Ages of Pain | Age of Umbra Episode 5 Part 1

Summary

Critical Role Podcast Summary

Title: Critical Role
Episode: Ages of Pain | Age of Umbra Episode 5 Part 1
Release Date: July 3, 2025

Welcome to a detailed summary of Critical Role's "Ages of Pain | Age of Umbra Episode 5 Part 1." In this episode, the beloved group of voice actors delves deeper into their intense and dark campaign, navigating treacherous terrains, facing formidable foes, and unveiling pivotal character developments. Below is a comprehensive breakdown of the episode's key moments, enriched with notable quotes and timestamps to capture the essence of the adventure.

---

1. Introduction and Leveling Up [03:47 - 06:18]

The episode kicks off with an exciting announcement as Ashley Johnson (Ashley) informs listeners about the characters leveling up:

• Ashley Johnson [03:47]: "We leveled up."

The group directs fans to watch their leveling-up video on Beacon TV and YouTube, showcasing new abilities and enhancements each character has gained. Matthew Mercer (Matthew), the Dungeon Master, mentions a temporary break due to the Fourth of July, with the final three episodes scheduled for July 10th.

Notable Quote:

• Brixton [03:50]: "You can check out our level up video on Beacon and YouTube and see what cool new abilities we all took. Jesus." [03:50]

2. Announcements and New Content [06:07 - 07:35]

Ashley Johnson announces the release of Midstau's Glove, a romantasy novel by Thea Guanzon, available on July 1st in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.

Ashley Johnson [04:40]: "So we have this amazing new apparel collection... And then I have another thing to talk about because you guys, it's really real. It's really here. Midstau's Glove, the romantasy novel by Thea Guanzon." [04:40]

Later, Adelia (Adelia) shares thrilling news about Robbie Damon reprising his role as Rufino from their Assassin's Creed Shadows one-shot in a new story drop within the game.

Adelia [07:03]: "Our beloved Robbie Damon will be reprising his role as Rufino from our Assassin's Creed Shadows one shot in a brand new story drop for Assassin's Creed Shadows." [07:03]

---

3. Journey Through the Screaming Forest [12:05 - 24:00]

The core adventure begins as Matthew Mercer narrates the ongoing campaign:

Matthew Mercer [12:05]: "And as you trek into this eerily quiet, dark place, the leafless trees reaching out, gnarled branches that look like forever frozen screaming bodies stretched in agony..." [12:05]

The group enters the Screaming Forest, a perilous area filled with pain beasts and Rotlords. They attempt to hide from the ominous sounds but inadvertently awaken a Rotlord, leading to a fierce battle. The arrival of two Hive Collectors escalates the tension, forcing the party to sprint for safety.

Notable Quote:

• Idol [16:30]: "Stay behind me, everyone. Just follow my little cute tail." [16:30]

During their escape, the party faces environmental hazards like gnarled thorn vines and aggressive, twisted woodland creatures resembling deer, which heighten the sense of danger.

---

4. Confrontation with Mother and Hive Collectors [24:00 - 77:00]

As the party pushes through the Screaming Forest, they encounter Mother, the matriarch of the Hive, a monstrous creature with a formidable presence. The ensuing battle is intense, marked by strategic maneuvers, critical dice rolls, and heroic sacrifices.

Key Events:

• Character Actions:

  • Brixton (Brixton) steps in as the guardian, taking a devastating blow meant for a teammate.
    • Brixton [22:36]: "I am your shield." [22:36]
  • Ashley Johnson (Ashley) unleashes powerful magic to damage Mother, dealing significant harm with spells like Cinder Grasp and Unleash Chaos.
    • Ashley Johnson [30:23]: "What I'm gonna do is which one do I wanna do? Wild flame." [30:23]

• Critical Moments:

  • Brixton takes a major wound, symbolizing the group's peril.
    • Brixton [38:03]: "I am your shield." [38:03]
  • August employs tactical magic to cast Slumber on Mother, successfully incapacitating her temporarily.
    • August [50:39]: "I cast slumber." [50:39]
  • Idol and Screeve coordinate a combined attack, dealing massive damage to Mother, which overwhelms her defense.
    • Idol [84:22]: "Can I run forward and try to heal?”_ [84:22]
    • Ashley Johnson [73:26]: "That would have been just three points." [73:26]

Notable Quotes:

• Matthew Mercer [29:16]: "It's insane that they..." [29:16]
• Ashley Johnson [43:46]: "I can't be unconscious for this." [43:46]
• Brixton [61:18]: "Is it your proficiency too?" [61:18]
• Ashley Johnson [83:07]: "Come on. Kill her." [83:07]

---

5. Victory and Aftermath [77:00 - 90:00]

After a grueling battle, the party manages to defeat Mother, though not without significant losses and lingering threats from the Hive Collectors. The characters reflect on their actions and the toll of combat.

Matthew Mercer [89:00]: "...the previous matriarch of the Hive." [89:00]

Ashley Johnson contemplates the emotional weight of her victory and the profound changes within the group.

Ashley Johnson [89:03]: "You're queen now." [89:03]
Screeve [89:53]: "I'm a murderer." [89:53]

The team surveys the battlefield, assessing their remaining resources and strategizing their next move toward Amber Reach, signaling a transition to the next part of their journey.

---

6. Conclusion and Cliffhanger [90:09 - 93:00]

The episode concludes with the party exiting the Screaming Forest, eyes set on the ominous Amber Reach, a testament to humanity’s enduring struggles and the challenges that lie ahead.

Matthew Mercer [92:17]: "...the previous Keeper of the Hive. And in time, someone will replace her." [92:17]

Final Narration:

Matthew Mercer beautifully encapsulates the scene as the group reaches the forest's edge, highlighting the landscape's haunting beauty and the foreboding structures of Amber Reach in the fading daylight.

Matthew Mercer [93:00]: "...massive cathedrals, temples, impossible spires and towers that rise up still standing here a century later..." [93:00]

The episode ends on a dramatic note, setting the stage for the next installment where the adventurers will explore Amber Reach's mysteries.

---

Key Takeaways

• Character Development: Significant growth as characters level up and acquire new abilities, enhancing their roles within the group. Ashley's powerful magic and Brixton's sacrificial bravery underscore their evolving strengths.

• Intense Combat Scenes: The battle with Mother showcases tactical gameplay, collaboration, and the high stakes of the Age of Umbra campaign.

• Emotional Depth: Themes of sacrifice, loss, and vengeance add a profound emotional layer to the adventure, highlighting the personal struggles of each character amidst the overarching conflict.

• Cliffhanger Setup: The journey culminates at Amber Reach, promising more challenges and storytelling in the upcoming episodes.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Brixton [03:50]: "You can check out our level up video on Beacon and YouTube and see what cool new abilities we all took. Jesus." [03:50]

• Idol [16:30]: "Stay behind me, everyone. Just follow my little cute tail." [16:30]

• Ashley Johnson [30:23]: "What I'm gonna do is which one do I wanna do? Wild flame." [30:23]

• Ashley Johnson [43:46]: "I can't be unconscious for this." [43:46]

• Ashley Johnson [83:07]: "Come on. Kill her." [83:07]

• Screeve [89:53]: "I'm a murderer." [89:53]

---

This episode exemplifies Critical Role's masterful storytelling and immersive gameplay, engaging both longtime fans and newcomers alike. With high-stakes adventures and deep character interactions, "Age of Umbra Episode 5 Part 1" is a testament to the collaborative magic that defines Critical Role.

Transcript

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[Ashley Johnson]

Hey there Critters. This is Ashley Johnson and Telus and Jeffy and we're popping in here to talk about our new podcast on Beacon, Weird Kids.

[August]

In this series, we're diving into our lives as former child actors, from unraveling our eccentric upbringings to embracing all the delightfully odd interests we still have.

[Matthew Mercer]

Today.

[Ashley Johnson]

We're covering so many topics like antique toys, taxidermy, Japanese pop culture, and honestly, anything else we come up with.

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Weird Kids is available exclusively on Beacon. But good news, we're offering a one month free trial on Beacon TV so you can take a look before you become a member. Just use the code Weirdos at Beacon TV to start the trial.

[Ashley Johnson]

You can also find fellow weirdos by following the series on our heweirdkidspod Instagram and using the hashtag weirdkids.

[August]

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[Ashley Johnson]

Welcome to Weird Kids New episodes release every Tuesday.

[Matthew Mercer]

Hey there, Matthew Mercer here, and you're listening to the podcast version of Age of Umbra, a dark tale and campaign setting from our recently released tabletop RPG Daggerheart from Darrington Press. You don't need to know anything about the rules or system to enjoy the story, but if you're inspired to want to play along, we have several short how to Play resources we lovingly call get yout Sheet Together, available to watch right now on Beacon TV and YouTube.com criticalrole. This is part one of the episode right now, and part two arrives the following Tuesday. If you'd rather get instant and ad free access to the full episode, consider becoming a Beacon member, where you can watch bonus content like the cast discussing each episode and Critical Role Cooldown. Receive Critical Role shop discounts, including on Daggerheart and much more. Sign up now at Beacon tv and that should cover it. Now let's dive into the adventure. Hello, everyone, and welcome to tonight's episode of the Age of Umbra. Now, Marisha, you got an announcement.

[Ashley Johnson]

We leveled up.

[Matthew Mercer]

Hey.

[Brixton]

You can check out our level up video on Beacon and YouTube and see what cool new abilities we all took. Jesus. Next week we are actually taking a break from the show. Oh, it's fourth of July. A lot of people are gonna be out of town. We wanna give our crew a break. We don't wanna make them work anyway. But the Age of Umbra miniseries will return for the final three episodes on July 10th.

[Screeve]

Not all three. On July 10th.

[Brixton]

No, just the next one. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. In the meantime, you can dive deeper into the Age of Umbra by checking out its campaign frame in the Dagger Heart core set. Matt wrote it. It's gorgeous. It's great.

[Ashley Johnson]

Check it out. Yay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Laura, I believe you have an announcement.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes. Oh, my gosh. Okay, so we have.

[Matthew Mercer]

Are they dry?

[Ashley Johnson]

They're dry. They didn't get touched and I didn't get wet. So excited. Okay, so we have this amazing new apparel collection, and I'm really excited about it. And you may have seen our game night T shirt already. It's our game night collection. It's waterproof. We designed it. It's like.

[Screeve]

Is it a wet T shirt?

[Matthew Mercer]

It's like.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, stop. It's for your game nights or your days when you want to be gaming. It's like lounge fun stuff. So you've got that T shirt, which is right here. And then we also made these awesome shorts that are so cozy, loungey, and there's a pocket detail in the back. They're so cool. And then if you want to just bring it a little more upscale, then you can wear the camp shirt. And it's so, so awesome and like cozy and it's so comfortable. And the details are so good. And all the illustrations are by Matthew Crumpton, amazing artist. They're like little minis. And there's cr. Popcorn and a little coke can. And it's just like it was inspired because I was like, I want it to feel like you know, what it looks like when you're gaming. And all the stuff that's in front of me. Check it out now. In all three of the critical world, Shoppies. Yay. And then I have another thing to talk about because you guys, it's really real. It's really here. Midstau's Glove, the romantasy novel by Thea Guanzon.

[Matthew Mercer]

Spicy.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, it's so spicy. And it will be available this Tuesday, July 1st, wherever books are sold.

[Screeve]

That's crazy.

[Ashley Johnson]

That is insane.

[Matthew Mercer]

Insane.

[Ashley Johnson]

In hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats. Find out where you can get [e-mail] that's so Oscar.

[Brixton]

This isn't all over book talk. I'm gonna be so mad.

[Ashley Johnson]

Get on it, books.

[Adelia]

Yes, I can do audiobook version right in your ears.

[August]

You know what?

[Screeve]

This book is already making me wet.

[Ashley Johnson]

So stupid.

[Adelia]

20% of the way through that. I gave up on his face and just started shooting at his dick.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yep.

[Matthew Mercer]

The more things change. It's insane that, that. And another thing that is wild that it exists. Liam, why don't you go ahead and tell us?

[Adelia]

Oh my gosh. I have the coolest announcement. There has never been one quite like it on the show before. Our beloved Robbie Damon will be reprising his role as Rufino from our Assassin's Creed Shadows. One shot in a brand new story drop for Assassin's Creed Shadows. Free to download right now.

[Matthew Mercer]

What?

[Screeve]

But we made a thing and now they're making it a thing.

[Ashley Johnson]

It's in the video game.

[Matthew Mercer]

They made our one shot canon by actually putting it in the.

[Adelia]

Paid homage to Assassin's Creed. And then they took Robbie's character and.

[Ashley Johnson]

Put it in the game.

[Adelia]

Plus, there is also a weapons pack available for purchase featuring some new takes on some of our weapons from Exandria.

[Matthew Mercer]

See them? They're pretty friggin pretty cool. They got.

[Adelia]

You can check out both of these items right now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PC, Mac OS, and some game streaming services to boot.

[Matthew Mercer]

Check it out. Support our boy.

[Ashley Johnson]

Rufino.

[Matthew Mercer]

I believe that concludes our announcements.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, boy.

[Matthew Mercer]

So let's go ahead and jump into tonight's episode of the Age of Umbras Foreign.

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[Matthew Mercer]

Hello and welcome to the Age of Umbra. When we finished the last session, as this troop was fleeing from the center of the screaming forest, I also decided that it'd be time for you to level up. So we went ahead and leveled up everyone in a separate video that you can find on our channel. But just to go quickly around on what domain you may have chosen, what experience you might have done, we'll start over here with with Travis Idol.

[Idol]

Yes, I Picked two cards from Splendor, Healing Hands and final words so that we can heal our party and then also talk to some that we vanquish.

[Matthew Mercer]

Fantastic. Mitzi.

[Ashley Johnson]

I took for an extra domain card the Book of Citel. And then I took an extra HP point and upped my evasion.

[Matthew Mercer]

Hell yeah. All right, Adelia.

[Ashley Johnson]

I upped some of my skills so I'm more agile and more instinctual now. And I have more stress because I am using a lot of stress. And you have more spells and I took ability to burn people.

[Matthew Mercer]

Cool. Love your doctor Scree.

[Adelia]

I upped my evasion.

[Matthew Mercer]

I.

[Adelia]

Gave myself Shadow Bind and Troublemaker because I'm a troublemaker. That's fine.

[Matthew Mercer]

Perfect. Brixton. Marisha.

[Brixton]

I went all in on Valor and I took forceful push so it can push people up bridges forcefully. Body Basher, so I can add my strength to all my damage rolls now. And my strength is now out of three.

[Matthew Mercer]

Fantastic. August, tell us something.

[August]

I grabbed something called the Book of Vagras, which has like little locks, a little teleport, a little detect magic. And then I upped my evasion and upped my knowledge and instinct just a tad.

[Matthew Mercer]

Fantastic. Snix.

[Screeve]

Snix upped his agility and strength, chose Nature's Tongue and conjure swarm. And he's ready to play this game.

[Matthew Mercer]

Fantastic.

[Adelia]

You can do that.

[Screeve]

Let's go.

[Matthew Mercer]

So last we left off this troop. After traversing the sunken rampart, battling with a couple of pain beasts, then forging your way to the central southern land mass of the Halcyon domain, you implored entry into Volkoru and were denied due to the unproven untrustworthiness of your troop by the two barons. There, however, you were allowed to rest outside of the walls and trade with the representative. A few trades were made, some acquisitions were acquired, and then you headed northward for the rest of your trek towards Amber Reach through the screaming forest, a place that has a hint of anxiety, specifically for a couple of you. As you trekked into this eerily quiet, dark place, the leafless trees reaching out, gnarled branches that look like forever frozen screaming bodies stretched in agony. The landscape itself, the underbrush filled with spongy, dark, multicolored fungus, you began to hear the buzzing sound of something in the distance, Something familiar to some of you. In attempting to hide away, you awoke some of the nearby fungus, its caustic touch beginning to burn through your armor. Before a large Rotlord itself was summoned from the underbrush. And you battled it, as it called more of its brethren to your side. Unable to finish the battle quickly enough, two Hive Collectors arrived. And while they were beaten fairly hard, they managed to flee elsewhere. And the instinct to run took over as your troop began to sprint towards what you hoped to be the exit of the Screaming Forest. With that, I'm beginning a dynamic consequence timer on a 5. Here. A DCT. And you are all running. You are running somewhere in the Screaming Forest. First off, which direction are you going? Who's helming this? Who's looking for the proper path?

[Brixton]

We were saying north, right? We're trying to get north.

[Matthew Mercer]

North, Correct. Who knows north?

[Screeve]

I do. I do. I've been there before, so I can use some sort of ability.

[Brixton]

You've been north before?

[Ashley Johnson]

You have?

[Matthew Mercer]

I have.

[Brixton]

It's a Ranger ability.

[Screeve]

Path Forward Wayfinder ability. When you're traveling to a place you've previously visited, you can identify the shortest, most direct path to your destination.

[Matthew Mercer]

Great. The shortest and most direct path. Is it the path you're taking? Uh oh. Or is it the safest path? Uh oh? This is a question for you, Snix.

[Screeve]

Shortest.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes, yes, yes. Shortest path. Let's go. I need you, Snix, as you're leading the rest of this troop, to make an instinct roll to see how well you can traverse your group safely to the shortest path from where you're currently running.

[Idol]

I'll shadow your roll, just so I know whether to feel bad or good.

[Matthew Mercer]

About what you do.

[Screeve]

Stay behind me, everyone. Just follow my. My little cute tail.

[Brixton]

Oh, no.

[Screeve]

11 with hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh. 11 with hope. Okay, it's a failure. With hope, the countdown timer ticks down from five to three on a failure. With hope, you gain a hope. But in rushing to the most direct route, you go charging directly into what looks to be a partially sunken part of the forest. As you go around the side of it, the ground itself feels a little spongy. It's almost like this landscape was recently rocked by some strange physical activity. A little bit of the back of your brain tickles like a bad memory that you don't want to focus on. But nevertheless, you continue to push forward. As you do, you watch as the Screaming Forest. The Screaming Forest is indeed awakening, which this is awakening. There is awakened corruption throughout this forest. And as you're making a tangled escape through it, that's what this marker is situated to represent. Now, as you are rushing around this somewhat sunken mass here, where it seems almost like the force divvies into a massive dent about 60, 70ft across, it almost seems to breathe for a minute before it Sinks a little lower and the ground around you snakes out a vine to grab at you initially. Uh oh. This is going to be. Sorry, you need to make an agility reaction roll.

[Screeve]

Agility react. Okay. I have advantage on roles to traverse, navigate harsh environments and use my survival knowledge.

[Matthew Mercer]

No, Navigate a harsh environment. Yes. However, this is a specifically awakened part of it coming at you.

[Screeve]

Great. That is very good. Except it's a 23. This is reaction roll. 23.

[Matthew Mercer]

23. Great. You manage to dart out of the way as this gnarled thorn vine tries to rip out and grab onto Snix's leg. You bounce out of the way and continue trekking onward. Now you're on the shortest path, but you can see some of the trees almost seem to be shifting. You can't tell if the trees are coming alive or the landscape is moving. It's hard to tell. But there is something. Something brimming beyond your horizon. Some low, bassy, distant hum that you didn't pick up before. You continue rushing forward for the time being. However, as that sound begins to happen, that rumble brings a different sound. A louder as it sounds like a bunch of somewhat twisted woodland creatures that take up residence here are also running your direction from the northward way. Fleeing, stampeding. You're uncertain, but a large group of what look like deeply fucked up deer are now rushing towards you. Their heads twisted and hanging and slopping back and forth as they run, their horns gnarled and twisted into two of them. Their heads are tied together by the horns and they're rushing in tandem. And they all just come charging towards your group like.

[Adelia]

Same hat.

[Brixton]

Why are they running? What are they fleeing from?

[Matthew Mercer]

They are rushing in your direction. Who would like to helm avoiding this stampede?

[Adelia]

Can I do that? I'm going to leap for a tree and try to hang off the side of it.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. So you're trying to lead the group into an avoidance. I'm going to make this a group action roll with you helming it. I need everybody else here to make an agility roll for me before you roll.

[Ashley Johnson]

Screen agility.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes.

[Screeve]

It'S a reaction.

[Matthew Mercer]

No, this is actually an agility roll to see if you can get out of the way of this stampede. Thirteen.

[Idol]

Thirteen with hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

Well, this is. Okay, so it's a group roll. So yeah. So 13, that's a minus 1. Fuck.

[Ashley Johnson]

8.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh no. Minus 2.

[Ashley Johnson]

6.

[Matthew Mercer]

Minus 3. Minus 4.

[August]

7.

[Matthew Mercer]

Minus 5.

[Brixton]

18.

[Matthew Mercer]

Minus 4.

[Ashley Johnson]

What?

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh yeah. Go ahead and make your roll.

[August]

You got that?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes.

[Adelia]

I'm going to use my new experience Creepy climbers add to the roll.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, so spend a hope to do so.

[Adelia]

Okay, it's done. That is 13, 14, 15, 16 of.

[Matthew Mercer]

The hope for me -4 is be to going.

[Idol]

Going to be a 12, which is totally enough.

[Adelia]

Not great.

[Matthew Mercer]

That counts down the consequence timer to A1. As the stampede comes rushing through, you reach up for the tree and the rest of you follow suit. You grab it without issue with each other ally that leaps under the branch.

[Adelia]

This way, this way.

[Matthew Mercer]

Until eventually, halfway up, the trunk of the tree snaps out to the side and your whole troop impacts and scatters to the ground as the stampede runs past.

[Adelia]

I came down to you.

[Matthew Mercer]

All of you, as a troop. Suffer.

[Adelia]

That's the end of the sentence.

[August]

Just suffer.

[Matthew Mercer]

Just suffer. Eight points of physical damage as you all get briefly stampeded, knocked to the side, kicked and pushed off into the nearby brush by this group of about 12. 13.

[Ashley Johnson]

Our armor's all fucked up.

[Screeve]

Yeah, because of last time.

[Idol]

8 points of damage.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, Matt, you gave me in the last game, you gave me a temporary boost to my armor. Does that still count?

[August]

As long as we haven't taken a rest, I believe it still counts.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay, so you can spend an armor if you want.

[Brixton]

And furthermore, I went unstoppable at the end of the battle. But it says that this continues until the end of this scene.

[Matthew Mercer]

I will allow this to continue to be the same scene since you are still kind of fleeing from that battle and the threats haven't left your periphery.

[Brixton]

Okay, I take no damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Great.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm going to spend a hope to use my runeward.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, go ahead and roll for the Runeword's damage reduction.

[Ashley Johnson]

That's 1d8 down by 4, which brings it down to a 2, which is a minor one hit point.

[Matthew Mercer]

You got them. Alrighty. Taking back up where you are, you can hear other creatures that call the forest home rushing away and tearing through the nearby trees, leaping over small hills and other weird shadows that are leaping. Something intense is happening in the direction that you're traveling that you can feel under the ground like a this big bassy impact. And then suddenly a large.

[Brixton]

Perhaps we should.

[Matthew Mercer]

And then it goes quiet ahead.

[Brixton]

Perhaps we should listen to the wildlife and not go forward. Maybe we should peel off to the side.

[Screeve]

Is there wildlife around us?

[Matthew Mercer]

The wildlife has kind of passed by and that weird rumble has apparently gone quiet.

[Adelia]

Can I climb another tree? Just me?

[Matthew Mercer]

Sure, if you want to. What are you trying to do?

[Adelia]

I just want to get up high and see anything coming from a distance.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, go ahead and make an instinct roll for me as you clamber up. You're a fairly decent climber and you're not currently in the immediate threat of dodging out of the way. So I'll let you climb up and try and keep a view over this tangled leafless expanse.

[Adelia]

Oh, not great. It's 11 with hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

11 with hope. So you get a hope. But that does complete the consequence timer for your escape. You look ahead and you can see what looks to be, honestly, a safe clearing, which is kind of a nice welcome bit of information in the middle of this clustered forest.

[Adelia]

Looks pretty good.

[Matthew Mercer]

With that, you all begin to charge forward, rushing towards what you hope to be the edge of the forest, where the trees begin to diminish. As you rush up, you all stop yourselves as you're suddenly met with a massive gaping sinkhole in the middle of this forest. One that had just emerged. Such things have been rumored to happen across the Halcyon domain. The ever shifting sinkholes, an unknown natural or unnatural occurrence that just swallow whole gulfs of land. It's been a while since a recent one had erupted. The last one months ago, had consumed the majority of what is now a mostly abandoned and destroyed settlement a little ways northwest of here. You have flashbacks of the last one you encountered? I do. That took away your companion in that travel, yes. But here, as you rush up to the edge of this massive sinkhole, an impossibly large thing from side to side, just a black expanse below, this warm wind emerging with a sulfurous scent to it as it billows up your hair, being pushed up by the rising wind, you hear a sound, right as you glance. You look up behind you and watch as there are two thicker armored looking hive collectors than the ones you encountered before. Not the same ones that have fled, but two large ones that are carrying one massive dark shaped figure. The two of them clutching onto it and lifting it, almost like they're both airlifting some other entity through the air as a voice rings out from above. Those that leave will return to the hive. Mother misses you, August. I'm going to put down a map here for you. Oh, what happened? To who?

[Idol]

Burt Bumper.

[August]

Why do I write scary things about that?

[Screeve]

Bumper fell in a sinkhole and was never seen again. I'm a ranger. I used to have an animal companion, but they're useless, as we all know. He fell into a sinkhole and died.

[August]

As an anthropomorphic ranger animal. Did you have a human companion who was useless?

[Screeve]

He's like an elephant.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay, well, that's it's like a mini.

[Screeve]

Elephant that I used to ride.

[Ashley Johnson]

An elephant?

[Screeve]

Mini elephant guy.

[Ashley Johnson]

That's adorable.

[Matthew Mercer]

He was so cute.

[Brixton]

The quicksand, just like our childhood told us would be a problem.

[Matthew Mercer]

As you all turn around and hear this voice, you watch as the two buzzing elite hive collectors release this shattered entity that arcs down. Fuck. And lands. You see this monstrous swollen insect, arachnid type creature. Its outer chitinous skin a pale yellowed, almost jaundiced color. Biological armor plates that sit across its multitude of multi segmented legs. Its lower thorax itself kind of swollen and cracked in places. And where the joints are throughout it, you can see this thick, slick purple under flesh that seems to almost be between where it's exposed. The two larger humanoid arms that emerge from its torso clutch an amazing, nasty looking glaive that has this awful hooked blade on it. You see, aside from the armor plates, a crest that contains a multitude of candles that are all still lit, glowing behind it. Its head looks like it's under a hood, but the hood itself is almost like the same jaundiced. A flesh flap over its purple slick face that seems to emit this horrible voice from a sourceless mouth as it impacts and lands.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh my God.

[Screeve]

Big hood, big baby scream.

[Ashley Johnson]

Look how it sparkles.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, pretty colors to this degree.

[Ashley Johnson]

Are they bigger than the last ones or those same size?

[Matthew Mercer]

Those are the same size, but these ones are a little bigger. A little better armored, A little more serious. A little more of like a royal escort, if you will, for Mother. Fuck.

[Ashley Johnson]

That's Mother. That's Mother.

[Brixton]

Call me Mother.

[Matthew Mercer]

Argus Queen Mother. You are my favorite experiment. I'm glad you're home. Kill the rest.

[Adelia]

Oh, God, I want to run.

[Ashley Johnson]

I am going.

[Brixton]

Wait, do we run?

[Ashley Johnson]

Are you not? I am going to step in front of August.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, snap.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, boy.

[August]

I don't know what to do.

[Ashley Johnson]

This is all up.

[Brixton]

We can run. She's gonna be. Running is always an option.

[Screeve]

She's really fast.

[Brixton]

Okay, well, they are very fast.

[August]

Oh, boy.

[Ashley Johnson]

I didn't plan anything else. Oh, you just had to step in? Well, no, I was like. Well, wait, are we gonna discuss something?

[Screeve]

No, no, no.

[August]

I'm paralyzed.

[Matthew Mercer]

If no one's doing anything. Oh, God. At this point, what do you got?

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm gonna. I'm gonna. I'm gonna decide right in this moment.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes.

[Ashley Johnson]

What I'm gonna do is which one do I wanna do? Wild flame. Shoot a wild flame.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. As you approach, she's like, I recognize word of you. Another child taken too soon. They all return to Martha August.

[Ashley Johnson]

Do I have permission?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes. Yes.

[Screeve]

Oh, God, yeah.

[Ashley Johnson]

Now?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes, now.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, so. Oh, oh, oh. I got a crit.

[Matthew Mercer]

Nice. Cool. Hell, yeah. So you clear a stress, you gain a hope.

[Brixton]

Oh, that's exciting.

[Matthew Mercer]

And go ahead and roll some damage.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay. A clear stress, gain a home.

[Brixton]

Like max damage on one of the die or something.

[Matthew Mercer]

Correct. So for damage on this, you get max one die and. And then roll an additional die to it.

[Ashley Johnson]

Max one die. Okay. Max one die. Okay, so I roll two D6s. So one of those is a six. Am I. Am I understanding that correctly?

[Brixton]

Your proficiency went up too, or is it?

[Ashley Johnson]

So it's max 12 and then you added it.

[Matthew Mercer]

So I'm double checking here real fast since we are level two. Okay.

[August]

Far as a pencil, right?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. 90. Got the book here. We can do it. All right. So far. Okay.

[August]

I'm gonna try something.

[Screeve]

Too much fun.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, God.

[August]

That is so much worse than I imagined.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, God.

[Ashley Johnson]

Targets you succeed against. Take 2d6. Magic damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'm sorry. No, it's. It's a max of your dice. Then roll your dice on top of it. Not one dice because we're at second.

[Ashley Johnson]

So that's 12 plus another 2d6. Plus another 2d6.

[Matthew Mercer]

Correct.

[Ashley Johnson]

2D2 dx plus another 6.

[Matthew Mercer]

Plus another 6.

[Ashley Johnson]

18. So 18 plus, plus. No, it's just wildfire.

[Matthew Mercer]

So 18 points of magic damage or physical damage.

[Ashley Johnson]

It is magic damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right.

[Ashley Johnson]

But I do have to mark a stress as flames erupt from my hands.

[Matthew Mercer]

Go ahead, mark stress. That is a major wound on Twitter. Marks two hit points as mother flames curl around ungrateful children.

[Ashley Johnson]

No, I don't need to use that.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, okay.

[Ashley Johnson]

Wait. Can I have used the distraction of when she did her fire to use my. They most come at night and run and hide.

[Matthew Mercer]

If you want to go ahead and attempt to hide, make a finesse roll.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay.

[Screeve]

To use an experience, you mark a hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

A hope.

[Ashley Johnson]

Use a hope in order to do that.

[Matthew Mercer]

Correct.

[Screeve]

Spend a hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

Spend a hope and then add that bonus to your deck.

[Ashley Johnson]

Finesse. Ooh, that's good. 13, 14, 15, 16 with Hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

So gain a hope. Where would you like to hide?

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes, I want to hide. I want to try to hide over here.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. So as they're approaching, you're small, you draw off to the side. And as far as you think, you hide behind the underbrush and the nearby fungus and get low. They may not see. Do you want to continue with your turn?

[Ashley Johnson]

Sure, sure.

[Matthew Mercer]

You can wait. It's up to You.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm going to unleash chaos as I like as she did it. I want to have unleashed chaos at the same time and then make a mad dash so it feels like it came from her.

[Matthew Mercer]

Unleash chaos. Perfect. All right, so go ahead and roll the unleash chaos.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay. Okay. I make a spell casting that is 13 with hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

That is not going to succeed. So you gain a hope, but that.

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[Ashley Johnson]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. So as you unleash the chaos, it arcs off, ends up firing off into the sky somewhere. You watch as mother like, then so be it. She darts forward rapidly towards your troops, and it's gonna go ahead and make a sweeping incision. Now, she has an ability called surgical accuracy. So before she makes an attack, I roll a D6 on a 4 or higher. Your evasion is halved against it. Oh, my God. And it is against everybody. Sweeping incision is everybody in close range, which is all of you but you. So that's a five. So all of your evasion is halved against this attack.

[August]

Don't round up for odd number.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah, like What? That's a 13 round up to minus.

[Ashley Johnson]

Five to our evasion.

[Matthew Mercer]

Six. It's halved.

[Ashley Johnson]

So your evasion is now six.

[Matthew Mercer]

Shit. All right, so for that, that's gonna be a 13 to hit, which is not a great roll, but your evasion is halved. Pretty sure that hits all of you.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, shit.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes. All right, so for this, it's going to be. Oh, wait, sorry. I don't have fear to spend on that. So it's not a sweeping incision. Instead, it's going to be. It's still surgical accuracy, but it's just gonna be targeted against a single person. And that single person is going to be you, since you're the one that lit it on fire, not my mother. So that is. That's a. Different damage types. Ooh. That's gonna be 27 points of physical damage against you.

[Screeve]

Yikes.

[Idol]

You have no armor.

[Ashley Johnson]

It's gone.

[Idol]

27 points.

[Matthew Mercer]

27 points physical damage.

[August]

That's dumb.

[Idol]

What happens if it's double your severe damage threshold?

[Matthew Mercer]

Double your severe. Yeah, that's four hit points you mark.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, and if you're out of hit points.

[Brixton]

I am your shield. I am your shield. I am your shield.

[Matthew Mercer]

Do you have the.

[Brixton]

Yes. I'll take the stress and do this.

[Ashley Johnson]

God damn it.

[Idol]

Otherwise.

[Ashley Johnson]

Wait. You would be dead. I would be dead.

[Matthew Mercer]

We'd be rolling. Well, we'd be going into death moves here.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, okay, okay. All right. I do love a death move.

[Matthew Mercer]

So that is 27 points of physical damage against you, Brixton.

[Brixton]

Okay, wait. Oh, it has to be Double my. What's the double situation?

[Matthew Mercer]

What's your severe threshold?

[Brixton]

My severe threshold is 18.

[Ashley Johnson]

I am.

[Matthew Mercer]

So it is not double.

[Brixton]

No. I am also currently unstoppable, so I reduce the severity of physical damage by one threshold.

[Matthew Mercer]

So it's a major.

[Brixton]

I will also spin an armor and drop it down to a miner.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, go for it.

[Brixton]

A minor.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's amazing that that's what Guardians do.

[Brixton]

Just eat the full brunt of it on my shield.

[Matthew Mercer]

Jarting in forward for a moment for this brief period of time that you've regained life. You see this flash in your mind of it coming to a dark, sudden close, and you realize that darkness is not your vision. It's the shadow of Brixton, who had leapt in front of you and took the blow and glances over her shoulder at you with a nod and an acknowledgment.

[Ashley Johnson]

The old gods are with you.

[Brixton]

And the truth that is true. Not today. What's that old God's name?

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes.

[Brixton]

Not today, Ratu.

[Matthew Mercer]

Not today. It's back to you all. What are you doing?

[Brixton]

Well, I'll fuck this shit.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'm going in. Let's go, Brixton.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm fucking Reggie.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes.

[Brixton]

Okay, I'm going to. I'm gonna do a forceful push because I can.

[Matthew Mercer]

You want to move it all first.

[Idol]

You want to stay sack out of our face.

[Brixton]

Okay, here we go. Here we go. Come on, come on, come on. Okay, that Is not terrible.

[Screeve]

Don't you say fear. Don't you say fear.

[Brixton]

20 with fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

That is a success, though. So go ahead and roll the success. Remember, you guys leveled up into tier two. So do the enemies.

[Brixton]

I will spend a hope, though, to okay. On a successful damage. I get to knock them back to close range.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Brixton]

I did not succeed with hope, so I will not add a D6. But I will spend a hope to make her vulnerable, to make mommy vulnerable. And then let me roll some damage so I have with my strength, with my ability, and then I get to add this. So it's gonna be 7, 8, 9 to whatever I roll here. Okay. So that is going to be 19 damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

19 damage. That is a major wound. That is two hit points to mother as you. After taking the full brunt of it, you turn back with a heavy swing, carve across the front of the thorax. One of the front legs curls back defensively, and you end up carving it off her body. It tumbles on the ground. Savor that one's flesh. Dawn my bait chambers as she gets knocked back and catches herself against the nearby trees. Do you want to move on your turn, or is that the end of it? I do want to maintain.

[Brixton]

No, because this is how I shield. I need to kind of be with everybody else.

[Matthew Mercer]

You got it.

[Brixton]

Okay. I will shift just one or two to the left here, but let me stay close to idle.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. There.

[Brixton]

Yeah. And then I am going to turn, and I'm going to look at August and say, what was that you said about running? Well, you know, make a choice.

[Matthew Mercer]

So you roll with fear. So it comes to mother.

[Brixton]

Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

Mother's going to activate immediately after and retort. And I do have a fear this time. So mother's going to charge right forward, getting low. The spider legs picking up speed as she rushes forward. Getting low as the massive glaive attempts to massively sweep across your troops, Bending that fear to do the sweeping incision I was going to do before. Let's see if the evasion is out. It's a five. It is. So the surgical accuracy kicks in, and this attack is going to be. Oh, not great. She only rolled an 8. But what's your evasions?

[August]

Cut in half.

[Matthew Mercer]

Cut in half. Four and a half. All right, so I believe that hits everyone. Okay. Everyone who Is struck tags 21 points of physical damage.

[Idol]

Nice hit.

[Matthew Mercer]

Across the entirety of your troop.

[Idol]

Nice hit.

[Brixton]

You don't have any armor.

[Ashley Johnson]

That's the problem. Nobody knows armor.

[Matthew Mercer]

I do.

[August]

Oh, boy.

[Adelia]

I have a little left.

[Idol]

You just Gotta play better.

[Adelia]

I took one. I already lost my armor. I am crossing off my last armor.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm out.

[Adelia]

From severe down to major.

[Matthew Mercer]

You're out?

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm out.

[Matthew Mercer]

So we get to your. So Misty.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes, yes.

[Matthew Mercer]

Misty. We get to your. Your new death move. No, you have. You have the choice.

[Ashley Johnson]

No.

[Matthew Mercer]

No.

[Ashley Johnson]

Well, give me.

[Matthew Mercer]

Go.

[Ashley Johnson]

Go around. I gotta think about it.

[Matthew Mercer]

No, there's no time. Death waves are no.

[Idol]

1.

[Matthew Mercer]

Hold on your pace.

[Ashley Johnson]

What am I doing?

[Matthew Mercer]

What am I doing?

[August]

You should just hit my full HP. I haven't gone over. But I had 5 HP and now I am have no HPs.

[Matthew Mercer]

Out.

[August]

Wait, you're out 2.

[Brixton]

We can reduce.

[August]

I don't think so.

[Matthew Mercer]

Hit that bass drop Gia. Hit that bass drop Gia. Make the table shake.

[August]

I may have something.

[Matthew Mercer]

Make the table shake. Nope. So both of you get to make death moves, right?

[Idol]

Oh, baby.

[Matthew Mercer]

The choices are blaze of glory, sleep into her arms. Yes. Blaze of glory. Take one action. That's an automatic crit. And then you die. Avoid death and face the consequences. You both just fall unconscious and cannot come to consciousness until you are healed. Or you take a long rest or risk it all. Roll the duality dice. If the hope is higher, you take the hope die number and distribute that amongst your hit points and stress to recover. If the fear die is higher, you are dead. Choice is yours.

[August]

I can't be unconscious for this.

[Idol]

There is no tomorrow.

[Ashley Johnson]

I can't either.

[August]

I'm rolling.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, God. What else is there to do?

[Screeve]

You can be unconscious.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah, but that feels.

[Adelia]

That's not what you did though.

[Screeve]

I know, but I'm daring.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's up to you all.

[Ashley Johnson]

Wait, can you. Sorry. I know.

[Matthew Mercer]

If somebody else manages to heal you, you can come back to consciousness. Yeah.

[Ashley Johnson]

Wait. If someone heals you, you can come back to consciousness. I don't heal knocked out.

[Idol]

Yeah, I can heal as long as I survive long enough to heal.

[Ashley Johnson]

Well, that's the thing. If there's two of us, that's the.

[Matthew Mercer]

End of my turn. It goes back to you.

[Ashley Johnson]

So Idol could run over and heal you right now?

[Idol]

I could, but I'd have to pick between one of you two and I don't know which one I like more. I'm open to Brian.

[Ashley Johnson]

What are you gonna do?

[Matthew Mercer]

I don't know.

[Idol]

Let the dice decide.

[Ashley Johnson]

You go first. Cause I already did it once.

[August]

I think it's the dice.

[Ashley Johnson]

Duality dice.

[Idol]

I love it.

[Screeve]

Oh my God.

[Brixton]

I should have stayed in the thick of it.

[August]

I mean, fuck.

[Brixton]

I was trying to get up.

[Idol]

Are you going first?

[Matthew Mercer]

I Mean, technically, you died.

[Ashley Johnson]

Are you doing it? I died. I know, but he already did.

[Matthew Mercer]

Just know.

[Ashley Johnson]

I've already done it.

[Matthew Mercer]

If you die, you're out of the game.

[Screeve]

Yes, well, we can talk to your dead body with Travis's new features, you can.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh my God. This is so high risk.

[August]

This is high risk, man. You fucking. You reminded me that you can heal.

[Idol]

You can probably order takeout.

[Ashley Johnson]

Let him heal. Let him heal you.

[Matthew Mercer]

What do you want to do?

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh.

[Idol]

It'S up to you. It's up to you.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah, I got to.

[August]

I. I think I got. I think I got to roll for it.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, do. Do you want to roll on the table or do you want to roll in your. And say it again? You made the pull.

[Idol]

I said fear, right?

[Matthew Mercer]

Hope just has to be higher than fear, dear.

[Screeve]

My God, I don't like this.

[Matthew Mercer]

I don't like this at all.

[Screeve]

I don't like it.

[Matthew Mercer]

I don't. That fear Die landed on a 10 before that hope die finished showing. And I was like, fuck. Taliesin died.

[Screeve]

I don't know what to do now.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh God, what an injection. August. Woohoo. August.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh yeah, I went to a 12. I saw the 10.

[Matthew Mercer]

I saw the 10 hit. I'm like, oh, God damn. No. August. As you fall, as you fall into shadow for a minute, the last thing you recall are countless moments of trauma and fear and torture at the hand of mother living under the black shadow and the pain and the machinations of this strange subterranean terror. And you feel the surge of fire in your chest. Some sourceless power. This flicker within says, not yet. There's still too much to do and vengeance to dull out. With that, you grab from within this well of strength inside you and you rise to one knee. You could distribute 12amongst your stress and hit points to recover. Can I do anything with all I have left over? Nope.

[Adelia]

Damn golden boy only has to help.

[August]

One person, and I get no hope from that roll either way.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, so true. If I go unconscious and somebody comes over to maybe heal me, then why.

[Idol]

Are you gesturing to me?

[Ashley Johnson]

Well, cause I'm hoping if I do that, then I would heal. How would I heal?

[Matthew Mercer]

I don't know.

[Idol]

You're a big ass statue. How much would you heal?

[Ashley Johnson]

Like how.

[Matthew Mercer]

That depends on how many hit points they can heal you.

[Idol]

Cuz like I don't have just to metagame. If. If it. If it all goes well on a failure, I would mark a stress and clear one hit point for you so.

[Matthew Mercer]

The minimum one would be back down.

[Ashley Johnson]

I have no Armor like I'm back down again.

[Brixton]

Leave you asleep until we finish this fight.

[Idol]

And I can only do this once.

[Matthew Mercer]

Or.

[August]

Or sleep until we.

[Ashley Johnson]

That feels so lame.

[Idol]

I can do it. I can do it for you one time before long.

[August]

And I also have some stuff I can do too.

[Ashley Johnson]

I would say. You would say unconscious because we now.

[Brixton]

Have Sage of Umbra baby.

[August]

But what would you do? I've done my wild king.

[Adelia]

What would Misty do?

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, you know what? I'm an unconscious.

[Brixton]

We just started the game.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yep.

[Ashley Johnson]

I can't do it yet. There's no way we're gonna get one. Good. We already. I'm not gonna test the gods.

[Matthew Mercer]

Swinging the pendulum, August crumbles and then begins to rise on one knee. Are you going unconscious or are you rolling?

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm going unconscious.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. But I kind of want to roll. The Misty impacts the ground with a heavy thud and is not moving. No.

[Screeve]

However, I think she's just a statue. That's how she is.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh. It is no longer my spotlight. Who wants to go?

[Screeve]

I need to heal. Okay, so I'm going to use. I'm going to burn my armor. So stitcher burning three hope to restore three armor slots.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Brixton]

Did you make her go vulnerable? I made her vulnerable.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes. Yes. I should have been marking them, but I had it written down here.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

So. Yeah.

[Screeve]

And I'm gonna consume my minor health potion to attack her on to open up a hit point.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Screeve]

Do whatever you want.

[Idol]

I'm running over. I've got four hope I'm gonna burn three to use my life support feature as a seraph to spend three hope to clear a hit point on an ally within close range. So can I run over, get hands.

[Matthew Mercer]

On you feel that same spark of divine power that's been eluding you, eluding purpose and clarity for so long. But with this travel and the dire circumstances and the ever constant threat of death, you feel that well of strength and you just get tempered like steel against an anvil. And in this moment, it's the first time you truly feel like you have a strong grasp on the powers within you as you reach down, truly for the first time recalling and pulling somebody from the edge of death. You touch down on Misty's body and watch the wings begin to shift and move once more as you come back to consciousness with one hit point.

[Screeve]

Okay, I'm done with this, I guess.

[Matthew Mercer]

Thank you. Okay.

[August]

Am I in a. Am I in very close range to Mother?

[Ashley Johnson]

If I get hit again, I'm screwed.

[Matthew Mercer]

You're right. Now within very close Range and close range is the edge of the cliff right there. That darkness is the. That is the ever shifting. I'm going to sinkhole, so be warned.

[Brixton]

Where's the shifting black?

[Matthew Mercer]

That black is the edge of the sinkhole that you all ran up to. So do not be try and avoid being pushed in there.

[Screeve]

It's over there.

[Matthew Mercer]

Well, fuck.

[Brixton]

I would have pushed her into that.

[August]

Now we know that's okay. And she's vulnerable, which means you get a D6 to attack her.

[Ashley Johnson]

Correct?

[Matthew Mercer]

Correct.

[August]

I'm gonna cast slumber.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh. Come on.

[August]

All right, here we go.

[Matthew Mercer]

Are you rolling? Oh, the D16. Yes.

[August]

Go to sleep. That's 16 with hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, take a hope.

[August]

Oh, 1670. That's 20 with hope. Thank you.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's a success. Yep.

[August]

Thank you. She's asleep. Unless. Until we attack her or you spend.

[Matthew Mercer]

A fear to wake her up. Exactly. There's no fear. So as Mother looks over and sees the move, I say when they live or die. And kind of like the thorax rests, the spider legs curl in and right now the glaive hits the ground as she's.

[Idol]

She stays like that until we.

[August]

She takes damage or spends a fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

What's the plan? The two of her buzzing companions, they're just watching mother go. Look at each other. At this reaction on her veering down to dark. Torch.

[Idol]

Does she have anything we need? Is there anything on her that we could possibly need?

[Matthew Mercer]

Probably. No. We gotta get the fuck out of here.

[August]

I'm gonna look at them.

[Matthew Mercer]

Just run. Yeah. Yell at these motherfuckers.

[Brixton]

I'm gonna go over and help lift Misty up and start kind of hobbling and helping her flee. Okay, let's see how far we can get.

[August]

I guess I can also spend.

[Matthew Mercer]

If we're.

[August]

If I touch you while we're running by, I can.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, actually hold on.

[August]

Never mind. Carry on for a second. I gotta find my.

[Ashley Johnson]

Where's everybody going?

[Matthew Mercer]

Where are you all fleeing?

[Screeve]

Where were we going before this?

[Matthew Mercer]

You were running this direction. And there's a sinkhole in the lake.

[August]

Let's start heading west around the sinkhole, I suppose.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah. So we have to go around it now.

[Matthew Mercer]

Sure. Okay, so as you're deciding this in shout run, I'm going to take an action of one of these collectors to close off your path and move over into this section of the region and kind of stand there waiting.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, no.

[Brixton]

Is that the way? Should it go the other way?

[Adelia]

That's where we would head.

[Matthew Mercer]

This one is going to shoot down next to Mother. What are you doing continuing to flee? Which direction are you fleeing? Where are you going?

[Adelia]

Well, where did you mean for us to go? Around the hole? The hole is behind her this way.

[Matthew Mercer]

The hole is. If we're talking about size and width, the hole is further than the length of the edge of that.

[Ashley Johnson]

Whoa, that's a big hole.

[Adelia]

Fuck it.

[Radio Rental Host]

Game on.

[Adelia]

I start loping towards Adelia and on all fours, basically, and past her and get back to back with Adelia and I will reach my hands into the soil and little tendrils of shadow from underneath. All the silver rings piercing my arms stab into the ground and shadow stab out of the ground up into its body. And I will attempt to use Shadow Bind for the flyer.

[Matthew Mercer]

Zack, things in close range.

[Adelia]

I said I'm running up to it. Oh, is it?

[Matthew Mercer]

That's close range one there.

[Adelia]

I can't get close enough to do it then.

[Matthew Mercer]

You can if you want to. Make an agility roll to cover to far range. So make an agility roll.

[Ashley Johnson]

Don't roll with fear. Don't roll with fear. Don't roll with fear. Don't roll with fear.

[Adelia]

I just might.

[Matthew Mercer]

I did.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, no, she's gonna wake up.

[Adelia]

It's 11 width.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's unfortunately a failure. As you're rushing through this rough terrain, you trip over a rock and catch yourself. You end just alongside Adelia and get to that point before you get close enough to get to the shadow. And that's going to shift the spotlight back to me. I'm going to spend the fear to drop the sleep and you watch his mother on mother's activation. This turn is going be to. I don't have a fear to spend on the sweeping incision. So instead she's going to use to me my children. She's going to mark a stress and immediately spotlight both of her companions. This one here is going to dart there and this one is going to dart here. The one that's going to come after you is going to go ahead and use its sleeping sting against you. Idle. That's going to be an 11 to hit.

[Idol]

It hits.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, you take on this 14 points of physical damage and I need you to make an instinct reaction roll burn.

[Idol]

One instinct reaction roll coming right up.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's four with a hope. Okay, so no hope. Doesn't matter. It's a reaction roll. Oh, thank you. As it shoots down. Actually, you take half that damage because when both of them activate, they do half damage. So. Sorry. So that one four. So. So you would have. Yeah, you would have taken only a minor Wound on that.

[Idol]

Okay. Okay. So nothing. Cuz I burned an armor.

[Matthew Mercer]

Got it. Well, so sorry. It would have been the damage before that. So the damage before that would have been halved, which still would have been. What's your threshold?

[Idol]

11.

[Matthew Mercer]

11. So yeah, it would have been nothing. You're good. So if you took nothing. If you took nothing on this, I'd say that avoids the impact. You took no damage on that. So it didn't even. Its proboscis couldn't stab into your body and you just pushed it away so you wouldn't even had to make the reaction.

[Idol]

I had lots of espresso this morning.

[Matthew Mercer]

So that's good on you. For you. Adelia.

[Ashley Johnson]

Am I hidden? I was under brush.

[Matthew Mercer]

You're right, you're under brush. So this would be actually against you. Screeve.

[Ashley Johnson]

Sorry.

[Matthew Mercer]

Screev.

[Adelia]

That's all right.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's gonna be a 19. To hit, you gotta play.

[Adelia]

To play that hits, you take.

[Matthew Mercer]

Five plus five.

[August]

Oh, yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

It would be 15 physical damage halved. So that is gonna bring you eight points of physical damage against you.

[Adelia]

Oh, that goes into major of damage. That's two. I'm down.

[Brixton]

And you don't have any.

[Ashley Johnson]

You're down.

[Adelia]

No, I'm all done.

[Brixton]

And you're across the. Can't do anything about it.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's a scree death move here.

[Ashley Johnson]

I should have taken it. I should have taken the hit.

[Matthew Mercer]

Are you gonna roll for it?

[Adelia]

I don't know.

[August]

I can heal.

[Adelia]

Let me think.

[Matthew Mercer]

Longer than three seconds. You two. Okay, so there's risk at all.

[Idol]

The dead are trying to.

[Matthew Mercer]

Or avoid the consequences and just go unconscious or blaze of glory.

[Ashley Johnson]

Scream.

[Adelia]

I do want to die. But I just got here. I want to play one more game after this.

[Matthew Mercer]

Scream. I'm going on top.

[Ashley Johnson]

Scream.

[Matthew Mercer]

The proboscis spears into his abdomen. And as the pointed snout withdraws, I'm.

[Ashley Johnson]

Gonna reach out from under the brush and grab ahold of the proboscis. Yes.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Ashley Johnson]

And I'm gonna cast cinder grasp on him.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. Go ahead and roll for it.

[Ashley Johnson]

She a mad girl.

[Matthew Mercer]

Come on, girly.

[Brixton]

Creepy girly.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, that's. Oh, fuck. It was with fear though. 12, 19, 22. With fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

With fear. That is a success. So go ahead and roll damage on that.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay. Okay. Sweet. That's 10 plus what? 10 plus three. That's 13. And I'm gonna mark a stress. That's to double the damage dice.

[Matthew Mercer]

Ooh. All right. So let's go.

[Ashley Johnson]

That's 23 points of damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

23 points of damage. That's Gonna be a major wound. That HIVE collector marks three hit points.

[Ashley Johnson]

And he's on fire now.

[Matthew Mercer]

And it's on fire. So whenever it makes an action, he.

[Ashley Johnson]

Has to take 2d6.

[Matthew Mercer]

That one is on fire.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's like hovering in the air, trying to get the flames off it as they're curling and burning up its body. Awesome.

[Ashley Johnson]

And then I'm gonna take my stamina potion and down it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Go for it.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, shit. I've got salmon. Oh, sweet. That was a four.

[Matthew Mercer]

I give four stars, Mother. No, Mother is going to angrily still after shouting her friends watching one of them catch flame. One of you downed. There's a confluence of emotions here as she's like, I'll let you all kneel and drag you back to the caves. She's gonna go ahead and spend that fear to do a sweeping incision.

[Brixton]

I'm sorry.

[Matthew Mercer]

Six halved. Your evasion does keep happening to us.

[August]

Where's my six?

[Matthew Mercer]

Hold on. She rolled a three with a plus two. That's five. So with your evasion halved, who has a five or five or less with an evasion? Yeah, evasion halved.

[Brixton]

Me.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh.

[Idol]

I'm four and a half.

[Matthew Mercer]

Brixton idol.

[Screeve]

I'm at seven.

[Matthew Mercer]

Six. Yeah, you're down six. Six. Okay. So Brixton and idle. A massive glaive swing at a furious speed. Spins around. Actually, she's going to go ahead and after this going to do that. So that's massive 2d6 plus 15 physical damage. That's going to be 22 points of physical damage against each of you. Good lord.

[Brixton]

I'm still unstoppable. So that drops down to a major. I'm going to spend an armor Drop it down to a minor. I'm also going to. I'm actually going to use my frontline tank ability and spend three hope to get back to armor.

[Matthew Mercer]

You got it. I burned one armor and is going to skitter this way to try and block off your exit. Still temporarily vulnerable thanks to Brixton earlier. Hasn't had the fear to spend and is more focused on aggression than defense. But that's going to finish my spotlight. Who wants to go?

[Brixton]

Since I'm right up base to base with her, can I kind of. I do a barrel roll around this way?

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Brixton]

And I'm gonna.

[Matthew Mercer]

So you can get there with close range.

[Brixton]

That's great.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Brixton]

I'm gonna attempt another forceful push and see if I can work her into the sinkhole.

[Matthew Mercer]

Ah. Okay, cool. So go ahead and roll an attack on this. You have an Advantage. So add the D6 to it.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay?

[Brixton]

Okay. And then plus the three for my strength. Come on, come on.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Brixton]

It's not super great.

[Matthew Mercer]

10. Lemon.

[Brixton]

12.

[Matthew Mercer]

13. 13 fear. 13 misses. As you spin around and bring your blade back, one of her spider like arachnid blades pulls back and jams you into the abdomen. It catches your breastplate. Not enough to wound you, but it knocks the wind out of you for a second. And your blow just goes limp against the thorax and you have to catch yourself back.

[Brixton]

Why have you forsaken me?

[August]

Oh, I am also flying, by the way, at this point. Sorry, not high.

[Matthew Mercer]

You're flying with this.

[August]

Yeah. I'm so sorry. I flew up when I did my attack. Just not super high. I'm at like the same height.

[Matthew Mercer]

Don't forget to note that when it comes to your turn.

[August]

Yeah, sorry.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's okay.

[August]

Yeah, sure.

[Matthew Mercer]

Where would you want to be?

[August]

I was like, I'm only like 10ft in the air and, like, only just above everybody. That'll do.

[Matthew Mercer]

Here, I'll do this. This will work. Oh, yay.

[August]

That's right. We have fancy ones.

[Matthew Mercer]

I do on occasion. All right, so putting that back on top.

[August]

Blasio.

[Matthew Mercer]

There you go.

[August]

Gay museum putty.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's the best. All right, so with that coming to mother.

[Ashley Johnson]

Damn it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Frustrated that you're still standing at this point. Ooh, you know what? I forgot that reaction. That's on me. Oh, and I forgot. Ow. In the chaos. I forgot a couple things there. Good.

[Idol]

Take one. Take one back. Take one back.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'll take one back. I'll gain another fear. Because technically she has momentum, which whenever she makes a successful attack against a PC, she gain his fear. So I would technically have two more fear. I'll just take one because it's on me for forgetting that. Yeah. How dare. So to that degree, you've taken the blow for a few people and it's pissed off. She's going to focus down on you as part of the activation. Is going to go ahead and come at you with her surgical glaive. Actually, you know what? She's going to shift this way to see if she can get all of you shouldn't spend a fear to do another sweeping incision against all in close range, which is going to be all of you.

[Adelia]

One weapon is going to just end the party.

[Brixton]

Still trying to run.

[Matthew Mercer]

So that's going to be penalty to evasion.

[Brixton]

Again, she's doing very well. She's doing well. She's going low.

[Matthew Mercer]

Say it. Okay, so with the plus Two. It's me. A six.

[Idol]

Oh, still hits.

[Screeve]

Doesn't hit me.

[Matthew Mercer]

It hits both of you. That hits you.

[Ashley Johnson]

Wait, it's Sagan 6.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's 6.

[Ashley Johnson]

So that would hit. That would hit me. Okay, okay, okay, okay. We all have very low evasion.

[August]

Oh, actually, I can decide it. I can decide it doesn't. I'm gonna. I'm gonna. Since I'm flying, I'm going to mark a stress and get a plus two bonus to my evasion. And now I'm fine.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's right, because you can die as a fairy. Okay, so you managed to just barely duck out of the way as the blade swings around and impacts Idol, Brixton, Misty, and Mrs. Snicks.

[Screeve]

Because you're Mrs. Me. Mine's seven.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, so that's going to be why. 19 points of physical damage.

[Brixton]

Oh, okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

To both. To Brixton, idol, and Misty.

[Idol]

16 points of damage.

[Ashley Johnson]

Anything else here?

[Screeve]

Yikes.

[Brixton]

I'm gonna spend another damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

One more.

[August]

It's getting rough.

[Ashley Johnson]

No, cool, cool, cool. Cool down.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. Again. Are you going unconscious again?

[Ashley Johnson]

I can't. I can't.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah, you can consult with your group.

[Idol]

As long. As long as I'm alive, I can. I have 12 other healing abilities I've.

[Ashley Johnson]

Used, but you can't use them on the same.

[Idol]

This healing hands one is the one that I can only do once per target. Once on a target in the same day. I have two other things. So I have two options left for you specifically.

[August]

Okay, we have one person. One other person down, too.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, I feel so lame.

[Matthew Mercer]

We're in.

[August]

We're in combat.

[Idol]

Wait, who else is down?

[Matthew Mercer]

Hello.

[Brixton]

Wait, you're also down.

[August]

Oh, there.

[Brixton]

You've been down. That's right.

[Adelia]

Down bad.

[Brixton]

You've been down.

[Ashley Johnson]

Can I have, like, a minute to think about it? Nobody else.

[Matthew Mercer]

Make your choice.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, I'm gonna roll. I'm gonna roll. No, no, I'm gonna roll.

[Matthew Mercer]

Stop listening to everybody do. You're going to roll. Oh, gosh.

[Ashley Johnson]

I feel like this is dumb. Is this dumb? Yes.

[Matthew Mercer]

No.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay. I'm not gonna do it.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'm gonna untouch it if you do it. No, it's okay. Do what you want to do. If you have healing at your ability and you want to continue in the game. It's. It's a. It's.

[Idol]

I made a little devil here and a little angel here.

[Matthew Mercer]

Y' all have been real lucky with these rolls so far on that.

[Ashley Johnson]

All right, all right, all right. I'll just go on contrast again. I'm not gonna do it a third time if I go under. Just letting you all know.

[Brixton]

That's fair.

[Matthew Mercer]

Misty once again falls to the massive surgical glaive of Mother.

[Ashley Johnson]

So then I erase a hit point that I have. No, I don't. I just figured I was figuring it out.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's all. Good.

[August]

No worries.

[Matthew Mercer]

And then I'm going to go ahead and spend my last fear to activate this other elite Hive Collector that's right up against you.

[Brixton]

No.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay, okay, okay.

[Idol]

I haven't made an attack roll yet with this fight. So I've got to go next.

[Matthew Mercer]

Only A plus. That's going to be a five to hit you.

[Idol]

That'll hit because I'm four and a half. My evasion's nine.

[Matthew Mercer]

So.

[Idol]

Four and a half.

[Ashley Johnson]

No, it's not.

[Matthew Mercer]

No, that's not half. That's not her. That's the elite collector misses. So that misses you. That's going to finish my spot. Go.

[Idol]

Can I run forward. And I'm going to base. Baseball slide unnecessarily.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes.

[Idol]

And I'm gonna reach out and touch second base, known as Misty. And use sparing touch. Once prolonged rest. Touch a creature. And clear. Two hit points or two stress from them.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. And clear. Two hits.

[Ashley Johnson]

What am I doing? Two hit points. Two hit points. She's up, ladies and gentlemen.

[Idol]

And as I slide up, can I swing? Can I swing my polearm above my head? And I'm gonna use a spirit weapon now perfectly. I try and split the difference between the two baddies if I can.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. Right there and there. Yeah.

[Idol]

And I'm gonna make a melee attack against both of them. But swinging it out, letting it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Go ahead and roll the attack. Add a D6. Only against Mother.

[Idol]

Only against.

[Ashley Johnson]

Is Mother still vulnerable?

[Matthew Mercer]

Mother's still vulnerable. That's why you get to add the D6.

[Idol]

Anybody wanna.

[Ashley Johnson]

Can I spend a. Hope to. Since I saw that he.

[Matthew Mercer]

He already has advantage from the vulnerable. Oh, I do.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay. Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's what I'm saying. You get to add the D6 because of.

[Idol]

I would have heard that. But my heartbeat is in my head.

[Screeve]

Do you have three?

[Matthew Mercer]

So just. So Roland, just give me the number from the.

[Idol]

Oh, that's awful. That's so bad. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 8. With fear that couldn't I shit on my own shoes.

[Matthew Mercer]

But I brought you.

[Ashley Johnson]

You did.

[Brixton]

You brought me back. You brought me back. That fucking hit.

[Idol]

Wow. I was just kidding. I was just kidding. That's also not what I wanted to roll.

[Matthew Mercer]

Unfortunately, as you release your glaive, it spins out and hits the side of mother's hide and deflects and lands at your feet. It just was knocked off the side. Mother. At this point we've just been more focused on your companions around turns and looks back at you.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh no.

[Idol]

Gotta mark his dress for that. Even though it didn't work. Wow, that was balls.

[Ashley Johnson]

Who is anybody next?

[Screeve]

He is.

[Ashley Johnson]

He is Mother after mother.

[Brixton]

Mother's mother.

[Ashley Johnson]

Mother.

[Matthew Mercer]

Mother's gonna go ahead and spend stress here to do to meet my children. It's gonna spotlight both of them. This one is going to move forward to try and put you to sleep. And this one is going to fly over here. She's trying to collect her children now. That one however is going to take 2d6 fire damage.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh yes. Yes. Four points of fire damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Four points of fire damage. That is going to be a minor wound against that hive collector. So it gets burned a bit, arcs down. It's going to be attacking you with its sleeping sting. That's going to be a 12 to hit you.

[Ashley Johnson]

That does hit. That just hits.

[Matthew Mercer]

That hits you.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh God.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. It's going to be seven points of physical damage against you.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay. Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

And then against you, August. That's gonna be 13 to hit you.

[August]

And if my evasion is 13 then I get hit anyway.

[Matthew Mercer]

Correct. All right.

[August]

Then I. Yeah, it hits.

[Matthew Mercer]

Well, it's a nine plus two. Sorry. Oh, so it's. It's 11 rolled a nine. I was looking at mother's attack. Oh. So it would be 11.

[August]

Okay. So I'm going to spend distress and not get hit.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. That finishes there. Go dodge. Dodge. And then that finishes her turn. Spotlight.

[August]

At the very least I'm going to start. How far can I get in my movement right now?

[Matthew Mercer]

Just like a close. You could get to this side. If you want to move further. You can make an agility roll to try and move to far.

[August]

Anybody else got some. Some stuff they wanted to do first?

[Matthew Mercer]

I mean, sure. Yeah.

[Screeve]

You want to do something.

[August]

I don't even know where you are. Non agility will start heading towards scree is down to this side.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah, we have to save scree here.

[Brixton]

I mean I honestly I would just at this point leave people asleep until the end of this. Cuz they'll just keep getting hit and.

[Matthew Mercer]

Going down or over to this side if you want.

[Brixton]

I don't know how I'm going to.

[August]

Try and do a push.

[Ashley Johnson]

So if I get out again.

[Brixton]

Also Matt, can I also just head to the direction where August went just so I'm near people.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. Is that all you want to do when you're active.

[Brixton]

Do I have to activate and move.

[Ashley Johnson]

At the same time?

[Matthew Mercer]

Generally, it's a spotlight to you.

[August]

Anyone mind if I do a push or does somebody else got something to do?

[Screeve]

Yeah, we're going to do something.

[August]

Okay, you got go ahead.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Ashley Johnson]

So I'll run towards you and if you push me up while you attack or two, I can go high and come down and try to.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Screeve]

All this for the whole fight. I've been staring into the abyss of the ever shifting sinkhole, thinking about whomper, thinking about my lost ally and hearing all of my new friends falling one by one. And I'm overcome with fury. I'm not going to let this happen again. So I start shaking violently and a bunch of bugs come up around me and swarm around me. I'm going to step between all of my enemies and conjure a swarm that I think will hit all of them.

[Matthew Mercer]

What's the range on it?

[Screeve]

It's all adversaries within close range.

[Matthew Mercer]

That will be all three of them.

[Screeve]

And while I'm doing that, distracting them.

[Ashley Johnson]

With that, I'm going to charge towards you and jump up and grab onto your horn as you fling up so I can go high and come down and try to grab onto the mother.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Ashley Johnson]

With cinder grasper.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, so this is a tag team attack. Who's spending the hope?

[Ashley Johnson]

I did.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, you spend three hope. Both of you roll and we'll take the which one of those two you wish. Okay, now you can add a D6 versus yes. Oh, my God. All right, so that's a crit to both. Both of you guys gain a hope and clear stress.

[Screeve]

Amazing.

[Matthew Mercer]

And that is as a crit success. So you do max dice damage and then roll your dice damage on top.

[Ashley Johnson]

Max dice damage and then I get another one.

[Screeve]

I am also gonna.

[Ashley Johnson]

And that's cinder grasp. So it's a 20.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. So you add them together.

[Screeve]

Wait, wait, I'm Markus. To add a third damage dice.

[August]

Is that proficiency 20 or just a 20?

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. Does it say before the attack or.

[Screeve]

It just says on a hit.

[Matthew Mercer]

On a hit. So yeah, that'll do it.

[August]

Is it your proficiency too?

[Idol]

Y' all are gonna stack this up?

[Ashley Johnson]

No, it's just. No, it's just one D3.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm gonna use my primal origin and I'm gonna mark a stress to fucking double that damage too. To double that dice. So that's 40 before you enroll.

[Matthew Mercer]

Well, you double the it crits so you can skip. So the dice is 1e20.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes. So it maxes the dice.

[Matthew Mercer]

Right? So it's 20. And so the additional dice that you roll on that you max. So it'd be 40 damage. Yeah.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's 40 points of magic damage plus.

[Ashley Johnson]

Wait, plus three. So that's 43. 43 points.

[Matthew Mercer]

43 points of magic damage plus.

[Screeve]

I mean, if all my dice are full or just.

[Matthew Mercer]

No, no, no. So how much dice are you rolling for this?

[Screeve]

So it was. The spell is 2d8. So those are maxed at 16.

[Matthew Mercer]

Right? 16.

[Screeve]

That's 3. And then I get a third damage dice, which I just rolled, which I.

[Matthew Mercer]

Also rolled an 8. Add the dice on top of that. So it'd be 16 plus 8, which is 24. And then roll two more D8s.

[Brixton]

Okay, keep that 8, though.

[Screeve]

That's another 8, a 6 and a 2. So that's another 8.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay, so 24. That's a 32 on top of 40. That's 72 points of damage to Mother. That more than doubles her severe threshold. Mother takes four hit points. As both of you. As you just swirl and swarm this, that's also going to be to both Hive Collectors.

[August]

Oh, my God.

[Brixton]

Kill the buggies.

[Matthew Mercer]

One of the Hive Collectors is deeply fucked up and is in a very, very bad place right now. The other one is very hurt, and Mother is also looking very hurt.

[August]

Did the one on fire take the fire damage from their attack, too?

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay, good.

[Brixton]

Are they're all still up?

[Matthew Mercer]

Correct?

[Ashley Johnson]

Are they all still up?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes, barely.

[Ashley Johnson]

Even the one that was already damaged, he took. Did he take my damage too, or just.

[Matthew Mercer]

No, he took both of your damage because you. You both.

[Ashley Johnson]

So the Hive Collectors have that.

[Matthew Mercer]

Wait, wait. Yours. Wait, sorry. Your attack was your both. Oh, your attack wasn't added to his. Sorry. That's right. So that would have been just three wounds to the other two. My bad. Because you're. Because yours hit all of them. Cinder grasp just hit Mother.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's right. So, yeah, so that still would have been. That would have been double their threshold. So it would have been just three points. They're both. One of them's looking more hurt than the other, but they're okay. So good to know on that moment. I'm going to go ahead and use a fear to spotlight on my turn from that point. Mother's going to go. Children, take me away from this place. Oh, and she's going to go ahead and is going to clamber up. I'm going to go ahead and make a rule for her. Yeah, that's fine.

[Ashley Johnson]

She takes 2d6 fire damage. Because she is on fire.

[Screeve]

Oh, smack.

[Matthew Mercer]

Right from cinder grasp. That's right. All right. Still in there. Fuck.

[Ashley Johnson]

Only three points.

[Matthew Mercer]

Only three points of damage. Okay.

[Idol]

Something.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Ashley Johnson]

All right. All right.

[Matthew Mercer]

So that activates her. And she skitters this way. Both of her other elite collectors like. And are turning to go ahead and start puzzling.

[Ashley Johnson]

2D6 fire damage. That's 6.

[Matthew Mercer]

He's just moving.

[Ashley Johnson]

He hasn't taken an action yet. Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

It says they take the damage when they take an action.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay.

[Idol]

Fucking fire starter.

[Ashley Johnson]

I know, right?

[Matthew Mercer]

So this one just. They're both kind of.

[Screeve]

Adelia. Why are you smiling like that?

[Matthew Mercer]

That's my activation. What are you all doing?

[August]

I am pissed. I'm going to.

[Adelia]

Oh, yes.

[August]

Just for fun. I'm gonna. If anyone else has stuff they wanna do, I'm just gonna use arcane barrage.

[Matthew Mercer]

And just.

[August]

Because that isn't even a roll.

[Matthew Mercer]

Mm.

[August]

And I'm just going to just attack for 2d6 then not roll for it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Just. Let's go do the.

[August]

Do the damage. That's eight points of damage. Eight points of damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

That is one minor wound to her.

[August]

I'm gonna. I'm gonna head in and try and finish this off. So I'm gonna.

[Idol]

Wait. Before you do that, can I run over and try and heal? I won't even attack. I'm gonna use healing hands on Screeve. I'm gonna mark his stress.

[Matthew Mercer]

He's further than close from you. So make an agility roll to get to him if you want to. Okay.

[Idol]

Agility roll.

[Matthew Mercer]

Agility roll. Yeah, that's better.

[Idol]

Seventeen with Hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

Hope. Great. Yeah. Dart managed to move him in far range. Rush up to Screeve and you can use that to heal him.

[Idol]

I'll use a spell cast. Roll that. It has to make a 13. That's 14, 15, 16. I'll mark one stress you clear. Two hit points.

[Matthew Mercer]

Two. That's great. Seven.

[Idol]

Hope or fetch with Fear.

[Ashley Johnson]

Can I ask a question?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes.

[Ashley Johnson]

So if I critted, I get the full damage plus a second dice.

[Matthew Mercer]

Correct.

[Ashley Johnson]

And I didn't roll the second dice. I only did the full damage. And then I took both of them, right? No, I took the.

[Matthew Mercer]

So what is the damage? It deals. It deals.

[Ashley Johnson]

It deals. 1d20. So. And then I.

[Matthew Mercer]

Does it say 1d20 based on your proficiency?

[Ashley Johnson]

No, it says takes 1d20 plus 3 magic damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Correct. So it just does the. So then it would do full 20 plus an additional D20, which is what you did, but then you maxed the second D20, you said.

[Idol]

Is that how you got to 43?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Ashley Johnson]

No. So. Okay, no, what I did was I used the stress to double a damage die of my choice. So that would have taken the D20, that was a crit to 40, and then I get another critical on top of that.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay, go for it. Roll on that.

[Ashley Johnson]

Then 13 additional. Okay, so that would have been 40. 43. Yeah. 56.

[Matthew Mercer]

So it's still double the severe.

[Ashley Johnson]

So it would have done any more damage, but I wouldn't have, like, busted it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Right. Once you do double the severe threshold.

[Ashley Johnson]

You can't do anything.

[Matthew Mercer]

Like four hit points is the max. You can do it. Got it, got it, got it, got it, got it. But good to know for future use of that. Good to know.

[Adelia]

They're all burning right now.

[Ashley Johnson]

Two of them are burning.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes, Mother. And that one elite collector over there. And it's still your spotlight.

[Adelia]

I'm going to say that Screeve just sits up and looks at the two of you and then looks at the creatures and sees them burning. Did you do that? Oh, that's lovely. And I take the bag of snap powder I just got the other day and just go. And I gain a stress and clear. Another hit point.

[Brixton]

Nice. Nice.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Adelia]

I'm really stressed, though.

[Matthew Mercer]

Is that all you're going to do?

[Adelia]

That's for now, yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, so Screeve is up and feeling conscious. Very awake and aware. All right, still your go.

[Screeve]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm going to unleash chaos.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. Who are you targeting?

[Ashley Johnson]

The mother.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay, Violet, what's the range on it?

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm going to step forward and hold up. Violet. Violet, do something.

[Matthew Mercer]

You know what? I have a fear to spend here that I haven't used yet. Oh, no. Instead, I'm going to use that to activate Mother. And Mother's going to use her activation to full run deeper into the wood.

[Screeve]

No.

[Ashley Johnson]

She takes nine more points of fire damage. When she does that, trips and dies.

[Matthew Mercer]

Ooh, that's true. You know what? Instead, I'm going to use that fear to keep her there. I'm going to use that fear to keep her there. And instead, I'm going to use that fear to remove the fire.

[Brixton]

And she's still vulnerable.

[Matthew Mercer]

Correct.

[Brixton]

She hasn't cleared that.

[Matthew Mercer]

Correct. Forgot about the fire. So, yes, if you'd like to go ahead and move. Unleash.

[Ashley Johnson]

Unleash chaos.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, you can move up to close range on your turn.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Which around here to get you about there, because you have to move around your friends and this is.

[Ashley Johnson]

I need to be far range. I don't need to be close to her to do unleash.

[Matthew Mercer]

Right. But you can only move close.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

There is that far. Your friend's in terrain and far range is. Unfortunately, she's out of far range.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, then I'll do it to the guy that's running away from me.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Ashley Johnson]

All right. That's 16 with Hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

With hope on which one?

[Ashley Johnson]

The guy that's already on fire.

[Matthew Mercer]

Already on fire. Go ahead and roll damage.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay. That is. I'm gonna spend a stress to use my three D10s.

[Matthew Mercer]

One.

[Ashley Johnson]

Nine. Ooh. Nine plus eight is 17.

[Matthew Mercer]

17. That's a major wound, which is enough to finish him off. How do you want to do this?

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, this is through Violet. So from Violet's eyes, just a blast of purple energy comes flying out and cuts him straight down the middle and cuts him in two wings flutter down to the ground.

[Matthew Mercer]

Fantastic.

[Ashley Johnson]

Fantastic.

[Matthew Mercer]

That was with Hope. So still you go.

[Adelia]

Screeve is going to leap onto Idol's back and I'm going to tug you by the hair and twist you towards the other remaining flying bug and say hya. And I'm going to spend three Hope to do a combo attack with Idol if he can charge us at the remaining bug.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. I will say to get you both within range, what attack are you using as part of this? What's the range on your.

[Adelia]

I want to melee attack, but I was hoping that Idol could use movement to run us there.

[Matthew Mercer]

Here. You know what? I'll tell you what. That will be an agility roll for you to get you both there.

[Idol]

All right.

[Matthew Mercer]

Like normally, you could probably make that close from it because you have someone on your back that you weren't expecting as well. You were kind of stumbling as you run after he. He hops you. But if you succeed, you'll both get there.

[Idol]

He's fairly terrifying.

[Matthew Mercer]

I know, I know. Let's go.

[Idol]

Enough for advantage. Just kidding. 16, 17, 18 with hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

Fantastic. All right, so take that, Hope. And indeed, you run with Screeve on your back and you'd go charging with your halberd out towards the other elite collector that is trying to take off behind mother. Step away, big boy. All right, so choose your respective attacks for this tag team attack and describe.

[Adelia]

How you're doing it as we're going. I start to. I puncture a bladder on the side of my gear and come up with heart curdle venom on my claws. And I wait for you to stab and spring off your shoulders as you do so wolverineing through the air.

[Idol]

Outstanding. Yeah. I'll reach back and I'll just lunge with the halbear and throw.

[Matthew Mercer]

Go for it. Both of you guys roll.

[Adelia]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

God. Not amazing. Eight night.

[Idol]

12 with hope.

[Adelia]

15 with fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

15 which you want to use.

[Adelia]

15 with fear.

[Idol]

Mine's not gonna hit. I don't think 12 with hope hits.

[Adelia]

15 with fear to that does hit to hit.

[Matthew Mercer]

Just barely. Okay.

[Adelia]

So I've got poisoned. So this is gonna be 3 DA for me with a 1 8. Jeez, that was low for all of that. 12 for me. This is a combo, though.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. So you add your damage together.

[Adelia]

So you gotta roll that.

[Matthew Mercer]

You both get the same. You get the same roll.

[Idol]

Thank you. I'm so sorry.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah, no worries. So you go ahead and roll your damage and you guys add them together.

[Idol]

I do 2d10 now because that proficiency bump. 7, 6, 13, 14. 15. 15 points of damage.

[Adelia]

15 plus 12.

[Matthew Mercer]

27 points of damage. It's going to be three major wounds on this threshold. So it's pretty dang hurt that other.

[Screeve]

Which are you attacking? The mosquito or the mosquito over there?

[Ashley Johnson]

Think of them as mosquitoes.

[Idol]

Mosquito moss.

[Ashley Johnson]

Really?

[Matthew Mercer]

It is because it was. Because it was fearless. Comes back to me with that. The Collector is going to fly off and spending this sphere to activate Mother. Who is going to charge. No.

[Screeve]

No.

[Matthew Mercer]

Off the battlefield to return to safety.

[Brixton]

We should take this as a blessing.

[Matthew Mercer]

No.

[Ashley Johnson]

You better run.

[Screeve]

We should finish her.

[Brixton]

There are going to be many more insanely difficult fights ahead of us. We should conserve our resources and our strength. We've already dropped several members of our party.

[Screeve]

I'm gonna charge after Mother.

[Matthew Mercer]

You're going six. The goat's lost it.

[Screeve]

I'm gonna use deft maneuvers marking a stress to travel far range without rolling an agility roll.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right.

[Screeve]

Will that get me there? Probably not.

[Matthew Mercer]

We'll get you right on the edge there, Mother. At a full charge. I'll say for distance wise is about far range from you. All right. Then.

[Screeve]

I will cast vicious entangle within far range.

[August]

I appreciate this.

[Screeve]

Hoping to pin her down.

[Matthew Mercer]

Roll with hope.

[Brixton]

Roll with Hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

Make her earn it.

[Screeve]

Snicks.

[Ashley Johnson]

Come on.

[Matthew Mercer]

Snick.

[Idol]

Satisfies.

[Matthew Mercer]

12.

[Screeve]

13, 14 with hope. No, with fear.

[Ashley Johnson]

But she's still vulnerable.

[Matthew Mercer]

She's still vulnerable. Enemies at the D6.

[Brixton]

Come on. Come on.

[Ashley Johnson]

5. That's 19.

[Brixton]

That's right.

[Ashley Johnson]

That's right.

[Matthew Mercer]

So the difficulty was 15 roll damage.

[Screeve]

Okay.

[August]

Holy cow.

[Screeve]

Fuck it. I'll mark a stress to add an extra damage dice.

[Matthew Mercer]

Sure. Let's Go do it.

[Brixton]

Come on, kill her.

[Screeve]

I'm gonna try.

[Ashley Johnson]

Come on, kill her.

[Matthew Mercer]

Gee, just kill her. Terrible rolls.

[Screeve]

Six points.

[Matthew Mercer]

She got only one. Total of six points of damage.

[Screeve]

Total of six points of damage. And I can spend a hope to temporarily restrain.

[Matthew Mercer]

Did you do the double?

[August]

You double the dice because of the proficiency?

[Matthew Mercer]

No, this is not everything is improved. Well, her major threshold is 8, but she has one hit point left. Oh my God. Thank again. Look at him again. You are the slayer. You're the changeable. You are the deadliest thing in the idol. Hob Rangers, man.

[Adelia]

Rambo. Or.

[Screeve]

I can't throw her into the abyss, but I can at least make it hurt. So my spell causes vines to come up and circle around her and grab her. And I think I'll have one vine reach up down into her mouth and into her proboscis or whatever and just strangle her out slowly.

[Matthew Mercer]

As you watch her go jutting and climbing up over the rocks, trying to escape, unable to take the floor that normally her elites carry her through on the overland passage of the screaming Forest. Suddenly, her back leg tugs and another one as the forest comes alive beneath her. Not to impede you, but to impede her. As it clambers up her body, she begins to struggle. Tosses the halberd to the side into the ground. It shakes as it impacts. Tries to pull away as it curls up into her mouth. And you, as you're focusing on this, your connection with the corrupted nature of this land still strong, you hear the sound of Wamper vanishing into the shadows below. And that pain causes you to well that magical connection up as you slowly draw the life from Mother. And with that end the previous matriarch of the Hive.

[Ashley Johnson]

You're queen now.

[Screeve]

I'm a murderer.

[Matthew Mercer]

The other collector vanishes off in terror at the destruction of Mother, evading bigs and bugging them.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm going to reach my hand up since August is still flying. And you reach up.

[Idol]

Oh, yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, she's gone.

[US Cellular Representative]

How do you feel?

[August]

Give me a second and I'm going to fly over to the bottom.

[Matthew Mercer]

Mm. You watch. It is now dozens of thick thorny vines are crammed into. There's no eyes on Mother. There's just this slick purple exposed muscle like texture. And where the mouth would be as it splits open into this secondary double mandible jaw. It is just crammed with nature's fury. The body is just cracked. And on the left there, the legs sprawled out on the ground. The halberd stuck in a nearby hill.

[August]

Argus is going to take his large needle wand and just start poking at the head to open it up. It's a lot less scary from the inside. I'm just gonna start ripping it open just to see if there's. I'm just tearing it into little bits.

[Brixton]

Grab some bones. We can make some.

[Matthew Mercer]

You're just rending Mother's body? Yep.

[August]

Not angrily, even just performing a delightful autopsy.

[Matthew Mercer]

Chunk by chunky, you remove layers of twisted, tumorous flesh. The exterior chitinous armor itself pulling away like tearing tendons from a bone. Interesting about bone. The skeleton you find inside is much smaller. In fact, it looks like an expanded human skeleton that has been slowly distorted and built upon by some external force or mutation. Make an instinct roll for me, if you don't mind.

[August]

Nine with fear.

[Adelia]

Eleven with fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

Nine.

[August]

Oh, that's right. I keep forgetting. Eleven with fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

Eleven with fear. Thank you, Marcus. Dress as. Tearing into the body of your most hated entity will leave a scar on your memory and your soul that'll last the rest of your days, along with the joy of vengeful victory. But you get the sense, much like you and many others you saw in the Hive, Mother was maybe once humanoid and something changed her and she changed others. You get the sense that whoever changed her was probably the previous Keeper of the Hive. And in time, someone will replace her.

[August]

Should burn the whole thing down.

[Brixton]

When there's time, I grab a bone.

[August]

I pull the whole skeleton out.

[Matthew Mercer]

Mortal Kombat style.

[August]

I mean, if it's goopy in there, I've cut my way through.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah, yeah.

[Brixton]

Also, so, Adel Jazeem wanted a candle. Adelia wants a candle. Can I inspect that halberd?

[Matthew Mercer]

Sure, yeah.

[Idol]

It's right here.

[Matthew Mercer]

Did you want.

[Ashley Johnson]

Was she wearing a crown or anything?

[Matthew Mercer]

No crown. There was the candles that were upon the back saddles. Plenty of them.

[Screeve]

What would she give us? Probably nothing.

[Matthew Mercer]

Right.

[Idol]

What's it like?

[Matthew Mercer]

Dying?

[Brixton]

Teabag. Teabag?

[Matthew Mercer]

A cluster of candles at your disposal. You can write that down in your inventory. We ain't nothing if not classy. The halberd is a. It's interesting. It's a massive, long staff. It's far too large for someone of your size to hold, but, you know, make a.

[Idol]

Is it a glaive or a halberd?

[Matthew Mercer]

Huh? It's like. Actually more like a glaive. It's got a big old glitter, actually. No, no, it's like a halberd at the way it's built there. You go ahead and roll a knowledge or instinct roll for me. If you don't mind.

[Brixton]

I'll take knowledge. Come on.

[Screeve]

Come on, Brixton.

[Brixton]

Come on. I have not been rolling good. You guys okay? Thirteen with fear.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's okay. What you do learn as you're looking at it. And I'll give this to you for as part of the fear as well. And the 13 roll is pretty decent. The bone blade against the big hooked blade that comes out the top of it. You've seen halberds of similar make, you've seen glaives of similar make. It's somewhat in between the two. But the handle of it was affixed to it to fit her size. You can see it's actually a smaller weapon that was made longer to fit her preference in combat. So while it's unwieldy to any of you looking at it, you could probably try and break the smaller original blade free.

[Brixton]

Yeah, why not?

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. You're strong enough and have proven your strength here. And with the damage that's probably sustained in the middle of this fray and being flung around and jammed into the side of the hill, you reach up and lean your weight against it and snap free its handle. And as you do, it pulls away what looks like chunks of dried organic matter and bits of resin, like amber colored material that held it affixed to it. And there you see crumbling away what remains from you pulling it free. The original metal handle to this halberd glaive. Hard to really tell what it's made to represent other than dangerous.

[Ashley Johnson]

Picard. Decard. Decard.

[Brixton]

Amber is the color of your melee weapon. Ooh, that's funny. That's fun. You might like this. It's a D8. Does yours do D8s?

[Idol]

10S.

[Brixton]

10S. Okay. It's a D8 plus four physical. Two handed, but it's scary. On a successful attack, the target must mark a stress strength based weapon.

[Idol]

That's weak ass shit. Does it come with a long ass pole?

[August]

There's a pole there on it.

[Idol]

I'm good.

[Brixton]

You're good?

[Ashley Johnson]

All right.

[August]

I'm gonna just. Cause I'm here. I'm going to make a spell cast roll for reveal just to see if there's anything magical just sitting.

[Ashley Johnson]

I can just sense if there's magical things around us.

[Matthew Mercer]

You can just do it. Really?

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah.

[Adelia]

Oh, you can do that?

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah. Do I sense anything magical around us?

[August]

Are you asking me?

[Matthew Mercer]

Well, at the moment, other than the land itself holding the dark curse that permeates through the underbrush and the nearby trees, the weapon that was found has. You can't tell if It's a magical aura. Or just the fact that it's terrifying to look at. And the many that have been carved under its surgical like edge. But nothing magical draws your attention in the vicinity. That's unexpected.

[Ashley Johnson]

That seems pretty normal.

[Adelia]

You really are the best playmate. And I start ripping a proboscis off of one of the smaller insects.

[Matthew Mercer]

Adelia do that?

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes.

[August]

To be a deer and burn the remnants of Queen Mother.

[Matthew Mercer]

Of course. Good girl. The fire catches quickly. The elements that were already slightly charcoal from your initial attack pick up where they were. Slowly it becomes a small pyre, burning, crackling. Here in the middle of the forest. Terrible stench of a corpse of some kind burning. A unique smell that causes your sinuses to sting and withdraw into your head. You're exhausted, you're battered, and you're still in the Screaming Forest. What do you do?

[Ashley Johnson]

Find safety?

[Idol]

Perhaps arrest would be good.

[Brixton]

See if we can maybe just get to the other side of the sinkhole. Yeah, fair not be not camp at the scene of the crime.

[Matthew Mercer]

Trekking around the outskirts, the recent shudder of the surrounding landscape sending most anything lying in wait or predatory running away from the shuddering rumble and impact of this ever shifting sinkhole. You can just see the break of the trees not far beyond. Continuing a short distance beyond that, you finally come beyond the last remnants of ruins to the edge of the treeline, marking and denoting the exit from the Screaming Forest. In front of you, there is a long scrub plain. To the right of you, you can see the ashen seas that have spilled in. To the left, you can see the marshlands where the seas have overtaken the valley. And there, ahead of you, massive, quietly beautiful and ominous, the sprawling visage that is Amber Reach, this monument to humanity's hubris, jutting from the climbing mountain edge, wall after wall after wall rising up in the distance, you can see here in the fading light of day, shapes of massive cathedrals, temples, impossible spires and towers that rise up still standing here a century later, others toppled and fallen. Not too far from where you stand, the Amber Gate lies in wait for your arrival. That's where I'm going to take a break. Back here in a few minutes. See you shortly. This is so gorgeous. That's a wrap for part one of this podcast episode. Part two will land here the Tuesday after this episode at 5am Pacific, and we'll pick up this story right where we left off. Until next time, keep the umbra at bay and we'll be back for more of this adventure before you know it.

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