================= Recap ================= [Riv (DM)]: Oh, recording. Thank you, robot. [JC (Ryo)]: Can't even hear him at 10%. [Riv (DM)]: Nice. [Riv (DM)]: Cool. We'll do it. We'll switch this live. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. Probably don't actually need a massive recap for last time since it was a combat session for the most part. You had just started outside the den of Ymrageth. [Riv (DM)]: In the Barrow-Ring outside the city of Caer Nystral and we're strategizing the best way to get in. You decide to go up on top of the mound and found a little opening. We were able to crawl down. A few of you had some spider climbing. One of them was literally a spider and had a bit of a look around. You saw that there were three soldiers tied up and one of them appeared to be Evrath, the pale-skinned elven soldier who you befriended the night before. [Riv (DM)]: You went down to try and free them and Kai in cutting the bombs gave one of them the dagger. Fortunately it was one of the hags and she promptly plunged the dagger into Kai's chest and starting the fight. [Riv (DM)]: After that it was just it was just a fight. [Riv (DM)]: The hags all teleported up onto their platforms and rained magic missiles and all sorts of fey magic on top of you. [Riv (DM)]: There was a Tense moment towards the end where Ymrageth appeared to have a voodoo doll formed of Ryo using his actual hair that she had stolen a day or so earlier. [Riv (DM)]: Luckily for Ryo, rolling with disadvantage a ridiculously high wisdom saving throw managed to actually shrug off the mind control and potentially avoided a dodgy situation. [Riv (DM)]: After that the fight was won and it gave you a bit of time to explore the den find any treasures that were there and you did find a bunch of loot there was what did we get we got a grimoire of the hag herself a massive book this um the covers sort of uh interwoven with these like weird fleshy fingers and a face and a constant sort of stretched expression of screaming on the front of it um there was a [Riv (DM)]: Gnarled Crooked Staff, Staff of the Woodens. [Riv (DM)]: There's a whole big bunch of gemstones that were just sort of collected from assorted areas all around the den and from skeletons and creatures and weird ritual totems. There was a bunch of scrolls. [Riv (DM)]: Oh that's right, there was a crystal ball. I forgot I gave you guys that. [Riv (DM)]: And you also identified the sword and the quiver of arrows that you had Taken from the shopkeeper earlier in the day. ================= Session Start ================= [Riv (DM)]: And that is basically where we found ourselves. So we are standing in the den, loot collected, sort of, I believe you had healed yourselves up a bit. And now it's up to you to decide what you want to do. [Riv (DM)]: So I'll throw that back to you guys. [Lacer (Kai)]: Is everyone feeling good after that short rest? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Easy fight. Let's do that again. [Lacer (Kai)]: Easy for you, you were just hiding around beneath those boulders and stuff. [Lacer (Kai)]: But that being said, Dundar, do you see any weaknesses around this cavern? [Lacer (Kai)]: Like, this place feels really kinda evil and stuff. [Lacer (Kai)]: I feel like we should try and bury this place. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: That's a good question. Do I? [Riv (DM)]: Hmm, um, this is probably a investigation sheet? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Is it? [Riv (DM)]: I think so. [Riv (DM)]: Alright. [Riv (DM)]: So this is a massive cavern. I think that you would probably need to spend a lot of time and a lot of power to try and actually collapse it properly. [Riv (DM)]: If it was smaller or more fragile. But just kind of looking at the walls like it's a big solid cavern. So I would say probably not unless you spend a good amount of time. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: You could fill it with water. [Lacer (Kai)]: You're smart enough. I could do that. How long do you think it's going to take me with this decanter to fill up this place with water? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Well, you'd have to stay here for a few decades, but. [Riv (DM)]: Uh... [Lacer (Kai)]: Oh, I don't have that time, dude. [Lacer (Kai)]: Decades. [Lacer (Kai)]: I'll go insane. It'd be so boring. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Make a game of it. [Lacer (Kai)]: As I say that, I walk up to the [Lacer (Kai)]: Headless hag. [Lacer (Kai)]: Someone want to help me lop the hands off? I would like to take the hands to make some um use them for the spell this new spell I know. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Sounds like a handy spell. [Riv (DM)]: Bro. [Lacer (Kai)]: Quite quite literally. [Riv (DM)]: Donda. [JC (Ryo)]: I walk over and just pull the sword out ready to go. [Riv (DM)]: You take two psychic damage, Donda. That's a terrible pun. [Lacer (Kai)]: Um yeah I've got this spell I haven't used it ever but I can do an augury spell but I need some materials so I'm thinking if I made some if I harvested the bones from this powerful hag for this spell and like prepared them for it it might come in handy sometime. [Riv (DM)]: Okay, so you wanted to try and harvest something from the body. [Lacer (Kai)]: Oh, I look at Ryo. He's already got his sword in his hand, ready to go. Oh yeah, yeah. [JC (Ryo)]: I thought you were holding her hands out ready to go. I'm ready to swing. Hmm, yeah, tempting, but... [Lacer (Kai)]: I'll stretch them out for you. Just don't lock my hands off at the same time, dude. [Lacer (Kai)]: I'll stretch out the arms. [Riv (DM)]: All right. [Riv (DM)]: Let's do a medicine check here, I would say. [Lacer (Kai)]: Uh, for me? [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, or maybe you can both roll. [Lacer (Kai)]: I'll let Leo... [Riv (DM)]: So are you are you sort of like holding it out and he's going to try and slice? [Lacer (Kai)]: I'm just holding... Yeah, I'm stretching the arms out so he can lop the hands out at the wrist. [Riv (DM)]: Cool, so this is going to be. [JC (Ryo)]: Yeah, where do you want me to aim? [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Lacer (Kai)]: Just after the wrist, yeah. [Lacer (Kai)]: I'm sure she has these really long arms, so it feels like she has really long arms. [Riv (DM)]: All right I think it's a medicine check because um you're you're not so much gonna just try and make a big swing because that'll be dangerous if you were to miss right um unless you want to I would I'll leave that up to you yeah hmm [Lacer (Kai)]: Just go with it. Go with it, Ryo. Yeah, I'm going to hold out these arms and I'll help you. I'll give you assistance. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Short sleeves or long sleeves? [JC (Ryo)]: I said knowing I'm assuming not Raya would have enough idea about general anatomy from you know killing and skinning animals but trying to go he did have to go through the wrist bones or through the elbow to have a decent shot of just going straight through without smacking in the bone and you know fucking up a sword so he says aim for the wrists I'm aiming for the elbow trying to get through the joint in the elbow still want a medicine check [Riv (DM)]: I think that's about right all right yeah go ahead you can roll with advantage amazing okay um you're doing one at a time or both together [JC (Ryo)]: Is he holding both arms or one arm? [Lacer (Kai)]: I'm holding both but you can lop whatever you want. Is her arms disfigured so there's like one short arm and one long arm? [JC (Ryo)]: Yeah, I'll aim for both elbows if they're lined up. If they're not, I'll take single swings or whatever you want me to do. [Riv (DM)]: all right cool yeah no i mean they're kind of longer proportionally than you'd expect an arm to be they're kind of like long and the fingers are really long and clawed as well the skin looks like really haggard and almost frail um but yeah um clean swipe the arms come off and interestingly as you do um the arms sort of like just like flop onto the ground with kystal holding on to them As soon as they sever you notice something. The body starts to smoke a bit. [Riv (DM)]: Sort of like dust starts swirling and after a few moments just the whole body, robes, clothes and all just sort of disintegrates into dust and floats away. [Riv (DM)]: But you are still left holding on to the arms. [JC (Ryo)]: My next swing was going to be to put an extra one through where her heart should have been. [JC (Ryo)]: Saves me that swing. [Lacer (Kai)]: So right now I'm holding up these two lopped arms, but the body's like turned to dust. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, body is disintegrated. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Breathing her all in. [Lacer (Kai)]: What the hell? [Riv (DM)]: Can someone roll a perception check? [Lacer (Kai)]: I'm up. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Sure. [JC (Ryo)]: Yeah I'm not too bad at that if you want me to roll it but if you got it. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Are we alone? [Riv (DM)]: as this is happening um these guys are up here deciding on the right way to sever arms from an old hag um this one goes through you hear the sword sort of clink and um you hear some sort of rocks rattling sounds like rocks sort of tumbling down and you look up see where the sound came from and you know like these sort of entrances that you'd actually come down initially into the cavern through they're probably all sorts of little openings you see one of them and a couple of rocks just tumble out [Riv (DM)]: And fall down and hit the ground on base of the cavern. [Lacer (Kai)]: Is it collapsing? [JC (Ryo)]: Time to go. Is leaving the way we came an option, Riv, or does it look too, uh, no? [Lacer (Kai)]: Which way? [Riv (DM)]: Well, so you guys came in via the rope of climbing, right? Which I assume is probably still dangling. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Right about here, thankfully. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [JC (Ryo)]: Oh, if I can retcon, I would have pulled the rope down and wrapped it back up and put it away, but... [Riv (DM)]: Okay, we can say you can do that now for sure, yeah. [JC (Ryo)]: Yeah, we had a bit of time before we started that fight. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. [Lacer (Kai)]: I would like to put the arms in the bag of holding before they turn to dust. I hope they don't turn to dust. [Riv (DM)]: Cool. Yeah, no, feel free, chuck them in. They do not, do not appear to be. [Vael (Berberis)]: Is it just rocks falling or are we hearing more rumbling? I will... Quick whistle and send the owl back up the hole real quick. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, I think it was just a couple of rocks that got dislodged and fell down. [Riv (DM)]: You need to listen out. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: What dislodged them? [Riv (DM)]: Don't hear rumbling. [Riv (DM)]: Okay, the hole that you came down in. [Vael (Berberis)]: Yep. The one the rocks were coming through which I'm assuming is where the rocks, we came down was where the rocks fell. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, cool. [Vael (Berberis)]: Honestly if we're getting followed or whether it's collapsing. [Riv (DM)]: Yep, owl flies up into the hole. Starts sort of poking its way up through. Gets kind of difficult to push through. There's lots of like roots and vines and stuff. Give me a little athletics check for the owl. [Riv (DM)]: Just be straight strength roll I think, right? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: You know what they awoke in the darkness. [Riv (DM)]: Oh yeah man, believe in the owl. He's got massive strength. It's only negative four. [Vael (Berberis)]: Minus four. Roll a d20, we'll take four off. It's easier than trying to make the L roll. [Vael (Berberis)]: Yep. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, I think it's struggling to get through a bunch of the sort of like the foliage and vines and stuff. But it can pop back out and go back up the tunnel that you'd come in because you know that was wide enough. [Riv (DM)]: Okay, cool. So owl flies up there looking through its eyes. [Vael (Berberis)]: So I can only go so far with it. [Riv (DM)]: Owl. [Riv (DM)]: It's like 120 feet, I think. [Vael (Berberis)]: 100. [Riv (DM)]: Cool. Yeah, that's totally fine. Owl can just pop out above. do a quick little sweep around and um let's see a perception check this will be for you looking through or it'll be from the owl's perspective right what does the owl see yeah nice yeah owl swoops has a look around it's dark confusing to see which direction you're facing um it's true [Vael (Berberis)]: Parable with mine because it's L in the episode. [Vael (Berberis)]: It's an owl, I can see in the dark. [Riv (DM)]: Catches the glimpse of something with eight legs skittering down the side of the barrow and off in between the rocks and up and around into the depths of the barrow-ring. [Vael (Berberis)]: Let's give a low whistle to the rest of the party. [Vael (Berberis)]: I don't know if it's, uh... nasty company or just company in general but be on your toes just things moving out there and this is a nasty place if we can't bring the cavern down how much fire can we let loose in here and i look at donda [Lacer (Kai)]: You want to shoot it into the roof? [JC (Ryo)]: Yeah it's time to go. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: A fireball? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Well, as you know, my fireballs are not actually fire. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: They are just hot. They don't actually burn things. [Vael (Berberis)]: Don't no fireballs ignite things? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: They ignite things. [Vael (Berberis)]: Just for reference this place is full of skeletons of like impaled tortured children and things like that which is why we all want to purge it. [Riv (DM)]: I think the you know rock cavern right it's cold it's damp there's like spider webs everywhere there's this toxic looking lake in the middle um you're probably not going to be able to like set the whole cavern ablaze but definitely the wooden structures the platforms that they've sort of built up as their sort of home areas you could easily well maybe not easily but you could definitely get a fire going i think and probably torture the place [JC (Ryo)]: I mean if you really want to go all out I could plant overgrowth the entire place and then there'd be plenty of material to burn. [Lacer (Kai)]: Is that an instant? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Plenty of hot, green, unburnable things. [JC (Ryo)]: Yep. [JC (Ryo)]: Why does freaking Forge keep closing my character tab? [Vael (Berberis)]: Everything burns if you get it hot enough. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Even fire. [Vael (Berberis)]: Everything. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: I thought that was plasma. [Vael (Berberis)]: Oh yes. Called nuclear. [Riv (DM)]: Ha ha. [Vael (Berberis)]: Yeah, it's the same stuff. 100 feet. [JC (Ryo)]: If I do overgrowth, plants become thick and overgrown, so there'd be plenty of plant material. [Lacer (Kai)]: Ah, and if you choose like flammable plants, like specific plants that you know that could cat fight easily. [JC (Ryo)]: I don't think I have that type of control. [Vael (Berberis)]: Fear of Gum Trees. [JC (Ryo)]: I don't think I have that type of control. It just says all normal plants in the sphere become thick and overgrown, so it would do what's in the area. [Lacer (Kai)]: What's in the area? That's the question. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Moss. [Riv (DM)]: mostly yeah mostly moss and mushrooms and a bunch of like roots and stuff where they're coming in through the cave walls yeah how many shenanigans have we got up to with you and mushrooms in this campaign [Lacer (Kai)]: Mushrooms, I love mushrooms. [Lacer (Kai)]: Can I do a nature tip? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: You should eat some, go on. [Lacer (Kai)]: No, I would like to see if I could recognize if there's any explosive mushrooms like the ones that I saw in the previous, on the material plane in the other, in Nelfondris's den or close to her den. [Riv (DM)]: Cool. Okay. Yeah, roll a nature check. [Riv (DM)]: Not that you can see. These all appear to be quite different to the ones that you saw in the material realm. [Lacer (Kai)]: They're different mushrooms. [Lacer (Kai)]: Who knew? Then again, fae realm, right? I guess they're different. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, exactly. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Probably all toadstools. [Riv (DM)]: All right. [Lacer (Kai)]: I do have to speak with dead. [Lacer (Kai)]: Spell prepared. Did you want me to speak to any of these victims? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: I think we should just be going. [JC (Ryo)]: Yeah we should be leaving. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yep. [Lacer (Kai)]: Alright, let's light this place. Place a blaze and go. [JC (Ryo)]: I mean we don't have to burn the place down it's just an option. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: We'll be filling the caverns with smoke so however we leave it'll have to be not up. [Vael (Berberis)]: We can just go out the door that we came in the first time we were here. I'm assuming that is the door right here on the southeastern corner of the map. [Riv (DM)]: Mhm. [Lacer (Kai)]: Sure. [Vael (Berberis)]: We killed the biggest bad in the barrow, who wants to fuck with us now? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Have we looted the barrow? There's a chest there. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yes. [Lacer (Kai)]: I think we should go. We made so much noise fighting these hags earlier. [JC (Ryo)]: We've been here for an hour sitting here and nothing's happened so I doubt anything's coming for us. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yep. [Lacer (Kai)]: What happens if they're just amassing outside, you know? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: All right, let's start cantripping the bitch out. [JC (Ryo)]: I'm more concerned about traps leading on the way in. [Riv (DM)]: okay how long do you guys want to spend um how long do you want to spend yeah by like lighting some fire okay okay cool you can yeah fair enough yeah i mean i guess like um [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Oh, that went well. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Depends how long it takes. [Vael (Berberis)]: um around is six seconds so a minute is like 10 fire bolts but we can probably move towards the exit we're not just standing up here [Riv (DM)]: All good, so we can start to head out and Donna can launch some firebolts on the way back. [Lacer (Kai)]: Who else has firebolt? I have prestidigitation. I can sort of light stuff on fire. [Riv (DM)]: A couple of minutes spent doing this, launching a dozen or so firebolts and the wooden platforms, the bridge that will start to alight. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah the blaze will soon catch. Deciding to fill the cavern with smoke and [Riv (DM)]: It's getting quite hot, but all good. [Vael (Berberis)]: As we're exiting the cave and everything is burning um that's probably not the spell for it so feel free to say no but i do have warding wind which is a 10 foot radius cyclone around me i'm just wondering if i can angle it and just blow a ton of air into the rapidly catching burnalite cave i know the proper spell for that is like gust but this is like sustained cyclone of wind i'll link it [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Riv (DM)]: Ooh. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Riv (DM)]: Is that a cantrip? [Vael (Berberis)]: No, it's a second level spell. It's definitely not a cantrip. [Lacer (Kai)]: Hey we have a we have a token that does this in the bag of holding we have qual's feather token the fan version [Vael (Berberis)]: That might be more realistic for the thing that I'm trying to do if we're willing to burn a token. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Set it up at the entrance to the cavern. [Vael (Berberis)]: And just fan the shit out of it. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Just like... [JC (Ryo)]: hang on that that thing literally says it works for boats or ships why do we want to waste that on a cavern also also this this two things are oil in the um [Vael (Berberis)]: I mean, by the time we're going to be using it, we've probably got the spells that can do it. I'm happy to try and use the spell, but I understand if it's not the spell. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah I mean I'm happy for you as a druid to we can just sort of flavor a little bit here without spending a second level spell slot on it. [Vael (Berberis)]: Quick pillows. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah a little bit of a bellows. [JC (Ryo)]: in the bag of holding oh i was going to say we could use that if you really want to burn here we can throw two throw two of these around [Lacer (Kai)]: oh yeah those are mine you can use them yeah yeah cool yeah [Riv (DM)]: Okay cool oil gets thrown on um make sure you cross them off the the gusts produced by berberis start to fan the flames a bit and they start to catch a bit more and after not too long there is a raging inferno in here the heat is starting to get too hot to even kind of stand too close and look at it so you need to start backing away towards the entrance and it is well burning by the time you're ready to go um even if you want to put it out you probably couldn't at this point it is a blaze [Riv (DM)]: smoke is now rapidly rising up through the cracks in the ceiling and if anyone was aware or being made aware of something happening over here they will be knowing where to look now because this there will be smoke blooming up through the roof all right we go are we going to be stealthy or are we booking it [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Oh no! [JC (Ryo)]: Time to go! [Lacer (Kai)]: I will take the rear. I am the least stealthy out of all of us. [Vael (Berberis)]: Are we stealthily walking away from the forest fire that we just started? [Riv (DM)]: All right. Okay, cool. We book it. [Vael (Berberis)]: The speed and the stealth. I don't think we're in real dire need of either, but I'd rather go quick than quiet when we can't be quiet anymore. [Vael (Berberis)]: That's my personal take. I'm up to other people's suggestions. [Lacer (Kai)]: Sure, let's book it. Do you want to send your owl ahead of us to scout while we run, just in case? [Vael (Berberis)]: I'll just have it orbiting. [Vael (Berberis)]: You know. 60 feet up. [Riv (DM)]: We start looking up. You get out into the opening, out into the open air. You look back. Yes, the mound that you, the den that you just emerged from is fully blooms of smoke now. Dark, thick smoke just blowing up into the sky. A beacon for anyone who might be looking, wondering what is going on. And you start racing. You head in the direction you came, is it? Back in towards the main road? And where are we heading from there? [Vael (Berberis)]: I would assume we're waiting for a contact from the Queen of Totally Not Evil. [Lacer (Kai)]: She knows everything in her realm, right? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: She knows what's happened. [Vael (Berberis)]: Running towards civilization is probably not good. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: So... Seconded. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah and as you start discussing this and saying this you hear a couple of wolves howl from deep inside the city. [Vael (Berberis)]: I think we should head for the wilderness, head for the forest. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Yay, a Fey Forest! What could go wrong? [Lacer (Kai)]: Well that's... yeah. [Riv (DM)]: okay we yeah awesome cool so yeah i i will just i'll just remind you so remind you guys the as far as the city is concerned you guys are outsiders that um no one knows anything about and now potentially have just killed a high ranking member of their political organizations [Vael (Berberis)]: I head away from the city into the woods, though we've probably got to pass through a bit of barrow to do that I think. [Riv (DM)]: The Queen had never set you up as ambassadors, right? You were almost... Yep, you were unknown assassins, essentially, with people to throw under the bus. [Lacer (Kai)]: Nope. We were hired hands, right? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Remarks baby. [Riv (DM)]: So just something to bear in mind. [Riv (DM)]: We start racing. So remember, the city is built into this massive crater that was formed when the sky fell. [Riv (DM)]: And so it's barren. There are rocks and sort of dead trees and moss and fungus. So you can crawl almost, at least if you don't go to the main road it will be a bit of a struggle up one of the side walls of this crater, but you can do it. You can get to the top and looking beyond you can see into the horizon there are mountains, there are deep forests, and that river that you sort of followed on the way in as well, the Black River of Night, that is the direction back towards the Shimmering Peaks, where Sumara is. I assume that's where we're heading? [Riv (DM)]: And I assume we are going fast. [JC (Ryo)]: Are we heading back to the queen or are we heading back to the elves? [Vael (Berberis)]: There's no way we're getting into the city. [JC (Ryo)]: I mean... [JC (Ryo)]: I mean you guys have seen me change my appearance a million times by now. [Vael (Berberis)]: She can contact us with our thing face to face. That's how she had the red cap out here guide us towards the barrow, I believe. [JC (Ryo)]: I could turn into a guard and we could try and fib our way back into the city that way. [JC (Ryo)]: I know what they look like now. [Lacer (Kai)]: That's true. [Vael (Berberis)]: I don't know if there's a reason for us to go back into the city. [Lacer (Kai)]: What's your idea, Ryo? [JC (Ryo)]: Alright, this is me talking. Don't we need to go back to the queen to report that it's done so she sends us to the right hells to go sort out the thing? [Vael (Berberis)]: She is an effective fucking god. She knows it's done and she can communicate with us without being here. [Vael (Berberis)]: Or us there. [JC (Ryo)]: Alright, let's gtfo then. [Vael (Berberis)]: maybe we don't want to cut a path directly back towards the elven realms because that is a giant arrow that says hey some people came in from outside murdered one of your leaders and then ran back to the elven city maybe we detour sideways a little bit instead of a direct path [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Back to the other elves! [Lacer (Kai)]: That kind of looks bad. [JC (Ryo)]: Oh yeah no let not back to the elven city but let's uh yeah let's get out of here how about we get some height and use these cup and pump some spells into these cuffs and get some distance [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Let's go back to the elven city and get an elven army. [Riv (DM)]: Interesting. [Lacer (Kai)]: And glide. [Vael (Berberis)]: I was going to ask is the crater wall rim how elevated is it above the surrounding forest? [Lacer (Kai)]: It's flat, okay. [Riv (DM)]: But there are mountains in the distance. Maybe, you know, quarter of a day's run. You want to try and book it up to the mountains to get some elevation? [Vael (Berberis)]: I don't know it's a good idea. [Lacer (Kai)]: What could go wrong? [JC (Ryo)]: I reckon even if it's the wrong way we should head to high ground so we use the cuffs. [Lacer (Kai)]: All right. [Vael (Berberis)]: Yep. [Riv (DM)]: OK. [Vael (Berberis)]: We need the simple metaphors, right? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yeah, worst case GTFO is cuffs. [Riv (DM)]: Cool. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Worst case, that bird comes back. [Lacer (Kai)]: What happens if that was the baby? Fair call, fair call. [Riv (DM)]: um awesome um cool so we are running what we'll do um let's get some survival checks to see how well we start to navigate through the dense wilderness here um in the Vale of the Eternal Night there uh you're off the main road here now i believe if you're wanting to stay away from the river and in the general direction [JC (Ryo)]: We sacrifice Kai to it and keep running. [Riv (DM)]: of the shimmering peaks so since we're off the road we've got some survival checks to make who would like to lead the journey and lead the way to try and pick their way through the potential hazards um this sounds right yeah i feel like they might have changed yeah it wasn't [JC (Ryo)]: Uh, just quickly, I know it was a thing in 2014 rules and I think it's gone now, but didn't I have favored terrain? Or is that a thing? I had favored terrain, but I'm not sure if it's still a thing. [Vael (Berberis)]: I think it got removed and like all that stuff got readjusted. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, it wasn't like massively useful. [Vael (Berberis)]: Well the problem with them is they're only useful if you're in the terrain where you're doing it and if you're doing it you're bypassing the terrain using the ability which makes that terrain pointless. [Lacer (Kai)]: Is it in your... Is it in your features on your, what's it called, character sheet? [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [JC (Ryo)]: Well, I had forests as favorite terrain, so if we're in a forest... Yeah, I can't see anything in my features anymore. [Riv (DM)]: I'm pretty sure it's just not a thing. Yeah. [JC (Ryo)]: I've got Depth Explorer, which gives me expertise in something. [Vael (Berberis)]: That might be what it got replaced with, yeah. [JC (Ryo)]: And extra languages, but... Yeah, that's why I'm just asking out loud, because I'm struggling to see it in my things anymore. [Vael (Berberis)]: I think Favoured Enemy and Favoured Terrain both got reworked because they were dead talents, I guess. [JC (Ryo)]: Yeah, Favoured Enemy has turned into Free Castle Hunter's Mark. [JC (Ryo)]: And I think Favoured Terrain has turned into Depth Explorer, unless I got Depth Explorer from something else. [Lacer (Kai)]: What does that do? [Vael (Berberis)]: Yeah, I think that's probably what it got replaced with. [Riv (DM)]: Yep. Technically way better. Yeah. All right, cool. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Natural Explorer Ability. [JC (Ryo)]: Alright, sorry. [Riv (DM)]: So who's leading the journey? [JC (Ryo)]: I mean, it's a forest. I grew up in forests, so I guess I will. [Riv (DM)]: Cool. Let's get a survival check. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: For the King! [Vael (Berberis)]: As we're running, Riv, I'm going to tap the staff that I've recently required and burn a charge to do pass without a trace to prevent mundane tracking. You're okay with that? [Riv (DM)]: okay um wait that has passed without a trace what that's our traces two charges yeah you guys are like never being seen all right cool no it's all good there's two charges anyway so yeah [Vael (Berberis)]: Yay, it's gone! I told you, man! I told you! [Lacer (Kai)]: He's like, wait a minute. [JC (Ryo)]: So the staffs got passed without a trace. I've got it. Erendor's got it. [Vael (Berberis)]: Leave no tracks, so only magical tracking can follow us. [JC (Ryo)]: Pretty sure it's the same as ours. [Vael (Berberis)]: There's two charges. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yes. [JC (Ryo)]: Yeah, I get a free one plus I've got it at level two. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Did I? [Riv (DM)]: Cool. All right. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: I just make no sound. [Riv (DM)]: So we rolled an eight on this one. [JC (Ryo)]: Also Riv. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. [JC (Ryo)]: Seeing as how Dondarr's got the worst movement speed of it all and I've got a free casting a long strider I um with that smack in the back of the head for the silly comment I cast long strider on him so he can keep up with us and we don't have to slow down to his uh short legs. [Riv (DM)]: Nice. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. Amazing. [Lacer (Kai)]: Funny if his legs grew by like another, like, one foot. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: They get an inch and a half each. [Lacer (Kai)]: Wait, is- [Riv (DM)]: Dondar actually probably starts moving a lot faster than all of you so you're sort of like booking it through Dondar's falling behind a bit Ryo casts the he casts the long strider and 10 what what oh is your base movement 40 okay so he's gonna be 35 so he's not outrun you but he's he's he just starts like booking it a little bit faster his little his little legs just like honing a little bit quicker yeah [JC (Ryo)]: He can't outrun me. [JC (Ryo)]: My base is 45. His base is 25. He can't outrun me. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Fall over. Not used to this. [Riv (DM)]: Amazing. And we've got Pass Without a Trace as well so that we won't be leaving any tracks. Incredible. [Vael (Berberis)]: just basically sweeping behind us i'll take up the rear and use it just to sweep our sweep our backs basically just everything we touch on the way past just reforms back into the way it was this is like a as we go [Riv (DM)]: Awesome. Do you imagine that sort of like maybe you're making that same sort of gusty stuff before and it sort of sweeps it clear? [Riv (DM)]: Nice. [Riv (DM)]: Cool. All right. We had an eight on a survival check. As we start getting deeper into the forest you start noticing there are structures out here like ancient buildings that appear to have collapsed and fallen over long walls that have fallen into rubble and then you at one point you come across like it couldn't be but it's almost like a statue of a giant head that's just like it's bigger than um you know several you know it's probably like 10 20 feet tall like half of it is submerged in the earth It's eye just kind of like staring at you as you go past it. There is something ancient and dormant that has been out here. Well I guess not dormant it is it is fully out of the history here. [Riv (DM)]: Some ancient civilization that has been swept clear that you're picking your way through. Okay on a eight I want [Riv (DM)]: yeah i want you to roll a um perception check please rio yep okay um oh you've got good perception you're focusing on navigating using your survival to [JC (Ryo)]: Passive 20 is useless. [JC (Ryo)]: Very fucking useless. [Lacer (Kai)]: Oh no! [JC (Ryo)]: Passive 20, fuck this shit. [Riv (DM)]: Keep an eye on the surroundings to look, make sure you're heading in the right direction. In nighttime like this, it's kind of difficult to actually tell you're going a straight line as well. So Ryo's being all of his focus on that, making sure he's leading the party in the right direction. And unfortunately, you do not see that in front of you in between some of these sort of ancient structures and ruins. The ground looks a bit different, a little bit darker. And as you step into it, You start falling, you're sliding in. [Riv (DM)]: And after just a few seconds, you are up to about your waist and you are restrained. You see Ryo fall in. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: All of us. [Lacer (Kai)]: Shit. [Vael (Berberis)]: How deep is he into the quicksand that is probably not quicksand? [Riv (DM)]: he's probably about up to his waist all right um yeah i mean i guess like he would have been running full speed so he's probably out five-ish feet or so five ten feet maybe [Vael (Berberis)]: But how far from the edge? [Vael (Berberis)]: Can I push up towards the edge testing with my stick to find where the safe point is and then just reach out with the shaft? [JC (Ryo)]: Can... [Vael (Berberis)]: Grab that. [JC (Ryo)]: If not, can I reach into my own bag? [Riv (DM)]: Cool so let's let's do this in sequence so um the turn starts and you slide another four feet down so that is probably most of you i would say you're just about up to your head now um we'll go berberis first you do find the spot you can get right up to the edge of it and you stick your staff out um so rio's arms are now also restrained down and around him what are you what are you trying to do as you're reaching out [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Peace. [Lacer (Kai)]: It. [Vael (Berberis)]: I was just trying to poke it in so that you could grab it but um [Riv (DM)]: yeah so i will we can go to rio you can make a um athletics check to see if you can free your arm to try and grab the stuff hmm okay [JC (Ryo)]: My idea was to grab the rope of climbing or whatever the hell it's called and use that to get out but [Riv (DM)]: Unfortunately, neither is going to work very well for you because you are restrained and your strength here isn't allowing you. [Lacer (Kai)]: So his arm doesn't pop out. What's above the quicksand-y type thing? Can I see his head? Or... Aw, shit. [Riv (DM)]: Yep, it's just a sort of shoulders and head poking out at the moment. [Lacer (Kai)]: Oh, his shoulders are exposed. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Dondar, fly, grab him. [Lacer (Kai)]: If not, I'll thorn whip him, but I might scratch your face. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. [Riv (DM)]: Someone gets to take an action before the next round. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Not sure about flying. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. [Lacer (Kai)]: Grab him, got Dundar. Actually, I can fly. Maybe I- but my strength is so shit. Alright, go for it Dundar. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Well, it's flying 05, Oles. [Lacer (Kai)]: Go for it. Not fireball. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Oh, I'm flying apparently. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Well, let's try that then. I was going to say Higby's Hand, but flying works. [Riv (DM)]: Dondarr takes off into the air. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: There's not much to grab onto. I assume he's wearing some kind of shoulder straps I can grab? [Lacer (Kai)]: He's got ears. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Shoulder... [Riv (DM)]: You could. [JC (Ryo)]: I've got my backpack on, yes. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Okay. [Lacer (Kai)]: The hair. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Lacer (Kai)]: You can grab his head. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: We cannot pull royal hair! [Riv (DM)]: Great. Okay, cool. So the. [Riv (DM)]: You can fly over and you can grab hold of the straps of his pack, I believe, as they'll be poking out as he's, you know, you can feel him still sliding down. You need to make a athletics check. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Redwarfs and natural sprinters. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. [Riv (DM)]: Unfortunately that is not good enough. [Riv (DM)]: And Rhea will sink another two feet. Your head is now submerged. [JC (Ryo)]: Take a massive breath take a massive uh deep breath [Riv (DM)]: Yep. You take a deep breath. [Riv (DM)]: You are now drowning, essentially. So you can... [Kiwi (Dondar)]: If I misty step while holding him, does he come with me? [Lacer (Kai)]: It will drown. [Riv (DM)]: you can you can miss this step but you wouldn't bring them with you now that you are in complete cover and underground um unfortunately your actions are now no longer available to you rio uh sorry i should be clear you can still try to do stuff but you're not able to like pull yourself free i guess the [Vael (Berberis)]: No, you need... [Lacer (Kai)]: I see this happened, and I'm gonna, and I'm gonna help. [Riv (DM)]: Mechanic as you can no longer make athletics checks to free yourself. [Riv (DM)]: Okay, guys. [Lacer (Kai)]: I see Ryo go under. I activate my Steps of the Night and I attempt to help Dondarr pull. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. Yep. So Donda is probably still holding onto the straps and Donda's arms have started to slide down into it as well. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yeah, I'll fly up and I'll help Dondarr attempt to double pull him out. [Riv (DM)]: Great. So you're going to, so you're flying as well now, right? [Riv (DM)]: Yep. Okay, cool. [Riv (DM)]: So Kai, you can make a strength and athletics check with advantage as Dondarr is also pulling. [Riv (DM)]: Oh no, oh no guys, okay. [Riv (DM)]: So the DC for this is five plus the distance that he has submerged. [Riv (DM)]: Unfortunately that isn't gonna do it. So yeah, Kai, you fly over, you're pulling him out. [Riv (DM)]: and it's just he's too deep he's got too much gear on and it's quite thick and viscous anyone else got any actions [Lacer (Kai)]: yeah what is he carrying he's getting so ah what can we do we do [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Agapodig. [Vael (Berberis)]: um depends on how you let me play it i was going to thorn whip out to grab one of the guys that is grabbing onto him it's a melee oh it's a spell range spell attack but they're choosing to get hit um as an action [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, I'll let you take it with advantage probably. [Vael (Berberis)]: Spells, spells, spells, spells. [Vael (Berberis)]: Need to remember how to use the sheet. [Vael (Berberis)]: Add advantage. [Vael (Berberis)]: Should be able to hit somebody. [Riv (DM)]: Very nice. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Almost to 20. [Riv (DM)]: Oh, easy peasy. Yep. Who are you latching onto? [Vael (Berberis)]: Um. [Lacer (Kai)]: I'll take the hit. I've got more. [Lacer (Kai)]: Health. I think I have more health than... Ah, it stinks. [Vael (Berberis)]: Oh yeah. Tag Kai with it. [Vael (Berberis)]: Um. [Vael (Berberis)]: 1d6 piercing. [Vael (Berberis)]: I'll do the damage. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: I think that's actually two d6 spacing. [Vael (Berberis)]: Oh it's 2d6 because it's higher level. [Lacer (Kai)]: Not the face. Oh, that's not too bad. [Vael (Berberis)]: Do we still get bonus actions here Ruf? [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, absolutely. [Vael (Berberis)]: With my other hand I'm going to pull out my gray bag of tricks and just see if I can Roll the dice. So I'm going to roll a d8. [Vael (Berberis)]: Come on. Shit. [Riv (DM)]: Oh no. [Vael (Berberis)]: A weasel pops out. I look at him and go, well, you're fucking useless. And I just, I try to pull the whole mob, or at the very least, if I can't pull the whole group 10 feet towards me, just stabilize it. [Riv (DM)]: the weasel just looks at you and kind of like almost shrugs like what do you want me to do um sweet so yeah so um since there would be another action to try and free for you berberis um you wouldn't be able to but erendor you can use your turn to grab onto berberis and we've now got a long chain of people pulling um so i think i'll give [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yep, I'm going to grab on to Berberus and assist and try to pull as much as I can. [Riv (DM)]: uh if if someone else helps you who hasn't gone this round probably just Dondarr right oh wait Dondarr is out there flying yeah yeah yeah yeah okay trying to wiggle um uh [Lacer (Kai)]: Yeah. [Vael (Berberis)]: I mean, River... CC hasn't gone this round. [Lacer (Kai)]: No, Dondar, he was flying and then I reacted to him flying. [Vael (Berberis)]: Is he going to assist by, like, wiggling? [Lacer (Kai)]: Try and jump. Just jump out of the... [Vael (Berberis)]: Weasel will assist. [Vael (Berberis)]: With the help action. [Riv (DM)]: as long as the creature yeah as long as the creature isn't completely submerged in quicksand it can take an action to try to escape unfortunately he is completely submerged um i think there is a whole chain of you um pulling so i'll let you have a check here with with advantage although to be fair you're now pulling on a whole lot of other people so how do how would it work [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: It grabs onto the what the cuff of your pant leg and just like starts tugging. [Lacer (Kai)]: It's now disadvantage because it's so hard to wait. Shit. [Riv (DM)]: I mean because I guess everyone is trying to pull at the same time though so I'll each have it with advantage. Go on. [Riv (DM)]: All right. [Riv (DM)]: Ryo slides another two feet down. [Riv (DM)]: And also I think by this point as well, Donda, your head has also submerged down into the quicksand now. If you're still holding on to his straps, that is. [Riv (DM)]: All right. [Riv (DM)]: Ryo, you can't try to free yourself, but you can try to do anything within the rules of being restrained. [Riv (DM)]: If there is anything you reckon you could do, You can try and do it, otherwise we'll go back around the round to see if anyone else has any other ideas. [Riv (DM)]: And we should now also keep track of the distance that you have fallen. [Riv (DM)]: So we just fell another two, right? [Riv (DM)]: Three, four, two, two, yeah. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. Anyone? Actions? [Lacer (Kai)]: So Dondar is, you're still holding on to Ryo and can we see Ryo or is he fully submerged like not not hittable at all? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Fuling. [Riv (DM)]: He's submerged. [Lacer (Kai)]: Oh we have to go in and get him out um right. [Vael (Berberis)]: Does this stuff count as earth or water? [Riv (DM)]: Probably earth? Yeah. [Vael (Berberis)]: Earth? [Lacer (Kai)]: Actually, I have an idea. You go first and then I'll see what I can do. [Vael (Berberis)]: I've just got... [Vael (Berberis)]: I don't know how well this would work so... and I don't want to risk it if it's not gonna work is the problem. [Riv (DM)]: I'm just trying, I'm just double checking the suffocation rules. It's one plus con, right? What's your constitution, Rio? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Connors 2. [Riv (DM)]: Plus two, right. He can hold his breath for three minutes. [Riv (DM)]: Okay, what was the idea? [Vael (Berberis)]: Do I have any idea of how deep this shit is? [Riv (DM)]: He's currently about... Eleven feet down and still sliding. [Riv (DM)]: Ryo, yes you can. You can cast that ability. [Riv (DM)]: Like you could cast it on Dondarr, for example. [Vael (Berberis)]: um if he's only i would imagine it's not like a sheer edge as to jump in i'm going to and he said he's like 10 feet from the edge this is a terrible idea but i'm going to do it i'm going to step into the edge and reach down and try and grab him with one hand so like reaching below the water to try and grab whatever i can grab of him [Riv (DM)]: 510. I don't know if you'd be able to reach him. [Riv (DM)]: Right? Be sort of like five feet out in it. [Riv (DM)]: Unless you went out into it as well. [Vael (Berberis)]: Unless I stepped into the edge of it myself, yep. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Vael (Berberis)]: Which I will step into the edge of it myself if I can reach out and grab him. [Riv (DM)]: Okay, I think you will be able to. [Vael (Berberis)]: Does that count as an action? [Riv (DM)]: You can grab them freely without using an action. That's sort of like a free action. [Vael (Berberis)]: Yep. [Vael (Berberis)]: Then I'll take my staff and spend a magic action, slam it into the ground or the earth-like substance. [Vael (Berberis)]: And spend a charge to turn it into a 60 foot tree. [Riv (DM)]: Wait, what? [Lacer (Kai)]: What? [Riv (DM)]: I don't think it works like that, right? [Vael (Berberis)]: You take a magic action to plant one end of the staff in earth in an unoccupied space and you spend one charge to transform the staff into a healthy tree. The tree is 60 foot tall and has a 5 foot diameter trunk. [Riv (DM)]: OK, so the staff itself turns into a tree. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Um... [Vael (Berberis)]: The staff itself turns into a tree. [Lacer (Kai)]: Oh, the tree form, right. [Riv (DM)]: OK. That is a good question, but it is what's happening. [Lacer (Kai)]: What happens afterwards? [Vael (Berberis)]: That's what I was saying is this earth is am I able to like obviously I'm holding on to it and holding on to him because I'm I'm near the edge basically I've only just stepped in slamming it down as hard as I can towards whatever is the bottom and then transform it into a tree so that [Lacer (Kai)]: Oh, I see what you're doing. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Lacer (Kai)]: Wow. [Riv (DM)]: So are you going to sort of push it down so it like tries to touch where he is? [Riv (DM)]: Or close to where he is? [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Vael (Berberis)]: I've got something to hold on to and hold on to him. [Riv (DM)]: Yep. Amazing. And does that occur in an action? [Vael (Berberis)]: One magic action. [Riv (DM)]: Mmm. Alright. [Riv (DM)]: Huge rumbling sounds, groaning as the staff held by Berbera starts to sort of crunch and crackle and change form. [Riv (DM)]: Big roots start to tear down into the actual quicksand itself and above grow upwards into a large tree with a canopy. [Riv (DM)]: What sort of tree are you forming? Does it look like the fey trees around you or is it a good old classic? [Vael (Berberis)]: It's water. It's a big willow. [Riv (DM)]: Nice. [Riv (DM)]: Ryo, you feel the roots start to brush up against you as they're sort of like pulling down and around. And so I will actually allow you to make an athletics check to try and free yourself now. Before you wouldn't have been able to as you're submerged but now there is something pressing up against you that you can actually grab a hold of. And so you can cast your ability on yourself and then try to free yourself if you like. [Riv (DM)]: So this is just being an athletics check sorry. [Riv (DM)]: uh yes with advantage from the enhanceability he's um muted himself because he's underground and he doesn't want to talk because technically he shouldn't be allowed to okay um so you've you've yeah so you've slid three four seven plus [Vael (Berberis)]: I can't actually hear. [Lacer (Kai)]: I can't hear Ryo. [Vael (Berberis)]: I do have a handle on him. [Lacer (Kai)]: I mean, yeah. [Lacer (Kai)]: Oh, I see. [Vael (Berberis)]: I don't know if that helps. [Riv (DM)]: The DC is 16 unfortunately at the moment so you can grab a hold of it and you can start trying to tug yourself but it's not quite enough. But you've now got something to hold on to and so you will be able to continue to make checks. Another round goodbye and we'll go to anyone else? Donda? Kai? Erendor? [Lacer (Kai)]: I will try and tug on the the what is it the bag that am i am i sinking as well yeah i guess i will try and tug donda that's an action right to paul okay let's all right [Riv (DM)]: I mean Dondarr is sliding down, his head is about to go into, oh I think his head has gone into the quicksand if he's still holding on and I assume you're holding on to Dondarr. [Riv (DM)]: Alright. [Riv (DM)]: Yep. [Riv (DM)]: You can do it with advantage as we've got everyone sort of pulling at the same time. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: I'm throwing one end of my rope out towards them as well so that I can attempt to assist if any of them end up grabbing it. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. [Riv (DM)]: 15 is not enough. [Riv (DM)]: 15 is not enough. [Riv (DM)]: Donda, have you got anything? [Vael (Berberis)]: He's muted. He may not realize he's muted himself. [Vael (Berberis)]: Or he's woke up. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Oh, he said AFK for a minute. [Riv (DM)]: Okay we can let's go to Erendor and um what does Erendor got um so that there'll be a free action to sort of toss it out as um you can probably try anything else hmm [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: I've got one end of the rope that I've thrown out. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: It's about it. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: I don't really have anything else that I can contribute to this with them being [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Not directly next to me. [Riv (DM)]: okay all right cool um so let's donda can take a turn um but he's currently afk so um i wonder how we want to play it i'll i'll roll how much submerged we go again um [Riv (DM)]: And Donna can take his turn right prior to this emerging happen. [Riv (DM)]: OK, one foot down. [Riv (DM)]: So we're currently at 12 feet down. [Riv (DM)]: And we go back around. [Riv (DM)]: To anyone else can take their actions. [Vael (Berberis)]: Um, the weasel will duck out across the bridge and try to grab the end of the rope and drag it to someone. That's all it can do. [Riv (DM)]: OK, nice. Yep. [Vael (Berberis)]: Weasel's been handy. [Riv (DM)]: So, yeah. [Riv (DM)]: Yep so the weasel can like sort of go over and maybe like toss it onto kai or link it around to his foot or something like that um rio you can try to break free again since you're holding on to the the tree now oh okay let's do the calculation i think the dc is currently 17. [Vael (Berberis)]: Yep. Yep, drag. Well, that's much better. [Riv (DM)]: 12 feet down it's 5 plus 12. you grab a hold of a root you're struggling you're holding your breath things are starting to go cloudy but you're able to Pull yourself up and Dondarr and Kai also pulling at the same time you start to feel some traction finally after what feels like an unbelievable amount of time you start to rise up Dondarr is heaving he's flying he starts to float up Kai is also flying and you've got a big chain of people um all sort of tugging on each other um but just hand over hand Ryo is able to sort of claw his way up the root of the tree eventually [Riv (DM)]: Head bursts out above the surface still holding on to the tree sort of like climbing your way up Dondarr and Kai assisting as you are as they're sort of flying and stabilizing you on the way up. [JC (Ryo)]: That sucks. [Vael (Berberis)]: I think we need to watch out for that one. [Vael (Berberis)]: Maybe we need to slow our pace a bit. [Lacer (Kai)]: What is this stuff? [JC (Ryo)]: To be fair, there was no quicksand where I grew up. [JC (Ryo)]: Can I get myself completely above the quicksand using the tree to climb up? [Riv (DM)]: Oh yeah. Easily. You can scamper up the tree. Yep. [JC (Ryo)]: I get the hell up high enough so then I can leap across and land back on solid ground. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. Which direction are you leaping? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Towards me. [JC (Ryo)]: Towards the boys that aren't under in the quicksand. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Apparently I'm not [Riv (DM)]: Just like, all right, let's keep going. You like jump in the same direction you're heading and then straight back into the quicksand. Yeah. [Lacer (Kai)]: If it goes even deeper. [Riv (DM)]: no all good so you you no all good you so you can jump back across um back to where berberis is standing land on the solid ground actually berberis you walked in and so you started sliding as well um but you're only a couple of feet down and i think with everyone there we can probably pretty easily yeah we can pretty easily pull you out yeah you'll probably tie it to the tree or something and he just like won't move anymore [JC (Ryo)]: Time for a service. [Lacer (Kai)]: We'll fly. [Vael (Berberis)]: Yeah, I'll just wade my way back up to the solid ground. [JC (Ryo)]: I'll pull out the rope of climbing use goes this because I think I hold like 20 pounds or something stupid. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yeah. [JC (Ryo)]: Where is it? [JC (Ryo)]: 3,000 pounds. [Riv (DM)]: Amazing. Okay, cool. [Vael (Berberis)]: Reach out, touch the tree, magic action occurred. [JC (Ryo)]: Use the rope of climbing so everyone can get out. [Vael (Berberis)]: Once everyone's clear, magic action and transform the 60-foot tree back into a staff. [Riv (DM)]: Nice. [Riv (DM)]: So you can transform it back right now? It just comes back? [Vael (Berberis)]: Yep, just a magic action to return. [Riv (DM)]: Beautiful. Alrighty. [Riv (DM)]: Staff comes back and I'm... Nice. [Vael (Berberis)]: Any creature in the tree falls when it reverts. [Riv (DM)]: I know I'm not going to screw you by saying that the staff gets sucked down into the quicksand because that wouldn't be fun. [Lacer (Kai)]: Hahahaha! [JC (Ryo)]: I've wrapped the rope of climbing around it just in case it does. [Vael (Berberis)]: Rage. [Riv (DM)]: yeah okay amazing you can now um take a wider berth around the pit of quicksand and get on past it cool so you are um [Vael (Berberis)]: I think after that we probably just need to take a just a moment to sit assess where we are and maybe assess our speed moving forward as well as checking if this sits here then there will be more of it [Riv (DM)]: Heading out into the wilderness not quite in the direction of the river you're probably at like a um i'm imagining you're heading sort of 10 o'clock if river is um 12 o'clock um as there are a range of hills mountains up ahead of you you've probably reached the foothills by this point um and sort of still picking your way through these like ruins and stuff like that you've got i guess you've got options you can continue heading up the mountain um or you can try and skirt around the base of it [Riv (DM)]: Either way we will be taking some more survival checks to pick our way back through. [JC (Ryo)]: I honestly reckon we should get some hype and try and use the Zephyr Cups. I'm assuming everyone's got at least a level 2 spell they can pump into the cuffs? [Lacer (Kai)]: Maybe we should charge him up now, hey? [JC (Ryo)]: It was level 2 wasn't it? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Level 2. I've got two slots. [Vael (Berberis)]: Yeah, I got enough to get me through if someone else can... Oh. [JC (Ryo)]: I've got one I can do myself. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Nyakoth. [Riv (DM)]: it's just starting to have this discussion and figure out where we're going um uh you know it wouldn't even be a perception check you hear a wolf howl it's time a bit closer it may or may not be able to find you um you did wipe your tracks but you're in the faewild this is the long hunt [JC (Ryo)]: Shall we keep moving? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Yeah. [Vael (Berberis)]: Yep. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Let's hope we run into the person we're looking for on the way. [Vael (Berberis)]: She's probably just letting us sort our own shit out for the moment. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: I didn't mean her. [Vael (Berberis)]: Out of character, scout stealthy people. How good is your survival scout stealthiness? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Look, I can roll at minimum an 11. [Vael (Berberis)]: Fair. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: I make no sound. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Wait, no, I don't actually... Ooh, reliable talent is proficiencies only, isn't it? [JC (Ryo)]: I don't know. [JC (Ryo)]: You can read it. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yes, so no. [JC (Ryo)]: Yeah, mine's only a plus two, no proficiency. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: I'll just have to go read it. I have a plus one. [Lacer (Kai)]: I have a plus five to survival. I have no prof, no proficiency Emma. [Vael (Berberis)]: I'll gesture to the rangers and or otherwise inclined and say if you guys can take over the path covering, I'll take the lead. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yep, I'll burn a pass without Trace and stay at the back. [Vael (Berberis)]: technically actually i used the staff so i would have dropped it because i turned it into a tree so yeah i guess i don't know i would have said it probably doesn't but i'm gonna say that's not gonna make sense like technically i'm casting pathway without a trace on myself it's not the staff empowering it but using the stuff for the charge it just makes more sense to me that it wouldn't drop [Riv (DM)]: Wait, does it help? Hmm. [Lacer (Kai)]: It stays up, right? [Riv (DM)]: Hmm. [JC (Ryo)]: Can you put the stuff in the in the chat? [Riv (DM)]: I'll link it just on Discord so you've got the proper description of it if you like. [Vael (Berberis)]: I think the chat looks okay too. [JC (Ryo)]: The chat links are all right. [Vael (Berberis)]: It is just on myself, but it makes more sense to that if I'm doing Pathway of the Trace then I wouldn't be guiding, because that just seems like I'm doing too much. [JC (Ryo)]: I mean, it doesn't say you lose anything. [Vael (Berberis)]: No. [Lacer (Kai)]: Not concentration. Is it concentration? [Vael (Berberis)]: Yeah, it's possible. [JC (Ryo)]: No, Pass Without a Trace isn't concentration. [Riv (DM)]: Class without Trisism. [JC (Ryo)]: Oh, it is concentration. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: It is. [JC (Ryo)]: No, it is. [JC (Ryo)]: Yeah, Pass Without a Trace is concentration, but does it say you lose concentration by turning it into a tree? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yep, I'm just going to trail the party and I'm going to burn my boss with that trace. [Lacer (Kai)]: But... No. [Vael (Berberis)]: but i'm say i would have because that makes sense to me yeah and like i said if i'm going to take start leading then i won't be trailing the party wiping i want to be focusing on what i'm doing here and i will [Lacer (Kai)]: Okay. Whatever you want. Whatever you want. [Lacer (Kai)]: You won't be concentrating at the same time. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Innate. [JC (Ryo)]: Cheers, because I've already used my free one. [Vael (Berberis)]: Look down to my little weasel friend that was completely useless, and between him, who will be running along just in front of me, the owl orbiting, I will be survival checking our way forward at a reasonable pace, not a sprinting pace. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Ah. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Thank you, Forge. [Riv (DM)]: beautiful yeah all right very nice let's get a survival check from you with advantage all right nice man i saw that five and i was like gosh we're not rolling well tonight are we guys um no 20 is good um so yeah picking your way through these ruins um the [Riv (DM)]: you find this weird patch of flora um looks like a big group of like weird kind of mushroom things kind of almost like withered like they've got these black like splotches all over top of them um you you're about to sort of like lead the group sort of through them like oh it's just mushrooms whatever let's get let's go guys um but you kind of gives you a bad feeling about them and you get the idea that you probably actually don't want to touch them i mean as you start to back away a bit one of them sort of like puffs a bit and there's like like this big cloud of like black or dust like appears um so yeah you're back up and you managed to avoid this hmm yeah um great okay cool we continue heading up um through the owl you let's get a perception check to see if the owl spots anything coming up behind you [Vael (Berberis)]: Passive 22 nights you're coming into play. [Riv (DM)]: Um yeah way back way back on the main road you see a line of figures it's hard to count how many exactly there are um clearly moving very fast faster than people run on two legs you assume they're on four legs um and they are running along the road and you can see clearly searching for something um and the wolf howls again or something that sounds like a wolf um i'm gonna do a roll to see if [Riv (DM)]: wolf manages to catch your scent because scent is a different thing to tracks isn't it let me just check what um yeah well so the llc is a group like far in the distance back back road where you've come from um i'm just looking past [Vael (Berberis)]: It says to track by mundane means. I do not know what counts. [Lacer (Kai)]: Scent is not mundane though. [JC (Ryo)]: Riv, did we see the wolf chasing us? Never mind, Rudecraft does not do what I thought it might do. [Riv (DM)]: So I'm looking at Pass Without a Trace. [Riv (DM)]: Weird. [JC (Ryo)]: Oh no, it does do it. [Vael (Berberis)]: It says leave no tracks but uh yeah i'm just wondering if that's forge it just says leave no tracks okay so yeah the one i thought has been abbreviating [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, I don't think it's the mundane stuff because I'm imagining it's more of like a sound and visual blocker, but like if something was trying to trick you through smell, I feel like it probably might be able to. [JC (Ryo)]: if you'll allow it if i see the wolf tracking us i'd like to use druidcraft to try and do a sensory effect to throw the smell off us like i'll cast it like right behind me as i'm running yeah to try and try and play with the smell because i know it can't track us because yeah we're not leaving tracks [Riv (DM)]: hmm okay so yeah so that'll like sort of yeah as you're running to try and throw some stuff off okay cool yep yep um see oh man [Vael (Berberis)]: It's all ways off though, we've got slowly... [JC (Ryo)]: Like I said, if you allow it. [Riv (DM)]: Okay, cool. You know what? [Riv (DM)]: I'm gonna roll this in the game. I normally roll these sorts of things on my desk with my actual dice, but just for a bit of fun, let's roll it. [Riv (DM)]: This creature has a plus 11 to its perception. [Lacer (Kai)]: How far away? [Riv (DM)]: And... [Lacer (Kai)]: Does Berberis tell us how far away they perceive these giant horde of wolves? [Vael (Berberis)]: A long way away. [Riv (DM)]: yeah it's probably a couple miles few miles right yeah all right uh yeah i would say that you want it it needs to get a 20. [Lacer (Kai)]: I've got a mat. [Vael (Berberis)]: We were like booking it. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Are they answering howls or? [Vael (Berberis)]: Bear in mind that these are feyhounds of the Wild Hunt. [Lacer (Kai)]: Hmm. [Vael (Berberis)]: They're pretty good at what they do. [Riv (DM)]: You've got pass without a trace, which helps with the tracks. And so it's relying purely on scent. [Riv (DM)]: And so it wants 20 or higher. [Riv (DM)]: Well, well. [Riv (DM)]: You see this group of figures, Berberis is probably the only one who is able to see it, continue up the road and they slow down and you see and you hear the howls again, kind of like Pulling them to a stop and rather than continuing they leave the road and start heading in a new direction. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: How much of a quicksand tsunami was created by removing the 60-foot tree? [Vael (Berberis)]: No, it just would have been a pool, it would have been two. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah probably it might have like immediately burst and caused a bit of a dust cloud but I imagine it would have sort of yeah slumped back together. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: We need to get up. We need to Zephyr Cuff. [Vael (Berberis)]: Yep. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: We need to put distance between us and it. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Without leaving Centrail on the ground. [Lacer (Kai)]: What do we what type of stuff do we see around us currently right now as we're moving? Do we see a lot of flammable material like dried trees and stuff? [Riv (DM)]: so you saw those mushrooms yeah okay so you're just going to create like a small little fire on one of the mushrooms yeah [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Burn the Fae to the ground! [Lacer (Kai)]: Yeah can I attempt to light the mushroom with prestigitation like just with like lighting a candle and see if it ignites? [Lacer (Kai)]: A little little spark and see if the mushroom ignites. because if it makes smoke it's gonna make different smells and burning smoky smells will make it harder to detect us yeah I'm gonna stand like um well unfortunately prestigitation is only 10 foot so 10 feet [Riv (DM)]: Um, and I assume you're standing back from it? How far back are you gonna stand? [Riv (DM)]: Hmm. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. Um, yeah. You click your fingers, make a little fire, and instantly, as soon as the spark touches the side of the mushroom, there's like massive explosion of this black like necrotic cloud just and it [Lacer (Kai)]: Holy shit. [Riv (DM)]: Fully engulfs you in a 20-foot sphere. [Riv (DM)]: Make a constitution saving throw. [Lacer (Kai)]: Oh shit. [Riv (DM)]: Actually, and there's going to be a few that blup, so... [Riv (DM)]: Okay, okay, good. [Riv (DM)]: So there are three that blow up. [Riv (DM)]: Two, three. [Riv (DM)]: You take half of that damage, 20 damage. [Riv (DM)]: So it's necrotic damage. It's not like an explosion of flame. [Riv (DM)]: The sensation is clearly disturbed and it's erupted as cloud of necrotic spores. [Riv (DM)]: And it's lingering as well. It's like staying in the area. So you probably get the feeling you want to back out of it. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yes, I'm gonna back out of this 20-foot cloud of necrotic spores. [Lacer (Kai)]: And that made a lot of noise. I think we should run. [Vael (Berberis)]: Yep, they know where we are but they definitely know where we are now. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, that made a lot of noise. Okay. [Lacer (Kai)]: I'm gonna do one more thing. As I'm running, I would like to... [Lacer (Kai)]: a spell I would like to cast create and destroy water as rain in that area that's 30 foot that just burnt to mask our trail further so I'd like to does it get bigger for each spell slot size of five feet okay you know what let's just make it a big as big as I can get so that would be [Riv (DM)]: Okay. [Lacer (Kai)]: oh it's letting me click um so the rain five feet for additional spell slot above one so that's 50 yeah yeah i've got enough so another 15 feet to that 30 feet cube of rain [Vael (Berberis)]: Make sure you're holding the slots to charge your cuffs. [Riv (DM)]: right amazing so the rain comes up and starts to are you just sort of like dropping it over top of the area that just sort of blew up yeah yeah the small clouds slowly start to like dissipate and yeah yeah totally um okay amazing and i assume you've done this while we've started to run now as well sweet okay and we're running up the hill [Lacer (Kai)]: yeah yeah so that yeah i don't leave any and all the smells get muddled with damp wetness yeah while still in past uh past without a trace yeah yeah [Vael (Berberis)]: Moving uphill, just a quick question, how many howls are we hearing? [Riv (DM)]: Hmm. [Vael (Berberis)]: Is it just one tracking hound or multiple? [Riv (DM)]: Sounds like there's one. [Vael (Berberis)]: It's one, okay. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Lacer (Kai)]: Maybe it's that massive one we saw the first time coming, you know that giant giant wog? [Vael (Berberis)]: As we're making our way and I am scouting a path uphill, I'm looking for a natural choke point, I guess you would call it. [Riv (DM)]: Hmm. [Vael (Berberis)]: If something was following us in an area where it would most likely have to pass through. [Vael (Berberis)]: If I can find one of them as we're climbing. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, OK, cool. So what we're going to do now, we're in a little bit of a chase sequence. [Riv (DM)]: I'm going to get three survival checks and I want each of you or any of you to suggest something that you could do to help the escape. It doesn't necessarily have to be survival related, but I want to see like three checks. And the goal here is to get three successes before two failures. [Riv (DM)]: And so we start running up. You've got this idea, Berberis, to find a choke point. [Vael (Berberis)]: yeah um this this may may or may not end the whole sequence depending um i'll gesture to royo and say i need four arrows asap he has four i'll combine that with the four that i took off him several sessions ago by request and i'm going to burn a fourth level and my only fourth level [Riv (DM)]: What are you thinking of doing? [JC (Ryo)]: Yep, grab my quiver throwing four arrows. [Vael (Berberis)]: To cast Cordon of Arrows at 4th level to enchant 8 magical arrows that are placed in the ground with the intent that they will all fire off when a worg passes in range. [Riv (DM)]: hmm all right yeah um cool all right cool no so that that's good so what i'll what i will allow here yeah no let's do it as a check and the dc is going to be very very low because this will definitely succeed in slowing them down if we do it correctly so i'll see the dc for this one at five um if you want to roll a survival [Vael (Berberis)]: Should it pass through a natural choke for me. [Vael (Berberis)]: Or whatever the wolf creature tracking is. [Vael (Berberis)]: It's probably not a check but that's that's my contribution. [Riv (DM)]: as you're sort of like sorry go on yeah potentially amazing that is a success all right so we are trucking up the hill we've had one success um you do hear behind you [Vael (Berberis)]: My hope is that it's enough damage like what's that uh 16d4 no yeah [Vael (Berberis)]: I shouldn't hopefully do enough damage to fuck it up, but I'll write it down. [JC (Ryo)]: So the wolves are definitely tracing us, yes? [Riv (DM)]: Something's chasing. [JC (Ryo)]: Sweet. Seeing as how I'm dead last right now, I'll throw this on the ground directly. [JC (Ryo)]: And that covers a hundred foot radius sphere of difficult movement. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. [Riv (DM)]: Amazing. [Riv (DM)]: Cool. So this will be another... What would it be? [Riv (DM)]: Probably survival again, do you reckon? Because you're sort of like looking at the terrain and trying to find the right way to build the overgrowth in a way that will slow them down. [Vael (Berberis)]: Change sequences are tricky because it's like do you do it as like an ability check or do resources expended counters yeah [Riv (DM)]: Well, so if you're expanding a resource like this, then I will just drop the DC. [JC (Ryo)]: I mean it yeah it is it is a tier three spell so this survival okay [Riv (DM)]: Yep. So yeah, again, I'm going to drop the DC on this one. The DC would usually be increasing for each check. [Riv (DM)]: however fortunately for you the creatures that are following you are extremely extremely good at navigating difficult terrain um so the dc is going to be a 12 if you want to make a um survival check or something else if you think is more suitable oh you didn't even need it yeah all right no it's good we blew all our bad rolls at the start of the session we're cooking now we're cooking [JC (Ryo)]: Oh I was gonna say it'd be survival or nature and I was survival's better for me so [Riv (DM)]: Amazing. [Riv (DM)]: Plants start to grow. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: We can change that. [Lacer (Kai)]: Hahahaha. [Riv (DM)]: Big roots sort of burst up out of the ground as well and form walls that have to be passed through. Thorns start to grow out of them. [Riv (DM)]: Some of these mushrooms start popping up as well. Amazing. And you continue running. [Riv (DM)]: You mentioned potentially you wanted to charge the cuffs as we're running or are we going to wait until we get somewhere to charge them intentionally? [Vael (Berberis)]: Is it just an action to charge them? [Riv (DM)]: I think it was an action, yeah. [JC (Ryo)]: Pretty sure it's just an action. [Vael (Berberis)]: We probably don't need to charge as we run, that's not good for trouble. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. [Riv (DM)]: Cool. All right, sweet. [Lacer (Kai)]: As we're running, can I resummon my wild companion as a different animal, as a crow? [JC (Ryo)]: Yeah, just an action. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Riv (DM)]: So you're going to make me come back as a crow. Cool. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yeah, I'm gonna, yeah, click my finger. [Riv (DM)]: So it's just a first level spell? [Lacer (Kai)]: No, it's an ability, um, druid feature. [Riv (DM)]: Don't you... [Lacer (Kai)]: It's one spot, yeah. [Riv (DM)]: I'm just reading the wild companion thing here. You spend a spell slot to cast Find Familiar. [Vael (Berberis)]: Without components. So you still spend a lot, but you don't need to do a ritual. [Lacer (Kai)]: As night and you can expend this yeah yeah it says when you cast the spell in this way you're familiar blah blah blah yeah yeah yeah it's an action so that would cost me is [Vael (Berberis)]: Spend a spell slot. Or a use of wild shape, okay. [Vael (Berberis)]: So it doesn't cost you the incense that it usually would to summon. And it's an action, not a ritual. [Lacer (Kai)]: Find Familiar, is that a first level spell slot? [Lacer (Kai)]: Yes, I will click off a first level spell slot. [Riv (DM)]: Cool. [Riv (DM)]: Amazing. So crow flies up into the air, starts circling. Yep. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yeah, I would like Peppa the Crow to listen for the next howl to remember what it sounds like so that it can remember and mimic that howl when I send it off into the distance in a different direction. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. All right. [Lacer (Kai)]: At a later stage, that's what I telepathically will tell out my Crow Pepper to do. [Riv (DM)]: all right all right sweet um so we've got a crow and an owl circling as well um if you ever take a tie a moment to glance back um you do see um figures in between the ruins and trees every now and then darting between them they are definitely gaining on you they are fast moving um we've got some more checks that need to be done the checks are going to be harder and harder now that they're getting closer [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Why are you howling? It's not me! [Vael (Berberis)]: I've dropped mine so I won't do any more, but I am listening intently for the howls to turn into a yelp. [Vael (Berberis)]: And or cut short. [JC (Ryo)]: Yeah, Ryu's starting to run out of breath as far as spell stuff's concerned, so he's just running. [Riv (DM)]: I mean it doesn't necessarily need to be a spell like just um if you have any other ideas or actions or um yeah okay [Vael (Berberis)]: I've taken a turn. [JC (Ryo)]: Yeah, Ryu's just running. He's out of ideas. [Lacer (Kai)]: Can they see us right now? Can we see? I'm going to turn my head back and see if I can see the hunt chasing after us. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah I mean well so the bird can see it you you probably can't as you're sort of down and amongst these like rocks and ruins and things like that but um if you take a look through pepper's eyes you can see them um maybe a bit less than a mile definitely gaining fast [Lacer (Kai)]: How far away roughly? [Lacer (Kai)]: Less than a mile. Gaining fast. Okay. Less than a mile, guys. [Lacer (Kai)]: The best thing I can do is drop a fog cloud and maintain concentration on it to distract them because this dense fog will throw their senses off a little bit. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Quickly, follow the flog! [Lacer (Kai)]: No, because it's a massive cloud. It's heavily obscured. [Riv (DM)]: Hmm. [Lacer (Kai)]: I don't know if they can smell through a fog cloud. I've never tried this before. [Riv (DM)]: Hmm. [Vael (Berberis)]: Obscure words are a visible thing. [Lacer (Kai)]: Oh, but that still makes it hard for them to see. Unless they have blindsight. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Lacer (Kai)]: Um, I will do this. [Riv (DM)]: Amazing. [Lacer (Kai)]: I will... concentrate on a... Let's just... on a third level. So it's pretty big. Let's see how big it is. [Lacer (Kai)]: Uh, 20 feet for each above first level, so... that's... 20... 40... 60 foot? 60 foot radius. Oh, it's huge. 60-foot radius, fog cloud. Yes. [Riv (DM)]: 120. [Vael (Berberis)]: How far away can you cast it? [Lacer (Kai)]: 120. [Vael (Berberis)]: My thinking is that a fog cloud, 60-foot fog cloud dumped on us is just follow the cloud of fog. [Lacer (Kai)]: Oh, not really. I'm just going to let it stay in the spot as I concentrate. Yeah. [Lacer (Kai)]: But when I leave the range, does it stop? How does this work? [Lacer (Kai)]: Yep. But when I leave the range of... [Riv (DM)]: Or you drop concentration. [Lacer (Kai)]: If I leave the range of the Fog Cloud, does it stay in that spot? [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, it'll stay there. It'll stay as long as you concentrate on it. [Lacer (Kai)]: I'm gonna concentrate on it while running away. And hopefully it stays. Hopefully there's no wind. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, okay, amazing. So this, I will let you, this is probably a... [Riv (DM)]: so they got the fog cloud will slow them down because they're going to pass into this terrain and even though they are still able to sort of like gauge where your direction is using the strong scent um they're going to be slower at picking their way through the tough terrain right so this is definitely a action you can take i'll put the dc at 15. um what what ability check do you think this will be [Lacer (Kai)]: Survival, I guess? Survival? [Riv (DM)]: Okay, so you see things either because you're going to place it in a way that is like in particular some tough area. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yeah. Yeah, or just enough so that it'd be hard for them to track through just by visually putting a dense cloud in the way. Like if we're running amongst trees and stuff, they might bump into some trees or whatever. [Riv (DM)]: Over some tough terrain. [Riv (DM)]: Yep, amazing. Alright, DC 15 survival check. [Lacer (Kai)]: As normal. [Lacer (Kai)]: Okay, let's go. [Riv (DM)]: all right the first failure um it's it works clearly it slowed them down a little bit but unfortunately uh these are excellent trackers um and they're also excellent at traversing terrain you're all still booking it up the hill you're running um but unfortunately this last check didn't quite slow them down as much as you're hoping um you are seeing up ahead of you the mountain range you're getting higher and higher and sort of looking out across the distance um you could start flying in theory at any point the distance you could travel is the key part though because if you end up traveling like a mile they're probably just going to catch up to you immediately anyway so you feel like you need to get higher you also feel that if you don't try something else they're going to catch up to you before you get high enough so we still need another ability check [Lacer (Kai)]: We need ideas guys. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: I can cast hallucinatory terrain but it's not I don't know some kind of impossible thing but if they get close to it they'll see it anyway so [Lacer (Kai)]: What are you thinking? [Lacer (Kai)]: I don't know how smart these fae wargs are. But we can always try. It's better than nothing. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. What terrain do you want to make, Donda? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: I can make 150 foot cube at 300 meters, 300 feet. [Riv (DM)]: That's... Oh yeah, that's still probably a good half mile behind. 350 feet is huge. You could make like a castle. [Vael (Berberis)]: Yeah, you betcha. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: so i was just well i don't know maybe that quicksand make the make a very long sliver of quicksand behind us that would force them to stop and go around if they noticed it well if they didn't notice it wasn't there [Riv (DM)]: That is a pretty good idea um okay cool and what ability check would this be do you think it's like a arcana thing to try and um like design it in a way so that it looks convincing all right amazing let's do that we'll do a dc15 arcana check as you create this um hallucinatory quicksand pit [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Yeah. Could be. Yeah. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Okay. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Fuck me! [Riv (DM)]: Oh, okay. [Riv (DM)]: Oh, amazing. [JC (Ryo)]: Lost fucking cove? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Plus 12? [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Holy shit! [JC (Ryo)]: Jaw off? [Riv (DM)]: Hey, if there's one thing that wizards are good at, eh? [JC (Ryo)]: Better be. [Riv (DM)]: Amazing. [Riv (DM)]: So it's not just a thin trail of quicksand that follows up your trail, that follows up sort of the path that you're running. It kind of like spreads it out everywhere over the side of this mountain terrain, in between the rocks and the ruins. [Riv (DM)]: confusingly it's extremely difficult to try and figure out a way through because you kind of go up around a boulder and right there it just looks like a pit and these guys are all extremely well trained to try and detect the quicksand they're going to go into it because they know what happens um so they're going to start trying to like pick away uh pick up their ways around to try and find it and everywhere they go they just keep on running into more pits of quicksand so they end up sort of looping back and traversing around the side of a few bluffs to try and find another way up you guys start making some terrain on them you start making some distance amazing absolutely incredible all right cool um so yeah it's a that's a big it's a big square that is the third success and you're able to break free from the chase and get up to the top [Lacer (Kai)]: Jesus, look at that. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Massive area. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Mm-hmm. [Riv (DM)]: of a huge cliff that looks out over across this big valley you can see the river winding its way down towards this big like swirling black wall which you know the the edge of the Vale of the Eternal Night and it seems like a pretty good place to jump so would you like to burn your spell slots now all right cool who's crossing them off chuck them in the chat [Lacer (Kai)]: hour never yeah i'm burning one is it a first level or a second yeah fine does anyone need oh no it's attunement only right i can't give like second level to someone else right okay does anyone need charge charging [Kiwi (Dondar)]: yeah i've got okay does that [JC (Ryo)]: Burning one. [JC (Ryo)]: Second. [Riv (DM)]: second second yep yeah you can charge someone else's [Vael (Berberis)]: Second or above. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: You can charge someone else's, yeah. [JC (Ryo)]: Oh, it's just you and Dondarr left, so unless Dondarr's out of level twos. [Lacer (Kai)]: I've, I've, I've, I've charged. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: I've got three level twos but I can so [Riv (DM)]: Amazing. So it looks like you can all charge. Hell yeah, man. Everyone being a spellcaster is wild. [Riv (DM)]: So you're having this conversation like, does anyone need like charging? [JC (Ryo)]: Hostile spellcaster. [Riv (DM)]: And it's like, no, no, I got it. It's time to have this conversation. So like clipping the cuffs around your ankles and your wrists and you look back over your shoulder and you hear and you see them. A big pack of half a dozen centaurs, all heavily armored, long spears and bows straight over their shoulders. And this huge, like unnaturally massive warg, for better word. doesn't look like something from the material round it's got like long ears and dripping fangs a bunch it's like barely touched it though it just has pushed on through this thing is a beast like it's bigger than the centaur um and they are yep they are keeping straight for you the chase is on you look back over your shoulder you can see a couple of them starting to draw their bows out aim and start to fire as you all jump off the edge [Vael (Berberis)]: How many arrows are sticking out of it? [JC (Ryo)]: Time to go. I'm flipping the bird as I go. [Riv (DM)]: Arms go wide and you just start flying through the air at a nice descent. A good angle. [Vael (Berberis)]: I was gonna say who isn't giving him the finger and then [Riv (DM)]: A couple of arrows fly, come after you, but you're way faster than the arrows. And you look back, you just see the warg perched on the edge of the cliff just howling, howling and howling. And I assume your birds are flying to catch up with you as well. [JC (Ryo)]: Can I be a dick and fire an arrow back at them? [Riv (DM)]: I don't think so when you're flying you would have to like you'd have to bring your arms in right to pull the bow and you you need your arm sort of spread like a an air glider um in order to well you could probably drop it to you would start falling but amazing um yeah and as the warg howls um peeper comes in right beside you and kind of looks back and almost acknowledges you Kai that it feels like it's gained the understanding of what the howl sounded like [JC (Ryo)]: Very well. [JC (Ryo)]: No, no, very well. [Riv (DM)]: Cool. [Vael (Berberis)]: Get as much distance and close to the wall as we possibly can. [Riv (DM)]: Yep. This is going to take them a long time to try and catch up. If they could even find where you land, they are going to have to go back down the mountain, circle back to even try and hem the direction you're going and then try and pick up the center again. You've probably bought yourself a decent amount of time, a day or so potentially. [Riv (DM)]: And you just fly. You fly for the next probably few hours. [Riv (DM)]: and make up a great distance it's about 25 i think it's like 25 miles about a day's travel um you're gonna probably travel most of that um in this descent you would have started the escape a bit before midday after spending the time in the city this morning getting uh arrested making your way down to the barrow den and fleeing so um you're gonna start running out of you know we'll start getting into exhaustion checks if you push on too much further but we can talk about that after the break um so let's take the break now and we'll see what you guys want to do afterwards amazing oh so good that was a very very close call and um yeah it would have been a fight especially because you guys had burned a lot of spells um oh yeah it was starting to make me sweat a bit actually considering considering how that fight would go with um [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Yeah great great suggestion on arcana that was a good suggestion. [Vael (Berberis)]: Pretty much. [JC (Ryo)]: Oh yeah, Rai is out of breath at this stage. [Riv (DM)]: if we um i guess if we hadn't met that last check it would have been a pretty deadly fight um but hey incredible incredible um all right cool i'm gonna switch us to be right back and shall we take like a 20 come back at quarter past [Lacer (Kai)]: Yeah, 20 is good. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Sounds good. [Riv (DM)]: Nice. I'm going to drop a... How do I do this? I run a slash note. Break. Starts. I think that puts a note into the recording for Greg. ================= Session Break ================= [Riv (DM)]: all righty let's do it let's get going um i'm just gonna chuck another note in for break finished there we go good craig yeah no i will switch us back live and there we go we are flying through the air um we land some long distance deep into the into the jungle um [Riv (DM)]: Are we are we trying to follow the river generally now as a guide on the way back to the i guess the wall of night we're still trying to keep it off into the wilderness away from the main roads yeah okay [Vael (Berberis)]: Probably best to avoid the main roads would be my thought. It might be slower but less likely to have troubles. [Vael (Berberis)]: Although less of a direct arrow back to the open city. [JC (Ryo)]: Yeah we don't want to aim for the elven city but we just want to aim for out of the fucking eternal night. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Which... [Riv (DM)]: yeah cool uh you would be um so if if if you're heading south you would be on the eastern side of the river yeah i mean it has like paths that pop off here and there um but there's like one main body they sort of [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Which side of the river are we on? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Are we on the side with... [Lacer (Kai)]: Question is, does the river split? How many rivers are there? And are we... [Riv (DM)]: Reverses its way around the valleys um either way we can we can gather and cross a huge distance but it's starting to get late um even though you know the actual visual the night isn't really coming along because it is always night but you feel yourself starting to get tired um you can push on if you want but we'll start making exhaustion checks so the decision would be do we want to rest and try and find a good place um or do we want to push on and risk exhaustion [Kiwi (Dondar)]: They have to rest in the clay? [Vael (Berberis)]: I think... [Riv (DM)]: Uh yeah yeah you could you could sleep we've slept before probably good probably about half a day and if you're going through the tough jungle as well potentially a little bit longer [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Probably should. [JC (Ryo)]: I say we push through. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Oh, okay. [Vael (Berberis)]: Roughly how far, or how much longer till we reach the edge of the question? [Lacer (Kai)]: Well, yeah, the edge. [Lacer (Kai)]: Can we see it from here? That's half the day it's gonna fuck us. [Vael (Berberis)]: I think we need if it's if it was just like an extra hour or two we could push on if it's to a trek i think we need to be ready how much time do you think we've [Riv (DM)]: Mm. [JC (Ryo)]: I need my votes to push on, not to stop, but yeah, whatever the group wants. [Lacer (Kai)]: if we're tired and pushing through dense forest jungle we're going to be even slower it's going to be even harder and that [Kiwi (Dondar)]: And if we find some other bog... Riff said a day, right? [Vael (Berberis)]: Bought ourselves with the flight, Mr. DM. [Riv (DM)]: They they'll probably spend most of a day yeah trying to catch up to you now they have to go back down the mountain and then try to pick up wherever you know you might have landed they would they would have no idea which direction you went or where you landed um probably yeah easily [Vael (Berberis)]: Longer than eight hours. [Lacer (Kai)]: I only need four, but that's okay. [Vael (Berberis)]: My take would be get a breather. We just had a giant fight. We just did a major escape. [Vael (Berberis)]: We've got a decent track to go and I don't know about others but we're pretty fucking tapped. [Lacer (Kai)]: Can I look around and see what the surrounding environment in the distance looks like? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Yeah. [Riv (DM)]: yeah there's a mountain range um that carries on off out further to the west you can see the river sort of reverses its way around there's a lot of jungle ahead of you um not no mess of like mountains or anything like that to climb directly on your path assuming you wanted to head roughly in the direction the river is going maybe not precisely if you wanted to not look like you're heading towards the shimmering peaks but yeah do you mean the sense of like how difficult is the terrain hmm [Lacer (Kai)]: I was gonna say if there's another additional mountain mountain range kind of closer towards the nearest edge of the Vale of Eternal Night if we if we were to camp somewhere higher so we can see down would be easier if we went flat on the ground I think we're more exposed but I'm not too sure back the way we came but that's the closest [Riv (DM)]: yeah gotcha um yeah you'd have to go back you'd have to like walk back the direction you've come yeah to get back to the mountain range yeah at least one high enough yeah [Lacer (Kai)]: Right. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Let's not do that. [Lacer (Kai)]: That's counterproductive, so I guess... How much space is there, though, honestly? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: We can just stand on top of a 60 foot tree and we'll be fine. [Lacer (Kai)]: It'd be like, everyone take a twig. All right, let's try and find a safe spot, and I can try and ritual cast Tiny Hut. [Vael (Berberis)]: There's also the falling out of the tree when it gets turned back. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: True. [Lacer (Kai)]: At least that'll give us a bit of protection. [Riv (DM)]: Hmm. [Riv (DM)]: So, yeah. So you're going to check out the hut that will. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yeah, once someone finds... I don't even know where we are. I'm kind of confused. We've just been running. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Lacer (Kai)]: So I guess we have to find somewhere safe enough to set up this thing or something hidden. I don't know. [Riv (DM)]: Plenty of places to hide. Yeah. [Vael (Berberis)]: Honestly, it camouflages and we just hit the ground. [Lacer (Kai)]: Hmm. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yep. [Vael (Berberis)]: The best spot to put it would be right here before we leave Traction Sense. [Lacer (Kai)]: Alright, I will do that then. [Riv (DM)]: Hmm. [Lacer (Kai)]: I will start ritual casting. [Lacer (Kai)]: Tiny Hut, where we are. It's gonna take me 10 minutes. [Riv (DM)]: Nice, do you know? Well, that's actually a really good thought, right? Because then this way there wouldn't be any scent findable because it's entirely enclosed in the hut. Hmm. [Lacer (Kai)]: Hmm. [Vael (Berberis)]: We hit the ground, drop it right on top of us and we're good. There's literally nothing to ideas as being here. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Riv (DM)]: Beautiful. All right, cool. Let's do that. So. [Riv (DM)]: We can do a long rest. Are we going to set up a watch rotation? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Is there any need to win the hunt? [Lacer (Kai)]: yes there is a need because if there are casters if they cast a spell um greater than level three we can get fried that's what i'm going to tell you now the hud is not perfect i only i only need four [Vael (Berberis)]: Well, eight hours is the standard long rest with the watch, isn't it? Because people need, what, six to get a long rest? [Riv (DM)]: so you need to spend the whole eight hours and six of them have to be asleep unless you're an elf yeah the other two hours need to be like pretty much downtime so you can spend it watching but you can't you couldn't do like fighting or activity yeah yeah [Vael (Berberis)]: Okay, yeah. [JC (Ryo)]: Yes, yes, forgetting the elf part that only needs four, but the others need six. [Vael (Berberis)]: Yeah, so... [Vael (Berberis)]: I'm doing nothing. I was just trying to remember the the general eight hours it's like yeah it's eight hours is a long rest with watch um if you're ultimate so yeah um well i'll take a i'll take the last watch because i'm tired [Lacer (Kai)]: I'll take the first and I hand Ryo. Here you go. You might want to borrow this decanter of endless water. You might want to wash up. You look kind of muddy. [JC (Ryo)]: Yeah, I'll just drench myself in water and go right I'll join you on first watch. [Riv (DM)]: All right um so we're doing what are the what are the watches we're doing rio and kai first um then Erendor and Berberis last because you can probably split it into two right because you've got elves yeah they can they can do the first four and then um okay very good um all right so we let's get a um the for the first watch let's get you guys to throw us out of perception check all right cool um nothing yeah it's quiet you can [Lacer (Kai)]: Alright, I will help you Ryo. [JC (Ryo)]: Lord, I had an 18 for a second there. [Riv (DM)]: Far in the distance you can hear the river just sort of trickling away miles away but loud enough that it's silent but it's sort of like constant gentle sort of humming of the river um occasionally you might hear the odd creature or animal screech but far enough away um at one point um you hear like a flutter of wings go over top of the hut um kind of hard to see um as it goes past everything mixing into the blackness but nothing that sounds alarming [Riv (DM)]: um or concerning uh yeah and i think the four hours go fine for you um you can take your rest and we'll go to Vale and Erendor you guys want to do a perception check [Vael (Berberis)]: Um, do you want me to do with advantage or? [Vael (Berberis)]: Actually, do you have proficiency in perception? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: I have expertise. [Vael (Berberis)]: You do it and I'll help. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Good idea. [Lacer (Kai)]: Double net one. [Riv (DM)]: It's ambitious that you guys are hitting your long rest buttons when you haven't finished resting and something could be coming. [JC (Ryo)]: You said we could- you said Kai and Ryu can long rest. [Riv (DM)]: I said you could rest as in like you can now go to sleep or whatever in the story. [Lacer (Kai)]: Oh right let me let me change that. [Riv (DM)]: It's fine, don't worry about it. We'll see what happens. 26, okay. [Riv (DM)]: Erendor, you get sort of shaken awake. [Riv (DM)]: And you sort of sit up and join Berberus. [Riv (DM)]: You remember your sword from the end of the battle, right? Something sort of just like clocks on your mind. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yeah, it was glowing a bit more than previous and it just kind of stayed that way longer than I'd ever seen it before. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, yeah, sort of continue to hum with energy. You'd use a lot of magic throughout. In particular, you'd use a lot of sort of booming blades. [Riv (DM)]: Um you I think as you're sort of mulling this over you pull it out again and sure enough it's starting to hum again and it's responding to your touch um sort of like these glowing sort of spirals of golden energy sort of you know shoot up it and back down it again and almost encircle your hand a bit as you sort of start to concentrate on it um you start to get a Feeling that there is more to the sword than what you had originally anticipated. Feel free to crack open your character sheet and have a look at the new description of the Emberblade. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: I'm sorry, when the hell did you do that? [Vael (Berberis)]: Just knew. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Okay. Oh. [Riv (DM)]: Quite a lot to read, sorry. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yeah, that's a bit... [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Can you post it in chat or? Oh, very well, very well. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Let me read through it first and decide if I wish to do so yet. Okay, yep. [Lacer (Kai)]: Ha ha ha ha! [JC (Ryo)]: I mean, Ryo's asleep, he has no idea. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: What the fuck did you do to my sword Riv? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: This ain't your sword anymore. [Riv (DM)]: What do you mean? [Riv (DM)]: It was always like this. You just needed to believe. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, so I guess up to you if you wanted to let anyone know about that. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yep. Uh, they can see soon enough. [Riv (DM)]: Cool. On a 26 as well, you and Berberissa are sort of just chilling, vibing. [Vael (Berberis)]: I look over at the shiny stuff going with the sword and just raise my eyebrow shrug a bit [Riv (DM)]: Very bullshit, eh? [Riv (DM)]: In the distance, Erendor, you hear hooves clicking and clacking on the stones coming from a distance, but on a 26, feels like that's getting a bit louder. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Do I have a general direction that it's going from? [Riv (DM)]: Yep, it's coming from roughly north. [Riv (DM)]: Whatever that means in the Faewild, the direction of the city. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yeah, the direction of the city within this area, yeah. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: I will absolutely let Berberis know and send a bird up. [Vael (Berberis)]: Can the bird exit the bubble without the bubble popping? [Lacer (Kai)]: Yes. [Riv (DM)]: It can, yeah. If it's designated to, it can come and go. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yes, I've seen. [Riv (DM)]: Only Kai can't leave. [Lacer (Kai)]: I'm stuck, I'm sorry. [Vael (Berberis)]: I'll say no, the bird is actually a bit of a quick scout. [Riv (DM)]: Food flies up. [Riv (DM)]: Does a bit of a loop and a pass. Perception check for the bird. [Vael (Berberis)]: Bird, what do we see? [Riv (DM)]: mmm pretty good picking their way through the trees and rocks and the small cliffs and stuff like that um you see a group of about seven um what look like horses dark black fur well black black hair black or just a coat um the odd thing about them is that their manes almost seem to be glowing Like the Blaze of Fire or something like that. Their long tails themselves are sort of smoldering as well. That's how the bird is able to pick them out so easily. [Riv (DM)]: Heading directly in your direction and most of them aren't carrying riders. There's only one horse carrying a rider. It looks like it's carrying two actually. A taller figure and a shorter figure. [Vael (Berberis)]: Bird can go in for a closer look. I'm looking for, one, fangs and claws on the horses, because I know fantasy shit. Two, closer look at the riders. I have a vague suspicion they are both going to be elven and one will be silver-haired and the other one will look like that prick of a fucking god. [Vael (Berberis)]: But I'm curious. [Riv (DM)]: Crack of a guard? Bro. [Lacer (Kai)]: Hahahaha! [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: What do you mean? [Riv (DM)]: He was really nice to you. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Oh. [Vael (Berberis)]: Not our friend guard, the guard captain of the elven city whose son went missing. [Riv (DM)]: all right um okay so the you're gonna fly the bird down to get a closer look okay hmm food flies on gets a closer look um yes the taller elven figure um black armor of the citadel guard [Vael (Berberis)]: Just by numbers, the fact that there is enough horses for us. [Vael (Berberis)]: I may not be the most intelligent man, but I am wise. [Riv (DM)]: Paleskin very similar to the guard who had um you know who had taken care of you while you were there i think yeah i think it probably looks like him the short figure on the back you don't recognize it's um it appears to be a shorter smaller girl child potentially you can just see some long sort of dark black hair streaming down her back then [Lacer (Kai)]: The Veggie Lover. [Riv (DM)]: Your head's just all like pressed against the back of the soldier. [Vael (Berberis)]: Not who I expected, but heading directly for us with enough horses for our party and then their own. [Riv (DM)]: Roughly in your direction, yeah. [Riv (DM)]: Moving fast as well, like these steeds are tearing through the terrain very very quickly. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: They're coming from the north. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Coming from the city. [Vael (Berberis)]: They're coming towards you. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Not that I know this. [Vael (Berberis)]: I'll just tap. Erendor on the shoulder and say, well, looks like we may have a ride. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Confident? [Vael (Berberis)]: How long do we need to finish our rest? [Riv (DM)]: Couple of hours, probably like another two hours at this point. [Riv (DM)]: All right. [Vael (Berberis)]: I will just sort of... Actually, I've had our rest and we're on watch, so we're probably good and the other crew are sleeping, aren't they? [Riv (DM)]: Okay. [Vael (Berberis)]: I'll just send an owl to fly up and land in front of them, I guess. See what the reaction is. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. So it's obvious. Okay. yeah the the sort of the the group of them they stop um for a moment and the you see the soldiers sort of like looking around seeing if he can spot anything else you hear the voice of you hear um the voice of Evrath just say hello are you there [Vael (Berberis)]: The owl will hoot at him loudly. [Vael (Berberis)]: And say, who? [Riv (DM)]: I was told that... I was told that I would be able to find you around here somewhere. [Riv (DM)]: It's just me. [Vael (Berberis)]: the owl will fly like a tiny step and then stop and look back in the universal signal of follow me yep and just lead him towards [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, you hear him sort of like mutter to himself. [Riv (DM)]: Like a bird. Okay. Well, looks like he wants me to follow, so... [Riv (DM)]: I guess I'll follow. Like grumbling to himself under his voice. [Riv (DM)]: And yeah, he starts following. [Riv (DM)]: And now, Erundor, eventually you see the group of these steeds, these nightmare steeds, tearing their way through. [Riv (DM)]: Slower at this point now, they're just walking now in a gentle trot. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: You said nightmare steeds. [Vael (Berberis)]: Yes, I see that. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Hmm? [Riv (DM)]: See them, one, two, three, four, seven of them, picking their way through the trees and out in the sort of clearing where the hut is. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: At this moment I will walk out of the hut in their general direction. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, you see Evrath just like sort of stop and eyes immediately lock on you and he's like, oh, oh there you are. [Riv (DM)]: Didn't see, where did you come from? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: As we've told everyone so far since we landed, well since we came to this land, just passing through. [Riv (DM)]: Sorry, I mean... [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: A little bit of a nod and a wink. [Riv (DM)]: I was meaning you just appeared to have walked out of nowhere, but... All good, don't worry, keep your secrets. I was told that I was to come here and find you, provide you steeds to help you on your way, and see you through the wall. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: And this with you? [Riv (DM)]: You all here? Did you all manage to get out? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: I'm going to ignore his question to start with and I'm going to [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Gesture to the person that is with and um and this is [Riv (DM)]: I don't rightly know to be honest. Some child within the city that I was told to ring with, she appears to be from the Elven city. [Riv (DM)]: She is not one of the denizens of Caer Nystral. [Riv (DM)]: Don't know much more than that. [Riv (DM)]: And you see her head just like she looks very sleepy. It just sort of like comes over and like looks at you. probably gonna rise a bit with a fist and yeah sure enough it looks like a elven child pale skin um like yeah definitely not like the the dark-skinned um elves of the city of night [Vael (Berberis)]: And not Silverhead. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: If you don't mind me asking, when did you get sent out this way? Like, you've made incredible time. [Riv (DM)]: These steeds are very fast. They are incredibly good at traversing this terrain. [Riv (DM)]: Not much later after you, I assume. I was expecting to catch up to you much sooner. You made excellent ground. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: We have our ways. [Riv (DM)]: More secrets, I assume. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Only some. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Are the hunts still following us? [Riv (DM)]: Yes, well... I did hear that there was a bit of commotion. I steered clear of them. They won't be interested in me on these nightmare steeds, as they would not expect anyone else to have had access to them. [Riv (DM)]: They're looking for you, but they're some ways back. [Riv (DM)]: Look, I'm just doing what I'm told here. I don't have any particular interest in what happened, why you're fleeing. I was told by my lady bring them meet you here and see you to the wall and I will do that as I do my duty are you ready to go okay shall we give you a few hours and we [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: The rest of my companions are currently resting. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: They're probably not quite ready to go. [Riv (DM)]: Get off. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Probably for the best. Do you have a bedroll for the young one? [Riv (DM)]: Yes, we're fine. And he, you see, pulls some packs off the horses, off the steeds, and starts sort of rustling and getting things together, laying out the rolls. [Riv (DM)]: Pitch is actually a small little tent. And yeah, sort of just gets ready to start resting as well. [Riv (DM)]: so he reaches into a pouch and pulls out some snacks and food as well he's got a couple of those purple vegetables that he loves so much okay yeah he's yeah you see he's like occupied like messing around with his and his gear and stuff and he looks up again he's and i uh wait what oh these bloody guys outsiders [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: I'm going to wait until he is not looking and I am going to move back to the hut. Just silently vanish. [Riv (DM)]: Whatever. And he goes back to his stuff. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. [Riv (DM)]: They bunk down and they rest. The girl goes into the tent and he sort of freedom camps under the sky, under the stars, and can finish off the rest of your rest unless there's anything else her wrists or whatever you wanted to do. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: I will keep vigil. [Riv (DM)]: okay um yeah you won't need to roll anything if you don't want to but i think it's probably a um a good way for you to get familiar with how it works so you find that like if you hold the sword between your hands upright um and just sort of like meditate on it that same like sort of golden swing energy spirals up and down the blade and you feel it awakening [Riv (DM)]: All right. [Riv (DM)]: Very good. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: He is beginning to believe. [Riv (DM)]: Few hours go by. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, few hours go by and everyone can start to rustle and wake up. And now you may press your long rest buttons. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: After we've woken up. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Vael (Berberis)]: And my staff is fully recharged. Roll a five. Assessing my spell list for the day. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Uh oh. [Riv (DM)]: Very nice. [Riv (DM)]: Cool. Yep. Do that. [Riv (DM)]: Clear out your temporary hit points or anything like that if you need to. The aid, the maximum hit points you might have set. [Lacer (Kai)]: Well, it automatically does it. That's pretty cool. Aid is auto-disappeared. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yeah, that's been updated. That's nice. [Riv (DM)]: Very nice. [Riv (DM)]: All right. [Vael (Berberis)]: But it automatically rolled the charges on weapons that need charges, which was nice. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Riv (DM)]: It rolled your stuff as well. That's pretty cool. [Vael (Berberis)]: And the gray bag. [Riv (DM)]: Very nice. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Riv (DM)]: Sweet. all right cool um the eight hours go by and so the um the hut lemon's tiny heart disappears and you are back out into the open again able to collect your gear together um yeah you see the little girl sort of like poke your head out of the tent and she looks around a bit looks over at you all now um looks up at this guy and just he's quiet that's getting his stuff together she's got like a small little pack on [Riv (DM)]: Um, Evrath, the soldier, he's still asleep actually. He's laying on the bedroll. [Lacer (Kai)]: Let's all stare at him and wait for him to wake up. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, do you do that? [Lacer (Kai)]: I'm just joking [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yeah, let's just crowd in a circle standing around him. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Riv (DM)]: Well, I mean, yeah. [Vael (Berberis)]: he's a he's a soldier he would have heard oh the queen is walk over and tap him on the shoulder i fully expect to roll him over and see finger holes through his head [Riv (DM)]: You'd think so. A bit of time goes by and actually he doesn't seem to rouse. Yeah, you tap him. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Wake him up. [Lacer (Kai)]: oh he's dead oh my god [Riv (DM)]: You roll him over. He seems to be breathing. Doesn't have any finger holes in his head, but he's out. [Riv (DM)]: You get the feel you probably need to do something to rouse him. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: We'll have to take him past the wall on his own. [Vael (Berberis)]: Tap him on the shoulder much harder. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah? Bit of force? You gonna roll a d4 improvised damage for me? [Vael (Berberis)]: Yep. [Riv (DM)]: Oof, alright. [Vael (Berberis)]: He's blunt. [Lacer (Kai)]: Since he's like prone, is he prone or is he sleeping standing up? Is it like critical advantage on attack? [Riv (DM)]: yeah um yeah i mean it's you you hit him a bit forcefully to wake him up and like sort of his eyes you see his eyes start to flutter quite rapidly like that rapid eye movement um when people are in a deep sleep and immediately his eyes flash open lock directly with you and he says what the who are you and he rolls back draws a sword and points it directly at you and starts looking around frantically what's going on who are you who are you or what have you done [Riv (DM)]: What's going on? Where's my crew? What did you do to them? Are you asking out of character or? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Prince Rillian, it's you! [Vael (Berberis)]: I look to Dondarr and go, that's surprisingly insightful. Um, hang on. What was the name of the city's guard captain's son that went missing? [Lacer (Kai)]: Oh, oh you're talking Asha, Asha Vayne? [Vael (Berberis)]: I'm asking the party out of character because my memory is fucked because I'm old. [Lacer (Kai)]: It's yeah, Asha, Asha Vayne. [Vael (Berberis)]: Is that the name of the... [Riv (DM)]: Yes. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yeah, oh the sun's name's Kaelin, is that, if that's what you're, yeah. [Vael (Berberis)]: Yep. Okay, what's the father? [Riv (DM)]: Other way around. Kaelen's the father. [Lacer (Kai)]: Oh, I, oh yeah, okay, I've got it wrong. So the sun is named Asha, oh yeah, yeah, I've got it all wrong, written down wrong. [Vael (Berberis)]: Does he still look dark, Elfie? [Riv (DM)]: No no he never did. He always had pale skin. [Vael (Berberis)]: Ah. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: He was obviously never a dark elf. [Vael (Berberis)]: Mm-hmm. Looking dead. Asha? Is it Asha Vayne or is it Asha? Is it a full name? A second name? I don't know. I'm bad at this elven thing. [Lacer (Kai)]: Asha Vayne's his last name, I believe. [Riv (DM)]: yeah so yeah his sword is out like pointed directly in a direction almost touching your chest and you say that and he just says yes what who are you how did i get here um yeah well so you can see the moon um the city itself is probably too far away to actually see but definitely the moon yeah [Vael (Berberis)]: Asha? [Vael (Berberis)]: I believe you've had yourself a long and sorcelled sleep and I point to the city off in the distance. [Vael (Berberis)]: The moon with the giant beam hovering down. [Riv (DM)]: He's like, what are you talking about? We were just, they, they came out and they were... What? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: You weren't just. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: It was long ago. [Riv (DM)]: Explain yourself. [Lacer (Kai)]: You've been under a spell. [Vael (Berberis)]: I'll say, have we lit a campfire? We probably haven't because we're being stealthy. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yeah. [Vael (Berberis)]: That's a long, short Story um I think we need to get you home we need to get there ourselves and I look down at the the little elven girl and I believe her lady needs to get to the city as well with a question in my voice [Riv (DM)]: yeah she's she's just sort of standing off to the back arms crossed and she has one eyebrow raised looking at you um roll a perception check either whichever you like oh yeah [Vael (Berberis)]: Reception or insight? [Riv (DM)]: Only you would see as you kind of turn to look directly into her face the barest most imperceptible shift of her eyebrow sort of just slight little nod. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Trying to see the dragon, the dragon, the dragon. [Vael (Berberis)]: Why don't we walk and talk? This is not a good place for long, drawn-out conversations. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Walk? Ride? [Vael (Berberis)]: Right. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Nay! [Lacer (Kai)]: These steeds won't burn our bottoms with their flaming manes will they? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: At that, Dondarr Eredor takes 2 psychic damage. [Riv (DM)]: I will... Amazing. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Only works when Riv does it. [Riv (DM)]: Let's get a... Let's get a persuasion check. With advantage. Just to see. He's a very confused man right now. Behind enemy territories from his perspective. [Riv (DM)]: Let's see how willingly he's gonna go with you. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: We should probably tell him his father sent us. [Vael (Berberis)]: Yes, I've been the one doing the talking. [Riv (DM)]: Someone else can help if they want. [Vael (Berberis)]: It's not terrible. Not great. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, that's alright. [JC (Ryo)]: Can I talk to him? [Riv (DM)]: Absolutely, yeah. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Show him your ring. [JC (Ryo)]: Shut up, I was about to. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Okay. [Lacer (Kai)]: Gonna slap Dondon. [JC (Ryo)]: Asha... Oh yeah, of course. Instant backhand. With the ring. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Your Majesty. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: What ring? This ring? [JC (Ryo)]: You're Asha Vayne, son of Kaelen, are you not? [Riv (DM)]: Uh, yes. [JC (Ryo)]: Does this look familiar to you? And I show him the ring. [Riv (DM)]: He steps forward and looks at it. [Riv (DM)]: Eyebrows immediately wrinkle. Where did you get that? [Riv (DM)]: Who are you? Who are all of you? Yeah. [Vael (Berberis)]: Walk and talk. [JC (Ryo)]: Come with us, I'll explain everything. [Vael (Berberis)]: The hunt is coming, let's not fuck around. [Riv (DM)]: um with the 16 persuasion and the the visage of symbol that i guess this person well i guess that you aren't sure of his disposition towards the royal family but it certainly it certainly changes things for him um he will nod and say okay maybe we talk about it i we need to get out of here we shouldn't be here right now [Lacer (Kai)]: Let's jump on the horse. [JC (Ryo)]: Yes, let's go. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. And you sort of point towards the steeds and he's like, what? How have you got these? [JC (Ryo)]: You actually brought them here. [Riv (DM)]: Did you, did you steal these? [JC (Ryo)]: You brought them here. [Vael (Berberis)]: You stole these. [Riv (DM)]: Wait. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Were they stolen or were they gifted? [Riv (DM)]: What are you? [Lacer (Kai)]: I think they were gifted, bestowed upon you. [Riv (DM)]: Ah. [Vael (Berberis)]: Who knows? [JC (Ryo)]: Either way, let's go. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yes. Leave. Now. Let's go. [Riv (DM)]: I agree with that let's go and yeah you can climb up on the steeds these are um incredibly intelligent beasts they're not horses they will like lean down for you to jump up on top of and um you can tell immediately like the muscles they are they're a different type of steed altogether the sort of ember burning manes and tails they're warm to the touch they don't burn you necessarily um you probably wouldn't want to hold on for them too long but [Kiwi (Dondar)]: is is is one of them like shorter than the others you know i mean a cute little pony [Riv (DM)]: Maybe there's one that's a little bit shorter than the other. [Lacer (Kai)]: You've got a store. What's your problem, Dondar? [Riv (DM)]: Do you go for that one? [JC (Ryo)]: Can I just pick him up and throw him on top of the horse? [Riv (DM)]: Totally, yeah. And they will all sort of like just look back in your direction as if waiting for direction, waiting for a steer. [Lacer (Kai)]: How do we communicate with these things? [Vael (Berberis)]: They're intelligent creatures. [Vael (Berberis)]: We are heading for the wall. We are getting out of here. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Pretty sure we all speak Elvish. [Riv (DM)]: they all just like take off they take off in the direction of the wall and the speed and traversal of these creatures is insane they are leaping over top of like giant boulders they're diving in between trees that they'll just run headfirst into a massive thicket and just expertly weave um you almost need to like close your eyes sometimes because they're going through such precarious places um but the ground that they cover is ridiculously fast and without too much time taken now or so maybe a couple of hours they are getting you closer and closer to the wall um during this time there's possibly a few stretches of the landscape where it's not too tough and you're able to um speak a bit with usher um do you explain everything to him how much do you tell him what do you what do you let him know [JC (Ryo)]: I tell him we're from Sumara, that we've met his father, and he told us that he went missing, correct me if I'm wrong, River, but it was like 40 or 60 years ago. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Riv (DM)]: All right. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Missing, presumed dead, no one else of his party has been seen. [JC (Ryo)]: Yep, all of that. [JC (Ryo)]: And that... [JC (Ryo)]: Yeah, no, fuck it. I tell him that I am who I am, son of... Yeah, rararara. [Riv (DM)]: Hmm. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: You said it. [Riv (DM)]: Um, yeah. [Riv (DM)]: Okay, he takes all this in. [JC (Ryo)]: No, not Rasputin. [JC (Ryo)]: I didn't say Rasputin. [Riv (DM)]: He takes all this in quite quietly. [JC (Ryo)]: I'm son of Lenny the Goblin. [Riv (DM)]: You see a man who reality is sort of collapsing upon him. [Riv (DM)]: And you hear him say, How am I to believe you are who you say you are? Your family died. There was no child. [JC (Ryo)]: I was born after the elven leaving of the material plane. [Riv (DM)]: And my father, have you spoken with him? Does he know this? [JC (Ryo)]: He does. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. [Riv (DM)]: And what's the political situation in the city? Have you stepped back to resume the role of your family? [JC (Ryo)]: Not of the moment. [Riv (DM)]: I don't understand. [Riv (DM)]: And my father, he sent you to come and find me. [Riv (DM)]: You can see he's um... [Vael (Berberis)]: Boo! [JC (Ryo)]: Your father doesn't know we're here, to be honest. [JC (Ryo)]: We were chasing up a few other things and we heard you were here and we made it a... We were keeping an eye out for you. [Riv (DM)]: he ponders this he's mulling it over he kind of goes quiet as he's trying to sort of think things through trying to imagine timelines and when things happened and yeah what's going on there was a there was a fight on the border we were skirmishing um some members of the hunt it was it was stupid [Lacer (Kai)]: I'm gonna whistle. [JC (Ryo)]: What happened to your squad? Did anyone else survive or do you remember anything? [Riv (DM)]: Iriak, I think he wanted to look through the wall. He'd never been on the other side before and I said something like he wanted to get an idea of the terrain, that he might be more prepared. I told him to come back and stop but it was too late. I think it was unfortunate there was a patrol on the other side and they saw him, considered it to be an incursion and the fight broke out. We tried to de-escalate but it was too late. [Riv (DM)]: The last thing I remember I got hit over the head or something. [Riv (DM)]: So many of my crew had been killed by that point. This was 40 years ago. I can't imagine any of them survived. Do you know? Did any of them make it out? [JC (Ryo)]: JC's memory is as bad as all shit. Does Raya remember anything? [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, you would have been told about this, that it was basically a massacre. Like, there was no one recovered. [Riv (DM)]: And everyone was presumed dead, including Asha. [JC (Ryo)]: No one got back, mate. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [JC (Ryo)]: No one got back. Everyone thought you were all dead. So to find you is a boon. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, he just falls silent again, wondering this. [Riv (DM)]: You make it to the Wall of Night and, um, yeah. Take a look back over your shoulders. [Riv (DM)]: See this kind of [Riv (DM)]: Dark and beautiful landscape that you're leaving behind and you push on through. [Vael (Berberis)]: The horses keep going? [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Riv (DM)]: I guess it's up to you, right? [Vael (Berberis)]: Well, I... Just to make life easy, I'm going to speak with animals. [Lacer (Kai)]: How do they respond? Do they go through or do they just turn around since they're smart? [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, they slow down as they get to the wall. [Vael (Berberis)]: And check with them what their orders and objectives were. [Riv (DM)]: um cool yeah beautiful you can speak to it um and what do you ask that is up to you we do not wish to go too much further for risk of encountering outsiders but if you wish we can take you further [Vael (Berberis)]: Are you continuing on or were you just seeing us to the edge? [Vael (Berberis)]: The outside is a pretty place. [Riv (DM)]: Long time ago. [Vael (Berberis)]: Have you ever been outside? [Vael (Berberis)]: We'll dismount here, but you're welcome to come out and have a look. Sometimes the sun's a nice thing to see. [Riv (DM)]: Are we free to return to the city? [Lacer (Kai)]: Yeah. [Vael (Berberis)]: Do as you will. [Riv (DM)]: You can dismount. and um the steeds they will all sort of like lower down and you can hop off um the one you're speaking to does actually um walk up to the wall a bit and poke her head out sort of like spends a bit of time there a bit of a few moments comes back and it's like you see it sort of like starts walking back past you again and you know how horses eyes are on the sides of their head you see the eyes will like lock onto yours berberis and you just hear it say i prefer the night [Riv (DM)]: And then they all sort of like gather up and start rolling back in the distance in the direction that they came. Yeah. [Vael (Berberis)]: Goth horses, who would have thought? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Hm? [Vael (Berberis)]: Goth horses, who would have thought? [Lacer (Kai)]: I don't know, we just heard you neighing so that was, yeah, okay. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Perestrals. [Vael (Berberis)]: They're not a fan of the bright light. [Lacer (Kai)]: That's fair. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: It's hardly bright out there. Though it can pet her in here, honestly. [Vael (Berberis)]: It is when all you've known is darkness. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yeah. [Vael (Berberis)]: Well, don't know about you guys, but I am keen to get the fuck out of here and feel some sun. And I just walked straight through the wall. [Riv (DM)]: yeah yeah and the transition is uh incredible you might even say it's like a night and day difference um do i take psychic damage how does that work uh it's cold when you pass through the wall like it's this weird like it's not a [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yes, either you do or all of us do. [Vael (Berberis)]: So, we, we... [Riv (DM)]: really thick viscous there's no barrier but like it's cold kind of like tears at your skin a bit um be passed through pretty quickly and yeah you come onto the side and you're met with that view that um you weren't really all that familiar with but it is quite comforting now that you're back to it again that um bright sky the weird kind of permanent auroras and changing purples and goldens and oranges of the sky and deep far away you can see the shimmering peaks [Vael (Berberis)]: Also as the first person to pass through when I get to the other side I'm just gonna turn side on and just watch our little girl as she comes out. [Riv (DM)]: oh yeah see what happens yeah you can wander on through asha comes through um the um the little girl you see comes through as well and like she holds up her hand to sort of like cover her eyes a bit as the sun seems to be or the light seems to be quite bright for her and remember these uh these people have been in the darkness permanently for years um [Vael (Berberis)]: Not staring at her but observing just to see her reaction. [Riv (DM)]: Asha as well he's like covering his eyes he's sort of squinting a bit um the the girl comes up and she sort of almost it seems that almost absent-mindedly just like try to grab ash's hand um to like hold on to and he like looks down and sort of instinctively like pulls his hand away um and she kind of looks a bit sad a little bit pouty about that and he's like shrugs a bit and sighs All right here you go and he um offers his hand back to her that she grabs onto and he's like I've never seen her she if you're telling with what you're telling me is true and that I disappeared 60 years ago he wouldn't have been born as far as I can remember who are you little girl and he sort of like sits down um and she just says um [JC (Ryo)]: Who is she to you? [Riv (DM)]: My name is Ellessa. I'm an orphan from the city. [Riv (DM)]: I was playing out here and I got taken into the darkness. [Riv (DM)]: I was kept in the city there for a long time until you came along and said that we were leaving and that's about it. [Riv (DM)]: Um, Asha just kind of... Yeah. [JC (Ryo)]: Is the list short for anything? [Vael (Berberis)]: This Berber is just sort of half noughts, half laughs to himself and just grabs his pack. [Riv (DM)]: Asha kind of like looks up at, Asha looks up at the rest of you and shrugs a bit and is like, you, I assume you all don't know her? [Vael (Berberis)]: We're heading that way. [Lacer (Kai)]: I have a feeling. [Vael (Berberis)]: He has the visions. [Riv (DM)]: You have a feeling? [Riv (DM)]: What do you mean? [Lacer (Kai)]: But I think everyone's thinking the same thing, right? [Riv (DM)]: Okay. Well, do you know, do you know where she came from? Do we need to take her back somewhere? [Riv (DM)]: I'm confused. I remember I'm, I woke up. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: ARH came from the Shining City. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. [Riv (DM)]: I guess we'll, we can ask around and see if anyone knows her and take her in. [Lacer (Kai)]: Sure. [Riv (DM)]: I can, I can, I can speak to my father. He can probably find some people to take care of her. [Riv (DM)]: All right. Well, I guess we better be off. [Lacer (Kai)]: We gotta be careful. [Riv (DM)]: We've still got. [Vael (Berberis)]: Yeah, eyes up. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: yeah so last time we came through here we were coming from the other side yes we were in the air we were flying sort of kind of not really falling with style i don't know um big bird big bird angry bird [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yeah, Corlingwood style. [JC (Ryo)]: Bowling with style. [Lacer (Kai)]: How- [Vael (Berberis)]: May have picked up a little bit. [Riv (DM)]: you may start um you may start traveling and yeah he he says um you can sort of like discuss it he's like yeah there are a few of those around um i kind of like them personally let's just take a second oh it's exciting don't you think believe me we've seen them plenty of times fun creatures to mess around with hey [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Your opinion may change when they start hunting you. [JC (Ryo)]: Are you drunk? [Lacer (Kai)]: How do you deal with them 40 years back? [Riv (DM)]: oh oh we we played games with them honestly who could um who could outmaneuver them the longest few people might give you know what a talon through a shoulder or scrape up their back it's fine nothing that a few of our clerics back in the circle of dawn can't deal with but the um just a splash of fire and you can usually scare them away usually [Lacer (Kai)]: So you're just running around on foot with these giant, big birds. You're just messing with them. [Riv (DM)]: Sometimes on foot, sometimes on horse. I wouldn't say we're messing with them. I mean, as far as they're concerned, they're hunting us, right? We're just making it a bit more difficult for them. [Lacer (Kai)]: I guess, poor horses though, they'd be scared so much. Hmm. [Riv (DM)]: Eh, the horses are fine. [Vael (Berberis)]: If I'm honest, I'm surprised no effort was made to tape them. It'd be almost as fun as a griffin. [Riv (DM)]: Some people have tried. They're a bit too big and a bit unpredictable. [Riv (DM)]: You know. [Riv (DM)]: Too much damage could be caused by a bird the size of a house if something goes wrong. [Riv (DM)]: And with that, I was actually, finally, as you have brought this up, going to ask for a d20 roll as we are crossing the plains. [Riv (DM)]: You can choose to either roll low or high. Which would you rather go for? [Riv (DM)]: You want to roll high, alrighty. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Is it high enough? Is it high enough? [Vael (Berberis)]: And we know how to scare them off now, they're frightened of fire. [Lacer (Kai)]: You see a shadow. [Riv (DM)]: No feathers were seen in the sky on the return journey. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: 20,000 birds black in the sky. [Riv (DM)]: You are fine. [Riv (DM)]: The good part of the rest of the day trekking at full speed is how long it will take you to get back to the bridge. [Riv (DM)]: You can see the river now and the bridge and the dark cloaked figure. Ending on the bridge. [Lacer (Kai)]: Oh, Uncle Grumble. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Wrong side for Grumble, isn't it? [Vael (Berberis)]: I... [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Grumble all of them? [Lacer (Kai)]: Maybe there's four of them. Maybe there's more. [Vael (Berberis)]: He's a fey creature, he's probably at every bridge all at once. [Lacer (Kai)]: Maybe they're brothers, you know? Maybe there's like 10 of them or a dozen. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Do they do shifts? [Lacer (Kai)]: Or they have different games. One could be chess. One could be something else. I don't know. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: We could play Snags and Letters next. [Lacer (Kai)]: Hey, fae, snakes, and lighters, that'd be wild, right? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Yeah. [Riv (DM)]: So, we cross. [Vael (Berberis)]: Is he guarding the bridge? [Riv (DM)]: Yep, he's sitting in the middle. He's got his table. [Vael (Berberis)]: I look at the rest of the party and go, hmm, okay. [Lacer (Kai)]: What, what? [Vael (Berberis)]: I look at Kaelin and I go, hmm, okay. I look at the little girl and go, hmm, hmm, well. [Lacer (Kai)]: I don't know. [Lacer (Kai)]: Kaelen is dressed in a... In black, what's it called? Guard armor from the Vale of the... Hmm. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Well, if she's not who she says she is, you may know [Vael (Berberis)]: She's probably capable of sorting through this, but I am interested in watching the interaction. [Vael (Berberis)]: I'm not going into fear with the interaction, but I am interested in watching it. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. [Riv (DM)]: Very good. [Riv (DM)]: So we... [Vael (Berberis)]: I believe our promise was that she would get access to the vault if the keeper of the vault agreed. [Vael (Berberis)]: That was the only thing we offered on our end, I believe, other than, you know, killing the hag and going to hell. [Riv (DM)]: I don't think there was a clause in the agreement around that the Keeper of the Vault would have to agree to it. [Vael (Berberis)]: yeah we i believe the clause was that we would contact the keeper of the vault and they would because we actually did [Riv (DM)]: She said she was being given access to the vault and that you guys had to get her in. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: We did, and he... Up to the Silmara, but maybe a fortunate series of events. [Riv (DM)]: And his answer was that's ultimately up to the Silmara, right? [Lacer (Kai)]: Up to the Silmara, yeah, which I passed on to the Silmara. [Riv (DM)]: hmm okay either way we make our way across the bridge okay cool yeah um you can see grumble um and it is grumble or at least it is to be someone exactly identical to him big black hood you can see is his dark um troll features poking out um from underneath the hood [Vael (Berberis)]: Mhm. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yes, I trail behind last to see what happens. [Riv (DM)]: I am sitting at his table um quite still but as you approach you can see the hood sort of shifts as he looks up to gaze upon you um takes you in nods turns to look to Asha and you just hear him say hmm welcome back child and Asha's like hey hey Grumble I been a while I assume Grumble's like Too long, too long. [Riv (DM)]: It's good to see that you've returned. [Riv (DM)]: I hope you find the city to your liking. [Riv (DM)]: The little girl who is still holding onto Asha's hand at this point, Asha goes to sort of walk past and the girl just follows. [Riv (DM)]: And you see Grumble's afforded head turns and focuses on her. And he like just holds up a hand. [Riv (DM)]: At which point Asha immediately stops. [Riv (DM)]: You see the figure just like staring at her and she innocent face looks up and stares back at him for a moment and then a couple of moments. [Riv (DM)]: Something passing between them. [Riv (DM)]: Tension starts to rise a bit as they just sort of locked in this stare, stare down. [Riv (DM)]: Until eventually you hear Grumble's voice break the tension. [Riv (DM)]: Would you like to play a game? [Riv (DM)]: And the girl just drops Asha's hand and jumps up to the table. [Riv (DM)]: And Grumble sort of like waves his hand across the table and the chessboard appears, materializes. [Riv (DM)]: She sits down cross-legged like sitting up on top of the table as it's quite big and tall and he across from it they kind of lock eyes again and then immediately start playing the game of chess um their movements are like ridiculously fast they take basically no time at all to consider their moves in between um just move after move um first round goes to grumble [Riv (DM)]: His head's all like cocked slightly. Frustration maybe. Waves his hand. Chessboard resets and they start playing again. [Riv (DM)]: Second round goes to the little girl. He um... waves his hand third time and the chessboard resets. And the last game is played... [Riv (DM)]: I might actually just roll it to see who wins the last game. Let's say... Let's just give it a 50-50 honestly. [Riv (DM)]: So higher than a 10 and the child, Ellesa, will win. [Riv (DM)]: Checkmate. The last move, Ellesa takes a rook in the corner pinning Grumble's king and he [Riv (DM)]: Sits back, a bit of a smile crosses his face and just nods at the girl. [Riv (DM)]: The brief smile crosses her face again, pops down, grabs Asha's hand and he waves his hand, the board disappears and he goes back to his musing. [Riv (DM)]: But you're able to cross the bridge. [Vael (Berberis)]: Can I hang back a little bit as everyone moves on? [Riv (DM)]: Asha leads the little girl along, the rest of you follow. [Vael (Berberis)]: I just sort of turned to Grumble. [Riv (DM)]: As eyes turn and lock with yours. [Riv (DM)]: Hello, do you want to play a game? [Vael (Berberis)]: Your letter in. [Vael (Berberis)]: I can have a quick game as long as there's nothing too much to stake. As long as we can have a chat. [Riv (DM)]: Ooh, what do you have to put on the line? [Vael (Berberis)]: A story. [Riv (DM)]: Hmm, I like the sound of that. [Riv (DM)]: Is it a good story? [Vael (Berberis)]: I gesture to Kaelen and Asha, to Asha and the little girl moving up the road. [Vael (Berberis)]: Depends. Do you think it could be a good story? [Riv (DM)]: Hmm. [Riv (DM)]: Very well, very well. So if I win, you tell me the story. What if you win? [Vael (Berberis)]: How about we play a game and I tell you the story anyway and then you give me an assessment. [Riv (DM)]: Sure. [Riv (DM)]: All right. The chessboard materializes again. [Riv (DM)]: Let me pull up the map and we can play a full game of chess. [Lacer (Kai)]: Ha ha ha! [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. Let's do a couple of rolls, eh? [Riv (DM)]: Are you going to be trying quite hard? [Vael (Berberis)]: I'm playing to win. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, cool. So you learned the rules of the game quite recently. [Riv (DM)]: Although I guess... [Vael (Berberis)]: And I am not a smart man, but I am wise, so... [Riv (DM)]: He's probably chessing the material around. Do you think Berberus would have like played this game with his friends and people back in the woods? Because it's possible. [Vael (Berberis)]: Chess? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: They would have been so sick of him winning. [Vael (Berberis)]: Chess is probably a bit highbrow for soldiers. [Vael (Berberis)]: Maybe in the Grove? [Riv (DM)]: I could imagine a couple of like the wise old druids. [Vael (Berberis)]: Probably some simple variant, not the magic variant. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Riv (DM)]: Okay, cool. um just thinking what would be a good check for this it's possibly like an intelligence check um could maybe do arcana if we're being super super charitable probably not probably not arcana to be honest [Vael (Berberis)]: either way it's i i i insight because i'm trying to read his no i don't know great intelligence my favorite yeah [Riv (DM)]: Let's just do a straight intelligence roll. I'll do one for him. You got a uphill battle. [Lacer (Kai)]: 3D20s. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Haha. [Riv (DM)]: Oh, not too bad though. [Riv (DM)]: Okay, cool. Yeah, I mean, it's not a complete clean sweep, but Grumble, he enjoys himself and takes your king. [Riv (DM)]: Well, that was fun. I believe you now owe me a story. [Riv (DM)]: And your soul. This chuckles. [Vael (Berberis)]: yeah yeah yeah don't worry there's a few others that have got a claim to that one you can fire him for it if you want but it may not go well for anyone involved and i'll i'll lay the whole story on him he's he in himself is obviously a greater power maybe not the greatest power but he is [Riv (DM)]: Okay. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Tell us the story. [Riv (DM)]: Um. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: 37 words or less. [Vael (Berberis)]: Not someone to fuck with, I believe. [Vael (Berberis)]: He probably knows more of what's going on here than we do. [Riv (DM)]: So you lay out the story of you guys heading into the Vale and what you did there and so on? [Vael (Berberis)]: Yep. [Riv (DM)]: All of the agreements made with the Queen? And the bargains and stuff? [Vael (Berberis)]: Yeah, yep. [Riv (DM)]: Okay. [Vael (Berberis)]: He would have read her on the way in. [Riv (DM)]: A fascinating tale. [Riv (DM)]: Very exciting. [Riv (DM)]: You're lucky to have made it out of there. [Riv (DM)]: I'm glad to see you're back. [Vael (Berberis)]: So do you think she's a threat? [Riv (DM)]: She is a threat. [Riv (DM)]: But she is not. [Riv (DM)]: And he nods his head to the girl. [Vael (Berberis)]: Battle of Wills. [Riv (DM)]: A agreement. [Riv (DM)]: You may ask her. [Riv (DM)]: Whether she tells you is up to her. It is not my place. [Vael (Berberis)]: Can't imagine who you would have let her in even with the game if she was truly truly dangerous. [Vael (Berberis)]: Would not be your duty. [Riv (DM)]: We made an agreement. She knows what is at stake. [Riv (DM)]: If she steps out of line, well, we made an agreement. She knows the consequences. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: So, um, this, like, taking someone's soul thing, it's not an empty choke make, is it? [Riv (DM)]: Would you like to try it, young man? [Riv (DM)]: Come, I've got all day to play games. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: I... [Riv (DM)]: And look, here is my soul bag. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: I don't... Maybe next time. [Riv (DM)]: Pulls a pouch out from under his cloak and rattles it. [Riv (DM)]: Are you sure? I would love to add a new one to my collection. He rattles a bit more and you swear you hear faint and distant screams coming from within the bag. [Riv (DM)]: And a smile across his face. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure. [Riv (DM)]: Very well, maybe next time. [Riv (DM)]: And the bag just vanishes from his hand. [Vael (Berberis)]: As always, a pleasure, uncle. We'll see you again soon, I imagine. [Riv (DM)]: Thank you for the game. [Riv (DM)]: And you pass on through. Unsure if he was... Unsure, still unsure about the soul thing, I guess. Okay. [Riv (DM)]: Mm-hmm. [Vael (Berberis)]: As we're heading way up the road, I'm assuming Erendor's with me because he was there. I just turned away. That is not a being we actually would have a fuck with. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: You think his limits stop at the mountain? [Riv (DM)]: Well, [Vael (Berberis)]: I have a sneaking suspicion he could crush this mountain without a fucking thought. [Vael (Berberis)]: I would be curious to know what deal was struck with him to have him guard this place. [Vael (Berberis)]: Might be something to do with that little bag. [Riv (DM)]: We trek and once again after we cross the bridge that weird spatial distortion occurs and the mountains that seemed so far away when you were on the other side of the Liar's River immediately appear like you're at the base of them. And another beautifully maintained winding road up the side of the hill. [Riv (DM)]: Nice paved road steps. There are little walls across the precarious edges to help people not fall. [Riv (DM)]: and yeah you can make your way up and into the city um the girl continues to hold on to ash's hand and i i think um ash is probably clearly confused and unsure what's going on with all of this i i don't think he um yeah it's probably unless you would divulge anything to him he probably very much isn't aware of what's going on um [Riv (DM)]: and the girl i guess she um after she walked through the bridge you notice a bit of a change in her she didn't seem it doesn't seem so sullen anymore like it's almost like her disposition brightened a bit and you see she's now um she's looking around at stuff like she's taking everything in like it's sort of the first time she's seen this place in a long time um yeah that's sort of the vibe you get [Vael (Berberis)]: Is Asha still wearing the dark guard armor? [Riv (DM)]: yeah he is um yeah yeah i think he's a bit brain broken at the moment so um he would be if you stopped and be like oh yeah of course let me get me out of this okay yeah nice [Vael (Berberis)]: We probably would have stopped him before we walked through the main gates of the city and said we should get rid of this shit. [Lacer (Kai)]: We'll put your armor in the bag holding and I'll lend him my basic yellow elven robe. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yes, we shouldn't leave his dark guard armor on the side of the road for someone to find and think, oh shit, there's an incursion. [Riv (DM)]: Oh no. [Lacer (Kai)]: Someone snuck into the city! [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: It'll match the other dark god armor in our bag. [Riv (DM)]: Amazing. Okay. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. And why don't we stop here and we can pick up on the next session what we do when we return to the city and what the plans are. [Vael (Berberis)]: But shit's about to go down. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yeah, sounds good. Sounds good. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. Amazing. All right. Cool. Well, that was great. ================= Session Ends ================= [Riv (DM)]: Kind of hoping for another little fight I really wanted to take that warg for a spin because the character sheet for that is really cool but it's great the um the escape sequence I think worked really well yeah true yeah um yeah I mean there's nothing stopping you you can certainly try [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Hey, surprise! It followed us through the wall! [Vael (Berberis)]: Yeah, you ain't making it over the river. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Come on, let's do it! [Vael (Berberis)]: You ain't making it over the river. [JC (Ryo)]: Riv, if it makes you feel any better, the urge to put an arrow through this chick's, the back of this chick's head is very up there. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: You can't shoot a little girl! [Lacer (Kai)]: What do you say when the DM says that? [JC (Ryo)]: For some reason, I don't want to kill the party though. [Riv (DM)]: um yeah so yeah why don't we let's let's just um let's talk about that a little bit right so we like obviously i i love to not just like break immersion in the middle of a session but so you've clearly taken the queen of the veil of eternal night into the heart of the city now how are we feeling about that [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Do you think that'll stop at the party? [JC (Ryo)]: I don't want to be the fault of the TP cave, so. [Vael (Berberis)]: Well, the queen or a potential avatar of the queen, my reason. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Of course. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Not of the city yet. [Riv (DM)]: yeah what's the what's the plan what's the vibe hmm [Vael (Berberis)]: That's why I asked Grumble if it's going to be wills or power. I have a feeling that the queen itself won't be here because she needs to be at home, though she is a greater power, so she can kind of be in two places at once. [Vael (Berberis)]: This little girl is probably not her as such, but it is an extension and or an avatar or [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: An extension of some form. [Vael (Berberis)]: very well could be a young elven girl who's just striking a deal to borrow to lend a body um now the queen itself in the vault i honestly don't know the hag said some but i think the hag's full of because hags are full of i'm [Riv (DM)]: Hmm. [Lacer (Kai)]: She's not normal to win against Grumble though. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Riv (DM)]: Hmm. [Vael (Berberis)]: personally my thing the hag said she wanted to drop the shield to restart the war if the queen wanted to restart the fucking war she would restart the fucking war shield or no she's yeah she's a greater greater fey power i i don't think that this level of shit would be required personally um she's obviously after something knowledge and or power [Riv (DM)]: Hmm. [Riv (DM)]: Who doesn't? [Vael (Berberis)]: God knows what. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: He just wants a young, dwarven husband. Yeah. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Hm? [Vael (Berberis)]: I don't think she's planning on cracking the shield to restart the war. If she wanted to do that, she could just do that. She wouldn't be keeping everyone close to home in the Vale of Night if she really wanted to get out there and start stirring shit in the Fae. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Lacer (Kai)]: And she would have killed. [Vael (Berberis)]: But there is nothing in the vault that she wants. We don't know enough about what the vault is. Is part of the challenge, I think. [Riv (DM)]: OK, cool. Yeah. So I guess like we've got a few conflicting stories here, right? Like you've got you could take the queen's word for it. The hag also had an opinion. There was the dream that Rio had. Well, I guess only he knows about that at this point. He didn't share that. [Riv (DM)]: What else? Ah, so here's a question for you. Did you, did you all think that Evrath was Asha immediately when you met him? [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Yes, as soon as he was introduced. [Lacer (Kai)]: I'm the dude. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah? [JC (Ryo)]: Had a feeling. [Vael (Berberis)]: I probably missed a bit where he didn't look Dark Elven, he was just pale. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Riv (DM)]: Hmm. Yeah. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yep. [Riv (DM)]: That was the whole thing. [JC (Ryo)]: Had a feeling and I wanted to push more of an insight check, but I didn't. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah, well, I mean, you probably, it doesn't matter how good your insight was. He, he, he was mind controlled, right? Like, he doesn't know. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yep. [Riv (DM)]: He doesn't fucking know anything. Yeah. [Lacer (Kai)]: He just loved his vegetables. [Riv (DM)]: um yeah yeah that was the that was where the whole like pet comment came from from the other soldier he's like i don't care what that pet thinks because as far as everyone else was concerned this is like a toy a pet of the queen that she had stolen at some point people probably didn't know who he was but only that he was someone from outside that the queen had taken a liking to [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yep. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: That was the moment it was certain to me. [Vael (Berberis)]: When the horses turned up with two people, I instantly figured one of them was him. I just didn't know which one because that was the deal. [Riv (DM)]: yeah yeah it was the deal yeah it's um it's fun dealing with like god-like figures you know who can just kind of do stuff [Lacer (Kai)]: Heh heh heh. [Vael (Berberis)]: The other thing with, you know, group chats like, [Vael (Berberis)]: if she is remotely close to what i believe she is which is an archfey in her own realm that's effectively a god we can't fucking stop this anyway like that's what i was saying like if you wanted to start the war she would start the fucking war sure the shield's probably a bit of an annoyance but it's not that yeah [Riv (DM)]: Possibly, yeah. I guess maybe her power doesn't extend. [Riv (DM)]: Yeah. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: She wants the vault, the only thing stopping her from getting into the vault is the ring, and does Ellesandra still have enough of the royal bloodline? [Riv (DM)]: Hmm. [Riv (DM)]: That's an interesting question. [JC (Ryo)]: She didn't even try and take the ring from me. [Vael (Berberis)]: Yeah. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Well, yeah. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: That you didn't know of. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: But if you had refused, is there still enough of the royal blood that you could take the ring? [Lacer (Kai)]: I want to see Erendor use the ring. [Vael (Berberis)]: Didn't we ask her that? I'm pretty sure we asked her and she said no, but she could be lying. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yeah. [Vael (Berberis)]: Fae don't lie. They dodge the truth. Admittedly, it depends on how River's playing them. But from memory, Fae can't lie. [Vael (Berberis)]: They can skirt the truth incredibly well, but they can't tell a lie. [Riv (DM)]: yeah they're pretty tricksy hmm yeah well anyway very good very exciting um we'll see you next time i will true yeah [Lacer (Kai)]: Maybe she thinks she can't but maybe she can but she hasn't tried because it's been so long. [Lacer (Kai)]: So in her mind maybe she thinks that she can't but she can still use ring potentially. [Vael (Berberis)]: I mean, [Vael (Berberis)]: JC doesn't want to rule the nirvana kingdom anyway. Who cares if it gets blown up? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Hey, doesn't it get blown up? It just needs to get assimilated. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: There'll be others. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Hmm. [Lacer (Kai)]: Erendor wants to rule the kingdom. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: I mean... [JC (Ryo)]: I mean, no, Erendor doesn't want it either. I gave him the, I offered him the ring. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: He's got his own ring, doesn't he? [JC (Ryo)]: Nope. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: No. [Lacer (Kai)]: There's only one. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Oh, okay. [Lacer (Kai)]: The one ring. Yeah. [JC (Ryo)]: Which, right now, I'm putting on my middle finger to flip off number. [Riv (DM)]: Ha ha. [JC (Ryo)]: Nah, man. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Oh, your majesty. Oh, how could you? [Vael (Berberis)]: Hard to say because like the thing is we don't know what she wants in the vault and that is made more tricky by the fact that we don't know what the vault really is. [Lacer (Kai)]: We know it's highly magical. And it tests people going in, but we don't know what it holds. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Is there some artifact, or some knowledge, or does she actually just want to go see Praetor, or... [Vael (Berberis)]: She doesn't give a fuck about the dragon like the dragon's just there because the time was on him oh yeah [JC (Ryo)]: But she wants to talk to him. [JC (Ryo)]: She said she wants to meet him. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Yes, but is that just a, ah, it's been a long time, hey? [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: Or is it a, or is it a, that's actually the intent of the visit, and... [Kiwi (Dondar)]: That's why we were created here. That's why JC was left in that forest. [JC (Ryo)]: Josie has no fucking idea. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: All leading to this. [Vael (Berberis)]: Maybe she just really wants to check out that book that she's been trying to get for a while. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: yeah just no one else has a copy of it like honestly no one else has a second edition it's a 12 book series and it's the last one i just need it [Riv (DM)]: it's the um the final book in the trilogy of patrick rothfuss the name of the wind or whatever this book yeah [Vael (Berberis)]: Yeah, yeah. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: The Doors of Stone. [Vael (Berberis)]: That's the end of fucking Winds of Winter. [JC (Ryo)]: The final book of Tusk Love, is it? [Lacer (Kai)]: She's been waiting hundreds of years. [Lacer (Kai)]: Willing to go to war for it. It's all written by red caps. [Riv (DM)]: The literature in the City of Night is just so bland. [Kiwi (Dondar)]: Wow. [Riv (DM)]: It's so emo and gothic and you just need something. Oh man. [JC (Ryo)]: Yeah, definitely need that first edition copy of Tusk Love. Come on, mate. [Riv (DM)]: Hell yeah. Bro that's a real book now you can buy in real life. Do you know that? [JC (Ryo)]: Wait, what? [Lacer (Kai)]: I know it's funny. [Riv (DM)]: They actually published it as a real book on the Critroll shop. [Lacer (Kai)]: Yeah. [JC (Ryo)]: Oh my god. [Riv (DM)]: You can buy it. Hell yeah dude. [Lacer (Kai)]: People would avoid it too. [Riv (DM)]: It's so crazy that like it's just a throwaway joke like that just becomes a real thing. [Lacer (Kai)]: It's funny. [Riv (DM)]: I love it. [Riv (DM)]: ah too good all right nice i'm gonna stop recording and let's see how the um ah the new recording thing on discord works i have a good feeling about it um [Kiwi (Dondar)]: What um... What is in Ethelmara? [Lacer (Kai)]: It trolls you and it didn't record anything. [Deathmouse (Eryndor)]: I've used Craig before and it's always been pretty good.