C2E20 Labenda Awaits

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Hi there, this is Matthew Mercer, resident game master here at Critical Role. Welcome you to this podcast version of the show. If you'd like to watch the stream as it airs, you can catch it Thursdays at 7 p.m. Pacific on twitch.tv/slash critical roll or youtube.com slash critical roll.

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Hello everyone and welcome to tonight's episode of Critical Roll, where a bunch of us dirty ass voice actors sit around and play Dungeons and Dragons. Yes we do. Uh before we get into it for tonight's uh game, we're gonna go ahead and go through some quick announcements, so be patient with this.

Uh first and foremost returning for tonight's our fantastic sponsor for campaign two thus far, our friends at D D Beyond. Yes, D and D Beyond, a consistent and amazing sponsor of our show. wants to wants to let you guys know that Morden Kynan's Tomb of Foes is out. It's out. Get yours right now on the DD Beyond website. And to celebrate, I called my old friend Rodie Slater. Ready? So good.

Hang 10 kahunas in Wahines! It's Rodie Slater! Duck Diving the Word from DD Beyond. Yank that leash and wrap up the Dawn Patrol, cause if a player in your campaign has a master level subscription... Any player that owns Mordankinen's Tomb of Foes can share content with everyone in your party. Frothy, right? Well, kick out your longboard because. You know what guys, I'm sorry, I can't. I can't do this. It's not it's not DMD Beyond their great sponsor. It's it's me. You know, like I just felt like

At this point in my career, I'd be doing serious shit like Ibsen or O'Neill. Yeah. Scale and twist. But I'm like. I'm doing this shitty Keanu Reeves voice and writing crappy sitcom catchphrases, no offense, Ashley and like you know, this stuff's gonna live on the internet forever. Yeah and My kids are gonna watch this and be like, Wow, your dad was a loser, you know? It's Yeah, that's what we think. I just feel like there's

I can do so much more. Oh, sorry, getting that phone call. This is embarrassing. Hello? Yeah? Uh-huh. Really? Yes, yes, I I accept. Okay, thank you. That was my ancient. Guys, I booked Two-spot local radio campaign for for Lord of the Wings, that new wing place in Chatsworth. Two radio spots. I'm a real actor again. I'm back. Alright, where was I? So whack You got that twin fin and pull a thruster on an epic left. Cause DD Beyond is righteous. Bonza!

What a crazy turn of events! That's that's why I'm so happy. I'm so proud of it. That's really great. You did it, Sam. Congrats, man. Congrats, buddy. Hashtag booked it. That was so authentic to the actor experience. Mad yeah. And really believable. And Lord of the Wings is not a bad restaurant. No, Lord of the Mayo Will. And it's a it's a regional spot. Yeah, yeah.

I might get some residuals. Yeah. On a on a side note, Matt, you look so quietly pained to hear Morden Kinen bathed in whatever that was. I wasn't pained, I was more contemplating the fact that those two facets have never combined until this point probably. Uh huh. Yeah. Probably haven't heard anyone talk about, you know I never know. I I kinda I kinda like the prospect of like a s like a super big sur surf tour of D D wizard names. Uh Lord of the Wings I I

I would go there. Oh yeah. Lord of the Wings. Oh my god. There you go. Shit. Let's do it.

Yeah. All right. Thank you, Sam. And thank you, D D Beyond, for being our amazing sponsors. Excellent. Congratulations on your booking. Okay, so um first up Vox Machina Origins, the hardcover, the collection, the actual physical tome of our first six-run comic series will be on sale next week on May 31st. Oh my gosh, Mora wants to hold it. Get your fingerprints off it. It smells good too. It smells like new comic. What it is a new comic exactly

It's got some crazy b back matter too. That's the whole thing. I see it. It's so pretty. It's got some fun stuff and it's got some extra specials in the back. Wait, can we show it or we can show it? I'm gonna flip it really fast. We got like a map of still bin. It's gone now. Wait, wait, wait. But there's more character traits and actions. You've got to do it.

Oh for the guests that it is magical items. Yeah. Um and we've got uh sketches and various art pieces that show the process of development. Oh that's a good thing. Um so anyway, uh that's available Uh next week, May 31st, for all info on the sale up to coming, check out Critrol.com. We have all it up there as of right now. So Critrol! Uh it came back. We couldn't we couldn't leave it alone. Crit roll.com Critrol. Stream of any eyes!

It's coming up not this weekend, but next weekend, Friday through Sunday, June first to the third, with our friends at DD Wizards of the Coast. They're gonna be running a long series of games as they unveil their next upcoming D storyline. And a bunch of us are gonna be there. Um you go to DND.wizards.com slash S O M E or some Stream of Many Eyes uh for all the info and tickets for the event.

Um but yeah, we'll be there. Look forward to seeing you guys on the internet or otherwise. Um reminder, if you uh for if you have an Amazon Prime account, you can combine it with your Twitch account and uh have Twitch Prime, which allows you to subscribe for free to one uh Twitch account per month. And if you haven't reacted, you should do so.

Um Toxamachina of course is every Tuesday night at seven PM Pacific where our fantastic Brian W. Foster hosts a little chat about whatever happens about tonight's episode from next week. The saddest one. That was yeah. Huh? Where did it go? What it's still set. This is the way I'm shaped. What's wrong with this? This is my body. Leave me alone. Oh man, that athlete she's so boxy. Boxy. There you go. And we have the the critical live dice.

Dice set is in the store as well as the box me box mocking eighty twenty set is back in stock for a limited time. It's on the list here. Sweet. If it's not, I'm sorry. I'll only read what's handed to me. It's like Ron Burgundy. Um And I will be at Akon in Texas, Dallas Fort Worth, June seventh to the tenth. Looking forward to seeing you guys there. Uh should probably be like the eighth to the tenth for me because we have Thursday night that night, but I'll see you there.

I believe those are all of our announcements for the evening. Your. Which means it's time you bring us back into Alexandria for tonight's episode of Critical Role. And welcome back. Uh I forgot one quick thing in the announcements. Uh so I'm gonna get you guys up to see with that. Uh we've partnered with our friends at Stack Up, which is a nonprofit uh organization dedicated to helping uh veterans and those in active duty.

Uh so Stack Up will be giving away specific critical role challenge coins, as well as special prints by our fantastic critter artist Amy King. Uh so if you want to uh be part of this fantastic endeavor and see how to acquire your special challenge coid and art print, also go to critwall.com for all the information you need. So make sure I got that in there for you guys too. And thank you guys for Stack Up for working with us on this.

Um all right, so on that note last we left off, the Mighty Nine, after spending quite some time in the central city of Zadash. Had found that war had made its way to the empire with the far eastern region of Jorhas and the Krim dynasty. Uh upon this conflict you decided that perhaps it would be best to leave the central urban environment. You uh decided to dodge a few opportunities brought to you, e especially that by the lawmaster of the city.

And instead went and uh made a conversation with your friend the gentleman, beneath the city in his uh underworks. There he offered two possible uh work opportunities, in which you accepted both. The first of one first of which is gonna send you towards the swamp town of Barrel Ben, to the north northeast. And then from there head far northeast to Shady Creek Run to converse with and retrieve

an ally of his he had not been able to do business with in a while. So you gathered your materials, got your wagon and horses, made your way northward on the Bromkiln byway, towards the Labenda Swamp. Along that path you manage to encounter what seemed to be a shack living hermited orc of some unknown background. Continuing northward, you slept in a cluster of trees where you were ambushed by a wandering troop of goblins and ogres.

uh upon uh escaping their clutches, defeating most of them only one, I believe, got free. Uh you gathered what information you could, and uh managing to keep out of the rain, you slept beneath

Your uh cart and awaited the next morning. So as we come back in, you all have had your long rest, so if you haven't marked that in your character sheet, please do so. No. Level twelve. Level six. No, that's not that didn't happen. So as you come to Uh the cold morning greets you, the low mists and fog seem to still uh clutch the outer edges of the forest trees beyond your peripheral. You can just see the dark shapes of the trunks against the kind of obscured grey.

uh the m the mist uh and m dew that has gathered on the grass and bits of vegetation near the base of the floor where you slept has turned to frost to the cold night. And uh most of you Manage to complete your rest uncomfortably, but awake to chattering teeth and the shaking of your body except for the run and just crunch all of the afternoon So, the morning is yours. What do you wish to do? Well you never fucking get cold or nothing? I don't think so now.

Let's get up on moving then I can. Yeah please. Maybe like whiskey or something? Not got any booze? Of course I do. Would you mind a swig? Sure. Here's my flask. Thanks. It's always full. Is it always full or is it always just like almost empty? You know, I can't see inside it, so I don't know. I'm sure there's some sort of experiment w we could do to it's all right. You can have as much as you want. It's uh it's endless.

I thought that's a good idea. You wanted to buy alcohol at all anymore? Uh no. Well, I mean I n I rarely did anyway. I stole it, but but now I don't have to do that either. That's wonderful. Yeah, I think it's about two-thirds full most. Most of the time. It's very obviously severe. It's really good. It just spreads through your chest.

How do you decide which alcohol is in it? I decided uh the first time and that's uh that's what it is always. What if you get sick of it and you can't empty it out? Why would you why would I get sick of it? It's wonderful. Well what if like you want to try a different thing like Like Schnersberg. Yeah. Yeah, does it only fill up with one kind of alcohol? Uh yes, it it r it replenishes with with my favorite kind of whiskey. Oh. Which is

The kind that gets you good and drunk. Oh good. I didn't know if it had a name or like uh I've tried that other kind before. Really it's it's not much. The kind that doesn't get you drunk is not very good. Good and drunk. Can you get it empty or close to empty if you try? Uh I could try. I am not suggesting you try. I think it's a good experiment. I think so. I do. Well.

They already started it. No, maybe we shouldn't do that right before we go to the swamp where we're going to fight people. Let's just see what happens. All right, I'll I'll drink a bunch. Okay. You are very drunk. Did it get lower? I grab it and shake it up with my thumb over the I mean it's it's a bigot. It's still filled with liquid. Oh wow. I mean you drank a lot and it's still it feels like half full.

Should you puke it up? I thought waste it. I mean but really waste it. Yeah, it's bottomless. We've already used it at this point, really. I I guess I could I sh should I throw up now? Maybe you should try. In the name of science. Stick something down my throat. No, just put put your finger down your throat. Open up. Pew. Open up.

Did it work? Eventually, yes. It's pointing up though, so it just projectile bouncing Betty vomits every In a very Rennin Stimpy fashion, Jester just begins jamming the stick in into the It to not sculp before the the the the brackish brown whiskey comes back up in a a mild spray against the nearby Now damp dirt and grass. Is it steaming in the early morning cold? It would be. This is a fucked up way to start a

No no not really. No, probably not. How is your esophagus after that? A little uh little little Sticky. Yeah. A little burning. How many fingers am I holding up? Hmm, I think four. How many members of the mighty nine are there? Nine. Which is okay. But two are always gone. I feel like when I when I see someone else throw up I feel like I'm almost like I do. Oh. Yeah. I just hope No. That's a violent reaction. Just to help her out.

Do you want me to stick something down your throat? No, n I mean, I don't know if that will help. I think it was just gross to see, you know. Still happening. Does was is it just seeing someone throw?

throwers are also hearing the sound that makes it worse. Like if I just went does that. Yeah, I think it's the sound too. It's like looking at our map, how much longer do I think we have to go to get to our destination? If you move quickly Uh you can probably get there r right around sunset. Is this quickly like not paying close attention quickly? It's not carefully and quietly quickly. Yeah, we're fine. We're not concerned at all about that uh What do you call it when you get ambushed?

Ambush last night. You're a strategy guy, right? Okay. It's early in the morning. I I I I'm I'm not awake yet. We beat them though. Yeah, and I've I've yeah. I've been traveling for for years, I've been ambushed Dozens of times. It's just just checking. Didn't know if anybody was alarmed. No, that was that was new and exciting. Especially if we're staying on the main path, you know. We'll see anything that's pops up or

Alright, fair enough. We want to rush, you want to rush? Why don't you take it slow and we we're going to get to the swamp at uh just as the sun is going down if we rush and that is full of nasty things, I'm sure. That's actually a very fair point. So if we go slower. Yeah. Carefully then. I d I don't mind I don't mind camping out.

One more time? One more time. You all are an enjoyable lot. It will be fun. That was very believable. I think he was being genuine. Thank you. I feel like that was the most emotion. Yeah, heartfelt. Yeah. Is Caleb blushing at all?

Субтитры сделал DimaTorzok Alright, saddle up them doggy. Wow. Does anybody else want to drive the car today or do you want me to keep driving it? Um I'll drive if you want to switch out and maybe maybe look around a bit. Yeah. Yeah alright. I got it. Wait it's gonna be so great when you're remote. Alright, so Molly up front, keeping the horse on task, you guys pick up the pace and get back out of the forest main cluster onto the Bromkiln byway and heading north northeast once more.

Now you're moving at this slightly. I decided to go small. A normal pace. I drive the car at a medium pace. But not willy-nilly, not galloping. Who what two are maintaining watch as you promote? I want to watch. I want to watch. Alright, so one of you is aiding the other who is helming the ride. I will be able to do that. I'll just put my hands on Molly's horns and I'm into this. There you go. I'll I'll take the back. Okay. Caleb, can I uh hold uh front can again? So my rolling.

Twice. Twice. Twice, yes. I like him. I also do have a large tapestry that's relatively clean if anyone's feeling cold. Wait, didn't we? No, that's not good. Could we make that t tapestry into into co coat? I mean you know is it's like five coats for you before Okay. So have that conversation For the first half of the day you continue

Along the path, uh it gets rough in places and at one point one of the wheels slams into a rock and you have to double check and make sure it didn't take any damage. It seems to be okay. We saw that I can try. Um but for the first half of the day, nothing catches your eye in particular. Uh the mist is burned off at this point, and what looks to be a bit of sunlight is breaking through the clouds. It seems the storm from the evening before has passed.

And there you can see now over the most mostly grey cloud cover there are breaks in it and from this distance you can see these visible beams of sunlight just slowly coasting across the grass fields as you see the heavy high grass kind of pushing and

pulling with each burst of breeze that makes its way across the valley. It's very beautiful here in the center of the Empire and it's a very relaxing ride, though you No, you're bookending your travel with tension to stress, so you're taking this moment in to kind of appreciate what it is the Empire protects and what the people within are fighting for in the coming conflict.

Um, second half of the day. Same people on watch? I'll take a watch. Yeah, I'll take a watch. I'll sit down. I've been standing for such a long time. It's true, yeah. Get those get those ankles to rest. Alright, so who's helming the roll? Uh I'll helm. Alright, so you're aiding both. Go ahead and pull the advantage.

Uh eighteen. Eighteen. Sorry, sorry, seven seventeen. Seventeen. Alright, uh continuing your pace. Uh Bose, you're watching out from what appears to be kind of a north northwestern direction, you see what looks to be a dark shape. come over one of the hilltops. Wide and encompassing. We see moving far? It seems to be. A uh a number of miles out of the way, almost on the horizon, you can see that there's a series of rolling hills in that direction that kind of obscure

Um what lies beyond that area and you watch as one of the hills just goes dark on top. Like the coloration just gets covered in shade. What does the weather look like? in the sky. There are clouds in the sky. I mean it's especially this time of year it's generally pretty cloudy here in the Empire. Um you've seen breaks in the clouds as you've traveled for most of the day and it's been warmer than usual, so it's been a a welcome change of pace for what you're used to.

Um, but this is not characteristic of cloud cover as most everything here has some level of shape. Still rolling glas grasslands or are there trees off to the side? There are bits of trees and and and clusters of them. Nothing that would be considered like a major forest, you know. What what you slept in the night before is probably then the largest cluster you've seen in your travel today so far, so this kinda catches you

So it looks like the landscape is going dark and not something moved in front of it? Correct. Best you can tell at this distance. Who's got good eyes and knows about clouds and shit? Caleb. Caleb knows about clouds. Yeah, I've spent a long time on the road too. Does that look natural to you? You both look out there and as you travel for the next ten minutes or so, and you can see what looks to be faint.

glimmers in that kind of moving shadow as a bit of sunlight travels over it. And it's at that moment you realize what this is. It's a legion. What was a dark shadow appears to be hundreds and hundreds of soldiers, an army regiment that is shifting from the northwestern side of the Empire to cross over the byway heading east. And as you continue your pace forward, you get to a point where you may intersect with their path if you continue, or you can slow down or speed up. It's your choice.

Yeah, there are a lot of uh soldiers ahead and I don't think we should have anything to do with them. Plus if we wait it'll take a really long time for them to cross the road. That's a very good point. I mean if we move though we have to move fast and maybe a little bit carefully. Go Alright, yeah, okay.

The horses begin to pick up pace. You all kind of grab the sides of the cart as it begins to whirr and kick its way across the street. The horses galloping, framing the two different sides of the cart as you pick up speed. Uh you come up over one of the hills and then down another embankment. As you curve around the side you can see there's a port a part where the grass has kind of overgrown a large majority.

of the road here, but you kind of coasted to the center. Uh go ahead go ahead and stand and ride it like a surfboard. Let's not be like seawolf? Yeah. Make a general animal animal handling check, if you don't mind Molly.

Are they coming from Uh seven? Okay. So uh as you hit that portion of the road, uh you're having a hard time steering the horses. You're not entirely Familiar enough to pull on the rein of of multiple in a single time to get the the shift in movement and they begin to careen a little bit off of the path, almost trying to hide into the grass embankment, which slows your movement down ever so slightly before one of the wheels suddenly It is now digging.

Into the ground. I'm c I can desperately try and rewrite this stuff I suppose is the Did it break the wheel? Did it break the wheel? Uh the the the cart is now kind of sitting at a backward angle and it's slowing down.

I'm gonna just I'm gonna pull hard on the rain and see if I can get get it out of the out of the and continue or stop? Oh are we stop no it's it's grinding to a halt. Okay, I'm stopping the whole the whole thing really quickly and we're gonna yeah. Let me uh I'm gonna hop off the horse and go look. Okay, you go and

Oh sorry. Go ahead. I'm gonna can I kinda go ahead a little bit and see if I find any hidden paths that might cut through this field off the main road. Scout ahead a little bit. Okay. So go make an investigation, Joe. Okay. Um you go and check and it looks like uh some sort of heavy rock that was hidden and obscured in the grass just off the road had slammed into both both wheels on the left side. The front one had bent.

Uh the wood had kind of splintered inward and the the metallic rim on the inside had bent inward. The other one had completely been pushed inward and knocked at the angle and it's it's pretty wrecked. Oh no. Is it fixable? Do any of you guys have tools to

Wagon tools? Uh I mean any what tool kits would you guys have at your display? Backup. Backup may have abilities that can help you in this scenario as well. So I have vehicles and water. Things that are helpful. Carpenter's tools. Possibly c uh That's kinda rough. Uh ball bearings. Yeah, like axe. I saw Carpenter Tools tools and I was like, Who needs that? Anybody? I've got a hammer. I've got some rope. I can kinda Yeah. I know. No, you guys

I have rope. I have lots of rope. I think we're gonna need to double up on these horses, you guys. Yeah, and get all of our stuff off of the cart. But I have our giant lead safe in here. Oh yeah. How heavy is it? It's pr I mean it's pretty heavy. As y as you guys are making having this conversation you can see now the uh

The regiment is now coming up over a nearer hill and it's about maybe a half a mile off from you now as it's marching. You'd hear the distant kind of rustling of hundreds and hundreds of footfalls making their way through the field. Uh it looks like they're gonna be probably passing in front of you.

Should we hide? Or ask for ask to see if we can get something fixed. There is uh no like natural paths here. It's an open field, so Uh there are areas where the grass isn't quite as dense and there are some spots where it looks like some of the dirt isn't uh as receptive to grass and so you can find patches of of dry ground. But there are no paths that you notice leading out of this space, unfortunately. I have mending!

I have a mending cantrip. You do. Uh uh what's the space on the name? You're welcome loud. I was sitting here saying we've already had a mending cantrip for some time. I have for two minutes been thinking, oh my I had the mending spell. You guys I can mend things! Thanks for the I just had to say it out loud. My my insight. Can you try it on the wheel? Yeah, I can try it.

Let's just do it. Alright. Let's see what happens. So as you focus on the front wheel, the one that had just like dented inward and the wood had kind of splintered a bit, that was kind of barely keeping it up. You watch as the wheel rights itself. The metal bends back into place. The wood splinters kick right in and the spokes are as if they're on. Yes, you are. That was incredible. Let me try it on this other wheel though. Wait, oh we have two broken wheels? Yeah. Yeah.

One one was partially damaged, the other one was pretty wrecked. The other wheel, unfortunately, has taken a fair amount of damage from the impact, and while the the that lower half of it has broken inward, it's splintered out and it's kind of bent its way off of the the axle. So the m uh unfortunately it's a bit too big for the mending cantrip to fix. Can I try to punch it into place? Or it's it's pretty wrecked. You do have three wheels. Which means you could try it. Uh you probably have about

Ten minutes before they cross over the byway. How tall is the grass around here? Boat regard, Caleb, Molly, and Jester. You guys notice Breaking away from the regiment above, you see a cluster of horses heading in your direction. We're kinda in the open. We could get the we could pull the cart off the road if Yasha just picked.

picks it up and like runs along with it. We could also kill those people and take their horses. No, I think the army would see it. I'll use disguise self and I'll turn myself into a crowds guard. Not you should hide. We should look like we're just, you know, like people that are like peasants or something. I agree. What's our story? What's our story? I'm I'm escorting you to the uh Labenda swamp, right, to retrieve stuff for uh

Uh the crown? No, cause our family we needed help'cause you know,'cause our family is in the swamp. We could say we're helping out uh what was her name? We're just we're just traveling hired hands. We're just traveling hired hands. We're just gonna go to the swamp and help and look for yard work. You should you should move the safe in the swamp. You should move the safe. I push the safe off the card. Yeah, Yasha and Jester.

Are there any uh are there any woods or any anywhere to hide? There's it's high grass. The the grass uh off the road where you guys are standing right now is for you almost shoulder high. Self check. Okay. I am just going to sit on the Wagon looking board. It's in the s it's in the bag. Twenty two. You you get ready. Am I still drunk? Do I need to

Uh no you've been traveling for half a day since you left, so you're pretty much sobered up. Maybe they can help us. So five horses have now galloped up and begin to slow to a trot as they come up Come up alongside, kind of loosely circling the the side of your cart in the direction of where the Legion is. And as they approach they're all dressed in righteous brand, full armor, helmets on, uh blades or uh bows slung across the shoulders.

one of them approaches to s Hail Hail Hail Good day. Uh apologies. We're gonna be crossing the road here shortly. Uh we may Require your patience and shifting. We have a broken wheel anyway, we're not moving at particularly s particular speed at the moment. Could you help us? Actually. Of course. Uh just out of curiosity, where are you headed? We are headed to this swamp place. We're headed north.

Mm the prevent the Lebenda. The Lebenda swamp. I wouldn't wish that upon my worst foe. Well good luck. Um I'm Captain Maximilian from Drovenload. Uh What does he look like? You see what looks to be uh like a well trimmed kind of uh bit of chin facial hair.

uh short that kind of comes up in uh from under the lip, no mustache, but you can't see if it continues to the rest of his his face. Where is that one again? Droven load. Droven load. Droven load. Load or load? Droven load. Okay cool. Um max load got it Where are you all headed? Just carve it in the back of your DM screen like a prisoner. At the end of the campaign you're gonna look at my side of the wormwood table.

It's just like all these like horrible marks carved into the wood. Captain, uh where where are you headed to unmass like this today? Uh well it seems that the uh Let me see what we can do. Thank you so much. He turns the horse around and begins to head on back.

Uh three follow him while two just kind of stay in the in the area. Not close to you, but just kind of holding down the fort, keeping an eye and keeping it on the road and looking behind. Either of them have uh saddlebags? They both do, yeah. Can I just do a little uh little mage handy just a little little fishing in in in the one that's closest?

to me. You very well may. Go ahead and make a slide of hand check. Do you want to any of us see this? This can't possibly end poorly. Fort uh twenty-four. Twenty-four. None of you see this. None of you. Nope. Especially not him or his horse. Um With a slightly. Yeah. I mean horses notice things. Yeah. Flip that horse the finger.

Um so you watch this outle bag kinda flips open gingerly and then reaches in and sh a small, most like a a pouch of some kind, relatively heavy, slips out and makes its way over to you sh into your grasp. Okay. Just hold on to it. Okay. Maybe can I peek inside? You do. Uh it is filled with what appears to be dry oats and corn. It's a good one. Can we ask you, are you uh familiar with uh Lebenda swamp? Uh so the so the captain's

written off. So one when one of the two other uh people that are there, you now look within the armor, uh one is male, one is female, and the female soldier turns to you. Uh you know, she has kind of a A tense stare and kind of a broad shouldered look as she turns her direction. I've never been, but I hear it's pretty shitty. Seems the same as what he just said. We're not quite sure what to expect. Any tales or stories you can share?

Um, from what I've heard at the very least, it's um not very comfortable, but people seem to like it and live there still. It's one of the older provinces in the empire that I know. Um Not for me. Would you rather be headed there or where you're heading? Hm. That's not really a question, unfortunately.

In times of war we go where we're needed. And where needed to the east. So that you don't have to go and wade into the battlefield yourselves. How long have you been a soldier? This will be my eighth circle. Have you seen the front line before? I've not. I'm both terrified and eager. You know, you daydream of glory, and then who knows once you get there, but I get the sense that you've seen your fair share of

Battle in your day is right? And looks right towards Yasha, this kind of hulking woman with a giant two-handed grapesword on her back. At this point another a series of clomping catches up too and you could see the captain's return with uh his two other soldiers and two men. uh who are in similar colors as the Righteous Brand Regiment, but not in armor.

Uh they carry large packs on their side and you can hear the jangling of metal implements inside. One of them has uh what looks to be some pieces of of of wood, some strips, uh and they get off the horse and disembark the captain goes. Right, there's the cart. Um, go ahead and do your business.

We're gonna do our best to get you back on the road, friends. Thank you very much. Thank you so much for your help, T. Of course, of course. Um the uh the two gentlemen go over and kinda start giving each other their commands. Alright, lift up there. One of them pulls it up, the other one's. Right then. They get they get down, pull the wheel off, and then begin to bend it back into place. Um there are one of them goes through a small pack of various pieces of of uh of wood.

uh some that appear to have been uh soaked and or somewhat you know pliable ends up m replacing the broken wood, nailing it in place. Um just to be safe they go ahead and take some rope and tie it over the wheel very taut to try and hold the bent wood. Um

This should get you at least to town. I can't guarantee it'll last you for a long journey, but uh recommended replacement once you get there. Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Of course. Come on. They get back on their horses and they ride back. At this point the regiment has now crossed over the road and you can now see just hundreds of soldiers going across the byway. Um at which point the captain gives a nod, you know, puts his helmet back on.

Well, I wish you all luck. Stay safe, and uh I hope that if Luck is kind to us, we'll cross paths again. Stay safe as well. Stay safe. Thank you. Stay safe. Bye. Everybody be safe. They turn around and they make their way back up to the rest of the army. And about another twenty twenty five minutes or so it takes for the group of soldiers to finally cross over the pass. It actually was faster than I expected. Yeah. It wasn't a huge

army per se. Uh not as big as the one you saw leading Zadash. In total it might have been maybe a thousand soldiers. Like the KISS army basically. The KISS army. Um So, now that the way is open, your cart seems to have been uh temporarily repaired.

You make your way back onto the road and continue heading north. Could I try mending again and just see if like what they did made it to where I can fix it now? Sure. I'll say for the purposes of this, um go ahead and make a wisdom check. Oh no, I'm wise! It was the most insane role I've ever seen. Um see No wait, that's a lie. That was a save. Twenty There you go.

Currently uh cracked and on the verge of collapsing if this fix wasn't uh centered around it. You managed to concentrate and with that each one of those with uh He watches the wood refixes itself and becomes a solid wheel. That is very handy gesture. Thank you, thank you. Good. It's fitting that the traveller helps fix a wheel. Right? It's very poetic. Yes.

I like it. Caleb, that's almost as powerful as the shit that you do. Let's not get crazy. What he can do is uh incredible. I it it he can he's really have you seen him in action? Have you seen my lollipop? She did just a carriage. Oh yes, she's super strong. Yeah. It's just her magic. There's no I mean there's no Don't make me inflict we. I mean that's the thing. There's nothing that's being said here that can't be said a full momentum. And with that, the cart lurches forward

You all kind of like have to catch up real fast to scamper back onto the cart as Molly's picked it up against once more. Um but you get yourself back on the road and heading northward.

Yeah. Keeping watch for the rest of the way, eventually the sun comes close to setting and you haven't quite gotten within uh visual range of the swamp. You're coming to a relatively hilly portion of the terrain. Um and ahead it looks like the most of the valley tends to cruise upward where the hills are now cresting and obscuring the horizon. Um but the sun is setting, so you may be looking somewhere to camp unless you want to push through the night.

I think we should camp because then we will hit this swamp at a more re advantageous moment, yeah. See if we can find a rise in one of these hills if we camp at the top. Hey Ford, you had any more weird dreams? Nope. No, very uh very peaceful actually. Are your dreams affected by like the weather? Like if you're out if it's cold Did you like you know, throw up like ice shards instead of salt water or something? Uh'cause that could be cool.

Yeah, I could see how that would appear that way. More that it hasn't happened that uh frequently. Okay. Yeah, but not not yet. If it does, I'll let you know. How frequent is it? It's only happened a couple of times, honestly. Couple of times you've spit out seawater? Well Yeah. Just just the once actually. We don't know if it's seawater water though, right? It could be like uh Saline solution. Saline solutions. Do you wear contacts?

Yeah, you're not supposed to drink that stuff. It's the rinsing and the hair gives you the shape. I don't abide by the rules. I walk I walk my own path. Like a twister, I was born to walk alone. Maybe Maybe that's your problem this whole time. Give me saline or give me death. Smash cut to board's grave. We gave him saline. This week's episode brought to you by Bauchhalong. Alright, so as you continue up towards

uh this particular hill crest. Um there is a small patch of high bushes and what looks to have been at one point an older campsite where you could see there's a clearing of the grass where it's just mostly rock and dirt with some bits of dried brush. Looks like there is a rock. formation with a bit of charcoal and uh blackened ground where a fireplace.

Previously been set. This will do just f just perfectly. Let's do this. Alright. So you guys bring the card on the side, set up your evening arrangement. Light a small fire there in that same rock circle. Uh who's taking first watch? Silver thread around the fire. I'll take first. I'll join. Alright. So one of you go ahead and make the watch roll with advantage, as the other is giving a. Uh natural twenty. Nice. Um

In the vicinity, as it gets as the the dark night takes over, uh there is no moonlight. It is very dark. But you do catch a flash in the distance. Is it getting closer or is it? You listen for a while and it is getting closer. Are we exposed? Like out? You guys are out in the opening. We're at the top of a rise so we can see really well. We're gonna get we're I'm gonna get rained on. Can we all huddle under the You're not awake. I mean I don't mind it's raining. Do we have anything

We don't have actual tents, do we? We don't have any proper tents. Not unless any of you have it within your uh your pack, but otherwise all you have is the cart. This is why we should have taken that circus tent. I have an idea. Let's carve the bellies out of the horses and we climb inside. So that we don't get wet. Yeah. Are there any caves nearby? I mean we're kind of by a thing. We're all steeled. You're you're in the middle of a field right now.

Um but right now all you see is darkness beyond your immediate dark vision peripheral. How many of us can fit under that card, I wonder? And even then the ground's gonna get get disgusting. The occasional flash of light you see in the distance begins to frame what looks to be an ominous shape far to the north. What looks to be the beginnings of a mountain range that you haven't been able to see. previously. Or hadn't paid attention with the darkening sky.

Did you guys wake us up'cause of the storm, I'm assuming? I think the storm's gonna wake you up soon enough. Yeah. And it does. You all eventually those of you who are taking the first part of your evening's rest come too as the storm begins to come over. The weather gets colder and you feel the rain probably imminent within the next hour. Where's the man? Yeah, we're I was curious of that too. What's he looking for? The map. Oh, it's right there. Get out the map!

How close are we to the Shorhassian border? Yeah. We're pretty far away. We're in the middle of if we're going here and they were. No, these are lightning. Lightning bolts in the distance. Oh there's Droven load. There's max load. Silva Silver Cal Ridge, perhaps. Huppaduke is beyond the mountain mountain range. Wait, does that mean that guy was named after a whole city? Does that mean he owns a city?

Oh I thought that was Captain Maximilian. But I mean if he's taken like the Leonardo da Vinci approach, then it could be accurate. Maxiflaud. I think we just need to hunker down. I'll take the next watch because I don't mind the rain. The rain begins to kick. As the fire begins to go out, I'm getting underneath the cart. I'm gonna get on the cart and try and put my cloak over me.

Okay. The cloak you do have is is treated with supple wax to try and resist most water. You'll still probably be a bit soggy in the morning, but it's doable. I'm staying up. I like the rain. Okay. I I look at Molly underneath me on the cart and I like fart a little bit. Just a little. I'm down here too. That's a little one. Not a little one. Don't gamble on those. Alcohol and beef churches. Sorry. Alright. The first watch goes beyond the rain without incident. Who's taking the second watch?

It was this this big group of us. Is there enough people left over to do the last watch on the night if it's all over? I'll take last. Yeah. So it's nothing of us? Right, right. Which watches Molly and I. Next one is Caleb and Jester. Oh Caleb and Jester, next one? Yeah. Okay, I didn't hear the problem. Alright, so Caleb and Jester, it's on your watch then. Uh your eyesight is better than mine. So go ahead and make your uh

Your check? Just regular plain old check? At this point it's midnight, so yeah, it'd be bitch black. That's not bad. It's terrible. Nineteen. Okay. Uh as you keep a watch throughout the area, now without the warm glow of the fire, to give you a good visual perspective, all you can go by are the distant flashes and sometimes close. Flashes of lightning. A loud one hits, probably striking a tree no more than two or three miles from where you are. Yeah.

All of you kind of get jostled awake for a moment before having to get yourself back to sleep. Big one, did you see that? That's a big one, yeah. Uh if I could have everybody leave the table except for Yasha, please. What? Yasha. Oh shit. The storm, the storm. Yasha.

As much as everyone else is attempting and jostling around to get rest through the night's weather. There's something comforting about the sound of rolling thunder to you. Always kinda has been, but more so in recent years. And as unconsciousness comes to you, what usually means dreamless sleep. Welcome to be dreamless. Because not all dreams are good for you. Not all memories are good for you. But as the dark takes you.

There's a flash of light, the sound of thunder, and there's a vision, a memory. People all around you, but faced away. People you know, people you grew up with, but all looking the opposite direction. Fades to dark. There's another flash, and you've pushed through them, and you see an elevated piece of ground, the central rock, in the shape of a figure. Though you can't see it. It's obscured by the low light. You do know. who that shape is. Ghosts and dark. And it stays dark for a while.

to the point where you are longing for that next vision, clamoring for it. And you feel this like searing pain burning up each of your arms. You look down but can see nothing except for flames curling up the side. Dull bluish purple flames that create the outline of your forearms. It burns up to the tips of your fingers. Flash once more. And around you are just bodies.

Creatures. People. Children Monsters Dozens and dozens of corpses carved and torn asunder and where you saw the blue flame up your arm you just see blood dripping fresh crimson Under the ground, the only sound you hear. The vision fades to darkness once more. Another blast. And there you see it. The ruined statue. The one beacon of nameless hope that pulled you out of that darkness.

missing part of its torso, the head mostly cleaved. A kilter, the land seemingly ejecting the presence of what this statue represents. Your eyes look down and focus at the base. And as the vision begins to fade to black once more, your eyes focus on that single disk, the four bolts of lightning. Darkness takes you once more. The next flash. hits. And you're just walking. Your lips are parched. Your muscles ache. You look over your shoulder.

And you see before you the memory of the land you grew up. The wastes beyond the central swamp of Shorehouse. But it is crawling with thousands and thousands of worms. At this perspective it looks like it's so small. But for these worms to be where they are, they would be so immense at this distance. The perspective is almost dizzying, and you look away and you glance up back at that mountain. And in spite of that pain, you continue to push. The vision fades. And this time the darkness lingers.

The confusion wells in A desperation for something. It's not fair. It's not fair to be given just a few glimpses and no opportunity, no chance. How do you make this right? What do you make right? What did you do? What is there? One final loud shattering shaking flash of light and rolling thunder brings to you one singular vision. of a figure.

In the dark center of a storm cloud swirling. The wind buffets your shoulders with freezing air. You feel your hair being whipped and thrown around your face, stinging as it slaps against your cheeks and eyes. The same figure, that statue that had pulled you from the darkness once before, stands made of the same roaring and roiling clouds and rain and wind. Stepping out of the sky towards you. You can see the muscle-bound form, the gray flesh, formless yet solid.

As it steps down like a titan from the sky, the foot lands, but a quarter mile from where you stand, but the impact causes the ground beneath you to quake. And you strangely feel comfort. You can't look away from this figure. As the hand comes down. And gently rests in the ground before you before it turns upward to a palm. And a sourceless voice comes into your head. A voice you've never heard.

For all that you've chased this mystery, what this beacon is, this is the first time you've heard a voice through this imagery. And all it says is. You walk the right path. Be strong. Don't forget who you were. and decide who you will become. The vision fades back into darkness.

Another blast of thunder, and this time you wake up suddenly. The rain's still pouring outside. You're amongst the grass. Can we get everybody else back in, please? Okay, okay. Holy moly. Wake up, you're shivering a bit from the cold of the night air. The ground has dampened even though beneath the car, you were sleeping beneath the car, right?

I'm here. Okay, good. Oh, that would be one dog. Yeah, it would be. Yeah. Wait, where what do you mean Ashley left? Never got to say goodbye. She's just gone. She's just gone. Goodbye. So was she a Jorhasin spy and are we all dead in our sleep? World perception chapter. Is it water or blood that we're covered in?

So, as you come to consciousness through this evening's rest for your final watch as you gather after that your sleep is probably not gonna find its way to you again for the rest of the evening. Uh who was taking the final life with you? Oh man, Jester and I talked about everything. Like everything about childhood, uh favorite kind of ice cream. And we know everything about each other now. Pistachio, Rocky Road. I'm going to uh

Going to mull it over in my sleep good night. Third watch I mean Yasha and Nod or Yasha and Bo. I'll take I'll take it. Alright. So one of you t one of you two go ahead and make the uh the watch perception roll. You can do it. Just make a single roll. That's fine. Okay. Uh eight. Okay. So, as you guys all rest for the final length of the evening. Yashan, uh you said chatting as much as you like or staying as quiet as you like.

The rain still pouring through in sheets heavily. Hey holding up. Can I go under you? Can you be like a shelter for me? Like a lean to? Uh sh sure I if you want to Get under my wing wood here. Oh well that doesn't come out all the time, you know. But your arm is probably big enough to shield me from the rain. Thank you. Are you are you dry? Thank you, yes. I don't like to get wet. I feel like I don't know if I want to keep doing this.

Well could you just give me a moment? Give you a moment? I'm just gonna go to the The tree over there that take a piss. Yes. Alright. I won't I won't look. Okay. I'll go near where the tree was. Struck. Okay. Close to us. Right. Uh it's it's about a quarter mile walk from where you are. Oh. Uh but you can head there if you want. Yeah. It's not that long of a walk. Quarter mile. Yeah. Yeah.

Um so a little jaunt down there, soaking wet as the rain still pours down, you approach and you come to what is the half splintered form of one of the larger trees in this section.

There are a few dotted singular trees or clusters around but there this was once a tall and proud tree. As you approach you can see near the top it's been carved right down the center, and part of it's just splintered and exploded. There are chunks of wood around the vicinity, and you can see even amongst the rain on the interior of the exposed trunk there are still

Just faintly orange glowing embers from where the bolt had struck through the night. And a baseball bat. A baseball bat. Swung away, gotcha. Um lemonade. I heard you. And I wanted to thank you. For saving me? And I I I promise you I will. I will be the best servant you ever had. Thank you. I'm gonna take a a piece of the the bark and I'd like to carve the symbol into the tree, the stormlord symbol. Okay.

Not very good, but just to have it there. The bark is a harder utensil to utilize to carve and sorry. I take a piece of the bark to have. Okay, gotcha. And I use my sword. Okay. Yeah. So you can take it and carve on the edge there using the tip. Um it takes you a few minutes to do so. Uh but you manage to complete the the shell of this the the symbols outline and then make your trek back to join up with not. Yeah.

I get a piece of the spark from that powerful lightning that struck it. You we you you got You got bark from a lightning struck tree? Yeah. I just wanted to put it in my my things, you know. I I I like to have things from from nature. Do you collect things? I collect things. Yeah, I do. What kind of collections do you have? Well, I pull out my book. Uh I mostly just put um Flowers and and things in here'cause I'm

I'm collecting them for someone and I want to keep them all in here from my travels. Oh it's beautiful. Is it a special someone? Yes. Someone back home? That's so nice. But uh Well what are the things you collect? I collect all sorts of things. Uh I have a button collection. I used to collect uh stamps. I uh I used to collect uh uh different kinds of uh like vials of different sort of fluids and things like that. I collect um I collect uh soles of shoes, not shoes. Just the souls.

Oh, just like the bottom bits. Yeah, I think I mean so there's many different shapes and sizes. Of course. Yeah. Yeah. And the the cobblers just throw them away when they're they're bad eye you can fish'em out of the trash and you can have a whole bunch of'em. What do you use them for? Just nothing I mean you can like play little drum things with them. And should you need to resole your shoes? Sure, if you string them together they make sort of like a

Like a like a Roman gladiator belt sort of a thing. Have you ever put them one on top of the other and make like a platinum? platform shoe. Ooh. I could be a little bit taller. And I think if you put two on top of each other and sort of push them in, it looks like lips are talking. Cool. Well Um I feel like we've kno we we've gotten to know each other so well.

Well do you want to get back under here? Yes, under your gigantic arm, thank you. So as not cuddles up alongside Yasha's comparably hulking form to keep out of the water. Um you finish your final watches, you both watch the the sun begin to rise over the horizon or at least you can't see the sun, but you can see the the day grows lighter as it makes its way over the cloud cover. Um

The rain is not quite as strong and the lightning seems to have subsided, but it is still a light drizzle when it comes to the proper morning. As the rest of you come to consciousness, completing your long rest. Uh the day is yours, damp as it may be, as the low

fog and mist still now encompasses most of the valley around you. And it's kind of a a beautiful sight as you glance around first thing in the morning. Uh you can see only the tops of the hills kind of slowly breaking through the layer of

cold mist that kind of hits the lower valleys between that shifting topography. As you look off you can now have a much better view of the Silver Curl Ridge above this large mountain range that marks essentially the uh the For lack of better term, the geological center of the empire. Uh and as you glance down you can barely make out what probably might be The swamp. Uh what's the temperature like right now? Uh it's pretty cold. I'd say it's probably in the uh

High forties. We have to be miserable right now because we are soaking wet and it is cold. This is not my first time. It's not freezing point yet, but it's definitely cold and wet. Yeah no, this is I miss having like a proper tent and like the the wagons were nice. I miss that. Something at least. How'd the rest of the night go? Any lightning strikes or anything crazy? There was a big one close by. There was? That happened right before I went to sleep. Did you see it?

You s you see where Jister pointed or Molly pointed. Molly pointed over there, you look and see w this large tree is just destroyed and splintered, kind of this That's so rare. It just tipped it right over. That's a ma I mean, right? Lightning struck. Every time it rains I'm gonna I'm gonna run over and look at the tree. Okay. It's impressive. Yeah. Can I just like take some little like twigs and pieces of wood and kind of put it in my little component pound shape?

That's what I've heard. I mean tree struck by lightning, very good luck. Really? Yeah, it's good luck. I've only seen it hit in the water and it's a little bit more. I heard it was bad luck. That's what I was told. It's bad luck for normal people. Fuck well what kind of people everybody else. So I should go Absolutely. I'm gonna go get some of it too. Yeah.

Let's just take the whole fucking tree. Dig it out. Attach it to the back of the horse. Go! Destroy the card. Yeah. Fuck. You know what? Take a look at it. I am I am working on a thing. I have not got it figured out yet. Yet, but I think that I could make some sort of shelter for us so that this doesn't have to happen again. I haven't worked out all the what? A magical shelter? Or just out of waxed

Cloth there. Yeah, how do you mean? No, magic of course. But I d I don't have the I'm I've been working on it but I haven't really struck to the the part of it. You need more incense? Well I I always need those things, but I ha I I I need more time and more research. Well if you if you come up with an ingredient list we'll be happy to drum stuff up, so

Thank you, Molly. Well, you're talking about making shelter. That sounds great. Yeah, that would've been great. What kind of a shelter? This sucks. Yeah, it does. Yes, it does. Yeah. Like uh just like a like a dome, like a bubble dome? Can we like how do you What do you mean? I have high hopes of I mean this is a long ways off, but I I would love a a a large home or a mansion of some kind that you can just

On a whim. That's impossible. You can't make something like that. Caleb can do it if he sets his mind to it. Well then that wouldn't that sound like that wouldn't be something that's real. Yeah, I've never heard anything like that. Me neither. It doesn't have to be convenient.

All of us seen magic in our lives. I like this plan. I'm into it. Nothing is a little bit more. Well I mean I see from her, you know, she fixed a wheel. You fixed a wheel? That is correct. So naturally she could make a house next to it. Maybe I could do it. Yeah, maybe you've you you have faith, so you should have faith.

I have lots of faith. Boy, I tell ya. If you can, Kev, that would be quite remarkable. Is it considered faith if you just like really like somebody? No. No. Oh. Well listen, nothing gets the the blood warmed like movement so perhaps we should pick up and get going. I'm I'm gonna just before we take off take a look at that at that tree that got hit his and and just I wanna examine how it was struck by lightning. Okay, make investigation tree. Bo does push ups while waiting for Molly?

Yeah. I should this this be more of a nature check. Alright, nature. Yeah. Uh three. It's struck by lightning man. Pretty impressive. Is it is it is it kind of is there like is like is it practically like a little bowl now? Is there like it did it split and it's split and then a lot of the tree's still standing, but it's kind of like broken open from the center and one half of it's just

Broken away and sp sh shot off into multiple pieces. Okay, cool. Also Caleb has watched Beauregard just go to town on like a hundred push ups or something and I go maybe forty feet. feet away and I try as well and I do I do one push up. Yes. Well done. And then I go study Sif Duthar's spell tones some more instead of going to two.

Fair enough. Are we waiting here for a while? I'm on the back of your car. Oh we're on a moving cart. I went to ride on the horse today. Just a jumps onto one of the horses' backs, as you guys begin to pick up speed and head down

You're now like at the at the very, very top of this major series of of of of hill clusters essentially and making your way down towards uh the base of the Silver Crell Ridge. As as we travel, I'm gonna try to make acid. Probably not a great idea, but I'm gonna I can make it. All right. All right. Yeah. So I would like you to to to go ahead and make uh megalon. Fine. Alchemical supplies plus

Uh this will have to be dexterity at disadvantage because you're in the back of a moving cart. Wooden wheel cart. Okay, so sixteen. All right. Plus proficiency is nine nineteen. Correct. But now I roll at disadvantage. Mm-hmm. Roll twenty. Nine, that's a 12.

It's a twelve. You managed to succeed. In spite of the woo at one point it gets a little dodgy and you'll almost drop it and you're like woo catch it before it like begins to spill the nearly completed acidic formula all over the center of the wooden cart, eating through it. Yeah. One vial of acid, great. Um

So, as you guys approach the mountain range here, you can see the clouds now that have pressed down obscure the peaks at the top of the range. Now you can just see kind of the darkened mountainous form vanishing up into the top. uh grey, whereas in the distance sheets of rain that are still coming down, much heavier to the north, kind of obscure your ability to see further beyond the northward valley to either side of the range. Um

You also see at the southern base of the mountains, which is the direction you're heading, uh, you get the sense that the watershed the most of the mountain range seems to almost lean to a southward direction. So the w the watershed of all the rain Pours and slides down the mountain into this one central southern area, and there you see the darkened, tangled, thick swamp of Labenta. It's gonna suck even more because of this storm.

Yeah, it's gonna be worse. Sitting deep green and distant, tangled and sprawling before you. How far off is it, bud? Uh from where you are now I'd say it's maybe Eight or so miles. Okay. Hey, at least it's cold so there won't be a lot of bugs around. Normally bugs are terrible in swamps, I hear. I'd rather be cold than have bugs. Right? Yeah. That's a very fair point.

Alright. Continuing your path on for a little bit of the morning. Eventually you begin to watch as the grasses begin to give way to more How do I put it? Uh Moistened. It's a fun word to use. Moistened. Uh terrain terrain. The uh the the normal like dry even after a rain, um the damp ground is now becoming sludgy. And the uh the the path itself, the road.

seems to have been well built and set for this type of travel, but even then it's starting to gather on the wheels a bit as you ride through and you can see bits of it are kind of like clustering up and uh leaving this kind of groove in the ground behind you. Is anybody uh Am I am I and who's on a horse? Am I on the cart or am I on a horse? Alright, I'll be in the cart then. I'm gonna take one of the swords and just start.

kind of using the flat of the blade to scrape the wheel is it and like give it an edge to sort of start removing the mud off of and just popping between the water. you know, immediately uh you know, damp for the first time, most of the vicinity here. Um Oh no, and if you start to lose hope your horse sinks into the mud and it's gone forever. The r the rain does eventually begin to subside. Um However, the um the edge of the swamp begins to uh

breach the path that you're heading. You you begin to see the the swamp grasses take over from the hillside. you begin to see the heavy puddles of swamp bog water beginning to appear to the right and left. Uh the trees you're used to seeing here in the middle of the field are giving way to uh banyan trees and other thicker trunked kind of you know gnarled bases, heavy thick vine-covered canopies.

um the insects begin to fill the air with And in addition to the insects are we do we start to become aware of wildlife around both birds and beasts? Uh go ahead and and make perception check. Okay. Do we know anything about where we're going? Yeah, we're going to see a safe house that the lights Yeah, but we don't like this a big swamp. Do we do are any of us good at like wood stuff?

Is this me? Am I the guy uh the girl? I'm I am I'm good at the nature. Uh th I know about the I've lived in the woods for a long time. And I'm okay at surviving. Yeah. Okay. About half an hour or so of travel along the road into the center of the Libenda Swamp The humid air prevents the mounting sweat on your body from evaporating, causing your sweat to pool in your armor and um uncomfortable ways. Your your breathing is somewhat shallow uh as you adapt to the moisture in the air around you.

uh the ever present hum of of the buzzing insects begins to just permeate the atmosphere around you, while the musky stench of decaying plants and stagnant water grows stronger the further in you pass. Uh a l very low fog, since still relatively early in the day, sits across the surface of the water that's exposed in patches between where the thick roots and uh soft rotting vegetation seems to be sitting almost like a like a spongy ground

Kinda take my staff and poke it in the m marshy bits. As you push down it sinks a few inches and as you pull back you uh the the portion that you had pressed in remains but the water begins to fill up the space where your Staff had pushed in. On that plus side, I think uh sitting in the car the Caleb is probably the cleanest he has been in two years. Because it has been raining nonstop.

So, as you guys continue further into the swamp, you get about another half hour or so. on the path. Before Beauregard, Caleb, Molly, and Jester all at once, you hear this strange trilled cry of some kind, this kind of like It cast May drummer. Oh May drummer. Did that sound like it was talking or did that sound like a bird? I think it sounded like a bird talking. But it sounded like an alert to me.

I don't think I heard anything. Should we should we should we s should we call back? What should we call back? Okay. That's what we decided to do. That's not a good idea. No. Maybe maybe it's a mating call. Maybe it's just a little bit. I don't see how that's any better. Do you hear it again? Only this time it sounds intense or frantic. The strange like

Does it sound like multiple or from the same source? Uh it sounds singular so far. Where is it coming from? What area? It's coming to the right off the road, like deep into the swamp. Are we gonna stop? Are we we're moving or we s you guys are still moving forward on the path. Can we look, can we see? Can we see into this? Make a perception check.

Natural one! Oh uh as you're glancing out there, a piece of like stray vegetation like falling from one of the nearby trees kind of flitters into your eye and you're like, ow, ow, ow, ow. I got the leaper no it's I think it's a leaf. I use mending on my eyes Now that we've No effect. Now that we've continued on, how do the wagon wheels look on the on the road as we're moving? Is it are there leaving tracks that's filling in with water behind us at this point or is it still?

Not not like the staff push though. No, no. I mean although she was pushing off the path. Right. And th this road is designed to not sink heavy with the rest of the swamp material. There's a lot of tr a lot of travel happens in and out on this main path by the way. So f as long as you're on the path for the most part you should be fine. Is this considered the barrel bin? You haven't you haven't well th this is the path to barrel bin. Yeah. The Brom kiln by way is the road you're taking.

So this is this is and barrel bin is further in the swamp. I I I would say that Caleb has spent a lot of of time over over the last several years in woods. Can I check to see if I've ever heard that cry before? Make a nature check. Uh that is uh eighteen. It sounds similar to a crow. Like a a a a crow cry. Um But it's it sounds frantic. You've heard the sound similar to it before, um when you had once as a child watched a crow snatched in the jaws.

of uh will appear to be some sort of hunting cat. And right before its bones were crushed, And it went lifeless. It's a very similar sound. Oh boy. That's specific. It's loud enough where it's not that far off the road, but it's not in sight right now. There's too many tree trunks.

obscuring your vision. Branch canopies over us at this point? They are, but they're not it's not super thick. There's still light coming through and you know, as you travel, m you know, there's bits and pieces that overhang the road, but you still have open sky ahead of you. You're not you don't think it's gonna continue the further into the swamp you go. Wait, look at my eye. I think that something's still in here. Yeah, here. Look up.

Yeah, you got like a tree booger in it. For to get it. Oh god, this is the worst part. Can I try and get the Bug out of right. Roll a dexterity check. Please be a one. Please be a one. Natural twenty. That's a crazy. With a deaf with a deaf flick of his finger, he manages to pluck the piece of vegetation from your eye. Whoa. My hero. I got it, gesture. Thank you, Oscar. I mean Ford gently to the side of Molly's cheek. Ford regurgitates saline solution. Oh my god. Uh oh, it's happening again.

Does there appear to be any sign of wreckage or anything else that looks like it might not have made it made its way through this path because of other dangers? You who've been keeping a discerning eye and you rolled what in your perception check before? It was 15, but that was a bit ago. That rule again. It's not as good this time. Twelve. Twelve.

Something shifts in the water ahead, almost just beyond The vision. Something that that was stationary before and looked like a log that had just been resting in the water just kind of Dips away from you in the direction of the noise. Nobody move. I'm gonna gently stop one of my swords. Okay, go ahead and mark that. If you're gonna move Have we stopped the cart? Move on to the cart.

But to we're on horses. We're on the path. Are we on horses? Should we stop moving forward? Did you see yeah, we should stop. What'd you see? Uh something just moved in the water. It might be able to like hear her movement slowly. It moved away from you. Oh. It didn't move away though. It moved in the direction of the sound. Oh. You hear it again. I really want to see what it is. Oh, you don't have a bird, you have a cat. Is this terrain similar at all to

This train is pretty similar to you, yeah. Okay. And in in places where you grew up, uh y some hunting and some places of your nomadic uh lifestyle put you in terrain very similar to this. So you're pretty comfortable here. I uh I take a ball bearing out and just toss it and throw it into the swamp, see what happens. Some poor fish is going to try to eat that. He probably he's gonna die from a very strange poop. Yeah. He'll be fine.

What are you guys doing? Anything? Can I uh I'm gonna use minor illusion and about thirty feet away above the water, just above the surface of it, I'm gonna create like a little hummingbird and just have it kind of whip back and forth above the water. Well that's clever. Just to see. Continues for a bit. Move it a little. No reaction. I think we're okay. Shall we continue on or Maybe we should call out and see if um in the Fabron is here. Maybe it's Fabron. Maybe that's a Maybe it's a call.

We're just getting into this swamp right now, right? Yeah you're maybe maybe an hour into it. So w would we know if this is the stretch of road that they were talking about that they were having issues with Mm was is is issues it was they were cut off from the safe house. You don't know where the safe house is or what what location it is. The safe house is in the swamp, it's not in barrel band, right?

As far as you know, yes. So press on. Maybe they're calling out. Maybe we can climb a tree. Are there any tall trees? There are a number of tall trees. Can I start climbing a tree? Are you good at tree? Sure. Do you wanna get a little closer and climb a tree? Sure.

Alright, so you go ahead and go ahead and make a uh a general athletics check as you kind of s jump off of the side, kind of your legs kind of into the swamp as your they sink about a foot with each step, leaving these heavy footprints behind that fill with water.

Twenty-one. Twenty-one, with that. You kind of make your way through the swamp, the suction doesn't stop you one bit, and you grab the nearby tree and climb to the top and get off to a branch, look in the direction. Make a perception check, please. That's cocked. That's how could you do that? But it was a really good one if it hadn't been Perception ten. Ten? That's enough. Over the edge you glance down and you can see past the tree line, maybe about uh a hundred or so feet from where you are.

There's uh a small clearing, this kind of open area where the water is, there's a thick bit of black bog. It looks almost like a thick, swampy, tarish like little pool. Um You can see uh a p a part of a tree has fallen into it and kind of the the liquid is kind of just generally darkening the bottom of where it's been stuck through, you know don't know how long it's been there. Um

and there's the, you know, dark root and and and crooked branches and and elements of it kinda sticking up in the air. Uh the smell of bog rot is very strong, even f you know, this proximity to it. Um, you see something moving in the center of this bog. struggling, shifting. You see covered in this tar-like material and flailing what looks to be some sort of a humanoid creature of jet black uh skin. It's not skin. feathers. Um it's fighting against the swamp. It's small.

And you watch as shifting out of the water off to the side, kind of slowly up to the bog. Probably what Bo saw earlier, what looks to be Some sort of reptilian creature with a long snout and a long tail curving around and making its way slowly towards the bog as the flailing bird creature is attempting to get a I guess dining bolts on the the reptilian creature. It's a hundred and twenty feet distance. And you said that the bog is a hundred feet away. That's true. Uh that was gonna be a

Uh oh, it's over here. Uh what's the DC on that? Uh it's a shit. Sorry, sorry, sorry. It's all good. Lightning bolt. The DC on any of your spells. Oh, it's plus sep plus seven times. It fails. Go ahead and roll damage. Okay. Ah! 4d6! Ah! Um, eight, ten, thirteen, thirteen. Thirteen points of damage. Alright. As you watch as all this divine energy suddenly bursts and burns around the creature's body as it suddenly spins. with this kind of hiss in the direction looking around seeing nothing there.

Don't worry! We'll save you! There's a thing and it's trapped and there's the reptile thing is going to eat it! Where? Which direction? Over there and I point and I start climbing over and try to get to it. Do we even see her anymore? Yeah, you see her in the tree, you don't see what she's what she's looking at and pointing at, but she climbs down the tree and begins running in that direction. Don't worry, what she's ran off.

Shit. What are we saving? I don't know. We're saving right now we're saving Jessica. It works on a horse, yeah? I'm on a horse. You are, yeah. So you're standing on your horse taking it there? Yeah, I'm standing on my horse. How cool is that? Well it's it's cool for the first minute before it goes. Now you roll the attacks thing, so I have to roll an attack. Yeah, that's so gotcha, so roll an attack.

Oh no. Yeah I know you saw it in slow mo, but it's plus seven. Okay definitely hits it's plus seven six twenty third twenty seven. So Timeline worked out. Yay. So as you approach, this is the visual sighting. Look at all these trees. So this here is the gator that you see making its way there. It is very large. Oh no, it's really big. Look at that teeny little bird guy.

Up over to that side. The rest of you are currently trying to catch up on that end. We'll say earlier. Okay. Alright, so that being the case, I need everyone to roll in the shoes. Oh do you think we're fighting the day. Oh shit. You know what we never do? What? Tap into our pool of luck. Ah shit! Oh big fake point. We never use it. We've never ever used it ever. Ever. Using the what? You know the the dodecahedron thing. Oh yeah, we have to focus on it in the morning.

I I ha I have a thought is I have a coin and whoever's holding the coin has that for the day and then we just pass it around so you just have this two chests. Obviously we didn't do it this morning, but from now on. We'll just say we pass the coin out.

Okay. Luck is for suckers, man. Who wants it who wants it for tomorrow? Or for the next f after the fight? For the next eight hours. Yeah. Alright, so heading this direction. We'll figure it out after. That's why if somebody dies in this fight, yeah. All right. Also it's important that it is kept um hidden. North is that way. That's the direction you're traveling was this direction. Okay. And so you've heading this way. North is that direction. So 25 to 20. 20 to 15. 15. 15. Wow. Man, that's.

Pretty crappy. It's not close enough to really do anything yet, so you got fifteen? Uh-huh. Molly got fifteen? Uh-huh. You assume there's only one of them. Alrighty. That brings us to fifteen ten. Coop Fourteen. Excuse me. Twelve. Twelve twelve. Thirteen. Jester Yush and Caleb Nut. Yeah, twelve. Twelve. Yeah, yeah. Six Big Six. Big six. You got six? Yep. Already. Shooter! Coming out!

Alrighty. Bo and Molly, you're up first. at a full double dash you can catch up at this point to uh almost to just a it's kind of rough terrain because it's a swamp Yeah. Um you guys will say get about Oh god there and Ma you're a little bit behind Bo should just a little faster than you. Yes. Should probably do a little correct. So It's not your turn. That gets us to jester. So I can go. You can go. Oh god. Okay, okay, okay. I'm gonna cast spiritual weapon. Where are you placing it?

Uh sixty feet range or is it what Oh shit, that's right. It's a sixty foot range. How far can I get it? That's true. Oh I guess I can run forward first before I do it. I'm gonna run forward and try to get up on that tree. fifteen. It's rough terrain against the swamp'cause it's very Okay. So that's about as far as I can go? As far as you can get, yeah. Well, I'm gonna stand on that log then. Okay, so you get up on the out of the swamp. Alrighty.

Log, it's big, it's heavy, it's wood. We'll say you're not going to be able to do that. That's fine, you're on it. Come on along. Oh well I guess wait, I can't get it quite that far, can I? You can get Hold on, hold on, hold on. One one let me just check one last thing before I definitely do that. You can get almost to it. Oh yeah. With the sixty foot range. Okay. I'll put it

I'll put it as close as I can to it. There is as close as we are to it. Yeah. And then so that's my bonus action. Correct. And for my action, I'm going to save Wait till it's close enough and then I'm gonna hit it. Okay, so you're holding I'm holding my actual action to attack it. Can you use an action to hit with it? I think it's a bonus action. That's um From my perspective at least, the gator is super stoked about having this lollipop. I'm going to This is his lucky day.

I'm going to slide pop just evaporates out of the swamp water and is now hovering there at the ready. Okay. And ingester's turn, that brings us to Yasha. Full run. You you're what's your speed? Forty feet. Forty feet? You're right up next to Fucking linebacker forty Alrighty. What it I can't walk into in, right? No, it's that that's that's double dash. You guys all stayed back while Jester ran in. Got it. So you're like just barely getting caught up to her at this point. Okay.

Um Caleb you're up Oh I am okay, so I am going to uh uh stick a root of uh licorice in my mouth like a hazy, like I'm Ford, and cast a haste on a knot. Oh shit. Oh, uh so read this because your armor class is up, you have an extra action per round, you have advantage on dexterity saves. And I will just m do my full movement uh forward, thirty three. That's about as far as you get right there. Excellent. Just knock him around.

Got more of it. Yeah. So double chips extra action or AC. It's okay. No, you're up. Wow, I'm feeling so fast. Ooh, you could double dash? I will dash uh you know, to catch up to them, I guess. So your y your regular movement speed will get up to where Caleb is. Okay. Sorry, we'll get up to where Molly is. And my bonus bonus action dash. Bonus action dash will get you up to where Woo up to the edge. About five. We'll say where yeah.

But then I get two attacks, two actions now, right? You have an extra action. Yeah. Whoa. But that's still out of range of hand crossbow. Is it? Well no, it's not. It's just I have to fire a disadvantage. Right? Yeah, but up to you. Um Alright, sure. I'll do that, I guess. You can use the extra action to e go closer as well. That's true. Um or or extra attack. Okay, I'll use one action to get closer. Closer still. Alright.

That's it. Okay. And now it's swampy. Yep. And I'll test the air and to a lob shot. Go for it. Arcing it over with disadvantage. Okay. Two plus something, so nice it's nine. She goes wide, shh, sticks into one of the nearby swamp trees over here. That ends your turn. That was really close though. I'm sorry, Catem! I failed you. Alright. So he's within range of my guiding of my radiant blast now, so I can attack him. Can't so go ahead and do that as you release.

The bolts? Okay. Or the sacred flame is what I meant to say. Dexterity of fifteen. That's a failure of the two. So good roll damage. Well wait, d do I get more'cause I'm level five now? Spell damage increases when you reach Oh two to eight, yes. Oh good, three hole damage, woo. Alright, three. I love this clarity.

Fucking dumb. Can't do anything, I suck. So I can mend the shit out of some wheels though, bitches. It approaches the uh the bird creature. It you it it doesn't have its action to strike it unfortunately because it had to give the extra movement. Um and coming out of the way here you see At this point you realize the one that was approaching it was approaching from the opposite direction that Bo

Saw the other thing move. This is the moving from the other direction. That's the one that Bo must have seen as it begins to emerge from the brush underneath and this like slow growl. You hear like the growling sucking sound. As it approaches Nooo It's gonna go ahead and turn to make a strike. Oh no! But if it's a natural one! Yay! That's fucking lucky. Alright. Uh the small bird creature kind of scrambles backward and manages to like beat its jaw out of the way. Um

It is going to attempt to swing around and swing its tail in its direction. Oh jeez. A two, are you fucking serious? Yeah. Sorry. Screw you, Snitch. Okay, apparently. So yeah, uh he still sweats. Although technically the creature is restrained, so it does have advantage on its attacks. Yeah, tackles against the heavy advantage'cause it is a restrained.

So the first attract the first attack missed the bite. Like searching for the bug. Yeah. Trying to find it. So the tail does it. Alright. So th so the jaws it missed with the one and the two in the first strike. The second one it swings with its tail I love it. I'm going by the rules. It's restrained. It's restrained. Um the second one, the tail does hit. It's crack. Whatever you call it. Um this is gonna be eight.

19 points of bludgeoning damage as the tail cracks across the scrambling bird. You watch this just goes limp. Oh and is currently unconscious. This tiny form now like stuck in the bog and unmoved. Sooner! This is so prehistoric. Alright. Now we're in this for a dying bird? Now it's Fort's turn. Are we staying in this? Hey man, I'm up here. I don't know. All right, fine. I'll use my my speed to approach fifteen feet. All right, so half of thirty. Yeah, your speed will get you about

There you and Caleb are about the same space. Well uh I'll use uh Eldridge Blast at a hundred and twenty feet uh for the uh that's the farthest farthest north the attacks. Two two beams. Uh that's a fat one plus four, that's five points of damage. Five points. And the second beam uh 12 points of damage. So bid 12 the attacks on each other? I did not. I have never played this game before, apparently. Thank you guys for your your patience.

That is a nine. Nine misses. And that's a 12. 12 misses. Both go wide. Opposite space. No damage to that cross. Cool. However, as it slams into the wood nearby in the ground, kinda turns in your direction, noticing now the arriving brigade. Uh that's uh that's that's I'll use my bonus action to cast We're the brigade. Yes. Nope, that's it. That's my turn. Alrighty. Top the round now. Molly and Bow.

Are we doing this? Birds die this way all the time. It's not a bird. What do you it's feathery? No, it looked like a person, you guys! But look, I mean two big ass right at the dinner table. We're real far away. Gonna take a hot minute for us to get there. The bell's been rung.

What if it's for Brun? I'm not at least gonna get up to I'm at least gonna get uh like what's a basic movement at this point. We'll say for the purposes of this, at a at at movement,'cause the the space is not right here. Just place it'll get you on the edge of the map for your movement. Am I within sixty sixty uh uh feet of either of these? Sure you are.

Are we doing this? Well we're doing this. I'm going to try and cast enthrall on on um the uh closest gator. The closest gator? Okay then. That's a Yeah. But wisdom says? Enthrall. That's probably a barred spell. Yeah. Enthrall. Alright. Alright, you have to get it. Enthrall. That's a clear. Alright.

It has an advantage on the save. Does it? You guys have attacked it. Uh I we haven't atta I haven't attacked that one yet. You Oh yeah that's of course. Yeah, but it's like a little bit of a sort of thing. So what if it's not successful attacks? That's a two plus zero. That is a uh eight plus zero. So I think so. I think it makes it actually. Is that is eight my save on was? What's your spell DC? It should say uh it's oh it's it's uh is it charisma base?

Is it the ability or racial ability? Uh no it it yeah, it's a racial ability. Yeah, then it's charisma based because all of them are, so it's DC ten. So it still succeeds actually. It rolled really poorly. So the creature has uh to disadvantage to re to perceive any creatures other than you until the spell ends. Mm-hmm. has disadvantage to perceive. Yep, it ain't gonna eat and it ain't gonna it's means it's it's gonna pay attention to me and only me. It's wonderful.

So I'm just sitting I'm I know. I'm just sitting, I'm spinning my sword and then just I'm just talking in in in you know in gaiter. Yeah, and just it's it seems to have paid attention. To it it it means it says all your presence, but it's kind of focused on you. So if it tries to if any of you are trying to get around self layer, it's gonna have a hard time noticing you. Alright, so then it's your turn. Yep. Alrighty.

Am I able to have enough movement to get on this stumpy stump? You can get up to here. I'd say if you move at the same pace and then that's your that's your movement. Uh you have your action, your bonus still. So Um I don't think I'm with I'm mm

I'm not within sixty feet of any of them, am I? No, I guess I am. Yeah, one of them. To throw a thing. Can I use my my bonus to to move a little bit further onto the top of this tree? Uh if you want to spend a key point to do your step of the wind. My step of the wind. I can't get within range of them with my step of the wind though, right? Oh, almost. Fuck. God damn it. Although if you aren't moving towards that tree and you move straight. That's still Sam.

Yeah, just out of range. Get them ninja stars out. Yeah, I'm just gonna I'm gonna ninja stars out. I'm gonna ninja star for my my main attack and if I can I don't know if I can I can't move on my bonus, can I? You can if you spend a keyboard. But only if I move a keyboard. Right, right, right, right. Nah, fuck it. Ninja Star. Alright, go for it. So you get two of the creatures. Uh that's a twenty for the first one?

Uh-huh. Ooh, and a natural nineteen for the second one. Both hit, good and roll damage in each. These are one D fours, right? Sewing stars. They're darts. I think they're homebrewed darts. So yeah, I think that's Wendy Four. Yep. Uh so uh For the first one that's seven, for the second one that's five. Nice. Not bad, nice. Gambit style. Yeah. So as you tell them both and then it's like. Point at Percy and I'll go, he did it. Oh, I call him Percy!

I think that's the first time I've done that. That's the first time any of us have done that. I voted Molly. He did it. You did it. Alright. Unless Percy Like the corner of my mind Alrighty, that ends your guys' turn, Jester, you're up. Okay. Oh god. I'm going to can I climb up on this tree right in front of me? Uh sure. Go ahead and make an athletics check. Oh boy. Don't fall.

I was so afraid it was gonna be a one. Sixteen. Sixteen? Sure, we'll put you up. Yay! There in the tree. Okay, good. I'm going to cast. Blindness deafness at level three on both of the at level three of a different target. That's cool, that is cool. That's pretty great. Alrighty, so what's is the wisdom save on that? It's both. What does that smell do? Blindness, deafness. Wisdom save? It's a con save. Con save. It's one of the other.

Either blinded or deafened. So a nineteen on that one. Okay shit. See succeeds. And that's a fourteen on the other. So yeah. So that one, however Is blinded. Yeah, he's blind. Watch this all of a sudden the eyes darken and begins to Flailing about, unable to actually make a beat on where any of you are at the moment. Yep, and advantages on attack rolls against it. Whoa. That's good. Okay.

And then I'm gonna use my spiritual weapon to come up behind the other gator and smack him on the back. Okay, that's uh G someday I'm gonna make it. And that's that's not concentration, correct? No. Just last for a minute. Oh, blindness, deafness? Yes. Blindness, deafness is Uh not concentration. Correct. Yeah, it just is. Yeah. At the end of each turns it can make a concentration take me through. That's good. Okay. Okay. So plus seven to hit. Uh so that's 23. That hits, roll damage. Okie dokie.

Deserto like I did! Yay! Alrighty. So as your lollipop slams into the back of that uh that distant alligator car. But it's still right there with the unconscious creature in front of it. It's kind of starting to figure out where to keep its focus. It seems hungry, but it's also being assaulted. Yes. Um all right, then it's just her's turn.

Yasha, you're up. Okay. How close can I get to the way we'll get to there? Shit. Oh shit. Uh oh. Oh shit. It's all good. I'll deal with it in a minute. Oh shit. Oh shit. Um shit can't be a little bit of a little bit of a little bit. Well, I would uh I would like to rage. Yeah. Get that fire out. Joshua goes into her raging the your vision goes faintly dark red as you begin to focus your frustration towards these creatures. What do you do?

I mean, I can't move anymore, so. You can use your action to move if you want to. Oh yeah, yes. So at least it'll get you into the That's as close as you can get there. Yep. Alrighty. Alright, that's my turn. Then it's your turn. Caleb, you're up. Yeah, I think that I see one of the giant gators is getting close to not and also Yasha, so I'm going to tug really hard on uh the glove of blasting and uh revolve around my wrist.

My wrist three times and do scorching ray. Scorching Ray, go what are you talking about? So roll three attacks on it, right? Uh say again. Three attacks and an advantage against the target, correct? Correct. Yeah, so first one is uh bit is a seventeen. That hits. Okay, second one is um natural twenty. Third one is a a separate 17, so they're all hit. They all hit. Okay. Second set of rolls is doubled. Yeah, so here we go. Two. Just four balls.

For uh uh place is ten on then ah dang it. Uh it's twelve and then uh ten on uh total of twenty-one fire damage. Nice, that's not bad at all. So looking at the distance you re you've tucking the glove and release is the three bolts ark out and slam into the rudder. Uh broad side of this reptilian creature, this large crocodile that's not the one that is blinded. Okay. Yeah. And then I will just keep waiting for the shit to try to get a little bit closer. Okay. So using that too.

And just say hey Ford, isn't this fun? And that's it. Alright, and in Caleb's turn, not Europe. Yeah, because that uh gator, crocodile, whatever it is, is blind, does that mean it counts as sneak attack? Yep. Yep. Okay, then I will Bolt, Bolt, Bolt Go for it. Three attacks. They all hit 1915 13 plus things. But what if you get a natural 20 and roll again three more days you get twenty? I'll roll again. Sure.

Oh you did! Yeah you gotta roll them in order though because you don't know if the woman that got sneak attack is. So you have to declare that when it happens. They all get sneak attack. Well you only get sneak attack once per round. Oh okay. Got it. Well it was the second one. The second one got crit. Yes. Right. So the first one would have been sneak attack, probably how you would have done it. So the first strike.

Uh is ten seventeen plus four, twenty-one. Plus I'll use for your the small making it twenty-six. Boy. Just once a day. That's cool. And then second does not get sneak attack. Right, but it is but it is even though it's it's at disadvantage. Sneak attack you only get once per turn. Okay. Not per round, per turn. Yeah. So you can still get it on a reaction. Yeah. That's rare. Uh six.

But that's double doubled. Whatever you rolled in the dice doubled. Four. So eight. Eight. Eight points of damage. And then one more fucking row. Oh. That's ten. Ten points of damage. That's fine. Fuck it. Yes. This poor gator turned around, went blind, got s got shot multiple times, blasted with uh with with fiery beams.

Still can't stop thinking about Molly Mock though. I know, she's just so focused on it. Alrighty, that ends your turn. Uh I'm gonna move behind that rock over there. Over here. Right. Ah ah ah! Ha! That's it. Alrighty. That ends your turn. It is now a croc's turns. No god. Fifteen. Twenty actually climbs up the rock after after you Oh my god, it's so big! Yeah. And then goes takes a swipe down at you. Plus two on your A C. Plus two on your A Cure. That is plus

It's 23 to hit. So with that all your attacks. 3D ten plus five. Doubled it. Five. Oh my god. I'm going to be using uncanny dodge. Yes, yes. Twenty-one points of piercing damage. Halved. Halved. So you take ten points of piercing damage. But you are grappled as the giant jaws Slam into you and hold you in place. You're unable to Escape at that point. We're both reptiles man! Come on! Be cool! I don't know, I'm just yeah maybe he's dumb. See now I'm just getting little mermaid vibes though.

Like from the cater. Uh-huh. Up where they walk up where they run. uh a swing with its tail towards you as it's kinda flailing about, hearing noise in that direction. So it's disadvantage against you. That's uh Twenty two and twelve. So that misses in the first attack as his tail pff goes wide. It turns around and snaps its jaws kinda towards the tree. It scrapes off the side of the tree and swings in your direction as it attempts to bite towards you. That's gonna be a

14. What's your armor class? Just tips. 14's armor class, that's right. Alright, so yeah, the c the jaws slam onto you, you suffer. There's a gator Uh eighteen points of piercing damage. But but because you're aging that's reduced to nine. So you have nine points of piercing damage. But you are grappled and restrained currently as you are now trapped in its jaws. You watch his knot is now just like Or her hair her hands are like dangling out of its like toothy jaws and swinging her in the air.

And Yasha's lifted up upper feet and is currently like trying to pry the jaws open off of her body, but it's unable to do so. Alright, death saving throw for Creature, that's a failure. Um Alrighty. Ford, you're up. Yeah. Uh knots all uh caught up. I say crap fire and two more bursts of uh Eldridge blast uh The the gator holding knot. Holding knot? Go for it.

Uh that'll hit. That's uh twenty three. That'll do. And the second one is that'll hit two, that's a natural seventeen. You got it. Okay, great. Uh so and Four. Eight. Twelve points of damage on the first one. Great. And uh six points of damage on the second one. So eighteen total. Nice. As you release the two bolts. Phew they managed to just peek around the tree.

see it like clamming uh uh or c you know, grasping knot in its jaws and swinging back and forth. One hits the bottom of the jaw, poof, and the other hits its side. Uh dark crimson alligator blood from the two impacts, but it's still holding taut to this tiny little morsel it has in its jaws. I'll use my pathetic speed to uh try and match. Uh Caleb. Alright, wanna move Caleb up for me, bro? Somebody? Caleb or Ford to Caleb. Yeah, this is uh so much fun. I'm glad we are helping.

Random ass penguin. At least you guys have range. Uh right, then we'll see the topic again, Molly and Bo. Um you wanna go first or Sure. Thank you. Um can I get to this this guy who's got not? Yep. Okay, I'm gonna kind of like parkour off. Uh that is a sixteen on the saving throw for the blind alligator or crocodile, so it does resh resist the blindness. So it's its vision comes back. However

I fucked it up for a round. Boom. Uh I'm gonna kinda do like a parkour off of the rock and come down and try and get it right in its mouth to try and get uh get it to spit out knot. So the first attack. Uh that's good, that's twenty-one. Twenty one hits. That's better, that's twenty-two. That hits. Those are the first two hits. Two strikes with the s with the staff. Pop, pop. Spit it out!

Um the uh uh both of those are the same, which is uh s eight, seven, seven, seven damage each, so fourteen, eight, six, seven, five, four, five, six, seven, yes. Cool. So it's fourteen points of damage of the two strikes. Uh-huh Just slamming into the side of its heavy, thick. Scaled hide.

It's hurting, but it's definitely a resistant beast. I'm gonna go ahead and spend a key point now to do two more. Florida blows. Florida blows. So they pull a staff behind and they go to like a punch and a drop kick up. There you go, that hits. And that one's not great. That's worse. Uh that's a twelve. Twelve misses, unfortunately, but you do get one punch. One punch off.

After singing it twice you go for like the softer part and whack You know what, I rolled the wrong damaged eye for those first two, but that's my fault. Six damage. I rolled D sixes instead of D eights because I'm Oh gotcha. Well there you go. So that gator got lucky.

Take off the damage you did and re-roll as H. Because that's how the cookie crumbles. Moving on, it's fine. It's okay, still fair amount of damage. All right, so Molly, what are you doing? Um can I get in my with my running speed can I get well how close can I get and still have an have an action.

That's it. That's as far as I can get without an action. We are going to be able to do that. Unfortunately, you guys are running through a swamp behind who engaged it. So it's it's an unfortunate circumstance. Um okay, at the very least then, um I'm gonna Fortune favors the bold in this case. Yeah.

I'm going to uh since I'm s still have some distance, I'm just gonna use I'm gonna try some vicious mockery just to see if that that does anything. So The one uh Schwarzenegger with your luggage Pretty sure that's gonna sound like um I'll hit the vicious mockery on the one that that currently has not just because I could. That is a natural nineteen. Yeah, nope. Sorry.

The swamp bug goes into your throat as you're trying to speak it. I'm gonna get to cough it out for a second. Mm-hmm. Alright, that finishes Molly's run. Jester, you're up. Okay. I'm going to oh gosh. Um okay. I'm going to invoke duplicity as my action. Alright. And I'm gonna pop my little person down um right behind the other side of the gator. That Yasha's fighting? Yes. Alright. And then for my um my bonus action.

I'm going to cast healing word on the little um the little bird creature. Okay. So go ahead and roll the heal on that one. So then range, so that's six. Six points of healing. You watch it suddenly it's it's it's a yellow eye flickers and looks around for a second, kind of in the space, and begins to push against the s the slickness and my invoked gesture turns around and thumbs up still. It's like getting stuck and sliding in, but it's trying to pull itself backward. All right.

That's your turn, Jester? That's all I can do. Yasha, you're up. Okay, so I'm I'm in in the in the jaws. Okay. So you are restrained. You can still attack it, but you're disadvantaged on your attacks. Okay. I will try to attack. Um so, uh Divine Fury. You correct. And if I do reckless, does that mean that's the right thing? If you reckless it'll just become regular attacks. Okay. I'll just do that. Yeah. Alright, so make make your two strikes. Okay.

First one with Divine Fury as you swing down towards the top of its jaws with your blade. Yeah, sure. Uh that's a natural one. As you go to swing the jaws tense against you. It it hurts now your muscles kind of tense from the pain, but you just stay focused going for your second strike. Okay. Sorry, hold on. Okay, no, I'm doing this one. Uh seventeen. Seventeen does hit, roll damage. Okay. This still gets divine fury though, because this is the first strike that you get. Okay. So let's go.

Man, this is exciting. Okay, so eight. That's not a lie. 18. 18 points of damage. How do you want to do that? Okay. Am I actually just able to um If I have my hand on his jaws just. Just pull them apart. Yeah, you can because you're inside of it. So just like stand. So as as you pull yourself.

You pull the jaws open and step out of it, getting your feet in the ground as you yank apart. You put your leg up into it and kind of You feel the jaw pop. It kind of falls back for a moment, its jaw now limp and its tongue kind of lolling out to one side. You have your blade and you do the finishing blow. Okay. It's breaking its jaw isn't gonna kill it, so how do you kill it? Okay. So I'll just I'll just uh

cut into the his the try to chop off the head as much as I can. Oh okay. So after breaking the jaw you step out, pull the blade from behind you and with a wide swipe, almost like an anti-Calvary blow, you just Cut through the side of its throat.

And its neck. It doesn't get all the way through, but it cuts enough through the spine where it just falls to the ground. This long, heavy, limp piece of luggage. You see where you are, you wanna move or Yeah, can I move towards um like the back of the the other one? So kind of like in front of Jester it be in between the t the crook and the jester. That's as far as you can get right there, actually. Yeah, perfect. Okay. That ends your turn. Yash is finished. Caleb, you're up.

Yeah, it seems like I am can I get within thirty feet of it? No, correct? Um I would think probably moving your speed will get you right up to the edge there. So that's out of just out of thirty feet. Just out of thirty feet. Yeah. Sorry. I'm going to uh cast uh magic missile at uh level three.

Alright. Because he's got my little friend. So that's five missiles? That is five missiles totem. So here we go. Charging to the swamp. Cast the spell and then shh release the five missiles. All impacting once. Well nice natural twenty I guess. Broken clock. That was awesome. Total of eighteen, so for this nice.

along that side of it still holding knot in its mouth and you know knots muffled screaming from inside of its jaws. It's swinger back and forth. It seems seems singularly focused on destroying whatever it has its mouth on. It's a beast. That finishes your turn, Caleb. Disappointed! No, it's your turn. Oh gosh, not. I used my first action to try to resist the grapple and escape. Alright, so I need you to go ahead and uh to contest it.

Alright, so an escape DC of sixteen. So it's it's ac it's athletics or acrobatics, your choice. Uh whatever Acrobatics. Yes, whatever's Yes, acrobatics. 18. 18 is enough? You manage to just squeeze out of its jaws and land back in the ground when you are kind of slipping out of a brief moment of its opening and get there, there's like blood streak down. You can feel the pain from the teeth have been digging into your body. It would, yeah. Okay, great. I will shoot it in the face. Ooh, not great.

Twelve. Twelve misses. You pull out, and just from being shaken around, you're a bit dizzy and the pain swelters, and your body as you go to fire just ricochets off of its hide. Is he flanked with Yasha? Uh right now Oh? What's that mean? Advantage. Oh you would get advantageous. I technically Technically Technically yes actually. 17. That's a hit.

No, they're all bad. Zero Twelve. Twelve points of damage, peak attack, alrighty. So you the first sh hits underneath the throat, thr sips into a piece of its kind of like already open kinda cracked heavy hide and it kinda if that was one side of the short I'll go for the other side go for it. Oh terrible. Eleven. Nope queen. No. Still advantage or that's just once a turn? It's advantage on every strike. Oh wow, okay.

That's hits. That's a eighteen. That's better. Alright, roll damage for that one. This is the roller coaster. The motions. So it's like the Simpsons Frogurt scene. I know. Uh five more points of damage. Five points of damage. Would this trigger my reaction for sentinel? No, because it's not attacking anything that's outside of you. Okay. But it might in a second because I'm gonna run behind that tree. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. That's good enough. Oh. This is not turn.

Correct. Sorry. No worries. I'm gonna get away. Get away as fast and as far as I can. Away from over here? Sure, yeah, any any way you think see me. That's as far as you can get right there. It does try and snatch its jaws towards you in the process. It's a natural twenty. Uh damn. God damn it. Roll it, roll it and be proud. That's eight, nine, and five. Uh so we'll use my 1723. Oh, you get uncanny dodge again? 28 points of piercing damage.

Use it once once per round, yeah. Yeah, how many dodges to make it fourteen? Alright, so fourteen points piercing. Uh however, you are grappled and it's job. Yeah I just got out! I know, but you tried to as you try and break away it you like run out if we're talking like deep blue sea, uh you know, Samuel L. Jackson is you Yeah.

Now do I get that opportunity attack? Now you do, yes. Oh just when I think I'm at that pull me back in As it strikes out and grapples uh uh knot in the jaws, you do manage to f get one swing. Swing at it. I kinda whack it right in the nose. 'Cause that's what I was taught. But bears. No. Sharks and bears. A lot of sharks and comorta. For all the things. And the nose. Oh shit! Roll some damage on that. Be good, be high, be high. Okay, okay. Uh 12 damage? Sure.

Twelve points of damage. All right. So as I was like, crack, you hit it right across the snout. Uh and and upon the impact its eyes kinda go dazed for a second, but it just continues to kinda chew. It's still standing. Oh god. That finishes nuts, true. Alright.

With that, the one the one standing croc is gonna go ahead and drop a knot out of its jaws. Oh, that's nice of it. And attempt to bite again. Curse to the eyelids to the eyeless amplified. Oh good one, too. So actually before it bites, it's gonna swing to the staff. It's gonna spin around and attempt to slam you with its tail. So this disadvantage on that strike. Let's cock. Cock again. Disadvantage.

Even with disadvantage, it's a twenty. Yeah, but I've hit. So the tail the tail hits you. Um that's 2D. No no no. Same on you BM, no no. This one, not this one. Eighteen points of bludgeoning damage. Alright. And you are not prone. And it's gonna go ahead and try and bite you. That's what it was doing on its turn. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Disadvantage. I know. Yeah.

But it has an advantage on a prone creature. So it's even roll regular roll. That's a 17 a hit. What's your armor cost? Well 18 now. Yeah. Because of the haste. But I don't know, I'm dead. Do I have haste if I'm unconscious? But he's the one holding g uh he's the one that casts. But does a unmoving body quick quick

You're you're calling someone? Calling Jeremy Crawford to get confirmation. But in this case the friend is is Nathan Stewart. Hey Chris Perkins. Would you like to phone a Watsy friend? Yeah. If you were just prone you would still you would still have it. So it's Matthew Mercy. How do you want to do that? It's active because it makes you faster. It's still I know, it's it's still active by rules is written, I guess. She's vibrating on the ground. Yeah.

Like like when a pager goes off. Yeah, spells and then they say that in Okay yeah. Thank you. Since he's feels wrong. Just do it. I'll take it. I'll take it. You don't want to. You don't want to take it. You don't want to take it. Don't get too I'm checking something. Looking at the Great Wall. Conscious. He barely references the Great Wall.

Really references to Grey Wall. No, that's a that's a seventeen still. So with the haste bonus that would still miss, yeah. So here's what happens. As you fall unconscious. As you fall unconscious. your form is just kind of blurring slightly from the impact and as you tumble and it goes to strike and bite you. You're tumbling backward at such a speed, still the effect of the spell carrying you, that you kinda fall out of the grasp of its jaws as you just kind of spin and spill.

out of its mouth as the teeth clamp, plummeting to the ground. Sure. Not taking a critical hit and immediately failing two death saving throws. Good narration, D good narration. I I even die fast. Yeah, this is low level. That'd be no that wouldn't chill. Do you have any three hundred gold diamonds? Oh I have lots of rings. Do any of them have diamonds in them? Not worth three hundred gold.

How dare you? I'm just saying, you gotta you gotta buy your your smoke components. She's a terrible cleric. No I've never done this before. Laura, sorry. Components that cost money, you have to purchase like his Diamond in his incense. Do you have a diamond that's worth three hundred gold? Uh uh it's worth a hundred, which is what I need for my spell, yeah. Yeah. Don't die anyone, don't die. Why do I have that stupid spell prepared to make-

I can't even use it. Heavens. That's a good question. The chalice dilemma. Yeah. Hero speech with the chalice dilemma. Well that finishes the crocs turn. From the jaws of almost imminent death. Uh Ford, you're up. Alright, so I fucking see not just fucking rag dolling all over the place. I'll use the rest of my speed to get as close as I can. That gets you up onto the battlefield. Does that put me within thirty feet of that croc?

It puts you within thirty five feet. It's just in a thirty foot range. I'm 35 feet away. Oh fuck me. Ain't you got no long range? I do. I just sometimes it doesn't help flag. I wanted to do a little switch bolt. Uh two two more Eldridge blasts going up. Go for it. Roll the test.

Uh that is uh sixteen to hit. Sixteen hits. Oh great. I thought it missed. And that's not gonna do. That's thirteen. Thirteen just misses. Yeah. That's ten plus four for fourteen points of damage. How do you wanna do this? I'll look at I'll look at that that nice piece of uh luggage and I'll say Not today, kacabata I just failed two death saves from that pun. He literally marked it. Alrighty. And with that, as both of the impacts the Ultra Blast hit it, it's still like up on the rock after

Snatching its jaw in the air and missing not as he tumbles out of it, the head comes down and turns towards you. And as its jaws open, both up into the throat. You watch as the back of its head just bursts behind it, its eyes just kind of go dull before. Slumps over the rock and just slowly slides into the edge of the swamp nearby. You got the kill, you were barely in the fight! No, he totally came. He's the good, he's a hero. Can I use my info

My duplicate to run over to not. She can move thirty feet. She can, yeah. And sh it wouldn't be encumbered because She's an illusion. Yeah. Correct. So here, in this instance, the illusion would not, I don't think, would be affected by the rough terrain. Wonderful. I'm going to cast care wounds on. Yeah. There you go. The lowest level possible. At second level. Okay. Five plus

Four. So nine point zero. Is it no, it would be plus four plus four. No, it's two D eight plus four. Correct. Okay, yeah. At second level, right? Yeah. Yeah. So that heals you up there you come to consciousness not Ah that was scary I should not have been this close. Yeah. Where were you?

I was doing everything up! I'm up to my fucking knees in this flagmire! Alright, it's a slop dolly of epic proportion. You should have stopped following this. Can I jump down and walk over to the little bird creature? Kentucky knows what I'm talking about. What's a slop dolly? We're in it You guys As you guys take a moment, finish yelling at each other, you watch his not uh watch his jesters jump down from the tree, calls your attention, and they're still struggling

In the marsh you see the small black feathered bird creature. And we're gonna take a break. Because it's nine six nine fourteen, so let's take a quick break. We'll we'll pick up right at that moment in just a few moments. Um go ahead and sit down because I can be there right now. So we'll be back here in just a moment, guys. We do have our one-wood giveaway for the evening. We have uh Kalimantan ebony tabletop dice tray. This is the the pretty pretty awesome dark wood with the leather.

Like my soul. This one is gorgeous. Um so that one is going to be there for one of our winners during the break. Um so uh for those of you who are in the US and Canada except for Gwek. You can go ahead and enter this uh over the break by coming into the Twitch chat and entering the the word marsh, M-A-R-S-H. Only enter it once, more than once you'll be disqualified, and we'll come back with a winner as soon as we return. So see you guys in just a minute.

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And welcome back everybody. So before we get back into the game, we have the winner of our fantastic wormwood giveaway from the break, AK Presto. AK Presto, congratulations. You won the awesome awesome wood full game dice tray. For more wood, we'll get that to you, ASAP. Thank you for coming in. And everybody else who jumped into the chat.

Yeah. So smells like a little like tuna and that's not me though. That's disgusting. Out of contact burp and then try and blame the smell all the time. I'm telling you that's really foul. Out of contact quote. Guys like Hawaiian macro salad. Sorry, it's a good thing. Yeah. So purple worm erupts from the middle of the world. Don't dead me. Uh so as you guys all take a moment to kind of tend to hear exhaustion from plunging into this swamp haphazardly.

Some of you taking quite a beating in the process. uh gesture guides your attention towards this now struggling small bird creature. Uh it looks to be about the size of an adolescent child. Uh maybe no more than well, I'd say a little younger than like an eight or nine year old. But you see, instead of skin, it's just black feathers. Uh no wings, really. The feathers are too small among the arm to actually be flight.

uh ready. Um the lower half of its body is still like sunken and thick in the bog and it has where its face is, uh two uh b bright yellow eyes, very crow raven like eyes, and a long black pointed beak. I just don't worry, don't worry, don't worry. I can help you. Give me your hands. And I lifted up out. Make a string straight. Arms. Out of socket.

Oh. Okay, let's watch now. Nine no, twenty. Twenty. Uh with just a few moments so your legs sink in a bit. You manage to pull and find leverage and grab onto some of the heavy vines on the side and you manage to pull. this creature out from the bog until eventually it gets its legs free. And the uh as it kind of pulls its way up to the top, it kind of begins to shrug off the thick bog slop that was keeping it stuck there in the center of the opening. Right? Can you understand that?

oh my gosh are you are you do you live around here do you live around here It's like a mu like a mucking j. What is your name? Thank you. Oh maybe it was separated from its parents. Maybe are you an adult or are you a kid? A kid. A kid. Um I love you. I I could it will take an hour, but I could understand this one if I set my mind to it. You could get around. Where do you live? And kind of points its like still kind of somewhat soggy, feathered arm to the east. Ooh. Close by?

How did you get here? Looks towards you and starts walking up towards you. Kinda pulls open your coat. Sorts like rummaging through pulls one of the books. Oh well uh um no no please no. Please no. Please no. Oh I I'm going to pull my cloak my coat shut. Maybe you should learn how to speak to him. Oh maybe it wants to be a sort of thing. Where's where's your where's your uh where's where's your book? Oh

Can he can he can write or does he want to draw? I think I pull out my journal. I've got a theory. Maybe he only repeats what we see. And begins to write into the book. And shows it to you and it says, Thank you. Oh, you're welcome so much. How old are you? What's your name? It says four. The number four. The name is Kiri. Kiwi. Kiri, you're four years old. That's so wonderful. Um What were you doing here? What is this place? And just like begins writing out an extended statement in the paper.

Puts out to you and it says family going west traveling escaping east mountains skies go dark there Father said the valley folk fighting They are there's a big fight Where should Yeah How far have you traveled? And do you recognize people that look like her? Where's your family now? Dad okay, no. Okay. Do you dunno where they went? How did you get separated? We should keep an eye out to make sure no more of those things come out while we're okay. One of you take it with advantage.

Matt seems adamant. I can't be good. I know. Wait, we both roll, but does it look like that? Well if one of you is aiding the others. Unless you want to make unless you want to make two separate rolls, it's up to you. Let's do two separate rolls. Alright, two separate rolls. Go for it. Thank you.

Fourteen. Sixteen. Okay. You guys are keeping an eye out in the space around you. I'm gonna peruse these ruins a little bit and see what they are and what they look like. Make an investigation trick. All right. Finishes writing and shows it over. It says Swamp was to hide us. Swamp folk saw us, so we ran to not be taken. I wasn't watching, and the bog caught me. Family couldn't pull free. Couldn't risk sisters or cells. So kept going. Oh no. Stuck here for a while. Not their fault.

Don't want them to die for my carelessness. Closes the book. We've got to get into his family. You know where they are heading? Oh I don't know. Are you a boy? A boy a boy bird or a girl bird or a just a bird bird? A word bird. Oh no, how many sisters do you have? Puts up four fingers. Ah long kind of exaggerated feathered fingertips. By what I recognize what Like the added species or like race of people or you haven't encountered this these people before. Empire kids would empiric.

No studied thing. I mean you've heard of varying different strange races out there. Bird people may have crossed in a story before, but uh you've done a little bit of story. I'd say go ahead and make an im make a uh an nature check for you, Caleb, since you've studied. In this area, general knowledge. I've never seen them. Natural twenty. Natural twenty. Um Kenko, yes, you know. Um they're they're usually very s removed.

Um and location wise they usually exist on the far outskirts of the empire if anywhere. They have small uh family units that kind of live on their own. There isn't so much of a Kenku culture they belong to. They're just small little groups.

They kinda look out for themselves. And um ravens they're able to mimic correct many, many stones. As part of their history and and you rolled a National Twenty, so you know quite a bit, you would say that there something in their lineage, there was a c a curse involved, something Something based around the time of their creation where their ability to converse was taken from them. I mutter that to the group.

Well Carrie, uh have you happened to see like a safe house or a a building or a structure around while you were fleeing? Where did you see the the uh the swamp people that you were talking about? And she points kind of in a northeastern direction. Okay. And but your family went the other way to the west? The way we came from.

I mean, we could always give her a horse and I was thinking. Writes in the page, spins it around, it says nowhere to go. Can I come with you? Are you able to uh handle yourself in a scrap? Are you good with a weapon or she's four. Well you're how old? I I don't really know, but I'm twice her age at least. She's got really good penmanship, so I don't think she's like four like human four.

Most four year olds can't ride like that. That's true. Overgoing is a bit dangerous, but we should warn you. To my question though. Are you able to handle yourself in a dangerous moment in any way? Looks back at the boges. Oh monk. Maybe we can Keep her in the cart or something. At the very least. Yeah, yeah, yeah. If she stays with us at least until tomorrow, then maybe I can send a message to your family.

And let them know you're okay. I'm okay. Right. I reach uh behind my my belt and I pull out a dagger and twirl it in my finger and hand it held towards Gary. Careful, sharp. He's sharp. Sweet. This is kinda creepy, man. Do you have any more like uh p pocket bacon? Oh are you hungry? I have a pouch of I have a pouch of things that

Uh this one might like. Ooh yeah, you got oats. I have dried corn and and oats and things. Would you peck off these? Holding the dagger just gonna just like like out of your hand. Okay, I have some pastries too if you like some sweets. I know. Yeah. It takes it many seconds. What do you need? Take a look at this. Is this do these mean anything to you? And you're just looking at the stone structures that are Uh you rolled investigation. I rolled eight. Eight. It's like the stone.

It it looks like it's very old and has long fallen over and just been reabsorbed mostly by the swamp. It doesn't like it was a large structure. Like it might have been a small Uh like brief gatehouse off the off the path, some sort of a watch post that it just pulled me over. What do I make of the same make an investigation show? Uh that is uh twenty-five. Twenty-five.

looking through it and kind of making out the the layout of it. It it was definitely a post house for the uh probably barrel bend when it was first made. The stones look well over a hundred years old um and have pardon long been reclaimed by the uh the roots and vines of the swamp. Um nothing special beyond that really. Okay. Just an an abandoned post. Looks like a bunch of old crap, to be honest. Oh, that's disappointing. Kind of kinda. Let me just hold this dagger for just a moment.

Hard grip on it. I'm gonna I'll give it back. Easy. I'll give it back. I just wanna test something. It's okay, Carrie. Okay, can you we're just gonna uh You know test your reflexes here, okay? Hidden you know the little sparring punch punch here hit here can you You you na you unless it has cure wounds on her before she does this. Okay. Oh to a to the hand? Yeah. Okay. So you take Two points of damage. Oh. Oh. A natural twenty got two points of damage. Yeah, on arms, right.

I don't know if she needs a dagger, but here you go, child. There you go. There we go. Okay. We're gonna die first.

Should we cut open these giant gators and see what the hap- Let's see if we can cut them and keep some of this leather. I bet it's worth a little bit of money. I'll take my axe and hit it in the belly. Are you guys being to carve through the two crocodiles? Yeah, we'll have to check the channel. All right. Whoever's humming that, go ahead and make a uh, we'll say

Let's say a medicine check to under to understand which parts of the body of it are probably the most delicate. I should probably do that to a testes. To try and and and open it without Okay. Choose your weapon. The brain. The tail. Still still good. Okay. Um it'll take you the better part of the day to carve off enough of the hide to really be useful for trading. Um Settle put you a prob I mean it's it's a long process, just big creatures. Um

So he's beginning to kind of carve off some of its hide. You are none of you are experienced tanners, so it's a lot of trial and error and a lot of like sections of it tearing off prematurely and it's a very messy process. Uh gestures kind of like Hand to elbow, just covered in blood. Um Yeah. Is there anything fun in the guts? If you check in the stomach, uh you find you find a lot of bones, um, you find a lot of of partially digested meat, um, and a lot of black feathers.

Did Jester spend hours doing that? A while, yeah. If she did, then Caleb would have spent an hour to cast comprehend languages as a ritual spell to talk to uh her. Full on. Sure. Okay. That this is bird people? It looks to be uh Like couldn't you tell from the bones it's a lot of bird people? Oh no. That's his kid's parents. Oh. Oh come on. And probably the rest of the family too. The cousins. He might be the only one if she's going to sell Curie away from this for the moment.

And say, uh after an hour has passed of me doing this ritual spell, uh for the moment I can understand you as clearly as you can understand me. Do you want to tell me anything about your time in this swamp or what you want to do with with yourself now that you are alone or how we can best help you or anything you want to tell me. Okay. Well In the meantime, while uh we are looking for them, is there anything that we can do?

For you or is there anything that you can tell me about your ti your last days here? This is yeah, this is this is gonna be a point. Can it Yeah, like uh Rorschach test this. Can they talk to each other? I mean their hoots and whistles are some form of language, aren't they?

They were cursed and they lost the money. That's interesting. That's an interesting point. After casting the spell, there's no language to understand. It's only through mimicry. Got it. So you manage to get the gist of that initial statement through just talking with it for a while, but the spell has no effect. Interesting.

Yeah, there is no s there is no spoken language. Should we tell her Caleb is we don't know that these brothers are her parents. Looking through with your medicine check, it looks like there's uh only three. Three b between the two of them. There's three bodies. Were they big bones or little bones? They look to be little. The sisters. Parents are alive. Then they're really sad and they'll be happy that one of

What good would it do? I don't think we need to tell her. Yeah, no, we won't tell her that. I was afraid it was her parents, but if we can let her parents know that she's okay, then at least You said you could send a message? Yeah, well So the traveler's been teaching me some stuff. Okay. And I was asking him the other night about like how I could thank my mama and stuff like that. So he taught me um a little bit of how to send messages across distances. Wow.

And so you th but don't you need to know who you're telling it to or something? I don't know. I think if it's familiar enough then I can send it. So maybe if she describes them I could do it? I haven't ever tried it. We should try it now. I need to send it to Well, I have to prepare it. Oh. Let's haul this all back onto the cart and get on our way and we'll see where we get. What do you propose we do? Um

We gave her a dagger, point her in the right direction that her parents are going. I can't leave the other swamp things will kill it. Well, if she comes with us then we'll kill her. How how how what's her size? Uh a standing full height, maybe about Three and a half feet. Unless we can drop her off at the nearest town. When we hit the town we'll drop her off.

You should be welcome in a town. You can be welcome anywhere. Exactly. DM you said uh like three or four or five hours for Jester to do all that gator carving before? To do all all the to to actually harvest like the like the like the the actual armored hide it'll get you pretty close to dusk. Oh. Yeah, and that's what you did?

I don't know. Then I then I use Arcane Recovery. That's all I wanted to ask if I had time for that. Oh no guys, I mean we've seen how people react to not around here. What if we what if we drag her in front of some crazy locals and they

All of these are great points, but I'm waiting for another idea. Well I think that we should do what we have done well so far, which is to improvise. Uh it is better to bring her with us than leave her and then if we find an advantageous place to leave her then we will. But for the time being she is

is uh sidekick. Ah sidekick. Fair chances better than none. It's also possibly someone to wash the cart while we do our business. Plus in the morning I can send a message to your mama and dad. Mama and dad. Right. And maybe we can give you a horse. And then you can go find them. We should get back to the cart and at least try and make our way into some dryer. Let's get to see if we can find somewhere safe. Yeah. I'll carry this leather to the cart. I'll carry this leather to the cart.

Uh she goes and helps you start lifting the carb stuff, but barely at all. I love her. I love her. She's the best. She's the best. Welcome to the Mighty Nine. Hey. Walks right up to you. It's like face. Give her a kiss She's just so cute. You haven't gone yes. Goes back to helping faster. Alright, to the cart then. Do you do y do you know cats? Do you like cats? Do you know cats? Birds don't like cats. She's a baby. She's so like birds. Sorry, cats. Shh. Do you know? Do you like cats?

Into her hands. And Framkin starts to purr and nuzzle. It's just like spellbound by this moment of a cat appearing in her hands. Yep, I asked Franken to do a blab. And uh to lick her uh face. Kind of like seemingly no kinda weirded out by the moment, doesn't quite know how to react. Frumken starts chittering. He's uh he's friendly. That is that is my cat. But if you want to spend some time with him you can, you know, he's very soothing. For me anyway.

Picks up Fumpkin and runs towards the cart as you guys get there and load and Kiri jumps up into the cart and turns around that speech and goes Welcome to the Mighty Nine And starts petting from Kin. Cool chick. I love her so much, the best of us. She's the best of us. Well this is never gonna get irritating. Let's get on, alright. Can I uh Can I insight check her? Sure. Make an insight check. Oh my insight's so bad. It's gonna make it even better. Twelve. Twelve. It's a bird person.

I am bird person. I am bird, not not that kind of bird person, but um I don't trust her. I would just like to point out if we pick up one more stray there will actually be nine of us. That can't happen. There will not that we will not have that. With Frumpkin, then then we wouldn't be ironic anymore. Cling to our irony. That's true. Are we are we cheeky or are we serious? That will that'll totally change our entire disposition of our group. I think it could be both. Seriously cheeky.

Cheekingly serious Let's put a cloak over her so she looks a little less like a bird. I've got a little I've got some clothing that would fit her, you know. My clothing. Can just give you my cape and stuff. But now you don't have a coat cloak on. I'll take off my cloak and put it on not But it's a short cloak. It's a little long, don't worry. It's a nice flannel. I wanna want it back. Right now? Okay now I'm calling it.

his cloak and puts it on Jester. I never wear a cloak. We're not in the city. No, it's okay. I'm actually really warm right now. I don't need anything. Yeah it's definitely like eighty five degrees. What? We're all sharing cloaks for no reason. It's not eighty five degrees. I put it back on Caleb and it's a humid sixty degrees. It is it's it feels warmer than it is because the the moisture in the air, but it's not like warm. You guys we are trying to make it work.

Let's get out. Yeah, Molly and I take the lead on the horses. The village of people. We should go that direction. Wait, that's the way that we go to find our our So we can locate Fabro.

Let's go. Alright. Off we go. So following the Bromkiln byway, your vision pierces the dense tangle of trees and vines. to see the distant glow of lanterns just as the sun sets and the evening sky grows dark. Closer still you make up a strange mismatch of varying levels. that make up the village. Whole areas stand on stilts and raised platforms, connected by bridges, while much of the city, to the eastern side of it, appears to be partially submerged in bog water.

The browns, greens, and greys of the marsh itself is reflected in the browns, greens, and greys of the people who now wander the streets going about their business. Welcome to Barrelbitten, a somewhat miserable looking but functional village here in the Dwendalian Empire. So as you s as you kind of come off the road, the road gives way into this kind of central district, which is what looks to be a s a smattering of of stone slabs.

uh cobblestone and whatever pieces of material were left over from construction that kind of helped fix and maintain some sort of a a main road here in the central uh kind of opening before it scatters into the rest of the city. What would you like to do? Oh gosh. Well, most of a day to harvest a gato. Yeah. Yeah. Um we should probably look for like an in or something, right? We have to look for February who is apparently In the keystone pub.

Oh. There you go. And we should look for the Keystone pub. Ron Keys and Keystone Pub. In the r yeah, in the r district I ran out of page. In the puddles. In the puddles. It is in the puddles. Yeah.

I got putting. Pudding. And the puddin. Is there anybody outside right now? There are. There are people walking through the streets. Some of them are like carrying small uh sacks over their shoulder from place to another or in the process of wandering over to make about their business for the city and they notice you approach and they're kind of slightly

nosy, kind of paying attention to these strangers that just came in off the byway. I'm gonna cast this guy's self on myself. Okay. To look like a little halfling girl. Alrighty. Oh, it's still me! I I just I can change my body into other things. Woo! Can't do that with disguise. Oh, oh, here, take my mask. Oh, but you have a big big It's terrifying.

It's very comedia dell'art. Just pull that cloak way, way down. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. There's like this long dark snout beak poking through, but you got what you got. Stylistic. It's fine. That's a person mask. Yeah. Yeah. Plague doctor it up. Keystone pub, right? Yeah. Excuse me. You see there's this one kind of older woman who's hunched going by, has her own hood up and kind of a

Long gray cloak. She's wearing kind of a somewhat stained looking linen blouse and kind of says, What do you want? Lovely weather, we're having hot. Where the shit? Okay. Um I was wondering if you could point us toward a inn or the keystone pub, maybe. Keystone pubs in your puddles that way. Thank you. Look for the crooked tower thing. Can you sleep there? I mean you can. I won't be cooked too there. Oh. Here. Here's some pocket bacon for your trouble.

What the fuck is pokey baking? You seem like you'd appreciate that more than money, so I don't know. I'm very confused, but I'll take it. Puts it in her pocket, keeps walking. See? How much of that do you have? It's like bakes at this point. It's just like a little scroll crowd. The whole campaign she's been subtly just stealthily stealing bacon.

I would do that. I haven't done that. Yeah, no. Just wanna say wrap it up in a paper towel, stick it in her bag, and fine. From what we can see in the streets, are there any uh anyone carrying any weapons or guards or spears? There are. You do actually see a handful of Crowns Guard. Um they're present. It's still part of the Empire, though they look to be somewhat

Lacklester. Um at least their armor isn't as shiny and well kept. It looks like uh one of them's like fucking hell. Yeah, they're They're stationed here and they're probably not very appreciative and have tried their best to adapt to the the the life here in the Labenda swamp.

Um but they are visible throughout the town, uh, including the puddles, which as you begin to go towards it. Um the I'd say a close almost half of the city takes it the puddles. And it looks like it was it's the oldest portion. of the town. Probably the the original uh barrel bend was just this district called the Puddles. Um And the entirety of it is beneath the right. somewhere between one to three inches of water. So as you begin to descend from the central um area of the town, um you

begin to submerge your feet splush in the entire rest of the city. It has been apparently slowly sinking into the swamp. Um it's it's it's like slowly wading through you know uh a a tide at the beach. Um

It's also very much the impoverished side of this. If you can imagine an area of the swamp more impoverished than what you've already come across, this is it.

Uh you see a lot of huts and hovels. All the buildings here, on top of being older masonry and stone structures uh in construct, the bases themselves are a deep, deep algae green from the floor to about halfway up, about two or three feet, where it seems like moss and fungus and various other plant matter has just slowly grown as the liquid that has been soaking into the vicinity. uh s slowly growing up the side of these buildings.

Um there's a fountain that is completely like folded in now at this point is kind of falling into itself and bits of the water just seem to have uh permeated through. It's an older relic of the earlier construction period. It does I love this place. This is Greece. Uh Crown's guard keep keep an eye on you as you are the newcomers that lock in. And you do notice as you head down into the puddles, one of the guards who c kind of watched you enter just kind of trails.

back about thirty or so feet, just kind of slowly walking, keeping an eye. I pace behind the group to start catching up to him. Is the wagon doing okay in the in the Yeah, it's doing all right. It's uh it's still a three inches of water average, so it's it's not a major hindrance. And you're also going at a relatively comfortable pace now that you're in the city.

So keep pushing in looking for any signage of the keystone pub. For the big tower thing. Perception check for both of you guys. Also how a very important question. How is Kerry doing with Funkin? Terry is now enthralled in the back of the cart. Hood up, Frumpkin kind of curled up on her lap and it's just kind of like slowly petting her. So she's slowly petting him.

Um match pace of the crowns guard eventually. It's following us. So you come up and I can slow behind to match his pace who's following us. Okay, so you two? Nice. Twenty two. You c you see it first, and as soon as you kinda look direction you catch up with that Ford. Um you spot a small crooked tower, it looks like. Maybe about uh twenty-five or so feet high. Um looks like there wasn't originally a building here that fell into itself and collapsed, and then they built a pub on top of it.

not very well. So it's kind of this haphazard construct that looks somewhat unstable with bits of Um the only way you can get up into it, it looks like there are rope ladders. Hanging down the front of it that lead into an archway that's just open on the top. There are two oil lanterns hanging from the outside that give this kind of faint glow to the exterior. From the inside it looks warmly lit. Though dark.

I would hang out here full of time. It's about an eight foot climb to get to the threshold of the interior. I'll climb that ship myself. That's what it looks like, yeah. Let's go up. I love it. All right, so you guys guide your way that way. You manage to catch up with the crown scarter's just kind of walking. As soon as he sees you kind of slowing behind, he Just lets you catch up.

Should somebody stay with the cart maybe? 'Cause I feel like maybe all of our awesome stuff we just got will be taken. What stuff? You mean the leather that we took bloody crocodile? We also have a beautiful piece of leather. We also have some fine trap tapestries. We have a s we have a many things. Well Caleb can put his Fold the silver thread around the uh edges of the cot.

Please step away from the vehicle. And you just leave it on the on the base of the tower? And and all of us can get in but anybody else will put a bell off his head. So as you approach, the guard turns to you. Even the mist? Evening, sir. Out of town is? Yeah, passing through. Right, well just don't make any uh don't make any trouble.

Uh feels like trouble would make your life a little interesting though wouldn't it? Don't look interesting. Oh, is that why you're stationed here? Is this by choice or who'd you piss off? No trouble, miss. What's your name? He's just like staring right through you. For now, nothing. Just a little conversation. Just simple, you know, trying to be polite. Who named first? Bo. Bo. Yeah. Crownsgod Alexander. Crownsgod Alexander So formal. I don't like you.

I get that a lot. I can imagine. Yeah. Don't start any trouble. Alright. Good. Get on your way. I will wait because I don't like him telling me what to do and then I will get on my When you're good and ready. Thirty seconds. I I'll just Yeah. No, I'm comfortable. I'm talking about. Let him know. Be on your way. He turns around and walks back to his post. I wait and then I

Give myself with this for winning that game of chicken. And then I climbed the rope. Man, what a great scene between husband and wife. It was me at sixty with every cop I ever. That was that was great. Never end never ended that well. Nothing and I wanna win. Nothing. Are you guys uh keeping Kiri in the cart? Stay like behind me a little bit, okay? Don't like make yourself obvious. I need to protect you

We're going we're bringing her into the bar. Well we can leave her in the cart. I guess not. Do you drink liquor, Kiri? No. No. Booze. No. No. No. No. Just say no. No. No, Firi, no. Here I'll give you a little knock. What is booze? You know what booze is? Boo. She's gonna try sooner or later, you know. Do not let this little

You know it's true. It's we'll get her a turly shample, it's fine. We're not going to if you teach respect early on towards alcohol though. Yeah. That's true. Keeps them from aim then she's That's true. Because if she hasn't she won't, you know, she just got swallowed by it. Let's go in. She hands frumpkin to you. She hands frumpkin to me. Sure. And climbs up the rope with the rest of you.

As you guys climb up the eight-foot john up at the side, you step up past the threshold into the archway and are immediately met with this. Tough looking albino dwarf dude. He's standing there with like pale white skin, jet white gray hair. um white eyebrows, big white beard with just this black leather uh kind of vest that's tucked into these these uh kind of billowing uh dark brown pants and boots He's got all these scars and tattoos across his forearms and he's just folded down and goes

Right? Steps back to let you in. Hi. Can I get to nod? Sorry. It continues to glare as you guys step inside, but within d it's a warmly lit, cozy space that kind of resembles being below deck on a ship at sea. You're right at home here, Ford. Um it's it's all dark wood from all different angles and it's kinda cramped too so it has that similar kind of feel.

Um all the light in here are just looks like a handful of oil lanterns, so it's pretty heavily shaded in certain areas. Um so you're only catching like rim lighting and soft light on certain faces around here. This may be six patrons in here total. Um to the right

You see uh two individu it's loud binging sound is two individuals in the process of looks like building some sort of a stage on the corner immediately to your right. It's small, maybe like five foot by five foot, but it's in the process of being built. Um to your left you see the bar. It's an L-shaped bar, not not terribly large. Um but there behind it.

Uh you can see there's uh three oil lamps set up behind that kind of light the area. You can see some of the the liquor bottles and the uh the ale the ale kegs and and uh everything kind of set up towards the back of the barn in the front with one patron sitting on uh a stool. you see what looks to be a uh rather cheerful looking middle-aged male gnome as the uh the purveyor uh of this this establishment.

Uh he's got kind of puffy black hair and heavy mutton chops on the side of his face, this kind of bulbous rosy nose. as he's in the process of kind of pouring and refilling this tanker for the patron who's kind of leaning against the bar in front of him, this kind of gruff looking fisherman human dude. Kinda gives a little glance over to you as you step in, kind of taking in the vicinity and goes

Hi! Well welcome to the Keystone Pub! The oldest pub in the uh labenda! Ha! Well that w the oldest pub in the labenda's beneath this one. But we've rebuilt it. It's really cool. Stunning. Thank you. Thank you very much. Glad you could make it. Where are you all from? All over the place, really. Oh that's a bit of a journey, isn't it? Well, glad you can make it. Not many folks come that far over here to visit the swamp. And what's your name, good sir? I am Dent Bonswallow.

Bonsuolo is a little bit high right now Bonsuolo Swallow. Can I just look around at the few patrons that are in here and see if any of them fit the description of Fabronkies with the ship? Do we have a description? Like the teeth busted eye. Looks super cray. It's too dark in here unfortunately. There's only six other patrons, but uh of all them they're they're too dimly lit for you to make out any features.

Close to them and just be like one by one. We can just look in a few more minutes. As Jester kinda begins walking off of the chamber is uh

So what can I get all you guys? What you asking for? What you looking for? What's your strongest drink? Oh, that would be the uh What the fuck? What is the throat grog? The bender throat grog. Yeah. Yeah. Bender throat grog. Bends you like a fucker. It's gonna go to snake. What do you mean, same colors? Yeah! That sounds exciting. I think we need a round. A round for everyone. A round for everyone! Yeah, change points the little hooded creature next to you. No, she's she's

On the on the wagon. On the wagon. Right. Weird. Um Oh, I didn't know I needed this. All right, that's gonna be put you back about uh twenty-five copper pieces. Oh. I mean I'll take it. No, I I have it. This one's on me. It's easy for me to take it. I need it for tax write off all the guitar. They always fight for the check. Boulder freshman shoes. Okay.

Snip. All right, you get it. I was just pouring the drinks and we went, brings you to tower, brings you yourself on new small fields. Oh you know, we just heard like amazing things about this area and we thought, you know, we would check it out'cause we're like We're we're travelers. Mm historical point of interest. Yes, and we like to see different sorts of things. And this is really uh like an interesting area. You know, not many cities have a lot of water in them like it's just shit oh.

Well, but it's our shit ho. It's really cool looking though. That's fine, that's that's exactly the magnet that I bought when I got in here. If anyone else wants to, you've got like a whole bucket of them.

It spoke to me. You don't know you're building a stage for something, is there is there some sort of circus in town or something? No, I just want some entertainment to liven the place up a bit, you know. We've been here for ten years and it's just been Bit droll. Did you own the previous bar that this one's built on top of? I did. Did just inherit it from my father. Oh. Before it um

Right. How how old is uh Barrel he uh heaven uh barrel been excuse me, uh in general? Been here since the Empire started. Almost three centuries. Wow. Yeah. Well, you know, we love traveling around. Is there anything in Barrel Bend that we just have to see before we leave? Here. Yeah. It's the finest pub in town. Great. I hate it's rough to start at the top, mate, but you know, you make your way down. I mean worse ways to go. Have you good shopping in town, maybe?

We've got some trade, we've got some leather to trade with maybe have some armor. Maybe, maybe. Um your best bit for trade wouldn't really be here in the puddles. I'd be looking for the midway docks. That's where most of the business gets done here. Um if you're looking for things more a fancier space, maybe you want to go ahead of the stilts, but that's where the um Ah more of the uh There is a fancier part of this town.

It's the stilts that's where it's all raised up. That's where the Southern House is, where the Starosta stays. There's the Mosmaya temple, which is where the druid that keeps the swamp fane here stays. Um Idolmaster.

We're also gonna be looking for a place to to sleep and I don't know if you would recommend anywhere that uh You're already here. You have rooms? Yeah. He points down. That's exciting. Downstairs? Yeah! Whoa, that could be so much fun! Is it haunted? Do you like things that are hunted? Yeah. It's hunted. Yeah. Is it submerged in water? No, no, no. We we we cleared out underneath. Everything that fell in, we cleared out and we have subterranean rooms. Well, like portholes to the you know

Water and so I do. And he makes a note on a piece of paper. There will be in a few weeks. Okay. Are they below the water level here? Most of them no. But there's a few if you like it. It'd be a bit soggy. I'll walk away from the bar and just stand near the door entrance. I've covered for for it a little bit, just take the space. Okay. Just fill it out. Just fill it out. This is my bubble now. Nobody get close. How many rooms do you have?

Four. I think we'll take off well, how much are they a piece? Ah, put it in here put about um a silver piece per room. Oh I figure just stay at all four for for a couple days. Good person. Per person. Yes. That's a lot more than you originally made it sound like. I apologize for the miscommunication.

I'm perfectly okay with this. Yes. Yeah, sure, why not? It is haunted. Exactly the case. You pay for them spirits. Is there someone we can keep our cart? Do you have a place we can keep our cart? A cart? Well yeah. Then yeah? We can keep it. I can keep it. Keep it where? Where? You can just take it to the stables. Okay. For a just a few

Pew copper is like a Where would delivery thing? Eight Now I'll do it because I want to see the down. It's silver it's over in uh it's over in it. You said a silver per person? Yeah. Alright, I'll just let's just put a couple yeah eight eight that's that's fine, I've got that. Fair enough. Lady's done. Thank you. And do you want me to be delivering your cart for you? No, I can do it. Yeah? It will be fine.

Alright, but if you ever get lazy Where's the stable? Uh uh the midway there's only really one stable, it's a bit large there, it's in the uh the midway docks, so uh just keep an eye on Askara and you find it. Oh maybe we should have

Uh we've got lots of stuff. Yeah? Uh we're looking for we we we heard about a kooky regular. We just have to meet him uh for braun You looking for all Fabron? Fabron Keys, yeah. I can ask. He's over there. Oh. Left of the stage where uh looks like uh passed out and Probably in his own Pistmas, aren't they? Yeah. He points over the direction you can see by where they're banging with hammers at the stage. There's just one guy who's like

Just like completely out. Probably like drooling down the side of the face. I was going to look at everyone in here. We we we found it, we won! We got it's right here. We did we just send the message back to the gentleman who collect our money. Anything special to say to him or can we just go wake him up? No, we have to we have to secure the safe and so we can just like look. That's not an okay.

I'm sorry, I was confused. He's just the contact who uh knows Let's go, wake him up. Yeah, I'm gonna walk over and sit down at his table and Wave my drink underneath his nose. And I pop it up. Flick him in the forehead. What the fuck is you there for? You seem like such a charming gentleman. You now have the the the full appearance here and and it's it's it's pretty busted. Just uh The gentleman is wrong. There is one tooth.

But it it is black and angled. Um from the bottom? Yeah, from the bottom out. Nice. Um the left eye is just kind of dealing off and off direction. Um he looks like he's he's probably been kicked in the face a few times by like probably a horse at some point in his childhood. Um he's definitely he's had a he's had a rough Rough go at life probably, but it seemed to have carved a living. Um you have the very kind of uh balding head on top, jaundice skin looks like he's just kind of

uh sweating from the general humidity and uh of the the air in there along with probably who knows how much he's been drinking and just kind of sweating the alcohol through his pores. Doesn't take care of himself. Um but you know kinda looks up Oh, you just seem like such a charming gentleman. What a fudge did you flip me? We were sent for. First more fucking drink. Oh. A certain gentleman.

Mmm, tension goes straight. This eye goes and joins the other. I hand him the drink one more time. You uh you were sent by the gentleman. Yeah. What's he want? Don't drink from that again. Don't sterile. It's by its very nature it's sterile. It's good. Don't fix him in perfectly uh ninth level spell as uh beyond. That's a wish. Yeah.

We're here to help you with your troubles. Okay, the troubles just started, mate. Don't work anything we does. No, fucking out. Nope, want nothing to do with it. We're here to deal with the safe house. No. I don't want anything to do with him or any of his business

He wants to send more of his toddies out to a drowning death? Go for it! That's up to you. I want nothing to do with it. You can do it without adding corpses by my tangle. Well if you want another drink then then you're gonna show us how to get there and how to deal with it and what you know. It's a drink for it. Yeah, fuck you. I take my drink back.

Mm. We could also just drag you back to the gentleman if you'd prefer that instead, or you could just point us in the right direction and let us take care of it. True, we did not have the kindest things to say about you. Make an intimidation, Jack. Boa it just gives that a crack. You're so intimidating, Caitlin.

Uh there is a source car we're so scary. He kinda likes the sweat begins to build a little more on his brow. He's like, Who uh just uh don't don't don't don't need it, we're gonna take me back to him. It's it's uh, you know, just trying to you know, it's it's I don't want to work anymore. Well, you know. Keep it simple, stupid. You can't get another drink. Yeah.

My sis is just some shit going on out there in the swamp. I don't- But he didn't tell you anything, did he? Was it gaiters? That was in Kaitus. Oh well,'cause we are really good at killing those. So we are very aware that he has sent us into something more uh troublesome than he has described, and we are willing to do that, and uh we are told you are the one? Who can get us in the right direction? And we will be very disappointed.

Otherwise. It was easy work, mate. Alright? Meet his friends, leaned at a safe house in the swamp. Leave them back. Good pay. Simple work. And you haven't got to miss it, huh? Don't value my life more than that. A few weeks back I I escorted one of his smuggled troops to the safe house in this one. Right? The one you're asking about. Left him there with instruction to return a few days later and escort them to the Underground River. Returning our heart something cruel.

It's much scarier than that. Shaking. I got there, right? Fucking hell. Outside the house. All of them. Dead. Strung up in reeds and roots, bloated and left as a wound and ask what I say. I hear the howl again, and I'll just run. I'm covering Kiri's ears. There'll be curses in this swamp. I've been since before this load from struggle shit holes been here. Not me, so I've been having you. Been having it ever since. I don't know what it is, it's got it in my head.

Are you going? Hey, worth it for a hand coin. All right. Yep. We could do that. You just said coin, right? I just said coin. I didn't make it clear which coin the coin. Co copper. Hundred copper. Hundred copper? Hundred pennies. 100 silver okay 100 silver you got it

Half and half. A little little gold and a little silver. Silver and gold. Which make? Make it a hundred gold pieces and buy me a drink. Yeah, I'll give I'll pour you a drink. I'll pour I'll refill his cup with does he have a cup? Uh, he does. Okay. He'd pulled off the ground, it was like knocked over and spilled. With my flask, how filled it. That's one part of it taken care of. And the other? Alright. Half now, half upon upon delivery to the place. Me persuasion check.

That's a persuasive Jesse. No, it's not. It's a nice night. Damn it, Jesse. It's a nine. Perfect. now or you're pissing up the wind to find this little place Don't don't be a dick to us. You already said you were scared of us bringing you back to the gentleman. What are you going to do? What are you going to do? Your f your bird friend said you Yeah, what she said. 이렇게 I'm going to be risking my life I'm going to do it for the right amount of coin, okay? It's a service I'm providing.

You can drag me back if you like. It's a pain in the ass! Look you can either risk your life for the coin Or we can drag you back, as you said, without any coin. Then you have me back. Take me back to him. Empty handed and the D I looking fool. Hundred gold. And you sing us a song. On the stage. Hundred gold. And make another persuasion with a disadvantage. Because Matt doesn't want to sing. No, he doesn't want to sing. Twelve? He goes. Deal, but it's a short song.

Does everyone uh everyone want to chip in a little bit of gold? Sure. I'm going to point out this is entirely your doing. Uh I'm going to give you all my gold. I'll take it. You're so broke all the damn time. No, I have two silver and five copper. You are so broke all the damn time. How broke am I? This is like sorting out a check at the end of the a meal. I'll give you twenty. I'll give you twelve. I'll give you twenty, I'll cover Caleb. Clint, twenty twenty.

Twelve. Okay, that's four or five. I'll take the rest. Accounting in D and D. No, I'm going to do twenty from me too, so that's seventy-two. And then one from Caleb, so seventy-three. So twenty-seven for me. Alright. Wait, but I didn't put any I'll I'll put in ten and put in seventeen out of two. Alright. Alright, here's your goals. All of us pull together. Now go sing your song.

Wait, shake my hand because You said it. It's really important to shake when you make a deal. And look me in the eye. This is the one I can wonder. Both okay. Power ballet. Make it a good one. Well we all know the words too. Wanna sing along? I yell at him as he walks away. The stage is only partially up and then two guys go the Just a moment. Fuck off. It's just a fucking moment. Fucking Elphabron, seriously? They step back, cross their arms, and he kind of gets up on the stage. Margaritabelle!

Looks at the pouch of coins. Ha ha ha. All the sailors say brandy You're a sang What a good wife you can be. He delivered.

Now get in a drink when he goes back towards the bar. Wait, are we leaving in the morning? When are we doing this? When do you want to leave? In the morning. We've got some shopping to do. We've got to run around a bit. 10 30. Wait a minute. Soft tensor. Did you already give him the gold? Yeah. Hang on. He ain't gonna fucking be here with me. They're taking me back. Excuse me, how do we know you're gonna show up tomorrow?

And not just run away with the gold. Well, he's staying with us this evening. Oh, that's right. You're staying with us. Yeah, yeah. Sure, fine. Great. Take your pick. No. Shooters wisely. I sleep naked. Thank you. Ready to snuggle be lady. Good choice. Goes and finishes his drink.

And you're you're shown the the sleeping quarters for the evening there is a hatch kind of behind into the back of the bar. It looks like a dark corner where there's almost no light. Um the barkeep comes over. Uh Dent and brings one of the lanterns off the wall and opens up the hatch, and there's a ladder that leads down inside. And literally, they've cleared out.

Most of the ruin of the old establishment below it and there are four separate rooms with a small hallway between like a cross section hallway that are built as a subterranean uh sleeping quarters. There are no windows. It feels very much like a prison cell with a bed. But it's functional. Are there two beds in the rooms or is it just one bed? One bed per room. Oh boy. Time to snuggle up. Who's taking Kiri? Oh Curie's staying with us. Okay. Oh.

Oh wait. So what are those four rooms? One is Yasha and the weirdo. Molly and Ford. Mm-hmm. And you and Caleb. Oh. Okay. As we go into our room I'd say to Caleb, It's not really haunted, is it? I highly doubt it. I mean it's possible. Oh shit. We need to take the cart to the stables. Mm-hmm. We're just putting stuff down and then we're also d how late is it at this point? Uh it's post sundown and the time of searching the city, having the drink and talk conversation is probably close to like

Nine thirty ten probably. Maybe we should have the guy take it. Or should you just leave it outside? Yeah. We we know what's in it. There's inventory. Is there anything missing? It's on it's on it's on him. It's on Dent. Yes, we'll have Dent take it to the stables. You think he has insurance to cover lost goods? No, we are in a podunk town, there is no insurance. Taking all the horses and the cart to the stables, uh Dent looking it all over charges you two silver. Go for it.

Well we're gonna are you gonna re re thread the silver thesis? We've been here an hour. There's seven hours ish left on the spell. Oh so that'll get us through m most of the night. Yeah. All right. That's fair. What all's in there? You have does that go with the card? With the card? Sure.

Yeah, I cast it I I thread the cart, but you have the thingy. Yeah. Yeah? That's the most important thing. The only thing on the cart is like your thing that you bought at the festival and some some crocodile skin. Leather, some armor. There's a few things. I think it's fine. Fine to send it. It's fine. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, here's c here's the cables over for you. Thank you.

No worries, happy to help. And then goes and carries it off and takes care of it for the evening. And also not, I would not worry, the spookiest uh thing in this place is us. Yeah, sorry. That is true. Alright, you guys gather your things and bed down for the evening, taking your respective chambers.

Cool. Quick conversation. Sure. Yeah. Just quick. Just that was as curious. As as the hooligans are getting ready for bed, I just wanted to say tonight, you know, um I think uh i for obvious reasons now I have kept a lot of things c close to the vest and those things are out. Um If you ever want to talk about anything now or later after you think about it. You are my friend. And and and and you can talk to me if you want. Well thank you.

You know, I I don't want to burden you with m you know m my my shit. You've got your own fish to fry and your own battles to wage and I I I don't want you to have to worry about me or anything. That means a lot to me. And Oh, hello. I can't see you through your boom. That's the point. I just want you to be okay. This person who corrupted you is out there still and and and we need to find him and you know kill him or whatever, if that's something that you want to do?

And uh you know, I'm fine focusing on that. I've got my own issues, but But I'm fine taking care of yours first. The thing is, you know, uh your story that you poured out to us to me and Bo the other day, it was very sad and I'm so sorry that you had to go through it. But I have to say in a way I'm I'm a little bit jealous.

Because you know you're you've done this horrible thing, not to make light of it or anything, but It's bad and And and and we can all tell that you've you're you're wearing it you know, in your dirty clothes and your your must hair. Very clean right now. Well, I know, but I mean Still like you know when you're dirty and it rains like streaks down and dries? That's the th sort of thing you've got going on right now. Like you've just pissed Spider Man.

I mean in hour one, yeah, but we were in the rain for like forty eight hours. Yeah. Did Laura Bailey put you up to this? No. All I'm saying is I feel like you can you can get revenge. You can maybe even get redemption f for what you've done and you can become a better person and and and you can you can do good to to counteract the bad that you've done in your past. And maybe someday there will be an end to your suffering. You're getting ahead of yourself. Okay. I am a garbage person.

Let's just put that on the table. But uh while I am a piece of shit. We can help each other in the short term. And I this is going further than I anticipated. I just meant that if if. The these people we're with are all interesting and great and untrustworthy but great. But I trust you. Which wasn't really true three weeks ago. And I know words don't do it. Talk to me if you want. All right.

Thank you for the offer. Good night, Caleb. Hey Jester. Yeah. What do you think Captain Max Dung whatever his name was? Maximilian Maximilian meant by like I'll see you again. I think he was, you know, saying something that like cute guys sometimes say those kind of things. Like, ooh, I hope our paths scroll. Again someday. And then later on in the book, you run into him again and he remembers you. Like, ooh.

Takes off his helmet this time and you see that he's got the most fabulous hair that like blows in the window. Hmm. Captain Maximilian is probably like that. I think so too. Do you think he had the hots for any one of us? You think that's why he said this? He probably had the hots for you, Bo. I think he had the hots for you. Well no, probably not. Maybe it was Yasha. Maybe he was like, ooh, I'm a captain. Maybe it was I'm a

Have you ever read She does a good job. Tusk Love. Kiri? Oh no. You know what? Maybe Kiri shouldn't read Tusk Love just yet. How old do your are your parents? You don't know how old they are? How old are you compared to most people that are like you? I think that means she's pretty young. I yeah. Kiri, where do babies come from? She doesn't know what the hell we're talking about. Yes, she does. Where do babies come from? Oh your voice is very low, but I sound like that.

I have a lot to re-evaluate. Think about some things. We should go to sleep.

Okay, I'm going to... Spend the evening telling Kiri basically the story of Tuscala. Oh God. But I mean she doesn't have to read it. I can leave out the really dirty bits. I fall asleep like twenty minutes in the podcast. It's the most beautiful love story you've ever heard in your entire life, basically. Yeah. The video is a little bit more. I draw pictures of it, you know, to like illustrate what I'm talking about. If you can see a blackbird blush. That's yeah. Molly for it.

Hm. It's not that I don't trust this place or like it, but I'm thinking about locking the door a little more heavily than normal and I'm gonna just wedge my sword just underneath the door to make sure that it's can't open without moving the sword. Mm-hmm. It's a lot of new people today. Smart. I don't like new people. Is there any like moisture in the corners of the room?

Uh yeah. There's like and you guys notice the most like two of the rooms are dry, two of them have about like half an inch of water on the floor. Oh my god. Which one is ours? Half an inch of water on the floor. I really don't mind. I mean this is actually pretty familiar. I'm alright with this as well. This is fine. Yeah. I'll take the bed though, if you're offering. Not a problem. Not a problem. All right. The door closes in the chamber. I like. Dow dow down. Pushing the bed.

Up against the door. Interesting. Right, right, okay. So it's like taking his like linen shirt on. No, wa what you could sleep with your clothes on. Okay, but it's not as comfortable. I throw him a pillow. Laura, you for us. I'm sleeping in the bed. Huh? Let's hear. No, you didn't pay for this room.

May I sleep in the bed? You won't fit in the bed with me. I am very big. Let's try. Let's not There you then lays down in the somewhat slightly waterlogged floor, kinda takes the pillow and bundles it up in the corner of the room and lays down into it. There's a little you have a little oil lamp in there you can put out.

I'm gonna leave it on. Leave that shit on. Just sit up against the bed. Alright. So You guys all eventually get to sleep, get an evening's rest, managing to adjust to the Unpleasant smell of somewhat swamp bog water soaked subterranean inroom. But the night comes and passes.

And we'll pick up next week as the morning comes too. But Braun is totally telling his friends that he nailed a barbarian. So I'd rather have known, right? He's a creepy little spudge. You never know. It's me pheromones. Kits em every time. Thank you guys. That was fun. Moving right along. I like this place. I uh I need a new notebook after the session. You feel that whole thing? She writes at like fifty five. She writes every

Each page is a centimeter thick though on this book. Yeah, and each page has like there's illustration Curse work color Learn from our monk. Punisher skulls. Skulls are bad guys. Yeah, mountains mountain range. Yes. Oh you recognize it. It's a mountain range. That's great. So proud. Oh yeah. If everyone's okay this is a c I think this is a clever system so we haven't used it yet. Yeah, but in the morning somebody gets it.

Yeah, not'll take the uh the fragmentation. Yep, yep, yep. All right, we'll pick this up next Thursday. Um Uh also we're gonna have a guest next week. What? I told you this. I remember Batu. Thank you. Yeah. Playing Penku? No. No. No, we have a guest. Uh uh my brother from another motherland for the past decade in the world of D and D. Uh some of you may know him from his uh online D D stream, High Rollers, but Mark Humans will be in town and joining us as a guest next week.

Too bad it's coming out. We already had kids. But only if he does an American accent. Well I won't finish Cumberbatch right here. From California. If we can get it out of him at some point, that'd be great. I love a fake American accent. But yeah, Mark Mark's longtime friend, uh, he came and watched watched the show live like when we first started streaming long ago. Happy to have him come in and join us next week. So uh excited for that, Mark.

We'll see you then. Uh the rest of you, rest well. Have a wonderful weekend. You as well. We love you. And is it Thursday yet? No. Good night. Not yet. Thank you for listening to this episode of Critical Role. If you've enjoyed this ever weaving story, please consider rating and reporting. Podcast the journey. We have plenty more stories to tell. Stay tuned and we'll see you next time. IKEA presenterar Ljud av förändring. Let slut! Jag har inte det tänkt snå! Den går från vänner till rival.

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