we go, negated.

ASHLEY: Okay, cancels it out.

LIAM: Dirty 20.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: 22.

TRAVIS: All right!

MATT: Okay! Wow, we got a spectrum there.

ROBBIE: Clompers.

TRAVIS: DM?

TALIESIN: We lost our advantage--

TRAVIS: When the guards come up and we're all invisible, remembering that we can't really see each other and we don't have to mind meld--

TALIESIN: You just have to roll--

LAURA: The one.

TRAVIS: Can I take out the Monocle of True Essence, in my invisible form, and pop it in, and I'll cast See Invisibility so I can see?

ROBBIE: Mm.

MATT: You can. In casting a spell, you will drop your own invisibility.

TRAVIS: Oh!

LAURA: Don't do it!

TRAVIS: Can I retcon it and do-- I'll do it later.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: Should've done it first.

MATT: That's all right. But the guard steps in and walks between you all, puts his hand against the wall to lean and look, and barely goes above where Orym's head is, and you all shift out of the way. Continues to walk, and treks down the alley.

ASHLEY: I let out a fart.

MATT: "(sniffs)"

ASHLEY: I rolled a one.

MATT: "(grunts disgustedly)"

ASHLEY: Add a little flavor.

ROBBIE: It's a flavor, all right.

MATT: Treks to the end of the alley, where it splits into two, looks both ways, looks confused. (sniffs) Smells the air a bit, and then he walks to the left.

TRAVIS: Smells like deer shit. (laughter)

(laughter)

MATT: Smells like a livery.

ROBBIE: Oh my god.

ASHLEY: It's not that bad, guys.

ROBBIE: Little pebbles.

MATT: As soon as he passes away, you hear Seth go, "All right, back to the gates," and you hear his footsteps, out into the street. You all, a few of you bump into each other, as you can't see each other trekking out. But you all fall out into the street, back to where the gate is, and you can see, there are the three guards still present, keeping watch. You all pass inward into, I will say, to get past three guards, I would like everyone to make one more group stealth check.

TRAVIS: Oh baby!

MATT: Still not a high DC.

ROBBIE: What?

LAURA: So this is advantage? At advantage?

MATT: This is with advantage. But there are dusty footfalls.

ROBBIE: Uh-oh!

MATT: And other things in the street that could possibly call their attention.

TRAVIS: That's cocked.

MATT: It's not a high DC.

MARISHA: So much better, oh my god.

MATT: It's a fun moment of tension.

LAURA: Yikes.

TRAVIS: Dirty-- Oh, I'm sorry, not dirty. 22.

MATT: 22.

MARISHA: 25.

MATT: All righty.

ROBBIE: 13.

MATT: 13.

ASHLEY: 18.

MATT: 18.

LAURA: Nine.

LIAM: Natural 20.

TALIESIN: 14.

MATT: All right, yeah.

LAURA: Okay, okay.

MATT: Without issue, you all individually tiptoe or jaunt quietly past the portcullis gate into the interior of this portion of the city. Here within the Tri-Spires, glancing around immediately, the guards not even noticing you, you begin to wind through the gilded structures and well-kept streetways, partway in, following--

LAURA: Are we holding onto each other's--

TRAVIS: It's an elephant man, we're all walking--

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: Yeah, and Seth's whispering, "This way," until eventually he leads you into another alley, calls you over. "We should drop this now, and just walk with confidence."

TRAVIS: I drop Invisibility and start--

MARISHA: Put your pants back on!

TRAVIS: Conor McGregor walk.

(laughter)

TALIESIN: 20% less confidence.

LIAM: Saggy old balls just flapping around.

TRAVIS: Two feet and a line in the sand.

(laughter)

TRAVIS: Brother!

MARISHA: Oh my god.

MATT: He drops the spell and goes, "Just in case anything else happens, I would hate for us to have to be more of a surprise. I think we'd be more comfortable, now that we're this interior point, to just--" He looks over at Ashton. "Well, we'll be fine."

TRAVIS: (laughs)

TRAVIS: We're a colorful group.

MATT: "Indeed."

MARISHA: Where exactly are we going?

MATT: "We are heading past the Gilded Willows and the Silken Terrace. It's a small business, where I believe this individual is hiding. Follow me," and leads you off out of the alleyway into the center of this beautiful neighborhood, the Gilded Willows, eventually pushing through a dense marketplace where you can see more affluent folk themselves are still walking through with fear, gathering their groceries or making their purchases, but there is a hush that falls over the air of this city space.

LAURA: As we walk, can I say in his head: are we in for a fight when we get there, or--

MATT: He's like--

LAURA: It's me.

MATT: "Sorry, that--"

LAURA: Sorry, I should've warned you.

MATT: "When I," he says this out loud, "When I say, 'Do not panic,' I need you to grab this individual, and try and hold them and keep them restrained."

LAURA: All right.

MATT: "Should we succeed, there will not be a fight, and I have a backup plan just in case."

MARISHA: And this is a powerful mage?

TRAVIS: Physical person, armed and dangerous? What--

MATT: "I truthfully don't know know what to expect. All I know is, a friend told me where we can find them."

TRAVIS: That's kind of par for the course for us. Mystery box is our specialty.

MARISHA: That's true.

TALIESIN: Try and make it so we can't talk.

MATT: "There it is," and you approach the outside of a modestly- sized shop, thatched roof, textured purple curtains in the windows flanking the entryway, where above, a sign hangs, displaying the name of establishment in beautiful cursive writing, Chastity's Nook.

LIAM: Oh my gosh.

LAURA: (gasps)

LAURA and MARISHA: Chastity's Nook!

TRAVIS: (laughs) I love your--

MARISHA: Wowzers.

TRAVIS: Sorry.

MATT: You can see Seth adjust the glasses. "(sighs) Well. Try to be respectful, do not gawk too much, and if possible, do not maintain too much conversation with the proprietor."

TALIESIN: Good luck with that.

ROBBIE: Gawk at what?

MATT: As you begin to step within the interior, the first thing that catches you, a barrage of scents. There are a number of, the smell of scented candles that have mixed, like a terrifying Sephora hammer has struck you in the face. There are oils and incense, and as you peruse the initially long entryway, you can see there are all manner of interesting knickknacks and keepsakes and very gaudy furniture and decorative objects that line the interior. There are tapestries that hang, and the further in you walk, the more nudity that seems to be present on them.

ROBBIE: Oh!

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: (like Robbie) "Oh!"

TALIESIN: Nice.

MATT: Not too many footsteps in, out of the corner, around the area where you were stepping in, you can see from a chair, starting forth, a woman in her 50s or so, mousy brownish hair that falls in heavy curls, big glasses on her face, steps up. "Ah, hello! Glad we have possible clients within. Pleasure, pleasure. My name is Iva. How can I be of service to you?"

LAURA: We're here for the porn.

LIAM: Love it.

TRAVIS: Paperback in particular, if you have it.

ROBBIE: That one has two.

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: I don't want no part in that.

MATT: "Di-- um--"

MARISHA: In fact, we're, was going to--

MATT: "The special books are this way, if that's what you're talking about."

LAURA: Oh.

MATT: (laughs)

MARISHA: Yes.

MATT: "Of course. We've been bought out of many of our specialties, times of tumultuous events. People seem to want a lot of escapism."

ASHLEY: Sure, sure.

MATT: "So, but we do have some classic standbys. We have here the few copies of 'Enchanting Tryst' at our disposal, should find 'Shallow Breaths.' Oh, there's 'The Emerald Kiss.'"

ASHLEY: Good one.

MATT: "'Spirited Succulents.' One of my personal favorites, came out about two years ago, I think you'd love it. 'The Dance of the Burning Call.' A beautiful piece. Less tawdry and more just a classic romance tale. Highly recommended as well. 'Guard of my Heart.'"

LAURA: I've heard of that one actually.

MATT: "'The Gale and the Raven,' that's a newer one. There's also 'Tusk Love.'"

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: "It's a classic of ours. I have one copy left." At this point, Seth steps forward taking his glasses off. "Do you, do you have other employees that work for you?" Iva goes, "Oh yes, actually, Erma should be in the back book room if you want to speak with her. She's just arranging the remaining stock. Erma!" You hear a voice back. (Erma) "Yes." (Iva) "Erma, we have some prospective clients here that are looking for some good old-fashioned smut, it seems."

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: "Could you please give them a hand? I think you can just go talk with her. (laughs) Need anything, let me know." She goes and sits back down and picks up a book that she was already partway in through and finds her place and begins reading. Stepping through a curtain to the back room.

LIAM: Ooh, beading.

MATT: (laughs)

MARISHA: (clattering)

(laughter)

MATT: There are a number of shelves here, have, you know, a number of empty spots. But there are books on display. There are other small, look almost like iron urns that have incense lit out of them that are giving the room this haze of smoke that sits around it. In the far corner on a stool, you see a female half-elf in probably what looks like her mid 20s or so, like curly, dirty blonde hair that just surrounds her head like a frame, like an archway almost. There's round, rosy cheeks, like a loose peasant blouse. She's also in the midst of reading a book and looks up, "Welcome, is there anything I can do for you?"

LAURA: I just look at Seth.

LIAM: Yeah.

MATT: Seth kind of looks off to the side and you can see where the curtain was, there is a door that's been pushed off to the side and latched. Unlatches it and slowly closes the door where the curtain is.

MARISHA: Who does that?

MATT: Seth.

TRAVIS: Seth does.

MATT: (Seth) "Yes, we would like to speak with you. Erma, was it?" She's sitting down with her book goes, (Erma) "Yes, and oh, how can I be of service to you?" Seth stands there, looks at the rest of you, (Seth) "Bren sends his regards."

(gasping)

MATT: You see that Erma figure looks forward, frozen in place, and there's this just tension, this standoff energy that fills the room. Seth then goes, "Please do not panic."

TRAVIS and LAURA: (whooshes)

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: What are you doing?

TRAVIS: Yeah, I swipe my hand along the chisel, and I reach out, and I'm going to use Blood Curse of Binding on her and try and bind her to the spot.

MATT: Okay, what's the DC on that?

TRAVIS: It is 16.

MATT: Constitution save?

TRAVIS: A strength saving throw.

MATT: Strength save.

LAURA: I'm going to immediately, if that doesn't work--

TALIESIN: Yeah, I've got another, I've got one, too.

MATT: It's a natural 14.

TRAVIS: She probably got it.

MATT: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: So as the Blood Curse tries to strike her, she immediately stands to her feet, and the magic is like (splashing sploot), and flickers off the front of her chest. This young girl is moving with--

LAURA: I'm just going to instantly say, "Freeze!" I'm going to cast Command.

MATT: Cast Command. What's the save on that?

LAURA: 19 wisdom.

MATT: 19 wisdom. Yeah, it's natural 13 and a high-- Save on that.

TRAVIS: Dude, oh no no no no.

TALIESIN: I am rushing.

MATT: Kind of shoots it off.

TALIESIN: I'm rushing with rage. Just in case I can get something great out of that. Oh my god, that's a d4. That got cocked. Yes, I can. So I've got a luck attached to it. I'm taking the hammer, and I'm pushing with the hilt against the wall, and then hitting the rod. Use the hammer to pin her flat to the wall.

MATT: Okay, so that, so we're going to consider that a grapple.

TALIESIN: Yep.

MATT: So I need you to make an athletics check on that.

TALIESIN: All right.

MATT: She's going to make acrobatics on her part.

TALIESIN: Athletics, but I also have, sorry, I'm just going to my thing. Would that be an attack roll, or--?

MATT: It's just roll an athletics check.

TALIESIN: I know, but it would, okay, it's just a roll. I can't add that d4. That's fine. 12, disadvantage, so I'd round that. 12. 23.

MATT: 23, you go ahead, and just pin her up against the wall, and click it in. As you do, she says, now she whispers under her breath and moves her hand and--

LAURA: Oh.

TALIESIN: I was hoping that, yeah, the arms, not the hands shit.

MATT: Is going to begin casting a spell.

MARISHA: Counterspell! That's what I wanted to hold.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: It's been waiting.

MATT: All right, I need you to make a d20 roll with your charisma modifier. It is a 7th-level spell.

TRAVIS: (inhales heavily)

ROBBIE: Burp!

LAURA: Woof.

MARISHA: Okay. If I cast it higher, it's still, I still have to make a roll for it, right? Do I need to add?

MATT: You still have to roll. Unless it's the same level of the spell being cast, you have to roll.

MARISHA: Okay. My charisma modifier, which is good. Come on, baby. No, it is-- okay. My brain for a second.

TRAVIS: Yep.

MARISHA: 21.

MATT: 21. That's enough to do it. As she begins to make her hand maneuver in a similar way as Seth did. The spell that brought you here to Zadash, you begin to see a familiar teleportation ritual begin a mark from her hand, like she's about to just get out of here. You (impactful whoosh) manage to throw your own magical weave into the center of her casting. The sigil that her hands made just gets tangled and (quick whoosh) dissipates. You see a bit of frustration. She's already beginning to put another spell in her breath.

MARISHA: I'm also--

ROBBIE: Bef--

TRAVIS: Yep.

MARISHA: Just real quick.

MATT: Yeah.

MARISHA: I'm going to tilt my head as my eyes go a little black. Unsettling Presence, she has disadvantage on whatever next thing.

MATT: That's great.

ASHLEY: Nice, nice.

LIAM: Are her hands are free to cast?

TRAVIS: Go deep, go!

LAURA: Go deep.

MATT: She hasn't had a chance to react yet.

LIAM: Okay.

ROBBIE: Yeah, I have nothing on me, but I just shuffle around in my pockets and pull out a handful of what looks like dust. Just go (puffs), and it's ruby dust. I am going to cast 7th-level evocation Forcecage.

ALL: Oh!

ASHLEY: Oh shit!

MARISHA: (claps)

TRAVIS: Oh shit!

(oohing)

LAURA: Bust it out, Dorian!

MARISHA: Oh, what is up, baby?!

TRAVIS: Put your clothes back on.

LIAM: Whoa!

TRAVIS: Goddamn!

MARISHA: What's up?

TALIESIN: Sweet fuck!

ROBBIE: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It is the first time--

TRAVIS: (laughs)

ROBBIE: -- I've ever done this.

MARISHA: What does she have to do?

ROBBIE: It is just a full panic. Yeah.

TRAVIS: Forcecage!

ROBBIE: Yeah, it's an attempt.

TALIESIN: Ooh.

MATT: She is going to attempt to Counterspell your Forcecage.

ASHLEY: (shouts) No!

MARISHA: (groans)

MATT: Wizard battle! (laughs)

ROBBIE: At 7th-level! Wizard fight, let's go!

MATT: Yeah, she's only uses a 5th-level slot. Not quite sure what you're doing. Just use the ruby dust to come out as you blow it. She's going to attempt to do that.

LIAM: Can I flash out Seedling and use Grasping Vine to, for a split second, glue her hand to the wall to stop the somatic?

MATT: Unfortunately, it happened so fast. The reaction of a Counterspell is (swishing), like it's that fast. But you can possibly do that to prevent some somatic components, if you manage to get both hands locked in, but no, good looking out. That's going to be, it's going to be an 18 total.

MARISHA: Fuck!

ROBBIE: Oh.

ASHLEY: Damn it!

ROBBIE: That worked.

MATT: Good looking out. Forcecage dissipates in that point. Just (extended action noises). Just all this small room fucking like this is-- Yeah, it's like magic--

ROBBIE: It's not working!

MATT: Like full-on wizard Wing Chun over here. Just like (thudding). All right, so finishing that maneuver.

MARISHA: Are you going to go now?

MATT: You wanted to--

TALIESIN: One of the kids, or do you want to--?

LIAM: If I can, yeah. I don't have Counterspell. But I can, for three seconds, glue her hand to the wall with Seedling's Grasping Vine.

MATT: Okay, and that's a dexterity saving throw.

LIAM: Yeah, yep, yep, yep, yep, yeah. Probably. That is a yes, dex save.

MARISHA: She has disadvantage. Go!

ROBBIE: Oh, what did you cast back, I'm sorry, when we were in our wizard fight?

MARISHA: Counterspell.

ROBBIE: Counterspell, okay.

MATT: Counterspell. Yeah. So with disadvantage, you said, right? No, that's going to bring it down to an eight.

LIAM: So I grab her hand and yank it to Ashton's hammer and just glue it there for a few seconds, I guess.

MATT: "(groans)"

TALIESIN: I'm going to try and grab the other hand while this is happening and just grab it.

MATT: Okay, well, well. So you've done one maneuver, we're going to go to you.

TALIESIN: Go ahead, yeah.

LAURA: Okay, I am going to cast Telekinesis and try to hold her body restrained.

MATT: Okay, all right.

ASHLEY: Nice.

MATT: So for that, it's going to be a contested strength check--

LAURA: Strength check.

MATT: -- against your spellcasting ability, right?

LAURA: Yes.

MATT: So roll and add your charisma.

LAURA: Okay. 18.

MATT: 10.

LAURA: Oh, okay, great.

MARISHA: Mm! (claps)

MATT: So one hand is wrapped in Seedling, the hammer is there. Then you (whooshing) begin to hold her in place.

LAURA: Great. Great.

TALIESIN: You good with this? You got it?

MARISHA: Are you getting her other hand?

LAURA: I mean, her body is frozen, right? She's restrained.

MATT: Well, restrained doesn't keep you from casting.

LAURA: Oh god, shitballs.

MATT: But it keeps her from moving.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: Her other physical ability checks made at disadvantage.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: She's going to attempt to start casting something else under her hands. At this point, Seth hasn't gone. Seth gives a deep sigh and brings hands forward, grabs a small bead of energy, pulls it across, and then releases with a hand grasp a blast of energy (booming) that merges. The first thing that happens is your hammer just falls to the ground.

TRAVIS: What?

MATT: Your Telekinesis fades.

LAURA: Oh.

TRAVIS: What?

MATT: All magical items in your presence all just (puffs) falls to the ground as an Antimagic Field fills the chamber. She's still grappled by your, falls to the ground and finishes an incantation just as the illusion casts off her body. You see as she puts her hand forward, the 20-something half-elf visage now fades into a human woman in her 40s with slicked back, dirty blonde hair.

TRAVIS: Fuck yeah.

MATT: A large scar that runs down the side of her face.

TRAVIS: Yeah!

MATT: And heavy burn marks across her neck.

TRAVIS: Yeah!

MATT: She's adorned in ornate, form-fitting clothing under a sleek, dark green cloak. Now, she "(grunts)" releases her hands. Nothing happens. The minute that happens, you rush and grab, and hold her in place, and muscle her. The minute that happens, you look back to Seth, who is no longer Seth.

MARISHA: (gasps)

MATT: Instead, you see a dark elf of shoulder--

(cheering)

TRAVIS: Shit! (laughs)

MATT: -- of shoulder length--

MARISHA: Oh my god.

MATT: -- somewhat wavy white hair.

TRAVIS: Ooh!

MATT: Purple eyes and stoic expression. You see he wears flowing black robes that fall from under an intricate silver shine mantle.

TRAVIS: Yes, yes!

LAURA: Yaas!

MATT: Where his feet touch the ground, you see him step up of it, now able to shed the--

DANI: (excited shout)

(laughter)

LIAM: Dani Carr is exploding.

MATT: Yeah.

(laughter)

MATT: To shed the illusion. "Bells Hells, I am Essek Thelyss. Ally to the Exandrian Concord and enemy to Ludinus Da'leth."

LAURA: And genuine hot boiiiiii!

MARISHA: Hot boi!

(laughter)

MATT: "This--"

ASHLEY: Yes.

MATT: "-- is Astrid Becke, Archmage of Civil Influence of the Dwendalian Empire."

TRAVIS: Oh.

MATT: "Successor to Trent Ikithon, and member of the Cerberus Assembly."

MARISHA: Oh my god.

TRAVIS: Oh!

MATT: Astrid spits on the ground. "(spits) I am no successor to him. I'm his usurper."

MARISHA: Oh!

MATT: To where Essek lifts his chin, "Well, regardless, I think it's time we have a conversation." And that's where we'll end tonight's episode.

(yelling)

LIAM: Woo!

TRAVIS: Oh yes!

ASHLEY: Fucking yes!

TRAVIS: Oh shit!

ROBBIE: Yeah, yeah!

TRAVIS: Shoulder-length hair.

ROBBIE: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

TRAVIS: Feed me, Seymour!

LAURA: Oh my, Essek!

ASHLEY: Sir!

TALIESIN: I don't want to wait.

MARISHA: Yaas, sir.

MATT: ♪ For our lives to be over ♪

LIAM: Is it just me, or is it really hot in the back room of Chastity's Nook?

MATT: It's always a little hot, but now it's steaming.

LAURA: This is not the porn I was expecting!

(laughter)

TRAVIS: So cool.

TALIESIN: Now kiss.

MARISHA: She's hiding in Chastity's Nook!

MATT: We'll pick up from there for whatever this interrogation may unfold next time.

ASHLEY: Oh, this going to be--

ROBBIE: Fun!

MATT: We'll see you guys in a week.

ROBBIE: Fun!

MATT: Yay. Thank you all.

TRAVIS: We got some help.

MATT: Yeah.

LAURA: Oh my god, there's so much to unpack here. Forcecage!

MARISHA: Forcecage.

TALIESIN: Forcecage.

ROBBIE: It didn't work! But it will some day, I promise.

LAURA: It will, and that's epic.

TRAVIS: Yes, yes, yes, yes.

MATT: It's good shit. All right.

TALIESIN: That's some good shit!

MATT: Thank you so much.

LIAM: Still hot, it was still hot.

LAURA: Oh, are we not? I'm sorry.

(yelling)

MATT: Thank you so much for joining us. We love you very much, and is it Thursday yet? Good night.