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Branching Paths | Critical Role Campaign 4, Episode 5 Part 1
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Part 1 Decisions are made about how to keep Occtis safe from his family while the Soldiers embark on a hunt for friend and foe alike... New Episodes Release Weekly on Thursdays. Learn more about Campaign 4 at https://critrole.com/campaign4/ GET MORE CAMPAIGN 4 WITH BEACON We're excited to bring you even MORE Campaign 4 with a Beacon membership! Get access to exclusive shows like our behind-the-scenes Critical Role Cooldown and ask the Campaign 4 cast your burning questions directly through our LIVE monthly Fireside Chats. You'll also receive NEW Beacon exclusive series, instant ad-free access to VODs & podcasts, live event pre-sales, merch discounts, & a private Discord. Start your 7-day free trial today at https://beacon.tv/join and get unparalleled access to everything Critical Role! OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN 4 CAST GAME MASTER Brennan Lee Mulligan Laura Bailey as Thimble Luis Carazo as Azune Nayar Robbie Daymond as Kattigan Vale Aabria Iyengar as Thaisha Lloy Taliesin Jaffe as Bo...
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I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan and welcome to Campaign 4 of Critical Role. Thank you for joining us on this journey as we explore Ahriman, a world of fractured kingdoms, tumultuous rebellion and sorcery that rises from the graveyard of the gods. You're listening to Part one of this adventure, with Part two arriving this upcoming Tuesday. Our episodes typically arrive on the Critical Role Podcast network a week after our initial Thursday night streams on Beacon, YouTube and Twitch. But if you'd rather listen to a full podcast episode of Campaign 4 Right When it airs without any ads, consider becoming a beacon. You'll receive access to exclusive content discounts at all our online Critical Role shops, pre sales for live events, and so much more. Start your seven day free trial today at Beacon tv. Now, without further ado, let's begin this episode of Critical Role. Riding out from the gates of Dolmakyar into the darkness, Teor Pridesire, Thimble Cadogan Vale Tyranny, and Wakander Hailuvar begin a journey whose end at this point in time, we cannot see. Fittingly, it is difficult for any of you to see past even the snouts of your horses, or in Thimble's case, the dim light cast by the fluttering of your pixie wings. For rain falls from the sky overhead. Close as you are to the stormwreck here, heading out into the darkness, the gates behind you. Time is of the essence. Somewhere out there, a man who put a knife in the back of your beloved friend is walking free, chasing down the deed to a strong home, a fort at some far edge of civilization, a treasure that he was willing to sell your friend's life for. And just ahead of him, you hope, is Teor's brother, if they haven't gotten to him already. Flying through the night Thimble, what does it feel like to hold on to this purpose that you have set for yourself? It feels like everything else is disappearing. And with that singular goal in front of me, I'm able to leave the grief behind. I'm able to believe in this purpose, soul holy. It feels like I'm. Like I'm gonna make it right. Already something deadly and burning within your heart is keeping you safe from something that in its own right, might be even more terrifying. Teor, it's been a long time since you've seen your brother. As you ride out, does your mind drift to Kasimir, the person who you're pursuing, or to your brother, whom your prey now themselves pursue? I think as I sit there in the rain, it begins to wash over me just how little I know about each of these men. My brother I have not seen in years. The same is true for Kasimir. And at one point, I would say that I knew them better than anyone. The idea that I have of my brother has evolved, grown, and in some way committed himself to a cause so noble that even as I fear for his safety, I find jealousy almost swelling within me. The purpose that he found, the ability to shift fates that have affected all the people that I am traveling with. How little I knew about him. And for Kasimir. What could have gotten to a man that shared a banner with us? What could have pulled him in this direction? What don't we know? And as I sit in the light of Thimble's wings, I realize I know next to nothing. Rain mats the fur on either side of the bridge of your snout Leaning into the darkness. Lost so much since the end of the war and know so many people who seem to have faltered and fallen into losing even themselves. Wakander at the last possible moment, riding up the ridge at this late hour, there's very few people on the road, but Dolnakyar is large enough that there's still a handful of stragglers even in the wee hours of the morning. Some trundling a cart to get to some early farmer's market by dawn's first light, others that have been trudging through weary miles. At the last moment, you look with the mountain Peaks on either side. This is the last place in the road that you will be able to see the lights of the Via Aurora in the city behind you. One more step of your horse and that home will disappear. Do you gaze behind you at this place or not? Luckily, I'm sitting sidesaddle so I can see. I can see both ways right now. And yes, I do glance back one last time. But it's cold. I'm wet, I'm distracted. I'm feeling things I haven't felt in a long time, if not ever. I'm feeling depressed, I think, unclear of what my goal is, but buoyed by tyrannies yelling at me. I feel like answers lay ahead and that even though my family might have misled me, the truth of the universe will present itself to me. And so I shift my gaze forward with hope and say a quick prayer as we cross the threshold. Regardless of what you've learned about the nature of your family's creed, there is always some comfort in ritual tyranny. The same is posed to you. You venture forth now, having advised boldness and decisive action. And now the reign of this world, a world in which you were not born, falls upon your brow. Do you look back at the city you now leave, or do your eyes stay fixed in the same direction as Wick's? My eyes are on my tail that Wick is gripping so hard, and my ears are wet. And I do look back, realizing that every opportunity I have had to leave the house of the Candescent Creed has been a really big party for me. I love to be out, and I love to meet people, and I love to see the goings on of the city around me. This time doesn't feel so good. And I'm realizing, as I sort of like shake some rain off of my little floppy ears, that I am maybe a little bit more domesticated than I once thought I was doing. The right thing. That's supposed to come with immediate rewards, right? Otherwise, what makes it the right thing? Certainly your material conditions having immediately deteriorated past the point of familiarity. That can't be what good deeds are rewarded with. If that were the case, then people would be behaving selfishly all the time. Your ears slick to the side of your head, so soaked with rain, drooping down, matching the verticality of your horns like a giant middle finger pointing to the sky overhead. Cadigan, you're returning to Timony. What's on your mind as you make your way back to where you have so long dwelt? What's on My mind, not a lot. Catagon's in his body. He doesn't have much except for sensations. And he's watching his friend at the front of the back, leading everyone. And he's. He's hung back, he's chewing on a little bit of root in his mouth. And the rain is bringing him back to his senses from the drink in the city. And he's starting to come alive and his heart rate's starting to race. And he knows this feeling and it's a feeling of a hunt. And he's starting to feel good and excited and excited is rare and strange for him. And as he rides a little bit harder off to the left, a little rush in the bush and a quail sort of comes out of the bush. And Wulfric just jumps out of the bush, snatches it, runs alongside him, shakes it, and almost like a little smile, the way a dog can smile only after it's killed something. Back off in the brush. And for a moment he's really excited because this is where he wants to be. And he didn't know. As he looks up front, everything feels dour, but he feels excited. And he notices between the two of them that both of their water skins are empty. And he chuckles to himself and he kicks his horse a little faster by them. And as he rides by, he pops off the top of both their water skins so the rain can lead in while it's running and then just takes off. I think we're in good hands, Cadigan. This is the very beginning of our soldiers table. And this is where big decisions and big roles happen. I'm going to need a survival check. An individual can volunteer to make it, but I would ask if we do a group check that everybody only roll if they have proficiency in survival. Okay, perfect. I have a plus one. Proficiency. No, no, not as good as it could be. Proficient. Proficient. I do. And I have a plus four. I think I would leave it to you. You probably have a plus five. I have a plus five and I'm proficient rollies between you two to figure out you have a plus five or we both roll. We're both. He's done this before. You guys can both roll. So we'll roll a group check, which, with a small group of only two, reminder that Wulfric is going to give you the help action here, which he is able to do. And you are going to. We're going to roll as a group, which means that we take the higher of the two. Oh, great. But I will tell you, you are Riding in the rain at the gate of a massive city Tracks intermingle. Wagon wheels cut gouts into the road itself. Finding these tracks will be next to impossible. In the night in the rain. The difficulty for finding all sets of tracks is going to be the highest difficulty that the game sets, which is a 30. Finding one of them is going to be a 25. And finding some clue that lets you at least rule out some bad options will be a difficulty of 20. So 30. 25. 20. How do you have guidance about that? Even if I did, I don't think I'm paying much attention. We're gonna go ahead and roll because we gotta roll like a 20. We gotta roll a crit in order to make this happen. Why don't we just do it? Here we go. Don't have to. You get to. Oh, no. Oh, okay. I'm not. And you're rolling with advantage, Kagen, remember? Oh, that's right. Oh, you get advantage. Okay, great. That was okay. That is good. With the Plus 4. It's 19. 19. Oh, it rolled so, so bad. One away. Riding off into the rain. Cat again. Water hoof prints. Boot prints. When the trail goes cold, a determined hunter has to move from what he can see to what he knows. You will have to think of what the choices Cid would have made were. And then you'll have to think if those choices would have been knowable by those who pursue him with deadly intent. And we'll get into that on tonight's episode of Critical Role. It stings. It stings. It stings. I forgot I do have guidance. Hey. And welcome to the Critical Role announcement Playhouse. Awesome. You can now bring your dagger heart custom characters to custom miniatures. Big thanks to our friends at Hero Forge. You can now purchase special licensed Daggerheart collections focused on our fungal simia and ribbit ancestries directly from the Hero Forge website. This collaboration helps our fans tell their stories within the magical world of Daggerheart, allowing them to better represent the characters they poured so much time, thought and love into. From whole armor and outfits set to entire new species like tamarin, orangutan and. And monkeysimia, to multiple options for fungal mushroom caps. Bringing these ancestries, ancestrys, these ancestries to heroforge. It would not have been possible without this wonderful new collaborator collection partnership. So please visit heroforge.comcollections to learn more today. And a big thank you to our friends at heroforge for partnering with us to make this happen. Laura Bailey, you're up. Hello. I have merch to tell you about you remember if you were og. Do you remember our original, very first T shirt that we did? Well, in celebration of our 10th anniversary and the start of Campaign 4, we did a Campaign 4 roll call t shirt. You guys, look, look, look, look, look, look, look. Yes, yes, yes. Look, look, look, look, look. It's our amazing day. Thank you, Jordan Torrance, for your fabulous design. The blue is all the characters, plus Mulligan, just like it was Mercer before. And then we've got our animal companions. So this is for the US and Canada. And then guess what, for the EU and for the UK we have a gray one. Yeah, so anyway, there's that. We also have critical role 10 year anniversary posters which I will now reveal to you and the cast. Those are so sick. I got. I got a little sick. Wait, this is really exciting. Vox machina. Oh, my God. Bell's house. That's the Mighty Ne. I mean, Mighty Ne. Shut up. I know. And Bell's Hells and. Okay, so the artist, Tom Yilson. You're amazing. Each of these posters is 13 by 18, printed on like a good solid cardstock. Here we go. It's called McCoy Silk. Look it up. And then if you collect all three, you guys, they go together and look it, look it. Wait, I think they're. No, yeah, they're right. Wow. Oh, wait, no, it's backwards. No, they're not. They're backwards. It's backwards. There we go. There you go. The threads of fate line up. So cool. That's cool. Collect all three, frame them side by side for an epic tableau. Thank you. You're welcome. Those are over there. Immediately getting framed. I know. I'm very excited. You want to look at them? Yeah, just for a sec. This holiday season is upon us and our holiday vinyl album critic role presents. Winter's Crest is here to ring in the holiday with you and your loved ones. If you haven't checked it out yet. Featuring 11 festive tracks, this album is a journey of jubilee through all three critical role campaigns with our own takes on holiday classics as well as all new tracks to ring in the holidays. This deluxe edition also comes signed by all of us with exclusive extras inside. La la la la la la la la la. It sounds better than this. Trust me. You can find it on few less critical Roma. It's find on the US critical roll shop or scanlanshorthaltmusic.com and listen to this to warm up for our 4th annual critmas can't Miss sale starting next Monday. Our biggest sale of the entire year. Laura will run in all shops from November 10th through December 14th and there you'll find dice accessories, games and Apparel up to 60% off in time for the holidays. Get all the Christmas deets@critrole.com CRITMAS2025 Ashley and Liam oh man, yeah, we got some news. If you're looking for some reading material this holiday season, our friends at Dark Horse Comics have you covered with their Humble Bundle of Critical Role Comics collection includes all four volumes of the prequel series Vox Machina Origins and the comic adaptation of the Mighty Nein. And the best part, in my humble opinion, is that every purchase supports the Critical Role Foundation. When you buy a Humble Bundle bundle, you can choose how your money is divided between Dark Horse CRF and Humble Bundle. So grab some deals on books while also doing a little good. And this bundle is available sorry, bad at Reading. It's available until Saturday, November 5th 15th at 11am Pacific. So be sure to grab yours at humblebundle.com critroll humbaba bumba. Humble Bundle Awesome. I think with that back to you. Small decisions like choosing the right die for that climactic role are important. 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Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com critical go to shopify.com shopify.com critical we return to the city of Dolmakyar where events have been compounding pretty, I'd say fast and furious for these last several hours. It has been, I believe, just about two days since the execution of Thiazi Fang, a noted war hero and beloved friend and family member and hated foe of many of those gathered here at this table. Executed under the authority not of the Revolutionary Council of Dolmakyar and its proud heritage of being the birthplace of the war against the gods. No. The Azifeng was executed by the authority of the Chamber of Lords Advisory. Those members of the sundered Houses, including the House Hailifar, of which one Wicander Haylevar has just fled after arriving at Hal's doorstep. And young Octus Tuchonis, eighth of the proud line of Tuconis, one of the many sundered houses whose reach seems to extend across the landscape. I like it. It's so much. I'm having a good time. We're telling. It's a magical story. It's literally what it is. Our last episode began with a surprising moment where Aktus, aware that his family was searching for him, perhaps for reasons unbeknownst to him, perhaps because he had sort of betrayed them in a sense. Revealed conspiracy to save Thiazi Fang was brought under the protection of one Julie Davinos. Under orders from his father, General Raymond Davinos right hand to the great sundered house of Royce, the Lady Eriness of Royce, being herself the ex wife of the late Thiazi Fang. Julian taking octys there was also in the company of one Valis of the Mourn Vale, an elven warrior in search of an artifact stolen by this Thiazi Fang. Boy, this guy seems to have gotten around. This guy's a real jerk. This guy's a real jerk. Seems to have gotten his hands on the Stone of Nightsong, an ancient artifact and relic of the deceased goddess of life. Your goddess. You yourself, some eight centuries old, having seen her in the flesh. One of the only people here that's ever seen a God. Or I should say, well, one of two people at this table. Thank you. Who's seen a God, for indeed. In our last episode we discovered that Bolaire is not a man, but a mask crafted. Thank you. Are we still talking about the game? Indeed. In the bowels of the Archonaut Baulaire. His business aired out, his dirty laundry left out to dry in a letter left to one Murray Magnessen of the Pentevral. But what could have seen you two sort of come to each other as foes, instead found the burgeoning of a friendship as indeed Ahsunin Nyar, the Brethren Hall, Murray Magnassim of the Penteverel, Balare of the Argonaut, and now Hallendil Fang of the newly named Hallowed Round, all find themselves tied to a city that descends into darkness and despair, revealing secrets forged fast friendship and I'll tell you what forged that friendship even faster was when the four of you went searching knowing that the lights had gone out at the Divinos palazzo where you knew Octys to be that Tysha had gone in pursuit. Arriving there you found melted wax Azune speaking a word in an ancient language. Remember the candle reconstituted and Hal heard the footsteps of a spectral fox, none other than pincushion Octys fox familiar. You pursued it all the way to the Loy estate, the home of Tysha's family, since departed for the capital city of Dolrunya. There with Octys body, Ser Julian, the Lady Erinessa, the groundskeeper Rohor and Phaelys, all beholding our young gem toothed rapscallion wizard and the man who is in fact a mask crafted by halflings to perform a play so potent in its performative capability that it could lay low. A God worked an act of magic. As the stars aligned on a portent roll of a Nat 20 the stone of Nightsong was removed. And for the first time ever, to your knowledge, by mortal hands was a death reversed. Almost. And it is in that almost that we return to Octus Tuchonis visions. General Raymond Davinos dead necromantic force unleashed shades the summoning of those spirits of unlife bent only on the destruction of living things to once again grasp that which is corroded by their very touch. Octus Erinessa is speaking. Tysha is bleeding from a wound on her chest. A glass rapier in Bolaire's hand, partially behind Lady Eriness's. Julian Erinessa is speaking. Whatever has occurred here is something unknown to the enemies of the House of Royce. Unknown to the enemies of all those, those who still believe in a free world. Or as the Azzy would have said that can still hear the falcon's cry. You hear the voice, but it's blurry to you. You feel the weight of your own flesh. Your living body when it rested, sought comfort and ease. But now you feel not that you have lost your sense of touch, but that it has actually gone internal. You feel as tendons move in your body. You feel bones twist against muscle, ligament and sinew. The awareness of your body, body as a thing, which is all it is now, someone speaking to you. You realize you cannot become unaware of your breath, lest it stop now for you. Breathing is either conscious or absent. Blood isn't flowing. Any part of you that you cannot command is so still that on some level it frightens you. Like some part of you knows it is rotting. In this moment, a number of medical facts become obvious to you. You no longer require food or water. You do not feel tiredness in the same sense as you once did. But you also no longer feel energy, drive, passion of that sort. Your body does not become restless, nor can it ever be restful. You are aware that you will not age. And it is very likely that the functions of your body. To drink wine with a friend. To perhaps one day carry on the Taconis line. If that was ever something that you dreamed of. Family, old age. To lie on a deathbed and look up at those around you that gave reverence or admiration to the life you led. Every indication is that that has passed from the realm of possibility. And yet people are still talking to you. Can you hear me? Are you okay? I think I'm here. This is strange. Um. Sorry. Are you okay? Are you good? No, you died, so I'm still going through that. Also back off. Of your sword that I was slowly impaling myself on to interpose myself between the two of you. Right. Sorry. I. Why are you. Why? Seeing the sword slide out of you again, I. I died. Oh, you were like dead dead. Your guts was all over the place. I mean, look at how much blood is over here. You have like. There's like a body trailer. Okay. Okay, Marie. All right. Sorry. What did we miss? It's a little jumbled, but my. I'm so sorry. I. Julian, I. My family showed up. They killed everyone. As you're starting to admit that, I'm approaching. Julian, if your hand is still outstretched with the sword in your hand, I'm very gently lowering it and I whisper to you, give him a chance. You may not know it yet, but you are among friends. I am. I am. Draw the blade back and just turn around and walk about 10ft away and just fold my arms. Glass sword vanishes. Turn to the. I haven't seen my family in years. I. I haven't seen them since I came to the Pentaveral. I don't know what they're doing. I don't know why. I have no idea why they were here. What they wanted. I don't know why they took. They took my heart. Do you know why they would have placed that stone inside of you? No, I don't. Who is holding the stone? Or is it still floating? I think I had mage hand and it floating, if I recall. So I think it's kind of. It's in my little basket weave of magical energy. Do I get any feeling from to now? The stone, is there any sort of, like, give me any skill associated. And if you would like, you can also give me an insight. But if you give me insight, I'm going to also ask for a wisdom saving throw. We're back. Do I want to do that? Do it, coward. All right, I'm gonna make an insight check, and I'll make a wisdom saving throw. I have nothing in insight. Let's go. All right. Amazing. The insight check is a two. The wisdom saving throw is a 16. Great. You open yourself. You start to open yourself up to the stone, and then some part says, do not do this. I don't. I don't know why I probably shouldn't touch that. It feels like there's gotta be like, this stone is your life essence, like your anchor now. Great. Sorry, this is a lot. Would Murray be educated enough to know what a phylactery is? The idea of different talismans, that creatures can put elements of their. Give me arcana and actually balare. I'll ask for you to give arcana as well in this moment, because you're both observing this thing. And then Veilis. I'll actually ask you for a religion check as well, if you're kind. Okay, 24. 24 on a 25. No, 25. 25. 17 plus 8 is 25. Correct. Thank you, Jesus. 30. 20 on that 25. Arcana. Give me some direction. What is the question that you are attempting to answer here? Or just the area of your interest? Sure. Knowing that there are liches or other mythical creatures who utilize phylacteries. Is this similar to this? Is it like an uno reverse of a phylactery? Yes, with the exception that this thing was not created for that intended purpose. I will say on a 25. This thing, the melted wax you saw in the Palazzo, this was supposed to be burned or destroyed. You think. You think this artifact, this relic was supposed to do something, and you think that on that 25, you hear distant rhythmic footsteps. Based on the remnant of that portent, there's a. And I think vaylis on that dirty 20. You hear them as well and understand that rhythm to be anathema to you, Particularly because those are the footfalls of creatures walking to the dark wood past the edge of death to become reincarnated. So in other words, it is the opposite of immortality on this plane, or coming from the stone, like drums and Jumanji. You hear it coming from the stone. It's a very Drums and Jumanji kind of. You're like, I think it is on that 25. That's how you get too much on that 25. And on that dirty 20, a residual of the magic that happened here, which while you guys the mundane world is creeping back in, dangerous people are out to hurt and kill a lot of you. However, there is still a lingering feeling of the numinous. What Bolaire and Murray just did is unbelievable. What? And it is itself only possible because of what Octys did that Tysha saw in the Other Realm. Which was unbelievable. Which only happened because Tycha interrupted whatever was supposed to happen. So a chain reaction of extreme intercessions into a very delicate arcane process has occurred here. So when you're thinking, is this a talisman? Is this where Octys life force is. No, it's not. One to one, because this thing was supposed to effectively be desecrated or destroyed. And instead, due to the actions of yourself, Baler, Tysha, Octis, a thing that was supposed to be sacrilegiously destructed to accomplish whatever the ends of Primus to Konis and the rest of Octys family were, was prevented. Now you, in other words, look at octasan on that 25, which is a high, high bar to clear. You think what you have here is you would not have been able to construct the ritual capable of arriving. Not with years of planning and resources could you construct a ritual to arrive here. Instead, what happened is you guys hijacked a machine that a sorcerer's family has had in in the works for years at the last possible second. And instead of driving it through the wall of whatever horrific purpose the Taconis had in mind, safely landed a tank on a rooftop. You took something that should not have done this, but at the last possible minute, perfectly aligned to bring Octis back. What you also I think recognize is Octys is not this. Even with an incredible NAT20 resurrection defies the ability of any mortals living within Ahriman. But creating an undead creature that is possessed of its own heart and mind has never been done before. And that's closer than anyone's ever gotten to a true resurrection in a long, long time. So all of which is to say you can rule out the it's his talisman. But you do think that there is a troubled. You think that Octys and this stone are interwoven magically, permanently. You don't know that that means he should have it. You don't know that that means that it's good for him. And on that 20 religion veils, I'll just bring to you this other element here. Which is you know that the Stone of Nightsong is a relic of a effectively celestial requiem of the Goddess of Life. She didn't wish for any of her children to die, but even she could not prevent them from dying in injury or accident. So the Stone of Nightsong was crafted as basically a relic to Celestials that did have to guide the tragic elves that died through the Shadowfell to the final halls of the Goddess of Life. Within that on that you just recognize that whatever these Arcanists have just done has prevented the destruction of a relic of. And you can also see that it is tied purposefully, intimately to the existence and continued animation of young octus. Vrbo's last minute deals make chasing fresh mountain powder incredibly easy. With thousands of homes close to the slopes, you can get epic pow freshies first tracks and more. Find last minute deals with the last minute filter on the app. Book a private vacation rental now@vrbo.com I'm gonna go up to the stone and I am going to try to grab it with part of the fabric of my skirt. I think we. We should have a conversation. What are you doing? This is what I came here for. Yeah, well, the situation is to change. I understand this. I am not trying to take it away, okay? But what I would like is for this to stay in my possession. Well, this is going to be a conversation then, isn't it? Let's have a conversation. Al, say something. What we have here, I don't know the word for, because the only word I can think of is miracle. But we don't have those, do we? We do now. I definitely don't want to be one. Does anyone else hear drumming? What? I hear drumming. What? Drums. It's like. Hey. No one hearing drums touches the stone. It's like warm. Hal steps Tycha a few feet away from the group and his hand is resting on your hip. And in a voice that's very familiar from years of worry late at night years ago, a soothing voice. Let's be careful here. This danger is in our home and your home will get it sorted. Please be careful. And on that word, careful, just a little reassurance passes into you as I cast healing word into the wound that you gave yourself. Seeing people move around and get pulled aside. My eyes haven't left Ser Julian who has stepped away and I approach him. Hand goes up and tells you to stop before you get too close. I stop. And without closing in, I do move around so that you can see my face. I know you don't trust anybody here. I Would like a moment of your time so that I can earn your trust, if I may. So be it. Come outside with me. I think it's important that we make sure we weren't followed. He looks back towards Octys. Does he look like he's going to be here? For a minute? I don't even know if Octus has stood up from the ground. Still sitting. Then a moment. I'll start to make my way away from the group. And I'll wait to make sure that he's with me. As the group is doing what they're doing. I'm looking right at you. That was very bold, what you did just now. And I'm impressed. I saw you staring daggers at everybody and I saw you. You speak to a very strong feeling immediately. And I'm jealous, honestly, of that capacity to find such words for what you were feeling. Who are you? You don't recognize me at all? That's interesting. Should I? You should. Or we met a long, long time ago. And I'll speak to that in a moment. But first I need to know if you have a death wish. Because as bold as what you did was, it was also incredibly foolish. You had a number of them already turning on you, and all they needed to do was act, and you would have been done. So are you just reckless, or do you have a death wish? I haven't decided yet. I don't know if you're gonna have much time to decide, because the walls are closing in on us. And I know you don't trust anybody here, but there's not time to earn it right now. Trust has to be a choice. And the earning of it will follow. And to answer your question, in a bid to perhaps begin to earn your trust, I have seen you the first time I met you. I will never forget. Forget? Because I was at Theazi's side at the very end of the Falconer's Rebellion. And I remember everything very clearly as to how that all went down. And you don't remember me because your attention was never on me. And I wasn't the only one there. And I'm not coming here in this moment to do anything than extend a hand. The past has a very interesting way of coming back to the present. It never goes away. But I'm learning that we shouldn't always be held prisoner by it. So I want to offer you something. An exchange of what I offer. I want you to give the people in there a chance. Because we're all twisted in this fucked up thing together. And we're Gonna need each other. My offer. When the past comes to find you, you have my word that I will speak the story that you you choose to tell. Congratulations. After all these years to see my family brought low. I hope it's everything that you that's not. You misunderstand me. I turn in, walk back into the room. I follow Azane. I'd like you to give me a perception check, if you would be so kind. Okay. 13 looking out as you follow Julian back into the Loy estate. You said it offhand because you had business with Ser Julian. But you looked down a dark and deserted street. I don't know if you can rule out that you were followed. Morning's around the corner. It's very late. As you re enter, I will say as the final piece of this puzzle in that 25 arcana check, Murray, the last thing I'll say is you're far too educated to not understand that coincidence actually is real and does happen. But when it happens, it's still always interesting. This isn't the first relic you've seen in the last day or two concerned with the relationship of the celestial and death. It's been a crazy 12 hours. The connection between the Stone of Nightsong, this thing, which is unperturbed. Even holding it in your mage hand, you still get an arcane sense of its heft. And you can just tell that if that were to sit in the palm of your hand, it would do some ancient dwarven thing in your heart. That would just be a good stone. That's a good stone. The feeling of a good. I love good rock. I love a good rod. You can see that it's smooth. Something that has been handled by centuries of Elven clerics. In stark contrast to the reordered plates adorning the coffin. The box that you and Balare had studied. Old Ballad. The Sister of Mists, who was herself a Celestial related to Rowan the Trickster. That's something. These two artifacts would come into your periphery. Two relics of the gods, so close in order to each other. What was Taconis up to? And what was Thiazi up to? You don't have answers to these questions, but out of thin air, you've grasped a second thread. Well, I want to start talking about practical next steps. Right. What are we going to do? Your family. You don't know why, you don't know what. No. Are they going to come looking for you? I think under the umbrella that I have no fucking idea. I think they think I'm dead. So, no. But if they figure out I'm not. Yes. I wouldn't be so sure about that. Besides, like you said, even if they assume that you're dead now, I don't foresee that assumption lasting till the sun rises. You've got little eyes and ears all over the city. Yeah. No, I mean, yeah, yeah, of course. You see, the lady Erinessa speaks up. How did you find us here in Tysha's home? Oh, good. Follow up. It was crazy. Well, we went to your house. Your big old mansion. Sorry, sorry. As Julian has reentered the chamber immediately and is like, sorry for your loss. And then we saw this ritual that was happening clearly. And then we kind of reverse engineered it. Right? You know, and then Hal managed to find this candle. Or. No, was it hell or was it bowl air? It doesn't matter. Look. And then we heard little bitter pattering of little tiny footsteps. You seem so elated. Were you not at all left uncharmed by the dead bodies everywhere? Oh, no, that was crazy. It was clean. Sorry. Yeah, it was clean. It was clean. Yeah, what he said. Although there was a sense of something really terrible in the air, I will give you that. For sure. But spotless. So the Taconis already know that you're not there, Noctis. Good. Great. Okay, that at least points in a direction. So that was clean. What do you mean? There was no evidence of anything there. No blood, no bodies, nothing. Except for the candle. They work fast. There hasn't been enough time. That was where you went after it was clean? After you guys went to go? Yeah. So we saw all the lights. That's right. Went out, it was dark. Which is obviously pretty unusual. All right, so they know I'm not on the table anymore. Cause they didn't have to clean up my body. Which is such an odd thing to say. Well, maybe we should be bringing you underground and we can make a cover story for that. Bodies disappear all the time. Boy. He has a name. Sorry, what are you off to? Um, I don't. I don't know why we have to go. You can't stay here. I think you should come with me. I hate that the most. What is happening? Oh, yes. Okay. Yes, I need to leave. I need to leave the city. I assume, August, what did you see? In regards to what? When you first came to, immediately after the stone was removed from you, there was a babble of. Am I incorrect? You were muttering under your breath. I heard. Barrow. Pharaoh. I do need to go somewhere. You remember in this moment? Yeah. You saw Taconus Flags and banners waving under a black sky. You saw a. You saw a lone Orcish warrior standing somewhere. And with the sign of the Barrowguard. That's right. Hey. As I was waking up, I saw some things. Some flashes of things. But I very clearly saw an orc. Seemed like some sort of warrior carrying a banner of the Berylguard. I don't know what that means. She's no longer looking at you. She is staring at Hal. The Berergard, you say? Yeah, I mean, I know of them, but I don't recognize the person. I train many of their up and coming soldiers to whip them into shape. Okay. Is this where you intend to go? I mean, that's the only lead I have. But if anyone else has an idea, let me tell you this, because maybe you saw my son. Our son. Oh, we don't know that. We don't know that. War drums War drums. What are you thinking, Julian Octis? Just so we're aware and very clear, Wherever you go now, I go. You have two shadows. For now. Cause wherever you walk, one day your family will return. And I'll be waiting. We don't have to be friends. But I'm stuck to you now, boy. God, that does not sound good. Okay, yeah, great. I understand. I don't remember anything about the environment because I don't think. Wherever you went, I don't think you were on this plane of existence. I would agree with that. I don't think I was. I thought you were very dead. Give me. You can give me. As you try to recall what you saw. You can give me arcana or you can give me investigation. Great, I will do arcana. Can I. Guidance. Guidance. I'm just gonna put my hand on you and realize. How alive do you feel? I haven't. Are you allowed to ask? I have no pulse and I'm cold. On a scale of 1 to 10, what is happening? How alive do you feel? That would be a 14. 14. You begin to go back, trying to think of what you might have seen anywhere in the visions. Unfortunately, on a 14, you can't get a specific location. But what you are describing are sandstone, tall, not marble columns and not the granite of Dwarven make. This is something. If you had to guess, it seems like pillars or plinths that look, for lack of a better word, like the type of stone that you would find east of the Dvalmar Pass. It's very fragmented, but it looks like the kind of natural architecture that is east of here. Okay, that's elven. Those are the Ancestral lands of the Taconis. That's the ancient, the fallen Obra Demian Empire to the east of the Covarossi Mountains. It's towards our old home. Okay. It's also the direction that you guys just came from, back towards Venatus and the eternal night. Was I able to grab the stone or is it still. I think in the distraction here I have been keeping up. Damn those tricks. You can try if you like, but I will definitely counter with. I won't try. I will grab it. I'm going to command. Go ahead. Give me a wisdom saving throw. Can't get the fawn out of the player. Oh, no. That's bad. That's 12. This is your wisdom save? That's my wisdom save. Yeah, if you have. Not that I'm going to do it here, but do you have a. Wait a minute. I have advantage to avoid or end the charmed conditions? This is not a charmed condition. No. You said command. Sorry. Do you have an opinion on only sticking. Sticking to the approved list of commands? Not that it's going to matter right now. I will allow different one word commands, but they are subject to the vocabulary of the target. Very, very. Crump. Oh, boy. Crump at once. Naelys, a word, if you don't mind. Here. And I'm going to walk over and just take you aside. What? What? It is my selfishness that allowed you into this city. And if it is your selfishness that harms this boy, I can do things to you. I am not going to harm him. I am going to keep him alive. He died under her career. So if he's gonna make it anywhere, it's gonna be because of me. Do you understand? If you try and take that stone. If you abandon. If I try to take that stone. Silence. I cast silence. Not silence. I cast command. I am command. Silence. Yeah, and that's the command spell. That's the command spell again. Command spell again. Give me another wisdom sage. Yeah. Come on, come on, come on. Oh, okay. Dirty 20. That is a success. I have ways of making your life very difficult. And I swear, I need you to swear that you will not abandon that one. I'm trying to trust you. You can trust me. Look at me with that fucking creepy mask. I swear to you, I will not abandon this boy. If you do, I'll find you. Good luck. And keep him safe. What is. What? What? What? What do you care? I feel like this is going well, Cam. You see, as you ask that question of Bolaire, you see that erinessa? Looks to Octis. You saw in your vision as you crossed over from death, a warrior of the Berylguard. Yeah. House Divinos, under the arch auspice of House Royce, has taken a vanguard in the training of the Berylguard and their protection of the realm. Right. Octis are families. We're on opposite sides of the Shaper's War and the same side of my beloved Thiazis rebellion. I don't know who in my family is left alive. Our caravans were stopped at the Dfalmar Pass. I do not know. The state of the Golden Orchard. I do not know. We have been dwindling ever since the gates of Faerie were closed. And it seems that your family decided that we had been nothing more than a name for a little too long. You do not need to apologize. My grandfather would not commit himself to the cause of the Falconer's Rebellion. I have wondered why. What might have happened if I had been in his stead, would I have acquiesced to the demands? I know that we stayed strong, preserved the dignity and station of our house. And it bought us. I need to travel east because it is the only direction that has perhaps anything left for me other than looking at the shadows behind me for the rest of a short life. You are the only thing that has happened in the last 10 years that I am aware of that did not go according to the plans of your family. And so, with all of the elegance, grace and dignity that my station affords me, may I cling to you in desperate hope that something good might happen. Of course. I owe you so much. And I. Yes. I'll do my best to help you find what you're looking for. Thank you. I hope we find what we're looking for. And I hope that we find something to look for. You see that she takes your hands in her hands and looks over at Julian and looks back at you. We've been calling ourselves the Sundered Houses for a long time. Since I can remember. I don't want to be broken anymore. And she squeezes your hands, looks to Julian and says, I can say with certainty that we are being. Being hunted right now, my dear sir Julian. And I can say as well that Octys, though you seem to have defied death itself, I doubt that you could defy capture or imprisonment. I agree. Then you see, she looks over to you. Phelis. My lady, by some ancient bond of ancestry, my family blessed by the fae, and you of the Elven folk, I offer you my trust, given in desperate times Perhaps much lessened in its worth. But if you have made the oath to tend to Octus, I saw you withstanding the onslaught of many shades for a time in which any other mortal would have been struck low. And it would have been effortless for you to take the stone and depart. I think you would have attempted to do so already if that were in your heart. So, and on a level perhaps, that is crass to bring up, I think if we don't bring you, we're gonna die. And just to lay everything out in very black and white terms here, the current plan sounds like you are gonna going exactly where the creepy stone told you in your vision to go. You're going to creepy stone. War drums. War drums. Yes. Yes. That's where we're going. Creepy land. Yes. All right, great. No. I like this plan. And you're all going. Ser Julian Octus, as you. Baelis is your name. I will go where you. Yes. And I will go where you go. Tycha. You're gone. I mean, you have a whole thing here. We got family and stuff. I'm not asking you to do anything. I don't know what. I don't know what's going on. Yeah, a lot of people around you right. Right now are treating you the way I've seen a lot of animals treat bait. Go ahead, Neil. I will go if you want me to go with you. Al, what are you gonna. I mean, look, you're always looking out for me and I appreciate it, but you didn't ask for any of this. And you have a family and you have a guy you obviously love. It's so clear. And so, I don't know, you have to make. I'm not asking you to do anything you have to to make this decision. Yeah, I know. And also, I am now like everything you don't like. I'm like 100% dead now. Maybe you're just mostly dead. Yeah, we've dealt with undead. We dealt with them in phenomena. This you are, not that. You're still you. I have to remember to breathe. Okay? So do I. Okay. You're family too. Because your blood family are the worst fucking people I have ever met. Oh, hey, look. I got a new dad. It's bad here. I'm with you. Okay. Is that okay for me? Yeah. Yeah. Is that good with you? It's good with me. And once again, I don't mean to, like, nitpick this whole plan. God damn it, Murray. Thing. What? I'm just wondering. All right. All right. So we're gonna Go to where the creepy stone are you coming to? What the hell? No, I got your fucking family to deal with back here. Here's the thing. They're. I think. I'm sorry. You gonna throw a titty at him? What's your plan? How much heft these things have? Honestly, I actually have a plan. I have a plan. If I can take a moment and share. Based on what you just said, Lady Erinessa, and I'm assuming, are you, you're going with them as well? You're leaving? Are you staying? They will hunt me down here. Do you have hygiene boots? Sorry. Whether you are going with them or not, you are leaving as well. And now we have all the witnesses to what happened are leaving. What do witnesses matter? Something has changed in this city. It is about power. It's not about truth. Exactly. So here, hear me out. Lady Erinessa, you said something earlier about the Shapers War. And you recognize that some of the houses were fighting alongside the gods. And some of the rebel houses were fighting against them. And here in Domachir, we have this mix of these houses. Hailuvar Takonis fought for the Gods. And Royce and Cormoray and Einfassen, they fought against them. That was only 70 years ago. They're all acting independently, but they're all making moves at the same time. Kormoray is sinking their claws into the museum. Einfassen has taken over the Revolutionary Guard and the Arcane Marshals. And Taconis has come after the Pentiverel. Yep. Yeah, they're not working together yet. They're working in parallel. And 70 years ago is not that long ago. They still have evil, each other's blood on their hands. The only way that we'll survive here in Dallmark here is if we find a way to create a wedge between them and have them turn on each other. There's evidence right now of one of the Priestly Houses eliminating a rebel house. All we need is to plant the seed of suspicion so that Einfa and Kormoray think that they're next. So what you're suggesting is that some of you stay and be that wedge. I think you have a way to plant the seed that those of us that stay behind might then. Water. Okay. What I do, I have a whisper campaign. I do. Like this. This. You've never whispered a day. Very clever. That's true. So what do you need me to do? Anything that you can do to implicate your family and suggest that now that House Royce is gone, that Einfassen And Kormure are meant to be next. Interesting octys. Do you have a personal item that we could keep for the moment on you? Something simple? Sure. Are you still on the ground, by the way? Yeah. You have to. I'm actually going to walk over and offer a hand and get you up. Thank you. It feels different now. I can't feel my legs. It's. Yeah. I can give you something. Part of your fox, maybe. Something that will keep better, I think. Is that the only option here? Once he's not together, they will decrease. You have a signet ring? I do, yeah. Young man, it is a terrible thing to be singular, but it can eventually be beautiful. And one day, I look forward to you returning and having a proper conversation of whatever it is you become. Everyone seems the creepiest shit to you. Yeah, I'm aware. I'm hearing it. Erinessa turns to you azune, and goes, I have a semen grave. You're right. But the reality is, we can't know which cards the other houses are playing face up, in which they are playing face down. For me to walk to hrandiss einfausen and bring the story of what they, the Takonis, have done, I can only do if I were certain that he would be surprised by it. Yeah, they might are, you know? And all I can say is I need to see who in my house yet lives. I cannot imagine. They must have struck knowing that we were coming here for Thiazi's funeral. It has. Look at how quick and violent it was. It was not glacial at all. It was not generations of planning. It was fast. And how long had Thiazi even had the stone of night? Song thimble had mentioned that it was a short, short amount of time. So. All of this reeks of a gambit. It reeks of seeing opportunity and greed, compelling them to seize it while they could. This is not years of fruition and planning, but what that means is blind spots. I need to find out who in my house yet lives. I cannot imagine that they have taken the golden orchard. Even diminished as we are, there is still strength to us. I need to travel east. And what we know is that this stone has a story. The taconis know it, we don't. That's a problem. We know that there is something that octys has seen to the east of here, which we must travel in that direction. Already. We are accompanied by those that have insight. And we have one who, if you would do us the honor of traveling with us, my and you see, she Holds out a hand to you and says, former sister in law. Yeah, let's just keep it. She says, yeah, if we travel with you, there are doors that only someone of your order can open. And there are people who will see what octys is now that only your authority will persuade them not to destroy. Oh, God, I didn't even think of that. Yeah, I didn't want to say it because you're still processing this. There's going to be a lot. And you see that. She says, my goal is not to be gone from Dol Makyar for long, but by the time I return, I need to know who our friends are. And more importantly, who our enemies are. I think that you are right. Greed destroys the world, but it also destroys itself. I hope that we can find these answers. Well, some of us can stay behind and keep an eye on things. Between the four of us, I think we know just about everyone in the city. It won't be safe here. You know that. You just got here, too. New Year, same old dance. Azunay. A little bit of gray light is creeping into the eastern horizon at the top of the mountains. Look, I know I just showed up in your life a day ago and I blew the whole thing up. And I'm really sorry that. I'm sorry that she's coming with me. And I know that you don't want that. And your family's so nice, and the kid is that freezing. It's as cold as a corpse. Something's happening under the surface here in this city. Outside of this city. And it's out of your control and out of mine. We'll make hay while the sun's shining. All right, Go, Go. Okay. Keep it eye on her for me. I will. We'll have no real way to communicate if things go tits up. We'll just have to trust. Yeah. Indeed. Thanks for coming to my funeral, everybody. You all right over there, Julian? I accompany my lady Erinnessa. I accompany Octus, and place my trust with those who also walk this path with us. So, yes, I'm fine. I have a path to walk. As the eastern horizon grows gray, Rohor, the caretaker, procures some steeds. And those of you bound for the east, for mystery and shadows lengthening, make your way. Is there anything before you depart? I would say as we assemble our horses, I stop and turn to you and just say, you never gave me our name. Azune. Azune. And yours? We'll see when we return. Oh, we need pseudonyms. Oh, God. And you see that? With that what are you doing? I got you. Everyone staying. Drama kids here Plurally. I know we don't know each other that well, and I was very surprised to see you on a. I woke up. It didn't make any sense, but now I get it. I'm gonna take notes. You still have a thesis due at the end of the session. No, I fucking don't. I'm dying. That's a great. Your professor gets an email. Hey, I'm dead. Is it cool if I miss? Me too. Resurrection is gone, but student loans are forever. I'm gonna keep very particular notes. I'm gonna bring everything back. Because you're the only other wizard here. So we're gonna figure this out. Especially with whatever that stone is. I want to know. Cause now it's part of me. Hey, that's very smart. I know I didn't interact with you much. I understand that. I'm a rich kid who came into a school that you felt like was yours, and I was invading your personal space. And I understand that. Damn it. Still didn't feel good. Yeah, no. Kind of nailed it, though. But you are a talented kid. I hope you know that. Thanks. That's really weird to hear coming from you, but I appreciate it. It's the only reason I didn't have your ass thrown out years ago. Well, great. You may not have earned your spot when you came in, but you showed your worth. And you earned it over time. And I did respect that. Thanks. Many people from your ilk have issues looking at Gift Horse in the mouth. You were never like that. Well, I mean, yeah, I didn't really. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Thank you. Don't die again. Yeah. Good night. All of you. Hal. Hal presses his thumb into Tysha's palm. If it is him, if it is our son, we'll find him and bring him home. Of course. Taishah holds your hand and doesn't let it go until her heart rate comes down to yours. You are always the calm one. Steady. There was a minute there. If the plan had worked with Yazzie, we would have been gone before I could have even seen you. But there was a minute there. I thought maybe I was gonna be able to stay just a little longer. Well, we get what we get. And we don't get upset. I'll stay with the girls. Okay. Okay. I'll make sure our boy's okay. I love you. Always. Oh, man. I died a virgin. It's the only note I've taken. It's the only note I've taken. Ah, that's terrible. And on that note, I kissed my baby daddy. Hear me? Standing alone off to the side. It's part of the wide shot as we pan out. But now always hard shout out to ricker mortis. Oh, God, no. As so often happens, the cosmic and supernal hangs over the deeply absurd and foolish. You see, a stone possessed of the goddess of life hangs in the air before descending under erinness's nodding gaze into vaylis hand. I'm still here. Okay, we're good. A mother and father vow to protect their children. The cosmic, the familial, the personal. It's always all tied up together. And I will ask our seekers, as you make your way towards the unknown, to leave our table. And I'll ask. Take care, seeker's table. And I'll ask our schemers. Ask our schemers to stay for one second. No promises. They'll do fine from here. Ask them to be fine. Just in time for you to leave. Possessed of this relic, our seeker's table makes their way away. And standing in the courtyard as the sun begins to light the eastern horizon and the four of you look at each other, every single one of you has work in less than two hours. Yes. My circadian rhythm is going to be so thrown off. This is like the second sunrise I've seen. How are you so delicate? It's a little disturbing. I should just do that thing where I prop up my boom. So much arms a little bit. They're all muscle. Yeah. My delicate sensibilities. Everybody has places to be. Yes. I have to give a tour. That's going to go very well. I think I need a power nap. You're going to. And you're going to be at the Pentabral today. I'm going to have to. I feel like if anything, if I'm not there, it's going to be even more ling. After everything that's happened. I think. But we need to meet again. We do. And again and again. I think. I think you're exactly right, Aun. I think this has been a systematic and strategic dismantling under the guise of safety for the common man. And they move fast. And when you move fast. Fast sometimes you miss a few things. It's easier to excuse it if it feels like it's singular houses working on singular objectives. But even if these sundered houses hate each other and have their grudges, those type of people, power will always be an ally. They'll work together. Grievance correct. They'll work together until they no longer need Each other. And then they will turn on each other. We just want to see if we can make that happen sooner in the short term. We all have our spheres of influence. Why don't we all put out birds? Yes. And we can find on our own. And then what about the back room in our place? What if we start. I think that's an excellent idea. We can't keep meeting at the museum. And I don't like it at my house anymore. I think we need a third. Nothing that's tied to any of our workplaces. We don't want to shit where we sleep. That room. No one knows about it. It's just a map. What are you talking about? Whatever that place is. And that's the place. Well, we've been sipping wine and talking about art in the city for months. I didn't know that I was talking to an ancient godly mask. Bit of a surprise. There'll be more. Inevitably. Could have told me. I really couldn't. Would you have told? Kept your secret? Your brother would have murdered me. Literally. That's true. I also want to know why you let vaelys in. Yeah, I heard that things. These ears. You see them. I made a very selfish decision. And that selfish decision was the chance that maybe she would take care a thiazzi. Or at least get him into trouble enough that I could escape our little deal. Volaire. Mm. I'm sorry that I feel compelled to say this, but did you have anything to do with his execution? No. And cetcher, you can give me persuasion or deception. Bully. Mm. It's fine. It's a one. Yeah, it's fine. It's a one dot yeah, that's fine. I wouldn't have let her in if I had. And honestly, I wasn't working that hard to be involved. If he knew that I tried something, he would have taken care of me. Anyway, I had to be squeaky clean for a very long time. But in the end, that may actually work out to our advantage. We are building a theater, which means I need money, which means I can be bought. And when you can be bought, well, people will put their trust in you. I think we need to build that theater beyond its corporeal station, if you know what I mean. Mm. Murray, as you talk about something being larger than its corporeal form, Get a little pleasant resonance in one of your gem molars. Thinking about what you saw as you were performing that act of magic. Like all of creation was on some kind of grid or plane. You could feel. Feel weight and heft. Could Be the exhaustion. You've been up to sunrise two nights in a row. But there's just something about intersecting vertices of space and time. You start getting a thought. Something that you're going to have to spend time catching later in your own research. But the sun is rising. There's plenty to do. And the four of you, speaking of money, all gotta go and earn a living. Yeah. You head out from this place as the sun begins to rise. And as it does. Hal. You arrive back at your home. Shadi is still asleep upstairs somewhere. Mayor Belair. You arrive back at the museum just in time. You can see the carriage pulling up for the tour you're about to give. Azune. The Brethren hall active. Some people mutter about the lights being off in the Palazzo Divinos. Where did they all go? Marie Pentevral is abuzz as the new dean is going to give her inaugural speech today. Hal. You look out on the windowsill. There's a little nest up on the second floor. You see a magpie looks down, hops to one side. It's. A tiny little beak begins to poke out of an egg on your windowsill. You know that she'd been there for some time, but it escaped your mind. The last couple weeks have been so busy. You see a tiny little beak start to chip away at an egg. Good. The sun rises over a gray city. Tough in trouble. Defiant, doomed. Hopeful, hurt. This little bird sees its home stretch for the first time. It has to believe that there is something here worth fighting for. Your story's just getting started. The magpie flutters off to one side as you look out at your city. And that's where we'll take our break. Magpie knows too much. Kill it. Kill it. What you seen? When I first heard the word magpie, I thought it was food. I love a good mag on the window. Pumpkin pie, Blueberry pie. Mag pie. It has to be very fresh. Mag. What is it? What's the number? 32 blackbirds baked in a plate. Four and 20. Four and 20. Four and twenty. Wow. That's a connection to my name. Which was a really great diner. It was no longer existing. It was one of my favorite diners. And wow. Some of the inside history. Thanks, Brandon. Hell yeah, gang, that was great. We'll take our break and then we'll jump in with the. We'll jump in with our solo Back to the Soul. And that's where we'll leave our story for now. Part two of this episode of Campaign 4 drops this Tuesday. Thanks for listening. And we'll see you soon for more critical role. Did you know Tide has been upgraded to provide an even better clean in cold water? Tide is specifically designed to fight any stain you throw at it. Even in cold butter. Yep. Chocolate ice cream. Sure thing, barbecue sauce. Tide's got you covered. You don't need to use warm water. Additionally, Tide pods let you confidently fight tough stains with new coldzyme technology. Just remember, if it's gotta be clean, it's gotta be Tide.