The Assembling of Legends/Transcript (2024)

List of Transcripts

Pre-Show[]

MATT: (Nic Cage) Hi. Welcome to Critical Role, where a bunch of us nerdy-ass Nic Cages sit around and play Dungeons & Dragons.

ALL: (Nic Cage garbles) We play Dungeons & Dragons.

ASHLEY: Derdy-derdy!

MARISHA and LIAM: Yeah.

MATT: Welcome, friends, to our Halloween episode– (laughter) -- where it lands, apparently, on a lot going on in the campaign every time.

SAM: Every year.

MATT: But let's do a quick roundtable to introduce ourselves as we decided to be a group of Cages, which I think we decided before the show today that's called a Coppola of Cages, I think, when there's--

LAURA: Ah!

LIAM: Could also be a Cage of Cages.

ASHLEY: I like that.

LAURA: A Cage of Cages is kind of--

TALIESIN: A Cage Match.

MARISHA: But Coppola's so inside, so inside baseball.

LAURA: It's very inside.

LIAM: It's topical.

SAM: Yeah. (laughter)

MATT: We'll start over here, Taliesin.

TALIESIN: Yeah, I'm playing a young Nic Cage from the movie "Valley Girl," 1983, so yeah, fuck you, for sure, totally.

MATT: Hell, yeah. Liam.

LIAM: (deeply) I'm Nic Cage in recent 2018 horror psychedelic film, "Mandy." I am your god now. (laughter)

MATT: Laura!

LAURA: (deeply) I'm a romantic Cage-- (laughter) -- from "City of Angels" movie. ♪ In the arms of ♪ ♪ Nic Cage ♪ (laughter)

MATT: Perfect. Ashley.

ASHLEY: Hello, I'm Dr. Stanley Goodspeed.

TRAVIS: Don't read a cheat sheet. (laughter)

ASHLEY: What I'm dealing with here is one of the most deadly substances in the world, so cut me some freaking slack! (laughter)

SAM: (claps)

MATT: Sam, what fresh hell is this?

SAM: I'm not Nic Cage at all. I'm John Travolta. (laughter) Can't you tell? This isn't my face. This is John Travolta's face.

TRAVIS: Oh, it's so bad.

SAM: From the film "Face/Off." Oh. (laughter)

TRAVIS: That's really rough.

MATT: Perfect.

ROBBIE: I'm too-much-titties Cage.

ALL: Yeah!

ROBBIE: From the 1992 romcom classic "Honeymoon in Vegas." Jack Singer, that's me. I jump off a plane in the end, spoiler alert. (laughter)

MATT: Perfect. Marisha.

MARISHA: (deeply) Yeah, uh, I'm 2006 "Wickerman" Nic Cage, specifically (shouts) not the bees. Oh my god! Oh, my eyes! Oh, my eyes! Ah! Yeah, that's my Nic Cage.

LIAM: You look like a medieval torpedo.

MATT: Yeah. (laughter) (claps)

ASHLEY: Marisha made that.

LAURA: You made that yourself.

ASHLEY: Marisha made that.

MARISHA: I did.

MATT: Yep.

MARISHA: Yeah, well--

ROBBIE: Oh my god.

TRAVIS: Are those sticks?

MARISHA: They're bamboo sticks that I got from my backyard. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Yeah, and you got bees on springs.

MARISHA: And I got the bees.

LAURA: Marisha is the Wicker Man

MATT: She is.

MARISHA: See the bees, they look like they're flying. (laughter)

SAM: They do.

ROBBIE: Really?

SAM: (bees buzzing)

MATT: Okay, Marisha's gone bye-bye. Travis.

TRAVIS: I'm the country Cage, or the lead singer in Nickelback. (laughter) You decide from that award-winning classic "Con Air."

MARISHA: Yes!

ALL: Woo!

TRAVIS: Put the bunny back in the box. (laughter)

MATT: I'm dressed as Hi McDunnough from 1987 Cohen Brothers classic, "Raising Arizona."

MARISHA: Yes.

ASHLEY: Yes!

MATT: My favorite Cage film.

SAM: You got your Huggies?

MATT: Huh?

SAM: You got your Huggies?

MATT: Not this scene.

SAM: Oh, oh, sorry. (laughter)

MATT: You know I was finding my wife.

SAM: Isn't your ass John Travolta? (laughter)

MATT: But yeah, thank you for joining us. Let's go ahead and get through our announcements so we can jump into tonight's episode, but that being the case, let's begin. Sam, why don't you tell us about tonight's sponsor?

SAM: Sure.

LAURA: Oh god.

SAM: From BioWare comes "Dragon Age the--"

TRAVIS: It's the big teeth. (laughter)

SAM: From BioWare comes "Dragon Age: The Veilguard."

LAURA: Does BioWare know this is what you're going to look like when you talk about their game?

TALIESIN: I was thinking about that.

SAM: They were not told about this part. (laughter) Hopefully the check has cleared. (laughter) From BioWare comes "Dragon Age: The Veilguard," an all-new single-player fantasy RPG video game featuring rich storytelling, world-building, companions, fellowship, and a world where your choices matter. But talking about this super cool game while I'm dressed like this doesn't seem fair to the sponsor. (oohing) So I prerecorded the ad when I looked normal. Kyle.

ASHLEY: Oh okay.

SAM: Let's cut to me from earlier today. (on video) (snores) (snores) (in studio) Oh, whoops, that was earlier. It was much earlier. I must have airdropped the wrong file. Kyle, can you play the one from a little later in the day, please?

TRAVIS: Two.

SAM: (in video) (deeply inhales) Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. (deeply inhales) Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. (in studio) Oh, nope! Wrong again! I think we want the one that I shot here in the studio, Kyle. (in video) There's got to be a filter in here that can make me handsome like Matt.

LAURA: (in video) I don't think a filter like that exists.

SAM: Come on, it's got to be here.

LAURA: No.

SAM: I don't believe you. (in studio) Oh, no, no, no, no. So sorry, Kyle. Let's try it one more time, a video shot a little later that. (in video) "Dragon Age: The Veilguard," an all-new single-player fantasy RPG video game featuring rich storytelling, world-building, companions, fellowship, and a world where your choices matter. But talking about this super cool game while I'm dressed like th-- (in studio) Okay, no, no, that was from 45 seconds ago.

LAURA: Oh my god.

SAM: Are there any more videos?

KYLE: (mouse clicks)

SAM: (on video) Ooh, look at me. Get "Dragon Age: The Veilguard" and embark on a quest to face powerful elven gods and stop their reign of destruction. This new installment of "Dragon Age" includes brand new companions, new regions of the world, fluid customizable combat, team combo moves, incredibly detailed character creation, and the choices you make will not only help shape your relationships, but also my face, and it'll make the journey your own. "Dragon Age: The Veilguard" releases October 31st on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. Learn more at EA.com/games/dragon-age. Hey Laura, how do I look? (in studio) "Dragon Age: The Veilguard" releases next week on October 31st. Matt, Cage to you. (groaning)

MATT: Thank you, Sam. I believe, Travis, you got an announcement to make.

TRAVIS: You guys, the final episodes of "The Legend of Vox Machina" season three are available now!

MATT: Yeah! (cheering) Woo!

TRAVIS: Oh man, the end of the season. You can check out the VOD for our wrap party for the first six episodes where we discuss all the intricate behind-the-scenes details with you. Next Tuesday, we'll be covering episodes 307 to 312 with some very special guests.

SAM: Cannot wait.

TALIESIN: Can't wait to see them.

TRAVIS: Right, it's going to be awesome. It's the last three episodes. I'm sure it's a walk in the park.

MATT: Yeah.

LAURA: Yay.

TRAVIS: Oh! (laughter)

ROBBIE: The wig a little bit tight?

TRAVIS: Yes.

ROBBIE: Yeah?

TRAVIS: Cut off the circulation to my brain. And look forward to details for season four!

MATT: Yeah. (cheering)

LIAM: Woo!

MATT: Woo! So much to come! Thank you, Travis. Laura, you got something to talk about.

SAM: ♪ In the arms ♪

LAURA: ♪ In the arms of this T-shirt ♪

SAM: Oh!

TALIESIN: Ooh!

LAURA: Hope Blooms t-shirt, you guys.

SAM: Cool.

TALIESIN: I love it.

LAURA: Isn't it so beautiful?

LIAM: It's so pretty.

TALIESIN: I want it.

LAURA: Look, look.

SAM: What is it?

MARISHA: Little snow drops.

LAURA: It's got little snow drops on it, and little dice as the middle of the flowers.

LIAM: Aw.

TALIESIN: Oh.

LAURA: This is by our fabulous Jordyn Torrence. Thank you, Jordyn. Go check it out in the Critical Role shop right now.

TRAVIS: I'm going to work out in that shirt.

LAURA: And thank you to you, Ashley, with the Critical Role Foundation.

ASHLEY: Yeah, let's go.

MARISHA: Thank you, CR Foundation.

MATT: Madam president.

ASHLEY: Hello.

TALIESIN: For life. (laughter)

MATT: Liam, you have something to talk about, too.

LIAM: I have some bloody Wayfinder news. Some video game news. Wayfinder is a character-based co-op action-- Listen, you guys all look--

LAURA: No, this is exciting.

LIAM: -- like Nicolas Cage.

TALIESIN: I told you, yeah.

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: Wayfinder, character- based co-op action RPG, available right now from Airship Syndicate on Steam and PlayStation. Our good friends at Airship Syndicate, as part of their launch, we have partnered with them to create a Critical Role supporter pack. Whoa, I get to make everybody do what I'm doing. A set of 30 in-game cosmetics available right now for $19.99! (cheering)

MATT: Yay!

LIAM: With this pack, you can take on the personas of Grog, Vax, Vex, and Keyleth, not the bees. Or even take out your very own Trinket mount to ride.

MATT: (bear growl)

MARISHA: Woo!

LAURA: You guys, it's so good.

LIAM: We've been looking at it evolve over months. They're adorable.

LAURA: Sorry.

LIAM: (laughs) Those wings will not be white by the end of the game. Visit play Wayfinder-- Wayfinder. Visit PlayWayfinder.com for more information and to start playing with some of VM.

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: Awesome. We are hitting the road and air in a major way next year with live shows and events across the globe to celebrate 10 years of Critical Role.

TRAVIS: 10 years.

MATT: Oh my goodness. But you'll be able to join us in Chicago and C2E2.

LAURA: C2E2.

MATT: C2E2.

ASHLEY and MATT: C2E2.

LIAM: Wait, wait, wait.

MATT: Pronunciation at your discretion. Also, we're going to be in Australia for the first time! (cheering)

TRAVIS: We're coming, Australian Critters!

MATT: In both Sydney and Melbourne, as well as Indianapolis and New York City and New York Comic Con. (cheering)

MATT: It's going to be--

ASHLEY: No ways!

LIAM: What?

TRAVIS: It's going to be big.

MATT: It's a year of celebration of the 10-year and we're excited to come, have you celebrate with us.

LAURA: We're excited to come! (laughter)

MATT: Yes.

LAURA: See you.

ASHLEY: We're excited to come.

MATT: You get it.

SAM: In your town.

MATT: Yes. (laughter) Beacon members will have early access to tickets through our pre-sales, of course. Our wonderful Beacon Bits. You can stay up to date on all of the details over at CritRole.com/events.

LAURA: Woo.

LIAM: Events.

SAM: I found out how to do the Australian accent.

TRAVIS: How?

LAURA: Oh no.

SAM: You're supposed to say, "Hello, I'm Jennifer Lopez." That gets you into the accent.

TRAVIS: That's not a thing.

ASHLEY: Hello, I'm Jennifer Lopez

TRAVIS: That's not, that doesn't--

TALIESIN: You're not saying that.

LIAM: For those of you at home, I don't know if it is reading over the internet, but Sam is fucking terrifying.

ASHLEY: It's horrifying.

LAURA: It's so scary.

MATT: It is. Oh, no, no, no! (screaming)

LAURA: Literally anything. Looking at you is rough right now.

ASHLEY: I hate it and I love it at the same time.

LIAM: It doesn't look like a costume costume.

ASHLEY: It looks like it's sewn into your face.

SAM: It is!

LAURA and LIAM: Yeah.

LAURA: It looks disgusting.

SAM: They sewed it on my face.

ASHLEY: The eyebrows are--

TRAVIS: Oh naur!

MARISHA and LIAM: Oh naur!

TALIESIN: That looks like a lifestyle choice.

LAURA: That's what it is the eyebrows are--

ASHLEY: But also, Matt, that haircut on you is really cute.

MATT: Well--

MARISHA: It is kind of cute.

LAURA: And your little mustache is cute, too.

MARISHA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: I love this look.

MATT: (H.I. McDunnough) Thank you, I appreciate that. (laughter) I think that concludes our announcements, so let's go ahead and jump into tonight's episode of Critical Cage.

ALL: Oh!

♪ Critical ♪
♪ Critical ♪
♪ It's Thursday ♪
♪ It's Thursday night! ♪

ASHLEY: ♪ One-by-one, we climb until we reach the top. ♪
♪ Two-by-two, we fall. ♪

LAURA: ♪ Will we meet our end or meet our destiny? ♪
♪ Hold your breath and roll! ♪

MATT: How do you want to do this?

ALL: ♪ It's Thursday night ♪
♪ All ye Critters, come join us ♪
♪ It's time to continue our plight ♪
♪ There is magic and mystery ♪
♪ Who knows what will happen? ♪
♪ He might! ♪
♪ But one thing's for sure, ♪
♪ We never give up on the fight! ♪

LIAM: ♪ From the healer ♪
♪ To the renegade ♪

MATT: ♪ We all share the same goal ♪

MATT and TALIESIN: ♪ Adding more allies ♪
♪ Taking more chances ♪

SAM: ♪ Hold your breath and roll ♪

MARISHA: You can certainly try.

ALL: ♪ It's Thursday night ♪
♪ All ye Critters, come join us ♪
♪ It's time to continue our plight ♪
♪ It's Thursday night. ♪
♪ There is magic and mystery ♪
♪ From darkness, our friendship will rise ♪
♪ But one thing's for sure: ♪
♪ We never give up on the fight ♪
♪ Oh, get ready, ♪
♪ Get ready, ♪
♪ It's Thursday night! ♪
(flames whooshing)

Part I[]

MATT: And welcome back. So, last we left off, Bells Hells and the Mighty Nein--

SAM: Jesus!

TRAVIS: Sure. (snickering)

MATT: -- had teamed up to be the away squad to--

LAURA: And Nic Cage. (laughter)

MATT: (like Nic Cage) - teamed up to be the away squad-- (laughter) -- to head to Ruidus through the portal that was discovered in Issylra, while the rest of Exandria planned an assault on the Malleus Key, both as a distraction to allow these two groups to go unnoticed to and inside the moon itself before dividing to two different tasks, one, the Mighty Nein to head into the Arx Creonum and destroy the Weave Mind, while Bells Hells were to clamber into the depths and the core of Ruidus itself to stop the Ruby Vanguard and Ludinus from releasing Predathos. So as you prepped for this journey, you traversed to Ruidus and then teleported into the basement of the Jagged Edge glass workshop.

MARISHA: This is--

MATT: Y'all okay?

LIAM: Just above the table--

TALIESIN: Every year.

ROBBIE: This is tough.

TRAVIS: Look at Sam's fucking face.

LIAM: We just have to remind you all that every year, it takes about 20 to 30 minutes to settle down from all the costumes. We're also multiple characters.

MATT: Yeah.

LAURA: Yeah, this is fine.

LIAM: I'm committing right now to never look at Sam again for the rest of his or my life.

ASHLEY: Also, Omar had that in his mouth.

SAM: Oh god! (laughter)

TRAVIS: I also wiped his ass with it.

MATT: Yeah. (laughter)

ASHLEY: Little pooper scooper.

LAURA: I couldn't tell if you had something going on because you still looked so fucked up. So I was like: What's going on? Is this--

SAM: (laughs)

LAURA: It was so weird. Then next to you, your contouring, Robbie, is so intense.

ROBBIE: I didn't ask for this!

LAURA: No, it looks--

ASHLEY: It looks so good.

TRAVIS: You look so beautiful!

LAURA: You look so beautiful.

ASHLEY: It's so beautiful.

LAURA: It's like the difference--

TRAVIS: It's like a cherub.

LAURA: -- between Sam's horrible gore face right now--

ASHLEY: And your face is glowing.

LAURA: Robbie, you were just listening to Matt, but you were like (hums). (laughter)

ROBBIE: I'm doing this the rest of the time. (laughter)

TALIESIN: I just keep wanting to deadpan it at Marisha.

MARISHA: Huh?

TALIESIN: Taliesin is a different person. Look at him.

MATT: Yeah.

TRAVIS: He is a different person.

LAURA: I'm sorry. (laughter)

TRAVIS: The pout!

TALIESIN: I'll stop, I'll stop.

TRAVIS: Sorry, Matt.

ROBBIE: Okay. Sorry, sorry. We're sorry.

LAURA: We're sorry.

ROBBIE: You were doing such a good job!

TRAVIS: No, no, no! Don't do it!

TRAVIS and ROBBIE: No, no, no!

TRAVIS: Put the dice down! (laughter) Arx Creonum and Bells Hells has to--

MATT: Yeah.

LIAM: (groans)

LAURA: Sorry.

MARISHA: What do we have to do?

MATT: You have teleported into the basement of the Jagged Edge Glassworks where Caleb had set up his Nein-Sided Tower for an evening's rest before the final push towards their collaborative missions.

LIAM: (Caleb)b Ja, okay.

MATT: There, the groups got to know each other a little better, prepared for the evening with some spells and enchantments that would last them for the coming day, and then eventually, divided amongst their various chambers to rest for the night, while also discussing what may very well be the last night on Exandria for all of them. With that, a night's rest is had and the morning comes to. You all begin to rouse from your collective slumber and gather as you will within the main chamber of the Nein-Sided Tower.

TRAVIS: This morning, Chetney's got wood shield, wooden shield that he's been working on.

ROBBIE: Oh yeah.

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Oh, that's right.

LAURA: Oh!

ROBBIE: That's right!

TRAVIS: But he's asleep.

MATT: Did he manage to to dress himself before he went to sleep, or is he still in the buff?

TRAVIS: Why would I deprive anyone of that glorious sight?

MATT: Valid.

LAURA: Wait, are you buff, or don't you have your suit that doesn't come off? Or did you take it off?

TRAVIS: Oh yeah, I mean I sleep in my jam jams. In my demonscale jams?

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Yeah, but it takes the shape of my contoured abs.

LAURA: Oh. And your contoured--

TRAVIS: And my quads and my traps and my lats.

LAURA: And your junk.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MARISHA: It looks like a Joel Schumacher costume.

TRAVIS: It actually accentuates the junk in quite a favorable way.

LAURA: Oh wow. (laughter)

MARISHA: (Laudna) His nipples are so prominent!

LAURA and ROBBIE: (laugh)

TRAVIS: Yeah.

LIAM: I can't.

LAURA: Did you roll--

LIAM: Can't do it.

LAURA: -- to see if you're alive still?

SAM: For life?

TALIESIN: Like a--

TRAVIS: No.

TALIESIN: -- Schumacher Batman suit?

MARISHA: Did you roll for life? Did you die? You did not die. Did you roll?

TRAVIS: What?

LAURA: Did you roll?

ASHLEY: Chet?

TRAVIS: Carry on.

LIAM: This is some hardcore procrastinating.

LAURA: No, he did not!

TALIESIN: It's hard to tell.

ASHLEY: Yeah, but did he do something and he's holding a secret, too?

MARISHA: I know. Matt has a face!

ASHLEY: He has secret face right now.

TALIESIN: He's blinking.

MARISHA: You have a face.

SAM: No, it's fine.

ROBBIE: I think it's just the mustache.

MATT: I think it's just 'stache. I mean, it's up to you guys. Who wakes up first? Who enters the chamber?

SAM and TALIESIN: Oh!

ASHLEY and LAURA: Oh!

ROBBIE: Oh! Oh!

MATT: The morning is yours.

TALIESIN: I think I'm going to, I'd probably be up first and quietly do the walk of shame back to my actual--

ASHLEY: Going back to your room from my room?

TALIESIN: Go back to my room very early before anyone notices.

ASHLEY: (Fearne) Yeah. Get out of my bed. I need a little bit of rest.

TALIESIN: (Ashton) No, that's fine. I need to rest, too.

ASHLEY: This is when I get my best sleep is right in the morning. So leave. But you're great. (laughter)

ASHLEY: Just going to sleep for like 15 more minutes.

TALIESIN: What the fuck just happened? Okay. Yeah.

LIAM: We're in one large room, which means you're walking--

TALIESIN: I'm walking dazed.

LIAM: -- about 80 feet across.

TALIESIN: Oh, I thought we had our own rooms.

LAURA: We do.

LIAM: That's the Mighty Nein.

TALIESIN: Oh, we don't have our own room?

LAURA: Oh yeah, we have our own beds.

LIAM: Bells Hells are down in the second floor--

MATT: (laughs)

LIAM: -- where there are nine sets of double doors that open and they have provided little bed chambers that are almost like glamping stations with laying down scrims. So if it was noisy--

SAM: So there's some privacy.

LIAM: Some privacy.

LAURA: Some, yeah.

SAM: But not noise privacy.

LIAM: Not a ton of audio privacy.

TALIESIN: I think we would've just--

ASHLEY: That's fine. We can make it work.

TALIESIN: I was also going to say, I think we would've found an empty room and taken it over.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

TALIESIN: Yeah, we walked around and was like, I don't think anyone lives here, and if there is, we'll yell at them.

ASHLEY: It's fine.

TALIESIN: That's fine. Yeah.

ASHLEY: We did some exploring in many ways.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: Yeah.

SAM: Oh!

MATT: (laughs)

TALIESIN: And a good time was had by all.

ASHLEY: A good time was had by all.

MATT: All right, so Ashton returns to his chambers.

TALIESIN: Yeah. Or-- Yeah, we all sleep.

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: All right.

TRAVIS: I did roll one set of zeroes so I have to roll the other one.

LAURA: (Imogen) Do you think Caleb has breakfast in his tower available?

MARISHA: Oh my god.

TRAVIS: We're good.

LIAM: You are already smelling the scent of pancakes and waffles and savory foods and sausages wafting down from the hole in the ceiling above.

ASHLEY: Yum. I smell sausage!

TALIESIN: (Caduceus) There's more to this. The cat waffles are amazing. I highly recommend.

SAM: Oh!

LAURA: I think we walk over to the middle and float on up. Is that how it works here?

LIAM: Well, Caleb's not here, but yes, that is how it works here.

LAURA: (shouts) Is that how it works here?

SAM: Yeah, that seems to be how we--

LIAM: You hear very distantly: (Caleb) Come up and eat some breakfast!

LAURA: (Jester) Come up and eat some breakfast! There's cookies, too, if you want them.

MATT: (laughs)

SAM: We go up.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: All right. All right, for those of you that have woken, you go and gather up and begin to enjoy a fairly well-prepared morning meal for being on the moon.

LAURA: Oh gosh!

LIAM: It's very zen here.

ASHLEY: (Yasha) I can't believe we're on the moon!

MARISHA: (Laudna) Yes. You've only seen just a little bit of it. There's so much!

ASHLEY: (Fearne) There's so much to see.

LAURA: It was so good seeing you guys. I'm so glad we got to meet you before we all perish in the great red doom.

TRAVIS: (not Fjord) Jester, that is not what's going to happen.

LAURA: No.

TRAVIS: Nope. (Fjord) That's not what's going to happen. (laughter)

MARISHA: It was the cage!

LAURA: Oh no! It was the Nic Cage.

TRAVIS: Sorry. Last night's activity really shook the old noodle. (laughter)

LAURA: It's okay. I don't mind that voice you do, Fjord. I always liked it.

TRAVIS: You always like it.

LAURA: (suggestive chuckles)

TALIESIN: (Ashton) It's a weird mix of chipper and pessimistic.

LAURA: Which one of you guys was it that was boning? Because we heard a lot of noise.

ASHLEY: What?

TALIESIN: What?

ASHLEY: What?

TALIESIN: No!

MATT: (laughs)

ASHLEY: That's... wow.

TRAVIS: You two. Good. Okay. So it was you two. That's nice. (laughter)

TALIESIN: It could have been the big cow guy.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TALIESIN: You don't know.

LIAM: (Orym) Can I ask--

ASHLEY: I thought it was--

MARISHA: Cow die?

TALIESIN: The cow guy.

LIAM: Is there any time differential between in here and out there? Are we going to come out a couple days later or anything?

LAURA: (Imogen) What do you mean?

LIAM: (Caleb) No.

TRAVIS: Jesus.

LIAM: We are just one--

TRAVIS: Fucking asking yourself questions, fucking asshole.

LIAM: We are just one sheet of paper over on the multiverse,

LIAM: We are just one sheet of paper over on the multiverse, if you will. So that's not a problem. Do we have--

SAM: (Veth) But we're still in enemy territory.

LIAM: Away from me, Satan. (laughter)

SAM: I mean, we're still behind enemy lines down here. So we're not at our destination. We have to go down further into this whatever. You people know where we're going, right?

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Did you sleep okay?

SAM: I always sound like this. Yes. (laughter)

ASHLEY: I'm not talking about how you sound.

SAM: Oh, this is a makeup mask that I wear.

LAURA: Oh yeah. No, no. They're really big right now. There's collagen masks. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SAM: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It just keeps my face--

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SAM: -- fresh.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Made from real collagen, clearly.

SAM: Yes. (laughter)

TALIESIN: Going with it.

LAURA: Yeah, no. We've been here before. That's why we're able to stay in this particular location.

SAM: But I mean, this isn't where we're going, right? You know where we're going?

LAURA: Yeah, we're going further down.

SAM: How do we get there?

TALIESIN: (Ashton) Down.

LAURA: Well, we get out of the building and then we secretly make our way through town.

MATT and SAM: ♪ Makin' our way ♪ (laughter)

SAM: We haven't been here before. How do we secretly make our way there?

ASHLEY: We walk.

SAM: But like, how will people not try to arrest us, attack us, prevent us from going?

LAURA: Aren't you good at infiltration and stuff? Don't you have--

SAM: Yeah, but are we hiding?

TRAVIS: (Chetney) Where is everybody? Where? Oh god. They left me!

ASHLEY: No, Chet!

LAURA: Chet!

TRAVIS: Huh? Hello?

LAURA: Chet, come up.

TRAVIS: Oh. (slide whistle) (laughter)

TRAVIS: Oh shit. I got stuck sleeping in these saw chips and everything. Wood chips are the best. Smells so good. What are you talking about?

SAM: We're just trying to strategize. Hello, old person. We're trying to strategize. Are we hiding, like invisibly? Are we pretending to be guards of some sort?

LIAM: (Caleb) Good morning.

TRAVIS: You mean to get to where we're going?

SAM: Yeah.

LIAM: Here, Pock O'Pea. I've saved you a seat right here on the opposite end of the table. That is for you.

TRAVIS: Oh shit! That's actually a very nice chair. My compliments.

LIAM: Ah, this is all straight from my imagination.

TRAVIS: Takes a vivid one at that. We're actually going to teleport.

SAM: Okay.

TRAVIS: But like, just go straight there. Once we're in the basement, then everybody's on their own.

SAM: Oh!

TALIESIN: Do we have enough teleporters to teleport?

MATT: You're in the basement.

TALIESIN: Because we are a lot of people.

SAM: Yeah, that's where I thought we were.

MARISHA: I mean--

TRAVIS: Oh, fucking--

MARISHA: We're all in the basement of the shop?

MATT: Yes.

MARISHA: Not the basement.

TALIESIN: Okay.

MARISHA: Not the basement of the moon. Not the moon basement.

MATT: No, basement of the shop.

LAURA: Two ought to cover it.

TALIESIN: Because we're a lot of people.

SAM: Wait, so are we going to teleport again to a different place here?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

LAURA: Well, here's the thing, though. You got to see if you recharged this. I don't think you can teleport today, Chet.

TRAVIS: Well, I didn't teleport us here. Allura did, didn't she?

LIAM: No.

LAURA: No, you teleported us here.

TRAVIS: Fucking shit! (laughter)

SAM: (Braius) What did you drink last night? (laughter)

TRAVIS: Just drool.

MATT: (laughs)

ROBBIE: Yeah, I'm sort of with the Nein here. I'm a little fuzzy on where we're meant to go and what we're meant to do.

LAURA: Right. Okay. So since we can't teleport all of us down, we have to make our way through the town.

SAM: ♪ Makin' our way ♪

LAURA: There's a--

ROBBIE: And that's up from where we are?

LAURA: No.

LIAM: (Orym) We're on the rind of an apple right now. Think of it that way.

ROBBIE: I love fruit-based analogies.

LIAM: Where the core is, where the seeds are, is where Predathos is.

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: We think, and somewhere in the meat in the middle is where--

LAURA: The Weave Mind is. That's where y'all will be going.

TALIESIN: Nor meat in the apple.

TRAVIS: We got all the charges back. (laughs)

SAM: Oh!

LAURA: I don't think you can get all the charges back in a day.

TRAVIS: It says the staff regains 1d4 plus three expended charges daily at dawn.

LAURA: Oh, got it. You rolled a four?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

LAURA: Cool.

TALIESIN: That'll do it.

SAM: So you could teleport--

TALIESIN: Half of us.

TRAVIS: It's like I fucking said--

SAM: But there's a chance it would break the staff, right?

LAURA: No, that's if you do twice. No, no, no, no, no. It's fine.

SAM: Because he only got back seven, and doesn't it take seven to teleport?

TRAVIS: Six.

SAM: Oh, perfect!

ASHLEY: Wait, we can all go?

LIAM: (Caleb) Well, I got half.

ASHLEY: You have half. Okay, great.

LIAM: Then, if Mr. Pock O'Pea is able to handle all the other half, then we're set.

TRAVIS: Fucking thing won't clear.

LIAM: We know precisely where we are going?

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Actually--

LAURA: I mean, it depends on where we want to pop in, I guess.

TALIESIN: Do we want to pop in with friends? Or actually, they probably moved locations after--

LAURA: Yeah, I think so.

TALIESIN: After everything.

LAURA: I mean, I could send a message to-- Y'all remember what her name was?

ASHLEY: Oprah ba--

LIAM: Nicolas Cage?

MATT: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Nicola.

ASHLEY: The Bormodos?

TALIESIN: Nicole Cage.

LAURA: No.

MATT: Rashinna?

LAURA: (clicks tongue)

MATT: Rashinna and Gaz Tomo were the two main--

LAURA: Yes.

MATT: -- people you recall from the--

ASHLEY: That's right.

LAURA: Yes. Rashinna. I could send a message to Rashinna and see where they are right now.

TALIESIN: Or at least letting them know that we're on our way with friends. It might be a good idea to get closer, but not directly because if we go directly into the fray, we don't know what we're going to find in there. We need to just get close enough to--

LAURA: That's true.

MARISHA: (Laudna) Mm-mm. (I don't know) I'm with you guys.

TALIESIN: I'd rather be somewhere friendly to begin this, or as friendly as we can get and get closer.

LAURA: All right, I could send a message to Rashinna. What do y'all think? Good idea?

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TALIESIN: See if also she might have an opinion on what's the best place to bop into if we're going to bop in right now.

ROBBIE: We could also find out what the situation is on the surface, if there's any additional problems.

TALIESIN: That's true.

LAURA: On the surface?

LIAM: The surface.

ROBBIE: I'm still a little fuzzy on the fruit.

LIAM: We are on the surface.

LAURA: We're on the surface.

ROBBIE: But we're in a bubble on the surface.

MATT: In a basement--

TALIESIN: In the basement.

MATT: -- of a building on the surface.

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

ROBBIE: Technically--

ASHLEY: It was a little confusing, though, because you were like the rind.

ROBBIE: -- a little bit beneath the surface.

LAURA: A little bit. We're in a cellar.

ROBBIE: Just a little underneath the surface.

ASHLEY: I understand.

LAURA: But what we got to do is get down, down--

TALIESIN: A few feet.

ROBBIE: Okay.

LAURA: -- to the city underground.

ROBBIE: But we haven't seen the city since being here.

LAURA: We have-- Not since we left.

ROBBIE: Was it dangerous last time you were here?

LAURA: Yeah, there's a lot of bad guys.

LIAM: (Orym) Yeah, we had to sneak down inside, barely made it, and then we-- I mean, it was how we lost Letters, trying to get out.

TALIESIN: They've got people patrolling, they've got security, they've got psychics. It's a little rough out there.

LAURA: They've got the Weave Mind and the Weave Mind is everywhere they want to be.

SAM: Do you think the Weave Mind would have any way to prevent us teleporting closer to it?

TALIESIN: I don't think so.

SAM: I guess we'll just find out, right?

LIAM: (Caleb) I'm a little hazy on this point. Maybe one of you knows. Does the Weave Mind not have a base of operations for themselves that we can--

LAURA: I think they did. Yeah, that's where you're heading in.

LIAM: But where is that place?

LAURA: In the center of--

MARISHA: Yes. So Kreviris, where we are, most of Kreviris is this sprawling metropolis underneath the surface. So what we are seeing is just the lower class shanty town. But underneath, it's like a city.

LAURA: There's a big glass pillar in the middle of town--

MARISHA: Column.

LAURA: -- that is connected potentially to Predathos.

LIAM: Is it shaped like that?

LAURA: Kind of. Yeah.

TALIESIN: A little bit.

LAURA: A little more jagged, less bees. Yeah, the Weave Mind is in the middle of that.

SAM: (Veth) You'll get us close enough to draw a map or something?

LAURA: I could draw a map now.

SAM: Let's do it!

LAURA: (casually draws map) Here you go.

SAM: How is it? (laughter)

MATT: Roll a dexterity or performance check.

LAURA: Performance check?

LIAM: (laughs)

MATT: (laughs)

LAURA: What? Wait, am I-- Okay, I'm Imogen right now. Roll a performance check. Sorry, sorry. Pardon me. Excuse me.

ASHLEY: Guidance.

LAURA: Oh, thank you! Excuse me.

SAM: Wait, you're Guiding her as-- Oh yes, you're Fearne. Okay.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah. (laughter)

SAM: That makes sense.

ASHLEY: She's very capable.

LAURA: Oh gosh. 15.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: 15. It's not bad. It's legible and functional. You can see it shows a loose interpretation of some of the neighborhoods and where the glass pillar is, and it marks a structure that's built into the side of the glass pillar that's labeled as the Arx Creonum.

LAURA: That's where y'all are going.

SAM: Caleb, memorize this!

LIAM: Got it.

SAM: Okay. Now we don't even need it anymore.

LAURA: Oh, well-- (laughter)

SAM: That's how good he is.

TALIESIN: Okay.

ROBBIE: So how long do we stay together and support each other? Then, when do we split off to do our own thing?

MARISHA: Well, we could, I guess, try to maybe meet up with Rashida.

LAURA: Rashinna.

MARISHA: Yes.

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: Because they have a stronghold.

LAURA: Potentially. But they moved, remember? Because it got attacked.

TALIESIN: It may have moved.

MARISHA: That's true.

LAURA: So it's somewhere different. But we can still ask where it is.

ROBBIE: I was just thinking, if we're meant to be sneaky, group by group maybe, but all of us together feel like a pretty intense force moving through the city.

SAM: (Braius) Unless we're all in some sort of magic costume or something.

TALIESIN: I'll say, I think all of us, at least, getting the friendly locals to know--

LAURA: Stop looking at me!

SAM: All of us as Nic Cages

LAURA: Oh god, I can't touch my eyebrows!

TALIESIN: Getting the friendly locals, at least, to know who all of us are and what we look like might be helpful later so that they're looking out for us if shit goes wrong.

ASHLEY: Yeah, do we--

TALIESIN: But after that, breaking up, I think, is a really good idea.

LAURA: I'm going to send message to Rashida.

MATT: Rashinna? Okay.

LAURA: Rashinna.

TALIESIN: Why do you--

LAURA: Can you help me count? Can someone help me count?

ROBBIE: Don't worry about it.

LAURA: Can you help me count?

ROBBIE: We'll get there.

ASHLEY: I'll try.

TALIESIN and LAURA: (laugh)

MARISHA: I'll try! (laughs)

LAURA: Your look of fear as you said it.

ASHLEY: I know. Because I'm not fast, but I'll do it.

LAURA: All right.

TALIESIN: Bloody hell.

LAURA: Oh god, what am I going to say?

ASHLEY: I'm so nervous.

LAURA: Okay.

MARISHA: You got this. It's just counting. (laughter) And this is the lowest stakes thing.

ASHLEY: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Roll high.

LAURA: (Imogen) It's Imogen. Are you safe? We've got two groups here. Hold on, I got to think of what I'm going to say.

ASHLEY: Do I add that?

LAURA: No! (laughter)

ASHLEY: Because if it was Jester--

LAURA: Oh no! Oh no, Jester's invading! It's too much! It's too close now!

TALIESIN: Is there somewhere we can--

LAURA: (Imogen) You could just tell her that--

TALIESIN: That's close?

LAURA: We're here and we're here to help and that--

TALIESIN: We can meet them somewhere.

SAM: (Braius) Is it safe--

LAURA: (Imogen) To help take out the Weave Mind, where can we meet y'all? It's a large group. Is there somewhere safe?

MATT: We're at the end. (laughter)

ASHLEY: How many words did you get?

LAURA: 25, right?

ASHLEY: We're a little bit over, but--

LAURA: No, we weren't. I don't think we were.

TALIESIN: Y'all is one word.

LAURA: If I was doing also all of the thoughts, then yes, we're over, but--

MATT: Sure.

ROBBIE: I feel like they're official.

MARISHA: That's good.

ASHLEY: That was stressful.

MATT: You did good. You all did good.

MARISHA: (Beau) Just real quick, this Rashida, Rashinna, Rashida Jones, who is she?

LAURA: (Jester) Yeah, who is she? Rashida Jones? She's on, I think-- Wait, what?

MARISHA: Well, I just want to make sure we can trust her. This is kind of news to me that we're--

TALIESIN: (Ashton) There's a well-built resistance here. It's one of the people in charge. We have had it. I feel very, very confident that she's legit.

MARISHA: Yeah, but--

LAURA: (Imogen) She helped us infiltrate the last time and when all hell broke loose then-- I mean, we lost sight of her, but I-- Wait, she hasn't responded to me yet.

MATT: She has not. Until she does. (groaning)

TRAVIS: This fucking guy. You all just kept talking, so I was like, I'll wait.

TRAVIS: Matt Mercer!

MARISHA: This Nic Cage over here.

TRAVIS: You got those diapers on.

MATT: She responds a bit after the delivery of the message and as the nerves begin to creep in-- "Well, unexpected, but glad to know that you're here. We're preparing a mass detonation."

LAURA: Oh shit.

MATT: "Hiding in the Villums, look for Gaz."

LAURA: Do I know Gaz? Yeah, that's Gaz.

MATT: That's all you hear.

SAM: Gaz was an awesome dude.

ASHLEY: Isn't he--

LAURA: Hiding in the Villums? Hiding in the Villums. Do we know where the Villums are?

MATT: The Villums you probably heard in conversation. They're a section of thick--

SAM: Ropey.

MATT: Yeah, no. No. (laughter)

SAM: Veiny.

LAURA: Yeah, no.

TRAVIS: Triumphant.

MARISHA: Oh, jeez.

TRAVIS: Bearing left.

MATT: Rocks fall and everyone dies.

TRAVIS: (laughs) "Rocks fall. Everyone dies."

MATT: No.

LIAM: Tell us about this turgid place.

MATT: Yeah, no. (laughs) No, this is-- A woven neighborhood of various pathways and households, as well as some internal industrial structures. You've woven through it when trying to escape during the last visit to the Core of Kreviris.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: But it is extensive.

SAM: Braius doesn't remember this, but I remember Gaz being like, awesome. I don't remember why.

LAURA: Yeah, it was Patrick--

MARISHA: Patrick Warburton.

SAM: Yeah! That's right.

LAURA: Yes, yes. Yeah.

MARISHA: I thought he died.

LAURA: Oh, I thought he died!

SAM: No, I think he charged into battle.

LAURA: No! He charged and he fought my mom!

TRAVIS: That's right, yeah, but we thought--

ASHLEY: But he lived.

MARISHA: I guess he lived.

LAURA: I guess he lived because we didn't know. We thought we were sending him to his doom.

MARISHA: We did.

TRAVIS: Unless he's a traitor.

ASHLEY: Ooh, unless it's--

MARISHA: Oh fuck, like some sort of fucking inside agent?

SAM: No, not Gaz.

TRAVIS: Can I insight check the wall?

MATT: The wall?

ASHLEY: I know, we get the mustache. It's so cute. (laughter)

TALIESIN: All walls have something to hide.

MARISHA: Insight check the memories of Gaz.

MATT: (laughs)

MARISHA: Okay wait, if they're trying to do this explosion is that going to totally fuck up our plan?

LAURA: Or it might cause a distraction.

ASHLEY: A distraction.

TRAVIS: The bees on your chin are just fucking vibrating.

LAURA: Yeah, that one bee.

TRAVIS: It's like-- (imitates gargling sound) Like Darth Vader's fucking microphone--

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TRAVIS: When the helmet comes off.

TRAVIS: Leave me-- (sputters) leave me-- Put the helmet back on.

ROBBIE: You're Beebo. Beebo, Beebo, Beebo. (laughter)

LIAM: You just got to eat that one.

ROBBIE: Beebo.

TALIESIN: This is why it's good to ask these things because now we know there's going to be an explosion, we can figure out where it's going to be and use it.

LAURA: Yeah, so we should meet up with Gaz and then--

TALIESIN: Exactly.

LAURA: -- use it to our advantage.

ASHLEY: So we should go to the Villums?

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: (Caleb) This is a section of the city, so I assume it's going to be difficult to--

LAURA: Get in.

LIAM: And sneak us all around. Somebody floated the idea of disguises. I can handle that for everyone.

TALIESIN: Disguises would be a good thing.

LIAM: For all of us, yeah. The problem is, if we separate, I will have no method of-- Dispelling it.

TALIESIN: Well, we don't separate--

LIAM: From the people who I'm not with.

TALIESIN: I say we don't separate until we find Gaz anyway, because we all need to know where this explosion's going to happen and when and that would be a perfect time after we have that information to fucking separate.

ASHLEY: So we go to the Villums and then we separate?

LAURA: Yeah.

ROBBIE: But in a group disguise?

LAURA: Yeah.

ROBBIE: Is there going to be a theme? Where we're all kind of dressed like the same thing but different? (laughter) I don't know, I'm just rolling this around.

MARISHA: (Laudna) Yes, I'd like that.

LAURA: (Jester) Ooh, what should our theme be?

TRAVIS: We all go as different Eshterosses.

MARISHA: Different Eshterosses! (laughter)

SAM: Uh-huh, uh-huh.

LAURA: That's really good.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MARISHA: That's pretty good.

LAURA: What if we were all Ludinus? And we were just a group of his Simulacrum?

SAM: Ludini?

TALIESIN: Ludini.

LAURA: Yeah. A group of Ludini.

MARISHA: A Coppola of Ludini?

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: That's great.

TRAVIS: That wouldn't attract attention at all.

LIAM: Sounds like a nightmare.

MARISHA: Yeah.

SAM: A "Megalopolis" of Ludini?

TRAVIS: Oh boy. (groaning) Ouch.

ROBBIE: That's good.

LIAM: That is too hard for me to understand.

TRAVIS: I don't even know what that means.

MARISHA: (laughs)

ROBBIE: You know the moon, what would a good disguise be? I was only half joking, really.

MARISHA: Is to be Reilorans, or Bormodos, or-- Those really cute little-- (grunts) (laughter) Those really, really cute little fungus people named myceit.

LAURA: Oh my gosh! Yeah, I want to be a fungus person.

SAM: (Veth) But Caleb doesn't know what those things are!

LAURA: It doesn't matter.

MARISHA: I make an illusion.

LAURA: Yes, I want to be that one.

LIAM: How tall are they?

MARISHA: Like this big, right?

LAURA: (Imogen) Actually, and they're kind of ignored, so if we were a group of them--

LIAM: Well, I cannot make you look teeny tiny, though. I can make you look maybe a foot or two higher or shorter.

TRAVIS: (Fjord) It's kind of like this and I'll make myself look like my size but a myceit. Mask of Many Faces.

MARISHA: No, that calls attention.

TALIESIN: The smart thing to be would be something like a-- I don't know, lower class Reiloran. Something so that we won't get stopped.

LAURA: We can't be lower class Reilorans, they'd be up top.

TALIESIN: That's true. They'd be up top.

LIAM: (Orym) Yeah, who has permission to get close to--

SAM: Ruby Vanguard?

LIAM: Well, close to the column. Vanguard are kind of the lower end of the ladder in this organization, right?

MARISHA: Probably just one of the fancy Reilorans.

LAURA: Yeah, there's three different types.

ASHLEY: Are they allowed in there?

LAURA: I think so. The floating mind ones.

TALIESIN: It's an awfully big group, too, so that'd be an awful lot of Reilorans running around.

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: I think maybe--

LAURA: Maybe some of us can be invisible.

TALIESIN: Yeah, or step it down a bit.

SAM: When you were all down there before, who did you see down there?

LAURA: A lot of Reilorans and--

MARISHA: Mainly Reilorans.

LAURA: Stop it! Don't. I can't.

ASHLEY: It's the nose.

TALIESIN: You can look at anyone else.

MARISHA: There were some-- Some Bormodo that were servants to others. Evoroa was down there because she was doing research. So some of us--

LAURA: I can't stop looking at you.

SAM: That's a first.

LIAM: Above table question for-- Question for the Nic Cage.

MATT: Yes?

LIAM: We've seen Reiloran, obviously, we've seen the--

TRAVIS: For the "Raising Arizona."

LIAM: I feel right now, like Nicolas Cage in "Mandy." I feel so high. (laughter)

LAURA: Excuse me. (laughter)

ROBBIE: Why do they go forward?

LIAM: Are all Reilorans floaters or sometimes they're walking on the ground?

TRAVIS: Floaters.

MATT: (laughs)

LAURA: Some of them walk on the ground.

MATT: From what you've noticed only the Thought Eaters or those are the ones that you've encountered that are very psychically powerful--

LIAM: Yes.

MATT: Are the ones that can glide and float.

LIAM: Okay.

MATT: But most of the ones you've seen walk around normally.

LIAM: Okay.

TRAVIS: If this is your first episode of "Critical Role," if this is when you've decided to tune in--

MARISHA: It will be someone's.

LAURA: Don't.

TRAVIS: Click away. Pick any other number in the library.

MATT: We're so sorry.

TRAVIS: This won't make any sense.

MARISHA: Jester!

LAURA: (Jester) Yeah?

MARISHA: I have your Sprinkle.

LAURA: Oh my gosh!

MARISHA: We cuddled.

LAURA: You took such good care of him!

MARISHA: I did, I did! Wait, where's Pâté, though?

LAURA: Oh, he said he had to run some errands.

MARISHA: What?

LAURA: And that he would be back, maybe later for you.

MARISHA: That's not like him.

TRAVIS: Who's Pâté?

MARISHA: He's my little imp familiar.

LAURA: It was a little bat guy that you talked to so sweetly last night.

TRAVIS: Oh yes, yes, yes. Small, no eyeballs.

TALIESIN: (Caduceus) He's horrifying. I don't know how you could have missed him.

TRAVIS: Said he was going off exploring.

TALIESIN: Visage of terror

TRAVIS: So much to see. Yeah.

TALIESIN: Really.

LAURA: Caleb--

LIAM: Ja.

LAURA: I have a question.

LIAM: Ja, shoot.

LAURA: If somebody kills Frumpkin by accident, does he come back easily?

LIAM: Well, it has been a number of years since we've had Frumpkin along, but I mean, it's not too much trouble if you have the right components or needed requirements.

TRAVIS: He was saying something about, needed to see the red sky for himself and was feeling too locked down.

LAURA: We were like, "Don't do it, Pâté. Don't go outside the tower. It's not safe." But he just did anyway.

TALIESIN: Caduceus is doing an insight check.

TRAVIS: We offered to chaperone, but--

LIAM: This is your familiar? LADNA: My eyes go white to try and tap into Pâté.

TALIESIN: 21.

MATT: Both of you make deception checks and you, there is nothing to connect to. Complete absence.

MARISHA: You know--

LIAM: You could just--

LAURA: I need to stop rolling Imogen dice for Jester.

LIAM: Familiars can be just summoned forth, right? Shut down in one place and open up another, as long as they haven't been destroyed.

TRAVIS: 26.

LAURA: 11.

MATT: All right.

MARISHA: Did you-- Did you kill Pâté? (laughter)

TRAVIS: The small creature that wanted to walk about?

MARISHA: Yes, I don't sense him.

TRAVIS: Yes, I did, I did. I'm sorry. I got a little confused by what was happening.

LAURA: I told him not to do it and he did it. But he was doing it to protect me because he thought that Pâté was going to hurt--

ASHLEY: (Fearne) Laudna, you should kill Sprinkle.

TRAVIS: I have a small amount of remorse.

TALIESIN: It'd only be fair.

LAURA: But listen, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen!

MATT: (choking sounds)

LAURA: Sprinkle's not-- I can't just bring him back.

TRAVIS: (as Sprinkle) "Do it. Squeeze harder." (laughter) "Please." LARUA: Sprinkle is only one time.

TRAVIS: "Step on me."

LAURA: You know what I mean?

ASHLEY: He's a one-time--

LAURA: He's a one time weasel.

ASHLEY: He's a one time weasel.

MARISHA: It's only fair. It's only fair! (screams) I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. No, Pâté just dies sometimes. It's totally fine. He just does it.

TRAVIS: Oh, well, yes, he totally did it to himself. LARUA: Ow! Sprinkle! He bit my ear!

MARISHA: I'm sorry, I was just joking, little man. I just summon Pâté back.

TRAVIS: Oh!

MATT: "Huh? What happened? Where am I? Oh yeah, that's right. You."

TRAVIS: Oh, I'm sorry, a little miscommunication on our side. Apologies, won't happen again.

MATT: "You play rough."

TRAVIS: I do. I like a sense of humor on a talking skull!

MARISHA: Yes, he's very funny.

TRAVIS: It's good, okay.

MARISHA: Yes, yes. All right, get in your house, come on.

MATT: (growls)

TRAVIS: Ah!

MATT and MARISHA: (laugh)

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

TALIESIN: Oh, that's horrible.

MARISHA: Yeah. (laughter)

LAURA: So yeah, a group disguise, then?

LIAM: Well, okay, but we have not landed on anything. Are we doing "Con Air" or "Wicker Man" or "Leaving Las Vegas?"

TRAVIS: We should just start walking.

LAURA: All of it.

TRAVIS: We'll figure it out.

LIAM: Yeah.

LAURA: We just need to be a bunch of Reilorans. You know what they look like.

TALIESIN: (Ashton) Cheers to that.

LIAM: Well, I saw-- Well, yes, I do.

LAURA: Yeah, you know what they look like.

TALIESIN: What's the right-- We'll pick an outfit that is not too conspicuous for a bunch of Reilorans.

LAURA: Yeah, make us look like soldiers and well to do people and like--

TALIESIN: Not too well to do.

LIAM: Is that what we're going to do? We're going to do the martial class of them that we saw down here, like guards walking around?

TALIESIN: People are less likely to talk to you, give you shit.

ASHLEY: Bother us.

SAM: I think that's a good idea.

MARISHA: Oh god.

ROBBIE: Thanks, Braius.

ASHLEY: No. Don't do that.

SAM: Sorry, I was yawning.

TALIESIN: If I had some popcorn, I would just go for it.

MARISHA: All right, yes.

LIAM: Mr. Pock O'Pea, and my friend Veth, and you, young man, you're going to be a little on the shorter side.

ASHLEY: Who are you talking to?

LAURA: Oh, that's Orym. He's talking to the little guy.

ASHLEY: Oh, I'm so sorry.

LIAM: The shorter end of the spectrum here. Do we want to do maybe these Bormodo you have described?

TRAVIS: (Chetney) Yeah, I'm down.

LAURA: Oh yeah, yeah.

ROBBIE: I think we can mix it up so we don't all look exactly the same like a big clump. It would be better, be more natural.

ASHLEY: Good idea.

LAURA: Good thinking.

LIAM: The last wrinkle is if we are trying to meet your contacts, we are going to look different for them as well. So maybe they need a heads up.

LAURA: (Imogen) Yeah, plus I can speak to them in their mind as soon as we see them.

LIAM: All right. All right.

ASHLEY: It's cool.

SAM: (Veth) So you're going to change us into these things, we're going to teleport down there or we're going to walk down there?

TALIESIN: I think we're going to walk down there, is the plan.

LAURA: Save the spells?

SAM: Save the spells.

TALIESIN: Save the spell for now.

LAURA: Because if we need to get out super fast, it'd be good to have the teleportation available to us.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

SAM: Good point. Very good point

TRAVIS: Good thing it's on our team.

TALIESIN: Is there anybody upstairs, by the way? I know we haven't left the basement yet, but I suppose we're going to find out when we leave the mansion.

MATT: I believe the food was being prepared upstairs.

TALIESIN: Well, I mean, in the--

MATT: Oh, you mean on the moon?

TALIESIN: In the weapon shop.

MATT: Sorry, you haven't been there, yet.

TALIESIN: Yeah, okay. I'll wait. Yeah, I don't want to eat too big of a breakfast because that's going to fuck everything up for the day.

MARISHA: (Beau) Yeah, I'm kind of the same way.

TALIESIN: There's a possibility this is going to be the last decent meal for a few days.

SAM: If we're talking about--

ASHLEY: Then if that's the case, I'm going to take-- This sausage was great.

LAURA: (Jester) The sausage is good.

ASHLEY: It's so good!

LAURA: Did you try the pancakes?

ASHLEY: I tried the pancakes.

LAURA: They are delicious.

ASHLEY: I tried everything.

SAM: Just one more thing, if we're talking about dining and dashing here, do we want to suck up one more magical item before we hit the road?

LAURA: Good thinking.

LIAM: Oh yeah, you're right. Almost forgot.

LAURA: Wait--

ASHLEY: What are our options?

SAM: We can suck.

LIAM: Let's suck that mask off your face.

SAM: Our suck list includes the Summit Blade, Dusk Hunger, the Pearl of Power, a battering shield, a tree pipe, a shard of the Feywild. That's it.

TRAVIS: Some of those are gone.

SAM: What!?

LAURA: (Imogen) What do you mean?

TRAVIS: Just fucking with you. (laughter)

LAURA: Like you've been sucking them up?

TALIESIN: Shard of the Feywild might be fun for you.

SAM: We don't even know what it does.

LAURA: I don't know if it's going to do much.

TALIESIN: I don't know.

ASHLEY: I don't know if it will.

MARISHA: Yeah, I think that's on the lower end.

LAURA: That's one of the, yeah, let's start with a high power one.

LIAM: Above table, mechanically, on that sheet, it's the fanciest ones give you plus five hit point?

TRAVIS: It depends. (hums)

LAURA: But only sucking up a person is permanent. Right?

MATT: No, no, legendaries. Very rare and legendaries have some permanent effects.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Cool.

MATT: The very rare ones give a permanent increase to your HP by five and you have advantage on rolls until you complete a long rest. Then legendaries give you an ability score bonus.

LAURA: (gasps)

SAM: Whoa!

LAURA: Do we have any legendary items?

TRAVIS: No. I mean--

MATT: Depending on the item, there might be additional benefits as well.

LIAM: Right. Dusk Hunger.

TRAVIS: We do have legendary.

LAURA: Oh shit, who's going to take it?

TRAVIS: Dusk Hunger is legendary. Ishta is legendary. No, it's gone. Wait.

SAM: Harp of Valor is gone.

TRAVIS: That's what it was. Yeah. Ishta is legendary, Dusk Hunger is legendary. Mask of the Matron is legendary.

TALIESIN: We ain't touching that, though.

TRAVIS: The fuck are we going to do with the Mask of the Matron?

LAURA: We're going to call her to help us.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Yup, totally.

TALIESIN: Do any of those--

LAURA: Did he just roll something? Did you just roll something?

TALIESIN: No, I just moved my dice.

LAURA: Oh.

TALIESIN: But that's fair. Do any of those weapons seem like they would compliment, just in case the added bonus compliment anybody's vibe?

LIAM: I don't know.

SAM: Dusk Hunger was cool.

LIAM: A psychic blade.

TALIESIN: Yeah, what did Dusk--

TRAVIS: Plus two to attack and damage, bonus action, ignite the blade with black flames or extinguish some of these flames or burning your attacks deal an extra 2d6 fire damage. They ignore fire resistance. While using this sword--

TALIESIN: Oh!

TRAVIS: -- you can use an action to cast one of the following spells: Searing Smite, Blinding Smite, Elemental Bane, Flame Strike. Each spell can only be cast once, it cannot be cast again until you complete a long rest.

LAURA: I feel like Chet could use an upgrade, right? Because, no offense, Chet, but you have a hard time unless you're up close to people, right?

TRAVIS: I got a scythe. I don't know what you're tripping on.

SAM: The Summit Blade deals an extra 2d6 force damage. If that's a thing.

LAURA: Who's taking it?

ASHLEY: What if we roll for it?

LAURA: Let's roll for it.

TALIESIN: Let's roll for it. Rollies?

SAM: Okay.

ASHLEY: Well, what are we rolling for?

TRAVIS: Who's going to swallow it?

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Dealer's choice.

LIAM: What was the last one that we-- Before we do that.

TALIESIN: Force damage. Fire damage or force damage?

LIAM: The last one that was eaten up was--

ROBBIE: The harp.

TALIESIN: Harp.

ROBBIE: I'll abstain. Yeah.

MARISHA: I'll also abstain because I took--

LIAM: But who ate the harp? I'm trying to remember.

MARISHA: He did.

TALIESIN: Robbie did.

ROBBIE: I did.

LIAM: All right.

TRAVIS: What is it, highest gets it or the lowest gets it?

TALIESIN: Highest gets it.

LAURA: Highest gets it.

TRAVIS: Fucking shit.

LAURA: Ah, fuck!

TRAVIS: Three.

LAURA: Two.

TALIESIN: Nat 20.

LAURA: (groans)

ASHLEY: Oh, you got it.

ROBBIE: Oh, nice!

MATT: Nat 20 on Ashton over here.

TALIESIN: Ah, fire or force? I'll take fire.

SAM: Ooh!

TALIESIN: Let's get weird.

TRAVIS: All right, put on the Array, big boy.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: Yeah, okay.

MATT: (laughs) All right, so they strap you in to the Quintessence Array.

TALIESIN: Minor panic attack. This did not go well last time. All right.

MATT: Strap you in tightly into the Quintessence Array.

TRAVIS: I whack him in the nuts as his arms are up.

TALIESIN: I already, ready to block.

MATT and LAURA: (laugh)

MATT: Both of you make--

TALIESIN: It doesn't work.

ASHLEY: Ow!

MATT: Okay, then you're good. (laughter)

MATT: Well played.

TRAVIS: Rock on.

TALIESIN: All right, man, let's go ahead. Fuck.

MATT: As Dusk Hunger is placed to the exterior of the Quintessence Array's funnel, it drifts and slowly rotates in the air as you watch its magical energy begin to glow, the runes along its dark and slightly curved blade beginning to alight and the metal begins to crumble into shadow. Within a matter of 20 or 30 seconds pass that you watch as the blade seems to (sucks) fold into itself and then become absorbed into the back of Ashton's neck. You feel it's cold at first and then the flame begins to burn inside you. Eventually, you feel it fully dig itself, root itself within your physical being and then the enchantment is complete. So you gain--

TALIESIN: Way better than last time.

MATT: -- a permanent plus two to your dexterity.

SAM: Oh my god!

MARISHA: Whoa!

SAM: Oh, that would have been good.

TALIESIN: Oh shit, so--

ASHLEY: Damn!

TALIESIN: Total score of plus two.

ROBBIE: (mimics Taliesin mumbles)

TALIESIN: Okay.

LAURA: (Jester) Hey, Caleb?

LIAM: (Caleb) Yeah?

LAURA: Why don't we have one of those?

LIAM: (sighs) Well--

LAURA: Make a absorbing funnel!

TALIESIN: So dex went up by--

LIAM: A very terrible man created that thing.

TALIESIN: -- by one. By one level.

MATT: Correct.

TALIESIN: Then--

MATT: And--

TALIESIN: Wow.

LAURA: I will forgive you. Just do it.

LIAM: Oh, you will? You will forgive me?

LAURA: Mm-hmm.

MATT: Once per short rest, you can add 3d6 fire damage to a melee attack you make.

TALIESIN: Straight melee?

MATT: Just a straight melee attack. Yeah.

TALIESIN: Okay.

SAM: Cool.

TALIESIN: So 3d6 fire to one. I'm going to write that down. 3d6 fire.

MATT: Per short rest.

TALIESIN: Per short rest to one melee attack. Wow.

LAURA: (hums)

TALIESIN: That's nuts.

LIAM: Yeah.

SAM: (Veth) I had the chance to make it with a minotaur and I didn't.

LAURA: (laughs)

LIAM: Well, I'm sorry for you, but glad that you are--

SAM: This could be my only chance!

LIAM: Wrong character.

SAM: And I blew it because of love (laughter)

LIAM: Things at home okay?

SAM: Things at home are great! It's fine. Sex has never been better. But you know, that's the brass ring!

LIAM: I'm sure there's a brass ring in there somewhere, yeah. (laughter)

SAM: Did I make the right choice?

LIAM: Of course you made the right choice. Yeza--

SAM: You had to make a difficult choice once to go back and do it all again or not. You don't regret it, do you?

LIAM: If you're talking strictly romance, my relationship is a little bit different than yours. Things are slightly more fluid, but I don't know. Every person's deal is a little bit different, and you have seemed very happy for a long time.

SAM: I am very happy, but this one regret will haunt me forever. (snaps) You don't know what that's like. (laughter)

LIAM: You are terrifying, you know that? (laughter)

TALIESIN: Just tuck the teeth in.

LAURA: (laughs) With his fucking--

TALIESIN: There it goes.

LIAM: (laughs)

MATT: All right, is that the last thing you need the Array for?

LAURA: (Imogen) Are we going to absorb anything? Are we going to absorb anything else?

ROBBIE: What's it, negative 20%?

SAM: Just a 20% chance.

LAURA: Yeah.

ROBBIE: Yeah, but--

SAM: We could try.

ASHLEY: (Fearne) We could try with something not as--

LAURA: Try one more?

LIAM: Certainly.

ASHLEY: -- not as crazy.

SAM: Because we're getting to end game here, aren't we?

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah, we might as well.

TALIESIN: I was going to say, it doesn't change whether or not it's something serious or something not so we might as well keep going with something serious.

LAURA: Yeah, we might as well do the serious one.

ASHLEY: Well, yeah.

TALIESIN: I'm out of Rollies now, so--

LAURA: Okay.

TALIESIN: It's only a--

LAURA: Who else is rolling for it?

SAM: Should we try for the--

TRAVIS: I'll roll for it. I'm all--

SAM: -- Ishta, the Summit Blade?

TALIESIN: Sure.

ASHLEY: Are we rolling yet?

LAURA: All right.

SAM: Yeah, let's roll it.

LAURA: Goddamn it!

TRAVIS: I'm rolling for Fjord, too.

SAM: Awful.

ASHLEY: Same.

LAURA: Awful.

MARISHA: Rolling for Fjord, too?

MATT: For Fjord, too?

SAM: Fjord doesn't get this!

LIAM: For level 20 Fjord?

TALIESIN: No! (laughter)

LAURA: I rolled a double four for both Jester and Imogen.

SAM: Jester's roll?

LIAM: Jester? (laughs)

TALIESIN: No--

LIAM: Fuck these level 20s! Are you kidding me? (laughter)

SAM: (Braius) They're not getting our shit.

MATT: All right, what do we got?

SAM: I rolled a two.

MATT: A two, a four.

ASHLEY: A five?

MATT: A five.

ASHLEY: No, what if I won?

MARISHA: Wow. (gasps)

MATT: So--

LAURA: What'd you get?

LIAM: Orym got a 13.

MARISHA: Three!

LAURA: Oh, Orym got it.

MARISHA: Wow, you guys all suck.

MATT: Orym got a 13. So, Orym--

TALIESIN: Oh, Orym!

MATT: In a weirdly poetic way, rolled highest for Ishta, the Summit Blade, the blade that struck down his family.

ROBBIE: Oh!

LIAM: It's a minimal ask.

TALIESIN: I like it.

ASHLEY: Appropriate.

ROBBIE: It's perfect.

LAURA: Another four. Oh, this isn't--

SAM: Okay.

LIAM: All right.

SAM: Suck that thing up.

TRAVIS: Plus three to attack and damage.

SAM: Well--

TRAVIS: "When you hit a creature that is prone, you deal an additional 2d6 force damage."

LAURA: Oh my gosh.

TALIESIN: Oh!

LAURA: This is going to be amazing.

TALIESIN: That could be interesting.

SAM: You don't know what's going to transfer, though.

LAURA: No.

LIAM: Yeah.

SAM: No.

LIAM: Ride it like you stole it. (like Nicholas Cage) (grunts) Okay, I'm ready. (laughter)

MATT: Taking the blade that has carved a number of you down in the past and was responsible, permanently, for the demise of a few important figures in a number of your lives, seeing it begin to crumble in the face of this enchantment is oddly poetic. As you, Orym, feel the cold essence of its dark, bloody history begin to be atomized, you hold a thought of heavy redemption to put that power to better use as you feel it surge through your body.

LIAM: I think of family, the Tempest, Fresh Cut Grass, and Laudna, and eyes are on Laudna as this completes.

MARISHA: Laudna just nods with reverence.

MATT: Okay. You also take a permanent plus two to your dexterity.

ALL: Ooh!

LAURA: Whoa!

LAURA: Fucking hell, what did that put you at? What does that put you at?

LIAM: Breaking past the 20 limit?

MATT: Yep.

ALL: Whoa! (exclaiming)

TRAVIS: Yeah, that freaking rules. It's 20-plus? 20-plus?

ASHLEY: Damn!

TALIESIN: Take that 22.

ROBBIE: (whistles)

MARISHA: Damn.

LAURA: Wow.

TRAVIS: White men can jump. (laughter)

LIAM: That, yeah, that surpasses Vax.

TALIESIN: So you are now on level with Percy. Well done.

LIAM: Hmm.

LAURA: Wow.

TRAVIS: It's not a competition.

LIAM: I'm actually way, way shorter than Percy is. It's not something--

TALIESIN: It's only not a competition if you're losing. (laughter)

SAM: How's the funnel looking?

MATT: We'll find out here in a second.

LAURA: Oh god.

MATT: But the last bit for you to acknowledge is, whenever you strike an enemy that is prone with a melee attack, up next to them, you do an additional d6 force damage.

TRAVIS: Additional d6. I love that transfer. That's great.

ASHLEY: Cool.

MARISHA: Is this on top of--

TALIESIN: So hit the dex thing.

MARISHA: -- all advantage on attack and damage? Is this in addition to that?

MATT: No, that is--

TALIESIN: You can do it directly from that--

MATT: This, you get a permanent benefit--

MARISHA: Okay.

MATT: -- from this, but you do not get the advantage on all rolls. But as far as the percentage goes, let's see if the Quintessence Array maintains.

ASHLEY: Hmm.

ROBBIE: Live!

MATT: That is a 98. Indeed.

MARISHA: Oh. Sorry, sorry, Wilmott.

MATT: (laughs)

MARISHA: That's good?

MATT: The Array flashes and glows. (laughter)

MATT: You see some of the runes flicker and then it (whooshes) calms and cools. It is still stable.

TRAVIS: Got enough antifreeze in there.

ASHLEY: Great.

TRAVIS: Got to replace the ring on it soon, though.

ASHLEY: Okay.

LIAM: Okay. There's no plus five HP for that. It's the--

MATT: Correct.

LIAM: Great, great, just wanted--

LAURA: You want more?

LIAM: No, no.

SAM: Heavens, no.

ROBBIE: What was your temporary before the, a short one? Was that plus seven?

TRAVIS: Yeah, from Heroes' Feast.

ROBBIE: Okay.

MATT: All right.

LAURA: I know.

MATT: Is that it for the Array or?

SAM: Uh-huh, I think.

TRAVIS: You may. I think so.

SAM: Do we want to suck anything else? 40% chance?

MARISHA: It goes to 40% chance?

ROBBIE: A coin toss?

MATT: It goes to a 40% chance now, yeah.

MARISHA: Oof.

TALIESIN: I feel like we, I think two a day is fine for now. Personally, that's my vote.

MARISHA: Yeah, and I'm still not--

LAURA: I know.

MARISHA: Above table talk, I'm still very curious if it plays some sort of part into feeding Ludinus. I don't know. Or like Predathos.

TALIESIN: Huh.

LAURA: No.

SAM: Hm.

TALIESIN: Weird.

LAURA: Hm.

MARISHA: Maybe not, but...

TRAVIS: Weird.

TALIESIN: But--

SAM: Weird.

ASHLEY: I feel like I want to know what would happen if you wore it in front of Predathos.

LAURA: You mean the harness?

ASHLEY: Almost like (slurps).

LAURA: And just suck Predathos in?

ASHLEY: Try to suck him in.

LAURA: Maybe we should put it on.

TRAVIS: I wouldn't try to do that.

SAM: Oh, well, you are going to--

TRAVIS: Would be really bad.

LAURA: Try to suck--

SAM: -- take him in to you, right?

TRAVIS: Really bad.

ASHLEY: What if you wore it?

TALIESIN: Then tried to suck him out of you?

LAURA: What? (laughter)

LIAM: What are we talking about? (laughter)

LAURA: And I try to what?

ASHLEY: How would you do that?

LAURA: Suck who out to who?

ASHLEY: Well--

TALIESIN: Predathos out of you if you inhabited--

LAURA: (Jester) Oh, I've heard about that. She sucked the Predathos right out of him. (laughter)

MARISHA: Oh my god!

TRAVIS: Matt, we should consider the little toys--

TALIESIN: We should talk more about that, but--

TRAVIS: -- that Chetney makes very rare?

MARISHA: Oh, are you trying to game the system?

MATT: Well--

TRAVIS: Just a little bit.

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: The toys that you make are non-magic.

TRAVIS: (scoffs) Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

ASHLEY: Says you.

TRAVIS: No, you're right.

MATT: Yeah.

TALIESIN: The heart of children everywhere is not actually magical.

TRAVIS: But still! (laughs)

TALIESIN: Despite what anybody says.

MATT: I mean, in theory, the ones that you craft since your agreement--

TRAVIS: Mm-hmm.

MATT: -- I would say would be considered uncommon.

TRAVIS: Got it.

TALIESIN: Imogen, we still--

MATT: From a collector standpoint.

TALIESIN: -- have that seed, too, right?

MATT: Very rare.

LAURA: Seed what?

TALIESIN: The seed?

LAURA: (Imogen) Yeah.

TALIESIN: We still have that.

LAURA: Yeah. We got to plant that.

TALIESIN: I feel like that actually might help us do a thing at some point.

LAURA: We didn't plant it.

TRAVIS: Oh, from the All-Minds-Burn?

LAURA: I meant to do it right before we left, but then the scene just kept going on. That's above table. The scene just kept moving forward and don't want to backtrack, so--

TALIESIN: No, no, no. Good to remember.

TRAVIS: You forgot.

LAURA: No, I didn't.

TALIESIN: No. (laughter)

MARISHA: I still have the drugs from All-Minds-Burn, too.

TALIESIN: We could get weird before everything goes to--

ASHLEY: Yeah, that could be fun to do with this group.

TRAVIS: We should go.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: Yeah, no, we need to--

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's go.

LIAM: (Orym) Yasha, you're awfully quiet. Are you ready?

ASHLEY: (Yasha) Yeah, I'm ready. I don't know what is fully going on, but yes. (laughter)

SAM: We never got our fight in, by the way.

MARISHA: (Beau) Yeah, we'll have to table that for if we're victorious.

SAM: (grunts)

ASHLEY: I give him a punch.

MARISHA: That's so Nick Cage of you.

MATT: All right, do you defend yourself?

ASHLEY: That's so Nick Cage.

SAM: I was distracted.

ASHLEY: Let's go!

SAM: Didn't see it coming.

MATT: Sure, all right. If you're going to let it happen, then crack, one heavy hit across the minotaur's jaw.

LIAM: (Orym) Oh, you knocked his face off! (laughter)

ASHLEY: How's that feel? Just a little love tap?

ROBBIE: That gives me an idea.

SAM: Ow.

ASHLEY: Get you going?

SAM: You want one back?

ASHLEY: Yeah.

SAM: All right. (grunts) Elbow to the chin.

ASHLEY: (blow landing)

LAURA: Ooh!

TRAVIS: I was hoping for a horse kick.

LAURA: Catch yourself.

MARISHA and SAM: (laugh)

MATT: Feel the blood on your teeth.

ASHLEY: (shivers)

SAM: Mm.

ASHLEY: Let's go! (laughter)

TRAVIS: Perfect! (laughs)

SAM: (screams)

MATT: All righty.

LIAM: Ah.

ASHLEY: (laughs)

MATT: As you all begin to convene near the entryway to the tower, you all can't help but notice the numerous spectral cats that have gathered down from the various hallways and entrances and upper floors here to see you off.

LIAM: Sort of act like little lanterns in all the marble run entry holes in the passage.

ASHLEY: (Fearne) Goodbye, little meow meows.

LAURA: (Jester) Bye, cutie cutes. See you next time.

SAM: I'm going to try to surreptitiously paint a little symbol of Asmodeus on the wall.

MATT: (laughs) Okay.

LAURA: You can do it next to the dicks that are thrown around.

SAM: Great.

MATT: Yeah, it fits in nicely with the decor.

LIAM: Oh!

MARISHA: I just got to get my-- this hair.

SAM: It's coming off?

MARISHA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Let me stick a pencil in there.

ROBBIE: Don't do it, coward.

MARISHA: Okay. I was trying that earlier. I got it, I got it, I got it. (laughter)

MATT: Stepping from the doorway, you emerge into a lightless basement that is tight and enclosed, and with the final person stepping from it, the doorway vanishes and you are now all shoulder to shoulder.

TALIESIN: Light. (snaps fingers)

LAURA: Should we be in disguise already?

LIAM: Well, we're in a basement, but we shouldn't proceed past this point. So we are going to do Reiloran mostly and three Bormodo.

TALIESIN: Do I hear anybody moving around up there?

MATT: Make a perception check.

TALIESIN: Thank you.

SAM: Wha?

ASHLEY: (Yasha) The bigs are the Reilorans--

TALIESIN: No, I don't.

ASHLEY: The littles are the Bormodo?

MATT: No, you don't.

TALIESIN: That was a natural one.

MATT: Nope!

TRAVIS: I'll do a little Hunter's Bane for fey, fiend, or undead.

MATT: Sure.

TRAVIS: And just use the nose. 19.

MATT: 19.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: As you're all discussing this a bit, you hear a slight shifting up there, but very minimal.

LIAM: Can Orym tell how many people are up there?

TRAVIS: Probably the shop owners.

MATT: Just one set of feet.

LIAM: Okay.

MATT: For a few steps and that's it.

LIAM: (Caleb) Okay, well, I would say gather around but we already are because we are squished into this basement, so just give me elbow room. Caleb begins to mutter arcane words of power and weave his hands in several gestures and then on a wash of blood goes directly into Laura's face specifically. Washes over the entire group and there's a quick flash of a fog around us that fades quickly and suddenly there are a group of strange, to our sensibilities, faces, Reiloran and three short Bormodo.

LAURA: Ta-da! We're all from the moon now!

SAM: Whoa.

LAURA: Get ready!

SAM: This is so sick!

ROBBIE: Dorian's super disappointed because he had his disguise kit and a little compact out, and he was trying to do it himself. Then it happens perfectly and he's like: Aw. And just puts it away. (laughter)

ROBBIE: I've had a fucking disguise kit for three years! (laughter)

MARISHA: I know.

LIAM: It's blue skin and marks!

ROBBIE: I never get to use it!

MARISHA: I've had one of those, too--

LIAM: A sad Reiloran going--

MARISHA: And we were playing with it.

ASHLEY: Aw.

ROBBIE: Exactly. (laughter)

LAURA: I am going to--

MARISHA: Put the makeup onto, yeah.

LAURA: -- cast Pass Without a Trace on all of us because that can help us just with blending in, right? Less about, it can help us if the goal is to make us less noticeable.

MATT: It may help you in the process of being not noticed as you pass through darker areas, yes.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: Yeah.

LAURA: Sure, I'm going to do it. Why not?

MATT: All right. So--

LAURA: Fuck it, I have so many spells, you know? It's not a big deal.

ASHLEY: (Fearne) Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Same, me too.

LAURA: Yeah.

SAM: (laughs)

MATT: All right, the trap door emerges above into the inside of the Jagged Edge shop.

LAURA: Imogen peeks her head up. Do I see the shop owner anywhere?

MATT: You glance up. You don't see a shop owner. The interior of the shop is mostly cleaned out. Most of the boxes and materials and weapons and tools Most of the boxes and materials and weapons and tools are off the walls and gone. It looks like it's been mostly emptied.

LAURA: (Imogen) All right. (gasps) I forgot to mention, most of the high-up Reilorans, they don't speak with their mouths, so don't talk.

LIAM: You hear Caleb's voice in your mind saying: That is no problem for me. But everyone else, make an effort.

SAM: (Veth) Do the little ones talk?

TALIESIN: Ssh.

LAURA: Yes.

TALIESIN: Oh.

SAM: What do they sound like?

LAURA: Just like you, honey.

LIAM: You sound--

SAM: Oh, perfect.

MATT: (laughs)

LAURA: Let me see how much--

TALIESIN: Oh, okay.

LIAM: (Orym) They've been dreaming about us so they have sort of an idea.

LAURA: Up to eight willing creatures.

LIAM: More of an idea of us than we do of them.

SAM: Oh!

MATT: You do see, as soon as this conversation, a spindly, tall Reiloran step across the room and look through one of the windows before closing it.

LAURA: Great.

MATT: Looks like a curtain.

LAURA: As long as I can see him.

MATT: Yeah.

LAURA: I'm going to-- Do I recognize them?

MATT: After a moment of taking in with what you can with the low light in here, it is Zhesh.

LAURA: Zhesh.

MATT: "Hmm?"

LAURA: It's Imogen. We're in the cellar.

MATT: Turns back and looks. Back in your mind, "I was wondering when you would be arriving. I--"

LAURA: We've been here all night.

MATT: "Well then, the place is yours. For your safety and mine, I think I might take a walk."

LAURA: Sounds good. Thank you.

MATT: "Of course."

LAURA: All right.

MATT: She goes and picks up a satchel over her shoulder and says, "Most who stay behind are considered to be dubious. The majority are preparing for transference."

LAURA: Right, so if a group were to walk by, people would ignore them, assume they were--

MATT: "Perhaps. But there has been Volition movement as well, so paranoia still holds strong in some. Just be careful. Good luck."

LAURA: Thank you.

MATT: Throws the pack over her shoulder and opens the door, steps out, and you see the brown-red light of the exterior Ruidus sun baking through the darkened chamber before she closes the door behind and leaves you all now alone in this mostly empty shop.

LAURA: All right. Oh wait, did I already--

MARISHA: (Beau) Should we trickle out a little at a time so we're not one big mob leaving--

LAURA: I mean this shop is closed down so we can all come up from the cellar right now.

TALIESIN: (Caduceus) Oh good, because this is getting really cramped.

MARISHA: Yeah, I was meaning when we leave the front door.

LIAM: (Orym) Trickle out of the shop, yeah.

LAURA: Probably.

SAM: Anything we want to steal on the way out?

LIAM: I think it's cleared. Pretty cleared out.

ASHLEY: (Fearne) It was cleared out, it was cleared out.

MATT: You can hear outside, too--

ASHLEY: We checked it out.

MATT: -- the wind is starting to pick up a little bit and even that little bit of a glance outside with the light coming through, a little bit of dust blew into the chamber. So you get the sense there is some wind kicking up outside.

LAURA: All right.

ROBBIE: We eventually have to get out of the shop though, right?

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, we're going out the shop.

ASHLEY: (Yasha) I can't believe we're on the moon.

LAURA: Small groups.

TALIESIN: (Ashton) It's going to get weird out there.

LAURA: Follow the lead.

LIAM: (Caleb) Yeah, Bells Hells, you will have to take the lead.

MARISHA: Does anyone know where the Villums is?

LAURA: Yeah. Yeah, we went through there last time.

ASHLEY: (Fearne) We've been.

MARISHA: You did. Okay. Well, yeah, we'll follow you guys.

LAURA: All right.

TALIESIN: All right.

ASHLEY: All right.

TALIESIN: Let's go, go, go.

LIAM: Right, Orym is radar up, looking for threats and Caleb is memorizing their route that they take.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: Orym, will you stay in front with me?

LIAM: (Orym) Of course.

LAURA: So I would want to go on one of the first groups so that I can mentally check anybody that would go.

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: I'm selling that I'm your assistant, or, you know, work for you.

LAURA: Okay.

LIAM: Not an equal.

MATT: Okay. As you step out into the open air of this surface level of Kreviris, the wind catches you and you immediately have to blink your eyes a little bit tighter to prevent the flowing of Ruidian sand from gashing into your vision. Indeed, it looks like a storm is picking up over the city and is likely about five minutes before the heavy aspect of it impacts.

LAURA: We should get down fast. Is that enough time to get to the center of town?

MATT: Well, there are a few places to go. Where you entered last time was through the Volition pass house. That was how you towards the base of the city.

LAURA: Right.

MATT: Which was near the Dust Pit Delta excavation dumping site.

LAURA: That was the only way we went before, though. So that's the only way we know, right?

MATT: In theory, yeah.

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: We didn't come out that way though, right?

LAURA: No, we came out through the tunnels, which is... I mean, we could go in through the tunnels.

TRAVIS: Do we even know where those are?

LAURA: They exited to the outside of town, so we'd have to go outside of town to go in.

MARISHA: What's closer?

MATT: The Dust Pit Delta.

LAURA: Let's go that way.

SAM: Sounds like a really good barbecue place. (laughter)

ASHLEY: Mm.

MARISHA: Come to the Dust Pit Delta!

ASHLEY: Sounds delicious.

MATT: All right, so--

LIAM: Ruidian barbecue.

SAM: Mm-hmm.

LIAM: It's good.

MATT: Beginning to push through the city streets here. For those of you who are the first time on the moon as well, it's not too dissimilar to some of the harsher desert environments on Exandria. The buildings and structures around here are combinations of carved rock and stone. (laughs)

LAURA: Sorry.

MATT: It's all right. A number of towers and spire shapes that are smoothed in places where you don't see signs of it being hand chiseled, more that might have been shaped some magical way from the landscape itself. There are all manner of long cables that connect from tower top to tower top and heavy, thick leather-like strips and banners that connect-- That's clever as fuck.

ASHLEY: Wait, let me see. (laughter)

MARISHA: Is it just Pedro Pascal?

TRAVIS: Yeah, that's good. Yeah, it's good.

MARISHA: Oh, that's great. That is so good.

ROBBIE: That's who we should've been.

MATT: These long strips of heavy leather banners that connect over these, above and across these walkways all throughout, that with the wind picking up flap loudly and clap into each other, (leather flapping forcefully) slapping through the air. All throughout the city, a hundred of these likely are all hitting at different paces, giving this shifting, buzzing sound to the air beyond the actual rushing of wind. You also notice a number of the populace is outside of their houses packing up carts, is outside of their houses packing up carts, packing up big, heavy satchels and backpacks. packing up big, heavy satchels and backpacks. A lot of the city is in the process of uprooting or preparing for extensive travel. There are also many other Reiloran soldiers--

LAURA: (groans)

MATT: -- that are walking through the city, walking through the streets, keeping tabs on folks, checking in on folks. There is an air of coming intensity. The few folks that you can see gathering their families, they're keeping them close. There is a combination of fear and excitement, or at the very least, pressure, and that is palpable in the atmosphere. Who is leading this walk to the Dust Pit Delta?

SAM: (Veth) Caleb.

LIAM: I think the two of us.

SAM: Caleb is.

LAURA: We had said-- (laughs)

SAM: Caleb can do anything.

ASHLEY: He's never been here before.

LAURA: Caleb, you're more than welcome to walk up here with us--

SAM: All right, fine.

LAURA: -- learn the way.

LIAM: (Caleb) I will stay close behind you. I'm going to put my trust in Bells Hells.

ASHLEY: Yes, I agree.

LIAM: They are the first tip of the spear and all that.

SAM: All right, fine.

MARISHA: Oh.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

LAURA: Oh!

SAM: What? What happened?

LAURA: What just happened?

LIAM: Oh, is this basketball now?

SAM: Oh, you--

MARISHA: You dick.

ROBBIE: I just noticed the top was open. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Holy hell, there's a wrapper.

MATT and ASHLEY: Oh no! (laughter)

TRAVIS: Right in front of your face.

LAURA: Oh my god!

ASHLEY: Now we need to throw things--

LAURA: We got to try to get things in there.

MARISHA: (struggling)

ROBBIE: I know! I'm sorry!

TRAVIS: You need to get it, you need to get it

LIAM: Just blow really hard, make it a wind tunnel. Send it up!

TRAVIS: You made a catch all!

TALIESIN: Catch strap.

TRAVIS: It can't come out the bottom!

ASHLEY: You made a catch all!

TALIESIN: (growling mockingly)

ROBBIE: I'm sorry, you-- (cheering and laughing)

MATT: Almost. (laughter)

MARISHA: What was that?

LIAM: (laughs)

MARISHA: Wait, what? Where'd it go? (laughter)

MATT: You dick.

SAM: It's like a dog trick! (laughter)

TRAVIS: Here, it's a cork. One, two, three.

ALL: Aw!

MARISHA: Try again.

ALL: Aw!

MATT: It's fine. (laughter)

ROBBIE: (laughs) I'm sorry.

MATT: You're all on fire. (laughter)

ASHLEY: No!

LIAM: In Imogen's mind, you hear Caleb's voice say: This seems a little tense on the streets. It was this way the last time you were here?

LAURA: Nope, not at all. It was almost empty when we were here last time.

LIAM: So we are probably tight on time.

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: All right, lead the way.

LAURA: Well, good thing is a storm's coming through, so it might actually obscure us a bit.

LIAM: Ja. In addition to lots of military in the streets here and everyone moving in some direction, are there spires with sentries like we saw in other parts of Kreviris?

MATT: Yeah, you see the towers around that a lot of these banners are connected to, and you can see shadows, and as the dust begins to get thicker and thicker, you see shadows of figures keeping eyes around. But Imogen, you're guiding through the town through memory?

ASHLEY and MARISHA: (snicker)

ASHLEY: Hmm? I'm listening.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: I do have a-- I have a good survival.

MATT: Yes, make a survival roll for me, please.

LIAM: Can I assist by lending her my eyes?

MATT: Orym also passed through here. So yeah, I'd say go ahead and take advantage.

LAURA: 19.

MATT: 19. Okay. You begin to snake through these streets and diving into some alleyways, pushing past clusters of Bormodo families that are, you know, trying to calm the children in the face of these storms, as well as the general fear and anxiety that fills the cityscape. You push further off to the side, clustering around the outer rim of this crown-like stone wall that surrounds the valley where the top of the city is built, both to protect you from the blasting of the sand and wind, but also to, best you can, stay out of the central mind's eye of the surrounding military. You do see shapes moving beyond your path. You can hear shouts in the distance and occasionally a big, much larger shadow moving on a distant streetway.

ROBBIE: Does it seem like the civilians are moving toward a certain direction? They're all packing up and leaving, but are they going toward something?

MATT: They're all moving in a singular direction it seems, the ones that are beginning to move and shift, yeah.

LAURA: They're heading toward the bridge.

ROBBIE: The bridge, for sure.

LAURA: Yeah.

ROBBIE: Yeah, okay.

MATT: Orym, because of your passive perception, you do pick up one interesting newer location along these familiar streets that the two of you are working together. You see what looks like an odd, expansive garden that surrounds an odd collection of things from Exandria, like a public shrine of things that have been brought back from your world, that have been piled and arranged, almost as a vision of things to come. You can see a number of these families are stepping up to it and some of them are leaving things at the shrine, like a makeshift bit of odd Ruidian faith for a godless culture. Or also studying and showing some semblance of teaching familiarity of things that are to greet them on the other side. You see there are lush trees that exist in this space in spite of the landscape, translocated grass patches that encircle a stone platform. There are a medley of other objects that are placed like a museum, almost. You can see there are armored Ruidian soldiers walking through, like a prayer line. All of them are stepping up one by one to this, to almost pay a prayer, or at least mimicking what they imagine a prayer might be like. Catching a glance from a distance, there's an odd collection of things on top. Some paintings, that kind of a deal.

LIAM: How far off is it? Approximately?

MATT: It'd be like 60 feet.

LIAM: 60 feet.

TALIESIN: Mm.

TRAVIS: Hmm, paintings.

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: Orym tugs on Imogen's Reiloran, well, nope, on your real clothes, because the robes are an illusion.

LAURA: I look down. Yes? In your head.

LIAM: (Orym) Do we have a moment to go take a look at that? Just one minute?

LAURA: To go wander off course and--

LIAM: Right there, right there. I want to get in close and I want to understand what that is.

LAURA: Sure. Act like you're paying respects.

LIAM: Okay. This is crazy and probably pointless, but I have Planerider Ryn in mind. It's silly, but I'm going to look.

TALIESIN: I assume I can see what's happening as the other high perception person in this group. (Caduceus) Just to have-- You shouldn't go solo. Just to have a pair.

LIAM: Yes, I will be your servant.

TALIESIN: Perfect.

LIAM: Yeah.

TALIESIN: So Caduceus is also going to walk with you on this one.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: Mumble under your breath, Caduceus.

SAM: He always does.

LAURA and MATT: (laugh)

MATT: Stepping up closer, indeed, you see musical instruments are placed and leaned up against some of these pillars. There's some textured blankets, and what most of the people are passing by, you watch as some of the regular denizens as well as some of the soldiers, this prayer line that you had noticed, there's actually some sort of an enchanted jar that's set up on a raised table at a tilt, and it's releasing some sort of a round red fruit once every 10 or so seconds.

LAURA: Wait--

MATT: It just produces fruit. As it comes and rolls into a trough, they come up and gather one and hold it and take it off to their families to prepare for the journey of some kind. It's like a-- This discovered enchantment is being used to feed and treat people before their journey. You see a number of animated paintings that are gorgeous landscapes. There's golden flag poles, there's a flowing fountain. It's an odd makeshift cluster of things that are thrown together. Towards the back there is an intricate statue of a female horned figure missing an arm.

LAURA: (gasps) It is her!

TRAVIS: Oh shit, it's realm walker--

LAURA: It's Planerider Ryn!

TRAVIS: -- Planerider Ryn. Oh fuck, we got to get that statue.

ASHLEY: Wait.

TRAVIS: Does anyone have Greater Restoration?

ASHLEY: I do, I do.

MARISHA: It's a complete statue?

TRAVIS: Missing an arm.

MATT: It's missing an arm.

MARISHA and LAURA: (gasp)

SAM: I'll find that later.

ASHLEY: I preper-- I prepared--

TALIESIN: Oh! I--

SAM and MARISHA: (as Ashley) I preperred.

ASHLEY: I preperred.

LAURA: Oh, Caduceus is with him.

TALIESIN: Yes, I am.

ASHLEY: Oh, oh, great! Take care of it.

TRAVIS: As we're looking at all those things and the statues there, is it--

MATT: Only two of them are seeing this, but yeah.

TRAVIS: Sorry.

MATT: It's okay. But do you have a question?

TRAVIS: Oh, I-- I didn't see it.

MATT and LAURA: (laugh)

TALIESIN: Are we alone? We're not alone.

LIAM: No, they're watching,

MATT: There are soldiers around, probably about a half dozen or so, as well as about eight, a line of of eight other Reilorans that are one by one taking fruit and other ones that wander up to meet while the others scatter off once they have a fruit.

LIAM: I subtly tug at your hem and don't say anything and twist my head back towards the group and wander quietly back. I stare at the Reiloran that is Imogen.

LAURA: You know, you can talk to me from a long distance. You had mental connection with me the whole time.

LIAM: I know, but I needed to-- What are we doing? Planerider Ryn, Planerider Ryn is in there.

LAURA: Okay.

TALIESIN: If we can get a moment, just a moment of privacy, I can take care of her.

LAURA: Okay. We need to cause a distraction, get people away from that area then. Right?

LIAM: (Caleb) Well, what sort of distraction would fit in here?

LAURA: Oh, those big creatures. Maybe one of those creatures got loose.

LIAM: Which kind of creature?

TRAVIS: (Fjord) Just as an option, so we don't blow our distraction wad too early, we could totally obscure an area within 15, 20 feet around us and move through it.

LIAM: Well we could make it a two parter, Fjord. You or I could make some sort of a distraction, an illusion, you've done that for us many times, so that everyone in the garden looks one way and then like an octopus, create a little bit of darkness over here, do our work and then we take our new friend, old friend, with us.

TRAVIS: Sure.

LAURA: Yeah, Planerider Ryn. Do you know--

LIAM: Do Caleb and Beau or any of the Nein know Planerider Ryn?

MATT: I'd say you've heard the name but you've never crossed their path. There's never been a reason. You do know the name because you've been to their sanctum in the Fire Elemental Plane long ago.

LAURA: (Jester) Yeah, Mama almost died there.

MATT: Yep. But you've never actually met them.

MARISHA: So did Luc.

ASHLEY: Oh yeah, that's right.

SAM: (pigeon coos)

MARISHA: Yeah.

LIAM: Yeah.

MARISHA: He was fine.

LIAM: What's up, peely face?

SAM: Oh, I think I left the mask on too long last night.

ASHLEY: What's wrong?

LAURA: Oh yeah, you're supposed to take it off before--

SAM: I thought it was--

ASHLEY: Yeah, you're bleeding a little bit.

SAM: Oh god. I just wanted to look good for the cow man.

TRAVIS: Would you like to make the illusion? I could use Marine Layer and we could walk up.

LIAM: Yes.

SAM: Marine Layer always works.

TALIESIN: How obvious is the statue?

TRAVIS: Put hands on.

TALIESIN: How obvious is Ryn--

LAURA: (Imogen) Can you make it look like anything else? Can you make it look like a red part of the storm?

TALIESIN: -- centerpiece of it?

MATT: It's not a centerpiece.

TRAVIS: No, the fog obscures everything.

TALIESIN: So it wouldn't necessarily be noticed if it vanished?

TRAVIS: I don't think I can color it.

MATT: Maybe.

TALIESIN: I mean it would be--

TRAVIS: If we're making a giant red dragon that's coming out of the, or a big purple--

LAURA: I'm not saying a giant red dragon--

TRAVIS: I'm talking about the distraction. You're talking about the Marine Layer.

TALIESIN: We need to keep even the distraction-- Wrong character. (Ashton) If we're going to do a distraction, we got to keep it subtle.

MARISHA: Why don't we start with the Marine Layer and then if it starts going tits up, we can make a distraction.

LAURA: Well, I just don't think--

ASHLEY: What if they're going to be like: What the fuck is this.

LAURA: No Reilorans have ever seen a Marine Layer.

ASHLEY: There's no marine.

LAURA: They've never seen fog here. So, if anything, it'll attract people. You know what I mean?

LIAM: Well--

LAURA: But if we can make it look like a dust storm, then--

TALIESIN: That's--

LIAM: I cannot make it look like a dust storm right now. I could knock something over.

TALIESIN: Actually... Don't mind me--

SAM: (Veth) Just--

TRAVIS: (Fjord) I can.

SAM: -- knock something over.

TALIESIN: You can make it look like a dust storm?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

LIAM: Without playing our hand.

TRAVIS: I'll take Caduceus. Caduceus, do you know what we're doing?

TALIESIN: (Caduceus) We're being sneaky, and then we're going to bring a friend back from being petrified.

TRAVIS: Yes. At 5th-level, I'll cast-- Do I need a 5th for that? I sure do, for a Major Illusion. I'll make a giant red tornado start to appear above myself and Caduceus. Then, I'll also use my feature, Marine Layer and it'll create a thick cloud of fog that comes out of the base of it

SAM: Aw, Jesus. as a tornado goes up.

SAM: Here we go!

MATT: Very cool.

TALIESIN: So if we do this, we could walk through and then find cover.

TRAVIS: But you guys will have to act like it's a bad thing and run.

MATT: (whooshes) This massive red dust cyclone suddenly apparates out of the top of Fjord and begins to swirl up into the sky. As it does this heavy, fog-like cloud apparates at its base, obscuring you and most of all of you around it.

TRAVIS: 20 feet in all directions.

MATT: Yep. (whooshes) You begin to hear gasps and reactions, no actual language, but just (gasps).

LAURA: Right as he does it, I'm going to hit Telepathic Bond. Fjord, Caleb, Orym, Caduceus, Imogen, Dorian, I don't know how many people, and Beau.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: That's got to be eight.

LIAM: Did you hit Nic Cage?

LAURA: Nic Cage, Nic Cage, Nic Cage, Nic Cage, Nic Cage.

MATT: Great.

LAURA: Eight of us so that we can have communication while all this chaos is breaking loose. Then I'm going to act like, "Oh shit! It's a storm!" And take off running.

MATT: Great.

MARISHA: It's an eight Cage bond. Right.

MATT: (chuckles) Perfect.

MARISHA: Then, yeah. I'll (shouts)

LAURA: Yeah.

SAM: (shouts) Oh god! It's a storm.

ASHLEY: (shouts) Run! Away!

TALIESIN: Don't yell, people--

LIAM: Orym, as a bormodo, is just going to act scared and cower outside of the storm, but keeping an eye for anyone we don't want heading towards Ryn and the group.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: Okay. The people that were waiting in line, the number of civilians that were there begin to scatter off to the sides. Most of the soldiers also scatter. Two of them hunker down. One gets low to the ground and takes its heavy scarf and puts it over its face and other one puts its hand underneath, looks like he's holding rods on the sides of one of the platforms that the jar is bolted to, that's angled, and you get the sense that storms happen enough where some folks try and weather it through and they, more or less Twister style, tied themself to the pipe.

TRAVIS: Oh yeah.

MATT: Which would've killed them immediately.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: Holding down and getting low.

LAURA: We're in the center! (whooshes)

MATT: So there are two soldiers that are not leaving the platform.

SAM: Okay.

LAURA: Okay.

SAM: Do we need to get rid of them?

LAURA: Maybe the storm will obscure it enough while we do that and get out of here. Right? I mean, you're in the middle of a tornado and there's fog all around you.

TRAVIS: Yeah, there's literally 40 feet across of mist and then this fucking giant red tornado up above it.

LAURA: Yeah, so you guys get to Ryn as fast as possible and then get out of there.

TRAVIS: Yeah, I've got my hand on the middle of Caduceus's back and we're pushing towards the statue.

TALIESIN: I'm using some Thaumaturgy. to vibrate--

LAURA: Make it seem like wind?

TALIESIN: Yeah. Yeah, vibrate the platform a bit and make it feel like, even they're not getting--

LAURA: Yeah, Jester's doing the same. Gusts of Wind and stuff like that.

TALIESIN: Just adding to it.

MATT: Yep.

ROBBIE: I'm going to run over to the two guards. It's like, "It's happening everywhere!" And a cantrip, I'm going to cast-- Sorry, little quiet one. Thunder Clap 100 feet above us.

SAM: Oh cool!

MARISHA: Nice!

ROBBIE: To make it sound like there's thunder. Then for my real spell, I'm going to cast Warding Wind. So it's a 10 foot radius. So I'm going to grab their shoulder or their arms and say, "It's happening!" Then 10 feet around me (whooshes) starts like they're in a cyclone, but I'm actually trying to hold them next to me to make it feel like they're in a tornado with me.

MATT: Okay.

ROBBIE: Oh no!

MATT: Okay. (laughter) Make a deception check with advantage.

ROBBIE: Okay. (laughs)

LAURA: You're one of those Reilorans that can't talk in their mind. (laughs)

ROBBIE: Okay. 21.

MARISHA: It's happening!

ROBBIE: 21.

MATT: 21.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

MATT: Yeah. So as soon as you reach for one in your head, speaking into your mind goes--

ROBBIE: I fucked it up.

MATT: (laughs)

ROBBIE: Always. Gulp! Goes, "Stay safe! Get down!" The other one looks towards you as you all get shaken around a bit and they all hunker close, holding you all and shielding while the rest of you filter in and the rest of the dust fog cloud encircles and swallows you in this darkened shape. Who's doing what?

TALIESIN: (Caduceus) I am making my way and I'm going to go up to the statue and I'm going to cast Greater Restoration on the statue.

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: ♪ I'm making my cage ♪

TRAVIS: A five foot radius of us, nothing can be seen.

MATT: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Where's my Greater? Here's my Greater Restoration. Casting it.

LIAM: Cager Restoration.

MATT: Mark that spell slot.

TALIESIN: That spell slot's marked. Yep.

SAM: Greater Restor-cage-tion.

TALIESIN: Then, yeah, it's only one action, but I'm also going to dishevel everything as I walk by a little bit. (laughter)

LIAM: Wow!

SAM: Everything's fine.

ASHLEY: Everything's fine.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

TRAVIS: If only you can see the microphone that bounced off of.

LIAM: So I'm trying to make a three pointer. It ricocheted off a microphone into Robbie's face.

MATT: Perfect.

ROBBIE: Right in my eye!

MARISHA: (laughs) That's fucking karma, bitch!

ROBBIE: I know. Oh, it is!

MATT: Here's the series of events.

LIAM: Yes.

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: So Caduceus, as you brush up into this, you quickly cast Greater Restoration on the statue. The statue suddenly "(groans)"

TALIESIN: I'm going to: Quiet! We need to get out.

TRAVIS: Hand over the mouth.

TALIESIN: Yep, and we're just dragging.

TRAVIS: We're friends.

MATT: All right.

TRAVIS: We're friends.

MATT: You drag them by. You see this, as their eyes are wide. Panicked. They're going to begin to try casting a spell.

TALIESIN: No, they're not. I'm going to immediately, before anything happens, I'm going to use Calm Emotions.

SAM: Are they screaming in pain from their arm?

TALIESIN: They're panicking.

MATT: Their arm is profusely bleeding.

SAM: Oh Jesus!

ALL: Oh!

MATT: Where it's broken off at the hand, which you--

LAURA: Does Greater Restoration heal that?

SAM: No, it's not a healing spell.

LAURA: (squeals)

MATT: Which you notice as you pull them away and (whooshes) trying to hold the mouth and pull them away, you feel the warm and wet sensation.

TALIESIN: Can I stop that?

MATT: If you want to try and heal them, instead of Calm Emotions.

TALIESIN: Oh yeah. If I see the blood, I'm going to try and heal immediately.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: Is there a particular level of healing that makes sense for this?

MATT: What do you think?

TALIESIN: I will hit-- Sorry, it's been a while. Thank you. Nevermind. Don't do it. Let's try-- I'm going to use (grunts). What's the up close and personal one?

TRAVIS: Cure Wounds?

TALIESIN: Yeah, probably. I'm just looking. Probably Cure Wounds. Where are we? Hold Person, Calm Emotions. (groaning)

TALIESIN: Yeah, I'm going to try Cure Wounds at level-- Let's try Cure Wounds level four.

MATT: Sure.

TALIESIN: Yeah, I think that's seems--

MATT: Go ahead and roll that.

TALIESIN: Yeah, because they're not unconscious yet, are they?

MATT: No.

TALIESIN: So I have to roll.

MATT: They are just missing an arm.

LAURA: There's a spell for that.

TALIESIN: There is, but I don't have that spell.

LAURA: Okay, are you guys telling us what's going on? Because we all have Telepathic-- Well, you guys have--

TALIESIN: I am--

ASHLEY: What's happening?

TALIESIN: I always think everything I'm doing--

ROBBIE: How long does it take for the Restoration spell to--

MATT: It's immediate.

ROBBIE: It's immediate? Wow!

TALIESIN: Yeah.

LIAM: Yeah, Caleb's giving me a play-by-play.

ASHLEY: Okay. Oh, she's alive!

LAURA: Thaumaturgy! Thaumaturgy! Okay.

SAM: Braius is keeping his eyes on Dorian.

LAURA: Does Imogen even have Thaumaturgy?

TALIESIN: All my dice. There we are.

ROBBIE: I've got them! I've got them!

MARISHA: Laudna's just been on standby. Can Laudna send a message to Planerider Ryn?

MATT: You have to get close to see them.

MARISHA: Yeah, yeah. Yes.

MATT: The storm currently obscures them.

MARISHA: Like I said, I've just been--

ROBBIE: Oh, this storm.

TALIESIN: It's 25 points of healing.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: I don't know if that-- does that seem like it's stopping the bleeding?

MATT: The wound is no longer profusely bleeding. It seems to have essentially staunched the blood flow.

TALIESIN: We'll explain in a minute. We just need to take you with us. It's fine.

TRAVIS: We're here with the Bells Hells.

MATT: You make a persuasion check with disadvantage.

SAM: Of course.

MATT: Because they're are panicked. I know. You both look like Reilorans right now.

TALIESIN: Oh, that's true!

MATT: The last memory they have is being at the base of the Malleus Key, battling Ludinus.

TALIESIN: Where's my persuasion?

TRAVIS: That's fair, that's fair.

LAURA: In your head you're going to hear: Tell her Bells Hells is with you.

MARISHA: He did. I just don't think Matt heard him.

MATT: I did hear that.

TRAVIS: No, it's okay. He heard it.

LAURA: Oh, okay.

MATT: But this is all happening rapidly.

TRAVIS: Yeah, she doesn't have an arm.

TALIESIN: Persuasion is middling. We'll see how it goes.

TRAVIS: The time jump.

LIAM: Just came out of a coma.

TRAVIS: It's real bad.

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TALIESIN: With disadvantage?

TRAVIS: Got released from carbonite

MATT: With disadvantage

TALIESIN: Fuck off. Seven.

TRAVIS: I can't see you, pal.

MATT: Seven? Okay.

LAURA: That's rough.

MATT: She glances at both of you.

TALIESIN: I'm trying to be.

MATT: Yeah, the one hand does and she's gone.

LIAM: Counterspell? Can I see in this illusion?

LAURA: No. No. You can't see.

TALIESIN: No.

LAURA: We're all--

LIAM: I'm in the illusion, but--

MATT: Well, there's only a five-foot radius of vision around the two of them right now, but she's (whooshes).

LAURA: I don't know if she's Dimension Doored or--

TRAVIS: Should I Counterspell it?

LIAM: Huh?

TRAVIS: Should I Counterspell it?

LAURA: I think it's good that she's just safe. I can send a message to her after.

TALIESIN: That'll do it. All right.

MARISHA: Yeah, save the Counterspells.

LAURA: Did you tell us she's disappeared?

TRAVIS: She's disappeared.

TALIESIN: Yeah, no. Everything assume we're--

LAURA: (Imogen) I'm going to send a message to her as Imogen, not as Jester.

MATT: Uh huh.

MARISHA: You've got this, Ashley.

LAURA: Ryn, it's us! We came to rescue you! You've been a statue for forever.

MARISHA: What?

SAM: (laughs)

ASHLEY: I lost it already.

TALIESIN: They don't know we're on the moon.

ASHLEY: I can't do this.

SAM: (laughs)

LIAM: Ryn, it's us. We came to rescue you. So we're at nine.

TALIESIN: You did one more.

TRAVIS: No, no no. You got to stay on it

MATT: Yeah, yeah.

TRAVIS: If you take the pencil--

MATT: Stick it through.

ROBBIE: You can do it. No, don't.

MATT: That's nine. That's nine, Ashley.

ASHLEY: It's nine or it's eight?

LIAM: Eight. Eight.

TALIESIN: Eight.

ASHLEY: I'm so sorry!

LAURA: You're on Ruidus right now. (laughter)

LAURA: Stay safe. If you need help, contact me. That's it.

MATT: Okay. (laughter)

MARISHA: No, it was good! No, it was good! You did it! You did it! It just looked painful.

TRAVIS: That look like it hurt.

MATT: You hear back, relatively quickly, "Well."

MARISHA: Oof!

MATT: "A bit disoriented, but I appreciate the assist, I suppose. I don't know how long I was gone. I'm in some sort of dark chamber."

SAM: What? Where did they go?

ASHLEY: What?

SAM: Where did they go?

TALIESIN: What?

LAURA: She probably--

LIAM: Probably just --

LAURA: -- Dimensioned Doored.

LIAM: -- panic Dimension Door.

LAURA: Misty Stepped.

SAM: Well, isn't she a Planerider? She could have gone anywhere.

MARISHA: Did she Misty Step or did she Dimension Door?

LAURA: I don't know.

TALIESIN: Would we have known what spell was being cast, or no?

MATT: Make an arcana check.

TALIESIN: Fjord, do you want to arcana check, since you're probably a little better at this than I am?

MATT: You both could.

TRAVIS: Okay, I'll give you advantage. I'm only a plus two on Arcana.

TALIESIN: That's more than me.

TRAVIS: Okay.

TALIESIN: I'll give you advantage.

TRAVIS: Four-- 15.

MATT: 15? You've seen this spell a number of times. This is indeed a Dimension Door variant. Yeah.

MARISHA: Dimension Door.

TRAVIS: Why is she in a dark room?

LAURA: She's close, she's got to be within 500 feet.

MARISHA: She has no idea where she went.

LIAM: Oh.

LAURA: Shit. Can she bamf back, and--

TALIESIN: Or we can--

TRAVIS: (laughs) Come back to the tornado.

LAURA: Come back the tornado and we can disguise her.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: (tapping and clicking)

LAURA: Oh shit, get out of here.

MATT: You hear the heavy sounds of impact and some sort of weird, bass-y chittering sound as a shadow begins to come through the nearby storm of dust. something that looks massive.

LIAM: Regardless, I think it is time to scatter.

MATT: 18, 20 feet tall.

MARISHA: Oh god!

MATT: Even wider, from what you can tell. The shape looks oddly insect-like.

LAURA: We need to go.

TALIESIN: We need to get out of here.

LAURA: That's one of those thingies.

TALIESIN: Let's move.

ROBBIE: Can you project images with our psychic connection that we have, or is it just talking?

LAURA: It's just talking.

TALIESIN: Just talking.

TRAVIS: Just like if you have a lightsaber. As this tornado moves with Caduceus and I, (whooshes)

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: As we start to move away from where we were.

MARISHA: But Fjord is just doing that with his mouth.

TRAVIS: Yep.

MARISHA: Just mouth sounds.

TRAVIS: (whooshes) Not just! They're fucking spectacular!

TALIESIN: At some point,

MARISHA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: we need to break off and let the tornado keep going.

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Then dissipate, would be nice.

TRAVIS: I don't think so. Once the storm has begun, nothing can calm it.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

TALIESIN: I take a swing. (laughter)

MATT: All right, so as you all cluster together at the base of this storm tornado burst, the shadowed shape seems to be following curiously on the outskirts of it, almost like it's following the source of the storm.

TRAVIS: I will send the-- I will start to send the tornado, as it gets smaller, off of the haze on the ground, almost like the dust devil's moving one way, but the fog is moving in another, see which way it goes.

LAURA: Can we all hide, like we were taking cover from the storm?

MATT: If you want to?

LAURA: Duck down? I'm going to duck down, like we were taking cover from it--

MATT: Okay.

LAURA: As it passes away.

MATT: All right. (whooshes) The tornado takes off, and as the dust separates and dissipates a bit, are all of you joining Imogen in this keeping cover position?

SAM: Sure.

ROBBIE: I'll try to time letting go of my concentration on Warding Wind as the other tornado goes.

MATT: Okay.

ROBBIE: I don't know if that's right or not.

MATT: As you all become this cluster of protecting each other, the dust separates and the tornado takes off and you have a very clear glance at this massive entity. Some of you who've been here before have seen them from a distance, and even fought a younger one. But you see before you a full grown vidulch, this incredibly terrifying, insectoid creature of massive pointed legs that are bladed in armor with all manner of jagged crustacean-like extensions of it. You can see numerous legs that protrude from the center of its thorax that glide it across the ground. Its number of hook-like feelers or additional blades that line the bottom of its abdomen, extremely dangerous looking jagged pincers, (cracks) grind across the front. It is a deep purple-brown color between its armored plates. Armored plates themselves becoming a dark to bright red coloration, like the very surface of the moon where they've been created. You watch it step over where you are, follow where the tornado is, (skittering) and begin to follow off where the core spin of that storm you crafted, the illusion begins to drift off.

LAURA: It likes the storm?

ASHLEY: Whoa.

MARISHA: That's cool.

MATT: It seems to be following it.

ASHLEY: Wow!

LAURA: Interesting.

MATT: You also do notice that there's a shadow of a rider on its back.

TRAVIS: Ooh!

MATT: The rider on its back is pulling hard at its reins. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Awesome!

MATT: It is currently trying to fight its instinct.

TRAVIS: Just like your horse in Colorado.

MARISHA: You beat me to it. Me every time I try to ride a damn horse. (laughter)

TRAVIS: They just don't respect you.

MARISHA: They don't! I don't respect them either.

MATT: As it skitters off a bit, the dust storm that had blown through here when you first emerged, it's still present, but it's not as heavy as it was a moment ago. You have a visibility out to about 30 or 40 feet and then it gets a bit challenging from there. It looks like it's dissipating slowly. You can make out more shapes of other folk who are starting to come out of their buildings or out of the hiding holes in the side. You can see other shadowed shapes as well as other of vidulch entities that are along the side mountainous wall where you were currently hiding and moving alongside, as well as patrolling the streets off to the direct path you're taking.

LIAM: After watching for a moment, Orym, does he have a sense anyone paying attention to us at all or are we lost in the throng?

MATT: You seem to be lost in the chaos of this. No one has directly had a reason to challenge or worry.

LAURA: Great.

MARISHA: (Beau) What's happening? Are we waiting for this Planerider to come back?

LAURA: I can send another message.

LIAM: Are they able to get themselves off?

LAURA: I don't know.

TALIESIN: (Ashton) (snorts)

SAM: (Braius) I mean, Anyone can if they try hard enough.

LAURA: (Jester) Well, yeah. You try hard enough, you probably could. I mean, she has what, one arm? Could be difficult.

MARISHA: Do you need two? Not bad. I mean--

ASHLEY: Yeah.

ROBBIE: How many--?

TRAVIS: Where are you--?

ASHLEY: I mean, they might not be able to, you know...

ROBBIE: How many arms do you--

LAURA: Well, I mean, I don't know how hard it is for her to do it. You know?

ASHLEY: I mean, we don't know which one was the dominant arm. It could be a weird--

LAURA: I could send her a message.

LIAM: (Caleb) There are some cantrips

LAURA: If you want to--

LIAM: -- you need no hands.

LAURA: -- free up your spells

MARISHA: That's true.

LAURA: If you want to free up your spells, Imogen. (Imogen) Yeah, that'd be great. Thank you. (Jester) All right, I'll send a message to her. (laughter) Hi! Where are you? We're going to go down into the center of this planet moon and we could use help. Do you need healing? I thought you lost an arm. Were you bleeding?

TRAVIS: It's not 30 words.

MARISHA: Sounds like too many. (laughter) She just gave--

TALIESIN: It's easier when you don't care, isn't it?

LIAM: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Yeah. (laughter)

TALIESIN: The trick is not to mind it.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: "Okay. Whoever this is, I assume you helped as well. I need to get my bearings straight, so I'll let you know."

LAURA: I think they're okay. They'll let us know if they need to meet up or something.

MARISHA: All right.

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: Well then, we should keep moving.

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: It's a shame, I know. If we had time, I could help with Ryn's arm. Oh well.

LAURA: (Imogen) You have that ability?

LIAM: Well, the Wildmother does with Seedling.

LAURA: Wow.

TALIESIN: You could--

MARISHA: (Laudna) What is it, like a vine arm or something? Big wooden arm?

LIAM: Well, it's restorative. The blade is restorative, but Ryn would need to commune a bit. but Ryn would need to commune a bit.

MARISHA: (Beau) Sounds timely.

LAURA: Mm.

LIAM: A couple hours.

LAURA: Yeah, we don't have that.

ASHLEY: We can do that later.

LAURA: Maybe after we--

TRAVIS: (Fjord) We should go. The tornado's about to--

LAURA: All right, let's go, let's go, let's go. We keep moving, we keep moving, we keep moving.

TALIESIN: We're just walking away already, I assumed.

MATT: The sky gets darker still as the once-dissipating storm suddenly takes an immediate turn and the sky grows intensely dark.

SAM: (Veth) Are you doing this, Fjord?

TRAVIS: Yes. The power I've accumulated in the seas is just so (snorts) intense.

LAURA: (Jester) Thaumaturgy.

TRAVIS: Sometimes I let it flow through me. LAURA (Imogen) Yeah.

ASHLEY: So dramatic.

TRAVIS: Like a wild bronco, I must ride it unbridled. Fucking hell.

SAM: Your hairline's really--

TRAVIS: Back there?

SAM: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Yeah. (laughs)

TRAVIS: It's starting to pull. Pulling real hard. with just this one island of hope. (laughter)

LIAM: Looking a little cagey. (laughter)

TRAVIS: No, the sky's not me. No, this isn't me.

LAURA: (Imogen) We need to go.

SAM: (Braius) Then let's go.

ASHLEY: Yeah, let's.

MATT: Pushing through and following your instincts, you take the next 20 or so minutes to carefully head towards the outskirts of the Dust Pit Delta. Following The Banner paths and the towers that you can recollect, you eventually come back to the rock dumping site. You can see the exterior of where the tunnels once were themselves, now looking to be sealed off. You notice the small guard chambers that were present the previous time that you were there. Upon you stepping up through the storm, a figure yells out, "Come on, come on! Get safe, get safe!"

MARISHA: Oh.

LAURA: Is that the opposite direction than what we're going?

TRAVIS: We recognize the bass of the voice?

MARISHA: Is it that same guy?

MATT: This you recognize to be Watcher Amido, who is the figure who let you into the tunnels in the first place.

MARISHA: That's the one.

LAURA: Yes, let's go.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: (Caduceus) Really? All right, we're apparently doing this.

LAURA: Go, go, go, go, go.

MATT: You pass the perimeter gates of this dump site back over to the more or less protective watchtower abode back over to the more or less protective watchtower abode where Watcher Amido is set up. You can see that the purple flag is no longer present, and indeed the entryway to the tunnel seems to have been barred off and blocked, but as you all stumble inside, "Weather's getting real intense out there. Hope folks that are on the paths are buckling down okay. There's a lot of open broken land to cover before they get to the bridge. Everyone okay?"

LAURA: Mm-hmm.

MARISHA: (Beau) Mm-hmm.

TALIESIN: (Ashton) Yeah.

SAM: (Braius) Is this guy cool?

LAURA: I think so.

TALIESIN: He seems cool.

ASHLEY: Wait, who is this again?

MARISHA: He let us in last time.

LAURA: Yeah, he was part of the Volition.

MATT: As you all get inside, you see he pulls back the hood and the robe and you see this older quanikka with a balding head of scraggly gray-white hair, almost like a lanky Sasquatch, sit back on a stool.

LAURA: Caduceus could have totally been that one.

LIAM: Mm-hmm.

TALIESIN: (Caduceus) Oh wow. Yeah, I totally see it.

MARISHA: I forgot about those guys.

MATT: And looks out from one of the porthole openings at the storm out there and closes a bit of Ruidian glass to seal it off from the interior of the chamber.

LAURA: Are the tunnels totally closed?

MATT: "Well, they've been closed for a while now. Yeah."

ASHLEY: Oh yeah, that's right. Wait, what's your name?

MATT: "I'm Amido. Why do you ask?"

MARISHA: (Laudna) Oh, we're Bells Hells.

LAURA: It's us.

MARISHA: We're friends of the Volition. Remember, you helped us.

MATT: "Right, right, right, okay."

MARISHA: A few weeks back. Yes.

ASHLEY: We just look a little different.

MATT: "I understand. Yeah--"

LAURA: Insight check.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: Go ahead and make it.

LAURA: I don't know. I'm worried--

MATT: What are trying to read?

LAURA: To see if he seems more on alert now that he knows it's us. If maybe he is going to sell us out.

LIAM: Did he get an adrenaline spike?

MATT: Make an insight check.

TALIESIN: I'll assist you in that.

LAURA: Okay. I'm sorry, guys. Oh, nope. Good thing you assisted me. Nope.

LIAM: It's not a one, because of Orym.

LAURA: Oh, sweet.

MARISHA: (laughs)

LAURA: What is this rolling? Anyway, that was 11 plus, that's Imogen, so 17.

SAM: (laughs)

MATT: 17. Best you can tell, I mean, his adrenaline did definitely spike at the notice of it, but then he kind of, the tension relaxes somewhat. More surprise of the arrival, seeing a bunch of Reilorans and Bormoda suddenly being these figures he met once. "Yeah, I'm done with all that business. I haven't heard anything from any of those folks since the last attempt."

LAURA: Good.

MATT: "I don't know what else to offer with you."

TALIESIN: Hmm.

LAURA: How deeply is the tunnel blocked off?

MATT: "Oh, maybe about 10 or so feet. Just sealed it off 'til they felt comfortable knowing it wasn't of use. That's about it."

LAURA: Great.

SAM: That's perfect.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

SAM: We can just drill through it, right?

LAURA: Yeah.

SAM: Who can do that? Someone? Anyone?

LIAM: Surely amongst the 14 of us.

LAURA: Somebody can.

ASHLEY: We can figure something out.

LAURA: (Jester) Yeah. Jester can totally do that. She's going to-- Is anybody outside or is the storm very big right now?

MATT: The storm is very dense outside right now.

LAURA: Cool. I'm going to Polymorph myself into a dire mole.

TALIESIN: Dire mole?

ASHLEY: A dire mole?

MATT: Okay. Hell yeah.

LAURA: Yes. This is how we got to Xhorhas. You don't remember, you guys? (smirks)

SAM: (Veth) Not quite.

TRAVIS: Think it was a purple worm, but--

LAURA: Well, no. I mean, but the mole is, I'm really big, like a dire mole. A giant one.

SAM: Moles dig in dirt, not through rocks.

LAURA: This is basically dirt for a dire mole.

SAM: This is your plan?

LAURA: Yeah.

SAM: Okay, let's see it.

MATT: (laughs)

MATT: So you step outside of the chamber and then transform into this massive, dark and threatening- looking mole entity that's probably 15 feet from tip to toe. It is massive and muscular, and you watch along its back, these spines protrude from it like it's somewhat crossed with a thorny nightmare beast. Shuffles over to where the tunnel entrance has been sealed off with densely packed broken rock and fallen bits of the tunnel entryway and begin to (whooshes) shift aside and start burrowing and digging. The heavy stone takes a minute to get used to, but it's more about finding which part of the path is still a lot of loose Ruidian earth along with the stone and dust that takes up the space, and once you find the path of least resistance, you begin to dig further and further. The rest of you watch in pretty quick time, big heaping armfuls of rock and dust. (crunches)

SAM: Whoa.

ASHLEY: Wow.

TALIESIN: He's a big boy.

MATT: Within a few moments, you don't even see the mole creature, but you keep seeing the dust (whooshes) leaving this ever-growing pile. This surrounding like an arena wall that begins to grow higher and higher around this portion, until eventually, part of it crumples to one side and you see the mole (booms) step out from within, Jester having managed to dug through rather rapidly.

LAURA: Would I still look like a Reiloran Polymorphed into a mole, or would I have just looked like a Reiloran doing that the whole time?

MATT: You look like a, I'll say like a mole with the illusion of Reiloran somewhere inside you. It was inside you the whole time. (laughter)

LAURA: Okay, once I get through the cave-in, I'm going to turn myself back into Jester.

MATT: Okay. (whooshes)

LAURA: Reiloran.

MATT: The illusion remains, yeah.

LAURA: I'm going to crawl back out and tell everybody to come through.

SAM: (Braius) You are remarkable at making, at destroying things.

LAURA: Thank you.

SAM: That's very impressive.

LAURA: I appreciate that.

SAM: Sometimes it can be used for good.

LAURA: Oh, yes, it can. If you want to learn the ways of destruction.

SAM: I do.

LAURA: Then follow me.

SAM: Oh. All right, sure.

LAURA: All right. No, but really, follow me. We've got to go.

SAM: Okay, let's go.

MATT: Okay. You begin to pass through these familiar tunnels that weave-- I know. It's always mustache begins to curl on one side.

MARISHA: Start--

MATT: I knew it was going to happen. I'll fix it at break.

ASHLEY: You look like a hipster.

LAURA: You do. (laughter)

LAURA: He looks like Schmitty.

MATT: I don't know. (laughter)

MATT: Sorry, Schmidt.

ROBBIE: I didn't think they've existed since 2014, so it's fine.

MATT: Yeah. You continue deeper and deeper into the tunnels beneath the city, following through familiar weaving paths, some that no longer exist and have been closed. Eventually, you come to the familiar entryway to the Volition pass house, and even glancing within, you can see the place has been tossed and emptied. Parts of it had been destroyed, and the window, the crystalline glass window that led to Kreviris itself is smashed open.

LAURA: Oh shit.

LIAM: Oh.

MATT: From what you can see, from the inside out, you can see now, for those of you for the first time, this incredible subterranean expanse. This massive underground cavern that is thousands of feet from end to end with numerous woven stone red rock streets with numerous woven stone red rock streets that rise on multiple platforms and bridges with buildings that are all lit with teal glass light globes that drift and blink in and out with surrounding populations, like a number of odd, dreamlike fireflies. You can see shifting movement in the streets. In fact, the streets are extremely dense with a populace that is moving as one: a mass migration that is taking place through the core of this town, partway in its completion from the core of Kreviris sifting out into other tunnels, and the tunnels that exit here that you know go deeper into the city are all closed off. It looks like this place was left nonfunctional and separated from any of the previous area. All you have currently is the window along the wall that leads into the chamber, probably a couple hundred feet up from the base floor.

LAURA: (Imogen) It's a couple hundred feet up.

MATT: In the center of this is a massive, faintly glowing glass pillar that sits as the centerpiece of this gargantuan cavern, itself polished. It would be smooth except for the fact that you can see the faintest bit of natural texture and elements seem to branch off and break into the ceiling, like some sort of a glass crystal tree.

MARISHA: Does it look any different from the last time we were here? Pulsey, glowy, more powerful?

TRAVIS: More branches.

MATT: Make a perception check for me.

TALIESIN: Branchy, leafy.

MARISHA: Branchy?

LIAM: Veinier.

TALIESIN: Throbby.

MARISHA: Perception check. 17.

MATT: 17. You don't notice any difference. It has a very pale thrumming glow to it, anyway. Then you do notice it (pulses) brighten. (pulses) You're not quite certain why, but it seems like there are occasional ever so faint little bursts of light.

LAURA: From what part of it? The whole thing?

MATT: Throughout.

MARISHA: Does it seem to radiate, almost like a signal, or just all at once?

TRAVIS: Or different sections. Boop, boop.

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: With a 17, I'd say you can just barely make out it seems to go from the bottom up ever so faintly.

TALIESIN: Hmm.

LIAM: (Caleb) Ja, okay, so here is our column.

LAURA: Mm.

LIAM: (huffs) What happens next?

SAM: (Veth) Is this where we split up?

LAURA: It might be.

TALIESIN: This might be.

SAM: Everyone's abandoning this place? Sort of leaving?

MATT: It looks like folks are in the process-- A number of military are escorting the populace out through other tunnels along the base.

MARISHA: Where do we even find--

LAURA: We could all meet up with Gaz in the Villums. If they're going to cause a huge distraction, maybe that's a good time to strike.

SAM: Oh, to strike.

LAURA: And just be aware.

TALIESIN: (Caduceus) But we'll have to talk to Gaz. This Gaz person. Do you know when that is?

LIAM: Yeah, how far is Gaz from right here?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

LAURA: Well, the Villums are--

MATT: You glance down and you can see it's a large portion of the neighborhood. Saying they'll meet you in the Villums is like, "I'll meet you in Hollywood." You know, it's not a specific location.

SAM: Awesome.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

MATT: You know.

LAURA: We just have to get ahold of Gaz.

TALIESIN: Jester, can you get ahold of this Gaz person? Actually, that may not be--

LAURA: Of course I can. What does he look like? What does he like?

SAM: Oh boy.

MARISHA: (Laudna) Oh, oh, he looks like this.

LAURA: Perfect.

MARISHA: Yes.

LAURA: All right, I'm going to send a message to Gaz.

TALIESIN: Better make sure they know that it's-- Do they know Bells Hells? Do they know what you're called and--

TRAVIS: (Chetney) Yeah, you're damn right.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TALIESIN: All right.

LIAM: So, Jester, are you okay? You pushing yourself too hard, in case we need to--

LAURA: In case we need to--

LIAM: Yeah, throw down.

LAURA: Eugh.

TALIESIN: There will be throwing.

LAURA: I mean, (snorts). You're here. Caleb, you're strong. You got so many spells.

LIAM: What about you, Miss Temult? Do you think maybe you could reach out to this Gaz individual?

LAURA: (Imogen) I could. I have less spells than I think you or Jester does, but I can give it a try. Of course. I might be able to regain some if we have a short rest, so maybe it would make sense for me to do it.

MARISHA: That's fair.

TALIESIN: That's fair. Yeah.

LIAM: Wouldn't mind a short rest either.

LAURA: We might get one in the Villums, or they might be about to strike. Hard to know.

TALIESIN: Let's get a little-- Maybe we can rest once we find Gaz.

MARISHA: (Beau) I mean, it'd be good to know our timeline here, so we should reach out regardless.

LAURA: All right, I'll reach out.

MARISHA: Okay.

ROBBIE: Also location, perhaps, in case this explosion is, you know, under our feet.

MARISHA: Yeah, right here.

TALIESIN: That would be really good to know, actually.

LAURA: Sure.

MARISHA: Blue one's smart.

LAURA: All right.

TALIESIN: Very smart, that one.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: Gaz, it's Bells Hells. Where can we meet you? We're here to help. We have a team to be even more effective. There's a detonation coming.

TRAVIS: Are we sure he's not a traitor?

LAURA: We need to meet.

SAM: Are you a traitor? (laughter)

ROBBIE: So cool.

LIAM: Just this once.

MATT: "Hey. Good to hear your voice. I wasn't sure if you made it." (laughter)

MARISHA: Nic Cage is so versatile. (laughter)

TALIESIN: He can do anything.

MARISHA: He really can.

MATT: "Whole lot going on. We're at the ceramic tower."

LAURA: Ceramic.

MATT: "Looks like a fork." That's it.

LAURA: All right.

MARISHA: Wait, are we not looking at the ceramic tower?

SAM: I'm going to look across the tower.

LAURA: Immediately see if there's a fourth tower. If we see a ceramic--

SAM: See a fourth tower.

LIAM: Perception check.

MATT: Anybody with a high enough perception wants to roll. Two of you get to roll perception on this.

LIAM: 29.

MARISHA: Oh, wait, two of us?

TALIESIN: 17.

SAM: I think he's already got it.

MATT: You got two of them.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: All right. So 29. Glancing across, all these different-- The actual construction of these buildings is wild. Parts of it seem to be mimicry of Exandrian cultural constructions and buildings, but they all weave in an nonsensical way. You can see all manner of odd spires. Some that, you know, are bridged across, not unlike The Banners above, you know, topside Kreviris. You do see one spiral tower that has a darker, fired brown coloration to the stone and rock of Ruidus, and it seems to splinter off into three different points, and in each point, there's a little bit of Ruidian glass crystal that's affixed to it like a decoration.

LIAM: All right, I point it out from the window.

TALIESIN: Oh yeah.

LIAM: (Orym) That's got to be it, right?

ASHLEY: That looks like a fork.

TALIESIN: Yep, that's a fork.

MARISHA: (Beau) So cool that they know what forks are.

TALIESIN: I actually--

LAURA: Well, I mean, they eat.

SAM: We must have dreamed about forks at some point.

MARISHA: Forks, yeah.

LAURA: I think they probably would've made something of similar quality regardless.

SAM: Some cultures don't have forks.

MARISHA: That's true.

LAURA: No, I know, but some sort of utensil to eat food, maybe.

MARISHA: At Taste of Tal'Dorei, you just eat the chicken wing with your hands.

LAURA: That's true. Straight off.

MARISHA and SAM: Yeah.

LIAM: But it's so salty. They do that so you'll buy the drinks. So many of the drinks.

MARISHA: I mean, they're so good though.

LAURA: That makes so much sense.

ROBBIE: In Imogen's head, she hears Dorian say: Real quick, how did you get out of here last time? I saw the entrance, but how did you get back?

LAURA: There are tunnels that run from the bottom of town.

MATT: You point over to the tunnels, and the tunnels are these massive lines of population slowly plodding through the numerous exits that are now currently plugged.

LAURA: Maybe it's a good thing we didn't go that way.

LIAM: So this hive is emptying out?

MATT: It seems to be.

LAURA: That's great.

ROBBIE: Dorian's watching this and putting the pieces together and he goes: Something I just thought of. If we release Predathos, and I know they're all going back home because of the Blue Dream and the the promise of Ludinus, but what if they're leaving for a different reason? What happens to Ruidus if this happens?

LAURA: It's destroyed.

TALIESIN: Maybe.

LAURA: If Predathos is released, I think its shell breaks apart.

ROBBIE: Do we have an escape plan?

LAURA: Well, we have Teleport. We got Chet, as long as he doesn't die before we're done.

ROBBIE: At the end of a hard battle? I just wonder if maybe we have another way, a backup plan, just in case. I'm sorry. It's just I see fleeing and I think fleeing. I'm very in the moment.

LAURA: He has a staff with Teleport.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: Caleb has it. (Jester) I have ways to get some people out, but not the entire group.

MARISHA: (Laudna) Also, further argument, to keep Planerider Ryn on this planet could be good. to keep Planerider Ryn on this planet could be good.

ASHLEY: (Fearne) Yeah, but I also think there's a possibility this might be our last stop. I don't want to say that, but I need to go in knowing that.

LAURA: Sure, sure, sure, sure, sure! But the goal is to get out.

ASHLEY: The goal is to get out, of course. I don't want to stay on this place.

TALIESIN: (Caduceus) Have some faith.

ASHLEY: I mean, it's not so bad.

SAM: Something to think about though, for sure.

ROBBIE: Just thinking. (laughs)

LIAM: (Caleb) No, it is good to be logical about it.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LAURA: (Imogen) Stay close to Chet. He'll have the ability.

ROBBIE: I'm not scared, to be clear.

SAM: He's asleep. He fell asleep.

ROBBIE: Oh. He's out. (laughter)

ROBBIE: Thus filling me with confidence.

SAM: Creed, Daft Punk, Elvis, Wayne Newton.

ROBBIE: Oh! (laughter)

MARISHA: That's good.

ASHLEY: There we go. There you go.

SAM: It's perfect.

MATT: Terrifying.

TALIESIN: Is it just me? Does this place remind you a bit of Cognouza? Just the dissonance of it?

LAURA: A little bit. Yeah.

MARISHA: (Beau) Well, yeah. I think that's why they sent us to fight this Weave Mind.

LIAM: Vibes.

TALIESIN: That was the last time that I felt this kind of fear. It's just fascinating.

MARISHA: Where exactly is this Weave Mind stationed? Y'all know?

LAURA: (Imogen) In the middle of that--

TRAVIS: (Chetney) We don't exactly know. They kind of appeared to us.

LIAM: (Orym) Yeah.

TRAVIS: Outside of the big vein.

LIAM: Dropped in on us.

TALIESIN: We are walking, right?

TRAVIS: There's four or five of them.

SAM: They're not in the big column in the middle of the tree?

TRAVIS: We're not sure.

LAURA: Yeah, I think they're in the column.

SAM: Oh! Okay.

LAURA: But that column's real big.

MATT: You do see the Arx Creonum, which is the central palace-like structure built into and along the base of the prime pillar. It is this--

LIAM: Downward balls.

MATT: -- terrifying-looking crystal cathedral-like structure that rises for numerous floors and extends like a wasp nest, a beautifully carved wasp nest from the side of this pillar.

LIAM: That's down at ground level?

MATT: It starts at ground level.

LIAM: It starts at ground level, goes up.

MATT: Then goes up.

LIAM: Wow.

MATT: (laughs)

ASHLEY: She's trying to get the hair.

LIAM: It's shaped--

LAURA: Poor Marisha! That's so uncomfortable.

LIAM: -- sort of like that.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

MARISHA: I got it.

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: Marisha's head is the crystal column.

MARISHA: Is this bee still here?

MATT: Yeah.

ROBBIE: It is.

MATT: You got it.

LIAM: The bee basket is the Arx Creonum.

MARISHA: (laughs)

SAM: Well, we should move, guys.

TALIESIN: We are. We're moving.

ROBBIE: Are we walking and talking?

TALIESIN: We're walking and talking.

LAURA: No, because we're 200 feet up. We got to get down.

ROBBIE: Oh!

MATT: All the tunnels that leave here naturally are closed off.

LAURA: Yeah, so we are going to have to drop down.

MARISHA: But the gate, that glass is open.

LAURA: Gone. Yeah.

MATT: Yeah, it is shattered and open. It's just a drop from there.

MARISHA: It's just a drop. Okay.

LAURA: If you can Fly, Fly, if you--

MARISHA: 200 feet.

TRAVIS: (Fjord) I could also just open up a gate and we could be down there.

SAM: (Braius) I could-- Oh, I mean, (Veth) I could also make a floating disc that can hold us, and I think I can lower it down.

MARISHA: Gate sounds good.

LIAM: (Caleb) I can also drop a handful of us safely.

ROBBIE: So I take it we're not worried about stealth anymore? We're all flying down into the city or--

SAM: Oh yeah. We have Feather Fall too.

MARISHA: There's no one in here?

LAURA: There's no one in this room, no.

MATT: In this room, no.

LIAM: No, but down below there's hoards of people.

ASHLEY: Down below.

MATT: Yeah, there are all manner of the streets that are shifting.

MARISHA: Like directly under us, walking by.

MATT: Where you are is almost halfway along. So there are still stragglers moving, but the bulk of it is probably, as you're looking down to the city, to the right--

TALIESIN: If we dropped, we'd be dropping into people.

LAURA: Ain't no compass, brother.

MATT: You could.

LAURA: Ain't no maps. There are open streets and areas that aren't as clustered, but it would have to be a very careful descent to not be noticed. But it's not impossible.

TALIESIN: Let's see if we can find something a little more out of the way.

MARISHA: Maybe a gate.

TRAVIS: Yeah, I'll use my 6th-level spell to create Arcane Gate.

ROBBIE: Oh!

TRAVIS: I think it's 500 feet, so a section that's either tucked away in a corner or in a shadow or something.

ASHLEY: Damn!

TRAVIS: You'll see next to us a big arcane gate appear, which is invisible from the other side. All of us can walk through it and--

MATT: Yeah, within 500 feet of you, you can totally do that.

TALIESIN: Just get that much closer also to the--

TRAVIS: Yeah, so I can actually put it as far as I can see in a corner that will be invisible from the other side.

LAURA: (Jester) ♪ He's so dreamy ♪ ♪ He's my ♪ soon-to-be husband ♪

MATT: (laughs) This gateway opens up and you can see the shimmering energy that marks the exterior of it. Immediately, on the opposite side of it, you can see, as you were stepping through, the remainder of the hallway way down below where you watched Fjord point. You all can shuffle out rapidly, and as you do, into the alley there, you are now on the base floor of--

LAURA: Wow!

MATT: -- the center of Kreviris.

ROBBIE: Cool!

MATT: The winding network of walkways, pathways, and spiraling rock constructions rising up above, and the faint glow of the pillar, immaculate and massive. The sheer scale of it, now that you're further in the city and looking up at it, is dizzying.

TALIESIN: Huh!

SAM: Are we at the fork or close to the fork?

LAURA: No, we got to walk to the fork. It's a bit of--

SAM: Let's go?

LIAM: Yeah.

MATT: All right. If I can have you do a group deception check.

SAM: Ooh!

TRAVIS: I'll dispel the gate--

LIAM: We're still in disguise, right?

TRAVIS: -- once we're out.

LAURA: Yeah.

MATT: Still disguised, so you do all have advantage on it.

LAURA: We do?

MATT: You do.

SAM: So we all roll four times.

MATT: You all roll twice.

MARISHA: With advantage for each person.

SAM: But each character rolls twice.

MATT: I'm having you each roll and then choose the best of the two because you have that many characters. So this is to keep it easy.

LIAM: Oh boy!

ASHLEY: Oh!

SAM: Oh god!

LAURA: Come on!

ASHLEY: What are we adding to? A deception?

SAM: Lordt!

LAURA: I feel like I don't want that choice.

ASHLEY: (groans)

MATT: You roll for the better of the two characters.

TALIESIN: Nope. That's awful.

SAM: Doesn't matter.

TALIESIN: That's awful! Holy fuck!

MATT: What'd you get?

TALIESIN: I got--

TALIESIN: With advantage?

MATT: Yeah.

TALIESIN: That's a five.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: I rolled a one and a two.

LIAM: (Caleb) Caleb got a 26.

SAM: Braius is amazing.

LIAM: (Orym) You--

MATT: All right.

LIAM: -- didn't get a one because you're standing next to me.

TALIESIN: No. Oh, I rolled a--

LIAM: So ones are re-rolled.

LAURA: Then let me go again!

TALIESIN: Oh!

LAURA: Phew!

TALIESIN: I rolled a-- That's much better.

LAURA: A two.

LIAM and MATT: (laugh)

ROBBIE: It's better than a one.

TALIESIN: 21.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: Roll one to a two.

ASHLEY: 11?

MATT: 11.

LAURA: No, my total was 15. I rolled a one and a five, originally, so I re-rolled the one. It was five and a two, so I rolled 15 and 20.

MATT: Got it.

LIAM: Caleb got a 26.

SAM: 16.

MATT: 16? Okay.

ROBBIE: 23.

MATT: 23.

TALIESIN: Thank you for fixing that.

MARISHA: Natural 20.

ROBBIE: Hey!

SAM: Damn.

MATT: All righty.

TRAVIS: 29.

ROBBIE: Man!

MATT: A challenging go as you begin to dive and weave through these subterranean streets. You can hear the screeches of winged feskul above, skittering and leaping off and diving through from their various nests up in the top sides of this cavernous space, as well as the number of them that are currently being ridden by Reiloran soldiers, watching over the streets as you go. You hear, in many clusters of shifting neighborhood families of Reiloran, an odd silence since most conversation is done psychically between these folk. It's a slowly shuffling, quiet crowd of hundreds of people slowly moving through various thoroughfares and main pathways. There are a few moments where, as you are now moving not with the rest of the crowd, but moving parallel and away from the general flow of traffic, that you catch a few armored and visually decorated warriors of the Reiloran military catching an eye and beginning to follow for a bit before you eventually shake them off through the paths, and they lose interest. You do slowly come to the base of the fork that Gaz had described to you in your brief conversation. As you begin to step up the stairs towards its-- and it's a smallish tower. It is tall and the shape is very distinct with what you're able to point out, though it does get lost in the texture of the city if you're not looking for it directly, bundled up at the top, knees to the chest, you see a massive muscular Reiloran with a heavy cloth wrapped over their shoulders and head, stand up and you hear in your head, "Can I help you?"

LAURA: (Imogen) It's us.

MATT: "Oh, thank goodness! I was starting to get a little out of sorts, feel uncomfortable, kind of exposed here."

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: "Come on in." Opens the door and leads you inside. It is a very small, I would say, sparsely decorated chamber. There's this spiral staircase that leads up further into the tower. But as he closes the door behind, he's, "Oh, it's a lot of you. A little big crowd here you brought. Okay, so what's the dealio? What's the business?"

LAURA: Well--

TRAVIS: Can we immediately start checking the room for floor panels, trap doors, hidden doors--

TALIESIN: Yeah. I'd like to give it a once over.

TRAVIS: -- while the talkers are talking?

MATT: Sure. Make investigation or perception checks. Your choice.

MARISHA: Beau will help with that.

TRAVIS: Investigation.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: As we talk to Gaz, Braius is going to study him, just to see if there's any signs of tension or sweat or shifty eyes or anything like that.

MATT: Sure. Make an insight check.

SAM: Okay.

MARISHA: 23.

TRAVIS: 19.

TALIESIN: 18.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: I can't. I don't even know.

SAM: What is that?

ROBBIE: 15? That one?

SAM: No. (laughs)

ROBBIE: Seven.

SAM: I think it's a seven. Okay. (laughs) 11.

MATT: He seems--

ASHLEY: Oh, you can't read it?

SAM: Fuck! (laughter) I've been Johnsoned! (laughter)

ROBBIE: Get Johnsoned.

TRAVIS: Payback is sweet!

TALIESIN: Johnsoned.

MATT: Yeah. Having only really encountered this species of beings recently, you have no idea how to read their tells at all.

SAM: Okay.

LIAM: (grunts)

MATT: Oh god! But glancing around, yeah, there are two trap doors under the chamber that you can see within the room that are loosely hidden with scraps of leather that are operating as ragged rugs. That's about it.

SAM: Ragged rugs.

TRAVIS: Sweet.

LAURA: Are we safe here?

MATT: "Oh, you're safe for now. I'm currently waiting to hear back from Rashinna. We're going to try and see if we can pierce through the prime pillar and take off a massive chunk of the base of the Arx Creonum and see if we can get it to collapse."

LAURA: Is the Weave Mind still present?

MATT: "I mean, as far as I know, that's where they're currently operating. It's what they do."

LIAM: (Orym) The entire city is emptying out. Is there messaging to the people here?

MATT: "Likely to them, but I'm a little broken in the brain these days."

LIAM: Oh.

ASHLEY: (Fearne) What do you mean?

MARISHA: (Laudna) Did that happen after the last attack?

MATT: "Yeah, your--"

LAURA: Mom.

MATT: "Your mom kind of cleared me out."

MARISHA: Oh!

LAURA: I'm sorry about that.

MATT: "No, no. To be fair (chuckles) kind of batting above my belt, you know what I mean?"

LAURA: She's very powerful.

MATT: "Took Rashinna about good solid week to try and claw me back from the precipice. What do you call it? We don't really have them here. Vegetables."

LAURA: Coma?

MATT: "Yeah."

LAURA: Wow!

MATT: "Yeah."

TRAVIS: Wow!

MATT: "It was a rough go."

LIAM: Does that mean that Gaz is speaking to us all?

MATT: You notice now at this point, Gaz is using his jagged teeth within his thick, muscular jaw to speak to you in Common. It's an odd sight. You see, even though (like Gaz) for me I'm making the voice like this, for the fun of the narrative and the consistency of it, the words sounds strange coming out of his mouth and he's learning to still speak this way.

LAURA: (Jester) I lean down and I whisper into Veth's ears, "Does he do anything for you?"

SAM: (Veth) I mean, not really.

LAURA: Oh, okay.

SAM: No.

LAURA: I didn't know if it was all big muscular--

SAM: It's a specific kink.

LAURA: Okay, cool.

SAM: Yeah.

MATT: "They're going to strike in the next day or so."

ROBBIE: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Well--

LIAM: (Caleb) In Imogen's mind, Caleb's voice, "Are we free to speak here? You're feeling good about this?"

LAURA: (Imogen) I think so. We worked with him a bit, but I think it's safe to say if they're going to do it, they should move it up.

LIAM: What is your timetable?

MARISHA: (Beau) He just said a day or so.

MATT: "Yeah, just literally said about a day or so."

SAM: Tell us your timetable! (laughter)

ASHLEY: Gaz, how did you--

MATT: His nose bleeds a little.

ASHLEY: How did you get out?

MATT: "I don't know. I mean, to be honest, I didn't really. (laughs) They had to drag me out. I was-- I don't remember."

MARISHA: (Beau) Yeah. Cool.

TALIESIN: Insight?

MARISHA: Look, if we're going to be--

TALIESIN: Just really quick.

MATT: Sure.

MARISHA: We're here to maybe fight this.

TALIESIN: Nat 20.

LAURA: Oh!

MATT: Legitimate.

TALIESIN: Okay.

MATT: Seems a fractured, blank slate in some ways.

TALIESIN: Okay. That'll do it.

MARISHA: We're here to fight this Weave Mind, so you know, if you think you're going to blast a hole into their home or whatever, maybe we should do it now. Do it sooner.

MATT: "Okay. All right."

SAM: (Braius) No, not right now.

MARISHA: Not right now.

SAM: We have to call our friends and tell them that we're going to strike first.

LAURA: Yeah, tell them we're in the spot.

TALIESIN: (Ashton) Really, that went wrong last time.

MARISHA: You're right, I guess I should probably not.

SAM: We also should split up and go in two separate places.

LAURA: Yeah, but he might need to move it up by a day or so, depending on how fast we can get up close.

MATT: "So now?"

SAM: Not quite now.

LAURA: No, no, no. Not immediately.

ROBBIE: Up by a day or so.

SAM: Not quite now.

LAURA: No, but maybe you can time it so that it all works out together and it'll do more damage.

MATT: "To what?"

SAM: To us telling you when to do it.

MATT: "Okay."

SAM: Great. But not now.

MATT: "Okay."

SAM: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

TALIESIN: But can you be ready to set it off so that if we contact you, you can get that plan moving at speed?

MATT: "I'm going to go talk to Rashinna. I'm going to go. I'm going to go check in with her."

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: "I'll be right back."

SAM: Is she here?

MATT: "No. No. She's-- I'm not supposed to say."

SAM: (laughs)

MATT: "I'll be right back."

LIAM: (laughs)

MATT: And he leaves. This poor fellow's been through it.

LAURA: Aw.

TALIESIN: Yeah, he's a--

MARISHA: Doesn't really feel like the right person to put a bunch of explosives into the hands of.

ASHLEY: That's a choice.

TALIESIN: I mean, you work with what you got, but--

ASHLEY: I'm just going to follow--

LAURA: You're going to follow him?

ASHLEY: -- him. And try to listen in.

MATT: Okay. Make a stealth check for me.

TALIESIN: Are you within our group?

ASHLEY: Huh?

TALIESIN: Are you within-- How near to Jester are you?

LAURA: (Jester) Yeah. You have a plus 10 if you're close to me.

MATT: Oh, that has faded by now.

LAURA: Just kidding. We are so far past that.

LIAM: Does her unibrow give her advantage on stealth?

TALIESIN: Do they ever?

ASHLEY: Say it again?

LIAM: The Cage brow.

ASHLEY: Cage brow?

LIAM: Adds some extra obfuscation.

ASHLEY: Wait.

TRAVIS: Just roll.

LAURA: Just roll.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Just roll for it.

ASHLEY: 17.

MATT: 17. Okay. So you exit and follow him. The rest of you settle in for a bit and you can discuss amongst yourselves what you want to do. You follow him for about what would be the equivalent of about six or seven blocks. You see him have to check himself a few times and be like--

LAURA: Oh, he really--

MATT: "Right." Then, eventually comes to a small, almost like a cellar shack. It's a series of angled leather flaps that are hooked onto the edge to close an entryway that goes underneath the ground, and he steps over and flicks one of the leather flaps open and steps and goes underneath the ground. Do you follow?

ASHLEY: No. Yes.

MATT: (laughs) What do you do?

ASHLEY: I'm just going to go in there.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: I'm going to listen in. I'm going to listen from the flaps. Okay?

MATT: Okay. Make a perception check for me.

LAURA: Mm-hmm.

TALIESIN: Do we all notice that Fearne has wandered?

ASHLEY: Okay, 25.

MATT: You watch Fearne just leave.

TALIESIN: Okay. (laughs)

ASHLEY: 25.

MATT: 25. It's hard to pick up the specifics for a moment, but you hear three voices. You hear Gaz Tomo, another voice you don't recognize, and a third voice that you do remember hearing before when you were in the Volition pass house on your first journey to Ruidus. You hear Gaz say, "Okay. Bit of a bit of a crazy thing. You know those people from Exandria that came and helped us for a bit and then kind of disappeared? They're here and they want to help." You hear the second voice be like, "I do not believe I met these folks, but I do remember you speaking of them." The third voice you hear go, "Interesting. That might be beneficial to our plot. Are they willing to help the Volition?" (Gaz) "I think so. They just told us we got to move up the timetable, like now. Like, not now. Like, soon."

TRAVIS: (chuckles)

MATT: "Wait, hold on. A day sooner, but not now. Yeah." You hear, (Third Voice) "You're doing very good, Gaz. You're doing wonderfully." (laughter)

MATT: "(sighs) Well, we're still-- We'll see what we can do." It's about this point that you can smell the scent of some sort of chemical, some sort of very strong chemical wafting from below. It's almost like a fuel.

LAURA: Ah.

MATT: She goes, "All right. I'll see if I can get word around. We'll prepare as soon as we can. It might take an hour or two. If you can tell them what it is we're trying to do on our end. Maybe I should come with you. Just keep them calm, keep them nearby, and when we're prepared as well on this side that I can step away, I'll come talk with them myself." He goes, (Gaz) "Okay. Got most of that."

ASHLEY: I'm going to just turn around and just try to run back.

MATT: Okay. (chuckles) He emerges. Eventually, you filter both back into the fork tower Eventually, you filter both back into the fork tower where you were hiding. Entering in, he follows in quickly as Fearne gets in first, (pants) into the room.

MARISHA: Real quick--

LAURA: (laughs)

SAM: (Braius) You okay?

ASHLEY: Yes. Why?

SAM: Okay. (laughter)

MATT: Real quick, Marisha?

MARISHA: I was just going to say, while he's gone, because we're alone in this room, right?

MATT: Yeah.

MARISHA: Can we check the trap doors?

MATT: Sure. I'll say they're both locked. But with a period of time of five minutes amongst your troop, especially with Nott and the 17 other thieves among you--

SAM: (Veth) I've got some nice fingers.

TRAVIS: (Chetney) That's pretty slow. I'm just going to say it.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Are any pots we can crack open to find coins?

SAM: Race you!

MATT: That's true. Yeah. Find some healing herbs.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: No. You look beneath and you can see they are bunkers. There are areas to hide people. There are bed rolls down there. It looks like there are some leftover dried food bits. This looks like it was a way station for people either of the Volition or being smuggled out of the city by the Volition. You also see that within there, there are a number of tools and blankets, as well as some damaged, some not as well as some damaged, some not glass blade weapons. But this definitely feels like it was a space for people to hide out.

MARISHA: Okay.

SAM: Can Veth look for any blades that could be fashioned into a crossbow bolt head?

MATT: Yeah, if you wanted to take a short rest to try and break through some of this glass, you could definitely repurpose for a few crossbow bolts.

SAM: If we have the time. I'll just grab a piece for now.

MATT: Okay. So you grab one up there. About this time, Fearne busts in, and shortly behind you, the door bursts open and closes behind. (door latches) (Gaz) "Okay. So I checked in with her. They're figuring it out. She's actually going to come talk to you, probably about an hour or two. Got some things to button up, some numbers to cross over, some things to tie around. Then, yeah, we'll figure out what you need. What were you doing?"

SAM: (Braius) We're going to get in contact with our friends--

LAURA: (Jester) Would you like a cookie?

SAM: -- and coordinate--

MATT: "I'd love whatever that is."

SAM: -- and coordinate an attack. But we all need to be on the same timetable.

TALIESIN: If he's never had had a cookie, this is going to be a second. I think we may have just lost him for a minute.

MATT: "What--"

LAURA: Sugar.

MATT: "-- miracle have you bestowed upon me?"

LIAM and ASHLEY: (laugh)

LAURA: Yeah. It's pretty amazing, right?

TALIESIN: (Caduceus) Well, that's the end of Jester.

LAURA: This one's got chocolate chips. Extra chocolate!

MATT: "Is there more of these?"

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got a whole bunch. I figured, we're you're going to the moon! We got to-- Here.

SAM: If you cooperate with us and we can coordinate our attacks.

ROBBIE: Yes. My friend Braius has--

MATT: "You drive a hard bargain."

ASHLEY: (laughs)

SAM: (laughs) I do.

ROBBIE: Well, yeah. He has a point. I feel like maybe we're sort of horning in on, maybe bogarting part of your plan.

LAURA: Yeah.

ROBBIE: We don't really know why you're planning this explosive attack. We obviously have our plans. Can you tell us why this is happening, instead of when?

MATT: "Well, we of the Volition, we've been trying to..." He focuses for a second.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

MATT: "Right. We of the Volition have been working for most of our lives tirelessly, and many of us for generations now at this point to undermine and destroy the tyranny of the Weave Mind. They rule all the people of this entire space, this realm, with an an iron brain. We've gotten close, maybe relatively close a few times. We figure if we can take out like one or two, that'd be great. If we could take them all out, fine. There's a lot going on and it's going to be very distracted. With the people leaving, there's a lot less collateral damage to do something really crazy."

ROBBIE: It sounds like we are aligned then. This is very exciting!

TALIESIN: (Ashton) I'm a big fan of really crazy.

LAURA: So if you set off all of your really crazy explosions, we can go in and kill the Weave Mind.

MATT: "That sounds awesome!"

LAURA: I know! I really like you.

MATT: "I like you, too. Give me more."

LAURA: Okay. (laughter)

MATT: "Thanks." (chomps)

TALIESIN: Hey, pace yourself. Pace yourself, man. Just--

MATT: "I'm a growing boy."

ASHLEY: Well, you don't want to get the shits. You know, if you've never had sugar before.

LAURA: It's just cookies!

MATT and ROBBIE: (laugh)

LAURA: Is it bad?

ASHLEY: Well, I don't know. If you've never had it before, you might get a stomachache.

SAM: (Veth) Here, wash it down with some liquor.

MATT: (slurps)

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: (chomps) Takes a bite and swishes it inside.

LAURA: Oh, god. That sounds so good right now.

TALIESIN: Pass that.

ASHLEY: That does sound like a good combo.

TALIESIN: Thank you. Thank you.

SAM: Oh, all right. Sure.

LIAM: Have you ever had--

TALIESIN: What the fuck is this?

LIAM: -- that drink?

MATT: "No. Kind of tingles."

ASHLEY: (laughs)

MATT: "Makes the cookie tingly." (laughter)

MATT: "I don't fully understand your ways, strange Exandrian folk." (laughter)

SAM: I'm just a caveman.

MATT: "But I greatly appreciate what you've offered to me this fine day." He crushes all the cookie into his hand and just goes (gargles)

LAURA: Oh, yeah.

MATT: Into the gullet.

LAURA: That's one way to do it.

TALIESIN: Is this expensive? This is good!

SAM: It is. It's good stuff.

LAURA: (Imogen) Is Rashinna going to meet us here, or--

SAM: Take it, keep it.

LAURA: -- do we need to talk to anyone else?

MATT: "I think she's coming here. About an hour or two, I think."

LAURA: An hour or two. Maybe Mighty Nein should stay here and Bells Hells moves on. What do y'all think?

ROBBIE: Is it time?

SAM: (Braius) Mighty Nein's the insertion team into the Weave Mind.

LAURA: Right.

SAM: Yeah.

LAURA: Bell Hells needs to get down further. We're trying to get to the Hallowed Cage.

LIAM: But maybe a one-on-one with--

SAM: Cage?

LAURA: Oh my god! Is it the Hallowed Cage? Is that the name of what we're we going? Are we going to Hallowed Cage?

SAM: That is the name of the episode!

LIAM: Scripted!

ROBBIE: (laughs)

MATT: Hallowed Cage, yes.

LAURA: (excited shout)

ASHLEY: Wait! (laughter)

ASHLEY: We didn't even plan it!

LAURA: (excited shout) (laughter)

ASHLEY: Ah!

ROBBIE: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Somehow I--

MATT: Kill me. (laughter)

TALIESIN: -- love this and hate it more.

ROBBIE: This is just what you envisioned, right?

MATT: Time is a flat circle.

ASHLEY: Yes! (laughter)

ASHLEY: Come on!

LAURA: Ah!

ASHLEY: That's so cool!

ROBBIE: Oh my god!

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: I don't trust it. I don't trust any of it. (laughter)

MATT: This is all a plot. This is all a plot. (laughter)

LIAM: But maybe Rashinna would be able to give us some good intel about what lies await.

SAM: Sure, but if we know that our friends in the Mighty Nein can communicate that to us, even if we're halfway down to the Hallowed Cage--

LIAM: Yeah?

SAM: I feel like we need to keep moving to be in place for this to happen. Remember, we still have to call our friends on Exandria and tell them we're here before we can do anything.

LAURA: Right. I imagine we'll do that as soon as we know what the actual plan is with these explosions. We'll have a timing, at least, set in place and then we can let Vox Machina know--

SAM: Yeah.

LAURA: -- what's happening.

SAM: But it would be good if we were in posish, too.

LAURA: Right.

ROBBIE: It's all supposed to happen at once, isn't it?

LAURA: Yeah, I think so. I mean, we're--

SAM: I think we go.

LAURA: We're pretty close to position. As far as Mighty Nein goes, you're pretty close to position.

LIAM: We don't know what lies past this line, though, right? I know we can send messages back to each other really quick, but we don't know what we're running into.

SAM: We won't after Rashinna comes in either, will we?

LIAM: No, I'm saying talk to Rashinna. Talk to Rashinna.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah.

TALIESIN: Then we go.

LAURA: Then split.

SAM: But what will we learn?

TALIESIN: We don't know because we haven't learned it yet.

LIAM: Possibly what we're walking into.

ROBBIE: Could we trust the Mighty Nein to deliver the message back to--

LAURA: (Jester) You can trust me with any messages. I will convey them to you no problem.

ROBBIE: (uncertain) Okay.

LAURA: Unless I'm out of spells, and then you're shit out of luck.

SAM: So are we waiting for an hour?

LIAM: I would prefer, we talked about resting for a bit.

LAURA: Oh, that's true! You could get your spells back!

TRAVIS: Short rest?

LAURA: (Imogen) Yeah, that would be great.

TALIESIN: Short rest.

TRAVIS: Let's do it.

LAURA: Rest while we wait.

TRAVIS: Short rest.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: Okay. Now to recall, the notification to Exandria was to begin the assault, which would be the distraction when it's underway to allow you to delve and separate--

LAURA: Got it.

MATT: -- while the populace and the Weave Mind are distracted with the assault.

SAM: So we should call--

ASHLEY: Okay, so we need to--

SAM: -- Vox Machina now?

MATT: Whenever you--

LAURA: No. Call Vox Machina right before the (explosions) here.

MATT: Well, they have to--

TALIESIN and SAM: No.

ASHLEY: They have to get there, right?

SAM: He said the opposite.

MATT: To let them know the assault's going to happen, they have to gather the forces. They have to--

LAURA: We need to call them now.

SAM: Yes.

MATT: (laughs)

TALIESIN: We call them now, take our short rest.

LAURA: All right.

MATT: Yeah. They're not just outside the fortress. They're all still separate in Vasselheim.

LAURA: Yes. That way, I'll be able to get--

ROBBIE: So wait, do we want to-- Sorry. Do we want to slow them down instead of speed them up? If they've got to gather forces on Exandria--

SAM: We want to tell them now so they can start gathering.

TALIESIN: Gathering forces--

LAURA: Yeah, we're going to say we're going to be hitting the attack in the next day or so.

LIAM: Right. Coordinate.

LAURA: Gather your forces. Get close.

ROBBIE: Yeah, I don't know if this is like, light the fires or like, we're all at the fort operating base, ready to hit it.

LAURA: We'll decide because we can send multiple messages.

TALIESIN: Yeah, we're going to be heading in in the next couple hours, I guess, is what it's looking like.

ASHLEY: Oh boy!

LIAM: Yeah, coordinate with the woman in charge, Rashinna, in charge, and get the gang down on Exandria in place. Then, we have to (claps) at one time.

LAURA: So I should call her after we attack?

MARISHA: No, just call her now.

SAM: No, we should call them now.

LAURA: Okay, I'm going to call--

LIAM: Tell them to get in position and wait.

LAURA: All right. I'm going to send a message to Allura. All right, we're in the city.

MARISHA: (coos) Keyleth. (coos) Send it to Keyleth. (coos)

LAURA: Keyleth?

MARISHA: Right?

MATT: It's fine. Either or. Anybody on that side, really.

LAURA: They're probably together.

MARISHA: I don't remember who was on the front line. Okay.

LAURA: Oh, what did I say already?

LIAM: All right, we're in the city.

TALIESIN: All right's one word.

LAURA: That's true.

LIAM: All right. We're in the city.

TALIESIN: Okay. Got it.

SAM: (laughs)

LIAM: Everybody's so judgey about Message. Keep going.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

TALIESIN: It's the game.

MARISHA: So judgey about message.

LAURA: Volition here can set off explosions.

SAM: Explosions is three words.

MARISHA and LAURA: (laugh)

TRAVIS: Going to the restroom. I'll be back. (laughter)

LAURA: They can set it off in the next couple days. Up to you. Prepare.

LIAM: Pinky's up.

MARISHA: Nice!

ASHLEY: Nice!

ROBBIE: Yeah.

MATT: (Allura) "The forces are all at the ready, and time is of the essence. Is now the time to begin the assault?"

LAURA: Fuck!

SAM: Yes, it is.

LAURA: All right. Then I'm going to say yes, right? I should say yes?

SAM: Yes.

LAURA: Because a couple hours, that's enough time to--

SAM: Yes.

TALIESIN: I'd say we're probably going to be in the thick of it in the next three hours, I think.

ASHLEY: Wait, but how long is it going to take them? We don't know.

ROBBIE: They're ready.

TALIESIN: But we can tell them--

LAURA: We don't know.

TALIESIN: We can tell them--

SAM: We don't know how long it's going to take us either.

ROBBIE: And an assault, a ground assault, too, can be-- Is it a siege on a tower?

MARISHA: It could take a long time.

ROBBIE: It could take days. It could take weeks.

LAURA: We don't have a fuck ton of these spells, y'all. I'm using up all my spells just to talk to people.

SAM: But their assault is giving us cover, right?

ROBBIE: Right.

LAURA: Yes.

SAM: So they should go.

TALIESIN: Yeah, they should--

LAURA: All right.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Okay.

TALIESIN: Let them know that, yeah, we're going to start heading into the main fray in the next hour.

LAURA: All right. Oh god, I used up all my things.

LIAM: But, above the table, yes, yes, and the explosion should go off sooner then, too.

LAURA: So I should say: Wait an hour and then go. Wait an hour and move.

LIAM: Right.

TALIESIN: Or--

SAM: No.

LAURA: Or move now?

SAM: I think now! This is it! It's move now because it's not going to take six seconds for the assault to happen. It's going to take time.

LIAM: Mm-hmm.

LAURA: Okay.

SAM: Then while that chaos is going on, then we can make our assault.

LAURA: But we won't get a short rest. Potentially, if they start the assault, are we still going to get a short rest?

MARISHA: I feel like we can still wait an hour.

SAM: Tell them to wait 54 minutes and then go.

TALIESIN: Honestly, I think that we just communicate our situation, which is we're going to be heading in in one hour. That's all they need to know to know when they should start attacking.

ASHLEY: Yeah, that's not a bad idea.

ROBBIE: They're the timer.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

ROBBIE: Once they go, we're good to blow the fuse anytime up on Ruidus.

LAURA: Great.

ASHLEY: We're going to be good to go in--

LAURA: Great.

TALIESIN: We're going to be heading in in about an hour.

LAURA: Then, as Jester, I'm going to send a message to her.

MARISHA: Oh my god!

LAURA: Because I don't have--

ROBBIE: I was confident--

LAURA: -- any more fucking spells, y'all.

TALIESIN: Just make Jester do it.

ROBBIE: I think so, though.

MARISHA: Oh my god!

TALIESIN: I'm into it.

LAURA: Oh wait, I could use my sorcery-- Fuck it! (Jester) Yeah!

MARISHA: (laughs)

LAURA: You should go. Maybe in like 30 minutes though, so that we can get a little bit of a recovery and stuff. But move it, yo! This is happening!

MATT: (laughs)

ROBBIE: (laughs)

MATT: "Right. Yes, of course. Thank you, Jester. (sighs) I'll gather the Exandrian fleet."

LAURA: Oh shit! It's going down!

ASHLEY: (squeals)

ROBBIE: Yep.

MATT: And there, we'll go to break.

ROBBIE and ASHLEY: (groan)

LAURA: Oh!

ROBBIE: We got the fleet!

MARISHA: I'm so dehydrated!

LAURA: I know.

MATT: When we come back from the break, we're going to rewind a little bit in time.

LAURA: (gasps)

MARISHA: Oh no!

TALIESIN: (rewinding tape)

MATT: To pick up in Vasselheim from the perspective of Keyleth, Vex, Pike, and Grog as they leave to search for the rest of their troop--

LAURA and ASHLEY: (gasp)

MARISHA: Oh my god.

MATT: -- before this assault.

MARISHA: Oh my god!

ASHLEY: Oh!

MATT: So we'll see you guys here in a few minutes. (excited shouting)

Break[]

These are the times in which legends are born or slain. Our gods are back. I believe in all of us. So let's get it done. You battle against gods. They will not rest until you are on your knees. (mysterious music) Everyone, get ready! Second Dragon! Your battle is already lost.

The future is frightening. It's a future which hasn't yet been written. Vox Machina, your world will be destroyed. This can't be happening. If we want to save it, we have to go to... Hell. Buckle the fuck up. Road trip! We shouldn't be here. Won't be needing jackets. To pull this off we're gonna need all kinds of miracles. What is that thing? Hold him off as long as you can! Vox Machina shall burn! That's a big problem! And I'm an even bigger one! -Ready? -No, but do it anyway! I'm ready to die for the people I love. We have to believe it's going to be alright. And if it isn't... No! ...then nothing matters. Vox Machina, you are now bound for eternity. They got some plush chairs in this bitch. It's okay to be scared. We can face anything if we're together. Oy! You think you can catch us, dingle dick? Maybe don't mock the murder man?

MARISHA: Oh, hi. Sorry, I must've nodded off for a moment. As you may have heard, we're just getting started with tons of new content, and of course our Daggerheart Critmas Live show, on December 7th in Not-Quite-Philadelphia. It's just over the bridge in Jersey. But it's been a lot of work, and honestly, it can be exhausting. But, you know, with 2025 and our 10 year anniversary just around the corner, we're not planning on slowing down. Oh no. In fact, we are just getting-

TALIESIN: Things are heating up.

MARISHA: No, no. That's not what we're saying.

TALIESIN: Things are heating up. You wanted live shows, and you're getting live shows, starting this April with a live show in, drum roll please.

MARISHA: No, I'm not-

TALIESIN: Don't care. Chicago. That's right. We're returning to the Windy City for a very special event, where you, the audience, gets to choose whom your adventurers are. Selecting from your favorite campaigns: one, two, and three. So mark your calendars, because it all goes down Thursday, April 10th, 2025 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. Things are just-

MARISHA: Getting started.

TALIESIN: Heating up.

SAM: The adventure continues. You heard me correctly. You're probably wondering why I'm upside down. Well, it's because I'm training. Training for an adventure down under! (grunts) That's right, Australia. We heard your requests, we've seen your fan videos, and we're taking the gang abroad with not just one, but two Australian shows this summer. Or is that your winter? I don't know how your country works. But what I do know is, we're coming to your neck of the woods on Thursday, June 19th, 2025 at the ICC Sydney Theater in... Sydney And then Wednesday, June 25th at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. Think of these shows like a double header, which is like a hockey term. Matt's cooking up an adventure where two of our main campaign parties cross paths in a pair of entirely separate, but narratively connected one shots. Tickets for both shows are available down under me, right there. So slip another shrimp on the barbie, because-

MARISHA: We should probably stop with the Australian stereotypes.

TALIESIN: I'm sorry, I think they call them prawns.

SAM: Oh, slip another, anyway. I have no idea how Australia works, but I have a few months to figure it out, as do all of you. Because after we tour Australia, guess what?

MARISHA: We're just

TALIESIN: Heating up

SAM: The adventure begins.

LIAM: The hits just keep on rolling.

MARISHA: No, you guys can't all make up new catchphrases.

LIAM: Oh, yes, we can. Because the Critical Role cast will be rolling into Indiana on August 2nd, 2025 at the Fishers Event Center, just outside of Indianapolis. As you may have heard, Daggerheart will be releasing early next year, and this will be our first one shot set in the world of Exandria, utilizing Daggerheart as our game system. So get planning, 'cause 2025 doesn't end in August, which means the hits just keep...

LAURA: We're just getting started. No, we did that one already. Can we go again?

LIAM: Oh shit, yeah. Which means the hits just keep on...

LAURA: 'Cause these dogs are off the leash. That works, right? Someone let these dogs out, and we're barking our way to the Big Apple in October. We're coming to Radio City Music Hall New York, New York, on October 7th. It's the final stop on our massive, globe-spanning 10-year anniversary live show tour. And what's the Radio City Music Hall show gonna be about, you ask? Well, remember when Fjord proposed at the London Live show? and Jester was like, "Yes, I will." Well, you're all invited to the wedding of the century. Move over Royals, there's a new power marriage going down. Five brand new live shows. And we still have tickets left for the upcoming Daggerheart Christmas show. Critmas show, in Camden, just outside of Philly. Critmas. That's six live shows around the globe, all in the next 12 months. And a lot of these will also include appearances by your friendly neighborhood CR cast.

MARISHA: That's us. (laughs)

LAURA: At conventions like C2E2 and the New York Comic-Con. The New York Comic-Con. Stay tuned for more information about that later. 2025 is gonna be the biggest Critical year yet. And as always, Beacon members get early access to tickets. So strap in and strap on because...

LAURA: The dogs are

SAM: The adventure

LIAM: The hits keep

TALIESIN: We're just

TALIESIN: Heating up!

MARISHA: We're just getting started.

LAURA: These dogs are off

LIAM: The hits just keep

SAM: The adventure begins

MARISHA: We're just getting started.

TALIESIN: Things are heating up

MARISHA: You guys. It has begin.

(bright music) (cheerful holiday music)

NARRATOR M: We're here to tell you about the cosmos of Midst. NARRATOR S: A vast realm with glittering skies above, and spooky fathoms below, full of strange worlds and surreal potential. NARRATOR X: What's out there? M: What does it all mean? A supernatural ship and its remarkable crew. S: Capable of traversing the highest heights, the deepest depths, the beginning and end of the cosmos. M: We'll venture to fantastic worlds and hidden wonders within the far reaches of the known universe. X: Confronting transformative realizations at the very edges of reality and maybe even within their very selves. S: And we'll be there, too, narrating and stuff. M: We're the narrators. It's what we do. X: Will you join us? S: You can listen to new episodes of UNEND every Wednesday, anywhere you stream podcasts or through the Midst Podcast Youtube channel. M: And if you want to receive early, ad-free access to episodes and lore-expanding bonus content, join Beacon at Beacon.tv, beacome a Fold member on Midst.co, or subscribe through Spotify or Apple podcasts.

(festival music)

LAURA: Hey Critters! Laura Bailey here to guide you through what's new in the Critical Role shop. It's so cute, I can't handle it. Style should never be a dump stat, darling. Check it out. Look. It has pockets. Ooo so comfy cozy. Go ahead, darling. Treat yourself. I mean the Traveler always says, impulse purchases are a good decision. (gasp) Could anything be more perfect? This is a lot of stuff, you guys. We have so many cool things right now. And hey if you want, you could head over to the Critical Role shop right now.

(mischievous music) (typewriter clacking) (peaceful music)

TRAVIS: Move the rook to B6.

MARISHA: Okay, see if that opens it.

LAURA: I'm trying it. [clicks] (gasping) [metal clattering] (cheering)

MARISHA: Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. Wait, it's blank. There's nothing in here. What the hell?

TALIESIN: The phonograph said that the answer would be in the journal.

TRAVIS: Oh, maybe we missed something, like some clue we're not thinking of!

LAURA: Ah, we only have four minutes left!

MARISHA: Okay, okay, think.

TALIESIN: Okay. The song said, "Look to the beacon." Look to the--

MARISHA: Right. Beacon. Light.

MARISHA and LAURA: (gasp) The lightroom!

LAURA: Get it out.

MARISHA: Okay.

TALIESIN: Oh, uh!

MARISHA: Uh-huh.

TALIESIN: The cryptex!

LAURA and MARISHA: (scream)

TALIESIN: The key is in the cryptex!

LAURA and MARISHA: We know!

LAURA: So if every other letter--

MARISHA: Times two.

LAURA: -- is the combination--

TRAVIS: Did you say times? Times, like a clock. It's in the clock! But how do you open it?

LAURA: (uncertain noise)

MARISHA: Okay. What is it?

LAURA: Okay, it's six.

MARISHA: Okay.

LAURA: Two. Four.

MARISHA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: 624? It's 6:24!

LAURA: Uh. Zero. [unlocking]

MARISHA: (gasp)

LAURA and MARISHA: (excited noise)

TALIESIN: Guys, guys, I think I found it!

TRAVIS: But it's not opening!

TALIESIN: So how do you unlock this?

MARISHA: That's not the cryptex. This is a cryptex.

TALIESIN: Wait, I think if I push my fingers into... No, that's not working.

MARISHA: We just need the code word. What's a six-letter code?

TRAVIS: I think it's jammed!

LAURA: Arlo said that in order to find the answer we need, we have to look to the beacon.

MARISHA: Uh-huh. Right. But Colonel Popcorn's telegram says--

TRAVIS: (grunts) [clattering]

MARISHA: "Be Aware -(STOP)- Exciting New -(STOP)- Amazing -(STOP)- Critical Role Content Available at Beacon.tv. -(STOP)- Oh my god. No Idea How to Finish this Fake Telegram -(STOP)-"

TRAVIS: Reveal your secrets to me!

TALIESIN: Can either of you help me, help me with the--

MARISHA: That's not a cryptex!

TALIESIN: I am very aware. (groans)

LAURA: Okay. What about this? Huh? Um, it says, "Try using Beacon." [shattering]

TALIESIN: Hey, Travis. Could you help with the--

TRAVIS: Not now, dude, I'm trying to save us! We've only got 90 seconds left! [slamming]

TRAVIS: (shrieks)

LAURA: "10% off merchandise. Members-only Discord. Exclusive new series." Is that a clue?

MARISHA: I don't know, it just feels too obvious, like something that a lazy writer would try and shoehorn into a script.

TRAVIS: (shrieks)

LAURA: Well, that would also explain this.

MARISHA: I know. That's useless.

LAURA: Literally no one says "literally" anymore.

MARISHA: Exactly.

TRAVIS: We're running out of time, people! Come on!

MARISHA: Uh. Okay, we just need a six-letter word that unlocks this artifact and also unlocks amazing content!

LAURA: Also, would it kill you to try to help us, Ashley?

ASHLEY: What do you think I'm doing? While you all are busy sucking eggs in La La Land, I was making an improvised munitions charge that'll blow this door off with minimal loss of life and hearing.

LAURA: You don't explode a door, Ashley! That's not how an escape room works!

ASHLEY: Oh, really? Because that is literally what this is, an escape room.

LAURA: She just said "literally."

MARISHA: "Literally."

TRAVIS: 30 seconds!

TALIESIN: Help! It's again!

ASHLEY: Fire in the hole!

LAURA and MARISHA: (scream) [lever slams] [alarm buzzes] [door clacks]

KYLE: Hey, guys. Uh, good job or not, I guess. Tried your best.

LAURA: Did we do it? Did we escape?

KYLE: No. No, no, you didn't.

TRAVIS: Oh, so close.

MARISHA: It was the stupid cryptex. The code word was too hard.

LAURA: It was impossible!

KYLE: Was it?

MARISHA and LAURA: Yeah!

KYLE: What was the name of the detective?

LAURA: Detective Beacon.

KYLE: Yeah, it was Beacon. Yeah? And where did the murder take place?

MARISHA: Beacon Street.

KYLE: Yeah, yeah. And what was the name of the law firm that hired Detective Beacon to exonerate the Beacon State graduate from the murder on Beacon Street?

MARISHA: Beacon, Beacon, and Associates.

LAURA: And Associates.

TRAVIS: So what was the code word?

KYLE: It's Beacon! It's Beacon!

LAURA and MARISHA: Oh.

KYLE: Yep, see? Here's the room key and here is all the cool new info about Beacon, our new membership program that offers discounts, early access to the Critical Role podcast, and new content like "Critical Role Abridged" and "Re-Slayer's Take," along with exclusive content like "Fireside Chats," "The Crit Role Cooldown," and many more to come.

TRAVIS: So how do you get into the clock?

KYLE: You don't! That's just a clock!

TALIESIN: Kyle.

KYLE: What...

TALIESIN: I have a problem.

KYLE: What did you do? Those weren't even here for the escape room. Where did you even get those? (sighs) ♪ (gentle, upbeat music ♪ "Hello Bees") ♪

THE BEE KINGS: ♪ Hello Bees, it's me again ♪ ♪ Look to the Beacon, ♪ my old friend ♪

Part II[]

MATT: Welcome back. (laughter)

MATT: Just have a few things. Sorry, I was-- I was in the middle of trying to pick up a few things from the store. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Amazing. (laughs)

MATT: Anyway.

TRAVIS: Incredible. (laughs)

MARISHA: Got to rewatch that movie now.

MATT: Oh yeah, we should. It's so good.

MARISHA: It's so good.

MATT: Meanwhile--

MARISHA: Oh boy.

MATT: -- a little time before the events we left on Ruidus but a moment ago, in Vasselheim, after the plot had been set into motion, after Bells Hells had gone to stop this meeting of the Unseelie and the Ruby Vanguard, Keyleth, with the knowledge of what her and Vox Machina represented on the coming assault of the Malleus Key, set out to gather the rest of her troop. So, here in Vasselheim, gathering your thoughts, Keyleth, what are you doing?

MARISHA: I have bees on my face.

MATT: You do. It's thematic.

ASHLEY: It looks like popcorn.

MARISHA: Right? (laughs)

MATT and LAURA: (laugh)

LAURA: Little pieces of popcorn.

MARISHA: (Keyleth) Well, after spending so many late nights writing so many damn titles for people--

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MARISHA: -- I'm glad that that's done.

TRAVIS: It took all your energy. (laughs)

MARISHA: It took so much energy, and now I can focus on the plan. What time is it? Time of day?

MATT: What time of day do you want it to be when you begin to set out on this endeavor?

MARISHA: I feel like I would take some late night (knocking) some late night door knocks.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: No time to waste.

MATT: Fair enough. So then--

MARISHA: Also the days are so busy, it's so hard to get anything done or to have a conversation in the day, so.

MATT: That's valid.

MARISHA: No one will bug me if we go and try and have a conversation if it's at night because everyone's off the clock.

MATT: Fair, so--

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: Post all the meetings with the rest of the Exandrian alliance beginning to scatter to prepare their forces for a very imminent assault.

MARISHA: I think I would go and try and find Vex'ahlia first.

MATT: All right. Well, you know where her chambers are here in Vasselheim. As staying here with any of the various guest quarters that are set for diplomatic dignitaries and such. There's, not too far from the Platinum Sanctuary, a number of these abodes that are both well-guarded and well-furnished. As you head through the interior torch and magical candlelit hallways, you come to the outside of her bed chamber and knock on the door.

MARISHA: (knocks) Are you awake?

LAURA: (Vex) Of course, darling.

MARISHA: Can I come in?

LAURA: Enter.

MARISHA: (sighs) Well, that was a lot.

LAURA: Yeah. Yes, it was.

MARISHA: I think we're going to have to get the gang back together.

LAURA: Of course we are. Sounds exciting. Been a while since we've gone on adventures.

MARISHA: I know. Honestly, I kind of got the itch.

LAURA: Me too.

MARISHA: I've got a lot of rage that I feel like I could really work out on the heads of--

LAURA: As do I.

MARISHA: -- Ruidians.

LAURA: We're going to get him back.

MARISHA: Do you really think so?

LAURA: I do. I refuse to believe he'll be stuck there forever.

MARISHA: Oh. (sighs) I wasn't expecting to get emotional. It's not even that I want him back. I just don't want him--

LAURA: There.

MARISHA: -- there. It's not fair. Not after everything.

LAURA: None of it is, darling.

MARISHA: (sighs)

LAURA: But we'll make it right, for him.

MARISHA: I've accepted for 30 years that he's somewhere else and not coming back. It's like twisting a dagger right in my ribs. (sighs)

LAURA: Did you really see him?

MARISHA: Yes.

LAURA: How did he look? Did he look the same? Did he look older?

MARISHA: No. He looked the same as that day that he walked through that portal. Maybe more, you know, Matron-y, I guess.

LAURA: (laughs) But he always looked good in black.

LAURA: Wretched bitch.

MARISHA: I know.

LAURA: (laughs)

MARISHA: (sighs) I don't-- I almost don't want to have hope.

LAURA: Keyleth, darling--

MARISHA: It's too painful.

LAURA: We can't ever lose hope.

MARISHA: (sighs) (heavy sigh)

LAURA: We need to get the others and gather the rest of the forces, because this fight might be the biggest we've ever seen.

MARISHA: Oh, I've been trying to keep such a strong face for so long. (sighs)

LAURA: You're doing wonderful. A real leader.

MARISHA: (laughs) Just trying to keep up with you.

LAURA: (laughs)

MARISHA: (sighs) It's good to-- I feel like I don't have to hide as much, just even for this moment. [engine rumbling]

LAURA: Must be all the airships.

MARISHA: (sighs) I told them they should go ahead and push off. So they'll be heading to Marquet. Oh, I saw Grog earlier.

LAURA: Heading into a bar?

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

LAURA: Mm. Pike would probably be with him.

MARISHA: Yeah, I think so.

LAURA: Start there.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: Then, Percy will jump at the chance.

MARISHA: You think?

LAURA: He seems grumpy, but I think he's tired of staying at home.

MARISHA: How is he?

LAURA: Grumpy!

MARISHA: (laughs)

LAURA: (laughs)

LAURA: But once you get him out, I think he'll be wonderful.

MARISHA: Good.

LAURA: Have you heard from Scanlan?

MARISHA: No.

LAURA: Me neither. We'll have to find him.

MARISHA: I've tried to reach out from time to time and can't get through. Well, I'm assuming that that's on purpose. He could be on a three week bender in his mansion for all we know. (sighs)

LAURA: Start where we can. To the bar.

MARISHA: All right.

LAURA: Let me just--

MARISHA: Get a jacket.

LAURA: Oh, yes.

MARISHA: It's been cold. Ugh, this-- Bees. I walked through bees earlier and--

MATT: (laughs)

LAURA: Why are they stuck to you though?

MARISHA: I don't know. (laughs)

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Tempest shit.

MATT: Yeah.

MARISHA, LAURA, and ASHLEY: Tempest shit.

MARISHA: Walked through that Wildmother garden with that other group and, ugh.

ASHLEY and MATT: (laugh)

MARISHA: Okay.

LAURA: You really think they'll be able to pull this off?

MARISHA: (sighs)

MARISHA: You know, I think back to when there was very little faith in us and how annoying that was. So, I try not to be hypocritical.

LAURA: Those names though, Keyleth.

MARISHA: Thank you. Was it okay? I was just--

LAURA: They sounded so powerful.

MARISHA: Okay, I was going through a thesaurus, trying to think of other-- Ugh.

LAURA: I saw their chests raise up as you said the names. I really think you did them a service.

MARISHA: It's not just them either I had to come up with. Like Xandis, that guy, I've said three words to him. Then all these other people, just to try and get Vasselheim to respect them.

LAURA: (laughs)

MARISHA: (sighs) It's so ridiculous. All right. Stupid titles. (sighs) Ugh. Got to respect the old guard though, I guess.

LAURA: Hmm, yes. Vasselheim. So much respect. Let's go.

MARISHA: All right. Honestly, I could use a beer.

MATT: Okay. It doesn't take too long to find the exterior of the Cluttered Cloister, one of the local taverns of Vasselheim that allows members of the clergy to come and drink non-alcoholic drinks while serving many to those who aren't and often serving some to those who aren't supposed to.

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: But entering the inside of the tavern, you can already hear the music kicking off of a jovial atmosphere that both reveals that of people who are blowing off some steam after a long day, a long week, and those that are blowing off steam before the coming of what's likely to be a very, very--

ASHLEY: (Pike) Wait, they do not serve alcohol here?

MATT: Oh, they do.

ASHLEY: Yeah. Okay.

MATT: They're not supposed to serve it to clergy. But they do--

MARISHA: Pike instantly coming out.

ASHLEY: It's like, I'm fucking leaving.

MARISHA and LAURA: (laugh)

MATT: Now what are you two up to inside?

TRAVIS: (Grog) ♪ Bunch of bottles of beer ♪

TRAVIS and ASHLEY: ♪ On the wall ♪ ♪ Bunch of bottles of beer ♪

TRAVIS: ♪ Take one down, pass it around ♪

ASHLEY: ♪ (slurred singing) ♪

ASHLEY: ♪ Dozens of bottles of beer on the wall ♪ Oh!

LAURA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: That's right. We are getting crunk!

ASHLEY: (heavy sigh)

TRAVIS: Man, we are showing them how it's done. Hey, hey.

ASHLEY: Yeah?

TRAVIS: That Dawnfather guy over there? He said he wants a bubbly.

ASHLEY: (gasps)

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: But they're not allowed!

TRAVIS: I know, so we got to sneak it to him--

ASHLEY: We got to sneak it to him.

TRAVIS: -- in a little--

ASHLEY: Because he got to have a little bit.

TRAVIS: But we can't hand him my mug. We got to hand him yours. That's more of a normal peep's size.

ASHLEY: Yeah, I'll go over.

TRAVIS: Hey, hey, hey.

ASHLEY: I'll pour a little bit.

TRAVIS: Hold up. Just hide with your body. Hide with your body.

ASHLEY: Well, hide it with yours. Yours is bigger than mine.

TRAVIS: I was just pouring it in the-- Because you give him yours!

ASHLEY: Oh! Okay.

TRAVIS: Then you can have mine.

ASHLEY: All right, I'm just going to go--

TRAVIS: Straight face, straight face, straight face.

ASHLEY: I'm just--

TRAVIS: Yeah, go.

MATT and MARISHA: (laugh)

ASHLEY: Is he sitting next to me?

TRAVIS: I think so.

ASHLEY: I'm just going to pour a little bit in.

TRAVIS: Oh! (laughter)

ASHLEY: No one's going to see.

TRAVIS: (whistling casually)

MATT: Make a sleight of hand check.

LAURA: (laughs) Oh no.

ASHLEY: Oh, zero.

TRAVIS: First roll, real important.

LAURA and MARISHA: (laugh)

TRAVIS: You got it.

ASHLEY: 14.

TRAVIS: Psh! (explosion)

ASHLEY: Nobody even saw. Nobody even saw.

MATT: The hand reaches out and grabs your wrist and goes--

ASHLEY: Ah!

MATT: "I do believe I see you currently soiling my beverage."

ASHLEY: I'm so sorry. I just thought you would want a little bit of what I have.

TRAVIS: Yeah. Is that not--

ASHLEY: Because--

TRAVIS: I thought that was--

ASHLEY: Yeah, that's what I thought.

TRAVIS: -- your old cousin.

ASHLEY: I thought we were related.

TRAVIS: I'm so embarrassed.

ASHLEY: I thought you were my cousin.

TRAVIS: We're embarrassed.

ASHLEY: I'm really sorry. You're a man of the cloth.

MATT: "Under no circumstances does my piety allow me to partake in such lower class forms of--"

LAURA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Did he say he has pies?

ASHLEY: Do you have pies? Do you have a pie in your pocket? Or are you just happy--

TRAVIS: If you have pies--

ASHLEY: -- to see me, sir?

TRAVIS: I was just saying maybe you could share. I like apple pies, rhubarb pies.

ASHLEY: Pumpkin pies.

TRAVIS: Peanut butter pies.

ASHLEY: Ham pies.

TRAVIS: Lemon pies.

ASHLEY: Chicken pies.

TRAVIS: Turkey-- Oh! Chicken pies.

MATT: "I'm going to sit over there," and he gets up and leaves the table.

TRAVIS: See, there's just not a sense of community here.

ASHLEY: I know. I don't like it.

TRAVIS: We need more time to work.

LAURA: Are you two drunk?

ASHLEY: What? Hi.

TRAVIS: Oh! Hey, Vex! Why, you want some of this?

LAURA: No, I will not--

TRAVIS: Oh, shit, we're going to ring up--

LAURA: No, I don't--

TRAVIS: -- a bigger tab now!

ASHLEY: Look at you!

LAURA: Hi, baby.

MATT: (bartender) "Okay. Okay."

TRAVIS: Yeah, yeah. What'd you want? The red stuff? You want some ale?

LAURA: I don't want any of it.

TRAVIS: Oh.

LAURA: All right. Give me some of the red stuff.

TRAVIS: There you go. Hey! This one's a little-- Here, just take the bottle. There you go.

ASHLEY: We're drinking.

MARISHA: Keyleth, overhearing this, conjures which she can, and it's a goodberry pie. Druid classic.

TRAVIS: (gasps)

MATT: Hell yeah.

MARISHA: Slides it across.

ASHLEY: Oh!

TRAVIS: This has improved!

LAURA: All right, kids. We've got to gather everyone up.

ASHLEY: Goddamn it!

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MARISHA: I look around. Did anyone turn heads at that?

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: At the "goddamn it"?

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: Oh yeah. Five or six people are like.

TRAVIS: It's cool. We're tight. We've chatted with them before.

MATT: You do notice that a number of them have a look of recognition and nod and go back their ways--

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: -- and a few others are confused.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah.

TRAVIS: We're good. What do you mean? We're going to get who back together?

LAURA: You were there.

MARISHA: The old crew. Vox Machina.

ASHLEY: We're not going to get everybody back together, are you crazy?

LAURA: Have you heard from Scanlan?

MARISHA: I know Scanlan. I know you're talking about Scanlan. Look, are you guys on good terms?

ASHLEY: (emphatically) No!

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: I don't know what divorce number we're on at this point. Fucking...

MARISHA: Well, I thought you said after the third one that you were pretty amicable.

ASHLEY: I don't know. He will not talk to me. I don't need-- (grunts)

MARISHA: Is that why he's not answering my Scries?

ASHLEY: Probably.

TRAVIS: He's not answering your Scry?

MARISHA: He's not answering my Scries.

TRAVIS: That's cold.

MARISHA: I know. I've tried.

LAURA: Answer your Scries?

MARISHA: Yeah. Well, he's blocking them. I'm trying to peek in on him and I can't, and so I'm assuming--

ASHLEY: We don't need him. We don't need him for this.

LAURA: Yes, we do.

ASHLEY: We do?

TRAVIS: He's pretty strong.

LAURA: We really, really do.

TRAVIS: Yeah. And creative.

ASHLEY: (sighs)

LAURA: Plus--

TRAVIS: And thinks about stuff.

LAURA: He doesn't even know about Vax yet.

MARISHA: Yeah. Knowing Scanlan, he might not even know that Ruidus is three miles above Exandria.

TRAVIS: What's Ruidus?

LAURA: The red moon.

MARISHA: The moon. The big moon.

ASHLEY: Grog.

TRAVIS: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

MARISHA: Yeah, the red one? Remember that one?

TRAVIS: Yep.

MARISHA: It hasn't been in the sky.

LAURA: The one that stuck to us.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: It's stuck?

MARISHA: Oh.

LAURA: Mm-hmm.

TRAVIS: I mean... It's stuck.

LAURA: It's stuck.

TRAVIS: And Scanlan probably doesn't know.

MARISHA: Grog, maybe-- I mean, you and Scanlan have always been really tight, you know?

TRAVIS: Yeah. Mm-hmm.

MARISHA: You could be the one. You could be the guy.

TRAVIS: To bring him back?

MARISHA: Yeah!

TRAVIS: Yeah. (whispers) You got divorced?

MATT: (laughs)

LAURA: Grog.

TRAVIS: What? No, I mean--

ASHLEY: Where have you been?

TRAVIS: I just thought that was a worriful-- you know.

ASHLEY: We got married. We got divorced. We got married again. We got divorced.

ASHLEY: I--

LAURA: The first remarriage, you invited everyone to, but the next one...

ASHLEY: That was just, you know, a private thing that we did between us and God.

MARISHA: You had rebound sex?

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TRAVIS: (burps)

MARISHA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: (grunts) Listen, we're older.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

ASHLEY: So this, we don't know what's going to happen.

TRAVIS: I kind of refuse to believe it. I mean, honestly it's not my fault. The one and two and three, it doesn't really feel like it's sticking.

ASHLEY: No.

MARISHA: No one's blaming--

ASHLEY: No, it's not your fault, Grog.

MARISHA: No one's blaming you.

LAURA: Grog.

ASHLEY: It's just not your fault. Grog, it's not your fault.

TRAVIS: All right. I mean, look, if you let me at him, I'll give him a ring. I'll hang him by his toes.

ASHLEY: Yeah, maybe you have-- Okay?

TRAVIS: Make sure a lot of the blood gets into the old noodle.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Whack it on something a little bit. He'll come around.

MARISHA: Yeah. Maybe.

LAURA: Ooh, ooh.

LAURA: Mm-hmm. Maybe let's start at Whitestone.

MARISHA: Yeah. Percy, we know, is going to join. Then also, if Scanlan sees all of us together again. Can I have a beer, please?

TRAVIS: Oh, where're our manners?

MATT: "I'm sorry, dear."

MARISHA: Sorry. Thanks.

MATT: "Here. Sorry. Second round on the table for all."

ASHLEY: Thank you so much.

MATT: "For Vox Machina."

ASHLEY: That's so sweet. What is your name?

TRAVIS: Here's a gold just for you. (coin clinks)

ASHLEY: Yeah. What's your name?

MATT: "Janine."

ASHLEY: Janine, get yourself a drink right now. Get it in your belly and in your gullet.

MATT: "I am on the clock. I'm not allowed to. Um--"

ASHLEY: You're not allowed to?

TRAVIS: They see you everywhere you go, Jeanine. Mm.

MATT: She turns around and looks across the way and you see this managerial-looking individual who's leaning against the wall, looking at the table at the rest of you and goes. And looks at her and goes. She's like.

MARISHA: Oh!

ASHLEY: Go for it, Jeanine.

TRAVIS: Yeah. That's a green light.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's a green light.

MARISHA: Looks like a green light.

MATT: "I believe my boss is a fan, so thank you."

LAURA: Oh.

MATT: Walks away.

TRAVIS: Very nice, Jeanine.

ASHLEY: I wonder if Scanlan's still wearing an earring, and I could just call him.

LAURA: Do you have your earring still?

ASHLEY: I always keep it in, just in case any of you guys call me.

LAURA: Then give it a try.

MARISHA: You lost yours a long time ago, didn't you. Yeah, yeah.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

ASHLEY: I think we still have them, right?

MATT: Mm-hmm.

TRAVIS: It might be in the bag.

LAURA: Somewhere.

MARISHA: When was the last time you cleaned out that bag?

TRAVIS: What do you mean last time?

MARISHA: Mm-hmm, okay.

LAURA: Is it just decades of shit?

TRAVIS: No! It's not shit! There's treasures in there, and keepsakes and memories, parts of stuff--

MARISHA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: But no shit. Not very often, only one petrified shit. In my defense, I thought it was a rock. It wasn't. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Whitestone. You think Percy's going to join us?

LAURA: (laughs) I do. I do.

TRAVIS: All right, he's kind of a bitch, you know. In a mood way. He's like, you know.

LAURA: Yeah, he's gotten a bit more bitchy, but--

TRAVIS: He's a grouch.

LAURA: He's kind of grouchy. But you don't see him around the kids. He's...

ASHLEY: He's a good dad.

LAURA: He's a good dad.

TRAVIS: That's good. Those kids are fun.

MARISHA: I know. Last time I was in Whitestone, when we were helping that dead girl with the Delilah situation, he was kind of shitty to me.

LAURA: (gasps) To you?

MARISHA: Yeah. Oh, I think you were handling other stuff. We didn't see you until later, but he got just a little bossy.

TRAVIS: See? That's the bitchy wiggle.

MATT and MARISHA: (laugh)

LAURA: Well, we'll talk to him.

MARISHA: All right. So?

TRAVIS: Wait, do we even know where Scanlan last-known whereabout?

LAURA: No.

TRAVIS: No, we got nothing.

LAURA: Nothing.

TRAVIS: Ooh!

MARISHA: I mean, I could try right now, try Sending. Druids have Sending, right? (aside) Do you have Sending? Do druids have Sending?

ASHLEY: (aside) I don't think so.

TRAVIS: You're the fucking Tempest.

ASHLEY: (muffled) Don't ask me.

LAURA: Do you have Sending? At level fucking 20, do you have any way to contact people?

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: It's interesting. I don't think druids get Sending.

MARISHA: They don't, but they get Scry.

MATT: They get Scry.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: Clerics get Sending.

MATT: Clerics do.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

TRAVIS: Which you knew that. Yeah.

ASHLEY: I'm just going to-- I knew that's what I was going to do right now.

TRAVIS: Do you know what barbarians get?

ASHLEY: I don't have it prepared.

LAURA: Huh?

TRAVIS: Do you know what barbarians get?

ASHLEY: I don't have it in my--

LAURA: Fisticuffs.

TRAVIS: Finger puppets.

LAURA: Yeah. (laughter)

LAURA: You know what rangers get?

TRAVIS: Hmm?

LAURA: Arrows.

TRAVIS: Arrows go farther. (laughter)

MARISHA: I'll try, just in case, because maybe, like I said, maybe he was on another dimension. Maybe he was doing a tour in the Feywild, I don't know.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

MARISHA: So I'll try. Let me just try and I'll do a Scry.

MATT: Do a Scry?

MARISHA: I look down into my pint and zone out and see if I can see Scanlan.

TRAVIS: I've tried that before.

ASHLEY: Yeah. You can see a lot of shit if you want to keep drinking.

TRAVIS: Into cups.

ASHLEY: In the cups.

MATT: Unfortunately, the spell is resisted.

ASHLEY: Ugh!

TRAVIS: Damn!

LAURA: He's such a dick!

MARISHA: I know! Did he? I know you're on bad terms, but did we do something?

LAURA: Did we do something?

ASHLEY: You guys didn't-- You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't do anything wrong! He's just being Scanlan, and this is why we are not together anymore.

MARISHA: Do you still have feelings for him? You do, don't you? I can tell.

LAURA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: I don't know!

MARISHA: I mean, there's so much history. We've known each other for so long.

ASHLEY: I don't want to!

MARISHA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: I don't want to see him because I have a little extra weight on me. I'm depressed.

TRAVIS: Yep.

ASHLEY: I want to see him when I'm looking good.

TRAVIS: Yeah. We're not as young as we used to be.

LAURA: You look amazing, Pike!

ASHLEY: I'm fine! Just, maybe we keep him out of this.

MARISHA: No. Look, we're all getting older. I got my first gray hair. You know how insane that is for someone who's going to live--

LAURA: Wow.

MARISHA: -- for 1,000 years?

LAURA: Really? Oh no!

ASHLEY: Yeah, that's really bad.

MARISHA: I'm just saying! It's just starting to-- I'm just saying. (laughs)

TRAVIS: It's just wisdom. I've been braiding mine in. Yeah. It just makes you look that much wiser.

MARISHA: It's true.

TRAVIS: Trust me, I've been feeling a little extra about the mid bits as well.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TRAVIS: But I had this leather armor crafted and I just carve some abs into them shits. So now, people think there's the tummy abs.

ASHLEY: Wow!

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: The tummy abs.

TRAVIS: I'm so much scarier than I ever have been before.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LAURA: I was like, "His abs are so powerful!"

TRAVIS: I know! Feel them. (rhythmic drumming)

MARISHA: Yeah, that's good.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah. (trills)

TRAVIS: They go out a little bit, but that's all right. Wears off. Terrifying.

MARISHA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Mm.

LAURA: Is there anyone else we should try to gather up?

MARISHA: I was thinking about that. I mean, it feels like we should maybe--

LAURA: Should we reach out to Tary?

MARISHA: (groans)

TRAVIS: Darrington?

MARISHA: Tary! I've kind of forgotten about him. What's he even doing? What's he up to? Are you talking to him?

LAURA: Of course!

MARISHA: Is he in Whitestone? Where is he?

ASHLEY: What's he doing?

LAURA: Oh. He's doing so much, actually. He's so busy with the Darrington Brigade still.

ASHLEY: Mm. Still hanging onto those guys.

MARISHA: Wow!

LAURA: He's loving life.

MARISHA: Okay. Yeah, he's still trying to make that work.

LAURA: Mm-hmm.

MARISHA: Okay.

LAURA: Do I know what Tary is up to?

MATT: You tell me. (laughter)

TRAVIS: You're covering real well.

LAURA: He's... happily married. You guys were invited to the wedding, though, so of course you know that. Yes, he's still trying to make the Darrington Brigade happening, although he's a bit older now and--

ASHLEY: I totally went to the wedding, but I don't remember who he was marrying to. Who?

LAURA: His husband. Um. Greg. (laughter)

MARISHA: You don't remember either! (laughter)

TRAVIS: I mean, that's the mark of a--

MARISHA: Greg sucks!

TRAVIS: That's the mark of a good wedding.

MARISHA: Yes!

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah!

MARISHA: (laughs) Mm.

TRAVIS: See? I just go to them. Whether they're splitting up, getting back together. It's all, you know. Just saying.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: You know, maybe we don't get Tary. Maybe let's focus on-- (claps)

MARISHA: People in hand.

LAURA: Let's focus on Percy.

MARISHA: People. Let's focus on Percy.

LAURA: Let's get Percy, and then--

MARISHA: You know, maybe there were some other people who were at the meeting today. I guess we could do a quick ask around. I mean, my dad's kind of, he's old and retired, but Cerkonos maybe would want to join us.

TRAVIS: Which one was he?

MARISHA: He's the leader of the Fire Ashari.

TRAVIS: Oh yeah!

MARISHA: Very buff.

TRAVIS: Yep.

LAURA: Super powerful.

MARISHA: Still rocking a--

TRAVIS: Cool tats.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY and LAURA: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

MARISHA: You know. One pec out.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MARISHA: It's a vibe.

ASHLEY: Yeah, it is totally a vibe.

MARISHA: But yeah, he's still working it. So maybe--

ASHLEY: Okay.

MARISHA: Maybe we could ask him.

LAURA: All right. Is he here? He's here. He was in the meeting.

MARISHA: He was in the meeting.

LAURA: So he'd probably be over at the tree.

MARISHA: Yeah, he's probably there.

LAURA: Well, maybe we go over there and we can teleport out from the tree and head into the Sun--

MARISHA: Okay. That feels right.

LAURA: -- Tree.

TRAVIS: Sure.

MARISHA: We go and find Cerkonos.

MATT: Okay. You head towards the Birth Heart and the surrounding forest here the night of Vasselheim. Indeed, there is the group of Pyrah tents who represent the Fire Ashari diplomatic station within Vasselheim given the events that are transpiring. Approaching the outskirts of it, there are some exterior braziers that perpetually burn flame, as well as the cultural color scheme of oranges and yellows and browns and reds that denote the large banners of Pyrah being present. As you approach, it is quite late at night, but there are two guards out front and one of them is in a quiet contemplative, almost like a meditation and then shoots up and glances. "Voice of the Tempest!"

MARISHA: It's okay. Relax. (laughs)

MATT: "Of course."

MARISHA: Is Cerkonos here?

MATT: "I believe he is in his chambers, yes. Would you wish me to fetch him?"

MARISHA: Just see if we can have an audience with him. The Voice of the Tempest requests.

MATT: "Of course. Just a moment." He steps inside the tent and the flap closes behind him. You hear a bit of quiet muttering before he emerges. "Right this way, Voice of the Tempest." And pulls the flap open. The four of you step in. Cerkonos, why don't you describe to me your bed chambers as you come join us at the table.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

ROBBIE: I'd be happy to. (shouting)

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Yes!

TRAVIS: Oh shit!

MARISHA: Let's fucking go!

ASHLEY: Hi!

ROBBIE: You came to mi casa!

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MARISHA: Ashari!

ASHLEY: Oh! (excellent high five)

ROBBIE: Hi.

ASHLEY: Fun!

ROBBIE: Let me just open the Wiki real quick. Hold on a second. (laughter)

TRAVIS: (clears throat)

ROBBIE: You asked me to describe his chambers?

MATT: Yeah. What do they see on the inside of your tent? Then who do they see before them in this tent?

ROBBIE: In the inside of the tent, it is sparse in the best possible way. Imagine a Wabi-sabi kind of vibe, like a little Japandi. Everything is in its place and everything feels like it has a purpose.

MARISHA: Amazing!

ROBBIE: Sleeping spaces on the floor. There's a small, quiet meditation area off to the side. Then there's a various collection of tools and weapons and all sorts of, it feels like a collection, but they're not put away anywhere, they're laid out in a very calm and orderly way and almost like a crescent moon around one side of the inside space. Then, sitting in a corner on the floor next to the bed is Cerkonos, and he's reading. Before you, you see a man that is deceptively young-looking for how old he is. But you see a few little signs of his age peeking through, like where at one point years ago, decades ago even, he'd be lithe, and you can tell that the musculature that's set into his thick frame is now mature. You can tell that, in these sinewy bits of his body, there lies an old man strength.

TRAVIS: Amazing.

ROBBIE: But it's calm and quiet and stoic, and he resonates peace when you see him. Right propped up against him is a simple, simple staff with an obsidian-tipped spear and a few leather tassels that run down the side. He's bare chested, a large bracer belt over his midsection. When he feels someone's presence enter the room, he doesn't look up from his book just yet.

MARISHA: Keyleth does a very light, very demure bow. Flamespeaker.

ROBBIE: Hello.

MARISHA: Good evening.

LAURA: (laughs)

ROBBIE: How long has it been since I've seen these people?

MATT: I mean--

LAURA: Not that long.

MATT: You saw them--

ROBBIE: I mean, obviously when we were meeting at the--

MATT: The council, but--

ROBBIE: Sending Bells Hells on their way, but like--

MATT: Yeah, but quality conversation, these people, quite a while. Keyleth maybe once every couple, once or twice a year.

ROBBIE: Yeah. Yeah. Is there something I need to be made aware of? Is there--

MARISHA: (sighs) I mean, I don't want to waste your time, so I'll cut right to the chase.

ROBBIE: You could never be a waste of my time. Go on.

MARISHA: Still not used to constantly apologizing for myself. We're going right into battle. We're going to the front lines.

ROBBIE: Hmm. We is a bit of a phrase.

MARISHA: Vox Machina.

TRAVIS: Ay!

LAURA: Good to see you again.

MATT and TRAVIS: (laugh)

ASHLEY: Hello.

ROBBIE: It's good to see you, too.

MARISHA: Obviously, if you remember-- You remember?

ROBBIE: Yes.

MARISHA: The Lady Vex'ahlia. Lady Vex'ahlia.

ROBBIE: I do.

MARISHA: Pike of the Everlight.

ASHLEY: Bidet.

MARISHA: And of course, Grog.

TRAVIS: Grand Poobah Da Doink of All of This and That.

MARISHA: Who needs no introduction.

ROBBIE: Yes.

TRAVIS: Sir Grogory Strongjaw.

MARISHA: Yes.

ROBBIE: What was that again?

TRAVIS: Sir Grogory Strongjaw.

ROBBIE: Well, that's not quite what I recall your name being.

MARISHA: He added a few syllables. I don't know. Just.

ROBBIE: We've all added a few years. You can add a few syllables. It's all right. I didn't mean to make you nervous.

TRAVIS: (clears throat)

ROBBIE: It's time for the assault to begin.

MARISHA: Almost. I think Bells Hells is going to be on their way. Told them to get in contact with Allura when they're ready to depart so that we could get ready for the assault on the Malleus Key. While, of course, we are still so young and able-bodied, you know, we'll take all the help we can get. And I know asking one of the other Ashari leaders, it's risky.

LAURA: Join us on the front line, Cerkonos.

ROBBIE: It would be my pleasure.

LAURA: Thank you.

TRAVIS: Damn!

MARISHA: Really?

TRAVIS: That was fast.

ASHLEY: (fingers click) (hands clap)

MARISHA: That was so succinct.

ROBBIE: He's going to rise up, and as he rises up, notice that his book marker is on the last page of his book.

LAURA: Oh.

ROBBIE: He puts it away. As he stands, all of the sinews and joints pop, and crackle. (laughter)

ROBBIE: But it doesn't sound brittle. It sounds sharp and it snaps into--

LAURA: How long were you sitting there?

ROBBIE: This tome is 437 pages.

MARISHA: You're so close to the end.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MARISHA: Don't you want to finish it?

ROBBIE: I'll save it.

MARISHA: All right. (chuckles)

ASHLEY: That would drive me crazy! (laughter)

TRAVIS: No pictures?

ASHLEY: No pictures. But then, you're not going to finish it? You have a page left!

ROBBIE: Well, that's the best part of life is coming back to finish things.

ASHLEY: (growls)

LAURA: (laughs)

ROBBIE: He'll grab his staff, spear, spin it around, clip it into his back.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MARISHA: You know, I'm sure the other Ashari leaders would have some pretty big opinions about two of the four of us going right into a very dangerous battle.

ROBBIE: Well, the way I understand it, this could be the last battle ever. They could use the both of us.

MARISHA: Yeah, I agree.

TRAVIS: (chuckles)

ASHLEY: That's why you should finish your book. (laughter)

ROBBIE: Lead the way.

MARISHA: To Whitestone.

TRAVIS: Just go grab the book. Go grab the book.

ASHLEY: All right, all right. I'm going to go grab the book. (laughter)

MATT: All right.

ASHLEY: Stuff it in.

MATT: Stuff it in. All right. Emerging outside of your tents, back to the surrounding clustered glade of trees and the massive, towering Birthheart tree that represents the Wildmother's presence here at the core of the Dawn Cradle city of Vasselheim you step up and open a portal that divides and cracks through the trunk of the tree and splits open to reveal a pathway that you all quickly leap through, arriving on the other side to a morning dawn. As Vasselheim to Whitestone, you've left from a deep night time to a very early morning.

TRAVIS: That always feels weird.

MARISHA: Yeah.

MATT: As you glance around and look at the beautiful central area of the city here, the main open, the central place where all the different roads come and meet, you step from the familiar Sun Tree itself, the massive symbol of the De Rolo family and one of the still-living marks from the battles of the Calamity here in the Alabaster Sierras.

MARISHA: Before we leave, Keyleth turns around and goes: Good morning, Sun Tree.

ASHLEY: Aw.

MATT: "Good to see you, Kiki." (laughter)

TRAVIS: Come on!

MARISHA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Years.

MARISHA: Years.

LAURA: You're flirting with the Sun Tree again?

MARISHA: You know, I just have to pay my respects.

MATT: This--

MARISHA: I'm lonely, okay! (laughter)

MATT: This early in the morning, the town is just barely starting to wake.

LAURA: She's flirting with trees, she's so lonely.

MATT: (laughs)

LAURA: This is so sad.

ASHLEY: We got to get on this.

MATT: (laughs) There are some folks that are starting their daily chores and events, some shopping. Some buildings you can hear the clap of windows opening and cartons being pulled apart as business is beginning to prep itself for the day. The smell of early morning fireplaces beginning to burn wood and cedar, and you can smell the familiar scent of the Slayer's Cake.

TRAVIS: Oh yeah.

MATT: The early morning batch, which, while you're not present to it and your hires are handling it for you in your stead, of course, there is a distinct smell to the first cooking dough of the morning that is a very homely and familiar smell that fills you with a bit of joy. But your early morning arrival stopping people in their tracks. Everyone stopping immediately and staring and immediately catching themselves and bowing their heads to both the Lady Vex'ahlia De Rolo of Whitestone and the great heroes, Vox Machina. And friends. (laughter)

ROBBIE: I got a type.

MARISHA: Yeah, yeah, Flamespeaker, baby.

ROBBIE: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

MATT: Flamespeaker Cerkonos of the Fire Ashari. (laughter) Trekking up along the pathway towards the hill in which Castle Whitestone resides, a number of the Pale Guard begin to gather and also nod and follow flanking on sides as well giving you essentially an escort to the front of the castle grounds. The remaining Pale Guard nod and respectfully see you in. You can see, this early in the morning, you see a half-elven girl, very, very short dark hair stepping out with a bow strapped across her shoulder, getting her boot on. Looks like she's chewing on a piece of food and is like, "I'll be back in a moment. I'm just going to go for early morning-- Mother! My-- Oh! There's a thing I wasn't expecting."

LAURA: Unexpected company.

MATT: "Yes."

LAURA: Yes.

MATT: "I was just going to go for a quick morning--"

LAURA: Where's your father?

MATT: "I mean, you know how early he gets up. He's likely either in his office or he's having some coffee. Is this a friendly meeting?"

LAURA: Of course! You all remember Vesper.

ASHLEY: Hey, Vesper.

MARISHA: Hello, Vesper.

MATT: "Hello."

LAURA: This is Cerkonos. I don't believe you've met.

MATT: "No. Who is this?"

ROBBIE: Is this your child?

LAURA: My oldest daughter.

ROBBIE: It's a pleasure to meet you.

MATT: "The pleasure's mine."

LAURA: Oh no.

MARISHA: Vesper--

LAURA: Darling, don't. Don't. (laughter) Not with Mommy's friends, please.

MATT: "No, of course not. What are you insinuating? Ridiculous."

TRAVIS: Big V!

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: "Ridiculous!"

ASHLEY: 'Sup? Good to see you.

MATT: "Pleasure always. Mother."

LAURA: Listen, things might get a bit hairy.

MATT: "I know. I've been keeping up with events best I can here and--"

LAURA: We might be a bit more involved than originally planned.

MATT: "What?"

LAURA: But I'll keep you posted. Make sure your brothers and sisters are out of the way today, yes?

MATT: "You need me to take care of them?"

LAURA: No, the--

MATT: "I'm kidding. I'm joking."

LAURA: Go.

MATT: "All right."

LAURA: I love you.

MATT: "I love you too. I'll bring back a few more rabbits."

LAURA: Oh, and stop by Slayer's Cake. See if they'll send up some of the baked goods, the fresh ones.

MATT: "Of course, Mother."

TRAVIS and ASHLEY: Please.

MATT: "I'll take care of it." (laughs) She just wanders off.

ASHLEY: They grow up so fast.

LAURA: So fast. Do you see how old she is?

ASHLEY: What is, what? Wow!

LAURA: She's a woman now.

ASHLEY: Yes, flirting and all that. Jeez!

TRAVIS: She's flirting?

ASHLEY: I mean, she was kind of flirting with Cerkonos.

ROBBIE: I didn't pick up on it.

TRAVIS: Me neither.

LAURA: Good. Let's go.

ASHLEY: Oh, nevermind then.

MATT: Entering into the castle, indeed, there is the morning smell of a rich brewed coffee that permeates the halls. Some of the family attendants you can see are immediately already in a buzz at the prospect of your arrival, let alone the companions you bring with you. Kind of, "Oh, oh, oh! All right, um-- Ah!" They rush off into the next chamber, processing this unexpected morning arrival.

LAURA: Percival!

MATT: (footsteps tapping) Some footsteps come and peering around the upper staircase from the hallway in a beautiful off-white nightgown you see a red-skinned girl, probably no more than 11 or so peeking past. "Hello."

LAURA: Hi, Gwen.

MATT: "Good morning."

ASHLEY: Hi, Gwen.

LAURA: You want to come down and say hi?

MATT: "No." (laughter) (footsteps tapping)

LAURA: She's going through a bit of a phase.

MARISHA: Sure.

ASHLEY: Yeah, I get it.

MARISHA: Yeah, I remember that age.

LAURA: Yeah.

ROBBIE: This is also your child?

LAURA: Yes.

ASHLEY: There's lots.

ROBBIE: How many?

LAURA: Five.

TRAVIS: How many?

ASHLEY: 13.

LAURA: (laughs)

MARISHA: That's more than two hands.

TRAVIS: They got really busy.

LAURA: Your sweater's so cute.

MATT: It's getting warm.

ASHLEY: You look so cute. (laughter)

MATT: It was getting warm.

TRAVIS: That's great.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: Having two layers on. You trek up, the smell of coffee beginning to fade until you come to the next floor down the hall and to the massive dark-wood-stained entryway to Percival's personal office. It is slightly ajar. As you remember the familiar, (chuckles) whatever a groggy morning with Percival brings, you gather yourself and step into the chamber. Percival, if you'd like to come to the table, please.

TRAVIS: Oh shit!

ROBBIE: Yeah! (laughter)

ROBBIE: Get him out here!

LAURA: His hair is just so much.

ASHLEY: "Jon and Kate Plus 8" hair. (laughter)

LAURA and TRAVIS: Jon and Kate!

TALIESIN: (Percy) It's even worse under this, so. It would've just made everything so much more awful.

ASHLEY: Percy!

MATT: So Percy, how do they find you in your office this early in the morning?

TALIESIN: What time is it again?

MATT: Oh, it's probably maybe 30, 40 minutes past dawn. Close to maybe 7:00 in the morning.

MARISHA: Oh, that's so early.

TALIESIN: Okay, so I am--

TRAVIS: Sounds normal to me.

MARISHA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: In my nightshirt.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

TALIESIN: I have not gotten dressed. My hair is wild and white.

ASHLEY: Cute.

TALIESIN: And a bit long. The beard has grown in. I am sitting at my desk just working on a few things. I like the early hours to get things done. Come in.

LAURA: I'm back, dear heart.

TALIESIN: Come on in, dear.

LAURA: I go in and I give him a big old smoochies.

TALIESIN: Oh, my lady.

LAURA: Sit on his lap. We have company.

TALIESIN: What sort of company?

LAURA: Friends. Vox Machina, of course, and Cerkonos.

TALIESIN: Vox Machina?

TRAVIS: Hey, Percy!

TALIESIN: Oh god.

ASHLEY: Hey, you silver fox!

MARISHA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: (sighs)

MARISHA: We were drinking.

TALIESIN: Yes, okay.

MARISHA: It was night where we came from.

TALIESIN: Ah, well, it's good to see you, Tempest, Dawn Marshal, Grand Poobah.

TRAVIS: Hey, yo.

TALIESIN: And Flamespeaker?

MARISHA: Yeah, you remember Cerkonos.

TALIESIN: It's been forever. I'm so sorry I'm not properly-- I'm properly dressed for these idiots, but forgive the lack of formal attire.

LAURA: I brush back his hair.

TALIESIN: Thank you, dear.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

ROBBIE: It's good to see you again. We're going to fight.

TALIESIN: Clearly. It would take the end of the fucking world to get this group back together.

LAURA: Yes, we are going to fight.

TALIESIN: Where's the--

ASHLEY: Woo.

TALIESIN: -- little asshole?

LAURA: Scanlan. We don't know.

TALIESIN: Yes. Ah.

MARISHA: Did you forget his name?

TALIESIN: No, I just like doing that.

MARISHA: Oh, that's fair.

TALIESIN: It pleases me.

ROBBIE: Wait, Scanlan, the, and the mu-- Him?

MARISHA: Yes, yeah.

TRAVIS: Yep.

TALIESIN: Oh, for fuck's sake.

ROBBIE: He was always my favorite.

LAURA: Oh.

MARISHA: Oh!

TRAVIS: He was your favorite?

TALIESIN: Never met him, have you?

LAURA: He would love to hear that kind of thing.

ROBBIE: Yeah, well, no--

ASHLEY: So happy to hear that.

ROBBIE: I remember him being very funny.

MARISHA: He was, yes. He is.

ROBBIE: Always with the sexual joke.

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: Yes.

ROBBIE: I love a good sexual joke.

MARISHA: Yes, yeah.

LAURA: Do you now?

ASHLEY: Yeah.

ROBBIE: I do. I do.

LAURA: Good to know.

ASHLEY: Very appropriate.

ROBBIE: This is as big as he can possibly smile, and he's barely smiling. (laughter) Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You've lost track of your small friend?

LAURA: (laughs) Yes.

TRAVIS: No, no. We haven't lost him.

LAURA: Yes, unfortunately.

ROBBIE: I understand. He's small. He's easy to lose track of.

TRAVIS: Yeah, we just--

LAURA: Well--

TRAVIS: Yeah. He likes to stay, he's private in the off season.

ASHLEY: You know how to find him?

ROBBIE: If he were here, he would say, "Yes, I have privates." (laughs) (laughter)

ROBBIE: It's a--

TALIESIN: That's actually very impressive.

ROBBIE: --sexual joke.

ASHLEY: Yeah, that was just--

TALIESIN: That was very good.

ASHLEY: It's like he's here.

TRAVIS: Just like him, yep.

ROBBIE: Okay.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: Maybe we can--

ROBBIE: I'll try to fill in for him while I can. (laughter)

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Please do. Please do.

TALIESIN: This is your call, but I feel like I would be trying to track everybody all the time, so I don't know if I would be successful knowing where Scanlan is, but--

MATT: Make an investigation check for me.

TALIESIN: Oh, that's right. I have a-- One second. I'm just--

MARISHA: You're investigating.

LAURA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: So cute.

TALIESIN: I have a whole thing here. Investigation. That's not me. There we are. (laughter)

TALIESIN: Investigation. Yes.

LAURA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Eh, 29.

LAURA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: (laughs and sputters) "Eh."

MARISHA: What did you roll?

TALIESIN: 18 plus 11. 29.

MARISHA: Oh my god.

MATT: Okay, I'll say--

TRAVIS: Nice.

MATT: I'll say you followed his movements enough to know that he got back together with Dr. Dranzel's, most of Dr. Dranzel's Troupe.

TALIESIN: Mm.

MATT: And began, essentially, traveling east to Wildemount before disappearing from your scope of attention.

TALIESIN: So last I recall-- Hold on. I'm going to go through papers. Yes, he was back with the old band. They headed east and I stopped caring. There it is right there. "Stopped caring."

MARISHA: (laughs)

LAURA: Oh. So try Kaylie.

ASHLEY: Oh that's a good idea.

MARISHA: Oh!

TALIESIN: That is a very good idea.

MARISHA: Kaylie! I Scry on Kaylie.

MATT: Okay. You peer into your vision within vision, and as it pulls away from your current perspective here in Castle Whitestone, it jettisons itself into the air and through the clouds, traveling at impossible speeds before suddenly coming to rest and focus on a gnomish woman currently sleeping in a cushy bed somewhere, low-lit, alone, at least from what you can tell on the Scry.

MARISHA: Any type of indication of whereabouts?

MATT: Make a perception check.

TALIESIN: Guidance.

MARISHA: Guidance.

TALIESIN: I just say that.

MARISHA: Ooh. Let me remember. Okay.

LAURA: (laughs)

MARISHA: 25.

MATT: 25. Looks like the inside of an inn or tavern chamber. At a quick glance, you can see the decor and the bed are not sized for her, which means it's likely not a personal bedroom so she's likely either traveling or someplace abroad, but you know that she, just like her father, prone to travel quite often.

MARISHA: (sighs) So not a great time. She was asleep. Definitely in an inn somewhere.

TALIESIN: Well, if she's asleep, what did the light look like? Maybe we can figure out what time of day and what continent, at the very least.

MARISHA: Yeah. It was dark in Vasselheim. Likely dark-- Wait, where did you say you last saw them?

TALIESIN: They were heading east.

MARISHA: In Marquet? Is that what you said?

TALIESIN: I think they were heading towards Marquet, I believe. But that was a while ago with, what's his--

LAURA: What would be in the inns?

TALIESIN: Dranzel.

LAURA: Oh, yes, yes, yes.

TALIESIN: Dr. Dranzel, Professor Dranzel, whatever it was.

LAURA: Hmm. Can you send a message in the morning? No, it is the morning. Shit.

TALIESIN: We have people we could ask.

ASHLEY: You know what, I'm going to try-- This is so silly, but I'm going to see if for some reason he kept the earring.

TRAVIS: (belches)

MATT: You would know that the earrings have a--

LAURA: A range.

MATT: A radius, a range before they're not functional.

ASHLEY: That's right. I knew that.

TALIESIN: Do I smell pastries?

MARISHA: Mm.

LAURA: Yes, they're on the way.

TALIESIN: That's just, oh, thank god.

ASHLEY: Where did this--

MATT: Ah.

LAURA: Slayer's Cake.

TRAVIS: Oh, by the way, Percy, I got you this. I reach in the bag of holding and I hand you a little pocket watch. It's smashed to shit and covered in some dark sort of crimson stuff.

TALIESIN: Thank you. This is actually quite sweet.

TRAVIS: Yeah, I got that just for you off a fellow that went unconscious.

TALIESIN: Unconscious or permanently unconscious?

TRAVIS: Scholars maintain they're not sure, but I figured I saw that and I knew you had to have it.

TALIESIN: Well, I will get this working again once all of this is finished. Thank you. This should occupy me for easily--

TRAVIS: You're welcome.

TALIESIN: Three hours. Four hours, maybe.

MARISHA: (laughs)

MARISHA: Well, I guess we could try where you last saw them, but we don't really have time for--

TALIESIN: I don't really have much other than vague information. Do we have any access to anyone who could just--

TRAVIS: Locate him?

TALIESIN: Do the-- I suppose, yeah, some sort of location spell or otherwise.

TRAVIS: What about Allura?

TALIESIN: She's not in Whitestone, I don't think. Allura is--

MATT: No, she is back in Vasselheim handling all the business that you aren't handling while you're gathering your friends.

TALIESIN: We do have the communication array. I don't know who else would have access to it.

MARISHA: Hm.

TRAVIS: Oh yeah, your orbs.

MARISHA: Our orbs.

TALIESIN: Yes.

MARISHA: Crisis Orbs. That feels weird to utilize them to just find Scanlan, though. They're meant for emergencies.

LAURA: Cerkonos, can you send messages to people?

TRAVIS: This isn't an emergency?

TALIESIN: I feel like--

ROBBIE: No.

LAURA: Shit. We're level twenty.

MARISHA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: I'm--

ASHLEY: Sending?

LAURA: Yeah, Sending. Do you have it?

ASHLEY: Yeah, I--

LAURA: Pike!

MARISHA: You have to do it, Pike.

LAURA: Sober up!

ASHLEY: I just forgot that I had it.

TALIESIN: Do you need a slap, I can slap you.

ASHLEY: Sure.

MARISHA: I mean, I could Scry.

ASHLEY: A little tappy-tappy?

MARISHA: If you don't want to do it, the last one I could try is Dranzel.

LAURA: But is--

TALIESIN: Do you want the triple? I can give you the triple.

ASHLEY: Give me the triple.

TRAVIS: What's the triple?

TALIESIN: This is the triple. I'm going to grab a glass of ice water sitting next to the coffee.

LAURA: Oh.

TALIESIN: I'm going to throw it in your face.

ASHLEY: (shouts)

TALIESIN: I'm going to take, I have the quiet version--

LAURA: Diplomacy? (laughs)

TALIESIN: --of the Diplomacy. I'm going to give you an electric shock.

ASHLEY: (shouts)

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Then I'm going to slap you in the face.

ASHLEY: (shakes and shouts)

TALIESIN: Wake up!

ASHLEY: Okay, okay, I'm awake.

TALIESIN: There we are.

TRAVIS: Me next.

ASHLEY: I'll send a--

MARISHA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Of course.

ASHLEY: I haven't talked to him in so long!

MARISHA: Do you want me to Scry on Dranzel first and just see? You're going to have to talk to him eventually, Pike.

TRAVIS: Yeah, you're going to have to put your big boy pants on.

MARISHA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah?

LAURA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Yeah! This is the end of the world and stuff.

ASHLEY: Well, what do I say?

LAURA: End of the world!

TRAVIS: Again.

ASHLEY: What do I say? It's the end of the world. We're going to need you here.

LAURA: Say--

TALIESIN: It's the end of the world.

LAURA: Vax is in an orb.

TALIESIN: We're getting the proper band back together.

LAURA: We need to get him out.

ASHLEY: Okay.

LAURA: Come to the front lines with us. Stop being a fucking prick.

MARISHA: Yeah, we need you or--

ASHLEY: Okay, okay.

MARISHA: --or you're a prick!

ASHLEY: Okay, okay.

TRAVIS: Or, or--

LAURA: You're already a prick.

ASHLEY: Okay.

LAURA: What?

TRAVIS: Listen, I've heard about direct conflict and then indi-direct conflict, and maybe we don't be so apparent with it. What if you've got a big prize for him and you only want to hand deliver it?

LAURA: What if you want to bone him again? What if you want to have sex? Say you're really horny.

MARISHA: That's a prize.

TRAVIS: That's a indi-prick conflict.

ROBBIE: He would definitely respond to the sexual remark.

ASHLEY: He would definitely respond to it.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

LAURA: Unless he's grown. Has he grown? He might have grown.

TALIESIN: (laughs)

MARISHA: He hasn't grown.

TRAVIS: You're randy. You had a bunch to drink. Only he can quench your flame.

ASHLEY: Yeah, but then it's going to hurt so bad if he says no.

TRAVIS: Yeah, but we're not really going there for that.

LAURA: Who would say no to you? Nobody, Pike. You lay it on, anybody would say yes.

ASHLEY: (uncertain) Okay.

LAURA: Would you say yes?

ROBBIE: No. (laughter)

ASHLEY: See? See!

MATT: (laughs)

ASHLEY: I don't have it anymore! It's gone! What I had, it left! I don't have it.

TALIESIN: There are no other gentlemen in this room that can answer that question with any reason.

ASHLEY: None of you would?

TALIESIN: I'm not allowed!

TRAVIS: Let's practice. Look.

TALIESIN: I'm not allowed to say because it is a trap that will only kill me.

TRAVIS: Let's have a little bit of role play.

TALIESIN: Either answer.

TRAVIS: How randy can you sound? Ready? Go!

ASHLEY: If he wanted to sleep with me, would you be mad at him?

LAURA: No, of course not. No. Answer truthfully. Answer truthfully! Would you? If she was down for it and I said yes, would you go for it?

ASHLEY: Don't answer it, because this actually makes me feel weird.

MATT and LAURA: (laugh)

ASHLEY: Scanlan!

MARISHA: Oh! Oh, it's happening!

TRAVIS: Ooh!

MARISHA: You got this!

ASHLEY: Hello.

TRAVIS: No, sexier.

ASHLEY: ("sexy") It's Pike.

TRAVIS: Ooh!

TALIESIN: (laughs) Oh yes, yes, yes.

MARISHA: Dial it back.

ASHLEY: I had--

TRAVIS: ♪ (groovy scat) ♪ ♪ (groovy scat) ♪

ASHLEY: -- some booze--

TRAVIS: ♪ (groovy scat) ♪ ♪ (groovy scat) ♪

ASHLEY: -- and I'm horny?

TALIESIN: I hand Grog two little sticks so he can do drums.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

ASHLEY: It's been a while.

TRAVIS: (laughs) ♪ It's been a while ♪

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: I really want to see you.

LAURA: You've got six more words.

MARISHA: Maybe say something about Vox Machina so he doesn't get mad.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah. Oh no. Don't tell--

TRAVIS: What? What? That's--

LAURA: Just say we need to see him, we need to meet up!

MARISHA: He hates it when you do the bait and switch.

LAURA: We're in Whitestone. Say you're in Whitestone!

MARISHA: Just say whatever.

ASHLEY: I'm in Whitestone.

MARISHA: (whispers) Where are you?

LAURA: Oh, yeah.

ASHLEY: Where are you?

MARISHA: Yeah!

LAURA: (claps)

MATT: Scanlan, do you want to respond to this?

ALL: (shout excitedly)

ASHLEY and MARISHA: (laugh)

LAURA: Yeah!

TRAVIS: (shrieks) That's horrifying! That looks horrifying! Oh!

LAURA: Goodbye, creepy face. Hello, creepy face.

ASHLEY: There's a little piece right here!

TRAVIS and LAURA: Oh god!

ASHLEY: Take that piece off.

MATT: Terrifying.

ASHLEY: That's so nasty!

LAURA: He can't!

TRAVIS: It's so pepperoni! Can I just rip it?

SAM: Just bite it off.

TRAVIS: Can I just rip it?

LAURA and ASHLEY: No!

TRAVIS: Ugh!

MARISHA: Oh, you have some dangling.

LAURA: No!

MARISHA: It's weird!

TALIESIN: You got dangles.

ROBBIE: Yeah, just some light microneedling.

TRAVIS: You got sinew, man! (laughter)

LAURA: Yeah!

TALIESIN: The vampire fade is just--

MATT: Scanlan, you receive this message suddenly from Pike. Do you respond?

SAM: Yes, I do.

MATT: What do you say?

SAM: (Scanlan) (pants) Hard to hear you out here. I thought you said something about horny? What? I'm in Wildemount. (pants) Hope you're okay! Come visit, or whatever. Hi!

TRAVIS: "Or whatever." (laughs)

LAURA: What did it sound like?

TALIESIN: So, you're making that face.

ASHLEY: Well, he's in Wildemount

LAURA: What did he say?

ASHLEY: He just said, you know, if you wanted to come, you can or whatever.

LAURA: So he said--

MARISHA: That's great!

LAURA: That's great! He hasn't told any of us where he is in so long! Wildemount.

MARISHA: How did he sound?

ASHLEY: He sounded like he was fucking, maybe.

ROBBIE: (laughs) Hilarious!

ASHLEY: Or running.

ASHLEY: Are you saying that out of theory--

TRAVIS: Or running?

TALIESIN: -- or experience here? Was that actually the sound?

ASHLEY: Well no, I'm saying theory because I guess maybe he was working out.

MARISHA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: I don't know.

LAURA: He sounded out of breath?

ASHLEY: He sounded out of breath. He sounded like--

LAURA: Did he sound scared?

ASHLEY: No, he didn't sound scared. He sounded like neither here nor there. Like, you can come, you can call me. If you want to hang out, we can, but I don't really give a shit.

LAURA: He's probably acting nonchalant.

TRAVIS: This is great! I mean, but now we know exactly where in Wildemount he is, right?

MARISHA: Well, Wildemount's massive.

TRAVIS: I mean, he said exactly where he was, right?

ASHLEY: He didn't, Grog!

TRAVIS: Oh, well then maybe we should--

ASHLEY: He just said he's in Wildemount, so that's--

LAURA: That's an entire continent.

ASHLEY: He's not even giving me specifics.

ASHLEY: Yeah. That's so shitty!

TRAVIS: Hey, I have a question. Can you do that spell again?

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LAURA: Well ask where in Wildemount.

MARISHA: And if he was hiking or fucking.

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: I mean, honestly, if he was just answering that while--

ASHLEY: I feel like I need to act nonchalant.

TALIESIN: -- while having intercourse, that would raise questions with the person he was with. So I think he was just full of it, or exercising. No.

ASHLEY: All right. Well, where are you in Wildemount?

TALIESIN: Specifically.

ASHLEY: Specifically.

TALIESIN: There you go.

ASHLEY: I would like to know, were you working out?

LAURA and MARISHA: (laugh)

ASHLEY: How's it going? (laughter)

ASHLEY: Talk to you later. (laughter)

MARISHA: That was perfect!

LAURA: That was really good.

MARISHA: That was great.

ASHLEY: I was trying to be chill about it, but then there was a lot of interest in the middle, but then I kind of--

MARISHA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: I don't know.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

TALIESIN: Darling, you're too good for him.

ASHLEY: Yes, I know this!

TALIESIN: While there's nothing I can answer about any weird middle ground, you are too good for him. So that's the bar that you are at least going by.

ASHLEY: Yeah, okay. Okay.

LAURA: (laughs)

SAM: Whoa! Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa!

ASHLEY: I think he's riding a horse.

SAM: (pants)

MARISHA: (laughs)

SAM: Where are we? Boys, where are we?

MATT: (gruff) "It looks like we're--"

SAM: Yeah, it looks like we're about halfway between Asarius and Bazzoxan. I don't know. There's not a marker or anything. I could describe it for you, I guess, but is this a booty call?

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: All right, well he's in between Bassarus and--

TRAVIS: Ass-arus.

ASHLEY: As-as-as-us.

MATT: (laughs)

LAURA: What did he say?

SAM: Asarius and Bazzoxan.

ASHLEY: (laughing) Asarius and Bazzoxan.

MATT: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Oops! Sorry.

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: So, I don't know. It sounds like he's on horses. He was talking to some boys.

LAURA: Oh!

MARISHA: Okay.

ASHLEY: Does this sound familiar to you?

LAURA: No, I just--

ASHLEY: Why'd you get excited?

LAURA: Is he fucking boys?

ASHLEY: Maybe.

SAM: (laughs)

TALIESIN: I believe he was--

ASHLEY: I don't know what he's doing!

TALIESIN: He was traveling with a band. They call themselves The Boys.

MARISHA: He's probably with his band.

ASHLEY: Oh, they do?

TALIESIN: Sometimes.

ASHLEY: Wait, how do you know this?

TALIESIN: Because I--

LAURA: He's a fan. He doesn't want to admit it. He's a fan.

TALIESIN: No, I'm not.

LAURA: He's got posters in the room.

TALIESIN: Absolutely not.

ASHLEY: He did ask me if it was a booty call.

MARISHA: You have posters in what room? Not in your bedroom.

TALIESIN: No.

MARISHA: That's weird.

TALIESIN: That would be weird.

MARISHA: Where do you have posters?

TALIESIN: I don't!

ASHLEY: Should I leave him on read?

LAURA: (whispers) In his lab!

MARISHA: In his lab? What, Pike?

LAURA: The workshop.

ASHLEY: (laughs)

MARISHA: I got distracted.

ASHLEY: He asked me if it was a booty call, and I should just leave it, right?

TALIESIN: Yes.

TRAVIS: We're actively trying to find him.

SAM and MATT: (laugh)

ASHLEY: You're so smart, Grog. Do I contact him again, or do we just try to find him?

LAURA: Can you find a tree halfway between Bazzo-- (incoherent mumbles)?

TALIESIN: (laughs)

MARISHA: I'm going to, once again, connect into the roots of the earth, and this time I'm going to Scry on Dranzel.

MATT: Dr. Dranzel. You got it.

MARISHA: Now that I know he's probably with him.

TALIESIN: I hand Grog a biscuit from a little jar.

MATT: Absolutely not.

TRAVIS: Oh, thank you!

MATT: So you (magical whooshes) travel through, your vision, as opposed to the sky, it goes through the roots of the earth the mycelium networks, the stone and rock, all the elements that you are most tethered to, eventually emerging into a starry nightscape eventually emerging into a starry nightscape that sits above a barely Catha-lit valley that sits above a barely Catha-lit valley of broken rock and spires of these massive, almost spike spires, that stick 100 plus feet in the air at strange arcs all around you, this valley of massive rock thorns.

MARISHA: Oh!

MATT: A mountain range that is dark and ominous that encircles the distant horizon. You see a number of large, leafless trees that reach out to the night sky, like hands scraping for the heavens. You see a cluster of horses slowly stopping in a circle with a number of figures, and Dr. Dranzel in a heavy coat, looks like a black, leather-ish coat with his hat on, sitting on top of the horse, looking around, and some of the other people on horseback around are starting to reach and rummage into bags and stuff. It's hard to see. It's very dark, and you don't have a lot of detail in this space. But I mean, there is a tree that they've stopped near, a little cluster of leafless trees. One of them, two of them might be large enough to travel through.

MARISHA: I got him. We're going?

LAURA: Let's go.

ASHLEY: Yeah, let's go.

MARISHA: Let's move fast before they navigate too far away.

TALIESIN: Let me put my clothes on and get the kit. I had it prepared.

LAURA: Oh, the kids.

MARISHA: Grab jackets.

LAURA: Will we be back before...

TALIESIN: One moment. I'll take care of this in one second. I turn, sitting, and I start writing a quick note. As I do: Gwendolyn?

MATT: (Gwendolyn) "Yes, father?"

TALIESIN: I hope you heard all that.

MATT: "I did, yes."

TALIESIN: Please let Cassandra know where we're going. Let Vesper know that she's in charge. If something goes wrong, you're in charge. But don't let them know that.

MATT: "Of course."

TALIESIN: This is for you. Just hands a folded note. If things go wrong, you know the three places where I keep the emergency kit. Please make sure that your siblings find it.

MATT: "Of course, of course."

TALIESIN: We'll be back soon.

LAURA: Have you seen Vax?

MATT: "He's gone on a bit of a holiday with a few friends up the road."

LAURA: Give my love.

MATT: "Of course."

LAURA: Give me a hug.

MATT: "I can call him back. When are you coming back?"

LAURA: No. As soon as possible, dear.

MATT: "Okay. I'll call him back. I'll call them all back."

LAURA: Come here, come here. Kiss, kiss, kiss. I love you.

MATT: "I love you, too."

TALIESIN: Tell them, actually, any of your siblings that you can collect, have them meet us at the Sun Tree.

LAURA: Yes.

TALIESIN: As quickly as possible.

MATT: "Very well."

TALIESIN: Thank you, dear.

MATT: "It will be done." She runs off.

LAURA: She behaves so much better for you.

TALIESIN: You have the twins. I have this one. (laughter)

TALIESIN: So I'm going to go to the wall where the mask sits. I remove it from the wall. Behind it is a safe. I open the safe. There is nothing in the safe but a single piece of paper. I move that aside, and there's a key. I take the key, put everything back, take the mask with me, and I go running off before anyone sees because I know where I keep all of my--

TRAVIS: The mask, the mask?

TALIESIN: Yes, the mask. It's always on the wall.

ASHLEY: What was that piece of paper, Percy?

TALIESIN: Nothing that you need to concern yourself with.

ASHLEY: Damn.

TALIESIN: I go running into my lab. I open up this small closet with a poster inside the locker of it.

LAURA: Yes! (laughter)

TALIESIN: (heavy sigh)

LAURA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: I grab the box that's clearly been put together.

MARISHA: Percy!

TALIESIN: Run and get dressed.

MARISHA: We're going to lose him!

TRAVIS: Should we open up the safe?

ASHLEY: Yeah, let's open up the safe.

TRAVIS: I just reach up with the Titanstone Knuckles.

TALIESIN: I wouldn't do that.

TRAVIS: (strains)

TALIESIN: You're going to trigger--

ASHLEY: Pull Grog, pull.

TALIESIN: -- a trap immediately, you idiot!

MATT: Grog, make a-- What saving throw should he make?

TALIESIN: Mm. That's a wisdom saving throw.

MATT: Wisdom saving.

TALIESIN: Wait, yes. That one is a wisdom saving throw.

MATT: Wisdom saving throw, Grog.

TRAVIS: Natural one. (laughter)

ROBBIE: Yay!

MARISHA: We're back, baby!

ASHLEY: Off to a good start. (laughter)

TALIESIN: Can I have a custom spell?

MATT: Sure. What are you wanting to do?

TALIESIN: I'd say, for the next 60 seconds, you feel the sudden urge to run out of the room, out into the hallway, and start running up and down the hallway going: Hello! I'm trying to rob Lord de Rolo! I'm robbing Lord de Rolo! Haha! Just yelling it as you run up and down.

TRAVIS: I'm robbing Lord de Rolo! I'm robbing Lord-- What's happening? (laughter)

TALIESIN: It'll wear off.

LAURA: Well.

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: You run past Gwendolyn. As you go past, she reaches up and grabs your belt and rides you as you leave the building.

TRAVIS: Gwen, help me! I'm robbing Lord de Rolo! (laughter)

MATT: "(giggles)" She just rides you like a wild animal until she lets go--

TRAVIS: Percy!

MATT: -- and then charges out the garden.

LAURA: Find your siblings!

MATT: (laughs)

TALIESIN: You wouldn't let me install a proper alarm, so I have to make do. Taryon can be useful sometimes. All right. I'm dressed. I've got the cloak on. I have a whole bunch of weird stuff y'all have never seen before that I'm putting in, strange little gadgets.

MARISHA: Percy!

TALIESIN: I get my walking stick. I am ready to go.

MARISHA: All right, finally! Let's go! Quick!

ROBBIE: You're all very chaotic without your leader Scanlan. (laughter)

TALIESIN: I was going to ask, how did you get dragged into this madness?

ROBBIE: They asked me to fight.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Oh dear. All right.

TRAVIS: (pants) Oh my god! Oh my god! I haven't done cardio like that in forever. (gags) Okay, that was yesterday's stuff.

LAURA: Have a bear claw.

TRAVIS: Huh? Thank you. Oh! (chomps)

MATT and MARISHA: (laugh)

MARISHA: Going from almost barfing to just housing a bear claw! (laughter)

TRAVIS: That did the trick!

ASHLEY: That's my style.

TALIESIN: Half the things in my lab and office are booby trapped. Just don't touch anything.

LAURA: Did I hear right? You were bitchy with Keyleth the last time she saw you?

TRAVIS: (laughs)

TALIESIN: You know the company she brought. It was just a bit much. I'm so sorry, dear.

ASHLEY: The company she keeps?

TALIESIN: Those people.

ASHLEY: What do you mean?

LAURA: No, no, no, no, no! She brought Bells Hells.

ASHLEY: Oh, those chucklefucks?

TALIESIN: It put us a bit on edge. You know exactly why, and I'm not going to apologize for it.

MARISHA: You're always on edge, Percy.

TALIESIN: Yes, because I'm right all the time.

MARISHA: (scoffs) Let's go! We're going to lose him.

MATT: (laughs)

TALIESIN: (sighs) They were moving slowly, I assure it.

MARISHA: (exasperated sigh) Why do you have to speak in absolutions? You don't know! You didn't put your--

TALIESIN: I'm already walking.

MARISHA: -- whole brain and your body matter into Exandria--

TALIESIN: Time's running out, Voice of the Tempest! I'd get moving!

MARISHA: (frustrated groan) You're so ornery!

MATT: (laughs) As you step out of Castle Whitestone, back towards the core, and the base of where the Sun Tree is, the rest of the Pale Guard have come out to give a full on escort and salute to the exit of the castle, unaware of, necessarily, the business, but also aware that this sort of a gathering does likely come with some sort of importance, let alone the current events in the world and the various multicolored tethers of tangled leylines that still pull tensely taut across the skyscape, even visible in here these bright morning hours. As you begin to trek down, the city is now much more alive, awake, and vibrant, and folks are gathered outside to see off whatever this hubbub, this unique gathering of figures, as well as the Lord and the Lady of Castle Whitestone stepping out in attire not ceremonial, but for war. People whispering and looking over, people holding up their kids on their shoulders so they can see the lords and ladies and their companions walking through. You know, for some people this morning is very well a moment they're going to talk about for years around the table.

MARISHA: I see everyone gathering, and we're in such a hurry. I just Druidcraft a bunch of flowers and greenery, and maybe some lilies and nightshades, and just a bunch of things in a way to try and be ceremonial very quickly.

LAURA: (whispers) Snow drops!

MARISHA: Snow drops.

TALIESIN: Thank you.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

MATT: As everyone claps a bit or gives a nod and smile, there's a quick huffing sound. You watch as Vesper and Gwendolyn run up holding hand-in-hand with two other, just past their late teens, twin brother and sister Wolfe and Leona, rushing up behind them, and already by the tree, you see young, late teens Vax'ildan II leaning back as all the kids, all the various de Rolo children have gathered up. Gwendolyn is like, "Mother! Mother, I got them." Vesper is like, "Yes, we got them together, didn't we? As well as the baked goods you requested, Mother."

LAURA: Good job. We might be gone a while. Vesper, yes, take care of everyone.

MATT: "Indeed. You all heard that."

LAURA: Listen to your sister.

MATT: Vax in the back goes, "(scoffs) I guess we'll listen to her maybe."

TALIESIN: Thank you, Vaxy.

LAURA: Thank you.

MATT: "If she's nice to us."

ROBBIE: (laughs)

LAURA: You listen to her regardless. This is serious.

MATT: "Of course, Mother."

LAURA: Grab the sides of his face and-- (smooches)

MATT: "(grunts)"

LAURA: I love you. (groans) Wolfe, Leona, take care of each other.

MATT: Wolfe and Leona, they're, of all the children, the ones who are really registering the underlying gravity of this. They both approach together, Wolfe maybe but a beat before Leona. (Wolfe) "Mother, you're all-- What's going on?"

LAURA: You remember me telling you about Uncle Vax and everything that happened?

MATT: "Yes."

LAURA: We're going to try to fix it.

MATT: At this point, Vax'ildan II, his smarmy attitude drops. He starts listening in intently. Both twins holding your hands. "That's wonderful."

LAURA: Yeah. He can't stay trapped.

TALIESIN: It's dangerous where we're going, but we've survived many times and we are strong, and you're strong despite us. The land is yours for now. We expect you to be our best selves, We expect you to be our best selves, and we will return.

LAURA: Take care of Whitestone. I whisper in Leona's ear: Keep your eyes on Gwen, do not let her follow.

MATT: She nods, and immediately her eyes go straight to Gwendolyn. Gwendolyn just there, her arms crossed.

LAURA: All right.

TALIESIN: I'm very proud of all of you. See you soon.

MATT: As the entirety of your brood, your children gather up, you can see even the attitudes have dropped, and even Vax'ildan, young Vax'ildan stands there now with a look of concern and worry in his eyes. But they all nod and wave. That very practiced guarded emotional presentation that children of lords and ladies are taught well to maintain, that lasts just long enough as the portal opens in the Sun Tree to guide you to the next stage, to watch their faces drop, overcome with concern and worry and a number of tears. But they smile and wave, as do the people of Whitestone, waving in kind.

TALIESIN: We return soon. Whitestone endures. Let's go.

ASHLEY: Whitestone endures!

ALL: (echoing crowd) "Whitestone endures!"

TRAVIS: I'll reach into the bag of holding and I toss something to Vax II. Take care of that.

MATT: (Vax II) "Is this dried shit?"

TRAVIS: It's a piece of poop.

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: "Why'd you--"

TRAVIS: Here we go! (laughter)

MATT: You all step through the tree portal, emerging underneath a starry night sky. Much like Keyleth saw in her vision, you have come to the Hallowed Path to Bazzoxan in Xhorhas of Wildemount. Here, the darkened penumbra range encircles the horizon to the north and the east and somewhat to the south. The numerous shadowed rising spire-like barbs that mark this field of strange, calamity scarred landscape. Gives a somewhat terrifying at first, but also oddly quiet and peaceful in shadow mystique. You also hear numerous hooves hitting the ground and getting quieter, as you can just make out the cluster of horses and riders that are charging further east and away from you.

LAURA: Oh shit, use your earring.

ASHLEY: Yeah, I don't even know if you have this thing on, but slow down on your horse because we're here. Can you hear me?

MATT: Do you have your earring in?

SAM: Of course. Whoa, whoa! Silver Saddles, whoa! Whoa!

MARISHA and ROBBIE: Silver Saddles?

TRAVIS: Oh boy.

SAM: What? You're here? Where?

ASHLEY: Look behind you, doofus.

SAM: I turn around.

MARISHA: With gravitas, I do a wind gust behind us to announce our presence.

MATT: You see dust kick up and you can make out the shape on the horizon of six figures standing in night.

SAM: I will ride up towards them, or gallop up towards them. One, two, three, four, five, okay six, yes. I'll ride up towards them. As you can see in the pale moonlight, you see Scanlan, long hair past his shoulders.

LAURA: Oh my.

TRAVIS: Oh!

SAM: A long beard, bushy, scraggly. Salt and pepper hair, leather jacket, black with purple piping and stuff. Little symbol emblazoned on the chest. But the thing that is most jarring about his appearance is that he's a centaur.

LAURA: What?

SAM: He has purple fur. He's got packs tied around his body He's got packs tied around his body. Five other riders come up behind him, also all centaurs. You recognize some of them. Dr. Dranzel.

LAURA: (laughs) Kent Plucker.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

LAURA: (laughs)

SAM: You know Lionel? Yeah, you know Lionel.

TRAVIS: Uh-huh.

TALIESIN: I do know Lionel.

SAM: Lionel Gayheart? Yeah, he's there.

ASHLEY: Yeah. You might have seen Jameson the Painter at some point.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: (laughs)

SAM: Then there's one person that I don't think you recognize. She's a dwarf? Halfling? Dwarf.

MATT: Dwarf, dwarf,

SAM: Dwarf, but centaur, and she's rough and tumble. She's smoking a cigarette, she's got a beard. Scanlan gallops up to you and says: (out of breath) Hey, you found us.

MARISHA: You're actually centaurs, or are you just fucking with us?

TALIESIN: What on earth are you wearing?

SAM: We're all centaurs.

TRAVIS: Wait, what happened to your body?

SAM: Oh! Sorry. Me and the boys, we're on a road trip and we figured this was the best way to travel, so I made us all centaurs.

MATT: (Dr. Dranzel) "It's actually very cool."

SAM: Yeah.

MATT: "Good to see you all. Dr. Dranzel. It's been a while."

ASHLEY: How are you?

LAURA: Hey, gentlemen.

TRAVIS: Yeah!

SAM: True Polymorph. Works like a charm.

ASHLEY: Wow.

TRAVIS: That's why he was out of breath.

ASHLEY: Okay, okay.

LAURA: How do you-- Just undo it? Can you just undo it?

SAM: Why would I want to? This is the road trip of a lifetime. We've been planning it for weeks. We started on the Menagerie Coast. We went through the Cyrios Mountains. We stopped at Deastok. Hupperdook is crazy! There are these gnomes that just party all night. It's wild! It's off the hook! We went to this beast city. Turns out goblins are actually kind of cool. I was wrong the whole time. It's amazing! We've had a blast.

TRAVIS: Wow.

LAURA: You seem really happy.

TRAVIS: Yep.

SAM: Yeah, yeah, me and the boys have been getting into trouble. Keg here, she's sort of the newest member. We picked her up on the way. She is such an awesome wingman.

MATT: (Keg) "I'm not going to lie, these guys are pretty chill."

SAM: Yeah.

MATT: "We're having a good time."

TRAVIS: Keg, that's a great name.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: "Thanks. What's your name?"

TRAVIS: Grog.

MATT: "That's also a cool name."

TRAVIS: (grunts)

SAM: She's awesome, right?

TRAVIS: Yeah, yeah.

TALIESIN: How's it working out for you so far?

ROBBIE: Great. (laughter)

SAM: Oh, Flamespeaker!

ROBBIE: Yes.

SAM: Winds watch you!

ROBBIE: Winds watch you.

SAM: Yeah! How you doing?

ROBBIE: Plus-- Good, and now you have a horse penis, ha ha!

SAM: Oh, I do! I'll turn around. I'll canter over, so you can see.

MATT: Lionel just loses his shit. (laughter) (Lionel) "You totally do."

SAM: I do, right?

TALIESIN: I'm grabbing Keyleth's hands to cover my eyes.

MATT: "Yeah, you have a horse penis, he's right."

TALIESIN: Just, please no.

MATT: "That's funny."

MARISHA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Just let me know when it's over.

MARISHA: It's over.

TALIESIN: God, oh.

LAURA: Do you have time to talk, Scanlan?

SAM: I mean, we're trying to get to Bazzoxan by daybreak. It's supposed to be pretty sick there. There's some temples we were going to check out. There's a hike that we're supposed to do.

LAURA: Wow.

TALIESIN: As delightful as this all sounds, do you have time perhaps for a brief conversation about more serious matters? We can get you some water and...straw? I don't know what it is that you--

SAM: Yeah, that would be great. I just slap a muzzle on, and yeah.

ASHLEY: Some hay, maybe a carrot.

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Will you come over here please?

SAM: Sure. Sorry, Saddles, can you hang out for a bit?

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MATT: "Yeah, don't worry. I'll watch the batch."

SAM: Don't smoke all that spice without me.

MATT: "(laughs) I don't know if we can get through this much in a short time, but I take your bet."

SAM: All right. The guys.

MATT: "(laughs)"

TALIESIN: Seriously, we do have pastries actually, seriously.

LAURA: You're doing spice?

SAM: Just on the road, just for shits and giggles sometimes.

LAURA: Really?

SAM: Hey, when you're a gnome, you have many midlife crises. So this is like my third one. It's great, it's going great.

TRAVIS: I mean, he seems really happy.

SAM: Pike!

ASHLEY: Yeah.

SAM: You look great. Damn, your ass is awesome.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

ASHLEY: (buzzes lips) (laughter)

ASHLEY: Well, we got to-- What do we-- Can we tell him?

SAM: Whoa, everybody's here, this is crazy, we haven't all been together since... When's the last time we were all together? Taryon and Lawrence's wedding?

MARISHA: Taryon's wedding. Yeah. Lawrence!

LAURA: That's Lawrence.

ASHLEY: Lawrence!

SAM: Lawrence, yeah.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Lawrence.

ASHLEY: That's right.

TALIESIN: We were having trouble with that one.

ASHLEY: Yeah, I thought--

TRAVIS: Some people drank too much.

TALIESIN: Fair.

SAM: What's going on?

MARISHA: I just turn to Vex on the side. Is this a bad idea?

LAURA: Should we just let him be and...

MARISHA: I feel like we always come back to him and pull him out of happiness.

LAURA: Out of whatever fun he's having, I know.

TALIESIN: So we're getting the band back together.

LAURA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: The world's fucked and we are trying to get the best of the best, and you are the best of the best.

ASHLEY: Yes, you know the moon is connected?

ASHLEY: Ludinus is like--

SAM: No, what?

LAURA: So you know how the moon, Ruidus, has not moved.

SAM: That's just how it is here on Wildemount, I'm pretty sure.

LAURA: No.

ASHLEY: No.

LAURA: It's connected to Exandria right now.

TRAVIS: It's connected?

LAURA: Grog.

ASHLEY: It's a bridge.

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: A bloody bridge.

SAM: I don't--

ASHLEY: Do you know what's going on?

SAM: No, I've been on this road trip. It's been great. We went wine tasting in Kamordah.

LAURA: Okay.

SAM: What happens in Kamordah stays in Kamordah, by the way. (laughs)

TALIESIN: Clearly not.

LAURA: There's a possibility the world could completely end soon. Which is all fine and dandy, but my brother has been trapped in an orb about this big?

TALIESIN: A bit bigger.

LAURA: Would you say?

LAURA: This big, Keyleth?

MARISHA: Yeah, that's about right.

SAM: Vax? He's alive?

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: Yes. Apparently he came down to save Kiki, who put herself in grave danger, and in fact got himself trapped in the process. That is why that moon is stuck to the planet, because Vax is in an orb.

SAM: But he's alive?

MARISHA: He's, I mean--

TALIESIN: Ish.

MARISHA: Ish, yeah, he's--

TRAVIS: Oh!

LAURA: His consciousness is, and he's trapped.

ASHLEY: He's screaming.

MARISHA: And he's screaming.

SAM: How do you know he's screaming if he's in there?

LAURA: Because Bells Hells, they talked to the Matron and--

SAM: What?

LAURA: -- he was screaming.

MARISHA: Another adventuring group that we've put our faith in, in unyielding hope.

ASHLEY: Eh.

MARISHA: It's fine. But they were there, I almost died. We were trying to take down this guy Ludinus from the Cerberus Assembly. I don't know if you, do you know anything about the Cerberus Assembly?

SAM: I mean--

TALIESIN: Keyleth almost died. Can you imagine how insane that notion is?

MARISHA: And-- Yes! Do you know how hard it is to kill me?

SAM: Yeah, I've tried. Yeah.

MARISHA: Do you know all the battle royales?

SAM: Yeah, I remember that.

MARISHA: How hard it is?

TRAVIS: I think the only one that's done it is you.

MARISHA: That's true.

TRAVIS: Yup, dumbass.

LAURA: Get somebody to yank it.

ASHLEY: Take it off.

MARISHA: He's having a crisis. It's so unnerving.

ASHLEY: Pull it.

LAURA: He's not going to do is.

MARISHA: (squirms)

LAURA: No! Stop!

ROBBIE: (laughs)

LAURA: You only made it worse.

TRAVIS: It's so gross.

LAURA: (squirms)

TALIESIN: Mr. Krueger, that's enough.

SAM: I mean, yeah. I mean, if it's important, sure. It's just--

ASHLEY: Yeah, but if you're happy with what you're doing.

SAM: I've been planning this thing for months and we tried to get across all Wildemount and all of the Dynasty.

ASHLEY: Yeah, go party in Bazzoxan. Go!

TALIESIN: Nonsense.

SAM: Pike, come on, I mean--

ASHLEY: What? What? Go!

SAM: Are you mad at me?

ASHLEY: I'm not mad at you.

SAM: I just didn't know what to do after we broke up again and I was trying to find myself again, or find my spirit. You said I didn't have a spirit. I was trying to find my spirit.

ASHLEY: Well, I mean, what do you want to do?

SAM: Well, I wanted to be vital and want things again and inspire you again.

ASHLEY: Inspire me?

SAM: Well, yeah, you got to inspire yourself first.

ASHLEY: Well, you're going around, you said you're going out and-- (laughs) Your face is falling off. (laughter)

SAM: It's just my beard.

ASHLEY: Is it real?. (laughter)

ASHLEY: Thank you. (laughter)

MARISHA: Ah! (laughter)

MARISHA: It just landed in my crotch.

ROBBIE: (laughs)

LAURA: (gags)

SAM: Oh, it's moving!

ROBBIE: Ugh!

TALIESIN: Why did you think that was a good idea?

ASHLEY: It is? Where is it?

TALIESIN: What is wrong with you?

MARISHA: I just wanted it away from me.

TRAVIS: Fucking Hellraiser flesh.

ASHLEY: Ew, that's so gross.

TALIESIN: Come on, Ashton, be good for something. (laughter)

SAM: I just thought if I went on this trip I could, you know, rediscover what the purpose was. But I guess this is a purpose, right? Finding Vax or saving him or whatever?

ASHLEY: It's a pretty good purpose.

SAM: Yeah. Okay. (sighs) I got to break it to the boys, though. Like now? We're going to be--

LAURA: Yeah, like now.

TALIESIN: Really like now.

SAM: Not just like one more night?

LAURA: No.

ASHLEY: I mean, only if you want to. If you're not into it, we could leave right now. You can go on with your journey and go fuck shit up. You want to go with him?

TRAVIS: No, I don't think that's an option, I think he's supposed to come with us.

ASHLEY: I know, I'm trying to reverse psychology him.

TRAVIS: You could do things.

SAM: Do you want me to come, Pike?

ASHLEY: I guess.

LAURA: Pike, be honest.

ASHLEY: I would like you to come if you would be willing to come.

SAM: Because you need me, my magic, or because you want me to come?

MARISHA: Scanlan, you've put so much on Pike.

LAURA: My stomach just went "Ooh."

ASHLEY: I heard that, I thought it was you.

LAURA: (laughs) No.

MARISHA: This entire conversation, you've put it all on Pike.

SAM: Okay, you guys, you just need my magic stuff or do you want me to come?

LAURA: We miss you.

TRAVIS: Yeah, you! The creative, funny, smart, really clever. You know, I mean--

TALIESIN: But if you're not into it, we can just start looking for a replacement right now.

TRAVIS: That's not true, we have no other options.

TALIESIN: If it's just magic issues then we can just--

SAM: I believe him.

TRAVIS: We spied on everybody. We looked at Kaylie, we tried to look at you. We spied on Dr. Dranzel-- Sorry about that.

MATT: "Wait."

TRAVIS: It was really hard finding you.

MATT: "What happened?"

SAM: (laughs) Oh man.

ASHLEY: We just want you for your magic, Scanlan.

SAM: That's good enough for me, come here and give me a hug, Grog! (yelling) (laughter)

TRAVIS: We're back, baby!

MATT: As we pull back over the evening sky and outside of Bazzoxan, we're going to end there and pick it up next episode. (groaning)

TRAVIS: Oh my god! (laughter) It feels so good!

TALIESIN: I haven't done this in so long.

MARISHA: This is crazy.

TALIESIN: Fuck, it feels good.

ASHLEY: Oh, Percy.

TALIESIN: It's nice to be back.

LAURA: Oh, Percy.

ASHLEY: I love him.

TALIESIN: I love Percy as well.

LAURA: He's such a bitch.

TALIESIN: He's such a--

MATT: I'm enjoying seeing more of Cerkonos.

LAURA, TRAVIS, and ASHLEY: Oh my god! (groaning)

TALIESIN: Oh my god!

MARISHA: Just the stiffest sense of humor.

SAM: I love it.

MATT: So good.

MARISHA: Oh my god.

TRAVIS: "You have a horse penis." (laughter)

TALIESIN: That's the next shirt.

MATT: God, the response.

MARISHA: Oh my god.

MATT: Sorry. The response to, "If Pike was willing, would you?" "No."

MARISHA: "No." (laughter)

MATT: It broke me.

ASHLEY: (laughs)

ROBBIE: He's been retaining his seed since 28. (laughter)

ASHLEY: "Retaining his seed."

MATT: Oh no.

LAURA: Oh god. (laughter)

ROBBIE: Too much?

MATT: He's part of that crowd. He's part of that Reddit group. Okay.

ROBBIE: No fake roleplaying.

MATT: Well, we'll pick up from here next time. So thank you all so much for joining us.

MARISHA: Holy shit.

MATT: We love you very much, and is it Thursday yet? (cheering) Good night.

Cooldown[]

ASHLEY: Dang!

MATT: (laughing)

TALIESIN: That was --

MARISHA: Liam, come back!

SAM: We need Liam.

ALL: (yelling)

SAM: Liam!

LAURA: Liam, are you still here?

TRAVIS: He's taking a nap.

MATT: He did, he's out.

LAURA: Did you go, did you leave?

LIAM: That was fun.

LAURA: Oh, here he is.

ROBBIE: Wow!

MATT: (laughing)

LIAM: That was a lot of fun to watch.

ASHLEY: Damn. Dang, Scanlan's--

TRAVIS: Oh my god.

TALIESIN: Somehow we've gotten very good at that.

ASHLEY: --having a bit of a midlife crisis.

SAM: Uh huh.

MATT: He is.

ASHLEY: Got a Corvette.

TALIESIN: For the fifth fucking time.

SAM: There he is.

LAURA: Oh my god.

TALIESIN: Let's see.

TRAVIS: Oh, shit!

SAM: You can't see him. Hold on, where is it? How do you do this? God--

LAURA: I know! Well, it's--

TALIESIN: What are you doing?

SAM: I don't know. I just want to--

TALIESIN: Double. Here, double click.

SAM: It's in Slack? Oh, thank you.

TALIESIN: (bringing up Scanlan's new art on his phone to pass around) There you are.

TRAVIS: There he is! Oh, he's got a purple body.

ASHLEY: Wait, zoom in, I can't see.

TRAVIS: And the long hair.

LAURA: Oh my god, amazing.

TRAVIS: Oh, and a long beard. Look at that jacket.

MATT: (holding out a mini) Fucking customized this for you.

SAM: Oh!

ROBBIE: That's cool.

LIAM: Pass it down. Pass it down.

MARISHA: What the actual fuck?

TRAVIS and ASHLEY: I brake for hot chicks?

SAM: Uh huh.

TRAVIS: Is that a brand?

SAM: Yeah!

ROBBIE: Incredible. It's fantastic.

TALIESIN: Does anybody else have their art together or no?

LIAM: Peel it off in one single piece.

LAURA: (peeling off his blood) I'm going to try to.

MATT: It was great, too, because I finished painting it as a regular horse and then they're like, "Actually, it's a purple horse now." I'm like, okay, I'm going to repaint that now.

LAURA: Oh my god, it's so cool.

LIAM: Send it down.

MARISHA: And wait, True Polymorph lasts...?

LAURA: It's so satisfying.

SAM: Forever.

TALIESIN: Until you want to undo it.

MARISHA: For forever, right?

ASHLEY: Look at the fringe!

LIAM and LAURA: Ohh!

LAURA: That's great.

ASHLEY: This leather jacket.

LAURA: Look at that jacket.

LIAM: Oh, he's in his Jason Momoa horse phase.

MATT: Yep!

ASHLEY: Wait, but did you see this? Look at his--

LAURA: This looks like a nasty scab.

ROBBIE: He's probably taller than everyone too, now, right?

ASHLEY and LIAM: Yeah.

ROBBIE: I mean, if he's horse height.

TALIESIN: I mean, we're not a very tall--

MATT: About Grog's height, maybe.

ASHLEY: Yeah, we're not a tall group.

TALIESIN: You are the tallest of us.

ASHLEY: Grog is.

LIAM: I hope this comes off for all my appointments tomorrow.

TALIESIN: You'll be fine.

LAURA: You'll be fine, it already looks like--

MARISHA: Yeah, it's peeling nicely.

ASHLEY: You should leave it.

TALIESIN: Use a little oil.

LAURA: The red is coming off, so.

MATT: You'll be fine.

LIAM: It's all right, I'm just trying to get a bank loan tomorrow.

SAM: What an uncomfortable first half.

MARISHA: They'll probably give it to you.

ROBBIE: Yeah, immediately.

MATT: "Whatever you want, sir."

TALIESIN: That guy looks like he gets shit done. He's a closer.

LIAM: It was so cool to watch you really fall back into it.

TALIESIN: It was so easy.

ASHLEY: Aw, that was fun.

TALIESIN: It was so comfy.

MARISHA: I was trying not to laugh at Grog!

ASHLEY: Grog!

TRAVIS: (Grog) What?

LAURA: I feel like you got even dumber.

SAM: Uh huh.

LAURA: Did you get dumber, Grog?

TRAVIS: (Grog) That's what happens when you get older.

SAM: He's dumb and senile, now.

TRAVIS: (Grog) The brain cells don't regenerate.

SAM: I love the Percy and Vex relationships with their kids. The kids are so different and weird.

LIAM: Everyone got older, but somehow Percy de-aged.

TRAVIS: The fucking hair is killing me.

TALIESIN: Is it time?

SAM: No! No! I love it!

ALL: (screaming as Taliesin removes his wig)

LAURA: How much better does that feel?

TALIESIN: (to Sam) Do you want the hair?

SAM: Sure.

LIAM: Put it on the peeled face.

TALIESIN: Actually, that's--

TRAVIS: That is frightening.

LAURA: It actually works.

TALIESIN: That really works! Oh my god. Actually, we need a photo of this.

MATT: That is nightmare material.

MARISHA: Charlize Theron from Monster.

LAURA: I was genuinely like, "How are we going to find him?"

LIAM: Robbie looks just like the Legend of Vox Machina Cerkonos art.

ASHLEY: Yes! Just right.

MARISHA: I know, because in the animated series it's very choice moments with Cerkonos, but he is very severe.

ROBBIE: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Free range.

MARISHA: Yeah, pretty much.

ASHLEY: Did you know you were going to be doing Cerkonos until...?

TALIESIN: Was that the plan, or...?

ASHLEY: When did you-- Oh, that was the plan. Okay.

ROBBIE: Yeah.

MATT: When we were plotting out this bit of Vox Machina, it was like-- because the Mighty Nein are very, by the nature of the mission with Bells Hells, going to be the only thing where I was like, How can we include-- if you want to be part of it, how do we get you involved in this thing? So like, Cerkonos was right.

ROBBIE: Yeah, made sense. Yeah, I hand rolled all of my hit points, and I did each level manually instead of just setting it as 20. Because I didn't want to miss anything. Well, I didn't hand roll it; I used D&D Beyond, and I screencapped every one for--

MATT: It was great.

ASHLEY: Oh my god, yes!

SAM: Is he a druid? What is he?

ROBBIE: He's straight druid.

LAURA: Two powerful druids. Two level 20 druids.

SAM: Does he have two arms?

MATT: Oh, yeah, he regenerated.

SAM: Oh, great. Makes sense.

ALL: (as Matt shows the mini) [Admiring noises].

TRAVIS: Look at that fucking centaur.

ROBBIE: Is the ground purple around him?

MATT: The color makes it easy to find him on the battlefield.

TRAVIS: I love how you had the three-second silence after, "He's a centaur."

ASHLEY: Everyone was just quiet because we're like, "Wait."

LAURA: "Huh?"

SAM: Yeah, I wanted to go on a motorcycle road trip, but there's no such thing as motorcycles. So I made us motorcycles.

ASHLEY: That's amazing. Running wild and free.

TRAVIS: As you do.

SAM: Uh huh.

LAURA: God, what a good idea. Sounds really fun to do.

MATT: What's funny is the closest you would find would be... in the Hellcatch Valley out in Bassuras.

LIAM: The crawlers or whatever.

MATT: The crawlers, yeah.

TALIESIN: Which I'm sure people do out there, but I don't think they get imported.

MATT: No, not really, and even then they're a strange device that's pretty well guarded. So this is the easiest and cheapest way to do it.

LIAM: We're like chimps grooming.

LAURA: Yeah, we really are.

SAM: And in the Dynasty they don't look at you funny or anything.

MATT: No, not at all.

LIAM: Can I ask-- and you can say, "Save it for later," but is that-- you have True Polymorph"?

SAM: Mm-hmm.

LIAM: It's like a high-level bard spell?

SAM: It's my 9th-level spell when I lost Wish.

LIAM: Wish broke.

TALIESIN: Should I tell them what the piece of paper in the vault is?

LAURA: Yes!

LIAM: How many forms have you had sex as?

SAM: Who knows? That is a great question.

LAURA: What is it?

TALIESIN: You would know. You'd be the only one who would know.

LAURA: Exactly, so tell me.

TALIESIN: So do I tell everyone or just you?

LAURA: Tell everyone.

TALIESIN: I'm giving you two more. Do you want to be the only one so you can hold it over everyone or no?

LAURA: Yes, just me.

TALIESIN: Okay, then here.

SAM: There's whispers.

ASHLEY: Wait, wait, wait. What is he telling you?

LAURA: What the piece of paper was.

SAM: Oh, is it the contract? With the fucking devil?

MARISHA: Yeah, it's got to be the contract. What was it, did you hear, Ashley?

ASHLEY: No, I didn't.

SAM: The contract with the devil?

ASHLEY: She laughed.

LIAM: Garmelie dick sketches.

LAURA: It's his most prized possession.

TALIESIN: (Percy) I'm saving it for our anniversary. He's going a whole portrait series.

ROBBIE: So you two never not buddied up. You stayed buddied up.

ASHLEY: We stayed buddied up. I mean, we're family.

TRAVIS: (Grog) Yeah.

TALIESIN: And then we're married.

LAURA: Yeah. With children, did you catch that?

TRAVIS: Because they got married and then--

ROBBIE: Yeah, five of them.

SAM: I just found out that we got divorced a couple of times.

ASHLEY: Well, so did I. (laughter)

SAM: I love it!

ROBBIE: Oh, that's funny.

MARISHA: I could totally see you guys being married for like 10 years, getting back together and eloping, and then immediately annulling it.

ASHLEY: Yes! Being like, "Why did we do that?"

MATT: Being like, "This was a bad idea."

TALIESIN: We have solved none of the underlying issues.

LAURA: Every time you get drunk together, you're like, "Let's fucking get married!"

ASHLEY: "Let's get married again!"

LIAM: That never happens in Hollywood.

MATT: No, not at all.

LAURA: I feel like, too, like the second time around it would've been like, "You know what would be really fucking funny is if we got married again."

ASHLEY: But we're-- I mean, we live for so long.

SAM: I know! We're not even a hundred yet.

ASHLEY: No! Makes sense to me.

SAM: Totally.

MATT: I love it. You're children by Chetney's standards.

ASHLEY: Yeah. Yeah, we are.

TRAVIS: (Chetney) Some of them are my children.

SAM: (Scanlan) Are you my father?

TALIESIN: What is the equivalent? What is the Tal'Dorei equivalent of getting married by an Elvis in Vegas? Would that be like a fake Scanlan marrying the real Scanlan? What is the Elvis marriage?

MATT: Acually, in Tal'Dorei it would probably be a Scanlan or a White Duke.

ROBBIE: (as Elvis) A Duke. My dog, Dukie.

TALIESIN: So you might have actually gone to a fake Scanlan, a Scanlan impersonator, to get your wedding.

ASHLEY: That is absolutely something we would've done.

TALIESIN: Which is hilarious.

LAURA: Oh my god, yes.

TALIESIN: What's the Taste of Tal'Dorei level--

LAURA: You'd have to get married if you saw a Scanlan impersonator marrying people.

SAM: Yeah, totally.

LAURA: It's like a rule.

MARISHA: Be like, "This is funny."

SAM: I feel like I'm cosplaying the girl from "Chimp Crazy" now.

ALL: (groans)

LAURA: Now I really don't want to watch that.

TRAVIS: Did a chimp pull somebody's face off?

SAM: Yep.

MATT: Oh, dude.

ROBBIE: Isn't that all they do?

MATT: On the phone.

LIAM: They eat bananas--

ROBBIE: --and they pull people's face off because they get a little grumpy.

TRAVIS: You don't mess around with a chimp. You're going to lose.

ASHLEY: It's a hard watch.

MATT: Nature will still destroy you.

SAM: It feels like days ago that were were playing as Mighty Nein and Bells Hells.

ASHLEY: Yes, it does.

ROBBIE: What the fuck was the last four hours?! I was looking around the table halfway through the second half, I was like, what the fuck is happening?

MATT: Between the Nic Cage costumes, the multi characters, it was just so much.

SAM: It was a lot.

TALIESIN: We all played three different--

LIAM: Four.

TALIESIN: Four different characters while dressed as--

LAURA: Nic Cage, yeah.

MARISHA: I feel like I kept dissociating in the bee helmet because it was like-- (laughter)

ROBBIE: That's the only way to survive.

MARISHA: Because I was seeing everything through this weird mesh haze.

TRAVIS: Go to your happy place.

MARISHA: I was like, "I don't know if I'm here right now. I'm in another dimension."

LAURA: To be fair, it was the least you've ever talked in any game.

MARISHA: Because I felt very removed.

LAURA: Like you're in your own little cage.

MARISHA: Yeah!

ASHLEY: You're in your own Forcecage.

TRAVIS: "No one can see me."

MARISHA: It was!

ASHLEY: I would look over every once in a while and you'd be like-- (blank look)

MATT: ♪ Hello darkness my old friend ♪

TRAVIS: Seeing pictures in the mesh.

MARISHA: My eyes kept trying to--

MATT: Focus on it?

MARISHA: --sometimes I'd focus on the mesh and I'd be like-- (goes cross-eyed)

TALIESIN: I was sitting there and I was thinking, because I know the original design but I know you didn't have time. But I was like, why didn't you just build a little window so you could reach up and close it like a bird cage?

MATT: She barely had time to make that!

TALIESIN: I know that's why, but that's why you need the time.

ASHLEY: The fact that she made it!

LIAM: That's not true Cage!

MARISHA: Also, that's not accurate.

MATT: Respect.

ASHLEY: It's Marisha.

LAURA: It's got to be the torture cage.

ASHLEY: She's going to go hard.

LIAM: You had a spring right there.

MARISHA: I know, I kept trying to eat it. I was having my own journey tonight, you guys.

TALIESIN: I didn't know how not to do the face. I kept doing the face accidentally.

MARISHA: I know.

TALIESIN: I'm so sorry.

MATT: It's terrifying.

MARISHA: I kept looking over and you'd be like--

SAM: All of our costumes were pretty authentic, including mine. Because we all know that you had a face glued on.

LIAM: Yours was horrific.

ASHLEY: Except he wasn't the priest when he--

SAM: I know!

ASHLEY: Yeah, but whatever.

TRAVIS: It was a hybrid.

ASHLEY: It was a hybrid. We had to do a hybrid.

ROBBIE: We all got it. It's thematic.

TALIESIN: They were trying to find an actual John Travolta cast also for you. They couldn't find it. There was one on eBay, apparently.

SAM: Like a mask?

TALIESIN: Actually, his life cast that they used to make them from the movie.

ASHLEY: No way.

SAM: Oh, god.

MARISHA: Yeah, Dre was talking about it. But she was like, it was hard to find.

TALIESIN: She was like, "But I missed it!" It was no longer on eBay for sale.

TRAVIS: I feel like that's also actionable in some way.

MATT: Next Halloween.

SAM: Yep.

TRAVIS: Bells Hells, Mighty Nein, now Vox.

SAM: All in one episode.

TRAVIS: Feels pretty good.

MATT: Whoo! All right, y'all. Let's go rest up. We'll see y'all next time.